End of an era

Today my favorite brother signed a rental agreement to move out of our house and into his own place. I'm so happy for him, and it's just a couple of minutes down the street, but I'm so sad to be saying goodbye to having him here all the time. He's lived with Steve and I for almost 5 years, which is more than half our marriage! He was 12 when I left for college, so when he came to Biola (much to my surprise and delight!), we were really intentional about getting to know each other as grown-ups. Eric being an introvert, it took about 2 years for us to really feel like we knew each other.

I'm sad, because Eric has been here for the big things in our lives, especially watching Lucy grow up. She looks forward to him coming home every day, and they have such a special relationship.

He's helped with a number of our house projects. My favorite was scaring my parents about one of them. The guys had put drywall up on the ceiling, and one of Eric's jobs was drilling the screws into the drywall while someone held it up there. I called my parents, and in a forlorn sounding voice, said, "Well, Eric screwed up the ceiling." "Oh no!" my mother gasped! HA-HA! He was supposed to screw it up! =) Okay, sorry for the pun, Strandy.

So Bud, words are inadequate, but we love you and will miss having you here constantly. Don't be a stranger!

How I mashed my thumb

That would be a much cooler title if I'd broken it or something. Nope, just an annoying bruise. But I always like making sure my friends know when I do something dumb. I was trying to eek out the very last bit of tan thread on the spool by holding the machine tension with my thumb. Lesson: Hold tension above the needle mechanism while operating machine. I never knew how much I used the outside of the knuckle of my thumb until today. Actually, I should take a picture of my thumbs so you can marvel at the weirdness of them. If you're ever worried that I've died in a highly publicized accident where they haven't released the bodies yet, look for shots including my thumbs, and you'll totally be able to tell if it's me. Wow, this post is taking an odd turn... *ahem* ... on to other things.


So yes, I've been sewing away like a madwoman. Because the baby MUST have cute burp cloths! And because Lucy's all became cleaning cloths because they're awesome at that, so I needed to gussie the new ones up so we'd know which ones were for spit-up. I also finished another changing pad cover for the at-home changing pad, and a to-go model for the diaper bag. Someone gave me all the fabric for the to-go pad, and it just happens to match the diaper bag I made. Serendipity!






Can I just say how much I love bias tape? Hiding on the inside is a cute-cute-cute floral pattern in those same colors, but the ultrasound dictates that the flowers hybernate in the middle.









And here's the cutie-pants who is lucky she's cute, or else she'd have gone out the window long ago. Yes, folks, she's taking a truck, a tooth-fairy pouch, and a toothbrush to church. Please tell me these aren't somehow connected in her imagination.

Why in the world would you put this off??

I think every time we get up to Yosemite, we wonder why in the world it's been so long since we've been. I mean, really, it's one of THE most beautiful places in the whole world, and it's 2 hrs. from The Grammie Resort. Our dear friends who have been living in Bosnia for several years were in Fresno for a short time, so we hooked up with them and headed up the mountain. We couldn't have picked a better weekend. Wild flowers in the hills, snow in the mountains. Cool, but not cold. Blue, blue sky. It's early Spring, so almost no tourists. Seriously... can you believe it?

I love the moment when you get through the tunnel and BAM! This is what you see...
This is what our family will look like in a year. =) We borrowed little Noah for the shot.

The hat was an old hat of mine that's become a dress-up item at Grammie's. Lucy thought it would be awesome with her blue snow pants.

How happy is a child who has just been encouraged to pelt her parents with snow??
Scaling the vast peaks of Yosemite...


Did I mention it was a perfect day?

Someday I'll make you listen to the story about how I hiked to the top of Upper Yosemite Falls. And then how I produced a radio broadcast on Valley Public Radio about the Yosemite Institute and "scooped my competitors" by interviewing the president of the Curry Company, who never does interviews. Or about how I killed my knee running down from Vernal Falls. =)

Updates

Apparently my industry will be coming in fits and starts. But I'm definitely nesting. I had my carpets cleaned, and oh, the cleansing of the soul that comes with it! It kicked off the cleaning of the laundry room and the cleaning out of the crayon cupboard. If you don't know the joy that brings, I can't explain it. If you know about the endorphine rush, then you can appreciate the sunny color my week has adopted. Only about 18 drawers and cupboards to go...

I've also been sewing like a mad woman. Sadly, my diaper bag project is not quite what I'd hoped for. I have changes I now would make, but just don't feel like starting from scratch again. I wish I'd made it wider at the bottom, and shorter from top to bottom, and with a stiffer interfacing between the lining and outside. It's just too long and narrow and floppy. But it's a fun swiss army bag, with D-rings and carabeaners for keys, pockets for diapers, diaper pad, wipes and bottles, and extra little pouches for things like vaseline and nail clippers. I figure you only use a diaper bag for a year anyway, right?





Next up is a baby blanket for my little man. He needs one just like Lucy did. I wish I were a knitter, as the pattern I really, really want is a knitting pattern, but I am making some adjustments and making it up as I go in crochet. When I've got something of a pattern going, I'll take some pictures.