1st Night in the New House!

Today was something else! You know when you think back and you're like, "Did today really start off in that way? SO MUCH has happened since then!!" :) Today was one of those days. We started off in the cottage, cleaning and finishing up with the packing. I gave Livi her last bath in that little 'ol tub :) We met Matt's dad at the new house to help him bring in my old furniture, aka Livi's new "big girl" furniture! Matt then went to meet the boys at the storage facility while Livi and I ran to Lowe's. Then it was back home for Livi's 1st nap in her new room...apparently she was as excited as I was because she slept for about 10 minutes...plus we kept having visitors at our door, so there was way too much going on and she didn't want to miss a thing! Once everything was moved in we grabbed some dinner and made sure everyone's cars/trucks/U-Hauls made it back to the right place...put Livi to bed (which went MUCH better than her nap since she was about as lively as a wet mop by 7pm)...assembled and re-assembled some furniture...brought in more boxes from the garage...ETC ETC ETC. I'm beat, though apparently Brooks has just found his 2nd wind - G'night!!!! :)

Every Woman's Marriage (my new Bible study)

So I just started a new Bible study w/some friends on Thursday mornings. I was ready for some "girl time" to chat, catch up, and maybe learn a few things about marriage. I knew Livi would love having some play time w/the other kiddos in the nursery at church, so it was a win-win situation! Then, Week 1 hit...

Not only is this Bible study going to be convicting, it may be downright scary to examine the innermost reasons why marriage can be so challengin sometimes, especially since the focus of this study isn't reforming Matt, it's reforming ME! The nerve! (sense the sarcasm)

So in light of the devastating blow I took in Week 1, I'm going to take a minute to journal what I've learned so far...
-I have to be happy w/myself before I can be truly happy in my marriage (Please don't get me wrong, Matt and I are extremely happy and secure in our marriage. But every marriage can use a little fine-tuning!)
-Matt was not meant to be my white knight in shining armor (I know, gasp, right?!) He cannot save me from all of my insecurities! (but he is still kinda my knight in shining armor:)
-Men need to feel like heroes to their wives. (AKA-I was taking dinner to a friend who had recently had a baby and I needed a serving dish that Matt had taken to the high school a week ago. Knowing I had to have it in order to transport the meal to my friend, Matt somehow came home during the day to deliver the dish! I don't know how he did it, but he did! I didn't make a big enough deal about his efforts - I need to remedy that!)
-Showing some grace to your hubby can make all the difference! When he has to stay at work late unexpectedly, don't assume it's b/c he's putting work ahead of you! He wants to be home more than he wants to be at work! Believe that!
-Make your home/your attitude something your hubby wants to come home to! I wonder sometimes when Matt and I talk at lunch and I'm stressed or just crabby if he ever thinks, "Well, tonight should be a blast!"

Little things make all the difference and this week I've decided to take charge w/ some of those little things. I'll let you know how it goes :)

When God Opens a Door...Walk Through!

So Matt and I have been praying A LOT about this whole house thing. For a while, nothing seemed to be working out and we wondered if selling our house and moving to the cottage was a huge mistake! God seemed to be closing every door!

1st the lot we bought to build on was horrible once it was leveled and prepped. The builder let us out of that contract and allowed us to pick another lot in the brand new phase of the neighborhood! Sounds good, right?! Well, the new lots were more expen$ive, the backyard still would have had a slope to it, AND they would not even start building til June - aka: a finish date of November or so. We weren't thrilled with this idea, but we knew we wanted this house and we wanted to be in this neighborhood, so reluctantly we agreed. The contract was supposed to be faxed to Matt last Monday. By Wednesday, he still had not received a fax OR a phone call from the on-site realtor we'd been working with, which was odd b/c he's been amazing with keeping us informed. Matt called him and he said their computers were down and he couldn't get a proper contract printed, but he would send one as soon as he could.

