New Home, Before

by Holly

We finally have possession of our new home in Lubbock! There is much to be done before moving in, including removing wallpaper, painting every room, changing out light fixtures and installing blinds. The rest can wait, but these were on Holly's priority list and had everyone scrambling! My parents, my brother, aunt and uncle and grandparents were all in and out before the actual move-in, and thank God they were! This is a shot of the front of the house, a little off center, but you get the point. Eli's bathroom light fixture. The same one was hanging in our bathroom. Vintage? Yes. And if anyone is going for that 70's look, we have them both for sale! Also note the wallpaper.

The entryway. Beautiful crown molding and... Well, we scraped the wallpaper off, restained the front door and are dealing with the tile for now.

The kitchen. Thankfully the previous owner had installed wood flooring, new countertops and tile backsplash to help the sale. It worked! We did remove this wallpaper as well and replaced it with texture and paint.

View of our bedroom and into the bathroom area. Yes, the carpet is pink but is in very good condition so we are embracing it. This bathroom also had wallpaper which has not been dealt with yet. Its my last hurdle to making it home!

Easter and Mother's Day

by Holly

Easter was cold and rainy, but still fun for Eli! He hunted eggs with Pops, Grandma and Daddy at Tech around the Will Rogers and Soapsuds statue. Great idea!
I found another one Grandma!

Look at all these eggs! (Note- it is mid-May now and Eli still plays with the eggs every day!)

Holly and Eli with Papa, Holly's Dad, on Mother's Day

Holly and Eli with Nana, Holly's mom, on Mother's Day

Livin' On Wheels

by Holly
Here are a few of Eli livin' it up in our temporary quarters, the RV. We were there 2 months, which is longer than we anticipated but it did go by rather quickly.

Eli had never really been around steps too much and was intimidated but very curious about the two steps up to the bedroom of the RV. By the time we left though, he was a pro and played on them continually without needing supervision.

After one week in our new school, Eli was hit by a new round of germs and the doctor diagnosed him with bronchitis and conjunctivitis. So here went another series of breathing treatments, antibiotics, cough syrup and eye drops. This was our first time with the in-mouth nebulizer attachment and Eli thought he was big stuff 'treating' himself and took it without a fight!

He's also a very big help with cleaning now! After watching me sweep the kitchen area, he decided he could handle the bedroom/bath area himself. I held the dustpan and surprisingly he did get most of the dust and grass into it. We dumped it in the trash and then he cheered us on with clapping and Eli 'yea's'.

Another hurdle was getting him accustomed to the shower. Eli loves bathtime, but without a bathtub, there really wasn't a choice. The first few nights were a sprint to see how fast we could get him washed and handed out to the other parent before the screams did us in. After that though he adjusted and by the end of our stay, he was sitting on the drain to pool the water in hopes that 'bathtime' would not come to an end!

Goodbye Allen, in Retrospect

by Holly

I have the camera cord on the desk, have downloaded pictures and lo, and behold I am sharing them with you! We have a lot of ground to cover, so there will be several installments over the next few days, but here is the first one. These are some pics taken in our last few days in Allen. We miss you!!

Erin, Holly and Eli at our Sunday School class going away party. Yummy Napoli's!

Holly and Eli with our friend Gaby from school. We miss you Gaby, and Kids R Kids too!

Justin and Holly in front of our Allen home, one last time. Sadly we had already strapped Eli in the car when I thought to run back for a photo. He was there though!

Congratulations!

by Holly

Well, we are getting settled in our new home and I am officially back to working from home, but the office is just manageable enough for me to do just that and nothing more. I know you're tired of reading this, but please stay tuned for pictures!

In the meantime... Congratulations to our friends who have new babies!!! John and Charissa (note Ludlow's blog at right) are the proud parents of baby girls Elizabeth and Cosette. Also, Sarah and Mike (note Plemons' blog at right) are the proud parents of baby boy Nathan. We're so excited for you all and hope you are all doing well.

In Transition

-By Justin

So we have slept two nights in our new house. If you can find my shoe box, I would appreciate it. Our posting will be slim over the next week or so as we try to find all the pieces of junk that we put together and call our stuff which dominates our life. Many thanks in advance for your prayers for a quick and painless new home transition.....

Closing in on a tenement without wheels!

by Holly

We closed on our home in Lubbock yesterday!! I would love to share a picture of our new home with you, but you know the deal... I've been taking photos of things all along, so stay tuned for a post soon. I've bought light fixtures and will be getting paint and window blinds in the next day or two, so those things will be the focus this weekend. Justin is out of town Sun-Wed so we will officially move in next weekend. Yea!

Easter and such

All I can say about photos is you had better be ready for a lot of them when we do find the cord! I've tried to be good about taking photos in the RV and while doing things here, realizing that this is a part of our life regardless of how much we are ready for the next step. There are also quite a few Easter pictures of course.

Justin's parents were in town for most of the weekend and they, Justin and Eli hunted Easter eggs around the Will Rogers and Soapsuds statue at Tech. I was with my family at a family reunion so I missed it but the pictures are pretty darn cute.

Justin and Eli came to my parents' church on Sunday morning and we spent the day eating, playing games and hunting eggs with Eli there. I use the term 'hunting' loosely, as it was more a matter of scattering the eggs on the floor and watching him pick them all up to put in his basket, then dumping the basket over his head, laughing and repeating the process. He was thrilled that Nana had put nickels in some of the eggs and chocolate/peanut butter eggs in others. Yeah- score one for Eli the next day when he was playing with his eggs unattended and I walked in to find his face covered in chocolate and peanut butter and had to go fishing in his mouth for the little bits of foil that had previously covered the little egg. He now plays with empty eggs.

