Things Are "Moving" Around Here!

The McDaniel clan is on the move, the week has finally come! We're immersed in boxes right now as we've continued to pack everything up. We've sold our house on Muirfield Place & found another great home in Cypress, about 25 minutes from here. It's close to our new Cypress campus of Second Baptist & we look forward to moving out to be near to all that God is continuing to do in that northwest area of Houston.

I've grieved some to think of moving away from neighborhood & school friends and to think of leaving our cute little house here, I have to admit, I'm a little sad! I can be so sentimental, transition is sometimes hard for me & I really don't like to say goodbye! But, because our home is every bit of "little," we know it's time to move forward to a place where the kids have more room to play both inside & out and to where we're not literally stepping over each other!

I was thinking of how God has taught us so much as we've been here, we've loved our home & living "close together," most days!

• Our kids have learned (or continue to learn, I should say) to SHARE! Share a room, share toys, share space, share, share, share! It is a good thing for all of us to learn in life, isn't it? Dawson & Noah have seemed to love being in the same room, I think Gracie feels like she's missing out & tries to join them as much as possible!
• We've learned to keep cleaning out, keep giving away, if something new comes in, something old goes out, it really does work with the clutter control.
• Small houses take much less time to clean, our vacumn cleaner could reach the entire house from only one outlet, wow, now that's either a rather small space or a long cord on the vacumn! Troy found that he could finish the lawn in about 20 minutes flat, he might be missing that soon!
• I used to wonder if I'd ever live in my idea of a "dream" house. I now understand a little more that a "dream" house is not so much about what a home looks like, how big it is, etc.., as it is about who lives inside that house. As I watch my husband of 14 years be such a wonderful daddy, as our home has been filled with the sounds of kid's little feet running everywhere, laughter, & all kinds of "loudness," as I'm reminded that all the little "messes" wouldn't be here if we didn't have these 3 incredible children for whom we're so grateful, I realize that this really has been every bit of a dream house to me...I couldn't have asked for anything more. Lord You are so good!

Ya'll come by & see us in our new spot in the world!

Beach View

We've just arrived back from a refreshing week in Florida and, as always & like many of you, we LOVED being at the beach! Troy had to practically pry me out of there once again, there's just something about being at the ocean, it's always hard for me to leave.

We've been freshly reminded that "vacation" with 3 little ones is much different than any relaxing vacation we used to take! We laugh so often at how our lives have changed these past few years & wonder what in the world we used to do with all of our extra time???

• Instead of long, leisurely walks along the beach, Troy & I are now pretty much racing to keep up with kids most of the time we're there...lots of good exercise comes from hanging out with our little crew. (:


• 1000 miles in the car each way with 3 kids feels, well, much longer. I know you understand, I'm still hearing the words "how much longer?" "are we in Florida yet?" ring in my ears. And, I do not wish to eat at another McDonald's again for a very long time!


• Putt putt golf with a 1 & 2 yr. old who want to get in every water hole on the course, along with your competitively driven 6 yr. old is out of the question! Believe me, we tried it.


• No sand castles can remain standing for longer than a few seconds. There is something in the mind of a 2 yr. old that cannot resist the urge to knock them down as fast as they're built! Troy & Daws had a problem with that one, we'll try again next year.


• We did "Disney in a day," whew, it was a semi-grueling time, but we did have fun & of course spent alot of money in just one day, but the amazing thing is - we found that what our kids seemed to keep talking about was not finding Mickey Mouse & all the fun rides at Disney...it was swimming together at the pool, playing on the beach & in the waves, eating ice cream while we looked at the stars, etc... How is that possible?! What a reminder to us that it's often just those little moments that matter most in the life of our children, those are the real "magical" moments in our lives!

Every time we get away for a few days, I once again remember the value of spending some time "disconnecting" from the world & "reconnecting" more closely with our family & with our Savior. Sometimes I think I forget how much I NEED that time, until we actually get away & do just that. Praying that God will help us all to have some time of reconnecting with Him in the midst of our summer schedules. Praying that you will have your own "magical moments" with Him this summer.

We're thanking Him for you today!