Bye Dallas

So, we're actually moving! I've been thinking about the goods and bads about leaving my home of the past 7 years, Dallas, TX. In my thinking I've come up with a list of top 10 things I'll miss and the top 10 things I won't. So here goes:



Top 10 things I'll miss about living in Dallas:

1. LPG- our neighborhood parents group. When I found this group we went from living in a house to living in an amazing nieghborhood. Although I haven't been a very active participant in the activities they have been an amazing support group and ALWAYS there when we need them! I don't know if I will every find another group so great!

2. ZION LUTHERAN SCHOOL Our home away from home and our extended family for the past four years.

3. WHITE ROCK LAKE- such a beautiful place to go on walks with amazing wildlife all around it. The amount of "park land" and wildlife sanctuary land around it is such a wonderful blessing to this city and has been a great place for us to capture some family time along with great science lessons

4. BEING CLOSE TO MY IN-LAWS- Greg's mom is about 5 miles from us and his dad is about 15. This is the area where both of them grew up and it is the only "home" Greg has known. It has been very kind to us!

5. MY YARD. This place is amazing! We have just under 1/2 acre and it's like a park attached to our house! Greg has always given it extensive amounts of love and attention. I hope the future owners of the house enjoy it as much as we have and take good care of it too!

6. FRIENDS- we have had some amazing friends here! Some of them have been Greg's friends since he was a small child, going through all the highs and lows of life together, others we have known for a very short time, but all of them we will truly miss!

7. PARKS- There are at least five parks just in our neighborhood! We have wonderful memories at each and every one of them!

8. CREEKS- for some reason this area of the city has a million creeks! It makes for amazing greenbelts in the neighborhoods!

9. WILDLIFE- I have seriously walked out my door at 7 or 8 in the morning and seen red foxes jogging down the sidewalk! How incredible! Not to mention all the birds (we have a cardinal couple, a woodpecker, several bluejays and a woods owl that all live in OUR trees!)

10. last but most certinitally not least: OUR HOUSE! This is our first "home". Sure, we had a couple of apartments before we bought this house, but we never considered any of them to be home. This place was the welcoming place to all three of our precious daughters when they were born and these walls have witnessed them all as they have grown into the incredible little girls they are today! It has seen the hard times and the most amazing times we have experienced over the past 6 1/2 years. It has always been a source of comfort and will always be a huge part of who we are as a family! We are so blessed to have these memories and this beautiful place to have held them.


Top 10 things I won't miss about living in Dallas:

1. MATERIALISM- This is truly a big city and so many of the people (especially in this area) and incredibly materialistic and judgemental of other's material belongings.

2. COST OF LIVING/HOUSING- I know it's not the most exepensive in the country by any means, but it is seriously high!

3. TRAFFIC- I swear it takes me 20 mintues just to go down the street to the grocery store!

4. BEING FAR AWAY FROM MY FAMILY- It takes just over an hour to get from our house to my parents' and that is about 55 minutes too long, but fortunatley we have not allowed that to come between us!

5. PROXIMITY TO THE GHETTO- just two blocks away is an incredibly undesirable neighborhood, but one block from us in the other direction is REALLY nice homes with REALLY nice price tags!

6. PUBLIC SCHOOLS- this is a huge part of the reason we're moving...no details required.

7. FAST PACE- everyone is always in hurry, running late, running into traffic...just too stressful for me

8. OUR HOUSE- although it has been such a blessing to us, it has also been a constant struggle and project, not to mention a little cramped.

9. CRIME- I always feel like I have to look over my shoulder and never feel like I should trust anyone because of what they might do. Of course I'm sure this has nothing to do with me watching the news:)

10. LACK OF FRIENDLINESS- where I'm from everyone says hi to everyone, you never meet a stranger, and everyone is your neighbor. I know Dallas isn't as bad as say...NY, after all it is still in TX, but compared to my wonderful home town this place is awful! In fact when Greg and I were at lunch just before looking at houses he commented on how "weird" the people in the restaurant were to be having extremly polite conversations with complete strangers; then the other day a stranger offered to help me carry my food to the table since it was obvious it was going to take me more than one trip, and it took me a minute to realize I wasn't in Dallas and accept his kind offer.

All in all I am grateful for the time I have had in Dallas and all I have learned and experienced here, but at the same time I am so ready to move on to our next chapter!
Thanks for everything Big D, I look forward to visiting you regularly!