Lifesong

Sold!

Our house is officially sold! The contract is signed, everyone agrees - woo-hoo! They want to close June 26, so we are aiming to have the movers come in mid-June (in less than two weeks, really). We are making an offer on a home today in Knoxville, so I'll keep you posted.

It's been a rough week. I think the being without Daddy thing is starting to get to all of us. Ansley has been waking up in the middle of the night, yelling for him. She woke up this morning at 6 am (NOT typical) and said she wanted to come to my bed because "she missed Daddy." It breaks my heart (and keeps me very tired) so I am really glad that it will be coming to an end soon. I know we have all really missed not having Daddy around, so it will be great to be together again!

In the meantime, we are letting the house go. Dishes piling up. The yard is overgrown. Trash stacked outside the door. Only kidding! But it is nice to not have to be *quite* so particular about keeping the house in order. We actually played with some long forgotten toys this morning - they were all over the carpet, and Ansley loved it! We've also been playing outside, although it is very hot. Ansley is enjoying our neighborhood pool, and she really loves drawing with her chalk.

I'm feeling very tired, and pretty nauseous all the time now. I'm getting picky about what I want to eat - only certain things sound good! I think I'm starting to show a lot sooner than I did with Ansley. Did anyone else experience that? But it's ok - I'm savoring and enjoying this, my last (at least to my knowledge) pregnancy. I do enjoy being pregnant (or at least I did with Ansley). :)

{The quote is in honor of our ninth anniversary today. Happy Anniversary, Babe! It's been a great nine years!}

Let me tell you about last Thursday

A rundown of the day:

10 am: Phone rings. A realtor wants to show the house. Fabulous, right? Well, yes, except that since it hasn't been shown in TWO weeks, it's not exactly in showing condition.

10:02: Madly rush around the house, picking up things, vacuuming, cleaning, dusting. Ansley and I have a playdate at 10:30. Call and say we'll be a little late.

10:30 Still cleaning. I'm upstairs vacuuming. The house is looking good, but I'm not. I feel like I've just been through a spinning class. Twice.

10:32 I walk downstairs, and see Kota has a new hairstyle. Spiked fur all down her back, with the fur going this way and that. Ansley says "Kota no get burned" as she puts the cap on the suntan lotion.

10:33 Proceed to bring Kota to the sink and give her a "bath". She does not like this. Ansley does.

10:40 Get Ansley dressed, grab sunglasses, a hat, suntan lotion and rush out the door. My cell phone is ringing. Someone else wants to look at the house maybe?

10:42 We're in the car, I'm on the cell phone (talking to a friend, not a realtor) and we're backing out  of the garage. I hear a loud pop, and then a hiss. What could that be?

10:43 Very carefully get out to see. I have forgotten I left Ansley's pool out the night before, and I have completely run over it (picture HUGE hole and tire tracks). Decide to break the news to Ansley later.

10:44 Whew. We're on our way. Phone call tells me GA 400 is shut down. Which is bad, since I need to get on 400 to get to my playdate. Go the back way.

11:45 Arrive at park for playdate. Did you catch that time? Yep, an hour to go 10 miles. Ridiculous!

12 We eat lunch with our friends, Sara and Kaitlyn, and quickly realize that it's HOT. Sweating, dripping, miserable kind of hot. But the girls have fun anyway.

1:30 Arrive home. Put Ansley down for her nap.

1:31 Loud thunder. Ansley starts crying.

2 No nap for Ansley, so we lay on the couch and listen to the thunder together.

3 Cell phone rings. Realtor wants to come back with previous people to look at the house again.

5 Loud thunder, pouring rain, hail. But the people still arrive to look at the house. My super thoughtful friend Ashley is coming over to take Ansley for me so I can run some errands and have some downtime (I end up going to Target and getting a new pool.)

6 Same people come by a third time to look at the house. They bring their three kids.

8:30 We get an offer on the house. Makes the whole day worthwhile! :) The details aren't final yet, we're in the process of "sealing the deal." More details to come!

Excitement at the Cove

Thank you for all the comments and congrats - I appreciate it! :) We are very excited. The baby is due in January. Ansley is very excited to be a big sister, and tells strangers everywhere we go. She says that she wants a baby sister like her friend Riesie, so we'll see.

Before we left Knoxville on Monday, I took Ansley to a park called The Cove. It is a beautiful park on a lake, with swings (her favorite) and slides (her next favorite) and trails, ducks, and picnic tables. On this day, however, there was a lot of excitement going on, at least according to Ansley.

Apparently, the local police department was having a practice day. The helicopter would take off, fly over the lake, men in wetsuits would jump out into the lake, a boat would pick them up, the helicopter would come back, and then they would do it all over again. Ansley was very excited about this. I thought she might be scared since it was so close, but all she said was "That's very very loud!" and then "that's very very windy!" and I would agree, but then she'd say "This is fun, Mommy!"

She also had a good time in Dollywood, but unfortunately all the pictures are on our small camera, which is in Knoxville. Ansley rode many rides, the train through the park and the ferris wheel. She loved it - it was so cute to see her so excited about all the things going on. The picnic for Rubbermaid was good as well - it was great to meet all the people John works with. They are all super nice people.

Unfortunately we have had no traffic at our house in almost two weeks. I don't know what's going on, but we hope when school gets out it will pick up. We have narrowed the homes down to a couple in Knoxville. Still praying for that offer, soon!

