Quick Update

Happy Tuesday, friends!  ...My final "Felony Tuesday" at the Creek County Courthouse!!

This is definitely my busiest month in recent history, but I'm doing well and feeling joy and peace amidst the chaos.  The day-by-day grace of God is always enough, and I'm feeling strong and well-supported in all the big decisions I'm making in this season.  And very grateful!!

This pic was after lunch with Sarah Elizabeth and precious Kate last Friday... Sarah and I enjoyed Mexican food to go from Pablo's and we caught up on all of life!  Then Kate was laughing at her reflection in the phone, and I'm so glad I captured it quickly! ❤

She's clapping and dancing along with the music (an album of instrumental Hamilton lullabies). lol  I  just love it when babies clap, especially when they say "yay" along with it!!

And one last pic just for good measure! lol

This was Friday morning - Chet Lee bringing the key box and putting the sign out in my front yard!  Get excited!!

Working on designing my new business card - yay, Canva!

A week ago today, I got to help Jeffrey and Kelly move some boxes from 4633 to their amazing new place in Jenks about five minutes from my house - we joked about how we'll be neighbors for nine days! lol  It's funny bc it's true.

I feel like I should put "helped" in quotes above, as JEM loaded and unloaded all the boxes, then they provided pizza for dinner!  I was happy to hang out and catch up, and glad I could capture the Moss fam having a makeshift picnic as their first dinner in their new place! ❤

A pic Jeff sent from their closing earlier that morning... then Chet came by my house at lunch to take the photos for the listing... then I met with the Mosses that night!  Fun!

I made an offer two weekends back on a house on Snowy Owl drive... I loved that name and sent this gif to a couple people saying it reminded me of Hedwig and Harry Potter!

I found out a couple days later (on the 4th) that it was a no-go (I offered 13k over asking price with a 10k appraisal gap, but someone else offered more - the market is freaking crazy right now).  Anyway, I thought this was the perfect gif for losing the snowy owl house! lol

The very next day, I expanded my search to Moore and found Homes by Taber, a builder with a designer that's much closer to my taste, and they allow you to customize a surprising number of details on your home.  It's 15 minutes from the courthouse (a really nice drive without highways) and 20 minutes from Mom and Dad.  It was a God's timing thing for sure after looking at so many disappointing places and new construction builders that allowed no customization.  And on Sunday the 10th (after looking at several homes and asking lots of questions and praying over it)... I bought a lot to start building my home with them in Broadmoore Heights!!  This = me placing the "Sold" sticker on my future home, a great lot that I honestly chose specifically for the cute address! =)

"As you can see, it's a very desirable location - the geese think so too!" ~Rachel with Taber Homes as we walked the lot for my future home! lol

(Ignore the discarded beer bottle.)

I will (hopefully) be accepting an offer on my current house by the end of the day today!  Let me just say.... the kidnapper-style vans are *not* helpful when you're trying to sell a home.  And I will not miss seeing that next door.

So for the next 7-9 months, I will be storing my furniture and staying with Mom and Dad!  I'm really grateful to have that option and be able to save some money in this season, and I'm going to make the most of my extra time with my parents and the niece and nephews!

Courthouse pic with Tiffany after lunch with her and Laura at Patriot Grill today!

Reminding myself of this and focusing on all I have to be grateful for right now... it's a very long list!!

Tomorrow, I'm headed to Norman to get my key and badge so that we can set up my new office over the weekend.  Then Thursday will be my last day of work at the Creek County Courthouse, and a going away party with friends that night!

I am excited and hopeful about what lies ahead!

Thanks for being here!! ❤

What's Next?

One last post today, then you probably won't hear from me for a couple weeks.  But it's cathartic to write and I really needed to post an update today.  I have to sort through 15 years worth of exhibits over the next couple weeks and try to contact the attorneys to come pick them up or allow me to shred them.  All while working on getting my home ready to sell and trying to find a home in the Moore/Norman area!

I'm feeling all the emotions about this move, but not feeling *overwhelmed* or paralyzed by any of it, and I know that's from God!

I started watching The West Wing and listening to the episode-by-episode recap podcast, and their catchphrase at the end of each episode of The West Wing Weekly is "Okay?" "Okay.  What's next?"  They talked about how often that line is used in the show, and the idea really stuck with me that no matter what you go through or what curveballs you face in life, you take the next step and you keep moving forward.  You know there is more to be done, and you keep going.  Of course, those words feels more poignant than usual for me in this season.

This was the first post I saw on Facebook the morning I got the job offer.  Big decisions on a time crunch are not my strong suit, so I'm incredibly grateful when God comes through with big and small confirmations like this!

