Still alive!

We are still breathing. However, we are waiting to get our internet access set up in Texas. Soon enough we will be in contact with the outside world again. I will write more later. Don't worry, I will post pictures of everything! The house, the baby, etc...

Moving to Texas

Matt came home on Saturday with good news and bad news. Fortunately for me, both ended up being pretty good news! He passed his BIG test, but his Airborne training was cancelled. So, what that means is that he will driving to Texas with us, and he won't have to leave to go to training! I would have been down there alone with Grace for nearly a month before seeing him again. But, I know Matt is a little disappointed because he has always wanted to do Airborne training...his time will come.

That is all that's new with us. I will post pictures of his graduation when we get everything set up at home. We leave this Friday afternoon. I am so excited! My mom is flying in this Wednesday, too. She is driving down with us and gets to see our house! Hopefully they both like it as much as I do.

Bye all! I probably won't have time or news to post until Texas.

Hallelujah!

I thought I should let all of you know that Grace has been sleeping through the night for the last 6 days! I started putting her on a strict schedule. Feeding times are not negotiable, PJ time is not negotiable, and now scripture time is not negotiable either. I took the advice of two people...my Grandma Barlow and my friend Chelsea. I was nursing Grace just before bed, but I switched it up a bit and now feed her full of cereal and fruit before bed. She sleeps like a tank! (Her Daddy would love that metaphor!)

As for Matthew...I haven't seen or heard from him in over a week now and the time for him to return home is inching closer every hour. I can't wait to see him and find out what our future holds. I will, as promised, fill you all in as soon as I know anything.

P.S. Here is another picture of Grace. She is starting to let go and stand on her own for a split second before falling onto her caboose. (Or, as Lacey calls it, her Tookus...not quite sure I spelled that right!)

Winding Down

Our time here is coming to a close and it is kind of bittersweet. I have met so many amazing moms and families here in Kentucky. I have picked up ideas about what family scripture study will be like when our family gets a little older and so many other fun ideas for decorating, crafting and developing talents. I will miss all of my friends here.

Matt is gone for his last field training and I am so anxious I can hardly sleep. He left a few days ago and won't be back until the 14th. When this phase ends, we will know what the game plan is for the next 6 months. He has the opportunity to go to Airborne school in Fort Benning, GA after we leave Kentucky. Luckily, it is only three weeks long. Grace and I will be in Texas setting up the house and trying to familiarize ourselves to our new city, church and so forth.

Grace is starting to walk around the furniture and falls quite often when she can't figure out which foot moves next. She is such a handful, but I love her to pieces ( as her Great Grandma Barlow says). She still doesn't sleep at night. She wakes up two times usually lasting about an hour each time. Last night I decided to let her cry herself to sleep at 5 in the morning, because I had already been up for two hours with no relief. It took her 45 minutes to do so, but she slept the rest of the morning afterward. The only good thing about the "field time" Matt has is that all of the tenants around us are also out there. Needless to say, she can cry and make all sorts of noise and I don't feel guilty for her waking everyone up.

Not much new with me. I haven't been working out lately and I am starting to feel it. I have no energy or desire to do anything aerobic when I haven't slept and I have a killer headache. If anyone has tips about helping babies sleep better at night, I am all ears. I have tried everything her doctor and other moms have recommended...but I am still open to suggestions. You can call it the Save Mandy's Sanity Project.

Kentucky

When we moved to Kentucky, I didn't know what to expect. I had heard it would be green and lush and humid in summer...but I still wasn't prepared for the beauty of it. I changed my blog background to show all of you what Kentucky looks like right now. During the three weeks Grace and I were away, the entire state blossomed into a green wonderland. I know Texas will have green areas as well, but I will really miss looking out my front windows and seeing nothing but my favorite color carpeting the earth. It makes me happy to see the wonders God has created here.

I decided to start reading the books and authors I have always wanted to. C.S. Lewis is first on the list. I borrowed some books from my friend Tami to get started and Mere Christianity is what I picked first. He was such a wise and persuasive man. I know of a sureity with every fiber in my being that there is a God and that his hand guides all things...but in case I had any doubt all I needed to do was read this book. He approaches the existence of deity from a logical perspective and it just seems to reaffirm my testimony. So, thank you to C.S. Lewis for strengthening my resolve to make it to the end.

Our family has been tried lately. Both individually and as a whole. We are in no way weaker than before, in fact, we are stronger. We have bound our little family to our Savior and the gospel in order to overcome our "road humps" (as they call them in Kentucky). Matt is trying his hardest to be the best Tank Commander he can be and he has now reached the point of being tested on his capability. He is stressed and tired. He has 2 weeks of almost pure testing in the field and classroom in order to determine if he graduates or if he needs a bit more practice. I will keep you all posted as to our progress.

P.S. Grace pulls herself up to absolutely everything...may be walking soon.
Matt and I have been trying to get in touch more with our spiritual selves.
Matt is working very hard to meet the requirements for BOLC III.
We are still in the homebuying process...

Success!

The seller counteroffered and we accepted. We close on June 19th and we will be the proud owners of our first home. We can't wait to make it our own. We can paint walls, decorate a nursery for Grace and plant whatever we want in our garden! If only we weren't moving there in the hottest month of the year!

Househunting

Grace and I have been in Texas for the past week. We looked at nearly 30 houses and were getting a bit tired and discouraged. Then we found two viable options and starting the bidding on Saturday. We were so excited to start the paperwork when we met with our realtor...but sadly the house we had decided on was under contract since that morning. Turns out they were negotiating the whole time we had been looking at it. Talk about ridiculous! Luckily we had a backup house in mind and we put an offer on it instead. Now we are playing the waiting game, which I have to admit is absolute torture! I leave on Tuesday morning, and I desperately want to have this all figured out before I go home to Kentucky. The house is cute, but could definitely use some Matt Merrill inspired curb appeal. It has 3 bedrooms and a simple backyard. The best part of the house is actually the neighborhood that it's in. It's called Morse Valley and houses typically sell for quite a bit more there (they are typically much bigger and lavish than the one we have bid on). The house is also located within a mile of the LDS church, which is the only one for miles around.

I wish I could read minds and know what the seller is thinking....