Dear Baby York....

Dear Baby York,

Today mommy and daddy went for our second doctor's visit. You have been very busy growing the last 13 weeks. Today was the first day we were scheduled to hear your precious little heart beating. The doctor started searching for your heart beat, but she could not find it. Thankfully, she had warned us not to be concerned if this was the case. Because she couldn't find your heart beat, we were able to see you for the first time AND hear your little heart beating at a healthy 143 beats per minute. You wiggled all around so we could see you, the technician said you were quite active; we saw your back, head, and even your spine. You are just 8 cm long right now, but clearly, a beautiful growing baby.

Mommy and daddy were both amazed at the handiwork of God. He has been so good to us, and he is so powerful and gracious. It was a wonderful way to start a busy week ahead. Mommy wishes she could have captured daddy's face as he watch the screen intently watching your every move. You have already have him wrapped around your finger.

Even your cousin, Hannah, was excited to see you today. She was upset when I tried to put your first picture away, saying "Baby! Baby!"

At the end of September we will get to see you again, and we're sure it will be just as amazing. Perhaps then, if you'll cooperate, we can see if we will have a son or a daughter.

We love you very much!!
Love, Mommy and Daddy

Here you are facing down with your head on the right side of the picture, and body to the left. We only received one picture, but I can't stop looking at you.

More news...

For those that haven't heard...we are going to be parents!! We are expecting a baby in January, officially January 26th. Overall, the pregnancy is going smoothly thus far. With the exception of extreme fatigue and twinges of nausea here and there, I have been feeling pretty well. In addition to the house, George's new job, and the new arrival, we are overwhelmed at times, but feel very blessed and excited for the future. Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

It's official...

We closed on the house this morning and after many signatures and initials (we tried to count...but lost count very quickly) we are officially homeowners. Lord willing we'll be working on the house through the month of July and be moved in toward the end of the month. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers in the matter. We greatly appreciate it.

Home News...

We are under contract with a house located on the Missouri side, about 20 minutes from where we live now. We feel abundantly blessed to have found this home when we did, and are very excited about the potential it has. At this point, we completed the inspection, and a few repairs will be made prior to closing at the end of the month. At the inspection, I was able to take a lot of pictures, hopefully I can post them, and make sense of the layout of the home for you.

Exterior

Front of the house. One of three houses in a cul-de-sac.

Back view of the house.

One of the trees in the backyard. There are two in the back, and one larger in the front yard.

Entry Level of Home

Front door/entry.

"Formal" living room. I'm sure it will be empty for awhile.

The floor plan is called a side to side split, or atrium split. There are no full staircases, but rather several half-flights of stairs. The stairs leading up go above the garage, where the bedrooms, laundry, and hall bath are located. The stairs leading down, head to the half bath, garage, "informal" living, and deck.

This picture is taken from the kitchen. The carpeted area is the dining room. Looking through the spindles, you can see the fireplace down in the "informal" living space.

kitchen (just in case you couldn't figure it out)

Different angle of the kitchen.
Upper Level, above garage.

Master bathroom

Master bedroom, with long window seat.
Master closet.
View looking down the hallway from the master. Bathroom is on left, one bedroom in front, one to the right.
Hall Bathroom

Garage/Deck Level

Windows and door out to the deck.

"Informal" living room. The door pictured is a large storage closet.

Lowest Level, walkout basement

Clearly unfinished, but has a lot of potential uses in the future. A lot of light comes in and the possible purposes of this room are endless!

Another view...studded to have a nice size storage area as well.

After closing we hope to take our time moving in. We will be in possession of both the apartment and house for a month. This will allow us time to paint, make a few repairs, have carpets cleaned, etc. Lord willing, we will make the official move towards the end of July. Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

We're still here.

WOW! Where did last month go? I didn't even do one post in May. Well, we are still alive and kicking, we've just been busy. Here is a brief synopsis, with a few pictures of our last month's activities.

We attending Total Money Makeover Live for George's birthday the first weekend in May. It was a fun and exciting event. We didn't learn much new, but were just re-energized to make better financial decisions. Plus, as always, Dave was very entertaining.

The second weekend in May we headed back home for Joann's graduation. She received her master's degree in Public Administration. Congrats!! It was a quick trip home, but nice to see the family.


The third weekend in May, Pleasant Grove, our church, had a visiting minister with services on Saturday and Sunday.

Memorial Day weekend we headed down to Flippin, Arkansas. Yes, the town is really called that. My mom's side of the family started a new tradition last year of meeting up at a resort there for fishing, chatting, enjoying the weather, cooking, etc. So this year, we decided to join in the fun.

Hannah and Uncle George

These are my cousin Jon's children, Tannin and Kadi.

Caitlin and Abby

The next weekend, we headed to St. Louis for another church meeting at Little Flock, followed the next weekend by a trip to Cozad, Nebraska for a meeting celebrating the 100th year of Mt. Zion church. It is the same church my mother was baptized into, and I have fond memories of it growing up. We had a wonderful time there.

Among all of this chaos...we have been house shopping...but I'll save those details and excitement for my next post.