Saturday 16 October 2010

checking in

Just a note to let you all know what is up.

My brother's wife had a baby! She was 7 weeks early, but doing very well. He's blogged all about it - I think I link to him on the side.

We had a good time at the zoo, and a late dinner with stepson, and made it to mother in law's at 10pm - she was already n bed. We awoke the next morning to the phone ringing. Bob's grandma had a stroke and was in the hospital. Bob woke his stepdad and they rushed to the hospital, where they have been spending most of the week. I stay home a few hours, take the children to visit, and then go to lunch with Bob, maybe shop a little, and come back home. Grandma isn't expected to last very long, as things are deteriorating, and she had an advance directive at the hospital for no feeding tubes and "do not resuscitate." So no househunting, but seeing more family than expected (Uncle up from Florida, etc, etc).

The children have had to be quiet all day, so tonight instead of going to bed after a late snack, I told them to run around and be noisy. I think they are starting to get tired of it.

Bob has rescinded all statements about England not having customer service. We are making a list of places to not go eat. McDonald's by the mall - no. KFC - no. Dairy Queen Bella Vista - yes. Golden Corral - yes if we can afford it. :-) Who knew ordering 4 Happy Meals all the same would be so complicated? I don't even order "no pickles" to make it easy for them... Oh well, water under the bridge. And the big difference between there and here is that there is always some other place to go to here.

All righty, bedtime.

Monday 11 October 2010

one week later

Well, it's been a full week since we left England "forever." (In quotes because I've left "forever" twice before now.) So I guess I should blog something. :-)

The trip over was about as expected. Hassle, hurry, and wait in the airports; mostly behaving but restless in the plane; smooth flights; just squeaked through on our flight change in Chicago; met by more family than expected in OKC; nice ride home where we stayed awake until Oklahoma bedtime (22 hours awake for Bob and I; slightly less for the children). And yes, each of those phases has a story to tell, but I'd never get caught up if I told them all.

One that was pretty funny (and short) is that Cedwryck ended up next to a stranger on the long flight. She was very kind. After a little while of visiting, she turned on a movie and settled back. Not long after that, Cedwryck was asking her a question. I leaned forward and told him to leave her alone to watch her movie, and he replied, "She wasn't watching it - she was asleep."

We adjusted to the time change pretty easily, though I did get silly tired a few evenings. The weather is a little warm, but what's weird is the heat and a/c running everywhere. In England we'd just open the windows. Bob and I borrowed my dad's truck and went van shopping 2 1/2 days. It was a frustrating search. We ended up with a cheap old Suburban that is simply a stop-gap measure. It's nice for the age, but only 8 official seats.

My brother Wil came up to visit Saturday night, so all my nuclear family was together for the first time in a few years. He called last night with a prayer request, but as he has his own blog I won't go into detail. Just lift him up.

We looked at 4 houses for sale in the area. One was on a hill with sand-burrs and mesquite trees - may as well be in Texas! Plus it needed siding, fascia, a septic tank, and probably foundation work, as an Elm tree was sending roots under the house. One was in rough shape, as the roof had leaked and the ceiling had molded and was falling down in several places. Two were trailers (double-wide): one of those was right on the highway, with no yard to speak of, no foundation, no price posted (and they won't answer the phone). The other shows some promise, but we haven't been inside yet. It's on a foundation, on 10 acres off the beaten path, and is a newer, large house. Next week we may go back with a real estate agent and look closer.

Today we are going to Tulsa to meet my step son at the zoo. After dinner we will go on to Arkansas to my mother in law's house. We plan to spend a week up there looking at houses and visiting family, and then come back here for Bob's appointments on base in OKC, and my birthday.