It just keeps coming..

So on top of it being Merrill's birthday yesterday, having a cake to make, a birthday dinner too (both my choice, Merrill was not in the mood to celebrate, for some reason..) the people buying our house wanted to show it that night to possible renters/buyers.

Great!

Cleaning and finishing the exterior paint to go on top of that..

I was tidying the house up before I began the painting, taking things that belong out in the garage, out to the garage. Ashley and Peyton were going back and forth, taking scooters and bikes out of the garage. I thought to myself, I should probably just back the car out of the garage and let them play in here while I am doing this. But I thought against it. There have been so many stories on the news lately of accidents with kids and cars.. taking my next load out to the garage, I hear a loud thud and Peyton starts to cry.

There is Nathan and Julie's ladder "JAWS" laying partly on the car. I think it scared Pey more than anything, but upon closer inspection, the car wasn't doing too well.

My new windshield, the one I HAD to get to replace the 12 year old one that was too chipped and dinged to pass safety, was smashed in the bottom corner. The cracks already spreading throughout the rest of the glass.

That was awesome.

After getting Lynn from school, I leave the car outside :) and begin painting the back man door to the garage.

Remember that all the exterior doors are now BLACK.

Well, Peyton decided to "help".

She took the roller, covered in black, and proceeded to paint the garage floor and part of her left side, BLACK.

I quickly got the roller away from her only to find her going after the paint pan, filled with enough paint to pour out all over the front of her body, which she was attempting to do.

We tried to celebrate Merrill's birthday.. again, he wasn't really in the mood.

30.. uh.. er.. um, I mean, 20 (again) has him kinda down.

I think you can tell by the cake..

On to today.

I had a list of things that need to be done (still things to do on it..) in order for this appraisal to go where we want it to. Mostly touch-up painting, fun stuff like that, you know, stuff that I am surely not sick of, at all.

So I set out and about my day.. painting and patching some dings that come out with nice, new, glossy paint. I also had some lovely artwork that the girls did pro-bono for us in the exercise room when it used to be the play room, all over the walls. That whole room needed paint in a bad way.

Funny as it was the only room in the house to not be painted by us, at least once.

I am quite the pro painting without tape. I use it around the door trim but not the ceiling or baseboards.. yes, I am that good. ;)

Total tanget that was.. I must be tired..

So while I am painting away over my precious artwork, Ashley and Peyton go upstairs. I hear the normal playing.. it goes on.. then I hear a thud. Nothing loud or out of the ordinary, but Peyton immediately starts crying. I go to see what is wrong, and she is holding her right arm. I start to drill Ashley. Let's face it, she doesn't have a very good record and with Lynn gone all day on top of that blemished record, Ashley has been forcing little Peyton to be her friend. Yeah, I thought she was the one who had hurt her.

Ashley performs a little re-enactment per my request, and the story is out.

Peyton was playing at the foot of her bed, stumbled, tried to catch herself, and fell, on her arm.

She wasn't getting any happier, so I called a friend to see if she could take Ash.. and oh, by the way, Lynn was due to be out of school in 20 minutes.

She took care of it all.. sheesh.. those mothers of 4. ;) (Thanks JuJu..)

Peyton and I took another trip to the IsntaCare over another arm.. were sent again to the X-Ray area (know how to get there with my eyes shut I do believe..) felt like a horrible mother to have let something like this happen AGAIN.. had X-Rays taken, then had Dr. Cardon (LOVE HIM!!) look over everything and tell us that...

She has a buckle fracture.

And then he put her in a hot pink cast.

There are still firsts for us.. first broken bone.

Please tell me there is a break (no pun intended) from all of this for at least one day?

Maybe it will break her of her finger sucking habit... she did need some drugs and a binky of all things to get to sleep tonight.

Give it a go..

This is one of those things I was SOOO excited about, just the idea of it, when I began this last Jessica Sprague course.
Making and sharing (possibly selling) digital scrapbooking schtuff.
So, here's my first freebie that will forever be free. :)
A brush set created by yours truly..
Let's all hope I get better at this!Go here to download.

30.. er.. uh.. I mean 29!

Happy 29th birthday again Merrill!!!

I thought I would pick out 30.. um, I meant to say 29 of my favorite pictures of you, but how do I narrow that down from the hundreds of favorites I have?

So I have a few... you can see where my children get their good looks from too..

Love you Merrill!!

I am so happy that you are 29 (again)..

All things will work together for your good.

So, I will just say it before I get too far into it...

We are moving.

It's just down the street, around a corner, still in our neighborhood and ward. Right where we want to be. It's a newer, bigger house, with a bigger yard for the kidlets.

But this is such a blessing..

We have always kept an eye open to what is available around here, not always serious, but interested. Merrill claimed this house was our "starter house" and I was fine to live here forever.. really. We were close one time, last year, to buying a house of similar style, smaller in some areas (no yard really) and would be giving up on things we said were "musts" for a move to happen. We were waiting for Lake Powell to come and go to put an offer down, and that was when the market went. Good thing we didn't, we would have been up side down in it.

