Today's Snow

We're Home!

We made it to Texas and are slowly getting settled in. We just got internet se up yesterday!! That was a long time not being able to get online. Here are some highlights from our last two weeks:
*We made the drive to Texas in three days, spending the nights in Tucson and Midland. We survived the trip on cinnis, starbucks, mcdonalds, sprite and suckers (thanks to our friends at Stonelake!).
*Our third day in Texas, the entire family got boots. Cowboy boots! The real deal!
*We spent our second week in Texas visiting family for Christmas.
*It snowed at our house on Christmas Eve...but we didn't get to see it because we weren't home.
*It is snowing again right now!
*I am still living in the midst of stacks of boxes. No couches, no washing machine, no bed for Caden...but we have a dog and cowboy boots!

Again??

Yes...again. We really are moving.....again. Joey and I have been married for twelve and a half years. We have moved 11 times. Eleven! If you count the three months we lived in a borrowed house in Ft. Worth when Carson first began treatment, the total would be twelve. I think I am ready to settle down.

So, I wanted to show you where it all began. The very first White House - our little apartment in College Station. (I took this picture back in October when we went to College Station for my cousin's wedding. (check out that link to see some pictures.)) When Joey and I were married, I still had one year left at Texas A&M. We had no money, of course, so we found this dirt cheap little apartment that we loved because it was all ours. Back then it was painted burnt orange and red. Our apartment is the one on the top right. The complex name was Golden West. Not much golden about them though. We had an interesting neighbor....she would always come over to borrow a slice of cheese. Once she needed to borrow a couple of dollars. We would see her out on the streets, walking and looking down, occassionally stopping to pick something up. She was looking for money! She paid us back those few dollars with coins she had found on the road. Our little two bedroom apartment with the sweet yet crazy neighbor was $330 a month!

Now fast-forward 12 years. Here is the newest White House. We will be moving to our new home this weekend. Well, we will leave California this weekend and will arrive in Texas the middle of next week.
While it is a little wild and crazy around here right now, we are excited to be going back home. California has been good to us. We have made some life-long friends and lots of great memories. But...it's time to head back to the farm.

Kate

I'm on the couch tonight in front of a warm fire, with a cup of hot green mint tea and my new friend Kate. I have been spending a lot of time with Kate over the past few days. She is teaching me many things....like how to format footnotes for journals, proper spacing for block quotes, placement of section and subsection titles...the list goes on and on. In the past I didn't get along with Kate very well. She frustrated me with all her rules and guidelines. But now, well, I have gained a new appreciation. There is something comforting about the structure. I like the rules. I enjoy getting things done the right way.

Joey is hours away from completing his big, no, his gigantic research project/paper for his doctorate degree. It has to be turned in tomorrow, so this may be a long night as the finishing touches are put on the project.

My awesome amazing rockin' husband began going to Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary in 2004, just months before our son was diagnosed with leukemia. Because of that, his four year degree has now taken six years to complete. But who's counting...right?? I am so proud of him!

Speaking of Carson, we have just passed our Two Years Off Treatment Anniversary!!! Woo-hoo! As soon as we get settled in Texas, he will go through a huge round of testing to see where he stands as far as the effects of the chemo on his body. I will let you know when that gets closer.

Thanksgiving

Here is how we spent our Thanksgiving Day. A scrumptious Thanksgiving lunch from McDonalds.... ...and several hours playing at the beach.
We decided that since we couldn't be home with family this year, we would make the day a memorable one. I mean....how often do you get to spend Thanksgiving at the beach when you are from Texas?? We did have a traditional Thanksgiving dinner Thursday evening. (It wasn't as good as my mom's though.)

Looking Sharp

Carson dressed himself for church Sunday morning.

His older brother's black shorts and his younger brother's blue plaid shirt. It didn't matter to him...he was ready to go.

Looking Sharp!

Esau White

Introducing the newest member of our family: ESAU WHITE

Esau was Isaac's Son. He was a skillful hunter, and a man of the open country. The perfect name for a huntin' dog. We will see if he turns out to be a fool or a full-blood huntin' machine. Our Esau is a 4 month old German Short-haired Pointer.

