Closed Encounters

As with all my posts as of late, this one is written with a weary brain. The girls are starting to revolt against our rules, and each other. They are staying up until 10 (playing/fighting) in their room two hours after we put them to bed (with intermittent spurts of coming out to tattle, whine, negotiate). We're ready to have normalcy put back into our lives. A big shout out to my folks for taking our sorry selves in, and housing us for the last two weeks, though. It's been a great blessing, and kind of fun.

Anyway, I see a light at the end of the tunnel. We closed on our new house today. We will be moving in this weekend (yes, Fourth of July holiday weekend). We took the girls to see it for the first time inside tonight. They loved it! They were running up and down the stairs, in and out of their rooms, and in and out of the backyard. I'm so excited to make it our own. It's got so much potential. Then, we'll have you all over to celebrate!

In other news, I did my first solo wedding photography shoot this weekend. I'll be putting up pictures as soon as I get the release from the bride. It was fun and I think I did pretty well. We'll see how the client likes it. Here's to saving up for my digital camera. I love my dinosaur but it's expensive to buy and process film. Gotta move with the times, as those crazy kids say...

Until next time...

Wearily yours.

Amy

As I sit here tonight, we've got most of our clothes, moved out, the kids are asleep in my parents guest bedroom and Bax and I are very much exhausted from a weekend of packing , moving, and house hunting. We did find a house today that looks promising, the price is definitely right, and we're making an offer. It doesn't have quite the appeal of our first one (mostly because I'm jaded right now) but it's got definite potential. I'll hold my tongue and bite my lip until the deal is allll done. We've asked for only 3 weeks until closing so that'll put us in a house in good time.

We're pretty much moved out of the house that has been our home for more than five years now. When we moved in, we had one child (one on the way, though) and we saw the world quite differently. We've gone through vocational changes, big financial changes, a huge family growth spurt, and so much more. Our home was always a place that (although I never thought we gave in to it's full potential) we could go and just be. That's what owning a home is about. It's having a place you can call your own.. Although we've worked so hard to get out of the house, I can't help but be a bit nostalgic about all the memories we've made there. I can only hope that wherever we land will be as much of a blessing to us as this place has been. And as I listen to my mom and dad snoring in their room, I'm reminded that yes, no matter where you live, you can go home again.

Update

So, life goes on... We lost the house. What we thought was our "perfect" house. The appraisal came back too low and the sellers had no wiggle room to adjust their price and we didn't feel like we should bring money to the table that we might not see at resale sooo.. it's back to the drawing board for us, and hello Mom and Dad we'd like to live with you for an undisclosed amount of time. Good news is, the sale of our house seems to be right on track. We'll be out by next week (we close on Friday). So, tomorrow night we'll be out house shopping again. I'm finally starting to enjoy the online search. The first couple of days I whined about how no other houses seemed to be comparable with what we had but now I'm okay. It obviously wasn't meant to be and I need to move on. I will not get my heart set now, until I have the keys in my hand, however...

So.. to do.

• Finish packing our house up and move it into a storage unit
• Find Baxter a car. (His died about 3 weeks ago) Yes, the beater car he bought (for $700)without having a mechanic or me there. Imagine that... This time I will be in the middle of the process, that way if we screw it up, I'll have at least had a hand in it.
• Finish editing bridal photographs (which is so hard because our computer got zapped whilst we were gone to camp and it's now only running in "safe mode").
• Prep for my first ever solo wedding shoot! (in a week and a half)
• Shop for houses with our realtor and go through that whole process again.

I feel like I'm drinking from a fire hose. The girls are being great, so as a treat I'm taking them to the pool this morning. Maybe some of that heat and sunshine will melt my stress?

neurosis revealed

Why? Why have you been praying for me for several weeks? Well, I found out today that it's because I am a neurotic mess (praise God!). I had a swollen lymph node in my neck at my last Dr. visit and was put on antibiotics to try to reduce it. It became a compulsion of mine to feel the lump and touch the lump and think about the lump and analyze the lump and do internet investigations about the lump. Needless to say that along with all the other exciting news going on in our little world, I was quite preoccupied with my little visitor. It was supposed to go away after the ten day treatment (which ended a week ago). As of today, I can still feel it. My Dr. however cannot (well she can, but only a little). After feeling and kneading, and questioning, her presumption is that I have a tiny swollen node that is a result of a small sinus infection. She said that it indeed has shrunk and that she is not concerned AT ALL, but ordered a CT scan if I wanted one for piece of mind. I'm leaning towards waiting it out, (I have 90 days to get it done)because 1. it's probably an expensive out of pocket test, 2. I want to quit thinking about it, 3. I really don't have time. So, unless it gets really big, or I just get really antsy about it, I'm done worrying about it for now. I called a wonderful friend of mine today after I got the news, and she denies my crazy. She suggested to me that maybe I was healed in the 3 minutes from when I texted her in the waiting area, to when the Dr. came in to see me. Maybe... Maybe.

