This is for you Ashley!

My sister and I have the same since of humour, sometimes others don't find it funny. We used to watch the Office when it first came out all of the time and I think I laughed more cause she was laughing so much! Sometimes Joe and Tex just shake their heads because we crack up at very inappropriate things at very inappropriate times! Of course I was on Pinterest last night and they have thousands of quotes! These were just two that I had to share with my sister!

She thought they were just as funny as I did and she said she tried to repeat them at dinner last night and no one laughed, that is why we are sisters! You may or may not think they are as funny as we do but they remind me of her! I love you Ashley!

I just cracked up again!

The Begining of Some of The Lasts...

Today is a big day! This is the last day of School and Work for the kiddos and I! (Insert weeping sound) I secretly wish I could say that it was my last day of work for a while (maybe one day :) but at least I get a week off do get the 1001 things I need to do before we move to Owensboro!

I realize the kiddos are only 2 and 4 but it makes me sad to see Palmer really taking this all in and realizing he is leaving friends and the uncertainty of finding new ones. I have said before he is my mini me so he analyzes everything, Annie is the free spirit that will bloom wherever she goes. Palmer will too he is just more cautious :) In a month they will totally have moved on to their new home, new school and new friends, that is what is great about kids!

So here are the best pics I could take at 7 am this morning of their last day of school in Louisville. It is water works day so that is why they have swim trunks on and cover-ups, I haven't gone that far off the deep end yet :)

 

I swear I can't get this girl to stop looking up and smiling at her big brother, I hope it never stops!

This kind of looks like a kiddie mug shot! haha Camera phone + bad lighting = scary mug shot of my kiddos!

Making funny faces! They think they are Hilarious even when they aren't!

I am almost to the point where I can say "I made it" I have survived being a single momma for 11 weeks Monday -Friday (sometimes Sunday - Friday, they extra night DOES count :) There were times when I didn't think I had it in me and there were times I thought, I could conquer the world! In the end I am grateful for this experience it has taught me SO much about myself my strengths and my weaknesses! I am stronger than I thought, I appreciate my husband more now than even before, we work the best as a "whole" family, I like having "me" time at night, I don't mind staying by myself in the house as much as I thought. I have gained patience, I have lost patience, I have laughed and cried (a lot), but I made it! So our families homecoming will be that much sweeter!

My mom told me I am on my "middle life's journey" it kind of scared me at first, since I tend to think of myself as 18 :) but then when I think about it, it is pretty cool! I am totally excited for this "middle life journey" bring it on baby!

Emotions and a New Bedspread

Well, the repair negotiations are done on our new house and things still seem to be set for an August 15th closing on the new home! I am still SO cautious about getting my hopes up for some reason but knowing things are on the right track makes me feel a little more at ease! I can't wait to post tons of pictures of "before" and "after" shots and I am so excited to make this house our home by adding all of the things we love.

I am still obsessed with PINTEREST! Seriously, it could be the coolest website ever and my mind is spinning with all of the DIY projects, awesome recipes and beautiful decorating inspirations that I find daily! I am a total sucker for bedspreads, always have, always will. I LOVE them, I LOVE looking for them, I just have a thing for bedspreads :) So I did make one tiny purchase for the new home ( I mean you have to, right?)

My new thoughts on style are to go light and airy especially in our master bedroom. It has a bay window and a window seat and I just envision this beautiful white, light blue and beige room accented in silvers and whites that can be our retreat! Here is the bedding I picked out for our room. Still deciding on a color for the walls but I am thinking a pale, pale, pretty light blue. It makes me get excited just looking at it!

Well, for the emotions part! I have been waiting for the flood gates to open because I have been very unseasonably unemotional about this whole move, I think it had not hit me! Well, it has started! I think between yesterday and already this morning I have cried about 6 times! Everything I do now I think "this is the last time I will do "this" in Louisville. Or this is the last time I might ever drive down this street. And most importantly I am realizing I am seeing people, friends, family for the last time as a resident of Louisville, that really pulls my heartstrings! Don't get me wrong, I am excited about our move. Other than the fact I hate change :) this is going to be a wonderful opportunity for us, we are moving to a place where we have family and friends and it is familiar. A place where I hope to call home for many years to come. But at the same time I am leaving what has been my comfort zone for 9 years. My job that I have had for 7 years and old friends, new friends and my sister. It's ok to be sad, I know this! I just didn't know that I would be SO emotional! I think with anything else, the anticipation of a lot of change is worse than when it actually happens and I have had 11 weeks to anticipate so it has built up for a while :)

