Home Sweet Home

Ok, I know it has been a while, but I have a great excuse!

We love our new home. It has felt like home since the first night. It seems to be perfect in size (not too big, not too small) and love the floor plan! Maybe one day I will have the gutso so show the inside, but maybe some here and there. There really isn't too much we want to change, which is a good thing. The kids' bedrooms need repainted and we are thinking about adding a wall, but other than that can't complain! The kids love the yard and the swing set, getting them in is like pulling teeth! Baby Cale is the worst.

We are homeschooling full-time this year. We started on Monday! So far, so good!

Brian's job is going well, he is loving working from home! I love him working from home. It makes the long days when he is gone worth it.

We are starting to "scout" out churches and hopefully will visit one soon. So much to think about between having a great youth program for Parker, a great childrens' program for Liddie & Cale and for us to find the right spot to get fed. I realize that you cannot find a church to meet all of your needs, but you need it to fill some.

More to come!

Complete Craziness...but God is good!

So much to catch up on...Yes we sold our house, but our buyer backed out over us not being willing to put on a new roof when half of it was replaced in November of 08. We tried to agree with them to split the cost of half of a new roof, but that was not acceptable so they backed out. Fortunately for us (and you cannot deny it was God) we had an interested buyer come through the day we signed out contract with the first buyers. They left feedback saying that they were interested and that they were paying in cash and could close in two weeks! As soon as our deal was starting to fall apart our realtor contacted these other buyers and they were still looking, though half heartedly negotiating on another house, they really wanted a chance at ours. The offer was not as good, but we really felt like this was our chance to keep moving forward and how many times do you have a back up buyer the day your deal falls apart??? Oh and by the way, they wanted to close in 2 weeks (July 17)!

Over the 4th we went to Edmond to house hunt. We looked pretty much all day on the 3rd & 5th. We ultimately put an offer in on the first house we looked at, but at the end of the day on the 5th. On the 5th we knew about our house so we knew we were needing to close quick and we are able to close on July 24th, only a week later! God is good! Oh did I mention that we both had "criteria" of what we wanted for a house and we both got what we wanted! God is too good to us!

I called our packers to ask them about availability and he only had two dates open the week we needed him...the two days we NEEDED! God it good!

This week is CRAZY! Our packers/loaders will be here Wednesday & Thursday. We close at 10:00 a.m. on Friday! I absoltutely love all of my Houston/Pearland friends, just know I will not be able see everyone, but I don't like goodbyes anyway! I would have never enjoyed our time here without such good friends. I love and appreciate every one of you!

SOLD!

We have sold our house! We countered back at the first offer, they countered back and we accepted their counter. Granted it is great to have this piece behind us and we could have held out for a little more, but it wasn't worth the gamble. We felt we needed to take a reasonable offer and move on. When we moved here from Tulsa in 2002 our house in Jenks sat on the market for 8 months, and we did not want a repeat performance!

We are in our 10 day option period (Texas thing) and the buyers can back out for any reason and only loose $100! It will end on Saturday, July 4! Keep praying all is moving forward. We really believe God has orchestrated all of this and know we are in His hands throughout this and have to continue to trust Him!

Offer, Counter-offer & Waiting...

Day 8 on the market (Sunday) we were told we had a verbal offer! Our realtor prefers not to deal with verbals and requested to their agent to submit a written offer. They did just that on Monday! Of course it was lower than what we were wanting this early in the game and we countered back yesterday. We should be hearing back today! In all honesty if they don't come back with a better counter back we have one more round we are willing to go because our first counter was high.

We had a feeling this time it would sell semi-quick because we have had a lot of traffic, but I never would have guessed within 8 days! God is so good! Keep praying this negotiating process ends up in our home being sold! The Lord has been with us every step of this job process and I have to firmly believe He is with us now in this step as well.

Day 4 on the market...

Today was a busy day of showings...we had 4 total! One already responded and said the house was not for them. Out of 7 showings 3 are "considering" it, one of those three are not in a hurry and another one may want to bring her husband back next week. I am hopeful that we will continue showing and maybe have an offer soon. Keep praying for a quick sale that is reasonable!

