Get ready Texas, here come the Valentines....

We have quite the announcement to make & no, we are not expecting another set of twins ; ) The big news is this...

the Valentine's are moving back to the 

LONE STAR STATE!

We are experiencing many emotions as we think through what it means to leave our nest in Orlando & build a new one in Dallas but trust that the Lord is leading us in this direction & will provide exactly what we need when we need it. I am at a loss to know where to start in explaining all that has happened to contribute to this decision but I will give it a fair shot this afternoon. 

Backtracking to the very beginning, here is a bit of the story of how we ended up in Orlando.  It has been a joy-filled & refining (almost) six years of serving at CCC. God has sustained us through some difficult times & blessed us abundantly with the dearest of friends who have walked alongside us through life here in Central Florida.  We have seen CCC go from 50-75 people meeting together in a high school auditorium to a steady 500+ meeting in our own building.  We have seen the Lord change hearts, strengthen marriages, grow families & reach those in the nearby communities. We have celebrated with various friends as they have gotten engaged, married & welcomed babies into their families...life moments that have changed the person I am today. There is much to be celebrate as we look back upon our time in Orlando & we are grateful for the life we have experienced here.

Our plan was to evaluate at the five year mark & consider what God might have for us as a family in the next five years. Then.... we had that surprise twin pregnancy whose due date fell just a month shy of the five year mark so we decided to push the decision back to when we might be sleeping on a regular basis ; ) Over all, since adding children to our little nest, the desire to be back in Texas near the majority of our family has slowly increased & completely maxed out through the pregnancy & first year with the twins.  After spending a few weeks over the holidays between Dallas & Houston we began discussing the possibility of moving back in another year.  In God's providence, due to some changes with Robby's job which is based out of Dallas, we were faced with the opportunity to make a decision rather quickly & have decided that the Lone Star State is the place we would like to build a new nest for our little brood.  

I can hardly believe it is happening even as a write those words but it's true....we will be Texas bound the first week of May!  It has been a wild & crazy few weeks since we arrived home from our second three week trip to Dallas & Houston.  Once the decision was made, we were in go-mode to prep the house for renting. We have packed lots of boxes sometimes at a slow pace with our four helpers....

Robby walked by & snapped that picture saying "you will love this one." He was right, I do. Precious Owen "helping" his mommy who unpacked boxes nearly six years ago in that very room hopeful that this would be the home she would bring babies home to.  The fact that God has given us Charlotte, Eloise, Owen & Anson during our time in Florida is enough to make us tear up at the drop of a hat. What a gift they are & to think that they are all Florida babies will forever be a reminder of God's faithfulness to us in a time of trusting Him as we moved far away from home.

In all our evenings where the uninterrupted packing gets done we have had lots of conversations. We did spend a late night sorting through our closet to get rid of things. It ended with the two of us sitting on the floor, beverages in hand for a good two hours talking about memories shared in our home. We laughed, we cried & we felt deep thankfulness to the God who orchestrates everything in our life for His glory & our good.

In the midst of packing (so far), we survived a good 10 days of sickness between the kids, extra shifts at work for me & Robby picking up the slack with me away. It has been crazy, not exactly super fun all the time but we are doing well & the kids don't seem to mind all the changes. Speaking of those sweet kids, when we asked the girls what they would think about moving to Dallas & living near (name any person they know & love) they were so excited for a second then Charlotte's face got really sad & she said "I don't want to move to Texas! It takes TOO long to get there!" Haha! So true...it is a stinkin' long trip & she would know as we did it twice five weeks apart! Thankfully, my parents offered to get tickets for my mom & I to fly the kids to Dallas to stay with Gaga & GGran while I fly back to drive with Rob & my Dad a couple days later. At first we were thinking it would be really special to leave as a family but then we drove in the car for 45 minutes, all the kids were screaming & we looked at each other & said "let's take them up on the offer!" I think it is a fabulous plan for all involved!

My dear in laws are welcoming the Valentine Six in their home for as long as we need upon our arrival in Big D which we are thinking will be a couple months.  At that point, we hope to find a rental home near where we lived prior to our move here. That is quite the offer to let our crew move in & we are very thankful & excited to spend time with them. I'm pretty sure Grandpa Bob is excited too considering he built a huge sandbox complete with four little seats & an umbrella the day after we said we were really coming ; ) The service of our parents is a practical way God is caring for us and our children in this time....it is overwhelming & I pray that I will have that same desire & ability to serve our children & their families when they are all grown up too.

