Recent Happenings

I'm a little behind on reporting what the girls have been doing. It's been quite busy around here.

If you didn't already know, we have had our house for sale. I am VERY happy to report that we went under contract at the end of March. The buyers are an incoming UNC resident and his wife and love our house and all the work we have put into it. We are very happy that someone who appreciates what we have done is going to be able to enjoy it. We are set to close the last week of May.

Of course, we didn't get quite as much as we would have hoped considering all the work we have done (remodeled kitchen, new bamboo floors, gorgeous landscaping (if I may say so myself)), but that's the market, so all in all we are happy.









We are especially happy because after 6 months and dozens and dozens and dozens of houses - we found the perfect house! We are so excited. It's 3100 sq ft. and has a garage, 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, a loft, a family room and living room AND a sun room which will be the girls' downstairs playroom. Of course - it also has a kitchen:-), a dining room and laundry room. There is also a nice sized yard (which needs a lot of clean-up and work, but I'm pretty excited about that!). There is already a play set with swings and a slide and the girls have already loved playing there when we have been over. It's an amazing house and we feel so lucky to have it. It had been on the market forever and the price had been lowered and lowered and lowered until it finally popped up on our radar. We got a great deal for the house so in this case, the market worked in our favor. We are closing April 26 and we can't wait! We will have a month to move from our current house (and two storage buildings) to our new house which will allow us to paint and put in some carpet and do a few other things. Personally, I can't wait to get my hands in the yard:-)

So, between cleaning and showings and cleaning and open houses and cleaning and cleaning and cleaning...we've been busy. We also managed to take a few trips and have a little fun - in between the cleaning...

Poppy and Nanny's (Feb 19-24)
We went to visit Poppy and Nanny for Poppy's birthday (23rd). It was a fun trip for the girls because of the remaining 2 feet of snow on the ground. The snow was less fun when we tried to leave a few days later, got stuck in the slush and had to call AAA... But, the girls had fun clomping around:-)

Natalie and Abby also had a great time taking a pony ride! We visited Poppy's friend at the stables she works out and enjoyed a great 30ish minute ride on two sweet ponies. Natalie was very excited about it. On the way to Poppy's she kept saying, "I want ride horses!" When asked if she wanted to ride the horse, she said enthusiastically, "yes!". She also seemed to have a natural gait - bumping up and down in rhythm to the walking. She loved every minute of it. I foresee riding lessons in the future...

Abby also enjoyed her pony - once she was persuaded to get on. It was just a week or so after she broke her clavicle, so we protected her arm well with a bandage and sling - and of course, made sure she didn't fall off. I couldn't see letting Natalie ride while Abby was forced to watch, and the risk seemed minimal. It was well worth it. She was fine and had a great time.

We had a great time celebrating Poppy's birthday with special cakes Auntie brought from a bakery in New York. Carrot, Strawberry and Chocolate. The girls went nuts for the chocolate. In fact, Abby had a mini-meltdown over it. Poppy tried to mix a little carrot cake in with the chocolate on her plate, and Abby would have absolutely none of that. She cried and cried - "chocolate, chocolate, chocolate!". Can't say they don't come by it honestly....

We also had a few eating breakthroughs in Luray. Pizza Hut had a fantastic lunch buffet that included a HUGE salad - for $4.99. The girls were free. They each ate almost 3 pieces of pizzas (well, most of each piece of pizza). I was ecstatic. Mindy's Mexican restaurant's Sunday special of 25 cent wings were also a hit. They loved them. It was pretty exciting for me to watch them eat like normal kids. It's great to feel like we are moving away from the frustration of eating challenges. I still worry about their weight when they don't eat well, but it's getting better and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

On our final day, the morning after we had to be pulled out of the snowy slush, we had a chance to visit Poppy's bus. For Natalie and Abby, all school buses are Poppy buses. Every time we see one they shout "Poppy's Bus, it's a Poppy Bus!" So, getting to sit on the real Poppy's bus was a treat. It was our second visit, but they loved it all the same. They picked out their favorite seats, checked out the back windows and joined Poppy in a rousing rendition of "The Wheels on the Bus". A new verse was added to the song: the Poppy's on the bus say "I love you". It was a great time.

We had a great time visiting with Poppy and Nanny and seeing Auntie. The girls love the mountains and country and are always so excited to see the roadside cows, horses and other animals. We are so lucky to have such a beautiful place to visit.


Ya-Ya and Grandpa's (Feb 27-28)
The end of February also meant some special time with Ya-Ya and Grandpa. Natalie and Abby had not spent as much time with them as usual because we had spent most of our time at my mom's with Mema. Staying with Ya-Ya and Grandpa is always fun. Ya-ya feeds them very well and always makes their special soup (and sends home some for Mommy too!). This time Natalie and Abby got to take their naps in the big bed - with a little help from Ya-Ya!

