Baby Raylan

I have a NEPHEW!!!!!

Presenting baby Raylan Givens Thurmon!

Just kidding - 

Judson James was born at
12:58p on 8-1-12 weighing 7lbs 14oz!

Now that you've arrived, I thought I'd take the time to introduce you to life out here...

For starters, you have three psycho sisters: Crusty, Terrorist, & Filibuster. One stubborn, loves-you-to-bits momma. A hard-ass, gun-wielding daddy. More aunts, uncles and grandparents than you'll know what to do with... all of whom prayed for you and have loved you since we knew you were coming. 

Not to brag or anything but you have a pretty freakin awesome Auntie who is chomping at the bit to cuddle you and watch you grow. (Not going to lie, not looking forward to the diaper changing logistics.)

Most importantly, Jesus loves you!  He's loved you from before you were even a speck in your mommas belly or a thought in your daddy's mind. God will NEVER fail you. Trust in Him. He made you perfect and to be loved! And that you are. 

Not a Post About a Baby

This will not be a blog introducing the world to my new little nephew. Yes, this is me crushing your Thurmonstrosity blog-reading dreams. The hospital pushed my sister-in-law's induction date to Wednesday. I know, we were all bummed.. though not nearly as much as his momma!

Instead, I thought it'd be nice to let you in on a little bit of life's happenings outside of house-buying and nephew-birthing. Here goes:

1.  I've been taking a class at work to learn how to eat healthier and it's working! I've lost 7 pounds! Woo hoo! Who knew I ate that much cake and pizza???  ({Points to self.}This girl.) The great part is, everyone at work who is participating in the program is seeing results! It's awesome! We have such a unique culture at the office. It seems like everyone is into eating right and exercising. (Except on the days when cookies are left on the filing cabinet outside of my cube. Today.) I just feel so much better about my body right now, which is exactly the confidence I've been praying for.

2. Aaron and I collectively make up 12% of my company's co-ed softball team! I play right field mostly. I guess that means they trust me to throw far and run after a ball. Though I'm not very good, to say the least. Still, I got to design our shirts! 

Please excuse the insinuation of waste abandonment. 

Our team is going to compete this week in the playoffs. Apparently, we are so intimidating that our competitors can't muster up enough players and end up forfeiting.  

Probably the ONLY reason we've made it to the playoffs! :) 

3. I've signed myself up to co-coordinate several Fall office events. The first, a company-wide talent show, will be a volunteer opportunity to showcase the best talent the rebate-marketing-world has to offer. We will be putting on the show for kids, families, and staff at a local non-profit hospital! The thespian in me is a little bit excited! The second, and historically most-enthusiastic, event is a massive Halloween exhibit. Each department chooses a theme and very truly goes all out with decorations, costumes, games, you name it. The CEO picks a winning department and treats them to a happy hour! We've already started working on it and it's not even August! I've definitely got my work cut out for me!

4. Okay I know I said I'd steer clear of anything house related, but I've also been busy brainstorming all the creative and crafty projects I want to take on in our new house. Pinterest is totally my friend! Check out all my pending ideas here! You just have to promise if you come visit me not to point to everything and say that you saw it on Pinterest. Hmmm.. Maybe I'll add that to my house rules craft project. :) Houzz is also a great resource for anyone in future-homeownership-la-la-land.

There's really not much else to report.
I'm very anxious to move. We are super ready to settle in and feel stationary for the first time in almost a year. What I'm most looking forward to is being more involved in a church. We are so limited right now with our social capabilities purely because we live so far away. I've been praying for good, Godly girl friends. I know God is going to provide them because He promises to listen to us and answer our prayers in accordance with His will and purpose for our lives. I know that Godly fellowship is key to a healthy faith and can't wait to see who He brings into my life!

Blessings!

Being Efficient

"Efficient" has to be in my top 10 list of favorite words. I love being efficient. I hate things that interrupt my efficiency. It is very important to me that I be characterized by this word.

The jump back into house hunting was quick. We found out last Wednesday that we'd need to start looking for a new home and Friday we already had viewings scheduled. Again we spent hours viewing this floor plan and that... one builder here, another there... houses both new and old.

It takes a lot of vision to buy a home. You're likely going into a home that has yet to be adorned with drywall, plumbing and other pleasantries. You might be fortunate enough to view a house that is ready to go, neat and tied up with a bow. Or you're going into a home that belongs to someone else, with their food in the fridge, their furniture on the carpet, and filled with their love. In any situation, you have to figure out how these four walls can be yours. Sometimes it means hypothetically re-painting, mentally arranging, and emotionally filling a room.