In the in between time:

• I am on the job hunt for a full time Labor & Delivery position in Dallas
• We are keeping the house spic & span so we can load up our wagon & go for a walk if we get a call saying someone would like to see the house
• Boxes are being packed & check lists are being checked
• The house is getting painted thankfully not by us
• We are scheduling in time with those we will miss dearly when we leave
• We are processing, processing, processing
• We are answering questions daily from two sweet girls like "is my bed coming with us?" "What about Bella, can she come?"
• I feel sad, excited & exhausted at many points throughout each day
• I struggle to trust God will meet every need we have & provide for all things to be completed in the right time
• I then laugh when I throw a "fit" about job application issues only to receive an email the very next minute confirming a phone interview the following day...God knows & he provides...always.

ALL that to say, I'm guessing it makes sense as to why I am still writing posts about the boys birthday, each of them at one year old (good news, they are still one), meeting my newest precious niece Olivia etc etc. All in due time, they will be published ; ) 

For now, please pray for us in this time of transition as we say farewell to friends & family here & reunite with others in Texas. My friend Annie had a shirt on the day I shared our news with her & it had the lyrics to an old hymn called "Soldiers of Christ, in truth arrayed."

I almost broke down & cried right then & there when considering the friends that we have sent on their way along with saying goodbye to our friends here.  I will close with the words that touched my heart that morning. 

"We meet to part but part to meet, 

when earthly labors are complete.

To join in yet more blest employ

in an eternal world of joy."

Our first Rodeo

I am WAY behind on blogging which drives me crazy! My excuse is that I am just now fully recovered from our road trip to Texas one & a half weeks later & I ran out of space on my hard drive so I have to delete to load new pics...also driving me crazy, and three out of my four are sick....not driving me crazy but making me tired. That said, let's take it back to March 6th, just two days shy of the Buckaroos turning one. We thought, "where can we get the most western experience (in the city) & celebrate those sweet lil' cowboys?"

Why yes, the....

A little history: 

• it's been around for over 80 years
• the livestock show is the largest in the world 
• the first star entertainer was Gene Autry in 1942
• the community school "Rodeo Art" program began in 1963- we participated in our own school Rodeo Art competitions growing up. I remember drawing or painting lots of bluebonnets & never winning.
• in 2013, the rodeo attendance hit 2.5 million which is more than the amount of people residing in the city of Houston itself
• utilizes 28,000 volunteers to make the three week long excitement possible. My brother Scott's friend Logan was working at the Mutton Bustin' grounds....that's where I would want to be.
• the Ellis fam (or at least myself) have seen Reba McIntire, Wynona Judd, Alan Jackson, Vince Gill, Steve Miller Band, George Strait, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill over the course of many rodeos & various others I'm sure I cannot remember. 

I could hardly wait to take the family & thanks to my parents, we were treated to RodeoHouston all cowboy'd up with our boots!

At Christmas time my mom had bought the cutest fabrics to make the kids something to wear with their boots & we being the procrastinators we are, we spent the eve of Rodeo Day sewing like maniacs until after midnight! Boy oh boy did the Fab Four look cute in their new attire....it made the bags under our eyes worth it ; ) For the little guys, we decided on dyeing a couple onesies with tea bags so they were not so bright & then picked an embroidery pattern with their names, a #1 in honor of the upcoming first birthday topped with a cowboy hat. They turned out cute! Part way through putting the girls tops together I remembered how much Charlotte HATES bows in the back of her dresses/tops & I already knew that she equally hated 3/4 sleeve tops but we kept moving along anyway. The next morning she of course had a meltdown about how the sleeves were too short & the bow hurt her etc etc etc.  We had a long conversation that resulted in Charlotte requesting that I write her a "list" that said "Put your dress on & don't throw a fit about it!" She told me that if she started whining I could show her the "list" to remind her. Hahahaha! My she is maturing as she nears her 5th birthday! Anyway, she put it on & by the time we were at the Rodeo, she was too busy having fun she never uttered a complaint!

First stop, the kids carnival which I have fond memories of. It was absolutely SO much fun to have my parents & brothers with us!

