It's A Done Deal: Closing Day

We're home baby girl!!!

Holy macaroni!!! All I can say is I'm glad Riley did all of the dirty work with making this closing happen today because I may have lost my mind in the process had I been in charge. Today was the day that we began the next chapter of this crazy thing called LIFE. Nearly one year has passed since our lives were turned upside down and we've been working slowly but surely toward turning it right side up again. And here we are....finally leveling off and so close to being in the comfort of our OWN HOME. We've never been so excited to have a mortgage payment as we are now!!! I don't know how the bank, realtor, abstract company and Riley pulled if on in two days but they did! It turns out that the bank did not start the underwriting process on our loan until Monday. Yes, yesterday. I'm convinced that they wouldn't have started on it had Riley not called to check on the status. He spent most of Monday gathering documents and paperwork and so on and so forth to send to the bank. Last night we found out that the seller was out of state and hadn't signed the deed which is something we had to have in order to close today. We were also waiting on the appraiser to send in his paperwork from the appraisal which was done ten days ago. The holiday kind of put a kink in things. Hallie and I kept ourselves distracted all day trying not to think about whether or not this was actually going to happen today. Lots of errands and Christmas shopping. After taking a stop by my work office we decided to surprise dada with some breakfast at his office. The moment the elevator doors opened Hallie had figured out where we were and she excitedly whispered "dada."

Miss Priss

Shoving her face with donut holes

We spent the afternoon at Nanny and Papa's house while Hallie napped and I did some more work on my super secret project. We had a very entertaining lunch once Papa got home. Hallie showed off her Nanny day routine where she runs to her chair and straps herself in for lunch and clasps her hands together to prepare to pray.....basically she was starving and wanted us to hurry! We get the drift girl. ;) By afternoon the bank had approved everything for closing but we were waiting on the seller to confirm that they had mailed the deed paperwork which had been emailed to them. Around 4:00 in the afternoon we finally got word that everything was a go....so off we went!!! Hallie was in a great mood and for very good reason. She was ready to sign her life away.....

"Just tell me where to sign. It doesn't have to be legible does it?"

The process took only twenty minutes and we couldn't have been more pleased with the work of our realtor and the title company. Wahoo!! They are all rockstars!! We walked to the car with permanent smiles fixed on our faces. Even Hallie caught the excitement bug and was squealing on our way to the new house. Ok, it may have had something to do with her video playing in the backseat but I pretended that it was about seeing her new room. Leave it to emotional mama to burst into tears as we pulled into the drive. I'd done this numerous times before in the past month but this was different. This was OUR HOUSE NOW!!! I hopped out of the car and we gave Riley a big ol welcome home hug. :) Hallie didn't hide her glee one bit once we got out of the car......

"And this is where I'll put my pony..."

The key!!

Hallie didn't seem to be intimidated by all of the space when I let her down to roam. She wandered freely and let out several squeals while she ran from room to room.

"So this is where we will put my playgym, right?"

"On second thought, this might be a better place for my crib. Cartoons anytime I want"

To say we are happy would be a gross understatement. I couldn't stop taking pictures!!

It still hasn't sunk in that this is our house. I even went back tonight after Riley returned from getting started on ripping up the carpet. The more I wandered the more I fell in love. The more I could picture us in this home for years to come. The more I smiled.

We have a LOT of work ahead of us....but first things first we are trying to get organized. Our main goal is to take our time and make it just the way we want. Problem is neither of us are good at taking our time....hence Riley getting all of the carpet ripped out in 90 short minutes tonight. On the list of to do's for the next couple weeks are getting new carpet that Hal and I picked out about a month ago, painting all of the trim, doors and closets, picking out paint colors for all of the rooms and forcing ourselves to get to painting (the tall ceilings terrify me just thinking about tackling them). Stripping off wall paper (yes, wall paper in the bathroom. EEEK), picking out new hardware, light switch covers, door knobs and mirrors for the bathrooms. The list goes on but that is all I can wrap my mind around right now. No doubt I will be giving a play-by-play as we make our way into our home. Our goal is to be sleeping under the roof by Christmas. More specifically, December 22nd is our arbitrary "deadline." Our "for real deadline" is December 31st to avoid having to pay another month's rent. No thank you. I have a feeling that we will probably by in the house in a couple of weeks at the speed that Riley moves when it comes to man projects. He's already in heaven....and so am I. ;)

Seriously!? Sixteen Months!!

