Ending at Where We Started (Part III)

So we left off with house #4... it wasn't right. And maybe Lakeway wasn't right either.

Well, we were pretty sure that was true, but that next week we had lots of processing to do. We talked about living in Round Rock, North Austin, we thought more seriously about renting a home. We priced out apartments... again... we researched our options, we talked with our realtor and we were still unsure of what to do. I didn't want to think about it... I wanted to keep breathing... waiting... 

There was some job stuff... some big job stuff that we were seeing through...

It shifted our direction a bit...it made things change course... things became clearer.

But still...

We needed to be still...

But when the clock to being homeless is ticking this was much easier said than done.

As we approached the weekend we decided that the kids had been through A LOT. Lots of change, lots of "backseats..." lots of sacrifice in their worlds. So we decided to have a day that was dedicated just to them... our family as a whole, but we decided to do things that would weightheavily on the KID side...

Again... it was just what we needed!

Throughout the week we had thrown around the idea of staying right where we were... in the same town... even in the same neighborhood. The Lord was pulling us there and we felt it, but again we were trying our best to wait it out... be patient... wait for clarity.

This day would continue to tug on our heartstrings...

We ended up spending the first part of our day enjoying the fun in our sweet, little town...

Beginning with breakfast at our favorite spot...

Where the kids thoroughly enjoyed the BACON!!!

And we took pics all around... 

And the kids slicked down their Mickey Mouse pancakes!!

After breakfast we headed the park for some playing...

The "purple dinosaur park" is one of their favs... they were THRILLED when we pulled up. We also made a pit spot on the way to get some crackers for our duck friends who we were hopeful of seeing! :)

Guess what??? They were there... in all of their quacking glory...

Of course Daddy was the only one brave enough to approach them at first... these were actually geese... and I don't do geese! 

Ever since Justin and I's canoe was attacked by an angry goose on Town Lake 10 years ago, geese have been dead to me! 

The kids were a bit timid but tried to warm up to the idea of the gaggle of squawking feathered creatures... 

After the park we headed to a new part of  our AWESOME trail system for a little hike... 

We came upon a lovely little treat someone put out for the passers-by... 

We made it one tenth of a mile...

My heart...

The stick collector... aka the collector/hoarder of all THINGS... Kaki, convinced Daddy that he TOO needed a good hiking stick... and he found one! :)

And then the hunt was on... they found several!

I believe we made it another two tenths of a mile before we turned around and headed home... Kaki is a slow, slow creature... she stops to smell the roses in the most literal sense, so if she's not in the hiking backpack we can be assured that our hour long hike will not take us very far... BUT we enjoyed our time nonetheless... it was an absolutely majestic day!

After hiking we ran home for a potty break and to shed some layers and then surprised the kids with the BIG event for the day...

Kiddie Acres...

We didn't tell them until we pulled up... 

THEY WERE SO EXCITED!!

They rode and rode and rode... 

After Kiddie Acres we headed home for a late nap... we had a BIG ending to our special family day...

Dinner at one of our favorites... this was more of a Mommy and Daddy treat than a kiddo treat, but they do love going out on the town and we love to take them with us... 

We had a FUN, lovely, YUMMY family dinner that ended with a big bowl of ice cream for the little kids and one of the tastiest cappuccinos ever for the big kids!

Kaki girl can pound her some ice cream... 

The girls...

And the boys...

You can dress her up...

This boy is an ice cream lover too... the original...

It wasn't until we got home that we realized that Kaki's dress and tights were COVERED in chocolate syrup tinted ice cream... she was truly a mess! :)

At the end of our day exploring the sights and sounds of our hometown and then venturing out to enjoy some other local favorites, we believed our answer was getting clearer. Our hearts were full of appreciation for the time we had to spend together as a family. Throughout our day we found ourselves saying things like "Gosh I love this city!" "Why are we moving again?" "Why are we leaving this place?" "We finally got here... why are we leaving so soon?" Over and over again...

Maybe our end was way back at the beginning. Maybe the ending of our story would be right where we started.

But, let's not think about that today...

There will tomorrow for that...

And if there's not...

We will not be any worse for it... :)

To be continued...