What are we up to?

Between Chris' job hunt, me working 4 days a week(10 hrs/day), Mom getting all ready and packed to go to Romania, getting a new niece, and my many sewing projects...we have been SO BUSY!

We did recently have a "Family Photo Shoot" in February, thanks to Tanya Dunn of www.bluepeachphotography.com

Although Carter was not very cooperative, she amazingly got some great shots. Thanks Tanya!




Chris has been on the job search. It is a tough market, but we are still very hopeful. Something will work out. But, in the meantime Carter has enjoyed Daddy-Day-Care!!! The pictures below are just a few things I have come home from work to see. They make me laugh.

This picture shows that Carter actually has some hair, and is almost ready for his first haircut. (He will be 2 in June) Chris and Carter were playing beauty shop with the mousse and all. They have a lot of fun together.

They alsp hold "football practices" on a regular basis. You cannot see it in the picture, but the shoulder pads under the jersey are made from my bra, filled with 2 socks, tied around his arms and shoulders. "Over the Shoulder Boulder Holder" You should see Carter run his football drills..."chop the feet"..."HIKE"...and he does a mean field goal kick. My little football player makes me giggle as does his silly father.

Becca and Jon had their beautiful baby girl on March 3rd. Her name is Lillia Jayne Spooner. She weighed 6lbs 11 oz and 18.5" long. She is just beautiful and will be blessed this Sunday March 29th. We are so happy she is here and Carter was happy to have a "baby" cousin.

Saturday I had 2 baby showers and one bridal shower plus the ward spaghetti dinner and cake auction. I made these "Spaghetti and Meat Ball" cupcakes made w/ strawberry preserves and Ferrero Rocher chocolate balls. They were so fun to make and the young woman made $32 from them.


For the baby showeres I was sewing all the gifts. Here are a couple things I had fun making. A useful"wipe case" for wipes and diapers and the burp cloths all made from Amy Butler Fabric. I am working on a small business idea to go along with my bags etc. Wait for more to come. You can also check out my etsy account to see what I have for sale ...see the link on the side of my blog. Soon to have more for sale.



Things are great on the Edwards Family home front. We are happy that the weather is warming up and can't wait to get out the jogging stroller and play at the park. Stay posted for more news to come.

THE EDWARDS HAVE MOVED...

Yes, we have moved out of our beloved condo in Okemos Michigan back to Chelsea. Chris has graduated and he is on the job search...My parents are moving to Romania with a nice empty house that needs to be occupied...so we are helping them as much as they are helping us. We have been here almost 2 weeks now and Carter is adapting himself quite nicely. He is now a master of the stairs, plays fetch w/ the dog's bone and is feeding the dog quite nicely, and he is doing great in his new bedroom. It has been a great transition for us and a blessing that we have such a nice place to stay.

The job search is hard right now...as we all know how horrible the economy is these days. The competition is high and the jobs are low. Yet, Chris is applying to several jobs daily. We have faith that something will work out in the Lord's time. I just wish I knew when that would be so I could relax a little. Honestly, we feel very blessed. I have a great job and I am able to provide for us during this transition period. Plus Chris gets some "special" one-on-one daddy time with Carter. (Chris likes to call it Daddy Day Care!) They have a lot of fun together. I always giggle when I come home to see what NEW thing daddy has taught our little guy. You should see Carter's football drills and touchdown dance. Are we brainwashing him? He loves it!

Carter turned 20 months on Saturday Feb 7th. My little peanut is 4 months away from being 2. It is going by so fast. Jamie my brother turned 23 today. Carter had to call his uncle and wish him a happy birthday. I think the only word Jamie could understand from his voicemail message was "HAPPY". It was the thought that counts. We are doing great and happy here in Michigan. We will see where the wind blows us and where Heavenly Father needs us to be. Only time will tell. But for now...we love being in Nana's House. Maybe we will get to stay here the whole 3 years they are in Romania...we will see what happens. We will keep you all posted.

CONGRATULATIONS TO CHRISTOPHER J EDWARDS...

This post is dedicated to Christopher J Edwards...He graduated from MSU Graduate school right before the Holidays. It was a crazy busy time and I did not take the time to CONGRATULATE him here on the BLOG. Carter and I are so proud of him. He has worked so hard and has done so well. After so many long hours and long nights he is officially DONE. We are officially no longer students. One year shy of 30. Wahoo...

