sisters...

As baby sister's birthday approaches, I'm in a reminiscing about the past years :)  Big sis was an only child for exactly 2 years and 9 months, so I was nervous about her reaction to the new baby.  She immediately fell in love with her baby sister as did we all!

I'm so happy that they have each other to grow up with and have built in playmates.  It's so sweet to watch them play together.  Though there are many moments where they argue and fight.  I look forward to the day where they play with minimal argument.  They are super sweet and I'm so thankful for these 2 little blessings and thankful they love each other.  It's so sweet when baby sister says "sissy

My sweeties playing dress up.  Big sis was 3 and baby sis was 4 months here.  

Baby sister's 1st birthday last year.  Aren't they so cute?  

Taken a few days ago.  After I gave them a bath, baby sister just started brushing sissy's hair. 

Reminiscing the past 2 years...

You know those moments where in a second your whole life changes, for the better?  Those moments that will always bring tears to your eyes and that you will wish you could relive forever?  I have a few of those moments, one of which is August 3rd 2011, at 8:08 am.  

Her birth was not like any other.  Definitely not like her sister's (I was sick the whole time with my first one).  My doctor made sure I wouldn't get sick this time, I had 3 different kinds of anti nausea meds in my system. lol  I was wide awake for baby sister's birth, the O.R. was a big party as we listened to Journey songs.  Hubby walked in playing "Don't stop believing".  The song ended before they got her out, so she was born to "Faithfully".  I still cannot listen to that song without crying! haha  It's of course a love song, but there's a line in it that I always tell to baby sister "I'm forever yours, faithfully".  She is mine, and I am hers, forever!!!!  

After big sister was born I thought that there was no way on earth that I could love any child, especially another girl, like I loved her.  Baby sister proved me wrong.  I am so thankful for the gift of my 2 girls.  Baby sister immediately brought so much love into our family and was 

just the perfect fit!  From day 1 she just brought this joy and it was wonderful.  

All my worries about big sister were washed away as soon as she walked in to meet her baby sister.  She looked at her and said "Can I hold her".  It was so sweet! 

The best moment ever was having my 2 girls in my arms, together for the first time! :) One thing I still enjoy, is being able to have them both in my arms together. 

 So thankful for this wonderful little gift!  She is the most loving, most cuddly baby girl!  These 2 years have just FLOWN by, I barely remember her being a newborn, but oh my word, she is just at such a fun age.  There is just something special about this sweet girl, and I cannot wait to see what God has in store for her!

2 week countdown!

We are busy busy!  This morning we signed the contract in our new home!  We'll be renting for the next few years, we found a house we loved!  We are so excited to have so many "luxuries" that we didn't have with our current house.  We are gaining almost 900 sqft, we're going from 1 bathroom to 2 1/2, we're going from 1 story to 2, open yard to fenced in backyard.  We'll have tons more space!
We're so thankful for this opportunity and so excited at the home God provided for us.  These past 11 months have been so stressful, so we are super thankful it's almost over!

We get the keys to our new home on the 5th, we'll start cleaning and moving in, then the big move in day is the 10th.  We close on our house on the 13th.  I will be glad when this is all over!

During all of this, we'll also celebrate baby sisters 2nd birthday!  I cannot believe it!  Her birthday is in 6 days, Aug 3rd.  We're doing something special, but her party won't be till the end of the month, after we're settled in the house.  We also have to start homeschool at some point, though I might wait till after labor day like I did last year.  We'll see.

There's lots of excitement here, lots of packing, though I am grateful for it all!

9 years ago

9 years ago today, something incredible happened.  The love of my life proposed to me :)

At the time I lived in NC and was finishing my degree.  I came home to visit for the summer.  We had a special date planned for weeks to my favorite nearby city, St. Augustine, and he told me that it would be a great day.  He arrived to pick me up holding a bouquet of flowers. :)  We had our date, then went to dinner.  I "knew" he was going to propose, but by 8pm there was no sign of a ring and we were getting ready to head back home.  On the way he asked to stop at the beach.  I said ok and we started walking on the sand, hand in hand.  He came to a spot and stopped.  He told me this was where he was sitting and praying when he felt God's peace to pursue a relationship with me.  He said some other mushy things, and then popped the question.  I of course said yes. :)  We sat on the sand, watched the sunset and he prayed over our relationship.  It was so sweet.

