lubbock in winter

it is freezing here. literally. i've never been so cold. i truly am a mesa girl. i hate cold. i will say though, it is sometimes enjoyable. like when we can have hot chocolate at any given time, not just at night. the first snow i've ever seen, ever. that was cool. bundling up to go watch the texas tech carol of the lights was fun and enjoyable. the kids cried literally the whole time, but jonathan and i pretty much laughed the whole time. getting to wear my warm coat i bought 7 years ago every day is fun, a little tight, but fun (fat guy in a little coat kind of fun). wrapping up in a blanket and drinking hot chocolate at 1 pm is great too. hearing christmas music and feeling like this is really what a winter is like is fun. thats all i got right now.limited time. hopefully i can post pictures of the first snow here soon. (it was gone by the afternoon, but fun all the same!!)

Lubbock in the Fall

So, a quick update from Lubbock. It is getting colder here than we are used to, but not so bad. It is coldest for Jonathan riding his bike in the early morning when it is in the 20's.

Here is us on a hay ride a month or so ago at the apple festival at a neighboring small town apple orchard. The tree ripened apples were delicous.

Carson and Cody in a tree at a park. There are so many awesome parks here that they love.

The boys went to the fair with Jonathan a while back. They went on some of the rides that they were big enough for, and even won some stuffed animals that they had unique nicknames for. Once again, it was Saturday, and the boys are all sporting their Texas Tech game day shirts. Wreck 'em Tech! Cody especially loves his "Tetsas Tet" and says this everytime he sees the double-t's which is pretty much everywhere here.

Carson, The Penitent Thief

So after dinner last night, we stopped into a bookstore to see if they had a certain book for Cherisse to read. The store had a childrens section, with a few toys the kids could pick up, play with, and beg for mommy to buy them. The main toy that the boys chose to play with, of course was the Thomas the train table with tracks and multiple trains. Carson really wanted a specific train that had a tractor scoop on it (forgive me for not knowing this train's name, but I can almost hear most of you saying it now). He asked on multiple occasions if he could have it, but of couse the answer was no. After some time we left, travelled home about 5 miles, and when we got there, Carson says, "Hey look what I just found on the floor." You guessed it, the train he wanted so bad just so happened to appear on the floor of our duplex. Nice. So, in order to get him to take it back with me, I had to tell him that a police man would come get him if we did not take it back. He went with it and we headed back to the store. I coached him along the way to the store and tried to make it as much a learning experience as possible. We get there, and at least to my credit, I find the kindest looking girl in the store for him to apologize to as opposed to the big bald security guard we passed on the way in. I don't know if it was harder on him or me, but we were both on the verge of tears. The store clerk was sweet and patient as Carson fought to get the words out clearly. After it was over, all he wanted was to be in his daddy's arms. I felt a little comforted by an old woman patting me on the back and telling me, "that's a hard lesson learned." On the ride home I asked him how he felt and he said it felt like he was sick or going to throw up while talking to the clerk, but that he felt a lot better having done the right thing. He now also assures me that he will follow how he feels inside in choosing to do the right thing.

Lubbock, Texas

Well we have officially arrived here in Lubbock after much effort and help from all of our loved ones. We thank y'all for your help and support to get us here. We have moved into our little duplex and somehow fit some of our stuff inside(some of the bigger items had to be taken to the goodwill). We have had a few surprises along the way, but the place is quickly feeling like home. Our ward is great and everyone is so nice. The boys are having a fantastic time, other than waking up early to take dad to orientation. Carson said that he felt like he was in a dream the past few days moving and what-not. Jonathan asked him if it was a good dream or a bad dream, and Carson replied, "Well, it's kinda fun, except for all these boxes everywhere." Had to be there I guess. Anyways I will try to keep you posted on our adventures here. Thanks again everyone.