Thanksgiving 2007

The highlight for Danijela was the snow! Yes, it snowed in Amarillo the day after Thanksgiving. Note the enormous gloves on her hands & the lack of winter wear (bad Mama). Well, we drove through the night on Tuesday. Landed squarely on Uncle Johnny & Aunt Gail's porch at 1:30am. It was freezing. Not far from Amarillo we stopped for gas & Danny almost passed out from the cold. Johnny & Gail were so kind to let us stay in their master bedroom (thank you!). The only problem is I now want a king sized bed. I always feel right at home with them because that is how they make everyone feel.

Overnight the leaves on the trees started falling & quickly. Danijela pulled up a chair to watch. I'm not going to comment on all the snap shots as most speak for themselves. It's important to note Johnny & Gail fed 45 + one on the way. It was a big day with amazing food, white elephant exchange, football & bunko. It seems to be a tradition to have tamales for the evening meal too.

The next day there was more turkey & dressing at Mamaw's house. During the white elephant game someone playfully accused Mamaw of cheating. She said at 89 she should be allowed to cheat. Her family continues to grow and grow. Imagine watching your grandchildren have children of their own. Right now there are 14 great grand babies. I regret I didn't work hard at getting more & better images.

Question: Can you find Jesus in the refrigerator picture?

Home Again

We returned from Amarillo around 1am today. I drove by the house to see what (if anything) happened while we were gone. Dang. The roof (shingles) was installed last Monday. The siding is now on its way up too. I believe the only reason more hasn't been done is because windows are scheduled for installation on Monday. I think they have to wait until the windows are in before they can continue with the siding.

The builder also installed ceder planks running vertical at the entrance. He wants to break the horizontal lines created by the siding to set the entrance apart. Our builder rocks as does that fancy-shmancy curve over the front door. The interior is completely closed now & there are signs of all the duct work being complete as well.

Crackers & Snot

Our boy is 7 months plus. We scheduled his 6 month checkup closer to 7 months. Funny how the second time around those things just aren't as "urgent." I haven't posted the stats yet. That particular day I was so sick I had to call my husband to come take him to his appointment. I'll gather them & post after Thanksgiving.

Little Piggy

I'm backward blogging as you might notice. This was the day we started moving. Danijela made (with help I'm sure) a piggy mask at MDO the previous day. She'd look at herself in the mirror and giggle. She also acted like a frog to some degree when wearing it. I love her smile. I love her.

Don't blink.

Seriously. We started the house building process when I was (barely) pregnant with Luka. He is now 7 months old. We started with the design. Then went through the painful and excruciatingly long financing aspect. Then we endured rain, rain, and more rain. About two weeks ago we went to Austin. At the time the lot was ready for concrete and had been for sometime.

Well, a few days later we came home to a new house that was being framed! We were amazed. This week has been nothing short of miraculous. They decked the roof yesterday & say the roof will be shingled tomorrow. Don't blink.

Apartment Life

I'm sitting here slumped over on our apartment floor. Finally got the DSL connection issue resolved today. However, I can't get the wireless working. Apartment life is good. There isn't any grass to mow. All the utilities are paid to the complex so we don't have to setup all new accounts. Danijela adjusted amazingly well and really likes her room. Poor Luka sleeps in our (big) closet. He's still waking 3x a night. We'll survive.

We live in a little courtyard. Right across from us is a Serbian family that immigrated 7 years ago. They speak very little English so were thrilled to meet Danny (a fellow Serb). There is another older couple from the same region and apparently there are even more in the complex. We also met Abby. She is 65 and retired from the Dallas Theological Seminary after 21 years of service. I believe an Ethiopian family lives next to us. We haven't met them just yet. It is just a matter of time. I truly believe God planted us right here. We are blessed beyond measure.

We moved.

Bye-bye super tiny house. We will miss you. You were the first house we owned. You were the home to which we brought both our sweet babies from the hospital. Heck, Luka almost arrived on the driveway. We gave you a facelift (it cost lots of money). Not that we didn't like you the way you were. You were 70 years old however. I hope to get a facelift long before I am 70.

