The Big Move

I was dreading June 20th.  The thought brought me to tears and still does.  I'm sitting in my Houston house reliving all those feelings of having to leave our home in NC.  Those were not good feelings, but the people around us were good enough friends to keep me smiling.
 June 19th we had a girls night at our usual place.  There were 7 of us (I think) and we ate dinner then got ice cream.  I didn't want the night to end, but it did.  I knew in the back of my mind I still had some packing to do.  But all my friends said they would come see me off Friday morning.  I have the best friends.

We couldn't have moved without the help of Josh.  God sent him our way 9 years ago when I taught him in 2005 and B mentored him.  And he was on leave for 1 weeks only and it was the week before we moved.  Josh came over every day and helped us move, repair, pack and anything we needed.  He was a true blessing for us.  He stayed with us until 1:00 am Thursday night/Friday morning helping B pack.  He had to return to camp Legume Friday so we said our goodbyes at 1am and I cried again.

Friday morning we woke up at 6 and tried to get anything else we hadn't already packed.  B packed up the van with our traveling stuff and then he had to get the shed in the backyard.  Our visitors started at 8:30 with the Daniel family.  I wish I had gotten pictures with everyone who came but I did not.  At one point we had so many kids running in our house, it was really nice that it was empty. 

We loaded up the kids and then walked through our home one last time.  We stood in each room and prayed over the room for the new owners.  We both cried.  Especially in our bedroom and the kitchen.  So much love in our little sweet house.  So many good times and great memories.  We've squeezed lots of people into our house over the years.  Our four babies brought home to this house.  Our sweat went into getting this house fixed up.  Just sad.

We started our 3 day journey to our new city by stopping in ATL with Chris and Heather.  We won't be seeing them as much either because we won't be going through there.  At least we will have Easter!  Our next stop was Hattiesburg, MS at my mom's house.  It was Saturday and they wanted to take B out to dinner for 2 reasons: 1. his graduation and 2. Father's Day.  We went to Movie Star restaurant and ate with AC and her friend Jenny.  The food was yummy and even all the kids liked it as well.  After dinner we went home for bed.  Sunday we did not go to church.  I think we left around 9 or 10, and headed to Texas.  We did not have the keys yet for our rental so we stayed with Anna and Paul for the first week.  Their kids were at T Bar M camps so it was sort of nice, just having their house without tons of kids.  B had to work, so I let the kids swim, fed them, watched TV.  It felt like vacation a little.  We finally got all the paperwork turned in and got the keys.  Our truck came with all the stuff on Friday so we unloaded it (B and Paul really).  It took them 3 hours to unload it, but we worked all weekend and didn't even put a dent in the unpacking phase.  I still have boxes that need to be opened and unpacked.  This is going to take a while.  We had a few casualties during the move.  Broken plates, glasses, and the biggest was my dresser.  I got a new dresser from IKEA that took us over 5 hours to put together, but it's done now, and I actually really like it.  However, it doesn't match the other furniture in our bedroom.  All in all we are making progress, but each day when we sit down for dinner, I miss our hold house.  I pray for favor over our new house as we attempt to make it our home.

Father's Day 2014

  B's wish for his father's day this year was to have a sleepover at J/K's house.  We've had many a sleepover with the Gillams and some of our best memories are at 2 am watching TV on their sofa.  How could I say no?

 We packed up our sleeping stuff and headed over to his house for a typical fish fry/cookout and then sleepover.  Keith has pretty much perfected his fried fish and I absolutely love it.  He also fries wings and grills hot dogs for the kids.  Jen usually makes mac and cheese and I bring sides and dessert.  This was a normal Hantla-Gillam get together.  K's mom was in town so she joined in too.  

After dinner we all piled on the sofa to watch Hotel Transylvania.  It was a super cute movie. The kids liked it and I'm pretty sure all the adults did too.  Jen popped popcorn for the movie too.  All 5 big kids slept in Lexi/Bree's room this time since K's mom was there.  E slept in J/K's closet and we slept on the sofa.  I for some reason didn't get good sleep that night, but don't really know why.  Strange. 

Sunday morning we woke up and had a great breakfast made by Jen and Gigi.  The kids ate almost all the pancakes so J had to make more.  We headed to church where CRF had props for dad pictures too.  After church we headed home for lunch and naps.  Then instead of staying in for dinner, we met J/K at Crazy Fire Mongolian Grill for dinner.  Keith was flying out Monday morning for work to Philly and wouldn't be back until after left for TX.  Saying goodbye in the parking lot was sad and I cried knowing that I would not see Keith again.  I don't think B cried but I know he was sad.  They are such close friends.  I mean, what 30 year olds (and 6 kids) have sleepovers together?  When they left our small group, I was nervous that our friendship would stall like other couples, but it didn't one bit.  We consistently saw them 1-2 times per week for either food, church, or just hang-out times.  I will miss them so much!

Easter 2014

Our annual Easter trip is always the high light of my spring.  That's one good thing I can say about moving to Houston(at the moment) is that we will be closer to Hammond, LA.  In the past 10 years, we've only missed once and that's when I was pregnant with W and we were due the week after Easter.  Easter was so late that year.  We stayed here though and went to J/N house for our own egg hunt and celebration.

