Birthday, Boston & Other Updates

Birthday Update:
Emma had a fun 1st birthday! We hung a few balloons here and there, got a birthday cake, and had our family over for fajitas to celebrate. We had a good time and so did baby girl. I cut her a big piece of cake and we all watched to see what she'd do. Slowly and very carefully she proceeded to pick the little sprinkles off one at a time. I finally just mushed her hand into the top of the cake and then it got interesting. We had a lot of good laughs. Here's a few pics from Emma's birthday.

House Update:
I told you about a house in the previous post....well, the deal fell through. Bottom line - the inspection came back and it needed a new roof, but the guy wouldn't come down at all on the price. We were pretty disappointed at first, but it's been kinda fun (and stressful and discouraging at the same time) to go "house shopping." We've actually found "the house of our dreams" except it would truly be an act of God for us to get this house. We're just praying that God would do something really cool in this whole deal. :o) Anyway, I'll keep you posted...

Arm Update:
My arm is doing great. I still cannot straighten my elbow all the way and it still hurts a little if I try and do something stupid (like pick up a suitcase or something), but overall I'm pretty much back to normal. I have a doctor appt. on April 2nd and he'll take some more x-rays to make sure the bone is healing correctly.

*** JUST FYI: FOR SOME REASON MOST OF THE BOSTON PICS ARE REALLY BLURY....BUT IF YOU CLICK ON THEM TO ENLARGE THEM, THEN THEY'RE CLEARER. ***

Boston Update:
I told you that we were heading to Boston over Spring Break with a group from our church. We went with our friends TJ and Laura (& their 3 month old baby, Haley), Kirsten, and Jeremy and Chelsea. Our friends Andrew and Kristin moved to Boston in January and we got to hang out with them a lot while we were there. Here's a picture of our whole group (and Kristin & Andrew too).

We had a day or so of really nice weather, then it turned super cold. Actually, it snowed all day long one day....we hear it was their worst snow storm this year. We loved it! It was fun to bundle Emma all up in her scarf, mittens, hat, etc. Emma was such a trooper. Brett carried her most of the time in a baby carrier backpack. She went most days without any nap at all. And when she did get it a nap, it looked something like this.......

Kristin and Andrew helped give the team a glimpse of what it was like to live in Boston. They have the coolest little apartment there (and Kristin has it decorated so cute!) We all had fun riding the T everywhere (subway). It's so strange not to just hop in the car to go somewhere. You have to really make plans and think ahead to do anything there. Just running to the mall or to go eat takes a while because you have to figure out which subway route to go...and you do lots of walking, which was great! My friend Kristin and I got some good hangout time. She took me to a cool little tea place, where Emma let us chat for a while and catch up on life. It was fun!


Our day of traveling home was pretty rough. About 5 or 10 minutes or so before boarding, they made an announcement that there was a mechanical problem and they would have to use a different plane. They gave everyone meal vouchers, so we got to eat for free and just play cards and hang out in the airport. Baby girl was so tired and getting very restless. We were doing anything to keep her entertained. Here she is carrying her bottle bag around and making friends with everyone around her....

Five hours later, we boarded the plane. Then they made an announcment that there was something wrong with one of the wheels on the plane, so we had to wait some more. And there was even an intoxicated woman on the plane that they had to remove. It was crazy! With all those delays, we had a very unhappy baby. I'm sure the passengers around us were not liking us too much. Once we actually took off, she finally fell asleep. Then things got a little better. We got home at 1:45 A.M. and were all fast asleep by 2:00! Work the next morning was not so fun, but we went to bed super early that night and are slowly recovering from the exahaustion of the trip. Traveling with a one year old WORE US OUT!! It's good to be home and back to "normal" life (whatever that means!) Here's a few more pics from our Boston trip:

School Update:
Biology class at MCC.....Learning lots and loving it!! I'll start classes full time in the summer, hopefully.

Kindergarten class at WBA.....I love my kiddos! This has been a great year!!!! I'm so grateful for this job and happy that my last year of teaching will have memories from this wonderful school.