We are set to close on our house next Wednesday- the 22nd. Yea! I guarantee there will be pictures of the house coming very soon!

Homeless

In this economy it is weird to say, but I am happy to annouce we are officially homeless. We have had a long hard week of trying to get our Allen house sold and closed and it all happened this morning. Yipee!

My Tuesday

by Holly

"Man has a limited biological capacity for change. When this capacity is overwhelmed, the capacity is in future shock."

Alvin Toffler

Is that an RV park in my rearview?

After some negotiation, the homeowner has accepted our offer on the Lubbock house!! Yea! We signed the amended contract this morning and are geared up for the next steps- scheduling the inspection, getting financing in place, curbing our excitement enough to be patient for the close date. At this point its scheduled for April 22, so we should be in the house in about 3 weeks!!! Would love to share pictures with you but can't find the cord to download from the camera. Be patient, my friends!

Still on Wheels, but the Tread's Coming Loose...

We have made some progress in the housing situation, but actually are still in the RV park. Here's a recap of the last few days for us:

* We have emptied the Allen house of everything belonging to us, repaired the tiny things that the buyers had a problem with, and left our keys there. We are finished with it, besides the final paperwork at closing. This is set for next Monday, but hear that the buyers are pushing for Friday and we certainly won't dispute that! The great news is that we are going to handle it via email and FED Ex, so we don't have to make another trip there for it.

* An offer has been made on a home in Lubbock! We are waiting to hear the owner's response, but are excited that the wheels are turning for the next phase of our lives here to begin. We will keep you informed of the progress and of course post pictures once we actually have a home again!

* I tackled the RV Park laundry facility yesterday. I actually left work early to get the laundry done before I picked Eli up from daycare. It has been a long time since I've been in a laundromat facility where there are multiple machines. I got 3 loads of laundry done in an hour and a half and read several chapters in my book while I waited! That was just the clothes though, so depending on how my work goes today, I may tackle the remaining loads- sheets, towels, jeans. Or maybe tomorrow...

* Eli survived his first day of school here in Lubbock, and so did his Mama. We had a rough morning, but we finally got the day underway and I made it to work. His teachers said he cried a little here and there, but overall did very well for being his first day. Apparently his nickname is "Handsome" already, and that's okay. :) He didn't cry when I left him this morning and that made my morning tons better than yesterday!

* And so Tuesday commences...

Eli Update sans Photos

by Holly

Some of you have been asking about Eli, so here it is. Sadly, in our temporary housing situation, the computer is dismantled at my parents' house and we just haven't been taking pictures. So... I'm taking queue from Sarah on her list of what her little one is doing and am going to do the same.

* Eli is 15 months old and weighs about 28 lbs
* Is walking very well, sometimes with hands down, sometimes with a toy in hand, sometimes with hands held high
* Has found the joy in being chased, and caught, by the Tickle Monster aka Daddy
* Is much more interested in discovering his surroundings than playing with the humongous basket of toys, either in the trailer or at my parents' house
* Had a fabulous time grocery shopping on Sunday and quite loudly announced our aisle changes to the shoppers around us, all with my lip gloss in hand beating on the mac 'n cheese box as a drum
* Understands what it means to blow your nose, wrinkling his nose and blowing and even sometimes holds a tissue there at the same time
* Will climb anything and has not developed the fear of falling quite yet, which includes the staircase at Nana and Papa's
* Has a time limit of about 3 minutes in any restaurant high chair, maybe 5 if the strap isn't broken, before he is standing up and waving at the people behind his chair
* Is jabbering non-stop and even adds some real words occasionally
* Real words include: mama, dada, ball, papa, uh-oh, bye, bock-bock (Nana has chickens)
* Mimics me blowing on his food and even did it without prompting with a piece of bread at a cafe this weekend
* Takes bottles only in morning and at bedtime, and has switched to sippy cup for all other liquids (you may be thinking he's definitely old enough to be doing this, but his Mama was slow to transition her baby)
* Is very slowly getting over his fear of the shower and only cries now instead of screaming for its duration (there is no tub for him to play in in the trailer)
* Can make any item work as a phone but really wants your cell phone to play with
* Has learned to 'give me five' and blow kisses, and still will wave at anyone who says bye or whenever we put our coats on
* He's absolutely Mama's precious baby and rambunctious little boy all rolled into one cute kid!

Well, Here We Are

by Holly

I think I'm not yet emotionally rested from all that has happened over the last few weeks, so the title kind of sums up how I feel. We have packed up most of what was in our home and moved to Lubbock to live in my parents' RV, with our stuff in two storage compartments. I am extremely grateful to my parents for coming twice with a trailer to help us pack and move here, and to Justin's parents for following us here on Saturday with a carload of their own. Great families make things much more bearable. So it is with the RV. Yes, its cramped here. Yes, Eli is very confused with his surroundings changing so much. Yes, I'd rather be in a real house with a washer and dryer and dishwasher and enough space to turn around and not run into someone, but above all I'm grateful for my parents' generosity in lending us their beautiful RV and helping us keep our financial status from completely blowing up.

Blessings: family, old friends, new friends, good jobs, our health, God's sustaining hand through it all
Prayer needs: our house to sell quickly at a good price, finding a good daycare for Eli here, patience and strength for myself/Justin/my parents as we shuffle Eli around and have this temporary living situation until our house sells, finding a great church for us here that we love as much as we did PBC

Hope you are all well. We appreciate all of the thoughts, prayers, emails, facebook notes...

Three Year Blog-iversary

Who knew three years ago what this simple website would have seen? We have moved, had a child and now are moving again. We have kept up with friends far and wide. We have watched and waited for posts on our friends' births. We have followed and prayed for people far and wide we would have otherwise been unaware of. What an amazing medium a Blog can serve.

