ITS SOLD!!!!!

Its official. This is the sign in our new front yard...


as Curtis told his Papa, "Mommy was very excited about this" its true. I squealed in the car like a teenager running into Justin Beiber. We did our last walk through of the house last night to measure for blinds and curtains, match floor samples to our new stair case, and measure for the new appliances we are going to install. It was the first time we had been in the house since we knew it was going to be ours. It was so very exciting to walk around and dream of decorating and living in it. We close on February 29th...cool huh...yep its a leap year. Our first project is to have the sheet rock repairs done upstairs (remnants from before the roof was fixed and leaked into several ceilings upstairs and were never fixed) and paint the upstairs (every square inch of it...seriously...not an inch left un-painted...) so that we can have our new carpet installed upstairs. The next project we are going to tackle is new "wood" floors and paint downstairs. We will wait to actually move in until March 24th/25th weekend. And then the project list continues another few pages of minor things to make the house "ours" like replacing blinds and light fixtures. There are a few pictures of it as it is now on our shutterfly site thejjcountsfamily.shutterfly.com
Remember as you see these raw photos to look for all the potential underneath :) we can see it...can you???

St. Joseph: Pray for us!

So many updates on the house front. St. Joseph has been our best friend lately :) Lots of prayers sent his way during this buying and selling process. We officially have four days left in our option period with our new home in Sugar Land. Our inspection went really well (somewhat to our surprize) so we are thrilled with our new house and we can't wait to close on it. Our official close date is February 28th. We have some work to do before we move in so it won't be until mid to late March probably before we really move in. We are going to go there sometime this week to figure out which one of the laminate wood floor samples match the stair case wood. I will take some pictures while we are there so I can share them here. Its really a beautiful home and we feel so blessed to have found it!

Our home is showing well. We had a bit of a slow week as it was terrible weather all week here. We were almost getting bummed out...and then my phone was ringing off the hook for appointments this weekend. Thank you St. Joseph! We did have an offer on the house last weekend, less than two weeks on the market, but it was kind of a ridiculous offer. We countered by meeting them half way and they refused our offer. Not the right buyer for sure. We are eager for the right one to come along. Gods will be done!

Jacob was in Albuquerque all week and as I said before it rained all week...it was of a challenging week for the boys and I. Too many days inside the house and we were all clawing at the walls a bit. We went to mass this morning to celebrate St. Blaise's feast day and mass went SUPER long. Not going to lie and say my boys were perfect but we did make it without having to step out once and we were in the church for an hour and forty five minutes! I'll take that one as a win for sure. Tonight we picked up Jacob and then dropped him immediatly off for a pastoral council working retreat. It was a bit of an attention fight in the car as we were all dying to talk to Daddy! The boys and I went to Chick Fil A for dinner and by the time we got there Mommy was definitely in a grouchy mood (poor boys)! We ate our dinner and then I set them loose on the playground. I looked over to see Curtis boosting his little brother up each step of the climbing structure as Nicholas was just a bit too short to do it himself. They played so very nicely...and God put a few kiddos in there to contrast their sweet dispositions (read...wow...shockingly awful) and make me even more thankful for my sweet boys. We got in the car and Curtis had a lot to say about the sister and brother who were not playing nicely at all. "Why were they nice to everyone but each other Mommy? They are family!" Bad mood busted for sure. Thankful for my lovely boys who really are the best of friends. Yet another much neeeded reminder to live in this moment. Not the moment when we move, or start work on our house, or sell this house, this moment! The moment we are in and living and loving right this second. They grow too fast to let two months blow by being stressed about moving/selling/buying!

Denver part 2

The Denver Cathedral was absolutely breathtaking! We really enjoyed a nice quiet mass alone :)
Pre-dinner pictures. 17 weeks along with sweet baby Andrew

Jacob enjoying yet another microbrew in Denver. It was really a wonderful long weekend get away for both of us. We had a pretty emotional year and definitely enjoyed the chance to re-connect and laugh and plan and prepare for the many changes we have coming our way in the next few months. Thank you Jacob for making our little honeymoon so special!