Did you know there's only 46 days left until school lets out? Yea!!!!!!!! Jennifer, are you proud of me...I'm counting down!! I'm ready for summer!! :o)


On a side note....
I cut my hair!! :o) Short again. I love it! No pics yet, sorry. I had been growing it out to do the "locks of love" thing but I didn't quite make it. I thought I needed 8 inches to do it, but found out it was actually a minimum of 10!! Crazy! I had already made up my mind and gotten excited about cutting my hair so I just ended up cutting it anyway. I only ended up having 7 inches to cut off, so I still had a ways to go anyway. I feel kinda bad about "wasting" those 7 inches. Oh well....it's just a big vicious cycle anyway. You grow it out, and then decide you like it short instead. Then you cut it and decide to grow it out again. Maybe next time! :o)

oops! Sorry...it's been a while again!

Yeah! Sorry! It's been WAY too long again...It always takes such a big chunk of time for me to sit and blog that I seem to put it on the back burner. Well, here goes...

First of all, so much has happened in our life in the last 2 months that it would be impossible to share it all, so here are a few highlights...

• In case you didn't already know, I'm changing careers! :o) I will finish my year in May teaching kindergarten at WBA, but I have already started taking a night class at MCC. I'll be a full time student starting in the summer until probably Dec. '09 (ish). I want to be a nurse! Long story...not quite as random as it might seem... pretty exciting, huh? :o)
  
• Baby girl turns ONE on March 2nd!! Less than a week away!! Crazy how fast the year has gone by. She has taken a few steps by herself...any day now we expect her to just take off running! She calls everyone and everything "da-da." We think she really does know Brett as "da-da" but that she just really likes to hear herself say it. The one word that she does know for sure is "uh-oh." Yeah, that's a favortite too. Drop a toy, say "uh-oh." Drop food over the side of the high chair, look down at it, smile and say "uh-oh." Fun game, you should try it! :o) So much more to say about Emma Joy...maybe pictures below can capture a few more thoughts on her...
• I have a broken arm right now. :o) We had a Valentine's Day skating party for our school (yeah, I broke it on my birthday...kinda stinks!). Anyway, I had all kinds of kiddos bumping into me, hanging onto me, etc....but did I fall then? Oh no! I fell all by myself! Just stood up and lost my balance. I caught myself with my right arm (and yes, I'm right-handed)...sprained my wrist and broke the upper part of my radius (near elbow). Fortunately, I don't need a hard cast or surgery. They said this type of break won't heal correctly unless it stays partially mobile, so I just have to go in regularly for x-rays to make sure it's healing right. Hardest thing...I'm not supposed to pick up anything heavier than 1-2 pounds. Hmmm...is that possible when you have a little baby that wants her mommy a lot? Anyway, it has presented quite a challenge in my life. Brett has been awesome!! Friends and people at school have been taking good care of us by bringing us meals...it's been real nice.
• Other news...looks like we're going to be moving to another house!! It's not too far from where we are now. Our wonderful parents are helping us out a little. A FEW things I'm most excited about...2 bathrooms!! laundry room is inside!! beautiful corner lot with lots of trees!! there's no annoying dogs around to bark all day long or wake us up in the middle of the night!! We'll close on the house mid-March, and probably do a couple things (paint, carpet, etc) before we move in. We hope to start moving in by early April, and be mostly done by the time my finals begin. We're are SOOOOOOO excited!! So far, we've only been caught twice driving by the house!! (it's like a daily thing....we just have to drive by and see the house). The couple living there now are so nice...she laughs and said they did the same thing before they moved in! :o)
• We're heading to Boston in a few weeks with some good friends from church...kinda a vision trip/checking things out for possible future opportunities for BMBC. Obviously, it will be Emma's first time to fly, so we're a little nervous about that part. We're excited to be able to see the Steins while we are there!! Can't wait! :o)

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Done with all the updates! Here's a few pictures:

PEEK-A-BOO!! Just one of Emma's favorite games...it's really funny b/c she'll hold just about anything up to her face (a blanket, a diaper, a toy with a hole thru the middle...), and then she'll get this goofy grin and silly look in her eyes...and she'll stay like that until you say, "Where's Emma?" Then she'll peek out or drop the object. By definition, obviously that's the name of the game, but it's just so cool to see your own baby do it...and it NEVER gets old!! :o)

And here is one of daddy's favorite games (okay, Emma likes it too!)
HANGING UPSIDE DOWN!! Wheeeee......