Dear growing baby girl,

I may as well be honest and get one thing out on the table to begin. It is 9:30 p.m. on November 27th and I just realized that today is your 16 month birthday. Shame on me, shame on me! But don't feel too offended because we have been very busy lately. Some very exciting events are on the horizon and I for one am ecstatic for YOU!! Why? Because I'm ready for you to finally be settled into a real home. You have been a trooper through the chaos that this past year has brought and someday you can say that you moved four times in one year. You have much more grace that I could ever dream of having. Your little self exudes nothing but love and understanding. And I love you so much for that. Once again I'm ready to write you a love letter......

How do you know when Hallie really, really likes something??? This is an easy question. When she chooses it over eating.....

I don't think I've ever laughed at something you have done as hard as I did the other night. Here's the story....

We got home pretty late for a Friday evening. We barrelled in the door with pizza box in hand and you on my hip. A hungry baby I might mention. I thought you were hungry for food but apparently you were just craving some books. I quickly cut up the piece of pizza I'd promised you on the way home and placed it in front of you. Instead of scarfing it down you squirmed and begged to get down. I let you down but was still very puzzled about why you didn't want to eat. You ran straight to your room, picked out and a book and brought it to me. I entertained you with a couple of books but knew that you needed to eat something before bed or you'd be starving in the middle of the night. I figured we'd try the pizza thing one more time. When you continued to stick your nose up at it I decided to offer a "nana." You squealed and squirmed with approval. Score!! If it's a banana you wants, a banana you gets. I began to put small pieces of your favorite food on your tray. This is what had me giggling so much....you proceeded to carefully piece by piece push your yucky pizza over to the corner of your tray so that your banana wouldn't touch it. Seriously?!?! Where do you learn this stuff!?

"You can go ahead and feed that stuff to the dogs now...whatever you do just get it off my tray"

Soon even the banana was not enough to stifle your real craving.....you had some reading on your mind! After a quick change into your jammies and a fresh cup of milk and the usual search for your binky we were finally ready for snuggle/book time. So many choices that you selected for me to choose from.....

"Here, I'll make it easy on you. Read this one about colors for the forty millionth time. K?"

It's funny that you are back on such a strong reading kick because I was just about to mention your recent disinterest in reading. I would've spoken too soon because you are back to the bookworm you've always been. And when you aren't reading you are finding your way to the car and standing by the back passenger door where your DVD player is. Seriously, how do you know this!?!? You are like my little baby genius that leaves me in amazement each and everyday.

Your feet are growing almost as fast as your brain. Your chubby little tootsies seem to outgrow shoes like it's their job. Size 4 and 5 shoes are even too snug for you sometimes. I'm still on a search for the perfect pair of boots for your boxy feet. I lovingly refer to them as dinosaur feet. You love to wear your tennis shoes but you are not so hot on your cutesy church shoes. Those are usually removed before we can drive the half mile to church. I can always count on you to be my helper when it comes to clothing your feet with socks and shoes. In fact, you insist on attempting to put one sock on until giving up and handing it to me. Your clothes range from size 6-12 months to 12-24 months. Jackets tend to last a lot longer because you have short arms. Pants of course are tricky because of your short squatty stature. Shirts are even trickier because the sleeves are too long yet fit your belly just fine. But trust me baby girl, you have plenty to wear despite the size issues. Your dad seems to think that we both have way too many clothes for our own good. I call it a good selection. Every girl needs that. ;)

You are willing to lend a helping hand in any situation. You love to deliver objects to people when asked (and sometimes voluntarily), you are now a pro at throwing trash away in the waste basket, you love to retrieve diapers and lotion for our nightime routine, and you give hair brushing your best shot each morning. Independence is slowly creeping up on us and I don't think I'm quite yet ready to that. Your ability to learn new things never stops amazing me. You mimic out actions and our words. You want to do the same things we do. This both scares me and excites me. Not that your dad and I go around doing and saying things that we don't want you to see, but it's becoming much more apparent that we need to be aware that you are taking in everything, and I mean everything , around you. Here are just a few of the funny things you have started to do that put smiles on our faces:

*you can dance on command
*you mock noises that we make
*you love to have your dad tap your chin over and over to make a silly noise
*you wait by the pantry door to get a "cracka"
*you greet random strangers with a "hi" and "bye bye"
*you love to sit on your dad's chest and "ride the horsey"
*you love to slide by yourself
*you peek out at us through the plastic windows in your blowup princess castle
*you randomly snuggle your head in our neck when you get tired
*you feed your undesired dinner items to your doggy friends and laugh while doing this
*you bang your bottle against your crib in the morning and burst out in random laughter

