Friday, April 30, 2010

Rainy Days

So, this has been a strange week, to say the least. Today was the first day we had any actual rain in our forecast, but as far as our household goes, there has been a little hovering, black rain cloud hanging around our heads, threatening to rain on our parade. But, for once, I haven't let it get me down... I took pictures instead.
On Tuesday, I nearly sliced my finger off. I was doing a very unwise manuever with a knife called "trying to get the frozen burritos seperated for lunch". Like I said, very unwise...but I'd done it upteenth times before, with no injuries. Needless to say, I have been revisiting the basic kitchen safety thought-life ever since. About the cut, it still looks a little gruesome, but it is getting better. I won't show you pictures, but I will tell you a few more details; in all their graphic glory. Immediately after I sawed into my finger, I ran into our bedroom closet and fumbled around in our first aid box, looking for a band-aid. When I couldn't find any, I reattached my dangeling skin back to my finger put some gauze on it and applied a lot of pressure. Then I called Dave. He's very familiar with these sorts of injuries, so he helped me stay calm, and reminded me what to do in my current situation. I told him my cut was pretty deep, and that I didn't know what to do. Then I mentioned what I was really concerned about. I told him, "I saw white in there, where I cut". With out skipping a beat, Dave told me, "Don't worry, I'm sure you didn't cut all the way to the bone. You probably just saw some fat." Let me tell you, this is the very first time in my entire life that fat has EVER been comforting to me! ...After all of this, I wrapped up my finger so tight that it wouldn't bleed on anything else, and went back to making lunch, even though I'd lost my appetite. Later, I realized the gauze was stuck to my wound, and regretted that move. However, we eventually got the bandage seperated from my finger. I'm not gonna say that I didn't cry while it was being detached either. But, like I said, it's much better now.
Also, I have poison ivy. on my face. I have never, ever had it. wierd. -- Antihistimines are currently in my system, and calamine lotion on my rash.
Last night, Lydia started crying in her room, and oddly Dave and I both went up to check on her. Usually it's just one of us. While we were up there, though, Dave banged his head into the door. Poor Dave, he has quite the growth on his temple today. I felt bad for him, and I also felt bad that it really, really made me want to bust out laughing. That is not my natural reaction to pain, but I guess it was that time. Sorry, Babe.
So, those are a few of our rain cloud stories this week. But, below are some pictures of the one we are currently dealing with. There has been an actual rain cloud hovering over our neighborhood all day. But, interestingly, I don't mind. I will just be that much happier when we get to see the the sun again. And, don't hate me for saying this, but my kids look cute in any light:










Sisters....so sweet! Thanks for reading!! Love you all, Amber


Sunday, April 25, 2010

Surprises

This weekend had a few surprises....the first one was on Friday. We were having some friends from church over, and I was making chicken parmigiana. I went outside to get some fresh basil and parsley, and much to my chagrin, sitting on my front porch was a huge black snake. The girls were watching t.v. since Dave was running late, and I was trying to get dinner made. Luckily they hadn't followed me out. The snake didn't stick around or anything though. It slithered off quickly into a bush in our front yard and then disappeared. I fell back onto the side of the house and screamed my head off. Oh, the joys of reptiles. Yuck!!! Mental note....check porch and yard before allowing girls to go outside at all!!!!
The second surprise was much more fun. We don't eat much lunch after church on Sundays. We just sorta snack on crackers and fruit on the way home, trying to keep the girls from going to sleep in the car. (If they go to sleep in the car, they won't nap in their beds. My mom-friends know this isn't ideal!) ANYWAY, we had dinner early. We were done by 4:55, so we decided to go out and explore Sugarland a little bit. Dave got his hair cut, and then we drove around a little. As we were trucking along, we saw Oyster Creek Park. I had been wanting to go there, and check it out...so we stopped by. They had a ton of great stuff going on! They have free live-concerts on Sundays starting at 5, as well as, free face painting, a magician doing magic tricks and juggling, and free access to an inflatable jumper and inflatable water slide thing. They had food for sale, but there were also many people out there with coolers, and even their own grills. They also have 2.25 miles of walking/running trails and a great playground. There is a ginormous, beautiful man-made water feature, and there is also Oyster creek, complete with turtles (and other reptiles, I'm sure). There were people flying kites, and blowing bubbles. It was sort of picturesque. The place is beautiful, and we plan to go back. I mean, it's a perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon. And the best part.....it's only ten minutes from our house.
Below is a picture of Julia showing off the "tatoo" on her arm. (The lady doing face-painting also did arm-painting.) She was very adamant about getting it on her right arm. It's already faded a little in this picture, but the lady painted it to match her dress and even added glitter. (We had to wait to take pictures of her because we didn't have our camera along.)
Below is a picture of Dave and Lydia after our fun evening. I was getting pajamas on Lydia, when Dave and Julia came up to see us. Sorry the pic is blurry...but not adding it just wasn't an option.Well, thanks for catching up on what we did this weekend. Were any of you surprised in the last few days? Any of you have a solution to snakes coming too close for comfort? Please, let me know! Thanks for reading, y'all! Love, Texas Amber

Saturday, April 24, 2010

One Small Step for Most People, One Giant Leap for Amber-kind!