So on this our third anniversary we pray that you are well and following closely in the Lord's plans. May He keep you and bless you.

Blog Stats:
235 Posts

Good Bye Southwest

By Justin

Today is a difficult day. Today will be my last day as an Employee of Southwest Airlines Company. I have greatly enjoyed my time with this fantastic Company. I will forever view the role Employees can play in a corporate setting differently because of the lessons I have learned here. I will hold the truths of the Southwest Way (A Servants Heart, A Fun-LUVing Attitude, and a Warrior Spirit) close at hand. Most importantly I will miss the great co-workers and friendships I have fostered.

No company on earth can match the fondness and gratitude I have for this cause we call Southwest Airlines.

Goodbye Friend.

Flying Stats:
I landed in 36 of the 64 cities SWA serves.
I left the airport grounds in 23 of the 36 cities.
I flew approximately 75 one-way Non-Revenue flights
Holly flew approximately 50 one-ways
My Dad flew 7 one ways
My Mom flew 8 one ways

3/3

Welcome to the March edition of random pictures. This is Justin feeding our sweet baby boy. when he was just a little guy. He hadn't learned to hold his bottle yet, but you can tell by the out stretched fingers it won't be long.

Happy Texas Independence Day

From this Native Texian to you: May your day be filled with joy the size of the Texas sky, may your heart be filled with love that only the prairies and plains can describe. And when the golden sun sets on this joyous day, may you truly grasps the magnificent wonder that is the State of Texas.

In the words from the hallowed walls of the Alamo:

I am besieged, by a thousand or more of the Mexicans under Santa Anna -- I have sustained a continual Bombardment & cannonade for 24 hours & have not lost a man -- The enemy has demanded a surrender at discretion, otherwise, the garrison are to be put to the sword, if the fort is taken -- I have answered the demand with a cannon shot, & our flag still waves proudly from the walls -- I shall never surrender or retreat. Then, I call on you in the name of Liberty, of patriotism, & every thing dear to the American character, to come to our aid, with all dispatch -- The enemy is receiving reinforcements daily & will no doubt increase to three or four thousand in four or five days. If this call is neglected, I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible & die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor & that of his country --

VICTORY OR DEATH

William Barret Travis
Lt. Col. Comdt.

A Moving Update

By Justin

A few thoughts and a moving update…

The character inherent in the American people has done all that has been accomplished; and it would have done somewhat more, if the government had not sometimes got in its way. - Henry David Thoreau

We have fielded many questions of when our last date in Dallas will occur. The best we can guess at this point is that we will be leaving Dallas on Saturday March 7th in the early morning. My (Justin) last day at Southwest Airlines is March 4th.

Our house has had some great showing traffic. In the first week we have had nine showings. The feedback is positive and we feel good about the prospects of a quick sale. Keep praying for the right buyer to fall in love, quickly!

We have also answered many question about our Lubbock living situation. Soon after I married Holly I informed her I would never live in a home with wheels (or once had wheels). Well it is time to eat my crow, as they say. We are going to stay in Holly’s parents RV for at least the first two to four weeks. Our plan is to save some cash while we are trying to sale our house in Allen and avoid a double mortgage situation. We will see how long close quarters living lasts. Pray for patience and wisdom as we decide how to juggle finances, Eli and living situations.

Many thanks for all of your prayers!

A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it. - George Moore

The most important work you and I will ever do will be within the walls of our own homes. - Harold B. Lee (1899 - 1973)

Life's a voyage that's homeward bound. - Herman Melville (1819 - 1891)

The End

So the time has come for an end. Five plus years ago Holly and I set out for the Big D. When we arrived I needed a new email address for our new internet service provider. Somehow I just came up with ‘Urban Adventure’.

It seemed to fit. We were newlyweds in a big new town. We had really set out on a real life urban adventure. Over the years I have used the term in many occasions and it seemed to fit when I started blogging as well.

Now things are changing again. Today we are both excited and scared to announce that our Urban Adventure is coming to an end. I (Justin) have accepted a position in the Audit Services department for the Texas Tech University System. Holly and I are packing up and headed west to Lubbock.

In many ways this really does feel like an end. We are closing a very exciting chapter of our lives. It is a chapter filled with great joys, great difficulties and amazing opportunities. In the few short weeks we must close our lives here in Dallas. We have friends to transition with, a church to leave, a house to pack and sell, and grandparents to move into the next phase of this life with.

So as time permits and as you will allow, I plan to effectively close this phase of our blogging and invite you to join us on our next adventure back in West Texas. I promise a title is forthcoming.

Why I love Southwest Airlines, again

By JustinYesterday I left at 11:30 for an offsite lunch with my former manager. While headed out of the building I noticed a long extension cord running outside keeping the door ajar. My first thought (being an auditor) was a propped door, that is normally locked, is a security risk. Much to my delight, once outside the door I noticed a horde of people getting ready for a Team event.

Team events are very common at Southwest. I have had the pleasure of some great events. One of the main reason I love my job is the commitment to me personally and the commitment to the Team concept. We take care of each other, and in turn we take care of our passengers.

So I examined the horde and noticed a huge inflatable castle bounce house being inflated. Out front of the house a cart full of brownies was being devoured. Upon my return from lunch three guys were laughing like children as they bumped and rammed their way into each other. What a blessing to work here and know that spending a hour or so around lunch to goof off with your coworkers is not only allowed, but expected.

I can't wait till summer for the slip-n-slide!

2/2 Picture

Its now February and time for my 2nd picture from the 2nd folder in our computer. This just happens to be my handsome hubbie Justin at the Renaissance Festival in North Carolina 2 1/2 years ago. We visited our dear friends Clint and Erin and we had a fabulous weekend at the Festival, eating at an Irish Pub and another fave lunch place of Erin's that I don't remember the name of (famous milkshakes??), driving around Raleigh, lounging in their beautiful home, touring the model homes in their development and playing with their sweet dog Sally. Ah, great memories folks!