House on the Market

Today was the 3rd full day our house has been on the market. I can't even begin to explain how much stress there is during this process. First to get it ready has been a chore. We have rented a storage building (5x10) and have nearly filled it. I am guessing we really don't need 3/4s of it, but hopefully we can sift through it better before the final move.

To get the house on the market we had two bathrooms painted, one room re-painted, drywall touch up work done (minor Ike damage), Brian, his mom and her husband painted our kitchen, we painted our formal living and dining rooms (office and playroom respectively), decluttered and finished it all off with a full landscaping clean up. That is why we feel like we birthed another child!

Here are a few things that have happened that have added stress:

Wednesday, June 10 we were suppose to meet with the realtor at 5:30...at 4:45 I was in the laundry room sorting laundry and Baby Cale decided to play in the shoe rack (we take our shoes off in the laundry room) and I decided to let him so I could finish, next thing I know Parker comes in and says to me "He is in the paint!!!". Cale dumped over a can of paint that had a little bit left in there, the lid wasn't secure so it came out and he played in it! I immediately called Brian and said he had to cancel our appointment! This resulted in a bath, a call to poison control (becase some was in his mouth) and a full laundry room floor clean up! Yes, shoes got some paint, but I think they were saved!

Thursday, June 11 again 5:30 appointment...at 3:30 or so a flouresent lamp bulb was shattered (yes the new ones that have mecury in them). We left the room and took all advised precautions and then properly cleaned up the mess.

Saturday, June 13 the house goes on the market!

Sunday, June 14 first showing...they spent 45 minutes at the house. We received good feedback and are one of the houses being considered!

Monday, June 15 Second showing...no feedback yet.

Tuesday, June 16 Third showing scheduled for 2:00. I have been stressed, I know...why??? One way I reduce stress is to bake. We have new neighbors on one side of us and I thought it would be a great reason to bake besides stress relief. At the time I started the dough I did not know we had a showing. I got the call during the process. Not a big deal I was cleaning up as I went and I would at least be able to bake them and then I could ice them after the showing. I preheated the oven and was right on target. A few minutes later when I was looking at the temperature I saw a small flame. I originally thought it was bits of pizza that dropped to the bottom, then I remembered I left a store bought cake in the oven (because I didn't want it sitting out on the counter). The plastic was flaming a little bit. I grapped my stone and was going to push it onto it as I was about to do that, I realized that it was getting a little bit bigger...I said to myself "forget this...I'm getting the extinguisher!". I pulled the pin and gave it two quick shots and it was gone...POOF!

After a few deep breaths and using the broom to get the smoke alarm to quit, I called Brian just about in a panic...I was still shaking! After I calmed down and realized all was well it was time to clean up the kitchen for the showing that is now 1-1/2 hours away! I lit a candle, turned on the vent hood, turned down the air and started cleaning. There were black little specs everywhere and a nice white film all over the oven, microwave and floor but who cares I took care of the immediate need. Now I can totally laugh, but I was so scared at first. I don't think the house even smelled like burnt plastic...YEA!

No feedback on this showing either, but hopefully it isn't a remark of some funky smell!

Tomorrow we have a scheduled showing between 10-11 and I have a mover coming to give a quote at 9:00! All is moving (no pun intended) pretty fast for us!

I know, I need to catch up some more...I will and will post pictures too!

Big News...

We are moving!

We are moving to Edmond, Oklahoma! It is a long story how all this has come about along with the longest job interview process in the history of Brian's job interviewing. After two month of interviewing and waiting and waiting and waiting we had the official offer. We have known for a while, but everything had been verbal.

Short story: We put our house on the market officially tomorrow morning. When it sells we will move. We may be spending some time in OKC but will be back and forth until the house sells. Brian's new job is different, but still technical, he will basically be supporting two sales guys with his technical skills (that is about as simple as I can put what he does into words). He will be working out of the house so that will keep us flexible. We need to spend time down here for him to train and get acquainted with his new job. We would like to see moving at the end of July or first part of August.

Long story (God is so much in the details of this):

All of Brian's job issues that have been going on for the past 6 months came to a head all of a sudden, otherwise he would have never thought about looking for another job!

Tuesday, March 24 my friend Desiree gave me a full gallon on paint, my exact color that I need to finish my two front rooms. Jokingly we giggled saying that I was going to tell Brian it was God telling us to paint (he loathes painting). That night at the dinner table, I did just that. Of course I got the typical yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever!

