"Go" and "Roar"

My little Reagan is starting to talk....seriously, I promise we aren't just over-excited first time parents. Other people have heard her! A few weeks ago Reagan was sitting in her highchair by Addison and Wesley. They were pretending to be animals and shouting, "Roar" back and forth. Reagan was watching and you could just see her thinking....she would watch them and move her mouth around...then she did her own little "Roar"! She also has a toy that makes the lion sound and she growls back at it.

Then this weekend, she started saying, "Go". She repeats it all the time for us. We are constantly racing with Addison and telling her, "Ready, set, go", so I guess that is where Reagan learned it.

She does also say Mama and Dada, but I am not sure she says them to us! As much as I would like to say it was mama, I definitely think "GO" was her first official word.

Happy Valentine's Day

The girls and I went to Picture People this morning to take their Valentine's pictures. I also wanted to get a picture of the 3 of us to send with Tommy to his new office in Denver. If only we could photo shop a few different shots together, we might have something decent of everybody.

Look at Reagan's picture....she stands up on her own like a pro!!!

Saying Good-bye....Grab a Tissue

Keep going......to the next post.....

Okay....this is it.....

Wow, these pictures bring me to tears. They are such a reminder of the three years we have been here and how special each of my dear friends are to me. You are my best friends and your children are Addison's best friends...the only friends she has ever known.

I don't often let myself think about actually leaving The Woodlands, our church home, or the daily life that I love so much here. But today, with a few quiet moments in the house and no realtors/inspectors/handymen to call, I couldn't help but start to think about what it will actually feel like to leave all of you, and it breaks my heart!

The Lord has blessed me with some of the most amazing friendships I have ever had. You all are so kind, generous and loving. I was in tears last Thursday after we had to miss bible study because Reagan was sick. I left the dr's office shortly after bible study had ended, and headed to my car. I had FOUR messages from you all checking on us, praying for us and offering to help in any way. It made me wonder what I will do without you all. I will most certainly feel a void on my Thursday mornings.

Sherry, your friendship has meant more to me than I could even begin to tell you. There is just something special and dear about that first "Mommy" friend. We have come so far since all those miles walking with Tex and Jetta, childbirth and breastfeeding classes. I know that I have been on the phone with you at least once a day (usually lots more), every weekday since our children were born. You were the first person outside of family to hold my sweet Addison, and you were the ONLY person I could leave her with for a LONG time! Remember when she used to get mad at me and tell me she wanted to go to Sherry's house? You are one of the most selfless people I have ever met, and that makes you such an amazing friend, mother and servant of the Lord. God blessed me with your friendship at the perfect time, and you and your boys will always have a place near and dear to my heart! It is going to take me awhile to get used to not being right down the street from you.

Michele, your family has come to mean so much to us, especially since you moved so close by. I so wish Reagan and Ansley were going to be growing up right down the street from each other....I am excited about Denver, but would much rather be moving into the house in your cul-de-sac. Wesley is the cutest little thing and we are so flattered each time we see him. It seems like even when we don't have plans to do something, I run into you all over town. I love it each time....seeing Wesley just go crazy with excitement over Addison and then watching him lose his mind when we have to leave! I know he prays for her each day and we sure cherish each one of his precious prayers. I will miss getting to chat with you while the kids play and I know Tommy will miss guys nights with Brannon. We are planning on your visits and can't wait to see you in Colorado! And, since you have the guest room....we are crashing your house when we come visit.

Rebekah, can you believe that this whole amazing group started with your idea and the four of us. We sure have evolved into something really big compared to our little group of four that met at 1:00 on Thursdays. Those little playdates were the highlight of my week back then. It was such a blessing to fellowship with Christian woman and share our lives. It is hard for me to believe that all that was nearly three years ago. Thank you so much for having the courage to invite a few people you really didn't even know to get together. Your faith has been such an encouragement to me. I have loved watching our babies blossom to little girls.

Amy Brown, we love date night trade! What an incredible blessing it was to know that there was always a night away together every few weeks. And, we loved having Levi hang out with us. He is such a doll! I will remember all our stroller fit days, before the second children put a stop to any kind of working out. I loved chatting with you as we walked...especially reminiscing about the drill team days! All that walking gave me a chance to really get to know you. I remember the first time you came to my house for a playgroup before Levi was born, and we scared you to death! Now, you are an amazing mom.

