Settling in - finally!

"As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." Joshua 24:15

Whew! What a long and exciting weekend! We are officially in our new house so I guess that makes us real Texans. I can start to hear the drawl already.

We closed on our house on Wednesday and were anxious to get in and claim our domain, however due to the back log of work that the contractors still had to do on the house (touch-ups, etc), we were met with a group of strangers in our home and we were the ones who felt like we shouldn't be there. We stuck around waiting for a refridgerator to be delivered that didn't actually show up until Friday. Thus began the craziness of waiting windows and rescheduling appointments that dominated the next couple of days. Thankfully, most everything did eventually get done. I wouldn't really expect anything different for this type of a move anyway.

By Thursday night, Mick, Bella and I were sleeping in our new bed in our new house surrounded by boxes and happy as clams. There is just something so comforting about being reunited with our stuff. I'm sure that says something about me psychologically but whatever.

Anyway, Mick and I had to run to Best Buy to get a wall mount for the TV and there by the checkout stand were boxes of the illusive Nintendo Wii. We had toyed with the idea of getting one for the past couple months but they were always sold out. This seemed like striking gold! How could we not buy one? We had some extra Christmas money, and since mine will likely be spent on maternity clothes, Mick generously ponied up for the game. Reagan came over on Saturday and we all "played" tennis and bowling. (I use that term loosely, because I mostly just swung my arms with reckless abandon and hoped I did something successful.) My mom and Aunt Mary came by last night for dinner and Mick and Mary really battled it out in tennis. Good times were had by all.

Lastly, here's an updated picture of the baby bump. This week is 20 weeks! I can't believe that I'm five months pregnant and half way there already. The baby has been kicking daily which is fun for me but not quite interactive enough for anyone else to get to participate. Mick is the only other one whose felt it and that's probably because it's not awkward for him to have his hand on my belly for an extended period of time waiting for something to happen. The best part about being 20 weeks is that we get to find out what the baby is next week! We are beyond excited since we've waited an exceptionally long time to find out. Be sure to check back next Monday for the official word!

California Memories

I can't believe that our time here is coming to an end...just two and a half weeks to go. It is such a different feeling moving away from here than it was moving away from Tucson. I don't really remember being sad or nervous about moving out here because I was so ready to get out of Arizona and experience something for myself. Mick and I had just gotten engaged and were excited to be embarking on this new phase of our lives together. I never imagined all that that would mean.

I remember telling my sister how much I really wanted to make some friends and now we have a whole community of people we absolutely adore and regard as our extended family. The first time we came to see the townhouse that we would later purchase, this strange-looking, but extremely cute little dog came trotting around the corner, followed by a blonde California girl. We introduced ourselves and found out she and her husband lived right next door. She was so friendly and I remember thinking how great it would be to have neighbors our age and maybe, just maybe, we could be friends. Flash forward four years and I can't imagine my life without the friendship of Scott, Kim, Madison and Boswell. Not seeing them every week is definately one of the hardest parts of this move.

We also had been looking for a church to get involved with and have been so grateful for the Shepherd's House. It really was a place for us to learn, grow and become established in our walks with the Lord. The thing that intimidates me the most about the move is finding another church that we can call home. I'm just trusting that God has picked out a place for us and is preparing it in advance.

So as we count down these last days, I'm going to post pictures and stories of our adventures here and enjoy remembering all the wonderful things that this time in our life has brought.

Houston House-Hunting

Man, it has been a rainy week! We spent most of it in Houston, house-hunting and hanging with family, and then came home to a soggy California. I must say, it is so nice to see green hills out here and we used the weather an as excuse for a movie-marathon weekend. It was good to have a distraction from all the stress of the week.

If I thought I was overwhelmed before, I've learned to redefine the word. There is just so much to consider and weigh out with a move. We looked at quite a few homes and found one that was a definite possibility, but we just haven't been able to get to a place where we feel ready to make that decision. Will the house be big enough? Too big? Is it in the right area? What about the baby? How do we furnish a house that size? What if something changes after we're in and we aren't happy and we can't sell it? No wonder I'm so tired!

All that, and the reality that we are really moving away from our friends and life here has finally hit home. I've been blissfully ignoring that fact until now and even when you're confident that the Lord is leading you, it is a hard pill to swallow. I guess it's just all part of the process.

As far as the pregnancy is concerned, I've been very fortunate so far. Mild nausea at times, if any, and the need for naps. The fact that this is a blessing is not lost on me. I've watched many friends struggle through some gnarly symptoms. The hardest part has been this overwhelming feeling of starvation that I would equate to not having eaten in three weeks. My wonderful husband has learned that this means I can no longer think rationally and we must eat NOW! Or better yet, five minutes ago. Oh well, that's not so bad.

So, I'm looking forward to a simple week and to the LOST premiere on Thursday (finally!).

That was fast...

Thank you Lord! We received an offer over the weekend and after a bit of negotiation, we should be entering into escrow this week! Yea! There are still a few loose ends to tie up so we don't want to get the cart too far ahead of the horse, but we are just so grateful for the way things are turning out. God is so good!

P.S. Some of you had asked if there is a way to leave messages on the site. Below each posting is a link for comments. Just click on it and follow the instructions. We'd love to hear from you!

On the market

Well, our humble abode officially debuted on the MLS this week and, although I was secretly expecting realtors to be knocking down our door with offers on the first day, I instead spent the afternoon twiddling my thumbs. I guess I'm more of an instant gratification kind of girl. Check out the link below to see the listing with updated pics:http://www.realtor.com/search/listingdetail.aspx?zp=91377&mnp=29&mxp=28&bd=3&typ=7&sid=d156b830953045f1be401c142e1acd0e&sdir=0&sby=2&pg=1&lid=1093922236&lsn=4&srcnt=14#Detail