Goodbye Jackson!

We finally made it through graduation and all the celebrations! Without wasting anytime we threw all our energy and focus on MOVING.  

First things first, Jd bought a new truck. It really couldn’t have come at a better time! He traded in his pride and joy Chevrolet Z71 truck for a much more gas efficient and reliable car right before Medical School. Since then he hasn’t stopped talking about how much he missed “his truck.” When he found this one he knew it was “the one.” We headed to Tupelo, MS to pick it up and he has not stopped smiling since that day!

On our way back we stopped in Batesville to pick up a MASSIVE 16x6 ft trailer Jd’s Dad built for us to move with. I sold our living and dining room furniture so Jd was pretty sure we could get everything into this one trailer. We started loading Sunday afternoon and into Monday. By the end of the day the trailer was loaded from top to bottom without an inch to spare and maybe only a little over HALF our stuff was packed. 

Tuesday we headed to Uhaul to pick up the biggest trailer they had. We had to be at the attorney’s office at 3 to finalize the sell of Whitworth, so it was a mad dash to get everything loaded. 2:45 rolled around and we had everything but Jd’s tools and the clothes from the closet packed. We headed to the attorneys office, signed our names and it was OFFICIAL – we were homeless. We borrowed Jd’s Uncle Ricky’s truck and headed back to get the last of our junk. The sky was darkening and the thunder was rolling in and I was PRAYING for God to hold back the rain until we could get everything loaded. Apparently, I should have been a bit more specific. It’s 7 PM, everything is loaded and it’s now time to hook up to the Uhaul trailer and pull away from that dreaded house for the last time. It’s thundering and lightning and here comes the hurricane force rain and wind and all we need is to get hooked up to the trailer – BUT no, the ball on the hitch is too big for the trailer. At this point, Jd is soaking wet from head to toe as he gets in the truck to deliver the bad news that we have to go BACK to Madison to get his truck and come back, yet again. So not only is he soaking wet, but so is everything that’s in the back of Ricky’s truck and ALL our bedroom furniture in the back of his truck in Madison. Finally, at 11 pm we get in bed with a sigh of relief and know that we will NEVER have to go back to that house again.

The plan all along was to leave the trailer in Madison and wait to take it to Mobile until we could close on the house. Since we had to rent the Uhaul trailer, it had to be unloaded and returned within two days. This meant a spur of the moment trip to Mobile had to be made. Luckily, John David’s amazing Dad came down and followed him in the 2^nd truck and they got both the trailers to Mobile and made it back to Jackson Thursday at 4 AM.

Thursday we found out today that we can close on the house in Mobile next Thursday. Until then we are staying with family and enjoying the R&R. We are so thankful to close the “Jackson, MS” chapter of our lives, and begin a new and exciting chapter in a new city with a new job, new house, and a new baby!

Khloe Brooke Tullos

 18 Weeks

It's a GIRL!

I went into the doctor’s office saying “we have to find out the gender TODAY!!” The ultrasound tech got really nervous as soon as she heard me say that.  She says it never fails for the people that HAVE to know – the baby doesn’t cooperate. The sonogram lasted a good 15 minutes while she checked over the baby thoroughly to make sure all was normal. She told me as soon as she saw it, she would stop and tell me. I waited, and waited, and waited and the baby would NOT uncross it’s legs. We came to the end of the ultrasound and she told me to come back after I saw the doctor and we would try ONE more time.

 

This is where things got crazy. I pulled out every yoga move I’ve ever learned: down-ward facing dog, half moon, sun salutation, seated forward bend, you name it! I finished off the Mountain Dew I started drinking before the ultrasound (“they say” it’s supposed to make the baby hyper), anything I could think of to get the baby moving around- I DID it. John David even took a few pictures. HA!

We saw the doctor and she said everything looked great. She prescribed me a few more meds to help with the nausea and vomiting (although, it looks like it just may be here until the baby arrives). The baby’s heart beat was perfect and the baby’s weight was right on track: a whopping seven OUNCES! The doctor wished us well and sent us back to the ultrasound tech. I skipped, bounced, jumped and twisted all the way down that hallway trying to get that baby to DO something!

