It's Never to Cold to Swim

Who would have thought that one of the first activities we would enjoy in Colorado would be swimming? We swam everyday at the hotel pool, and the girls and I made it to our neighborhood rec center for the first time today. This was my first experience swimming with both of them by myself. Wow, it is a workout. We stayed in the shallow end with only two feet of water, but still, they are both ALL OVER the place, and not necessarily in the same direction. Reagan is loving the water as much as Addison does. Since the hotel didn't have a wading pool, today was her first time to get to splash and crawl around playing on her own. She was WORN OUT. Poor girl fell asleep in the middle of dinner and hasn't made a peep since.

Last Day in Texas

The girls are playing together more and more and it is so sweet to watch. One day last week we took advantage of the Texas springtime in February and played for one last time in the cul-de-sac while the movers were packing up. They took turns pushing each other around on the corn-popper and had the best time! See that giant moving truck in the background?

Well That Explains So Much...

Many of you have heard the drama that surrounded all negotiations concerning our new house. First, though it had been on the market, and empty, for almost 4 months, the seller refused to come down on her price. Next, she refused to fix ANY of the repairs recommended by the inspector. Finally, after the realtors basically took care of everything out of their commission, she refused to let them bring carpet cleaners in until after we had closed...completely difficult all the way around.

Well, Friday morning, we opened the envelope containing the keys to the house and everything was on a key chain..... the keychain had a little saying on it, "I am not opinionated, I am always right"!!!

Ahhh, that explains so much, doesn't it?

Home...???

Well, though it doesn't quite feel that way yet, I guess we are home. We are actually in a hotel in Denver, and closing on the house tomorrow. When we landed Tommy said, "Welcome Home!" I shushed him, and told him I wasn't ready to talk about it yet....so, he bought me a cookie!

Thank you all for your prayer, sweet thoughts and offers to help out over the last several days. Things couldn't have gone more smoothly. We were amazed how quickly the crew of three guys had our house packed and loaded. They made it look easy. Everything went just according to schedule, we had our final walk through with the new buyer and said good-bye to the only home our baby girls have ever known. They have taken everything amazingly well, and, thankfully I guess, by the time we closed the door one final time, Tommy and I were so tired, we were basically void of emotion. Tuesday morning, before the movers came, I nursed Reagan one last time in the chair in what was each of their nursery, and tried to just soak it all in...lots of good memories in that house.

Today was blessedly uneventful! We flew here, ran some errands, ate dinner at the hotel and took the girls swimming in the pool. My whole family is sleeping now and I should be too! Let me leave you with a funny story from the plane.

Our flight ended up being about 30 minutes delayed and then, on top of the delay, they announced on the runway, that they were turning off one engine and that we would be waiting another 20 minutes to take-off. Uh-oh, Addison had already asked to go to the bathroom and we had told her to wait until we were in the air and they turned the seat belt sign off.

Well, obviously, when that was put indefinitely on hold, I couldn't continue to keep her waiting. I paged a flight attendant and asked permission to take Addison to the bathroom. She was sweet and helpful and directed us to the front of the plane. Here is where we encountered a 2nd flight attendant. She was seated in her little jump seat a few feet away from us. We neither bothered her or addressed her, as the other lady was helping us, yet she felt the need to let us know we needed to hurry. I don't remember her exact words, but she told us to be quick about it.

This didn't sit well with me, as I felt like she went out of her way to be rude to us, and we were only up at an inopportune time because the flight was late. I graciously informed her that my child would pee as fast as she could...yes mam', that is exactly what I said! I mean really, does she think we were planning to hang out in her 2X2 bathroom?

Now for the funny part. Addison generally has full commentary that goes along with her restroom visits, and since the flight attendant's seat backed up the the bathroom wall, I know she heard it all, and she probably thought I put her up to it. I couldn't help laughing as Addison said, "Pee-pees all done mom, but I have poo-poo. Poo-poo takes a little while....probably like 20 minutes."

I wish you could here it with her expression. The girl cracks me up, and I was thrilled to know that the impatient flight attendant might be worried we were going to be awhile.

Getting Nostalgic

It is starting to hit me that my baby is right on the cusp of toddlerhood. While the baby days are terribly exhausting and long, there is just something so special and unexplainable about holding a baby in your arms. And, while I know I will still hold her for many, many more years, she won't quite fit the same, and she probably won't stay as long, and she probably won't need me in quite the same ways.

Her development is amazing me, especially over the last few days! The child is mastering new little short words everyday. She absolutley says "uh-oh" and uses it in context. Her daddy taught her "hi" and "bye" yesterday. She can something really close to the words and waves with her hand.

I have also been persuading her to take a step or two. She has to have her eyes up and be moving towards something really enticing, otherwise she will just sit down and crawl. If she keeps going at this pace, I think I will have a full-blown walked next month.

I am enjoying her so much everyday, and I know Addison and Tommy are too! While I am sad to see the baby days go, I am so excited for what is ahead! This toddler may give me a run for my money, but I think I am ready!

