Wheelers: Out with the old, in with the new!

So, after weeks of waiting, agonizing and surrendering, we are officially moved in on Texas State campus. Our apartment is quaint and quite suitable for our little family. I chose to go out of town the week Corey moved us in, but once I returned, it got super busy around here. You just can't live out of boxes or bags too long. Luckily, the apartment is furnished so that minimized the amount of furniture we had to move, er, Corey had to move. We live in a residence hall, aka, dorm hall. Although, I quickly learned I'm not allowed to call it a "dorm hall;" it's not cool. It's a "residence hall." Don't make the same mistake I did folks!

Some pros:

- Corey is loving his job and I can see a change in him already. He's like a kid who totally thrives in this environment. Me, it's a struggle at times since I'm naturally introverted and not likely to strike up conversations with strangers. Corey will and that person will be his new BFF in no time. He's just cooler than me. :)

- There are people everywhere, all the time. No matter what time of night you walk down to the lobby, you can bet there is someone there either studying, watching the big flat screen or playing pool. So, you never really feel alone or isolated like sometimes I felt at the house. There is always something going on.

- There is another family living here in the dorms with us. They have young kiddos like us, so I'm comforted that there's someone to share the experience with. I'm looking forward to getting to know them more and spending more time with their family.

- Corey walks to work. No more anxious thoughts about him driving to San Antonio, drinking gas and filling up twice a week. He's within walking distance!! He can come home for lunch and be right at the apartment in a moment's notice. I have several stories of me getting sick and then it takes him an hour plus to get home and take over! No more! Not that I plan or want to be sick. :) But just in case. Also, he doesn't have to be in the office until 10am so that also means we could have breakfast together and I could run errands in the morning too. I love having him so close!

- Corey gets a meal plan with his job so that means less cooking for me! "Hey honey, not cooking tonight!"

- We have just signed up for the Rec Center; I haven't had the opportunity to work out or do anything of the sort in a long time. With Corey leaving for work so late in the morning, it gives me the perfect window to head over for a good, sweaty workout. Additionally, I'm playing with the thought of heading back to school to get my master's in education. The deadline is in October, so I don't know if I can get it together in time, but I'm really thinking it through. The education building is across the street from where we live and there's no better time like the present to pursue such a degree. It's the perfect time! So, we'll see.

-Anytime something goes wrong, you just make a phone call and someone will come and rescue you. Since the top of the year, we've had several issues with the house and the repairs really added up. I've enjoyed the ease of making a request to fix the dishwasher and installing door handles. No more repair bills or trying to figure out how to fix stuff.

Some cons:

- Corey does have a sporadic schedule. He has meetings and such sometimes as late at 10pm. Since he works with college students, they run a much different "wake" schedule than what we do, so that's been an adjustment on my part. I don't mind so much, as long as it doesn't interrupt our family time in the evenings. And even then, I can make some exceptions. With being an RD (resident director) he also has on-call shifts, and that just means he can't leave San Marcos.

- We live on Texas State campus. This means teaching Cayden about buses, cars, motorcycles, driving carts and bicycles and how you have to pay attention to EVERYTHING at ALL times. We previously lived on a caul-de-sac (sp?) and never had much traffic. Here, it's constant. To leave the apartment, we must put Mck in her stroller, stroll out of the building, down the sidewalk (where all the traffic is), cross the traffic, and finally walk up a small hill to reach our vehicles. Luckily, we have reserved parking, so that helps. I no longer load my kids from the safety of our garage; it's a thought-out process every time. Oh, and don't forget anything mom, because there's no going back after all that work! Additionally, we are getting used to all the noise of the vehicles going by and the traffic of students right outside our door. Imagine a hotel building with hallways all through them. Ha, they're like that. Our door is right near the lobby, so although it's convenient to get to, it's also a door a lot of people pass by.

- You have to keep your ID handy after hours in order to get into the building. Sometimes my hands are full and I'm exhausted from handling the kiddos (let's face it, my hands are always full) and I have to stop and dig through my purse and then wallet to get the ID out. For the most part, I'm not out alone in the evenings, so that hasn't been too big of an issue. But, it only takes a few times before it's frustrating. Maybe I need a new system.

- The kids are sharing a room now and although it's not actually a "con" it's not without some adjustments. My main concern was how their sleeping was going to be affected by all this. Were they still going to be easy babies and just go down for bed when we said? They've always been very good sleepers, at least 12-13 hours at night and had naps for about 3 hours. What was it going to be like when it was time for bed? Well, it's been a breeze! Mck usually goes down for naps and bedtime earlier than Cayden, so that gives us a little time alone with Cayden. Sometimes when we go in there to put him down, Mck will wake up, but she just goes back down when we leave. It's been great! Yesterday was the first day I had to go back into their rooms because they were giggling. Apparently, Cayden had gotten her a puzzle to play with in her crib, and he was directing her from outside her bars. They were loving it. I had to laugh.

Although it's a radical move, we are completely at peace that this is where we are meant to be. A couple of years ago (you maybe have already heard this story) Corey mentioned this job and I was totally against it. "I will never live on campus and give up the comfort and luxuries my house offers." I never saw myself here and I was totally closed to it. When this job came up again in May, I still was like, "NO" but Corey just wanted to see "what happened." He applied, interviewed, waited and here we are. The Lord did such a change in my heart and it feels so good to be here, like we were meant to be here. It's amazing! It's no doubt a huge jump and leap of faith that all the details will work themselves out, but I'm resting in the peace I have now. It's an adventure and journey that we are all in together. Thank you all for your prayers and support during this process; we are truly blessed to be here!!

Enjoy some pictures of the apartment. I'm sure we'll have many stories and experiences to share along the way.

They each have their posing smile, however crooked they are.

Cayden's favorite spot to watch the buses, police cars (station is across the street), motorcycles and students go by. Kinda perched up like a doggie.

View as you walk into the apartment. We chose to cover the brand new couch they provided; we have kids, enough said.

Kids' room. I'm in the process of hanging curtains over their closets, making coordinating bedskirts and hanging stuff on the walls. Their room took a little more effort than the others b/c I had to combine all their stuff into one room in an effort to keep them separated at the same time.

Wall-to-wall furniture, but it works.

View from kids' room looking into living room.

Our kitchen from the living room leading into our bedroom. Yes, notice the washer and dryer in the kitchen. I don't mind so much; I have more counter space. :)