Sunday, November 12, 2017

We're on the Move!

The other big news is that the baby will likely be born in Minnesota!

After eight years in Georgia, we're feeling a strong call to move back to our home in the Midwest. It's tough to travel with a toddler. Non-revenue travel is tougher each time you add a family member. We're usually lucky enough to get three seats together, but when the time comes to add a fourth seat, we know we won't be able to sit together. Two pairs of seats on the same flight might be more than we can expect, and unfortunately, Trevor's airline only flies one flight a day between Atlanta and Minneapolis.

And of course, right now, we have a lot of reasons to visit family more often. We have Hudson and a new baby on the way, and my sister and brother-in-law welcomed my first niece in August. There are some milestone birthdays happening on both sides of the family next year, and obviously, spending holidays with family will be wonderful!

We are planning to build a home not too far from Trevor's parents' current home (they are retired and considering their options right now). We put down earnest money, chose a floor plan, and have chosen interior design schemes for the house. However, if our home in Georgia does not sell, we cannot afford the home in Minnesota. We simply won't have the down payment we want to make, and we're not sure we would qualify for the home loan if we still have the debt from our current home, even if we had a fantastic renter in it. Fortunately, we think we have until January or even February to sell our house and still be able to purchase the one we are building - in the worst case scenario, anyway.

Though our house has not sold yet, we plan to move to Minnesota within the next month. We will be living in Trevor's parents' house for the winter while we wait for our new home to be completed (and our current home to sell). Trevor's parents will be in Arizona most of this winter, but they will be in Minnesota in December. That will be a huge help as we plan to fly to Minnesota with Hudson and our cats. Trevor will return to drive a moving truck with my car towed behind. Trevor's car will stay in a secure lot near the airport until he can come back for it.

We are all sad to be leaving. We have had so many good friends during our time here, and we wish we could see everyone before we leave. However, with the unpredictability of the airline industry, we may end up deciding we're leaving with little time to spare. Trevor will get his December schedule just before Thanksgiving. If he doesn't have much time off in December, we will be leaving around 11/28.

We would appreciate your thoughts and prayers over the next few months as we work out the details of our move and possibly adjust to the wintry life again!

Friday, November 10, 2017

A Big Promotion!



Hudson has been promoted to Big Brother! His baby brother will be arriving in early March (or maybe even late February). I'm currently 23 weeks pregnant. This has been a surprising pregnancy so far, even though it was planned. I use an app based on natural family planning, and the app told me there was a pretty slim chance it would work that month. I realized that that time was approaching, but I didn't feel anything at all. With Hudson, I felt nauseated for several days before I took the test, and it really just confirmed what I already knew. This time? I saw a faint second line and thought it was a faulty test. I took two more over the next two days before I fully believed it.

Everything has been the opposite of how I felt with Hudson. I'm more tired, but I'm less nauseated. The sciatic pain and stretching soreness were on the left with him; this time, it's all on the right.
I had a strong feeling that Hudson was a boy from the moment I found out, but this time, I had no strong feeling in either direction. We all sort of suspected a girl because things had been so different, so we were pretty surprised when the ultrasound tech put the image on the screen and we instantly saw "boy parts." We've had another scan since then, so we are certain that he is a boy! We have a first name picked, but we are really struggling to come up with a middle name this time around. We're trying to avoid using a J name for the middle name, so many of the classic middle names for boys are out.

Just like when I was pregnant with Hudson, my cats have been more cuddly, sleeping with me most nights and wanting to be on my lap if I'm not with Hudson. I definitely don't mind! Hudson is in a less cuddly stage right now, so I'm happy to take cuddles where I can.

And as if adding a baby to the family isn't enough by itself, we have another big announcement! Come back on Sunday for that news. :)