Celebration!

Last night we decided to cancel our plans for a very fancy dinner of macaroni & cheese (we are trying to use up all of the food in our pantry before we move) for dinner out at Olive Garden. (Well, Ernie and I canceled on the mac & cheese, but Sophia still had some at the OG.) Why the change? To celebrate my promotion at work! I will be a lead auditor in the Tacoma office. I will have additional responsibilities, be challenged in new ways, get to help with training new auditors, and more. I am super-excited for this opportunity.

And hearing the news that I have been chosen for the promotion was just the encouragement I needed to know that the decision to move to Olympia was the right one.

Sleeping Beauty

Kaitlyn is now two months old! Where has the time gone?

Kaitlyn's big news is that she is sleeping through the night. She sleeps nine hours at night, which is very welcome at our house! She is smiling and "talking" all the time now. She loves to be sung to - "When You're Happy and You Know It" is a big favorite around here. Katy also enjoys being read to and likes to play with her hanging toys. She is even able to hit them sometimes, though not intentionally yet. She gets a big proud smile on her face when she causes the toys to make noise.

Kaitlyn had her two-month checkup with the doctor yesterday. She weighs 11 lbs 14 oz, putting her in the 75th percentile for her age. (Sophia was nowhere near the middle, let alone above 50% at this age, so we are in new territory!) Katy is 22-1/2 inches long, putting her at the 50th percentile for her age. Her head is 15-1/2 cm, which is the 60th percentile for her age. The doctor is very happy with her stats and development. Kaitlyn also got her two-month shots, which was unpleasant. She cried, but not for long. She handled it like a champ. She spent the rest of the day and evening a little out-of-sorts - not eating much, her temperature was a bit higher, and she was fussy. Thank goodness for infant Tylenol!

Needing Peace

I'm sure that you all are thinking that with two young kids I would need peace and quiet. However, as I write this post I have two young kids asleep and Ernie is gone to a movie with a friend. No, the kind of peace I need is peace of mind.

We have had the house on the market for nearly five months now, with not a single offer. Heck, we haven't even had a hint of an offer. To say I am getting discouraged is an understatement.

No matter when we sell the house, I go back to work in the Tacoma office on September 1st. For those who are unfamiliar with the geography of western Washington, Ferndale (where our house is) is too far from Tacoma (where my job is) to commute. It is a two-hour drive one-way, on a good day with no traffic.

We are lucky that Ernie's parents live relatively close to my job in Tacoma, and have offered us the opportunity to move in with them until our house sells. We are extremely grateful for their hospitality so that we do not have to worry about paying rent in addition to our mortgage. (Of course, it's not all selfless on their part - they get to have their granddaughters move in with them too.)

And while Ernie's parents have a big house, it is not big enough to absorb all of our belongings. I am working on packing up everything so that it can be moved into a storage unit, until our house sells and we find a new home in the Olympia area to move to. Good thing I like an organizational challenge, since some of our things are going into storage, some of our things are going to Ernie's parents' house, and the rest of our things are being thrown out or donated to charity. I just hope that I don't get things confused and sent to the wrong place!

In addition to packing, we have other things related to the move to figure out. Foremost in my mind is what to do with our cat, Milo. Ernie's parents already have three cats at their house, and while they graciously offered to let us bring Milo with us, I don't think that's a good idea for Milo or their cats. And while Ernie and I love Milo, I think Sophia would be most devastated if we have to get rid of him. And if we do leave him behind, who do we leave him with? Permanently or just until we settle into a new home in Olympia?

And as if moving wasn't enough stress with more questions than answers, Ernie still has not found a permanent teaching job. On one hand, that could be a good thing. He can substitute teach and figure out which districts he would want to work for, and possibly which he doesn't want to work for. On the other hand, it sure would be a whole lot easier, financially, if he brought home a consistent paycheck.

The super-difficult part for me is that I am starting to doubt if moving to the Olympia area was a good decision. Ernie and I felt that God was pushing us in that direction, but as we get closer to the reality of it, with so many big issues (let alone details) left to iron out, I wonder if we misunderstood God's message to us. I have been having a really tough time with it lately. I have been having trouble sleeping. Which has left me in a bad mood and feeling like a bit of a basket case. Please pray for me as I deal with my doubt and impatience, please pray for Ernie as he is left to deal with a cranky and crazy wife, please pray for Sophia as she has to deal with an abundance of changes in her life (she was worried when she saw me put the waffle iron in a box - I am SO not looking forward to packing up her stuff), and please pray for our situation and for all of the pieces of the puzzle to come together.

Nine is Fine!

Yesterday Ernie and I celebrated nine years of marriage! We went to Chuckanut Manor for dinner while my friend Michel babysat the girls. (Thanks again Michel!) Chuckanut Manor is a fancy restaurant (they have linen tablecloths and multiple forks!) situated on Chuckanut Bay. The view was beautiful, the service was excellent, and the food was wonderful!

I was nervous about whether I would find something on the menu that I liked, but when we got there and discovered that they have a kids menu, I knew I was safe. I chose the bacon cheeseburger, and it was good. Ernie enjoyed the early dinner special that included five courses, and he chose seafood saute for the main course. He also splurged and upgraded from the green salad to the whiskey crab soup (thanks again Michel for the suggestion!) and was glad that he did. He was able to keep his manners about him and refrain from licking the bowl, but it was tough.

As we sat down to dinner, we started to reminisce. We realized that nine years earlier at about the same time, I was zonked out in the car on the way to our honeymoon. We thought back to our years in youth group together, and how neither of us would have guessed that we would be married with two kids. We have had nine amazing years together and look forward to many more to come!