Curveballs.

Well we have had some major changes the past few weeks! In early July our landlord told us he wanted to put our house on the market and that we essentially had 60 days to be out.  (He was nice it was just terrible timing.) At the time, I was due for my C-Section in 62 DAYS so it was extremely stressful thinking about finding a place we liked and moving so quickly.

The whole time I knew there was a reason behind it but it didn't help the fact that I was going to have to go through the hassle of moving in the 108 degree heat while 8 months pregnant....  (Our plan was for our next move to be into a house we BOUGHT, not another rental.)

However, God aligned the timing of everything.  We were actually test driving a car at Sewell when we got the call from our landlord which is why we opted NOT to get a new car.  If our landlord had called us the following day or week, there is a high chance we would have already bought that car!

As we started looking at rentals in Richardson, we realized that prices had gone up substantially in the 2.5 years we had been renting.  To get a house in similar condition with similar square footage was going to cost us more... Not to mention, Stella starts kindergarten next August so school was a factor while we were looking.  (Thus the car payment $$ being repurposed)

We looked at a few promising homes and even got caught up in a Craigslist scam that resulted in me working with a detective ... long story.  At the end of the day, God provided a GREAT home that was only 1.2 miles away from where we were living and is bigger AND nicer.  If we were going to have to move, at least we were upgrading and not downgrading.  It was a bit more expensive but since we opted to not buy a car right now, we will be okay.   Turns out, buying skinnier car seats is less expensive than buying a new car ha!

So last week while Logan was at a work conference in Charlotte and my Mom and Chris were in Colorado, I packed up our entire house with the help of LOTS of friends and my Dad and Kelley. There were a lot of tears and pity parties... Thank goodness the girls had camp.

Logan flew home Saturday night and we bit the bullet and hired movers for Sunday morning and voila! We are officially in our new home which gives me 6 weeks to NEST until this baby arrives! WHAT.A.WHIRLWIND.

Thank you to EVERYONE who has watched the girls, brought meals, helped me pack, taken over loads of boxes, and CLEANED OUR NASTY OLD PLACE!!! I could NOT have made it through this move without you all and I feel very blessed to have such a strong and servant-hearted tribe.  I hope I can return the favor someday.

Cheers to purging! AMAZING community! FRESH Starts! And a NEW BABY coming soon!!! Oh... and that MOVE BEING OVER WITH!!!

Welcome to 33

A few thoughts and lessons I have learned over the past year... 

+ Do not take your health for granted.  It can change overnight.  

+ Be thankful for REST. Make REST a priority. 

+ Exercise doesn't have to be punishment. Find something that you genuinely enjoy and stick with it.

+ You don't have to have 100 best friends.  You don't even have to have 10. The older I get, the more I realize that my circle may be smaller, but it's deeper. And I can be picky about who I spend my (very limited) free time with. 

+ Show up for people. If they are local... do something more than hide behind a text. Pick up the phone and call. Drop by for a visit. 

+ FIGHT for CONTENTMENT.  In your marriage. Your house. Your season. Your belongings. Stop the comparison game since all it does is rob you of joy. 

+ Find a creative outlet and make time to do it.  For me, it's reading and writing.  I put it on the back-burner for so long but it is something that makes me come alive.  Find your thing and MAKE TIME for it no matter how busy you are. You will be happy you did. 

+ Self help books are great...but NOTHING compares to THE WORD.  THE WORD is the source of all life and truth and wisdom.  Open it daily. 

+ Don't hold grudges.  They eat you up way more than the other person. Forgiveness is hard but necessary if you want to possess JOY.    

+ What you watch/ read/ listen to can really affect you.  Be selective.  You don't have to get rid of everything but have a sensitivity (AND BE WILLING) to get rid of stuff that is taking up unnecessary space in your head and your heart. 

+ Marriage is worth fighting for.  Having a built in cheerleader and best friend instead of an enemy or roommate/ co-parent is SO much more fun! Communicate. Choose love. 

+ Friendships have seasons. Some people you thought would be lifelong friends sort of fade away and then you meet someone new and to your surprise, feel instantly connected... like you've known them your entire life.  Be OPEN to new friendships and be thankful for the lessons that old ones have taught you.  

+ Don't try to control things... especially holidays and toddlers ha! I used to have unrealistic expectations about how certain days would look and pan out and that is officially out the window.  I have forced my Type A self to be a bit more of a free spirit... Wake up. Have a good attitude. Make PLANS .... BUT make the best of them if they go haywire! Dance in the rain, right? Lemons into lemonade? Trite but true. 

+ Be open to criticism. You are not perfect. Don't be shocked when people point that out. Be gracious. Be a safe place.  LISTEN before getting defensive. 

+ Shed the insecurity and just be confident in who you are instead of who everyone expects you to be.  Don't be a cookie cutter. Be who God uniquely designed you to be. 

Welcome, 33. I am thrilled to see what lessons you have in store! 

Family Vacation in Paradise!

