Weekend..

(I forgot to "post" this yesterday...Sorry)

We had such a great weekend. One of those weekends that I prayed all winterfor and never really got. It was so relaxing and quiet. Adam made me my favorite meal, shrimp enchiladas with rice, Friday night for dinner. Instead of making enchiladas for the girls, Adam always makes them a quesadilla, because they don't like the enchilada sauce. Well, we quickly found out, that doesn't make our littlest Mexican very happy. Lillian flung her plate across the table and demanded the enchiladas off my plate. I gave in and shared with her (minus the shrimp, of course), but had Adam make me another one. I don't get them very often, so I had to take advantage. Yum!

Since the girls ate so well, literally everything on their plates, we treated them to ice cream at McDonalds and some time in the play place. We bundled up and walked over there, all hand in hand. The girls enjoyed themselves and Alexa even made a few friends. Needless to say, they were ready for bed as soon as we got home. Adam had picked us up a movie while at McDonalds, so we popped that in as soon as thegirls were sleeping. I fell asleep mid movie, but was awakened by a phone call from my brother Ben. He called to tell me how much fun he was having in California. I was half sleeping still, but could tell he was having a blast and was doing well, which is all I cared about.

Saturday we got up and ready for a trip to Anoka or Coon Rapids, whereverthe Riverdale Center is. I think we went to Anoka and then back to CoonRapids? All I know is that it was a pretty drive up 169. Adam and I had never been up that way before, so it was a new adventure. The girls were excellent riders, snacking on fruit snacks.

We met Wendy (Crista's Mom) at Target to pick up the clothes from Emma (Crista's niece). She so kindly gives all her very nice hand-me-downs to Alexa. Just so you all know, I don't shop at The Children's Place or Gymboree or anything like that, so when you see my kids wearing clothing with a name brand, it's most likely from the wonderful little red-headed Emma!! We are so grateful for her generosity. Alexa calls them her "Emma Clothes". We ran into Target to pick up a Birthday present for Alexa's friend Kaitlyn,whose party is on Thursday. She apparently likes My Little Ponies, so we went with that and some super cool sidewalk chalk.

It was when we were in Target that I discovered that Lillian is at the stage of her independence where she doesn't want to be carried anymore. She'll only sit in a cart if Alexa sits in the cart, too. She likes to dart down each aisle and "hide",and those tiny little legs of hers are quick. So, now we practice "holding hands".

Alexa gave us a beautiful fashion show of all of her new "Emma Clothes" when we got home. She tried on each outfit in the heaping garbage bag. She was thrilled at all the really "cool" clothes from Emma. There was even a swimsuit, a couple dance leotards and some shoes.

At 3:30 we met Vic and his wife Sara at the house we have an offer in on. We heard from the bank on Friday that they are sending another agent in to look at the house and give their best BPO (Brokers Price Opinion). If their estimate matches, or is close to the seller's agents BPO, then the house is OURS! The only way they would decline is if their agent feels that the house is worth more. We're praying that they come in close and they accept. Please continue to cross your fingers. We are remaining hopeful!

We fell in love with the house all over again Saturday. It was even more exciting for us because we had the girls with, seeing the house for the first time. They were so happy. They were running all over the place. There is a corner shower in the lower level and there is this little light in there that they thought was so cool. They were going in and out of the shower, laughing and giggling. There is so much open space in that house, it must have felt huge to them. They ran all over the back yard and up and down the front steps. It was great. I can't wait to be able to tell them that this is where we are going to live. The homeowners, George (Jay) and April, had left us a note, addressed to us on the table. It said they were so happy that we had chosen their house and wanted to assist us in any way they could. They were going to seed and fertilize the lawn this spring, and till the garden. They welcomed us to come early and plant, if we wanted. They were going to fix or replace a couple of the lights along the front sidewalk and asked Adam if he would like to meet him sometime to go over some things in the garage. The letter made us feel even more confident in everything, but the bottom line is it comes down to the bank, not the homeowners. They want to sell the house just as much, if not more, than we want to buy it. So again, we sit and wait. And again, I'll keep you posted.

We stopped for groceries on the way home. We made a quick grilled cheese sandwich and soup dinner so we could watch Washburn's boys basketball teamtake on Mankato East, or West (I really wasn't paying much attention,obviously)? A couple of the teens Adam works with played for Washburn, so it was fun to see them. They won, too!

Our Sunday was even more relaxing. We woke up and started to clean the house. I know, doesn't sound very relaxing, but it was! Alexa was in one of those "helper" modes, so she did a fantastic job of cleaning up her things. I was so proud of how well she listened and didn't whine. We areworking so hard on only having to tell her to do something "once". She's getting there. We did (okay Adam did) one of those thorough cleans, where he actually moved the couch to vacuum the floor underneath and vacuumedunder the cushions. He even vacuumed down the stairs. I did the laundryand the girls helped me put their clothes away. The cleaning chores are so much more fun when everybody helps.

Alexa then wanted to do some "homework". She got out an addition and subtraction workbook and started doing some math. I was so impressed with her addition (we didn't get to the subtraction part). She did about 6 pages and wanted to keep going, but I needed a break.

While Lillian took her nap, Adam and I went thru all of our paperwork for the house and put it in a binder for safe keeping and Alexa made a little tunnel out of this kit thing we bought her last year. She wanted to surprise Lillian when she woke up. Lillian was a little hesitant to go in it right away. She had to check it out and make sure it was all right before going in. Adam and I went in there to show her it was safe, so then she warmed up to it a little more. Alexa was so anxious for Lillian to get in and play with her, she tried pulling her, which scared her even more.

They opted to play puppies instead. Lillian and I were the puppy teachers and Alexa was the mommy of the puppies, who she named Horton, Teeney and Rootin. She would drop them off with Lillian and I and then return from"work" to pick them up and see how their days went. Lillian and I would tell her they either had a good day, or that one of them was biting, hitting or not listening to the teachers. We pretended that Rootin was having some problems with hitting and biting, so our reports to her were that he had lots of "time outs". After a few of these reports, she put her hands to her heart and said "My heart is just freaking out right now", to which I responded, "Why?" and she said "because my puppies are just having so many problems here at school and I just don't know what to do?" Adam and I had a good laugh!

Adam made us a delicious meal of chicken, stuffing and baked potatoes for dinner. The girls again ate very well. It's been awhile since Alexa hasn't cleared her plate. The girls took a bath, I braided Alexa's hair so she could have curly hair today and then off to bed. Adam and I watched Desperate Housewives and then went to bed ourselves. Weboth commented how great it felt to get a good nine hours of sleep.