Living Our Dream Life

One More Offer

2013-05-21T21:18:00.001-06:00

We placed another offer today. It is a bidding war again. I had an awh-ha moment. Most people bid with pretty whole numbers that have zeros after the thousands place. So... we went slightly higher than the pretty numbers with random digits in every place value. And now we pray. Pray. PRAY!!! This house is not exactly what we want. Ok. The layout does not even come close to what I actually

Devin's Data: ELEVEN months

2013-05-16T07:29:00.000-06:00

Devin was not thrilled to have to lay on his back! Weight: 21.56 pounds Height: 30 inches (he is a tall boy!)Clothing Size: mostly 6-9. If I buy something, I buy it bigger so it will last for a good long while!Diaper Size: threeMilestones: he prefers to walk everywhere now. He climbs up stairs by himself and I never taught him. I have no idea how he learned! He can step down stairs as

A Sigh of Relief

2013-05-15T06:49:00.000-06:00

We heard back on the house that needs some a lot TLC. With the seller's agent accepting all offers and then choosing the best, ours was not chosen. Someone out bid us. Our agent first told me that he had some bad news. Truthfully I was so grateful to hear that our offer was not accepted. As I thought about it, I did not want to deal with it. There were several problems that we already knew of but

The Life of a Mother

2013-05-12T11:22:00.000-06:00

Eleven months ago when my itty bitty baby was placed into my arms, I knew I loved him. Seeing his eyes and snuggling him close. And knowing that he was mine forever. I was exhausted but couldn't sleep because I was a mother. As Baby Bunny's first year has past. The love inside of me grows even deeper. His smiles. His waves. His cries. Coming to me. Sitting on my lap. Refusing to

Our Safety Net

2013-05-05T11:15:00.000-06:00

Yesterday we found another short sale house that was in our price range and the style I want. We wanted to be in primary position with the offer so submitted an offer before we saw it. After our agent had our offer turned in, we went to see it. The house is cute. Very small. But clean and smells clean and move in ready. However because it is a short sale, we won't be moving until fall at

Con-GRAD-ulations!

2013-05-04T07:43:00.000-06:00

Last August, Casey officially earned is Associate of Science in Information Systems & Technology. We were not planning on having him graduate with his A.S. degree. But last summer as he was applying for jobs, he was not getting any interviews. One company told him something about being under qualified and that he needed some education or experience to back him up. Well, Casey started looking at

The Silent Bidding War

2013-05-02T07:05:00.000-06:00

We found another house that we like. Well, mostly like. It needs some TLC before we could move in so that part we don't like so much. But it has the potential to be liked! :) I placed an offer on it yesterday before Casey had even seen it. After work, we went together to go see it. But I feel like we entered a silent auction. Seriously. We found out later that the seller's agent is

Nonverbal Communication

2013-04-30T07:19:00.000-06:00

I remember a young toddler in our student ward that had one form of communication. Screaming. I also remember talking to the mom and telling her what I had learned in some of my child development classes. Supposedly, you can teach a screaming toddler to talk or at least sign. Lesson learned. I will never share textbook answers with anyone without real life experience as back up. Devin is just

Memories

2013-04-24T07:33:00.000-06:00

Casey and I were watching the sweetest movie the other night, "Love Begins." And I fell in love with this quote by Clark Davis, the main character. "Memories are what our lives end up being. We gotta hang on to the good ones. Let the bad ones go-- never let 'em haunt us." These are some of the memories I'm hanging on to!! I absolutely LOVE this!! He

Verge of Tears

2013-04-19T15:59:00.001-06:00

Short sale homes are a LOOOOOONG process. And ours doesn't seem to be getting any faster. I'm on the verge of tears. I just talked to our real estate agent and unfortunately, he doesn't know very much because he is just the messenger. All of the communication with the bank goes through a negotiator who then talks to the seller's agent. The seller's agent then tells our agent who then tells us.

Praying!

2013-04-17T14:42:00.001-06:00

I hear about the tragedy in Boston. I read about a friend whose baby is in ICU. I watch as people I love go through a separation. When I think about the trials that others are going through, it makes mine seem insignificant. But we need your prayers. I just talked to our agent. We are still in the housing limbo land with no news yet. But the problem is that housing prices are going up. And if

The Awaited Phone Call

2013-04-16T08:20:00.001-06:00

Generally, we have a rule that we don't answer the phone during dinner time. That is family time and we treasure being together. But last night my phone rang. I saw it was our real estate agent. And we have been anxiously waiting for his phone call. So I make an exception to our family dinner togetherness time and answer the phone call. "Hi Lisa. How are you?" I didn't even answer the

The latest and greatest...

