THE LIFE

2011-03-21T08:04:00.000-07:00

Spring Break Part 1
So the only reason I have a part one is because in part two I am going to tell about the amazing week of food. It was wonderful having Paul around more during his Spring Break, he is such an amazing dad (I love watching him) and both our girls love him so much and loved having him around. I am so thankful for the help and his creative ideas this past week. He still studied most of the week, but took off a couple hours here and there to hang out with us.

Tuesday we went to the Dallas Arboretum with some friends from our playgroup. We had a picnic near these deer statues and Elyse was pretty much obsessed with them and played on them the whole time. Then right before we left we went and ran around these castles they had built. It is so beautiful at the Arboretum and we had a great time!

Wednesday, we stole Paul away from studying and went to this place called Bounce U, Elyse loves it! We got a great deal on groupon and have been going once a week for the past month. It is a warehouse full of blow-up bouncey things.

Thursday and Friday consisted of some time at the park, I went to a speaker at church, and some other things I can't remember. Saturday, we went to the Heard Museum in Mckinney. It has a bug/dinasour/other random stuff exhibit and a bunch of hiking trails outside. It was so much fun. I got a season pass on groupon so we can go a lot more. Elyse did a ton of walking/hiking, she loved running around and June loved being outside and looking around at everything. We got a family pic (which we don't have very many of those in the past couple months), but my eyes are closed, bummer!

we also got a little work done, washing the cars, Elyse helping out!

Yay for Spring Breaks, I didn't think I was going to get those again after graduating. Thanks Paul for the fun memories!

2011-03-14T10:00:00.000-07:00

My favorite peeps..

So I realize all I do is post pictures of my family and talk about what they are doing and how fun they are. Now that I stay at home full time (which I LOVE and so glad that I get to) that is my life. I would love to get into something for me, that I enjoy on my down time, but I am trying to figure out what that is. I started reading again and I am reading The girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Paul and I planned some fun new meals this week, so if they turn out good, I will post those recipes. I am realizing I am also excited about a house because I will have something to do that I love, organize! I like decorating too(not like I am really good, but it is fun for me) and just having a place to call home and take care of. I still feel in transition since I know us living with the Mason's is not permanent, but we are so thankful and glad to be living with them during this time since it has eliminated alot of responsibility that a home would bring. But I feel ready for that again. I am also starting to run/workout more frequently which feels really good! And I have two projects that I am working on; organize all our recipes into one box (they are all over the place) and print pictures for baby book and photo album that Paul got me for Christmas. I am excited about more to look forward to for myself, I feel I have been so lazy the past few months. Paul has spring break this week (whoooh) but not really since he will still be studying, but he will definitely be around more. I hope to do a couple fun things with the family this week, so we will see how much we can steal him away during the day. I hope everyone (like the two people that read this blog) has a great week and hopefully, we will be posting more often:)

Elyse is hosting a Tea party for us and her friends

Last week, I feed some rice cereal to June for the first time (4 1/2 months old, crazy to me b/c I waited until Elyse was 6 months, but she really liked it. I haven't given her any since, but it was fun. My doc said I could, so I thought why not try a little)

2011-02-22T11:58:00.001-08:00

The last 3 months..

So I am not really going to go through the past few months because that would be way to much ground to make up and mostly I don't really remember. But to sum it up, June was born and the next 6 weeks were pretty tough due to the adjustment for everyone in our family, lack of sleep, Paul being in school, the gas issue June had (she is better now thank goodness), and everything else in between (really not any good excuses not to blog, but finally we are!). But I would say once 6 weeks hit things started getting so much better and I am loving having two amazing girls, they are so much fun, and such a blessing to us. June or "June Bug" as we call her is the cutest and happiest little baby and is talking (cooing) and reaching and exploring the world around her now. She is about to be 4 months old, time has gone by so fast probably because Elyse keeps me busy, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Elyse seems so old to me, I feel like she was just a baby, now she is telling me what to do (yes she is stubborn and likes to correct me when I am wrong). We were reading a book and she likes to point to things and ask "what's that". I said a bear and she looks as me and says "no mommy, that's a rabbit", in this sassy little voice. It was hilarious and too funny (she was actually right, opps!)

Anyway, I could go on and on about my girls. We are actually looking at houses right now, we are ready to be in our own place and be closer to Paul's school. We are excited and so ready, but just waiting for that perfect house to come along. We thought we had one and had it under contract, but after my parents seeing it, it was going to be too much work to keep up. Hard to handle at first because we were emotionally attached to the house, but now feel a peace about it. We know there is a house for us out there, hopefully sooner than later.

Below are some pics of what has been going on lately.

This is Elyse on her Strider Running bike. If you haven't heard of these bikes and have a child between 2 and 5, you should check these out, they are amazing! They have no peddles and you walk with them and as you get better you start running and pulling up your feet. Kids learn balance. Elyse is just starting to use it, but our nephew Miles, 3 years old, LOVES this bike, I can't wait until Elyse gets into it like he did.

Elyse trying to calm down June

Snow day, Paul took Elyse sledding and snowboarding, they had so much fun.

June talking

Elyse with her stretchy bracklets, she LOVES them!

2010-11-13T20:22:00.000-08:00

Running Blind

The title of this post is allegorical in a sense. Such deep spiritual meaning and as I found out tonight a very literal meaning. Elyse, June, Kristin and I were having a fun night watching old videos of us as a family sledding at a hill a few blocks from our house in Denver when we took a short pause to manage the stench that was coming from Elyse's pants. Lately I have found that Elyse is motivated at times when we race each other to do something that she doesn't necessarily get excited about otherwise. So tonight was one of those moments that we raced to her room to take care of her diaper. As we turned the corner to the hallway Elyse was in the lead and gaining ground on me. The next thing I knew Elyse was at full speed and raced straight into the oncoming wall like a 240 pound running back taking on a 375 pound defensive lineman. She ricocheted back and fell to the floor and all I could do was ask "What the heck just happened?" I realized soon thereafter that she was running with her eyes closed. Little did she know the impact that this would have on her forehead. I still don't know where she got this idea and let alone felt the need to reenact the activity. I felt so bad for my little girl. All I could do was console her and give some ice for her forehead.

Tonight I realized what my heavenly father does for me on a daily basis. I must run into walls at a full sprint with my eyes closed. It is amazing how a small lamp can light a path. Not to illimunate the whole house or the whole room but just enough to see the hallway and avoid the corner of a wall. Make sure to keep a light on.

2010-11-12T19:23:00.001-08:00

Memoryless Property

I suppose you can call me a real Ph.D. student now because I'm about to relate a fundamental property I'm learning about to my real life. I've been studying too much I guess. The title to this post is the name of a property that describes the way a certain random variable behaves. To avoid too much jargon it basically says that this given variable behaves in a certain way until any given point in time. At that point the behavior effectively starts over and the remaining time of the variables life mimics the behavior of the first part hence a "memoryless" property to this variable. I'm sure that if any of my colleagues or professors were to read this they would laugh at the fact that my poor description of this property clearly indicates my lack of understanding of relatively clear concepts. Regardless I will write more in hopes to better explain why I even bring this up.

Currently I feel as though I'm in a circus. I promise I didn't explain the above simply to tell you I'm a clown. If someone was looking in from the outside it would appear that I'm in the middle of a tent riding a unicycle while juggling 5 bowling pins. That definitely sounds like I'm a talented individual but not exactly what I'm trying to get at. This has been our week. So much going on and so much juggling happening. If someone tries to add one more bowling pin for us to juggle we just might drop a pin. We don't want a pity party but you can send cupcakes. random but I like cupcakes at parties. No one wants to drop something they are juggling. We want to succeed, put on a good show and in some ways be perfect. Which leads me to why I discussed the property above.

