Little bit of this...

...and a little bit of that. Sadly, I'm falling behind on my blogging- I do apologize. We're getting buried in the busyness of the day it seems! But I felt a little obligated to poke my head in the Chronicles door to at least keep you posted on what we've been up to lately. Although it's not quite as glamorous as you might have been waiting for, I'm afraid. I think I'm feeling another list blog today, so here goes...

1) Still unpacking. I feel like this is the story of my life. I know it will come to an end one day, and we still haven't even been here a whole month (although that will be next week), but I wish the boxes would disappear. It's coming together more and more, though. Most of the problem is we started over on some of our spaces and don't have the proper containers and homes for the organizational end of it. So we still have some boxes of stuff that don't have a place to go yet. For example, merging Chris's church office stuff with our personal business stuff to make an office space we did not previously have. And merging two children's rooms together into one room, which means stuff galore!

2) Mac is coming along as well. He can still be quite the little stinker, but he's sleeping pretty good at night and starting to scratch at the door to go outside (not 100% of the time, but we're getting there). He loves to play, and he also loves to chew/bite anything he comes across. Including feet when you're walking. Annoying. We're working on that. The kids just love him to pieces. And he definitely got oooed and ahhhed over when he went to the vet cause he's just so darn cute.

Can't believe he's already grown so much if you look at the pic like this I just posted when we got him! He is unbelievably difficult to photograph. It's so rare that he is still!

3) Haven't ventured out anywhere really amazing because we've been so busy, but I did have an experience by myself at a grocery store called Central Market. Or should I say grocery extravaganza. It was incredible- I've never been in a food store quite like that. I think I mostly just wondered around gawking at everything. And I came home with things like Blueberry Peach butter, fresh chicken sausage with feta cheese and spinach (they were green links-pretty gross looking but ended up being yummy), and a frozen sorbet made from real chamomile and other wild flowers. Just to name a few. And it's in a the middle of a super swank shopping street lined with palm trees and fabulous stores. A little further than the closest grocery store, but totally worth it for the experience. I should take this opportunity to say how much I love our location, because we're not that far away from things like this.

4) The weather is crazy. Word on the street is that it's much hotter already than it usually is. Of course it is. It's because we're here! It's suck the life out of you hot. But it's also been raining a ton, which is different for us. Tropical weather is interesting, because everything's all hot and sunny and then BAM- showers pop up out of nowhere, dump a bunch of rain, and then it's gone. And then it's 100 degrees and steamy, so it doesn't do much to cool things off. And there's a possible hurricane coming- much earlier than usual, they say. Of course it is. It's a different world here- definitely perking our ears up at hurricane talk now! Bracing ourselves for torrential downpours over the next few days and praying we don't live in an area that floods!!

5) And speaking of the crazy weather, we are sure hoping the rain doesn't put a damper on our big holiday plans- literally! We are having a 4th of July party at our house and inviting anyone from the church who wants to come. A little pressure to get our house together, but it's probably a good thing so we can get it in gear! We were planning on having the pool all ready and doing a big cookout outside, but with the massive rain expected through the week and even through the weekend, we'll see I guess! Either way it's party time at the Pates and I'm excited!

6) Here's a little peek of some fun things I'm gathering for our new dining room. I think it's going to be my favorite room :) Items in this room will include a refinished (by me) mirror and hutch from my Grannie, H-town thrift store finds, that super cool frame from Target, and fab-u-lous Ikea fabric that kind of inspired the whole room, to name a few.

7) We took the kids to see Toy Story 3 Sunday night. It was such a good movie! It was good timing for perspective on my part, because the boy from the first two movies was all grown up and going to college. I just cried like a little baby because I felt like my babies got older by the end of that movie. Like I will blink and their hands will no longer fit inside of mine. Childhood is such a precious and wonderful time, and with all the craziness that's been going on the past couple of months it's been very hard to just enjoy moments with them and appreciate those sweet childhood days. So I needed that reminder.

8) Continuing to have great services on Sundays. We have hit the typical summer attendance slump that most if not all churches go through. People taking vacations and such. That's pretty tough when you are already small, but despite that there is still a lot of excitement and good things happening. We've got some plans for the summer, and we're praying like crazy and listening for strategy. It's a little overwhelming when you think about your part in reaching a city of millions of people, but there's something about being so out there (like on a limb out there) that's exciting. Refreshing. And really hard work! So keep those prayers coming! This is going to be a good story.

Well, it's about time to call it a night. Which, incidentally, does not happen until at least one these days. Chris had a good analogy describing this season: It's like a rocket taking off- it takes the most fuel, effort, and energy just to get it off the ground. It's hard work launching this big rocket, but we're believing that once it gets off the ground, the sky's the limit! And hopefully I'll be around on the blog a little more and maybe you'll get a little more about what's in our hearts right now along with the pitiful attempts to lob information your way just so you know we're alright :) If you're not family it's probably hardly worth the effort to click on the page and read! Sorry about that- this is the fruit of one very exhausted person trying to keep up!