Keep me in mind will ya? I need to be able to give up worrying for a little while and focus on all the great blessings in my life right now. Enhanced by my fear of leaving them, I have been reminded of how my children are so amazing. Absolutely fill up your lungs with love, smile through the back of your head, amazing.

Now, I'm off to watch Conan. Oh how I've been waiting for this for so long. Watch him!

p.s.
thanks for the prayers!
*In no way am I going to ignore the node and forget it. I have another appt in a month and I will bring it up again then.

the whirlwind of June

It was a great weekend. We got great pictures in between the eye rolling from Kayleigh when we asked her to actually smile and pretend she was not bored out of her mind. We got to visit with family, I got to rub a pregnant (but not too pregnant looking) belly, and I get rear ended in an Arkansas Wal-Mart parking lot. Kayleigh also finally got her dream present. It's going to be hard to see her face for awhile.
It was definitely a jam packed weekend. Everyone is home and completely exhausted. I finish my last week of work this week and head into the joys of summer, so I'm hoping that I won't be too unfocused, and disoriented. That's asking a lot.

The prayers that I've asked from you will be especially needed today. I'm still not telling you what they're for, however, because I'm too neurotic to throw it into the blogoshpere until I'm informed and ready. So just keep praying, will ya

The Fast and the Furious

We leave today for an Arkansas "birthday trip" for Kayleigh. We're going to vist the fam so Kayleigh can spend birthday time with everyone who can't drive all the way to Dallas to see her next weekend. We're bringing along Gamma and Papa, so the merriment will be complete.

It's going to be a jam packed weekend. We won't get in until late this evening, and knowing the girls the way I do, they'll be so jacked up on being the centers of the universe that it won't be easy getting them down to sleep tonight. We'll be staying with my lovely sister in law who always opens up her house for the tornado that is our family when we come to town. Baxter's parents will be there too, so it'll be a full house. Tomorrow, we'll head on over to Aunt Kitty and Knuckle Roy's house where we'll get the very first glimpse of the growing stomach (Kristen's too) and glow of the mini meow that's on it's way. That's right people, I'm going to be an aunt. I've waited in eager anticipation since my sister's wedding day for these months. Part of me wants to laugh as she retells the stories of wretching in the morning and evening, but that just wouldn't be right. I'm supportive and wonderful, so I can't do such a thing. And when she can no longer see her feet (they'll be so swollen, she won't be missing much) I'll rub them for her. And when that baby gets here, and she 'll be one of the best moms around, I'll finally get to see what I've been waiting for. Then I'll swoop in and take away her little one and hog it the whole time I visit, just the way she used to do with mine. It's the circle of life. But I digress...

We're taking Horton family pictures tomorrow night, (for once I'm not behind the camera!)and there should be enough people to wrangle all my children. Usually, I hate trying to get the girls to cooperate for photos. The usual progression is first, they make ugly/funny faces at the camera, then when they're told to just smile, they sulk and turn away from the camera, then eventually they run screaming away from the camera with tears and snot flying from their face, and I'm left to sit and wonder why I even bother. But with so many people to help, surely it'll go better this time around, right?

After pictures, we're doing cake and ice cream for Kayleigh. She'll get presents (probably too many because she's spoiled), and then they will all be so hopped up on sugar and wrapping paper fumes that they'll be up for another 12 hours. And we'll finally settle them down just in time for the drive home on Sunday.

Then, we'll get home and I'll do laundry from our trip, and start packing for the week long adventure that is teen camp. (7 days, 5 people, how much packing is that again? no, I don't want to think about it yet).

This almost makes me want to go outside and drift in my minivan...That'd be a release.

Hot Dogs, Burgers, and Apple Pie

While you're at home this weekend relaxing and eating too much, lets' take a second and put the burger down to remember what this weekend is all about.

Memorial Day was actually originally called "Decoration Day". The graves of fallen soldiers were decorated to commemorate their sacrifice and honor their memory. Red poppies were worn as an outward symbol of respect. Today, for many Americans Memorial Day is nothing more than a three day weekend ringing in the arrival of summer. The reverence and somber recognition of what was lost has dwindled in its importance for most of us. For hundreds of years men, women (and yes sometimes even children) have put you and I and our freedom before their own lives. Their blood has been spilled in the grass, in the sand, in the air, and in the oceans. Many of them knew it was coming, and kept pushing forward anyway. Many of them were terrified yet were convicted to stay the course by their commitment. What do we say to the heroes that linger on and were somehow spared, yet seriously damaged when we don't acknowledge what they know was lost? Here's our chance. This holiday, make it about them. Enjoy your freedom, enjoy your food, but also, give credit where credit is due, Memorial Day.