Amy Chappelle, my sister!!! I will really miss being mistaken for you, or told how much I look like you. I always come away from those moments smiling and feeling so flattered. You are such a sweet friend and wonderful mom, and I sure will miss you!

Erin, thank you so much for all the medical advice. Thanks for letting me call you with all my questions and for looking in my girls ears. Thanks also for always being willing to go anywhere. You are always up for the park, museum, pool....any outing. I am praying for a sweet little girl to join your family.

Lindsay, you gave me such reassurance while I was pregnant with Reagan. Watching you with your two girls made me look forward to my addition. I love watching Addison and Lily play. They are so sweet together. She is such a kind, sweet, good-natured little girl. She and Addison share such a love for desserts! I will always remember them BEGGING for more cookies at our Christmas exchange.

Alicia, thanks so much for leading us. I know it is a sacrifice and lots of work. You are sure appreciated.

Our entire group of Thursday morning ladies is so sweet and special to me. On a happy note, I know that God wants us in Denver, and I know he has plans for my family there. As sad as I am to leave, I am excited to find out what he has for us. He has been so faithful in our moves in the past....each place better than the last. I have big expectations for Denver. Thank you for all your prayers throughout this entire process. I love you all!

This is the One

Well, for all we had heard about Colorado being a buyer's market, that is certainly not what we found. Tommy wanted me to call this post, "Buyer's Market my A**". We spent three days with the realtors in Highlands Ranch and found 2 houses that we loved. The realtor felt like we would be able to negotiate a great price on either one of them. We made our first offer and it was refused. We made an offer on the second house and she countered back saying that the asking price was all she would take. Finally after a few days back and forth, just as I started wondering when in the world I was going to make a second trip out there to start over with my house hunting, we finally settled on a price and moved forward with a closing date.

We really love the house. It has 4 bedrooms and a fully finished basement. Upstairs are our three bedrooms and a great big laundry room. The realtor laughed at me when I told her I knew I was getting older, because of how much I loved that laundry room. The main level has the family room, dining room and kitchen and also a guest bedroom and guest bath. Downstairs the basement has two big rooms. One will be our workout room, and the other an additional family room/the girls playroom. It has a small backyard, but it has a beautiful stained concrete patio and it backs to the greenbelt with bike trails and a playground for the girls.

We are praying all goes smooth. We are set to close on February 23rd. We will enter with paintbrushes in hand to cover up all the baby blue and to paint Addison's room pink!

Edited to Add: Don't let all that green grass fool you. That picture was taken in September when the house originally went on the market. It has AT LEAST 4 feet of snow piled up in the yard right now! The driveway is icy and so is the road in front of the house.

I have this fear that I am not going to be able to get my car up the driveway and sometime during the first week, I will be the lady from Texas who's SUV is out in the middle of the street!

Yikes it's Cold

That is what she said when she jumped out of the car in Colorado and picked up a big handful of snow. She quickly threw it down, screamed that it was cold and wanted it off! She did come to enjoy playing in the snow, but she preferred stomping around in it with her warm snow boots to actually picking it up!

And Finally, Pictures

Well, I still don't know how to work any of my camera's fancy features, but at least I did figure out how to download the pictures onto my computer. I took these pictures a few weeks ago at the kid's gym in our neighborhood. We usually go there every Thursday after bible study for their Open Gym time. Both my girls love it. Addison likes playing with her friends and pushing Reagan in the swings. Reagan crawls all over the place and tries to do everything the big kids do!

One of the deciding factors when I chose a city in Colorado, was that they have a gym like this!

The Latest News

For those of you following everything.....our offer was not accepted on the first house. We pretty well expected this might happen, since the house had only been on the market for one week, and since we weren't willing to pay more than about 97% of their asking price. So, we have moved ahead with an offer on our second choice. I wish I didn't have to use the words, second choice, because we really do like this house just as much....in fact, in many ways I like this one better. Pleae pray that we do get this house, as we didn't look at anything else that we came even close to liking as much! I am just ready to have it all done!

We are still recovering from our trip last week and getting home so late on Monday. Poor Tommy, had to go right back out of town Tuesday morning. He has spent the last 7 nights in 3 different hotel rooms. Thankfully he is on his way back home today. Reagan woke up throwing up this morning. She and Addison both have some kind of stomach bug, that is just manifested differently in each girl. I am praying, praying and praying some more that neither Tommy or I catch it! We don't have time for sickenss right now. This morning we were all in pajamas and I was holding both girls in the playroom floor while the appraiser was walking around the house doing her thing. Thank goodness it was a woman!

