Merry Christmas!

Deep down, she loves Santa. Deep, deep down.

What Might Have Been. . .

Since we started talking about moving, I have spent nearly everyday on realtor.com looking for the perfect house. I did not want anything impossible -- a nice neighborhood, an updated kitchen, a moderate sized backyard. A fence would be nice. A finished basement would be great!

Before we moved, we put in an offer on a short sale. We lovingly referred to this house as "Gladys" as it is on Gladys Circle. It was big (over 4000 square feet) and had great curb appeal, but my family looked at it and said it was dated inside and needed some work. The bank wanted $350,000 and no one would be willing to pay more than $310. They foreclosed, and there ended the dream of our Gladys.

When we looked at homes on Wednesday, we looked at a house we called Lizzi because it was on Lizzi Cove. It was lovely. We went back to see it on Friday and the people who had a fickle offer got nervous when we started looking and came up with some hard earnest money and the house went under contract. We lost Lizzi before we even had her. I was truly heartbroken because I really liked this house. I wanted to wrap it up and sleep with it at night. I loved Lizzi.

I really thought that finding a house would be so easy. There are lots on the market. However, as you might imagine, the inventory for December is not the most desireable. We seem to be looking at everyone's leftovers, and boy can you tell.

After three days of looking at 30 + houses we surrendered and today looked at an apartment that we could rent for month to month. It's called a "luxury" apartment with 1300 square feet, but I cried when I saw it. I thought I was finally getting a house, and here I am planning to move into an apartment. I am beyond sad. I have moved into a full depression.

We hope that more will come on the market after Christmas.

Go, Macey, Go!

This year Macey participated in the Trike-A-Thon at North Point High School for St. Jude's. Most of the kids brought trikes but Macey wanted to ride her big-girl-bike! They had a course set up in the gym. Some of the tight turns were hard for such a big bike, but she did great!

Here she is receiving a certificate for participating. Yeah, Macey!!

One Last Look Back

Tomorrow we will start looking at houses. Before we start looking toward the future, I thought I'd look back one more time. In the last month at the hotels (9 in total) I'd think about our home to relax before going to sleep. I'd imagine coming home from church, throwing my shoes in the closet, going upstairs to get something to eat -- I'd imagine normalcy.

In this transition, it has been hard to see how much the girls understood about what was happening and why. I think that Macey expects us to go back to Maryland any minute now. Emma, at age 5, seems to understand more. On our last day in Maryland she asked me to drive past the house so she could look at it one more time. How cute is that?

Kentucky Pictures

Our first big stop on our adventure was Louisville, Kentucky. We stopped for lunch and then went to the Louisville Slugger plant. Here is the HUGE baseball bat out front. On our tour, someone asked how much wood it took to make it. Turns out it's painted metal. Who knew? Garry posed with the girls really quick because it was FREEZING!

After the movie, we toured a small museum. I posed with Babe Ruth. They also had a really cool exhibit where you could see or "feel the heat" of a professional baseball pitch. Yep, I think I'll keep my day job.

We toured the plant, got a baseball bat, and Garry bought me a super cute t-shirt. Then off to Thomas Edison's house. Wait, you say, didn't he mostly live in New Jersey? Yep, but he rented a room here for a few months, and Louisville is really proud of that.

We also drove past Churchill Downs, which is not in lush green horse country but rather just a few feet from the Interstate. Who knew?

Kentucky, I hope I see you again when it's warmer!

Congratulations to Garry!

On Wednesday, December 9th, Garry graduated from the FBI Academy in Quantico. He graduated with a high A average, excelling on his briefs, papers, midterm, legal exam and final. Here he is receiving his credentials. Very cool. I've seen them on TV and they look just as impressive in person. After graduation he gave me a tour of the FBI campus, including the Behavioral Unit. They have a talking Hannibal Lecter. Very scary, actually, and I have not even seen the movies, though I did meet Anthony Hopkins when he was filming the sequel at Union Station.

Before we left on the journey to Utah, we stopped for one last picture. Goodbye Quantico!

Iowa, Illinois, Iowa (Again!) Missouri, Missouri, Missouri and Kansas

I think that the go-go-go pace is starting to affect the Cunninghams. We all slept in until 8:00 and did not make it into Nauvoo until a little before 10. We stopped at the Brickyard, the Red Brick Store (birthplace of Relief Society!), the temple, and Brigham Young's home before we gave in. I would love to spend a long time strolling the streets of Nauvoo and taking everything in. But, it's FREEZING and the kids do not do well on house tours. So maybe one day. . .

We hit the state highways of Missouri. Not Garry's favorite. We seemed to always be stuck behind a semi. But, we trudged on and found, quite accidentally, Far West and Adam-Ondi-Ahman. I am relieved to report that both sites are in the middle of nowhere and no construction is currently taking place. We have a few more years to become better people.

Next stop: Liberty Jail. The girls did really well on the tour and took asked the guides why there were not beds. Joseph Smith was there for over four months. Freezing for four months.

Though we hit the most sacred spots today, Garry's favorite part was going to Arthur's Barbeque in Kansas City. I think that he built it up in his head, though, and he seemed to be disappointed with what he ordered.

Tonight we're in Topeka at a Residence Inn. Ahhhhh......Residence Inn.

Not as many adventures coming up. Hello, Midwest!