Hope

Baby Hope
Delivered into God's hands March 14, 2011.
5 inches long - tiny, but perfect...
We will miss our little angel.

We're the proud FORMER owners...

We sold our townhouse! It closed this afternoon right on time even though there were lots of questions whether everything would go through as scheduled (for example, our appraisal was just yesterday which was the day we moved. I wasn't striping beds first thing in the morning I was making them very neatly & cleaning like mad!)
THANK YOU to everyone who helped us move. We really appreciated the support!
We're scheduled to get keys to the new house tomorrow, so we're in a hotel tonight. The kids are enjoying the pool.
Pictures of the new house coming soon...

Good news & more good news!

Our midwife did an ultrasound for us yesterday. Baby is about as big as we thought (8 1/2 weeks) & we saw it's little heart thumping.

Also, we've accepted an offer on our townhouse, so if all goes smoothly, we'll move in March! Not sure where exactly yet (we still haven't heard on the short sale we put an offer on in Aug.) but the selling end is what's tough in this market. It's hard to go wrong buying right now.

We're so happy we feel like dancing!

Conventional "Wisdom"?

We are pregnant & due in September!Why are we announcing so early when conventional wisdom says wait until the 2nd trimester when it's "safe" to tell?
This is my 6th pregnancy but we only have 3 living children, so we are under no delusions that + test = baby in 9 months.
But here's why we think coventional wisdom is not the "wise" course for us:

1. I regret not enjoying the last pregnancy more while it lasted and want to make the most of every day this child grows.

2. We know from painful experience that you can lose a baby after the heartbeat is heard, after passing the 1st trimester, & after it's "safe" to tell.

3. Not announcing pregnancy because you might miscarry just reinforces the traditional stigma that miscarriage is something shameful. Each person who knows you are pregnant is an extra person who can support you if you have a loss. If no one knows you miscarried, you are isolated in your grief.

4. I get so big so fast that my belly announces itself quickly if I don't.

We are thrilled! A little more nervous this time, of course, but still hopeful.

Sweet "Home sweet gingerbread Homes"

Our townhouse hasn't sold yet. We've had 4 showings and really positive feedback, but no offers & it's hard to keep cleaning & stay hopeful week after week, but we're trying...
We have an idea of doing an open house with a GINGERBREAD theme. I found these adorable mini-gingerbread houses to serve w/ hot chocolate on notmartha.org
So, I'm excited about that. And if we don't get many visitors for the open house, then we'll just have to throw a party afterwards & show off the cutest gingerbread houses ever made!

Here's the gingerbread "townhouse" I made to look like the house we're selling (2 Story w/ balcony).

Anyone who has tips/ideas on selling a house in a buyer's market, please pass them along.

Our Scary Mess Monsters

With the firefighters taking front stage, it's a little hard to see the argyle golf socks pulled over the calves, but it was a great look. And here's our cute kitty:

Happy Halloween!

So Proud

I'm so proud of my brother...
Not just becuase he's an admirable doctor.
Not just becuase he serves our country.
Not just becuase he saves the lives of brave soldiers.
Not just because he's a fun and caring father.
Not just because he's my brother.
...but I think any of those things are reason enough.

I'm just so proud of who he is & of all he does.
And kuddos to my amazing sister in law who "holds down the fort" during his deployments. She's expecting a baby next month, so please send prayers their way!