Winter Beauty

It snowed here a little on Wednesday, but mostly sleeted and then froze. Justin didn't attempt the drive into work and the daycare was closed so both of my boys were home with me. What a nice treat! A twist on working from home: so many employees tried to work remotely due to the weather that the system couldn't support everyone and noone was able to work! So, I ended up taking a vacation day and just enjoyed my family.

*

Wednesday was the worst weather day this week but I actually took these photos Thursday morning before it melted. The top one is a bush near the front porch where the rain runs off of the roof. It is a sturdy plant- look at the leaves frozen in huge chunks of ice from the bitter cold runoff! The bottom picture is of a tree at the corner of our house. I think its a tree. Its a large bush-like thing with lots of stems/trunks, but is bigger than a bush. Anyway, its an odd thing to trim but looks cool, and especially so with the ice on its leaves. You may laugh at my horticultural ignorance now. Its okay.

1/1 Picture

The photo tag got my mind to spinning and I am going to post a random pic (or not so random!) each month, something I might not normally post. Here's how it goes. For January, I post the 1st picture in the 1st folder on my computer. For February, the 2nd picture in the 2nd folder and so on. So this year you will get to see 12 shots of our life that you wouldn't otherwise see. Its going to be fun! Won't you join me and post your own random shots?!

This is in the Metro Center terminal of the D.C. transit system. I thought it was a really cool shot and later realized you aren't supposed to take pictures inside the metro system. Oops. We were in D.C. last April to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary and had a wonderful time.

Photo Tag

I was tagged by Sarah M weeks ago and am just getting around to obliging. Here's the deal, you open the fourth photo file on your computer and post the fourth picture in that file and share about it.


So, this is my dear friend Aimee and her sons Noah and Rhett. This was taken about 2 years ago when I drove up to Oklahoma to visit them for a weekend. The picture was actually at Toby Keith's "I Love This Bar & Grill" in OK City. Good food, good company. Great weekend memories!

I now tag.... Aimee, McNeely and Abbey. Go!

Bowling

By Justin

Bowling has become somewhat of a fascination for us these days. Many nights, on our way to bed, we can not help but to stop by the Wii and play a quick game. Honestly Holly beats me most of the time, but there is a rare occasion that I can pull one out. We love Wii bowling.

Tonight we got the chance to go actual bowling with our friends Brian and Erin. What fun a true game of bowling is. I really enjoy the sport. Growing up in bowling alleys as my parents were part of a league and toured the southwest to bowl tournaments, I have a lot of great bowling memories. My best one is sitting in Don Carter Lanes in Fort Worth and finally figuring out how to time my shoes. I was so excited to tell my mom that I ran on the lane and almost made her slip!

We all should spend more time bowling with friends!

Photo Update

Well I finally updated the photos de Eli link above. Feel free to comment on how very cute and adorable our son is! We never tire of hearing it!

Bye Bye Landline

Holly and I are joining the 21st century and doing away with our house phone. Our house phone cost more than our cell phones and rings a whole lot less. If you currently have our phone number with area code 972, that phone will no longer ring on January 15th. Both of our cell phones begin with area code 214. Double check your phone books and make sure you update to our new numbers!

Family in Town

I know, I know, a post without pictures. How dull. Honestly, I never knew how to post pictures till you started seeing an abundance of them on here and now I have a hard time posting without them. But, I thoroughly enjoyed the weekend and only took a few photos, of which weren't really blog appropriate b/c they were of my two nephews and my son playing in the bathtub together. I carefully avoided any potentially embarrassing views, but still they are not really shareable material.

My brother and sister-in-law and two nephews came into town to visit for the weekend and go to the Cotton Bowl. It was a sad and miserable game, but only Kelly, Teresa and Jared went and the rest of us enjoyed the beautiful afternoon at the park. We kept Tyler, the younger of the nephews and while he can be quite strong-headed, he was perfect for us and we had a wonderful time. Yesterday evening and most of today was spent in the living room taking turns playing Wii and relaxing.

Tried today for the second time in 3 days to eat at our new Chuy's in Plano but the wait made us look for an alternative yet again. We went to Abuelo's on Thursday and had absolutely no wait and immediate service. Went to Carabba's today and same thing. These three restaurants are within walking distance and while the service and quality are comparable it shows just how alluring a new restaurant can be. We have eaten at the new Chuy's once, actually on their opening day and happened in at about 10 till 5 and were seated immediately. No way that would have happened if people were aware they were finally open. Poor advertising I say. We were just driving by and thought it was worth a shot to see if they were open yet. Well worth the wait in my opinion, but both times we were on a deadline so we couldn't stay.

Alright, Happy New Year to you all and hope it started off with a bang of the good sort. I'm going to round my weekend off tomorrow by putting up my Christmas decorations. Sigh. Another wonderful Christmas season already over.

Our Christmas

We had a good Christmas, full of family and joy and abundant blessings. Here are just a few snapshots of our festivities.

Eli drawing out a block labeled with a profession, a prediction of his future occupation. This was a Red Envelope version of a Chinese tradition, given to us by Aimee before Eli was born. His pick? Peacekeeper. I think I'm okay with that.

Opening gifts from Santa, with a little help from Daddy. This one was a farmer and animals on a tractor. He also got luggage from us, but that's not really exciting to a one year old!

Where Eli spent most of his Christmas evening while the rest of us opened presents with Holly's parents. We weren't complaining, it was way past his bedtime! All he needed was a handful of bows and a big gift to sit on. Nevermind that it wasn't even his, but Nana's and Papa's.

