Oh hi. So much time has passed. So much has happened, yet we are the same…but completely different? This blog started out a journal of our small slice of time in England, which we left behind six months ago for the state of Texas. Now I reconvene to adjust it to where we are currently. It is still a journal, and we are in an even smaller slice of time here in San Antonio (2 years). The setting is drier, flatter, browner, and mostly full of restaurants and billboards for car accident lawyers – but let’s look closer.

A few wonderful things about Texas:

1) Family close by! We are adoring this chance to have holidays, birthdays, and an occasional Sunday lunch with our near and dear Sundem family and extended Thomas family. On Thanksgiving we all came together and feasted, sang, caught up, and admired all of the sweet and rowdy little ones that add so much joy. What a rare opportunity for us in the midst of our various locations. So grateful for this.

2) Gladys our glowup kitty. Yes, we finally got a cat. She was found in a thunderstorm, orphaned and terrified. Feisty and adorable, she eats all the spiders and bugs that are brave enough to enter our home. She also loves lounging on warm laundry and pushing things off of flat surfaces. Does she know how good she has it? Probably not, but we still love Gladys. See picture to know what a little love can do.

3) It’s always summer with two weeks of winter. Maybe. We truly got roasted when we arrived in June, and our gratefulness was tested when we arrived. However, “winter” here is lovely, comfortable, and at times, a tad chilly.

4) A chance to view the life of the ant (see Proverbs 6:6), their various 12,000+ species and types, and explore different ways of keeping them out of the house. Either Gladys has a glitch, or the ants have a certificate of immunity from felines.

5) River City Produce Co. This marvelous organization has allowed me and three friends to purchase bulk produce and split the cost, filling our fridge and freezer with various fruit and veg at a fraction of the cost of normal grocery stores.

6) Our rental house, dubbed the Wild West Wing. Each home we live in will have their own unique flavor. This one level, four bedroom, suburban house is spacious and rather…bland. Oh, I do love taking bland and making it cozy and welcoming! A constant joy in my life is homemaking. I love it so much.

7) Time. I have more time than I thought I would have here. Time to fill with whatever I want. I have been reading, embroidery-ing, baking, sewing, letter writing, and exploring as I have confidence to. All the “ings.” It has felt rather defeating (another ing”) as the chronic FOMO girl who often feels purposeless when unfilled time rolls around. However, what a gift to be able to have time to focus on things that often get overlooked – like this blog. I digress.

8) Medical appointments. Wait, this is a wonderful thing about Texas? Well, long story short, we are close to the largest and best fertility clinic in the entire military. A provision? Perhaps simply direction? All I know is that we have seen the Lord go before us, and we are nervously dipping our toes into this next step. Would appreciate prayers as we go. I don’t know how much I will share on here about this subject, as so much of grief and our journey is precious and somehow holy. Yet, I know the number of prayers for us since losing our baby 15 months ago have been more numerous than I can comprehend, so I want to update everyone as we are able.

So begins January and a fresh new year. Much love, K

My January reads: