Valentine's Day 2011

We actually celebrated Valentine's Day on Sunday, February 13 because we knew we would have more time to enjoy it than on a workday. It turned out perfectly because I got a nasty stomach bug on Valentine's Day and went straight to bed after Travis got home that evening.

The kids enjoyed their special Valentine's meal of heart-shaped noodles and a variety of red foods--apples, bell peppers and tomatoes.

Then, we made chocolate covered pretzels for their classmates. There was lots of dipping and taste-testing involved.

Grace was so meticulous about addressing her Valentine's.

They turned out so cute!

After we put the kids to bed, Travis and I enjoyed our own Valentine's dinner of steamed mussels, roasted brussel sprouts, sauteed mushrooms and scallops provencal. Delicious!

A Milestone for Ella

Yesterday, Ella finally graduated from her toddler bed to her "big girl bed!" We originally planned to do this when she turned two, but shortly before her second birthday, we put our house on the market. We couldn't fit two big beds in Ella and Grace's room, and we didn't want to convert the guest room. The revised plan was that she would get a new bed when we moved into a new house. Little did we know that it would take 14 months to finally get into a new house!

Ella's new bed and dresser were delivered when she was at school, and she was thrilled! She had been worried that the "moving bears" would take her little bed, but thankfully they left it for Sutton :) She was very excited to sleep in it for the first time, and Grace was so happy for her.

I'm happy to report that Ella slept a full 13 hours last night! S he was still asleep when I left for work this morning, which never happens. Unfortunately, she slept so hard that she had a little accident--oops. But, she didn't fall out of bed, so I think it was a success!

2011 Blizzard

February 1 brought an ice storm to Dallas, and five inches of snow followed early Friday morning. We enjoyed three snow days (no work!) with plenty of comfort food--chili, pot roast, homemade oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and pancakes. On Tuesday, the McNeills joined us for food and adult beverages which lasted from noon until around 8:00 p.m. Too much fun :) We also enjoyed movies in our new theatre room and read lots of books. Grace dressed up Baylor...

Ella played pretend with our shell collection, and I heard her saying, "Hello, mommy snail. Hello, daddy snail. Hello, tiny baby snail."

Grace did "homework" in one of her workbooks...

Ella later joined her...

Sutton tried on several pairs of shoes, including Grace's...

He longed to play outside, but was not a fan of the cold...

This is what our house looked like on Friday morning.

I didn't get any pictures of us playing in the snow because it was actually still snowing, and I was worried about ruining the camera. You can't really tell, but I'm standing in about five inches of snow. Thanks to my new Hunter boots, my feet stayed warm and dry!

Sutton lasted less than 10 minutes and kept saying, 'No cold!" Grace and Ella liked eating the snow and throwing it at each other (and at me). It was too powdery to make good snowballs or a snowman. Grace and Travis attempted it and failed. Baylor loved it most of all and made several runs up and down our block. He even went down the street to find his best friend, Violet, and we got to visit with the McNeills. After we headed back home to warm up, we cooled down again with our favorite coconut snow ice cream...

Here is a little Valentines' Day craft we put together. We wrote down all the things we love on hearts, and when I asked the kids what they loved, they gave me answers such as our family, cookies, trucks, lazy days, bubbles, God, Jesus, airplanes and pink.

One of Grace and Ella's favorite games is "freeze dance," and I was so glad to observe a delightful round. Their joy is contagious! And, I'm happy they actually let me take pictures.

Although we enjoyed our time together, we were very ready to get out of the house on Saturday. We had a delicious lunch at Chuy's, and everyone was on their best behavior. The sunshine put a sparkle in our spirits!

Merry Christmas!

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

A Blogging Secret

I apologize (to both my readers and my kids) for my sporadic blogging, but we've had some major changes that have caused a disruption in our usual routine. It's something I haven't blogged about before because as a general rule, I don't blog about future plans. So, I've been keeping a blogging "secret" for over a year. Don't worry--everyone is fine.

