Little Man Is Still Little... And Dinner With Friends...

Anderson had his well-check appointment today. Of course the doctor said he was great and was very impressed with how well he stands on his own and he was very happy this his foot progress. We did talk about how little formula he takes and he said just to give him yogurt and more dairy. He understood that I was doing all that I can do just to get 16 oz. in him. Here are his STATS...

Weight: 19 lbs.- 14%
Height: 28 1/4 inches- 31%
Head: 17 1/2 inches-17%

Typical morning at the Goff's... TJ's got his nose in a book and Anderson's enjoying his morning bottle... My men are so cute!

Gammy got Karoline a "Rescue Pack"... it's Diego's backpack full of good stuff. Anyway, she loves it. She might be a doctor or a vet one day!


We LOVE this new little "find"... I found this at Target and it is a "no mess" way of "painting"... It uses water and a brush and the water adds color to the picture... THEN it will dry and you can do it all over again! I love it and so does Karoline! I am a NO MESS kind of mom!

Man's best friend...

Emily, Avery, and Baby Isabel came over for a good ole southern meal that my mom made... Emily's request: fried pork chops, green beans, homemade mac and cheese, and cornbread. YUMMY! It was great. The girls had a great time. But I have to tell this story about before they came over.

I accidentally told Karoline before nap time that Avery was coming over for dinner. She was SO excited that she could not sleep during nap time. My rule is she does not come out of her room until she sleeps... So she went to bed at 1PM and didn't end up falling asleep until 4PM! I had to go in several times to tell her "no Avery until you wake up". When I went in and woke her up at 5PM here is what she said...

KBG (very excited!):"I did it mommy, I really did it! I took a nap!"
I said "yes baby, you did it!"
KBG: "Yeah! Avery's coming over! It's really exciting!"

I LOVE Isabel's shirt...

House Update...

NOT TRUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am going to redo their slogan...
LOTS of Fee's
LOTS of Worry
Really!

I just wanted to give yall a house update...
THERE IS NO UPDATE!!!

Seriously, the bank is horrible! BUT we are praying for the Lords will to be done. God has been teaching me so much through this process. I honestly just wish they would give us an answer but I know there is a reason for God's timing. Just keep praying for TJ and I as we deal with all of this MESS! Our loan lady said it's 50/50... we'll see! I'll just update when I know something for real...

No news is no news... THANKS for your prayers!

Anderson's 10 Months Old And Taking Steps!

Yes- Anderson took his first steps a few days ago. I would not say he is walking but he is stepping. I say this because he only steps with his left foot most of the time. He kind of goes in a circle. Sometimes he will step with the right but not often. He is so cute though. I have attempted many times to get video but he will not cooperate!

I cannot believe my little man is 10 months old!
Anderson's Favorites:
- Foods: Avocado, Sweet Potato, Puffs, Pears, Apple Sauce, Carrots and Peas
- Books: "God Made Animals", "Toes, Ears, and Nose", "Hello Bee, Hello Me", "Baby's Peekaboo Book"
- DVD's: First Signs, World Animals, Praise Baby
- Toys: ANYTHING... he LOVES them all! Especially loves his new Tickle Me Elmo, the fridge toys, and playing in the tunnel with Karoline
- Morning time- loves his morning bottle and eating breakfast with everyone then play time with Karoline until morning nap
- Bath time! LOVE LOVE LOVES bath time
- Swinging while watching Karoline play...
- Sucking his two middle fingers while he sleeps
- Trying to attack the DVD player or anything electronic
- Clapping!

Anderson's Least Favorite Things:
- Foods: Tofu (unless it's mixed with sweet potato)
- Books: "Goodnight Moon"- I don't know why but he won't sit through it
- Daily Event: Getting his diaper changed! He thinks staying still that long is a sin!
He does not have that many least favorite things because his is happy 99.9% of the time!

Anderson's Other Random Facts:
- I don't know his height and weight b/c we go to the doctor on Monday
- He has 6 teeth
- Sleeps from 7:45PM- 8:30AM; Naps 10:30-12; 2-3:30-PM
- Four bottles a day of 4 oz (I know that's not enough but that's ALL I can get him to drink IF I can get him to drink!! This is why we stopped breastfeeding! He was literally BF for two minutes and we were finished- he does not like milk very much! And NO I can't cut out solids because he is eating the minimum amount of solids he needs! He just is not big on eating... he would rather play.)
Time Of The Day: Dinner time- he does not want to eat most of the time because he is already tired at 6PM!
- He is a tough little boy... falling flat on his back does not bother him at all. This scares me!