Ummm...HELP!! Someone please let me out of here!! Please?



We've also learned that our sweet baby girl is a climber! Anything she can use as a foothold, WATCH OUT!! We have to be careful what we leave around...even her toys, such as this one... several times we've looked over at her and she has had both feet off the ground and was standing climbing up the side of the toy. Evidently, climbing is normal for this age as they explore and become comfortable getting around, but she sure has given us a scare a time or two!

Here is Brett, Emma, and Papa (Brett's Grandfather).
That is one proud great-grandfather!!



Here's our happy girl!!

Until next time!! :o)

Thursday January 4th

Hope everyone had a great Christmas! We sure did! I've really enjoyed my 2 week break from school and getting to spend so much time with our sweet baby girl (who is not so much of a "baby" anymore...Emma is 10 months old already! Can you believe it? We can't! Her first birthday is just around the corner!! These past months have been so much fun! What a precious gift!!

Here's just a few fun pictures that we've taken since our last update! Enjoy :o)

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Diaper changes with daddy are so much fun!!

Yeah, she pretty much has him wrapped around her little finger. She found her favorite ornament on the tree...a bell! Bells can be so much fun! Not only do they make a fun sound, but they taste great too! (ask Emma about that, of course)

Since she liked the bell so much, we decided we had to take Christmas pictures with her holding it. She is such an active baby, but for some reason she posed perfectly for this picture. Just sat and smiled! I was pretty grateful for that!
(You've got to click on/enlarge this picture....it's just so cute! Then press the back button)

Emma even discovered the fun stuff UNDER the tree to play with. (By the way, SHE put this box on her head, not me. It was really cute!) We had fun watching her make all kinds of new discoveries these last few weeks. Talk about curious--she gets into anything and everything!!

We decided not to go overboard on gifts since she's so young (not that we want to go overboard in the future anyway, but you know what I mean). We decided just to give her a stocking and watch her pull the toys out of it. It was fun!

The toy in the background is from her Grammie and Poppie. Nana and Grandpa, Aunt Carrie and Uncle Sloan...they all spoiled her a little too, but we were proud of everyone....for the most part, nobody went crazy with too many gifts! :o) I know it's hard to resist...they make so many great toys for kids nowadays. And baby girl clothes...now that's some fun shopping!! :o)

Check out this hair-do! This is right after her afternoon nap one day. She's even got that crazed look in her eyes too! Kinda scary, huh? :o)

(This is another good picture to click on/enlarge...as well as the ones below :o) Sorry, I'm just a proud mom, I guess!

Oh yeah! Talk about FUN!! Mommy got over her "everything has to be nice and clean" thing, and just let baby girl have some fun! And boy did she have fun....sweet potatoes EVERYWHERE!! I admit it was fun and funny to watch her....first she tried to pick it up with 2 fingers, then started smearing it with a finger or two, then smashed her whole hand, then the other hand, and then started pounding her hands up and down while squealing with delight and looking at me for approval...yeah, like I said, fun (and funny) to watch....not so fun to clean up! Oh well! Making memories, right?!?! :o)

This last picture was taken as we drove through Austin. We drove through some really scary storms that day (the same storms that we later found out caused about 8 tornados in the Central Texas area). It was so cool to get to see both ends of the rainbow and to be reminded that God is good and He is faithful. And He always keeps His promises!!

Well, until next time!! :o)

So, about us...

So, Julz promised that she is gonna post again soon and give you all the pics you want so that gives me the freedom to post as well. So, look soon for what you really want to see and you can just skip my ramblings below.

It's often really difficult for me to feel like writing. In the beginning of this thing I was all emotional and it wasn't too dificult, but I guess emotion drives my writing? So, I feel like it today and you're gonna get it, but you don't have to read it.

