Alone packing in your soon to not be house anymore....

So today was hard, I'm going to admit it. I cried several times. (pregnancy hormones were a factor I'm sure) I have just become so sentimental about our house. And not to mention I am missing Tyler like crazy! He is in Honduras with our new church staff on a missions scouting trip. He has never been out of the country w/ out me! He also isn't able to call me. It was so hard not getting to talk to him today. I am so spoiled! I am used to being able to reach him at all times, so it was very weird today.
My good friend, Jan, kept griffin for me today so I could pack some more without having interruptions and it was very nice but very strange being ALONE! Now my dad was encouraging me about all this alone time I'm getting to have and he told me to enjoy the solitude because soon I'll be so busy with a newborn and toddler that I'll be dreaming of some solitude. So why did I not enjoy my house being silent today? I love having griffin running around the house, dragging all his toys all over the place. I even love him interrupting me wanting me to play with him for a bit or read a book. I love hearing him and tyler wrestling in the living room. Isnt that what a home is for? And I cannot wait to have this sweet baby girl joining in the noise making and filling out home with more life and laughter.
I have had so much time to think today, and my mind could not be kept from thinking of my family and my heart was constantly full of thankfulness to God for blessing me with them. I realized how much I would miss them if they were not with me, and how much I enjoy them each day.

I also kept thinking about our house that will soon be someone elses. This is Tylers and mines first house that we purchased. It was where we brought griffin home from the hospital and where griffin and i played all summer in the backyard making mudpies and swinging. It is where we have shared so many fun memories as a family. It will always be our new Mexico house, our first street to live on, taking walks with griffin up and down it. I will miss so much about it. I miss griffins nursey, the tree in middle of the backyard, all the creeks and noises it makes as you walk down the hall or open a certain door.
I know all this sounds a tad bit silly, but its how I feel. I have loved this house since the first day we walked into it to look at it with our realitor. It has been our home for 3 1/2 years and it will always be special to me.
It is, however, just a house. And you would think it wouldnt be that big of a deal to just pack up and leave. I am just thanking God for providing us with such a sweet and perfect first house. And I know that it really isn't the house in of itself that I have loved so dearly, but the precious times we have had here together as a family with our first child. It has been the best 3 1/2 yrs of my life, and I will always treasure the time we had here.

Georgetown, tx

I'll keep this short, since I have tried to write a long blog post several times with a lot of details and then had to get up to do something, never to get back to it, therefore losing it all.
We are moving! God has called us to a church called Terranova, in Georgetown, Tx., just north of Austin. Tyler will be their student pastor. We will be moving march 4th. We are very excited about this church and place that God has led us to. We are also very sad to be leaving Clovis, the students in the youth group, our church family, and dear friends we have here. It has been hard to juggle so many mixed emotions lately, but we are trusting God and His plan for us and know that He is always good. We thank Him for bringing us to Clovis for 3 1/2 yrs. and for all the many ways He has blessed us by being here.

Please pray for us during this transition.
Pray our house here in Clovis will sell soon and that God would bring a family or person to see it and cause them to love it just as much as we have. (side note: a family that goes to Terrnova has gone to scotland for 6 months, and they are so graciously letting us live in their house until they return, rent free. We praise God for this gift! This will give us time for our house to sell and then hopefully buy another one in georgetown within six months.)
Pray for energy to get everything done we need to get done- packing, loading, driving the 8-9 hr drive to georgetown with griffin, etc.
Pray for griffin, that he will adjust well and continue to sleep well being in a new place.
Pray for safe travel on moving day.
Pray that God would provide central baptist-clovis with a new student pastor who is God-centered and who will teach the word powerfully to the students here.
Pray that God would use us in Georgetown for His names sake and His great purposes, keeping us near Him and worshiping Him always.

Thank you for any prayers prayed. We truly do appreciate them!

21 months and 4 years

Griffin is 21 months old today. Happy 21 months Griff Griff! He is currently at the stage of leaning something new every day and wanting our attention pretty much all the time. Some new words he has conquered are:
Milk
Hi- he must wave as he says this.
Delicious- ok not exactly but he tries really hard.
Stick
Cold
Hair
Nose
Mitch- his uncle
Pig
Pjs
Book
Read
Juice
Hop
Outside
Tree
Glasses

Many more too. We are so proud of him! He loves to point to my belly when asked where is baby brother/sister and then he must kiss my belly. I'll post some recent pics of him soon. Tomorrow I hope to get him out in the snow that is left and take some pics.