She started the ultra sound and within a few seconds she said “Oh, no doubt!” “No doubt WHAT?!” and that’s when she said “It’s a GIRL!” John David leaned over, kissed me and said to my belly “Hello Miss Khloe Brooke.”

John David's Graduation Gift from Me

My Daddy, M.D.

 Whenever Daddy signs his name

he always writes M.D.

So people all will know

that he belongs to me.

For M.D. means “My Daddy”

or something just the same.

And that is why he always puts

these letters in his name.

Some letters in his name are small

but these are not, you see.

He always makes them big like that

because he’s so proud of me.

Love, Baby K

Long Coat Cermony / Graduation / Graduation Party Pics

Preggo Pics

17 Weeks

 12 Weeks

6 Weeks

House Hunting in AL

With a little over 2 weeks left to be moved out of our house here in Jackson, we finally were able to go down to Alabama Friday and do some house hunting. We met at our realtor’s office and went over what we were looking for and, of course, you know I made a few lists.

List #1 “Necessities”

1.      4 bedrooms

2.      2 bathrooms

3.      Nice size closets

4.      Centrally located to the 3 hospitals John David will be working at

5.      Somewhat updated Appliances

6.      Nice backyard

7.      NO – OLD – HOUSES !!!

List #2 “Things we would love to have, but we can live without if we have to”

1.      Fenced Backyard

2.      Garage

3.      Pool

4.      Stainless steel appliances

5.      Granite Countertops

We saw about 15 houses that were a wide range of our price list. We knew we wanted to be close to the hospitals, but for the great location you rarely get a lot for your money. A few things we didn’t like with most houses:

1. Tiny backyards – if any. This is one thing we’ve lived without for almost 3 years and Bella made the executive decision that she MUST have a back yard.

2.   Homes that were at the top of our price range and still needed work: removing wallpaper, painting, updating appliances, replacing carpet, etc. We just don’t have the time or patience to do these kinds of updates.

3.  Too small for our growing family. We’ll be here for 5 years. We want something we can grow into, not something that is the same size we have now.

While house hunting online, I noticed a house that didn’t look like much on the outside but the inside had completely been renovated - plus, it had a pool. I was real unsure about it, but went ahead and added it to my list of what we wanted to see.

After viewing at least 8 or 10 other houses and feeling like we would never find everything we were looking for, we finally stumbled on this particular house. We walked inside and immediately it was love at first sight for me. This house had everything we were looking for. Gorgeous wood floors, granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, brand new carpet in all FOUR bedrooms, updated bathrooms with tile-encased tubs, a great size backyard completely fenced in, a covered parking area in the back, AND a huge in-ground pool. The house is also in a great neighborhood centrally located to all 3 hospitals (and Walmart- HA). The ONLY problem was the curb appeal, but the wheels were already turning in me planning to fix that.

After a long (HOT) day of house hunting, we knew we had found what we were looking for. We made an offer on “the ugly house” as John David calls it. I spent the next 15 hours planning out where all our furniture would go in the house and biting my nails waiting to hear back from the seller. Finally we got the call and after some negotiating, he accepted our offer. Final sale, of course, is contingent on the home inspection, which will be done sometime this week.

Another perk to this house is we are able to close fast and will be able to move in on June 2, only one day after the closing on Whitworth.

I don’t think this moving process could have went any better for us. Things have really just fallen into place and God continues to keep opening doors for us. It’s been exciting, nerve-wracking, fun, and painful all at the same time. We couldn’t be any happier how everything has turned out and just continue to pray for a smooth transition.

We’ve got an extremely busy schedule over the next two weeks but like I have been saying, “we’re taking it one day at a time!” Stay posted for pictures of everything upcoming and I’ll get some pictures of the house on here soon.

Love you guys. Thanks for reading. : )

My First Mother's Day

One Day At a Time

The home inspection was today. Our realtor said it could be a couple days before we hear back from the buyers. The final sale is contingent on the home inspection. The buyer could decide to back out of the contract or come back and request some repairs be made. I met the buyers today and they seemed very sweet. They appeared to be excited about the house and even wanted to know if we would consider selling them our furniture.  