Discipline has proven to be a very tricky subject this past month. Here's an example of why: you were playing on your mini slide one afternoon and decided to try out a different ( and more daring ) method of going down. You carefully teetered at the top of the slide debating about walking down it until your dad asked you to sit down. It must've startled you because you turned around and shot him a mean look which was followed by your signature monster-sized pouty lip and those poor alligator tears. I for one cannot handle the sadness of this face. Enough said. We are working on this though. :( To be more specific I'm working on saying no and meaning it. You are a good listener and respond well to the word "no" unless it is something you are dead set on doing....like walking down the slide. I guess you must've had your heart set on falling on your head because I think that's what would've happened. Just be that sweet girl I know you are and then we won't have to see that pouty lip anymore. ;)

Sleep is about the most consistent thing in your life. We can count on a good twelve hours and sometimes longer. You surprised me with a 9:00 a.m. wakeup time this past month. I could live like that every once in awhile sweet girl! You might sleep hard but that doesn't mean it's easy to get you to actually go to sleep. Although there have been several occasions when we've found you pulling on your cribs slats demanding to go to bed, it is not the norm. The norm is for you to cry for a good fifteen minutes while you bang on your crib with your cup and somehow manage to move your crib a foot away from the wall. There are those magical nights when you are so worn out that you literally pass out in my arms. We get a big laugh out of these nights while I carrying you in my arms and you let your body go limp as we near your crib. I get your message girl! ;)

Your mouth is more often moving that not. Mostly at home though. I guess you could say that your dad and I get the best of you. You tend to hide under your shell when out in public. You have started to show a bit of stranger danger behavior. But sometimes you even clam up around familiar people. You immediately place your hand in your mouth when you are uncomfortable. When you are in the mood for talking there are many new and sometimes very unexpected words flowing out of your tiny mouth. Here are just a few new words (some you say regularly and others we've only heard one time):

*diaper (cutest word ever! sounds like "die puh" with an emphasis on the end of the word)
*shoe (sounds like "chew")
*sock
*milk (you have only said it once and it sounded like "mill"
*binky (I'm not even sure I could spell out how it sounds but you are very consistent with what you call it)
*juice (sounds like "jew")
*hello (sounds like "hi-o")
*bye bye (this is always accompanied by a cute little wave)
*night (sounds like "nigh" and clearly lets us know you are ready for bed)

I am not sure if you really love crackers or if it's just one of the only foods you can request. Either way, you are OBSESSED with saying "cracka"....

"Cracka! Cracka!"

I always know when you aren't feeling in tip top shape. When you are having a crummy kinda day you can be found standing at the counter trying to reach for your medicine. Your bottom teeth have been slowly making their arrival over the past couple weeks which has resulted in some pretty uncomfortable evenings. You have the whole medicine and teething gel thing figured out for sure....

Trying to get a dose of medicine

It's no secret that car time used to be something I literally dreaded. If I knew we had a trip coming up I would be nervous for days leading up to it because I knew how trying it would be for you and I to make it to our destination with our sanity intact. But I have some wonderful news. Things have taken a 180 and you no longer make so much as a peep in the car. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!!! As a reward for your excellent car behavior we have been rapidly expanding your DVD collection. Your favorite at the moment seems to be Baby Brain which I need to find more of. You are enthralled by what it has to offer....and I'm just plain thrilled!!!!

Your famous DVD trance

You are now able to run on flat surfaces and sometimes down ramps. Some would call it more of a prance instead of a run but whatever it is, it's pretty stinkin' cute! Your little hands pulled up by your side doing the t-rex and your little legs high steppin' it....oh I can't get enough! Falls are pretty uncommon these days and you are able to go up and down small steps without holding onto anything now. I'm suddenly feeling like your physical therapist instead of your mom describing your movement patterns. Lol!

I am forever and always in love with you. This big LOVE only grows deeper and deeper every day. I still struggle with understanding how it's possible for my heart to literally expand when I hold you in my arms and smother you with hugs and kisses. With that being said, I only have one request for you my love......

Can you please stop being so smart? I'm afraid by next month you might have outsmarted your dad and I!

