It's a Done Deal!

We are officially Bartians! That is correct...Bartians, rhymes with Martians. That is what people who dwell in Bartlesville are called. If I had known this before we had moved, I would have had some serious reservations.

And in typical Matt and Stephanie style, we picked the worst weekend to move. We were hauling boxes and furniture in sleet and snow and we literally would have to skate across the yard, trying to load everything up. Not an ideal situation. However, we do have heat and electricity while many of my family and friends do not so I won't complain. My mom, dad and brother all came up and helped which was beyond nice considering the circumstances. I am really a lucky gal to have such a great family!

Everyone seems to be adjusting to the move okay. Evan is trying to pull all nighters but other than that, he seems to really love it here. Dexter wouldn't eat the first two nights but he is doing fine now. As for myself, I cried like a baby when I first drove off, but I honestly love our new house and it already feels like home. It just goes to show that home is where your loved ones are!

Too Cute

It isn't even 8am and Evan has already done a couple of the funniest things. He just cracks me up!

First of all, he was sitting on my bed this morning while Matt was getting ready for work. All of a sudden he says, "Matt! Matt! Maaaattt!" He knows Matt wants him to say "Daddy" so he usually he calls him "Dad". It drives Matt crazy. So when Matt said, "Are you calling me Matt?" Evan just started rolling. I guess he cracks himself up also!

Then later on, I had just ordered a train set online (I got it for a great deal here) and it was still on my screen. Evan walked in and said "Too, Too" (his version of Choo Choo) and then proceeded to walk to my purse, get out my check card and gave it to me. I am not sure, but I think he was wanted to buy that "Too Too"!

I am working on getting video on this blog. I lost the book to our camcorder but how hard can it be?? Ha!

Giving Thanks

It was a beautiful Thanksgiving today. Just glorious! It was low 40's today (and two days ago it was 80...I'm telling you we don't have fall in Oklahoma!)but the sun was shining and no wind at all. That in itself was something to be thankful for.

We had dinner at my grandma's today at 1:30 just like we do at every holiday. There was so much food and it was all delicious (I am a little embarrassed about all the left overs I took, but I just couldn't help myself). And it was just so much fun to be around my family! I have missed everyone so much.

So I wanted to take a few minutes while Matt was putting Evan to sleep to list a few things that I am thankful for:

~My wonderful, wonderful husband. I know I don't give Matt enough credit on this blog or anywhere else for that matter, but I am the luckiest girl in the world to have him. He is the best friend, provider, father, leader I could ask for.

~Evan. He is a lot of work but it is the best, most fulfilling job I have ever had. And I know I learn more from him than he will probably ever learn from me. He is such a happy and loving child. He has a smile and kiss for everyone. And he brings so much joy to Matt and my life...I will be forever thankful for that! I am so blessed to be Evan's mom.

~God's grace. I have really had a rough time the past year and without His grace, I think this experience could have really allowed me to become bitter and unhappy. Instead, my relationship with God has just gotten better and better and I am a better person for it. It is the best feeling in the world to know that no matter what I go through, it is opportunity for God to let me know how much He loves me!

~My family, my two wonderful dogs, my friends (I have the best girlfriends ever!), central heat and air, down comforters, cookies, lip gloss, Target (especially since my new town does not have one...Boo!), flats, books, my digital camera, mascara, Maxalt, old movies, email.

These are just of few things of which I am grateful! I am one very blessed girl.

Yesterday was Julia's birthday. She would have been 23. I don't know which is harder to believe...that she was supposed to be 23 and it would have been her first year of college or the fact that she isn't here to celebrate her 23rd. I spent a lot of time yesterday reflecting on the "might have been's". What her career would be, where she would live, if she would be married or engaged. The one thing I know for sure is she would have been absolutely crazy about Evan and would be a huge part of his life.

Our family went out to the cemetery yesterday about 3 pm. We were there for over an hour just reminising, laughing, getting teary-eyed at times. The balloon release was just gorgeous. Definitely the best one yet. The sky was so clear and the balloons just soared. I wish I would have taken a picture but I didn't think of it at the time.

Anyway,

Happy Birthday Jules!! I miss you so very much and love you even more. Thank you for sharing your light with me.

I thank my God every time I remember you. Philippians 1:3


One of the last pictures taken. It was at my wedding and I always wonder what she was thinking.


Julia, me and Sabrina. I know the three of us don't really look alike (nor are we that glaringly white.). But if you look really close you can definitely see some Osborn features we all share.



Julia's senior picture.


Classic Jules, just the way I remember her.

Soak It Up

It has been beautiful fall weather and Evan and I have been doing everything we can to soak it up. I don't know if many people realize but Oklahoma doesn't really have spring or fall. We might have a few mild days and then it is full-on bitter cold! So we have been going to the park alot and we went to the zoo three times this week!

Although Evan and I went to the zoo many times last spring and early summer, this week it was just a completely different experience for him. He was talking to all of the animals using their respective sounds and waved bye bye to every single creature. It was adorable.

Yesterday, I raked up a huge pile of leaves while Evan was napping. When he saw them, he took off at a run and just dove right in. Not flopped. More like he was stealing home. It just cracks me up that kids just KNOW what to do!

Unfortunately I forgot my camera so I was unable to document any of our fun days! I will try harder next week.

