Update at the Raiders house

My life has been in fast forward for the past week or so. I have been busy making pies and cookies and wrapping presents and getting the house ready for sale all while trying to celebrate Christmas. For the first time tonight we can take it easy and just relax. It's such a nice feeling. I told Jeff that if he needed to find me that I would be in the bathtub taking a bubble bath.

My cousin Emily is also expecting a baby in April. A baby boy to be exact. I was no less than thrilled at this news. She has been a person I so dearly looked up to growing up. Even though she was only 9 months older than me. They found out at their 20 week ultrasound that their baby boy was very special. His heart is outside his chest right now and his liver is only partially in his body. They have a website set up for anyone willing to pray for them. She is about the cutest pregnant person I have seen. http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/babyboypoeschl
I am praying nothing short of a miracle. Miracles happen everyday.

Savannah has been growing like crazy it seems. She is rolling all over the place. The tree had to make its descent out the door and in flames last night. She figured out where the tree was finally and she had no problem "helping" it shed its needles. No teeth yet but I swear something has to be going on soon. She eats regular people food now with no problem. She's really not too fond of the baby liquid food anymore. Since she learned her "chewing" motion, she prefers to munch on something.

The house went up for sale officially yesterday also. I have yet to take a picture. It's a blend of emotions seeing the sign in the yard. I know Boston will be great but I will truly miss the lifestyle I have become so accustom to. I know God is moving me out of my comfort zone for a reason. It gives me a chance to grow and broaden my horizons. Anyways there's nothing I wouldn't do for my husband.

Boston Bound

Jeff and I just received word yesterday that he got the job that he had applied for through Hormel. The locations originally that they had told us were potentials were Denver, Atlanta, Chicago, and Seattle. To my amazment, Jeff came home yesterday to tell me that we were heading to Boston. Well to be more specific its actually 45 mins sw of Boston in the town of Franklin. I couldn't be more thrilled. I have done so much research to find what appears to be a church that would suit us. I also have found potential places for us to rent and also managed to find a mommy's group that I could hook up with. It's so nice to have a computer to be able to do all this research so that a person doesn't just sit there and worry about the move so much. Jeff has found ski hills that are 30 minutes to an hour drive from Franklin. A dream come true for him. All in all, we are both seeing this as a very positive move. We will miss our family dearly but know that we are only a plane ride away. Plus you get to visit an awesome place with free lodging. What could possibly be any better!!!!

Once Upon a Time

Once upon a time there was a clean house. I smile from ear to ear for I know it won't last long. Tomorrow my cousin is coming over and bringing her two beautiful little girls. I love having a clean house though. My closets are for the most part cleaned out too. There is only a few finishing touches I would like to personally add before I would feel confident putting the house on the market. There's just something inside a woman that glows when she can walk into a house and it welcomes her. Not to messes or chaos. But to the smell of a sugar cookie candle to remind her to bake cookies before Christmas. I almost have a mental high after I see my dining room table set along with a festive wintery centerpiece.

Jeff finds out on Monday what exactly is all going to take place. We have been reading through the relocation package tonight to make sure there's no questions we would like to ask. We just want to know what we are fully getting ourselves into. We know Hormel is a great company to work for and they are good to their employees. I can't help but think that if Jeff wouldn't have gotten such a secure job that I might not have the ability to stay home with our daughter. I feel so honored to have a hardworking husband with a great job.

Savannah turned 7 months old yesterday. I cannot believe how fast time has gone so far. It feels just like yesterday that I was rocking that crying baby for hours and feeling so helpless. Colic seems like a long time ago now and so much more bearable to get the smiles and the shrieks of happiness now. She has been very active today too. Jeff was upstairs watching tv while I was doing something on the computer down in the basement. I had laid Savannah down on the floor by one end of our couch. When I came back upstairs I found her on the complete other side and on the top not the bottom. It's hard to explain but she pretty much made a 90 degree and turned herself all the way around. Sorry if there's confusion there. Anyways I asked Jeff how she got there and he of course says I don't know. Did I mention the news was on?! Well here's one last picture of a memory when Savannah was a baby. Why do they have to grow up so fast?