Love,

Mama

A Very Spaeth Thanksgiving

We finished off a fine Thanksgiving weekend with a long overdue Spaeth family holiday celebration. With a lot going on with the family this past year we haven't been able to all get together so we were looking forward to having everyone all under the same roof. We are always guaranteed an amazing meal when the Spaeth women are involved. Hallie caught wind of our lunch plans this morning before church.....

"More turkey?!?!?"

No turkey, baby girl. Today we had a yummy lunch on brisket and ribs waiting for us at Aunt Betty's house right outside of town. The only problem standing in our way was this.....

She was sacked out after early service at church and didn't seem to be feeling 100%. While I tip-toed outside of her door dreading waking her up, this is what Riley was doing.....

He was enjoying lounging around in his sweatpants and getting a little too heavy-eyed so I told him it was time to get up and get dressed while I worked on waking Hal up. As in every situation when we are in a hurry and he does not know what to wear (as if it really mattered) he took the opportunity to waste time making me laugh hysterically. My laughs were actually what woke her up and I soon found that her hair was dripping with sweat and her face was red. My first though was "please don't let her be sick!" because I was feeling like poo poo myself with a headache and stuffy nose. Getting dressed went semi-well and once we got her buckled into the carseat things were looking much better. Quick turn around time I'd say. No, Riley did not wear his suit jacket/Thunder t-shirt/ sideways cap combo....but only because I made him change. ;)

We had a great time out at Betty's house eating, catching up with family and playing outside. Although it was chilly with some serious wind, the sun was shining and Hallie had energy to burn. She spotted the big kids up the hill and headed that way with Aunt B....

"Follow me Aunt B...I won't steer ya wrong"

Justin was in his best kite-flying form as the big kids watched....

Hallie realized she had a lot of exploring to do in the yard and refused to stay cooped up indoors so we spent about 75% of the afternoon running around the place....

She settled for a bit of family time inside, mostly perched atop the fire place sitting next to cousin Eve....

Gman and his "twin", cousin Calley, slept the entire afternoon away in their chairs while everyone else kicked back and relaxed.....

Hallie's family role call: great aunt Betty, great aunt Alta & great uncle David, Gman, Aunt Bailey & Uncle Spencer; second cousins Justin & TeNeil, Kris & Calley, Jon & Keisha and Kara; third cousins Eve, Jude, Corbin & Peyton.

We had a nice relaxing afternoon despite spending most of it chasing around a very hyped-up Hallie Grace. I can just see the little wheels in her head turning thinking "geez, I can't wait til I'm a 'big kid'."

Our Black Friday....and Simple Saturday

I hope the title doesn't mislead you to think that I was standing outside in the cold or fighting people for the last flat screen tv or waiting in a line at Walmart that snaked through the store. No way. I really can't think of a single thing that would make me want to deal with the chaos that is Black Friday....or Thursday now it seems. I hope I'm not eating my words three years from now while I'm out on a hunt for the season's most desired toy. Online shopping it much more appealing to this girl. Cyber Monday, here I come!!! Don't get me wrong though, we did do some shopping. But it was in a calm environment and we waited in no lines. All of the hard core Black Friday shoppers must've been in bed catching up on sleep. Here's our story from the beginning......

As we were packing up to leave after Thanksgiving day with my family, the girls asked me if Hallie and I would be back over the weekend. I really hadn't planned on it as I'd been dreaming of relaxing at home. But the more I thought about it I thought it would be the perfect thing for Hal and I to do while Riley did his man activities like hunting and messing around in the garage. He insisted on us going and having some fun so we got up and around early Friday morning so that we could get to Enid with enough time left in the day. Hal started her day off with a breakfast of champions like she usually does. Nanny taught her how to tip up her bowl to drink the last bit of milk....she is still working hard to perfect this skill though....

Practice makes perfect

The milk continued to run down her chin even in the car ride. She was just having a milk beard kinda morning....

"Just tell me...are we there yet??"

 She was a sweetheart on the trip there and watched her Veggie Tales DVD and had some interesting conversations with herself. There's nothing more heart-warming than listening to her chatter non-stop in the backseat. By the time we got to Enid I was convinced that her chatter was simply her listing all of the foods she wanted to eat for lunch because she was STARVING!! We pulled into Lisa and David's house to find him and Garrett outside on the ladder putting up Christmas lights. Inside we found Lisa and Dara pulling out Christmas decorations from a stack of containers. Hallie played her usual h"and-in-mouth, I'm gonna act nervous for a little bit" role until we plopped a plate of ham and Thanksgiving leftovers in front of her. Nothing like some food to loosen Hal up. We spent about an hour with the girls before we went to see Gman and pick up Aunt B for some shopping. She was on a mission at Gman's. We had taught her how to feed the doggies their treats from the bag so she wanted to pass out treats of course.....