He then told me the story behind my ring, which you can read about here because I'm too lazy to retype it all. ;)

So thankful for the wonderful and amazing man God picked for me.  Thankful that we were able to get engaged and married at a young age.  So thankful for these past almost 10 years together and looking forward to many many more!!!

packing and floodgates

Yesterday we started packing.  I started taking our decorations down and started crying.  With each thing I took out, came a memory.  There are SO many memories in this house.  Each item holds a special memory for me.  From someone special giving it to me as a gift, to associating what I bought with a specific time in my life.  So the floodgates opened, and I cried.  I am so excited about this move, but it's so bittersweet!  I will miss our little house.  We brought our 2 sweet girls home in this house.  I know when the day comes for us to leave, I will be an emotional mess!

My mother in law came and helped us pack.  She's been so wonderful in this process, she's picked up and brought us tons of boxes b/c we can't fit boxes in our car :)  She goes out in search of boxes for us, and then came to help us pack.  Just having her support helps me be less stressed.

The dining room and living room are mostly packed, except for items that can't fit in a box.  We packed up kitchen stuff I don't use daily, started packing some toys and books.  The girls actually packed the DVD's for us and did a great job.  They were so eager to help.  They even decorated some of the boxes with crayons :)  

It's a bittersweet, stressful and overwhelming process.  But it will be worth it in the end!  

searching and packing

We saw several houses last week.  We only liked one.  It's close to the area we want to be in, it's a neighborhood we didn't even know was there. The area is nice, the house is over 1900 sqft and 2 stories.  I've always wanted stairs.  We aren't searching for a 2 story home by any means, but we happened to find one.  The size and rooms are perfect for us.  Because it's a rental property the carpet was disgusting.  So provided they change the carpet and a few cosmetics we'll be choosing this one.  We'll be looking at other houses on Tuesday, so we could always like another one as well.  I didn't realize how slim pickings it would be to rent a house.  CRAZY!

I've started packing, but today will be a big packing day.  My sweet mother in law is coming to help.  We'll also be having a yard sale to get rid of some things.  We have a 3 car garage that has served as storage for the past 5 years or so.  We have a LOT to get rid of.

I'm excited for the next step.  It's amazing how God has worked in us through all this.  I had been so stressed, to the point of losing sleep over not knowing where our future house is and such.  But this past week, through lots of prayers, I've been fine.  I haven't been stressed at all because I know God will bring us to the house He has for us.

I have NO idea what He's doing!

So I know I've been talking about our house dilemmas and moving a lot.  But God has been doing so much in our lives through this trial, I like to share it for 2 reasons.  #1 To maybe provide some encouragement to someone out there.  #2 When I go back and read through these posts, I can be reminded of just how awesome My God is!

Yesterday we were set to look at my "dream" townhouse.  Last Wednesday I found it during my online search.  I immediately sent it to my realtor so he could set it up.  I found out it was under contract.  I couldn't get that house out of my mind!  On Saturday, the listing agent wrote me saying it was back on the market.  I was ecstatic.  I was already planning out the rooms!  So our realtor set it up for us to see it Wednesday evening.  30 minutes before we left to go see it, he told us it had been rented out.  I was FLOORED!  TWICE this house escaped through my fingers!  I was so upset, for like a minute.  Then I realized, you know, there HAS to be a reason why this house, my dream house, was taken twice from me.  I may not know the reason, but I'm truly ok with it all because I know that God just has something else out there for us.  To be honest, we saw a townhouse yesterday, another one, that was really pretty. But we realized that we really can't fit in a townhouse.  There just aren't enough rooms for us.

So we should be seeing another house today, in an area we hadn't even considered.  We saw the neighborhood yesterday and it was so nice!  So we'll see.

I'm excited to see what God will do.  We basically have 1 week to find a house.  I am surprisingly not stressed about that.  I really feel like God will answer our prayers and provide us with a home.  And if not, then I don't know what we'll do, but I know He'll provide!

House hunters

Later on today we'll be going to see our very first possible rental house. :)  It's both exciting and nerve wrecking.  This is a townhouse I fell in love with last week.  It was "perfect" for us and everything I wanted.  But then I found out it was under contract...  3 days later the listing agent wrote me saying it was back on the market, so we're finally go see it today.

How am I preparing for the searching?
1.  I measured my furniture
2.  I have paper and pen packed up to take notes
3.  Taking my measuring tape
4. I've spoken to the girls about what we're doing (though big sis thinks we're actually moving today and has told me several times to pack up the house)
5. I have done EXTENSIVE searching online of homes all over town.  We've even given up on the area we want.  So we'll look at this and then possibly start looking at other areas.

