It's been a while....

Sorry that I haven't posted in a while. A lot has been going on and we are so busy around here. Avery has started daycare. She is doing so well with it. It was tough at first. She has cried all but a couple times that I have dropped her off but her teachers promise me that it doesn't last. I love, love, love her teachers Ms. Carrie and Ms. Veronica. They are both the cutest young girls, both are pregnant and they are so caring with all the kids. It turns out that Ms. Veronica is going to teach Avery's 2 year old class too. I have prayed for this situation because I didn't want Avery to switch teachers so quickly and the Lord answers prayers. I know feel wonderful about the situation that we are in. The school that she goes to is a Christian school and they teach with the Abeka program. She will have a book for her 2 year old class that starts in August. I can already tell that she is so much more outgoing and talkative. She speaks in sentences and knows numbers, colors, and some of the alphabet. I am sure I am not the first parent to think that their child is smart! :)

Kyle is still loving his job and I am liking mine more too! We joined the neighborhood club for golf and swimming and wouldn't you know that the first weekend the pool pump broke! Oh well, I am sure we will get plenty of use out of the pool, especially now that I am only working 4 days a week!

We have a lot going on... Welcome to Madison Grace and Ryleigh Nichole! Both little girls are Avery's cousins. Hopefully we will get to see them both soon. We are awaiting the arrival of Mike and Robin's baby boy, Brady... Caroline and John's baby girl... and Ashley and Marc's baby! All of them are due soon! We will be home the weekend of July 4th, July 25th, and August 1st. Avery's second birthday party is August 1st at the pool. Invitations to come! Kyle and I are taking Avery to Myrtle Beach for a week in August around our 5th anniversary. I can't believe that we have been married 5 years now. It goes by so quickly.

That's all for updates now. I will post pictures soon!

Updates

Just wanted to update everyone since it has been a while! We sold our house in Smithfield. We hope the new family will love it as much as we did. We closed today so we are done. What a relief. We went home for Easter and it was so nice to see everyone. I still call Smithfield home because it is. It is where Kyle and I got married, started a life together, started a family together, and started careers together. I don't know what the future holds but I won't be sad if it leads us back to Smithfield. We have such great friends there and all of our family.

We are doing well in NC. Adjusting. My mom is here helping take care of Avery until I can find a daycare that can handle her :) We have busy weekends ahead. Red and Cameron are coming to visit next weekend, I go home the following weekend for a continuing education course, the following weekend is TPC in Florida (a major golf tourney for those who don't know) so we are going down for the weekend. Before you know it, it will be Memorial Day. Don't know what we are doing yet. We planned on going to GA but since we are going there for the golf tourney may see if they can come this way! We will see.

Super excited that some friends and I are going to see NKOTB on June 5th! In between we have babies coming in to the world, baby showers, and so much more. I will try to keep everyone updated. Here are some pictures from Avery Easter egg hunting!

Potential Offer!

I heard through the grapevine- and word spreads quick in Smithfield... that a couple is going to put an offer on our house soon. They are awaiting an offer on their house and then they would like to buy ours! I have hoped and prayed that we could close before the end of April so that we can get on with things in NC.

I am sad to be leaving the people I work with. I hope my new co-workers are as great. The TPTI-Smithfield crew took me out to lunch yesterday and got me the cutest "Smithfield: Ham Capital of the World" sweatshirt and "I love Smithfield" coffee mug and a book about seperation for Avery. I am sure that I will cry tomorrow when I leave. I have to remember when one door closes another one opens!

We went out to dinner last Saturday with friends and then tried to be young and went to Saddle Ridge... pictures are below!



Kyle, Auntie Red, Cameron, and Me


The whole gang- Cameron, Red, Jeff, Steele, Nancy, Lauren, Me, Jason, koral, Kim, Kyle, Matt, and Kathryn

Latest News

Here is a picture of our new house in North Carolina. The move went well and so far our stuff is all in one piece. I am working in VA until March 27th and then starting my new job on the 31st. I will post more pictures later.
Prior to leaving VA, we got snow! Here is Avery enjoying her first snow fall!
And since I don't know how to post pics in order, prior to snow... we were in Orlando visiting Mickey Mouse and Shamu. Avery did great and we had a lot of fun!

This weekend Avery and I are going to see Kyle in NC. Next weekend I have a much needed hair appointment and then a baby shower for Kyle's cousin Nikki, who is expecting a baby girl. Sunday we are celebrating Kyle's grandmother's birthday and then Kyle is heading home.

Busy Week

The movers come tomorrow and let me tell you, I am not ready! I have a lot to do tonight. The movers will pack Wednesday, pack and load Thursday, and load Friday for a Saturday delivery. We will get to NC about 9pm Friday and wait for the stuff to arrive Saturday. Kyle is obviously more excited at this point then I am because I will still be here another couple of weeks.