"One for you and here's one for you..."

I had called my dad earlier that day to tell him we were on our way and in the middle of our conversation I got an itch to revamp his tree. We have been cycling angels, candy and Coca Cola for as long as I can remember for my parent's tree theme....so I suggested that we get some new bling for the tree this year. I promised to do all the work with the help of the girls and we would have it ready for him in no time. My motivation was of course a pretty tree....but even more so that meant a trip to Hobby Lobby. The Christmas aisles just get my heart pumping!!! Aunt B joined Hallie and I in the car and we went to tackle Mission Gman Christmas Tree. It didn't take us long after we'd picked out some colors. We stayed on budget (kinda) and came away with stuff that would match his living room perfectly. Oh and the best part is that there were no lines and no busy aisles. The only hiccup we had was keeping Hallie from throwing the breakable ornaments out of the basket. Mission accomplished. We returned to Gman's house to find him in some pretty bad shoulder pain. He was begging me to help him with his shoulder but I had to tell him what I always do...."ICE THE DANG THING!!" So he did just that while us girls headed to the mall to meet Garrett, Dara and Aunt Lisa. Hallie appeared to have come to terms with the fact that she would be our shopping buddy for the remainder of the day and she settled into her content with an attitude persona.....

"Ya know Aunt B, I wouldn't mind so much if we stopped for a snack every once in a while"

"...and I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't make me wear these furry boots!"

I'm sure she was actually just getting sleepy but it's kind of fun to give her an attitude if you haven't noticed. We went on a hunt for some new baby fur boots because it didn't take long to find out that Hal's boots were a bit ill-fitting. She looked like a duck walking in the, poor baby! For the first time in my little girl's life she actually tried on shoes. It was so surreal watching her test each pair out and walk around the store in them. She can't be that big!!!! Noooo!!!! ;) In the end we didn't find a pair that big her boxy little foot well. We will keep on searching though. She was on her very best behavior which was perfect for meeting Santa. At least for that moment in time Santa saw her being nice instead of naughty. My sweet girl ended up having a blast during our shopping adventure. Mainly because Aunt Lisa and Dara didn't make her stay in the stroller. Hal and her fellow red-head entertained us while Garrett shopped for jeans......

The only time she wants her bow is if someone else is wearing it. ;)

Watching Garrett shop for jeans was entertainment in itself. He made sure to surface from the dressing room and "test out" each pair by doing squats, lunges and toe touches to check for fit. All of the running through clothes racks and being chased by Dara wore this girl plumb out....

She slept during our trip across town to drop Aunt B off at the repair shop then back across town to meet the gang at Lowes. Her little snooze was just what she needed to energize her for some more trying on boots....

"I think these are the ones!!"

"But seriously Garrett...where else can you tap dance on feed sacks?? I bet they don't have this kind of store in Florida, huh?"

We scratched Walmart off of our list because it was clear we weren't getting anywhere near there. Someone had called in a bomb threat and the whole place was deserted. Bummer because we were on a mission for a wagon. Lowes to Atwoods to Hobby Lobby....shopping was peaceful, traffic was bearable and our bellies were hungry!!! I didn't purchase a thing while we were out but that's okay by me. Like I said, Cyber Monday better look out!!! We settled in at Lisa and David's to relax a bit. I had lost Hallie's sippy cup somewhere in the hustle of the day so we improvised....

"Does this make me a big girl??"

I had assumed she would be a big fan of this new cup with a straw but she was quickly obsessed. She drank down an entire cup in no time flat. Gman went a mission to buy a new sippy cup while we all chowed down on some Papa Murphy's that Lisa and Dara had picked up. I love that place....

Hallie was less worried about dinner for once and more interested in her new cup....

She had quickly transformed into one of Santa's little elfs. A mighty mighty cute one if you ask me....

There is something about her Santa hat that makes it hard not to pick her up and smother her with kisses! Speaking of kisses, Hallie seemed smitten by Mr. Snowman earlier in the day but was playing hard to get that night....

"He hasn't even spoken a word to me. How rude..."

"Ok, did I do something to offend you??"

