Deep in the Heart of Texas

This month celebrates the 20 year anniversary of my family moving to Texas.  At the time, it was not a move that I celebrated.  However, 20 years later and well into my 30s I have gained a whole lot of perspective.  There are so many things that I would have never gotten to experience if my parents hadn't made the difficult decision to move us 18 hours away from all of our family and friends.  Looking at the path that some of my friends took I'm not sure where I would be today.  I'd like to think that everything would have turned out well but who really knows?  I do know that I am so thankful and blessed to be where I am today. 
 

This journey started 20 years ago when I was 16 years old, the summer before my junior year in high school and the year that my parents decided to ruin my life...1992.  Love you, Mom & Dad!  I will never forget getting off the airplane at Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, TX.  To celebrate, we stopped at a Mexican restaurant (where else do you eat in Texas?) and my dad proceeded to try to embarrass me by having the waiter (who was supposedly cute, I was too mad to remember) get me balloon.  I'm pretty sure I was embarrassed which probably just made me more angry. 

The next two years were not the most pleasant.  I made friends...not very good ones so I made new ones my senior year.  Things got better but they still weren't great.  When I chose my college, I chose a school that was 1 hour and 15 minutes away because my parents' rule was that we had to go 1 hour away since we were not allowed to live at home.  I applied to one school and was accepted.  That one decision set me on the course I've been on for the last 18 years.  I had no idea how important that decision was going to be.  I just knew that the people were friendly when we visited campus and it was far enough away that I had to live on campus.  Howdy, Texas A&M University Class of 1998! 

During the next 6 years, I made friends for life.  I left all of the ones from high school behind; a good choice considering the choices I made my junior and senior year!  I found a place where I could develop into the young woman that God intended for me to be when He created me, the Texas A&M University Wesley Foundation.  I met my husband and we will celebrate our 13 year anniversary this month too!  I graduated from A&M with my undergraduate degree in English and my Masters in Counseling. 

After graduation, we moved to North Texas and have been here ever since.  Both of our families live close and our friends are even closer.  The friendships that we made at A&M have all continued here where we are now.  It is amazing to look around and see all of our good friends still right here with us.  We see them in our neighborhood, at church, at school, on vacation....they are amazing!  We are so thankful to have an amazing support system with our parents and friends who are all so close.  We have also added our two precious boys, Liam & Jax.  We also still have our first kids, our four legged kids, Lil' Jo and Rosie.  We also have an amazing church home where we are blessed over and over again. 

Now, 20 years later, I can look back and say, yes, my life in Texas is definitely something to celebrate. Thank you, Mom & Dad!

These pictures are of the skies that we have gotten see over the last few days.  I took them all from my house.  God has definitely been busy creating masterpieces deep in the heart of Texas!