Last week was our first family vacation with just our immediate family unit! We loaded up the car with a portable DVD player and plenty of snacks and headed on an 11 hour drive to Pensacola, Florida to stay with one of my best friends from college, Bromli!  Chloé slept almost the entire way (we had a slight scare involving a 104.2 fever and a trip to the Urgent Care on our pit stop in Houston) so I think the medicine kind of made her drowsy.  Stella was happy as long as she was watching a movie or eating, ha! Go figure.

Night #1 we met the Breedloves at a GREAT restaurant on the beach where we let the girls play on a playground and get entirely too sandy so we could enjoy some adult beverages and some authentic sea food! I had the most delicious snow crab and shrimp dish! 

On Sunday, we got loaded up and took the boat out to a couple of islands right off the military base.  I had never been on a military base and had no idea they were so HUGE and basically a fully functioning city! We dropped anchor and walked in the shallow water to a sandbar and ate our picnic lunch. Stella LOVED it until…. the jellyfish which we accidentally TERRIFIED her about (because she was about to try and touch one) and she subsequently became scared of the water. Oops? So she spent the rest of the day on the boat or in the sand and wanted nothing to do with the water.  She LOVED the boat though and kept telling Mr. Bear - FASTER! FASTER! We also spotted some dolphins only a few yards away from our boat - Way better than Sea World ;) 

Monday was fun because we went to the beach and got wristbands and the Holiday Inn Resort for a change of scenery. It was a beautiful beachside pool with a lazy river and…. A MERMAID!!! Stella was equally entranced and terrified haha! She wouldn't get NEAR her and kept calling her "Ariel" (even though it was her cousin Diamond ;) ) but she also didn't want to leave her line of sight.  I ate Mahi Mahi fish tacos and had some delicious rum punch!   

That NIGHT, Bromli indulged me on a sunset photo shoot at the beach - We really don't have any family pictures since the hostpial when Chloé was born and they turned out beautiful! Yay for not having to figure out Christmas cards this year :) 

Tuesday was a family day while Bear and Bromli worked - We were going to go to the military base to tour the aircraft museum and got stuck in standstill traffic that was spanning over a mile.  So instead of spending our last day in traffic, we went back to the beach and set up camp under a boardwalk since we didn't have umbrellas.  Stella was NOT scared of the water this time- I guess she forgot ;) She kept calling the sand, SNOW because it was so pretty and white! This day was so laid back and fun - We rode a few waves, relaxed, ate sandwiches, and enjoyed our time as a family of 4. Chloé is not a fan of the sand so she preferred sleeping in her tent or on one of us :) She is most definitely our snuggly baby - Big Sister NEVER wanted snuggles! 

Tuesday night we hit up a Blue Wahoos game with the Breedloves. We were exhausted from the sun but it was the perfect ending to our trip! We sat in the outfield on a patch of grass and Stella got to run around like a crazy 2.5 year old and make friends and steal Bromli's son cone and my Coke :) It was so much fun! 

We made memories that will last a lifetime and had the best time getting to see the Breedloves hometown and getting to know Mary Bella (their almost 1 year old) better :) 

The Cochran's Co-Ed "Baby Party"

Instead of throwing your typical "Baby Shower," we decided to throw Kent & Nicki a "Baby PARTY" - It was a casual, fun, laid-back, cookout complete with an AMAZING photo booth (thanks to the delightfully talented Natalie Jagers), corn-hole in the back, wonderful BBQ sandwiches, and beer in a baby pool... NATURALLY :) It was one of the more fun baby showers I've ever attended and I think our decorations pulled together wonderfully! We went with oranges and blues, since they are doing a SURPRISE gender... June 2nd can't get here soon enough! I can't WAIT to meet that lil' one! 

Here are a few pics from the evening... 




The "Betting Board" - Name, Boy or Girl, and Birthday Guesses :) 














AND ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?! Natalie put together this stop-motion video from all the pictures that were taken that night in the photo booth... it turned out SO SO cute! 

Kent and Nicki- We hope you had fun at your party! We wanted to make it EXTRA special for two of our best and dearest friends!  I can't wait to watch you guys become parents and join us in the incredible journey... We can figure it out together! (AKA: Make it up as we go!!! haha) 

Spring Break with the Cochrans!

We had SO much fun last week with Kent and Nicki!  It was just what we needed to get us through the last month of our time here in France.  We got out of the house, the weather was cold but nice, we LAUGHED, we stayed up late, we marveled at our tiny new addition, swapped pregnancy stories and shared the very limited parenting tricks we have learned in 2 months!  Aunt Nicki and Uncle Kent are BOTH naturals and to be honest, I LOVED having the extra hands around to help :) 

Baby C is due in June and Stella can't wait to meet him/ her!  

Here are some of my favorite pictures from their trip.  






















It was perfect...a breath of fresh air and gave us all renewed energy for the home stretch! 

THANK YOU COCHRANS FOR COMING TO SEE US IN FRANCE!!!! It is a trip we will never forget!  (And thank you for taking so much of our STUFF back with you! This saved us big time $$ on shipping! Moving Phase 1: Completed! )