Hello, my friends! I’m excited to say that my family and I have lived in Lawton for three months today! It feels so good to have one quarter of year under our belts. We are feeling more at home each day. I no longer turn around in circles in the kitchen trying to find the bowls and I have not purchased a duplicate item because I “lost” the original in several weeks. (Yes, I bought too much liquid handsoap because I forgot where I put the first bottle I bought. At least it won’t spoil!) 🙂 I am also feeling much more confident as I drive around town now. Lawton is laid out very nicely, mostly in square blocks, so that’s made it easier. Coming from a town of 10,000 to 100,000 has been a big change, but it’s one that I like.

Several things for which I am thankful about our new home, town and church:
1. The people of Bethel Baptist Church are patient and loving. They have bent over backwards to help us settle in and adjust. No pressure or judgment. It’s a great feeling.
2. There are a lot of people in Lawton, and the majority need to hear about the Lord. We have a big job, but we serve an all-powerful God who has everything we need to do that job.
3. We have an Army post nearby (Ft. Sill) which means people from all over the country come here. That’s a great opportunity to reach the nation in our own backyard!
4. We have lots of stores, including a mall! Walmart, Hobby Lobby, Olive Garden, Hastings, Lowes, and Target are just 1-3 miles away.
5. We have a great library that has a lot of programs for kids, including the allusive inter-library loan, which before we moved to Hope, I had totally taken for granted. It’s great to be able to get a book, even if the library doesn’t have it!
6. There is a big Christian homeschool group in Lawton, which will give our kids the opportunity to play sports for the first time. They are really excited!

We have also been busy getting the house in order. Terry put in a new thermostat for our heat and air, and I’ve purchased a few decorations for the house. I’ve got curtains up and new lamp shades for the living room. We’ve also been working on the outside of the house. Here are a few photos of the improvements we’ve made lately:

We had two dead trees in the yard when we came. We wanted to get them down as soon as possible because of all the wind here. They would damage our neighbor’s property if they fell wrong, so two sweet families from church came over and helped Terry cut them down. This is the before photo.

 They’re down, and they are a mess! Here’s my man working to chop it all up.

Lots of limbs and future firewood!

Here is the “after”. Just a few branches left to dispose of now. The families who helped cut them down also brought a trailer to haul off some of it. We burned some and we stuffed some down into our trash can. Oh, and we saved some for winter! 🙂

 Much, much better! 🙂

 Here’s the wood we got for the fireplace.

My flower bed in front of the house had gotten rather woolly over the last few months. We’ve had good rainfall and plenty of sun, so the weeds are growing! Some of them were pretty!

I’ve been told these are “surprise lillies”. They sure were! I love them!

After weeding for 1.5 hours, it looks much better. We sprayed the grass and I still need to go out and pull it up. (I think I’ll have the kids help me.) Despite being ULTRA careful, I still managed to get a bit of poison oak or ivy on my arms. So far, it’s not too severe. I’ve got naturally sensitive skin, so I guess being “ultra” careful isn’t good enough for me. 😉

I found out that this is called purple heart. I just love it! It’s growing around my front porch.

I still find myself missing the friends I made in Arkansas, but there is nothing like having the peace that God is controlling your life, and that you’re right where He wants you.