As I approach this point in which I feel I cannot juggle anymore I reach a breaking point that forces me to ask for help. Someone who can help me juggle or show me that it may be ok to drop a pin. Not from a friend or family member but from my Lord who gives strength, direction, and a peace that I cannot fully understand. He shows me a glimpse of my story that he is unfolding in these moments and the reason for the circus. You ask how often do I reach this point? Weekly, daily, hourly, all of the above? Yes. In those breaking moments I am brought to a place where I realize the Lord's promises to sustain and to carry our burdens. However, the very next second I forget this truth of which I am reminded and start the process all over again. How dumb am I? Thus in my rambling I have come full circle back to how my life resembles a random variable that exhibits no memory and forgets its past experiences which I briefly described above. What if I lived in a way that I am daily reminded of His goodness and promises rather than turning my back and forgetting almost immediately after the reminder? Seems silly not to. Maybe I am the clown.

2010-11-07T09:19:00.001-08:00

Breakfast!

Thanks to the extra hour of sleep, which for some reason my kids didn't take advantage of, I was motivated to bake this morning in hopes to bring a little smile to my families face. Kristin has been so tired getting up and feeding every 2-3 hours so Elyse and I woke up at what is now 6 o'clock and got started with some delicious muffins. I wanted to make Kristin's favorite, blueberry muffins, but we didn't have enough blueberries so we used a mixed berries instead. Just as good. Elyse was so excited to help. She helped put in almost all the ingredients. As we progressed through the recipe and were combining all the ingredients I saw in my little daughter the reason I have a passion for baking. The picture below says it all.

The batter of whatever you are making whether cookies, a cake, or muffins is so amazing. All Elyse could say is I love it! We had so much fun together. When it came time to sprinkle the topping on the muffins all Elyse's arm, and more correctly her taste buds, would let her do was grab a handful of muffin batter out of the tin and put it straight in her mouth. Hilarious.

So I also have to admit something about myself. I don't like things to get messy because I really don't like to clean up the mess. Especially when it comes to cooking. Kristin can attest to that. Well this morning I decided to bite my tongue and let Elyse have fun with it. So when it came time to clean up it was no problem. Bath time in the sink while washing dishes. A perfect solution. I think Elyse had more fun with the clean up than she did the baking.

Well since things have been a bit crazy we haven't been able to post about Elyse's harvest party that we went to. A big church in West Allen put on a huge production with huge slides, food, and games. Below are a few pictures. Elyse hasn't stopped talking about all the things that she saw there. I thought, "She is too young, will she even remember?" I was way wrong. All she has talked about since are the things that she saw at the carnival. Kids are amazing. Enjoy the pictures.

2010-11-04T11:43:00.000-07:00

Birthday Boy
So I am a little behind on posting but it is never to late. I wanted to say Happy Birthday to my amazing hubby! He is the best husband and dad (of 2 girls now, crazy to think we have 2 girls) and I am so blessed to have him in my life. I am also so proud of him for taking the step towards his PhD, I know it is not easy, but he is doing awesome with balancing school, work, and family. I wish I was better with words to describe how truly amazing you are, but I love you Paul! So his birthday was not as a big deal this year, not because we didn't try, but because of June coming into this world. Sorry Paul, but hopefully you still felt special. The Monday before June came we had a little get together with his family. Paul loves to bake and wanted me/us to try making a cheesecake. He found this Martha Stewart no bake cheesecake and it turned out amazing! We had a great time celebrating with family and having a relaxed night. Then on Friday night (his actual birthday) we went out to Mi Cocina for some dinner and yes June came along and did great. It is nice to have lots of help:) We had fun celebrating both June and Paul!

June was singing Happy Birthday to Paul, she is way advanced!

2010-10-31T10:26:00.000-07:00

The birth of June Bug...

So lets start about a week and a half ago when I went to my midwife for my 38 week check-up. I was 2 to 3 cm dilated and 80% effaced that day. I knew it was coming soon and I thought maybe even last weekend it was going to happen, but nope not then. I though for sure I wouldn't make it to my appointment of this past week for my 39 week check-up, but I did. I had my midwife appointment at 9:30 am on Wednesday, October 27th. I took Elyse with me and Paul headed out for school. When my midwife checked me I was about 5 cm dilated and she said I was probably going to have this baby today. I was feeling more contractions, but not really consistent or in active labor. I called Paul and told him the news and told him to still go to school and I would call him when I feeling more consistent contractions. He called his mom to be on call and she told him to turn around to come back to be with me that I was going to go fast and she would head home to come get Elyse (great advice Sandy!). I still decided to go to the Library with Elyse for her storytime and then I would head home around 11:00. So I did that still feeling good and we got home around 11:30 after Paul told me to get home :) So we got our bag and food ready for the birthing center and headed out around 12;00 to walk around and get things going (side note, I decided I wanted to use a midwife this time around and heard great things about a birthing center here in Allen. I went to check it out when we first moved here and felt really good about going there especially since Elyse's birth went really smooth). So we decided to go walk around at the outlet mall since it was only a mile away from the birthing center. After walking and shopping, I started to feel the contractions more and they started to be consistent so I started to time them. They went from 8 minutes apart to 5 minutes apart pretty quick, so I called my midwife around 1:45 and she told me to wait to come in after I had been having contractions 5 minutes apart for an hour. So we went to Target, did some shopping, and then went to go grab some Golden Chick for Paul to eat (needed to make sure my coach was fed and ready to go). We got to the birthing center around 2:45 and sat in the backyard for Paul to eat. At 3:00 my contractions were getting more painful, so I went in to tell the lady that I was ready to go upstairs and get comfy. So we got up to our room and they started coming really strong. My midwife was downstairs finishing up her appointment and I kept asking for her to come check how far along I was. They thought I wasn't as far along as I was because I was pretty causal about everything, we laughed about it after the fact. So she checked me and I was 8 cm dilated. They immediately called the birthing assistant (she was getting groceries when she got the call and headed out as quick as she could and got there around 3:30). I got into the bath tub for just a bit to work through some contractions, but decided to get out to finish the labor on the bed. Things progressed fast and next thing I know I was told I could start pushing. I think I probably pushed through a few contractions and out came June at 3:52 pm! Yay! I was so glad to be done and finally meet our little girl. She was pretty blue when she came out which worried Paul and I, but our midwife said since she came down really quick her face would be a little bruised. Oh and Paul got to catch her and cut the umbilical cord! I just remember thinking right after that the labor wasn't as bad as I remember (of course it was alot shorter), but the pushing and delivery was much worse then I remember. Paul and I got to spend some great time with June before we let Elyse come up and meet her which was great. And of course Elyse did amazing with June and was so excited to meet her and hold her. We had such a great experience at the birthing center and loved our midwife and birthing assistant. We are so thankful for a beautiful and healthy baby girl!

Allen Birthing Center

Midwife on the left and Birthing assistant on the right, love them!

2010-10-27T08:57:00.000-07:00

Here We Go.....!

So today Kristin went to the doctor for her weekly checkup as the due date is getting so close. She was having pretty regular contractions yesterday which were about 9-10 minutes apart. Signs of pre-labor for those moms out there. Well after her appointment today she was already at 4-5 cm and progressing quickly. So what did she do? She meandered over to the library for story time with Elyse. As I write she is making her way back to the house to pick up the stuff to go to the birthing center. I'm now thinking we will have this baby in the car! Well probably not but I'm sure it will come quick. I write this as my last post with an single child because we are all pretty sure this baby is coming out today. Yeh!!!!! Thanks to everyone who voted on the names. It made this fun. Thanks for the continued support and prayers through our many decisions and transitions this year. Please continue as we go through one more in 2010. We'll post on the other side of this.....

2010-10-24T21:30:00.001-07:00

Are you Hungry?

I was thinking tonight what I wanted to write about and it was obvious I wanted to share some moments of our weekend. It has been such a fun weekend and a great start to my birthday week. As mentioned in my previous post, I finished my last midterm this past Wednesday and had a cancelled class on Friday so I did minimal work this weekend and spent much time with my family. I thought about the events of our weekend I realized that the memories created were captured while sharing a meal. It is interesting that if you think about past moments that are meaningful and positive memories they almost always involve food of some kind. Obviously not all of them but many of them. This means one of two things. The Mason's love food and/or the breaking of bread with people leads to meaningful moments. i would like to think both are very true. The Mason's do love food but more importantly, the Lord gave us food to enjoy and share while sharing meaningful time with others. This weekend Kristin and I created some fun new memories over a few meals.

