~chances~
When Mike and I first came to this part of the world back in May of 2015, our original destination was a home we had picked out in Wichita Falls. When we arrived in the evening hours that day now so long ago, to our surprise the house wasn't even ready for us to move into nor would it be in the foreseeable future. With a moving truck full of our belongings, a tired old dog and a skittish cat in tow, as well as the apparent loss of our first month's rent and deposit, neither Mike or I had any idea of what to do. Luckily we could find a motel nearby that was pet friendly and so for that very first night, we made our beds there.
Upon waking up in the morning, it was obvious that living in Wichita Falls wasn't going to be in the plan after all. I remember as we sat in the car contemplating which way to go as we looked for a new house, Mike had asked me where I wanted to try to find a place. I had applied for a teaching position in two nearby communities and so when he asked me I replied that we should try Henrietta first. As Mike turned out onto the road, I suddenly had a change of mind.
It took us less than an hour really to find a house to rent here in town. It wasn't the most ideal place, but Mike and I made it work. No more than a couple of hours after we found the first house we lived in over on Bishop Road for the first 6 months, the "St. Clair Welcome Wagon" pulled up in front of the house. Sherry and Wes had already made their way over from Altus, a drive of about 75 miles into southwestern Oklahoma. We were so glad to see their friendly faces and I remember just walking over and giving Sherry the biggest of hugs. In the back of their car were dozens of starts for a garden in our backyard and enough prepared meals to last us the first week of living here in town.
All of my life my big sister had watched over me and the practice continued on that first day in late May here along the Red River. As we held hands with one another and laughed about how at long last we would be living close by, it was as if we were kids once again. The next two years promised to be filled with many happy times together before she passed away in the summer of 2017. I loved her very much and miss her so deeply still today.
Soon life will change. If the good Lord is willing, by the end of the school year Mike and I have plans to move to Newkirk, Oklahoma. Not quite 4 hours north of here, we will finally be almost home in Kansas once again. It will be a new experience for us and one that we didn't necessarily expect to happen even 9 months ago. Yet the chance came up and rather than shy away from it, we embraced it with both arms wide open.
Taking chances in life requires a ton of courage and some days I have plenty of it while others, well it's in short supply. Crawling out of bed each morning and starting the day that lies ahead is one big risk, yet we all seem to do it with little regard for what should be waiting for us in the hours that follow.
I can't wait to see where this move shall take us.
We'll keep you posted along the way.
Sherry and I on one of our very first times to enjoy lunch together when we visited Altus one day in the summer of 2015~
Upon waking up in the morning, it was obvious that living in Wichita Falls wasn't going to be in the plan after all. I remember as we sat in the car contemplating which way to go as we looked for a new house, Mike had asked me where I wanted to try to find a place. I had applied for a teaching position in two nearby communities and so when he asked me I replied that we should try Henrietta first. As Mike turned out onto the road, I suddenly had a change of mind.
"No wait a minute! Let's try Burkburnett first."And so we did.
It took us less than an hour really to find a house to rent here in town. It wasn't the most ideal place, but Mike and I made it work. No more than a couple of hours after we found the first house we lived in over on Bishop Road for the first 6 months, the "St. Clair Welcome Wagon" pulled up in front of the house. Sherry and Wes had already made their way over from Altus, a drive of about 75 miles into southwestern Oklahoma. We were so glad to see their friendly faces and I remember just walking over and giving Sherry the biggest of hugs. In the back of their car were dozens of starts for a garden in our backyard and enough prepared meals to last us the first week of living here in town.
All of my life my big sister had watched over me and the practice continued on that first day in late May here along the Red River. As we held hands with one another and laughed about how at long last we would be living close by, it was as if we were kids once again. The next two years promised to be filled with many happy times together before she passed away in the summer of 2017. I loved her very much and miss her so deeply still today.
Soon life will change. If the good Lord is willing, by the end of the school year Mike and I have plans to move to Newkirk, Oklahoma. Not quite 4 hours north of here, we will finally be almost home in Kansas once again. It will be a new experience for us and one that we didn't necessarily expect to happen even 9 months ago. Yet the chance came up and rather than shy away from it, we embraced it with both arms wide open.
Taking chances in life requires a ton of courage and some days I have plenty of it while others, well it's in short supply. Crawling out of bed each morning and starting the day that lies ahead is one big risk, yet we all seem to do it with little regard for what should be waiting for us in the hours that follow.
I can't wait to see where this move shall take us.
We'll keep you posted along the way.
Sherry and I on one of our very first times to enjoy lunch together when we visited Altus one day in the summer of 2015~
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