Tomorrow is my last day of work and I said goodbye to my boss yesterday and that was hard. Tomorrow I will say goodbye to co workers that I love. This weekend will be filled with going away celebrations! I know I will see EVERYONE again and I am just moving 2 hours away, so now that I say this it does sound a little dramatic! haha But I have loved Louisville, I think back to the day I came here and the person I am leaving and there is no doubt in my mind when I look back on my years here, that God had a purpose for me and he placed me here with  people that led me, helped, supported and walked with me during the good times and bad. I know God has wonderful plans for our family and I am excited about the future but right now I if you see me I might have puffy red eyes for the next week or so and it is only because this city and everyone that I know here has touched my life and my heart and distance will never change that!

Totally on the Bandwagon!

I am totally 100% on the Pinterest band wagon! If you have not heard about this website! Go check it out Pinterest it is like your own personal page to keep all of your ideas, recipes, inspirations, etc... on one page. My head is spinning with all of the possibilities of this website! It surely will steal many hours away from me for a while :) You may need an invite, if you do, let me know! If you are on it follow me! It is SO awesome and with moving into a new house and loving to do DIY craft projects and try new recipes I am pretty much in "new website" heaven!

We have had a great weekend! I know I say it a lot and I am probably more emotional knowing that our time in Louisville is ending but I am SO blessed with the friendships I have made and the impact that these friendships have had on shaping my life and enriching my life over the past 9 years. This week will be hard, it is my last week at my job where I have worked for the last 7 years. I don't know if I have ever done anything for 7 years other than school and cheerleading! haha My coworkers and boss have been my stability when things were not always stable with me! I have confided in them and they have lifted me and supported me and have become much more like family. There are days when I stress and I don't like my "job duties" but I am SO grateful to have had the opportunity to have found something I enjoy and work with people that have been amazing to myself and my family. Friday when I leave, I know I will be emotional. It might not hit me at that particular moment, but it will be sad.

All of the change, all of the uncertainty, all of the goodbyes and all of the hopes for the future is a huge mixing bowl of emotion for me! I think I have cried at least 6 times this week, some happy tears and some sad tears. I have had a heavy heart lately with some things that have happened to people I know personally and people that I don't know at all, mostly tragic accidents and premature deaths. It has weighed so heavy on my heart because I feel guilty. I feel guilty that I have had worries that these families only wish they had instead of grieving for their loved ones that aren't with them anymore. When I am in a hard place I think about that a lot. We all have so much to be blessed for!

I was horrible about taking pictures this weekend! We did a lot of packing and in between hung out with a lot of friends! It was both productive and fun! Hopefully lots of pics to come! We have lots to do in the next month!!

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Happy, Happy Friday!

Words can not describe how pumped I am that it is Friday! That means we are closer to the end of this training period and hopefully closer to moving and getting settled! It has been a crazy week. These two wear me out but they make me smile and I love them more than anything, they also know how to push me to my limits daily! haha

So, we are still going ok with the house we had the home inspection done. No MAJOR items but a few things that need to be repaired and or replaced so hopefully the sellers will work with us and we can get this finalized and get a closing date!

It totally has not hit me that we are moving but the thought of having our own home again and all being together sounds wonderful right now!

We are trying to squeeze as much time as possible in with friends and family before we leave so this weekend we are going to hang out with friends and hopefully do some more packing. The more we can do now the easier it will be when the day comes!!!

Can't wait to make this thing official and post pics of our new home and all of our home projects!

Everyone have a great weekend!

Answered Prayers!

Hello Blog! I have missed you!! I have wanted to write so many times on things that are going on in our lives but it seems like each day something changed and I didn't want to jinx myself like last time! Most of you know Tex took a job with a 13 week training period that takes him different places. When we accepted this job we thought the kids and I could go ahead and move, etc... and we made an offer on a house, had it accepted and then were told they didn't know 100% where we would be living!!!

This has caused my type A, control freak personality to have some major problems!! So FOR a VERY long almost 9 weeks we have waited and waited and waited for someone to give us an answer. Evey week we would say "this is the week, we just know it" and no phone calls. It was getting to the point where we HAD to have an answer, I have to start working where we are moving, the kids have to have a place in daycare, we need a house and oh yeah the one we have now we have to be out of soon! 