Sweet Cousins

Addison is so very in love with her favorite and only cousin Austin! I think there is a small case of hero worship on her part! She has asked me for days when Austin can come to our house, and she had the best time playing with him during our trip to Dallas.

One afternoon, during our trip, the girls fell asleep in the car on the way into town to meet my Mom and Austin for dinner. She knew what our evening plans were, but since my children don't sleep at naptime or much at night when we travel, she fell immediatly asleep for the full 45 minute drive. As we pulled into the parking lot, she opened her eyes and said, "I want Austin". First and only thing she thought of.

He was also the only person she wanted to talk to on the phone during our week at my Dad's. Usually the busy phone chatter, she refused everybody that week. This especially broke her Daddy's heart when he would call in from Colorado. Despite turning everyone else down, she would ask to call Austin. You can imagine what a disaster this is, since Austin has the same disinterest in the phone that I suspect all 8 year old boys do, and Addison is a little difficult to understand of the phone. They usually don't get very far.

See the sweet picture of Reagan and Austin on the bottom....Kissing Cousins!

My Long, Lost Twin.....

Here is the evidence, so you can see a side by side comparison. This is my friend Amy, who I am honored to be constantly mistaken for.

If we are out and about together, we are always asked if we are sisters, last week, someone even asked me if my sister was identical.

I have had someone at church talk to me for a few minutes, only to realize that I wasn't Amy and she didn't know me.

Further evidence, Amy drove past Sherry and Sam in her white car last week, while we were all leaving church, and Sam got upset. He told Sherry, "Miss Kim need to get in her brown car"!

It is such fun, I will miss being in the same town with her.

Little Cowgirl

Addison had a great time at my dad and step-mom's house this week. She loves, loves, loves the horses and everything about the barn in general! For such a girly-girl, she has no problem hanging out in all the dirt and hay.

When we arrived on Sunday, my dad came out to the car to meet her. She didn't even say hello, just "Let's go see the horses". She had him headed to the barn with armloads of carrots within five minutes of our arrival. By the time I got out there, they were already working on saddling up, so she could have her first ride. She rode with Miss Debra at first, and then she was ready to try it on her own. She even gave little sister a ride.

They have several yearling babies that were born last spring. They are just like a bunch of little puppy dogs, and they followed Addison all over the pasture. If we were in the yard, they would come up to the fence, to be near us. They licked her and nuzzled her. She called them the "Rowdy One's".

Finally, it was so sweet, one of the mares had a baby while we were there. Addison got to see the new baby lying on the ground by the mother. She watched him try to stand up for the first time and nurse. Each morning and evening she went to check on him. She would go into his stall and love on him. I think there is still some debate, but initially she named him Franklin.

Aside from an unfortunate encounter with fire-ants and the fact that Addison couldn't bring herself to sleep past 5:45am because "I want to see the horses" and "Sleeping is boring", we had a great trip.

10 Months

My baby girl turned 10 months this week while we were in Dallas. She is growing so fast, especially lately. She has 4 more teeth almost coming in. She is still saying "go" and "roar" and has added "uh-oh" to the mix. Also, today I think she was saying "No" back to me.

She is moving around all over the place and standing on her own. It makes her happy to crawl all over the house exploring and checking everything out. She is such a little monkey...climbing the stairs and Addison's step-stools every chance she gets.

Reagan also clearly asserts her opinions about things. She will arch her back and scream at me when she doesn't like what I am doing. I have been telling her no about it, and it does seem to be helping. I think I may have a strong-willed girl on my hands.

I love her happy disposition and easy-going manner. If she would just sleep at night, I would have it made!

How Did we miss This?

I have often though over the last month, that we will probably be greeted with some surprises when we first get to our new house. After all, we were only in the house twice, for no more than 30 minutes total. And, after all, we saw at least 30 houses in a two day time period, which can leave your mind in a jumble!

Anyway, Tommy went out to the house yesterday while he was in CO, to take some measurements. This is the picture he sent me after he arrived.

I do believe those are seashells glued all around that light fixture. My word, how did we miss that? Maybe it was because it was in a room that is to be Addison's, which is currently home to lots and lots of very blue aquarium wall paper! Oh well, at least this is an easy fix, we will just have to do it before Addison sees it and develops some sort of attachment to it.

Gratitude

Addison's Uncle Steve and Aunt Dannea mailed her a cute little Dora T-shirt for a surpise. She LOVES to get mail and had a great time opening it. She also thought the shirt was great. We asked her if she wanted to call them and say thank-you, which she did. Her is how it went.

"Thank-you for the mail you gave me. It was a Dora T-shirt with no pants!!! That's okay I can were some old pants"!

We cracked up when we heard her thank-you. I guess at this stage we typically buy things in sets, I guess she isn't used to seeing a shirt that doesn't have a specific pair of pants to go with it!

"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.