home again, home again jiggedy jig.

we're heading back home to texas in 5 days.

boxes are packed and sealed up. 

furniture is gone, and walls are empty.

we are more than ecstatic to be going back home to our family and friends!

but it just doesn't seem real.

i don't think it will set in until we get back home and our things are put away.

not until we cook dinner together or have company over will it really set in that we are back home, for good.

even though the winter was brutal and colder than we could've ever imagined.

even though the past few months have been hard and texas is where we want to be, there are things about this place and this past year that we'll never forget.

i loved being in a new place and meeting new people along the way.

i loved waking up every morning to snow falling and drinking my coffee as I soak it all in.

i loved watching chester frolic in the snow.

i loved having a white christmas and seeing "christmas trees" covered in snow.

i'll never forget the people i've met who have done so much to make us feel welcome here.

or the mall where we spend many winter days.

i'll never forget our anniversary at jasper national park and the beautiful things we saw there.

or elk island national park where we had many weekend picnics and spent a lot of time hiking.

i'll always remember kyle shoveling the driveway and cursing at the snow that was currently falling from the sky onto the half shoveled driveway. :)

and how happy he was to see the last of the snow melt and knew his shoveling days were over.

i'll always be grateful for how this adventure has brought my hubby and i closer than we ever imagined.

i'm grateful to have had my precious dog with me and don't know how i would have survived without him.

i'm grateful for skype and free calls to the u.s., moving here was hard and not talking to family and friends ALL the time would have made it so much harder.

there are things that have happened in this past year that have definitely changed my life.

i lost my cousin, brittani, who is more like a sister to me, she's made such a huge impact on my life.  even though i wasn't there to say goodbye, i did get to go home to celebrate her life. it comforts me to know that she's joined her sister in heaven and i now have them both watching over me. my two precious angels. 
we also found out we were pregnant here.  such a special moment, and even though it was weeks before we told anyone, i loved that we were giddy and couldn't talk about anything else with each other since we couldn't tell anyone else.  i will always remember my husband's reaction to seeing the word *pregnant* on the home pregnancy test.  our lives were forever changed in one instant. :)

i'm excited for the future and what the next chapter of our lives has to bring.
i'm ready to get back to texas.

i'm excited about teaching and being in the classroom with kiddos again.
i'm thrilled to be close to friends and family again and look forward to A LOT of time with them. spontaneous pedicures or shopping trips are things i have missed dearly.

i can't wait to find out what our precious little one is,

and i CAN'T WAIT to become a momma and watch kyle become a daddy.

but this past year in canada has been a blessing.

an adventure i will always treasure,

and one i'll never forget.