New Shoes

Our little princess pulled a good one today.

This morning as I put on her shoes, she fussed a little. I took off the shoe and checked to make sure there wasn't anything inside that would bother her. Everything looked ok so I put the shoe back on. She walked around the kitchen and we went out to get into the car and drive to school.
At school, I took her out of her car seat and carried her inside. Once inside, I put her on the floor so I could sign Brock into his class. She started limping. Then, she wouldn't put any weight at all onto her left foot. I took the shoe off again, checking the shoe and her foot. Everything appeared ok...again. The shoe went back on and she still refused to put any weight on it. I took them off and wanted to see if she would walk without the shoes. She was initially timid, but then started running around.
I guess we won't be wearing the shoes anymore!

Sure, kids outgrow shoes. Sure, sometimes parents don't always know it before the kids "tell" us. But now, the Aubree-factor. The child is fine in the morning when I could have swapped out her shoes for another pair at home. However, the princess decides she wants a new pair of shoes and to do that, we need to be as far from the house as possible. So the noble servant goes to get her Highness a new pair of shoes and drops them off at school at lunch.

Oh, Aubree...

Breaking for Blogging

It's been a while! We are moved in, and I'm not sure I've sat still this long in a few weeks. So, today, I'm taking a break for you! Time to catch up. I always find the longer I go between blog posts, the harder it is to start one. There is just too much that has gone on! We'll hit some highlights and hopefully I won't let so much time go by before the next post!

A Sad Goodbye
* We had to say goodbye to our dear friends and neighbors. Luckily, friendships like this don't end, so even though we're not across the street, we are only a 5 mile (and rather traffic-filled 281) drive away. I made the boys a photo book since they are the very best of friends. It captured pictures and memories since they were born. I LOVE IT!

(What a cute pair of brothers & sisters!)

House Closings

* Both got delayed. A wonderful new regulation caused us to wait 72 hours to think about our loan when the interest rate dropped. If that doesn't make sense to you, don't worry...it doesn't make sense to anyone! We can thank Washington D.C. for that one.
* Finally closed on the new house Monday (4/19). We had such wonderful helpers to load our truck, then unload into the new house and also unload both storage units! You always know true friends...they will work for not much more than a pat on the back...and perhaps some pizza and beer! :-)
* Still awaiting a closing on the old house. Yep, we currently own two houses. Someone told me this is the time to go to a reunion..."well, my OTHER house is...". Ha! I'd be just fine owning one.
* Learned today the mortgage processor for our buyers has been sitting on his rear and tried to throw our realtor under the bus for not getting this deal done. After our realtor provided plenty of paperwork and communication trails, and finished a conference call with the VP of the company, the mortgage processor no longer is employed. The VP is personally taking over the case and we should have some good news tomorrow.

St. Joseph
* Those of you who read my St. Joseph post knows we buried him in our yard and have prayed faithfully each day to help sell our house. After it sells, you are supposed to dig him up and put him in a place of honor in the new house. We have dug and dug and dug...we CANNOT FIND HIM! We can't figure out how we're missing him, but Tom has put a lot of effort into trying to locate our dear St. Joseph.
Even Aubree has tried to "help"?!?!?!?!




The BIG 3-1
* I spent my birthday this year a little sad since our closing had been delayed and we didn't get to move in for my birthday. However, we were able to celebrate my dear nephew's FIRST Birthday! Happy Birthday my dear Conner!
The only thing I was responsible for at the party was bringing my camera and taking pictures. Guess what I forgot in the haste of packing and moving? Yep! The camera. I think my sister has forgiven me, but I will say the pics I took with my mom's camera turned out pretty darn good anyways!





Soccer
* The Shooting Stars are in full swing for Spring YMCA Soccer! And this team mom is up for yet another challenging role of juggling work, kids, home, soccer, etc. THANK GOODNESS for my co-star, Tom!

Top 10 reasons you know you're about to move

I've waited for over a year, and it's here. It's almost time to day goodbye. Lots of goodbyes. Some I'm looking forward to saying. Others I'm not. The most surprising thing from this experience is that I've had just about every possible emotion known to man!
I'm happy, excited, thrilled, can't hardly wait!!!
I'm sad, hesitant, unsure.
I feel like I'm closing a chapter of my life. I won't re-hash the post I wrote a couple months ago, but this house definitely made us a FAMILY. A family that continues to grow and get stronger each day.

Every day the reality settles in a little more. And here's why!!!!!

Top 10 Reasons you know you're about to move!

10. You feel like you're back living in an apartment. (No house furnishings, cardboard table in the eating area, etc.)







9. You lose your garage space.







8. You buy the larger package of bubble wrap because it comes in a box!! (to use later)








7. You get quite creative in meals - NO grocery shopping until we move in!





6. The more you move out, the dirtier your house looks!



5. You let your 5-year-old use a black magic marker.









4. You ask yourself at least once an hour: "Why did I buy this?" "Where did this come from?"






3. Hide-and-go-seek places really start to become abundant.













2. You clean the oven. (for the first time EVER...note to self: Let Tom do it after the next 6 years!)






1. Your son gets a kick out of using the restroom because "it sounds funny in here". "echo...echo...echo..."

Texas Wildflowers

As move date gets closer, blog posts get shorter! But I just HAD to share a few beautiful pictures from this weekend in the amazing Texas Wildflowers!