Long time no blog...

We have been incredibly busy the past month. From closing on and moving into the house, to a trip to Beaumont, to hosting family here- all on top of our normal hectic schedule, things have been a bit busy. I don't have any pictures of the house yet, 1) because I have been too lazy and tired to take any, and 2) we aren't quite finished putting the final touches on everything, and I want to photograph it when it's just right. ;)

But here are a few pictures from the past month...

Ole!

So I didn't really plan anything in advance for Cinco de Mayo. But, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to eat yummy Mexican food (Who can?), so Jeremy ran to Taco Bueno and picked up some tacos, got some themed cupcakes from the store, and I made homemade salsa loaded with avocado, pineapple, and mango. To wash it all down we had Jumex. The pineapple Jumex was good because, well, it was just pineapple juice. The coconut pineapple on the other hand...

22 Months

Between family, Church, work, and packing, I have zero time lately. However, since Shelby did just turn 22 months old, I wanted to jot down a few things about her.

Shelby loves to talk. She repeats everything- things we say, things from movies or cartoons, etc. It amazes me the things she can remember, too. She will say, "Watcha Cwifford big dog?", followed by "an, an, Cwifford get surprise!", meaning she wants to watch Clifford the Big Red Dog (the episode where Chloe gives him a Valentine's Day surprise).

She is doing really well with her prayers. She will now finish the last half of the prayer all by herself without any coaching. It is so cute.

She does well counting from 1-10, unless you ask her to do it. Then she will either refuse to say it, or she'll skip a few numbers on purpose and laugh.

She knows the last part of the alphabet really well and can sing from Q-Z by herself. She'll attempt A-P, but it is more mimicking the rhythm than saying the letters.

She is starting to become more fearless. She surprised me last night. I had to go run an errand at the mall, and told Shelby if she was good she could play at the play place for a bit. She was climbing on top of everything, including things you aren't supposed to climb on top of! She was really keeping up with the older boys that were there. We have been to that play place tons of times, but this was the first that she really let loose like that.

Well, that is all I have time for now. I am excited to think that I will be posting her next monthly update from our new house! Woohoo!

7th Time's a Charm!

If I have seemed absent from blogging, emailing, or just being a decent friend or family member lately, it is with good reason. We have been waist deep in house hunting. While it may seem fun and exciting at first, it gets old pretty quickly. And by the time you've made your SEVENTH offer on a house, you are about ready to call it quits. But, our perseverance paid off, and our offer was just accepted! We know that we were truly blessed, because this house has everything we were looking for- we didn't have to compromise on a thing! So even though I was getting irritated, I know that Heavenly Father was just helping us find the perfect house. And here it is:






The wheels in my head have already been turning thinking of all the projects I want to do, how to decorate, etc. My sister introduced me to this blog, www.theletteredcottage.blogspot.com, full of awesome decorating and remodeling ideas. I foresee many trips to Home Depot in the future.

Update: Sorry! Forgot to mention this is in Oak Point (north of Lewisville Lake). So, while it isn't TOO far away, we definitely won't be in the same ward anymore. Ok, so the only negative thing I can say about the house is that our new ward meets at 1 pm. WHAT?! :(

EASTER

We had another wonderful Easter this year. We made our usual trip to the annual Gore family reunion in Hattiesburg. It is so great that even though the group gets larger and larger, and no one ever knows exactly who everyone is or who everyone "belongs to", that they continue to get together every year and keep in touch. Shelby had a WONDERFUL time running around and playing with her cousins (and I'm going to continue to just call them cousins, since I'm not exactly sure how they are all related). I was horrible with the camera on this trip, though, since most of my time was spent like this (chasing or corralling Shelby):



At the reunion on Saturday, Shelby was so tired but did not want to miss anything by taking a nap. I finally took her for a drive and she was asleep in about two minutes. She completely slept through the Easter egg hunt, but I didn't mind. I would have much rather had a happy Shelby than one that was overly tired and then hopped up on sugar from all the candy.

Shelby adores her great grandparents. She woke up every day we were there and the first thing she would say as soon as she opened her eyes was, "Papaw! Gammaw!". Easter morning, Shelby got a wonderful surprise from the Easter Bunny- a basket full of Little People toys! (I am trying to get away with not filling it with candy and sugary snack while I still can. I think she eats plenty of junk to make up for it!)





