The Beginning of the End

Have you ever had a time period in your life that just felt like the paths were all coming to an end?  This sums up our year. The end of sleepless nights with an infant, the end of preschool for the big girl, oh yeah and the end of life as we know it in Kentucky!  I must say that life has pretty much been a roller coaster for the past year and the culmination of all this is a cross country move.  Needless to say, this has been a challenging time for our family.  Saying goodbye to family, friends, and our home has been gut wrenching.  Below you will see one of those moments when Mommy's do the "ugly cry".  My first born is growing up.  I can't remember when it happened, but suddenly the toddler has turned into a girl.  A real girl, with real opinions and feelings.  The girl who wailed in front of the crowd at her first Thanksgiving program at preschool until Mommy came up on stage to stand behind her is now about to walk across the stage all alone and accept a diploma!  Granted a preschool certificate but let me brag.  I am very proud of the smart and confident young lady I call my daughter. 

I so love the fact that Building Blocks dresses the kids up in cap and gowns.  It is so exciting for them and really gives them a feeling of accomplishment.  Sarah looks so proud here.

Graduating to kindergarten is hard enough, but it is multiplied when it also means leaving friends that Sarah has known, well, forever.

I love my baby. I wish I could slow down and enjoy these fleeting moments of childhood.  Hopefully when we get settled in our new home.  Sigh....

Landon, Avery, and Sarah have know each other since birth.  They are born within a few months of one another. What a friendship they have!  We will miss them so much!

The kiddo's showing off their crazy face skills.  They are really a hoot! 

Now we are back in the auditorium anxiously awaiting the beginning of the ceremony.

Alena came along to share in the celebration.  These two are becoming partners in crime.  I am sad that they are going to live so far apart.  I hope they can remain close as they grow up.

Here she goes, all by herself across the big stage.  We are so proud of her. 

Mamaw and our neighbor, Shelly came along to support Sarah as well.  We are so blessed to have so many family and friends.

After the ceremony, the graduates gathered to pose for some photos.  Madeline and Sarah are almost the same amount of months apart as their mothers.  I remember playing with Heather at this age.  Isn't that crazy?

Thumbs up for a great year!

Papaw (from the Mountains) came to celebrate as well.

Sarah and "my Amy".  It is so hard to think about leaving a place surrounded by loved ones (sniff).

The best photo we could get of the Coleman clan.

Mamaw (from the Mountains) and Sarah.

And now for Mamaw and Papaw (from the street) :)

Shelley and Josh surprised us by attending as well.  We think of Shelley as family.  We watched her grow up and become a wonderful young woman.  Sarah will be her flower girl in her upcoming nuptials.

Baby Aubrey was cheering on cousin Sarah as well.  So cute!

Here is Sarah with her two "Mamaws".  She loves them both so dearly.  I am so glad they were able to come.

Leah is not always known for her good behavior during crowded events, but the balloons kept her very happy.  A great time was had by all.  We celebrated our Sarah and had a wonderful afternoon as a family together (if only for a few more weeks). 

Preparing for the big Move!

Spring was crazy around here this year. We found out in April that we would be making a giant move to Kansas City and we were woefully unprepared to sell this house! We spent a solid month repairing, painting, cleaning,sowing grass seed, and holding a gigantic yard sale in preparation of listing the Coleman homestead for sale.   Boxes literally sat in every corner of the house for a month as I threw everything I did not need in for either sale or storage.

 
Leah has no idea what is going on, but she is happy to play with the boxes that are lying all around.  On a side note, I highly recommend all you readers perform this task as if you are moving even if you are not.  Out of the 10 years we have lived here, I have never loved my house more that now when everything looks clean, neat and repaired.  Isn't it sad that you only truly enjoy your home the year you buy it and the year you sell it?
In the midst of  the home preparations, Chris and I had to fly out to Kansas City to do a 4 day house hunt. 
You think it was a rainy spring?  This is the Mississippi River from the plane.  It sprawled out over farmlands in all directions! 
Talk about an exhausting few days! I saw so many houses that I forgot which one was which.  We did get one night to relax and enjoy the city.  Chris's new office has box seats at the Sprint center.  We were invited to join the Parrotheads and see Jimmy Buffet!

Here is the center and some of the ahem fans.  This was a common site on this night!

Crowds gathered across the street to hear some live music before entering the venue.

 

Chris and I spent a few quiet moments waiting for his coworkers to arrive with the tickets.  Check out the sign behind Chris.  This is is new company's sign in the background. It was fun getting to meet Chris's coworker and really cool to experience box seats. I hope we are able to get them for future events during our time out there.

The next night, we headed down to the Plaza to the Cheesecake Factory.  Yum!  I can't believe I am going to live in a town with one of these!  The Plaza is the country's oldest outdoor shopping mall.   It stretches for blocks and is beautiful.

 

We hear the girls had fun with Mamaw while we were gone.  I was sure happy to see them once we returned.  We are going to miss our old Kentucky home, but onward and upward we go!

Easter Beauties

I can't believe this is our last Easter at this house (and in this state for a while).  We had a dreadfully wet spring and Easter was no exception.  But our two beauties made this day a little brighter.  Here are the photos from our mini photo shoot.

Leah looks so grown up.  I can't believe she couldn't sit up this time last year!

Sarah has and always will be my "poser".  Photo shoots were easy when I only had one baby.  She is certainly a baby no more!

She is very much into ponytails these days.  Last year she would not let me pull her hair back for even one day.  This year, you will rarely see her without one.  Funny how those stages work.

Leah however, spent her time trying to make a break for it.  She hates dressing up, yanks out every bow she finds on the top of her head, and refuses to stand still for any photo.  She is definitely my tomboy.  Notice the flowers and mulch in the background.  These were the days of all day gardening in preparation of putting the house on the market.  The dark skies in the background prove how little mother nature had cooperated with us in our quest to get the house finished quickly.

Sarah asked if she could take some photos of us as well.  She is a sweetie!

I feel like a model with the wind in my hair.  Ha! Ha!

How rarely we get a photo with Leah, Chris and myself.  Thank you Sarah. 

Sarah was prepared for the impending storm with her brand new sleeping beauty umbrella she got for Easter. 

I am such a lucky mommy to have such beautiful and smart girls. 

Happy belated Easter to all!

Party Time!

Way back in the spring, the family had a double party for Chris's granny's and his cousin who was having a
baby.  Granny had no idea that she was about to be celebrated as well.  Unfortunately, Angela's doctor would not let her come down from Ohio to celebrate (she was close to laboring), so the party became all about Granny.
I couldn't let this moment go without posting photos of Chris's family.  Chris has virtually no photos of them and we see his extended family on very rare occasions. 

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It  was too bad Angela couldn't make it, we would have loved to celebrate Bennett's arrival with her.  She had him a couple of weeks later.

Here is the lady of the day.  Happy birthday Granny!

Joann helped her open all the presents.

Granny has been spending a lot more time with Joann recently.  It has been great allowing the kids to get to know her better.

Uncle Clinton and his wife came by as well.  We haven't seen them in years!

Aunt Jennifer brought the kids favorite dog ever.  Peanut is the star of the show

Amy is our in house photographer as well as co hostess of the event. 

Sarah had fun running around meeting family as well.  We are going to miss being so close to our family.  We love them very much and plan to visit very often.  I hope they are ready for some roomies!  Ha! Ha!