The next day, Brian told me he prayed a few weeks before that if God wanted us to move back home, that he would provide a way for it to happen. He told me this before bed after Devon (they guy who helped him get the job) told him about a job with his company that would be in Oklahoma. ASG is opening an office in Oklahoma to serve OKC, Tulsa, Arkansas and N. Texas. This job is not a traditional IT job that Brian has worked in the past or currently, this would be more of a supporting sales role. For the last couple of years, Brian has been saying that he wants a change. He has grown tired of what he is doing, but did not know what he would do or really what he wanted to do.

Then the following morning before I looked at email or anything I decided I was dedicating my morning to prayer. After my time of prayer, I read an email from Brian about the job! I began to get overwhelmed with emotion and thought "the paint", God is truly telling us to paint! Then I started thinking about school and how much we love our school and how much my heart has been softened to homeschooling and how I would have never considered it had it not been for Logos. The story of us hearing about Logos is a God story in itself!

My prayer all along has been that God would open my eyes, ears & heart to receive his will and communicate it enough for us to follow. I also have prayed that I need to be trusting of God to work out the details for such a big event, it was bigger than me!

Brian met with the guy from ASG Friday, April 3. He came away from the meeting more sure, excited and saw it has a real possbility. He was told that the job would be his if he wanted it and needed to spend the weekend talking to me and thinking about what he would need for a base salary.

Back to the paint...I tried to talk Brian into painting that weekend, and he said it was too difficult to do with the kids. Unexpectedly (becacuse they ran the special) Brian's mom is came that weekend...we had help, so we painted!

We are so very excited about this opportunity to get home, but it really bring to me the true menaing of "Bittersweet". We know in our hearts this is what God wants for us, but it is truly going to be a tough move. We have been in this house the longest we have ever been in a house our entire marriage. This is the only place Parker remembers living, we brought two babies home here and have had such a great support system of friends which are like a second family, great neighbors. We have enjoyed living here much more than we ever expected! Right now, I am very emotional and overwhelmed with the stress of getting the house ready to put on the market (I have decided we have too much "junk"). The only way I can describe how I am feeling right now is numb, can anyone relate???

This has been the real reason why I have not kept up the blog...I was waiting to share this news! I will work on getting caught up and keeping you up to date on our process!

Liddie's First Astro's Game

Liddie went to her first Astro's game! They only lasted about 5 innings or so. She said she liked basketball better...must be more action, plus more things to keep you occupied besides cotton candy! She had fun though and so happy she could go!

Cale enjoys the front yard

Cale was a late walker (15 months or so), and so after we got some new shoes and a beautiful day came our way, we headed to the front yard for some play! Cale absolutely loved walking around on the grass, sidewalk and riding the plasma car (that he does really well on). He must have felt a new found freedom! You can tell by the look on his face he is having a ball!

End of Year Party - The Downtown Aquarium

Have I said how much we love Parker's school, probably not (ha ha), but WE LOVE PARKER'S SCHOOL! For the end of year party we did a Field Trip Combo and took the kids to the Downtown Aquarium. The kids saw all the aquadic animals and some bengle tigers, then had a blast on all the rides. Here are a few pictures with Parker and his two buddies Conner & Weston. Parker has enjoyed these two kiddos (and others too) so much and they love hangin' out together.

Muffins with Mom (Liddie's Pre-school)

The Children's Program Liddie attends had Muffins for Mom. It was a special time for just me and her. We enjoyed a muffin and some juice together and they gave us a sweet bath treat! I love her school and teachers! She had the best and most creative teachers this year, they will be missed!

Happy 11th Birthday Parker! (4/22/09)

Parker turned 11 today!  Boy time flies!  Today we tried to make it as special as we could because his birthday celebration will be this weekend and I will have lots of pictures to post then!

Started the morning off with chocolate chip waffles (nothing different really); then we met Brian for lunch at California Pizza Kitchen.  After all of that we went to Target to let him pick out a game (no not a video game...that was a rule) and topped that trip off with a Cherry ICEE!  For dinner he picked what he wanted me to make...Meatloaf (my yummy meatloaf with sweetened condensed milk), sweet potato fries & corn and of course topped that off with ice cream...WHEW, what a day!