We left Wednesday afternoon around 3:15.  B checked R out of school and I left a few minutes early to get home and get ready.  I packed mostly everything the night before so just the cooler needed to be packed for the car.  We stayed with C/H in ATL Wednesday night and it's always fun to see them.  We got into their house late though (around 9:00) so the kids did not stay up long.  Us adults, stayed up for a while talking, but not too late since both C and H had to work the next morning.  We left their house Thursday morning and made it into Hattiesburg Thursday early afternoon.  We skipped naps and instead, went to the mall to take a picture with the Easter Bunny (our yearly tradition).  After that, we went back to Gram's house for spaghetti where Ryan and Ashley met up with us.  The kids were very excited to see A/R.  They are getting so much older and are turning out to be really good kids.

Friday morning Deane and baby Ryan came over for a visit.  It was great to hang out with them.  The last time we saw Ryan was when he was 8 weeks old.  He's a chunk of a kid though.  He's expecting a little brother or sister during December so I know that will be exciting!  While we played with Deane and Ryan, Chris/Heather drove into Hattiesburg on their way to Hammond.  The 3 cars caravan to Uncle Charles' house (the Bryants, Hantlas, DeDeauxs).  I don't remember what time we got to Hammond but it was just great to be there with family.  B's family wasn't far behind.  P/A/A/K/M came over and soon after, M/M/L/E/A arrived.  B's parents got there pretty late Friday, but they made it and it was great.  Wish C/J/L/A could make it one year but not as long as they live over seas.

It's hard for me to really document what Easter is like at my Uncle's house.  This year, like always, we had tons of food, drinks, sweets, and laughter.  The kids played football and soccer in the back yard.  There was a DJ that came this year and played at interesting mix of music for us.  I remember one song being all about 'booty'.  He started playing 1 song about drugs or getting high so we quickly let him know that that wasn't a good choice.  The annual kids against the adults softball game was played and GLupe

hit the first ball.  Lloyd ran for her this year with his beer in hand (as expected).  I think I knew where only E was the whole day as the old 3 ran off and played.  It's pretty much my favorite day of the year.  We are outside 99% of the day and in the sun, shade, wind, you name it.  Whatever the weather, we have a good time.

On Saturday after the group picture, we made our way to Hattiesburg so we could get an easier start for the long drive back to NC.  My mom made us a great lunch for the car so we didn't have to stop for as many meals.  We left her house at 7:00 and got home at 10:00 which makes for a 14 hour drive. That was the last time we will make that drive on Easter Sunday (for a while at least).

I know our big family reunion takes away from the celebration of JC's death and resurrection.  I'm trying to think of ways to incorporate that more into our weekend festivities.  Now that we are a little closer, we can actually attend church on Easter Sunday with the family.  That will make me happy.

Ell turns 1

Ell's birthday was a little over-shadowed by B's graduation but we still celebrated her.  May 16th was a Friday and I was home from work so she opened gifts before going to Kristen's house.  She got a few outfits, a baby-doll, and a monkey.  Of course she wasn't really sure why were were excited and singing to her, but she was happy about her baby doll.  While at Kristen's house, she had a cupcake and loved it!  Later at our house she had a piece of graduation cake and a lot of watermelon.

Here are her stats:

Noelle
18 lbs 10 oz
10th percentile
Walked on May 13th (Tuesday)
Loves pancakes and fruit
Enjoys the attention from her siblings
Wears size 3 diapers
Has 6 teeth (4 on top 2 on bottom)
Blonde hair and blue eyes
Still rides backwards in the infant carrier

Dr. Hantla

I'm married to a Dr.  I knew before we got married that this was Bryce's goal and I'm so proud of him for achieving it!  He's spent a lot of time in classes, reading books, writing papers and attending conferences, but it's over (for now).  He received his E.d. D from SEBTS in Wake Forest, NC.  In 3 years he completed his classwork and defended his dissertation and graduated on May 16th.  The festivities started on Thursday with an alumni breakfast and then open house at Dr. Aiken's house for graduates.  B had a 2 hour graduation practice in between so I went to Sam's Club with Paul/Vicki to buy food for the cookout. Here's Thursday morning before the breakfast.

 Friday morning was the graduation ceremony and all attended except E.  Kristen kept E for us since she would have been loud and too much to handle.  I sat between the boys and R sat with P/V in the row in front of us.  B's group was 2nd to last to receive their hoods, and B was 11th to the end.  When B was announced and went across, I let the kids stand on the benches to wave at him.  He waved back and grinned.  They were excited as was I.

B has worked so hard and deserved this recognition.  We had somewhere between 50-60 guests come by Friday for the celebration.  It was come & go and started at 3:00 pm.  I loved having everyone over to visit.  I wish my parents could have come, but I know it was a long trip for just 1 day.  It's funny to me to think about 6 years ago when B graduated from NC State with his masters and I was pregnant with R.  We had the same type of cookout at our house and a lot of the same visitors.  It just shows how deep our roots are in NC. 

mothers day 2014

My day right?  Mother's day is to honor and celebrate moms and I embrace the love and attention.  I know one day my kids will be gone with their own families and R & E will be moms (maybe) so right now I will soak it all up.  This year B did good and got me flowers with the kids.  I was so happy!

We went to church like normal and then came home for a picnic lunch at the pool.  It was our first time to swim this season and the water was cold.  I sat with E most of the time but I enjoyed watching B swim with the 3 bigs.  They jumped off the diving board and swam to the side.  I knew that our time was coming to an end at that pool so I wanted to soak it all in.  After rests, we went out for ice cream and at it at the park.  My idea of a perfect day!

Proverbs 31: 28-29 Her children rise up and bless her; Her husband also, and he praises her, saying: "Many daughters have done nobly, But you excel them all."…

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