(Sorry there aren't any pictures of Grandpa. He suffers from the same syndrome Mommy does - the "no pictures of the picture taker" syndrome!





March

Looking back, March seems to have been filled with general silliness. The girls have a lot of fun playing together and watching them is so much fun.

The weather was mostly beautiful and we started taking lots of trips to the park - which the girls have grown to love with gusto. They have started saying randomly "I want to go to the park". One park has a great huge sandbox (with water features once the weather gets warmer). They love it. Abby has finally gotten very brave and started going down the slides by herself. Once particular day in March, she finally went down the slide all by herself with no encouragement and declared, "that was fun!" Then she did it a few more times:-) (On the right, Abby took some time out of her busy sliding schedule to check out a magazine someone left behind.




We also visited the Museum of Life and Science which is always a treat. They loved, loved, loved the animals. Old McDonald is one of their favorite songs and will shout "Old McDonald's Farm!" at all barns or barn shaped buildings. On this particular day, the newest little pig was quite active and they were able to rub his back and listen to him snort.


Natalie and Abby also love playing on our wrap-around deck - which is great for me. I can cook/clean in the kitchen with the front door and sliding door open and see the girls through the windows. We have a very strict rule about staying ON THE PORCH and not going down the steps. After a few time-outs, they adhere very well to the rule and have a great time. Sometimes I put bowls full of water on the porch and let them play. They also like to push their strollers around and around in a circle. It's a great way for them to be outside while I can still get dinner made!



March also seemed to be when Abby suddenly took to coloring with a vengeance. She became very enthusiastic about it and very deliberate about trying to color inside the lines. She is also very proud. Abby likes to declare, "I colored it myself!" Here's a brief video on her working very hard on Mickey Mouse's Christmas lights...


One of the funniest things Abby has said recently involves our neighbor's yard across the street.
Look closely...do you see the carrot for the bunnies?
Look again - it's a giant carrot - for giant bunnies!

Abby was looking across the street and said, "look mommy, a carrot for the bunnies..." I didn't understand her at first. Then I figured out what she was saying, and I thought it was hysterical. It's actually our neighbor's little boy's orange plastic baseball bat, but in the eyes of a child...


Here are just some cute pictures I got of the girls sleeping. Abby and the Wonder Pets and Natalie and her beloved Baby Bean and Elmo.




Grammy's (Mar 26-29)
At the end of March, we took our first weekend trip back to Grammy's since Mema died. We'd driven Grammy back when she came to stay with us right after the funeral but this was our first real trip back. It was strange for me without Mema there. She was always so excited when we arrived. She would often stay up later than usual just to be able to say hello to us. The girls brought her so much joy and her face lit up every time she heard their voices. I am so happy we could be there in her last months. And, I am happy she is with God and free of pain. But, I sure do miss her...

I was actually surprised that the girls haven't asked more questions about her, especially when we arrived. They seem to have accepted our explanation that she's in Heaven with Baby Jesus pretty well. It's good really. I'd rather have it that way than have them be sad and confused.

We had a great time hanging out with Grammy and Uncle Wayne (who went with us). Friday, we picked up some chicken and had a lovely picnic at the park. Franklin, by the way, has absolutely the best park I've ever seen. It's incredible - and the girls love it. We played there for the longest time. Natalie, true to form, managed to wander from the little kid part, down the hill to the big kid section. It was just a second and I saw her, so no freaking out please. She does tend to wander though. Give her a minute, and she'll take a mile.

They also had a great time playing with the ridiculous amount of toys left at Grammy's. I had forgotten how much we left. When I walked in, I swear, there were more toys there than at our house. Saturday afternoon, the girls also had a great time playing in the bird bath and chillin' in their cool blue chairs.

Sunday was Palm Sunday and we enjoyed a great service at Cowee Baptist Church. The choir there is amazing and I would have been happy to listen to them all day. Natalie and Abby had a great time in the nursery and no longer seem to throw a fit when left without us.

Grammy wanted very much to take a picture with the girls in their gorgeous dresses, but Natalie and Abby were very uncooperative. Only the baby doll and Raggedy Ann were willing.

The girls were willing to take a picture with me and we have a rare, and if I may say, lovely, picture of Mommy and her beautiful girls.


Checking over it, I realize this post is a little Abby-heavy. I think all the videos are about her. Sorry, Natalie. Tomorrow, I'll work on a Natalie post. I have some great videos of her dancing. But, I want to get this published (since I actually started it 3 weeks ago, and well, it's about March and it's now the end of April.) I'll try to do better keeping up...

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grrr...I spend a great deal of time trying to get the pictures in exactly the right places and make it all look pretty. Then, I post it and it messes it all up! I think the posting area is more narrow than the writing area. So, blogspot people, you should really fix that. So if the pictures look all strange and the writing is going every which way...blame the programmers and not me. I tried really hard...:-(