Quick Update

Hi All, I am so sorry if you have left me a message or sent me an email that I haven't answered yet. The last week has been quite a whirlwind. Selling a house, making a last minute trip with two little ones, and buying a house in a state you have never even been to before is a lot for one week!!! Good news though, we found a house we really love in Highlands Ranch. It is a newer home with 5 bedrooms, a basement we can finish if we want to, and a huge backyard with a playset. It already has a pink bedroom for Addison, which she loves. She wanted to stay at the house, they had a playroom she played in while Tommy and I were working on the contract. I am afraid she thinks it will come fully stocked with all the toys. We should hear something back on the house today, but we expect to be in negotiations for a few days. Should this house not work out, we have a 2nd choice in the same neighborhood we like equally as well.

The town looked great, with lots of things for the kids to do. I was most excited when I visited one of the rec centers that are included in your HOA fees. They all have indoor and outdoor pools/family waterparks. The location closest to the new house has the most amazing indoor pool with a lazy river, huge hottub and a playset in the wading pool. I know the girls and I will be hitting the pool as soon as we get settled. Addison was ready to swim during our tour yesterday.

The plane rides went really well. Thank goodness my mom was able to fly with me, since Tommy already had flights scheduled for work and we weren't able to get on the same planes. The girls were wiggly, tired and restless especially getting in at 10:00pm last night, but they did better then I expected. My poor mom is in worse shape then they are this morning. She is not used to spending all day chasing little ones. She said the girls were easy, but that their car seats, double stroller, and all the gear are not! Thankfully we were blessed and we encountered lots of helpful people along the way.

Thanks for all your prayers. Hopefully I will be posting good news about the house soon!

Praises for a little Breathing Room

Just for a quick update, thank goodness, the Lord answered our prayers, and our buyer re-negotiated to close on February 21st. Deep sigh, I can't even tell you how much better this feels. Now, we are headed to house hunt for a long weekend and should be able to close on something there in time. I feel like I can take care of most of the "business" end of things this weekend, and then just enjoy the last of my time here. Now, we are just praying to come upon the perfect house in the next few days. Addison is so excited to fly and I know she will be thrilled to see the snow.

PS.....the lack of pictures is because I got a new camera. I have only had enough time to take it out of the box and do a few point and shoot kind of shots, but I love it! Hopefully when life slows down, I can actually learn how to use all the features and get the software on my computer so I can download my pictures.

Moving Just Took a Really Fast Turn

Well, we got an offer on our house today, after THREE days on the market. Today was only the second showing. We haven't officially accepted the offer as of this evening, but it looks as though we probably will. Here is the catch....they want to close on the 31st, of January, in 2 1/2 weeks!!!

That puts A LOT of pressure on us, as it is not likely we can find a house there that fast. Good grief, I am not even sure we even have time to schedule a house hunting trip in that time frame. I have big concerns about moving the girls into temporary housing and how they would handle 2 transitions. I know that will be hard on all of us.

Most of all, I am just not ready to leave The Woodlands. In my mind, this move would take place in mid-March. I had lots of plans for another 2 months with my friends and trips to visit family, with a leisurely trip to Denver in between to find a house. Since finding out about this move, I have focused on getting our house ready and planning a move. I haven't really accepted the reality of actually moving, and didn't plan to do so until the first part of March. I can't imagine how my days are going to be without my sweet friends right around the corner.

So, I prayed through all of this as I was rocking Reagan to sleep and we were waiting for the official offer to come through. I asked the Lord to prepare my heart for whatever might come and to give us wisdom on what to do. As I prayed I listened to Tommy praying with Addison in the other room. They were so excited about selling our house and so excited about moving to Colorado. I prayed for the Lord to give me the same excitement.

The Lord always amazes me in the ways that he works. I came downstairs after putting the girls to bed and opened my email to view the official offer from the realtor. The offer was included in an attachment, but the actual note from the buyers realtor ended with this quote...

"Fear not tomorrow…God is already there. Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God." Anonymous

Wow, it was as if the Lord vocalized to me, exactly what I was feeling and put those words there to ease my mind. What a great reminder, just at a time when I needed it, that the Lord's hand is in everything we do, that he has a plan for us, and that he has our best interest in mind. Now, if I would only learn to trust more deeply.