We're Homeowners!

We finally made it and are holding the keys to our very own house!

We only had to sign away our lives, and throw in a kid or two, but it's ours. Hey, that's why we had them, right?

Ok, we get to keep the kids. Anna sure had fun at the Title Company this morning, though. They had all kinds of fun stuff--water bottles, cookies, a fun little toy room, and awesome chairs to spin on in the conference room. I'm not so sure she wouldn't have minded being used as payment if she got to stay there!

That stack of papers they go through to sign sure is thick. And a little intimidating. Once we signed everything and authorized the wire transfer for all of our closing costs and down payment, Dan started to feel the pressure and took off for work for the rest of the day. Gotta keep the boss happy so we can pay the mortgage! Ah, living the American dream. And we're thrilled!

We're ready to start the long busy weekend moving. With the 3-day weekend coming, we figured we'd take full advantage of the day off of work and get as much moved as possible. So we've got our Uhaul truck rented for Saturday morning and ready to move on out. Hooray!

T minus 5 days!

Our (well, soon to be ours) house!
Closing scheduled for Thursday--I'm getting excited that this is all really happening!

Look at that great cul-de-sac. And sidewalks! We have a sidewalk! We've missed our sidewalks since moving here, and the neighborhood we currently live in has a bizarre lack of them. Makes for some interesting maneuvering of the stroller out on the busy road where our apartment complex is.

Oh, and it has a huge backyard. Anna is going to have a blast. And I'm excited to plant a garden. We'll probably get some fun swingset or playset.


And it has this awesome deck. I see many fun barbecues in the future!

I've been living vicariously through pictures for the last month while waiting to close on the house. It'll be so nice to see it in person again soon. We're almost there now!

Eyes

Look at those baby blues



And chocolate browns


Wow, I let Anna's bangs get long before trimming them. They're much better now--this was a couple weeks ago.

I love my cute kids!

DMV Scare

I realized on my birthday that my driver's license was expiring, so I drove to the DMV prepared to wait in the ultra-long lines to *finally* get my new license. Shh, don't tell that I haven't gotten my Texas license yet! I'm really terrible. Anyway, now that my Utah license is officially expired, I need to get it.

So at the DMV, I loaded the kids into the double stroller and pushed them toward the side-facing entrance of the building. A very kind soul held the door for me as I was maneuvering the stroller to go in, when an older couple drove up to park in one of the front handicapped parking spots. The lady driving must have been trying to slam on the brake to stop quickly, but ended up slamming on the accelerator, jumped the little cement barricade, jumped on the curb, and crashed into the brick front of the building! Not enough to break through the wall or anything, but strong enough impact that we could see cracked bricks. This was all tiny inches from me, and Anna and David in the stroller. I don't even want to think about what a difference a few inches might have been. Or if I hadn't finished pushing the stroller that extra couple inches because someone chose to help me with the door so I had the stroller out of the path of the car. Funny, I was shocked enough that it took me a few minutes to really even realize the "almosts" that later really sent my heart racing. After realizing I didn't even have all the documents needed (why do they need my birth certificate anyway? You'd think another driver's license would suffice...) I was grateful to just get out of there and save the long wait for another day. Don't we all love the DMV? Looks like I get to face it tomorrow now that I've got all the right documentation to prove I am who I say I am.

I'm so grateful that we were protected. I feel like that little experience was a tender mercy of the Lord, that we were watched over and kept safe. I know that He watches over all of His children, and we may not ever know when we are guided away from situations in order to protect us. This is one situation I was blessed to be able to see and feel His love for me and my family. I'm grateful for those tender mercies in our lives, and I'm grateful to be able to witness it and feel that love from our Heavenly Father.