HAPPY 10 MONTHS my little man! I need to start thinking about birthday party ideas!

Olympic Spirit

Go to TJ's blog to check out TJ and I in the Olympics... Thanks Jared!

Video- Bath Time, Spelling Karoline, Clapping, and Playing

Video-

Karting...

TJ and I went Go- Karting the other night for our friend Heather's birthday. It was a lot of fun. TJ was having too much fun... he got black flagged and got a little talking to from a worker! Heather's husband, Spike, is a professional photographer and he let me use some of his pictures. My pictures are at the bottom.
We started the night off eating at In and Out Burger...








Okay, here are our pictures... not nearly as good because it was my small camera but oh well...

TJ and I all ready to go Karting...


Me and Heather, The birthday girl...

Lord, Breathe Life Into Catherine...

This was my prayer yesterday as I cried and prayed for Catherine Davis. I prayed that the Lord would breath life into Catherine and fill her lungs with air and allow her to breath when she was born....

Well, HE DID! Catherine was born yesterday two days before scheduled. She has little lungs and they worked! She is in the NICU and doing pretty well... She is strong and fighting! I hear third hand reports. Emilie, my best friend Natalie's sister, gives her family reports and Natalie or her mom passes them onto me. Emilie and another good friend traveled to be with Katie and arrived at the hospital 15 minutes after Catherine was born. I think they have been able to see her. One BIG thing was that when she was born she had great color. From what I have heard if the continues to do as well as she has they will do surgery next week to move the organs from the chest. PLEASE keep them in their prayers. To GOD be the glory!

Getting Rid Of Self...

"For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

I cannot stand my attitude! I am in a horrible mood. TJ, my mom, and probably my kids all with I would just leave the house and go let some anger out on something else but them. I am angry. I never get angry. I don't know how else to feel. I am SO tired of everyday getting a new closing date. I am tired of companies having to be called because the closing date changed yet again. I am frustrated and mad! I honestly feel like saying "Lord, do you not understand my schedule!?, Don't you understand that this was not my plan!"... I guess I just said it!

I pray for a change of attitude. I feel like I just need to be alone with the Lord but there is no were to go and I have two babies to take care of,a house that is a MESS, dust an inch thick I feel like, clutter all over, and endless laundry. Maybe tomorrow during nap time I can sneak away from the house...

I was talking with TJ last night on the way back from Karting (that will be another post once I get pictures) and he said that I should be asking the Lord what he wants me to be doing during this time of waiting. I feel like I have put my life on hold waiting for this loan to go through but I should not. I should be living life and enjoying my days. I need to get rid of my selfishness and focus on blessing and praying for others.

Though what I am dealing with is no fun at all and I do know that God cares about every detail of what I am going through, there are other people who are waiting and hurting more than I am. I ask you to pray with me for a few families who need your prayers:

1) Katie and Donnie Davis- Katie and I were in high school together. She was two years younger than me but we cheered on our high school competition squad together. She is going to deliver her baby, Catherine, on Thursday. You can read more about Catherine on their blog, http://letterstocatherine.blogspot.com/, but Catherine is not expected to live very long after birth. Some of her organs developed in her chest causing her lungs to not be developed properly. It is heartbreaking! I cannot even imagine. PLEASE pray for them!

2) Lindsay and Chris Carreker- Lindsay and I went to Auburn together. I actually knew her sister, Whitney, a little more because we swam together and played water polo for extra credit for swim class. Lindsay and I had many mutual friends since our sororities were pretty close. Anyway, Lindsay's husband, Chris, was diagnosed with prostate cancer a few weeks ago. Things are looking good and they got a good report from the doctors today but I still cannot imagine all the emotions they are going through. Please keep them in your prayers and they are expecting a baby boy in a few months. Their blog is http://thecarrekers.blogspot.com/.

3)Katherine Wolf- I know many of you know the story but it continues to way heavy on my heart. Please continue to pray for her and her family. God is doing amazing things and to HIM the the glory! You can keep up with her blog...http://www.katherinewolf.info/.

Thanks for joining me in prayer for these families. There is so much to be thankful for and I pray that I can focus on all the blessings in my life and not the petty little things that drive me crazy! :)

Anyway, I called B of A today and pretty much told them I was tired of being lead-on... I ask them to not give me a closing date every day and to please be honest and give me a date that they ACTUALLY think is REALISTIC! They said they cannot give me a date. Anyway, I am going to guess late next week according to everything that still needs to take place. If it is sooner than that, then great, but this is what I am going to plan on...

