a look back...

Here's a look back at my sweet pea through the years...three years to be exact. :-)

three

I woke up this morning with my precious baby girl laying on my pillow. (She visited our room around 4am this morning.) I woke up, looked at her, and remembered three years ago waking up and wondering "who is this new little person in my life? how will I know what she needs? when can I go home to a comfortable bed?" Now, three years later, we don't always agree on what she needs (M&M's cannot be a part of your breakfast EVERY morning), Chad and I usually share our comfortable bed with our spoiled rotten little girl, but this one thing is certain- I have come to know brooklyn marie johnson better than I know anyone, including myself. As my dad said yesterday on her 3rd birthday, "Brooklyn, what did we ever do without you?" Life simply did not exist before Brooklyn in the way it does now- today, the grass is greener, the sun is brighter, my belly is flabbier....but our lives our complete with miss brooklyn marie johnson.

We had a great "Dora the Explorer" birthday party yesterday at Chad's parents' house. Brooklyn ate lots of cake, opened tons of presents, and spent some wonderful time with her family and friends. Here's some pics from yesterday: (1) Brooklyn throwing up three fingers at Panera (2) Looking at her Dora cake (3) Playing with her "sisters," Allie and Zoe.

TGIF!

So, within 8 days on the market, we have had two people come and view the house, and one person make an offer. It's pretty crazy! Now, it wasn't a great offer, so we are back in negotiations, but nonetheless, it's flattering to be wanted. :-) Keep your fingers crossed and the prayers coming as we embark on this new journey!

Tomorrow is our GRD show at First Lutheran's Chili Cookoff....it should be fun! There's rumors about white chili, dragon's breath chili, and many others, so it will definitely be a great contest!

Sunday is Brooklyn's 3rd birthday. That is entirely unbelievable.

my sweet valentine

Brooklyn had a great time at her school Valentine's Day party last Thursday. You can't go wrong with strawberry ice cream sundaes, cupcakes, and lollipops. The Valentine's dance on Friday? Not so much! She preferred to spend her time in the school lobby, away from the dark room and disco ball and parents taking crazy amounts of pictures and video, and looked through photo albums and hugged on the bear. I was so excited to see that she let her teachers put her hair in pig tails that day!

grace reigns down + chili = lutheran love

So, I have not really mentioned much about our band in my blog yet, so I thought I would get everyone up to date. We are practicing about every other week (and every Sunday at Shout), and we have shows scheduled for once a month through June. This Saturday, we will be playing at First Lutheran's Chili Cookoff from 5-7pm. So.....if you have the time (and an empty belly) swing on by FLC for some good music, some GREAT food, and some even better fellowship. FLC is located at 3600 West Friendly Avenue Greensboro 27410. Anyone is welcome to enter their chili in the cookoff, but if you would just rather sample other people's dishes, just bring a side dish or dessert to share.

update on eagle road

So, we were blessed to have two people come by and look at the house this weekend...not too bad after only being on the market for 4 days. It's exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time...now I want people to come by EVERY day and look! The house is so dang clean!

Chad painted the shutters and I worked on the kitchen and closets some more this weekend. Every little bit we can do will help with the sale I am sure!

weekend grubbing

What a busy weekend! Friday night was spent at PF Chang's with some great company- Loryn, Lee, McKenzie, Jon, Nick, Heidi, Chad, and visits from the "free sample trays" made the hour and a half wait time fly by (and the food was well worth the wait!). I just love me some crab wontons! And as soon as Lent is over, I am making a special trip over there for some of Chang's new dessert shots- wall of chocolate, here I come!

Saturday, I had lunch with a great, old friend, Erica Taylor- who, by the way, you can catch as a reporter for WFMY News 2.

Saturday dinner was another wonderful MEAT FEST with the Henzlers. Marinated pork chops, mac and cheese, stir fry green beans.....oh man, can you tell I love to eat!?

So, pretty much this was a "fat post." Giving up desserts is hard, so I made up for it with some good old "comfort food" this weekend!

number 11

11. I have found that if you conveniently forget to clean your kitchen, you may come home at 5pm to find your realtor wearing plastic gloves and cleaning it for you!

unexpected fun!

What a treat for Brooklyn when she woke up this morning and saw snow in the yard! We had a fun morning playing in the snow and eating pancakes. Then, it was off to work and school for a short day! Yay! At the last minute I put a pair of my bigger white socks over Brooklyn's tennis shoes to keep her feet dry...I see them as kind of pseudo-Uggs.

cheese cures all

So, I was very fortunate to be able to stop by my friend, McKenzie's, house last night after work for some cheese fondue and fruit (no chocolate- darn you, Lent!). Wednesday night Girls Nights are amazing. If you are married, have kids, or even just lead a very busy life, I highly recommend that you set up regular Girls Nights for yourself. They truly are a life saver.

goodbye tv trays, hello candles!

So, we are either completely nuts or well....we're just completely nuts. We have decided to put our home up for sale and look for a larger one. Not that we are expanding our family anytime soon...we just think that the three of us have expanded ourselves a little too far in our current residence. I am full of mixed emotions now- excited, nervous, sad, nostalgic...just a mix! We bought our home 5 years ago with the intent on living there for 5 years. I thought I would want out after Brooklyn was born- I mean, how could we ever fit a BABY in this house with all our scrapbooking stuff and Dukes of Hazzard memorabilia- but we managed to make it a wonderful home. Though I know a new house is exciting and fun, I have this sense of "oh wow, that is where Brooklyn slept in her swing, started crawling, took her first steps, threw fish sticks on the floor"...the list is endless. BUT, we are excited about the adventure ahead and can't wait to see where God leads us next. I have found that working with a realtor is very strange. Here are just a few things I have discovered in the process:

1. You now share your house with someone else. It is not unusual for your realtor to stop by at 6pm with throw pillows and candles to "stage your house."

2. You may think the house is clean, but it's not clean enough.

3. Storage bins must leave the house. They belong in a storage shed, which I have had to purchase this week. A 5x10 holds a good amount of stuff.

4. Family pictures are great to have around- but they must be the right size, orientation, color, and amount.

5. TV trays must leave the premises immediately.

6. The Magic Eraser is your friend.

7. Greased Lightning is your BEST friend.

8. Parents are wonderful to help store your "valuables."

9. Children will get freaked out by the process of moving and a very perceptive two year old that I know has noticed every detail like the microwave changing counters, a stuffed animal missing, and the bed shifted over 12 inches.

10. Your home's sentimental value does not play any part in the "actual retail value." :-(

a new hobby

So, I have recently become obsessed with blogging. I really enjoy reading Pink is the New Blog and all my friends' blogs, so I thought "Hey, I need a new hobby. Let's give it a shot." I hope it will be a fun experience for me writing as well as those of you reading. I hear that a lot of blogs have a purpose, so mine will give you a glimpse into the life of a full-time working mom...in a Christian rock band. Yup, that's me in a nutshell- a coupon clipping full time mom and Girl Scout Membership Director by day, and a background vocalist by night- mostly Sunday nights...and weekends. It's a crazy life I lead, and I must be a glutten for punishment because we just put our house on the market Monday. So.....here we go! Let the blogging adventure begin!