This = my spot in the new courtroom... it's a much smaller courtroom, but I'm in a much better spot, and the size is much better for recorded audio!  My office is great - I'll be setting it up Easter weekend - then jumping right into a jury term on April 18th!

I genuinely don't have time to write much right now.  (I'm certain I'll make up for it eventually.)  Moving is intense!  There is a very long list of things to do to prepare for my upcoming move, and I'm trying to focus and take action and keep it all straight.  I made an offer on a house in Norman yesterday and found out today that I didn't get it - the housing market is crazy, but I'm trusting God's leading and timing!  Mom and I spent the weekend working on staging my home (taking down all photos, packing some things, storing a lot in the garage).  

The photo wall -- my favorite wall in my house for the last five years -- is not going down without a fight!!  I'll have to amend my prior post recommending the ultimate adhesive - eek!  We tried two electric sanders (took off the paint but not the glue), acetone, strong rubbing alcohol (recommended by the glue manufacturer), razor blades, putty knives, peel n stick vinyl planks, and pulling the paper and glue off by hand until our fingernails are brittle.  It's crazy how much it will not budge.  These pics are several hours apart, and we barely made a dent in it.  So it's the one very frustrating spot we were unable to perfect, but it's a really great house, and I'm praying and believing it will still sell quickly!

A few recent photos so I feel caught up... here's Jaceman wearing the sombrero for Triston's birthday, and reminding me of Chet getting on the saddle on Malori's birthday in 2008! lol

The mini Miss K with her character award for Initiative! ❤

T-man's double chocolate cookiecake - yum!  Hard to believe that he'll be driving a year from now!

And our last Jury Term pic (Tiffany comes up to take minutes and read the verdict for our jury cases, so we get to hang out a bit more at work on those rare days)!

A posed candid after the trial - I love it! lol

Okay, friends!  What's next??

Prayers appreciated as I take the 1,000 small steps ahead in this transition period.  I'm excited for what lies ahead and believing the best is yet to come! ❤

Mark's Birthday! (Memory Monday)

Rachel sent a FB invite for a birthday party for Mark on Friday the 25th...  Only the Wilsons were available that night, and I texted Chet saying I felt bad that me and so many others were unable to come, asking if the Shoemakers had something else going on Thursday.  Chet was on it, and in the end, they changed the plan, and a much bigger group gathered on Mark's real birthday for a fun dinner at Andolini's - YAY!!

It impresses me that 4-year-old Tate looks at this pizza and wanted the left side! lol  Whilst I ordered the white pizza when I went with Kristin that weekend! =)

Me and Sarah Elizabeth!  I also had lunch with her that day (bringing Pablo's Mexican food to her place and hanging out with her and Kate)!  Fun times!

The confetti bundt cake Chet brought for our dessert - yum!

It was fun talking with Mark about his job and the Hogan Personality Assessments... something I will totally take when I have a bit more spare time!  It was his 29th birthday... so they're the youngest in our group of friends!  Yay for getting to celebrate 30 next year!

Tate wanted to touch all the colorful trees, and that made me happy!  Kids are the best with their random requests and thoughts and quotable sayings. =)

 A fun night with a great group!  

*Side note: I had applied for the new job on Tuesday, but hadn't heard anything and thought it might have been filled so I never mentioned it.  Turns out the Judge was out of the office most of that week, and when I called Friday morning to confirm they received my application, they invited me to interview that afternoon!

MARCH 2022!

QUOTE OF THE MONTH:

"Our lives are in His hands,

and He keeps our feet from stumbling."
~Psalm 66:9

MARCH MEMORABLE MOMENTS

• A fun belated bday weekend celebration with my cousin, Kristin!
• The NRCYS parenting classes (three 9-hour Saturdays)
• Applying with the Gossett adoption agency
• Making a list of baby items I'll need over Ted's to-go lunch with Sarah
• Finding some old letters Mom wrote the year I was born
• Fun with the fam at The Brooke and Gathering Place over Spring Break
• Phone call catching up with an out-of-state friend going through a very hard season
• Reading (yes, an actual physical book) The Story of You: An Enneagram Journey to Becoming Your True Self by Ian Morgan Cron
• Touring Mend followed by New York Bagel Cafe lunch with Chet and Kristin Foster
• Celebrating Mark's bday with friends at Andolini's
• Feeling a growing pull to move closer to my family
• Noticing a job opening in Cleveland County posted March 3rd...
• Praying over it a while then finally applying March 22nd (Tuesday)
• Driving down for an interview on March 25th (Friday afternoon)
• Judge Walkley calling to offer me the job on March 29th 
• Telling Tiffany and Laura, taking some deep breaths, then submitting my resignation letter that afternoon
• Phone calls with Sarah, Chet, Jeff, Kelly, and both Kristins to share this major news
• My last jury trial in Creek County (boring civil case) and my last "waiting on a verdict" pic with Laura and Tiffany
• Meeting with Monica who gave me a 4-page list of things to do to stage my home to list it for sale soon!
• LIFE-GIVING:  Feeling a deep, God-given sense of peace about all of this!   The word I chose for this year was "manna," and I've thought about it a lot - about staying present and trusting that God is with me and for me, and His grace is enough day by day!  Also, feeling genuine support from all sides as I begin this transition process... it's bittersweet to think of leaving the Tulsa area, and it's always nerve wracking to tell people big news without knowing how they will react, but across the board, the reactions have been very positive and gracious and kind, and I'm exceptionally thankful for that!!! ❤
• LIFE-DRAINING:  The times when I've thought too far ahead in worry or too far back in nostalgia.  I'm working on staying present and staying in peace, and speaking positive things over my life and my future!

HAPPY LISTS

I Listened To:

• Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How it Can Help You Find - And Keep - Love by Amir Levine and Rachel Heller
• How to Raise Successful People: Simple Lessons for Radical Results by Esther Wojcicki
• Colossians through Revelation
• The usual favorite podcasts, adding The West Wing Weekly and Peloton: Fitness Flipped

I Watched:  

• The West Wing season one on HBO Max
• Some old favorite shows and movies

I'm Celebrating:  

• My new job!!  (Working with Special Judge Brockman in Cleveland County, beginning April 18th)
• Making prayerful decisions and feeling peace about it
• God's goodness and grace following me wherever I go

March was a whirlwind, and the first four days of April even more so!!  (I am backdating this post so that it shows up on the March blog archives if ever I look for it in the future.)  Thank you for your support and kindness! ❤

A Farewell Tribute to 4633

Jeffrey Edward and Kelly Marie will be closing on their beautiful new home next week!!  I'm looking forward to seeing it in person, and I'm praying it will be a smooth move and transition for their whole family!

I wanted to take a minute today for a Tribute Tuesday post to honor all the great memories I've had at their first home, 4633!  (*Not to be confused with Bobbi's old house at 4622, but I did a doubletake when I realized the address numbers are so similar).

...It all started in February of 2010.  Jay went out of town, and Jeff invited Jay's LifeGroup friends over for a fun game night at his place!  (I remember a whole inside joke back then about how Jeff was stealing Jay's friends.)  Anyway, this guy we mostly knew as Jay's friend from the Caravan made us sopapilla cheesecake and told us some of his stories that had us laughing, and we became friends pretty quickly... (I know that mostly because five short months later, he joined three of us for a memorable Vegas trip! lol) Anyway, that first night, we played some fun games, and in the middle of one of them was the memorable cockroach incident and mini-freakout by me, and that story became legendary. lol

Jeff was kind enough to host an Engagement Party for Jay and Bethany, and I remember being impressed by all the personal touches and details, and how much work and thought went into planning it!  A little later, Jeff invited friends over for a Baylor game where he sang their fight song for us, complete with hand motions, all by himself in his kitchen... the Baylor loyalty and passion was endearing and entertaining!

There was Chet Lee's 25th birthday dinner (I still use my blue mason jar from that gathering), a Thunder game watch party, the cruise afterparty, a couple of Kelly's birthday parties, Super Bowl parties that included a delicious chili cookoff, some beautiful backyard dinners, and playing nertz and other fun games!

After Jeff and Kelly were married, our Diving Deeper Women's LifeGroup started meeting at their house... so I have loads of memories of Tuesday night Bible studies, staying to watch This is Us with the girls, Thanksgiving dinners, Christmas present-wrapping mission events, and a fun Galentine's party!  I miss that group!

There was meeting Penny Moss and the chickens in 2016, a pre-marathon pasta dinner Kelly hosted in support of Jeff's Route 66 race in 2017, co-hosting the Baby Shower brunch for Tate in 2018, a fun surprise Halloween drop-in 2019, multiple "Convivial Cozy Christmas Parties," bringing them dinner when Ellie Faye was born, a socially-distanced backyard dinner for JEM's 40th birthday, a couple  of sweet dinners with their family, and of course, celebrating Miss Ellie's 1st Birthday party in 2020 (before the pandemic hit)!

I'm so grateful for Jeff and Kelly's friendship, for their gift of hospitality, and for all the fun memories we've shared in their first home!!  

It was Jeffrey's first home in Tulsa, their first home together as a married couple, the main meeting place of our women's group and their current Anthem small group, Penny's first home, and the first home to welcome their beautiful daughter, Ellie Faye! ❤  So here's to 4633, to the end of a sweet era and the beginning of a beautiful new one!!  

When I think of that home, I will think of their thoughtfulness and generosity... and I'll remember sopapilla cheesecake, the always beautiful landscaping by Jeff, the denim couch, the German books, the infamous cockroach, sunny backyard dinners, chili cookoffs, Penny and the chickens, the backyard hammock, Bible studies, "naughty and nice" Christmas party punch, and lots of laughter and warmth and fun!  ...Here's a happy slideshow of memories, only two of which I wasn't personally present for (their epic Jurassic Park Halloween pic and a cute Baylor pic of Jeff and Ellie)!

Congrats on your new home, Moss family!!  

And thanks for helping to create lots of great memories and wonderful friendships that we get to take with us wherever we go! ❤

Birthday Weekend!!

I had a fantastic weekend with my cousin, Kristin!!  Details below...

I knew Kristin had been planning something special for a belated birthday present, but it was full of awesome surprises!  When I saw the basket filled with gifts, it definitely took a minute to register that they were all for me - YAY!!

After a delicious late dinner at Andolini's, we came back to my house and I opened at least a dozen gift bags and boxes.... including a Scripture-covered journal, two baby books (my first baby-related gifts from anyone), Martha Stewart heart-shaped coasters, blank canvases for future paintings, fruity pink wine, a balloon puppy figurine, a pink cashmere scarf, Black Cherry Merlot soaps + candle + wallflower with a cute pink heart design, and a Pioneer Woman Sweet Rose planter!!

The amount of detail she put into everything -- from the glitter heart on the envelope to extra glitter and jewels on the wrapping paper and choosing tissue paper I love -- was very impressive and made me feel seen and loved and very grateful!  Of course, there were also bundtinis and she bought my brunch and dinner on Saturday! 

Our weekend included not one but two brunches at the Cheesecake Factory... she got the breakfast monte cristo and I got the giant Belgian waffle and then French toast... and we tried pineapple mimosas this morning... I gotta say, highly preferable to orange!

And after that, we took a road trip for a fun afternoon and evening in Pawhuska!!

We shopped around at the Mercantile... I skipped the shirt but got the cute "Wash away your worries" laundry basket!  I looked at her cookbooks hoping she had one themed with healthy-ish foods, but no such luck thus far. lol  

They gave us directions to the Lodge (about 25 minutes away) so we headed down the gravel road to see it!  This is where Ree Drummond (aka the Pioneer Woman) films her show, and it was really fun to tour it and take a few faux-cooking photos! =)  She even had the same little planter that Kristin had gotten me, so I had to snap a photo of that!

There are several bedrooms for people to stay there when they're filming - all open to the public when they're not.  They encouraged you to feel free to open any drawers and cabinets, etc., then they had fake snakes in a few of them, which made me laugh!  When I saw these Sweet Rose dishes on prominent display, I said, "Yay, she has my dishes!!  Or I guess technically, I have hers." lol  I like that it's also her favorite of all the patterns she's made.

Anyway, we had fun looking around... then we sat outside for a few minutes looking out over their 433,000 acres... right up until I saw a spider crawling on Kristin's leg.  And then we were done with the great outdoors. lol

We traveled back and stopped at the Mercantile Bakery to pick up a few treats, then put our name in for the waitlist at P. Town Pizza.  We perused several little boutique shops around that area, then eventually sat down for some tasty pizza!

That was followed by a bit of ice cream at Charlie's Sweet Shop - I'm so happy to finally see all these places in person - it's all so cute and fun!

We had lots of car time and meal time to get caught up on all of life, which was delightful!  On the road trip back, we had fun looking up different songs on Apple Music.  Then we had a PJ-clad movie night watching Jumanji (the first one with Kevin Hart and the Rock) and eating leftover pizza. =)

We slept in, had a lovely brunch, then looked through some old scrapbooks this morning.  Then Frankie and the boys came to pick her up, and they were very cute looking through my house and wondering why I no longer had a pool (thinking Mamaw's house was mine when they came to swim last summer). lol  

And that's my weekend recap - cheers!

Thanks so much, Kristin!!  This was incredibly generous and kind and well thought out, and it was all super fun! ❤