Project: Walker’s Move to the Suburbs

I can not believe that it’s been over a month since I last blogged. Project Walker’s Move to the Suburbs has kept us extremely busy. Here is a quick overview of what’s been going on.

Labor Day Weekend: My father asked my sister, our Real Estate Agent, to show us this house he found (on his dial up connection) in Sandy Springs. So we went, and were so excited about its possibilities. Later that week, we put an offer on the house. Being a foreclosure, the bank was pretty nonchalant about the entire process and dragged it out hoping to get other offers.

September: We keep going back and forth with the bank, not knowing what our future held. We decide that no matter what happened with Nesbit Ferry (as we now refer to it), we would try to sell our house and take advantage of the buyers market.

October: Our house officially goes on the market, and is under contact six days later. To be fair, we did take a considerable loss but the new opportunity helped us bear the blow. Early October we found out the bank accepted our highest and best offer on Nesbit Ferry, and closed on October 27th. October 28th we found out that our house on Tilden ST appraised considerably lower than the contract price, and the buyer could not get financing.

November: The buyer went with a new lender and the house appraised for more than the contract price. A forty thousand dollar difference from one appraiser to another proves it’s not a concrete science. This was a huge answered prayer, as carrying both homes would have been stressful. Project Walker’s Move to the Suburbs is still a go!!!!! We’ve been renovating the home, and all going well ready to move in on November 20th, and close on our old house on November 30th. It’s been a huge emotional rollercoaster, but we know it will pay off in the long run.

Pictures soon to follow!!!!

Pumpkins Pumpkins Everywhere….

This past weekend we visited Berry Patch Farm Pumpkin Festival. We had decided against attending because of weather, but decided to go at the last minute. On our way up we picked up Valeria, and glad we did she takes such good care of our Isabella.

The weather cooperated just long enough for us to spend our time at the Pumpkin Festival. Overall it was a fun, inexpensive, and cheerful outing. Although I have to say….I expected to see pumpkins growing on vines (like a real farm), and it be a little more of a festival. There were only a few activities, the petting zoo was not a petting zoo at all (more like animals in cages with signs that said “we bite”), and the pumpkins were dumped in a field for you to purchase.

Despite this mild disappointment, it was fun seeing Isabella crawl around the pumpkin patch and explore. She was a bit hesitant at first; perhaps it was her lack of sleep but quickly got over it. Here are some pictures of our fun.

A busy few weeks

As some of you may know, we’ve decided to put our house on the market. We did this for a variety of reasons, but mainly to find a home that requires a little less maintenance and a different floor layout. Our home requires a normal amount of maintenance for an older frame home; however, a bit too much for someone who works as much as Tim does during the week. If Tim had a normal nine to five that would be one thing, but anyone who knows us knows that Tim does the work of three people in a work week. That being said, we have been in full gear getting our home ready, and I must say that after a couple of really rough days our house looks better than it’s ever looked.

I am a little upset that so many people let me keep the dinning room red. Now that it's the same color as the living room it looks so much larger and elegant. Tim added an entertainment center/bookcase in the living space, and we got rid of the dark brown in the downstairs bathroom. Not to mention we have a 7x10 storage unit busting at the seams with our excess junk.

It’s interesting how once you announce you are selling your home; people automatically ask “oh where are you looking to move?” I am sure this is only interesting to me since we don’t have an area in particular; we’re just going to see where the market takes us. Please keep us in your prayers that God directs us where he wants us.

Valeria turns 12!!!!

Six years ago next week I met Valeria, my little sister, for the very first time. I remember bringing her a little stuffed animal and we sat in her dinning room coloring. She was as excited to meet me (standing by the front door waiting for my arrival), as I was her. That day I think I heard her say just a few words, I was a little nervous that she would never open up to me. Not sure why I ever worried about that, because the girl can talk. :)

What's surprised me most about our relationship is how much I grew as her big sister. She has kept me on my toes and prepared me for my most important role, mother. Not because I act as her mother, far from that, but because I know that she is watching what I say and do. As she grows up and decides who she will or will not model, I want to make sure that anything she pulls from me is positive. Despite all the adversity that she faces in her life, she has turned out to be such a beautiful, smart, and sweet young lady. I am so proud of her.

Today we celebrated her 12^th birthday at Stevie B’s Pizza. It was smaller than her usual parities, but filled with just as much fun. I had a blast designating myself as the birthday party coordinator. Tim would call me the birthday party Nazi, but why get caught up in the details. ANYWAY……we had a great time and I enjoyed getting to know her family a little bit better.

