Things continue to go really smoothly here in the big D. It's been really fun. It's a great change of pace for sure. I just thought I'd give you a sample week so you could get an idea of what we are doing here.
Last Saturday morning I actually went back to Longview to go to a beautiful wedding and show the house to a few people. Mama came out to meet us and kept the kids while I went to the wedding. It was a great day and a little like a reunion at the wedding. When I have all of the necessary tools to download pictures onto the computer, I will post pictures of the "reunion" and of the kids.
I drove back that night. Sunday morning we didn't have any plans as to where we were going to church, so we just picked a nearby church. It was pretty good...really good teaching. Then we went to Pappadeaux's and ate...all fried foods. Oh my gosh...we hardly ever have fried foods even when we eat out (I have never fried anything at home), so we felt pretty heavy afterward. We dropped Joel off at school, went to Wal-Mart to pick up a few things, then made a pit stop by Baskin Robbins for a wonderful chocolate treat. That night we went to Joel's school to have fajitas with his classmates.
Monday we did nothing during the day. It was nice. We had been pretty busy all weekend. That night we met up with 2 couples...Matt and Meredith Coleman and Stephen and Stacey Russell. I went to ETBU with Matt and Meredith (and actually went on a mission trip to China with Meredith). When we found out we were coming to Dallas, I emailed everyone we knew in the area to see if they knew of any possibilities for housing. Meredith passed on our email to some of her friends. Stephen and Stacey actually offered us a place to stay, saying that we could have their upstairs. SO generous. We ended up making other plans for housing, but we were able to meet them Monday night. It was so much fun catching up with Matt and Meredith and getting to know Stephen and Stacey. The Russell's are actually getting ready to move to India for a year, so we had plenty to talk to them about. And Matt and Meredith are expecting a baby in October too, their first. So, we had much conversation about that too. It was fun.
Tuesday I drove down to Granbury to Justin and Jen Sprayberry's house. Another couple of friends were coming through town, Katie and Noel, and were spending the night there. So, me and the kids went down and spent the night too. The Sprayberry's have 2 1/2 year old twins, a 10 month old boy, and #4 on the way in September...yeah, they're busy. Grady and Hadley had a great time playing with them. We just hung out with them all day and went into town to eat supper that night...and have TCBY (Grady was super-excited about another ice cream treat).
The next morning we trekked back to our neck of the woods in Dallas (a 2 hour trek), picked up Joel from school, and met up with some other friends for lunch. Jeremy and Kathy Wideman were passing through on their way to visit some people and churches in Louisiana. They, along with their son Joshua (and other son, Luke, due in May/June) are missionaries in East Asia. They are here on furlough for the next 5 months. It was GREAT to see them and catch up with them. I grew up with Kathy...we used to go to church camp together every year. After lunch, we took Joel back to school and me and the kids hung out with the Wideman's all afternoon. We then picked Joel up and went to the Galleria for supper. We let the kids play on the playground there, which they LOVE. Then, we came home.
Yesterday me and the kids just stayed in the room all day...again, another breather from all the going. I did laundry and cleaned the kitchen/room and the kids played all day long. They also had HUGE naps. They must've been pooped too.
And, today we plan to go to the mall again...have a little picnic there and play on the playground...and do some good people-watching. We would go to the outside playground, but it is really windy today...and might rain.
Joel also got a job offer this week. He was called into the office at American Flyers (his school) and they said that he was at the top of his class and wanted him to work for them. Can you believe it? 2 weeks ago he was really overwhelmed and not sure he could do it all and now he is getting offered a job because he is doing so well. We felt very excited and honored and I was very proud of course. But, at this point we are still moving ahead with the plans to go to Missouri, etc. It was really cool though. As I wrote before, he took his check ride and passed last Friday (3 of his classmates didn't pass when they took it yesterday) and then he took another big test Wednesday morning...he made a 91. He is doing really well.
So, that's about it. Fun times in Dallas. Again, as soon as I can I will post pictures.
Also, sorry these past few posts have been so long, but hopefully, for your sake, they won't always be this long.
Friday, March 31, 2006
Thursday, March 30, 2006
I Was Born a Poor Black Child
I had started out the "about me" section that way, but dadgum it...I exceeded the amount of characters allowed with that phrase in there. So, I removed it.
That is a quote from a movie..."The Jerk" with Steve Martin. It's a very old movie now. I used to love that movie, thinking it was so funny and quirky...that is, until I watched it again a few years ago and was surprised at how not-so-nice that movie is. It is a funny movie...and very quirky and silly, but I didn't remember the not-so-nice parts from the first time I saw it. But, there have been a lot of movies like that..."Grease" for example. Man, sexual inuendos all in that movie.