For those of you waiting on an update on the house we did NOT get the house we put an offer on. We finally found out on Tuesday night after too many days of being strung along by the relocation company. We were obviously a bit diapointed but excited to see what house God has in mind for us since it obviously wasn't that one! We are headed to Sugar Land tonight to look at a really large fixer upper.

Curtis lost his first tooth as soon as we got home from Denver. He was very excited about getting his first gold dollar from the "tooth fairy". He lost it in the middle of the night at Jan and Daryls house and didn't even realize he had lost it until I noticed the next morning. Pretty sure he swallowed it...but don't tell him that!

Denver Adventure

almost up to keystone

one of the microbreweries we stopped at along the way up

1/2 of our bathroom

the other 1/2 of our bathroom...that tub is awesome!

our living room...

Having a wonderful time in Denver so far. Not gonna spend too much time blogging because well we still have lots to do here! Our hotel room is absolulty amazing. Of course Jacob upgraded us to an amazing suite which overlooks the mountains. We have a 1/2 bath in here this place is so big. You know just in case you want to have company in your hotel room or something. Yesterday was our first full day here and we had a great time meandering up the mountains and making lots of stops along the way. Partially because we wanted to check out breweries and ski resorts and also because Andrew must have been jumping on my bladder...17 times I had to run to the potty yesterday. Yes we counted it was that funny. Three times alone at lunch...people noticed and I was a bit of a comedy relief. And yes I was the pregnant lady sitting at the bar at muliple breweries. The second one had hot pretzels so I was good to go!! We went out to a really upscale dinner last night in downtown Denver. It was absolutly delicious. Off to mass and the Coors brewery today and then fondue for dinner tonight. more later...

Home Sweet Home

So our house is on the market. Flying by the seat of our pants and trusting in Gods providencial grace and guidance. We have NO idea why we are doing this now. But after many prayers and looking at a few houses in the Sugar Land area we both felt called to take this step. We are eager and excited to see what God has in store for us. For now here are some pictures of our house as of Monday when we officially put it on the market. We are trying to live like minimalist clean freaks for a few weeks hoping the house will sell quickly...but not quick enough to make us homeless :) Its exhilarating to step out of our comfort zone and "let go and let God" Here is my photo scrap book of this awesome house we made into our home.A view from our front door. Jacob and I installed the tile and hand scraped laminate wood floors ourselves. we put up the wall tattoo after watching the movie "Courageous" if you haven't seen it you are really missing out! we own it if you would like to borrow it. This scripture passage really is high lighted in the movie and of course we pray that we cam really be a house devoted to the Lord.

Guest bathroom with same tile as entry way and upgraded granite counter tops, new mirror, light fixtures, and under mount porcelain sink with brushed nickle faucet. When we move in this room had Santa Fe wolf type wall paper. It. was. awesome.
hallway leading to the guest room. laundry closet on left and coat closet on right. Again hand scraped laminate wood flooring
guest room staged as a reading room/baby room/??? room :) we had a queen bed in there but it was really too big for the room so we staged it with random other furniture.
Our boys room. New carpets summer of 2011.Open kitchen with tons of cabinet and counter space. Granite counter tops all recent appliances and tumbled travertine back splash. LOVE my kitchen!!! Really wish I could take it with us!

open dining room
breakfast area open to kitchen and living room. backdoor leads to a covered wood deck.open living roomMaster bedroom with the worlds greatest fan in it. Its not a pretty fan and we almost replaced it when we first moved in. Now we have great respect for it and seriously wish we could steal it away!
master bath. Double sinks granite counter tops new faucets and sinks, stand alone shower with custom granite seat and whirlpool tub with custom granite on the exterior. It has a separate potty room and really big master closet. Jacob wanted to make it into a nursery when we bought this house but he was vetoed! This is our "study" room which we use as a school room for Curtis. This floor plan either has this room closed off and a closet added to make this a fourth bedroom or used without a closet as a study. We spend a whole lot of time in this room learning together. This also doubles as our "Baylor" room and all the decorations (before we took them down to show the house) were showing off our love for the green and gold.

