Good-byes have begun...

We have laughed, cried, and celebrated with pink balloons on porches together. And shared many a box of vegetables. Our Chick-fil-A dinner the other night was a far cry from the fondue extravangaza Jess once put together. Do they have neighbors like these in Grand Rapids?

We will miss you, First Trinity

So many of our Pittsburgh memories are connected with our dear church family. We can't thank them enough for everything. First Trinity will always hold a special place in our heart.

Five on Friday

1) Yes, we did sell our current house already. We've heard the explanation of the Pittsburgh housing market as "we weren't at the party, so we don't have the hangover". In other words, there was no housing bubble to burst. We actually sold it to the first couple to see it after it was listed. How are we going to say good-bye to our "baby house?"

2) When we were originally attempting For Sale by Owner, I wrote a listing I was thought described it perfectly. Then at my neighbor's suggestion, I re-read the book "Freakonomics". Turns out, the terms "comfortable", "charming", "spacious", and "great neighborhood" are correlated with LOWER sales prices. So our "Comfortable, Comfortable, and Spacious Home in Great Neighborhood" quickly became "Classic Red Brick Cape Cod".

3) We went with The Whites to the Children's Museum the other day. Here's the group posing in Mr. Roger's neighborhood. Although it looks like only Susan had fun from the picture, the girls had a blast.


4) Mali keeps telling us that her birthday is coming up. "In a couple of days". Or 11 months.

5) Boxes, boxes everywhere. Need I say more? But...here is a glimpse of our new home, complete with a fenced-in back yard!

Ten months old!

I was so proud of myself yesterday. I found the camera and Pooh Bear, took pictures, and was ready to post them all before Brinnly's morning nap. When we saw the Ryans at the park later, I exclaimed "look at my big ten-month-old!". Kellie then politely reminded me that it was the 10th, and not the 11th, so I waited until today for the big picture debut. I don't think I've ever been early with montly updates before. Just another sign that things are getting chaotic around here

This month Brinnly has been climbing and standing on anything she can find, unfortunately making her more vulnerable to big sister anctics. She says "mama" and "dada" as well as dozens of words in her own language, and is always eager to dance to a rhythm. Her biggest accomplishment? Sleeping through the night on occasion!

Stay tuned for next month's pictures...featuring Pooh in the Great Lakes State.

You thought there was excitement around here?

Check out the new picture on Nick and Becky's blog!