Happy, Happy Day!

Mary Beth just had her first appointment with her new cardiologist in Houston. And it seems the last of the three heart murmurs she was born with is now officially CLOSED! We are done with cardiologists!

Yay!

So much to report!

We're getting more settled in our new home with each passing day. And we're about to embark on two awesome milestones next week!

The twins start kindergarten and Ella of the Nores (Sam's favorite nickname for her) turns 1! And of course Hayes starts 2nd grade at his new school (his 4th since Kindergarten; something's wrong with us) as well!

But first things first. Sweet, sweet Eleanor leaves us in amazement every single day. How is it possible to love a baby so much? She's unbelievably perfect and we both feel insanely blessed of the circumstances that led us to be able to appreciate one tiny being so much. She's quite possibly the happiest baby I've ever met and she's actually quite funny. She knows it too which makes it that much cuter.

Here's an example of our entertainment:


And another:


It's hard for me to believe she's almost a year. My how time flies. But at the same time, when I think about how much has taken place over this past year, it seems like she was born a decade ago. I'm so very appreciative of her keeping us grounded on what's important through that trying time. There's nothing like watching a child, who sees everything in life as something full of wonder and amazement, to keep you grounded in the present. Those kids ... they hold the secret to life's joy. If only we could stay in that mindset!

Quite possibly the best part of having Eleanor has been watching the kids with her. They absolutely ADORE her. Hayes will often tend to her in her crib if he hears her wake up -- either bringing her into the gameroom (and closing all doors, locking the gate, and putting away small toys she shouldn't have access to) or bringing her to us. They feed her, help bathe her, walk her around in her stroller, and truly take joy in how cute and funny she is. She loves them too. So much, in fact, that it was only recently she started offering kisses (of the open-mouth variety which is one of the cutest things about babies) to Jason and I. Before that, they were reserved for her very much adored brothers and sister. (On that note, she only just started saying "Dada" this week too. It was "Mama mama" on repeat for months.)

The older three are adjusting extremely well to life here in Katy. They've made friends in the neighborhood and it's cute to see them developing these relationships outside of their threesome. I'm anxious for them to start school for a variety of reasons, though I'm a little sad too. Jason and I were just talking about how them starting school is really the start of our "life" here. We'll have playdates and sleepovers and meetings and a sense of community involvement. Whereas now we just sort of sleep in Katy.

I got to speak with the twins' teachers yesterday and I'm extremely impressed with both of them. I talked with Sam's longer because I wanted to voice our concerns about the way he learns (and his inability to sense the need to go to the bathroom). Her response was incredible and I feel very confident that he's in the right class. There will be 17 students in her class, one of which is also named Sam and has a twin sister! How perfect is that?

Tomorrow night we go for "Teacher Meet & Greet" so we'll meet Hayes's teacher then and get to know the twins' more. I'm excited about that venture. Then they start school on Monday and all system's are go!

I'm feeling very pleased with our decision to buy this house. I absolutely love that we'll be walking to school (3-4 minute walk!) and I'm feeling confident in the school's teaching practices (like a large focus on phonics).

More to report quite soon ...

And she's crawling!

Eleanor started crawling two days ago and Jason was home to witness the whole thing. It was so adorable. We were sitting there watching E rock back and forth and all of the sudden, just like a foal learning his footing after birth, she slowly put the motions together and started to move around. And then (!!) she put herself from the crawling position to the sitting position and it wasn't by accident either. It's like she's been formulating this in her head for a few weeks and finally got to put it to practice.

It is so darn cute to watch her develop. But I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I wish she'd put this off for another few weeks. Which leads me to ...

WE HAVE A CLOSING DATE!

May 14th we close in Lafayette. And as of now, our plans are to close in Katy on the 15th.

Initially we were supposed to close on the 30th and rent from our sellers until closing but they wanted a ridiculous amount of rent ($3000) for a week so we said thanks but no thanks.

Three weeks from today we'll be moving into our new home!

We're out of inspections!

And I'm convinced that our buyers are the best buyers in the entire universe. They did not ask for a single thing. Not a THING! (This, in comparison, to my friend whose buyer demanded that every little thing be repaired/replaced on the inspection report, which was done by an inspector who really loves his job. In the end, the buyer backed out and my friend and her husband are worried sick they'll lose the house they're buying).

So tomorrow, me and my little Easter bunnies will hippity hop over to Houston (after Easter Mass, of course) to get settled for our big day on Monday!!

The amount of love I have for this baby is overwhelming.

It really is. And the pure amount of delight we get from this child is nothing short of astounding. It's not limited to Jason and I, either! The kids adore her and her antics just as much as we do.

