We're IN!!

Closed. Closed. Closed. 

This word was music to my ears last Tuesday when we were finally handed the keys to our new home. It has been a long 5 months living apart, 3 of which have been spent trying to close on our house. Here's the short version of what took so long: We found a house we loved and made an offer. The house was a short sale and owned by the builder, so we were excited to be getting a good deal. In the meantime, the house went into foreclosure and was taken over by a bank. After weeks of contracts and paperwork, we were all set to close... or so we thought. Right before our closing, the bank went under and was turned over to the FDIC. CRAZY! The FDIC then turned it over to another bank, which started the contract process all over for us. It was a crazy series of events, that's for sure. Thankfully, I have a husband who was quite on top of it and an agent who was willing to do whatever it took to get us in our home. 


Needless to say, last Tuesday we were sitting at a closing and the house was finally ours. The movers came on Wednesday and we have spent the last 5 days unpacking boxes. Whew. You don't realize how much stuff you have until you move! We're so glad to have a home again! Home is where the heart is :)!

Praying down to the wire...

"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." - Romans 12:12


After a VERY LONG 5 months, we are finally set to close on our new house in Columbia at 1pm today. We are praying down to the wire and hoping things go off without a hitch. Word of advice... buying a foreclosure STINKS, but it can be done with a whole LOT of patience :)! 


Praying now is our time and we will be settled soon! whew.

23 weeks (I think!)

We have hit the 23 week mark, I think, as I am still so confused with the due date switching, so it may be 24 weeks, ha!, but either way, another week has gone by. I have my doctor's appointment next week to do the glucose test. From what I hear, this is quite tasty, ha! Praying all goes well!


Things have been going well. I am feeling pretty good, even good enough to work out again, which has been really nice. I'm glad to be back in the groove! Little girl is quite active, especially late at night and first thing in the morning. I love waking up to her moving all around and laying down at night with her squirming. Such a fun feeling!


We have been in Columbia all this week. Living in a hotel is not quite ideal, but we are making the best of it. It's nice to be with Sean during the week! Chloe is in cheerleading camp during the day and is having a complete ball! I see pom-poms in our future!

We've made some headway on the house... The lender finally got the paperwork back from the new bank that the deed had been recorded so we could finally move forward with the closing. We are hoping to be in the house next week! WAHOO! I did tell Sean I wouldn't do a victory dance until we had the keys in our hands, but we are atleast getting closer. It has certainly been a long time coming, so we are praying this is the end of the road and it is time to get settled in our new home.


Sean and I are heading to New York tomorrow, for the weekend. SO EXCITED! We are going to stay with my best friend Carrie and see Dave Matthews and Zac Brown Band on Saturday @ Met's Stadium. I'm really looking forward to seeing Carrie, hanging in the city and having my last plane ride/big getaway before little girl joins our family. My little brother is flying up on Friday to join us as well. It's going to be a great weekend! Every year Sean and I go to atleast one (sometimes more!) DMB concert's, and since Dave isn't touring next year, we decided this would be a great year to see him in NYC. Gotta love the excitement of being in the city!

And now for a 23 week update!

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 23 weeks

Total Weight Gain/Loss: got on the scale last week and it looks like I have gained 5 pounds (up 3 since my last appt). I will have a more accurate number at my next dr's appt next week.

Maternity Clothes: summer dresses do the trick!

Best Moment this week: watching my tummy move as you kicked around.

Gender: It's a girl!

Movement: She's a mover and a shaker!

Food Craving: not many cravings this week

What I miss: Sleeping through the night without having to go to the bathroom!

Sleep: Not the best. Just invested in one of the prego body pillows!

What I am looking forward to: Getting in our new house and decorating the nursery

Belly Button: In

Stretch Marks: None yet. Yikes.

Symptoms: The nausea is still hanging around. Round ligament pains come and go. Hands are tingly and numb sometimes. Weird!

Moving Day

...the end is in sight. I am at the house today while the movers load our lives up and head to Columbia. It's weird seeing everything you own, put in one large truck and your house EMPTY! The move is here and the move is very real now. It seemed like such a long time coming... Sean living in Columbia, us making the trek back and forth so often, selling our house here, finding our house there... all the parts that go into a big move. But it is done.  The moving truck is here and I am sitting at the computer listening to them haul furniture out, tape the last remaining boxes and send us on our way. I am overcome with thankfulness that the Lord allowed us to make this transition so smooth. Although it seemed hard at times, the Lord orchestrated it perfectly. We are beyond blessed to have sold our house here in a short amount of time and buy a house in Columbia we adore.  I am so excited about our new house and getting moved in (and living in the same city with my husband AGAIN!), but will miss this house because of the memories we made here. Sean and I started our life together here and had some really wonderful times together. Greensboro has been my home all my life... so I am certainly sad to go.


I am looking forward to our new journey in Columbia and getting settled into our new home. We are supposed to close on Thursday, so pray everything goes off without a hitch. I love our new house and can't wait to decorate and make it ours.


Moving day... seems like I have had so many in my life, but today, moving our little family to a new city, is a little more bittersweet.