This weekend hold some fun stuff for Parker...grandparents coming, going to the movies and lunch with friends and yet another special dinner.  

We love you Park!

XOXOXO

Cale can Walk!

...but I question his "want" to walk. He is such a fast crawler, who would want to try something else??? He also can get around on the plasma car, alone...yes, alone! Plus he can get around on another riding toy so why walk?

The night before last I got him to take lots of steps and proved to me right then and there he CAN walk! He also stood up on his own from the floor the same day. He has been walking around stuff like a mad man, but just hasn't taken a true leap to walking.

Okay, okay, okay...I know I need to get caught up! Bear with me another day or two and hopefull I will get there.

Baking Cookies

I love to bake cookies! Liddie loves to bake cookies with me! Well, a couple of different friends have been baking cookies and selling them, and they are beautiful! They inspired me to at least try to make pretty cookies, not to sell them but just for my family or friends or classmates of the kids. Liddie did a really great job! I was experimenting for Easter. I think I need to do a little bit more work and a little bit more experiementing. My waistline is not liking all of this, but my tummy sure is!

Cale the Climber

Cale is most definitely the climber of the bunch. I think this video proves it. He has been found everywhere from the tops of the chairs (living room) to the couch before we can turn around. This particular day I looked over at him and he was on the table! I had no idea how he got there. I put him back on the floor and watched him do it again and again, so I had to break out the camera for this one.

2009_3_14

Silly Faces

Since I am playing catch up, here is a slide show of some happy and silly faces in January and February.

When Parker was little

I found some pictures of Parker (that were digital...few and far between then!) of when he was 2-1/2. He is such a cutie, then and now!

More Liddieisms...

Lellow = Yellow
Loodles = Noodles
Lusic = Music

While we are making waffle mix:

I crack an egg into the bowl...
Liddie says "Hi Little Eggie", then she says "Little Eggie is thirsty, let's give him so milk!"
We give little Eggie some milk and she says "ahhh much better!"
From time to time when Brian is home and making breakfast with us she will tell Brian "Daddy, tell little Eggie hi!" Just too stinkin' cute!

I so don't want to forget some of these because I miss remembering all these things with Parker! Thank goodness for blogging in 2009!

"The Shack"

I have been reading the book "The Shack".   A friend of a friend started a book discussion on this book.  It just started so it is not too late to join in.  I am not a reader, but the book came highly recommended by someone who also recommended "The Wednesday Letters" and I loved that book, so I thought I would follow her recommendation again, I am so glad I did.

If you are interested in this discussion, whether it is just reading the discussion or participating, just scroll down a little and click on the book I have on the left side of my blog.

25 Random Things

Okay, the 25 Random Things about Yourself has been going around Facebook like wildfire. I love reading them...you really can find out a few things about people you would have never known, and it has been pretty fun! A few of you have decided to "re-do" on your blog, and I am joining you (not sure if I will do 100 Beth)! Some will be repeats, some won't.

1. I am technically an only child, though I have 2 half brothers (one of which has passed away way too young) and 2 half sisters.

2. I secretly wish I could/would have one more baby! (Cannot believe I have written that).

3. After many years of not being able to get pregnant after Parker, we did one unsuccessful round of fertility and gave up on more than one child (and accepted it by the way). Our last two pregnancies have truly been the hand of God! (Really 3...I miscarried once after Liddie)

4. None of our children were "planned". (You know what I mean)

5. I never make my bed (only when I change the sheets)

6. I cannot stand to unload the dishwasher, that is why it is a chore of Parker's.

7. I want to win the lottery not to buy more things or a bigger house, but to have Brian home all the time and be a better giver.

8. Every child has increased my prayer life!

9. My mother-in-law & best childhood friend beat breast cancer!

10. I miss my Na-Naw (like a mother to me...my mother's mother). She would get a kick out of these kids. She passed 11 days after I had Liddie and I was unable to attend her funeral, which has made it hard for me to realize that she is really gone.

11. My mom still lives in the house I grew up in.

12. Parker is so much like me, it is scarey!

13. I want to move one more time in my life...move to the house our kids will come home to and visit after they leave and stay in their "old rooms" and have fond memories.

