First Day of First Grade

Are attempt to find a house and get moved before school began in Alabama had failed so Ella started first grade at Glendale. We attended orientation

and school began the next week on August 23rd. She had a great teacher, Ms. Gielo and and a class full of her friends.

Eric was able to be there. He made her a special breakfast

and he got the honor of walking her in on her first day.

We ran late so Eric took her picture beside her door. HA!

She had a great day and was thrilled to be in first grade.

We also got a response to our offer. Yea! Well, not quite. They did not give an inch on the price and were only willing to pay about half what we were asking for in closing costs. Wha? I thought they were trying to sell this house! Eric and i talked and the house was great. It was a great neighborhood, it had room for us to all live upstairs and the basement was framed and just needed to be finished. If we finished it we would have a huge house with great spaces and hopefully after updating here and there we could make a little money when we went to sell. It had great bones. So we were still excited about trying to reach a deal. We talked to the realtor and she suggests getting an inspection so we can show the bank how we arrived at our offer and what all needed to be done to the home. We get the report and it didn't show anything we didn't already suspect. Per the banks request we sent in our highest and best offer. Then we were back to the waiting game. I continued to imagine how i would place my furniture, how we would finish the basement and which DIY project i would try first. I thought all my blogs would turn into before and after photos. Hopeful and still waiting.

Another random moment...

...from John. The next naked cowboy. :)

Back to Florida, again

After my reunion we made a quick stop in Dothan to see Eric's parents and then headed home. There is always a trip to the park across the street with Nana and Papa.

We tried to enjoy our last few weeks of summer before Ella started school. Eric came home for a visit and had a convertible rental car. Yes, we all LOVED it.

....and we waited for news about our offer on shorty. I am running out of patience. :)

10 Years

Since i was back in Alabama, i was able to attend my 10 year reunion. It is amazing that i have been out of high school for 10 years. I was really excited to see everyone. Honestly, there isn't that much that i remember about high school. I guess i have been so busy the last 10 years everything before then seems like a blur. It could just be that my memory stinks. We had a blast. There are very few people i have kept in contact with so to get to see and catch up with people i haven't seen was wonderful. I got to catch up with old friends,

and make new ones.

Eric even got his Karaoke on.

All in all, it was a great time and it helped that the kids were home with wonderful sitters (Thanks, Grandma and Uncle Wes). A big thank you to all that put in the hard work to get the reunion together.

.....and we waited on a response to our offer on the Clanton short sale home that i will now refer to as shorty.

Back to Florida

After the dedication we take a day to get packed and then we headed home. We were a few days before i got THE call. Yes, the call from our realtor that said "hey, i found this fabulous house you need to see." Well, great. I just made the 9 hour drive home but i will be right there. HA! so i did the next best thing and sent my mom. :)

In the two weeks we had been in Alabama we had looked at houses from Birmingham to Clanton. In the end, we got more house for our money in Clanton. I thought it would be better to live closer to Birmingham so Eric wouldn't have to commute that far when he phased out of his moving. In the end i was just happy to be able to afford a house of our own, where ever it was. After talking to Mom and our realtor, Mrs. Peggy, we realized that this house in Clanton had a lot of potential and given it was a short sale we had a great chance at getting a deal. We put in an offer and i headed back to Alabama to see the house we just made an offer on. This also put me back in town for my 10 year high school reunion.

Ben's Dedication

Ben was dedicated on Sunday July, 18th. We were so grateful the Bro. Randy was able to do this last dedication. He has been my pastor since i was about 13 and married Eric and I as well as dedicating the other three kids.

It is such a important thing for Eric and i to do. The dedication ceremony is more for Eric and I than anything. We make a public commitment to raise our child in a christian home and to provide the best christian foundation we can. It made it even more special to know that Ben, the baby that wasn't supposed to be, was here against great odds. God must have a special plan for him and we can't wait to see what that is.

Family Luau

Moving around hasn't always allowed us to have family birthday celebrations for the kids. For the first few years we happened to move right after Jack and Ella's birthday so we would have little parties as we passed through Alabama on the way to our new home. This is year number four. Somehow the date has gotten moved to the summer and it serves as more of a fun family gathering than a birthday party.

This year we went with a Luau theme. Instead of the bounce house, Mom and Dad had a pool put in. It was hard not to have the bounce house but i survived the hot July heat in the pool. :) Our family and friends traveled in for a wonderful day of visiting. We always have the best time and every year seems to get better and better.

A BIG thank you to all that came. It makes us feel so special that you all would take the time out of your busy schedules and drive to Mom and Dad's to see us. I can't tell you how much we appreciate your thoughtfulness.