Every time I walked into a house, I would stand in the kitchen and relive our church small group meetings. Could I see a pot of queso on the counter? Upwards of 15 people fitting on and around my imagined furnishings? I would walk into the backyard and picture my husband mowing the grass, growing his garden, and our future babies playing with our also future puppy. I'd picture our bedrooms. Where will we put Tyler & Aubri when they most certainly come to visit? (Hint.) Is the sun going to wake me up every morning? (Not a morning person.) Where will we put our kiddos? (Not a hint.) 

When we finished walking through our future home, I called Aaron into the bathroom. I wanted to see what he was thinking. We are very stoic house hunters. I don't like giving away my feelings about a house, especially if a salesman is present. I'm sorry, no I do not in fact like to be stalked through each room. No I don't need you to try to put a positive spin on every negative thing I point out. And no, I will not call you back as your house sucks. But I digress... I called Aaron into our future bathroom and didn't even really have to ask him anything. We both smiled. I, in my ever-energetic nature, started jumping up and down and doing my I-LOVE-THIS-HOUSE dance.

A few hours later we'd finished paperwork and drove home, crossing our fingers in hopes the builder would accept our offer. By Sunday afternoon, we were homeowners again! (See, I told you I love being efficient!)

We are both feeling MUCH better about this house. We got a great deal, a stellar interest rate, and will have a lot of space to fill. The best part is that we will move into our home just in time to start decorating for Halloween!! I cant wait for Trick-or-Treaters!!

Now we just have to continue praying that God will align all the final details and we will be able to close on this home without any major complications.

God knows exactly what we need and when we need it. We are so fortunate in that He has provided us with the means to own our own place!

God is good.

Get excited! The next post should be about the little one headed our way this weekend!!!

Nesting

Well, I'm sad to say that Aaron and I are no longer invisible-homeowners.

To make a long story short, there were conditions presented at the point of sale that played a significant role in our decision to purchase our would-be home. These conditions conflicted with what we were presented with several days after the contract was signed, due to a clerical error. Despite providing our builder with every opportunity to act with ethical values and correct their error, and having done everything short of pursuing legal action, we decided it would be best to sever the contract.

As you can imagine, Aaron and I are very disappointed with the end result as we begin our pursuit once again. I'm probably taking it a little harder than Aaron is. I had already started nesting if you will, picking out colors, arranging furniture, and the like. I was beginning to envision bringing home our first puppy, watching our future babies learn to walk, and dream-coordinating family get-togethers. Women do these things.

Aaron is doing his best to make the right decisions for our family. I am blessed that he, in love and his desire to provide for us, refuses to let any ounce of bad business play a part in the establishment of our new home.

I am very thankful that God has given us the means to dust ourselves off and redirect our search efforts. After all, if it wasn't meant to be, then I'm even more excited about the prospect of what He has in store. Knowing that our future home is out there takes the edge off of my discouragement, though it is not completely erased.

Anyway, I don't suspect it will be long before I have news of our next-first home. I am confident that if God wants us here and wants us to have a home of our own, He will provide. We are getting anxious to have our own place as talk of babies is filling our current home.


Ha! Don't get too excited. I say babies because not only is my sister-in-law about to pop any day now, but Aaron's cousins just welcomed their new baby girl this week!

Isn't she precious? I cant wait to squish her little face! Soon enough, our new little nephew will be here and we will have a new roommate! Have I mentioned ever that I love being an Auntie? Though, I've long said that we cannot move out of their house until the youngest niece can say Auntie. I'd even settle for "Cwair"! I can't believe I've been so lucky to get to spend these last nine months watching my nieces (and my sister's belly) grow! I know I'm going to miss them terribly when we do find a place of our own. #FavoriteAuntForLife

From Homeless To...

Surprise!!

We're HOMEOWNERS!!

Okay, Okay so we're land owners... or better yet, owners of the first invisible house! As of last week, we are under contract to build our beautiful new home! This is our little piece of [future] heaven on earth.. on a corner lot!

 

As I'm sure you can imagine, we are super excited! Our little home will be anything but. We are going to have so much space in our three bedroom, two and a half bathroom, two car garage, two story home with TWO flex rooms! Sounds like something you'd pick from The Game Of Life, right??

Check out our super sweet floor plan!

 Why yes that is a laundry room upstairs and we will most certainly have that amazing island in our kitchen.


Our neighborhood is going to be awesome, too! We are just feeling so wholly blessed and our cup is so full! God is so very good and faithful!  Now we get to learn a little extra patience by waiting until... wait for it... Thanksgiving to move in.


Never the less, we are ecstatic and can't wait to open up our home to our friends and neighbors and use our little claim on this earth to bring glory to God's kingdom. Thank you for sharing in our joy! Six months ago I would have laughed you out of the room if you'd told me I'd be a homeowner before Christmas ! It just goes to show that His plan for you is greater than you could ever imagine. From homeless to homeowner in less than a year!

Never once did we ever walk alone.