Getting reaquainted with his cousins, Jared in the Romo jersey and Tyler in Crabtree's. What a precious photo that I don't even remember taking!

Celebrating Christmas at Pops and Grandma's. Eli has just opened his Leap Frog Fridge DJ that counts down the hits. He also got the Leap Frog Fridge Carwash which is entertaining even for me.
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Presents and abundant food aside, we did have a nice Christmas. Our plans changed unexpectedly when Justin's grandad passed away on Christmas Eve. We came back to the Dallas area from West Texas on Friday evening for the Saturday funeral. Sunday was spent with Justin's parents and grandmother.

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Hope you all had a joyous Christmas and have had a Happy New Year so far!

Champions

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Congratulations to the Allen Eagle Football team on their Texas University Interscholastic League 5A Division 1 State Championship win. It was a thrilling game to watch, even if we only caught the last three minutes of the fourth quarter on TV.

We would also like to send a shout out to the Muleshoe Mules. The cross county rivals of Holly's alma mater (the Friona Chieftains) won the Texas UIL 3A Division 1 title.

High School Football in Texas, like no other!

Eli's Birthday Party!

We celebrated Eli's 1st birthday a week early since it is so close to Christmas and we wanted our families to be able to come. He did great even without an afternoon nap, ate up his yummy cake and entertained everyone.

This is the super soft teddy bear from Justin's grandmother Nannie. Eli loves it, hugs it close and lays his head on it like a pillow. So sweet.

Eli found his deflated balloons the next morning and was tangled in them before we could even get to him- he had a ball before we cut him loose!

The fabulous monkey cakes that our Nabbey made for Eli. The little one was all his, as you'll see below. What a very special gift Abbey- thank you for helping us make this special day even more so. And they tasted great! The monkey heads were chocolate and the party hats were white- crowd pleasers!

A couple of minutes into the festivities, Eli realized that he wasn't going to get Mama's 'look' and the mid-meal clean up that usually follows when he makes a mess.

And a few minutes later...

It really was a great party to celebrate a great year. We love you precious Eli and pray that each year brings more joy and love to you and that you know how very special you are. Happy birthday little monkey!

Our Little Monkey

We have an open floorplan that doesn't allow much opportunity for the use of baby gates so we made our own. This doesn't work unless you are in Eli jail with him, but if you are wanting to lounge and passively play, he will stay corralled.

This was a new one this week. We had decorated the Christmas tree and hadn't put the ornament tubs back in the garage yet. Justin was in the living room with Eli, but was watching TV. He glanced over to check on him and Eli was standing on one tub, trying his best to pull the curtain off of the back door! No curtain shown in the picture? Right, b/c I tucked it over the rod so he wouldn't get it.

So if anyone was wondering why we needed a gate around our Christmas tree, here you go! :)

December Joys

These are a few of my favorite things!

Eli checking out the new Eli-proof fence around the Christmas tree. It makes me a little sad to block him from it, but then I know it won't hurt him to have boundaries. He doesn't cry though- just stands there looking over the fence and smiling. :)

I love Christmas place settings and have several sets. This is my newest collection that Justin gave me for Christmas last year. They have yet to be used! The small snowman at the left of the placemat is a pouch to place the silverware in. Now, isn't that clever! In the background you can see my small tree with the S'more ornaments that I collect, and my snowman lamps.

This is a tealight holder that I was given by my supervisor at our Christmas lunch at Benihana last Friday. The gifts were all different and we drew numbers, but I think I got the best gift there! This was also my first time at Benihana and it was wonderful. After a fabulous meal, I ended it with green tea ice cream. If you haven't tried this, please do! Its divine!

I think this is a beautiful shot, but there is a funny story to go with it. I have a huge green glass vase that I have used in the past to display pine cones or Christmas ornament balls, but I decided to use candy canes this year. Well, my ziploc bag of old candy canes didn't even fill it halfway so I purchased a couple more dozen canes. The vase still isn't full, but if you come to my house, please only eat the ones on top, the bright red ones. The ones below are 2-3 years old!

Tomato Experiment

Have you ever seen anything like this? I bought a bag of tomatoes on the vine and grabbed one to chop for a salad. When I cut it open, the seeds were sprouting! It really looked like alfafa sprouts but I hadn't bought any of those in months. My mom happened to be here at the time and as an avid gardener I felt sure she had come across this, but she had not. We did not eat the tomato. It may have been fine but it freaked me out a little. So, the other two tomatoes were left on the counter to 'develop' for a couple of weeks to see what might happen. See below.



You can see the bumps on the tomato's skin where the sprouts were growing and struggling to break through. On the last tomato, Justin sliced tiny holes above a few of these bumps to see if the sprouts would grow out and continue. The did a little, but then dried out and stopped.

The only thing anyone has come up with so far is that perhaps these were organic tomatoes (I would love to buy organic, but can't sacrifice the $ at the checkout) that I bought by mistake and they didn't have chemicals to prevent this sprouting. Let me know if anyone else has an explanation or if you have seen this!

Thanksgiving

We spent Thanksgiving with Justin's family this year. Of course I have tons of pictures of Eli and a few of everyone else, but none of me and Justin. So it is with the scrapper, isn't it? Had some yummy food, a relaxing afternoon on the patio with gorgeous weather and an abundance of conversation. On a sidenote, I made a sugar-free pumpkin pie for myself and the couple of diabetics in the family, and the mystery is that it disappeared and we still don't know where it went! Perhaps it tasted normal enough that people wanting pumpkin didn't realize they were eating the 'special' one and licked the plate clean!

Playing on Nannie's woodpile with Pops. Look at me way up here!