In the meantime, I had a few rough days at the cottage, feeling claustrophobic and wondering how on earth we were going to manage once Brooks got here. I started to wonder if we needed to give up on the neighborhood (and forget getting back our earnest money) and look elsewhere, was that where God was leading us? Was that why nothing was working out? I started looking up new houses online and found one in the same neighborhood in which we were building! I sent the listing (along with a few others in other neighborhoods) to Matt. We went to see this new house and found many things about it we liked. BUT there were things about it we didn't like. The best part was that we could move in by the beginning/middle of April! The idea alone was worth a 2nd look so we went back with our realtor and she helped to point out some +/- aspects. We were almost ready to make an offer when we decided to go see it 1 more time with the on-site realtor who knew the house best.

While we were walking through, I jokingly mentioned another house in the neighborhood that was for sale. (I say jokingly b/c it was WAY out of our price range) He said that it was an amazing house and had been finished for about 3 weeks. He felt pretty sure that if we made a reasonable offer, he could work it out for us since we were willing to close before the end of March, which is the end of their quarter! We went and saw/fell in love with the house! It was amazing! It had everything we wanted and more! We tried not to get our hopes up, but we prayed about it and made an offer! Much to our surprise, they accepted! We signed a contract the next day, got the financing in order, and now we're just waiting to do an inspection and the final walk-through with the on-site realtor and contractor next week!

We truly feel the Lord's hand has been in all of this. The progression of open and closed doors is amazing. Every door we opened, the Lord shut - until this last house! All the doors flew wide open and even more have done so since we signed. The lesson in all of this is, when God opens a door, walk through! It may not pan out, but it may lead to another door that will! :) Be persistent in prayer and walk with confidence knowing that God will see you through, He will not give you more than you can handle, and He wants what's best for you!

First Days in the Cottage

So believe it or not, we did finally move! While the selling of our house has left a bad taste in our mouths, we are so grateful to have had our house sell in 2 months and to be living in a cute cottage on family land until our home is finished being built! While Matt and I were both a little nervous about how the new surroundings would effect Livi, she's been such a trooper! Not only that, we actually think this place is magical! Matt and I both are so stress-free and able to enjoy the little things like never before! We've spent more time on the floor playing with Livi and out on the farm enjoying nature than we have doing anything else! We've put the computer away (except for my blog and e-mail...and Facebook) and our once "couldn't live without" TV shows are an afterthought (mainly b/c we're too impatient to sit through commercials now that we've been spoiled by DVR, which we lack out here!)

I've spent more time reading than I have in years, especially my Bible. It's like we've been given a new set of eyes to look through, and a chance to mellow before Brooks arrives in 11 weeks! What a gift from God! The gift of time! It sounds so simple, yet we so often take it for granted in the craziness we create in our lives.

Enough ranting...just wanted to document this feeling of serenity (mainly to refelct on once our house is further along and needs more attention/visits to the site and our lil' man gets here and I'm running 90 mph to keep up with it all!)

Last Night at 240 Autumnview

SO tonight is our last night in our sweet little house. If you've been in it, you're probably wondering why I would ever be sad to leave it! Here are a few of the reasons...

*It was our 1st house*We found out we were expecting both times in this house*We spent our last afternoon with Papa in this house*Livi's 1st birthday parties were here*While eating dinner one night at our kitchen table Matt decided to go back to grad school and we spent MANY hours studying together for his classes in this house*We were here when Matt received the call about his "big promotion" to high school administration*Livi had her 1st bite of food, 1st crawl, 1st steps, 1st tooth, etc in this house*Here we've grown together spiritually and in every other way*We brought Livi home to this house*We've memorized every sq. foot of wall, ceiling, and floor while painting and laying down hardwoods*We've cooked thousands of meals together*We love our neighbors (especially the little old lady we used to think was mean...turns out she just thought I drove too fast in the neighborhood! :) She LOVES Livi)*

The list could probably go on and on. We've made so many memories in this house. We've truly been blessed. And while I know the Lord won't forget who we are when we're living somewhere else, it just seems to me that we've enjoyed some of life's greatest highlights while under this roof!

I'm going to finish packing and go out to dinner with Matt and Livi (since I packed all the cookware!)