The snow was great yesterday except for working instead of playing in it. I did get to take Avery out in it for a little while. I will post pictures this afternoon - maybe. I probably won't be on much for the next couple of weeks.

Pray for a smooth move this week!

Hello from sunny Florida!

Hey everyone! I am writing you from sunny, warm Orlando, Florida. We arrived Sunday after a long night at Casino Night. It was a blast! Monday we went to Sea World which was lots of fun. I would post pictures but silly me forgot the USB cord. Oh well, I will post them later. The Shamu show was great as were the other shows. Kyle and I took a chance to ride the roller coaster while Avery was sleeping. Tuesday we went to Magic Kingdom which was also nice. Avery likes Mickey from a distance. :) Today we went to Hollywood Studios, which I have to admit I wasn't thrilled with. We went to Playhouse Disney and Avery met some of the Little Einsteins. Tomorrow we are headed to Busch Gardens Tampa and Friday back to Sea World just to see a couple more shows. So far it is a toss up between Sea World and Magic Kingdom, but they are all fun. It is more crowded than I expected and I can't imagine coming in the summer!

Once we get home we have lots to do! Sunday we are having breakfast with Kyle's side of the family, I am having lunch with my ODU PT friends, and then dinner for my friend Anna's 30th birthday! (I am going to gain 15 lbs by the end of the week) The movers come Wedensday and Thursday to pack and Friday to load and they deliver our stuff Saturday! I can't believe we are moving! Kyle will have 2 weeks to get things together before Avery and I will be there too! I am working 2 extra weeks at my current job and then taking a week off and starting my new job on March 30th. (At least that is the plan now)

Still no offers on the house (but it has only been on the market a week) If any of ya'll need a house, I have one for sale :)

Progress

Just a little update on the progress this week with our house, job, etc.....

Both real estate agents came and spoke to us, both appraisers came and looked at the house, and the moving company came and estimated how long it would take to pack our stuff. We have one real estate agent from Greg Garrett and one from William E Wood. They are both supposed to put together a market analysis and plan for selling our house and present it to us soon, then we talk to the relocation lady and decide on one of them. Quite honestly if our house appraises well, I don't care if the man on the moon sells it! We should know the appraised value of the house by Monday or Tuesday. We are trying not to let that ruin our weekend with worry. Kyle was home when both appraisers were here and said thinks it went better than we originally thought, so saying prayers for a good appraisal. In case I did not explain well before, the appraised value for our home is our minimum buyout from the relocation company, so that's our biggest concern. There are other little steps along the way that could influence things in our favor but the appraisal is the least amount we will get.

I prayed all week for God to continue to show us His plan, and have faith that he will not lead us through anything we can't handle. This whole move really does seem like His plan for us. It has worked out so smoothly.... Let me back up a couple months and explain... Kyle was first approached about this job in November, maybe even October , but with how busy work is around the holidays not much was done. They gave him an initial offer right before Christmas and we started to consider it. Well, on New Year's Day we found out I was pregnant. (this may shock some readers!) When we found this out we decided that we probably would not move as I love my doctor, we have free child care, and it would be hard for me to get a job as a preggo! Well God has His plan, and unfortunately we lost the baby at around 5 weeks. (more on this later) We viewed that as a sign from God to continue talks of relocating. I then put my resume on a website and people called left and right. By the grace of God one company used a recruiter and called to set up an interview. I went an interviewed and loved them! They are very Christian and had been praying since the fall for a good therapist to come and take the place of a therapist that moved to CA. During the interview I mentioned that we were looking for housing and low and behold the therapist that left had her house for rent/sale! (another sign from God) We drove over to look at it and it is BEAUTIFUL! We now have a lease on the house with the option to buy. So everything is falling into place nicely and we are sure that this is God's plan for us. He wants us to leave the comfort of home and touch other people. I don't know His ultimate plan for us down there but I know it will reveal itself and we will obey.

Back to the baby that should have been born in September. I only even knew I was pregnant because I know my cycle so well. Most people probably would have just thought they were a week late or something and maybe wouldn't have even tested. In any case, although not planned, we were very excited/nervous. One week later, we lost the baby! Which was heart breaking but I find comfort that I had not had an ultrasound, seen the heartbeat, bonded with the baby as so many mothers have before they lose a baby. We are not sure if we are going to try again and when, I will keep you updated.

I have more to report but Avery just woke up so I am going to spend time with her! I wanted to say congrats to Caroline on finding out that she is having a baby GIRL, congrats to Robyn on having safe sex for the rest of her life :), and congrats to GRITS on all of the hope that she has!