Multi-Grain Bread

Most of you know that I recently bought a bread machine at a garage sale in Akin. We'll with my mom's help I have a full proof recipe. Here it is:

1.5 tsp Bread Machine Yeast
2 Cups of Whole Wheat Flour
0.5 Cups Bread Flour
0.25 Cups Oat Flour
0.25 Cups of Flax Seed Meal
1.5 tsp salt
1 TBS Butter milk powder
3 TBS Honey
3 TBS Olive Oil
1 EGG + water to make 1 Cup
1/4 Cup of walnuts (to insert at the beep)

Place ingredients in the order listed, and add the walnuts when the machine beeps. Best if all ingredients are at room temp.

Family Photo Session

OK. You guys know I love my pictures. I am a little obsessed actually. It is important to me for Isabella to have something to look back on this time in her life. I have no memories of my childhood much younger than 4/5 and those are few and far between; however, with technology the way it is we can change that.

I also have a dear friend Anna, an up and coming photographer, who is able to capture these moments for us. As you may know, my parents came over for a week and we had Anna take pictures while they were here. The photo session was on a Friday afternoon after Isabella woke up from her nap at Piedmont Park. Anyway....we are all so pleased with the results.

Isbella's Growing Up!!!!

This past week Isabella started climbing up onto things. Her two favorite items are our living room ottoman and either of her parents. She’s growing so fast, it’s such a joy to witness. I know you wouldn’t believe me, but we do occasionally dress her appropriately. This must have been taken after a lazy diaper change and the pants just didn’t make it back on. Today we had our one year doctor’s visit, and all is well. We are a blessed family.

Baby Grace's Dedication

After dropping off my parents at the airport "sniff sniff", we headed up to Alpharetta for a very important Shipman/Walker event. Randy and Melissa had a private Baby Dedication with her close friends and family. It was a very special moment, and we are so happy to have served witness as they dedicate Grace to God and we as part of her life join in to help encourage her to have a personal relationship with our Lord and Savior.

We were pretty tired, as Isabella decided to have a little party at 5 this morning, but were there with bells on. Isabella has become so vocal that it's difficult to keep her quite during important moments such as these. Despite the additional vocals, I am sure her cousin Grace was happy to have her there.

Isabella wore a beautiful dress that was made for her with love by Grandma Walker. She enjoyed eating lots of yummy roast beef, and exploring Uncle Randy's house. Thank you for letting us share such a wonderful moment with you.

Grandpa Chendo and Lita visit Atlanta, GA

My parents visited us this past week. They flew in on Saturday September 5th, and left early this morning. We cherish every moment they spend with us, and are so fortunate to have such loving and generous sets of parents in our lives. Here is a quick summary of our time together:

Day one Birthday Party. The party started at 4:30 and my folks touched GA soil at 2:45 pm, just in time to help put the finishing touches to the party decorating. We had a fun time celebrating, and so relieved to have her help for the clean up.

Day two Church, IKEA, and Real Estate. We attended the 9 am service at Buckhead Church with my mom. She enjoyed listening to Andy speak, and even thought the worship was cool. I personally thought the music was a little loud, so go figure. Afterword we meet Aimee and my father at Ikea for breakfast, not sure if it's a regular thing but they had Quiche as an option to the 99 cent breakfast. Yummmmy. After that Aimee showed us a few homes and we ended up relaxing the rest of the evening.

Day Three Labor Day. Nothing major just hung around.

Day Four Fire Drama. My mom has gotten me into baking bread, and one thing she does is roast her walnuts before putting them in the bread machine. Well this time she left them under the broiler a little too long, and didn't remembered them until they went up in flames. Aimee fortunately found the fire extinguisher, and my father grabbed it from her and swiftly put out the fire. The alarm company called the fire department, and sent three of Atlanta's finest to our house to make sure all was ok. Thank God, there was no serious smoke damage and nobody was hurt. We did spend all day cleaning up the residue, which was not fun.

Day Five and Six. My mom and I went to the Farmers Market, and loaded up on produce for the week. I always forget on cold that place is, so we were in and out like a Micky D's drive through. Meanwhile my sister and father were at a home inspection on a duplex he may purchase. The following day we showed my father around town so he can get a better feel for the Real Estate Market in Atlanta.

Friday we took my parents to the Daisy Festival in Stone Mountain. The ladies had a wonderful time seeing all the neat products, but my father was ready to poke his eyes out. Next time I will defiantly find something manly for him to do. Isabella got a growth chart and wooden name puzzle. Later that day we took a family photo session with a friend of mine Anna McBath and ended the evening with dinner at Pasta Figo with our cousin Gabe.

I know this is a little more detail than you were hoping for, but wanted to have something to look back at. We love you guys so much, thank you for all the love you showed our little girl over this past week.

Isabella's 1st Birthday Party!

