My Treasure

After venting my frustrations I decided I didn't have to look very far to find my buried treasure. They were sitting at the table coloring. It was the first sunny day that we'd had in a long time, and it was actually almost warm, so I decided to take us all to the park. Boy, was that what I needed. Some fresh air and the delightful sounds of my happy children. It sure did a lot to calm me down. Now at least I have the calm I need to try and figure out my dilemma.

I have monkey's for children!

Lily was hiding from me in the tunnel!

Luke and Gabby we having a competition. Surprisingly, but maybe not so much, Gabby is stronger than Luke. Not that she can beat him up or anything, but she is able to pull herself up and do more push ups, pull ups and sit ups than he is. It was funny to watch them.

This picture of Luke makes me laugh so hard. Not so much because of the picture itself, but because of what he said. As soon as he got up there like that he says, "Hey mom! I'm in 'downward dog!!!'" Can you tell we do a little yoga in our house??

We stopped by the pond and were surprised to see two ducks. They decided to moon the kids which they thought was hilarious. I had to explain what they were really doing, but Luke thought it was funnier his way.

And to finish the afternoon off, we broke out the bubbles. I don't know about anyone else, but my kids LOVE bubbles. I mean they really love them. They were out there forever! But I didn't mind, we have been couped up inside for far to long. Bring on the spring weather!!!

I am so thankful for my family. I really don't know what I'd do without them!! And not just the ones I live with, my extended family too, I really am so blessed!!

Having a moment....

Ok let me start off by saying I don't often pour my frustrations out onto my blog. It just isn't me. But I am at the point that I am either going to start crying and never stop or start yelling and throwing things and I need an outlet. So be forewarned, if you don't want to hear a rant, just pass this one by. Secondly I want to say that I in no way think my problems are worse, bigger or more frustrating than anyone else's. I don't compare and I am not trying to. Just understand that I am super frustrated and I need to let off some steam. With that out of the way, let me begin. I am so excited that Nate got accepted into the program in Cleveland, I really am. I am not, however, looking forward to moving. I looked at housing up there, rent for a place the size we are in now is between 1200 to 1800. Well there is NO WAY I can afford that, or even close to that. So I look at buying. So many people have suggested buying, seeing as we will be there for at least 5 years. It sounded like a great idea. I got online and started looking at house prices, and lo and behold it's WAY more affordable than renting!! Yipee!!!! Now I have never bought a house, had no idea what the process was like or what went into it. I start calling around. Let's get pre- approved, fantastic. I make some calls, give info and wait to hear back. I realize that we have NO MONEY for a down payment and we are going to be so tight (seeing as now we have to pay for health insurance, all our food-don't judge me-, and a bunch of other things we hadn't been paying) that we can't afford a super high mortgage payment. I hear that it's no problem for a first time home buyer, and then I hear about this awesome Physicians Loan specifically for people in our situation who have no money. It says 100% financing and NO mortgage insurance!! Wahoo!! All seems to be going well until today. I get the call. "Ms. Tracey, your husbands credit score isn't high enough to qualify for the 100% financing, you need at least 5% down" Wait, why? Why is his credit score bad. Well it isn't bad, it is just 5 points lower than what is has to be at to qualify. WHY???? Because of all his student loans. Ummm, I thought that was why we went this route. Well all the loans have to be in deferment. Aren't they? Well some aren't. SO I call the student loan people and ask why they are reporting some of the loans as NOT in deferment? They say because they are "in school" status which is basically the same. Although the credit people don't see it that way. I keep getting the run around NO ONE WILL help me and I can't figure out what to do. We have NO late payments, our credit is STELLAR except that we have these student loans and Nate just opened a stupid Macy's department store card to get me a Valentine's present and the fact that we have had "too many inquiries" after our credit. Well I thought YOU WERE SUPPOSE TO SHOP AROUND FOR THE BEST RATES WHEN BUYING A HOME???!!!!??? I am so frustrated!! It looks like we can't get a loan unless we have a down payment and we have no money. So it looks like all 5 of us will be living in a two bedroom apt, that is if we lie and tell them it is just us and one kid. Because honestly, NO ONE WILL RENT A 2 BEDROOM APT TO A FAMILY OF 5!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT AM I GOING TO DO???? Sorry, I am so upset and I have no idea what to do. I have called all the people I can, talked to everyone the mortgage guy said to, and I am not any where closer to figuring out how to fix this. SO I guess I better start digging for buried treasure because let's face it, that seems more likely to yield results then what I am doing now.

