The power of good friends and musicals.

I'm not going to lie- the last few months have been rough.  The move to Houston shook me a little more than I expected it to. I always thought of myself as a confident, friendly sort of lady.  All that seemed to change as Shane and I moved to this foreign place.  You may think I'm exaggerating calling Houston a foreign place, but it really is. There was a lot to learn.  I now take four freeways to work, as opposed to the one freeway I took in Tucson, once a month, on the way to phoenix. People don't live places here- they stay there. For example " I stay up north, or I stay near the Medical Center".  The church we attend is ginormous and after almost a year there I still feel like a small fish in a huge sea.  Also, there are a million different types of bugs, the likes of which I have never encountered before and hope  to never see again.

Overall, I really like Houston. My work has been a challenge and is a whole other story, but the city itself is really cool.  There are a ton of trees which I love, and we live super close to museums, the zoo ( of course!) parks and tons of restaurants.  There are a lot of neighborhoods with different personalities to explore.  The biggest change has been losing the community we had in Tucson.  I mean I always knew I had great friends, but I didn't really know how much of my life they truly were.  I have made a few good friends here, but the group of people who could come over to our place and play with us every weekend isn't here and that has been really hard

But this weekend, this glorious weekend has renewed my spirit.  Thursday our friends Melissa and Casey came over with their two friends Brad and Stacy for our usual brinner. We have started a fabulous tradition of eating brinner ( waffles, eggs and bacon to be specific) and playing Settlers of Catan. Its delightful every time.  Then Friday came with a wonderful surprise. Our dear friends Amy and Austin had travel difficulties which landed them in Houston for the night.  I found out at around 4 pm that they were coming in a 9:30 and staying the night.  There is absolutely nothing better in the world than seeing old friends. It's like a cup of tea on a cold night- it warms the soul. It was like bringing a little piece of home to Houston.  It was exactly what I needed.  I was able to be myself, I mean really be myself, and we laughed more than I have in a while.  Their stay was short, but it was a breath of life that I really needed.  I am sure God knew that and delayed their travel plans, but I'm pretty sure that they didn't mind:)  There might have been some tears when we departed, but I left feeling loved, happy and missing home.

Tonight Shane and I are going to Jekyll and Hyde- a musical I have been wanting to see for a while.  Shane bought tickets for my birthday and I am excited it is here!  Overall, its been a wonderful weekend and gave me hope for many wonderful weekends to come.