Earlier in the week I attempted to plan a camping trip with Elyse, my nephew Cade, and my dad. Someone forgot to tell me that going camping when your wife is going to give birth to your child any day is a bad idea. So we changed our plans and decided to camp in the backyard. A great alternative. The night was complete with a fire, roasting hot dogs, and of course s'mores. Yes, food was involved. Nothing better than a Hebrew National over the open fire with some good company. Cade and Elyse loved helping get the fire started. My dad, Cade and I spent the night in the tent after watch the Rangers win the series against the Yankees of course. The first memory of the weekend.

Elyse with cousins Cohen and Cade

The second came as a celebratory meal with one of my colleagues at school and his wife. I have become pretty good friends with my Korean colleague and we often talk of food, culture, and differences in our two countries. I love this time and so we decided after our hardest midterm we would go celebrate with authentic Korean BBQ. Much different that the sloppy smoked brisket and baked beans us southerners are used to. This was a real treat. We walked in and my friend and his wife handled everything. Talking in there native tongue and ordering everything for us. So awesome. The idea of an authentic Korean BBQ is hot coals are placed under a grill in the middle of a 4 person table in which you cook your own meat. There are about a dozen side dishes that you eat as you grill your meat complete with fresh garlic and jalapenos as well as a couple of dipping sauces. Once the meat is done grilling you take it and wrap it lettuce with any sides or sauces you want. If you aren't licking your lips yet let me just say it was amazing. For my birthday coming up my friend ordered us some rice wine to share which is similar to sake. It was amazing and rather pricey and was so generous for him to treat. This couple made the night so much fun and will be such a great memory. It is neat to see how our friendship with this couple has grown over just the past couple of months. Again great conversation shared over a meal, in this case a cultural experience.

Heading out the door.

No forks for us that night.

Our friends Jong Min Oh and his wife Heehyun or Heeny.

To top this great weekend was yet another event with family sharing a meal. Yes, I'm sure i've gained five pounds this weekend to those of you Colorado readers that are wondering but that is what you do in Texas I guess. I suppose you need to hold us accountable. Well, tonight we drove to visit with Grand Martha, my dad's mom. This is the third time I've seen her since I've been back and every time is so much fun. Tonight we went to Twisted Root and enjoyed some fried food and burgers. Yes another amazing meal and another great time shared over a meal. It was neat to see my grandmother and her great-grandchild interact. What a huge gap in age and so many memories in between. I pray these experiences continue as we share food with friends and family in the future.

At Twisted Root. Turkey Burger and fried pickles. Can't go wrong.

So, eat well. Converse well. Be intentional in sharing these moments.

A little side note since we are on the food theme, check out the amazing birthday cake that Kristin made for me. A no-bake cheesecake with an oreo chocolate crust.

Given the Halloween birthday there is a spider web on the top of the cake. Festive huh.

2010-10-23T13:40:00.000-07:00

Work Hard, Play Hard!

So cliche but so true for the Mason family the past month. As you may have noticed we haven't written in well over two weeks now. So sad but we have had quite a bit of going on. Fun things and challenges. I have had the hardest past couple of weeks at school between two midterm exams, presentations and papers. It is amazing to see how much time this stuff takes. I'm learning that I don't remember how to study anymore and hence the challenges are abundant. I have had repetitive late nights (into the early morning) with tea or coffee and Elyse about the only thing that can get me going in the morning. As you can imagine this presents a substantial amount of burden on my pregnant, tired, lonely wife. What an amazing woman she is! She has cleaned, taken care of Elyse, carried our second little girl and served me so well. I've been so blessed to have a supportive wife as we walk through these challenges.

Well, in the midst of the long nights, we have been creative with my time constraints and made some great memories along the way. We had the opportunity to go camping a few weeks ago with another couple and their son. She is due about the same time as Kristin so we had two pregnant ladies being troopers and camping for a night. We drove to unknown wildlife refuge where there were plenty of signs saying no camping and pitched a tent on a back road next to a gas well. For those Colorado readers, we have exchanged the beauty of a mountain or the sound of a rushing river while camping for the sound and view of gas fields and oil derricks. It was ironic, fun, and beautiful though!

It was amazing to see how much stuff we packed for only a single night of camping. I guess that is the beauty of car camping. The air mattress was a must for a 9 month pregnant lady.

Two weekends ago we were invited to a neighborhood fall festival where a bunch of families got their kids together for halloween. We dressed up Elyse in her new costume. Kristin, found a ladybug outfit for Elyse complete with wings and antennas. She loved it and was so cute as you can see from the picture below. I have missed my girls so much in these past weeks and ask myself how can I love this new baby as much as I love Elyse. Somehow I think I will manage.

Last weekend we extended our fun for a night away from Elyse thanks to my parents. It was one of my best friends 30th birthday party. It was a surprise party at the lake with a 1920's theme and a sleepover after. So Kristin and I dressed up in the most 20's type outfit we had and enjoyed the evening. There was catered food from On the Border, birthday cake and beverages. The craziest part of the night was the fact that 3 dealers were hired to bring in a craps, roulette, and 21 table. After dinner we spent roughly 2-3 hours gambling with house money. Kristin and I spent the whole night at the craps table. We had never played before but by the end of the night we were jumping around with the others and high-fiving because the table was hot! It was so much fun hanging out with long-time friends. They also hired a photo booth for the evening, what a great way to capture the moments. This was an amazing party (thanks Kristin B.) and we had a great time!

The last fun event that we want to share with everyone took place on Thursday. After my test and finishing up on a homework assignment I came early to carve pumpkins with Elyse while Kristin made some amazing cookies. It was so great to finally be done with my crazy month and be able to enjoy some much needed time with my family. It has been so hard to say bye to them in the morning and I can tell that they miss me. These little moments of spending an hour or two with them is much needed and hopefully more recurring in the near future. Here are some fun pictures and we hope you enjoy. Sorry for the long post.

2010-10-09T10:44:00.000-07:00

Picture time
So Paul has been writing some great posts lately (he is so talented at writing) and it has been really fun for me to read. I thought I would contribute with some pictures.

Elyse finding mommy's shoes and coming to show us, so cute!

Shelby throwing a Baby shower for me, so fun, thanks Shelby! And a family pic, we have been teaching her say cheese so she is trying, doesn't get the smile part though.

Hanging out with Alissa, Elyse loved sitting on her dog, such a great dog with kids.

Mommy and Me Day at the Dallas Arboretum with the playgroup. Elyse LOVED the petting zoo! We had a great time!

2010-10-08T18:59:00.000-07:00

One More Thing-

A friend posted this on facebook. So sweet! Great entertainment!

2010-10-08T18:05:00.000-07:00

Cutest Thing Ever -

I had the privilege of getting home to have dinner with my family tonight. School has been pretty time consuming so every chance I get to spend with my girls is precious. So today Kristin put on the baker's hat and made banana bread. One of my favorites and now Elyse's. After Elyse and I enjoyed a tasty banana bread slice, we did the nightly routine. A food-colored bubble bath in Grand Sansy's bathtub, brush the teeth and hair, and then read some books. Elyse chose to read Martha Stewart's Everyday Food magazine. We say she is advanced for her age. We read about pasta mixed with fresh arugula and when I stopped reading Elyse said, "With cheese on?" as we looked at the photo of the dish. Not only does she love cheese but apparently shares my passion for cooking and has some great ideas.
Well after that we put the books away and I asked her if she wanted to pray. She usually says yes but tonight I asked her what she wanted to pray for. She didn't say much so I offered a couple of suggestions. I said, "Do you want to thank Jesus for a fun day today....and for mommy?" She said yes. Then I asked her again if there was anything else she wanted to thank Jesus for. She looked at me and smiled and said, "Daddy." Talk about the best thing a dad can hear after a long week of studying. I love that little girl and can't wait to see her tomorrow.
So Elyse was full of fun today. Below is a pic of her kissing and talking to her new baby sister. Don't tell Kristin because she didn't want me to post the photo. It's cute though!