Paw Paw or Annie fans might have referred to him as "Daddy Warbucks" was shelling out dollars right & left for tickets, pony rides & ice cream...anything those sweet granddaughters wanted ; )

Elo rode Shadow,

Char rode Trigger who proved to be a stubborn little pony,

while others watched..

Next stop MUTTON BUSTIN' which might have been my favorite part!  For those of you who are unaware of a competition of this sort, it is basically a small kid hanging onto a running sheep for dear life. The longer they stay on, the higher their score. I wish I had video recorded of the kids that participated. Char was declaring that she wanted to enter but we encouraged her to watch first so she could make an informed decision.  Good thing she did....her eyes looked like they were about to pop out of her head when the first kid/sheep pair flew out of the gate! Maybe next year ; ) It was definitely fun to watch!

some real live "mutton"

After that, the girls convinced me to ride the mini snake roller coaster with them. It was Eloise's first official roller coaster ride & like her sister (& mama) was hooked! I was actually kind of nervous as we got moving & I looked over the front of the car & saw how it was put together...how trustworthy are those carnival rides anyway? We survived, had lots of smiles & lots of double chin pictures of myself.  Thankfully there was one where it was a little less noticeable ; )

First time on the tea cups....SO glad they didn't need an adult chaperon for that one!

We caught the pig races & could not stop grinning when Eloise was chosen to wave the flag for our section & root for the orange pig.  Our little piggy won & Eloise got a pig nose to commemorate the big win!

All the boys minus Daddy Warbucks...

That picture was taken right before Owen lost one of his boots. Thankfully they found it after a quick search! After plenty of outdoor time we headed inside & got in line for ice cream. Eloise was getting a little worn out by this point & was quite upset when Gaga did not get gummy bears on her Hawaiian Blue ice cream. I think it looks like Eloise is making her request known in the next picture ; )  Gaga redeemed herself in Elo's book when she got her a cup of gummy bears on the side.

I had another one of those twin conversations with a woman in the bathroom that left me smirking. I have no problem with the attention that the twins draw & the questions that come with them. Anyone who knows me is aware of my ability to make friends with a statue so talking with strangers is right up my alley ; ) Back to the conversation though. It started similarly to others...

Stranger: "Are they twins?"
Me: "Yes ma'am."
Stranger: "Both of them?"
Me: "Yes ma'am." (trying not to laugh as I heard in my head "Are those your ski's, both of them?" from Dumb & Dumber"
Stranger: "How old are they?"
Me: "They will be one on Saturday."
Stranger: "Both of them?"
Me: "Yes." (laughing inside thinking "did she really just say that?" Haha!

The best part about that conversation was that the woman behind her had a container of chocolate milk in her hand (in the bathroom which kind of grossed me out) but, I was on a hunt for milk for two hungry buckaroos who we had just transitioned off of formula. I said excitedly "Where did you get that???" since I had looked all over. Her reply "right next to the birthing center." Ha! How appropriate to have milk next to the birthing center! By the time we got there the boys were SCREAMING their heads off & all were laughing as I ran up with my money, bought two containers of milk (not chocolate) & poured it into their bottles right on the counter. They were happy within seconds!

Once my babes were content, I went to see the other new babes. I was alone at this point since the girls were wandering around with my parents & my brothers were talking to Rob. There was a couple brand new baby lambs that had been born the day before weighing 4 & 5 pounds....close to the little buckaroos this time last year! Maybe I would rather volunteer in the birthing center since I at least know how to deliver human babies....how different can it be? ; )

and then there were a couple mama pigs with 10 piglets each...I thought I had it rough nursing two babies ; )
Speaking of those two babies, they are like parakeets we say. When we want them to go to sleep we just throw a blanket over the front of the stroller & they are out! Thanks to GGran & her handy quilting skills, we fit right in with our western fabric!

The girls were pleased to find a petting farm with plenty of goats, pigs, sheep, a llama & even a kangaroo!

Charlotte's favorite part was two baby goats (twins she said) that were nibbling on her dress. Her giggle was absolutely precious as they tried to eat her Rodeo attire.

When Paw Paw spotted another pony ride, he rounded up his little ladies & got them ridin' again!

Dinner was grab & go with some Chick-Fil-A nuggets for the little ones & a "Cowboy Burrito" for the rest of us that was BBQ meat, potatoes & cheese in some tasty shell.  Paw Paw fed Gaga & Gaga fed everyone else ; )

Some Elsie the cow milk was enjoyed by all under four feet tall...