To-do

My head is going like a whirlwind right now. There's so many things that need to get done around the house. I feel an urge to start throwing things away and donating. I realize that when our house goes on the market that people are going to be looking thru our closets. YIKES!!! That's where I hide my mess. As much as I try to organize our master closet. Jeff seems to think that the whole top shelf belongs to him. The best was today when he came home for lunch and put his feet up on the coffee table. I looked at his feet then turned my head to take a different look. He looks down and says "am I wearing your socks?" Yes honey you are. " I was wondering why I had flowers on my black socks." Oh honey!! "That's the last time I want that to happen. How do they fit you?" Socks are sized based on the shoe size of 6-10. I guess that's the last time I will be wearing those socks now that he stretched them out.

Anyways back to my chaotic thought trend. I see Christmas decorations that I want to put up. I was struck with 5 laundry loads and that's not including the cloth diapers. Didn't I just do laundry last week? I asked myself. There is Christmas shopping for everyone yet. Oh my! I feel so overwhelmed just thinking about it. I can't even think of what to get people this year. I had Jeff's present all figured out until he said that he really wasn't that interested in what I was going to get him. Plus we will have to do shopping for Jeff's new wardrobe for sales.

You can see why I have this need to purge and clean now that you know how many things are going through my mind. That's not even including all the last minute fixes and touch ups we need to do to the house.

P.S. Jeff did get into sales!!!! We are just waiting to hear about location. Any day we should be hearing. Someone came up and shook Jeff's hand at work and congratulated him on getting into sales. Thank you Mr. Anonymous person for letting us know.

Multi-tasking

Today my mom and I were talking on the phone and somehow she brought up the fact that in the Bible it says to "mind your own business." I laughed in disbelief. She of course found it because she had highlighted the passage. So in 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 it reads:
Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.

So this got me thinking. Do you think that God put that in there on purpose? Do you suppose he knew that gossip and greed would only bring trouble in someone's life? That maybe, just maybe that we would not lead a happy life if our hearts were never satisfied with what we had?  It's funny how just one passage can really get the mind thinking.

Tomorrow I'm going on the annual house walk in Waseca, MN. It usually is Judy, Karen, Betty, Hillary and I. Tomorrow it will just be Judy and I. Judy is who I lived with when my parents separated. She is so much like a mom to me. Anyways Judy lost her mom when she was 8 so when she was a teenager she moved in with Betty. Karen is Betty's daughter so you can kind of say its a mother/daughter kind of thing. This year Betty's eyesight is starting to fail. She is also afraid of the ice. Karen isn't able to make it either. Hillary decided that she needed to study instead. So that leaves Judy and me. I decided that I wanted to go very badly this year because I don't know where Jeff and I will be come next year.

I will also be bringing Savannah with. I'm just going to strap her to me as we go house to house. In and out of the car will be a bit much but she's becoming so much more content and not as fussy as she once was. I feel that I can take her with and it won't be a HUGE burden. Jeff and I had discussed leaving her with him but he stated that he probably won't get as many projects done with her around. On a regular basis, I manage to clean the house, do the dishes, laundry, and make meals AND take care of her. I also yesterday sanded some of the trim down and touched up the paint. I fixed the interior doors so they close and latch. We had them hung up, just not adjusted yet. I believe that's called multi-tasking. I didn't argue with him because I want projects to get done. He then realized that "oh I won't have a car." Um welcome to my everyday. Get over it!

I have a tongue?

Today I saw an ad in the shopper for a job opening in my field. To be quite honest I was a little excited to see that but my excitement faded when I looked over at Savannah and couldn't possibly imagine leaving her. I would miss all her quirkiness and she's just starting to get really funny. Developing that personality and making people laugh. I had to quick grab the video camera to capture her quirkiness yesterday just in case she stopped doing it once daddy got home. Of course she did and when I showed the video to him, he was laughing hysterically as well.

Starring Savannah in the video, I have a tongue?