So, life for us is changing. That's kinda a constant for us, but right now there are some big things going on. Namely, my wonderful wife and the most amazing mom I know (no offense intended if your reading this mom) has decided to go to nursing school. I am so incredibly proud of her and am really excited to see how we walk through this time. I know that she will be an incredible nurse and there will be many throughout the process and then when she is a nurse that will be loved and cared for in a way that is unique to Julz. Her school and then her workplace will be better because she is there.

Emma continues to grow in such diverse ways every day. She is beautiful, inspiring and I am thankful to get to be around her.


Over the past couple of days I have been able to meet with some really good friends of ours that we haven't seen in a while and have some life-giving time and conversation. I always am so encouraged by those times. One is a friend I see seldom, but I always come away from feeling refreshed, renewed, and connected to the Kingdom. I need that, am pushed by it, and thankful for his friendship. The other is a couple that we said a sort of good-bye to today. They are important friends of ours that are moving to Boston. Time spent with them is always fun and invigorating. They have such a unique perspective on life, love, and relationship that we need to observe and be around. I always come away from time with them asking myself deep questions and finding answers that are surprising but freeing, convicting, and more responsible to people around us. I need that in my life more and am thankful that they give of themselves to us in that way. So, if you read this or you don't, thanks! And thank you to so many of you that are friends and family to us and consistently give of yourselves to us. We need you and are thankful for you!

Brett

November 20

Once again, it's been a while since we last updated! :o) Lots more pics to share! Baby girl changes so fast! From week to week (& even day to day), she learns how to do more things all the time.....from taking small steps as she holds onto furniture to turning pages in a book. It's incredible to watch her grow!! Here's our sweet Emma Joy...

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Our little pumpkin!
(All babies have to be a pumpkin sometime, right?)
Emma spent her first (& probably not her last) Halloween at
our church Fall festival. It was lots of fun for all of us.

Emma' s first camping trip...
We went with some friends from church, but we didn't end up spending the night. It was very cold, plus we weren't sure how that would work since I'm still nursing & Emma still wakes up in the middle of the night....didn't want to wake up everyone and their dog--literally! :o)

Here's Miss Emma Joy--still loving every second of bath time! Whenever we rinse her shampoo off, she makes this face....eyes closed tight and tongue out! It's too cute! She makes the biggest mess splashing around too. Her squeals of delight crack us up everytime!! I guess (hope) this is normal, but she just sits and talks and talks and talks to her toys. It is pretty funny to watch.
Bath time is a fun time for EVERYONE! :o)

Here's Emma playing with Jeb (our chocolate lab).
She LOVES all animals...another fun thing to watch!!

Here's the crazy cat from across the street! It SPRINTS to our porch whenever it sees us outside (and no, we've never fed it or anything like that). It is the friendliest little kitten, and Emma LOVES watching it and playing with it!

Here is Nana with baby girl falling asleep on her shoulder!
It was really sweet!

And here's Grandpa and Emma
--of course, wearing a cowboy hat! :o)

Emma likes to come join us in bed on Saturday
mornings....we have fun playing and being silly together.
We raise the blinds, she stands up on the headboard, and looks outside. In this picture, she's going for Daddy and/or the camera.

Sometimes Emma Joy likes to sit on the couch and play with her toys like a big girl (with mommy or daddy right there close by, of course). Everything still goes straight for the mouth--working on some more teeth!

Sorry to disappoint, but we still can't get "a teeth picture." We try, as you can see, but she doesn't like us much afterwards! :o) Take my word, there's not much cuter than seeing your little baby girl grin with 2 little teeth! Amazing!!!

That's all for now!
Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving! :o)
SO MUCH TO BE THANKFUL FOR...

Thursday October 26

Baby girl will be 8 months old on November 2nd! CRAZY how fast the time has passed! Emma is ALL OVER THE PLACE! She is into everything! Also, she got her first tooth on October 18th (our anniversary)!! Now she has 2 new teeth (both on the bottom). No picture yet...you have to PRY her mouth open to see them!! She's not so fond of that. Teeth picture coming... sometime soon hopefully!

