Goodbye and a Haircut

On Saturday, I had a little goodbye party/baby shower for my friend, Yuuri, who is headed back to Japan with her husband and 2 boys after living here for a year. We met at MOPS and really enjoyed getting to know each other. She thinks Americans are friendly, but our food is too salty/sweet/rich...too much of everything. That's what the Kazakhs thought of our food, too--no wonder so many Americans overindulge! It was really a sweet time together and I'm glad it worked out.

Today I gave Evan his first haircut...he was in dire need of one! His wispy old man hair was turning into a bird's nest. Here is a before picture:


And here is the after picture:

He was pretty patient about it--I cut it with scissors. I think he looks cute now! So grown up! I guess I am not very sentimental--I didn't save any of it...that seems a little weird to me. Sorry if that disappoints his future wife.

Here's a picture of my new haircut--taken at a friend's birthday party on Sunday. Oh, and it was my first day wearing a maternity shirt. Getting dressed is becoming unfun.

Concert, Cooking, and Chaos

I am still feeling blessed by the concert we had at church on Wednesday night. Jeremy and I have been fans of Indelible Grace since we learned about them 6 years ago, and this week, Jeremy brought Matthew Smith of Indelible Grace to Flagstaff. The youth group hosted the concert as a fundraiser for the spring break Mexico trip. Matthew Smith and the other Indelible Grace musicians write new music to old hymns and play in a folk/rock style that we really like. The words to every song were such a blessing...it was like lotion for my soul. Okay, that sounds weird, but that's how I can describe it!


Here's Samuel cooking with me last night in his new Little Einsteins apron. He loves to help me cook, which is sweet, but usually ends in stress if I am actually cooking something for other people. This picture was right before he stuck his finger into an egg and sent all kinds of little bitty eggshells into the batter...God, give me patience. And below is a picture of Evan's new favorite pasttime--taking all of the envelopes out of the desk drawer and making it "snow" in the office.

So, if you get a letter from me in a very wrinkled envelope, you now know why. (Who am I kidding..I never write letters--which makes me wonder why I have so many envelopes...?)

Stuff

Well, we just finished watching the Cardinals win a spot in the Super Bowl! I wasn't even a fan before this year, but I think I would have cried if I was there live...it was exciting! And, I think it's awesome that God has allowed Kurt Warner to be in the spotlight. Watching football and eating Oreos and Doritos is somehow exhausting, so now I am counting down the minutes till bedtime. On another note, here are some things I learned today...

1) Diet Coke eats the finish off of oak desks. Even flat Diet Coke that was wiped up immediately. Sigh...

2) Samuel is not afraid of this:


3) But he IS afraid of this:


The first is a new movie that kept being advertised during the football game and Sam was spellbound. The second was...well, the obviously horrifying "Anne of Green Gables." I tried to get Sam to watch it with me and he kept covering his eyes with a blanket and saying it was scary. I guess vampires and werewolves from an ancient civilization are no match for plump gossipy old ladies and a frazzled mother of preschoolers (Mrs. Hammond--the one with 3 sets of twins that Anne works for in the beginning of the movie). Shame on me for potentially scarring my 4-year-old with scenes from Prince Edward Island.

On a movie note--we watched "Enchanted" and "Click" this weekend (I know, too many movies but it is hard to get off the couch lately!). Both were surprisingly enjoyable!

Aquaplex and Dance Party

After wandering around in my pajamas all day, thinking about the Cheers theme song, I finally got my act together and took the boys to the Aquaplex. Afterward, we came home and had a dance party before bedtime. Now it is 8:45 and I need to start housework...ugh. My first doctor's appointment is tomorrow--I don't think it will be canceled due to snow this time. I can't help thinking about my friend Aimee who went to her first appointment yesterday and heard 2 heartbeats. I think I'll just be thankful for one.

Snow!

We've had some fun in all the snow recently. Sam was a maniac on this huge new hill we found--he only wrecked once but got some awesome snow burns on his nose. Both of the boys are obsessed with eating the snow. I catch them sucking it off the bottom of their boots and eating it off the floor in the grocery store. Evan especially likes it with chunks of dirt and gravel in it. Disgusting!

Christmas

First we went to Tucson and celebrated Jeremy's grandparent's 60th wedding anniversary and Christmas. I don't have any pictures of that to post because everyone else seemed to be taking so many...so if anyone wants to send any to me, feel free! Here's a picture of the boys at the Tucson Children's Museum and on their bikes in Gamma and Pa J's courtyard.


Then we returned to Flagstaff on Christmas Eve and celebrated with my family from California. Here's some Christmas day pictures!