Landing Gear

Well, it's been 3 1/2 weeks since our big move to San Antonio (and over a month since my last post - oops). So, do you want the good news or bad news first?! Let's get the bad news out of the way. We are pretty miserable in our rental house. As it turns out, our street is in the flight pattern for the S.A. airport. The planes fly so low, if fact, you can read the signs of the strip center up the street from our house. They fly all day and ALL night. We haven't really slept since we moved in. We are so miserable that we've decided NOT to build. In all honesty, we can't live here long enough to complete the construction (which hasn't even begun). So, our dream house will be put on hold and our search for an existing home continues. Hopefully we'll find something SOON.

Ok, now that the bad news is out of the way, on to the good stuff. Isabella will begin her 3rd week of school tomorrow (she attends Tuesdays and Thursdays). Once the first 30 minutes have passed (hysterical crying, just like her mommy when she was little), she really enjoys herself. She loves her two teachers (although she knows their real names, if you ask her their names, she'll always tell you it's Miss Hannagan - gee, I wonder why). It's a very small class, which is nice for her. She does Music every Tuesday and it's the same format as the Music Together she did in Dallas. Of course, this is her favorite activity. She also enjoys the drama/make-believe part of class. She really enjoys pretending and dressing up in the outfits they have. Here are some pictures from her first couple of days:




Every week, if one of the kids does something helpful (without asking) or nice to another student, they get a "mini mensch" ticket for the good deed. Every Friday at Shabbat (more on their Shabbat later) they do a drawing of those tickets and the winner is the "mini mensch of the week." Guess who won last week. Isabella was SO proud and as a reward she got to hold the kiddush cup during the blessings. Here's a picture:



Ok, more about Shabbat. If she went 3 days a week, she'd go to the shabbat service and then stay for class, but I want to take advantage of my time with her, so I only send her the two days. I do, however, take her to Shabbat every Friday morning. It is the cutest service. They sing songs, march with the Torah (and each child gets to carry their own mini plush torah). Isabella really enjoys Shabbat and has learned the Shabbat Shalom song. She's quite proud of the fact that she can sing it by herself. After the service (which lasts all of 15 or 20 minutes) we go back to the classroom, recite the blessings and eat Challah and grape juice. Here are some pictures and a little video:







A little over a week ago, we went to Kansas City to celebrate a ton of milestones. It was Grandma and Grandpa Rays' 65th anniversary, Gma Ray's 85th birthday and Gpa Ray's 87th birthday. Pretty impressive, huh?!?! It was so nice to see everyone and Isabella really enjoyed meeting her future cousins (my cousin Melissa Ritter and Angie Shaw (Brad's wife) are both pregnant and due a couple of days apart in October). Isabella REALLY loves pregnant women and they were no exception. She wanted to sit with them the whole time. It was so cute. She's now very excited to meet her new cousins when we go to Kansas City in December.



We'll keep you posted as things happen. Keep your fingers crossed we find something SOON!