Big News in Mason City; and Other Recent Events

Kenna's 1st "school" picture

Whew! A lot has happened since I last posted, and I did mean to share some Christmas pictures months ago, but I think we're past that point.

Going back to December... Heading back home for Christmas, the Subaru broke down in the cities. Then, as we were driving the loaner car from Menahga to Park Rapids, one of its tires fell off. So the Subaru was done, and my car problems that I didn't care to deal with, so we ended up buying ourselves a new minivan--a 2016 Toyota Sienna.

The News

We have a couple bits of news, actually. First, we have been shopping around for a home, and we finally found one. We didn't have much luck at all in the beginning. For starters, the realtor kept showing us places that just weren't right. Finally, we found one, made an offer, and it was accepted--until the sellers changed their minds and took a better offer (all because we asked them to fix one thing). But it ended up being a good thing, because we found a better one. We close on our new home on July 12.

Our house in Huron finally sold after sitting empty all winter, and we closed on it a few weeks ago, which is why we decided to start looking at the market here.

Secondly, we found out in March that we are going to be having another baby, due November 20th. I was already 5 weeks along when it was confirmed, although I had already suspected for about a week.

baby 2 at 9 weeks

baby 2 at 13 weeks

It's been going by pretty quickly, mainly because it's been so busy and I haven't had much time to think about it. Anyway, here's my first belly pic, taken almost 2 weeks ago (I'm 17 weeks and 4 days today).

16 weeks pregnant

Kenna's been practicing to be a big sister....

Saying Good-bye

Grandpa passed away a week and a half ago. Thankfully, we had been able to see him a couple times not long before that. We made a special trip to visit Grandpa and Grandma in March. It had been over two years since I'd seen Grandpa, and I kept feeling an urgency to go visit.

It was their first time meeting Kenna.

Then we stopped by the nursing home briefly Memorial Weekend, and the following weekend Grandpa's health took a turn for the worse. Two weeks after our last visit, we went back home again for his funeral. While I wish we'd been able to visit more frequently, I'm thankful for the couple visits we were able to get in toward the end of his life. Of course, I'll miss him dearly, but I feel at peace knowing that he's with Grandma Dorothy once again.

Now, we're just trying to enjoy the summer while we can (after the LONGEST winter ever!), and waiting to be able to move into our new house. Who knows, with my track record, I probably won't post again until after the baby arrives....

Pleased with her Easter basket, and all the "eggies"