Here is the much requested pasta recipe from the going away party. I hope this link works, but if it doesn't you can go to www.foodnetwork.com and search for Supreme Pizza Pasta Salad by Rachael Ray. Thanks for the recipe, Christina!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_21733,00.html

I think that's about everything from here. I'll keep the updates coming! :)

ETA: Desta, forgot to tell you: I ordered Ansley's shirt from www.cafepress.com. They have lots of neat stuff! :)

Guess What?

A Morning at the Park

Today we met my friend Laura and her son, Jace, at the playground. Jace and Ansley play really well together, so it's always cute to see them run around together and hear them calling each other's names. The last time we met them at the park there was a stray dog wandering around outside the fence, and Ansley and Jace were really into watching him and talking to him. As soon as we pulled up to the park today, Ansley says "Where'd the doggie go?" I'm just amazed at her memory - it was over a month ago! We went to McDonald's for lunch afterwards. It was a fun outing! Thanks, Laura and Jace!

Other than that, I'm just cleaning and getting packed. We will be leaving in the morning, so just so you know, that will be four days without a blog. LOL :) I'll be sure and post some cute Dollywood pictures when we get back home.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

The Afterbath

Here are some shots I took of Ansley after her bath the other night. They turned out so cute, I thought. She has her ladybug towel on her head and she was being quite photogenic.

Let's see...nothing new with the house. People are coming to look at it, but no offers. I keep praying for that offer soon! Ansley is missing her Daddy, and I am missing our evenings together as a family, and just feeling like a married couple. It's strange to only talk to John for 5 minutes some days. Feels weird. Hopefully we can be together as a family soon.

This weekend Ansley and I are heading to Knoxville. Rubbermaid has a plant picnic at Dollywood (did I say this already on here? It's sounding familiar now.) Anyway, so we will go for a long weekend. I think Ansley will have a blast at Dollywood. My in-laws are coming as well to watch Ansley for us while we look at houses. It's nice to have a little break from the routine, so I am looking forward to it. Ansley is pretty pumped too - she's been saying all week that "I go see my Daddy in Tennessee on Friday." :)

Last night my friend Sara came over and brought dinner and we hung out. It was a bright spot in my day - thanks, Sara! :)

Today I have a hair appointment, so my friends Kimberly and Ashley are tag-teaming to babysit Ansley for me. Thanks, girls! Ya'll are great!

I am very grateful for the friendships that we have here. My days have been occupied by getting together, chatting, eating and hanging out. You will all be missed.

I think that's about all the news here, if you can call it news. I'm pretty good at writing about nothing in particular, I think. :) But you all seem to want more, so I guess that's a good thing. :)

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to my mom and all my girlfriends - all the wonderful Moms I am fortunate enough to call friends. I hope your day was wonderful!

Here's what I got for Mother's Day:

and I got to sleep in this morning! I was greeted by a sweet little voice saying "Happy Mother's Day Mommy!" And we all enjoyed my favorite, Dunkin' Donuts all weekend long. :)

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Today is my Mom's birthday. Happy Birthday, Mom! She is a wonderful mom, a great friend, and an awesome Mimi.

This is one of my favorite pictures of me and her together. I now recognize that look in her eyes - the one of complete love and adoration for me, her daughter. Now I have that same look. Someone once said that you can only fully appreciate your parents love after you have children of your own. I agree.

Thanks for the years of love, Mom! Love you.

Bedtime Conversations

Ansley has rediscovered a favorite small stuffed kitty she has named Charlie. She walks around the house, holding Charlie, saying "Mama, I love her." (Yes, Charlie is a boy, but she's two.:)) So tonight I'm putting her down for bed, and...

Ansley: "Mama, where's Charlie? I want her to sleep with me."

Me: "I've got her right here." (of course, since she asks for "her" every night. I place Charlie in bed next to Ansley and pull the covers up)

Ansley: "Thanks, Mama."

Me: "You are welcome, baby. Here's a book for Charlie to read." (I place a small book next to Charlie)

Ansley: "That's SILLY, Mama! Kitties can't read!"

Me: Laughing, laughing, laughing....

Where does she get this early sense of humor?? I love it!

This will be a scrapbook page

Have you heard this song? Oh, my.....I just had to post it after frantically trying to figure out who sings it. It's called Find Your Wings by Mark Harris. Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. I'm going to make it a scrapbook page soon.

It's only for a moment you are mine to hold
The plans that heaven has for you
Will all too soon unfold
So many different prayers I'll pray
For all that you might do
But most of all I'll want to know
You're walking in the truth
And If I never told you
I want you to know
As I watch you grow

I pray that God would fill your heart with dreams
And that faith gives you the courage
To dare to do great things
I'm here for you whatever this life brings
So let my love give you roots
And help you find your wings

May passion be the wind
That leads you through your days
And may conviction keep you strong
Guide you on your way
May there be many moments
That make your life so sweet
Oh, but more than memories

It's not living if you don't reach for the sky
I'll have tears as you take off
But I'll cheer as you fly

I pray that God would fill your heart with dreams
And that faith gives you the courage
To dare to do great things
I'm here for you whatever this life brings
So let my love give you roots
And help you find your wings

Whew. One of those songs that just grabs your heart. Had to share.