It was the Best of Times, it was the worst of times

First I should say I have never read a Tale of Two Cities, but that famous quote perfectly describes the feelings associated with the past month. About a year ago, I got on this kick of reading the Old Testament. (I didn't finish reading the Old Testament mainly because the events were a bit to out there for me to understand like Noah being naked and drunk and other such things). While I was reading Genesis, I came to appreciate a never before seen lesson that I wish I would have applied better. I noticed that the Creation was deliberately planned and executed and reviewed. This formula made for perfection. Unfortunately I did not adhere to this model. Thereby making it the worst of times, but again and again we saw the hand of a loving Heavenly Father (many times in the form of friends) helping our family.

A few examples . . . Fernando's family had come out for the graduation and to help with the move. They were eager and willing to get to work to help us prepare for the big day. Fernando and I had intermittently talked about what needed to be done before the movers came and we made a guess that we wouldn't have that much work. We found a few small projects to include them in, but really didn't use them to the extent we should have. Because of our inadequate planning, we were left scrambling at the last minute with an overwhelming amount of odds and ends to do. Due to a sudden apperance of a strange rash on Tiago, we couldn't send our kids off to play for packing or cleaning day. The of the move we We realized then how foolish we were to not use the help when we had it. With all three kids, are house full of stuff not ready to be whirlwinded into boxes and into a truck, and a serious bit of grumpy feelings, our house was crazy as well as the kids. Stuck in an somewhat empty house and not having real kid fun for the past week, the kids were to their limit (or at least getting primed for more heinousness). Fortunately, a dear friend showed up to take our good but unpackable food off our hands and recognized our desperate need for help. She and her three boys became our cleaning crew. While she cleaned out the fridge, the boys followed Fernando and I around doing lots of busy work. When the boys weren't helping with house work, they entertained our kids who were in desperate need of non-mom and dad interaction. We had planned to leave early Saturday morning and didn't get finished until 8 pm, but without their help we probably wouldn't have left until the next Monday.

(one creative use Tiago found with the tape)

Another best and worst came while we were traveling. I kind of wish I kept an accurate day by day account with all the little crazy things that happened, but alas that is not my tendency. There is one event though that will always stick in my mind.
After 4 days of driving and a strange sensation that we would never make it to San Antonio, a glimmer of hope arrived as we passing the border into Texas. We made a long awaited stop at a Taco Cabana. After a delicious lunch, we walked over to the Walmart to get a few things including cough medicine for Tiago who had been hacking for some time. As we were about ready to load up and finish the last 4 1/2 hours of our trip, we wanted to give Tiago his new medicine. Locking him into his car seat to make departure quick, we gave him his dose. It stayed down for about two seconds until everything, including the Taco Cabana food came spewing forth. The poor kid was confused, disgusted, and needing a hug. I tried as quickly as possible to get him out. Luckily, we got him out before the next round started. A few minutes later we were unloading the kids to head back into Taco Cabana with a puke laced car seat, a naked and restless kid, a flamboyant Mia, and a sleepy Talia. During a bathroom break prior to lunch I noticed the exceptionally large bathroom sinks and extremely scaled hot water which is rare for almost any fast food bathroom. (I should also say, I was exceptionally clean). I can't tell you what a lifesaver this unique sink became. I was able to totally clean the contaminated car seat with antibacterial hand soap and scalding hot water so Tiago and the rest of us could finish our trip without that smell or worse. Three hours later we were ready to go again.


Finally, house hunting. We made it a matter of prayer and found that the process went fairly quick. It took us all of about 5 minutes (if that) to assess if we wanted the home, if it did or did not meet the list of needs and wants we had made. In the end, we put an offer on a home previously introduced to me months ago through a friend who moved to Texas a few years prior. The house was offered at too high of a price before, but due to an over abundance in houses and the buyer market, it finally came into reach. We had a lot of incentive since we have a small one bedroom hotel suite on base that has absolutely no room for active kids. We will be closing if all goes well on the 27th of June.