Tonight I was in the cry-room at Mass with Miss E, not because she was crying but because she was yelling at the top of her lungs in the middle of Palm Sunday readings, and once I got in there I let her down on the floor because that's what she was really wanting anyway. And as I was giggling at her up on her hands and knees rocking back and forth, I received a look from a grandmother type that is reserved for obvious first-time mothers enjoying their first baby: that reflective smile that lets you know they're thinking about how much they enjoyed their babies at this age too. And the look perplexed me a bit being that I haven't received it since Hayes was a young tot, but then I realized the other three were still in Mass with DeDe and so it really did look like I was a first timer!

I'm glad, though, that I'm getting to enjoy these moments with her. They're so precious to me and I hope that I remember them always.

I'll definitely remember tonight's dinner, that's for certain. I took the twins and E to Picadilly to eat after dropping Hayes off for art class at the Little Paintbrush and since I'd forgotten to bring Eleanor anything to eat, I got a side of mashed potatoes for her. In the middle of dinner, Sam had his typical "OH NO I'M GOING TO PEE MYSELF" face on so I carted him off to the bathroom yelling over my shoulder to Mary Beth to watch the baby.

I came back to Eleanor slinging mashed potatoes in all directions because she'd gotten a hold of the spoon. Oh dear. All I could do was laugh. Eleanor was having an absolute blast and I totally ruined her fun (and she let me know it) when I removed the spoon from her clutch and wiped her full body with half the pack of baby wipes.

(me, laughing) "Mary Beth, I asked you to watch her!"

(MB, proudly) "I did, Mommy! She didn't go anywhere!"

Hmmm. Perhaps I'll leave more explicit directions in the future?

We have a tooth! (7m6d)

Eleanor's first little tooth broke through this morning and I couldn't be more relieved. Yesterday was a day of no naps and loads of fussing so I knew it was coming ... but that was possibly the quickest teething episode of any of the other four.

She's growing up right before our eyes and I simply cannot believe how fast it's going this time. She can't quite sit up unassisted, though she's certainly close. And yesterday we caught her rocking back and forth on her hands and knees. She'll be crawling before we know it.

I can hardly believe it myself.

But we just got another full price offer on our house! Amazing!

One contingency down; one to go!

They've got the year's lease signed on their house. Now we are awaiting confirmation from their lender that the money for the down payment is complete.

We've gotten verbal confirmation that the money was released from the insurance company but we want actual, concrete confirmation before celebrations begin.

Oh, God, please let this happen quickly!

On a funny note, I just got a call from a childhood acquaintance who has seen our house (saw my diploma on the wall, whoops) and her house recently went under contract so she was wanting to get more information about the contract we're under. She was quite excited when I told her we were still accepting offers. But I've just spoken to Ms. Penny and their contingency (selling their house even though it's under contract) is a way worse one than what we've got going on here.

Either way, it's nice to know this acquaintance's interest might light a fire under our buyers!

Update to come ...

House #1 went "Option Pending"

And I'm really okay. It would have been a great house for us and a very smart financial move since it's at the bottom of our price range. But I have a feeling I would have started to feel cramped before too long. And I know from living where we are now that cramped is not a good feeling.

So now my focus shifts to our buyers and them moving along in this process. Because my eyes are affixed on a gorgeous Colonial that has Perkins all over it. Over the course of the last few days my emotions totally shifted to envisioning us in this house and the more I look at it the more I feel it.

Today was a rotten day otherwise. Eleanor and I came home from Houston with colds and I'm exhausted. Probably mostly exhausted from the previous oh, say 16 months? Pregnancy, birth, new job, selling house, Jason moving, doing it alone with four kids, and so on and so forth. So it was bound to catch up with me health-wise at some point, right? He's coming in tonight so hopefully I'll get some rest tomorrow or the next day. I feel like I could sleep for a week straight.

I'm looking forward to the time when Eleanor is no longer requiring this late-night feed around 10 pm so I can hit the hay when the kids do at 6:30. We have so much ahead of us that it's tiring to just think about it.

I'm trying to remained focused on what a blessing this job is for our little family during this troubling economic time. Because it really is huge.

Tomorrow's another day ...

We're under contract!!

At long last (4 months to the day we listed with Ms. Penny and 47 showings later) we're finally under contract. I cannot even begin to express the relief I feel that this situation is (hopefully) coming to an end and very, very soon.

I'm actually in Houston right now with the kids staying at Michael's apartment. Worked out nice that he was in Lafayette for the tournament.

Our buyers have two contingencies that need to get lifted so we can enter into the inspection period (they need to lease out their current house that they are keeping and they need to get a settlement check in their hands for the down payment) and after that, we're free to make an offer on the house we want.