So for the past week especially we have been on pins and needles waiting for an answer because we found a second home in Owensboro that we REALLY didn't want to lose this time. We finally got the 100% confirmation that we will be located in Owensboro at the 11th hour on Friday about the same time that the realtor and mortgage loan officer needed our final sales agreement for what I hope is our new home!!! 

There are no words to describe the weight that has been lifted off of us just to know we can move forward and it isn't much longer till we are all reunited and maybe our lives will finally feel settled and we can put down our roots! 

I am not going to say much about the house other than we LOVE it, obviously it still has to go thru inspection, financing has to go thru, all the hoopla of buying a home. I am just praying that everything goes thru and we can close on our estimated date in August!! 

I have to laugh, not only am I moving to Owensboro but we bought a house that backs up to corn fields! Here is a pic of the backyard. Now the back of it has corn for miles, it really is pretty and is my view from the master bedroom ironic huh? I am kind of looking forward to hopefully a simpler way of life after the past few years! :) 

We were kind of bummed about the gloomy weather this weekend but then again it gave us a ton of time to pack and just relax! We have stayed in the house about 75% of the weekend! The next month is going to be crazy, exciting, emotional (in a good way) and super busy and a ton of work! I am sure I will have tons of posts on the move, the new home and our new chapter of life! We are SO excited!!! If the plan goes as follows we will have about 3 more weekends in Louisville and then we will be for the most part relocated, I am sure it will take a few weeks to get everything there but we will go ahead and start staying there and start work and school!

Thanks to everyone who always asked and has been there! Hopefully I will have a lot more exciting posts and I hope you all will follow us to Owensboro as we embark on this new journey as a family! We cant wait!

Splishin and a Spalshin

This weekend has been BEAUTIFUL!!! Yesterday we were so excited that my sister in law and my three nieces came in and went to the pool. Ashley and Belle joined us and the kiddos had a blast! Today we hope to go to the pool again before the weekend ends :(

Piper in her adorable swimsuit and swim cap! She is ALWAYS happy!

Ashley with Piper and Belle! Belle and Piper are about 2 months apart and they are so cute with each other! They have their own little language!

I am pretty sure we don't have one of all of the kids since it was just Jillian, Mia and Palmer and we managed to get everyone together! I LOVE, LOVE how the babies have their heads tilted exactly the same wondering what was going on! :) From R to L Jillian, Mia, Palmer, Ann Mason, Belle and Piper!

After pool and naps Palmer and I had a "date night"! Palmer and I don't always get to spend quality time just the two of us because Annie is a little demanding at this age :) So for us to go together alone was SO very special. He was cheesing from ear to ear and so was I! We ate too much popcorn and peanut M&M's and I even splurged and got a huge Cherry Coke (my all time fav at movies)

We of course went to see Cars 2! It was really cute, Palmer and I agree that Cars 1 was better but it was definitely a GREAT movie! Palmer wants to know when the mail lady is going to put it in our mailbox??? He is going to be waiting for a long time :)

July 4th Part II and More Firsts!

Well the actual 4th started off raining and yucky outside and it was kind of a bummer! We decided to hit up Petsmart because Molly needed SOMETHING to for her dry skin, it is out of control! So we hopped in the car and still dressed festive and headed to Petsmart with the whole family, Molly included!

Ann Mason in her cute 4th dress and her pig tails and pig tail bows!!! I am so excited that I get to buy pigtail bows, I just order 12 pig tail bows off Ebay and can't wait till they get here!

Ok, so I am a total sucker! About an hour later in petsmart we walk out with two goldfish and a tank!! So now we have two fish weirdly named Herman and Jerry (Jerry is named after our 68 year old neighbor that the kids love)! Of course Herman and Jerry were fun for about 5 seconds but now mommy is about the only one that pays much attention to Herman and Jerry :) But another first we have fish!

Another first was I got the kids blue and red mixed icees! I mean these things never get old, I LOVED icees as a kid!!! My kids loved them as well! Ann Mason was pretty happy!

Sweet boy Palmer he loved his icee and looked so handsome in his 4th of July outfit!

Such a sweet first was meeting Miss Emma Claire for the first time. The Prathers have been our dear friends for 16 years and this is their second child and their first girl! Linds was a trooper and let us and all of their family come over and Emma Claire is only 5 days old and she is already rocking a 4th of July outfit! Her room and clothes are to die for! She is precious and we are so happy mom and baby are doing AMAZING!

