this is gonna be a long one

so far so good here in south carolina. we've been here over 6 weeks. i still have some unpacking to do. i have plenty of decorating to do. but it's starting to feel like home. Nicks store has been open for a few weeks and is keeping him so busy. it's so fun to see a whole town crazy and excited about quik trip being here. someplace i've grown up going to and nick has worked at for 15 years. these people are just seeing it for the first time or have seen it in atlanta (hour and 1/2 away) but go in to them and gawk like they are in disney world. it's so funny.....good thing we love quik trip too!!! i'm still trying to find my favorite grocery store. the kids are doing great with the big change. they love all fun stuff we are finding to do outside.
i have to talk about my favorite things about living here. i get to stay home with my kids!!!! it's not all fun and play, it's a lot of work but so worth it. "russell" you told it was pretty here and boy were you right!!! greenville is in the foothills of the Appalachian mountains so it's absolutely breathtaking to get to see mountains everyday on my way to take/pick-up liv from school or on my way to wal-mart. the cheap fun weekend trips are endless. The weekend before last we drove 3hrs south to charleston, SC. we are absolutely in love with that town. the kids got to see the ocean and touch the sand. i can't believe we can drive 3 hrs and take our kids to the ocean. i don't have pics to share from that trip on here because i forgot to charge the stupid camera battery.....boo!!!! but don't worry, there will be plenty more trips there to capture on film. easter weekend we are surprising liv (and the boys) for her b-day which is april 10th with a weekend trip to pigeon forge, TN. we are taking them dollywood. i can't wait to drive thru the mountains again.now for some catching up. owen started kindergarten. in a big normal public school. he isn't going to our home school with liv. he goes to a different one across town and it's seems to be a good fit. they wanted him there because they always have two registered nurses on duty so the are better equip to take care of his medical needs. he's not as crazy about it just yet as he was CCVI. i don't think that he will ever have a teacher that loves him as much as miss sarah does at CCVI. at ccvi there were about 10 kids in his class and now he is in a "normal" class with 25 kids. i asked him what he didn't like about his new school and he said "it's too crowded and everybody gets in my way" you'd think it be that the bus picks him up at 6:15am but thats no worries for him, he's always been my early bird. his favorite things are riding the bus and bringing his lunch. livi is doing great in school. her school (our home school) is huge!!!! there are 9 2nd classes with 25 kids each!!! and nobody rides the bus so i take her everyday. remember what i mentioned earlier about seeing the mountains on the way so i really don't mind taking her. on feb. 29th we took owen to his first appointments with his new drs at the Levine Children's Hospital in Charlotte, NC. it's an hour and 1/2 drive. a very pretty drive and i haven't mentioned this yet......there is an IKEA there!!!!!! i get to take owen to the doctor and shop at ikea every month, yes please!!!! i'll start going to ikea just once month soon, as of right now i've been 4 times :-) ok back to owen's dr visits. LCH looks nothing like CMH. it didn't even make me feel like CMH makes me feel. that's why when i was checking him in to see his new kidney dr, dr masengill, i started crying. i missed children's mercy. the receptionist didn't know us or why we were there. i really started to feel like we made a huge mistake. when it's time for the dr to come in i'm all good and calm. she comes in and introduces herself then says "you won't believe who i saw this weekend and did he brag a lot about you......dr warady!!!!" his kidney dr from chm. my heart sank and tears fell down my cheek again but i was happy. it's was my first sign that it was going to be alright. my next sign was when the child life specialist (angie was the best at cmh) came in with a goodie bag full of all owen's favorite things. a Frankenstein tattoo, halloween book and more. she got a get to know owen email from angie at cmh. made my heart happy. the rest of the visit went great. i really think they will be a great fit for owen. after that appt. we went accross the hall to the ortho. clinic to have his cast removed. the dr comes in and says "so gail did his surgery, she's great!!!" he knows the dr that did his leg surgery at cmh by her first name, another sign. :-) they removed owens cast that he had on for the past six weeks. his leg looks so little. it's still a little hard for him to walk but his foot stays flat!!! we have a new brace that he has to wear for at least another 3 mos. like always he's handling it like the rock star he is.

my next big announcement is that my little 3 year old noah is potty trained!!!!! yay!!!! it only took a few days of a lot of mistakes. but he has been sporting underwear all day for a few weeks now. he still wear pull ups at night. he is growing into such a sweet little dude and love spending my days with him. so proud of him!!!! now to get owen potty trained :-/

GrAnD OpEnInG!!!!!!! Hotel Hughez!!!!! now accepting reservations. each stay includes weekday continental breakfast/deluxe breakfast on the weekends, adorable 3 year old wake up calls, free wi-fi, airport shuttle service, neighborhood outdoor pool, greenville tours and good company. more pictures of the property coming soon :-)

/

/

/

/

it is 11:20 pm on march 19th 2012. i've almost made it thru this day, the day that marks the 3 year anniversary of the day that i lost one of the most important men in my life......my dad. the hardest part about moving here was leaving the last house i will ever live in that my dad has been to. i will never see him walk thru my front door. i would love to show him SC. he would love talking to nick about all this new quiktrip stuff. he would just be in stitches hanging out with noah. he would shocked at owen's accomplishments. he would stunned at liv's beauty. thank goodness it's now 11:34 and this day is almost over :-(