We made our way here before the ink even dried on our contract to try and find our new home and I'm happy to report that the trip was a great success! The house we fell in love with is an amazing deal and hardly has to have any work done to it. It came on the market two days ago so we're anticipating it going quickly and I'm trying to keep my chin up about it and have the attitude that if it's meant to be, it'll happen. It's tough tho ...

Even with our previous trips out here, and even after deciding on a house, I still never felt like it was home. But I walked into this one on Leatherwood today and fell totally in love. I even considered calling in a favor for a loan on a down payment but after I came down from my high (with some coaxing from the dear husband), I realized that doing so would be totally going against the grain. If this house is meant to be ours, it will be. It's that simple.

The other house we found, and the one I'd probably prefer if it weren't for this horrendous tile in the entry way (way worse than one could even fathom), really is spectacular. The more I look at it, the more I love it. It's got gorgeous wood flooring throughout most of the house and it's huge. 3300 sq ft! That's 1300 more than we're living in now ... I can hardly imagine it! And it has the most awesome built-ins throughout the house. It truly is a sight to behold once you can look past said entry way and the equally repugnant kitchen countertops and backsplash.

But I really do know in my heart of hearts that God has a plan for us. Had we gotten a contract four months ago, we'd be living in Cinco Ranch in this terrible McMansion with no character. And probably at a ridiculously higher interest rate than we'll end up with now. So if that worked out for a reason, I have to trust with all my might that the latter end of this deal will work out whatever way it's supposed to as well.

Nonetheless, I'm enjoying my "contract high" and living vicariously in our new "homes".

WE'RE GOING TO BE TEXANS!!

Same deal, different day.

Here we sit. On the 16th of March and are still awaiting an offer on our house.

Man, this market stinks.

The twins are five, I'm a year older, we have a baby who will be 7 months at the end of this one, a husband who has been living in a different state for nearly 4 months and still ... we wait. We waited through Advent; we're waiting through Lent.

It's been four dreadfully long months of roller coaster rides of emotion. Four long months of the kids missing their dad with all of their beings.

Yet I have to believe that at the end of this tunnel, sublime happiness awaits.

In the meantime, said sublime happiness can be found in the authentic smile of Miss Eleanor. It can also be found in the faces of Hayes and Sam when they beat me at Mario Kart on the Wii. And in the precious smile of Mary Beth when she sees her Daddy after a long week of him being gone.

One thing I've most certainly learned is that God's graces cannot ever be felt in any moment other than the present. His graces aren't lurking in the past and certainly not in the future ... it's only in the here and now and we absolutely must stay in the now in order to feel His presence. And that I do.

I am blessed. I have a wonderful husband who absolutely adores me. I have four breathtakingly beautiful children who can light up the darkest of rooms. I have a family who would do nearly anything for me. And friends who are truer than I could have ever imagined. Blessed indeed.

The Great Sponge Roller Rite of Passage.

Tonight, Mary Beth and I embarked on one of my favorite pastimes as a young girl: the rolling of wet hair overnight in sponge rollers. Hopefully her wet hair will dry by morning and she'll have the Cinderella tresses she desires. But past experience is telling me, especially since she inherited my baby fine hair that has no body, that her hair will not dry and if it does the curls will look something out of a Medusa look-alike contest as opposed to a Disney Princess. We shall see.





ETA: I was right. Medusa it was. But she loved her "cullz" and sported them anyway!

Ragin Cajun ad in today's paper!

The kids were so excited. Dad was probably more fired up than them! It was cute.

I hear they're in commercials too, but I haven't caught one yet.

I've had a string of the most random incidents lately.

First, two Mondays ago I woke up to 15 missed calls on my cell phone. Like any normal individual, I immediately thought something had happened to someone in my family and wondered why no one called at home (cell was in the car). But then I noticed that I didn't recognize the number. My phone indicated that I had three voice mails so I decided to give a listen.

What I heard was nothing short of hysterical. I've transferred the audio to youtube, but I must warn you ... it's not work safe or kid safe. This woman, who was obviously extremely upset (or drove -- her word) with her significant other, dropped the F bomb throughout the three messages.



The second random act consisted of my neighbors mistakenly thinking my yard was the drop zone for their dead Christmas trees. I woke up one morning to one in the yard and the next day there were a couple more ... and finally a total of six.



I reluctantly stapled a sign to one of them, fearing the worst -- that it might incite others to deposit their dead trees as well. And this may have been over-the-top hilarious if we weren't trying to sell our house, but it was only kind of funny instead. Luckily, the sign worked and the trees were actually picked up a couple of days thereafter.

I was asked to write a reflection for a Lenten booklet.

This Liturgical year has been declared the year of Sts. Peter and Paul and the Lenten Reflection Booklet put out by Our Lady of Wisdom is using verses from St. Paul's epistles. I was asked to choose a verse and write a reflection and it wasn't an easy task.