As my title suggests, I realize that running a 5K isn't that big of a deal, but it was a goal of mine and I am glad to have accomplished it. I am not super stoked about these pictues of me, but, they'll do. We had to leave our house at 7 a.m. to get to the park by 7:45. Dave took this picture of me right before I had to rush over and get on the starting line. I didn't know my number was off to one side. This is me finishing. No it's not posed; I really did it! I was right in the middle of the pack. Maybe next time I'll be closer to the front! (This picture is proof that I beat at least one guy! Ha!)The fun run today was also a fundraiser for the Sudanese people. The official name of the race was: Aid Sudan Annual 5K Fun Run/Walk. I am so excited that I got to be a part in blessing those people. God is doing a great work over there! The run today helped pay for things like healthcare, wells for clean water, food, and solar-powered radios for people in Sudan. The radios may not seem like a big deal, but it is actually the neatest thing they are giving these people. The literacy rate in Sudan is about 1% and there are about 60-some different tribal languages. All of this makes Bible translating sort of impractical! Even if the Bible was translated, hardly anyone could read it. So, that's where the radios come into play. The radios tune into a Christian radio station that gives the Sudanese stories about the Bible and about God. The people there are hearing the message of God's love from local Sudanese pastors, and many of them are excited about it....and so am I! Below is a picture of a group of Sudanese women dancing a traditional Sudanese dance.


And, one last picture of me....


After the race, we went and saw Daniel and Xiaolan for a few minutes, and then went to a restaurant called Kenny and Ziggy's. (Daniel and Xiaolan were a little under the weather, so they couldn't come with us.) The restaurant is sorta famous in these parts, and a very fun way to celebrate. It was on The foodnetwork channel's show Diner's, Drive-in's and Dive's, so we knew it would be good. The food was delicious,and the experience was great, but we probably won't go there again for a little while. $38 dollars for one rueben sandwich, one bowl of mushroom and barley soup, one iced tea and a pbj sandwich is just not in our budget....we're tight, what can I say? Anyway, it was a great day!
Also, I did want to let you all know, that I am being baptized on May 2nd at the 9:30 service. Mom and Dad, if you're interested in watching the baptism online, let me know and I can tell you how to do so. Thanks for reading. -Amber



Thursday, April 15, 2010

Lydia

Lydia has started mimicing everything! (As you'll see in the video.) It is super cute. She started saying, "Mommy, where are you?" all the time. A few days ago, Julia couldn't find me for a minute...so now Lydia can NEVER find me. She is getting so big!! Love, Amber

Monday, April 12, 2010

A Nephew

Aubrey and Andy found out today that they are having a baby boy. I am going to have to look through some of my stuff and see what is gender neutral. I just don't have a lot of boy stuff to pass on...(Sorry I can't plan a baby shower, Aubrey!! I assume your Wyoming girls will take good care of that though.)
In all the excitement around here in talking about Andy and Aubrey's baby, Julia has started voicing her opinion that she wants another baby sister. (She was actually dissapointed about Andy and Aubrey having a boy. She was really counting on another female cousin.) Dave and I are trying to convince her that it would be really great if she had a baby brother next. She evidently doesn't mind having a brother...she just wants another baby sister too. She's also convinced herself that babies are about 2 inches long when born.
Dave and I asked Julia what she would name her baby sister if she had another one. She ended up with the name: Rininino (pronounced like rhino with an extra ni in the middle.) I told her it might not be such a good name because the baby would be born with a complex.
Anyway, our family is enjoying the idea of having baby Zachariah here for Thanksgiving (as well as the rest of the clan)! I can't believe I'm going to have a nephew! That's definitely an exciting first for me!
In other news, Lydia is sort of counting now. I tried to get it recorded several times, but everytime we pull out the camera, Lydia rushes to see the screen so she can watch it. I wish I had a discreet camera attached to me that I could turn on and off at will. I don't want to forget any of these sweet little memories that just can not be recreated by the time the camera comes out.
Thanks for reading! Love, Amber.

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Deal or No Deal

I thought that craigslist was my best friend because we found our guest bed, and our oven on there for a great price!!! (The quilt is one my Grandma made...I plan to put it back into safe keeping and buy an adorable comforter for this bed soon. It would just take one toddler + sucker mis-hap and this senitmental piece of art would be ruined forever!)Come to find out....Sienna Plantation Community Garage Sales are much friendlier. Here is a picture of our new headboard and footboard. I would love to add some pillows to the bed to dress it up but...all in good time. Also, the wall behind the bed is not blue. It's white. (It will be grey someday.) I had no idea I had the photography skills of turning walls different colors. Here is my new jewelery case holder. The lady had the original receipt from Bombay saying that this thing cost her like $300 dollars. I paid $40. See what I mean? S.P. Garage Sales = my new BFF!