14. The house that we are in now is the longest we have lived in one place our entire married life (and I think Brian's entire life).

15. You would have to pay me a ton of money to return to high school (enough for #7).

16. I was PTA Treasurer for one year (you could do it for two years...one was enough).

17. My kids watch entirely too much television.

18. I always have the best of intentions, but don't always follow through.

19. If there were one reality show I would want to do, it would be Amazing Race. I would only want Brian to be my partner.

20. I have never had a speeding ticket.

21. I don't have an i-Pod (Brian & Parker do).

22. I can't wait to live debt free (including our home). We are on our way: Zero credit card debt!

23. I did not finish college, and I don't think it has hurt me.

24. I make my kids chocolate chip waffles for breakfast most mornings.

25. I want to start a new tradition of writing my kids letters on their birthdays.

There are 25! I may add some as time goes on.

Pay it Forward...Winner(s)

I know I am late in doing this, but I so loved your stories. I did this to encourage us to live our daily lives paying it forward and not just sometimes. I heard stories from helping a family through the rebuilding of their home after a devastating fire (and the family was new in town) to putting a book in the mailbox of a friend who recently lost their pet...and everything in between! Paying it forward can be BIG or it can be small...the result is the same, helping others without wanting pay backs. If you don't have the resources to do a lot, you can still have a big heart by doing little things.

The two stories I mentioned "won" so you can expect a little something in the mail whenever I can get it in (I am a procrastinator and have the best intentions, just know that).

Thank you for your stories and remember to try to incorporate paying it forward daily whenever you can.

Shout out...

I love to compliment a company when they treat their customers right. Here are two shout outs that I have!

Britax:
Best car seats EVER, love them!!! I also have a Britax stroller. Unfortunately I broke the wheel of it and have been unable to use it. I called Britax to see if I could buy another wheel. For some reason, I can't remember why, but they don't sell them. So the lady offered to send me one free of charge. I reminded her that it was not a warranty problem, that I actually caused the damage. She said that is okay and she would send it to me anyway! I received the wheel just the other day! Thank you Britax!

LL Bean:
Parker's new school highly recommended that we purchase a rolling backpack for our student. Well because the specifically mentioned it I figured they meant it and needed to buy him a good backpack, so I went to LL Bean (Brian had a laptop bag from them that lasted nearly 10 years!!!). Anyway, Parker's first day of school he left the backpack strap out of the pouch while rolling because I instructed him to despite the directions. I just wanted him to have a smooth day and not spending too much time tucking the strap in and out so I specifically told him to leave the strap out just that day. Well, he got home and the strap was frayed nearly in two from one day! Although I did not have him follow directions I was so surprised it frayed that bad for one day. I called LL Bean and told them the story. They said a new one will be on the way! I said I wasn't calling to get a new free backpack, I was just hoping that maybe they would meet me in the middle because it was my fault, and they said not a problem a new one is still coming free of charge! Whooo Hoooo! Thank you LL Bean!

Honesty does pay!

Cale's Funny Faces

I went on the back patio to start the grill and when I turned around I saw this...

Jesus Hat

Liddie put the arm cover from a chair on her head and said "Look Momma, it's a Jesus hat"! I love it when they make connections like that.

Cale - 12 Month Check Up

Cale at 1 Year:

Weight:

22 pounds and 8 ounces...smaller than I thought! He is in the 55% range.

Height:

28 3/4 inches...getting taller, slowly but surely! That is 25%, poor boy doesn't stand a chance at being a basketball playerl!!

Head:
19 1/4" which is greater than 95%!  Funny story:  for Cale's 9 month check up, Brian was with us and the doctor took measurements of both of our heads to determine that Cale's large head was due to genetics, otherwise we would have had to go to Texas Childrens' for a CAT scan!

Number of Teeth:

6

Personality:

Baby Cale is so laid back. He is a pretty quiet baby, he plays independently very well and loves the big kids, we know he can't wait to be running around with them...you can see it in his eyes.

Accomplishments:

He can say Momma, Dada, Bubba (Parker), Go (he hears us say to Liddie "go, go, go" when she is saying she needs the restroom) and nana (banana). He is the fastest crawler we have ever seen, but is walking around the coffee table, pushing a chair around and will stand when he doesn't realize it. He will put absolutely anything or everything he can in his mouth, just plain nasty! He will go to sleep while awake (HUGE for us), but still does not sleep through the night.

