the best we can hope for is to make a beautiful mess

Man, oh man...I know. I really do know. You've probably already quit me by now, tiring of checking a petrified blog with the perpetual Christmas Eve post at the top. **sigh** In my defense, I'm terrible at multi-tasking. "Why have 5 kids?", you ask? Yes, I agree. Anyway, this post is nothing more than an apology of sorts, and for those who don't know (uh...no one?), an announcement that we are once again Texans. I'm not going to go into all the details, as its all sort of a blur right now. But, in recap...we felt (and still feel) that God clearly led us East. His hand was so evident in provision during those years: a new member added to our family, experience for Dave with an awesome company, a church we loved, my fab sister as a neighbor, and friends who overflowed my cup. We then believed He was leading us back. While the thought of living near my folks, friends, grandparents, etc. again had us very excited, we did leave VA with a heavy heart, really knowing what we were leaving behind. And that bittersweet mix is what life is all about. So we arrived in TX, blessed my a multitude of family, friends, and new faces who welcomed us and helped us quickly (read: in 3 hrs) unload and unpack our belongings. Our home is wonderful, and within 10 minutes of my folks and Aubrey & Dirk. Dave is launching his remodeling business, as we pray that God will bless his efforts and bring more clients. The kids are thrilled to be here, and while we have some adjustment issues with them, hopefully "normal" life will settle in soon. Though the SlaughterHouse never really knew normal. Normal is for wimps.

I promise not to take another 2 month break, and hopefully I'll have some pics up soon.