WAY TO GO CHRIS/DAD! WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH!

Love Hil & Carter

Christmas Eve Traditions

Uncle Darby (Mom's brother),Jamie, Jon & Becca and My family all went to Nana's and Pepa's for Christmas Eve. As usual Nana amde her famous sugar cookies (Thanks Teri Harris) and we had our traditional decorating contest. Carter even enjoyed eating sugary foods (rarely happens) as he decorated his "egg-free" sugar cookies. Thanks to a product that I love called "Ener-G" we can make about any baked good that is "egg-free" Jon dressed up as Santa and Carter was scared at first but after we all sat on his lap he didn't think it was "too" bad! Still not happy about it.

Everyone tells me or Becca that we look alike. I see it in this picture. She is so cute pregnant and we can't wait till their little girl comes in March.

We had a great time and laughed and giggled all night. Next year we will have to find a new location as Mom and Dad will likely be spending the Holidays in Romania. We will see. We had a great Holiday season and what a time to reflect on the Savior. Christmas Morning we read the Christmas story to little Carter and he kept saying "Jesus" (only we understand that one). I can't wait to teach him all about our Savior. He is learning so much already. We hope that everyone also had a great Holiday season.

Happy "Sunshining" Holidays

We were lucky enough to travel with the MSU Spartan Football Team to Orlando Florida for the Capital One Bowl Game. We left December 25th and came home on January 2nd. It was BEAUTIFUL and so hard to come back to the COLD Tundra. It was a nice break from work, bulky coats and snow boots. Carter loved everything about Florida...No shoes...no nap schedule...swimming...and LOTS of Sunshine!

(These were just a few of his many unscheduled naps. I did enjoy his cuddly naps in the hotel beds. I was just as tired if not more tired than he was. As Chris found us below.) We spent 2 days at Sea World, and 1 day between Disney World and Epcott Center. This 19 month old has been to Disney twice in less than 2 years of life-THANKS MSU. (Too bad he won't remember it) We played at the pool and shopped till we dropped. We went to the game OF COURSE and were sad of the outcome, but still WHAT AN EXPERIENCE.

My parents, sister and Nikolas her son as well as Jameson my brother all came down to Florida for a few days while we were there. It was nice to share this exciting time with them too. Carter played his little heart out with his cousin Nikolas and the two of them wrestled/tackled (as Carter calls it) quite a bit. Carter is all boy all the time.

Seaworld was so much fun. You can buy one pass and get the next day free. So that is just what we did. He loved the whale and dolphin show and all the animals. But his favorite of all time was the "ELMO" show. He was glued to watching all those Sesame Street characters. I was tickled to watch his eyes as they all sang and danced. I felt I was at "Sesame Street Live" It was great.

Carter was cheering for Elmo as he came out. Doesn't he look excited?!!

(This was at the Shamu "Miracle" Show. It was amazing!) Disney World and Epcot were crazy busy this time of year. We still did enjoy seeing some of the characters, riding some rides and seeing some shows. Carter took it all in and just watched all the people going by his stroller. He loved all the shows and rides especially "Safari Jungle" he started making the elephant noises when he saw the elephants.
This was the "Finding Nemo" Ride at Epcot. Dad and Emily excited as always.Carter was exhausted (note: no socks-no shoes-and pacifier) by the end of Disney so watched the Character Parade on Dad's shoulders.
We attended luncheons put on by Florida Citrus Sports and ESPN, Pep-Rallys w/the players and coaches, and of course the MSU vs Georgia Game on January 1st. It was fun to be there and Carter represented the team well. I saw the first 1/2 of the game and then Carter took a nap in his stroller the second half so I checked the score as fans were coming in and out. I got stopped several times asking me if they could take pictures of Carter. They loved the "Eye Black". It was just too bad we didn't pull out the WIN. We will see what comes next year. We are proud of you SPARTANS-Go Green!

(Niko, Emily, Carter and I at the MSU PepRally. Carter is up top w/ Jessie, he liked being up so high and didn't want to come back to his momma. Look for Javon Ringer (very bottom) to be in the NFL draft.)

We had a much needed and much enjoyed vacation. It was wonderful to spend time together as a family and to be in the warm climate. The flight home was long but Carter enjoyed it w/ his headphones check him out.