Quick Up-date

Hello all!

No, we have not dropped off the face of the earth! We're still here enjoying our new surroundings! The weather has been relatively mild, which is great!

There probably still won't be regular posts until we move into our own rental, but I'll still try to up-date occasionally, like I'd doing now!

Clara is doing well! She's been busy lately perfecting her "military" or "low crawl"! To cute! She is getting better and better at it! She's going to be 7 months on the 21st. Where does the time go? She can be so fun and is such a sweetie! She enjoys playing games like chase! One of us holds her and "runs" away while the other ones chasing her! She thinks it's great. As her mobility and ability to pick up small objects increases she is trying to become the family vacuum cleaning as she attempts to consume little pieces of this and that that she finds on the ground!

We're planning to stay in the area for Christmas and go to some friends home for Christmas dinner. Should be a good time!

I've been staying fairly busy lately, with Clara, house work, baking, new friends and errands. Speaking of baking, I have been doing quite a bit of that lately...cookies, an apple pie, biscotti and pumpkin and zucchini bread! This isn't the best time of year for loosing weight!

Stephen gets a long break over Christmas and New Years, which I'm very happy about! I enjoy having him around!

Well, I'll try to post again soon! Merry Christmas to each and every one of you!

Still Here

Yes, we are still here! The whole family is over at the computer room tonight. Clara is hanging out in her own chair at the moment. Every once in a while we give it a spin to keep her entertained!

So a few things we've been up to lately.... Stephen, of course, has been busy with work. A few days ago I got to go help a new friend with decorating the chapel for an up-coming Christmas banquet, which was fun! Today I visited the MOPS group that I am probably going to join. It was kind of hard leaving my little munchkin in child care, but we both survived. I missed her though! I met some great ladies! I've also made a friend here at the apartment complex we're currently living in. She has a little 4 month old daughter and her husband is in the military so we have a lot in common. By the way, practically everyone around here seems to be either in the military or work for the company Stephen does! Anyway, my new friend and I have had lunch together a couple times this week, which was quite enjoyable!

Clara is doing well! She now has 4 teeth that have broken through and at various stages of being in. She's taken off on sitting on her own! She still topples, but is doing quite well! She is also starting balance standing up for a little while on her own with the help of a piece of furniture!

We think we've found a home to rent! One of the things I like about it is it has a large yard... so I can hopefully have a BIG garden next spring! Yay! Stephen likes that is has a big garage...great place for toils and all those man projects!!! I'm hoping our landlord will be fine with us painting, because I've been dreaming about fun paint colors! Planning to get bold people!!! Watch out! :-)

Well, that is at least a small update of life in these parts!

Please Explain...

Please explain, if you can, why even with a little one who cannot yet crawl, our home can get so quickly strewn with baby clothes, blankets, toys, books, etc.!!!! It's something else! Oh, well, these messes are quickly picked up... it's the messes of later years that are harder to clean up... the pen on the wall, the broken vase, the broken hearts! And that little three toothed grin and pudgy hands and feet make it worth it anyway!

California Girl, Turned Desert Rat, Turning Southern Belle! :-)

That's my life in a nut shell! :-) Well, I guess that's an over simplification... :-)

Stephen is giving me a "baby break" right now! We are living in corporate housing at the moment and I can get on the computer here at the "business center" but that pretty much means taking Clara with me when I go, which isn't too conducive to doing much on the computer. You hear a fair amount of this sort of thing "Here, try playing with these keys."... "Just a second. Mamma's almost done." You get the idea. Our computer times generally don't last that long! So, my wonderful hubby has Clara at the apartment and now is my chance to do some stuff without keeping an eye on a little one at the same time!

We had a fabulous trip out here...staying with friends and family all along the way! Thank you again everyone, for all the great times! Clara traveled very well, which was such a blessing!

Stephen's first week of work went quite well. He shows up at 7:30 and gets off at 4! Nice! So far, he's mostly been getting oriented, set up, etc.

Clara and I are both sick. Poor thing. You should hear her horrible little cough! She still has quite a bit of energy though and seems to be doing ok anyway.

On Wednesday we visited the chapel we will probably end up attending. The people were very welcoming. One lady gave me her contact information and the next day she invited Clara and I out to pizza with her and her four kids! We had a very nice time! She's new to the area as well... been here for about 4 months...Her husband is in the Air force. She has invited us to join them for Thanksgiving! I think she'll be a good friend!

