Got Gator?

Do you think the little Italian girls will like it?

The other night, I (Gigi) told Grandy about a riding toy I had seen at Target that I thought would be good for Colton's first birthday, and since they were filling a crate, the time to buy it would be while we were in Orlando. He simply said, "I'm buying him a Gator." I said, "WHAT!?" For those of you uneducated in the world of battery operated riding toys, a Gator is probably the biggest. It is a scaled down replica of a John Deere Gator used by many farmers, ranchers, hunters, etc. for all kinds of chores on their properties. It has a 12 volt battery and will support up to 180 pounds. It has a dumpable back end so you can dump whatever you want to put in it. It even has cupholders for the driver and passenger. They are great, but are made for 2 1/2-3 year olds up! There is no way Colton would be able to drive it by himself for at least 1 1/2 years. However, Grandy had thought it through and said the same argument I had used....."since they are getting a moving crate, now it the time to do it. Ross and Lindsay will have to figure out how to store it!"

Me and my Dad chillin' with my Gator!

Being the considerate Mother-in-Law I try to be, I told Lindsay about it. She could Veto it if she wanted to and I would understand. This thing is huge. However, she said that if we wanted to do it, she would support it. Ross was totally on board as I think he still thinks like a 5-6 year old when it comes to toys and could envision Colton on it.

So, we borrowed a truck to pick it up and the rest as they say is history. What I really want to see is the reaction of the Italians when they see Colton tooling around Florence on his way to the park (about 200 yards from their house Ross says) So funny. I'm sure they will think it is one more way Americans are excessive, but I wouldn't give anything for the look on Grandy's face when he brought it in and helped Ross put it together. So much fun!

Grandy and Gigi and me with my Gator.

Gigi LOVES babies after baths.....I'm not so sure.

I think she has gone a little far.......does she have to squeeze so hard? UGH!


This Grandy fellow is a great guy!

We ate, played, and Gigi got to feed me my veggies, fruit and cereal all weekend! Grandy and Daddy worked on the bathroom(s) and put in new toilets, whatever they are.

ARE........YOU.........READY????? You Ole Miss fans know what comes next!!!! Hotty Toddy!

I know I'm very cute!

All I need is a cup and a washrag for a good time!

Mommy is putting me in the trees......I guess she really does think I'm a monkey!

I'm laughing at my mommy jump!

We really had a wonderful time with Lindsay, Ross and Colton over this Memorial Day weekend. We shopped, buying lots of great things for Colton to wear over the next year.....predicting his size can be tricky, but many bargains and cute things for him later, it was so fun to help choose some of his wardrobe!

This Could Be "Dallas," not Katy!

Oh, the drama. Mark and I went looking at houses right as our house in Nashville was closing, so April 15th or so. We saw two we liked, but one had a tiny, tiny yard with no room for tomatoes, so we nixed that one. The other was a great house, but we didn't have to hurry, so we decided to wait to see if anything else better came along, etc. While I was in Nashville for Anna-Ruth's wedding, so April 25, I received an email from the automatic system I'm signed up for, saying that the price of the house we really liked had been reduced. We called our agent and he said we needed to move on it. (Don't they all say that?) So we negotiated a deal with owners with the contingency that we could get out of our lease without too much expense. Our realtor assured us that with the time of year the house would be available, it should cost us our deposit and not much more. We were agreeable to that since the interest rates are fabulous right now and a loss of a deposit is much less than the cost of a mortgage in the long run.

The landlord is an employee of the State Dept and is located overseas (I think in Brazil.) Needless to say, timely communications with him have been difficult. At first he seemed agreeable to letting us out of our lease. Then he turned around and said that we would have to guarantee the full lease even if we moved out. Well, that would be a cost that could have taken all of us (Mark, Connie, Grace, Robert, and Charissa) to Italy, so we decided to let the house go and stay here until the lease expired. There would be other houses.

After telling the owners of the house on Lodge Meadows "thanks, but we can't right now" Mark planted some tomatoes in the back yard. We had a real peace throughout the entire process. Mark even asked me if I really wanted to do this because I didn't seem excited enough. I told him I was guarding my heart as it has been broken so many times by real estate transactions or the lack thereof for the past 2 1/2 years. I confirmed that I really liked the house, but if we didn't get it, it was ok, that God has something else for us.

Well, the Monday after letting the house go, we received an email from our landlord agreeing to the first provisions we proposed to him two weeks prior. Believe me, we had been around the bend several times and back and forth and it is kind of incredible, ok, God, that he came back with this.

We reissued the offer on the house and will be moving around June 20. I've attached the link if you would like to see it. It is 2923 sq which is exactly TWICE the size of our house on Sedberry. It cost less than what we sold the house on Sedberry for. It is in a great neighborhood and close to all the things we've come accustomed to here in the great state of Texas. Crazy isn't it?

Lesson learned.....hopefully for a lifetime. Let Go and Let God. I remember my daddy saying that to me over and over. God has great plans and will accomplish them no matter the attempts of man to thwart Him.

Now to get packing!
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