James & Amanda

We moved from our old home of many years into our new one just over a year ago, and love it! We are in a nice suburban area in north Texas, in a great school district, and with lots of parks, museums, and plenty of things to do! It is also the house that James grew up in, as his father designed it when James was in the fourth grade. It has large open rooms perfect for playing in, a big backyard, pool, and Mandie’s favorite place, a library that James just finished building! We have also started putting together a gender neutral under the sea themed nursery.

We are both close with our families. Mandie’s parents live right up the road, and frequently come over for movie nights and dinner. One of her brothers and his wife, Jay & Selena, also live close by. Her youngest brother and his wife, Shawn and Sydney, live in another state, but come to visit at least once a year. Both brothers are very excited to be uncles, and Selena and Sydney will be excellent aunts! James’s mom and stepdad also live close by, and also spend as much time as they can with us. His brother, Jason, lives just a couple of towns over, and often comes over to help with projects James is working on. His dad and stepmom live a couple of hours away (they have several acres of land and two sweet pups), but drive up to see us monthly. We have a very close-knit group of friends, many of whom are close by and who also have kiddos. Everyone is so excited to welcome a new little one into the group, and they’ve already started collecting baby things!

We have a sassy calico cat and an energetic shepherd/lab mix dog, both sweet as can be. We were nervous when we moved in together, but they got along from day one!