it has come to my attention....

that I haven't blogged in a while. I didn't know everyone cared so much! I've had several people tell me they keep checking my blog and wondering if I'm okay.

Sorry, folks.

Yes, I AM okay. Settling in. It's been a hard transition, to say the least. I had a case of the blues. You know, when your life was going one way, and you have to slam into a completely different gear and direction...sometimes it just comes at you all at once.

What happened was that I was feeling the loss of my "stuff" - not physical things and items...but the routine and schedule I had in Kansas. My life went something like this: I had MOPS the first and 3rd Tuesday of every month, in the morning. The 2nd and 4th Tuesdays were a bible study with many of the same ladies from my MOPS group. I had lunch with my friend Sandra every Tuesday after MOPS or bible study. It was nice to "do lunch" with a friend I'd known for more years than I'd lived in KS (if you remember, Sandra was in Germany with me; they moved to Ft. Riley a few months before we did).

I was on the MOPS steering committee as well, so we had a monthly meeting in the morning. That gave me some more fellowship time with some wonderful godly women. I sat on the board for the OCSC (Officers' and Civilians' Spouses Club) at Ft. Riley. That was another monthly meeting, and then we had our monthly OCSC luncheon. If I was playing for the Praise and Worship team, I'd have a rehearsal on a Wednesday night. I attended crops and stamping groups held by my friend Heather.

Sundays were always nice, too. If I was playing the Sunday services, I would be at church at 7:30 a.m. for rehearsal, then we'd play the 8:30 a.m. service...then I'd go wait for Scott to bring the kids to church for Sunday School. I'd get them registered and settled, then head for my Sunday school class. After that, I'd get the kids and head for the 11:00 a.m. service. If I wasn't playing, it was simply getting to church 9:45 a.m. for Sunday school and the 11:00 service.

I was "on the go". I had a routine, things to do, places to visit. But most of all, I had friends.

And that's what has been tough here. I don't have all those things keeping me busy; I don't have many friends right now. We don't live on or near the Army post (this was our choice; we chose this area for the schools, with the understanding that we'd not be as involved with the military community). I have made one friend up the street...her daughter and Hannah have become fast friends quickly. It seems that most of the neighbors here just stay in their homes. I miss the community and camaraderie we had in our little circle in Manhattan (though I do NOT, by any stretch of the imagination, miss that duplex. For the record.).

So, I was blue...and feeling sorry for myself.

BUT...

I am settling in...and finding routine. I am in a MOPS group here too...though it's quite different than the last one. We meet once a month...we don't have parallel bible study, so you don't get to know the ladies quite as well. They do, however, have 2 "Mom's Night Out" a month, and I have attended both this month, so I'm a bit happier, having gotten to know some of the ladies more. What's hard about it all is that these folks have known each other for years. Unlike a military community, people who have lived in one place all their lives get used to the people they have around them. They're not as open to "outsiders". I don't think they do it deliberately...or even realize that they're doing it. But they do tend to shut me out. It's okay, though. I'll find my niche.

I'm also playing in the orchestra for my church, First Baptist of Lexington (not to be confused with Lexington Baptist Church, where Scotty goes to preschool, lol!). They have a fixed orchestra and choir for their 1st service, a blended worship service (some traditional hymns, some "light" contemporary music). Along with that, I am now participating in the "Creative Arts and Worship" Lifegroup on Sundays (fancy name for Sunday school or bible study). So, I'm seeing the same faces there a few times a week. I even got to play a trumpet solo to open service last Sunday (the 22nd)...on Sweet, Sweet Spirit (a beautiful hymn that I first heard on Veggietale's "Oh Veggie, Where Art Thou" cd that the kids LOVE). Later, at our Lifegroup, they said they'd been praying for a trumpet player. God always puts me where He wants me...I LOVE that!

But I tell you, I LOVE my house. It's huge...but as I'm cleaning it, I can't help but realize how blessed we are to have it. I can't really complain now, can I? And I really do try to keep it looking new. There have been some little frustrations. We had our 30 day "warranty" inspection, and at the time, it was all minor things. Some little plumbing issues (leaky toilet, loose faucet on the kitchen sink, and unmounted bathroom sink - should have been screwed into the wall, but wasn't, lol) and an airflow issue with the heat/AC. All the air was pushing to the front of the house, and the back of the house was cold (no heat). The AC guys were coming out to do an airflow check when it got rather warm here...so I turned on the AC...and it didn't work. AT ALL. Ugh. Turns out that the downstairs unit (we have 2 units, a smaller unit which is a heat pump for upstairs, and a large unit which is a gas furnace for downstairs) had a leak in the coolant line. And the upstairs unit had been overcharged with coolant, so the lines had frozen up. 2 1/2 hours later, all this was fixed. Thank goodness for home warranty service! The plumbing issues were fixed in less than 10 minutes, too.

But then...we decided to see how the irrigation system was working. The back sprinklers work well...but the front? Ugh. 3 heads don't pop up...and apparently, they ran a line and neglected to place a head on that one, so when that zone is on, water just POURS out of the ground and floods our neighbor's side yard. So, we put in a warranty request for that...on the 12th of March. Then, last week, Scotty brings to our attention, a stain on his bedroom ceiling! There's leak in the roof! Dagnabit! How could it be? Well, nearest we can figure: The house had failed its' initial C/O inspection (certificate of occupancy) due in part to the dryer vent. We don't know exactly what was wrong with the original vent, but they had to re-route the vent through the roof. And you know what happens when you cut into a roof that is already finished? Well, you mess the seal of the shingles up. And I'm guessing they didn't exactly seal the vent hole well. Usually, all the venting holes are cut, then the piping/venting is put in, sealed around with silicone sealant, and quite often, flashing is put around to keep the water out of the hole. I'm guessing they skipped part of it...and didn't put flashing around the vent between the shingles. So yet another warranty call went out.

As of today, we have NOT heard from the landscapers (though, according to the builder, they put in a request on the 13th). And the builder was supposed to meet me on Thursday to look at the ceiling damage/leak, and he blew me off. According to him, he wasn't told he had an appointment (the warranty procedure is really cumbersome - fill out a form online, get a call within 48 hours to schedule the builder; the builder will either come out or schedule the proper maintenance crew to come out within 3-5 days). So...it's a rainy weekend, and we have a leak.

NOT happy about that.

But...

I did get to go to Augusta, GA last night for a crop at my old church, The Creek (Stevens Creek Community Church). And I managed to finish the project I brought with me...a teacher gift consisting of a clipboard, photo frame, and desktop photo/memo holder. It's always nice to see old friends...I am hoping to get out there for a "playgroup" session sometime and see all the wonderful friends I had left behind when we moved 4 years ago. Gosh...hard to believe it's been FOUR years since we left Augusta! I am SO glad to be back in the south, and close enough to rewnew some of those friendships!


So there you have it...I'm alive, I'm well...I'll post some pictures soon - the hard drive is on the desktop PC and I'm on the laptop right now...