The perfect gift for a perfectionist is LIBERATION!

In order to keep my "go-getting", intense, and (for the lack of a better word) perfectionist husband sane, I am always on the lookout for stress relieving gifts for him. Well I hit the jackpot this year...A JOURNAL THAT GOES AGAINST EVERY "RULE" HE IMPLEMENTS UPON HIMSELF CONCERNING JOURNALING. I have to admit, his first glance at his gift wasn't exactly what I had in mind..."you want me to do what with this.".
Like I said, this goes against every journaling experience he has ever had. But since then, we have had so much fun!!! Here are a sample of some of the pages he has already "journaled" in.

NOTE: "Dedicated to perfectionists all over the world"

I think this one was my absolute favorite to watch so far. He had to think about it for a minute.





He did it!

"burn this page"--this one wasn't hard at all for him- pyro!





That is a handprint of A1 sauce that he had to smear all over the page.


So...


what's Dave's next adventure with his journal.....




Sorry, there will be no pictures of this one!

We are changing our last name to Harper.

Well....our current news is that we are trying to rent out our home, but are running into some problems. We do own our townhouse but 3 months before we bought it, a new bi-law was made that no one after that date could rent their property (we were so close!). So, we are in the middle of the process of appealing to the board of our association to let us rent short term. After our first letter for permission, we received a call saying they couldn't honor our request but we could further pursue the issue with the board. So, we did :). We were scheduled to meet with a lady at our home on Tuesday but she never showed up, so now we are back to the waiting game. It's hard to communicate through blogs but the situation is still hopeful based on our conversations with the association. Probably most of you are wondering why we want to rent and where will we move to...and all I have to say is two words-

Mama's Family.

You can just call us the Harper's! We would move into the basement at my (Danielle) mom and dad's house( sorry mom- Mama doesn't do you much justice, and dad...you aren't pictured) We have prayed and prayed and thought about how to pay off our student loans fast and this is the best option we have thought of. There are plenty of pros and cons to think about (none of which deal with any negatives of my parents or in having our own space or privacy). But it does kinda seem humorous that there is potential to move back home. This move would only be for 1 year and then we would either move back into our townhouse or sell and buy a house.

So, as humorous as it may be, we really really want to get out of debt and hate being enslaved to a bank. Please pray that our dreams come true(hehe) and the association lets us rent. Thanks!

This will be a L-O-N-G blog...here goes...

FYI....I am sitting here trying to kill time as I wait until about 10:30am to vote (it's 8:30am). I figured that would be the best time to take Mikail and I hope I figured right...if not, I think my vote should count double due to having to entertain a figety, very independent 9 month old while waiting through the lines (which have been taking an average of an hour and 30 min. to get through---I know...lifes tough right. :)---at least I just have 1 to take!

Anyway...alot has happened over the past couple weeks in our home... Mikail went to the pumpkin patch and apple orchard for the first time, Aunt Amy came in town to play, Mikail was dedicated at church, Dave went out of town for 4 days, Mikail dressed up like a monkey for Halloween(we had two options but the butterfly outfit was too big for Mikail), I continue to make my own babyfood *sigh* and lastly, Mikail had her 9 month old doctor appointment yesterday.

The doctor appointment yesterday went well and Mikail is still teeny tiny. Her height is 26 1/8 in. tall (15% for her age), weight is 15lbs 5 ounces (5% for her age), and 3% for her little head circum. She is still in 3-6 month clothing.

I figured the rest of the updates will mostly speak for themselves through pictures:



Mikail giving her cousin Ashley a kiss at the pumpkin patch.


Our fun outing at a Trunk or Treat


I counldn't resist putting this in the mix. I think Dave and I have more fun during bathtime than Mikail. Her bath shapes stick to her body so we have contests to see how many we can stick to her.



Mikail's baby dedication outfit minus her bow :)



Mikail's baby food...yes she eats tofu and likes it :)











These are fun pictures I took the other afternoon when it was soooo nice out. She is such a sweetie!!