2010-10-06T21:45:00.000-07:00

Double the Fun!

It is crazy to think that in about 3 weeks Kristin and I will meet our second daughter (the daughter part to be confirmed tomorrow as Kristin was having dreams it was a boy). We are so excited to meet this new little one but we have had so much fun with Elyse as the only child for close to two years now. 3 weeks will go by in a heartbeat. I simply write to inform my one reader, my wife, that this is crazy! I'm nervous, excited and anxious about the new addition, school, and the impact and have been encouraged by Philippians 4 this week thanks to my readers. He is so faithful even in the midst of our futile thoughts. Please keep praying for a safe and on time arrival (imperative for school and sanity) for this new addition.

2010-09-24T22:46:00.000-07:00

A Solemn Day

A week and a half ago I was able to make the trip to San Antonio to for my grandfather's 90th birthday party. I think I briefly wrote about this in a previous post. He recently suffered a second heart attack and came out of surgery the day before he was to celebrate with the entourage of family members that came in for the occasion. Well to make the story short, his body deteriorated rather quickly since that Sunday and this morning at 1 am James Lowell Mason went to be with the Lord. I wasn't sure how this would make me feel but the entire day had a somber undertone to it. Death itself is such an interesting. It is hard to think my dad and my family will not see him alive again. I find myself living as though this life will go on into perpetuity but in reality it is fleeting. Today a life was lost to an ailing body but a newness of life began. I'm so thankful for the brief time I was able to spend with him and my family roughly two weeks ago. I'm also thankful that he knew the Lord and i will see him again one day. Death has been conquered.

2010-09-19T12:23:00.000-07:00

It's was interesting, today at church we heard a message regarding Paul's letter to the Philippians. Paul spent much time in prison and starts this letter talking about how his time in prison and everything that has happened to him had served to further his message and for it to be heard. This was interesting because Paul was essentially seeing a glimpse of the Lord's perspective which is exactly what I was writing in one of my most recent posts. In no way am I comparing myself to this amazing apostle with a similar name but rather challenged by his eternal view. For those who have been reading, thanks for listening as I have been learning and thinking about this a lot lately. Here is a great quote that I heard this morning as well:

"God plants his saints in the most useless places. We say, 'I should be here because I am so useful.' Jesus never estimated his life by the standard of greatest use. God puts his people where they will glorify him, and we are not capable of judging where that is."
-Oswald Chambers

2010-09-17T20:58:00.000-07:00

My girls are almost home from a week in Houston. Only an hour more. Yeh!

2010-09-17T15:10:00.000-07:00

Perspective

My day today looked something like this. I said goodnight to my beautiful wife last night which was actually this morning and hence was a wonderful start to the day. Upon waking up I slowly prepared myself for school by making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich while eating a bowl of cereal. Too much information I'm sure. I proceeded to go to campus where I had my 9am seminar class. My seminar class involves a dozen PhD students discussing multiple finance papers and dissecting each model and analysis therein. This morning's topic happened to be debt structure and the relationship to credit ratings. Fun stuff I know.

After class I ventured over to my office which is a term i use rather loosely. It is a large room full of 20 cubicles, yes I'm back in a cube farm, which is where I can do most of my studying. It is nice because it is quiet and I have a computer to study with and post on my blog. As I began to study this afternoon one of my classmates and I started chatting. We spent the next hour or possibly longer learning about each others stories, cultures, food, and family. This was not the first time I had the opportunity to learn of my classmates countries and their cultures.

Since I've started my program I keep asking myself if I'm qualified to do this work. If I have the capacity to succeed in academia. I often ask myself what I should do when I fail. All valid questions but as I remember the path that the Lord took me down to get to this point I remember there is purpose for where I am yesterday, today, and going forward. I write this because as I sat listening to my classmate share of his traditions, his country's cuisine and culture I began to realize that the Lord has a different perspective than I. Although obvious in principal much different in action. From when I can remember I have had a love for food. Since college I have loved adventure. Since marrying and moving to Colorado I have loved traveling. My perspective of these things is incorporated in my longing to see the world and traveling to various places.

I was brought to UT Dallas to work on a doctorate degree but I'm beginning to see a glimpse of how the Lord's perspective is different than mine and still incorporates the things he has given me a passion for. I feel I was traveling and living an adventure by listening to my classmate share about a world I've never experienced. These relationship excite me and I thank the Lord for this as I look ahead to more adventure in the cube farm at UT Dallas.

Random thoughts so I apologize for poor sentence structure, grammatical errors, and unorganized writing.

2010-09-14T22:43:00.001-07:00

Coffee Anyone?

So I have been in this bad habit of drinking coffee around 9 or 10 o'clock to give me a little boost of energy so i can study for a couple hours before I head for bed. Well tonight I found myself distracted from studying and now it is almost 1 am and you guessed it, I'm still up so i decided to write a bit.

Last weekend was a packed weekend. It was a bitter sweet time because my girls were out of town but my buddy Michael and I raced in the Dallas City Chase. It is basically a grown-up scavenger hunt. Each team of two has to decipher clues that tell them where the checkpoints are. Each team has to complete 10 of 20 possible checkpoints before returning to the finish line. You can use public transportation or your feet to get around. We chose to use our feet primarily. We ended up running roughly 8 miles across downtown Dallas. From jumping in pools to racing through an obstacle course we made it through the 10 checkpoints and back to the finish line. It felt like we were in our own little Amazing Race pushing hard to avoid elimination. I realize that I love competition and the adventure. At the same time I realize one thing......man I'm getting old!

On Sunday, my dad, Sam, his girlfriend and I drove down to San Antonio for my grandpa's 90th birthday party. Early last week he had a second heart attack so we were forced to have his party at the hospital but that didn't deter from the celebration of his 90 years. It was such a sweet time of hearing stories and memories from people that have been impacted by this man's life. It has been almost 5 years since I had last seen him and it felt like I had missed out on so much even though this is not reality. I realized a couple things as I sat listening to the stories being told. One thing was the importance of having my kids know their grandparents and family in a deep way. I'm grateful for being back in Texas for this very purpose to have help and encouragement from our family. The second is also in response to a recent book I read by Donald Miller. It speaks about living a better story and how sometimes this entails risk, fear, and pain. I listened to the stories of my grandfather and they were such good stories. Some of risk, some of fear, some of pain, and some of good times shared over ice cream. All these separate moments in aggregate have made up his story. A good story. We are writing our story now. There is fear involved, risk, love, character development and growth, and pain. I feel we as a family have been called to a good story and thankful we can rest with the author to unravel the chapters to come.

Some fun pics:

Elyse and her new bike

Like I mentioned earlier. It has been great getting to be around family. Elyse loved going over to Aunt Shelby's and hanging with her cousin Cohen. He is such a cool kid

A picture from our trip to St. Lucia. Amazing island.

Elyse loved putting on daddy's t-shirt. I love this little lady!

Elyse loves to color. I'm amazed because she holds the colors like she has been writing for years.

Time for bed. Thanks for reading the rambling.

2010-08-31T17:22:00.001-07:00

Microeconomic theory? This is my latest photo contemplating the differentiation of Walras' Law of Demand.

