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!

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)

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!

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.

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.

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.

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!