It's crazy how desensitized you can get. I went a few years without TV, and during those years also only saw a few movies. I was just too busy doing other things. But, after a few years of no TV and hardly any movies, when you see TV again it is just appalling. I seriously couldn't believe the mess on it.
Even when there are good, entertaining, informative shows on, the commercials are so horrible that it makes it questionable whether you should even watch that. Not only are there naked bodies everywhere (and not just on Victoria's Secret commercials...even tires are sold with naked bodies), but the images of dead bodies and murders are all over the place. It seems like most shows these days are about solving crimes...and of course they always have to show the drowned, murdered, raped victims...and re-enact the whole scene for you. Even if you don't watch the shows, you get the images from the commercials. I don't want to see those images, much less subject my 2 yr. old and 1 yr. old to those images.
Even channels like Disney and Nickelodeon are disappointing. Again, some of the shows are interesting and educational and fun. But, then there are the other shows that just don't seem to let kids be kids. They start talking about dating and relationships and promoting kissing and boyfriend/girlfriend stuff really early...making that stuff seem the most desirable goal. It's just a little too worldly for me.
I know I sound like a grandma, but I honestly don't think it has anything to do with age, but actually how grown up you are in God. The closer you are to Him, the more things that bother Him will bother you...and the more your eyes are opened to the things that bother Him.
I know this was a little rant and raving session. But, that is the nature of blogging...not only will you get the pleasure of staying in touch and updated with us, but you will occasionally get the pleasure of my rants and ravings. Enjoy. :)
That is a quote from a movie..."The Jerk" with Steve Martin. It's a very old movie now. I used to love that movie, thinking it was so funny and quirky...that is, until I watched it again a few years ago and was surprised at how not-so-nice that movie is. It is a funny movie...and very quirky and silly, but I didn't remember the not-so-nice parts from the first time I saw it. But, there have been a lot of movies like that..."Grease" for example. Man, sexual inuendos all in that movie.
It's crazy how desensitized you can get. I went a few years without TV, and during those years also only saw a few movies. I was just too busy doing other things. But, after a few years of no TV and hardly any movies, when you see TV again it is just appalling. I seriously couldn't believe the mess on it.
Even when there are good, entertaining, informative shows on, the commercials are so horrible that it makes it questionable whether you should even watch that. Not only are there naked bodies everywhere (and not just on Victoria's Secret commercials...even tires are sold with naked bodies), but the images of dead bodies and murders are all over the place. It seems like most shows these days are about solving crimes...and of course they always have to show the drowned, murdered, raped victims...and re-enact the whole scene for you. Even if you don't watch the shows, you get the images from the commercials. I don't want to see those images, much less subject my 2 yr. old and 1 yr. old to those images.
Even channels like Disney and Nickelodeon are disappointing. Again, some of the shows are interesting and educational and fun. But, then there are the other shows that just don't seem to let kids be kids. They start talking about dating and relationships and promoting kissing and boyfriend/girlfriend stuff really early...making that stuff seem the most desirable goal. It's just a little too worldly for me.
I know I sound like a grandma, but I honestly don't think it has anything to do with age, but actually how grown up you are in God. The closer you are to Him, the more things that bother Him will bother you...and the more your eyes are opened to the things that bother Him.
I know this was a little rant and raving session. But, that is the nature of blogging...not only will you get the pleasure of staying in touch and updated with us, but you will occasionally get the pleasure of my rants and ravings. Enjoy. :)
Monday, March 27, 2006
Home is Where You Hang Your Heart
Ahhh, how cheesy that little saying is!! I could've said "home is where you hang your hat", but the heart one is even more cheesy...and I don't have a hat.
We are now in Dallas, TX and have been here for about 3 weeks. Joel is in the middle of a 30-day intensive course to get his flight instructor's license. It's been extremely busy for him. Most people get their flight instructor's license over the course of a few months to a year. That's a lot of stuff to pack into 30 days. But, he is doing great. He is gone from 7am-7pm on the weekdays, and 8-5 on the weekends, although he skips school on Sunday mornings (more on that in a later post). He had one of his check rides on Friday...a 6 hour written, verbal, and flying test...crazy. He was exhausted afterward, but he passed, so we were VERY excited.
Me and the kids are having a great time. We've seen a few friends that live in the area and have just played alot. We also spend a lot of time at the Galleria, which is just down the road. We go and eat lunch there sometimes, walk around and people watch, and they also have a GREAT play area there that the kids LOVE.