Last fall, we decided to sell our house. Little did we know that it would take over a year to find a buyer and close the deal. From November 11, 2009 to October 26, 2010, our home was on the market. We had more showings than I can count, and we had to keep our house in "show" condition during that time. Although Travis and I are both very neat and organized, keeping a house super clean with two full-time jobs and three full-time kids was very, very challenging and very, very exhausting. It was a very long year.

All along, we knew that God had a plan for us. In the beginning, we thought we knew what the plan was. It went something like this...Our house is amazing, and it will sell very quickly. We will find a new home that we love, and we will move and get settled in within six months. Ha, ha. As the months wore on, we realized that God had a different plan, and we prayed that His plan would be revealed and that we would have patience to wait for it.

While our house was on the market, we looked at countless homes and never found anything that we thought was just right for our family. Then, in October, the perfect buyer came along and we got a contract on our house. Our prayer was answered! That same week, we looked at a wonderful new house and made our first offer. It was promptly rejected, and we didn't even have a chance to make a counteroffer. Travis was very disappointed, but I felt confident that it was just a sign that something better would pop up. A few days later, that's exactly what happened.

On the morning of November 2, the day after Grace's birthday, I noticed a new listing online. There was no picture, but the description sounded great and from the address, I knew it was close our our best friends' house. I immediately called our realtor and said I wanted to see it that afternoon. I also called Travis and told him that I was going to see it and that I had a good feeling about it. So, later that afternoon, I met our realtor at the house that had been on the market for less than 24 hours. As soon as I walked in, I knew it was "the one." We made an offer that evening, without Travis even seeing the house!

The next day, as Travis was walking through the house for the first time, the sellers accepted our offer. Just as I knew he would, Travis loved it as much as I did, and we were thrilled to get the contract! Several other potential buyers made offers that very first day, but we got it! The new house is absolutely perfect for our family. It is our forever home, and we don't plan to move any time in the foreseeable future. It is beautiful and has plenty of room for everyone, and I can't wait to make it ours. The best part? It's location. Not only is it just three blocks away from our new elementary school, a wonderful neighborhood shopping area and an amazing swimming pool, but it is just four houses down from our best friends.

The only catch in all of this is that our buyers wanted to move in before Christmas, and our sellers wanted to stay through New Years. That meant that between moves, we had to find somewhere to live. After exploring multiple options, we accepted the most gracious offer we've ever received. Our best friends offered to let us move in with them during the 5 week transition period! So, we closed on the sale of our house on December 1, moved in with friends (and moved our stuff to storage) on December 2, and closed on our new house on December 10. We get to move in on January 8. What a busy time!

For the past three weeks, we've been living in a house with a total of four adults, six children, two dogs and two cats just four houses down from our new house. On top of that, Travis has been busy building a new dental office, which is set to open on January 4. And, it's Christmastime! Needless to say, we have been overwhelmed with life lately, and I haven't had as much time or energy to blog as I would like. All I know is this--we have been greatly blessed, and we are thankful for everything that has happened in the past year.

There--I feel so much better now that the secret is out!

Christmas Recitals

Ella had her first dance recital at Studio B's Christmas show. Because her class is comprised of 2-3 year olds, they held the show at the studio rather than on the big stage. Ella was a snowflake and did a great job dancing to "Here Comes Suzy Snowflake." She sang loudly and seemed to enjoy it. It was so fun to see her very first performance! Unfortunately, my camera was not cooperating, so all my pictures came out too dark and these are the only ones I could salvage...

Grace also loved participating in Studio B's first ever Christmas Show at WW High School. Is she not the absolute cutest elf you've ever seen? We both loved, loved, loved this costume, and I enjoyed helping all the girls get ready backstage.

These recitals were so much fun and really got us into the Christmas spirit! We're looking forward to next year!

A Birthday Field Trip

For Ella's birthday, we asked whether she wanted to visit the Arboretum or the Museum of Nature and Science. She chose the Museum, and we had a great afternoon there with Chachi and Grambi. There is so much to do and see, and it's one of our favorite places in Dallas.