A Lot Going On, and a New Era

I have way too much to catch up on to be too creative so I'm just throwing it all out there. We have found a house and are planning to sign a contract tomorrow. Please pray all goes well, and we're able to amicably work out all the details. We found the house through our small group - just one more reason to love that group of people! We'll both save money because the couple hadn't listed the house yet so no realtor fees! Yippee!!

So, we've been busy with getting our affairs in order, finding a lender, and all the other gross stuff that comes with buying a house. And, we've just finished our taxes as well. Oh, the fun we've been having!! (I've had a root canal, and it was MUCH more fun than getting ready for a mortgage and/or the taxes.) We're excited about the house, but there was a little grieving involved because it finalizes the "death" of the hobby farm dream. The back yard is small. Very small. BUT, we are so thankful for the house because the space is great with wonderful closets, and we have lots of friends nearby. If you want to do some reading on the LostPines area of Bastrop, it's pretty interesting, and our neighborhood is smack dab in the middle of them.

In the mean time, life has slid by at a rapid pace, and we've been having a lot of fun!

Going back quite a ways, I made Todd's favorite cake for his Valentine's present: Lane Cake. I had never heard of such until I married into this fun southern family, and it is quite the southern cake. Judy (Todd's mom) gave me the treasured family recipe years ago, and we all agreed that this year's cake was my best performance. A random side note - I had never read To Kill A Mockingbird until a few years ago, and the cake is mentioned in the book. It also mentions one of the key ingredients, but I won't tell you what it is here! You'll have to look it up! :-)

Jessie and Aubrie studied life in Egypt at preschool this last unit and know all about the Nile River, pyramids, and Egyptian musical instruments. I LOVE their preschool. They also studied pottery and made their own bowls. They are eating their snack from their bowls below:

We made another trip to San Antonio to see that cute nephew of mine, and so I have to share pics. We realized that Colleen had somehow not gotten her picture with Judah at the hospital so we remedied that right away.

Emma and I are still having fun with her history lessons, and we recently studied about Joseph and of his seemingly disastrous adventures which God used for good. She got to make a cookie coat of many colors. I think she enjoyed eating it much more than making it. :-)

Now, for the new era. I am officially a soccer mom. Emma's first game was this last weekend, and she had a really good time. She started out a little uncertain but warmed up as the game went on. She's the only one on her team who hasn't played before, but we haven't told her that! She is so enamoured with all that's going on around her that she still has a little trouble focusing on just her field, but I think that will pass pretty quickly. Her legs are sufficiently bruised despite the shin guards, and she cares not a bit.

Have to go because Todd and I are doing P90X. Yes, we are slightly crazy, but it has proved to be the solution to my fitness dilemma. I'll post more about that later.