Our future homesite!!!

This is where our new house will be built. All these big trees will be in our front yard. If you look to the left you can the front gate...our house will be sitting diagnal facing that gate.

This is a picture of my dad's horse barn that is on the back of the land. Matt's feeding the horses while my parents are out of town. (Doesn't Brooklyn look cute in her cowgirl hat?)

Our poor baby...having a severe reaction to Amoxicillin!

Grant woke up this morning with horrible whelps and red, swollen blotches all over him...from head to toe. He could barely open his eyes because his eyelids were so swollen. We took him to the emergency room where they gave him some steroids and Benadryl. He reminded us of Will Smith in the movie Hitch!

My little camo boy in his daddy's boat.

What's New?

Well, we are finally making some progress on our house(es). The builder got finished preparing our plans and specs and has given them to the bank now--so all we are waiting on is the appraisal to come back and final loan approval and then we can close! YEAH! The only bad thing is that we can't close on the new house loan until we have closed on our current home's sale--so that may put us behind a little. We are hoping that both loans will close by Friday, August 19th...but we'll see. On Wednesday, Matt and I took the afternoon to go pick out all our colors and designs for the house. We chose cherry cabinets, kind of a chocolate-milk colored tile for the kitchen backsplash and floor, and a dark brown granite (with lots of specks of other colors) for the counter tops. We are getting all stainless steel appliances and we special ordered a black porcelain sink with a really cool gooseneck faucet. Of course, it seems like everything we ask for "costs a little extra." Like we want the countertops rounded on the edges--and that costs more--and we want the tile layed in a diamond pattern---and that costs more. But, I guess when you are building your dream house...you have to pay a little extra to get what you really want. Well, that's really all that is going on with us. I have been packing a few boxes every day and now our house looks really boring and empty..but that will be one less thing I have to worry about when it comes down to the last minute. Matt is still working as much as possible so we'll have even more to put down on the house. The kids only have 2 more weeks of summer school and then they'll be out for 2 weeks. I will be on vacation Aug. 3rd through Aug.15th and I'd LOVE to get out of here and do something--but Matt won't let me spend any money! (ha ha--that's actually a good thing, I guess). Maybe I'll just take the kids to the pool every day?
Well, ya'll...that's it for now....more to come later...!

Check out my Tattoo!!!!..........temporary tattoo, that is!

What's happ'n...

Today was SO HOT! (A. you are lucky you live in Virginia and don't have to deal with these scorchers!) My mom and I decided to take the kids to the pool today so we could get out of the house and still stay cool. It was a lot of fun. Grant is such a natural in the water. He loves to put his face in the water and will even walk under the mushroom thing and let the water splash into his face. Brooklyn on the other hand, HATES to get even a little teeny drop of water in her face. She loves being at the pool but doesn't want anyone splashing her. Hopefully she will get over that before too long. Anyway, regardless of putting sunscreen on them FOUR times in a 2 hour period...they still both got sunburned. :o( Me on the other hand, I didn't wear any sunscreen except on my face and I didn't get anything---not a tan or a sunburn! I think my skin is desensitized to the sun or something?!?! Even mom got a tan/sunburn. Whatever...at least I can get somewhat tan in the tanning beds.
Wednesday I went to the dentist to have a routine cleaning done and ended up having a wisdom tooth pulled! OUCH!!! It was actually a blessing though because our dentist is a close friend and he did the whole thing, anesthesia and all, for free! Well, anyway...that's about all that's been going on with us. The house plans are moving slowly but I hope to get a picture of our "future homesite" to post for you all to see how beautiful the land is that we will be living on. In the meantime, I hope you all have BLESSED weekends and keep cool! Here's an old but cute saying for you: "Have fun in the SON and you won't get burned!"

My precious little girl!

My sweet baby boy!

X O X O...I love you Grant!

Weight just a minute....

Why is it that if we are around skinny people, we feel fat and if we are around heavy people, we feel skinny? Isn't that the dumbest thing? We are no thinner or heavier no matter who we are with--yet we see ourselves differently. I just despise comparisons! What makes us think that we can look like some supermodel twig who probably eats 500 calories a day and works out for "fun"? I mean...get a life! I don't want to look back when I am 80 and be like, "Well, it took up most of my time, but at least I've been skinny all these years." Life is about SO much more than how much we weigh. And while I am saying this and it sounds all good and fine---the truth of the matter is--that we are all (mostly)affected by it. We either want to lose some or gain some (gain some---now that's just crazy!)
Anyway, I don't know about you but I am tired of thinking everywhere I go that I don't look as cute as that girl or as thin as this girl or God forbid, worrying that my husband is checking some girl out. I am who I am---and there is a lot more to me than just my body! okay...goodnight! Happy eating....hee hee!

Praise the Lord!

Whew! We got the report from the appraisal back on our house (that we currently live in) and it appraised for what we needed it to! YEAH! This was a big worry for me since the last house we sold appraised for less than we had contracted and we had to take less. Anyway, I am just so glad that is over and everything worked out good. Tomorrow a heat/air technician is coming to tell us why our furnace makes "a strange noise and isn't cool enough."--this is according to the buyers inspector who came and analyzed every square foot of our house and found all kinds of things "wrong." Things that we certainly never noticed--but whatever. At least we are only liable for $500 worth of repairs. If things progress smoothly, it looks like we might be out of our house (and living with my parents) in the next 2 weeks! As much as I love my parents and am very grateful for them letting us stay there---it is going to be a TRYING time for all of us. Well, maybe not Brooklyn--she LOVES it there--but the rest of us are going to need lots of prayers and patience to make it in that house with all 6 of us (plus Sam). Hopefully I will still have internet service over there and will be able to keep you posted on what's happening. I guess we'll see!