Excited to see what God has planned for us!

Bye bye baby teeth

On Sunday we were eating dinner and big sis started crying about her tooth, complaining it was hurting her.  Now, I will say due to an accident my nephew had involving his teeth and a close friend's daughter having the same incident (they both lost their 2 front teeth at age 2) my husband and I have always freaked out over teeth!  Anytime the girls fall and hit their mouth we freak out. lol

So when big sis started crying over her tooth, hubby jumped from the table to go to her side and check out her mouth.  And we were both SHOCKED that her tooth was loose.  She's 4 1/2, seriously?!  Thankfully her 6 month check up with her dentist was that next day.  We weren't sure if her tooth was loose just because or due to her hitting her mouth.  So they took x-rays, and sure enough, her bottom 2 baby teeth are loose and will soon come out.  You can see in the xray her permanent teeth pushing their way out.  Crazy!  She's in the percentile of kids who lose their teeth early.  I was that age also.

Now, I won't tell you that I am overly emotional about this.  Or that I plan on saving both of those oh so cute baby teeth forever!  They were her first 2 teeth, that we found on my first mother's day!!!!  Oh my word, am I seriously crying over baby teeth!?  Yes, yes I am...  That's just the kind of mom I am, anything that involves change or my kids growing too fast makes me cry!!!!!  sigh...

Baby sister got checked out too.  She loved sitting on the chair, that is until the dentist showed up.  We had to hold her down. lol  But he's SO good with kids and just talks to her and tries to calm her down.  I love our dentist!!!

By the way, our dentist has already said that most likely both girls will need braces.  Plus big sis will need to fix one of her permanent teeth b/c it will come out pointy (we can see it on the xray).  I told hubby we need a savings acct for their teeth lol

The search

Well, I've been doing online searching of homes for weeks now.  Saving the ones I liked and such.  Today I started calling and trying to schedule showings.  2 of the ones I called are under contract, one got a new renter today!  I wish I had called Friday. lol  But it's also kind of a relief b/c as much as I liked the house, it's not my #1 choice area of town.
So we continue to look.  I learned that if I like something, I need to jump on it!  There is a townhouse I liked that our realtor actually called last week, the same day I found it b/c I just "knew" it was my house.  It was under contract.  3 days later, the listing agent wrote me an email telling me the house is available again.  So I called her today and left her a message.  Hoping we can go see it this week!  It's so pretty!  The idea of a townhouse is a littler nerve wrecking only because the space is smaller.  With that said, all the townhouses I like are bigger sqft wise than my house now, so I'm sure we can make it work :)
It's stressful, overwhelming and exciting to look for a new house.  It's hard to wait and not know where we'll end up.  I've lost a lot of sleep over this.  It's really stressing me out.  But I've been praying through it and anytime I start getting anxious, I just say a prayer.  God has been with us in every step, He has our future house out there!

LIttle Bakers...

A few days ago I had to go grocery shopping and I took big sis with me for a one to one time.  Plus she loves shopping with me.  We went down the baking aisle and she saw these cupcakes that she really wanted to make, so I bought it.  She picked out blue frosting with sprinkles.  She was so excited to bake, she absolutely loves to bake.  I am not the biggest fan of baking.  

Honestly, I'm not a fan of baking with the kids.  It's "sweet" but it requires so much patience!  There are so many questions and I'm not the most patient of persons.  I have to put all that aside though.  Messes can be cleaned up :)  Plus seeing the sweet smiles of my little bakers, makes it all worth it!!! :)

Here she is mixing all the ingredients

Baby sis woke up just in time to help with the frosting.  She was quick to pick up a cupcake and eat it.  She is such a mess. lol

I ended up frosting them for her.  Her favorite part is to add the sprinkles.  

Both girls adding the sprinkles.  It was so sweet to see them working together.  I can't wait to have a bigger kitchen so we can all bake together! 

All done and so proud of her cupcakes!  And they were super yummy too :) 

Peacock Heaven!

On Sunday we went to my sister in law's church to see my youngest niece get baptized.  On their church grounds, they have peacocks.  If you know big sis at all, you know that she was over the moon excited to see them.  Now, I told her that we may not see them, usually at the zoo they're always hiding, so I assumed we would maybe see one from a distance.  After the service and lunch, we walked around the grounds.  We saw like maybe 10 peacocks, just sitting there.  It was amazing.  Big sis was so excited.  I am so happy that she got to see so many up close.  She is dying to pet one now.

