We're PREGNANT!!!

On Tuesday, June 29, I took a pregnancy test in the bathroom at my office. Quite honestly, I really didn't think that it would be positive; I was just taking one because I thought my tummy looked pudgier than normal the night before!!

But, alas, there were two lines instead of one!!! I sat on the toilet in shock for at least 5 minutes, and when I could stand again, I immediately mumbled something about needing to go to my car, and called my best friend in California. It was 8:30am here in Texas, so it was 6:30am in CA. I prayed and prayed that she would pick up, but 3 phone calls and 2 text messages later, I was still alone with my big news.

I knew that I couldn't tell Brian until we could talk in person, so for two hours, I was completely alone with this news. Then, Brooke called me back, and she spent at least 30 minutes assuring me that Brian wouldn't kill me, and would in fact be excited with this surprise (no, we weren't trying...)

Certainly, we trust that God has a very specific plan for our future, and His timing is perfect. So while it took Brian several days to get used to this news, right now we're anxiously awaiting a Dr. appointment on July 15 to hear the heartbeat and get our first glimpse at the little 'bean'. After this, we will start telling friends and family, and after it's probably after that day that you will first glimpse this post.

So long, Plano!

We've been living in a lovely house (read: grown-up fancy-pants neighborhood in far too large a house) that we got a STEAL in rent on since July 2008. What Brian and I will forever refer to as the glory days are about to end. Truly, God blessed us with a really great deal for a while, and we got to pretend that this large and in charge home was ours. Alas, all good things come to an end- the owners want the house back...

Here's the really frustrating part- the owners don't want to live in the home. They've been working/ living abroad for the last 5 years, and they just want to live in the house temporarily until they find a different house to buy. Should take them 2-4 months, but, that means we have to move out. SERIOUSLY!?!?! (While it sure isn't the appropriate WWJD attitude, if you feel the need to avenge the demise of our really awesome rent deal, I wouldn't hate it if you left a flaming bag of dog poo on their front porch after we're gone... just kidding... kind of...)

While we were extremely upset and peeved for a while, finding a new home to move in to has really relieved some stress, and helped us transition into acceptance. Since I do some work for a real estate company, I've been able to stalk the MLS 'For Lease' listings. We'd looked at 7-9 houses last week, and on a whim, Brian checked Zillow before we went to bed last Friday night. He found a listing not associated with any real estate company, and we called the owner on Saturday morning. After seeing the home on Saturday afternoon, Brian and I were in agreement that this was probably the best deal we were going to find. (Everything that we were looking at was more expensive than we have been paying, and not nearly as nice.)

We put a deposit down on Wednesday night, and will be moving back to McKinney on or before July 1. Looking back, my first and second blog posts were about moving into our Plano house. I wrote about how sad we were to be moving further from church and life group friends, so it is exciting to be moving back closer to those important ties. But. Some of our dear friends just very recently moved to Plano, so moving away from them is hard.

Alas, McKinney, here we come! Again! I don't have any actual pictures of my own yet, but I got on Google Maps and got a screenshot of a satellite picture.



Pretty trippy that I could do that! I guess this picture was taken around Christmas, because I think those are Christmas decorations out front...

Anyways, that's what is new with us! We're excited!

Sorry, Charlies...

I get really frustrated when I follow a blog (ahem, stalk people via their blogs) and they don't update frequently enough. Funnily enough, I'm so often guilty of committing this blogging sin. However, don't for ONE SECOND think that I'm not blogging at all. In fact, I'm blogging for a living these days!! I am solely responsible for creating content on the following blogs, which you're welcome to visit if you're longing to read my words:

Creekview Realty
For Sale by Owner Homes
Creekview Realty's Trulia Blog
Fresh Look Creative
And, um, this one

Add in tweeting and other geeky stuff, and the last thing I can seem to get around to is blogging for myself. Which is unfortunate, because this is an amazing outlet for me.

So, to catch up, I turned 28 a few weeks ago. Really isn't that old unless you have a 22-yr-old brother, and you're constantly reminded exactly how old you are as he discusses his life with you and asks you questions like "What do you mean, you didn't do anything on Friday night? You went to bed at 10:30pm???!?!? I saw the sun come up and then ran a marathon at 7am!" (Not really on the marathon part, but seriously, he makes me feel really, really old.)

We celebrated by eating a cross cake, made by this guy...



This is Christy's hubby, Johnny. He loves to bake cakes. And I love him for that. (Oddly enough, this isn't a picture of him baking my cake. I went to find a picture of him on his Facebook page and discovered this one. He will be thrilled I'm sharing it with you...)

Oh, and the cross cake... My b-day was on Easter, so me and Jesus shared the cake, symbolically. ;-)

We also celebrated by purchasing a loveseat to take the place of the red/pink/flowerdy monstrosity that currently resides in our living room, which I have owned since I was 21, and found in the Thrifty Nickel. It was time to say goodbye. We don't actually have it yet, but here it is....



We didn't get the whole room, just the loveseat.

In other news, I'm a Godmomma!!! I know, I was excited too... ;-)

Clara Violet Boyle was born on Wednesday, April 14, 2010 to Brooke (my bestie) and Alan Boyle.



Don't you just want to eat her face??!?!?! She's the most adorable baby ever!!! I'll see her (in person- we've been video chatting like mad people...) in May when I go for her baptism, so get ready for a ton of pictures!!

I think that's it!! Forgive my prolonged absences- I miss you guys!