Our Week...

After my last post on the house there is not a whole lot to say other than we are still waiting and since banks don't work on Sundays the house news has not changed. Here are some pictures from our past week. Emily, Avery, Emily's mom Sally, and Baby Isabel came over to visit this week and the other highlight of the week was TJ and I got to go play laser tag and put-put with friends for a birthday. It was so much fun! Anderson did get a new pair of shoes this week and they look just like TJ's. They are precious! Don't make fun of his shorts... they are a 6-12M but they just hang on the poor boy!

And how could I forget to add that we have been obsessed with the Olympics. I loved watching swimming obviously and proud that there were so many Auburn swimmers at the Olympics. We stay up past midnight every night watching. I have had to go from one cup of coffee a morning to three! Karoline is REALLY into the diving! We are thinking of starting training for her next week! :) Because we have watched so much swimming and diving Karoline wanted to play in our pool every afternoon. She would wake up from her naps ready to go and get her swim suit.
... now here are pictures!

Watching diving... she asks to watch it every day. And yes, when they go to commercial she says "Mommy, divings broken!"

Avery & Isabel's Visit



Anderson loves pulling magazines off the coffee table.

"Oh mom, more pictures?"


I am pretty sure we are not going to allow my mom to leave (we'll TJ might have something to say about that!)...

Karoline gets a big kick out of laying in Gammy's bed (AKA the sofa!) every morning.



This picture is for Emily...

Video-

Cute Quotes From Karoline...

Many of my friends are so much better about documenting cute quotes and I am trying to get better! I always think... I need to write that down and then I forget them. So I thought I would document some of the cute things that have been coming out of Karoline's mouth. I LOVE having a two year old. Even though "NO" comes out of her mouth very often, in the middle of the "no"'s comes really cute stuff!


My Eyes Are Broken:
This one was a few weeks ago. I always go in to kiss Karoline one more time when I go to bed (which is usually around midnight).
VERY VERY DARK in Karoline's room...
KBG:I need to go potty mommy.
Me: Okay, Lets go...
We go into my bedroom with all the lamps on and it's bright- she is squinting and yells...
KBG says panicking: Mommy, My eyes are broken!! My eyes are broken!!
Me: Oh baby, your eyes are not broken! I'm sure of it.
KBG: sure? sure?
Me: I'm sure.

My Dress Is Broken:
This morning Karoline was sitting on my lap while I was putting on her dress. I slipped on her bloomers and put on her sandals. I planned on pulling up her bloomers when she stood back up. We were rushed to leave (as usual) and I just stood her up on the floor and I quickly went to the kitchen to gather my purse and the kids bags. Karoline starts yelling from the living room...
KBG: Mommy! My dress is broken! My dress is broken!
Me: Karoline your dress is not broken! (thinking what in the world is she talking about!)
I just keep getting my stuff together.
KBG: Mommy! My dress is broken!
I then here her waddling into the kitchen like a penguin with her bloomers around her ankles! I felt so bad! :)


Anderson Needs A Dress:
After I got the bloomers pulled up I got Anderson's jeans to put on him. Karoline came over to us and said...
KBG: Mommy, where is his dress?
Me: He doesn't wear a dress. He's a boy.
KBG (sounding worried): But Anderson has to go to church!
Me: He is going to church Baby, but he will NEVER wear a dress!
Oh it was so funny because she was so worried he was not going to get to go because he didn't have a dress!

Spelling:
We have been working on teaching Karoline to spell her name. So we were practicing at lunch and here is how it went...
Me: Karoline, spell your name,
KBG: 1,2,3,4,5,6....
Me laughing: No... spell your name silly!
KBG: A, B, C, D, E, F, G....
After singing the whole alphabet I figured we needed another lesson! :)

Who's In Charge:
Karoline and TJ were in the kitchen...
TJ: Karoline, who's house is this?
KBG: Daddy's house!
TJ: That's right! Karoline, who's in charge?
KBG: Mommy!She is a smart girl!

Do You Want My Blood?

I feel like asking Bank of America this question. I feel like I have given them everything they could possibly ask for except my children and my blood! Seriously, they are working on one last thing... bank statements. I think all we have to do is show them proof of some gift money we got from family and we should be done. All they have left to ask for is my blood... I think if they ask for that I'll move to a different lender. We are NOT closing Monday or Tuesday but if they don't ask for more stuff we might close at the end of the week next week. Prayer requests:

1) The bank won't ask about other deposits made into our checking that have NOTHING to do with our loan (aka TJ's expense report money from the church)... it always delays things by like 2 days when this happens.

