Christmas Parties

On December 1 we had Robert's work Christmas party.  It was a lot of fun.  Sarah enjoyed wearing her first Christmas outfit from Grandpa.

The party was held at a church member's house.  We all met at the church so we could caravan out to her house, about 45 minutes away.  The homeowner is a former architecture professor, and her house proves it!  Every room had a different theme: unicorns, peacocks, castle.  Dinner was delicious, and we enjoyed smothered steak, ham, hash brown casserole, sweet potato casserole, corn, rolls, veggies, and way too much dessert.  After dinner we played Dirty Santa, and we were able to come home with some new toys for Sarah - story book, rubber duck pool toy, and Jenga for Robert.  It was great to enjoy being with his co-workers and families outside of church!

I had my MOPS Christmas party on the 3rd.  Robert needed to go to a middle school orchestra concert for some of our students, so I had to take Sarah with me even though it was supposed to be ladies only.  She's one of the girls, right?  It was just my table group so there were maybe seven of us there.  We enjoyed dinner together, a game, and a gift exchange.  The other ladies were helpful with Sarah and held her while I ate, but Sarah was just on edge the whole evening.  She's such an easy going baby, and I am very thankful that these nights aren't her norm.  I had to leave the party early because that's just what Sarah needed.  Once I got her home she ate and went to sleep.  Maybe it's just me, but when I was pregnant I knew that becoming a mom would be very sacrificial - losing out on sleep, staying in more, doing things on Sarah's schedule - but I'm continually reminded of how many more sacrifices are needed than I ever dreamed about like leaving a Christmas party early, not eating when I want to eat if Sarah needs me, and saying Shh Shh Shh for 10 minutes straight to make Sarah fall asleep.

Last night was our final Christmas party - South Gate Youth.  It was so fun!  It was hosted by one of our seniors' family.  We had probably about 20 students and 30 people total.  We had a yummy dinner of spaghetti, salad, and bread and enjoyed Christmas treats after that.  We had a white elephant gift exchange.  Highlights included toilet paper, a plunger, and a paper clip.  The students are absolutely hilarious and very entertaining.  We also watched Charlie Brown's Christmas and played a game.  Sarah came dressed as Santa Claus.  Her outfit only lasted for a little bit, but it seemed to be a hit!  Sarah enjoyed being loved on by everybody, and I was very thankful for their voluntary care for Sarah while I enjoyed being with the students.

The Christmas parties are over, and we have done absolutely no decorating.  Last year, we didn't decorate for Christmas since we knew we'd be moving shortly after Christmas.  This year we're moving from our apartment into our new house at Christmas.  I'm not sure if we'll end up doing any decorating.  I think we can at least manage to put out our stockings.  It seems weird to not really decorate two years in a row, but it's also kind of a good reminder that Christmas isn't about the decorations or traditions at all.  Christmas is about the birth of Jesus, our Savior, who was born so that He could die to save us from our sins and provide eternal life and relationship with our LORD.  Sarah doesn't care about our decorations or lack thereof.  I don't need to put unnecessary pressure on myself to have our house settled and decorated for Christmas.  There will be many many more years to come where I can do that.  But even during the chaos of moving and having a baby we can celebrate and remember the birth of the Prince of Peace.

House Hunting

We bought a house!!!  Before I gush over our first house, I thought I'd recap the house hunting process.  When we moved back to MO we tentatively planned to rent our townhouse for a one year lease and then buy a house.  When we moved in, a church member named Laura helped us some and told us that shes a real estate agent, so we talked a bit about our plans.  We've enjoyed getting to know Laura and her family the last several months, and at the start of October, Laura contacted us and we started talking more about what we were looking for in a house.

• 3 bed/2 bath
• South side of town = short commute to work/church
• Up for a bit of remodeling if it's a good price
• 1500+ square feet
• No stairs

We looked at houses multiple days (October 7, 20, 24, 27, and 30).  It felt like we looked at a billion houses.  In reality, it was probably 20-30 houses.  I think we were able to look at that many because some of them we'd walk in and immediately know that it was a no.  Three cheers for Sarah for being the only 2-3 month old I know who could handle so many house tours.  She really did great!  Yes, we did feed bottles and change diapers in other people's houses.  It was...an experience.  Laura did a great job of not making us go way over budget.  After watching HGTV for years and hearing people say they're budget is $200,000, but then their realtor shows them a house for $350,000 and they fall in love, I was afraid that would happen to us.  We definitely learned how deceptive listings can be.  They show you the good stuff that's for sure.  

Funny sights while house hunting: dirty laundry, active ceiling leaks while it was raining outside, watch dogs, nosy neighbors, paneling, saloon doors, wallpaper, and some bizarre smells.

Robert and I each had a house that we loved and the other wasn't sold on.  We tried our hardest to convince each other of why our choice was the best, but in the end we decided to forego both options and trust that when the house is right we will both like it without needing to be convinced.  We were right!  

Our First House

Home sweet home!  We bought a house!  We can't wait to make this place home.  Trust me, lots of before and after pics and project recaps will be forthcoming.  For now, here are the highlights:

• All brick
• Sidewalks and street lights in the neighborhood
• 3 bed/2 bath
• Gas fireplace
• Fenced in backyard with a deck
• Laminate wood, tile, and carpet (Hopefully replacing the carpet soon.  The sellers had two indoor dogs.)
• Vaulted ceiling in the living room
• 8 minutes from work/church and 10 minutes closer to family

So, who wants to help paint? ;)  We hope to paint the whole house and possibly get new flooring in the bedrooms before we move in.  Everything else can be done while we live there and as we have the time and money.  We want so badly to be semi-settled before Christmas.  We're so thankful for this gift from God and look forward to using it to host others and provide a place for people to feel like they can be themselves and relax.