Riding in the wagon with my cousin Lyric. She doesn't seem too sure about this.

Playing with Aunt Dana and Uncle Shawn. The clapping followed some serious pulling of Shawn's hair. Way to go Eli!

With Thanksgiving

I guess I waited till the last day of November to make my 'thankful list' but I say it still counts. Here's my top 20, not necessarily in order.

1. Justin, for loving me for who I am but always encouraging me to be more than I think I can be

2. Eli, for bringing joy to my life every time I look at him

3. Family, for always being there for us and loving us unconditionally

4. Friends, for being there when our family can't be, for laughing with us, for understanding when we can only manage a brief meeting/phone call/email

5. Knowing that God has my path laid before me, will never fail me, has a better plan for my life than I could ever dream of

6. Security and safety

7. Good jobs

8. The freedom and ability to learn new things, often with just a click of a mouse

9. Generosity of others, and particularly our friends who have given us not one, not two, but three carseats

10. WeightWatchers for being so simple to follow with so many resources that my journey this year has been an easy and often fun one

11. Our health

12. The bumper sticker I saw yesterday that said "Its okay to say Merry Christmas"

13. Our three branch government

14. The joy of scrapbooking

15. Support and compassion of our congregation at PBC

16. The phone conversation I had with my almost-6 year old nephew this week

17. Sweet potato casserole and cranberry sauce (why are these only holiday foods???)

18. The teachers I had growing up, a couple of which I can still hear guiding me through life at 30 years old

19. Eli's 4 hour nap today that allowed me to paint my toenails and scrap a few pages

20. Precious time to ponder the joy of Christmas and anticipate celebrating my Savior's birth

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with those that you love, and look forward to a very Merry Christmas centered on the true reason for our Christmas season.

New Orleans

Justin, Eli and I took a day trip to New Orleans last Saturday with our friend Jenise. It was a very long day, but a lot of fun and well worth it. Justin loved the architecture, I loved the food and music, and Eli loved being held a lot. That may be all he loved since he didn't get good naps and the food was too spicy for him, but we'll say a good time was had by all!

Holly and Justin in front of a paddleboat. There was pipe organ music playing that reached several streets over and was fun to listen to.

A street band we heard- just like in the movies!

A lovely shot that I took. The city is obviously still being rebuilt and restored, but they are doing a great job and the spirit of the people has not been affected!

Eli sporting his new winter coat and hat. The coat has a hood on it, but I had to buy him a toboggan that tied under his chin to keep him from pulling it off. Even then it lasted only so long.

Holiday Recipe Series- Part V

Because I'm too tired from a three hour attempt at getting Eli to sleep tonight... Here's the easiest and yummiest snack for the holidays.

White Chocolate Popcorn

1 bag of microwaveable popcorn
1 1/2 squares of almond bark, chopped

1. Pop popcorn as directed in microwave and place in a large bowl.

2. Melt almond bark in a saucepan on low-medium heat till smooth, but be careful not to scorch.

3. Pour almond bark over popcorn and stir with a wooden spoon till coated. Spread evenly on wax paper or foil laid on the counter till dry and cool.

Enjoy!

Holiday Recipe Series- Parts III and IV

Pecan Tartlets

cooking spray
3 large eggs
1/8 tsp salt
1 Tbsp butter, melted
1/3 cup dark corn syrup
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup chopped pecans
24 pecan halves

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place twelve 3 oz ramekins in a baking pan or on a cookie sheet; coat ramekins with cooking spray.

2. In a medium bowl, beat eggs with salt. Add melted butter, corn syrup, sugar and vanilla; beat well. Blend in chopped pecans and spoon batter halfway up ramekins. Place 2 pecan halves on top of each ramekin.

3. Bake for about 17 minutes. Reduce oven temp to 350 degrees and bake until a knife or toothpick comes out clean, about 15-20 minutes more. Remove from oven and allow to cool; serve in ramekins with a spoon, either warm or cool.

Yields 1 ramekin per serving. 3 WeightWatchers points per serving.


Crustless Pumpkin Pie

1 15 oz can pumpkin
1 12 oz can fat free evaporated milk
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ginger, 1/4 tsp cloves)
1 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup Splenda

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray pie plate with cooking spray.

2. Combine all ingredients and beat until smooth. Pour into pie plate.

3. Bake 15 minutes at 400, then reduce heat to 325 and bake an additional 40 minutes or until knife inserted comes out clean.

Yields 8 servings. 1 point (or Core) for Weight Watchers per serving. 3 points for 1/4 of pie.

Good Night Scouts

By Justin

So no one can remember how we started this tradition, but every year on the Monday before Thanksgiving my Boy Scout troop has its feast. It is a great tradition. No matter how long you have been away or where your life has taken you, you can count on old friends showing up for the event. Some years there are surprise guests. Some years the crowd is thin. Yet one thing has remained constant, the fellowship and brotherhood given and received by all.

It is odd that some things have remained the same through the years. Herb still makes coffee and wassail. Dad always brings the turkey and dressing made by some woman of my family. I always take corn. It is weird how it just happens.

Two lasting traditions have held true through the entire life of this event. First, we go around the table and each of us voice what we are thankful for. Often they are the same. Some years someone brings a special poem to share their thanks. Some years someone brings story with a prop. It is a moving time of really feeling the bond we all share. The second lasting tradition is the group close that has end every Scout meeting in my memory:

"And now, may the Great Master of all Scouts, be with Us till we meet again. Good Night Scouts"

~Good Night Brothers~

Holiday Recipe Series Part II

By Justin

Hot and Creamy Grilled Cheeses

3 Slices of plastic cheese or some left over velveeta
2 pieces of Mrs. Bairds' Thin Sliced White Bread
butter

Heat a pan over medium heat and melt a small smidgen of butter. Don't skimp and use Pam. And don't think your non-stick pan is okay. It's Christmas, have some butter.