Esau is currently in Texas, and he will arrive at the White house on Dec. 17, 2009.

From Joey

19 days

The boys and I are making the most of our last days here in San Diego. Today we finished up school early and headed to the beach for a lazy afternoon. I think I could do that everyday for the last 19 days we are here....but then I would get nothing accomplished.

I did pack two boxes this morning.

Then this evening we had a cricket round up in our living room. Itty bitty little crickets everywhere. I'll explain that fun experience in another post.

We Are Movin' To Texas- Yee-haw!!!

Look out Texas, here we come!

It has been almost two years since we left our humble abode in Pecan Plantation to move to the big city of San Diego, CA. We have thoroughly enjoyed our time here and amazingly, the people are not too weird! God has enriched our lives with so many great friends from the two churches we have started.

We will miss Cali, but there's no place like home. We will miss Rubio's Fish Tacos, In-N-Out 3x3 Burgers, La Jolla Shores, Coronado Island, the amazing weather (It's 70 degrees today), Pollo de Chef at my favorite Italian food restaurant in Little Italy, the mountains, our blue house on the side of the hill (amazing views of the mountains), did I mention the weather, and most of all, the wonderful friends that God has put in our lives.

If God tells you to go do something for Him, believe us- Go for it! No matter how crazy it sounds, no matter where it is, no matter what excuse you can come up with- Go for it!

Thank you God for our time in San Diego. We move back to Texas for our next assignment. Use us. We are available.

From Joey

P.S.- Check out our new home. Let us know if you want to help unpack.

Presentations

The boys go to a class day once a week called Classical Conversations. Each week they have to give a presentation to their class. This week the topic is "Your Hero". I wanted to share with you what the boys wrote and will be sharing tomorrow.

Carson: My hero is Jesus. Jesus is my hero because he did tons of miracles. In the Bible, he healed people, he made people come back alive, and he died on the cross and came back to life in three days. He even did a miracle on me. When I had leukemia, Jesus healed me in 15 days. Leukemia is one of the worst sicknesses in the whole world. It is a type of cancer. I know Jesus can do anything, that is why he is my hero. (Carson sat down and wrote this all by himself. He didn't even have to think twice about who his hero was!)

Caden: My hero is my grandfather, Dr. Robert White. I call him Pa-pa. One reasons why Pa-pa is my hero is because he helps animals. Pa-pa is a veterinarian. He is a doctor to animals. Whenever I have a question about one of my animals, I call and ask Pa-pa. He always knows the answer. One time I had a sick fish that was dying. I called Pa-pa, and he said to put it in a separate bowl and shine a light on it. Amazingly, the fish lived. When I grow up, I want to know a bunch about animals too. I have gone to work with Pa-pa a few times. My job was to bathe dogs, kill flies, and scoop poop. I learned that if you are going to work at a veterinarian clinic, it is best to be the doctor and not an assistant. Papa is my hero.

Beach Baptisms

Last Sunday we had our final beach baptisms for the year. There were three people - a young woman named Neva who recently began coming to our church, and a couple named Jen and Micah who are expecting their third little girl in TWO WEEKS! I love baptisms! What an amazing picture of what God can do in our lives.Here are Jen and Micah's two little girls. Can you believe how cute they are??

And, or course, a picture of Corban. A post just isn't complete without his smile!

Buddy Walk

Last weekend our family participated in the Buddy Walk - a fundraiser for the National Down Syndrome Society. We walked on the team Melina's Buddies. Melina is the daughter of one of the families in our church. We had a great time watching the entertainment, walking and spending time with friends in Balboa Park. Thanks for letting us be on your team, Melina!!

Reenactment

In school right now we are studying Ancient Egypt. The boys had fun reenacting the battle when Pharaoh Menes united Upper and Lower Egypt. Here are some scenes from their little play.

This is the fierce Pharaoh Menes!
This is the Pharaoh of Lower Egypt.

Even the spectators got to wear a crown.

Ready for battle.

The fight in on!

To the victor goes the double crown!!

and....a picture of Corban.

