Update!

So things have been running smoothly, ever since we moved into the house. No more papers to sign, no more Wells Fargo "bumps in the road", no more surprises, we're in! Yay!

We got out of boxes in probably record time and I've had fun nesting & painting, although I can't say the same for James. I think painting may be on his top least favorite things to do, but that's alright. :)

http://share.shutterfly.com/share/received/welcome.sfly?fid=9bb6d9a5e894ec05f12f12eb75ef82b5&sid=1AZNWzNy0bMXGw

Here is the link to see what updates we've done so far. There will be more to come, soon I'm sure.

Piglet hasn't skipped a beat and seems happy and normal as ever, but I think Buckley is just now starting to feel at home. I think the boxes and random strangers coming in and out of the house to set up cable/utilities/alarm system/etc. has had him on edge, but I think he's coming around.

James seems to be liking his job so far. They have been keeping him really busy, especially with the recent inventory/reports, etc., but it's part of the job & I know we'll both breathe a sigh of relief when it's over!! We really like his boss & the people he works with. We've gone to a BBQ & helped with the relay for life recently, so we're both getting to know some people & it's nice to interact with other humans. :)

As far as myyyyy job, I have been missing my kiddos from Austin, but have been busy with the house, obviously. I have been accepted to substitute once school begins, which I am so very excited about & have responded to a few craigslisters to help here and there with their babysitting/organizational/errand running needs, which so far has resulted in disaster. After doing THIS...



















...while the mom was at work, I was declined payment, as I was told I would be needed this past weekend as well, where I would be paid for it all. No call over the weekend and of course, upon a conversation yesterday, I was told her "pocketbook" was stolen out of her car, while dropping the kids off at daycare. How convenient. Until then, I will be holding on to her apartment key until I get my money!! If I don't sometime soon, I'm pretty sure they'll have a homeless person living with them.

I'm also starting a weekly babysitting job for the Madrid family this week. They have a 5 month old little boy that is darling & I'm excited to get started! He's no Frizzell/Puckett/Mossman/Cummins child, but he'll do. :)

The smoke here has been crazy, with all the fires around. 

That billowy cloud isn't rain, but smoke a fire! Crazy huh?! Hopefully they contain it soon.

Anyways, that's kind of what's been going on with us lately. I'll try and keep this updated as much as possible & post as many pictures as I can. We miss you guys and hope you're doing well.

Love,
The Bells

The perpetual renters become... HOME OWNERS???

Soooo, for all of those who have been out of the loop of our house drama, here is the long story, made short. 

Mid March 

-we put an offer on a house that had other multiple offers.

-we were second in line but got beat out.

-they retracted their offer, which put us in the driver's seat - Yay!!

-then they retracted their retraction and we got thrown out of the car - Boo. 

April 

-James moves away with Piglet :((

-I am living with parents to finish the semester

-I look for houses online and James goes to check them out. 

May

-I get an update on my phone saying, Bitter Creek is active again. 

-I call our realtor, he calls someone and they call someone else. 

-I call James & scream excitedly into his poor ear.

-Man ahead of us had just retired and couldn't get funding so we sign some documents and should hear by Monday evening if we're in or not.

-Monday - No news.

-Tuesday- No news.

-Wednesday- GREAT NEWS!!! Sellers signed the papers and we get to be moved in by June 20th! (Which is amazing, because we had only signed a 3 month lease, because that's how many months the relocation department was willing to pay for) 

So here it is!! Our new home!!! 

Here's the video of the area next door to the house.

Thank you all, for your thoughts and prayers and support through out this entire moving process. Both of our immediate family (& for me, my two second families, the Pucketts and Frizzells!) live here in Texas and this is definitely the hardest decision I've ever had to make.
It's been exciting, frustrating and tear-jerking to leave,  but it has been such a blessing and it's amazing to see how everything has simply been falling into place.
Despite the saddest part, having to leave my friends, family and especially my little kiddos (that I have grown to love and care for as my own), I feel an assurance that it will be alright. Everything happens for a reason & I am excited to see where this road will take us.

The times they are a changin'.

So, I am REALLY behind in my updates, so I will try to recap as well as I can.

The travel job didn't work out, but James got an even better promotion that is moving us to Albuquerque!! Looking back on it, this really WAS the best route. James would have been gone several days out of the week on a regular basis, but now, we'll be in a new place, together, not much traveling if at all, we'll be able to buy a house and we're only in the next state over... about a 10 hr drive or so.

So now we're basically playing the waiting game. He is up in Albuquerque, waiting for me to finish out this semester & we're both waiting to find a house! We have been looking around and actually put an offer on one, but that fell through... so we're on the hunt!

Living back home has proved to be a challenge once more... I love my family, but it is weeeeeird AND streeeeeeessfuuuuullllll... The neighbor's dog will NOT shut up, every time I try to help I end up messing something up (i.e. cleaning the muddy floor with leather cleaner (she told me it was the white bottle! I was in a hurry!) or shrinking all the table cloths in the dryer), amongst other things. WILL SOMEONE PLEEEEEASE SHUT THIS DOG UP!

Now Texas has frozen over!

I NEVER, wake up during storms. Ever! But early Tuesday morning I woke up to the sounds of a terrible rain storm. No thunder, no lightening... just lots of rain, wind and hail? It's around 2 AM and I grab my phone, go to weather.com and this is what I see. 

I check the news stations and see no coverage, whatsoever and I think to myself, "Holy hell. This is just so bad, the news people have just given up and we're all screwed!". The graph clearly shows, purple, red and white are in the heavy-intense range. However though, it's Friday & thankfully, we weren't blown away.