Baby Cale...WE LOVE YOU!

Pay it Foward...Update!

I have been getting lots of stories, but few comments, which is fine. I encourage you to send me your stories. First, I decided to do this because I have been blessed by others in so many ways and I know I could never repay them. Second, I wanted to encourage everyone to give selflessly to others and if you are every asked how they could repay you, you then ask them to "Pay it Forward". God works in ways you cannot imagine. After I did this, I read this post about a couple who just had their first baby and now she (the baby) is in NICU. She specifically mentioned in her post that she would have to pay forward everything everyone has done for her because there would be no way she could repay them. Her post is here! Keep the stories comin', I will post some stories in a few days.

Pay it Forward...

Pay it forward...means that someone does something for you out of the kindness of their heart, not expecting anything in return so a way to "repay" them is to do the same thing for something else.

A couple different friends of mine have encouraged others to Pay it Forward by the first 3 people to leave a comment would receive a gift.  I have so enjoyed it.  Now I want to pay it forward, but want to change it up a little.  Send me an email at cara.canada@gmail.com of the best way you have paid it forward or if you haven't paid it forward before then here is your chance to do it and tell me about it.  Leave me a comment only telling me you will send me an email, not to tell your story because I think the best way to pay it forward is to also be anonoymous!  The best story I receive within a week will receive something special in the mail!  I will also post your story without your name.

I encourage you to leave a comment so we can see how many people will participate and encourage one another!  If you blog, do the same thing!

Here are a few examples to pay it forward:

Buy the lunch of the person behind you in the drive thru;

Help someone do something that someone else has once helped you do (organize a closet ora home office);

Call someone who does not have family close and offer to watch their kids so they can go on a date night without having to pay a babysitter;

Spontaneously drop a gift card in the mail to someone, just because and don't sign your name!

Giving is so much fun!

Cale's First Birthday

This day has been bittersweet for me.  I love to see Baby Cale grow, but at the same time I *love* the baby stage so much!  Cale is the "caboose" of our family which makes me sad sometimes, then again it makes me happy sometimes...depends on how the day is going.

Cale is the sweetest baby and very laid back, guess most 3rd babies automatically get the laid back personality.  He can be very quiet, though he babbles a lot too.  He is saying ma ma ma ma ma and da da da da da, and some times even ba ba ba ba ba (Parker, i.e. Bubba).  He doesn't cry a lot, mainly when he is tired and hugry, and fusses only sometimes with a dirty diaper.  The boy is still not sleeping through the night, but I think I am also attached to him waking up and enjoying nursing him.  With each baby they have their own thing they do just between the two of you and Cale's "thing" is to reach close to my neck of my shirt and somehow get his hand just inside and gently rub my chest, it is just so sweet.

Of course he has fallen into the "third child syndrome" meaning he did not get a big first birthday party like the other two, I still have not taken him for pictures (the other two were on the actual day!), and I guess we haven't taken as many of him as we did the others.  I do wish we would have taken more pictures the day he was born, I try not to feel regret about it because I can't change it.

Here is a slide show I put together of his first year...13 pictures, one a month from the day of his birth until today, his first birthday.

Cale's First Ear Infection

Cale came down with his first ear infection.  I finally took him to the doctor on Friday because he wasn't acting himself, was not sleeping (worse than usual), and always wanted to be held (more than usual).  I had be hesitant because he hadn't been running fever; he had a cough, but they say to let it run 14 days if no fever and a little congestion.  My theory was that since Brian was home and I would not have to tote 3 kids to the doctor's office I may as well take him, plus maybe we (really me) could get a weekend of of sleep.  Lo and behold one ear was "red" and the other was grey.  She said normally she wouldn't treat it yet, but since his behavior was not normal she was calling it an ear infection.

Cale is still not sleeping well.  I don't know if it is the ears or just adjusting back to being home after 2 weeks and our sleep arrangements have not be normal by any means.  Who knows!  Typically before our trip, he would "cry it out" some, but since we have been home he is horse and sounds so pitiful, I am having a hard time on the "cry it out" method.  He still really isn't acting like himself.