The rest of the story.

As promised, here is the rest of what has been happening in the Phelps family.
After 20 years in the Air Force, Jeremy is now in active preparation for retirement. It has always been assumed, by everyone including us, that we would go back to Texas to settle down after all was said and done. But as the time for the REAL decision drew closer we found ourselves second guessing that forgone conclusion. After months of quiet discussion and weighing all the pros and cons we decided, that after 6 years in New England, and all that comes with life in New England...

THE PHELPS FAMILY WILL BECOME NEW ENGLAND TRANSPLANTS.

While we know this is not exactly happy news for a lot of you, we believe that you love us enough to know we didn't make this decision lightly and that we truly believe this is what is best for us at this time.
On this note, we have put a deposit down on a new rental home in Hudson, New Hampshire. We will pick up the keys on the 15th of this month and move in on October 21st. We are very excited to start this new chapter in our lives. The new house will allow us to continue to be actively involved in our wonderful church (One of our main reasons for wanting to stay in New England), as it is only about 30 minutes away.
The house is a 3-bedroom, 1 & 3/4 bath detached condo. Meaning it is a separate house, but with the amenities of a condo. All of the living area is on one floor, which we are all very happy about. In addition to the bedrooms and bathrooms on that floor we have the living room, dining room, kitchen, and laundry. One of the things we love about this house is that the 2-car garage is automatic so we can drive in out of the elements with the baby and the basement is partially finished. So on the lower level we also have a room we will use for Austin's "little man cave" and a room that extends almost the entire length of the house that I will get to have as my craft/scrapbooking room (so ladies, as soon as I'm settled feel free to come and crop anytime.) There is also a small storage room off of my scrap room, so we shouldn't need to store much(if anything) in our garage.
Here are some pictures of the new house from the rental listing. I will take more pics after we get the keys and get moved in.

This is the front view.

The side view from the street.

The living room.

The kitchen and edge of dining room and slider to deck.

Dining room and slider to deck. (no. chandelier is not in corner, just a weird angle on pic)

Well that's the big news. Other news is David had his 4mo check up on October 7th. He weighed 14lbs 1oz and was 25 3/4 inches tall. He got his 2mo shots. (I know they were late, I waited until he got thru the weight crisis. We'll catch up.) We also got the results of the hip ultrasound from last month. They think he might have Developmental Displasia Hip. Which means that because he was breech, his hip joint/socket didn't form correctly. So he has an appointment with a pediatric orthopedic surgeon on the 23rd. During his 4mo check up the Dr examined the length of David's legs, because this problem tends to make one leg shorter, David's were the same length. I didn't ask, but she also didn't mention hearing the "hip click" which is one of the signs/symptoms of DDH. I have everyone I know praying for David. I believe the ortho doc will not find any signs of DDH either. David's dr. didn't mention any results about the echocardiogram. So I'm thinking no news is good news. I will have to remember to check at the 6mo check up.
On a more fun note...David started solid food this past week. On Wed evening we introduced rice cereal for his bedtime meal. He LOVES it. He ate it all. He took to eating off a spoon like he'd been doing it for years.

"No silly baby, don't eat the bib."


"Hurry up Mommy! I need food NOW!"


Open wide!


"Hmmm. This stuff is pretty good."


"I like my food."

He did so well that I added a second meal this morning. So now David has cereal twice a day in addition to his bottles. He is such a big boy now.
Also, in addition to praying for David's hip, please pray for me. The doctor diagnosed me with Postpartum Rheumatoid Arthritis on Friday. While it's nice to have a name for the pain, the treatment is slow and can be difficult. So if you could keep me in your prayers I'd appreciate it.
I will do my best to update at least every couple weeks with pics and stories.
Right now the Phelps family is anxiously awaiting a visit from Nana and Gramps. They will be here Tuesday. We are looking forward to having family here for a little while.

"And now you know... the REST of the story!" ~Paul Harvey