Minnesota

I had all intentions of doing this post before we moved, but things got so crazy right before we left and I just ran out of time.

I basically just wanted to reflect back on our 4 years of living in Minnesota. It was such a hard decision of whether or not we were going to move to Minnesota, but after a lot of prayers we felt God was leading us there and that it was the right thing for our family.

The hardest part about living in Minnesota was being away from our families and friends back home. We moved to MN determined to make the best of our time there and knew that would mean making efforts to get involved, meet new friends and try to experience all the things that Minnesota had to offer.

It's amazing that we went to MN a duo and came back to Texas as a trio. So it's safe to say that our best memory of Minnesota was the day our precious Joseph came into our lives. The other part that made our lives so happy there were our incredible friends. I know I've said it before, but I never imagined that God would bless us with so many wonderful friends. We went through so much with our friends there. We were part of their weddings, shared in their pregnancies and births of little ones, went through job changes together, and were introduced to so many new things. We are so happy to be back in Texas now but already miss our friends there so much.

So as my final "Minnesota post", I've pulled some pictures that look back on our 4 years in MN and a list of "First Things" we experienced while we were there....

First big snow - and first snow angel :)

First time at the MN State Fair

First time in Stillwater, MN on the St. Croix River

First time in Walnut Grove - home of Laura Ingalls Wilder

First MN Twins baseball game

First time to pick strawberries from a strawberry patch

First time to see -23 degrees!

First time at Lake Superior

First time to see such beautiful fall colors

First time to pick apples from an apple orchard

First time to tailgate for a football game in 5 degrees

First camping trip in MN

First time in front of a tulip garden at the MN Arboretum

First time to snowmobile across a lake

First time to snowtube! (also in 5 degrees)

First time to go through a corn maze

First time to see the start of the Mississippi River
First time at the Feed My Starving Children Gala
First time to brew a batch of beer
Love at FIRST sight
And our amazing group of friends that made the whole experience so wonderful