I'm avoiding packing right now......sshhhhh.......it's just a short break, then back to the grind.

It's been a long exhausting week. There are so many details with moving, no wonder people dread it! This week we've had 3 repair groups here at Wayside house, preparing it to meet the buyers loan requirements. At Redbud house, we've had groups preparing it for living. The carpets have been cleaned and we're still getting estimates to have the windows replaced. AND of course the packing and unpacking......what a mess.

We are ready to have a peaceful space again and to end our dependence on fast food. : )

We close on Monday. The "buyers" asked very nicely if we planned to be out by Sunday, so they could start moving in, and told them that we'd really try. So, the end of one mess is in sight.

It is my great desire to have a New York City vacation post very soon.

ALSO, we just went to the Ped. this morning and got the report on our boys.

Preston is 31" tall (85%) and 22 lbs 12 ozs (50%). He had to get five shots, so traumatic. He has 6 teeth, but 2 more are peaking through. He walks everywhere, climbing when he can. He understands so much and listens so little.

Dillon is 29" tall (75%) and 22 lbs 3 ozs (75%). He didn't need any shots, which is very nice for us, that is to only have one screaming baby. He crawls fast. He is very sensitive to tone of voice and facial expressions.

Both boys are wearing 18 month clothes, but not for much longer. I can't believe how big they're getting. I will often carry them both at the same time from the car to the house because it's quicker, that's almost 45 pounds!! I'm like Wonder Woman. Maybe I'll have Curt snap a picture to prove it. ; )

There has been so much going on that I want to, not only report to readers, but mostly to record for myself.

Dillon:
My little Mister has two teeth now and he can gum down anything. He is gaining weight quickly, we constantly hear the comment, "I can't believe how big he is, he was SOOOO tiny." I am guessing he will out weigh Preston at our next dr visit. He can crawl like crazy and this week he's gotten fast enough to stay right on his brother's heels. It's so cute how he follows Preston all around the house. Yesterday they were playing together in their room and when they crawled out I could see that Dillon's head was soaked, so I guess Preston had been showering him with kisses - literally. Gross! He can pull up on things. He has a great smile. And he's super obedient, which doesn't mean he's not a stinker occasionally, but it's so different from Preston.

Preston:
This big man has been so funny to watch, it's taken him two months to go from taking steps to finally walking. He walks all over now, the big bonus that he has found, is that he can carry things with him. He's much less picky when it comes to food. He ditched the bottle a couple weeks ago and now drinks whole milk from a sippy cup. He adores his sister! His hair gets very curly when wet and Daddy says it's gotta get cut.

Ashlyn:
We are starting homeschool in a couple of weeks and Ashlyn is so excited about the books I've been buying for us to go through this year. Ashlyn went home with my parents when they headed out after Preston's party. This was her first overnight by choice (last year we did leave her with my parents for a couple of days when we went to get Preston). She did great! But I was so sad without her. She makes me laugh all day and the house was depressing without her!

House:
Our renters moved out a week ago Sunday. My mom and Grandma came down and helped us get some work done. My mom and I painted the bedrooms. We had the duct work cleaned. We sprayed for bugs. The carpet will be cleaned on Tuesday of next week. And we'll move in. Our house closes on Aug. 30.

Emotional Stability:
Well, one of my babies turned one, which I can't believe. And while my parents were here celebrating I backed into their truck. The impending move feels heavy, like that lead vest at the dentist office, with so many details to cover on both sides. I'm hanging on by a thread.......a thread named NEW YORK CITY VACATION!!! Curt and I fly out in the morning!! We intend to enjoy each other and the break from real life! You might pray for my parents, who are keeping our precious angels!

Here is your store-bought birthday cake, that's right some stranger at a store made your birthday cake, actually, we even had cupcakes to match. You didn't seem to mind and I enjoyed the prep MUCH more. : )

Woo hoo, you dug in immediately!!

What a cutie! It was funny because you ate so much so fast that several of us looked on the floor and in the chair to try to find the missing cake - we just couldn't believe you'd eaten it all.


Checking out the new toy from Grammy and Poppy......AWESOME!

Preston, we're still getting to know you, but God created an amazing person when He made you. You are immediately on the scene when anyone is hurt, giving kisses and checking things out. You seem to be unusually sensitive to what is happening around you. You have a great giggle and the simplest things tickle you. We love how aggressively you attack life, letting your intense curiosity lead you (not your brain). : ) Even though you're all boy, you linger when we squeeze you and rest your head on our shoulder long enough to let us savor the moment. You will go to anyone, especially preferring Daddy! You travel happily from person to person, making even the most "baby-nervous" feel at ease.

