Saturday, January 23, 2010

Lots of changes!

So much has happened in our family since the last time we posted! Just a few days before Christmas we moved out of our home in Washington and sent the movers on their way to our new home in Tennessee! In the meantime we flew to Arizona and California to spend Christmas with both of our families. We had a great time seeing them even though it was too short! A few days after Christmas we flew to TN and closed on our new home just outside of Nashville. We have been in the house 3 weeks and are absolutely loving the area, our home, the neighborhood, boys schools, etc. We feel so blessed that this has been such a smooth transition, many prayers have been prayed for us! This is our 4th move with Ryan's company and lets just say I don't typically handle the change so well:-) We are missing our friends in Washington, our church, and everything that was familiar there. However, the people here have all been very friendly and have gone out of their way to make us feel welcome (gotta love Southern hospitality!)

Here are a few pictures to show what has been happening:



Anna sees Santa Claus for the first time...not a big fan! Oh well it made for a really cute pictue. When she sees a Santa now she still signs to me "cry" or "sad".



Our first Christmas with Anna, what a blessing to have her with us!



Anna's favorite things right now are babies and tea parties. When we go somewhere she typically wants to take a doll with her, when we are at home she is usually busy making anyone who is willing a cup of tea! I love it! What a change our home is seeing to our typical legos and swords!





Our attempts at keeping 3 kids busy with outside temps below freezing while we unpack the entire house




The boys are both enjoying their new schools. Bradey is in a small private school about 25 minutes from our house and Brooks is going 2 days a week to preschool



I bought this dress for Anna during our long wait in between trips to bring her home. It hung in her room as a reminder that one day she will be home and be able to wear it. Last Sunday she wore it for the first time! I can't believe she has been home over 8 months now, she has grown SO much in so many ways. She is still receiving Speech therapy to help with her expressive language, however, her therapist believes it is just an articulation and speech delay and nothing more serious. We are so thankful for our healthy, beautiful, smart, silly little girl.

4 comments:

Heather Brandt said...

I'm glad to hear that your move went relatively smoothly! We will definitely have to meet up sometime since we are in that area every time we visit my parents (and my brother and his wife are now moving to Columbia which is near Nashville). I love the Nashville area and think it is a super place to live. I love all the new photos you shared on the blog, too. Take care and keep in touch!

Heather
www.russianblessings.wordpress.com

Kim said...

So fun to read a new post from you! Congrats on your move. We are hoping to move to the Chattanooga area! Enjoy that southern hospitality! I miss it. Anna has grown and is still so adorable! So are your handsome boys.

Shelley said...

Yea for pictures, too!! We do miss you here in WA -- but you would not miss the rain... remember how awful that first year was?? We've had some very gratuitous sunny days here and there lately -- but alas, the rain is always looming - ugh! Enjoy the South, the smiles, the drawl... and the blessings of a smooth transition!! Yay!! Big hugs to all of you!

Sarah T. said...

So glad to hear your transition to TN life is going so well. You're very missed here in WA! Love the pics, too. The other day, Emma was holding Chris's phone in the car, and happened to see some pictures that Ryan had posted on facebook that came up in Chris's news feed....she cried out, "Hey Mom! Dad has pictures of Bradey on his phone!!" :) Tell Bradey that Emma says "hi"!