I have to brag on my wonderful husband for a second! For our 3 year anniversary, he planned our date night. First, he took me to the church, into the sanctuary (where he had proposed). We said our vows again to each other, and then we sang a few worship songs together. It was so special! Then we had a nice dinner at Diamond Back's...where he took me the night he proposed. It was a really great night, and I sure am grateful to have such a thoughtful, sweet husband!! :o)

Here's a few new pics...
(you have GOT to click on some of these pics to
enlarge them...they're pretty cute!!)

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Here we are at a wedding with my parents in San Antonio.
My cousin, Nick, got married a couple of weeks ago.

~~ Miss Emma Joy ~~
I'm a HAPPY girl! :o)

Yep, I'm curious about EVERYTHING!!!

I LOVE my da-da!!!

What ARE these crazy looking things they keep putting on me?!?!?!?!

I don't know what they are, but they sure do taste good!!

I'm so cute!!

Sunday, October 1, 2006

Are you ready for a good laugh?
Look closely at the following pictures....

Yep! That's one TIRED baby!!!
One minute, sitting up....playing, talking, whatever.
Next minute, out like a light!
She did NOT want to wake up either. I rubbed her back and quietly said her name. She picked up her head, gave me a not-so-nice look, and then plopped her head back down real hard on her bed.
It was so funny!!
Just wanted to share....

Sunday, October 1, 2006

Baby girl is napping...so sweet to watch a baby sleep! Thought I'd post a few new pics. But first I wanted to write a little, since I haven't updated y'all on anything other than Emma lately.

Brett and I are doing great! No big, exciting trips or major news to report--just living life...and life is good. We stay pretty busy with church stuff. Brett is now the missions/administrative pastor. It's pretty much a 9-5 kinda job, and then some. He loves it and is so grateful that God has called him to serve at Brazos Meadows in this way. I'm loving my 1/2 day kindergarten job at Waco Baptist Academy. I have 7 (yes, SEVEN!!!) wonderful students. I love the ladies I work with. And the best part about it...I go home around 12:30 everyday to be with my precious, sweet baby. God is good!!

God has really blessed us.....with an amazing little girl who brings such JOY to our lives, wonderful family members who shower love on us unconditionally, great jobs that we absolutely LOVE, by providing for all of our needs (and always in perfect timing), and for my incredible husband whom I love so much! We're coming up on 3 years this October 18th. It's been a fun ride--learned lots, laughed lots, cried lots, grew lots! Brett is such an amazing man of God. I'm so thankful for the way that God loves me and challenges me through our marriage.

Sharing the birth of a baby with someone I love so much has brought us closer together than anything else ever could have done. We are awed when we recognize the love we share for Emma and each other. I'm truly overwhelmed sometimes by the love I feel for Emma as I hold her....how much more does God love us!!! How cool is God that He would allow us to glimpse His great love for us thru the love He gives us for a sweet little baby. :o)

Sorry, I originally was going to write to y'all about Brett and I, but Emma is such a big part of our lives now, I can't help but talk about her!! :o) Baby girl is growing up so fast! She will be 7 months tomorrow! CRAZY!! She started "crawling" (if that's what you want to call it) about 3 weeks ago. We don't really know what to call it....let's just say, she moves! She can get where she want's to go. She pulls up on furniture (stands up). And the look on her face when she does this is priceless...she is so proud of herself.

She is such a good baby. We're learning more and more about her personality every day. Sometimes we are concerned about how "strong-willed" she can be (primarily when it comes to taking a bottle...she can be a real stinker about this). Most of the time, though, she is so easy going and happy. She is so content to just sit and play on the floor (typical girl...she just sits and talks to herself and her toys, making the funniest facial expressions), and then sometimes all she wants to do is climb all over us like we're monkey bars. She is extremely active...there's no sitting still for her! :o)

I'd better start posting pics b/c we're going to be waking her up soon to go to small group. Until next time!! :o)

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Here's our little Baylor Bear! She hasn't actually been to a game yet, but she wears her little outfit on Saturdays in support!
(She had a little bit of a cold when I took these next couple pics. She's not super smiley, but she's been a real trooper through all the coughing, sneezing, and snotty noses! She is pretty much terrified now of kleenex, though. If she even SEES one, she starts to whine and turn her head...poor thing!! We've decided to buy stock now in kleenex...between the 3 of us, we go thru boxes like crazy!