Just Crazy Old Life...

It's official: we sold our home!

We had the closing last week -- money in the bank, y'all.

We are currently packing up for our two upcoming moves.

One across town in two weeks.
And one across country to Cleveland in seven weeks.

Have you ever had to pack up a house with two kids still living in it?!

But enough about packing and never-ending messes.

Here are a few snippets of daily life when we don't have a tape gun and Sharpie marker in our hand...

We have been outside every chance we get!
Mina is not exactly tall enough for the tricycle, but she sure looks cute pretending to be a big girl!

This cutie goes by the name Adventure Girl Aubrey!
Outdoors is definitely her happy place.

While the picture below was taken at midday, this is the same exact face that pops up at 6:58 a.m. each morning (or earlier...) on my side of the bed. Cutest alarm clock ever!
(By the way, she's a drool machine. She has four new teeth to thank for that!)

When Daniel's home, I know where the girls are going to be...

Oh how they love their Daddy!

Aubrey wanted to have a picnic dinner in the backyard one evening, so we did!

Mina was invited to a birthday party at Gymboree and had an absolute blast!

I'm already looking up Gymboree classes in Cleveland.

Daniel flew to Cleveland (20-hour-roundtrip) and miraculously found a rental home for us.

And this is what happens when your husband leans over your shoulder while you're scrolling through recent posts on Pinterest...."WHAT ARE THOSE?! LET'S MAKE 'EM!!" (In case you're wondering, it's a chocolate chip cookie dough brownie bomb, and good heavens above it's delicious.)

And now, to conclude this totally random post, here are two videos that completely encapsulate Aubrey and Mina:

I started videoing midway through Aubrey's latest performance.

Aubrey is full of imagination and dramatic play these days.

Oh how I love this girl...

Mina "SHHH"ing me in the middle of my singing.

She is seriously the happiest girl on the planet. 

I sure do love my crazy life, my crazy husband, and my crazy girls!

Reappearing!

So, just as I was saying I wasn't going to disappear...I disappeared. ;)

Things have gone from crazy busy to downright INSANE.

You see, this FOR SALE sign found its way into our front yard a week ago.



Have you ever had to sell a house while living with a 19 month old and 4 year old under your roof?
Well, it ain't fun.
After five showings Daniel jokingly/seriously asked if we should move to another house while we tried to sell our current one. Would you believe that after only five days we had a signed contract?!

As long as everything goes according to plan, we will be out of our house by April 30th.
That means we have to find a place to live for about 7-8 weeks until we move to Cleveland.
Oh boy.

While life is literally flying by, there have been some lovely blessings in the midst of this madness.
First and foremost: we are still getting meals from our amazing friends after bringing Mina home.
Hallelujah, Praise the Lord!
And it was super helpful having nice weather during the week we were showing our house...



Spring feels as if it's about to burst forth, and we could not be more excited.
I woke up this morning with a scratchy throat -- Allergy season is awakening!
This little one is so thrilled that she can go outside more.

Winter about did her in...

And this little one is loving the ability to explore her surroundings and really check things out.

Speaking of the two munchkins...

Mina is idolizing Aubrey more each day, while Aubrey is taking her time warming up to the idea of having a little sister.

Aubrey is in the phase right now where she simply tolerates (most days) Mina.

Little nugget would love nothing more than to hug and kiss all day long.

Aubrey is learning to accept it.

Aubrey actually showed Mina how to play Ring Around the Rosie the other day.

It was a happy moment...

And just so you don't think it's all smiles, songs, and dances over here -- even little love bug Mina has her moments...

But it doesn't take long before the giggles are back.
This girl is just downright full of joy and happiness.
I need to do a whole post just on this girl. There are so many amazing things to share about her.

And the man of the house seems to be thoroughly enjoying the sweetness of having two daughters to love on...

Life is good.

So, so good!

House Hunters

Daniel and I did some serious house hunting in Oklahoma for two days last week. In 48 hours, we walked through 30+ homes. We snooped in the closets, pantries, and cabinets of complete strangers. We envisioned the people who watch TV, shower, and go to the bathroom in these homes. It's amazing what a house can say about a person -- it can be good, bad, funny, scary, or a combination of all.

Overall, it seems every person in Oklahoma is incredibly conservative; they love the Lord and place an enormous focus on the importance of family. In each home we went through there was at least one framed scripture verse, a picture of Jesus, and at least 5 crosses throughout the house. It was like flipping through the Family Christian catalog. We don't have any pictures of Jesus to hang on the walls, but I think we'll fit right in to the social culture of the area.

Anyway, the whole time we were searching for our home, we felt like we should be on an episode of HGTV. So, we're going to break-it down, HGTV House Hunters style.

******

Dan and Ashley are currently living in a good-sized townhome with their little girl in Cincinnati, Ohio. Dan starts his Radiology residency in Oklahoma City this June, so they need to find a place to live in their new city. With a baby girl and Dan's busy hospital schedule, this couple only has two days to find a home in Oklahoma.

Dan and Ashley have decided to look in the Edmond region of Oklahoma City. About 20 minutes from the hospital, this suburb is known for its great schools. The couple is looking for at least a 3 bedroom, 2 bath home with a garage. They’d also love a backyard for their little girl.

After two days crammed pack with scouring homes, Dan and Ashley now have a decision to make.

Will they choose Option #1: Nicely updated with a great study, but smaller bedrooms

Or Option #2: Larger floorplan with bonus loft, but needs a little updating in kitchen

Or will they pick Option #3: Most unique home with plenty of space plus an atrium, but blue/purple kitchen cabinets

So....

Which one did they choose?

Dan & Ashley: It was a pretty tough decision, but we decided to go with...

House #2!

It really seems to fit our needs and furniture. It has a great backyard, complete with a little goldfish pond. The kitchen isn't bad, just needs a little updating. We think it'll be something we can do while we're there to add value to the home when we go to sell. We were able to negotiate $10,000 less than the asking price and convinced the sellers to let us keep their fridge. We’re so excited, and we can’t wait to start our life in Oklahoma!

Thanks for tuning in...and don’t forget to catch us in 4 years as we find ourselves packing up and moving again!

Ugh...