On another note, tomorrow is Tyler and mines wedding anniversary! We have been married 4 years! We have loved every single moment of our marriage and look forward to all the years to come. God has blessed us by giving us each other and we are so very thankful for His constant grace and nearness to us as a couple and family.
We are having a date night tomorrow night while our sweet friends, Isaac and Kristie have volunteered to keep griffin for us. We have been saving a gift card from Chritsmas to a local steakhouse here in Clovis and are going to go see a movie. We are extremely excited to get to go do something we used to do together all the time before Griffin. Thankful we have sweet friends who want to stay with g. :)

20 wks

today I am 20 weeks pregnant and feel GREAT! Praising God for the energy and enjoying this second trimester very much. We find out the gender of the baby on Friday! So 4 more days! Will def post a gender announcement then. :)

Apple Juice

I don't give Griffin apple juice very often, actually it's pretty much never, but I do have some apple juice boxes on hand and so I thought I'd give him one as a treat a few days ago. Each time he has had it he LOVES it of course, so this day was no different. He downed it in about a minute. After I got him out of his high chair he instantly started running around the living room mumbling something the whole time. He did this for awhile, and so you have the privilege of getting to watch him and see what apple juice does to him.


enjoy!!!

Griffin "Studmuffin" Hicks- 20 months old

Griffin is 20 months old. 20 months! In less than 4 months he'll be two! He is loving life and hating it at the same time I think. His "eye teeth" have been coming in the last week and a half and it has been an adventure to say the least. I am eager for them to pop on through and make their full appearance. They are almost there! I am hoping that his wining and crying will cease soon, and that it is just from teething and not a habit that has formed. He LOVES playing with all his new animals that my sister and mom got him for Christmas. He carries around the cow and horse all day practically. He is learning tons and tons of things lately. He surprises me by saying a word sometimes that is new and it is so exciting! He especially enjoys showing everyone he can what the horse, cow, and other animals say. He loves his dad and when they are having dad and son time, I'll peek my head in the room and ask what they are doing and he will come up to the door and shut it in my face, letting me know that I am not invited in on their "man time". He makes us laugh all the time and loves to mimic us, especially our laughs.
He is a joy to have around all the time and keeps us entertained. We love him so much and are enjoying this stage. :)

new years in the country

my favorite red door, if only they'd let me go in this barn!
walking with Meemaw and Dad

checking out the scenery
sunset pic with mom
cattle guard.
in front of the house


come on, Meemaw, lets go!
ready to go exploring

This New Years we joined Tyler's parents and grandpa out in Snyder, Tx. Have I ever blogged about our adventures in Snyder before??? haha.. if you read my blog then you should know about Snyder. We often go to get out of town and spend some time with Tyler's family and it is always so refreshing and nice. I do come home tired from traveling 3 1/2 hrs there and back, though, but it's worth it.
So we had a great New Years eating some good cookin from Peggy, with my little help, ate some black eye peas, and went on walks with Griffin, saw some animals, and Tyler did some hunting (and no he did not get a big buck, but his dad did! Way to go Mr. Steve!), and just enjoyed the warm, cozy fire that was constantly going in the fireplace while visiting around the table and watching movies. I watched this amazing movie that I had never seen before that Peggy thought I would like called Coalminers Daughter. It is the story of Loretta Lynn, the country singer. Peggy and I did not get why the guys did not want to watch it with us. haha. If you have not seen it, you should rent it or netflix it. Peggy and Steve, my inlaws, saw it in the theaters when it first came out way back when. Anyways, such a great story and it refreshed my long, lost like of country music. :)
Griffin loved wearing this gigantic bright orange toboggan when he was outside and he LOVES the small barn with the red door that is out behind the house. He is all about farm stuff and farm animals currently. He also loved spending time with his two Papa's and Meemaw, and loves getting to sleep in the same room with his Papa Tobe (Tyler's grandpa) which he did over Thanksgiving too. Tobe told us that he would look over where G was sleeping during the night and Griffin would be standing up, awake, looking at him. Then he'd just lay back down and go back to sleep. So funny!
So Happy late New Years from the Hicks.