 

With only 25 days between now and then, we have A LOT going on.

May 20 / John David’s Long Coat Ceremony. His parents and sisters will be attending this very special and formal event. He will be presented with his “Doctor’s coat” that will read “John D. Tullos, M.D.” How exciting!

May 21 / Graduation from the University of Mississippi School of Medicine. We have ALL waited a long time for this!

May 22 / Our family and close friends will be celebrating with us DOCTOR John’s official graduation from Medical School. His parents and I have dreamt of what this day of celebration would feel like when we were finally able to say “He MADE it!!”

We heard the baby’s heart beating at 150 BPM last Wednesday. Who knew such a tiny “thump, thump, thump” could sound so heavenly to expectant Mommies and Daddies! Every time we hear it beating away, it just about takes my breath away. Our next appointment is the most exciting of all. May 26 we find out if  this little “tad-pole” is a GIRL or a BOY. John David and I both think it’s a boy for some reason, but everyone else thinks it’s a girl. Either way, we are super excited! Monograms here we come! : )

June 1 / Close on our house @ Whitworth

June 12 / Baby Shower in Jackson hosted by Kristi, Ruth, and Susan. I can’t wait!

June 29 / University of South Alabama Welcoming Party on the USS Battleship.

July 1 / John David begins the first day of the next five years of our lives. Orthopedic Surgery Residency at USA in Mobile.

For now, we are focusing on finishing the sale of this house. One day at a time. We will worry about packing, loading, unloading and unpacking next. We will be accepting ANY and ALL help we can get come moving day! : )

Stay posted, LOTS going on. Will try my best to keep everyone updated as much as I can!

Selling Whitworth

We always knew whether we stayed in Jackson or moved out of state for residency we were ready for a new house. The plan was to get everything finished on the house and get it put on the market early January 2010 which would give us plenty of time to get it sold. 

John David’s Residency interviews began in December and from mid November to early February we were in the car traveling more than we were at our house. Jd’s classes started back February-March and it seemed like every weekend we were supposed to work on the house, something came up and we couldn’t get to it.

We found out February 24 that we were having a baby and March 18 we found out we definitely were moving to Mobile, AL. By that time the morning sickness practically had me on bed rest. It wasn’t until mid April that we were able to finally finish up the final projects we had left on the house and by that time we were panicking. 

April 23, 2010

We met with a realtor that one of my friends recommended to me over a year ago. To our surprise, he acted really excited about the house and assured us that it shouldn’t take very long to sell. He went out and put up the “FOR SALE” sign in our front yard and Jd and I were practically jumping up and down! Due to the rain, he decided to wait and take pictures of the house Sunday to get maximum sunlight and said it would be listed online by Sunday night. Monday morning I already had two appointments scheduled to show the house and Tuesday a third appointment scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.  At 6pm Wednesday evening, we got a call from our realtor saying the agent that just showed the house said he was pretty sure he would have an offer for us the next morning. SERIOUSLY? Words cannot even describe how excited we were to hear that!! Thursday morning the offer came in and by 4 that afternoon we signed the contract and sent it back to our realtor and BAM the house was SOLD. Three full days it was on the market. Amazing!

We close on the house June 1^st. John David starts work in Mobile June 29^th. Our hope all along has been to move in early June. Now we have to BUY a house. And soon! We’ve found one that we really like but we want to look at a few more before we make a final decision. We’re planning on going to Mobile sometime next week to do some more house hunting and hopefully sign a contract VERY soon! : ) 

The only way to summarize this amazing year is Jeremiah 29:11-14 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the LORD.”

God has blessed us more than we deserve this year! I can’t begin to imagine where we would be without his love and mercy!

We are so excited for this year. What an amazing journey it’s already been and the JOURNEY doesn’t REALLY begin until we hear that little crying baby looking up at Mommy & Daddy! 

Stay tuned for more updates!! Love you all!

(If you’re in Jackson and you need a good realtor, call Don Potts with Nix-Tann & Associates. He is amazing!)