What a whirlwind!!! just shy of two months ago, we made an executive decision to see if our house would sell, with a back up plan in place to just stay put until after Christmas if it doesn't. What happened next just makes my head spin........less than a week goes by and we had a contract on our house. We were all caught up in cleaning it up and getting it ready to sell, packing, etc. and i realized: we do'nt have anywhere to live now! so, just a few short days later, we settle on a house, make an offer, and two weeks later we close on both homes and move in. All this within about 3 weeks.

During those weeks, however, our life didn't just stop. We had to do a few repairs to the home, paint, etc. and we also had a visit with our doctor to check in on the little baby. IT'S A BOY!!!! What a surprise and what great, exciting news. The girls are thrilled and so are we (and our entire family). So, now the work begins...buying all new stuff, gear, furniture, clothes, and .. oh..my..goodnes...DIAPERS! ha. I am just not used to that. I was so overwhelmed looking at bottles and feeding systems online that I didn't know what to do or where to start. So much has changed in five years. I know it will all come flooding back to me, but it will also be a little different this time around. I'm not sure how to handle a boy. Thankfully, i'm older and a tad bit wiser, with more experience under my belt and a hopefully a more relaxed attitude towards this whole mothering mission. I'm starting to finally have time to get excited and focus on baby boy stegall (no, no name is picked out yet) and i'm looking forward to his arrival and the changes he'll bring to our family. It will be so neat to see how our girls react and grow as big sisters.

we've endured a few hard times lately too, some big, some small.....we had to remove some semi-poisonous plants from the new house, install new locks and will have to do some unexpected tile work.....I had a badly damaged tooth pulled (without gas or good drugs), lee endured double-hernia surgery this week and I am sad to say that my former boss and friend, Mr. Dan Edwards, passed away last week. Mr. E was such a special person in my life...even though he was 'just' my boss, he had a huge influence on me during the years i worked for him. He showed me that one could be a strong, tough business leader, yet still be a Christian and put family before work. I'm thankful for the opportunity to work for him and with him for six years. I met him just after Lee and I got married and worked for him until just before Rachel's birth. He was so encouraging when I would worry about becoming a mom. He was a huge practical joker and would always tell us stories of his family, four grown children and all his grandkids. He also taught me that age was just a number....even until his diagnosis with brain cancer at age 63, he was training for a triathalon! I will never forget when he came into the office telling me that he'd installed kayak racks on the top of his car so he and his wife could kayak across the grand canyon one year...and they did! it was great. I'm blessed to have known him and I'm also thankful for my years under his leadership. I still have some wonderful friends whose relationships were developed during those years and in that department. We never know how people will influence us and how God can use even business relationships to mold us and help us become better Christians.

With so much going on, it's been hard to sleep, for me, lee and the girls, which is why i'm typing this at 1:38AM. I did have a lot of caffeine and cotton candy today. ha. OF course, the first day of school is just around the corner and the demands of those first few days will definitely get us whipped into shape quickly. I'm looking forward to fall and the routine it brings. Getting ready for baby will keep us busy enough! So, i better stop here and let my mind rest. The house is quiet and i'm going to sleep! God bless!