Hard At Work.

Well, as if this time of year isn't busy enough... we decided to take on a major move in 3 weeks. So Christmas will be on quite the budget but we're thrilled with the hope of finding a new home that we love. We spent yesterday ripping out carpet and painting. Today I got to go to Lowes and drop a couple hundred bucks on paint, outlet, outlet covers, more paint, more paint supplies, new registers for the AC, curtains, curtain rods (yes I purchased both from Lowes as I just wanted a plain and simple rod and taupe floor length curtain), blinds for the windows, etc. etc. And that's just for the dining room, kitchen and foyer... we haven't even started on the living room or bedrooms yet! Yikes! And we have to go back and pick out our counter tops here pretty soon... It's going to be a crazy time of year but we are truly grateful that this door opened for us. We're trying to enjoy each step and not feel overwhelmed. All the painting has to be done by Tuesday, then the garage get's cleaned out Tuesday afternoon, the pest guys are coming in to spray before we put the new carpet down just as an extra precaution, followed by the Electrician coming by to fix a couple things in the breaker box on Wednesday, then the hard wood floors go in on Thursday, followed by the new carpet on Saturday... *whew* After that we'll need to tile or hardwood the bathroom floors (i still haven't decided what I want in either bath) and then start on the light fixtures and bathroom countertops. Oooh and did I mention the kids bathroom has funky fishy wallpaper? Liz goes in there and just stares at it... *bangshead* all that has to come out some time next week so we can paint as well. In fact... now that I think about it, my BIL is coming over tomorrow to help finish pulling out the rest of the carpet and he hates painting so I may stick him on wallpaper duty if he doesn't mind... hmmmmm... is that mean? LOL I hate taking down wallpaper - my most recent escapades from February have taught me that it's a royal pain in the rear getting in there and scraping away at everything. Well anyways, that's one more thing that has to happen before we move in after Christmas. Our French Garden Doors on the back of the house will be installed the week between Christmas and New Years... gosh it's all so much! I'm going crazy thinking of all these details but I'm super excited as well. I sort of feel bad because Christmas is my favorite time of year. It's almost over and my brain just can't slow down long enough to truly enjoy it right now... I need to fix that. I love my Christmas tree, it sits right beside our nativity so as I type I've got the glow of the tree in the background and a manger scene in my corner vision... nothing beats this time of year. I really need to sit back and enjoy it more and let the house stuff just happen. I'm trying... I really am.

But hopefully by next weekend all this major stuff will be done and then we can settle in to a last week before Christmas to enjoy Elizabeth as this is the first time she's ever really been able to enjoy and understand Christmas.

Speaking of Lizzy... I just have to update... she is so precious to me. The last couple of days she's really started to sing more, her favorite song? Itsy Bitsy Spider! It's so cute to watch her sing all the words... she stumbles over the first few lines but then loves "WASH the SPIDER OUT!" then she'll go on and few more lines but always comes back to "wash the spider out" That's my girl! LOL Another thing that makes me smile is how much she loves prayer time. At night she'll often continue praying after we leave the room... I'll here her in there talking to Jesus "Bwess dweams... bwess mommy and daddy... tank you for minnie... " and on and on... it's heart melting and oh so precious to hear. I just love her sweet voice. Granted there are times when I wish she'd quiet down (most often in the car when I hear "mommy?" What? "Mommy!" What? "MOMMY?!" WHAT ELIZABETH?! "Airplane!" LOL an on and on and on and on and on and on and on.... lol her questions are never ending... and it's so funny if you're not paying 100% attention to her when she speaks she'll tilt my face toward her and say "Look at me!" Cracks us up. lol And to top it all off, she still loves to dance... but she's much less shy than she used to be. Turn on some music and no matter where we are this kid will start dancing all around. It's hilarious to watch, she's actually pretty good! You can tell they work on dancing in preschool as she has great rythym. LOL

Okay, so this is getting really long and I'm getting really sleepy so off I go. But that's my update for now. Lots going on, and not much time to chat or spend online, so my updates take place during nap time or waaaaay after bed time after I've sorted through Lowe's website and decided on what to do the next day on the house. LOL I still have some Christmas shopping to do too, so I better get on it or else I'll be shopping with all the men on Christmas Eve! ;)