I'm Famous!

I take the kids out to Chick Fil A tonight and then we go do a little decorating shopping at my Super Target. Just another typical day in the life of Krista, right?! I am walking into Target and someone says my name from behind me. You would think this is normal since I am in Target A LOT! Except for the fact that I'm a bazillion miles away from home and I have no friends and know about three people (one teacher for each child!). It was someone who recognized my kids from my blog. HAHAHA!! I'M FAMOUS!!!

Okay, so I guess I have to tell the whole story. When Jimmy and I first realized that we would be moving we began looking at cities to live in. I happened to see Brighton on the map and liked the name...I know, so blond! Anyways, when I was googling Brighton I found a blog called Welcome to Brighton (you can check it out on my list of blogs). I secretly read it for about a month. The author is originally from California and moved to Brighton a year ago. On her one year anniversary she wrote about all of the things she missed about California and without meaning to, I think, made Brighton pale in comparison. I finally wrote her and told her that I had been reading her blog and was a little nervous about how she made Brighton sound. She immediately wrote a new blog about all of the things she loves about Brighton...she even dedicated it to me in the first line (I feel so special!).

Once I arrived in Brighton I wrote her. Her name is Carissa and she is wonderful and so very nice. She has been a huge help with how to find places I've been looking for. We have said that we would love to meet for coffee or to have our kids play at the park. Carissa has also been reading my blog. And therefore recognized my children and knew who I was when she saw me walking into Target. I'm thinking God has a plan for our two lives to intersect!

On the flip side of feeling famous...I knew she was in the store with my while I was shopping. I can't remember everything I have said about my kids on this blog but I hope I have not led anyone to believe that I have good children. I hope I have told funny stories about them, even cute stories, but honestly, my children are loud and unruly at the best of times! I have said in a presentation that I've given before that I have children that......well, you know when someone says they have wild children and the other person says oh no, you're kids are so sweet...well, no one ever says the last part after I say my kids are wild! I was praying Carissa couldn't hear them from the other side of the store (especially when Jagger had his meltdown because he wanted to leave the bathroom decor area and then his second meltdown because he wanted to go back to the bathroom decor area...seriously screaming about this!).

I'm wondering if coffee with Carissa is still in my future?! Either way, I think I hit my five minutes of fame today! Yay me!

I Saw God Today!

We took our first trip to the mountains today. How can you look at this and believe that this is the result of some big bang?!! God made these incredible masterpieces and we were so fortunate to glimpse just a part of them at Estes Park today. God is so good!






And if those pictures aren't proof enough that we were walking with God today...then check this one out. Only God could get these two hugging!!

The Decorating Has Begun!!

For those of you taking bets...6 days and 3 hours! That's how long it took me to get my first splash of paint on the wall. My first room was the kid's bathroom and we all love it. It's hard to tell with the lighting but all of the walls are the same yellow that you see in the last picture. Enjoy!

First Day of School

The kids did great on their first day of school. We walked into the office and Kaylee's teacher was there (we had already met her when we signed up on Friday) so she walked to class with her. I love her teacher, Mrs. Kelly. Everyday she has a new tip for me on where to go or how to keep my kids skin from getting too dry. She's fun and funny. Kaylee loves her too.

James had not met his teacher, Mrs. Twiss, yet so we walked him to class. When we got there Mrs. Twiss showed us around and let James pick out what shape he wanted for his name (he picked out a star-how accurate!). Then we went outside and played for ten minutes until the bell rang and he had to get into line and go to class. He was so quiet and nervous...yes, I'm still talking about James. It was so cute to see him that way...a very rare occurrence! He had a great day though and has loved getting up every morning to go. Our only complaint...he goes half day. He is definitely ready for full day...but that will be next year!

I wish I would have gotten a better pic. It's great of the kids. The portables behind them are called "The Cottages" and that's where Kaylee's classroom is. The building is beautiful. I'll have to take a picture of it sometime. Anyways, enjoy what I did get! Oh, and check out the sweaters! We're loving the weather here!!

Arriving in Colorado

I keep thinking of what to write of the drive to Colorado. And I keep not writing things that are happening here because I know I have to get through this hurdle first. Unfortunately though, it was a traumatic experience and I've forgotten everything! hahaha No really, it was not a whole lot of fun, but not traumatic. My wonderful mother-in-law drove with us and we took turns driving. The kids were miserable. It wasn't like it was a vacation though and we got to stop at every cool thing we saw. I was stressed, we all wanted to get there, we were all dealing with feelings for people that we left behind in Baytown..it just wasn't fun for 16 hours. We made it though and when we saw Jimmy and the Rockies...it was all worth it!

So, my house! I love it. Jimmy did an excellent job picking out a house for us without me! Only two issues...it's three bedrooms, not four, so our boys are sharing which is just new for us. The other is my kitchen. While it is big and beautiful, when you try to use it you realize how weird it is. There is so much walking back and forth, from one end of the kitchen to the other, it's just odd.

My very favorite thing about the house is that the garage is on the back down an alley. Only about eight of us houses share the alley so there is no traffic. The boys go outside and ride their bikes all over the place. And as long as I can see them from the window, it really doesn't bother me when they go out by themselves. I also love the windows. In Texas you can have thin windows because there is not really any extreme weather, here, the windows are thick and beautiful. Odd thing to love, I know!

My favorite thing to do is to drive my kids to school. When I pull out of my neighborhood I go up a slight hill. When I pull up to the top I see nothing but the beautiful Rockies in the distance in front of me. Oh my wow! Breathtaking! I can't wait to get my kids off to school just to see that sight!

