Friday, August 31, 2007

I'm so crafty!

So I put on some crafty gloves this week and made something for my niece's baptism on Saturday (tomorrow). I'm really excited to give it to her, and although I could have just bought her one for half the cost, I'm so pleased with how well it turned out and that *I* made it special for her.

I made Aubrey a bracelet of her two favorite colors - teal and purple. I bought a chain and affixed some beadwork off the links so they would dangle.
In the very middle of the bracelet, I put these three little bead squares that say "I am a child of God" on them - so cute! I got to use headpins to make the beadwork and jump rings to attach them, and even though I got really frustrated a few times, I had a great time making it for her. Special thanks to Holly for all of her help and instruction and to the lady at The Bead Fairy for not only giving me 15% off all my supplies, but for teaching me how to use the headpins.

Update:
I took a picture with Josh's phone, and of course it was dark and I couldn't figure out the flash, so the photo is unfocused. But Aubrey loved the bracelet and wanted to wear it right away. I'm really hoping for a baby girl now so that I can make her pretty baby bracelets and cute binky chains. I think I may have found a new hobby!

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Christmas stories, please

Friends, family, and strangers...I need your favorite Christmas stories! I'm planning a huge undertaking for family Christmas gifts this year, and would love your input. I need a variety of stories - funny and sad, Christian or not, long and short. Please email them to me at paigehendrickson@yahoo.com. Thanks!!

I've not much else to say, except that I've been having some serious headaches the last three days. I don't know if it's because I'm constantly walking up and down the stairs carrying boxes, or if it's from working so hard in this blasted heat, but it doesn't feel very good. I hope the baby isn't retaliating for me bending over so much. If she is and doesn't shape up, she's not getting anything for Christmas this year.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Soon there'll be three of us!

This might look like a simple picture of Josh and I with our dear friends' little girl, Maddie, but it's also a glimpse into what's coming for us in just six short months:
We are going to have a baby. Yes, we are excited, and yes, the thought of being parents for the rest of our lives and all eternity scares the daylights out of us. But it is a mandatory first step in the circle of life, and we seriously need the tax break.

Due date: Feb 5, 2008
Gender: unknown
Misc. details: Just one heartbeat, thank goodness!

This pregnancy has been very standard and healthy so far (knock on wood). I had a very easy pregnancy and delivery with Amanda, so
we're hoping for something similar with this one. So far, so great!

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

And the packing begins.

Katie and Bronson left me yesterday. Even though I got to sleep without socks and pj's on last night, and now I don't have to feel guilty for keeping the a/c above 80 degrees, I was sad when Bronson wasn't there to greet me this morning. I'm gonna miss that little boy. I'm so pleased it was *my* stairs he learned to climb. It's like I got to make a permanent mark in his ever-changing world.

Today is supposed to be my first official "get serious about packing up to move" day, and all I've accomplished so far is washed two loads of laundry and read up on everyone's blogs. But the packing will resume soon, very soon. I'm going to repack the guest bedroom and bath first, then do the up- and downstairs closets. There are 5-6 boxes in the garage on shelves that I want to go through before I relocate them to the "ready for moving" side of the garage, and then I'll start boxing up the kitchen dishes I don't use often. I have a lot of bedding, cleaning supplies, house plants, and misc items to freecycle, so those should be gone in the next few days, and I started one bag of clothes for the Big Brother, Big Sister dropoff last night.

I'm so grateful I have these next two weeks to take some time to go through everything and not drag it all up to Utah with me. I'd go crazy if I had to sift through all of this stuff before I could settle into my new home.

Sunday, August 5, 2007

The Move

School is over! Well, for now it is. My final was Thursday, Aug 2, and I think I did well. We shall see when this semester's grades post.

What comes next? The big move. We have to be out of our home by August 31, so I've already begun boxing things up and stacking it all in the garage. The guest bedroom and bathroom are empty and ready for me to clean, and the computer room and hall closet have almost reached that point. Biggest shock so far? The amount of bedding we have. Worst fear? Going through our bedroom closet.

It's actually been a lot of fun for me to go through things, organizing and getting rid of some stuff. Josh has sold some valuable geekware on craigslist, but
I've listed most items on Freecycle for people to haul away if they want it. I've taken down my paintings, bubble-wrapped them, and will store them at my folks' house in Toquerville so I don't have to worry about throwing them in the back of the moving truck. I'm also nervous about moving my houseplants. My mom said I could temporarily store them at her house while we get settled, but I have 24 total, and I don't think she's ready to take on that kind of responsibility.

We've gotten several bites on our housing wanted ad on Craigslist, and are looking at a home in the Daybreak subdivision in South Jordan and one at Traverse Mountain in Lehi. They both have the space we're looking for at the price we want. The home at Traverse Mountain is actually in a better location for us, but I've heard it's very windy out there. Anyone know if that's true? Josh is now working in SLC full-time, so we want to find something soon, get an official move-in date, and get serious about hauling all of our junk up there. Fun, fun!