Contrary to popular belief - We are still around!

Dear Family and Friends,

So sorry I haven't updated in such a long time - so much has been going on. I finally closed on my new condo on September 11 and it was a whirl wind of activity since then. That weekend was spent trying to get as much cleaning done as possible. Although not bad by many other people's experiences, this place was not something I was feeling comfortable about having my 21 month old playing in. Thanks to so many wonderful people from church who gave up several weekends of their time, we were able to move in the following Saturday (Sept 20th I think it was). I worked on Sunday and Monday, took Tuesday off to do grocery shopping, have cable, internet and phones hooked up, get Stanley Steamer to clean the carpets and cleaned at my old apartment. On the 24th I checked into the hospital at 6AM to have some abdominal surgery done!

While I have managed to get a lot done, there is still so very much left to do. Believe me when I say that every surface of this place needs something done to it! I will need to do much remodeling to bring this place up to date. It was built in 1981 and it has the original kitchen and bathrooms to prove it! There is a sense of accomplishment when I finish a project and fortunately for me I should have that feel good sense of accomplishment for the next ten years since it will take me that long to get every thing done!! LOL!

Sophie is loving her new house. There are lots of trees and open space here and she loves to collect leaves, sticks and acorns, all of which somehow make it into my house! Can't tell you how many times I've stepped on a stupid acorn in my bare feet in the living room! That hurts! Her room is huge! Twice as big as the one she had in the apartment (which was not small to begin with!). She has plenty of space to play in here - though there seem to be many more toys invading the living room on a daily basis. . . . .

I'm waiting to recover enough from surgery to be able to lift heavy objects. My computer desk is still in the garage and I can't park in there until I move that and some other pieces of furniture from there. Right now I'm working off a TV tray as my desk for the computer! Not too good for one's back - especially at my age!

Kim, I promise to post pictures soon - my camera was among the missing for several days but I do have some cute Sophie shots from last weekend when we went pumpkin picking!

Talk to you all soon,

Blessings,
Chinamom and Sophie