We are staying in an Extended Stay Hotel called Homestead Suites. It's very small, but pretty nice. We have a little kitchenette area with a 2 burner stove, a sink, and a microwave. The kids have some of their toys here and they just play and hang out. We also have cable here, which we've never had before. As I type this, Grady is watching "Barney" while Hadley takes a nap.
It's weird, but this is home. I went back to Longview this past weekend to show the house to a few people and go to a wedding, but I had no desire to stay. In fact, I really kind of dreaded going at all...didn't want to leave Joel and our "home" here. And many have asked how the kids are doing. There wasn't even any adjustment needed. For one thing, Grady just turned 2 in January, but has already moved 3 times. They just go where we go and that is their home. In fact, the 1st day we were here we pulled back into the hotel parking lot after doing some shopping and Grady said, "We're home." They are doing great.
Our plans for the near future?: Well, Joel finishes up his training April 8th and then we will go visit some of our friends here for a couple of days. Then I guess we will go back to Longview and hopefully wrap things up there. We did have a contract out on the house, but it fell through, so we are now trying to get it sold again. I showed it to 3 different people Saturday, so hopefully soon we will have a bite. We have to sell the house in order to move on with the rest of our plans and what we feel like God has for us, which is going to Missouri for additional training. We aren't stressed or anything though...God will work it all out. We are hoping to be in Missouri by the first of May.
So, there's a little update on where we are and what we are doing. We are so thankful for your continued prayers.
I'll post some pictures soon.
We are now in Dallas, TX and have been here for about 3 weeks. Joel is in the middle of a 30-day intensive course to get his flight instructor's license. It's been extremely busy for him. Most people get their flight instructor's license over the course of a few months to a year. That's a lot of stuff to pack into 30 days. But, he is doing great. He is gone from 7am-7pm on the weekdays, and 8-5 on the weekends, although he skips school on Sunday mornings (more on that in a later post). He had one of his check rides on Friday...a 6 hour written, verbal, and flying test...crazy. He was exhausted afterward, but he passed, so we were VERY excited.
Me and the kids are having a great time. We've seen a few friends that live in the area and have just played alot. We also spend a lot of time at the Galleria, which is just down the road. We go and eat lunch there sometimes, walk around and people watch, and they also have a GREAT play area there that the kids LOVE.
We are staying in an Extended Stay Hotel called Homestead Suites. It's very small, but pretty nice. We have a little kitchenette area with a 2 burner stove, a sink, and a microwave. The kids have some of their toys here and they just play and hang out. We also have cable here, which we've never had before. As I type this, Grady is watching "Barney" while Hadley takes a nap.
It's weird, but this is home. I went back to Longview this past weekend to show the house to a few people and go to a wedding, but I had no desire to stay. In fact, I really kind of dreaded going at all...didn't want to leave Joel and our "home" here. And many have asked how the kids are doing. There wasn't even any adjustment needed. For one thing, Grady just turned 2 in January, but has already moved 3 times. They just go where we go and that is their home. In fact, the 1st day we were here we pulled back into the hotel parking lot after doing some shopping and Grady said, "We're home." They are doing great.
Our plans for the near future?: Well, Joel finishes up his training April 8th and then we will go visit some of our friends here for a couple of days. Then I guess we will go back to Longview and hopefully wrap things up there. We did have a contract out on the house, but it fell through, so we are now trying to get it sold again. I showed it to 3 different people Saturday, so hopefully soon we will have a bite. We have to sell the house in order to move on with the rest of our plans and what we feel like God has for us, which is going to Missouri for additional training. We aren't stressed or anything though...God will work it all out. We are hoping to be in Missouri by the first of May.
So, there's a little update on where we are and what we are doing. We are so thankful for your continued prayers.
I'll post some pictures soon.
Sunday, March 26, 2006
The Start of Blogging
HELLO!!!! Yes, I am now a blogger. OH MY GOSH. But, as I've been told, and know to be true...it is a great way to keep in touch with people's lives and keep everyone updated on our lives. So, I now have a blog. It is my blogsite with my name on it, but of course technically it will be about all of us, reflecting what is going on with all 4 of us Ebersole's (soon to be 5). So, sit back and enjoy our posts. I will try to post very regularly. We'll see how regular "very regularly" is, but hopefully at least every other day.
So, this is just a very brief 1st post. I am in a bit of a hurry, but will post more about where we are and what we are doing tomorrow. Glad to be in webland...hope I don't get stalked by any weirdos. :)
So, this is just a very brief 1st post. I am in a bit of a hurry, but will post more about where we are and what we are doing tomorrow. Glad to be in webland...hope I don't get stalked by any weirdos. :)
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