"Forget it! Just forget it!"

One guy that didn't offend her was Gman who brought back a new sippy cup. But she wasn't ready to part with her big girl cup just yet....

Miss Sassy Pants & Gman

It was beginning to look a lot like Christmas as Lisa and Dara finished up the decorations and blinged up the red and black tree. Meanwhile little Santa baby avoided bedtime as best she could....

"You do a good airplane Uncle Spence"

"I'm not stalling....I'm bonding."

 Aunt B and Gman had gone across town to get the Christmas tree out of storage and once they returned Hallie, Dara and I were waiting on them at Gman's house. We watched as the guys did the heavy lifting until it was out turn to do some magic. We had underestimated the size of the tree so we had to do a bit of unexpected furniture re-arranging. Once we found the perfect spot us girls got to work.....

In the end daddio was impressed and we were happy with our work!!! I hope mom likes it!!! But something tells me she might have said that the tree topper was a little over the top. ;) That's how we do momma!

The tree was lit, the lights were dimmed and we settled in for a movie I'd been dying to see. After some tough talk from the guys we settled on Water for Elephants. I really enjoyed it after only reading the first 100 pages of the book. The others faded in and out of sleep but stayed awake for the most part. Everyone gave it a thumbs up. Yes, even Gman. ;)

We all made our way to bed and I could not believe my eyes upon waking up that morning. I rolled over at the sound of Hallie crying to see something that about made my eyes pop out of my skull. The clock on my phone read 9:10 a.m.

EXCUSE ME!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

Now 8:00 is one thing.....but 9:00 is out of this world. I was a happy momma as she hurried around quietly and made our way out the door around 9:45. We made a special drop-in on Meme and found her just finishing up her therapy. We got to walk back to the room with her and her therapist who just so happened to be one of my mom's old co-workers. I was astounded by the progress my grandma had made. Her walking was so much better than it's been for quite some time, she's just more on top of her game. I went from one happy momma to one happy granddaughter. We stayed for about an hour while Hallie requested "cracka" after "cracka". She showed Meme some of her new tricks and kept us laughing. I don't think it will be long before Meme is headed home for good and I think it will be a new start....she is no longer on oxygen which is a huge improvement. For once in almost a year I can picture her getting back out and returning to her old life. Good thing too because we need Meme more than she knows. Hallie in particular needs her to play horsey with her.....

"Giddy up!!!!"

The lil stinker was more than antsy to get home to her dada. As we neared town she started to close her eyes which was what I was trying to avoid. She had stayed awake the entire ride as I'd hoped for so that she would be ready for her afternoon nap in her crib when we got home. I handed her my phone with a video playing in hopes that it would keep her awake. She had other plans besides watching the video.....

"Hello? Dada? We're almost home."

She napped for a good part of the afternoon and spent the rest playing with her favorite person on earth....dada. I took the opportunity to go do some much needed grocery shopping by myself. Hallie and Riley were up to their usual mischief and he taught her a new trick that is proving to be very beneficial to us as tired parents....

The best trick of them all!!!!

She can now go get diapers and bring them to us and throw them away!!! This all came in very handy tonight as we were cuddling with her book and milk getting ready for bed. I think the girl wanted to try out her new trick because she had two wet diapers in the course of fifteen minutes while we read. Of course I sent her on two missions to get a new diaper and then to toss the old one. She came around the corner clapping each time. When can we start practicing the whole bring mama a bottle of water from the fridge trick?? Let's start that one tomorrow.......;)


Have I mentioned lately just how incredibly much I love and adore my family??? Can we somehow just get rid of that ninety minute drive separating Woodward and Enid?? Until someone invents a teleportation device I will settle for that relatively short drive to spend time with them. But they better be paying us a visit or two or three once we get settled into our new house soon! It brings me peace knowing that my dad has his Christmas tree up. Even though it probably isn't something he felt like doing, it was of course a tradition that my mom wouldn't have wanted to change. There is something so comforting about being in the company of those who know you best and those that you love do dearly. I speak for both Hallie and I when I say that we had a perfect day in Enid. It wouldn't have been perfect without all of the help that everyone gave me in keeping my girl happy, fed and entertained. They all love her so much and it amazes me how much joy she continues to bring everyone when we all get together. We weren't ready to leave but we had an anxious dada waiting at home for his girls. Oh and I better mention just how much we love him too!!! Ok, I'm done being sappy. For now.......