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Saturday, December 09, 2006

some christmas pics and demolition, day one...






So yesterday I took the boys to Mom's to try to take some Christmas pictures - "try" being the operative word. Between Mom and me dozens of photos were taken, yet not one was good enough for the Christmas card. I guess we'll try again this week at home. I was hoping to get the cards done before Christmas this year, but we'll just have to wait and see.

Max and I are in the middle of some do-it-yourself home improvements right now. We're replacing the (rather nasty) carpet in our living room with hardwood laminate flooring. The video demonstration looked pretty easy, so we're keeping our fingers crossed that it goes well. We'll start laying the actual flooring tomorrow evening; hopefully we'll finish up on Monday.

I've been enjoying ripping out the old carpet and padding, and Will & Christian have been wonderful helpers! They've been taking some of the smaller pieces of garbage to the trash piles for us. Max just wants the whole process to be finished already! :)


That's about all for tonight. Will and Christian are playing on my Nintendo DS, but I think bedtime's coming up VERY soon. And dear Andrew is fussing for his nightime bottle and veggies! Talk to you soon!

(I apologize that the pictures are not in order - I've been battling with this thing for a while now, and it's just not doing what I want tonight! Ugh!)

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

we're back...

After a bout with a stomach bug last week, I'm feeling back to normal. We've had a busy past few days around here. This weekend we headed to Lancaster with the family to visit Thomas. The boys had a blast - they got to ride right behind Thomas and get their picture with him and, of course, get some new Thomas toys. :)

The crowds were insane - I had no idea there were many Thomas fans out there! Max and I are thinking of taking the boys back in the spring on a non-Thomas day so the boys can see all that the railroad offers.













On Sunday, we did a little shopping at the Point Park Mall. I thought Andrew was so cute "driving" the stroller, so I had to share this picture. :)

We visited "Build-A-Bear" and all three boys got some animals (a bear for Will, a koala for Christian, and a puppy for Andrew). I'd post a picture, but the koala has gone missing. Once he's found, I'll post a pic of all three boys with their new friends.

When we got home from our trip, there was a package on our porch. When the boys saw that there were presents inside, they went to work on the wrapping paper! What a happy surprise for them - two Dr Seuss books from Aunt Ceil and Uncle Tony! Thank you so much!!!





And last but not least, it looks like we might finally be moving! Yippee!!! We went to a neighborhood that we looked at a LONG time ago (before I was even pregnant with Andrew). We found a great lot and a fabulous floor plan. So we're thinking of auctioning the house early next year (we're meeting with the auctioneer next week!) and building a brand new house! We're praying that all works out this time. I'll keep you posted.

All this leads to my last picture. We're doing a bit of painting to get the house ready to sell, so we went to Lowe's today. While we were waiting for the paint to get mixed, we visited the organization aisle. I've been looking for some canvas totes for a while now, which I found at half price! Plus, we found this great unit for the boys' room. It's called "cubeicals" by Closetmaid, and it's so cute. You buy the canvas drawers separate (under $6 a piece) and they have a whole range of colors. Will and Christian helped put the piece together, and I have to admit, it turned out pretty cute!

I need to get dinner going so I'll sign off for now.

Dawn

P.S. I've been crazy busy adding things to the ebay store. If you have a minute check it out (http://stores.ebay.com/blessingsandgifts).

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

I think I'm caught up...

As was pointed out by my sister, I've been a bit behind on my blogging. I think I'm pretty much caught up now. This morning we went and had the stitches out. It turns out one of them fell out on its own, so he only had four removed. Three of them came out very easy, but the fourth one had a scab around it so it was a little more difficult. Christian was so brave (again). He only got fidgety during the last stitch. The pediatrician let him sit in my lap, which was super nice of her. I'm just glad the whole ordeal is about over!

The doctor said we won't know for about a year if there will be a scar or not. We're praying for no scar, so please join us.














On to other news, Andrew is crawling around all over the place now. He moves more in reverse than forward, but that's okay. He's even learned to change direction! I'm so proud of my baby, but he's growing up way too fast.