Also, we are well on our way to stocking the second guest bedroom/future nursery/Andy & Aubrey's bedroom when they come to visit over Thanksgiving. This is a day bed with a trundle. Hopefully it will be a nice shade of silver the next time you see it. (Unless somebody gives me an awesome idea for an alternate shade.)



Here is the changing table we bought:


I have two kids and I never had a real-life changing table!! I could have like 4 more kids now! Ha! Below is a picture of our new crib...for our future kid...for when Andy and Aubrey come...I am not currently expecting.

Anyway, can you believe all the furniture we got? All this, and it rained most of the morning!! This was only a few short hours of deals. Good thing it wasn't sunny the whole day!!
I am so excited about what we got! But there are probably those of you who helped us move, who are reading this and thinking, "I can not believe they bought more furniture". We had plenty of stuff to move in as it was! Don't worry, angelic moving-crew, we plan to stay here a long, long time. Isn't that a good deal? -Amber

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Our House

Well, let me just say that, there is still a lot to do...but here is the house so far:
kitchen: breakfast room:




living room:











game room:





We still have to paint every room in our house! Our living room only has one coat of paint so far, so we need to add another coat. We also don't have any blinds yet, but should have them in two weeks. Yeah!!! We will be able to take the paper off of our bedroom windows soon! :) Amber

Easter!

Easter Sunday was good and very busy. I sang with our church choir, so the 4 of us were at the church for the first two church services, and, I went back to the church for the evening service. Dave took these pictures of our cuties before church, while I was hurriedly fixing my hair and slapping on some make-up. The girls look so cute!!! I think they look like they are playing dress-up. and another one...
just one more...



I tried to get a few outdoors pics after church. I thought I could get in one with the girls by the flowers we planted or something. (I decided to stop being absent in all photographed family events.) But, that wasn't happening. Here are a few pictures after church...


The girls were tired and hungry. They had a snack on the way home, but the peanut butter cracker snack did not turn these girls' frowns upside down.




One last attempt before running in to fix Easter lunch...


We had a good and tiring Easter Sunday. It was a joy to me to get to sing praise songs 3 times on Sunday. But, I would have loved more time with family on this special day. We didn't get to spend a lot of time doing egg hunts, talking about Jesus, and reading the Easter story. But, I am thankful that we took the time to do these things on the days leading up to Easter.

Here is a picture of the lemon poppyseed pound cake I made for dessert. It was delicious, and I still have one or two pieces left.

Please come on over, and finish it off!!! Love, Amber





Saturday, April 3, 2010

Good Stewarts, good times and Good Friday

This week has been great. My mother-in-law, Ruth, came for a visit at the beginning of this week, and we got to go to the Outlet mall and P.F. Chang's, and have tons of fun with her. She got the girls lots of adorable outfits at the mall, and just spoiled them rotten. We also got to visit with Dave's brother, Daniel, and our sister-in-law, Xiaolan, while Ruth was here. We were sad that Granny Ruth had to leave on Thursday. Thankfully though, we've had a lot of stuff to do to distract us from that sad departure. Thanks for coming Granny!! We all miss you.

After Ruth left on Thursday, we got to go to a great Maunday-Thursday church service. We enjoyed it, and were thankful to have a service that ushered in this Easter weekend.

Unfortunately, Dave wasn't off work on Good Friday. The girls and I made the most of it though. We went for a walk, watered our new flowers, talked about Jesus' death and resurrection, and opened a very fun box from my parents for Easter. In the box was playdough, pez dispensers, a book that has my parents' recorded voices reading it, and a lot of other fun things. The girls have taken turns listening to the book, and often try to respond to their Mimi and Papa like they are there. They love it. The pic below is of them playing with the playdough they sent.

Here is the home-made story aides I threw together.







Today, the four of us spent most of the day outside. Dave mowed and started a garden out back. I spread weed killer and came very close to breaking our washing machine. We both lopped branches from bushes and trees and then did clean up. I made a lemon poppyseed pound cake for tomorrow and started marinating our pork tenderloin. We usually grill the pork, but...we got rid of our grill when we moved. So, we are baking it this year.
I also hard-boiled a dozen eggs, but only 10 lived and were dyed. First we colored the eggs, after that, we dunked them.




















Here's the finished product.

I hope that everyone has a wonderful Easter!!! I'll post the girls in their Easter dresses soon. (Thank you Grandma Christie and Grandpa Dan for their dresses.) Love, Amber