April 27, 2011

lately...

the other day james and i were talking about how fast time goes by (yea, we're quite exciting) anyway i said

"i feel like i just graduated college yesterday but i've actually been out of college for as long as i was in!"

james said "i'll be fifty before i can say that"

and it's pretty close to true...

what can we say...we value education :)


we're headed to chicago tomorrow for interviews and apt hunting, so start praying now!
and i reeeally hope it doesn't look like this anymore...

April 24, 2011

amazing

April 18, 2011

it's the little things...

before...

after!

huuuggge difference i know!!

ok, so it's not the biggest difference ever but just look at those curved corners. i do love them. and all it takes is a few little punches with this little thingy-majig. $6 plus 40% coupon makes me happy.

it's the little things, you know :)

April 16, 2011

mary brooke's birthday

a couple weekends ago, james and i headed home and got to celebrate MB's first birthday party! she is the cutest. thing. ever. james says i say that about every one of her pictures, but she's the smiliest baby ever. too cute.

so emily is one of those natural party planners. anything she does ends up gor-geous. put her and grace together and they're ready for a magazine shoot. seriously. they can throw stuff together and it turn out perfect. and mary brooke's bunny birthday party was nothing short of picture perfect.

perfect tablescape and party favors

i love the tissue paper pompoms in the tree! so whimsical



homemade strawberry cake was amazing and how cute is that cake topper?!


bunny marshmellows!


this was one of my favorite things - the picture tree. em printed out pictures from mary brooke's first year and grace threaded them onto string to hang in the tree. at the bottom, grace added these awesome hanging vases to weigh it down a bit. it was so pretty! and so fun to look back and see how much she's changed.

MB loved the tractor! (although she didn't ride by herself :)
i wish i'd gotten a better picture of this quilt that sabrina made for her - it's absolutely precious! you've got to have a good friend that will make a quilt for you. that's big.

her first bit of sugar!!

definitely a big hit

and sweet family came all the way to see her

aren't emily and grace impressive? and we couldn't have asked for a prettier day. everything was perfect and we were so glad we got to be there to celebrate mary brooke!

April 14, 2011

so little time...

good news - we've found the best mexican food ever

bad news - we only have 7 weeks to try everything on the menu

April 11, 2011

the perfect day...

for a bike ride.
raccoon mountain is definitely one of our favorite places in chattanooga


i didn't even bust it today!


being silly

finish it off with some sonic

and you've got a perfect day

April 8, 2011

little happies

last weekend, we had one of those fun crazy weekends with wedding showers and birthday parties and suppers with awesome friends all in one day. it was great. last minute (of course) i whipped up some of my stand-by favorite projects.

i love { made's } hobo bag pattern. i've based several bags and purses on this pattern. it doesn't take long to make and (hopefully) it useful


all filled up with lots of activities to keep little boys occupied on road trips


for the wedding shower, i went with the ruffly dishtowels. super easy project that'a fast and fun. i love grouping lots of patterns. add some utensils and all done!


we're soaking up our time with sweet friends here in chattanooga and loving our crazy weekends.

April 4, 2011

i forgot...

a friend of a friend emailed her friend in chicago about teaching jobs and last night i read her response -
she said she hoped maybe we had connections or knew the mayor because suburb jobs are hard to come by. she has a masters and 15 years experience teaching internationally and here and she's been trying for years to get a job in the suburbs.

and just like that i forgot.

I started imagining working at mcdonalds or taco bell or shoveling snow with no coat in chicago blizzards.


i forgot how faithful God has been to us.

how he blessed me with 2 interviews in one day after nothing for months.

how he gave me a job at an amazing school with awesome 2nd graders.

how we have never, ever, not-for-once, gone without anything we have ever needed or even wanted.


so after sleeping bad and having horrible dreams all night, i read psalm 94:19 this morning

'when the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul'

i won't forget again because the Lord has an amazing plan for us and i'll rest in Him until we get to see what it is.

April 1, 2011

a book for mary brooke

our little niece, mary brooke, turned one this week so i had to make a little sumthin' sumthin'. she loves books, so i made a little book with pictures of her sweet family that's totally baby proof and slobber-proof. perfect for a one year old (hopefully!)

so i printed out some pics of the fam

backed them with a a file folder so they won't bend

and glued them back to back

added some labels with names (and adjectives because it's never too early to learn, right :)
then laminated them with these awesome little sheets that you don't even need a laminator to use!

hole punched them

added a little cover and some cute ribbon and
all done!
 

avandia recall