We were asked to shoot an apple. Not a grouping, just one. Could be any color. Any backdrop. Vague assignments are hard for me. I like having specifics. So, I did what any good student would do. I drove around with an apple in my car for several days. If I saw something, I'd shoot it. These didn't compare to the shots taken by a guy with a camera bag full of lenses, but my apple and I did OK. Now, keep in mind these are low resolution copies for the internet.
I wish I'd been blogging about our adventure in the last year, or really two for that matter. Lost my grandma. Enrolled kids in public school after homeschooling forever. Nearly lost my dad. Mike lost his job. Mike walks away from rolling his SUV. We move to Dallas. These are just the highlights. Had I been blogging faithfully, you'd have a lot more details than you could ever want. But for now, we'll talk about the move.
We are approaching six months of living in McKinney, Texas. For the most part, things have gone better than I could imagine. We sold our KC house in two months (much better than 6 months and 90 showings like last time!). The actual move was beautiful - a piece of cake. Really, I'm not kidding. It's amazing how stress-free moving can be when your new employer hires a professional moving company.
I'd say the kids are pretty much settled in their new schools. I am so proud of how they all jumped in mid-year. Their grades are great, and they have all tackled the dreaded STAAR test with success. Our new neighborhood has TONS of kids. Did I mention how many kids there are? Any given day, we will have 10 or more kids hanging out in our garage or driveway. "Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore..."
Don't get me wrong. We've had our bumps along the way, including several tears and slamming doors. One child was particularly obstinate just the other day about trying a new church. I totally understand not wanting to be the new kid...AGAIN. But I'm proud of this kid for going, and more importantly for admitting later that this church might be a better fit for our family.
Why a picture of a rainbow? We have had a lot of rainbow moments. I can think of a particularly difficult argument with a child, and when the kid stomped off and slammed the door, everything in me wanted to go retreat to my room, thankful for a break from the heated argument. But then that still small voice urged me to go upstairs. Then it urged me to knock on the bedroom door...to go to the child's bed and hold her. It wasn't immediately, but eventually I could feel her relax. The tears ceased and before we knew it we were laughing about something. A rainbow moment.