We also played with the idea of buying the house that Gilbert's now live in, and are glad that that wasn't a real serious deal.. we also looked into the land that Dickamore's have built on, another forehead wiping moment of relief. Look what we'd be missing out on!!

See, things that are supposed to be, are going to happen.

So here's what happened:

This house has been up for 13 months.

13 months and I was praying all the while.

I have been trying to get Merrill to just look at it. It took a year, and a $60,000 decrease for him to get there. We both loved it, but knew our home would have to sell.

We were in the midst of getting some improvements done, and decided after that, we would get an appraisal to see what it was worth, to see if we sold it for enough, if we could get into that house.

We let things quiet down, well, we were staying quiet.. the Realtor kept in contact with me, we were their only really interested people, and we weren't that serious. We kept up with our improvements and whenever she'd call, I would tell her the same thing: We love the house, we would love to be able to buy it, but we would have to sell our house, and sell it for enough to make it happen. It's just a waiting game at this point, but move on if you get an offer.. don't wait on us.

In the meanwhile, our tithing checks were piling up on the counter top. With the kids being sick, it was either one of us or the other going to church, and the checks getting forgotten.

Then there was one Sunday that we all went to church, and I remembered the checks. Just a couple of weeks after, while I was painting the garage door, I get another phone call from their Realtor.

"They will buy your house, either sell it themselves (ours would be easier to sell in this market than theirs..) or rent it.. if you buy theirs."

WOW.

We have witnessed so many blessings in this whole event unfolding.. so many "little" things that have been prompted about in advance, that made this process that has moved so quickly so much easier..

Just a couple of examples: My hormone induced trip to IKEA.. I got the shelves to better organize the basement, and I know that improved the appearance of the basement, not to mention the quick clean-up they enabled when they wanted to come and see my house with 3 hours notice.

That same morning I felt the urge to go and wipe down all the door frames to remove Peyton's sticky little fingerprints.. that saved me time later that same house-showing day.

Not to mention all the recent improvements and all of the other hard work we have put into this house..

It has been moving fast ever since and the prayer remains, if it is meant to be, it is meant to be, let it be easy, let it feel right.

And it has.

We signed papers today. It is bittersweet, leaving all the memories here.. bringing babies home, watching them grow.. okay, I can't think that way.

I will have great neighbors (no cigarette smoke wafting through my open windows anymore) and good kids for my kids to play with..

Blessings..

Let the packing begin!!!

But it won't hurt if we all just pray for the appraisal to come in HIGH. :)

First day..

Yes, yesterday was the first day back for little Lynnie..

Yes, I am late at getting it all up.. the details and whatnot.

I hope to sometime soon explain why life has been a little behind.

Lynn had a "great" day yesterday. Much the contrast to her first day last year. She went on and on about every detail of the day.

I have learned that the Gingerbread man led them on a hunt all over the school, coincidentally taking them to important places within the school, showing them places which locations they will need to know.

I have learned that the cafeteria's chocolate chip cookies are better than mine.

I have learned that the chocolate milk in the cafeteria is better than mine, and apparently, so is grandma's.

I have been schooled in every rule the first grade has enforced, and have learned what happens when you play paper rock scissor with your neighbor. (Even though it is breaking a rule, you don't get kicked out for breaking that one.)

She is so very happy, grinning from ear to ear, and has enjoyed her second day just as much.

It smells like a great start to a great year!

Here she is..

Here's the house before...

And after...

Our new door and glass..

Buh-bye amber glass!!

The mailbox got a facelift too..

Merrill is loving the black, he thinks it looks "classy".

This very second..

They are getting everything prepped to put in a new door and surrounding glass..

The company hasn't been the easiest to work with, there have been many things said, not all of them true, mostly when it comes to when they would be here to get the job done.. well, they were supposed to be here the 14th. I got a call a few days before saying that they couldn't, the door wouldn't be in, and I understood. They rescheduled for the 18th. The morning of the 18th, I get a call from them:

"Hi.. how are you doing?"

"Great.."

"Did anyone talk to you about when this will be scheduled? I have been out of town.."

"Um.. you are supposed to be here TODAY."

"Oh, really? I don't know who would have told you that."

I went off.

It benefited me in the end.

They had told me they could be here by next Wednesday, that was when the door would be in. I told them we might not go with them.

"But we have your stuff on order, and you have already put half down?"

"Yes, and you can pay me back."

Surprise, surprise.. they are here today.

It already has the makings for a crazy busy day with Family Fun Fair and Back to School night, both tonight.. three kidlets in tow.. fun, mounds.

As the Olsen Twins would say, "Put it on the pizza.."

What will come next?

As we were getting PTA stuff done late last night, it hit me..

Yesterday was the 11th anniversary of our first kiss. I tried to celebrate by kissing him on the cheek, while he was sleeping, sometime after midnight when I came in.

It wasn't as magical as the first time, but that time we were both wide awake..

I guess the rides on the zip line before I went home made up for it.