She was in awe :)

 walking to see them.

 They are such beautiful creatures, it's no wonder they're her favorite animal :)  

 Baby sis surprised me by taking off after them, they were terrified of her and started yelling, then they flew into the trees.  She ran and ran all the way down past those trees, and got stuck by the fence.  Then cried until I went and got her.  Silly baby!

 The white one is my favorite! 

Movie time with 2 kiddos

Last Sunday we had to leave our house by 5 for the potential buyer to do his inspection of the house.  Which he ended up not even showing up, but that's a whole other story...So we decided to take the girls to see Monsters university.  Big sis has been going to the movies since a few months before her 3rd birthday.  We decided since baby sis is free anyways, that we'd take her and see how she did.  For someone who isn't even 2 yet, she did great.  But as predicted, she didn't sit still the whole time.  So here's some things I learned from taking her to the movies.

1. Take lots of snacks (we took lots of snacks and that kept her happy)
2. Don't take anything you want her messing with.  We each had a soda and she wanted some so bad and got upset when I didn't give it to her.  I had to walk out with her after that.
3. Be prepared for some loudness :)
4. Do NOT make her sit through the previews.  She was perfectly still during the previews, ALL 20 or so minutes of it.  That is wasted sitting still time. lol  Next time I'll stay outside in the lobby with her until right before the movie starts.
5. Dress comfy because the toddler will sit on your lap.
6.  I don't go to movies a lot, especially kid movies (Daddy always takes big sis).  So I am not used to being around so many kids and most of them do talk through out the movie.  Which is ok, b/c kids do tend to ask a million questions. lol

Big sis watching the movie in her pretty new peacock outfit :) 

 Baby sis on my lap at her first movie :) 

Happy 4th

My cuties in their new 4th of July shirts made by yours truly :)

Yesterday we had a great 4th of July.  I got to sleep in as I wasn't feeling 100%, cursed cold!   Then we got dressed and went to Nona's house for a day of swimming.  Poppy is tired of hot dogs and hamburgers, so he volunteered to Philly Cheese steaks.  OH MY WORD!  It's one of my favorites, and having a professional chef do it for you, YUM!  I helped him in the kitchen a bit and we got to hang out and talk.  He told me about his past and how he got into the restaurant business.  It was so fun hanging out, just me and him. :)  I ate a philly cheese steak.  I ate pasta salad.  I ate and ate and then had another 1/2 a sandwich.  I wanted another whole one, but my tummy just couldn't handle it.  It was so good! Then my mother in law, who knows her way to my heart, made Almond Joy brownies.  YUMMY!!!  They know how to make my tummy happy :)

After all that, we left and come home around 5ish.  I cat napped a bit, then daddy decided to do our own fireworks.  He left with big sis and got some.  We had to wait a bit for the rain to calm down then went outside and had fun setting off fireworks.

What am I going to do with this child? She is just too beautiful! :)

Ps. This was my first 4th as an American citizen!!! 

1 month away

1 month from today baby sister will be 2!!!!  That's just CRAZY!  She is so grown up all of a sudden.  She loves to do everything sissy does.  She learns new things daily, it's so fun to hear her learn new words on a daily basis.  Lately she loves to sing, her favorite is Owl City's "When can I see you again" from the Wreck it Ralph movie.  It's SO stinking cute to hear her sing.  Everytime we get in the car, she asks for it. lol

She has to wear a bow and shoes all day long.  It's the first thing she asks for when she wakes up.  Lately she's been wanting to wear her necklaces at home too.  Such a girly girl.  I love it!

She's been really weird with eating lately, she never wants to eat her meals.  Or will just nibble on it.  Seems very odd b/c she's my one that eats everything.  Hopefully it's just a phase.

It doesn't matter what kind of day I'm having, her smile and cuddles can always me so much better.  When I'm stressed out, all it takes is her sweet giggles.  She is so amazing.  I just love her to pieces.

At 23 months she:
-knows more words than I can count.
-loves baby dolls, balls, jewelry, dress up...
-Wears size 6 shoes
-wears 24 month clothes
-sleeps 10-12 hours at night- 3-5 hours for nap
-loves the alphabet and calling out letters when she sees them
-will sit and draw with sissy which is the sweetest thing
-wants to sit with us when we homeschool :)

 My girls in their pretty 4th of July dresses! 

This girl can always make me smile!  We were at a festival at church and she refused to come out of the stroller.  When I took her out, she tried to climb back in. lol