We are crazy in love with you! Today we will celebrate all that God has planned for you! (And also praise Him for the patience and wisdom that brought us all through that first year!)

When we dreamed for what 2010 could be, God gave us a simple word......DISCIPLINE. A simple word, but tricky to put your finger on. My parents are so funny, they had a similar thought and told us that they wanted to be skinny and rich by the end of the year. : )

Yep, it's something like that. We broke it down into three categories: Spiritual, Financial and Physical. We gave ourselves the challenge of reading (or listening) one insightful/challenging book for each category. A lofty goal with two babies in the house. : ) Additionally, we spelled out specific goals for each area.

In the area of financial discipline, we identified areas that could be cut and committed to regular inspection of our budget. I have really been impressed. We discovered a little extra money that could be used each month to pay over on our mortgage and we're not missing anything we cut. Curt has led us well and it's such a relief to be able to trust him fully with our finances.

SOOO, when he came home last week with a word from the Lord about what the next step is supposed to be, I was ready for anything. Here goes: we're moving into the rental.....not temporarily.....but until that little baby is paid for - roughly 2-4 years. Curt kept saying, "It's going to give us so much more financial flexibility." : )

We immediately withdrew our offer on the Hampden house, which was super hard for Curt to do, and started planning for what this would look like. We're excited on a couple of levels, not only is it a bit of break financially, but we're not doing any home improvements for 2-4 years!!! Woo hoo!! We'll have to do a few things to get it ready for our family, but after that, nights and weekends belong to us!!

Now, the rental house is probably 50+ years old and is kinda......hmmm........undesirable. Truth be known, I've only been in it a couple of times. What I remember is a crazy number of built-ins, that is drawers and cabinets. Any thoughts on cleaning those puppies? It has 4 bedrooms, which will be nice, but only a one car garage. It's give and take, but, man I think we'll be so glad we did this.

Not without drama, of course, our renters closing (for their house) kept getting pushed back and on Tuesday night they called to say the mortgage company might be backing out completely. We were biting our nails for a couple days! YIKES! But they called last night and there closing is Friday morning, so we're going to be able to start working over there on Monday.

And after a week we finally got our inspection report, it looked good and our "buyers" had a very reasonable list of items they wanted us to fix. YEA!!

So that's the plan for now. I'll leave you with what keeps us motivated ......

In parenting, as in life......you win some....... you lose some.

Won: Baby food.

I'm officially claiming this victory because I have spooned Dillon's last bite. I think I bought baby food twice and it was mostly for travel. WOW! That stage seemed brief and I can't believe it's over. Dillon has a single tooth - which I didn't even know happened (I mean that they didn't come in as pairs). I keep expecting a companion, but so far.....nope. As soon as the tooth broke through he said "goodbye" to baby food. He refuses to be fed, Mr. Independent. : ) Which means that both boys are eating table food, and that is MILES easier for me.


Dillon is a left-handed food pincher, so we'll see if that sticks or not.

Preston finished up his last can of formula, so he's on regular milk from a sippy cup. Sad!

Also, we've had a more formal snack time each day as the babies get older. What are some good baby snack foods? My preference is that it would be something that doesn't make a mess because I think I'll lose my mind if I wash the highchair trays one more time daily. All I have come up with so far is raisins and the boys will get tired of those. : )


LOST:  Cloth diapers.

That's right, they're practically new. One day I put them on both boys. I have to say something that is quite distasteful.......my boys poop A LOT!!! By the end of that fateful day I was frazzled, when Curt got home I completely fell apart.......he kindly suggested that I wash the diapers, fold them up, put them on Ebay and never look back. : ) I wasn't ready for anything that extreme, but I did put them away for awhile. I have a millon excuses as to why I haven't used them and and a voice in the back of my head saying there is still time to get them out, but for now.....total failure. Oh well.

Closing thoughts: I've been a little impressed with myself just in meeting one of my goals. It's proof to me that when something is important to me, I can find time to do it even in the most difficult circumstances. : ) Bringing me back to this concept of discipline. I hope to write a series of posts this week with updates on our New Years pledge to pursue this elusive character quality.