Peace out from the Pate house.

Discovering Discovery Green

About to tie the bow on the package of another week. Still some boxes to unpack. But lots of life is happening instead of having the time to unpack, so it's a trade I will make any day. We had some lovely people visit our home this week. Building relationships is the name of the game at this stage, which is great for us because spending time with people just so happens to be one of our favorite things :) There are truly great people here, and we can't know them fast enough.

Spending time with people is the major upside. The other stuff-the nonstop details to take care of, crafting a church service filled with excellence, files and files of seven years of history, things (mostly technological) not working right, learning new programs, trying to make running a church out of a room in your house work and not enough hours in the day- kind of stuff- well, that's the emotional roller coaster side. Good moments and super challenging, overwhelming moments. We are so grateful for all of the prayers and support of family and friends, and we can only say- keep it coming! This is hard work! And absolutely worth it.

So back to the title of my post- last night we had a little outing as a family. It's so good for us to get out and do stuff like that, because we fall more in love with the city every time we're out in it (yes, even in the traffic and ungodly heat), so it's great for encouragement and perspective. It's just a cool place to live with fun things to do :) Plus my husband needs a break! What made the evening even better was the family from church that has the kids I have mentioned before met us there. So glad to spend some time with them! I'm not going to post all of the pictures I took (and most of you that read this saw them on Facebook already I'm sure), but I'm posting the link that will take you to the Facebook album. Discovery Green park was a super hip place. As we were eating outside in the middle of this beautiful background, I said to Chris: "I can't believe we actually live here." Like it's not a vacation. But things like Discovery Park are in our city.

And I'm going to leave it at that. I digress- I'm so tired that I can barely string two thoughts together. And too bad, because I was in such a mood to wax poetic about our experience.....yesterday.....but now I'm done. And we have our most awesome service at City Life Church in the morning, so a few hour's sleep at least is needed.

Peace out from the Pate house.

Click here to view the pictures...

A Little Catching Up...(Joyful Part Two)

So now that Laborious Part One is over, I'd like to focus on more lovely things. Just going to do this in list form, in no particular order...

1) Our neighborhood. I am loving our area. Went for a little jog in it the other morning, and I was noticing that every yard was so nice. We are five minutes from an awesome shopping center that has almost everything we need. We are closer than five minutes to other essentials like our bank, McDonalds (essential, yes?), etc. We are also close to the church, which is super nice. Feels like we can get the heartbeat of the area we're trying to reach.

2) Our home. It's shaping up, though slowly, to become less boxes and more home. And I have the kind of grass I've only dreamed about in white picked fence kind of dreams. Like you can walk barefoot and squish it between your toes kind of green, lush grass. Happiness. And of course, pictured below is a feature we are particularly enjoying :)

This is the view from the covered patio. It's fabulous.

Cadence always taking note of when the camera is out :)

A view of the front yard, although the green is so much greener in real life

3) Mac. Make no mistake- he is as cute, if not cuter, than the pictures show. But he is also a handful! When we went to the house to pick out which puppy we wanted, he was the one that immediately came right up to the kids and started playing. So what choice did we have, right? He is feisty. He is smart. He is already potty training pretty good and sleeping pretty good. He will chew or eat anything available. He will bite your feet. And he will cause little giggles and squeals from certain little children that warm my heart. And in the moments when his little puppy energy runs out, he is a cuddly, furry little teddy bear.

4) Berripop frozen yogurt. All natural, yummy goodness. Hello, I'm in love. And there's one in the above mentioned shopping center, none the less :)

5) Magnolia trees (my favorite tree) and palm trees (Chris's favorite) a plenty.

6) A great church service today. Albeit small beginnings, it was a morning that made the long, frustrating week seem like a distant memory. Chris was awesome. But when is he less than that? And we got to have a little fun and lead worship, too. Doing life and building the kingdom with these people is going to be a fun adventure.

7) Ikea. Although we had a frustrating experience (contributing to laborious part one) that wasn't Ikea's fault, it could not quell my love for the big, blue store. I've waited a long time to live in a city that has one. And guess what made me love it even more? That you can drop your kids off in a huge, adult supervised play area, complete with a secure sign in and number, and be on your happy way through the monstrosity of design goodness. Yeah, that's right. Be jealous.

8) New pals. There are only a few children in the church right now, but there is a family that has two boys who are the kids' ages. And they are just happy to have a friend. And we're happy they're there!

Forgive the fuzzy pic- I took it on my phone yesterday when we were eating lunch. This is Sam, the six year old. Nick and Cadence were on the other side of the table, but they didn't feel like being photographed at the time!

9) The city itself. It will probably be a while before I stop gawking at all of the tall buildings, funky stores, beautiful parks and landmarks, and well, the city-ness of it all. The urban vibe is so awesome. I wish I could describe it, but it's just us. Houston is us. I am looking forward to doing some more exploring once we're settled.

