Our New House!

We have a house under contract!  Justin and I are both so excited about this and can't wait to move in and get settled, hopefully before little man arrives.  We aren't scheduled to close until October 10th (if everything goes smoothly) but I'm crossing my fingers all the paperwork gets completed on time and there are no delays. 

The whole process of looking for a house has been extremely frustrating.  Justin and I both had different priorities in a house and like most things in life, it was a challenge to find something we both felt was a fair compromise instead of a sacrifice for one or the other.  They say it's a buyers market nationwide, but that is not the case here in Tallahassee, FL.  In our price range, homes are going under contract in days instead of weeks or months.  We have missed out on several houses that would go under contract before we could see them, but we kept reminding ourselves that God was in control.  The good thing about looking at so many houses over the past couple months it that we knew a good thing when we saw it. 

This house was the second one we saw yesterday and while we were there, we found out another offer was going to be made.  I can't stand to be rushed into a decision, but neither one of us had any hesitation to make an offer.  We went straight to our realtor's office, wrote up our best offer, and heard back three hours later that it had been accepted!  As soon as we got off the phone with the realtor I starting crying, which surprised Justin, but I immediately had this huge sense of relief!  Now we will have different challenges as far as getting paperwork completed, inspections done, and then the closing, but they are welcomed challenges.

Here's a picture of our soon-to-be house on Green Crossing Drive (off Miccosukee Road):

FSMS Conference 2012

We just got back from our annual trip to the Florida Surveying and Mapping Society (FSMS) conference which was in Naples, FL this year.  I was really looking forward to this trip all year - especially since we've had several rough months recently.  Kate was so well behaved, which made it that much more enjoyable.  I feel like she and I haven't been able to spend much quality time together, so I was spoiled this week getting to spend the past six days with her. 

Gigi and Granddaddy were able to join us once again this year to keep Kate and I company and to watch Kate on the nights that I went with Justin to a conference event.  It makes such a difference for me having the extra help and I needed it more than ever this year, being 7 months (a few days shy of 8 months) pregnant.  Most afternoons Kate and I took naps, which is one of the benefits of being on vacation (to me).  One afternoon, I was tucking Kate in and started to leave the room and she she said "Mommy, get in your bed".  When I told her I wasn't lying down, she told me "That's not fair!".  Silly girl - she never fails to say something that makes me laugh. 

Ready to leave for the beach and wearing her favorite outfit (her purple dress).

Hanging out at the pool and the beach with Daddy. 

This was the first time that Kate loved the beach and didn't cry about the sand!

Wednesday night, the first big event of the conference, was a fish fry competition and kick off dinner.  This year, Daddy and Papa won!  Daddy also won the 2011-2012 Associate of the Year award (pre-licensed members) at the banquet on Saturday night.  This was the last year he qualified for the award since he just got licensed, and I am so proud of him! 

Kate loved all the water fountains around the hotel and the shopping malls.  She was much more cooperative taking pictures if it was in front of water.

Throwing coins in the hotel lobby's fountain - a new favorite of Kate's.

Shopping! 

I was pleasantly surprised at how well Kate did.  She took Granddaddy to every fountain at the mall and fell in love with the one where the ducks "lived".  I took advantage of Kate being willing to have her picture taken in front of the ducks so we all stopped and took a picture.

While we were shopping, Kate played and played with this manikin boy.  When I said it was time to go, she held his hand and asked me to take her picture.

 Before we left Naples, we were able to go and visit with Gaga and Scooby one afternoon, and with Nene and Pa on another day.  Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures at the Evers', but Kate gave me a brief moment where she was willing to pose for a picture with Gaga if I promised to let her see the picture - or as she says, "I want to see me".

Congrats again to Daddy for his big win and his award - we are so proud of you!  Thank you Gigi and Granddaddy for going with us again this year.  We can't wait for next year - which will be twice the fun with two kids!

Happy Birthday Granddaddy!

My dad celebrated the big 6-0 birthday a couple weeks ago and we were invited over to my parent's house to celebrate. Kate has recently become very interested in birthdays so she was excited to help Gigi with the cake and to help Grandaddy open his presents.