One day when I was working on the exterior chimmney I found newspaper stuck in you. All were dated 1937. The same year you were born. Your floor squeaks in the winter. In the summer the huge trees provided much needed shade from the Texas sun. We love you, but we had grown too much for your 811 square feet. The new owner is taking good care of you. And we haven't gone too far for long. We'll be right next door (how weird is that?) when our new home is built. Yes, look to your left and you will see us in about 5 months.

Out of Order

Showed house 20 times (with two kids in tow). Attended two funerals. Negotiated house sale. Started counseling. Had Sugar Photography session. Packed. Started new Bible study. Packed. Met with community group. Packed. Started marriage communication class. Packed. Exhausted. Cried. Sold house. Packed. Cleaned and cleaned and cleaned. Moved to an apartment. Sick. Really sick. Super sick. No heat in the apartment. Luka sick. Danijela sick. Mama still sick. No phone connection. No DSL connection. Packed. Arrived in Austin Saturday for a long weekend. Still in Austin. Not sure we will have DSL when we return tomorrow. Oh, the foundation for our new house was poured today! This is after countless months of waiting.

Random & Beautiful

Broken

Wednesday Danijela wanted me to hold her. Then she quickly got up & said "Mama, I need to fix you." Hum. I waited a minute. Then she said, "Mama, I need to fix you because you are broken." She then stuck a Q-Tip in my mouth. Girl knows what she is doing. I am broken. That is why I need a Savior.

Oh, man.

Danny turned his computer in at work for a new model. Darn if my image card reader wasn't in it! Hopefully he can get it on Monday.

Picture of the Week

The Sweet Life

My most amazing friends gifted me with a Sugar Photography session for my 40th birthday. I'm quickly approaching my 41st birthday & finally scheduled our session for this morning. We haven't seen the images except what Jennifer posted on The Sweet Life blog. Wow. This is a priceless gift. Thank you.

I grow tonight!

Funny thing happened yesterday. Danijela proceed to tell Tata & Mama that she is a "big girl" and "I grow tonight!" Oh, she also said "I be big for Tata." We think she meant "I'll be big like Tata."

I give up.

Urgh. I've been wanting to post about the Austin trip. Actually I've attempted a couple times but never finished. I apparently don't have the mental resources needed to put into words what the experience deserves. Sundee wrote an awesome post with wonderful images. I find myself without much in the way of visuals from the trip. My camera gets left behind often or I just don't have enough hands to do the moment justice. Here are some sweet images I did capture.

Bolt

Tata was repairing Danijela's stroller today as she sat next to him. I was nursing Luka on the couch. Apparently a bolt came loose from the jigamaboo that keeps the back wheels secure. Tata asked me to see if we had a bolt in our toolbox. Danijela jumped up & yelled "Tata, I'll get it!" She bolted (pun intended) to the kitchen & quickly returned with a small eating bowl. She was thrilled she was able to help. It was a great moment.

2nd Offer

How weird is this? We received an offer on our house last week. We are currently in the option phase. We negotiated everything last week & came to a fair conclusion. It's been exhausting. Today was the inspection from 2pm - 4pm. May I remind you I have two small children. Showing the house has been exciting & an absolute pain. Today was no exception. I rolled up to the house at 6pm. The inspector & buyer were just exiting the house. I was a little pissed (sorry) & concerned. We have a 900 sqft house. The inspection was suppose to end at 4pm. I'm thinking we are screwed (sorry again). They must have gone through it with a fine tooth comb. Our house was built in 1937. We are talking 70 years of possible issues. We won't see a report for a few days.

I go to check my e-mail once I'm in the house. I only do this because I haven't been home all day. The most recent e-mail is from our agent. We have a "backup" offer! Crazy stuff. These people are fully aware we have an offer & the chances of the buyer backing out are slim to none. They still want to make an offer. We will get it this week. Crazy stuff. And certainly makes me less stressed about the inspection ... although it probably shouldn't. Just wanted you to know.

The Other Hottie

Belated

I wished you happy birthday, but never posted this picture from the family celebration. So, happy birthday to my hottie husband (on the right) & his twin brother. It's insane that you guys are 44. I remember when the "hot Yugoslavians" moved to town in the '70s. Most girls my age remember you too & for good reason. Gosh if I'd known I was going to marry you 30 years ago I could have saved myself countless horrible dating decisions.