It had been hanging over my head for a while and one night as I was watching a television show, the verse I chose was quoted by one of the show's characters and expounded upon. I loved it and took it as my sign that this is what I was supposed to write about.

So after some prayer and pondering on the subject, this is my submission.

Holiness

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free person, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

- Galatians 3:28

Along my spiritual journey, I seem to repeatedly come face-to-face with the fear that I’m not holy enough. Whether from observing other families at Mass or hearing friends casually mention God in conversation, I have often felt my mind’s eye turn inward to make judgment on my soul.

This "holiness" introspection doesn’t reference a specific incident. It’s not at all like reflecting on my behavior when I’m impatient with my kids or, better yet, judgmental of a mother who lost her cool in the middle of the grocery store. No, it’s more like swinging at the carnival strength meter with the sledgehammer and not being strong enough to ring the bell.

But is there even such a thing as a holiness meter? Does this meter register "not worthy" when I take a swing at it? St. Paul calls out to me in this verse, telling me that in the eyes of the Lord, we’re all the same--each made in God’s image and likeness. It matters not what we may think of one another (or even ourselves!); God loves each of us the same and we are each granted equal access to Him.

This Lenten season, I vow to stop wondering if I "measure up" and instead ponder more important questions: Do I speak to my children often enough about the Gospel after Mass? Is God as much of a part of my family life as He should be? Do my children see Jesus through me? I reflect on this with the intention of deepening my relationship with the Lord and accepting and loving myself just as I am, just as our loving Father made me.

Faithful and Loving Father, keep me mindful of your blessed love for me especially when I am in doubt.

~Megan Perkins

Our Lady of Wisdom Parishioner

And we have a showing!!

Our ninth one. And Ms. Penny told me when we were signing the initial contract to list that the average is that for every nine showings you get one offer.

Here's hoping! Come through, St. Joe!

Miss Penny says I'm "brilliant".

I wouldn't go that far, but I do think what we've thought of is a good way to entice a new round of buyers ... paying the buyer's closing costs up to $5,000.

Please, God, let this bring the right family for our home!

P.S. Eleanor woke up sans fever (went to bed with 102.5) and hasn't had any rise all day. We've gotten several smiles and even a couple of "ahhhhs" (her way of getting our attention). God is good.
P.P.S. Jason's heading home tonight and I could not be MORE EXCITED.

Eleanor is still sick. Jason's doing better.

RSV test was negative at the pediatrician. We're in wait and see mode ... if she's still running fever on Thursday we'll go in for bloodwork and a chest x-ray.

I've seen her smile twice in two days. Hardly heard a peep from her except for whimpering and a few cries. I'm ready to have my happy baby back. (Since I started typing this she flashed me a smile and her fever's down to 100.4 so yay!)

We're waffling on the renting as it's just about the best time to buy in history. Dad called today to talk to me about it. His concern was that we're making decisions based on emotion (and exhaustion) which is true and that perhaps it's not the wisest move financially. I think he's right.

I called a housekeeper to come and give me a bid. That will alleviate some of the pressure I'm feeling. At least the deep cleaning would be done. She's coming by on Thursday so I look forward to that.

Eleanor is sick. So is Jason. I'm having a pity party.

Her fever was up to 103 last night and at some point during the night I'm certain it was higher (tho I didn't check) because her mouth was so hot it was physically painful to nurse her. Her breathing is starting to become a little labored and RSV is rampant in town right now. Missy, Elisabeth and Alicia all have babies with it and Carolina was in the hospital for three days because of it.

The good news is that she's nursing. The bad news is that she can't sleep. She just whimpers. It's very sad. The other bad news is that Jason, who we went to visit this weekend in Houston, just got diagnosed with bronchialitis/pneumonia yesterday.

We were already scheduled for her four month appt this morning so we're going in. Actually all four kids are scheduled this morning -- the older three to get their first Hep A vax (mandatory in TX). So I'm relatively certain I'll be leaving the ped's office with four miserable children.

What I'm praying for is that I'm not leaving the ped's office to go to the hospital with the baby. Please, God, let her be okay. And let us fight off this illness at home.

Ruth's has agreed to pay part of our rent for the next three months so I think we're going to go ahead and rent in Richmond, which is just south of the Westpark in Katy. We'll be close enough to Kane and Nicole, but far enough that the rent is a bit more palatable ($1500 a month; eek; and that's good!). Schools are rated highly in the neighborhood we're looking at so that's good. And then in 12-18 months, we'll go ahead and buy ... likely in Cinco Ranch.

I feel peaceful about the decision but sad at the same time. I just thought this process would go more smoothly. And I really hate the idea of renting (and MOVING AGAIN). But we'll get it done. I have to believe that there's a greater plan in all of this and there's a reason for it all ...