Good bye TX and Hello MD

Texas has been my home for 32 of my 34 years.  I have lived in all over the Great State of Texas, but as a Texan it doesn't matter where in the state you are, it just matters you are in the state. I love so much about Texas.  I love how Texas are so loyal and take so much pride in the state; I love that we are the only state with our own pledge of allegiance; I love the bluebonnets and Indian Paint Brushes that spring up every April; I love our many state songs we have such as "Deep in the Heart of Texas" and "The Yellow Rose of Texas;" I love the Riverwalk in San Antonio; the Stock Yards in the Fort Worth; I love the beaches in the South and North Padre and the Strand in Galveston; I love just about everything in Houston; I love seeing longhorn grazing in pastures; and I love that cowboy hats and boots is everyday wear.  Texas has and always will be home for me in the heart, but the time has come for me to say goodbye to living in Texas.  Ed, the kids and I drove out of Texas on Thursday to head for Maryland where we will soon be calling home. I can admit that as I drove over the state line from Texas into Arkansas quite a few tears did fall.

This was my breakfast on our last day in TX.

 

This is a picture of the kids and I at the Texas/Arkansas state line.  I was hoping to find a sign that said we were leaving TX, but that was not the case.

 

Here is Nico and I at the TN state line as we drove into Memphis.

 

I had to do this!  Since my dad dragged my brother, Ninny and I all over the country to every Civil War battlefield, I now feel as if I need to do the same with my own kids.  This was on our path!

 

 



Nashville was our halfway point on one of our travel days so we stopped in Music City to have some lunch.  I love this city because it reminds me of my dad and Ninny...we had the best vacations together and I treasure those memories.

 

This was the set up for the kids for 4 days in the car.  Thankfully Daddy found dual DVD sets which hung from the headrests; what a life saver!

 

 

 

Here we coming into Virginia!!!  One more day of traveling to go!

WE MADE IT!!!!!!!!  Now to find a place to live!

 

Saying too many good-byes

The past month has been filled with saying too many good-byes and shedding more tears than I want to admit. 

We started the month of March off with a visit from my cousin Shae and her two little guys. We had such a good time hanging out and letting the kids play together. 

We found a fun photo booth at the mall!!!

 

Just days later we headed to my Dad's house down in the Valley; and of course the few pictures I did take with my camera got erased.  I left behind a lot of tears on this trip....I said my final goodbyes to my Ninny, which is was so painful to do.  I can not express how much I love this woman.  She has been a wonderful role model, a great friend, confident and the best grandma a girl could ask for!   I knew I would not be returning to the RGV for quite some time after the move, and with Ninny's health and dementia going downhill so quickly, I knew I needed to make my peace with saying good-bye to her.  I do have the peace that I will see her again....just not in this world.  She will be waiting for me in Heaven someday with open arms for the biggest hug and ready to play My Little Ponies.

 

Pops took Nico to my very first school and snapped a couple of pictures!  I thought it was so sweet.

 

The kids were so precious sharing a ride at the mall!

Since Ninny can't hear unless you are yelling at the top of your lungs, we have to write everything down for her.  This is me writing my final good bye to her.  I thought about not posting this picture but it is my true emotions during this moment and I wanted to shared just how much I love and will miss my sweet and wonderful Ninny.  I have been unbelievable blessed to have a grandma like her!

 

This is Ninny reading my message.  She could read it, but was unable to cognitively comprehend the depth of what it meant. I guess it is better this way.

After returning from Harlingen, my best friend since high school, Tara, came to visit us before we headed north! 

 

 

And there were lots of good byes to friends and co-workers....a wonderful group of ladies actually threw me a sweet goodbye party at a little wine room.   I have been so blessed in knowing the people I am leaving behind.  So many of these ladies have had a great impact on my life in one way or another. 

 

My Infertility Girls!!! Tarra, Katie, and Amber.

I will miss my sweet friend Tarra!!!

My goodbye party! 

More goodbyes from friends from work.



Ed had his own farewells with the 136th SSF in FW.  On his last day of drill Lisa and some of his troops threw him a farewell party.  

Then there was Bam...sadly, we had to say good-bye to Big Sis and Jeremy.  Thankfully Nico does not really seem to understand just how far we are moving away, but Amber does.  There were lost of tears shed at this goodbye. The next time we see her, she will be getting ready to walk down the aisle in Vegas!

 

 

Even Nico had to say his own goodbyes...here he is with his buddy Dawson on their last playdate.

 

 

And finally....there was Gigi.  Gigi came to stay with us for 6 days before we left.  She stayed home with the kids while I finished up loose ends with my job, she helped me get the house in some sort of order and ready for the packers, and most importantly, helped me stay calm.  There are not words enough to say how much the kids and I will miss you Gigi.  There was some sort of comfort knowing that if we wanted to, we could just jump in the car and drive the four plus hours to see you.   Well now Maryland is a just a plane ride away....we have to keep telling ourselves that!

Last Day at Primrose School

Nico and Natalee had their last day at Primrose this past week.  With less than three weeks until we head to the east coast, the kids are now officially "stay-at-home-with Mommy-kids!" 
 

Primrose has played a HUGE part of our lives the last 3 years. I am so grateful for the wonderful experience we have had with you all. Nico has flourished so much since starting there and I am 100% sure that his teachers have had a lot to do with who he has become!  Primrose was a wonderful school for time we needed them. There was no where else I would have wanted Nico to be during the three years he was there.  The teachers have all been amazing, the staff understanding and great at communicating and overall they have high expectations for their students. 

Nico at 19 month on his first day of Primrose.

When Nico started at Primrose, he could not talk. When Nico walked into Primrose for the first time at 19 months, he had Mrs. Cooth...she was the most loveable, positive and encouraging teacher and I feel like it was such a blessing that Nico had her for a whole year!

Nico and Mrs. Cooth

Then he had Ms. Short and Ms. Mouton....what a great team they were! I really appreciated their schedule and being able to help transition the kids so quickly, getting them ready for preschool. They did an amazing with only having Nico for 4 months.

Ms. Lunsford...she has to be one of the most fun teachers Nico has had! He also talked about how silly and fun she was! He really grew up and matured a lot in her class and I know that has a lot to do with her breaking the kids of being babied so much.

Nico and Ms Lunsford making their famous Gigi faces!

 And then Ms. Knight....what can I say? He loves her! Whatever Ms. Knight says is right. He trusts her so much and is so comfortable with her, especially since he has been with her for over a year! She has so much patience with the kids and really has a wonderful handle on classroom management! She has a heart for her students. Her and Ms. Ramiriez are a great team! Nico has grown up so much while being at Primrose and I give them a lot of credit for Nico being the incredible little boy he has turned out to be.

 

Nico and Ms Knight

 

To celebrate his last day, I brought cupcakes to Nico's class for him to enjoy with his friends.  Nico is such a social butterfly, that I think he will genuinely miss his friends, but there are new friends to be made where we are heading. After cupcakes, Nico went outside to play with the class and I spent a little bit of time with Natalee in her class.  Of course, I took some pictures of the kids in their classes on the last day!

 Pictures from the last day of school!

 Nico and his class!