As I type this, my family is on a flight to Bermuda. :) It's 40-something degrees here in Virginia, and they're off to the warm, pink-sand beaches of Bermuda. See, my brother won a trip to Jamaica through his company this year, but ended up missing it because his passport took forever-and-a-day to arrive. (don't even get me started on passports..) So, to make up for it, his company gave him travel vouchers to pretty much anywhere he wanted to go. He chose Bermuda. :) I don't really know all of the details, but I guess he had some of the money left over, so he invited my parents to go, too. (They just covered the remainder of it.) So, Bermuda here they come!

It's not the first time my family has been to Bermuda. In '97, my Dad won a red BMW Z3 from his company, (they had a drawing) and rather than taking a car that would be totally impractical for a family of 4, he sold it right off of the lot. I'm sure a huge part went towards savings and what not, but part of it went towards an amazing cruise for all of us to Bermuda. :) Oh my gosh, it was so much fun. We went swimming in the crystal-blue waters of Horseshoe Bay, explored Bermuda's one-and-only incredible cavern, and went helmet-diving to see these amazing fish and coral... pretty amazing! I even brought back some shells and some of the beautiful pink sand.

Okay, enough daydreaming! Oh-so much has happened since Halloween. :) The main thing being, as of Halloween night, Brooke started SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT!!!! Wow. I had nearly forgotten what it was like to sleep more than 5 consecutive hours, but let me tell you, it's fantastic. She now goes down between 9:15 and 9:30, and sleeps until 6:30-6:45. No middle-of-the-night feedings. It is WONDERFUL!

She is honestly such a perfect baby. I know I'm partial because I'm her mommy, but it's true. She is an absolute SWEETHEART. She's happy from the moment she wakes up, and really has a very easygoing, contented temperament. Is it normal to feel like you've "got the hang of it" with a 10 1/2 week old?

Well, now that she has *officially* announced it herself, I really want to congratulate my sweet friend, Trisha, on her pregnancy!! I am so excited for you, hun! :) Trisha was truly such a God-send, and an amazing encourager while I was pregnant, and I hope that I can be the same for her. You're going to be a wonderful mommy, Trish! Congrats!!

Money has been tight here, but that's to be expected. I mean, we're now a one-income family, so it's not going to be a walk in the park. :) Because of that, we decided not to go to the final PSU game, since it was going to cost roughly $100 for gas, parking, and food. (Ryan's parents put our tickets to good use, though!) In any event, I'll have some good news to share with you all in a couple of days...

Rather than going to the game, Ryan and I stayed home, and.... painted. :) Remember the ugly blue office we have? The previous tenants had painted it this medium blue color, and attempted a faux-finish on the walls... it was hideous. Really. Ryan sanded the walls to get rid of the texture, and we had bought the paint before Brooke was born. I did the cutting-in, the first coat of paint, the cutting-in a second time, and then Ryan finished it off with the last coat. We chose a sage green to replace the blue, mainly to match a framed print that I wanted to hang in that room. (Monet's "Water Lillies") For the sake of comparison, here are before and after pictures for you. :)

AFTER:

I've only been able to get our picture, desk, and filing cabinet in the new office so far, because the rest of our office things are boxed up in the garage. (and there are spiders out there... ugh!) So, Ryan will be helping me with getting everything else inside over the weekend. :)

Hope you all are having a great week!!