I Can NOT believe it!

I can't believe it! I'm a winner! I actually won something! One blog that I have been reading for quite a while (Rocks In My Dryer) was hosting a giveaway and I was actually chosen to receive one of twenty prizes! Click on over there to see what I won!

Fun Time with friends

Good friends do wonders for a worn gals soul. These ladies and I have been getting together monthly without our kids and we've had a blast doing lots of fun things. We've gone duckpin bowling, painted pottery, sat in a hot tub, and enjoyed some great food together. I know I"ll miss their company when we leave. They have been just what I needed this past year.

For a little bambino

An old dear friend is having a baby soon and I had wanted to make the baby a little quilt or something really crafty but then we got really busy with trying to sell the house so that was put on the back burner.

Instead of a quilt I opted to make something different. I can't take any credit for this idea because I saw it on the Martha Stewart show a while back. I zig-zagged some silhouettes of different objects or animals on some plain onesies. I made five in all, and my favorite of the five is this next one:

It's a silhouette of a wiener dog...and the body of the dog wraps around the side of the onesie to the back.

I hope the baby loves them!

Look! A NEW post!

Since we have sold the house I decided that I could get my sewing machine back out again. It's been in hiding for too long. I was starting to get the itch to do something, but I couldn't put my finger on what I wanted to do. I would love to go to the fabric store and get a whole bunch of new fabric but I have this huge stash of fabric that I should probably do something with. Very frustrating! What's a girl to do? Then it hit me. I was watching the boys play on the floor and noticed that Jonah's recently patched pants had gotten yet another tear right below the patch.
I almost got upset then thought..."Hey, it will be getting a lot warmer out here and I could turn those ratty pants into some nice looking shorts!" And then I got the idea of turning these shorts into something a bit more special than just plain old shorts. So I let Jonah pick out some fabric (that I had no other use for) with which I would use to put around the bottoms.

Why stop there? I then decided to cut out his hand print using the same fabric and applique it on a plain old t-shirt to make the shorts look like a true outfit. I love how it turned out. He loves it. And it was so easy I think I could do it again, and probably will!

House for Sale!

~*~UPDATED~*~ House is SOLD!!!

House For Sale

Lose your Commute!

• Rare opportunity to live next to campus
• 2 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms
• Off-street parking for two vehicles
• Finished bonus room in full basement
• CAC/heat, large attic storage space
• Newly remodeled kitchen with granite, stainless steel appliances, and large butcher block island
• New roof, new water heater
• New lighting and flooring!

Across the street from campus!

1910 Orleans St.
$229,000 O.B.O

call 410-327-8862 for more information

Is this possible?

Tonight the realtor comes over to give us his estimate of what we should ask for our house. I spent the majority of this day cleaning and scrubbing this house yet again before he arrives. I feel like that's all I'm ever doing now a days. It's so frustrating! Anyone who has ever moved and who has small children can testify to this I'm sure. I feel like I'm neglecting my children just so that the house can look tidy and spacious. While the house is looking quite nice I can't but help to feel a little bit sad. As I go through each room I can see all of our memories. It starts with us walking through the "not yet our house", before we even bought it. This house holds the memories of our first year of marriage, my first real job, and our life going through medical school, internship, and residency. I remember watching horrific things happen to our nation during this time, Sept. 11, the space shuttle breaking apart over Texas, and the capture of Saddam Hussein - to name a few. Another ongoing memory being built is our life with children. The birth of our boys is something I will treasure in my heart forever. Bringing them both home to this starter home of ours was special. It suited us just fine. And though I know we are outgrowing this space and that we have a fantastic new space waiting for us, I can't help but be sad. This is our home. This is where we have made so many memories that are unique to only us. I see Jonah as an only child, running up and down our hallway. I see him helping Daddy finish the basement. I see Jackson being introduced to Jonah for the first time and Jonah suddenly looking like a very big boy. I see Jackson now doing some of those things that I remember Jonah doing so clearly. Will they even remember this place we have all come to love? Will they remember the blood, sweat, and tears we have all shed while living here? Trying to sell this house is quite bittersweet for me. It's not the biggest house. It's not the most beautiful house ever built. It's not...it's not...but it is our house for now. And for some very strange reason I can't help but want to be anywhere else. I want to cling to the memories we have made and keep them alive and fresh in my heart.
It's kind of funny but Mike and I have said how us looking forward to being in our new home is somewhat like us waiting for the day when we'll be in heaven. While we don't have much space here at our house in Baltimore and we don't always feel safe, we know that there is a day in the near future when those things will be in the past and that the place we are going will be so much better than we could ever hope for. We'll have land! We'll have space to spread out! We'll be in nature and not surrounded by building equipment and Johns Hopkins! It's almost a stretch to compare us moving to being in heaven, but it's as good as I can do for now. So, while I'm sad I'm also trying to keep my eyes focused on what is in store for us. Better things are ahead!