Butter one side of each slice. Place one slice down with the butter side down after your pan is nice and warm. Put your cheese on this slice and cover with the other side with the butter side up. Flip when you want. Keep flipping till golden brown.

Best enjoyed with a Coke.

Happy Holidays.

Holiday Recipe Series- Part I

Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake Bars

(18 servings, 3 points per serving for WeightWatchers)

cooking spray
9 whole reduced-fat cinnamon graham crackers
3 Tbsp butter
16 oz fat free cream cheese
1 cup sugar
2 cups fat free sour cream
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger
3 large eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin

1. Preheat oven to 325. Spray 9x13 pan with cooking spray.
2. Crush graham crackers in a ziploc or grind in food processor, then place in bowl.
3. Melt butter and pour over graham cracker crumbs. Mix with fork till blended.
4. Press crumb mixture evenly onto bottom of prepared pan and place in refrigerator.
5. Beat cream cheese with mixer till smooth, then add sugar and mix well.
6. Mix in 1 cup sour cream, then add cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. Add remaining sour cream and mix till just combined.
7. Slowly beat in each egg one at a time until incorporated, then mix in pumpkin.
8. Pour pumpkin mixture into prepared pan over graham cracker crust, spread evenly and smooth top.
9. Bake until set at edges, about 30 minutes. The very center will be a little loose. Cool completely and refrigerate overnight before cutting and serving.

Note: For best results, all ingredients should be room temperature and mixed as little as possible, only until each ingredient is just combined.

Enjoy!

Boy Scout Popcorn

I've found that trying to blog every day in a given month (I know, I'm failing, but still trying to get most days) has made me scramble for topics. I do have things to say such as what I've done today or what new things Eli is doing or what Justin and I talked about over dinner, but I suspect those might emit a yawn from you.

So, I'll share a little happening that occurred. Two years ago, a cute little Cub Scout came to our door selling popcorn. Justin being the Eagle Scout and all around nice guy he is, ordered a good amount of popcorn and gave the kid a check. We never heard from him again, but the check sure was cashed. I would like to think that there was just an oversight, that they truly couldn't reconcile why they had an extra order of popcorn and weren't trying to take our money.

Fast forward two years. A different cute little Cub Scout came to the door a couple of weeks ago with the same goal. Justin answered the door again, and when all was said and done he had ordered a huge tin of three bags of flavored popcorn and gave the kid a check. I shook my head as I would have saved payment this time until the goods were delivered, but oh, well. I didn't ask any questions really, until the popcorn was delivered by the very cute kid a few days ago and I asked Justin what kind he had bought. Yeah. Two bags of Cheddar and one bag of White Cheddar. Seriously. They sell plain, buttered, caramel, chocolate, anything you can dream of, and we get three bags of fake-cheese powder dusted popcorn.

Well, this is good news for me on WeightWatchers. There is absolutely no temptation whatsoever to sneak a few bites of Justin's popcorn while he is at work. I'll just continue with my 98% fat free mini bag and pretend its just what I was craving.

Quite the Sale!

by Holly

My mom is in town visiting for a few days and I took the day off of work today to spend with her and Eli. After a slow morning of breakfast, loooong nap for Eli and finally getting our stuff together, we left the house around 11am. Lunch was at Boston Market and it was fabulous! All I can say is Sweet Potato Casserole rocks! Next up was The Container Store for a few 'necessities' in organization. Then Kohl's. And more Kohl's.

We were in Kohl's about an hour and a half before Eli lost it and was unconsolable. He'd already had two bottles and wasn't about to be distracted by toys and such. We proceeded to check out, each armed with our 15% off entire purchase coupon, and saved lots of money on our already sale-priced items. Guess what happened as we finished our transactions? Eli fell asleep in the stroller. Sooo.... I took our bags to the car and we kept shopping! About an hour later, we finished up again and checked out, again with our 15% off coupons. (they were good all day.) We again saved a lot, and were thrilled with our purchases.

After that we met Justin at our brand new Chuy's in Plano and had the best food! Mom was gracious enough to take Eli home for bedtime and Justin and I went back to Kohl's. Yes, you read that right. Justin needs a new suit and we got some toys for Eli and our nephews for Christmas. Once again, the coupon!!

To sum it up, we got great deals anyway, but those coupons were so great I decided they were bloggable. Here's to your great bargain of the weekend!

A New Blogger

By Justin
A great friend of ours has finally bit the bullet and joined us in the blogging world. Jenise is a close friend that I work with and have for a while. We seem to follow each other around. Jenise is an avid traveler with a great hand at writing. These two will no doubt bring great posts in the future. More than most, Jenise is also a deep hearted Texan like me! So her blog title is correctly named 'Come Back to Texas', which she often does on her worldly adventures.

Surf on over and welcome Jenise to the sphere!

http://comebacktexas.blogspot.com/

Nana is Here

By Justin

Holly's Mom flew in this afternoon and Eli couldn't be happier. I enjoy Nana visits as well. Who can complain about a extra set of hands around?

The Narrow Gate

by Justin

So I was wondering how are we suppose to make life decisions in light of being Christians and being in this world? I feel like I work hard to spend time in prayer, in the Bible and in contemplation. Yet I still don't know how we are to KNOW the right path to take. I guess I am really not asking for any comments, as much as laying out thoughts in my head.

In college I heard many great speakers. Few, if any, really stick in my head, but one has remained through the years. I can't remember her name, only that she was a new regional director for IVCF in Texas and she was from Colorado. She gave a great talk over Mathew 7:13:

"Enter through the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it."