2010-08-29T12:39:00.000-07:00

Here we are two weeks later....
So we have been in Dallas now for two weeks, for some reason it feels alot longer, maybe because we didn't really have any down time we just jumped into life right away. So to recap what has been going on, we moved to Texas then went on a wonderful trip (just Paul and I) to the beautiful island of St. Lucia (thanks mom and dad for watching Elyse!). It was a great trip for us at the perfect time. It was relaxing with some adventure which was perfect. We both read a couple books and for those of you that know us that is amazing. Then once we got back from our trip, we spent a couple days in Houston and headed to Dallas our new home. Paul started school a couple days later and he has been studying and working hard since. I think we both still feel a little like "what the heck did we get ourselves into", but we find reassurance that this is what the Lord had planned for our family. It has definitely helped having family and friends around to help us feel welcomed. It has been harder than I thought though and I know Paul is already having a hard time at school and feels like he has no idea what he is learning and questioning what he is doing getting his PhD in Finance. Anyway, I have found some fun stuff for Elyse and me to do during the days so that has been good for us and we having been having alot of fun together. Oh and we got Elyse her first bike (Strider running bike, the bike without pedals) and she is really excited about it, but we are taking it slow. Hopefully she will get more comfortable with it soon and go on her own. Well I think that is all I have to update you on, hopefully we will be better about posting more often. I wanted to post some pictures from our last few weeks of life but I can't seem to find my camera cord at the moment but wanted to post at the request of some friends. So the pictures will have to wait.

2010-08-04T21:42:00.000-07:00

We made it!

So yesterday afternoon we started our drive to Texas after having my Subaru worked on, finishing packing and taking Elyse to the airport for a quick ride to Houston. As we drove I'm was continually challenged on many things. As my car overheats and I'm unable to turn on the air conditioning, yes I'm driving to Texas where it was 107 degrees today let me remind you, I'm reminded that my car is a material possession that thankfully will not go with me. I felt myself getting frustrated as my cotton t-shirt seemed to fuse the leather seat to my back but I'm reminded of the things the Lord has done in our life in the past few months to lead us to this point. I'm thankful for this hope and somehow allows me to enjoy the warm air blowing across my bald head. As we crossed the state line into Oklahoma it became apparent to Kristin and I that Colorado was no longer our home for which it has been for the past 5 years. This was the first of the many times I will question what the heck we are doing. I again come back to what the Lord has put in motion and the comfort that this brings. We arrive in Wichita Falls 12 hours later, amped up on coffee and unable to sleep. We essentially used a bed for a few hours at the house of Mary Alice, Kristin's roommate from college. It was still great to see them and we are so thankful for the few hours of sleep. This morning we got on the road for the remaining 3 hours of driving. I was additionally challenged to see how long I could withstand using the men's room. Bad idea. There was no comfort in this moment. I was comforted by the fact that there is Heidi's Deli arriving down the road from our place that has its roots in Denver. I'll call that comfort food. At last we arrived at our new home around midday excited to get a few things packed away. This was the capstone to a transition that started almost 5 months ago. Now the new chapter begins. Stay tuned....

2010-08-01T20:38:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow has Come!

So tomorrow is my final day at work. Crazy! I have been working in public accounting for the last 5 years and my time has come to say goodbye. I can't say that I'm sad to leave the profession. I'm saddened to leave the people at EKSH that I have spent the majority of my last 4 years with. I have built some great friendships and have had great experiences that I will never forget. I have learned a lot and hope to carry my experiences into my next career in academia. Tomorrow is also the day that we say goodbye to some of our closest friends that we have lived life with for the last 5 years and some the last 5 months. This is the hardest part of leaving our lives here: our amazing friends. They have encouraged us, challenged us, and loved us throughout our time with them and for that Kristin and I are forever changed. This is a bittersweet post because we look ahead to an uncharted road of adventure, new careers, and being close to our families. Change brings about hard things but many new great things that the Lord wants to teach us. I look forward to this growth and look forward to tomorrow.

2010-07-22T18:35:00.001-07:00

One day closer....

Paul, Elyse, and I are one day closer to making the move from Denver to Dallas. We are excited about the new adventure but will mourn the loss of so many good friends in Denver. We have been truly blessed in our time here and have met some amazing people that we have shared life with. They will be life long friends and will have to settle for annual visits for at least the next 4 years. Paul is wrapping up work and trying to fit in as many activities as possible. On Tuesday he went and road biked to the top of one of Colorado's 54 14,000 foot peaks named Mount Evans. It was a long ride but he felt accomplished to have ridden it. It is supposedly the highest paved road in North America. I was proud of him.
As of June 1st I quit my job and became a full time mommy. I have loved every minute of it. Elyse and I have had a blast hanging out together and enjoying the Colorado summer. We have spent time going to parks, the zoo, swimming, and spending time at the local library.
We have been able to travel twice this summer already. We went to Salado, Texas as a whole family for the Mason family reunion. It was great to see everyone and spend time with so many cousins, aunts, and uncles. The second trip was to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Elyse and I went with my family for 5 days and Paul had to stay back and work. It is such a beautiful place and great to be around family.
It is a bittersweet summer as we are trying to see as many people as we can in the last couple weeks we have in this great place and enjoy the weather while we can.

Pics from around Town

Pics from Mason Family Reunion

Pics from Jackson Hole, WY

2010-07-21T19:51:00.001-07:00

So it has been forever since the Mason's last posted. I looked at our last post and it was showing Elyse walking. How lame are we. No wonder no one can follow us. Well a lot has happened since the last post as many of you know. I was accepted to graduate school at UT Dallas, we sold our house and decided we are moving to Texas! Oh and Kristin is pregnant with our second girl. How cool is that! As my friend Chad says, I'm started my own sorority. Well I wanted to post a cool video of Elyse. She is in the repeating mode and heard Kristin call me Pauly-Woggers. It was hilarious. I hope you laugh as well.

2010-02-17T20:22:00.001-08:00

Elyse is Walking!

So tonight we were just hanging out around the house. After Elyse's bath she was playing with her favorite ball in her room. She stood up and tried to go chase the ball and realized she took her first step. She got so excited and began to bounce and take steps around the room. It was so cute and such a blessing we both were there to watch her. I have attached a video of a couple days of sledding, New Year's with the Mason's and of course her first steps!

2009-11-24T08:01:00.000-08:00

Clips

So I had the day off this morning before our big trip to Costa Rica. We are pretty excited about the trip but I decided to take today off even though we don't leave until 7pm tonight. Our nanny still came so I could get stuff ready for our trip since Kristin had to work but I took some time to make a fun video of some random clips of the family this morning. I hope you smile watching it as much as I do.

2009-11-05T22:36:00.000-08:00

Ellie's Growing Up!

So Elyse has been having so much fun lately. Kristin and I (Mostly Kristin) have been taking her to the park almost everyday. She loves watching other kids. She probably inherited that from her parents who tend to people watch way to much. Ellie hasn't figured out the whole staring thing though. She has recently figured out how to climb the steps and probably would climb steps for hours if we would let her.

We also took her to get her first taste of ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery. It was one of our birthday celebration outings but really it was for Ellie to enjoy her first cup of ice cream. No hands just dive right in. I can't wait to see her eat spaghetti. This reminds me of one thing I've learned about myself lately. I don't really like messy things when it comes to the kitchen or eating. Krisitn laughs at me but Ellie is breaking me of that because I think we have at least three layers of banana, cottage cheese, yogurt and who knows what else below her high chair. So much fun to see her learn and experience new things though. Enjoy the video of some of her fun times.

2009-11-05T22:23:00.000-08:00

Birthday!

So last week was my 28th birthday and yes that feels old to me. Kristin surprised me and took me out to eat and to a concert. It was so much fun to go grab dinner and just hang out and listen to music. We saw Carolina Liar, One Republic and Rob Thomas. They were all really good but we had fun listening to One Republic the most. These guys were so talented. All that to say my wife is so thougtful so make that happen.

Then of course we had to celebrate with one of my favorites. The beautiful chocolate eclair cake. So tasty. Many of you know I love to bake to I ended up making the cake for fun so Kristin didn't feel like she needed to but of course she helped.

