Friends

The weather today was AMAZING and we headed to the nature center nearby with Henry, Oliver and Susan. It was a fun afternoon and I took some cute pics, so I thought I would share them:)

Lil' Miss Moody

Miss Ava is all about emotions these days. He favorite thing to tell me is, "A-ah is SAD!" or "A-ah is HAPPY!" These two pictures were her "mad" face and her "happy" face, lol. She cracks me up:)

Bittersweet...

As the upcoming move gets closer by the day, I am having so many mixed emotions. I thought the blog would be a good place to put them all down, so that one day I can look back and remember.

I am so excited for the move--to be closer to our families, back in the midwest, and living in an amazing new house. But Macon has been a home to me for 4.5 years now, and I will truly miss this place. My whole life with Chuck, as a wife and then a mother, it has all happened here. This house was made a home by us. We lovingly painted and decorated our children's bedrooms, rocked them to sleep in the early morning hours, gave them first baths and first meals and first...everythings. Leaving will be hard for me. It feels funny to say that now, because when we first moved here I was SO unhappy and convinced that I would never like it here. But time passed, and I was fortunate to make amazing friends, discover the beauty of living in the south, and become more confident in my skills as a wife and a mother. Starting a new chapter in my life, in our lives, will be exciting, but it is certainly bittersweet.

I will miss my friends the most. I've been so amazingly fortunate to meet a truly wonderful group of moms who I never would have survived the past 4 years without. Susan, I will miss you most of all, you have been such an amazing friend to me and I know we'll stay in touch forever. I will miss the spring in Macon, because the cherry blossoms, the pear blossoms and the wisteria are simply breathtaking. I never knew spring could be as beautiful as it is here. I will miss the Cherry Blossom festival, because it is amazing to see the city come together for a week to celebrate the unique beauty of Macon, and it is such a fun time. I will miss Lake Tobesofkee, because I have amazing memories of fun-filled mornings with my kids and husband.

I will miss this house, this home of ours, where my memories of tiny hands and feet will always and forever be etched within the walls. I will miss long walks through the neighborhood, our driveway where our son learned to ride a bike. I will miss pushing my kids on the swingset in the backyard, or taking them swimming in the hot tub. I will miss watching them ride on Chuck's lap while he mows our enormous lawn.

But, truth be told, there are things that I will NOT miss at all. I will not miss fireants and giant cockroaches and spiders and bugs that live all year long. I will not miss the sweltering summers that start in early May and end in late September. I will not miss our terrible neighbors with their awful barking dog and 35 stray cats that use my yard as a litter box.

I'm lucky to have taken about a million pictures over the past 4.5 years, to document our time here as our family of 2 grew into a family of 4. This place will always hold a special place in my heart, and I hope very much that we can make it back someday to visit our friends that we are leaving behind. I love all of you so much and appreciate you all more than you know. Macon, I will miss you...always.

P.S. I know I still have 4 weeks left, but I had to let it out tonight! Feeling a little sentimental, I suppose, so humor me, lol. ;)

Cuteness

I'm partial, of course, but aren't my kids the cutest? Lol. Ava actually let me BRAID her hair today--isn't it so cute?

Snow...Day 2

The snow is pretty much gone now, but the kids and I did get out and play in it again yesterday morning. Aiden loved it so much and Ava actually warmed up to the idea and was smiling a bit. While I am NOT looking forward to the cold of an Ohio winter, having snow did make me excited for the kids' sake. I have so many fun memories of playing in the snow for hours as a kid!

Snow!!

Well, we got SNOW in Middle GA:) As predicted, for once, lol. I would say we've got about 2 inches on the ground now and it is still falling, we might get that 3-5 inches after all. I still don't understand canceling 9am-12pm pre-school, since it didn't start snowing until 3pm, but apparently I'm not cautious enough for some southerners, lol.

Aiden LOVED it. Licked my fake flowers. Tried to make a snow angel but didn't anticipate the giant snowflakes in his eyes, lol. Ran around the yard so many times I lost count. He hopes to God there is still snow in Ohio when we move. Ava? Not so much. HATED her mittens, but equally hated her freezing cold hands. It's a conundrum, that's true;) Aiden wanted to stay outside forever--I consented to about an hour of frolicking, snowball fights, footprint tracking, and snowman building. By then, we were soaking wet and ready for some homemade chicken noodle soup...YUM!

Our new house!

I am so excited that we were able to get this house! It is everything we were hoping for--I really don't think I could have built my dream house better if I'd tried. Chuck's taken a nice long video and the kids and I have watched it so many times! Aiden is so excited, he can't wait for the big bonus room above the garage to be their new playroom:) I am in love with the kitchen and the bathrooms, and also the fenced in backyard will be a dream in the summertime. If everything goes as planned, we'll be out of here March 24th and take possession of the new house March 25th. I can't wait to have our family back together again! The address for the new house is 728 Bowhall Rd., Painesville, OH 44077.

Great news!!!

Our house is PENDING SALE!! Hurray, I am so happy and relieved! The couple who looked at our house last Sunday came back again and made an offer, and we were able to come to an agreement and get a signed contract. Closing is set for March 24th. That gives me 6 short weeks to purge and pack up the house, so I'll definitely not be able to complain about being bored! Lol.

These pictures are of the kids doing Valentine's projects over the weekend. We made heart crowns and Valentine's "Moving trucks" :) Very cute. Ava was not a fan of the glue and kept wanting her hands washed because she was "stiddy" (sticky). I also scored some $2 pajamas for the kids at Walmart--Ava of course insisted on Toy Story and couldn't wait to introduce pajama Buzz and Woody to her real Buzz and Woody:)

Just a few pics...

My children have decided that when I try to take a picture of them, it is practically criminal, but when Susan takes their picture, they are downright angelic:) She got some cute pics of them last Saturday night. Aiden and Henry were being Buzz and Woody from Toy Story:)

Hangin' around...

We're still here, I am just a bad blogger:) We were lucky enough to have a visit from Chuck last week, and we had a nice time. My friend Susan even watched the kids for an evening and Chuck and I got to go on a date, which was so nice of her! Chuck is back in Ohio now and the kids and I are waiting for it to warm up here! Spring is right around the corner (my daffodils are even coming up!)

We've been fortunate to have several house showings in the past week, and according to our realtor our house is #1 on a couple's list, but they weren't planning on buying for a few more months. We will see how it all pans out I suppose--I have to believe the increase in activity is a good thing!

These pictures of Ava were taken at Susan's house. Ava and Oliver like to pretend that they are going to bed (separate beds, of course, lol)--Ava calls it the "night night" game. So cute!