We're settled comfortably into our apartment. You can be praying with us that our house in Phoenix gets leased out, Lord willing, and that the Lord would lead us to the right home here.

Brrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!

The rest of the world is COLD!!! I've become a desert rat! It's down right chilly here! However, it's nice and sunny and Stephen and I were able to bundle up and go for a walk today, which was very enjoyable. We walked around the near by cemetary and looked at tomb stones...some might consider that too morbid, but we had a rather nice time. :-) Clara stayed with Mom M. Stephen and Mom have done outdoor jobs yesterday and today.

We're planning to take off sometime tomorrow and stay with some friends of Stephen's. Then Sunday we're planning to head to Daniel and Sarah's. It'll be so fun to see them and introduce the cousins to each other! We're hoping to see David and Heather as well!!!

Tuesday we're planning to make it to the Servens and Wednesday to Stephen's friends Josh and Mars! Then it's on to the Browns who are only about an hour away from where we're headed! We'll probably be settling into our new temporary home on Saturday the 15th, Lord willing. Stephen's confirmed start date is the 17th.

On Our Way!!!!

Well, the adventure has begun! The movers came last Saturday and started packing us up! By Sunday evening they were just about finished and on Monday they loaded the truck and took off. Over the weekend our friends Marilena and Julio openned their home for us to stay there while our house was being packed up. During the days we were at home working and then we would head over to their house. Marilena fed us royally! Thanks Marilena!!!! And we had super times sitting around chatting, making smores, watching a video and playing a fiesty game of squence...boys against girls! And the girls rocked!!!!! 3 to 1!!!! Yee Haw!!!! On Monday, Marilena watched Clara for us so we could work harder at the house and get some final things done! What a help that was! Then we loaded up the car, said goodbye to our dear friends :-(, and started off.

The first leg of our trip went very well. Stephen and I shared the driving, although he did the lion's share of it. We made it to New Mexico and stayed with some very kind friends. Next morning we took off just after 7:30 and made it to Kansas. We were in four states in one day! New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. Clara did quite well both days!!! We're now with Mom and Dad M.! Great to see them!!! We'll probably be here for a couple days and then head up to see Daniel and Sarah!

Thank you for all your prayers as we travel!

Thursday Thanks

Some things I'm thankful for:

A dear friend and neighbor of mine was just over. She suffers from conic pain. I'm thankful for the health God has blessed me with. I don't know how I would handle all she has been through. I'm also thankful for the blessing of this friendship!

I'm thankful for my sweet, precious, blessing from God, our little Clara!

I'm thankful for the adventure we're about embark on.

I'm thankful for my dear husband who is sooooo very good to me!

I'm thankful for the incredible privilege of living in the United States of America. I don't think I fully realize and appreciate the blessing that is. I've tended to think that countries such of the U.K. had a similar standard of living...not so, as I've been learning. I've learned lately that housing over there is so expensive that you don't have much living space, so to entertain you invite people to the local pub or something. I've learned that you almost NEVER see someone driving a truck around... gas is WAY too expensive. And Stephen told me that many people don't even have a bath tub (just a shower). It's too expensive to fill up that tub. Wow. The blessings we take for granted!

Thanksgiving is coming (one of my favorite holidays)! Let's start counting our blessings!

Finally!

We're finally done with the kitchen cabinets (with the possible exception of a touch up here and there)!!! And after posting "before" and "during" pictures for you a little while back, I now have "before" and "after" pictures!

First of all, to show the contrast, here is the before picture again:


And now a couple "after" pictures:



I wish we'd done this when we first moved in!

The First Fountain Hair-Do!!!

I...

I...

I got tagged by my sister-in-law, Sarah, so here goes...

I am-anticipating our new adventure... moving across the country!

I want- to be a godly and joyful mother and wife!

I have- LOTS to do in the next week!

I wish- I could see my family more!

I hate- evil

I fear- not trusting, believing and obeying the LORD

I hear- the radio... Family Life Radio, and the fan running.

I search- through a basket of laundry looking for this or that baby item!

I wonder- what our life will be like in our new part of the country

I always- worry about things I shouldn't!!! I definitely want to STOP that!

I usually- have tea multiple times a day

I am not- a good communicator... but I think I might be getting better!