Birthday's are so much fun. We started a fun tradition by celebrating a birthday week. Why settle for one day? Birthday's are so important because for at least 12 hours before you are born people are getting ready and celebrating and after you are born "the baby" is all anyone can talk about for a week so we decided why not keep that thought process each year and celebrate a birthday week. Kristin and Elyse made this an extra special year, Love you ladies!

2009-10-27T14:54:00.000-07:00

2009-02-26T14:43:00.001-08:00

More pictures from our Houston Trip

This blue dress Elyse is wearing was mine when I was a baby, thanks mom for holding on to it!

Bath Time

Grandma

Happy Girl!

2009-02-26T14:19:00.000-08:00

Houston Bound

Elyse and I decided to go to Houston to hang out with my family these past two weeks. It was a treat for me to get some help with Elyse and for my parents to get to spend time with Elyse and get to know her. It was such great time for me, but hard because we were away from Paul for a long time. The first weekend we were there we took a road trip with Kevin and Ginna up to Dallas to see some of my friends and family. We stayed with my friend Alissa and she was so sweet to have our friends over to her house so they could meet Elyse. Then I got to see Shelby and Cade and the Masons, and Grand Martha. I loved getting to see so many people and for them to meet Elyse. Houston was so relaxing for us and my mom throw a little sip and see so we could show Elyse off to some of her friends. I also got to see my friends Angela and Jacob & Meredith. Elyse did so great traveling around with me, I was worried it would be too much for her.

My Dad with Elyse

Alissa and Elyse

Cade is such a great cousin!

Julie and Elyse

Friends in Dallas

2009-02-26T13:06:00.000-08:00

Uncle Sam came to town

Well the past three weeks have been so much fun with a lot going on. A few weeks ago Sam came in town. It was so much fun to have him here and for him to meet Elyse. When he first got in town we went up to Red Rock Theater which is where bands come to play, amazing place. Then over the weekend we all went up to the mountains to go snowboarding (well not Elyse or myself) and to hang out. It was Elyse's first overnight adventure. The first night was really rough with the sleeping, but other than that she did great and we got to hang out with our friends Andy, Jillian, and baby Pheobe. Paul got to enjoy snowboarding with the guys. The next week Sam, Elyse, and I went up to Boulder and hung out with Ray and Shauna. It was great to see them and to show Sam around Boulder. I have put some pictures below from this week.

Elyse with her friend Pheobe

Red Rocks Theater

2009-02-09T14:15:00.000-08:00

...And then came the swing

So we hung out with our friends Becca and Justin Rounds a few weeks ago and they brought over this travel swing. Paul and I have tried to keep it simple with things we have for Elyse around the house, so we didn't get a swing. However, when they put Elyse in it she was out! It was amazing! Elyse is a great sleeper at night, but doesn't like to take long naps during the day which makes it hard for me to get things done or even take a nap. So we decided we should look into one. We got on craigslist and bought one the next day. Definitely worth the money. We love the idea of keeping it simple, but when it comes to making our lives a little easier we have decided it would be worth it! See the picture below of Elyse in her new swing and I have put some other fun ones from the past couple weeks. Oh and Elyse's neck is getting stronger so I have put a video of her lifting up her head, how exciting!

2009-01-30T10:17:00.001-08:00

Strong Baby!

A couple days ago I put Elyse on her baby gym that has stuffed animals hanging over her head. She reached up and grabbed the parrot and was holding on for awhile swinging her arm back and forth. I was really impressed and definitely think she is advanced for her age. I mean I really have nothing to compare it to, so I have no idea if she really is, but I am just going to say that since I am her mom:) I put a picture below. She is also starting to smile at me, which is so exciting. When I say "WOW" really big I can almost always get a smile. I loved her when she was a new baby, but it is so much fun to have her now smiling at me and starring at me when I talked to her. I can't believe she is already 6 1/2 weeks old, it really does go by so fast. Anyway, I hope you all are doing well. I will hopefully start posting more often now.

2008-12-01T20:03:00.000-08:00

SNOW DAY!

Thanksgiving weekend for Kristin and I was such a great time. We spent the majority of Thursday at some of our good friends' parents' house. They were gracious enough to invite us to spend the day with both sides of their family. We played a little street football, watched the Cowboys, and ate lots of good food. It is hard to beat a day like this. I missed home and my grandma's amazing stuffing but it was fun to have a relaxing day with friends since we aren't able to travel.
The rest of the weekend was filled with relaxing time together, running errands, making some tasty food, and getting our house ready for an addition to our family. On Saturday morning, We woke up to a beautiful morning. It was the first major snow of the year. Kristin and I went for a long walk around the neighborhood to a nearby park and enjoyed having a little snowball fight and walking through the snow. Below are a few pictures.

2008-10-25T16:17:00.000-07:00

I'm HUGE!!!

That's right, some more prego pictures for you guys. I know alot of you are requesting more, so here you go! Oh, I am going to start talking in weeks. So from what I have learned, you are really prego for 10 months/40 weeks, so right now I am just over 8 months/32 weeks (crazy!!), but I still have just under 8 more weeks to go. I feel huge right now with my belly, but overall I feel really great which is such a blessing. Paul and I are getting more and more excited as time gets closer, we can't wait to meet her! Anyway, enjoy the pics!

24 weeks

28 weeks

32 weeks

2008-10-25T15:57:00.000-07:00

Fun Project

Sorry it has been so long since we have posted on our blog, but we have alot of posts coming. This first one is a fun project Paul and I decided to take on a month or so ago. We had a grape vine that was falling over, so we decided to make an arbor for the grape vine. It was a really fun project for us to do together and it turned our better than I thought it would. The arbor is the entrance to our backyard.

2008-09-07T19:29:00.000-07:00

Belize Part 2:

So after the trip to Western Belize we traveled back to Belize City. This time we were able to get on an express bus after 2 1/2 hours waiting that took us to Belize City much quicker than the first bus we took. Once dropped off in Belize City we took a ferry over to Ambergris Caye, the largest island off the coast. We stayed in the biggest city on the island called San Pedro. By big I don't mean that big. There are limited cars on the island and the major mode of transportation was golf carts with off-road tires and bicycles. After getting settled into our hotel we explored a bit and relaxed in the pool. A much different experience than the first three nights in a tree house.
The first day on the island was a day of relaxing and finding a fun place to snorkel and swim. We walked for a bit up and down the beach and found a fun dock to swim from. The beaches aren't like the beaches of Cancun with long stretches of white sand. The reef doesn't allow surf to take the seaweed back out so the best swimming is off piers that extend in the clear water.
When we got to the dock there were some local boys and girls swimming and jumping off the pier into the water. Krisitn and I swam for a bit and snorkeled around. Then I took the opportunity to play with the local kids and let one of them snorkel with our equipment for a bit. Then I started showing some of the younger kids some fun stuff my dad did for us when we would go swimming when I was younger. I had this little boy curl up in a ball and I would throw him high in the air. He loved it! I next had him stand on my shoulders and hold my thumbs as I went under water. I would count to 3 with my fingers and jump and the little boy would shoot of my shoulders. He loved this one as well. It was such a fun time. Below are some pictures of us having some fun. He wanted me to move up to throwing him off the pier. The pictures show the fun!

Every night we would walk through town and look for a fun local place to have dinner. Most tourists would eat at the more expensive places on the beach which we had to try once but we were always looking for some locals to recommend a good place to eat. The first night we ran into a guy that asked what we were looking for. We told him and he recommended some great places. This guy also took the opportunity to see if we needed any weed for the week. We politely told him no as Kristin was pregnant. As we left to go to the restaurant he recommended he told us to tell them that the 'Rasta-man' sent us. The rest of the week we began to see just how big of an island we were on. We saw 'Rasta-man' everywhere we went. Every night he would see us out somewhere and recognize us and chat for a bit. Such a friendly guy. I finally told Kristin that we had to get a picture with this guy so the last day we were on the island we saw him riding his bike on the beach and took the opportunity to grap a photo for our memories.