Ah!

Finally... a blissful night of sleep! I woke this morning feeling refreshed and excited for a week of things around the house then heading to the beach on Wednesday. Maybe it was due to the headache meds that are finally helping, or maybe it was due to my sweet husband taking care of everything at the house yesterday and letting me lay around, read, relax and have nothing to worry about. Either way, I felt so much better today, and if I had to place my bet on why,  I'm going to go with choice #2. Thank you extra sweet hubs!


We had a general contractor at our house this morning tieing up loose ends to make sure we close on time, so Chloe and I got ready, headed to my mom's house then went to the strawberry patch. Bummer on the strawberry patch front... after all the rain and hot weather, the strawberries are dieing out early this season. We each picked up a basket that had been pre-picked and I grabbed 2 tomatoes for tomato sandwiches. Not a total bust since we walked away with some strawberries then headed off to the park!


On to other exciting news... the Bachelorette premiers tonight and I am so excited to see Ali! I loved her on the Bachelor and am sure I will be sucked into this season because she is just precious! Can't wait to see what's in store! Happy Monday!

Weeks 13 - 16 and we're up to date!

Weeks 13 - 16 of this pregnancy and have been filled with highs and lows! Some days I feel so great that I am able to get up, go for a run, clean the house... which all make my sweet husband very happy. Then there are the other days... the days where I wake up at 5am sick as a dog, killer headaches, nausea, the works. I had hoped as I got further along in my pregnancy that some of this would start to subside, but no such luck.


I finished my last day at the Marriott May 14th, which was very bittersweet for me. After being there four and a half years, and having most of the same staff throughout my time there, I was sad to go. It marks the end of another chapter for me, for us, but I am leaning on the Lord's guidance as our new chapter unfolds. Chloe and I have been hanging tight the past few weeks and are ready to head to Columbia and get moved in to our new house!


We had my 16 week doctor's appointment on May 19th and everything is progressing nicely. I have gained one pound so here's hoping I can keep that up. Ha! The heart beat sounded good... 144 bpm. Now are you a girl or a boy?We find out June 10th! Only 3 more weeks and I can't wait! Here is my belly at 16 weeks!

After our appointment, Sean went back to work for a bit so I spent some time relaxing in the sun reading Angie Smith's (www.audreycaroline.blogspot.com) book, "I Will Carry You." Amazing. I cried. I laughed. I was convicted. I was blessed. I was so glued to her book that I sat outside for hours and read. I have since passed this book along to my mom, who is immensly enjoying it as well. 


After my many hour long relaxation (which was quite blissful), Sean and I headed off to our soon-to-be new house for the home inspection. I, particularly, didn't care so much about the home inspection, I just wanted another chance to go in our new home. It was just as I remembered! I walked around the house with my mind going a hundred miles a minute with decor ideas! Can't wait to get moved in get settled in our new home!


So I think we are up to speed on everything... I wanted to catch the blog up with posts throughout the past 11 weeks, as this will be my means to document my pregnancy, our move and all the new adventures the Lord has in store for us! 

This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” 

- Joshua 1:9

SOLD!

SOLD... Kind of :) Under Contract atleast! On April 29, after much negotiating, we got a contract on our house and could not be more thrilled. This has been a major source of worry for me... and I was so relieved when an offer we were able to take came in. We had the home inspection recently and are set to close on our house June 15th! Keep us in your prayers that we have no hiccups along the way!

Bye Bye High Point... Hello Columbia! We are heading south and are so excited to see what this new journey has in store for us. We have also bought a house in Columbia that we LOVE! After many, many, many (did I say many?) hours spent house hunting, we walked into this particular house and knew it was the one. I had such a sense of peace about this house and am so excited to start our life in Columbia! We are set to close on this house June 17th... 2 days after our closing in NC, so we again ask for your prayers that the hiccups stay at bay and we have a smooth transition into our new house. It has been a LONG time coming! I am so ready to live in the same city as my husband and actually see him during the WEEK! It will also be nice to not be burning up I-85 and I-77 so frequently! 


By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beatuiful treasures. - Proverbs 24:3-4.
                                          

Weeks 9 - 11

Weeks 9 - 11 became a bit more trying. Morning sickness reared its ugly head and I found out that morning sickness, well it's really not just for the mornings! I was super exhausted during these weeks and working like crazy! Sean was still burning up the highway on the weekends, as was I, because we had gotten in the serious house hunting phase. On top of house hunting, our house in HP was on the market, and keeping a house immaculate all the time is exhausting! 


These weeks seem like a blur to me now, I just remember not feeling so hot! Here's me at 10 weeks pregnant:

Our house hunt is continuing in Columbia... I feel certain we are going to wear our agent out before this is all over! Bless her heart :). We have looked in the downtown area of Columbia, the Northeast and now we are on to the Northwest. I am confident the Lord has a perfect place for our family as we move to a new city... now just finding that place is a little bit challenging. Psalm 31:3 says "Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me."I have clung to these words during these weeks and am praying for God's direction during this time.


xo Kilbi