I dance- occasionally with my handsome husband... sometimes just by myself if music comes on that makes me feel like it or I just feel like it for some other reason... and I've even danced with my little Cinderella (Clara)! I've danced with her while listening to "Cinderella", by Stephen Curtis Chapman... I love that song!

I sing- on my own, with my husband, with the radio, at chapel, and to Clara. When we were expecting Clara we would sing to her... her special song was "I will enter His gates with thanksgiving"

I never- have visited our neighboring countries (Canada and Mexico)...but I would likely enjoy it!

I rarely- Go to In-N-Out Burger. I used to go a lot in CA, but we don't live very close to one now...and pretty soon we won't live close AT ALL. :-(

I cry- fairly often... maybe once every few weeks lately.

I am not always- as kind as I would like to be... in fact, I'm that way more then I would like to admit.

I lose- weight WAY TOO SLOWLY!

I’m confused- about lots of things!

I need- to be more faithful about spending time praying, reading my Bible and seeking to know the LORD Jesus better!

I should- exercise MUCH more

I dream- a lot... and I day dream a lot too!


I tag Marilena, Jess, Celeste and my sisters... those of you that don't have your own blogs can just leave it as a comment, if you feel like it!

Why The Silence?

Well, we took off for some friends house over the weekend. We left Friday and got back last night. Stephen helped with doing some finishing work on their house. We'd been planning to go over Thanksgiving... but after our big life-change-of-plans over the last couple months, we bumped up the trip. I got to spend lots of time with the ladies chatting, playing games, taking care of Clara, helping with kitchen work and taking a walk. It was a very nice weekend and our friends were wonderful hosts!!!

Bursting Through...

It seems like about every week and half or so, Miss Clara is hitting a new mile stone... and she hit another HUGE one today! My finger was in her mouth and suddenly I realized I was feeling something new! Feels like her first little ivory has popped it's way to the surface! Yay!!! Finger food... here we come!!! :-) It's amazing how quickly things happen and change at this age!

Food For Thought...

I "stole" the following quote and thoughts off my Dad's website. Thought they were good! Thanks Dad!

“The idea that this universe in all its million-fold order and
precision is the result of blind chance is as credible as the idea that
if a printshop blew up all the type would fall down again in the
finished and faultless form of the dictionary.”
Albert Einstein


"All our experiences and reason teach us that violent and uncontrolled
explosions produce chaos, disorder and destruction at best. Modern
schools teach our children that order, life and meaning began that way.
H-mmm…"

When You're A Great Explorer...

... you sometimes encounter major obstacles!





Our little "explorer" has become quite mobil over the last week and a half. She has mastered the art of rolling in BOTH directions and can get around fairly well with squirming and rolling. There is no longer much point to putting her on a blanket...because off she goes! Sometimes she gets up against furniture and gets frustrated.

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

Today is our little munchkin's birthday! She has already blessed our household for five months!!! Where does the time go?

Before And During Pictures....

Here are pictures of one of our projects...stay tuned... in the next day or two we should have AFTER pictures!


Before:

This picture was also before Clara!


During:

The wreck! As you can see the kitchen has been quite the mess during this project... and I don't look much better myself! :-)

My husband...the model!

When The Cat's Away...

While I was gone this morning, Daddy and Clara had a GRAND time with mashed sweet potatoes and green beans! Check these out! :-)

Quick up-date

Life rushes on around here! We have the movers scheduled to come end of the month. The plan is for them to pack on the 30th and load on the 31st and we're planning to take off on the 1st.

Stephen finished up the wall/bench in the backyard! Looks great!!! I'll have to get some pictures and post them. We're still working on the kitchen cabinets... I'm going for the world record in "most drug out kitchen cabinet paint job"! Gotta get your 15 minutes of fame one way or the other! :-) Stephen has done a lot of landscape work... trimming bushes way back, etc.

Stephen has also been working on advertising the house for lease! You can be praying about that for us!

Ok, I'm off to watch a movie with my hubby and little munchkin!

Get Those Toys!!!

Dinner!!!

How does blended green beans and sweet potato sound ya all???!!! That's what Miss Clara got to try out tonight... went quite well!

Hanging Out With Daddy!

Too sweet to not share! - Gracie

Pictures From Today!

