Bartlesville

In the small town of Bartlesville, there are big things happening. Dave and I moved from this  lazy, little town of 40,000 a little over 3 years ago. Moving from there was very difficult because we left family and many sweet friends to come to an overwhelmingly large place where we new only two people: Daniel and Xiaolan Stewart. (And I'm very thankful for them.)

In the 12 or so years I lived in Bartlesville, I: met and started dating Dave, graduated highschool, started college, married Dave, bought my first home with Dave, had two sweet baby girls, sold our first home, experienced the first ever blizzard in Oklahoma, and bought and sold our second home.

Since we moved from there, Bartlesville has experienced record snow falls the last 3 winters (I really love snow), has been the location for a movie starring Ben Affleck and Amy Adams, another one with George Clooney,  and has also opened a cupcake bakery. (This is definitely exciting for Bartlesville.) Many of my friends posted pics of Jennifer Garner in the wal-mart that I used to live less than a mile from. One of my favorite Bartlesville restaurants, Frank and Lola's, recently fed George Clooney on an evening when some of my other Bartlesville friends have been there.

I new when we moved from Bartlesville, that I would miss my obgyn and pediatrician. I knew I would miss our church friends and our new home. And, I did. I new there would be times I hate it that I couldn't drop by my parents house or Dave's mom and step-Dad house to say hi or leave the kiddos. And, I definitely have. I miss that little place. I always will.

But despite all of this, I have peace. Houston is where this Stewart family is suppossed to be for the time being. Hot, loud, crowded Houston is where God has called us for now. And what has happened here? Dave and I bought and sold our third home, we've had the wonderful opportunity to meet all kinds of people with different backgrounds and cultures, we've tasted new foods, I've given birth to another beautiful daughter, Dave's career definitely took off, I started a real estate career, and we have established a church home with new friends. Our family has bonded, and I've even had the opportunity to meet the infamous Beth Moore. (She's way better than any of the aforementioned stars.) God has blessed our obedience to him in moving here; even if I was dragged down here while my spirit kicked and screamed. For now, I am home.
-Amber

Family

In a little less than a week, I will get to see my Parents, my sister, my brother-in-law, my brother, my mother-in-law, and my step father-in-law. I won't get to see them all at the same time, but I will get to see them all for a short time. My grandpa turns 90 on the 20th, and I am excited to celebrate him, his life and his accomplishments. Dave, the girls and I will be driving to Topeka KS, for a very short trip, and then turning right back around and coming home. It'll be great to see everyone, but it is also a little bittersweet for me. I guess I've just been missing my family. Not just missing them like, "I wanna see you for a few hours," but missing them like..."hey, let's do life together". Almost unbelievably, there was a very short time when my parents, my siblings, my sibling-in-laws, and both sets of Dave's parents all lived in the same town, at the same time. We hung out. We saw each other at church, we randomly got together on weekends, we had surprise run-ins at the grocery store, and sometimes family would stop by our house to see our girls and love on them for a while. I miss that. still.

Maybe someday we'll all be back together again, living in the same place, at the same time, but honestly, we're all so spread out, that I have no idea how we could find a common ground. (Our immediate families are in WY, OK, MO, LA and TX) But, like I said, maybe someday....hopefully someday.

But, for now, I will enjoy seeing them when we can get together on weekends and holidays. I'm sorry to be complaining about it on my blog...but I'll be chalking all of these wishes up to mushy Valentine's Day thoughts about family, love, and loved ones. So (please don't) sue me. But, please do eat a lot of chocolate on Valentine's day, thouroughly enjoy your loved ones, drink in the blessings God has given you, and love like life is poetry in motion. But, don't get all mushy about it like I do. It just comes across as complaining. Know that I love you, blog reader. HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!