Double Digits

In two days my baby boy will be 10 years old. I swear, the past 10 years flew by in the blink of an eye! It seems like yesterday that I was longing to be a mother. Now here I am looking at my precious baby son, who can almost stand and look me in the eye!

Today when I said (probably for the fourteenth time) "I can't believe my baby boy is going to be 10", he replied "Mom, I am NOT a BABY!" But he is. He always will be, to me. I can now understand why my grandmother treated my dad the way she did. He was her baby. Even when he was 50 years old, she still saw that tiny face she held for the first time. My baby is a basketball player, and loves to ride his bike. He loves Lego, and Spiderman, and Wii. He does not like homework, or reading, or cleaning his room. He is friendly and kind, and adores his little sister. He isn't happy about leaving his cousins and grandparents and friends to move to London, but he has been wonderful about looking on the bright side of moving. I could not be more proud of my precious boy. He is growing up, but he will always be my baby. And I am a very lucky Mom.

My New House (Home? Someday...)

I got the jacuzzi! Most importantly, I was able to let go of what I thought I wanted in order for us to be sure we got the house we were meant to have. I'm actually glad we went through the whole exercise of taking one last chance on the other house. It allowed Chris to let go of his misgivings about the house we bought, and once again look at all the great advantages it presents to us. And it allowed me to put into action what I had been telling Chris all along and just believe that God had lead us to the right house, the house we were meant to have.

So here are a few pictures. I'm sure this is not any approximation of what this house will look like in six weeks time! I am spending my time dreaming about how I'll decorate it. Whenever I think about how much I'm going to miss my friends I try to turn my thoughts to how I'll set up the upstairs reading nook, or whether the front room will be a dining room, living room, or office. Or all three. It gives me something to look forward to. And for now that is what I need more than anything.

Never Simple

The house on Crocket Street is sold. I think I mentioned that in my last blog. The "Sold" sign is up, and we've made the big trek to London to purchase a new home. It was a miserable week, and I hope I don't have to shop for a house again for a long time, but we came home with a new house. I was planning to post a picture of the "Sold" sign beside a picture of my new house. But now I'm not sure which house is my new house.

Why can't life just be simple? We chose a house we loved. The owners didn't want to sell it to us. One day, and many tears of discouragement and frustration later, we found another house to fall in love with. This one we were able to reach a deal on. One day, and many dreams of relaxing in my new Jacuzzi later, my husband began his bout with Buyer's Remorse. I encouraged him to just enjoy it! Let the other house go, and start dreaming about the one we have! Sure, it's smaller and more expensive and requires a lot of work to really feel like home, but IT HAS A JACUZZI!!! And it is the house we have.

Several days later: Email from the realtor in London. The owners of the original house may be willing to sell with a 160 day closing. That is 5 months! And we already have a house! Well, maybe we can get a release from that deal. And maybe we can get the bigger, less expensive, more comfortable house (without the Jacuzzi) that we first wanted. And maybe the people who bought our house would exchange monetary compensation for a longer closin date. That's a LOT of MAYBEs!

I voiced my strong opinion that we just stick to the plan for a while. Then I decided to let it go. Life is never simple. But both of these houses are lovely, and in wonderful areas to raise a family. If I just sit back and let it happen (with my wonderful husband making all the phone calls), in just a few days I'll have a new house. And I'll either get to live in NB an extra 4 months, or I get a master suite with a Jacuzzi. It's a win-win situation. I'm a little curious about where and when I will move, but I'm not tied up in knots about it anymore.

Stay tuned for the outcome!

Christmas Time Has Come and Gone...

Christmas vacation seems to fly by more quickly every year! This year our vacation was WAY too busy. The first week that the kids were off school were spent finishing all the last minute preparations. I did enjoy the making cookies, the last minute trips to the store, and cooking my own turkey dinner on Christmas Eve. But once Christmas Eve arrives, I feel like I need to hang on for dear life for fear of falling off the runaway train that is our Christmas holiday.

Not that I don't want to spend Christmas with the ones I love. I do! I just wish they would all come to me! That will only be harder starting next year, when we live a good 17 hour drive from most of our family. This year we spent much of Christmas day at home, heading to Chris's Dad's around 3 p.m. Can't complain there! Yummy dinner, lots of laughter, more memories made. Then the next day we traveled to Rothesay where we shared Christmas dinner with my family at my mom's. I have to admit, no one's Christmas dinner tastes as much like "Christmas dinner" to me as my mom's does! The kids had a blast with cousins, we went to a great sliding hill, and ended the day with all the kids tucked in at my sister's, and a game of "Apples to Apples". Still no complaints -- just lots of fun!

But after Christmas, doesn't everyone just want to be home, surrounded by new toys, books, and the coziness of "my own home"? Not that visiting isn't wonderful, and I am so glad I got to see my cousin and her family, and my kids got to spend another day with their cousins. But it just doesn't feel like a relaxing vacation until we're snuggled up in our own home, enjoying each other. My friend Ellen came to New Brunswick from Indiana with her family, and she enjoyed her visit, but vowed at the end "We will NEVER travel at Christmas again!"

We did have a week at home to enjoy our vacation. The kids played with their toys, and I read almost a whole book. We spent New Year's Eve with many of our closest friends, and the kids stayed up to ring in the New Year (Janelle's first time -- she was so proud!) But this year Boxing Week was spent frantically cleaning for a house showing, then negotiating an offer, then accepting the offer, then settling into the realization that we actually finally sold our house. A bit of a shock to the system! So now life is all about getting Christmas "packed away" so we can go to London and find a new house. Chris went back to work today, but the kids don't go until Wednesday. I am in the midst of taking down the Christmas tree. Christmas has definitely come and gone.

So next year we will have to seriously consider whether or not we want to travel home for Christmas. It will be a much bigger commitment! And if we don't we will have lots of time at home, playing with our toys, reading our books, and enjoying our togetherness. But will I also be writing a blog about how much I miss my family at Christmas? Probably! It will definitely take some thought...