Ten Things About Me

Here's how you play. Once you've been tagged you have to write a blog of ten weird, random things, facts or habits about yourself. At the end, you choose five people to be tagged, listing their names and why you chose them to be tagged. Don't forget to leave them a comment "You're it!" and tell them to read your blog. You can't tag the person who tagged you. Since you can't tag that person back, let her know when you've posted your blog so she can read your answers.

I was tagged by my older sister, Alyssa. Most of these things won't come as a surprise to anyone but here it goes:

1. I play the violin (duh!) and right now I'm trying to teach my oldest son how to play but it's driving me crazy! He's lost some interest and I'm going bald from pulling out all my hair during practice sessions - which seem to be few and far between these days!
2. I knew pretty much from the first time I met Mike that he would be the one for me. We sat down next to each other at a dress rehearsal dinner and as I was putting my napkin in my lap it was as if God was talking to me. He said "This is the one for you, the one you'll spend your life with." I felt like a lightbulb had gone off and I felt so at peace with this! Of course I didn't tell him that God just told me he was going to marry me! He'd think I was nuts!
3. I stink at painting.
4. I love trying to sew things that are unique. I"m not the greatest but I have fun making them, and making them fast!
5. I wish I had more close friends. I know a lot of people but I wouldn't consider them all to be my close friends.
6. I'd like to think that there are some things that only I can do, or that there are things that only I can do well. But that simply isn't true.
7. I hate talking on the phone to people I don't really know. I have this thing with not being able to find the right words when I actually have to speak. I'm ok with my family and a few friends but anyone else I completely break a sweat. It's silly really.
8. Quilting is something that I would love to do more often I think. It's time consuming but I think there is something so special about pieces of fabric put together for someone else. I would love to be part of an old fashioned quilting bee and hand quilt a project. Crazy, isn't it?
9. I love, love, love to read. Currently my favorite authors are Francine Rivers, Karen Kingsbury, and Stephanie Grace Whitson.
10. I'm excited to be moving back to SD but I"m not looking forward to having to start all over finding a church and friends.

I know this was all terribly exciting to read... so I'm tagging a few others...they may not all have blogs so if they so desire they may post in the reply/comment area. Thanks for playing!

1.Erin Cosby
2.Laura Carter
3.Sylvia
4.???
5.???

Gee whiz

It's been so long since I've posted anything! And unfortunately it's going to continue for a while...we are trying to put the house together so we can sell it. This means that I haven't touched my sewing machine for a while, or done anything craft related for that matter. It's really hard not doing something. At any rate the house is coming together nicely. Mike added some small pot lights to our bedroom and our closet. I'm so surprised with how large the room feels now that we have lighting in the bedroom! It's awesome. We've also touched up several bathrooms with a fresh coat of paint and we've repainted the trim in the kitchen. We've taken pictures of the house for a flyer and Mike has been on the phone with a few realtors to talk about asking prices. One will be over to size us up on Tuesday. Let's all hope for the best!
I have weighed myself for the past two weeks and nothing has really changed. I'm at a standstill right now. I've got to really buckle down if I want any kind of results!!!
That's about it for now. More will come later!