Flying

Last Sunday Carson was invited to go flying with his best buddy, Brandon. Brandon's family goes to our church, and his dad is a pilot.
Carson enjoyed his flight and said that he wasn't scared at all in that little plane. And...here is a picture of Corban.

Rosh Hashana

In school this year, as the boys are studying world history, we are also incorporating Biblical history. To help us all understand biblical culture, we are celebrating some of the Old Testament Feasts. This weekend was our first one - Rosh Hashana.

Rosh Hashana is the beginning of the year on the Jewish calendar (we actually celebrated it a week late). It is considered as a time to begin introspection, looking back at the mistakes of the past year and planning the changes to make in the new year.

The feast itself is full of symbolism and has deep lessons for us about God's love and eternal plan. I will explain a few of our pictures: The globe has a crown on it (made by Carson), which represents God as being King of the Universe.
Carson also made our centerpiece for the table. The orange thing is our homemade Shofar. Traditionally this would be a ram's horn which is sounded to either gather the people for a celebration or for a war. During Rosh Hashana, the shofar is sounded every morning for 40 day as a reminder to the people to prepare themselves to come before God.
Our bread was made in a round loaf, instead of the usual braided loaf, to symbolize the desire for a full, well-rounded new year. The ladder on top (made by Caden), reminds us that our prayers go up to God. The little white thing on top of the ladder is supposed to be a bird, which is a symbol of our prayers rising up to God.

Here is Corban draining the last of the "cup". Joey said a traditional blessing over the grape juice, then we passed it around for the family to all drink.

Carson breaking the bread. (He never wears a shirt unless he has to go out in public!)

Here is Caden dipping apples in honey. This is another traditional food which is a symbol for our desire for a sweet new year.
Also on the menu: Fish - with the head pointed toward Joey to show that he is the head of our family. Carrots - the word for carrot means "to increase". Pineapple - we used it as our 'first fruits' symbol, representing that the firstfruits belong to God.

Conversation

Carson: Mom, I wish there was so such thing as a time machine.
Me: What would you do with it?
Carson: I would go back to the Garden of Eden and shoot Satan. And I would take Adam and Eve some clothes so they wouldn't have to be naked.

ROAD TRIP part 2

The final two days of our trip were spent driving....and driving some more. We headed back in to San Francisco to see the Golden Gate Bridge before we started the long drive down the coast. We made it almost to LA before stopping for the night. The next morning we slept in and let the boys go for one last swim. We took a small detour to see the Hollywood sign before heading home. We had an amazing educational (and fun) vacation to start off our school year.

ROAD TRIP

The boys and I have wanted to go on a California Road Trip since we moved here. We have tried to talk others in to going with us, but didn't have any takers. But my mom came to the rescue. So...last Tuesday we picked her up from the airport and hit the road. Our first stop was Yosemite National Park. This was honestly the most beautiful place I have ever been. Massive sequoia trees, beautiful waterfalls, rivers, mountains....We left Yosemite and headed to Lake Tahoe and Carson City, NV. Because of a fire in Yosemite, we had to drive the long way around. What should have been a two hour drive turned in to a six hour drive!! We came across some treasures along the way though. An odd little ice cream shop with a map on the wall that saved our sanity. And Carson Hill - named after a man named James Carson who found the largest gold nugget in the county on that hill.
The Carson City stop was especially for Carson. He has wanted to go there ever since he learned about the city when we studied state capitals in school last year. We visited the wonderful Nevada State History Museum while we were there.

The next stop was Coloma and the American River - the place where gold was first discovered in California. If you are ever in Northern Cali, and if you are a history buff, you HAVE to go here. There was a small museum, the original El Dorado county jail, a blacksmith shop, a replica of Sutter's mill where Marshall first found gold, and Marshall's original cabin. AND, we panned for gold right there in the American River!Next - the Jelly Belly factory in Sacramento! Another must-see.
And of course we had the go to the California State Capitol.
Corban picked this beautiful flower for me at the capitol right beside the sign that said "do not pick the flowers".
Today we headed in to San Francisco and toured Alcatraz.
Still on the itinerary - Golden Gate Bridge (we drove over it today but I didn't get a picture!), Hwy 1, Hearst Castle, maybe the Hollywood sign, and then home again.