Beautiful Awakenings

One of my favorite parts of the day is walking into Isabella’s room after a good nights sleep/nap. She usually takes her time to let us know she’s ready, and is in such a playful mood. Her hair would best be described as a beautiful disarray. She plays this little game where she wants me to chase her around the crib, and then proceeds to hand me all her little night time friends. She sleeps with her baby girl, a red valentines teddy bear, a little sheep (given to her by her Auntie Amanda), and a glow worm. The singing glow worm was a gift from her cousin Christofer during Christmas. At the time I wondered why someone would get her a gift that was for newborns, but ironically it’s been a God send. I honestly think it’s helped her sleep through the night, and gives her something fun to play with when she gets up.

My little love bug.....

Isabella has grown into the sweetest baby I have ever know. We have taught her to give besitos (kisses in spanish). She's been doing this for a while now, but she so freely gives kisses to us, Elmo, her Aunts and Uncles, her BFF Mia Sewell, and my favorite....pretty much anyone. She even makes this "mmmmmmmmm" sound as she kisses you. Tonight Tim and I confirmed that she now knows to automatically give Tim a good night kiss after we say our prayers.

I don't know what we have done to deserve such a blessing in our lives, I just hope we never forget to cherish these special gifts.

Mom takes a sick day!

Just a day after I announce to the world that we are expecting, and that other than some first trimester fatigue it’s been great…….I get sick as a dog. We’re pretty sure it’s nothing contagious, probably not food poisoning (since nobody else that at the pizza for dinner got sick), so that leaves a bad physical reaction to the richness of the Pizza Hut Pan Pizza. Around 12am my body started to reject all contents, and it started to settle down by mid morning. Although I have not had any more episodes I don’t have much of an appetite and I am still a dehydrated/fatigued. This wouldn’t normally be note worthy, but with the pregnancy I was really concerned.

Fortunately I have a fantastic husband who also took a sick day to take care of me and watch Isabella. He found a cute website on Fisher-Price that has printable Get Well cards. Isabella added her colorful marks, and it brightened my day. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful care giver as a husband. He’s been diligent getting me lots of fluids, readjusting my covers, and even rented a couple of movies. I know I will have to buck up for tomorrow, as Tim must to return to work, but it’s reassuring to know that he did this for me.

One good thing that has come from all this, is Tim had the opportunity to spend an entire day as Isabella’s care giver. It’s so special hearing them play, laugh, and talk together. Isabella isn’t quite saying words, but she’s definitely saying something. My theory is that it’s a highly evolved/technical language that we’re not intelligent enough to understand. Well that is all for now, I had some time today and wanted to brag on my hubby. Take care friends.

We have so much to be thankful for!!!!

I cannot believe we are in 2010. We have so much to be thankful for. We thank God everyday for two sets of parents who love us so much that they are willing to sacrifice their resources for our family. We are thankful for Isabella, who is developing into a sweet loving toddler. She’s now walking all over our house and giving us open mouthed kisses to show her affection. I am especially thankful for my fantastic husband who works so hard to provide a stable financial and domestic environment for his family. Also proud that his work has paid off at Stevie B’s as he is now the Senior VP of Finance. There are few people I know that work as hard as he does. What our family is most thankful for is the addition that we will have come July 14th. Yes you heard it correctly…WE’RE HAVING A BABY!!!!!!

I am in my 13th week now, and thankful that my energy is starting to get back to normal. The past 10 weeks have been very challenging with the move and a 15 month old, but with the help of a few friends and family (especially Aimee) I have survived. It’s amazing how different a second pregnancy is. I find myself much more relaxed about the do’s and don’ts and I am not obsessing like I did the first time around. I am looking forward to a less neurotic parenting experience. What are we hoping for gender wise? Either way I see it, it’s a win-win. If it’s a boy, I get one of each and there is a little less pressure for a third. If it’s a girl, Isabella will have a friend for life. Being as close as I am to my sister, I hope that she has that bond in her life. That is about all for now...we ask that you keep us and our little peanut in your thoughts and prayers.

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.