Pine Wood Derby

This year was our FIRST Pine Wood Derby! I think Nate and I have been looking forward to this as much as Luke has!! Luke and Nate worked on the car together and made it according to Luke's specifications. The only thing we didn't know about was that everyone else was adding weights to their cars... so Luke had no chance of winning. But now we know for next year! We still had so much fun and Luke was proud of how his car turned out! Along with the car race they had a cake contest. The dad's and son's were suppose to make a cake together and decorate it. Luke, again, was very specific about how he wanted this cake made. I think it turned out great! (It got the "Best Dirt Track" award)

Here is Luke with two of his best buddies, Jaylon and Scott. (They are both a few years older, but they are still great friends!)

These are a few of the other cakes, any guesses as to which one won?!

And here is a video of the only race Luke won, but hey it's all about the experience right?!

It was a fun evening and we definitely learned some things for next year!!

And we're moving to.....

CLEVELAND, OHIO!!!! (This is a little late, seeing as it was a week ago that we found out, but it's been a little crazy at our house!!) Last Monday, Valentine's Day, was also match day for us. And I am elated to announced that Nate matched into General Surgery at the Cleveland Clinic! I am surprised and then again I am not. He had a fantastic interview there and they called him in January to tell him that they planned to rank him at the top of their list. So it was kind of a sure thing, however we put a few other programs higher on our list because Nate wanted to try for Urology also. We are not at all disappointed and really do feel like this is exactly where we are supposed to be going. Nate's doctor let him have the day off, so as soon as the kids got home from school we headed down to Huntington to go to dinner with Stan and DeNae. We wanted to celebrate both the holiday and the exciting news. We went down to Lexington KY, since Stan found a great restaurant and had a coupon, and ate so much food and had so much fun!! I am so proud of this wonderful man and I am so glad to have him as the love of my life!!! Congrats Nate, you are amazing!


Stan and DeNae, whom we are going to sorely miss!!! (However we are planning on bribing them to come visit ;)!) It was a wonderful evening and the perfect way to celebrate our big news!!! Thanks guys, we LOVE you!!!

Spanish for "yes"

Lately whenever you ask Lily to do something she will reply, "of course!". She has been super compliant and it's been so nice. I have no idea where she picked up the phrase, but it's cute and I never thought to question her about it. This morning Nate asked her to go get her shoes on. She replied, "Of course!" as usual. Then he said, "Lily, do you know what that means?" To which she says, " Yup, it's Spanish for YES!"

Cute Luke

Look at that face! He is such an adorable kid, even before you know anything about him!! Of course I am his mom and may be a little bias, but I don't think so. This weekend I was lucky enough to get strep. I don't get sick often and when I do I usually just ignore it and plug along. However, this was a case I couldn't do that. I was pretty darn sick. Sunday rolls around and I'm not better and therefore can't go to church. It was the first Sunday of the month and so in our church that meant "Fast Sunday". Since Luke turned 8 we had explained what fast Sunday is and that if he wants to participate he can, but we decided he is still young enough we want him to choose. He has done it a few times and a few times he hasn't. So I reminded everyone what day it was and told Luke he didn't have to if he didn't think he could. Without skipping a beat he said of course he would be fasting today. I again reminded him that it was ok if he didn't want to, and he simply said, "I know, but I want to fast for you so you can get better." I was so floored. I mean I think I knew what fasting was at that age, we go two meals without food so we can be closer to the Lord, but did I get that you can have a reason, something you are asking the Lord for?? No, I really don't think I got it at that age. This in NO way reflects back on me, he is just a good kid in his own right. But I sure am glad he is MY good kid!! I love that boy!!!! He is constantly impressing me. I have to write these things down so I can remember them the times he does things like wrestling with his sister, head butting her and breaking her glasses. Yeah he is still a good kid!! :)

Gabby's cake

This year Gabby wanted a Barbie birthday. I was wondering what to do for her cake when my good friend Elizabeth offered to make the cake for her. Apparently she had been hiding the fact that she is an amazing cake decorator!! I knew that she did cakes, but I had never seen one so I really wasn't sure what to expect. Boy was I surprised!! Just look at this cake!!! She is amazing!!!Of course Gabby loved it, as did her shadow...Lily. Elizabeth had to work so she and her family didn't even come enjoy cake with us, she just spent hours making it (with homemade icing I might add) and then dropped it off and headed to work!Gabby had a great day filled with fun and people we love! She was the princess for the day and dressed the part when she got home from school. She is wearing a leotard that is WAY to small for her, but Nate gently reminded me it was her birthday she could wear what she wants ;). Anyways thanks to everyone who made her birthday what it was, she LOVED everything and everyone!!