Our New Home

April 26, 2013, Ryan and I officially have a mortgage.  We are so thrilled.  We feel very blessed that we were able to find this home.  We didn't want to get to excited until we had keys in our hands.  So we closed on Friday and on Saturday, we drove out to the house, baked a few pizza's, vacuumed and cleaned all the bathrooms.  We will have the home painted, add a few coats of finish to the hardwood floor, call the Pest control company (because Georgia is full of bugs) and move in around the end of May.

The yard needs some TLC.  The house is in great shape. We wanted to find a home that was move in ready. New carpets, Newly renovated Kitchens and Bathrooms.  The kids are so excited.  Ira and Mick share a room with a Jack n Jill Bathroom attached to Callie and Juliette's room.  Mollie and Norielle share a room with a nice walk in closet and their own bathroom attached to their room. Redken has his own room in the basement.  Ryan has a man cave in the basement that is really sweet for all those honey do's.  I personally have a nice walk in closet, double ovens in the kitchen and a home to manage and maintain.  It's more than we dreamed of and we know that it is a direct answer to prayer.

A week and counting...

With one week to go...May 3, is the official day!  We are ready for this baby to arrive. If my body keeps doing what it is doing we should have a baby sometime this weekend.

Wish us luck...I wouldn't be surprised if I delivered sometime next week.

Our Weekend...

On Saturday, we went to the "Big Shanty Festival."  What is a Big Shanty, you might ask, we asked the same thing, in the 1800's, during the Civil War the shanty became known as the staging ground for the Railroad and the Locomotives.  We had a great time as we watched the parade and walked around the exhibits. It was a small town parade with a Big He-Haw.

The Start of the parade, we collected candy galore, loved the marching bands, the georgia peaches (beauty queens - which I am told were not that beautiful) and a few horses in the mix with some motorcycles and it was a true parade. The last parade we attended was 5 years ago in Draper at Draper Days.

We topped the morning off with a Run to Bojanges, where we were told made the Best BoBerry Bisquits.  We enjoyed...Eat your hearts out Jeff and Cassie, when we come for the wedding we will pack some in our suitcase...

We then traveled out to our new neighborhood to be, to do a final walk through, before we close on the house Friday, April 26th.  We love this neighborhood and it is starting to feel very real.  We will be excited when we have keys in our hands, paint on the walls and furniture delivered.  

We had to share with Y'all... The

Tin Man Fire Hydrant

We cracked up...all the fire hydrants are painted this color.

We thought it was kind of odd...

The Heart of the City.

Today we drove into the city and went to the Centennial Olympic Park, located in Atlanta, Georgia. We had a fun day.  We enjoyed the sunshine and the splash pad.

On the way home we stopped into a Steak n' Shake, for a shake...of coarse...

We then took a drive past
Ryan's office location...

We had a great day trip!

Our Morning Schedules

Our mornings start earlier than they did in California for some.  Redken is off to seminary by 6:30, so he gets to sleep an extra half hour, then he is off to school.  He attends North Cobb High, as a warrior and school starts at 8:30 and ends at 3:30.  He hops on the bus and is home by 4:00.

Every morning Ira, Callie and I walk up this huge hill,  in the dark  at 6:55 a.m. and wait for the bus.  Most mornings it is very cold and the two bundle up in blankets.  Spoiled California Kids! The bus arrives and they return home at 3:00. Callie attends Kennesaw Elementary School (K-2) and Ira attends Big Shanty Elementary School (3-5). 

Mollie and Norielle have the most time in the morning. School starts the latest for them.  They also walk up the same huge hill, (Norielle tells me it isn't that big, try telling that to my belly) wait for their bus at 8:45 a.m. and they return by 4:45 p.m. They attend Awtry Middle School as Vikings.  

I have been so used to driving the kids to school.  I was a little unsure of the bus.  I love the Bus...it saves me so much time.  Callie, Ira, and Norielle like riding the bus.  Redken and Mollie not huge bus fan riders as you can imagine.

At the end of another school day...32 days to go...

Signs of Spring! I love Easter Sunday. I am so grateful for the atonement, for a Savior who gave his life for me and his great sacrifice.   I am so grateful to belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  We are so blessed.  I had time on Sunday to reflect on this last month and all the changes that have taken place in our lives. My mind thought about our last Sunday in Riverside, during the Sacrament Ryan and I  had a sweet moment of gratitude for the nine plus years of all the memories we had made.  We wept and thought about the time spent in California, making this our home.  When we moved in Ira was one, Norielle was three, Mollie was five and Redken was almost eight.  Looking up at the sacrament table and seeing our son bless the sacrament we realized how many years have passed. We now have memories to make in Georgia and we are grateful for the journey.