Okay, so the schools here are different. Texas is very structured and you are always with a teacher or a parent. Here, the bell rings and everyone runs out of class and gets home how they want. My poor Kaylee on the first day, everyone else came out and she stayed back. Finally the teacher brought her out and said that Kaylee had no idea where to go. We have a meeting place now so she knows where I am. Kindergartners are more structured so James is always waiting for me on the grass.

Okay, here's a funny story. I was talking to Mrs. Kelly (Kaylee's teacher) and then this mom walks up with this boy with a small aquarium looking thing. Mom asks if it is okay for him to bring it to class and Mrs. Kelly enthusiastically tells him to bring it on in. I then ask what it is as the boy walks in and mom tells me it's a snake he found in the garden. I said "OH MY GOODNESS!! I WILL NOT BE VISITING THIS CLASSROOM!!!" Who just lets kids bring a snake to class??!! Kaylee came home and said how they let the snake out and pet it and how the boy kept it in his desk all day. Are you kidding me people?! And this morning Kaylee tells me about the tarantula they have in their classroom because they just finished learning about them. OH MY GOSH!!! So, when I picked Kaylee up today she asked if she found a butterfly if she could bring it to class. I told her that it is NOT NORMAL to just find animals and bring them to class. There has to be laws against this right?!! I now have a phobia about visiting my child's classroom!

Okay there's more but the kids are yelling and screaming (imagine this happening inside a small vehicle if you want a better idea of how my trip here went!). I must go be Supermom now and solve all their world disasters!!

Til' next time......

Moving Day!!

You know what, I have so much to say about so many things, that I'm not going to write the whole story about moving. Karen wrote about it on her blog at onetexasmama.blogspot.com if you want to check it out there...very funny! However, I will say it was soooooo much fun! Not the work, the work sucked! But the friends, the laughter..oh my goodness, the laughter! and the great fellowship (even the arguing with Hilde!) were all incredible! It made me especially sad to realize what I was going to be leaving.

One story you won't find on Karen's blog is my breakdown moment. Jen and I had started to clean out the garage. We got to the little cubby and she asked me if I wanted the two potty chairs. I told her that this was really hard and no, I guess I don't need the potty chairs. Then I started to cry...I mean boo hoo sob. Jen was so sweet and hugged me and said just remember, you can keep the memories even if you throw away the potties. I started to sob again and told her that I would miss these girls so much...then she was like oh..sooo, this isn't really about the potties right?! hahaha Poor girl thought I was sobbing over potties! Pretty funny.

Thank you so much to all of you that came, you really helped with the moving but mostly you helped make my last weekend home special!

The first set of pics is the arguing with Hilde. My favorite is the chairs. I think I had had enough of Hilde and pretty much told her where she could go and so she decided to just leave the chair there and stop helping. I laughed sooooo hard! And check out her facial expression...classic! And the one of us going out the door arguing..check out Brian laughing at us in the background.

Jen, thanks a million for taking the pictures. I am so happy to have all these memories! And I love you so much more than a potty chair!

Karen, Brian and Joseph...you guys are amazing!! Thanks so much to the Bravos...they even had the kids helping!! Kent, you are always there when my family calls...we can't wait until you come to Colorado in October!!

The kids were so great too. Sometimes helping, sometimes playing, sometimes taking breaks to check the mail. Hallie Mae had to take a nap because she was so tuckered out!

Thanks again to everyone! I miss you all already!

7 Things I Hate About....

Taking from Miley's idea (7 Things I Hate About You), I thought I would make my own list. 7 things I hate about being a single mom (even if just temporarily), moving and being being broke (because of the move!). This list is in no particular order because their importance changes depending on the day, the time of day, my mood, whatever..

1. I'm depressed! There are boxes everywhere, I have no kitchen table, my house is utter chaos and I'm feeling very unorganized. I'm telling you people...if you have mental issues, try organizing your house, I bet it will help!

2. No TV. Okay, so I thought since we are going through money quickly that I would try to save some and cut off the cable at least. It's been 2 weeks and 5 days. Jimmy joked that we should put James on suicide watch since he's the big tv fan in the house...forget James, it's me having problems! Not because I watch it, but because I put my kids in front of it. I'm all for doing creative, fun, family things with my kids but people...I need a break! I have to pack!

3. Ummm...how to put this in PC terms?? Let's just say, I'm married but not getting to use the marital bed and I'm a single mom but not getting to have any one night stands (this was nicely put by Tricia Campbell who experienced a similar issue). Even though my bed is filled with any number of little hands and feet every night...they aren't Jimmy's!

4. I'm broke. Money is just flying out left and right. It's the little things I miss. Like even going to Chick fil A so that we can have lunch and I can let the kids play on the playground for an hour. (Recurring theme here...I can't seem to get my kids away from me!!)

5. Man work. I have a husband for a reason you know...and that's other than #3. I don't mind mowing but I hate weed eating, edging and sweeping. I had to figure out the chemicals for the pool and then vacuum it out (which took me two days!) I have to bring the garbage cans back into the garage after the trash comes. I hate these jobs!! I'm all for feminism but only when it is in my favor!

6. Adult time. I miss hanging out with my husband in the time between putting the kids to bed and when I go to bed. I love my kids but it seems to be all kids all the time when you're a single mom. I know I'm doing a lot of joking here but really, being a single mom is ten times more work!

7. Okay, I don't really have a number seven. And even I'm getting tired of complaining. I know it's only for a short time and I can't wait to have this all over with and be in Colorado with my husband. We've had a couple of glitches but I know they will come to pass. I am reading Jeremiah right now and I read chapter 29, verse 11 last night. God told me that He has a plan to prosper me, not to harm me, but to give me hope. Even in the midst of this short yucky time, I know that my God is holding me and giving me the strength to make it to the end of this journey.

Keep praying for us!!