Our family has moved to Plains, Texas. It's a small town South West of Lubbock. I will be teaching 2nd Grade. I will only have about 12 kiddos in my class. This is a very exciting move for us. We have been trying to get out of Lubbock for several years now and finally God opened the door and allowed us to do so. 
Tadd is working for the Texas Animal Health Commission. He travels around to all of the Livestock Auctions, feedlots, and Dairies in 4 counties to do Animal Health inspections. He loves it and that is what brought us to Plains. He is not able to work Lubbock County since his parents own the Stockyards, causing a conflict of interest.
Alyse is doing great! We visited the lung specialist in Amarillo a couple of weeks ago and he feels that the asthma is under control. The rain has helped a lot. Our ever famous dust storms get her every time. She is 14 months old and is our little ball of fire. She loves exploring and is into everything. Like her sisters, she is an outside girl. She stands at the backdoor and says, "side, peeze????" until someone finally gives in, (because she is the queen of everything, as Kate and Macy call her). She just flutters her long eyelashes and gets her way around here. Her sisters don't think she should have to want for anything. I try to tell them it won't hurt her to cry but they strongly disagree.
Our new home is perfect for us. We downsized from 4 bedrooms to 3, so Macy and Alyse are sharing a room, for me, it's one less room to keep clean. We are on 7 acres so we have room for our 6 horses, 3 dogs, 2 cats, and whatever other creatures Macy and Kate decide to take in, to roam. We have a pool that the girls are enjoying from dawn 'til dusk, and even though that's added work, I'm glad to have one again, the added work is well worth it. There are 3 apple trees and a grape-vine that the kids can't wait to ripen. Sour grapes are eaten on a daily basis to check for ripeness. :) Kate and Macy have already become involved in the 4H Riding Club, so that keeps us busy 2 nights a week.
Macy has loved watching all of the wildlife on our land. I am so afraid she is going to find a rattle snake. I have snake drills with the girls so they will know what to do if they do come up on one. So far the only 'scary' things we've found are scorpians. 
Kate is still sawin' on her fiddle, being artsy, and being her daddy's little shadow. She spent a week at church camp and I think it was a lesson for all of us that we really do like eachother! She missed us but I know we missed her more. She and Macy didn't fight at all the day she returned. But, that ended much too quickly, they're back on the warpath. I am having fun decorating and organizing. (Two of my favorite things to do!) I LOVE organization! What I haven't used in the last year, I threw out! It was great, although, some things Tadd had to throw out while I closed my eyes.
We have no travel plans for the Summer but once I am finished organizing and decorating my house I'll move to my classroom. By then it will be about time for school to start back up. Hopefully I will have some time for scrapbooking and ceramics. The Mud Room has become mine and the girls favorite hangout, painting ceramics and creating mosaics. We are having so much fun this Summer just hanging out 
and regrouping from a long hard school year.
and regrouping from a long hard school year.
For those that are interested, I've included pictures of the house. We re-painted the entire house and in doing so, I added scriptures to the girls bedroom walls. We still have a lot of work ahead of us but it's coming along. Next time your down this way, give us a holler, this small town is about 2 miles long and we are about 2 miles from town so we're not hard to find. Come see us and enjoy country life outside of the small town. We're definately glad to be here. I'll close with what Macy and Miranda Lambert say, "Everybody dies famous in a small town." 
