Thankful!

     Yes, we're in the new house, and it's Thanksgiving!  So, besides my birthday, which was the 22nd and the day we actually moved a lot of the stuff into the house, this is the first real holiday.  We've been here a few days and nights, but Laura and I both feel that it's still unbelievable that we are really here. It just doesn't seem real to us yet. It will, but right now we're dealing with putting everything away and finding the right spot for things.  It hasn't sunk in that we're here for the long, long, long haul, and that as time goes by, we'll add this fence, that addition, etc.  We're making all sorts of plans, but will likely have to wait until late spring to do most of the projects.

    Moving at the end of fall and/or start of winter puts a damper on the plans for improvements. She's putting up the horse fence today and tomorrow, then the dog fence. We were going to do it the other way around, but it didn't work out that way.  She's just doing a 60x60 paddock right now, and then, again, in the spring, we'll do more fencing to allow the horses to roam. We'll take them on walks until then. In winter, they may not want to walk much. We wanted to use the shed we have for protection, but that's not going to happen. It isn't safe without making drastic repairs, and to be honest, we don't want to do that. We'd rather save up, tear it down, and build them another one.

    This winter, they'll be covered in blankets and protected by the two trees. The shed does provide a block for the wind, so they can use it that way. In the spring, we'll demolish the big structure and put up either a double loafing shed or two smaller sheds - one for each horse. (Mine will be a double as my horse is having a baby in the spring as well.)  This is yet another thing to be thankful for. We'll find a way to block off the weather - probably using pipes and tarps, but it will be done.

    There are just too many things to be thankful for to name them here in the blog. I couldn't start without stating shamelessly and unequivocally that Jesus is the reason for all of my happiness, my joy, and, of course, my gratitude. He truly has been so very wonderful in making all the tiny pieces fit together that had to come together for Laura and me to get this house. We wanted it. We saw it, and we wanted it. We began praying, asking God if it was His will, and if so, we'd like to have it. We asked him to literally open every single door to make the process happen -- we should have asked Him to make the process easy, too!! (It wasn't)

    Now that we are here, we're gearing up for the horses' arrival next week. We're gearing up for winter and need to weatherize the windows with draft stoppers. This place has a lot of thin windows. We're looking forward to making chili, soups, and good hot meals for the season. We're looking forward to Christmas, the changes that are bound to be plenty. We're so excited about the little things as well as the bigger things. We're learning every day what it's like to own a home rather than rent one. Just today, we had to put off hooking up the washing machine until we figure out how to stop the cold water valve from dripping! 

    We're super excited about this being our first Thanksgiving in the house. We're not making a big dinner; in fact, I'm going to the city to eat with Reuben and his kids. We're meeting up at Golden Corral. Laura is exhausted and wants to save her energy for the horse fencing. We just put the kitchen boxes away this morning, so no, we weren't prepared to cook and have a big meal yet. It will happen. We're thankful for the bigger kitchen. We're thankful for the dishwasher!! We'll use it too, just as soon as I go to the store and pick up some dishwashing tabs for the machine!  😁

UPDATE: Reuben and I ended up going to our favorite Indian restaurant in OKC rather than fighting the lines at Golden Corral. I'm telling you, restaurants really should stay open on holidays, if they can. There were so many people standing outside of Golden Corral waiting for folks to get in, eat, and get out. There was even a man standing in the parking lot with a sign that read "Please be considerate of others, do not stay at your table when you have finished eating."  There was at least a two or even three-hour wait. No, thank you. There is nothing in that restaurant worth that sort of wait. We had his kids, too, so that wouldn't have happened even if we were willing.

    The Indian restaurant served really good food, and they were so kind. We were followed in by a dozen or so others. We had plenty of space, plenty of food, and we were able to stay at the table and talk without feeling rushed. I love the place - and if that ends up being a family tradition, I wouldn't complain.

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