Christmas

Christmas was great this year. Our last Christmas with just the two of us. Next year will be very different. Both families have long standing traditions so this year would be no different. On Christmas eve the Brooks' family has dinner and a gift exchange. This evening is always filled with laughter and great company. Lane received a tackle box, which will work great on the boat this summer, and I got picture frames and smelly things to plug into the wall.

After the fun at the Brooks' we go to eleven o'clock service at Fredericksburg United Methodist Church with the Damerons. I honestly can't remember a Christmas eve without going to church. And we always sit in the same spot...the last row in the balcony.

This year's Christmas morning was a little different since Granddaddy passed away in September. Normally he and Karen, his wife, came over to mom and dad's for breakfast. We eat the same thing every year: coffee cake, quiche (mushroom and bacon), and sausage wheels. It's always so yummy! So with the absent to Granddaddy, Becky, Justin, Mom, Dad, Lane, and I all had a nice Christmas breakfast together.

We opened up some gifts after breakfast. Mom and Dad helped prepare us for the arrival of Bailey by giving us her travel system. We can now bring her home. She may not have furniture or diapers but she can ride in the car safely.

After that we went over to Shane's house to spend time with the Brooks. Bailey received some toys and a fun little baby monitor. Then it was back over to mom and dad's for dinner. This year, Uncle John (Granddaddy's older brother) and Aunt Dorothy joined us. It was honestly a great addition to the Christmas celebration. They kept things exciting. It's amazing how much in love they are even after 63 years of marriage.

Overall, Christmas was wonderful. It's great to have loving wonderful families. We are truly blessed.

Pictures of the house

WE HAVE GRASS! Here is a picture of the house all finished! We failed to get a picture of the house with all the snow, but it sure was beautiful.

Bailey's closet! The girl isn't born yet and already she has tons of clothes. It was loads of fun to put it all away. We can't wait to get furniture and decorate the room!!! Hopefully that will get done soon...only 13 weeks to go!

Moving in!

So the 6 inches of snow turned into about a foot and a half of snow and ice! Needless to say moving has not been easy. After closing on Friday at 5pm, all we wanted to do was sleep in our new house. Well that didn't happen. The story is long so be prepared... Lane rented a U-Haul before closing, thinking we would be able to use it on Saturday. So we went back to the McKeag's to get stuff for one night (and Louie) then headed out to Midlothian. Normally it would take us 20 minutes to get to our house, however this trip took 45 minutes. We stopped at McAlister's for dinner (and some famous sweet tea). Literally, we were pulling out of the parking lot and the U-Haul guy called us and told us we have to move the truck tonight. So with about 6 inches of snow on the ground we had to turn around and head back to the west end. Now we all know that when it snows in Va life stops! People can't drive in this stuff.

So we get back to get the truck and I had to drive 3 miles back to the McKeags...it took us 25 minutes. Honestly the roads were terrible. So we came to terms with it and stayed at the McKeags that night.

When we wake up the next morning there is almost 2 FEET of snow on the ground! Unbelievable! Needless to say, we did not move anything the next day either (now we have had the U Haul for 2 days without moving anything). With two feet on the ground we could barely get out of the front door. My car was able to drive relatively well in the snow. So we decided to venture out to see how the main roads were. With the McKeags we went to DSW (why they were open, is still undetermined) and the grocery store. After both of us buying boots for the snow, we decided we could possibly get the U-Haul to C&L Storage (aka, Christ and Liza's house). Usually it takes us 20-30 minutes to get there but due to the snow and ice it took an hour. Lane and Matt drove the U-Haul behind Krity and me in my car. Once we got to the neighborhood, my car made it fine however, the U-Haul got stuck (which was stuck for about an hour!) Finally both vehicles made it to C&L's but we decided not to drive down the driveway. Bottom line...moving day number 2 down the drain.

The 3rd day, Sunday, we HAD to do something! So we woke up early and started to pack both cars with stuff from the McKeags' house. It's truly amazing how much stuff we were able to fit into one little room! Finally, Lane and I made our way to our new house. This was the first time I had seen it! I was crazy excited. We unloaded both cars into the garage and jumped back into the car with Louie and went to C&L's. On the way we had to stop to meet Phil and Jill to borrow his shovel since the all of Richmond was sold out of them!!! So finally we get to out to Goochland (where Chris and Liza live) to fill up the U-Haul and the car. Yet we had to shovel the long driveway to get the U-Haul down there. After the boys (Chris and Lane) worked for about an hour on the driveway, finally the U-Haul was put into place to fill it up! Chris and Lane were able to get a majority of the large items in the truck before dark. Since the darkness had fallen upon us moving had to stop. Chris drove out to Midlothian with us and helped Lane move the big stuff into the house. Thank goodness for Chris!!! Finally a night in OUR house!

To make a long story short...we are in the house and yet will probably be unloading boxes until next Christmas!

Tomorrow

Yay! We are closing tomorrow! Wahoo! After being pushed back twice now we are finally going to be in our new house! On top of moving in this weekend, Lane has a basketball tournament, a Christmas party Sunday afternoon and about 6 inches of snow. Needless to say it's going to be a busy weekend with a lot of unknowns. We will post pictures of the move and the house soon!

109 Days!

We only have 109 (or maybe less, but hopefully not more) days left until we get to meet little Miss Bailey! I can't believe how fast it has gone. And those 109 days will fly by as well I'm sure. I get weekly emails from "the bump" and she is the size of an eggplant this week! I like it when she is compared to a food that I like to eat. Unfortunately Lane doesn't like eggplant so I'm sure she won't be exposed to it unless she orders it at a restaurant. Yay for eggplant! :)

By the way, we are closing on Friday! We are super excited to finally get into our new house!

Cross your fingers

December 17th is our closing date for the new house. We went by the house this weekend and most everything seems to be finished. However, the gas company has yet to come and hook up the gas lines. Are you kidding me?! Is that what is pushing our closing back 9 days?! We don't need gas we need our house! Here are some pictures of what it looked like on Saturday.

Ok, so obviously we need grass too! But hopefully they will complete both the irrigation system and the sod this week!

The garage and the driveway!

The living room with carpet! Yay! And two columns that Bailey will be swinging around before too long.

Our kitchen minus the fridge...hopefully we will get that soon. Minor detail!

The morning room where we will put the kitchen table.

Master bedroom closet...my side!

Master bedroom closet...Lane's side!

Master Bathroom. Finally two sinks and space to move! Now we can get ready for the day without fighting for room in the bathroom...yippee! (Lane)-I'm pretty sure Amy will take over both sinks before too long!

And finally, a tub that Lane can fit into!