2013-04-13T17:15:00.001-06:00

It has been a while since I written much. Here are a few brief tidbits... 1. We still don't know what is going on with our (hopeful) house. We keep being told by Friday. And then the week after again we are told by Friday. Friday continues to come and go. Passing week by week with no answers. We do know that the bank has reviewed our offer. And they are sending a package to the seller's agent

Devin's Data: TEN Months

2013-04-09T09:33:00.001-06:00

Not the greatest picture.But Devin wanted absolutely nothing to do with laying down. Every time I tried to lay him down, he rolled over then sat up instantly.He just wanted to play and explore. Weight: 21.6 pounds Height: 29.25 inches Clothing Size: either 3-6 or 6-9 depending on the brand. Diaper Size: 3s Milestones: stands by himself for a few seconds and takes ~4 steps

Momma called the Dr. & the Dr. said...

2013-04-01T09:04:00.000-06:00

...No More Mommy Running on the Road Saturday March 23. Oh my goodness. This day has such a sweet memory. Casey watched Devin while I went running in the morning. It was still cold-ish from the snow the previous day. So I bundled up. Two pairs of pants, a jacket and a hoodies, mittens, ear muffs, tall socks. I was set. It was wonderful. I ran for 20 minutes straight. And it was one of the

By Friday...

2013-03-27T07:12:00.000-06:00

So I'm not holding my breath for the next two days. But we are expecting some housing news by Friday. Whether this is good news or bad news, I don't yet. We are just expecting news. I texted my agent yesterday to ask him what the latest was with any of our offers. He informed me that the bank has finished their appraisal of the house that we have the primary offer on, the same house that we

The Pediatrician's Advice: one treat per week

2013-03-25T07:58:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago when I was talking to our pediatrician, he was asking about what foods Devin was eating. And for the most part, he is eating pretty much what we eat. Except when he is teething and then his diet basically consists of yogurt and crackers/ cheerios. I asked the doctor how old Devin should be before he could eat sweets. And he said it was fine to let him try them right now. But.

The Symbols of Easter FHE Lesson

2013-03-24T08:47:00.001-06:00

Preparation: Cut out and color the pictures for The First Easter Bunny Story. Make hard boiled eggs then write the words Faith, Hope, Charity, Kindness, Forgiveness, Reverence, and Love with a white crayon Opening Song: 199 He Is Risen! Opening Prayer: Scripture: Mosiah 16:7-9 Lesson: Read “The First Easter Bunny” Story * Show the different pictures as you read the

The First Easter Bunny (Symbols of Easter)

2013-03-23T11:01:00.000-06:00

This story is part of an Easter FHE lesson that we will probably have every year. Click HERE for the entire lesson outline. But in the mean time... you will need to print off the Symbols of Easter pictures then color and cut them out. On the back of mine, I placed a strip of magnet to make it a bit more interactive. Please note: this story is completely fictional. But I love it!! It helps

A Housing Update

2013-03-22T08:15:00.000-06:00

Wednesday was an eventful day in our home buying process. Long story short... we are still waiting and praying. I found all of the forms and documentation required for the down payment assistance program then made an appointment to turn everything in. They city would not accept it because we are not actually under contract yet. I told him that our lender told us we had to turn it in as soon as

30 Minute {HEALTHY} Rolls

2013-03-20T11:07:00.001-06:00

I forgot to take a picture until after dinner :) Hence the reason there are not many left... The 30 minute rolls are all over pinterest. I didn't realize it but last Thanksgiving, I posted a very similar recipe for instant rolls. These things are seriously the best because they are fast and delicious and FAST. It is like having a homemade Rhode's bread dough--but in some ways even faster

I Stopped Counting Calories

2013-03-18T11:21:00.000-06:00

This may not be the best way to loose weight for everyone. But it is working for me. I stopped counting calories. When I count calories, it turns into an absolute obsession on my part. And I end up counting and recounting calories several times a day--just to make sure that I stayed in my calorie budget. It was not working. So I stopped. Altogether just stopped counting calories. And I no

an AMAZING produce sale!

2013-03-15T14:37:00.000-06:00

Fact: produce is normally expensive Fact: you should have five servings of fruit or vegetables everyday Fact: those two previous statements normally counter each other; it costs too much to eat healthy Allow me to introduce you to another fact: today I bought all of the produce pictured above for $10.30. Yes. All of it. $10.30. 1 honey dew melon 1 baking potato 2 cauliflowers 2 jicamas 2

9 Month Check Up

2013-03-15T07:15:00.000-06:00

Do you see that black cord that connects to the scale? Really this picture should have been taken with Devin yanking and chewing on it. It was quite the struggle to get him to not touch it. He LOVES cords!! It was so hard to get a semi-decent picture because he would roll over back to reach for the cord super fast. Weight: 20.31 pounds (46%) Height: 28.5 inches (apx 70%--it was mismeasured

Devin's Data NINE months

2013-03-11T12:42:00.000-06:00

Only a couple of days late... :) Devin would NOT lay still to take a picture. I finally convinced him to stay for a few seconds by letting him chew on a different domino. He just wanted to sit up and eat the domino. Weight: We will find out tomorrow at his check up. Height: {ditto} Clothing Size: it really varies depending on the brand. Generally 3-6. Some 6-9. He still fits into 0-3