Will's head is healing very well (thank the Lord) - there's hardly any indication that there was once a huge cut on his head. I don't have any pictures, but it looks much better than I ever expected. :)
That's about it. I've got to get creative today...I'm entering a contest online. Right now there are only five entries and they're picking three winners, so my odds are pretty good. I'll post once I've finished my creation - though right now I still have no idea what it'll be! :)
I'm trying to sell a bunch of scrapbooking stuff on ebay. I went through my stash and cleaned out, plus I had some goodies that I bought to resell. So we're running 14 auctions now - I think there will be almost 100 lots total. Scary!!! If you're interested, email me and I'll send pictures of what I have.
My poor Usborne e-show is pathetic...no orders yet. At this point, if you order, you're pretty much guaranteed free or half-price books, so go for it! Please email if you need recommendations for books. The website for the show is http://www.ubah.com/HOS74337, so please check it out.
That's about it for now. We're going to see Thomas on Saturday - the boys are already pretty excited. I'll post once the adventure is over! :)

Thanksgiving adventures...


Everything seems to be an adventure in the Hopkins' household. We went up to Aunt Emily's & Uncle Jim's for Thanksgiving dinner, which was delicious as usual. :)


Will enjoyed spending time with cousin Kenny. They both have a shared love of Thomas the Tank Engine and the movie "Cars".



















And while Max and I enjoyed spending time with the family, the real "highlight" of the evening involved Christian. Big brother Will got tired and cranky and threw a pool ball at Christian's face. So we ended up in the ER for 5 stitches! I prayed for a nice doctor, and we got a very kind, gentle doctor. He and the nurse were quite impressed with how calm Christian was during the procedure (Mommy was definitely more upset than him!).


Beyond being very swollen and multiple colors of black, blue, and purple, by Friday morning (when these pictures were taken) Christian was back to his normal rambunctious self!





Aunt Emily's scrapbook...

Here is Aunt Emily's scrapbook, in six parts. We presented it to her on Thanksgiving just after dinner, and I think she really liked it. :)





The blank tags located throughout the book are for Emily and Jim to write down their memories. Enjoy!



Aunt Emily's scrapbook, part 2...


Some more of the scrapbook...



Aunt Emily's scrapbook, part 3...

And here's more...







Aunt Emily's scrapbook, part 4...

And the fun continues...






Aunt Emily's scrapbook, part 5...






We're almost done now...


Aunt Emily's scrapbook, part 6...

And finally, the end of the book...


In the pocket are little notes people wrote to Emily and Jim.






Friday, November 17, 2006

usborne e-show...

I'm currently running an e-show on my Usborne site if anyone is interested. It will close on December 10 (to ensure Christmas delivery). I've decided to make this a mystery hostess (or host) party. Everyone who places an order will be put into a drawing for free and/or half-price books. Exactly how much money will be available for the drawings will depend on the amount of orders received.

I am more than willing to recommend books if anyone is interested. I can even set up an online chat if there's any interest. They really are amazing books; my own wish-list has 25 books on it! :)

There are two ways to access the e-show. You can click on my Usborne link on the right of this page and from there click on my name under active e-shows. Or you can use this address: http://www.ubah.com/HOS74337. If you're uncomfortable ordering online, just email or call and I can take your order that way.

Make sure you check out the bargain books (the Internet Specials change every two weeks). Also, for every $35 you spend, you are eligible for the current Customer Specials (there's a link on the site).

Thanks!

P.S. Make sure you take a look at the Christmas titles - they're adorable! :)

My baby's growing up...

Andrew is totally having a week of firsts. Today he sprouted another tooth (this makes four!!!) AND he crawled!!!!!!! Yippee!!! He still won't roll over, but now he's mobile! And soon I'll be complaining because he's getting into a whole mess of trouble, but for now I'm celebrating! :)




















He started in the middle of the blue blanket and made it over to the basket (about 3 feet) all by himself!



Thursday, November 16, 2006

My big news for the day...


Andrew's third tooth came in today!!!!! He's had the bottom two for over three months, and now the top right tooth is in! I'm doing the happy dance for my baby (you gotta celebrate the little things)! I didn't get a picture of the tooth - once it comes in a bit more I'll take some pics. But I did take some all-around cute shots of the little guy tonight. I haven't run these through any photo-editing software, so please forgive the red-eye and dark pictures.


 
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