Jonah loves The Lion Guard, and he is especially a fan of the "hanabynenas" (hyenas)! LOL! And getting him to Look AND Smile is nearly impossible! But he's very good at smiling and staring off into space or closing his eyes! Guess I'll take what I can get!
Playing McDonald's at G-Ma's house is still a favorite!
Madison made Pony a nurse's costume...this girl loves her Pony!
I really like having pretty fingernails!
An early birthday dinner at G-Ma's house!
We still had some Build-a-Bear gift cards, so off we went! Because we NEED more stuffed animals at our house. Ugh!!
I found him entertaining himself in this mirror...so funny!
The girls have been wanting these rock star Build-a-Bears for a long time, so they were very happy!
I got to have dinner at Ted's with my BFF from High School, Kelley. Love her!!
She didn't like the pic from dinner, so we took another one at church the next morning.
Now this is a very good picture to describe our summer...I got very tired of packing/unpacking/loading/unloading!
Daddy and Mackenzie have been watching The Pirates of the Caribbean. Every time they decide to watch another one, Mackenzie shows up in her pirate costume!
Ready for VBS fun!
We got to celebrate Kelsey's 1st birthday! I can't believe it's already been a year! Precious baby girl!
At the end of June, a few days after Brian left for his trip to Portugal/Spain/Latvia, we got an offer on our house! This was a huge relief, but also a slap in the face with reality that this really IS going to happen. I think I cried half the night. If there is one thing I have learned through this process, I am wayyyy too attached to my "earthly possessions." I think that's something all people struggle with. I mean, I LOVE our house. I remember Brian saying when we moved our stuff into our bedroom, that this was the room he was going to die in when he gets to be 100 years old. All that to say, we had no plans of moving from here anytime soon! But, Brian has also always said that we should make plans, but hold them loosely. Which, we have done.
The great news is that they offered to pay our full asking price, if we will pay $6,000 of their closing costs. It looks like we will close on August 11th if all goes according to plan. Once we gave up on the whole For Sale by Owner thing and Carol Brown came on board as our realtor, it was a pretty smooth process. One thing that I am very happy about: no more cleaning to perfection for house showings! Selling the house is just one more hurdle to completing this crazy transition out of Tulsa. What a marathon it has been! God has been faithful every step of the way so far, and I know He will continue to be so.
I walked outside the next morning and saw that the pink crepe myrtles I planted in memory of my Grandma Jean had started to bloom. I took that as a little love wink from her, that everything will be okay!
This was my FB post about this...
Well, it's been an exciting, but (bitter)sweet day! We got an offer on our house last night and we countered today & they accepted! So...it looks like we sold our house!! Please pray that the appraisal goes through & we are able to close on August 11th as planned. Thankful for God's provision! Also, a little sad because things just got REAL. Trying to remind myself that my eyes should be set on things above, not on earthly things. On a sweet note, the pink crepe myrtles we planted in memory of my Grandma Jean bloomed today...sent me a smile when I needed it most! Excited for what the future holds, but it's hard to let go. Missing Brian Thomas Baldwin a lot today!
"About to take off to Portugal, Spain, and Latvia! I'm gonna miss my dear family! Protect the girls Jonah, Don't pester your brother Madison, Mackenzie help your momma, Don't sweat the small stuff Candace. Can't wait to see you all when I get back! - Daddy"
Brian left on June 23rd for a 10 day work trip to Portugal, Spain and Latvia. Looking back as I sit here blogging, this was a turning point in our summer. When Brian arrived in Portugal, he started feeling bad. He was very dizzy, light-headed and fatigued. (And now, 3 months later, he is still feeling like this.) =0( He had a good trip, but at the same time it was a struggle for him. I was so glad that our friend Jamie was with him. I'm not sure what we would've done if he wouldn't have been there. Brian LOVES missions & evangelism...God has given him a passion for it, and that's why we felt like this job was the right move for us...because he gets to do cool things like this & lead others to do it as well! Here are a few pic's from his trip, and then I will talk about what the kids and I did while he was gone.
One of the coolest things he got to see was this area where part of Star Wars was filmed in Spain. Mackenzie thought this was the best ever!
Brian did so good...he always brings me nativity sets from the countries he visits. He brought me two beautiful new nativities from Spain & Portugal & I love them! He couldn't find one from Latvia, so that will have to be his mission when he goes back there next summer!
I have done several individual posts about things that happened during the time Brian was gone, but here's the overview and just some misc. pics! The kids and I spent Thurs-Sat in Newcastle, doing G-Ma's VBS. Then we went home and relaxed on Sunday, the kids went to VBS at STBC, we sold our house YEA!, the kids went to spend a few nights with Grandma & Grandpa Baldwin at the lake, Kari spent the night with me so I wouldn't be alone, I mowed the grass for the first time ever & then caught a toad in my bedroom in the middle of the night, the Easterwood's came over to play and watch fireworks from our backyard, and then on Sunday we headed back to Falls Creek to meet up with Brian. I love summertime, but our summers are not exactly normal...especially this one! I feel like a ping-pong ball, back and forth all over the place! We made it through 10 days without Daddy, but we sure were ready to have him back!
I laid down with Jonah for a nap and woke up to this! Haha!
Sooo good to sleep in my own bed again!
And this is how I felt by the end of the week! =0)
Fun at VBS!
Follow-up eye appt with Jonah to make sure his glasses are doing what they are supposed to.
The eye dr just wore him out!
This is usually what my bed looks like when Brian's gone...at least one or two kids in it every night!
Getting lovin's from Ms. Debbie at VBS one day!
Check out my new jean jacket! Can't wait to wear this on our trip!
Kari and I met Lori for dinner at Johnny Carino's one night while the kids were at the lake with Grandma & Grandpa Baldwin. I love that I am going to get to do life with Lori in Edmond! So thankful for God's hand in that! This was such a fun night!
The kids did some big sword sparklers at the lake and Lyn sent me these video's. Fun!
Watching the Bixby fireworks show from our backyard!