September 5th, 2009 we celebrated our babies first year of life. We are fortunate to have so many loving friends and family. Thank you to all who attended and to those of you who could not we missed you, and look forward to many more years to come.



It was everything one would expect at a First Birthday Party: lots of food, good company, cake, and presents. No major catastrophes, although we did almost lose a few cup cakes to an overly excited three year old boy. Isabella didn't eat much of her cupcake, but did enjoy her frosting. We're still singing happy birthday to her, because it's the easiest way to get her laughing.

Looking back I may have gone a little over board, and wished I would have just relaxed and savored the moment. Other than that, it was prefect and wouldn't have changed a thing. Thank you all for all your prayers and support this year, please continue to love and care for Isabella as we enter this next chapter in her life.

Isabella has started the "M" sound

Today Aimee, Isabella, and I were at Costco buying food for tomorrow's party when we I finally heard Isabella say "mama". Granted we still don't quite know what it means or who it should be directed toward, but we're almost there. Tim is a little upset, because she has stopped saying "dada". Her little voice is the sweetest sound to my ears. It's funny how with age the end to your birthday song sounds so different. Next year it will be "Happy Birthday dear Angela, Angie, Mommy". I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!! Isabella's birthweek had me thinking about that. We've been singing Happy Birthday to her so that she dances to it at her party. It's hit or miss so far. Until next time......

Isabella's One Year Birthday

Tim was up late last night working, and came to bed just around the same time (12:45 am) Isabella entered the world just one year ago. It seems only yesterday Tim and I were staring at Isabella wondering how we were entrusted to care and watch over such a beautiful gift from God. We've had fun watching her grow into her own, and can't wait to celebrate many more to come. This morning I greeted Isabella with a Birthday hat and camera. As you can imagine, she was not a big fan of the hat. Despite her desire to yank the hat off, I was able to sneak a few pictures for her album.

We dressed her in a pink dress that says "birthday girl", and headed out for breakfast to the OK Cafe. Birthday breakfast will be our tradition going forward. Mommy was frustrated because we left the camera at home, and Isabella was equally fussy for one reason or another. She was climbing out of her high chair......wanting to grab everything she shouldn't.....and screaming a bit louder than we like. She actually had us wondering if we should ever go out to eat again. Once we got our food and handed Isabella some eggs & toast, things calmed down a bit. Mental note "Bring finger food!!!!".

After a long nap we went to the park and the two of us had a grand time. Once Tim got home, Aimee, Isabella, Tim, and I went to Bone Garden for dinner. Isabella ate a ton of rice and beans, proof that's she's part Mexican. We came home and had cupcakes true birthday style (see video). After her cake, we went straight to the shower. We have so much to be thankful for. Here is to another great year! Now it's party time!!!!!!

Isabella plays with Uncle Randy in IKEA

As some of you know Tim, Isabella, and I have our own little tradition of going to Ikea for breakfast after church on Sunday. One might ask, "Why Ikea?", we'll as Bob Barker would say, "The Price is Right". For 99 cents you get a scoop of eggs, one turkey sausage patty, and potatoes. We splurge for the 99 cent cinnabun, and if we get there before 10am coffee is free. You can't even make breakfast that cheap.

Anyway, we meet the Shipman family there and it was nice catching up. Grace is growing like a weed and oh so cute. It's hard to believe that only 10 months ago Isabella was about that size. During brunch Randy began planing with Isabella the video says it all. She also found it entertaining to flirt and talk with random strangers. They all ate it up especially her new wave. Something tells me that she might be an extrovert just like her mommy.

Visiting Grandpa and Grandma in Akin, SC

This weekend we visited Akin, SC. We left on Friday afternoon right in the heat of Atlanta traffic and were so glad to get out of the car around 7pm. Isabella had been screaming the last half hour. We should have gotten out, but we were so close. Yvonne, Isabella's Granny, had lasagna waiting for us. After a few rounds of Gin, which I won, we retired to bed.

The next morning Tim and I went for a run around their neighborhood. We came across two garage sales where I scored a few books for Isabella, a deviled egg plate, and a bread machine all under 15 dollars. The bread machine has already paid it's self off in gold.

The majority of the day the men spent cutting wood for our entertainment center, and the women contemplated various sewing projects. Yvonne made an adorable dress for Isabella (see picture) that she wore to church on Sunday. Tim would have me note that we played several games of Rumicube, which he won ALL of.
On Sunday we visited Harold and Yvonne's church. As the pastor for the day, Grandpa took the liberty to show his granddaughter off to the congregation. She loved the attention. After a fantastic Sunday dinner we returned to Atlanta.

We are so lucky to have such loving influences in our lives. It's always a joy to see our family lovingly interact with Isabella.

Walker Family May 2009

Isabella's March and April Pictures

Isabella's December & January Pictures