We went to church with Papaw on Sunday. Since the median age at that church is about 65, I thought we were going to be in trouble. I thought there was no way Shelby would sit through the service without causing some sort or raucous. To our surprise, she was actually really good. I think it must have been because she was perfectly content sitting with Papaw. I tried to get a few pictures of Shelby in her Easter dress after church, but she was not very cooperative. She just wanted to go back in and play with Mamaw and Papaw.






After we left Hattiesburg on Monday we stopped through Bastrop to visit Mamaw and Papaw Jordan. Shelby is in love with them as well. She loves to show off and entertain them. We had a great lunch with Papaw and a wonderful visit with Mamaw at the nursing home. Sadly, I did not get any pictures while in Bastrop. We are hoping to be able to go back and visit with them longer in a few weekends.

We hope everyone else had as wonderful an Easter as we did!

Counting My Many Blessings

I am thankful that even though my "income is too high to be eligible for a credit for 401K contributions" on my tax return, that I have an income and am able to save money for retirement.

I am thankful that even though we suffered a loss on the sale of our house and cannot take a credit for it on our tax return like those that went into foreclosure and allowed the bank to suffer the loss instead of manning up and taking it themselves...I am thankful we were able to sell the house so we could come to Texas and I can be home with Shelby full time.

(Can you tell I am just now filing my return? Yes, I am an 11th hour sort of person. That's what happens when you end up OWING money. I've actually had them done for 2 months, I just procrastinated filing.)

I am thankful that although Shelby is apparently allergic to Sargento Mootown crackers and cheese (well, just the cheese part) and ranch dressing, that she only suffers little red whelps on her face and doesn't go into full on anaphalactic shock.

I am thankful that even though we have put in 4 offers on 4 different houses, none of which have been accepted, that we are in a position to take our time and find the perfect house for us.

I am thankful that after we loaded EVERYTHING into the PT Cruiser for our trip to Hattiesburg that the check engine light came on as we were driving down our street, and not further along into the trip and in the middle of nowhere, allowing us to turn around, empty everything out of the car and reload it into the Jeep. I am also thankful it is still under warranty.

I am thankful that even though I am super busy with work, I have a job, unlike many Americans right now.

There could be no TESTIMONY without the TEST!

Easter Eggstravaganza

Saturday morning was the Easter Eggstravaganza at the Historical Park in Farmers Branch. We got up early so we could get over there quickly and be home before GC started. The whole time we were getting ready we kept telling Shelby we were going to see the Easter Bunny. By the time we were getting ready to head out the door she was so excited she was practically dragging us out! She kept yelling, "Eas-a Buuunnny!".
There is some construction going on close to the park, so they had everyone park a little bit away, but had trucks pulling trailors filled with hay to carry everyone over to the park. The first thing we did when we got there was head to the petting zoo. Shelby was a little leary of the goats at first, but once she saw the bunnies hopping around she let loose. She started screaming and chasing after them, again yelling "Eas-a Buuunnny!". She thought the tiny baby piglet was cute as well, until a little boy picked him up. That little piggy SQUEALED and SQUEALED and ran all the way home (or back to his mom anyway).
Then it was off to the pony rides. It was great that they had ponies because Shelby had just gotten her first My Little Pony the weekend before and was really into it, and you could see her trying to connect the two. I could almost hear her thinking, "Hey, where are your tutu and dancing shoes?". She hopped on, and was a little nervous at first, but then immediately grabbed the saddle and started rocking it as if to say "Giddyup!". This little pony was FAST, too, and I was almost a little nervous that Shelby was being bounced around too much. But she was fine and did great on the pony.

After that it was time for the hunt to begin. I would say Easter egg hunt, but it was more of a candy hunt, since they just threw tons of candy on the ground, with a few "prize eggs" here and there. I was not too concerened with Shelby finding any prize eggs, and just let her pick up whatever candy she wanted at her own pace. It was funny to see her leisurely walk up to the candy, inspect it, then place it in her basket. I'm sure she will hone her hunting skills over the next few years, but for now I was happy she only picked up a few pieces of candy. She kept begging for it in the car so we let her eat one piece and hid the rest. She had forgotten about it by that afternoon.