10) And the people. My goodness, the people. I hope I'm not offending anyone, because I feel like I'm just staring everywhere we go. This is a place so rich in culture and diversity, and it is breathtaking to me. I'm in a store and I hear a mother singing a song to her baby in a language I don't recognize. I stand in line at the grocery store, and about every color you could represent is standing with me. Not everyone would like that I guess, but to us it's one of the most compelling, exciting elements that even drew us in the first place. And although I know not everyone is, all of the people I've encountered so far are really nice. Houston, you are beautiful.

And that's a short list. I'm sure you'll hear me gushing for quite some time. When you live in a city of millions of people, there's a lot to love I guess. And there's also a lot of problems, a lot of need, a lot of hurt, and a lot of work, too. So that's why I'm going to need to be talking a lot about those lovely things. To keep perspective, you know?

Well, that's all for now. We're doing lots of church work today (and every day), so I'm gonna get to it. And the kids. And the dog. And the lunch everyone will be wanting shortly.

Peace out from the Pate house.

A Little Catching Up...(Laborious Part One)

Before we moved I started a post that was a timeline of 72 hours leading up to the move. Clever idea, but that was two weeks ago now, and I never got around to finishing it.

Truly it has been a very eventful couple of weeks, packed with a high dose of chaos. Though it's not a detailed version, here's the week leading up to the move:

Monday-Drive (6 hrs) to Houston (Katy) that evening to stay with family

Tuesday-Drive around Houston all day long (6 hrs) with realtor and children. Find house. Put application on said house. Take very exhausted family to see Shrek movie in 3D.

Wednesday-Wait around for the realtor to call and tell us we got the house. Called and said maybe we got the house. Make the drive back to Abilene (6 hrs) to pack pretending like we got the house. Get there that night. Got the house.

Thursday-Finish boxing up stuff and running last minute errands all day long. Lots of awesome people show up at 5:30 to pack a huge U-haul with our stuff. Frantically throwing remainder of stuff in boxes. There is not an inch left in the U-haul. We also load three cars stuffed full. Fall into pallet on the floor about 1:00am to get up at 5:30 and get ready to hit the road.

Friday-Get on the road about 8:30 ish with U-haul and four car caravan. Houston here we come. With family and friend in tow. Get in town about 3:15. Leave everyone at the house to unload because we have to open a checking acct there to be able to access our money. Come back and our amazing help had everything unloaded. Unpack, unpack, unpack, etc. House full of completely toasted people (including 5 kids) crash.

Saturday- Amazing family and friend hit the road back to Abilene. Leave the house full of boxes to go to meeting with our new leadership team. Running on fumes but glad to see everyone. No more unpacking that day.

Sunday-First official service as pastors of CLC. Thank goodness it was a special "setting in" service and we had a guest speaker, because we were probably walking zombies at best. But very happy, grateful, and expectant walking zombies :) It was a great service.

And Monday started another week. And the day we added to our family and the craziness by bringing home 8wk old Mac. Yes, most of you are probably thinking we've lost our minds to get a new puppy in the middle of everything. I think that too at times- it was mostly a decision to help ease the transition for our kids and give them something to look forward to. I'd be lying if I said it's been easy- it's another full time job for us! But it's also been a lot of fun and he's about the cutest thing you'll ever see. More on him later.

This week has been the longest week and the shortest week. It's all a blur now, a mesh of setting up utilities, new accounts, trips (and more trips) to the store, meeting with people, unpacking, buying stuff for the house, etc, new landlord over three separate times fixing stuff, trying to get work done, and the constant pressure and reality of all the other work to be done continually taunting us. All of which was accompanied by more frustration and delay than anticipated or wanted. It seems as though we've had to labor over the smallest and most nonsignificant of details, which can really drain a person! Oh well- C'est la vie to some of it, and BOO to the opposition part of it coming against our souls, trying to get us distracted and discouraged. Comes with the calling.

So now that I'm done with all of that, I'm going to break this up into two posts. This is already longer than you wanted it to be and you're probably tired of the whining. But it felt good to lift the load off into cyberspace for a moment and share it. Thanks. The post after this will be of a completely different nature and not so laborious part one, sharing a few pics of the new casa (though probably the outside cause the inside is not done yet!), the new dog, and just some pure loveliness we've found in our new city. A city that I loved before I was here and love more every minute I'm here. (Positivity being my #1 Strength according to Strengths Finder I could not have laborious part one ending so laborious sounding...)

Peace out from the Pate house.

Back on the Grid!

Forgive the abrupt MIA the past several days- we have been sans internet. Which in the blog world made us virtually non-existent I guess.

Since May 31st, the last post, it's been quite the series of events. You're going to get tired just reading about it, and I'm going to be tired (and I already am) just retelling it, so give me until this evening or tomorrow and I'll try to throw you a bone. For the five people that are sitting on the edge of their seat wondering what could possibly be unfolding in the Pate story right now.

Peace out from the (new) Pate house. The one in Houston.