A Birthday

I'm officially 26! (2 days ago on the 12th) Officially closer to 30 than 20 years old. 26 sounds so grown up! Why do I not feel it very much yet? You'd think having 2 children, being married 5 years, and moving across the country would inspire me to feel grown up. Strange how the more responsibilities come, the more insignificant I feel like I'm only playing at being an adult. I keep feeling like I'm going to wake up one of these days and still be that 18-year-old in high school cramming for AP tests, practicing for flute solo and ensemble festival, and getting ready for graduation and college, not knowing what is coming next. Kind of like when my family moved to Utah when I was 9, for years I felt like I would just wake up and be 9 again living in Kansas and go play with my best friend Lindsey down the street. My younger sister Joy is the senior in high school right now about to graduate, and that is making me reminisce even more. Does anyone else ever feel this way? Or am I just too stuck in my own mental Never Never Land?

I had a great birthday, kind of low key, but nice. Anna kept saying "Happy Birthday, Mommy!" and singing the Happy Birthday song to me all day long. She sure knows how to make me feel good! The best part is apparantly I get a birthday all week from her because she still was saying happy birthday to me all day yesterday and today. Aw, I love my little girl. David gifted me with his adorable giggles and grins and adoring looks only for his mommy. Dan baked a delicious chocolate heavy cake for me and Anna helped me blow out the candles. And I got a fun night out with some friends for dinner. Other than one scary near accident at the DMV (another story for another post), it was a great day!

Flat Iron Giveaway

Anyone want a flat iron? Free sounds pretty great. I'm realizing more and more how much I need one, or should I say a better one than I have, as the summer humidity in Houston is coming back now. Just love this curly, frizzy hair.

Check it out!

5 Years

Dan and I have been married 5 years today! Time has gone so quickly.




1 graduation
more job changes and apartments than we care to remember
1 cross-country move to Texas
and 2 kids later, here we are!

We decided that after 5 years of marriage we'd celebrate by buying our first house! Ok, maybe not just for an anniversary celebration, but we figure it's a pretty good time. We're set to close on a beautiful home on May 19. We're still waiting to hear if that one will work out or not based on the appraisal, but we'll find another one if it doesn't. We're excited!

Happy Anniversary, Dan--here's to another great 5 years!

Aaaggghhhh!

Ack! First cockroach of the year alert! I'm cowering with feet up on the couch right now while Dan, aka knight in shining armor, brandishes Raid can in hand to fight for my honor/safety/security. I only screamed a little. And Dan only laughed at me for a minute. Or two. Much better than when we had our first trespasser last year.

All is not right in the world when we have creepy creatures skittering around inside that do not belong. I will at least accept that we live in a climate where cockroaches not only exist, but get considerably large, but that does not mean I have to tolerate them entering my home!

This is my new best friend for the rest of the summer.

"Mommy, have to go potty again!"

Powerful words from the mouth of a newly potty-trained two-year-old.

Anna is fast learning how to get a quick response out of Mom and Dad in the middle of Sacrament Meeting.

When
"Mommy, I want water!" or "Daddy, want a snack!" fail, she's discovered these very persuasive and influential words, "Mommy, have to go potty again!", yield speedy action from her parents. And stifled giggles from the people sitting directly around us. To which Anna responds with her own happy squeals as she practically bounces out of the chapel hanging onto mom's or dad's hand. Nevermind the fact that we get all the way to the bathroom and realize she did NOT in fact "have to go potty again" AGAIN. But being the time bomb she is, we do not dare call her bluff yet. Too risky.

Potty-training toddlers--they rule the world.

Also delivering satisfactory results to get parents jumping fast:
-Feeding baby brother candy/cookies or anything small
-Tackling said baby brother
-"Hiding" baby brother under blanket or pillow--full coverage of head and all

And thensome...

Happy May Day!

It's almost over, but it's still May Day!


The fact that this is the best month of the year has absolutely nothing to do with birthday/anniversary/Mothers' Day, etc. Oh wait, maybe just a little...
But anyway...
It's been a while since I did a Maypole, but I remember having so much fun in Elementary School when our teacher made the basketball pole into one for us to dance around. And I have always loved the fun tradition of making flower baskets and leaving them on people's doorknobs. Something so cheery and fun about May Day and welcoming Spring. Enjoy your beautiful May flowers!