Preview of our new house!

I sort of took these pictures in a rush 'cause the
current owner of the house was still moving out.
Literally.
But here is a preview of the house we are closing on tomorrow. Soon it will be "ours" and we can call it "home"!!!

This would be the front door.



our dated kitchen.
but we can deal with it for a while.
the appliances are fairly new.


our lovely backyard.
complete with a requisite pink flamingo.
(by law, EVERY Florida home must have one.)
we've been breakin' the law for a while.

the pool!


the Florida room.
this will be the playroom!

playroom again.

Hayden's room.

Amanda and Samantha's room.

the garage.
check out the antique yard tools.
they sort of freak me out.

The master bedroom and bath pictures didn't turn out right and I forgot to take pictures of the living room and dining room... and the office - but once we move in I'll post more pictures.
So there you have it!

7 months!!!

Oh my.
I just might eat her.


At 7 months Samantha:
is rolling and sliding her way across the room
loves to play with her daddy's watch
eats sweet potatoes, carrots, peas, green beans, oatmeal, rice, peaches, pears and bananas
can sit up for little while
can squeal like a piggy
will occasionally give you a big 'ole belly laugh
will hold a rattle and throw a rattle
loves to splash in the tubby
exhibits great patience. We really can take her anywhere!
is quite easy to please
has been sleeping through the night for almost 5 months!

5 more days till closing!

It's not seeming very real right now, but in 5 days we will own a home in Lake Mary, FL!
We're really excited...sort of. Family illnesses, crazy work schedules, and some other issues we may choose to reveal later (when the deal either goes through or doesn't), are putting a bit of a damper on it all.

When it's all official and "real" I will post lots of pictures!

found in the kids bedroom

is it really time for "the talk" already? ughhh...

Hayden these days

matchbox cars
waaaa-ter
getting waaaa-ter
spilling waaaa-ter
bathing matchbox cars in waaaa-ter
drinking matchbox cars and waaaa-ter cocktails


oh.
and wearing big boy underwear over his diaper.

love this snot-nosed boy.

Samantha at 6 months!

oh my, she's a growin'

Got pictures that need fixin'?

WARNING: SHAMELESS BEGGING TO FOLLOW

Okay, not gonna get into all the details but I need to make a serious contribution to our "buy us a house" fund 'cause a sweet old lady accepted our OUTRAGEOUS offer on her house. We totally thought we lost the house - and then the whole family got sick. So we splurged on doctor visits, GatorAid and some comfort foods like Dr. Pepper for mommy so she could stay awake to take care of everyone...

Anywho... I am offering a service to all my friends out there who have photographs that need a little punching up in color, or b&w treatment, or text inlay... whatever you need. Need some text blurred? I can do it. Got a pimple on an otherwise beautiful picture? I'll take out my magic wand and make it disappear, want those eyes to POP? I'll do my bestest. Seriously. Bring it on!

Donations to the "buy us a house" fund can be made through Paypal (or cash if you live nearby).
(my daughter Amanda suggests a minimum of $5
"cause you ARE worth it mom!")
Isn't she sweet...

April 29th is the closing date...
I AM SO EXCITED!!!! MY HUBBY IS SOO STRESSED!

MUST MAKE THIS HAPPEN! AHHH!!!!!!

{thank you for reading this shameless note of begging... btw did you notice I used a touch of green in this blog? Green is the color of prosperity. I love green. Don't you?}

MIA

Sorry I've been sort of MIA on my blog. I'm living in the house of the ill right now and I don't have much time for any updates other than a few quick notes on Facebook.

In a nutshell, Michael has Pneumonia, Amanda has Bronchitis, Hayden has a cold, and Samantha is working her way back to Bronchialitis... {yea...memories!}.

We're still working on buying a house but it's getting quite complicated with all the counter offers and junk so we've resigned ourselves to leaving it up to the Lord. We've done all we can, and we've made our final offer. If we get it great! If not, we're out a bit of cash. {sighhh.....}

Samantha - 5 months

{I didn't forget to take her 5 month picture... I just forgot to post it! }

One word.
Yummy.

Our Little Artist

Amanda is love, love, loving art at her new school and would love to share with you her latest masterpiece! Since funding for the arts has gone down the tubes in so many schools, I'm grateful to see that Amanda's school is being proactive about it and has begun a creative way of fundraising for their programs.

Check out Amanda's latest masterpiece at EverlastingArt.com by entering Artwork ID# 48560. You can order her artwork printed on all kinds of stuff like t-shirts and mousepads. So please support her school art program if you can! I personally think this is so much better than that gross cookie dough they make the kids sell door to door!