Moving Days

Thursday was moving day! Shelley was so nice to keep Mary Ella while the movers unloaded. To see what ME and Emma were up to that moring click here.

By the time little miss showed up, they were almost done! And by the afternoon Joe, Rita, and Randy were here and ready to help unpack! ME really enjoyed having everyone around. She showed out all weekend!

By the end of day one we had most of the kitchen unpacked and furniture arranged.

End of Day 2- still feeling good. We had the kitchen done, surround sound working, and hot tub installed.

End of Day 3- feeling tired. BUT lots of progress made. ALL furniture arranged, ALL boxes unpacked, ME's room done, dining room finished, garage arranged, TVs installed and working, internet and phone set-up, ME's chandelier hung, furniture dusted, floors swept.

We took a break to have a yummy supper at Hamil's. And I can't speak of all the progress without thanking the folks that made it happen. Randy worked nonstop on all things electrical and handy jobs. Joe unpacked more boxes than anyone and single-handedly arranged the garage. Rita did a little of it all- unpacked, put up, cleaned. We were all on our feet way more than usual! And we are pooped! We said goodbye this morning to Gigi, Papa, and Ranjo. Thank y'all so much, and I promise the next time you come down I won't make you do a thing but play with Mary Ella!

First Sunday in our new home!

We still have a long way to go and stuff piled in the unfinished rooms. But it's so helpful to have everything out and staring at me...I think it will get done faster that way. Today I finished our room, bathroom, closet, and did laundry. I'd say it's been a very productive few days!

#4

We are homeowners! For the 4th time! Four houses with four apartments in between equals three moves across statelines in less than eight years of marriage. Whew! It went something like this: Arkansas-Mississippi-Arkansas-Mississippi. Makes me tired just thinking about it! Moving is alot of work, but getting everything settled and in its place is my favorite part! We love our new home, and it has some history. The neighborhood is just across the street from our old neighborhood. It is a newer subdivision, and when houses started being built I drove through often to check it out. Brad and I made a hobby out of looking at open houses when we lived in Madison before. It's not that we were unhappy in our home, we just liked looking and getting ideas and dreaming bigger for the future. So, I first visited this house in 2007 right after it was built. I fell in love with it! And with the builder. He has such good taste, kind of like me, ha! Anyway, he kept building in the neighborhood, so I would drive through and try to get in to see his houses, but sometimes they would sell before they were finished. He is very popular! I knew one day I wanted to either buy one of his homes or have him build for us. So, I always remembered this house as my first introduction to Ken Crusoe. And when we found out we were moving, I was thrilled to find it on the market! I tried not to get my hopes up, because so much could have gone wrong. But I secretly imagined us moving in here all along to psyche myself up about the move. Now I feel so blessed to call it our home!!! God has truly taken care of us each time we have taken a leap of faith. He has blessed us with wonderful church homes, Christian friends, amazing jobs, one very fine little munchkin, and beautiful homes. Can't wait to make it home-y!

Mary Ella checking out her new room!

And her very own bathroom!

And her new closet!

Silly girl

She is loving running through the empty house like a wild woman! Tonight we got some help from friends with moving our stuff out of the apartment. Tomorrow ME and I will probably spend the day at the house unpacking that stuff and trying to figure out furniture arrangement before the movers come on Thursday. So excited!

I am sad to say I cannot end this post on a happy note. My heart is breaking for some very dear friends of ours that lost their baby at almost 14 weeks pregnant. I don't know if I should mention names, but please say a prayer right NOW. God knows who you are talking about.

Zoo Date

Today we met Shelley, Jack, Emma, Rebecca, Cullen, and some new friends at the Jackson Zoo for a playdate. It is seriously like spring has sprung here. I hate to say it because it might get cold again, but the weather has been gorgeous. All the animals were out to play!

Up close and personal with the tiger

Look!

Bff's, Mary Ella and Emma

The bears got so close too!

Loved the sea otters!

Sweet Emma

She thinks she is as big as Jack!

Cullen is so sweet to ME!

Turtles!

Jack, Shelley, and Emma

She loves the carousel!

Rebecca and Cullen

This monkey was sitting pretty.

And this peacock was just roaming the zoo. Fun day!

Corbin turns 2!

Today we celebrated Corbin's 2nd birthday at his firetruck party. He is such a cutie! We met the Cofers right after we moved to Mississippi the first time in 2005, and they have been great friends ever since. We were here when Lillie was born, and I taught her Bible class when she was itty bitty. She seems so big now that we have moved back! You can see her above taking care of Mary Ella...she was afraid Corbin was going to play too rough. And now I'm teaching Corbin in ME's Bible class. We were so proud to celebrate this special occasion with them!

ME wasn't too sure about the bouncy house at first.

Hmm...

Jump!

This is fun!

Driving Corbin's tractor

Happy birthday, Corbin!

Thanks, Aunt Nancy!

These pics are for Aunt Nancy. She made Mary Ella several pieces for her birthday including this skirt, another skirt, a pair of pants, a jacket to match, and lots of bows. We have really enjoyed them, and I will be sad to put them away this spring- they are corduroy. Handmade things are always so special to me! I treasure every piece ME has been given. Thanks so much Aunt Nancy! You are a wonderful seamstress just like Grandma Harriman! Makes me wish I had taken lessons!

This is her silly "cheese" face!

ME is so excited because we tried a new self-serve yogurt place today called CeCe's. It was yummy and so cute! The decor was precious, and the little man working there was so nice to help me with my stroller and bags and yogurt. We will definitely be going back there. It beats Orange Leaf out of the water!

Happy customer!

Build-a-Monkey

These pics are for Gigi and Papa. They sent Mary Ella a sweet Valentine card with a gift card to Build-a-Bear, so that's what we did today. We chose a monkey because that's what Papa calls her, and I bet you can guess why we chose the outfit. ;)

So fun! Thanks Gigi and Papa!