I need about, mmm, three full days to adequately get caught up on blog-updating goodness. Unfortunately, I don’t have that kinda time (who does?) so I will attempt the – inhumane – job of limiting my wordiness.

First: Mom’s 70th Surprise Party was Saturday night. Basically, in a nutshell, it could NOT have gone any better. It was AMAZING. I’m still stunned that we totally pulled it off and she was SO surprised. My brother Timothy and his wife Rebecca (along with my dad) kidnapped mom for the afternoon and went to the Seattle Art Museum. The second they left my brother Chris called and I swooped in. He and I spent three hours getting their place party-ready. Then my best friend Rebecca rolled in with more than half of the deliciously-prepared food-goodness. (I didn’t know, back when we planned the menu, if I’d even have access to my kitchen thanks to showings/house for sale stuff…and really, she’s just a really good cook and I was totally cool with her doing ¾’s of the food  ). All guests (about 30) were to arrive by 5pm with the goal that mom ‘n gang would roll in at 5:15. Well, at 4:15, Tim called and said, “Mom is DONE. We’ve dragged her around the museum long enough. She’s tired of being on her feet…I don’t know if we can stall any longer.” So, basically at that point, it looked like mom would be here BEFORE the guests. It’d be a bit of an anti-climatic surprise. Thankfully, a few minutes later, I got a text from Tim: “Got her to the museum café!!!” Excellent.

They ended up arriving at 5:30. So, we had plenty of time for all guests to arrive, to serve them some drinks, some appetizers and to squeeze them all into the living room, around the corner from the front door. We all waited in nervous, excited anticipation as the front door opened. We heard mom say, “Oh! It smells like….oh, I must’ve left the oven on.” She noticed the different table cloth and huge bouquet on the dining room table. Then she stepped a little bit farther into the room and froze, jaw on the floor. Surprise!! It was SO great.

One of my favorite surprises was the book that I put together with the help of many, many family members and friends. (I used shutterfly.com and must say the customer service – when I needed to call – was excellent)! We had photos of her all through the years including a darling baby picture on the cover. And then about 24 people wrote her letters that I put in the book too. Needless-to-say there was a bit ‘o tear-wiping when she saw what all was in that book.

One of the best parts of the whole weekend (for me) was on the morning after the party. Mom told me, “I woke up at 3am and was just grinning from ear-to-ear. I was still so excited about the party, I couldn’t go back to sleep, so I got up to look at the book. But it’s going to take me about a week to get through it because I start crying right away with each letter.” Success? I’d say so.

Another success story? Hopefully, SO close, we’re ALMOST there…Our house news!!! The inspection on our current home is today which makes me so nervous. I’m just PRAYING that they don’t discover anything big ‘n bad requiring a ton of work and/or money from us. I CAN’T WAIT for this part to be over so that I that the house doesn’t need to be perfect all the time…and so I can start the joyful task of packing. (Oye).

BUT….BUT….we’ve found The One. We’ve SO found The One. We saw it on Wednesday afternoon. It belongs to the brother-in-law of Jason, a real estate agent we met a couple weeks ago. He was the listing agent on the last house we made an offer on. Basically, he fell in love with us and is just determined to sell us a house! Works for me. The house isn’t even on the market yet, so we have NO competition. AND they’re gutting the thing and completely redoing everything – new carpet, hardwoods, granite counters, appliances, sinks, showers, deck, paint, landscaping, etc. SO, we may even get to have a small say in wall color, flooring, etc. The house is perfect. Pretty much everything we’ve been dreaming of. And the property is awesome. It’s a ¼ acre with part of the back yard turning into a ravine that slopes down to a dry creek bed. Kid-playing MAGIC. The back yard is definitely a project and will require a big landscaping overhaul eventually (putting in tiers, or some sort of pathway), but it’s SO cool and I can’t wait to tackle it! We’ll hear today from Jason and his brother-in-law with their counter offer. We asked for a few things that weren’t included in their asking price. (We want the washer/dryer and fridge and hardwoods instead of carpet in the dining room. Plus, they’re finding out this morning, the status of the original furnace – whether it just needs maintenance for now or will need to be replaced). It all feels pretty great though. We just need to get through the last few hoops.

Basically, again, like the adoption, in that it didn’t feel final ‘til Kayli was home with us. This probably won’t feel real until we’re unlocking the front door with our very own key.