Her talk was a great illustration of what the path of the narrow gate would look like in contrast to the wide gate many follow. She talked of how worn and easy the wide path would be, worn down as it would by the many people. She related the narrow path to hard walking across unfamiliar and lonely places with a few people. Best of all she drew a great picture of how the world might just walk through the wide gate because 'that is just the way everyone is going, we should go with the flow'. The world doesn't stop to truly consider the narrow gate and its path.

She, in true IV fashion, ended with a challenge as college students to stop and consider our paths as we trudge around campus. She was trying to warn us to live our lives as Christians and be wary of the world and its mentality of the wide path. For some reason, and often for good ones, I think about that picture a lot in my head.

I think of the paths. I think of the narrow gate. I wonder if it is rusted shut or takes a shove to get through it. I think how easy the wide gate would be. I bet someone has propped it open with a rock, making an the path even easier.

More than anything I wonder if I have already passed the gate and am down the wrong path...

His and Hers Styles

(post inspired by Aimee's post on her View- see Houston's blog)

The two front rooms of our home are Justin's office and Holly's scrapbook room. Its interesting that these rooms can be so close, so open, and yet so very different. They are open as Holly's room was intended to be a formal dining room and has no doorway framed, and Justin's has French doors that we never close. They are separated by our tiled entryway.

Justin's room: is painted bright blue with 5 yellow horizontal stripes on two walls, has a modern Ikea light fixture, 3 dark stained bookshelves, two desks with computers, filing cabinet, aquarium and the requisite office clutter that goes along with such a space.

Holly's room: is still builder off-white, has a traditional chandelier, china cabinet, sewing cabinet, two desks, two scrapbook organizer carts, chair and requisite crafting clutter that goes along with such a space.

They both have snippets of Eli paraphenalia. A glimpse into our lives and styles. Here's the kicker though: I spend considerably more time in Justin's room b/c I work in here, and rarely do I make time to spend scrapping in my own sanctuary.

sigh

November 8th in History

(adapted from PR-Inside.com)

Today is Saturday, November 8, the 313th day of 2008. There are 53 days left in the year.

Highlights in history on this date:

1519 - Spanish conqueror Hernan Cortez reaches Mexico City with his small Spanish force and 1,000 Tlaxcaltec allies. The Aztecs, believing he is an incarnation of the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl, receive him with great honor.

1793 - The Louvre Museum in Paris opens to the public.

1892 - Former U.S. President Grover Cleveland beats incumbent Benjamin Harrison and becomes the first U.S. president to win nonconsecutive terms in the White House.

1895 - Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen, German physicist, discovers X-rays.

1960 - Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy defeats Vice President Richard M. Nixon for the U.S. presidency.

1993 - Russian President Boris Yeltsin approves a draft constitution that will give him increased powers at the parliament's expense.

1997 - Chinese engineers divert the Yangtze River from its natural course, clearing way for the construction of the enormous Three Gorges dam.

Today's Birthdays:

Edmund Halley, British astronomer (1656-1742)
John Milton, English poet (1608-1674)
Hermann Rorschach, Swiss psychiatrist (1884-1922)
Margaret Mitchell, U.S. author (1900-1949)
Katharine Hepburn, U.S. actress (1907-2003)
Alain Delon, French actor (1932--)
Mary Hart, U.S. television host (1950--)
Parker Posey, U.S. actress (1968--)

Thought For Today:
"Man is born to live, not to prepare for life." -Boris Pasternak, Russian author (1890-1960).

A New Friend!

We met some friends in the Fort Worth vicinity a couple of weeks ago, a mini reunion of sorts. Justin's Scouting friends Armand, Scott and Ethan were there with their families (spouses, parents,...). We missed the Johnson's!

Armand and Jelaine were there with their new baby Trey, pictured below. What a sweetie!
Eli was pretty excited to meet his new friend and clapped for him, after doing some poking and prodding to make sure he was okay. Thanks for calling guys! Great to see you all.

Is it Friday yet?

So we're not having the greatest of weeks, but we're muddling along. Eli began throwing up on Friday but we thought it was b/c he had a lot of drainage and didn't take any action until I got called to pick him up early from daycare on Tuesday. We went straight to the doctor (after the third episode of puking in the car seat, and I must say our carseat cover is the cleanest car seat cover in the universe now!) and found out he has two ear infections and a stomach virus. Oh, and he's teething again. Geez.

He's doing much better but is not daycare-approved, so I'm working half days this week and getting my work done in the evenings after he goes to bed.

Justin followed up on Wednesday with his own rendition of the stomach virus. He was in bed (and the bathroom) all day and attempted work for a few hours this morning but came back home. He seems better now, but you know how the after-effects of a stomach virus are.

I'm not having any of those symptoms but feel tired, nauseated and achy. I'm hoping its from taking care of my boys and working and cleaning, cleaning, cleaning up messes, and not actually the bug for me. We'll see.

That's our week for you. Oh, and our presidential candidate lost.

The Election

By Justin

How can you sum it up. My guy lost. My hope of a split Presidency and Congress did not happen. Now we have four years to determine if President-Elect Obama really is a genuine guy, bent on restoring hope to everyone. Or is he a left wing pawn bent on giving tax breaks and my money to others. Will he govern from the middle or slash and burn from the left. Will he really reach across the isle or will he just let Pelosi and Reed run the country from the top seat. Will he respect the Constitution and the rights laid out there-in? Or will he decide that national healthcare, paid for by you and me, really is in the 'common good' doctrine. Will he respect the lives of the unborn? Will he find a way to dig us out of this debt hole? Will he cut and run or leave with honor?

I don't know. But I know his time is limited in my head. There are mountains to climb, and as a person who didn't vote for him, he has precious little time to get his ship on track for me to vote for him in 2012.