Alarming TX Life Notes

* This house has an alarm system. Said alarm system has been going off every night at 3:30 AM beeping "low battery" = very angry Sues & JB. I spent some time on the phone with the alarm company trying to figure out how to fix it: there were three steps, two of which I found instantly. The last part was finding another small power box, "which could plugged in in any room in the house." Are you kidding me? We can't get to most of our walls, b/c of the boxes. I *still* found a way to scour every perimeter...but nothing. Two more nights of alarmingly disturbed sleep. This afternoon, I talked to our realtor about it; she didn't know what else to do, but she told me a story about when her system was hit by lightning & she had to go up into the attic to get hers turned off. Guess where our last mystery power box was? In the attic! (Note to the alarm company: please also suggest looking in attics. Kthnxbi.) So excited at the prospect of UNINTERRUPTED sleep tonight!!!

* We've had major flooding rains the last few days, and at least some afternoon rain almost every day since we arrived...and I love it. This area experienced the same exceptional drought as south Georgia last year, so this rain is welcome...and for whatever reason, I don't find it the least bit depressing! So we haven't gotten to go to any of the *TEN* pools (including two water parks & a sandy beach pool!!!) in our neighborhood, yet - no big deal. We'll get there. :-)

* We're still eating well. :-P In addition to being obsessed with fresh tortillas, the kids & I went to the actual Kolache Factory for brunch Wednesday. Heavenly:

They're like Asian bao or yeast rolls, each stuffed differently - breakfast: egg, cheese, meats; lunch: Italian chicken, Philly cheese, barbeque!!!; and dessert: fruit, cinnamon, cream cheese. The barbeque stole my heart: they're so much like the cha siu bao (Asian pork buns) I love.

* On a healthier note, I found our Vitamix, so after Zumba-at-home this morning, I got to make my fave post-Zumba smoothie: protein powder, chia seeds, & frozen fruit as ice cubes. JB bought coconut water, so I used that instead of plain water, too. Yay, extra potassium! :-D (Several people asked me about chia seeds, so here are two pretty straightforward links: this one & that one.) It's reeeeeeally lonely doing Zumba by myself, but I know I have to stay on my game, so I can be ready when God opens the right door at the perfect time. (Pray for that with me. :-))

* Speaking of God opening doors, on JB's lead ♥, we tried a new church on Sunday. It was...wonderful. It felt a lot like a mash-up of our last three happy churches. I talked last year about how hard "church shopping" in Georgia was on our family (see these comments and this) and I've prayed that we'd be able to make a quick connection here, instead of floundering. (I love diving right in deep; I'm the anti-commitment-phobe!) First off, I was totally impressed with the high-tech kid check-in process. I'm sure their software has a nifty name, but you check in on a computer, it prints out name stickers for the kids, matching pick-up tags for the parents, and tracks attendance & address updates. I love that Will (rising 3rd grade) & Annelise (rising 1st) have their own classes but come together to sing a few songs. JB & I enjoyed our adult service. I feel cheesy typing this, but I actually got teary & had the tingles during our first prayer - I truly felt God's presence. There was a nice amount of singing = enough to fulfill me w/o totally irritating JB ;-) and I would not be intimidated to audition to sing on their praise team. :-) Another positive: they have a perfect Zumba space. Pray for God to let me know the right time to approach them about starting a Zumba ministry there, if that's where God wants us. Pray that God makes it clear, so I don't jump the gun or waste any time, either.

* Look what we found in our new library!!! One of our awesome friend (from our MI church :-)) Peter Schriemer's nature DVDs!!!

Now we need to find a way to get his new series, The Nature of God, there, too!!! We still haven't seen any of those, and the kids would LOVE to!

* Will & Annelise are now signed up for youth football & cheer...and JB & I are signed up to be their respective assistant coaches! :-D So excited that:
1) Will is giving football another chance, even after the negative spirit & blah coaching he experienced last year
2) JB is going to be an assistant, too! I look at it as perfect quality control: if the head coach rocks, great; if not, you are authorized to get involved w/o being "that" parent ;-) (I signed up for assistant, too, instead of head, just b/c I don't know how this organization works; I figure it's easier to step up & offer to do more when we get into it than step back.)
3) They form the teams & cheer squads by elementary school, so since both kids will be at the same school for the first time since the one year in Chicago, she should be cheering for his team! :-)
It's going to start pretty quickly - practices begin by August 1st!