Things have been going so well since our move. The drive was a long one. We decided to split it between two days and stay at a motel just East of Dallas. Good thing we did! We did not get on the road until 5pm Thursday and arrived at that particular parking spot Julius mentioned in his last post at 3pm Friday.  The girls were surprisingly good through the drive and we made it with a fanfare of horn honking at our new home, the JJ Patton Ranch. 

We had several days to unload and settle into our new digs. I must say it is a giant step up in life to have our own wing with special babysitters on tap! :)  Evelyn has become attached to Grandpa and squeals loudly nearly every time he comes in the door.  There are always just those people that a child responds to with enthusiasm, and Jack is the latest in Evelyn's list of fave's.  

Julius began work at the Hobby Lobby store on 71st and Mingo, and so far enjoys the atmosphere more than the one in San Antonio.  We have new hopes for what this job will be for Julius.  We do not know what is in store for us. But as we learned in the church we visited last weekend, LifeChurch.tv, we need not to ask WHY am I here in this place, but WHAT NEXT, LORD?  We are renewing our faith in trusting God with a plan for our lives, and are going to try and hear what he wants from us. 

Yesterday, Julius and I took our little family to visit the Tulsa Zoo. Janet gifted us with a family year-long membership to the zoo, and I am looking forward to going often! It was a nice first visit, just a few hours in the sun and 80 degree weather, and some time as a family doing something fun. Thanks, My Love, for spending some of your precious day off and taking us all out. :)  I love you.

Here are the pictures of our time at the zoo.

Me and Kayla ready to walk!

The Girls and the Elephant...sounds like a book title, huh?

Julius and I...and Pen Gwen.

Watch out! The tigers are H.O.T.!

Thanks for stopping by today. We are so excited about being home again. As always, your prayers are appreciated.  We love you all!

Another BIG update!

First, let me apologize for the lapse in communication from our last post to this one. Niether one of us have been very good about regular updates, yet we both desire to do so. However, we do post snip-its (sp?) now and then to our facebook pages.

Life has been... life. You make plans, you account for deviations and outlying possible outcomes, but you can't always account for what actually happens. Such is the case here.

I continue to work at Hobby Lobby as a CSM - Customer Service Manager, while Kimberly has been working on a contract basis for the Zeitgeist Wellness Group in San Antonio. However, Kimberly's company is just getting started into the field of testing and have not reached a level of constant business. They had offered Kimberly a full-time position, but after taking into consideration the cost of daycare for a toddler and infant, and accounting for cost of gas, we would be hard pressed to Net $50 a week.

So, taking all areas of life (finances, emotional wellbeing, our health, kids' health, familial support, etc.) into consideration, we decided to accept an invitation to move back to Oklahoma with my parents.

I called the Tulsa stores and spoke with the Store Manager at the 71st & Mingo area store and he has an "immediate need" for a CSM at his store. I discussed the situation with him and my store manager and - after a Glowing recommendation from my store manager - I have been approved for a transfer to the Tulsa store.

So, here we are a few weeks later with everything we own in boxes. Tomorrow, we will pick up a Budget rental truck, pack it full of everything we have, and move back to Oklahoma.

God has blessed us a lot in the past and he is currently blessing us with the love and generosity of friends / coworkers that we have met here. We firmly believe that this is the route God has for us - for whatever His reasons - and we are stepping forward in faith that He has everything lined up for us in His perfect timing.

This move will result in a slightly better financial position, but - even more important - it will result in a much better emotional state for both Kimberly and I. When weighing all the pros and cons, there were just WAY too many pros for the move and very few cons.

We have been praying for answers. We believe this is where we should go and we step out in faith that God has everything prepared for us in His perfect timing.

We love you all and simply cannot wait to park the truck in Oklahoma.
Love,
Julius

March 2012

Hello Family and Friends,

We are slowly becoming accustomed to being parents of children. Children...as in plural. Yep. It has been hard to believe that we young things are indeed PARENTS to TWO kiddos. They are a joy!

I have been slowly going crazy, however, as Evelyn has fully entered the terrible twos stage. And she is loUD!

Kayla, thankfully, is just like Evelyn was at this age...chill and give

her food - she's good. :)

Julius is working hard at Hobby Lobby and I am hardly working. Please pray that things pick up at my employers or else I will be looking elsewhere for a job. Gotta work!

Right now, Julius has a three day weekend and he is wisely spending the time trying to fix the truck. Finally, we have both the parts and the time to install them...at the same time! We will be ready for the next cold front and hot summer. Yeah!

So that is a quick, impulsive update. I just wanted an excuse to post some pics of my beautiful family. Love to you all!

Another Momentous Update!

Okay, so I've been lax in updating the blog, so let me get right down to the bones:
* Baby Born - Kayla Rose Patton on 1/13/12 at 8:18pm, 7lbs. 4.7oz. and 19.5" long via C-section. Daddy is recovering nicely.
* LPA Licensure! - Kimberly passed her monstrous exam by a massive amount. She can now start work for a successful, well-paying company that is anxiously awaiting her.
* Good sisters! - Evelyn is loving Kayla and enjoys holding her and kissing her forehead.
* Cleanout - I cleaned the shed! Now I can go hide!

... and this concludes the standard "Patton Version" of our lives. For more information stay tuned... or call Kimberly.

Love,
J

P.S. - Pics to follow later!