2) That our loan will be on the top of the underwriters desk on Monday morning :)

3) That our Realtor will convince the seller not to charge us $100 a day since Aug. 8th!!!!

4) That we close next week.

5) That my mom can stay longer if we move. She is willing it's just a matter of United having a flight available.

Thanks for all your continued prayer and support!

Paper Trail...

Okay, I am going to take a moment and express my frustrations with Bank of America and their mortgage center... Here is what we are dealing with...

Yesterday we were told we would close on Wednesday (tomorrow). They told us they had ALL the papers they needed for us... then they called today... here is how the conversation went...

BofA: The copies of your bank statement that you sent us are not going to work because it does not show your entire bank account number. We are going to need the statements that are mailed to you.

Me: We don't get statements in the mail.

BofA: You don't? Really? Well, what you gave us is not going to work.

My thoughts: YOU ARE BANK OF AMERICA- JUST LOOK UP MY DANG ACCOUNT YOURSELF!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Me: Bank of America decided to push everyone to go "paperless" and we did. Now we are being punished for it!???

BofA: We'll I guess I'll have to see what I can do...

My thoughts: You DO that!!

She then went on to basically say she needed me to be able to document every penny that is in our savings and checking account!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT THE HECK!???

BofA: What was the deposit of $4,800 for?

Me: TJ's church credit card (expense report).

BofA: Have you paid that?

Me: Yes, and it is cleared.

BofA: Can you send me proof that it has cleared?

Me: Yes, but it's an online statement that apparently is non-acceptable!

My thoughts: Why did they even offer paperless statements if they don't count them as a REAL bank statement!!???

Anyway... we went on and on... it's just ridiculous! I guess because I know I am an honest person does not mean that they know I am an honest person. It's sad that so many dishonest people have caused this and now it effects an honest family of four just trying to buy a house to call home. I guess it is common for people to put random money in their accounts while they are in escrow so it looks like they have more than they really do...

I am fed up with it all... I want to be DONE. I want to close. I am tired of closing dates that come and go. Why can't they decide all the paperwork they want before the day we are supposed to close??? I recommend you NOT go with Bank of America for a home loan and also if you have any kind of money or savings you better be able to document every dime. I guess I should have done receipts for my garage sale because I am sure B of A will want to know where the $425 came from!!

Thanks for letting me vent... mom's at the store, TJ's at work, the kids are asleep so I lean on my blog for support! :) hehe! I am going to go ahead and guess that we will NOT be closing tomorrow! SHOCKER!!

For My Dad...

Normally when my mom comes to visit my dad is out of town too on a business trip, but he is home in Texas. Mom came when she did because we were going to close on the house and we needed her here for the move (still no loan or closing date.... keep praying!). So dad has been working but misses mom. He sends us pictures from his cell phone multiple times a day so I thought I would post some pictures for him... Dad, we are taking real good care of mom. Only making her do hard labor a few hours a day :) We wish you were here though the only place for you to sleep would be the floor but if you get too hot or bored hop on a plane!

We had a pretty good weekend. Anderson has been very sick but seems to be getting better... He has learned a new skill, clapping! It's so cute. Karoline has had a good weekend and is very into the Olympics. She LOVES swimming and diving. I think she might be a swimmer or a diver. She LOVES the water (see below). We still have no closing date like mentioned before... they say Wednesday... but they said today too! I need lots of prayer because I don't understand God's purpose in this. I know His will is best but right now I don't understand. I WANT to understand!

Getting ready to walk... Anderson is standing up ALL day long. He just needs to learn the art of putting one foot in front of the other. So he really enjoys the wagon and we have started to take it outside for him to walk around with while Karoline runs around.

"I wonder what this swing tastes like?"




Karoline playing in the pool... even though it was quite cool outside. She doesn't care if it is so cold and she turns purple when she wants to get in the pool she wants to get in the pool...
Playing with Gammy...

Taking turns pushing each other up and down the hall (a MILLION times!)



Let me explain this picture... TJ and I were watching TV while mom was reading to Karoline and I looked into the video monitor and they were reading books with stuffed animals on their head! So I got my camera and captured this silly moment!

Isabel Ryan Wilson Arrives

My sweet friend Emily gave birth to Isabel Ryan Wilson Saturday, Aug. 9th at 6:23PM. She was 7 lbs. 10 oz. and OH so cute! I got to ride into the city with Emily's mom to visit them on Sunday. Avery is a very proud big sister! Here are a few of the almost 60 pictures I took at the hospital!