There was lots going on six years ago when I first wrote a post entitled "March Madness," but how different life was then! Still lots going on now, but with much bigger changes. The month has again been filled with the everyday nitty gritty coupled with some major, exciting happenings!
In the midst of the ordinary, both girls continue to amaze us with how quickly they are growing and changing. Maelee is doing better with reading, writing, and self-control (hallelujah!), and Lilee is practically running and is trying her darndest to communicate beyond her adorable handful of words. She understands so much and constantly cracks us up with her mischievous grins, dramatic tantrums, and LOUDness, but is still so sweet and cuddly! She waves every time she sees a cat or dog and has the cutest "mows" and "oofs." A bit of sibling rivalry has been rearing its ugly head as Lilee is old enough now to grab and fight back, but thankfully there are still plenty of sweet sister love moments.
We enjoyed some St. Patty's fun and had two special back-to-back weekend trips to DE and up to NYC in March. And with all the fun times and ho hum times, came two life-altering offers!!!
1. We are buying a home!!! In a barely 24 hr period, we saw a place, loved the place, put an offer on the place, and had our offer accepted! After several weeks of online searches and a few showings, we'd been feeling pretty discouraged about our prospects. Between budget, location, schools, and space, it was becoming quickly obvious that one of those factors would have to give. And in the end, we were more than happy to give on space- who needs excess square footage anyway??? Thankfully, we have been prepared for small spaces and as it is a good 150 sq ft MORE than we currently have, including an extra bedroom and bathroom (not to mention attic!), we actually feel it is quite roomy. :)
Since it's located less than a mile from our cute little Shirlington Village, we are thrilled (!) to be able to stay in the church community we've found and have even shaved off a minute or two from Nana & Pop-Pop's! There are shops, restaurants, and playgrounds around the corner so I am especially excited to still be able to walk places (including a Baskin Robbins- yikes!) and even more important, it is zoned for a wonderful elementary school!
God has been so gracious in how this has all worked out. From family connections with a wonderful realtor to an inspection that yielded no major flaws and an on-the-money appraisal, it has been a surprisingly smooth process so far. We are set to close on 4/16, then the sellers will rent back from us for a month (which also worked out so perfectly w/ our current lease!) and we will have a couple weeks to do some work to the place before moving in at the end of May. Needless to say, we are very excited and we are praising the Lord!
2. Steve accepted a new job offer!!! Last fall/winter were pretty trying for him- and therefore, on all of us!- on the job front so he decided it was time to start looking around. He found a position with another medical education company and will be a medical director over two fields he is passionate about. AND, he can still work remotely! Needless to say once again, we are VERY excited and praising the Lord for this offer as well!!! He starts on Monday!
Now on to some pics from the month!!!
Loving the outside time, too...
At least the paci-buckteeth-lollipop cheered her up! Especially when daddy finished it up:)
Slideshow from March:
