life O'Brien

The Lord provided (in His perfect timing!), and our house appraised at value, which means our house is pretty much sold! No more hurdles… hallelujah! We booked our rental home in Richmond… a 2 bedroom townhouse in a complex. We’re excited about that (compared to a rental house or something) because it has a gym, pool, and playground. I think the pool will definitely help us deal with the Virginia summer!

We’ve been saying our goodbyes. We had a playdate with friends from BSF. I’ve enjoyed these gals for the last 2 years. Stephanie was Caitlin’s BSF teacher last year, and I was her little one’s teacher this last year. The kids all loved playing together at BSF and enjoyed our lunches together sometimes after a hard (on the teachers) BSF morning. On our morning out together (playing at the mall and lunch together after), the girls were SO sweet together… it made me so sad that they won’t be growing up together more. They’ve vowed to be pen pals, which will be fun.

Well, our house has been up for sale and it’s been going well… until now. We got a great offer the first weekend we showed the house and the inspection went well, with no changes requested. All that’s left is the appraisal. We’re just waiting, and waiting. The inspection was approved over a week ago, and the appraisal hasn’t even been scheduled yet. We’re so frustrated! Based on our agreed closing date, we should be packed and driving away in about 2.5 weeks, but our house hasn’t even been appraised yet. Historically, the appraisal was no big deal, but houses are appraising low right now, since the market is quickly going up (thank God!). But… it means the appraisal could be problematic, and COULD make the whole deal fall through. And… because the laws have changed, the agents are pretty disconnected from the appraisal process, so we have limited ability to get any traction on it. So… we wait. All I know is that I don’t want to have all our stuff packed up and then need to re-list our house.

In the meantime… I’m just trying to set my mind on our future. We put a deposit down on a townhouse in Richmond, so whenever we do get there, we have a home! That took a big weight off my shoulder – one that I didn’t even realize was there. I feel so much better having a future address!  Our townhouse complex has a pool and a playground, so the girls are really excited about it. I like that our particular unit is in a pretty private part of the complex; there won’t be any drive-through traffic. And… (best of all?) it’s in walking distance to a starbucks.  =)

I’ve been thinking about things I will miss here. Of course, we will miss our friends and family dearly. Undescribably so. But… I’ve been trying to appreciate some of the little things that we enjoy about our current home:

• Ikea close by! I LOVE Ikea, and we’re spoiled by having one about 20 minutes away. In our new place, I think the Ikea is maybe 2 hours away. That will be painful!
• Conveniences: Within an 8 minute drive of my house, there are 4 Starbucks stores (plus 2 more if you count ones in a grocery store). Within a 20 minute drive, there are 4-5 Target stores, depending on traffic. I live in a weird spot where several cities come together, and there are a lot of conveniences come with that.
• Big airport: we live in a weird spot that is 15-20 minutes to a big airport, but we’re not in the flight path.
• Awesome parks on the lakes, rivers, and puget sound. Water is abundant! We especially love Coulon Beach Park and Newcastle Beach Park, Seward Park, and Alki Beach park. Those are my places to go on a happy day, a sad day, or a day I need to unwind and be alone (with a bunch of strangers). Those are my go-to ME places, and I’m going to MISS them like I miss a dear friend.

Maybe, just maybe, we’ll hear about the appraisal tomorrow (as I say everyday…).

As we get ready to move, I keep seeing little “scenes” in my home, and trying to savor them. I know they will be changing… both because of the move and because I’m really aware right now of how quickly my little ones are growing up.

One of the things I LOVE right now is a common view during breakfast and lunch each day. THE TOES:

We’ve sold these chairs, and of course, we don’t know yet what our future eating situation might be. Aside from the chairs, who knows what day the girls will stop sitting like this. I know that one day, they will suddenly start sitting with their feet down.

I love these toes.

Both girls get a two-hour “nap” time after lunch. Erin has transitioned to just having a “quiet time” rather than napping. For a long time, she would “just play and play and play” and Caitlin would zonk out, fast asleep. I’ve found that we can never plan who will sleep on which day or for how long, so they both get their quiet time each day.

Mostly, it’s a “play in your room time” with no napping.

But… if we go out on our deck to do something, it’s not uncommon to see these two little heads pop up in the windows:

I’m on a bit of adventure with the girls…. I took them on a road trip to Phoenix, left them with my parents, flew to Richmond to see Steve, then I will fly back to Phoenix, stay a few days, then roadtrip home.

Sadly, I’m a bit short on pictures…. managing the itinerary, the driving, and the kids pretty much tops me off. Documenting the trip is a bit more than I can manage!

The girls always share a room, but are not used to sharing a bed. The arrangement has provided some tiring challenges, but I *think* it’s getting better. My kids are super sleep deprived, but are happy and have a good attitude. I’m hoping that they are catching up on their sleep at Nana’s house right now!

We left from Portland (I started with a weekend conference in Portland and Steve brought the girls down to me, and then he flew to Virginia for work) and drove to Livermore, California to see Grandpa Ron and Grandma Gloria for a day. We spent two nights there so we would have a whole day to visit. It was a great time!

We said goodbye (for now!) and hit the road for Barstow.

In Barstow, the girls got to bed late, and I had to get up early to get ready (loading all our stuff back in the car by myself takes forever!). I was impressed that they stayed asleep while I got ready. Maybe they are getting the hang of hotel living.

We got on the road and headed through the desert to Phoenix. We got to Nana and Papa’s new house, and early the next morning, I flew to Richmond, Virginia. My whole flight plan was messed up because of the blizzard in New England. I was supposed to take a red-eye Thursday night and get in Friday morning, but instead, I had to fly out Friday morning, got delayed because of mechanical issues in Chicago, and got in at about 6pm on Friday. But, I DID get there.

Steve and I finally got to put our feet on Virginia soil together… in our future home town.

We stayed at the home of some church friends of ours (Dale works in Issaquah half the month, and when he does, he attends our church, but his home is in Richmond with his gracious wife, Mary). We had the wonderful privilege of enjoying Dale and Mary’s southern hospitality all weekend. It was LOVELY!

We found that we all have a very strange amount of things in common. The more we talked, the more we had in common. We are basically walking the same path they did 20 years ago. We found current things we have in common too, like that Mary has recently found a new passion in photography, and started BSF this year.

We aren’t looking to buy a home yet, but had some fun driving around… seeing some options and getting to know the different neighborhoods.

This house was very pretty, but HORRIBLE inside. It was so dirty… pretty amazing. Don’t they *want* to actually sell it? Very confusing.

At another house, which was lovely, I was also just enamored with their property and driveway. Wouldn’t it be a beautiful view in the morning?

We’ve also looked at building a home…and got to tour a model of one we like. So, then we went and looked at a few properties.

If we were going to build right now, we would probably choose to live here, on this 3 acre lot:

This is the street, which is a cul-de-sac:

This is the neighbor:

Then, we drove into the city of Richmond, down Monument Avenue. We said good morning to Robert E. Lee.

Monument Avenue leads to the capital, and when we got there, we said hello to George:

We said goodbye to our friends and headed on our way. Steve will be back a couple of times before summer, but I probably won’t be back until we move here. Good bye (for now!), Virginia!

Oh, and my parents were concerned that there weren’t many restaurants… especially mexican restaurants. I took photographic proof that we’ll be ok:

And that concludes that portion of the trip. It was a whirwind, but lovely.

Tomorrow, the second half of the trip will begin. Steve is flying back home, and I’m flying back to Phoenix in the morning (well, in the middle of the night).

Part Two begins tomorrow!

To all our family & friends,

The O’Brien family has some news, and we wanted to make sure you all heard it from us, rather than the rumor-mill.

Over the last 6-9 months, we’ve been exploring the potential opportunity for relocation to the Richmond, Virginia area.  This (or somewhere on the east coast) is a move that we have felt called to for many years.

Recently, Steve’s job at ING Direct faced some big changes. Capital One (based out of Richmond) acquired ING Direct, and put Steve’s department through a big re-organization. As a result, Steve’s job is much better than his previous one, and he was also given an opportunity to make this cross-country move. We’ve been holding-off on spreading the word too widely until things firmed up a little bit. But, it seems the time has come, and we want to make sure our friends and family know what’s going on.

Leaving our loved ones in Washington will be extremely difficult. There is no easy way to say goodbye or any way to make this less hard. We love our big family here – all our many grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, parents, siblings, and a nephew. The holidays will be especially strange, especially the first ones. Our friends are dear to us; there is beauty in relationships that span the years…friends that have shared history together. Our church family has truly become family to us – they have sacrificed and poured themselves into us, and we’ve served one another in mutual love God and His children.

But, we don’t want our sadness to lead to fear, and risk missing the blessings that God has planned for us. We feel called to GO. We’ve enjoyed being here, but feel like we’re meant to be somewhere else. We’re excited to see what God has planned for our family… who we are supposed to meet, where we are supposed to live, and find the church that He has planned for us to serve and worship in. We are sad to leave our friends and family, but we believe God’s plans are better than ours and His timing is perfect.

We do plan on having a wonderful guest-room for you! Richmond is two-hours from DC, and two hours from the sunny/sandy beaches on the coast. There are lots of historical things to see in town: the town of Richmond was chartered in 1742, and was the capital of the Confederacy during the Civil War. There are also some lovely natural areas to explore, especially around the James River. If you want to explore the DC/Virginia area, or go on a roadtrip, keep us in mind! We’d LOVE to share our new home with you. (For real – we mean it! We would love a stream of visitors!)

Our current plan is to leave mid-summer. We’re looking forward to soaking up as much time with our friends and family as we can in the coming months.

There are so many details to work out that it is a little boggling to our minds! Please keep us in your prayers!

With love,
Steve & Kellie & Caitlin & Erin

I feel silly writing a Christmas blog post. The moments are all so very special… in the moment. But, I feel like… who wants to sift through the pictures of us opening presents besides us? But, I don’t want to forget those sweet memories, and so, I write this post for me.

A few days before Christmas, we finally managed to go see Santa. In our family, we play the “Santa game.” Our girls know the full story of Santa… who St. Nicholas was (a pastor who shared God’s love by giving gifts to those in need), how the traditions began, that Mommy and Daddy fill the stockings, and most importantly, that the real gift of Christmas is God coming to earth as baby Jesus. But, we play along with the Santa game just because it’s fun. Caitlin asked Santa for some slippers and anything else he was going to bring. Erin, on the other hand, came up with a new request a couple weeks before Christmas with no warning. She wanted a baby doll that was bigger than her. I kept trying to get her to change her request to a big animal or something (from Costco!), but no luck. So… after a December working-vacation, a business trip for Steve, and a wedding at church, I added “sew two giant baby dolls” to my to-do list. (Two dolls because Caitlin would be eternally jealous if Erin got a giant dolly and not Caitlin.)

On Christmas Eve, we headed to Steve’s parent’s house for their family gathering.

Steve’s brother has an 11-month old boy, so it was fun to it was fun to have another little one around to share the Christmas merriment with.

It was a fun and wonderful evening with four generations of aunts, uncles, grandparents, and cousins.

The girls have LOOOOVED that medical kit and have played with it every day since.

We came home and got the girls into bed… and got to work. I finished the giant dollies just after 11pm, and then we finished wrapping presents and getting things ready for the morning. This Christmas had way more last-minute preparations than ever before, although I expected that when we went on the cruise at the beginning of the month. Our goal had been for Steve to make it to a candlelight service in the evening, but we looked up after filling the stockings and it was well after 1am. So, maybe next year.

On Christmas morning, we got the girls up, and we had to keep Caitlin from running down the stairs three times.

The dolly reaction was perfect. I’ve learned to have pretty low expectations on holidays, since kids aren’t great at being polite and filtering their reactions. But, with every stitch on these dollies, I knew I had high expectations… there was too much of me (blood, sweat, and tears) in them. If the girls didn’t love these dolls, I thought I was going to cry. Erin was so happy, and Caitlin was thrilled… and then wrestled her dolly to the ground.

We checked to make sure that Erin’s dolly really was taller than she is, and yep – the doll passes the test!

Each year, I make a little photo album for each girl and put it in their stocking. It was so sweet to see Caitlin look through her whole picture book, while she still had more unwrapped presents in her stocking. They also got new slippers for their growing feet (as well as a couple books and a little bit of candy).

We had a small breakfast (cinnamon rolls were still in the oven), made coffee and got ready to read the Christmas story. We lit our advent candles, put the baby Jesus in his manger, put the star at the top of our Jesse tree. and Steve began to read the Christmas story. Caitlin snuggled up to listen, and Erin acted out the Christmas story with her little nativity set. I thought she was just playing, but when it was all done, she had apparently made it so all the little characters were worshipping baby Jesus (or, “baby God”, as she says). I think she gets Christmas story more than we think.

After our cinnamon rolls, we gathered around the Christmas tree to give gifts to one another.

Just in case people think my kids are always good at posing for pictures, here’s one for you… Erin showing me the book Auntie Coral sent her, but refusing to smile AT the camera.

Each year, the girls go to the dollar store to buy gifts for Mommy & Daddy with their own money. They LOVE it. This year, Nana took them shopping, so we knew nothing about it. It was SO funny. Caitlin gave Steve and ice scraper and she gave me some decorative rocks to put around a candle. Erin gave Steve a utility knife and she gave me a package of microfiber wash cloths. They also made crafts with Grandma to give to us.

Our big gift to the girls was a bunch of dress-up stuff, as well as a  place to put it all. They love dressing up, but it kind of drives me bonkers because we haven’t had a special place to put the dress-up clothes. So, I gifted them a corner or my craft/workout room to be just for dress up clothes. While they  took their afternoon nap, we put all the dress up things away in the new space.

We had puffs for dinner, and after dinner we worked on our gift for Jesus. We talked about how you give to Jesus by giving or helping “the least of these.” I tried really hard to find some sort of service type project we could do that afternoon, but nothing came together. In the end, we decided to put a present together for Vema, the girl we sponsor through World Vision. We wrote her a letter, painted some pictures for her, and picked out some stickers to send. Caitlin was pretty sad that we can’t just send her a box of our toys. We also decided to pick out a sponsored child that’s Erin’s age, since Vema is Caitlin’s age. Erin got to pick between a couple little girls, and picked Faith, who lives in Malawi.

The next day, my parents (Nana and Papa) and Aunt Donna came over to celebrate Christmas. We had a wonderful time opening gifts and sharing a dinner together.

Erin had fun helping play Santa.

Caitlin has been longing for a “Violet” – Erin’s talking puppy. Nana got Caitlin one of her own, and she was beyond thrilled.

Nana wanted suggestions for Erin, and I thought she’d enjoy a dump truck toy. Nana was a little skeptical, but it was perfect. Erin loves it!

There were certainly a lot of smiles around that tree! Nana and Papa gave us renewed our membership to the zoo, which will be wonderful to enjoy this spring and summer!!

After presents, the girls had some fun tower-building time with Papa, and then had a leg-wrestling session with him.

After a whirlwind month, we had a quiet and sweet three days of celebration. Celebration of Christ’s birth and how much God loves His creation. We celebrated together, which was especially sweet since my parents will be moving to Arizona soon and won’t be nearby next year.

And in the days following, we’ve seen some pretty sweet sights around our house:

Merry Christmas everyone! And happy New Year!

Our Christmas letter this year is a video! I can’t find my normal camera that takes video, so I resorted to a back-up, but the quality is pretty dismal. I’m hoping you’ll give us some Christmas grace and overlook it… and just enjoy our well-wishes and Christmas cheer.

We tend to live in extremes.

Earlier this month, I was relaxed to the extreme. I had the opportunity, probably a once in a lifetime opportunity, to be the wedding photographer for a wedding on St. Thomas, with the reception on a cruise ship! So, Steve and I went on our first cruise, while our moms generously stayed with the girls. I don’t think I’ve been that relaxed in five years! It was WONDERFUL.

I tried to prepare myself for being gone 10 days in December… two out of the four weekends in Advent. I’ve been doing a pretty good job of reminding myself to cut some things out. You don’t get to do all our traditional December activities when you are gone for so much of it.

But, I wasn’t really prepared for how busy I would feel after the trip. Not only do we need to get ready for Christmas (but not starting until mid-December), but Steve has a business trip to Virginia, a wedding at church we’re working (which includes prep meetings, the rehearsal, and then all day on the day of the wedding), 1500 wedding photos to edit, and I’m going to attempt to sew a couple big Christmas gifts for the girls in the next week.

I feel so busy that it’s paralyzing – I almost can’t breathe. So, I’ve been working on just breathing in and out, and getting just one thing done at a time.

I don’t want to be so distracted and overwhelmed that I forget to enjoy the beauty of Christmas, the great gift of Emmanuel. I don’t want to be focused on me, but on Him.

Merry Christmas!

I’m so thankful, and I love setting aside a day just to think about all the things I’m thankful for.

I’m thankful we have a house that works well for hosting Thanksgiving and other parties. I love having everyone over! I love being able to have some new friends over this year – a family from church who just moved here from Florida. I’m thankful for having family over, especially since my parents will live too far away next Thanksgiving. I’m thankful for a dining room and a table that can (kind of) seat 15 of us!

After the year that my 18 month old would not stay happy or at the table, I’m thankful ANY year that I can sit at the Thanksgiving table, enjoying the food and the company. I got to stay at the table this year, and I’m so thankful.

I’m thankful for all the giving of thanks around the table. Erin was thankful for “Jo Jo (her doll) and blanky.” Caitlin was thankful for “Erin, God, Raffie, and blanky.” Oh my goodness, I”m so thankful for these two girls I spend my days with.