Christmas 2008

Livi was so excited about Christmas this year! She loved opening all of the presents - wrapped or bagged, it didn't matter to her :) It was hilarious to watch! Matt and I made sure we took extra time with her over the break, seeing as it's our last without her lil' bro! We had such a blast and hated to see it end!!!!

Livi loves her spaghetti!

Opening gifts at the Warren's :)

Christmas in Ashburn :)

Are all of these for me?!?!

Livi's 1st trip to Charleston! She had a blast chasing the birds on the pier and walking through the Market :)

Brooks Matthew Warren!!!!

Soooo, today we had our doctor put the new baby's ultrasound picture in a sealed envelope for Matt and I to open on our dinner date! It was TORTURE having it in my presence all morning, so I took it to the car in the afternoon. It sat there until we left for downtown :) We arrived at Blue Marlin and barely ate a bit of bread before deciding to open the envelope! (Matt had wanted to wait until dessert! HA!) We opened it and read "Livi's lil' BRO"!!!! We could not believe it! I had been having 'boy' dreams all along, but since I was wrong about Livi, I figured I was wrong about this lil' peanut, too! But I was right!!!! :) We hugged, and cried, and hugged a little more. Then we literally sat silently for a few minutes, thinking about what had just been revealed to us and how our lives would never be the same! We decided to wait and call family when we were finished with dinner...which we gulped down! We were so ready to tell everyone! Brooks Matthew Warren! BMW! Beamer! "Brooksy" (said in a New York baseball fan-type voice!) God is so good and we're so blessed to have a healthy lil' one on the way! YAY!

Silly Wake Up :)

I just happened to have my camera with me when I woke Livi up this afternoon. She was in the most hilarious mood! She decided to hug each of her stuffed animals, falling over and laughing after each hug :) This must have gone on for 10 minutes - I was wondering if she would ever want to get out of her crib! Such a sweet pea :)

Sleepin' the day away :)

Lovin' that thumb!

There's that sweet smile!

I love it when she wakes up like this :)

Awww, love the pig!

And then fall over :)

Awww, love the bear!

And then fall over and laugh hysterically! :)

Almost There!

Well, I thought I would write a quick note (mainly so I won't forget) about how today (11/18) Livi walked with only 1 hand for guidance! We were practicing in the kitchen, when all of a sudden, she saw 1 lone birthday balloon still going strong, and reached for the string. In no time, she was walking and holding the string at the same time! She didn't even know it! I know it's not quite "walking", but it's closer than ever! :) YAY! :) Ok, that's it. Bye!

Livi's 1st Birthday!

It's so hard to believe, but Livi just turned 1!!!! We celebrated with 2 different parties - 1 for her little friends and 1 for family. Both were so much fun and she enjoyed every minute! We are truly blessed! :)

All the girls trying to figure out the "Match-a-Month" game :)

More guests arriving!

Dana and her sweet Anna Kate, who just had her 1st birthday a few days before Livi!

YAY! Aunt Jenn made it! Livi went right to her and would not let her go!

Livi was in no mood for more pics, she wanted that cake! :)

And...she...got it! :)

Precious Sydney got some cake, too!

Trace and Blythe decided they wanted some of the "Big Kid" cake :)

The Player Fam - Winners of the "Match-a-Month" game! :) YAY!

Now on to Livi's Family Birthday Party :) It was a special day for many reasons...My grandparents and aunt and uncle from south GA surprised us all by driving over 10 hours to attend Livi's party! What a blessing! Also a blessing was our time with Papa, Matt's grandfather who went home to be with the Lord (and to be reunited with his dear wife) early Sunday morning after Livi's party on Saturday. We are so grateful he was able to be surrounded by family and friends in his last hours. God is so good!

Livi with my Grandmama - her Great Grandmother from south GA :)

A shot of the spread

Livi with my mom, Grammy :)

Livi thought it was really funny when her Uncle Drey got on the floor to play with her new toys!

YAY for cake!

Priceless face ;)