We love this house. I wish we could pick it up and put it closer to our church. I am sure once we actually sell it there will be lots of tears on my end. So many memories in this house. Jacob carried me over the threshold here and we brought home our first two babies here. Its strange to think that we probably wont be bringing Andrew home to this house. Praying that this house will be as loved by its new owners as it is by its current ones! We put an offer on a house in Sugar Land today. We are sure they won't accept this offer but hopefully we can go back and forth until we come to a good agreement. I will keep posting as details roll out. We have already had two lookers at our house and are hopeful to have lots more this weekend.

Oh and we are going on a trip just Jacob and I on Friday. Headed to Denver for a few days together. We are super excited about this trip and could really use some rest after all this house drama :) lots of snow pictures to come!

Its a...

Boy! Love it!!! Three brothers :) we bought them all matching shirts on the way home from the ultrasound. So excited!!

Daybook December 7th 2012

Outside my window...It was a beautiful day! Sunny and windy probably in the high 60's. We spent all day outside, just glorious!

I am thinking...of a million things all at once...more on that in the prayer section

I am thankful...for a weekend without too many plans. We normally jam pack every second of our weekend and so this is going to be a gloriously different weekend of work and play around home.

In the kitchen...we ate out three times this week. Way too much! We ended up looking for houses in Sugar Land twice this week and had appointments to view houses between 5 and 6. That definetly squelched our dinner plans but we enjoyed two nice restaurant meals with our family. I finally made fish tacos tonight though and they were delicious. Definitely a new staple around here. I could really use some new menu items to spruce things up. Maybe I will get to that this weekend...

I am wearing...PJ's as always. Really I hardly get out of them these days unless we are headed somewhere. Im too small for maternity and too big for my regular clothes but my stretchy PJ's fit just right!

I am creating...a more functional school room. Lots of re-organizing and de-cluttering this week in there. Things flowed much more smoothly this week and I would like to give at least some credit to the changes I made in there.

I am wondering...where God is going to take our family in the next two years. Lots of discerning going on around here this week.

I am reading...Grace for the Good Girl. Elizabeth Foss recommended it and honestly I am having a hard time getting into it. I am not relating to the "good girl" as much as I had anticipated. I am sure I will still learn a ton about myself through the book so I will most definitely keep reading.

I am hoping...that the doctor can determine the sex of our baby on Tuesday. He said he didn't think it would be too early (16 weeks) as long as the baby cooperates. I am dying
to give this sweet baby a name!

I am looking forward to...a birthday dinner for my dad Sunday night, Doctors appointment Tuesday, and the Lavines visit next week!!!

I am learning...that no one school (public, private, or home) is perfect. Nor am I or my children so discerning the "perfect" system for our family is an interesting journey.

Around the house...lots of small repairs and a few major ones. Trying to get our house ready to sell should we find the perfect deal in Sugar Land anytime soon. Replacing the garage door is the most major, a desperately needed fresh coat of paint on the outside of the house, calking some baseboards, and painting over a few "please don't throw that in the house!" chips on our walls :)

A favorite quote for today...I was running in a field today with Curtis and some of his buddies while playing soccer in the park. Curtis said the baby was probably thinking "there must be a hurricane or something with all that running you are doing!" He does a good job of playing the overprotective Daddy when ours isn't around :) Reminds me constantly to take it easy for the baby.

I am praying for...discernment about schools and our possible move. For a cooperative baby on Tuesday :). For the Harrison's as they pack and prepare to move next weekend. For sound sleep for our entire family...lots of little night time visitors lately. For Jacob's project at work. For safe travels for the Lavine's this week.

One of my favorite things...catching up with friends. I finally got in touch with Shirley tonight after playing phone tag for way too long and it was such a refreshing and uplifting chat.

A picture thought worth sharing: I love it when my boys hold hands. It just melts my heart to see them walking hand in hand. I especially love it when they do it in the car since they both have to stretch extra far in order just to reach. Very sweet!