Happy 60th Birthday Granddaddy!  We love you!

July Update - It's Sold!

I'm finally taking the time to update the blog!  Since my last post, we finally accepted the offer on our townhouse and sold it on July 27th.  It was a very busy month of packing and moving.  We put in three offers (two on one house and one on another) but none have worked out so far so we're still house hunting.  It's disappointing not being able to find a house as quickly as we sold ours, but we know God's timing is perfect and the right house will come along at the right time.

Here are some of the pictures from our listing that I wanted to keep - it's sad to think that I will never go back to that house, but I'm also excited about what the future has in store.

In the meantime, Uncle Jordan and Aunt Katie have graciously taken us in.  It's been fun living with them and I hope we don't wear out our welcome anytime soon. I'm just so thankful we have family in town that is willing to let us move in!  I keep hoping and praying we will close on a house before baby E comes around October 20th, but God might have different plans for us.  It's not going to be fun moving into a rental place and then moving again into a house, but it is what it is.

June Events

Our family has been busy since my last post, but I have taken very few pictures to share.  The first big announcement is Justin passed his exams and is a Professional Surveyor and Mapper in the state of Florida!  He passed all sections of the exam the first time, which is a huge accomplishment.  I am so proud of him and excited to see where his career takes him in the future.  We celebrated with several friends a week ago, but I didn't take a single picture.

The second big announcement is our house is officially on the market. It hasn't been quite a week and we already received a (disappointing) offer, although it is an offer, so we'll see what happens. Justin and I are praying daily that God will guide our decisions and help us be confident in whatever we decide. It's a tough market right now and we are having to take a big loss, but I'm praying this will pay off when we get into a larger home at a low interest rate and in good school zones. I'm so attached to our humble abode, but I realize with baby #2 on the way we are quickly out growing this place.

This past weekend we celebrated Father's Day and Justin's 31st birthday, which were both on Sunday. I had worked a couple weeks ago on a "Daddy and Me" book for Justin and he said it was one of the best gifts he had ever received.

Happy Birthday Daddy and Happy Father's Day! 

We love you!

Memorial Day 2012

This past weekend, we traveled down to Naples over the long Memorial Day holiday. It had only been a couple days since I had been off the pump so I was nervous about how I would do. I still had low grade nausea, mostly in the evenings, and a couple dizzy spells but overall I was able to enjoy spending time with the extended Evers family. Aunt Melanie flew into Tampa to spend the weekend with us (sadly cousins Erin, Ryan and Uncle Evan weren't able to come) and Kate enjoyed picking up "Aunt Bell" at the airport on Friday.

We spent Friday afternoon, Saturday, and Sunday in Naples and then headed back to Tallahassee on Monday.  Needless to say I was exhausted by the time we got home since every weekend for the past three months I mainly stayed in bed.  But I was so glad we were able to go, especially since Pa and Nene have been in poor health.  We spent most of our time at Pa and Nene's house where Kate got to run around with her cousins, Emmalee and Zach.

 Fishing with Daddy!

 First Fish!

 Taking a cookie break from all the hard work fishing.

 Kate and her cousins - Zach and Emmalee

 Playing in the sprinkler.  Kate usually ran through once and did a lap around the yard before going back through the sprinkler.

One more day fishing - and it was successful!

It's a BOY!

We found out this morning we are having a boy and I could not be any more excited!  The pressure if off to have a boy to carry on the Evers family name.  Whew!  We brought Kate with us to the appointment this morning and both Gigi and Mimi were able to join us for the big reveal.  When the tech told us it was a boy, we started cheering and told Kate she was having a baby brother, which she immediately reponded to us by saying "baby sister".  Oh well! 

Here is the big sister-to-be wearing her cute shirt that Aunt Katie gave her.  It says "Guess Who is Going To Be a Big Sister? Kate!"

18 Weeks!

I was able to get my hair cut and colored this weekend and am on my second day without the pump - so you may not recognize me in this picture!  I still have my rough times in the evenings but I'm doing SO much better than I was a couple months ago.  Hallelujah!  Three months is a really long time to be sick.