Listed!

Our house is officially listed and on the market! We are just praying now for the buyer.....that they would come quickly, not be too stingy and that they will take good care of it! That's not too much to ask!

Now what do I do.....everything is done? Just kidding...... I'm not in the least bit bored, but it is a great feeling to have your house clean and in tip top house showing condition. My house isn't always this way and it took some work, mostly to get things organized and situated. I have to admit.....it feels kind of empty with everything off the counters, half of the furniture out of the room and nothing hanging on my fridge! The last couple days have been "cleaning mode" and my amazing hubby even took off a day of work to get the last minute things done! Mackenzie even got her hands in the mix......give her a rag and spray bottle and that girl goes to town!

We actually had our first showing already today...just pray that my "perfectionist" mode pays off!

VEISHA

After living in Ames for 7 years you would think one would have experienced probably the biggest celebration of every year...... that has not been the case with us. Every year we have been out of town for some reason, but this year (our last year here) it happened. We finally got to experience what everyone talks about at Iowa State!

Our good friends the Heronemus's came up for the festivities and spent the weekend at our house. It was so nice to see them again and spend some quality time....... playing cards our favorite thing to do together. It is always a big competition between the men and the ladies! Here they are waiting for the parade to start.

We got all dressed up in our Iowa State gear supporting the whole college celebration and all! Mackenzie was pretty excited and she got to show Rebekah what a parade was all about.....catching candy!!!

It was supposed to rain all day, so we were praying that it would hold off until the parade was over and besides the 10 min little drizzle our prayers were answered. Kate enjoyed the parade in Daddy's arms.

The kids loved it and were champs considering it was nap time and lunch time. Here is the whole gang!

I was pretty impressed to see what all the different "colleges" did for the floats. The cars of the future.....solar!

I couldn't believe some of the floats......I saw on the news how some of them....particularly this one.... spent like 4 months designing their floats. I had no idea how big of a deal this was!

There was several of these big balloon type things.....the kids really liked them!

After the parade was all over we walked around campus and saw the other things that they had.....food tents......demonstrations......and CY! The last time Mackenzie saw Cy she would barely let me get a picture of them together. This time she gave him "five" and a hug....then he swiped her right up in his arms!

It was a fun weekend with friends even with the sickies.....Elizabeth was the only one in the family that was 100% healthy. Jeremey had lost his voice (which was really hard and completely not his character to stay quiet) Rebekah kept complaining of her leg hurting and I think "baby" Aaron is allergic to our house.....every time he comes here he starts coughing really bad and then is fine when he gets back home.

Week at Papa and Grandma's

That monday after Easter we got to look at houses in Mt. Pleasant and didn't find anything. We looked at a lot of lots that were available and are looking into the possibility of building. We know God has been so faithful in all of our housing situations and He will continue to be this time as well. We are limited on time, so we will see if the perfect house comes on the market or things work out to build. That week my parents so willingly kept the girls so we could come back and work on the house....getting it ready to put on the market. We thought it was going to be listed by now....we forgot how the government works!


Kate loves little chairs that she can just sit right down in. This was her favorite at Papa and Grandmas. She got lots of rides on it too!


Lady and the Kitty are always a hit. Kate is just starting to get into doggies and kitties.....trying to make the sounds and wanting to pet them.

The girls we in heaven out in the country with space to run outside. They love being outside....Thanks mom for doing that with them!


I just wish Mackenzie would play on our playset outside by herself at our house.

Aunt Amy got to come up and spend some with them too! It will be so much fun being so much closer....especially in the summer when she is off of work!

I met my mom halfway to pick them up. It was so exciting to see them again! Kate didn't really want me right away.....Grandma was feeding her a snack! I was surprised she acted that way....this was her first time away overnight with someone else!

Well we got a lot done while they were away.....landscaping.....looking at house plans.....organizing and most of all spending some time together alone! I thought that I would be spending every moment working, but when we found out that it was going to be another couple weeks before we got to list the house, the stress level went down and we got to enjoy the time a little more.

Thank you Mom and Dad for all you did. I know the girls enjoyed it and we can't wait to be closer!

Easter!

Easter.....one of my favorite holidays! This year was a busy one....great, but it was a whirlwind! Our first Easter festivity started the weekend before with a Easter egg hunt with the kids in our small group. We joke that if you want to be a part of our small group that you can only have daughters.....there is not one little boy in all 5 couples of our small group!

Mackenzie and Julia had a great time....I tried to keep the older ones away from the younger ones to even things out! Thanks Amy and Lily for putting this together!

The second Easter get together was with my dad's side of the family on Saturday! We had the most amazing food.........my dad's family sure knows how to cook! This easter egg hunt was little girls in front and the big kids in back! I think the bigger kids had more fun than the little kids. They were battling it out....I think they even did a second round! It is so much fun getting together with family..... I remember getting together with cousins and having so much fun.

Jessica and Mackenzie posing with their baskets.....we hear they look a lot alike. Funny thing is is that they both look just like their dads and they aren't the ones that are related!

Mackenzie really enjoyed being chauffer with the barbie jeep. She was giving everyone rides....I'm not sure how many times they had to recharge the battery. She is always saying how much she wants one of these!

Easter Sunday morning! I tried to get a picture of the girls in their dresses as we were running out the door, but it turned out a little blurry....I'll have to get another one. It is fun having 2 girls and putting them in matching outfits. It doesn't happen too often, but Christmas and Easter I try!