It has been freeeeeeezing cold all week and this morning we finally got some snow to prove it! 

He ran up and down the covered/dry part of the deck for a few seconds until he realized it wasn't going to hurt him. Ha! What a big baby. 

Naturally, when it snows in Texas, everything is shut down and people stay home and snuggle up from the cold... but guess who decided going in later than usual would suffice? James of course! 

Instead of thinking of a day off, he thinks about how much work he'll be able to get done before the weekend with a snow day.

So, although I teased him, played "Please Don't Go" by KC and the Sunshine Band and danced around him while he got dressed, I really admire his work ethic. 

MAKE THOSE DOLLA BILLS BABY!

A few other notable tidbits:
-James had his own "Cable Guy" experience at the gas station & reluctantly gave out his work number. 

 -I nearly bit my tongue in half last night and can barely talk, drink or eat (boo hoo!)

 -We are going to New Orleans soon with the gang. 

 -Harrison called me at 7:30pm to see if I wanted to come play his new Lego game with him.

 -Mom got new wood floors, new dishwasher & sink

 -Shannon and James just found out they're going to have a little girl! 

 -Juliet is going to be on a reality show

Alright, I am off to be my own kind of productive! 

The world keeps turning!

Well we have definitely had our share of ups and downs already this year...

This New Years, James's resolution was to step it up at work & attempt to be compensated for the time and work he puts into his job on a daily basis.... despite the economic recession. I'm not just saying this because I'm his wife, but James truly is, the hardest worker I've ever known. But, lucky for me, he's not a workaholic. Let me point out the difference.... James has his priorities in check. He works anywhere between 9-13 hour days (not to mention he'll be doing inventory in Marble Falls for probably near 17+ hours), tries to get as much stuff done as he can while helping others out, but when it's time to come home, he doesn't come home and complain or talk about work, he is ready to help with dinner or anything I'm doing so we can spend time together. Basically he's putting his time in now, so when we have kids he can make it to soccer practice and dance recitals or whatever.... but no matter what, I know work will always come after family for him.

So back to what I was saying, his goal was to get more for his work, so that we can start moving on with our life, (i.e. get a house, starting really thinking about having kids, etc.) and his first day back, he was told about a possible job opportunity in the works. It would mean more money, we would get to stay here, get a new car, but, it would require a lot of travel. James and I haven't spent more than one night away from each other since we've been married, so that was going to take some getting used to, to say the least. In fact, when we first heard about it, he took me out to dinner, asked me what I thought about it, what I was worried about, etc. and of course... I bawled, in public. 8 balls of tissues worth to be exact but all in all, we decided we both needed to make sacrifices in order to have the life we want for our future. Well, after making this decision & waiting almost a month, only to hear he didn't get the job, we were pretty frustrated & upset. They said the reasoning was because they found a young guy that grew up an Army kid & had no attachments to anyone, so he was a better fit.
This is even after last years' Lubbock fiasco where James was flown out to Lubbock to meet and greet for a possible Operations Manager position, was told "No thank you" after deciding we were willing to move, only to be asked 6 months later if he would be willing to come back and take the job... to which he hastily declined... And I give him props for.

Soooo... here we are... trying to support each other in any way we can, telling ourselves that everything happens for a reason & that there has to be something bigger and better out there. I mean, the decision not to take the Lubbock job was a no brainer & it's true, if he got this most recent job, I think I'd be a lump of coal with James being away that long. I guess sometimes, when things are put in your lap and snatched right out from under you, it's to help you appreciate the things you have... and for me, it's a lot.

Lots of people say they're in love & talk about how wonderful their significant other is, but I really think I got the cream of the crop. James is the best part of my life and my main goal has become to show him how great he really is. He doesn't keep score, hold grudges, pick fights or play games... he is just kind hearted and willing to do whatever he needs to do to put a smile on my face... or anyone's for that matter.
Either way, whether the third time is a charm or not, I'm happy to know that no matter what our financial situation, we'll be able to make it work.


ANYWAYS, on a side note... The semester has already begun and I'm on my way to becoming a teacher. I'm already learning a lot and can't wait to start observing and getting involved in the classroom. One of the first days of my "Intro to Teaching" class, we got construction paper and crayons and drew our "life maps" & it was really an eye opening experience to understand how incredibly different people really are. I mean, you pass by hundreds of thousands of people a day & they're just faces... but if you were to sit down with one of them and ask them their life story, not only would you find out a lot more about them, but you might even make a friend.... find out what makes them tick, what they're afraid of, who they love & why... I found it really interesting.
Normally, in class you just get up and say your name and where you're from... but this really dove deep under the surface. People were talking about their near death experiences, their family members, disabilities, insecurities, challenges... one girl brought her sonogram to tell us she recently found out she was pregnant, while another talked about a discovered aneurysm in her mother's brain that could erupt and kill her at any moment really... I mean, these things that go over looked by people all the time. These are the things that make people who they are, say the things they do ... good or bad.

Everyone is a little piece of every person they've ever met.

Hell has FROZEN!

We'll determine how long hell will be frozen by how long I can keep up our "diary". Ha!

But yes! I've always wanted to keep some kind of record of what's going on in our wonderful life, but I can never seem to get it together, or for very long. So! My new goal (of many goals) is to do just that.

So, the year 2011 has come and gone, and instead of having just one New Year's Resolution, I have decided to have several. BUT, instead of trying to do them all at the same time, I have a list going that I will attempt to complete a week at a time. My current goal issssss... NO more $#&* cursing! So, if I say a bad word, I have to start all the way over. The end.