 Uncle Kyle was tough enough to brave a spinning dino ride AFTER dinner....I should have paid him money.

Me & my partner in crime...that is if you consider sewing past midnight a crime ; )

I love this last one. Eloise was SO tired by the end of the evening & had to hitch a ride on her person of choice....

We walked a LONG way to get to the top floor of the arena for the start of the Rodeo. Our seats were great though on the front row of our section with the first 10 seats & no one to climb over. I greatly enjoyed this with my typical 5 trips to the bathroom per hour with four small children. I always joke with Robby that I can't wait for the boys to be potty trained & we can divide & conquer. By that point the girls will be fully capable of lining their seat with toilet paper, wiping & flushing with their foot without assistance while I stand outside & guard the door. I will have it made ; ) I had to check our stroller at guest services so my mom & I ergoed the boys & sweet baby Anson promptly threw up nasty green squirty packet dinner down the front of my shirt. I cleaned up as well as I could but smelled it the rest of the night...GROSS!

We lasted just over an hour enjoying the bull ridin', calf ropin' & general feel of the Rodeo before Eloise was ready to jump off the balcony...oh wait, maybe that was me & Rob ; ) Everyone was happy to leave so we trekked back over to get the stroller & took the elevator down...seriously, where was that darn elevator when we were headed to the north pole? We made it back to the tram ride where O & A had our row chuckling on the way back with their back & forth giggles & waving. Our car ride was quiet but that was because Gaga & Paw Paw had Eloise in their back seat. She is a chatterbox in the car & talked their ears off for about 40 minutes before falling asleep!

What an incredible day at the Rodeo enjoying all things Texas, especially the Ellis family. The girls are still talking about it & Elo is still calling it the "Rode-E" & I am going to let it continue because it is that cute. 

Celebrating Lisa & Euan

Our family had an exciting reason to head back to Texas for a few weeks & it was to see this lovely couple say "I do"...

I have known Lisa longer than any other friend & she is quite dear to me for many reasons. We moved in next door to each other on my 8th birthday & were inseparable until the day we left for college. There are countless videos of silly choreographed dances that are to be viewed only by a select view and an immeasurable amount of memories of our growing up years...she is a special girl. She stood up with me as my Maid of Honor when I got married & I was honored to share in her special day nine years later. She & Euan met in high school, went on a couple dates then reconnected a couple years ago.  They got engaged the day Owen & Anson were born which provided for a sweet conversation when Lisa called to tell me her happy news while I shared mine : )

Flashback to 2004 when I was engaged woman, Lisa & her mom hosted a bridal shower for me & ordered a cake from a bakery nearby. It was a brilliant idea gone wrong with five mini Barbie doll's stuck into the cake with icing as their dresses.  They quickly picked up another cake before the shower began & waited for the festivities to be over before the big reveal of the original cake. We laughed so hard we cried! My mom saved the little dolls & over the years my brothers have surprised me by putting them in a birthday cake.  I could not pass up the opportunity to bring back a bride cupcake so I made a pit stop at a fancy cupcake shop & bought the "Wedding Cake" flavor, shoved that little beauty into the middle, pushed the icing up to make her look like she had on a strapless gown & brought her home to my mom who had made a mini veil. She was adorable when completed & rode in my lap on the way to the rehearsal Friday afternoon. What a good laugh we had when Lisa opened the box!

The rehearsal was held at 2 in the afternoon which proved to be really relaxing & fun. John had a great time practicing giving his daughter away...

and these two were stylish in their boots...

After the rehearsal, a few of us plus the beautiful bride to be headed over to the salon for some mani/pedi bonding time followed by cupcake eating in our hotel room downtown. We freshened up & were ready for dinner at Pappasitos.  My sweet husband braved the traffic & arrived an hour & twenty minutes after leaving my parents house...it was good to have him there & he fit right in with his cowboy boots. Dinner was delicious & we had a wonderful time catching up with my best buddies from growing up & their husbands.

Four of our hubbies left dinner to play darts & catch up while the wives that were left enjoyed some sopapillas & laughs. It was a treat to have my children being taken care of by my parents & Rob while I was spoiled spending Friday afternoon till late Saturday night away.  I spent the night in a hotel room with Natalie who has three kids of her own. She was speaking my love language when she pulled out a noise machine & asked if it was okay if she turned it on for the night ; ) We were SO excited to get a full nights sleep without interruption by little people! We slept great but thanks to all those years of early rising as a nurse coupled with parenthood, Natalie's internal alarm woke her up by 5:30am & mine by 7am. It did feel great though to lay in bed for as long as we wanted....don't get to do that often!