Our first trip we planned on the island was a half-day snorkeling trip to Hol Chan Marine Reserve and Shark Ray Alley. We snorkeled just on the inside of the reef at a break in the reef that is a natural highway for marine life. We saw so much life. Eels, sharks, spotted sting rays, turtles, and tons of beautiful fish. It was so amazing. The next stop was Shark Ray alley where they chum the water for nurse sharks and sting rays. We were in such close proximity to the rays and sharks. It was so cool.

Less and less hair daily.

Along the way back to Belize city from the west we met a couple from New York who we kept in touch with on the island and met up with periodically during the week. We decided to charter a boat with a guy name Chito. We got connected with him through a random connection of someone we met at the Rio On Pools in Western Belize. Chito picked us up at our hotel in his boat named Bianca Michelle and we traveled for some time to the north part of the island. We proceeded to cast nets in the shallow water to catch minnows and other fish as we were going deep sea fishing for the first part of the day. After catching our bait for the day we drove outside the reef into the deep waters. The water was rough but on this day calm compared to usual. The morning of fishing was amazing. We caught multiple fish. The first fish I caught was a horse-eye tuna. Put up a fight and was fun to get in the boat. Kristin caught a yellow-tail snapper and was the first time she ever had been fishing. Unfortunately the waves were a bit much for her so she didn't get to do as much fishing as she wanted. Below are a couple pics.

The next events were extremely fun. The first big fish that our friend Glen hooked was a large barracuda. He was trying to work the fish in as it pulled some line out and then he would bring it in a ways. This went on for a minute or two and then it got a little harder to reel in. The fish kept fighting and fighting pulling more and more line out. Then it got really easy. Glen thought he lost the fish. When he finally pulled the hook all the way to the boat we saw something rather crazy.

Only the head of the fish was left. Apparently the reef sharks are so abundant that if you are fishing off the reef and don't get the fish up to the boat fast enough you are left with the entrails. It was entertaining anyway.

The next fish I hooked was a fighter. I was using a bigger real with the last bonefish we had as bait. A foot long bonefish had to bring in something big. A big hit and I heard the line run out. He finally stopped running and I began the fight. It was a tough fight, nothing compared to my marlin, but a big fish. I would bring him in and he would pull line out multiple times. I fought him for 15 or 20 minutes and finally wore him out. As he got closer to the boat we realized what kind of fish I had hooked. It was a reef shark. It was about 4 or 5 feet long and was such a fun catch. It was definitely one of the highlights of the day.

We finished fishing about 3 o'clock and moved back inside the reef. Chito took us to a snorkeling spot with some amazing coral. We spent a little bit of time swimming around and looking at some different formations. The reef is so beautiful. After we got back in the boat, Chito took us to a random house on the far north side of the island near where we had been snorkeling. We docked the boat and went ashore. Chito went and talked with a local woman who lived here. She had to be 20 miles out of town. Chito started a fire and cooked 3 of the yellow-tail snappers we had caught that day with vegetables and spices. When it was done we all sat around a picnic table at the lady's house and had fish tacos with fresh tortillas and homemade salsa. Some of the best food we had all week. Kristin absolutely loved the tacos and she typically doesn't care for seafood. It doesn't get any fresher than this.

The dinner feast.

A picture of us and Chito, our guide.

This day was one of the best days and a perfect way to cap off our trip to Belize. The food, people, and company were amazing in Belize. This is just a glimpse.

I can't wait until our next adventure. We are planning one that starts on December 17th. We'll keep you posted!

Here are some other fun pictures to leave you with. Enjoy!

2008-08-25T20:28:00.000-07:00

Belize Part 1:

Kristin and I got back from an 8 day vacation to Central America. We visited the country of Belize and had an amazing trip. The first part of the trip we went to Western Belize and stayed 4 miles from the Guatemala border in a tree house. The adventure began right away as we took local transportation for 3 hours to Western Belize. We read that many tourists would take these buses to this part of the country but we were the only Gringos on the bus. We got nervous as we rode at the back of the bus with our bags and had some interesting characters getting on and off the bus through the door in the back. This was a great ride and 3 hours Kristin and I won't forget.

We spent 3 nights outside of the town called San Ignacio in an area called Bullet Tree. A small community that hosted some crazy parties, at least the noise coming from across the river seemed vibrant.
Here are a couple of pictures of our tree house.

The first full day we were in the west we rented a trusty 4wd Suzuki which we took to the Mountain Pine Ridge Region of Belize. We drove through multiple small villages as we traveled through jungle on our way to caves, river pools, swimming holes, and waterfalls. We first stopped at the Rio Frio Cave. We hiked around the cave and grabbed some quick pictures. There are multiple army soldiers in this area as in the years past thieves from Guatemala would come and attack tourists. Two of the guards asked for a ride back to town. It was great getting to visit with the soldiers on the way back but was a little uncomfortable at first with the rifles they were holding. It made Kristin a little nervous to say the least.
Below is a picture of the Rio Frio Cave

The next stop we went to the Rio On Pools. It is a river system with a series of small pools and swimming holes. It was a great place to relax and swim a bit. We met some really nice people having a picnic and talked with them for a while. The gentleman was a pilot who lived in Belize and commuted to fly. He was generous enough to offer us a Coke which never tasted so good. There was something about the old fashioned glass bottle and a foreign country that made it that much tastier.

We then went to one of neatest waterfalls I've seen named Big Rock falls. It was so cool in that it had great swimming areas leading up to the falls and then a deep swimming hole just at the base. It made for a nice landing pad for some cliff jumping. Unfortunately Kristin couldn't partake. We were the only ones at the falls for some time. Almost unheard of here in the states. This was the highlight of the day along with just hanging out exploring another country.

In the evenings we would hang out in San Ignacio and eat at a local restaurant and enjoy a nice Belikin beer. They own a monopoly and is the only beer served in Belize. The food was amazing and we enjoyed the Belizean staple which is coconut rice and beans with stew chicken. We also got to try Sri Lankan food which I thought was great as I had a neighbor from Sri Lanka growing up. Great food!

The next day we went on an excursion where we rode a tractor from the outdoor adventure lodge and took inner tubes down a river through a series of 5 caves. We were in and out of caves as we drifted down the river with head lamps on. There were natural breaks in the caves where light would pierce through. It was beautiful. We stopped for lunch on the river bank and I found a natural rope swing. It was a tree root that was hanging down from the caves top. It was perfect and made for fun entertainment during our lunch stop. The local guide and I also found a rock to jump and flip off of into the river. Kristin and I had a blast experiencing this together. We also hiked for a ways through intense jungle through an impassable section of the river. Our guide cracked some Cohune palm nuts from the Cohune palm. It was fun to try some things the local kids would do growing up.

Some other fun pics:

Kristin and I had an amazing time experiencing a glimpse of the culture from Western Belize and after three and a half days we were ready to head to the beach.

to be continued....

2008-08-12T15:41:00.000-07:00

It's a girl

That's right, we found out last Monday that we are going to be having a girl! I was 95% sure it was going to be a boy, but Paul and like everyone else thought it was going to be a girl. I was way off. We are both soooo excited to have a baby girl and can't wait to see her.

I have to tell a funny story about what Paul said. So pretty much the first thing that Paul thought of and said was that we have to find other friends having babies now that are having boys and we can set-up our daughter with them. He is already worried about our daughter dating. Haha, isn't that cute! She's going to be a daddy's girl for sure!

The belly

Since Paul and I live away from a lot of our friends and family some of you may wonder what I look like as a pregnant lady. Here is a glimpse.

4 months prego

5 months prego

2008-08-11T14:53:00.000-07:00

Kevin and Ginna's Wedding-August 2nd

Last weekend, Paul and I went back to Houston for my brother's wedding. Friday night was the Rehearsal dinner and it was so special for me to hear all of Kevin's and Ginna's friends/family stand up and say what they mean to them. It was hard not being around to see their relationship progress, but it was a great weekend of seeing how much they compliment each other and how the Lord is truly the center of their relationship. We had a great weekend with my family and Paul's family. It was hard to come back to Denver. We miss our families so much!