Sunday we went to IL and spent the afternoon with Aaron's family and then on to my mom's side of the family get together that same evening. It was the weekend of traveling, and the girls did great!

We did't get the chance to do our own baskets until monday morning at my parents! Kate found hers behind the chair!

Mackenzie found hers behind the couch! Showing off her barbie stickers.....I mean bandaids!

Sorting through the loot! I am not much of a stuffed animal person, but the bunny Kate got is the softest stuffed animal ever! It is so hard to balance out holidays with children and teaching them the true reason for celebrating and having the fun stuff too!

Mackenzie finally getting to dye Easter eggs! I tried to do it the week before, but needless to say it didn't get done in the hoopla of getting the house ready for the realtor. Papa showed her how to peel the eggs after they were done......she had just as much fun with that!

What are you into?

Since I haven't posted many pictures lately I thought I would also catch up with those in 1 post as well. This is what Mackenzie and Kate have been into the past month or so.

Mackenzie's new dwelling place! This is her fort she has built out of a sheet and our living room furniture.

She has spent some time in there.....I'm saying minutes here, not hours.....but she won't let you take it down! She has a CD player, puzzles, books, pillows.......I think she is set! Don't you remember making forts as a little kid......now we are making homes!!!

Kate is now trying to feed herself....sometimes even refusing to eat if you don't give her the spoon! She does pretty good at getting at least the spoon in her mouth.....not always so much the food itself!

For Kate's birthday fun aunt Amy gave Mackenzie a makeup bag full of some old makeup and with a few lessons Mackenzie thinks she is quite a princess! Look closely at the eyes.....and never mind the food around the mouth that is supposed to be there.....makeup right?

Kate's new trick...standing on her head!

Playing Barbies.....that has been the fun new thing. She has had a couple barbies, but just recently and especially when friends come over she has started getting into it! Grandma brought up some of my old barbie stuff when she came and that was a treat.

Oh, and Kate likes to play too! Anything that big sis is doing she wants to join in. It is so hard to decide when to teach Mackenzie to play WITH her and when to let Mackenzie do her "big girl" things by herself.

To catch up...

on the last month or so......I am just going to do it all in one post for the sake of time and to just get caught up to real time!

Hearts At Home
The second weekend in March I got to go to the Hearts at Home conference in Bloomington IL with some friends and had a blast. I absolutely loved it and hope to go every year. I totally recommend it to every mom out there. It is so worth every bit of time it takes to get things situated at home so you can leave!
A quick recap: Kevin Leman was there....he was hilarious! The Go Fish Guys were there performing the whole weekend and were great....Mackenzie loves to listen to them and as they say "it is kids music that doesn't drive their parents bonkers!"
The 4 workshops I got to go to were: A look at birth order- Kevin Leman......very eye opening! (I now own 2 of his books on this topic) Keeping your Ducks in a Row- Karen Ehman......so many practical ways to keep an organized home! Paradigm of Purity- Julie Hiramine......I have to say I wasn't that excited for this one just for the fact that I thought my girls were too young, but to be honest it probably was my favorite one! Discipline that connects with the Heart of your Child- Jim and Lynne Jackson...... very good!
To be honest I came away refreshed with a break from normal day to day, but my mind was overloaded with information and as my friend Rachel and I said.....we need a little testosterone to balance us out! Now I just need to review my notes and start putting things into practice!

I turned 28 on March 21st and I am so excited to get my bike that my sweet husband got for me!

Simple Pleasures Day
Well the day finally came and went quickly......it is like planning for a wedding for all those months and then it's over in one day. A little different than that, but the same adrenaline let down feeling...........in this case there is no honeymoon! God really blessed the day and the women really enjoyed it! Aaron had to be away on work the week before (he hasn't traveled for work in like 3 years so of course it had to be this week). Thanks to my mom who came up to help with the girls several days before. I don't know what I would have done without you!
See previous post for the details of the day!

Then came the big news!
We are moving to Mt. Pleasant! To make a long story short Aaron got offered a job within his agency (NRCS) at the office in Keosauqua. When he first told me about this open position we didn't dwell on it too long. Then when a HS friend of Aaron's told us they were moving back to their hometown of Bloomfield we started to revive the idea of moving. Once we started looking into it we realized that Mt. Pleasant really isn't that much farther than Bloomfield would be from the office and our goal has always been to move closer to my family....this was the logical place to move. We prayed about it and felt so at peace with the fact that He knew the plan for our lives and we were ok with either end result.

Mt. Pleasant will be the perfect distance from everyone and everything......family(my parents and my sister)....work....shopping! We are so excited to be close to my family, but very sad to leave our "family" in Ames. We have lived in Ames for almost 7 years now and have gone to the same church where we have met so many close friends. So in 6 weeks or so we will be packing up our family and moving to the rolling hills of SE Iowa!

I'm Alive!

We are alive.......really!

First I was super busy with Simple Pleasures Day....which God truely blessed!
Then we FINALLY got a laptop and in the process of setting that up I fried my modem(with the help of Quest) and have been without the internet for a week......well not full week, but it seemed like it! It's so crazy......I realized how dependant I am on the internet. It was a good reality check for me that there are other things I could and probably should be doing!

I have a lot to catch up on, but that will be coming soon!