Auburn

The last few days we have been trying get acquainted with our new town. Yesterday we visited the laundromat for the first time. I don't think I'll take a washer and dryer for granted again! It is such a nice town and the people here seem very friendly. The boys are doing great. Kian is starting to sleep better. We still have Aiden in our room until they both are sleeping through the night consistently. Today we are going to check out Fort Wayne. It's children's zoo has been rated in the top 10 for the whole country, so I am looking forward to taking the boys there eventually.

Chad has been working on his grad school work and is hoping to finish that within a week. Volleyball starts for me Monday. We heard yesterday that we are still waiting to officially get out of the third house's contract so we can start the process of buying the fourth! It should not be difficult, but the other realtor is not responding back! We were notified that the appraisal on the 3rd house was acceptable the way the man did it and therefore, would not be changed to what we think it should be. I know God has a house for us somewhere! We are certainly hopeful at least. I am excited to get our family started on some sort of routine. Monday probably that will happen. All in all, things are going well for us here!

we've moved!

We are in Auburn! It was a long day to get completely moved from place to place and lots of generous people came and helped get us settled...and we are here! It is finally hitting me that we are here. I am so glad that we have a good apartment and are close to everything in Auburn; however, I am a little lonely now! I already miss my parents! Isn't that stupid?? We have been gone all summer and the first night here I already missed them! I know this is where God has us and I think I am starting to be ready for this journey! We drove by the house that we are hoping to buy today. I must admit, I am in love with this house. I know I should not get my hopes up, but I can't help it. It's perfect for us! I pray that if it isn't for us, we will know quickly.

Now that we are "settled" for a little while, it's been so nice the last 2 days to think, "what should we do today?" I actually felt a little bored! It was wonderful!

Would you please pray that I feel settled here? I'm not really concerned about Chad and the boys. Aiden already has made several friends with neighbor kids and Chad has already gone to 2 of his new teams summer games. Kian will obviously just do whatever we do. Me? I'm not so sure yet. I still am so nervous about coaching volleyball. I hope that I can feel connected that way. I also am praying we find a church that fits us. I guess those are several areas to pray for us!

I put our vacation pics on my facebook today and want to share a couple here. So, enjoy!

We house sat at the beginning of the summer for some friends of ours and they had a marvelous pool!My parents and Chad at Cocoa Beach. We used to vacation there when I was younger and it was very cool to show Chad everything that we used to do.All of the boys in the ocean. Kian thought it was so cool. Aiden was actually quite fearful of the waves at first, but eventually starting liking them more.Kian eating his first sand.

Kian was a little pooped and fell asleep under a blanket.

Aiden also was a bit tired after the beach!

This one and the next couple are while we were in Disney World. I love these of the 2 of them.

Kian giving his demonstration of how to ride a roller coaster.

Kian cupping Aiden's face.

The cousins at the park. Aiden had such a blast with them!

Carson, Jackson, Mason, and Aiden

house #4!

Well, we just accepted an offer on house #4 in Auburn. Yeah, that's right: house NUMBER 4! Our realtor told us that we have signed more papers than any other client she has ever had, not exactly the record we are trying to hold! I'm not quite sure why God has allowed this to happen to us. Every house has gone wrong for one reason or another. This house that we hope to buy now is by far my favorite. It has a split plan where 2 bedrooms are on one side and the master is on the other. The master has a full bathroom, walk in closets and is spacious. The house itself was built in 1994. It has a huge yard and is in a great neighborhood. I really hope this is the one! However, I am trying not to get my hopes up. We found out yesterday that we are moving tomorrow to Auburn. We are moving into a small 2 bedroom apartment temporarily until we buy the house. Today has been filled with getting last minute things done and packing boxes. I am so ready for some stability! It has been a very hurried summer and I hope life will slow done a little once we move! We would really appreciate your prayers as we transition to Auburn!

Meanwhile, the boys are doing great! Kian wants to do everything that Aiden does and loves swinging the golf club and playing with the basketball. Kian is going through a "screaming" phase. He has the loudest, high pitched scream and does it quite often! Aiden loves being outside riding his bike (he actually uses the petals now) and playing with his toys. He and Kian get along very well and seem to truly enjoy each other!

grad school

I just realized that I haven't even blogged in July! It's hard for me to believe that July is already half over! We had a fantastic time in Florida. The boys had a great time at Disney World and we enjoyed it too! Chad and I are realizing that vacations are really not a vacation for us anymore. For example, we didn't get to go on many of the rides we would of chosen at Disney and that's okay! Aiden and Kian had a great time, but vacations are now about them more often than not.

We flew home from Florida and Chad left the next day for grad school. The boys and I came out a week later to see him. The week was very busy for us! We are still in the process of finding a home to buy in Auburn and I also have been doing open gyms when I am available. The house buying process has been a mess. Right now we are trying to dispute the appraisal we were given to the state director. Hopefully we will find out this week what the decision was. Meanwhile, we have no home in Auburn and need to move in a little over a week. I checked out a couple of options and we are hoping one of them works out! My biggest concern about this whole thing is that we won't be able to buy a house by the middle of September. If we don't, the $8000 from the La Casa program will expire and we will lose the money. I guess I have to keep trusting that the right house is somewhere out there!

Aiden had a wonderful time with his cousins! Shan, Russ and the kids were here for a couple of weeks. It was so great to see Aiden interact with them! He LOVES his cousins and couldn't wait to play with them every day. Kian on the other hand has struggled. We have moved around so much this summer and I don't think Kian has adjusted well to it. I also don't think he likes to be around a lot of people (unlike his brother). Kian tends to be very clingy and cry a lot. I keep hearing that it's a phase...people, this phase is like 8 months long!!! Today has been a much better day with him and he's acting more like himself. He seems to need me much more than Aiden did. Kian is definitely a strong willed child! But he is so great too! Being strong willed is a wonderful trait to have-especially when he's older! Sometimes, it's just difficult now...as many who have raised strong willed children know.

I love being a mom. It is the best job on the earth! I don't know if there is a more fulfilling occupation. However, I do not know how single moms do it. Seriously. I could not do this without Chad.

We leave for Indiana tomorrow after lunch. We are in a suite here at BBC and Chad's mom has been with us for a couple of days. Courtney (Chad's sister) will be arriving in about an hour to spend the day with us. Aiden is just a little excited! We are planning on going mini-golfing and then out to eat. It should be a fun evening! Kian had an interesting night 2 nights ago. He woke up at around midnight and would not fall back asleep until 3:15! My mom suggested that maybe it was because he had chocolate for one of the first times and the caffeine made him wired. He literally was running and playing for about an hour and a half around the middle floor lounge! Needless to say, we both were a little tired yesterday.

Chad is doing great with grad school and is really enjoying his classes. It's been fun to listen to his excitement and hear what he's learning. I think he's going to do a great job teaching PE.