The cute couple at the rehearsal dinner

Paul's parents at Rehearsal Dinner

My Brother and I before the wedding

My family

The Groom's cake was awesome (my brother's boat). Ginna looked so beautiful!

2008-08-06T20:38:00.000-07:00

4th of July Weekend -

So I know it is past the fourth of July, but I wanted to post what we did over the long weekend. Paul and I along with Carolyn and Matt took 10 high school students out to Buena Vista for what we called "Mountain Madness". I know what you are thinking, sounds fun! The name suites it well, it was a blast! We camped about 10 miles outside of Buena Vista. It only rained a little bit on Saturday which was perfect because we did crafts in the tent and took naps. For me, it was more of taking a nap the whole time. Having a person growing inside of you really wears you out:)

Anyway, Friday was the white water rafting day, we went through Noah's Ark. I was not going to go, but then last minute I felt okay about going. They put me in the front middle which was the safest place for me to be; however, not the driest. I got soaked on every rapid. It was a great day of rafting. We ended up staying in town the rest of the night so we could watch the fireworks show. We ate at this place that was so interesting. When you sit down and order all you have to say is "I will have the dinner". They only have one thing every night and it is usually steak. It was really great food though.

The next day was our hiking day. Carolyn and Matt did the research and bought a hiking book to find a great place to go. We got to the trailhead and started up the path. At first, everything the book said we thought we were passing and going up the right trail. It ended up being completely wrong. We were following a trail, but we have no idea where it went or if it was really a hiking trail at all. When we got back down to the bottom, we asked someone about the trail we thought we were on and sure enough behind a truck was a trailhead for the trail that we completely missed. It was hilarious, but we still had a great time. That night we cooked at the camp and then we went to some natural hot springs. The hot springs were awesome and a relaxing time. They had different temperature pools, depending on were you were from the main feed.

The next morning we woke up, had quiet time, worship, and our last group time before we cleaned up and left. The weekend was focused on the characteristics of Jesus and falling in love with him, not focusing on all the things we feel we have to do to follow him. It led to some great conversations with the students and it was great for me to hear too. I definitely felt like I came out of the weekend looking at Jesus in a new way that I have not before. We love getting to spend time away from the city on retreats with our students. It is a great time to connect and get to know them even better. Below are some pics from the weekend. Enjoy!

2008-07-26T12:08:00.000-07:00

The Secret

So as many of you know by now, Kristin and I are expecting our first addition to the family. Some start with plants. Others with dogs. We wanted to jump right in a get our feet wet with a new little person. Kristin and I are so excited to experience this new phase of our life. The tentative due date is December 17th. We will have our 20 week appointment on Monday, August 4th. This is when we will get to find out whether we will be having a boy or a girl. We will keep everyone posted.

Although this came as a big surprise at first, we have found ourselves becoming more and more anxious as the date approaches. It is amazing the amount of information that is available to parents-to-be. Just this past week as I spoke with various people, I began to realize that everyone has their own story about their pregnancy and parenting experiences. Some good and some startling. One conversation has made me realized what a miracle a child is. I have seen a glimpse of the miracle that is already occurring. Just the other day I felt the coolest thing. A little foot or elbow bumping my hand as I touched Kristin's stomach. Just miraculous. I see now that as a parent and going through this pregnancy that there is every opportunity to begin to worry and attempt to keep your wife and child-to-be free of anything that could even remotely cause injury or complication. As I seek to become more like Christ I realize that no amount of worry or preparation can take the place of the hope we have in walking with Him. A precarious life is sometimes the best in that it calls us to a state of dependency on that hope. This is just a small glimpse of what I have walked through this last week.

2008-07-20T14:42:00.000-07:00

Moonlight Classic

Last night a bunch of our friends got together to ride in the Moonlight Classic. The Moonlight Classic is a bike tour that starts at the capital building in downtown Denver at midnight and meanders through 15 miles of Denver. Many people dress up in costumes and deck out their bikes with all kinds of crazy stuff. The streets are closed to car traffic by local police along the route which makes it fun to just cruise through town. Below are a few pics of Kristin and I and some of our crazy friends.

This is the group of riders that we went with. A crazy group of friends. Especially the guy in the speedo who received plenty of hilarious comments along the way.

One of my friends mounted a charcoal grill on the back of his bike and we grilled brats while we rode the 15 miles. Brats never tasted so good at 1 in the morning. This is when we lit it the grill on the way downtown. We were in front of a lady's house that almost called the cops because the fire got a little out of control. We also had an ipod with speakers mounted to another bike for some fun tunes as we rode.

Kristin and I at the last rest stop. We were getting a little tired at 1:30am but had so much fun on the ride.

This was the group of guys that went.

2008-07-13T15:34:00.000-07:00

So, this is my first time writing on the blog and I am excited to keep it up. My goal is to write on it at least once a week once the baby comes:) So I wanted to post some of our fun summer adventures that we have not had a chance to do yet. The first is a trip to Dallas for Charlie and Shelby's wedding. It was a wonderful time of hanging out with family, lots of family:)

Next, I flew back to Dallas the following weekend for Rob and Kim's wedding. I loved getting to see all my friends and catch up with them.

Last, we spent a weekend in beautiful Vail, CO with our friends Chad and Bekah. Paul and Chad were playing in a Volleyball tournament called King of the Court. They did amazing and won 1ST PLACE!!! It was fun to cheer them on and of course to be up in Vail, it was beautiful!

2008-05-29T21:29:00.000-07:00

We went camping over Memorial Weekend to a lake called Lake Isabel west of Pueblo, CO. Craziest wind ever but we went to this random castle called the Bishop Castle of this guy that built this house/castle by hand. Pretty random but he opens up his house for tourists to stop in and walk around. Below are a few pics

2008-02-01T18:41:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I had the opportunity to take about a dozen junior high kids to Frontier Ranch in Buena Vista, Colorado. The weekend was not only a great time for the kids but such an encouragement for me as well. It is amazing how the Lord shows himself in His creation and when you take time out of your normal routine to listen.
The time was filled with an energetic worship band, challenging speaker, and some great small group time. It also had its fair share of ping pong, inflatable obstacle courses, and an intense crud war.

All the guys from our church

Before

After

2008-01-19T20:22:00.000-08:00

We had such a great time in Vail with the Koury's. Kristin and I are so blessed to live in such a beautiful part of the world. Below are some pictures from our week.

2008-01-13T19:45:00.000-08:00

The past two days have been absolutely amazing. Kristin and I have been in Vail with her family and will be here for the next week. Vail received 11 inches on Friday night and another 2 on Saturday which has contributed to the past two days enjoyment.
I'm posting a couple pictures of our day and a video of Kristin dropping off a cornice. I hope you enjoy.

2007-12-21T11:40:00.000-08:00

I once again have been inspired to return to my blog and begin sharing our life with anyone who may read.
Hopefully this can help us stay in touch friends in family. We just got back to Denver from spending almost two weeks in Texas. We had a great time seeing old college and high school friends as well as spending some cherished time with my family in Dallas. We also were honored to be apart of of an old friend's wedding in Tyler.
We are beginning to realize how much we have missed our friends and family but our experiences in Colorado have allowed us to grow in ways staying in Texas wouldn't have allowed and for that we are grateful.

2007-05-05T23:10:00.000-07:00

So it has been almost two years since my last post and I'm becoming reinspired to talk about my life again.
Kristin and I are currently in Dallas for some of our good friends' wedding. How great it is to see old friends and what a blessing we took for granted in our college years of such close friends. We have missed our family and friends since living in Colorado but what an experience and growing time for us.

What a short post since I'm hitting the sack. But more to come in future.

2005-07-24T21:41:00.000-07:00

Finally, I have found the most efficient way that I know how to load these pictures onto a website for people to look at. It beats emailing out 7 pics out at one time. These are the pictures from our Alaska trip. Follow the link.....

Take Care
http://community.webshots.com/user/mase2929