Saturday was filled to the brim with preparing for the wedding that evening. Lisa gave us all some adorable lightweight robes with our monogram on them. They were perfect to wear while getting ready...

Me, Laura, Lisa, Kristen & Natalie

The group pictured above has many years together as friends. Lisa, Laura & I lived on the same street from the summer before 3rd grade through high school & we banned together with Kristen & Natalie when we started at Kingwood Middle School in 6th grade. Talk about ridiculousness.....we were some silly girls that always had a good time! It was really special to spend the weekend with them after being away from Texas for nearly six years & missing out on many get togethers.  I love them.

Instead of individual programs, they had this displayed:

I wish I had that in my house! How cute!  The style of decor & the essence of the venue was just perfect for the day.  I surprised Lisa with a "Mrs. Shiach" hanger for her bridal gown without knowing that she was planning to surprise the bridesmaids with our own hangers....great minds think alike!

All the bridesmaids plus Lisa's nieces getting ready...

Everything she chose was so beautiful! Her gown, bridesmaid dresses, jewelry, garter..the list goes on & on!

and more beautiful than everything was the bride herself.

and the four of us....

Euan, the groom of that beautiful bride is from Scotland & they incorporated the music & traditional dress for the men into their special day so well. The bag piper played as many were seated & then again when the bride entered. It was an incredible sound that was enjoyed by all!

I (of course) do not have pictures during the ceremony since I was up front with the lovely bride & groom. Lisa asked me to sing & I was delighted to say yes.  She assigned me the choice of song with her approval & I decided on a song by JJ Heller called "Where I Land." I LOVE IT. The words are beautiful & ended up being challenging to sing without my voice disappearing because the tears were about to start flowing!  It didn't help that I could see my crying mama & then when I glanced at Lisa, I was overcome with emotion. I thought for a moment "Should I just toughen up & act like I don't know this person so I can avoid being emotional?" but was quickly reminded that emotion is beautiful & should be felt to the max...especially with a friend as special as Lisa. So I survived the song but the last verse is really what got me...

It goes like this:

and when the years have stolen youth away, I will stay, 
and you will be the keeper of my heart until my final day. 
I am lost for words, you're more than I deserve, 
and when I cannot stand, you are where I land.

I feel choked up even typing them at this moment.  There is such joy on the day you promise your lifetime to be spent with another. Over day to day life, changes, stress, children, the excitement felt in the moment of saying "I do" is not always there but when the commitment to remain faithful to the other person  is kept, God rewards a husband & wife with such a deeper joy & love for one another. Thinking about how years steal our youthful look & energy away, I look back on our mere nine years of marriage, four small children & think about the toll that has been taken on my body (and energy level) thus far & have to smile.  I think about how many times over the pregnancy with the twins that I could not stand either emotionally or very literally, could.not.stand. & how Robby was my landing place. The Lord's design in marriage is such a gift & the example we have in the way Christ loves the church should spur us on to love each other well. We pray that God will continue to keep us close to one another & the keeper of each others hearts until our final days.

What a lovely evening it was celebrating with family & friends! It was special to have my parents & brothers with us..

The reception was spectacular with the best wedding band I have ever heard. We actually thought it was a recording until we realized they were playing right behind us. Lisa & Euan looked in love & happy all evening which made all on-lookers smile...

oh those kilts....they were awesome..

Our table was a fun place to be...

Gabe, Natalie, Laura, Patrick, Me, Rob, Kristen & Daniel

My brothers were seated with us & my parents were at the table next to us.

One last picture that I just love is of me & my parents with Kristen & her parents ALL laughing. There was a lot of laughing that evening which is something that should be at every celebration : )

All said & done, the wedding went off without a hitch, it was beautiful, fun, sweet & everything they hoped it would be! The happy couple is now honeymooning in St. Lucia for the week which I thought of often as I was trapped in a car for two days with four small children while driving back to Florida ; ) God is so good to give us what we need exactly when we need it. We are delighted for the happy couple to be beginning their life together as we are equally delighted to be where we are now. Here's to years together!