Home Owners!

We took a big step today:

Signed more paperwork all at once and withdrew more money from our account than we have ever done in our lifetimes...

...and now, we are home owners!

After closing, we drove over to our new house and began painting, taking measurements for projects, and enjoyed our first meal there together.

Today my heart is so full.  

I am so blessed.

This is the beginning of something great. 

Oh by the way...

It's definitely been an eventful past two months for us.

The crowing moment, of course, was the arrival of this little cutie here:

But I'm getting ahead of myself.  

It's because we have this cute little guy around that even more hustle-and-bustle has recently happened around here:

Did I mention that we also recently parted with our beloved Volvo...

...and bought a minivan (much like this one pictured here)?  Side note--we LOVE our new Odyssey!  I never thought I'd love being a minivan mom as much as I do.

But that's not all.  As if that weren't exciting enough, there is still more to tell:

If you guessed it, YES, it's TRUE! 

We are MOVING too!!

 

After what felt like ages of searching, hoping, and praying for this great blessing, it's REALLY happening for us: we are closing on our first home this Tuesday!

We are moving about five minutes east of where we currently live, into a cute little ranch house in Columbine Hills.  Our stake (church) boundaries that we live in will stay the same; ward (church congregation) and schools will change. 

Packing boxes (amidst caring for two little boys and a newborn baby) has made the process feel ultra crazy, but it wasn't until our landlord listed our townhome online and found a new tenant for the place that it really felt real. 

So it's a bittersweet time for us.  We are really sad that we'll stop working with our awesome landlord-turned-friend and to be leaving a great ward and neighborhood too.

But change is good.  Words can't express how excited we are to have 

more SPACE,
a YARD,
to move into another GREAT LOCATION,
to live close to GOOD SCHOOLS...

...it's going to be pretty awesome.  

Moving day is next Saturday.  Countdown: 8 days!

Sweet Baby Boy

It's been seven months since I last posted...seven long months.  

I'll say now as I said then, pregancy is no easy road for me.  I've been down many emotional and physical roller coasters between my last post in October and today.  I must say my anxiety was especially intense with this most recent pregnancy.  There were some days--okay, actually, many days when I thought that I was absolutely insane for getting myself into the business of having a third child--and another MAN child at that!  These little guys are hooligans.  My two older little boys keep me hopping all day, every day, and seriously...I chose to throw another one of those little crazies into the mix?!  Yikes! 

On the last day of November I walked into my OB's office and had my 20-week ultrasound.  I also learned that Norris baby #3 was another boy that day.  

And I cried. 

It's too bad that I didn't see more of the full picture then.

Now, my heart is full.

Now, all the emotional anxieties and physical pain that had been my reality for nine months have been replaced by this:

Perfection.  

Literally Heaven on Earth. 

And I remember that it's all worth it.   

Welcome, sweet baby Matthew.

(Pictures and announcement created by Amber Allen at Echo By Amber)

*This sweet little one is four weeks old today (time is moving by way too quickly!).  I am so blessed.