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Last week was fun, started with pink eye (Addison), flu shots, and ended with an asthma attack. It was virus related, the usual suspect. The weather also changed last week and got cooler. Last Saturday we were in the 20s. The area ski communities are now open. Weird to think about. Mt. Mitchell averages a 100" of snow a year. Super weird! I bought the girls round sleds a couple of weeks ago. Fun stuff!

So I have been to the dr. three times in 5 days. Today we went for the asthma...she is wheezy, but moving air. Ella Kate broke her fever yesterday afternoon. It was 101.4 and I gave her an advil. I am glad she can swallow pills now. So we start a round of steroids today. So we are parked on the couch for today.

BIG house news...we got the CO (certificate of occupancy) last Thursday, passed all inspections, and power was turned on Friday. They cleaned it yesterday and at some point did the final grade and installed the sod. Ellers and I went after we dropped off Addison at school. We couldn't get close because the cement people were pouring neighbors driveway and the rest of our sidewalks. We stopped by on Friday to get mail and the electric company was working on the power. The door was painted, deck and steps painted.

So all is pretty much finished. We have our walk through tomorrow at 2:45 followed by final inspection. It takes about 24 hours for the loan to make the final conversion, so we are hoping to have keys in hand Thursday or Friday. We should know what day tomorrow. But who knows, it could all be a guess as to when we get them! But we are almost certain we will be going back to Memphis for Thanksgiving. I am hoping I just did my last load of laundry at the apartment.

We are overly excited. The house is super nice and we will be super excited to have our own rooms, and more space. Hoping life will return to some sort of normal as we have been outrageously not normal since Dec. 5 the day our lives changed forever. Staring at boxes, moving boxes, wondering what's in this box, organizing boxes...for 9 months...I can't wait to toss those puppies in the recycling bin! The girls are pumped! Ella Kate is excited to have a tv in her room. We are giving her the one we had in our old room, but not giving her the power cord. No I am not a fan of kids having tvs or ipads in their rooms, but since our house is smaller we wanted them to be able to take breaks from us and vice versa. They normally don't watch tv during the week...and maybe about an hour on the weekends, throw in the Friday night movie night and that's about it.

You know what Addison is pumped about? The light above the garage. She can't wait to see it turn off and on. Its just a light, nothing to get overly excited about, but for some reason it struck her fancy.

We stopped by church last week and the window was still unlocked so we got in...

dishwasher.

Finished Fireplace.

This is the girl's hall closet...which is going to house most of their toys, crafts, etc. Will be either ripping that shelf out or adding 4 or 5 more.

Microwave. You know how we feel about these!

Girl's bathroom.

Red front door. Best picture I could get as the electical truck was blocking the driveway...then I realized that the column is blocking the door.

This morning, Addison would be jealous...her light is on. This was as close as I could get as trucks were all over. Final grade, sod, and sidewalks being poured. Amen.

It will be fun trying to navigate the neighborhood with all the trucks and stuff all over. But the builder said he was hoping to be out of there in the spring as he has a new project coming up!

Also last week, turned 36 on Friday the 13th. I always like when my birthday falls on Friday! My dad's is also on the 13th, so he has Friday the 13th birthdays too!

We headed downtown and ate at Pack's Tavern...I had my favorite Salisbury steak smothered in blue cheese gravy with onions...mashed potatoes and a Caesar salad. Yummmmmmmy!! Michael got me a cookie cake. The girls always want cake or some sort of special desert for birthdays so we normally just get one of those! We came back to the apartment and murdered some cookie cake. We dropped the girls off at the Y for parents night out...they LOVED it. Its $26 for both girls for 3.5 hours. They crafted a bunch, played games, watched a Thanksgiving movie, mowed down popcorn. They came home with thankful feather hats and a turkey craft. My kids love some crafts. So after we dropped them off we headed to Sierra Nevada, then the house, and back to Biltmore Park Square, where the Y is. We went to the Thirsty Monk, a little dive bar in that strip. The girls were pooped and passed right out when we got home!

Saturday we headed over to the Keller's house for continued celebrations with them and the Dodds...they cooked a pork tenderloin stuffed with feta, pesto, and roasted walnuts and it was super good! Michael and I brought pasta salad and ramen noodle salad. Good food and good times!

Here is Addison's response to Patrick playing the drums!

Sunday was an exceptionally lazy day. We remained on the couch in pajamas watching movies, doing absolutely nothing except making food when it was time to eat...cause you know what's coming our way...craziness, super busy-ness, and getting rid of boxes, and making our house our home....

Finally.