A MUCH More Important Birthday...!!!

Happy Birthday "Thoughts From The Two Of Us"

Well, today is our blog's first birthday!!! Wow! A year can sure fly by! In honor of our blogs birthday we're doing a special post... to see just how faithful you readers are! :-) Here's a little "How well do you know us" test! It's an on-your-honor-no-peaking-closed-blog test! Ok??!!! Here we go. Those who get at least 6 of them right get warm cookies the next time they visit us! :-) Those that get all of them right earn the distinguished title "Champion 'Thoughts From The Two Of Us' Reader"!!!

1. How many sets of stitches has Stephen had over the course of his life?

2. Name one of Gracie's favorite movies.

3. We recently took a trip across the "big pond". Where did we go?

4. Before Clara was born, Gracie took a class that she really enjoyed. What was it?

5. Name one activity listed in our profile that we enjoy. Remember, no looking!

6. We were married on what day? (month, day AND year)

7. Over Labor day this year we stayed home, hung out and worked on putting up the pool fence. True or false?

8. Clara currently weighs <16 lbs or >16 lbs?


Happy answering and if you're confident you got at least 6 of them right you can go ahead and tell me what your favorite kind of cookie is!

Gonna Be Crawlin' Any Day!

Baking With Momma!

Whoever came up with the idea of making those little cookie dough scoops (like an ice cream scoop, but smaller) should get an award! I used to think they were fun to use and it was neat the way they made uniform cookies... but honestly, even though I owned one I would usually forget about it when I made cookies and just do the old, ingrained, two tablespoons method. However, after using the special scoop today to scoop several dozen cookies with one hand, I can appreciate those handy devises even more!!! Children change your perspective on life in more ways then one! :-)

Fireproof!

My hubby took me on a date last night while some very kind friends watched our little munchkin! We went and saw the new movie "Fireproof". I LOVED it!!!! I wish there were more movies out there like it... that have a truly POWERFUL and GOOD message and are well made. This is a movie that has the potential to change lives! It seems like so many truly good movies are either not that well made or they water down their message so much that there really isn't that much there. If you can, go see it! It was a limited release so it is only in about 800 theaters, but do try to find one in your area while it's still available!!! Go to: www.fireproofthemovie.com and check out trailers and theater locations!

When you know some of the factors about this movie, like the fact that they only spent $500,000 making it and NONE of the actors were paid and they shot it with only 1 camera, and it was basically a church that made it... it makes it that much more impressive! And it's now on my favorite movies list!

What'cha doin' Momma?

A Little Dose of Reality! :-)

Sometimes we think we have an angel baby... and sometimes we don't. Either way, we love her! Just be assured life isn't always peachy around here! She is still cute though, even when she's upset.

More Work!

Stephen works soooo hard and he was sweating buckets out there! I mixed only one bag of cement and that's some serious work there!




Daddy's two assistants!

The Big Project!

When my family was here in the summer, Stephen, my Dad and some of my brothers sweated buckets as they started building a wall / bench in our back yard! Dad and the brothers were a ton of help!!! Thanks again you all! (yes, our pool was as nasty as it looks at that point. It was a battle most of the summer for Stephen) The plan had been to make the wall part of a fence. However, now that we are leaving, we are no longer planning to put up a fence and instead, Stephen is just finishing up the wall / bench sections that go between the two columns. Our friend Julio helped out a ton with it the other day and Stephen's done a lot of work since then. Clara and I have even been able to help a tiny bit and I'm learning stuff like what a "cold joint" is! Here are some more pictures of progress since then and there will probably be more to come.


Does it get any cuter then that?!

Yummy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Let me help Dad!"



"Sweet potatoes and apples! Does it get any better?!"



"Don't let that bowl get away!"

Clara

"Don't I have a sweet little foot??!!!



Very red eyes, thanks to the camera, but still a couple cute shots!

Snap Shots Of Life!

The handsome "interviewee"... who, Lord willing, will be making his final decision on job offers tomorrow! Life is exciting around here!!!!!!!


Yummy Sweet Potatoes!!! Clara's been doing so great with eating sweet potatoes! And I love the highchair! Great gift!


Grab those feet! That's one of Clara's cute new tricks! She even sticks her toes in her mouth! It's so great to have toys that are always with you! :-) It's so adorable the way she pulls in her lower lip!