And besides just being able to enjoy this most beautiful weather, this is also one of my favorite weeks of the year. All of our family starts arriving from out of state and it is just basically a contest of who can eat the most and lots of football. My grandma makes SO MUCH food and there are many, many, many desserts to choose from. This year she is going to let me help her prepare everything, because next year, it has been decreed that I get to host Thanksgiving at my house!! I have always wanted to have my own holiday so this is very exciting that everyone trusts me this much. We will see what they decide for 2009 :)

On the Move...

We sold our house last week. It was on the market for six days when we got an offer that was exactly what we were asking. We priced our house very fair (probably a little too fair, really!) and a young lady just out of college is buying it.



As the closing date (December 7) draws nearer, I realize how sad I am to leave this home. At first I thought it was just the thought of living so far from family (and 60 miles is very, very far for me!!). But I realize now that I hate to leave this house. This is the house we bought just before we got married and we remodeled every single room in it. Everything in this house is a reflection of us...as a unit. And I hate that Evan is so little that he will never remember his first home. I also love our neighbors, the mid town location, everything.

Change is just really hard on me and I don't know why it kind of caught me by surprise this time. I think part of it is that you don't really appreciate what you have until it is gone. I see this house everyday and I never really think twice about it. But now that we are leaving, I am so sentimental about it, I get teary eyed everytime I think about how long we have left in this house. I just know when we pull away for the last time, I am going to be bawling.

I am excited about our new house and our new town. And it turns out that we know four couples within walking distance of our new house and ALL of them have young children. And I just spoke to a long time friend and found out her sister just moved there as well. So I feel really confident about this move and that it is the best decision for my family...now I just have to accept it!

And I have some new pictures of my little man to share...

So much for consistency...

I can't believe it has been over three weeks since I last posted. I promised myself I would update at least once a week...I will try again. But in my defense, A LOT has been going on.

First of all, Matt's assistant told us about a house around the corner from her that went up for sale. We went and looked at it and we loved it! It was everything we wanted and for a great price. It has been completely redone and we can move in without doing a thing. And it even has a red room...just like my house now. We put in an offer and we got it.

Here it is:



And here is the red room:



We were supposed to close on December 7th, but then our house sold yesterday (after only five days on the market) and the buyer wants to close on the 13th, less than two weeks away.

I am pretty excited but at the same time, it has really hit me that I am moving away and my family won't be a short car drive away. I know Evan has really filled a void that was left by Julia's death and I hate that I am taking him away from everyone. But we will still only be an hour away and Matt makes the trip everyday right now. I can definitely make it once or twice a week!

And it the midst of all these happenings, we went to Colorado for a few days to visit some friends. Evan was able to go trick or treating with Anna and Addison and we visited the Butterfly Pavillion for Bug-A-Boo. Evan absolutely loved it! What is it about little boys that they LOVE bugs? The creepier and crawlier the better! I was going to post some pictures but for some reason my camera says the memory card must be formatted. But if I do that, I will lose all of my pictures! AAAHHH!

Back to Normal

Whatever that means! Last week was a little crazy. Evan started acting real whiny and clingy...not at all like his usual self. Then he started running a temperature so I took him to the dr. I thought it was probably an ear infection, since he had no other symptoms (like a runny nose or cough). Well, his ears were fine but it turned out he had pneumonia. It was so weird! I always thought pneumonia was the result of a cold but obviously that isn't the case. I have to say though, I was really glad that was "all" that was wrong. They ran so many tests...I was expecting something worse.

Evan is feeling much better now and yesterday we ventured out to the zoo. We have been at least a dozen times before, but this was the first time since June. And for some reason, he decided to test out a few new words there. He said "raffe" for giraffe, "eat" when he saw the elephants eating, and said "straw" when he wanted a drink. He is starting to talk more and more everyday and I am figuring out more and more of what he is saying.

My Little Bed Head

Mmmm...I don't know about this

We did it!!

The 2007 golf tournament was a major success. We made right at $10,000!! That is $2,000 better than last year. It is so overwhelming to think that when we started the scholarship right after Julia's death, our goal was to have $5,000...so that by the time Rachel was a senior we would still be giving out a scholarship. Well, almost four years later, we have given away seven scholarships and we now have $28,000!!! We are so blessed to have family and friends that have made this happen. And I guess we are all blessed to have been so touched by Julia that this scholarship means so much to all of us.

I bet Jules is in complete awe that all of this is because of HER!! But she always got over her modesty pretty quickly!

Tomorrow

is the big day. The golf tournament is finally here and everything is finished! I always stress out but yet, everything just falls in place. I will post some pictures tomorrow and hopefully have the final tally!

Evan got a new car. It is the cutest thing to see him driving it. He walks over, gets in, shuts the door and starts waving bye bye. Then he proceeds to go in reverse!

xoxo

Speechless

Literally. I have laryngitis today. I feel much better though and Evan has been an absolute sweetheart yesterday and today. Just very sweet and tender and letting his Mom rest. I really thought he would be climbing the walls by this evening but he is just playing contentedly in his room.

Today when I was just watching him play, I just thought of how incredibly blessed I am . Sometimes it just hits me like a load of bricks and I am in awe at how wonderful my life is. Not to say that we don't have our trials from time to time (because those who know me know that I have had more than my fair share!), but the overall picture is just remarkable. I have the whole package...thank you God!!!!!

xoxo

Evan's Masterpiece

From my sweet friend, Crystal.

Hallmark always says it best!