WE HAVE A HOUSE!!!

Austin and I went in and signed an offer last night for the house we have had our eye on...today the sellers counter-offered. We counter-offered again back, and asked for the fridge to be thrown in as well. They agreed! The only difference is they asked $75 for the fridge--a great bargain for a nice fridge! :) I'm so happy, this is probably the best Christmas present ever!!! :) We are closing January 30.

Here's a link to the house we are buying:

http://ebby.com/property/13914106/2017_Arles_Lane_Carrollton_TX_75007-2206

Take a look if you like. :) It's right next to a park, and all the schools it is listed to go to, and close to the library, the pool, and close to the building where the ward is for that area. Yay!!!

Christmas Cookies

Last night for family home evening, Austin and I made and decorated our Christmas cookies. I had been wanting to do this sooner, but we have been busy with house-looking, and our little Claire. We had a lot of fun decorating and cutting cookies with some new cookie cutters we got a few weeks ago at Aldi, listening to our Christmas music! :)

Daddy and Claire being so silly. :)

Austin and his cookies!!! We each did a cookie sheet full of cookies.

Claire--pretending to help!

"Mommy and Daddy, these cookies are YUMMY!"

Claire sat and watched us decorate cookies for part of the time. She was cute as always, and so of course pictures needed to be taken! :)

"Um...I think I'm getting sleepy."

Of course we had to let Claire take a nibble to taste! :) Just kidding...but maybe she got a crumb or two during the pictures. :) Merry Christmas--only 4 more days!

Going Crazy

These cats are driving me crazy. The little kitty wants in. Gingerbread wants in. I just want them to enjoy the sunshine outdoors...and enjoy Claire to myself. I think it's time for a walk to get out the stir crazies!

Someone Thinks We're A Pet Palace

Claire is saying, "hey, what's the big idea?" And rightly so. Lately there have been quite a few kittens on our back porch (not even including Gingerbread). It seems there is someone out there somewhere who is dumping kittens with the idea that our apartment is a pet palace!
Most of the kittens have not been as little as this kitty though. This one is just a baby, probably about a month or two old. Poor thing was wet and freezing. We were not letting another pet adopt us, but Austin and I did feel awful for this baby kitty. So, as you can see, we put out some food and water, and a box with a towel in it so the kitty would stay warm and not starve. We are probably going to see if we can donate it to the SPCA...if they don't have room we'll have to give this little one to the animal shelter. I hope someone is looking to adopt a kitten for Christmas!
It seems sweet, and it is adorably tiny. It keeps going to the edge of our porch and meowing out to the air (and meowing at our door to be let in as well). I think it is looking for its mommy, poor thing. Claire and I are just having a quiet day at home--Claire is napping as I write this. I hope that she continues to be a happy girl today, since she has been having such a rough time this past week or so. Only 10 days left until Christmas eve! :)

Christmas and Kittens

We decked out for Christmas the first Saturday night in December. It was a bit of a stretch trying to rearrange everything to get the Christmas tree in, but I ended up liking how everything got settled. Here are some pictures of our decorations.
We bought some lights last year at an after-Christmas sale, and decided to put them up inside to be festive. We strung them all around in the kitchen, dining room, living room, and over our front door. It makes a perfect amount of light in the evenings without turning on any other lights but the Christmas tree.
My Christmas wreath is back up again this year. :) Also, here is a beautiful new nativity decoration Momma got me. I like how the lights light up the board at night, so it looks like it is glowing, like a Nativity Star. :)

The piano decorations for the Christmas season.

Our Christmas tree even has a few presents under it already.

This is the Nativity Austin got me last year for Christmas. I love it! It is one of my very favorite Christmas decorations.

And this is the kitten that adopted us, Gingerbread. Ginger for short. She showed up on our back porch during one of those really cold days we have been having lately. She wouldn't give up on trying to get our attention, so Austin and I finally took pity on her. Now she has her shots, and is a wonderful pet! Seems our family just keeps growing--if we aren't careful, the pets will outnumber the people soon.
She is a good kitten, and never scratches or bites. She doesn't get much attention (which I'm sure she doesn't like), but she is good anyways and leaves the hamsters and Claire alone. I just tell her, "sorry kitty, but we have a new baby that is our number one priority over here." If she had wanted someone to love on her all the time, she should have picked a different family's porch to meow on. But we still play with her in the evenings when there are two of us here to help with the baby, and have more free hands and time for the kitty.

Merry Christmas!

3 Months Old

Claire will be 3 months old this Thursday. Where has the time gone???? It seems to have flown by. This will Claire's first Christmas...and I'm so excited! I think Christmas is my very favorite season of all...what with all the music, happiness, and rejoicing in Christ, I sometimes wish that Christmas could last all year long!

Claire has gotten so big. At her 2 month old appointment, she was 12 pounds, 3.5 ounces and 23 inches long. She smiles so much now, and loves to laugh...especially when it is time for bed, and she decides she isn't sleepy. :) She can also roll from her tummy to her back, and so close to being able to roll from her back to her tummy--I just know one of these days she will! :)

Austin and I decorated for Christmas here at our apartment this past Saturday night. We turned on some Christmas music, put Claire in her bouncy chair and proceeded to deck everything out in grand Christmas fashion. The sweetest thing was when Claire started singing! A song would come on, and Claire would start making "lalala" baby sounds, singing out QUITE loudly! It was so adorable to listen to, and made the music that much sweeter. :) When the song would stop, Claire stopped. Then she would start again as soon as the next song came on. She is so smart! ;) It will be exciting to share Claire's first Christmas with her!