Here is Palmer and Will Prather! They are so funny and play so great together! Will is more Ann Masons age but him and Palmer seem to be a good fit and a good balance!

This sums up the whole weekend! Ann Mason was bugging Prather to do the "grand finale" all night! She couldn't wait to get her hands on the biggest and best fireworks he had!

It was such a fun weekend and the kids were SO fun to watch enjoy this holiday!! I loved every minute of it! This week has gone by fast, thankfully! We are finished with week 7 of Tex's training!!! Only 6 more weeks to go! We hopefully will have some exciting things going on soon and start getting this move going! I can't wait to settle and have some roots!

July 4th Part 1 and Lots of Firsts!

It has taken me SO long to blog because I seriously didn't know where to begin! We did so much and had so much fun over the 4th weekend I didn't even know where to start! I will start by saying that this was one of my favorite weekends of the summer thus far! I don't know if it was the fact that Tex was in for longer, it was a 3 day weekend, it was the 4th of July (which PS is my new fav holiday for some reason) or the fact that we seriously got to hang out with so many of our dear friends. Whatever the reason we had a blast!! We had a lot of firsts over the weekend too! Lots of pics to follow :)

Friday night started off with making strawberry cupcakes! I don't bake for 2 reasons 1. Because I am a horrible Baker and 2. Because I will eat it all! But I decided it would be fun for the kids to help and they have never licked cake batter off of mixers before!! What kid hasn't done that :)

Um needless to say they loved it as much as I do and I had to pry the mixers away from them!!

Saturday morning we decided since it was so pretty to go to the pool and our friends the Cook's joined us! Here is Annie being her dad's shadow, she misses him so much when he is gone!

Oh Alex and Annie, how I wish I could just go ahead and arrange this marriage and make it a done deal! They are so cute and both so fun if nothing else I hope they are good friends all of their lives!

Reid and Palmer they have been best buds their whole little lives, we are going to miss them so much when we are gone!  

Another FIRST was this.... we ended up staying at the pool for WAY longer than expected because the kids were so good. When we got home Annie got up on the couch and fell dead asleep in 2 1/2 years this has NEVER happened and probably never will again :)

The night we got to go cookout with the Cupolo's! It was great to visit with them and see precious Sofia or "fia" has the kids call her! Here is another first SPARKLERS!!! The kids loved them, they were totally Palmer's speed! Not loud and fun!

Annie looking very unamused you can only imagine that she likes the loudest and biggest fireworks you can find!

Sitting down and actually eating probably another first! haha

Spelling words with their sparklers!

Well, after the Cupolo's we got real crazy! :) We decided to go to see the fireworks! It was so much fun and everyone had tailgating chairs and their was a lot of people but not enough to feel claustrophobic! Palmer did so good and was so pumped and then they started and decided it was best if him and dad watched them from the car! I was still proud of him though, little victories!

Before the fireworks show! Notice Annie's pink beach chair, I guess it will do!

Dad and the kiddos being silly!

Once the fireworks started Ann Mason was overjoyed she LOVED them!!! It was SO fun and we didn't get home until almost 11:30!! They were both at such fun ages this year!

Splash Park!

I am SO behind on blogging! I have a TON of pics I need to update and blogs I need to write! We had ABSOLUTELY the best 4th of July weekend ever. Nothing spectacular just fun with friends and spending time with daddy home! Lots of pics of our weekend to come...

Well, we LOVE Louisville and one of the things I love about it is, there is always something to do and new stuff popping up all of the time! While neenie was in we heard of this awesome splash pad/playground that had just opened the week before! It was incredible so beautiful, clean and fun! The kids loved it! Here are some pics of us acting silly at the new park!

Annie and I soaked from running thru the splash pad (I was the only mom running around screaming thru the water :)

The kids thinking it was hilarious to step on the sprouts and then let go!

Checking out all of the new stuff!

It was so huge and nice!

The kids and I we were a mess but having tons of fun!

This was the park side! They had so many cool things on the playground, a lot different from the days of the monkey bars!

And Belle showed up!!! The kids were so excited, they love anything that involves their bellies coming to play!

Annie and Belle swinging!

I hope everyone had a wonderful fourth of July!!!