Brooklyn Kate....you're a doll.

Grant's first Oreo!

Satan, You CAN'T Steal My Joy!!!

Today wasn't one of my best days. To start off, we found out this morning that there is a big kink in our building plans. We have to come up with $10,000 to purchase the land that our house is going on before the building can even begin. I have no idea where we can get that kind of money--but My God is Jehovah Jireh, my provider and there is nothing He cannot do! So I am trusting in Him to take care of it. Next, on the list, I have a terrible toothache because one of my wisdom teeth is coming in and pushing into my jaw. I woke up in the middle of the night last night with a horrible headache and have had one ever since. I can barely open my mouth---and I had to wedge my dinner in--because I couldn't open wide enough to even take regular bites. More than likely, I am going to need to have all 4 of my wisdom teeth pulled very soon and that is going to cost a chunk of money too. The 3rd negative thing that happened today was when I went to take Brooklyn to gymnastics---my car wouldn't start. My dad tried to jump start it--but it is totally dead---and Matt is working all night so I am stuck here car-less until someone can take me to buy a new battery. And, last but not least, after my dad so sweetly grilled us some steaks tonight, I turned my back for a minute and then heard Grant SCREAM. I turned around to see that he had just put his little hand on the HOT grill!!!! He cried all evening and sucked on his fingers. He finally went to sleep holding an ice-cold cup of milk in his burnt little hand. So...this has not been the best day---but even in the midst of all this negative--I still have SO MUCH to be thankful for! My God shall supply all my needs according to His riches in Glory!--and the rotten, stinkin', lyin' devil is Under My Feet!!!

Happy 4 1/2 Birthday Brooklyn!

Today, Brooklyn is officially 4 1/2. Wow! I know it sounds cliche but it's true--kids grow up So Fast! She's not a baby anymore--which makes me both happy and sad. I love her new independence and how well she can take care of herself--but I miss the days when I was her favorite person. Not that she doesn't still love me--but now her friends and her Grandma rank right up there with mom--maybe even a little higher. I guess we are all getting older. I had my 27th birthday yesterday and even though I hate it, it's true--people just don't make a big deal of your birthday when you are turning 27. I think I still expect the kind of party and attention you get when you turn 7! All in all, it was a nice day. We grilled burgers at my brother and sister-in-laws house (which was SO SWEET of them) and then after the boys napped and I did a little housework and laundry, we rode out to our "future homesite" and looked around. Then we picked up pizza and went back home and watched a movie. I ate way too much and felt sick afterwards. One good thing I can say is that I weighed yesterday and my grand total for the past month is 7 pounds. I was trying to lose 10 pounds by July 10th---and I started around June 10th--and even though I didn't make my goal--I am still 7 pounds lighter than I was then--and now I am aiming for another 5 by August 5th. I'll let you know how that goes! Okay, well, I need to get busy. I have to start getting things ready for the JBF sale and I need to start packing! Happy Monday to you all!

Aughhhh....I am getting old!

Okay, tomorrow I will be turning 27. I am a HUGE fan of birthdays and love to have big parties to celebrate them...but this is all starting to change as I get older. I have finally hit the "bump in the road" that makes me start thinking that birthdays could actually be a bad thing. Don't get me wrong, I still love to party--but I could do without the getting older part. Being three years from thirty just freaks me out. I'm sorry to those of you who have already achieved that distinguished age, but for me--thirty just sounds OLD! Like when your in your 20's, people excuse the dumb things you do by saying, "Oh your still young--everyone makes mistakes when they're young." But once you hit thirty, people start holding you accountable for your actions and expect you to actually act grown up. Ugh! No thanks! And even worse than acting thirty--is looking thirty! I still think I look about 20...but then, I live in my own little world and prefer not to face reality when it comes to things like this--so who really knows? Anyway, this year my birthday is gonna be weird because this will be the first time in 27 years that I will be celebrating it without my mom. She is in California for the next 8 days--where she should be--helping out my grandma and uncle, but I will miss her. It just doesn't seem right to celebrate without her. She is the one who makes it a point to make the day special for me. Anyway, I am beginning to think I sound like a crybaby so I better end this post! Have a good night and think of me tomorrow!

Caught! Won't this be great blackmail when he's a teenager?!?!

Building our Dreams.....

Today we signed a contract with a builder to have a brand-new house built out on my parent's land (10 acres). Although we will be a little further out than we would have liked, there will be so many wonderful things about having some space and our kids getting to grow up playing out side and riding 4-wheelers and goin' fishin', etc. The house will be 2,500 sq. feet and will have 4 bedrooms, an office and an upstairs gameroom. It is just beautiful and is pretty much everything we have ever dreamed of having in a house. They said it should only take about 3 months to build, but they won't even get started on it for another month or two so that puts us moving in sometime around Christmas! In the meantime, we will be busy picking out carpet, tile, cabinet colors, etc...as well as packing up our house now and moving everything into storage. We are going to be staying with my mom and dad for the interim period while our house is sold and the other house is being built. It will be tight---all 6 of us (plus Sam)living in that one house--but it will be worth it because we will be able to use the extra money for other expenses we will have such as putting in a septic system and getting a water meter. There will be a lot to do but in the end, it will be like a dream come true! We can't wait! I will be posting lots of pictures so you can keep up with the progress of the new house! bye for now!

SOLD!

Well, we sold our house today!!! AUGH!!! It's exciting and scary at the same time. We have 60 days to be out! We don't know where we are going for sure but I will keep ya'll updated!