It's Certainly Something . . .

2009

2009-07-24T12:39:00.001-07:00

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Back on the computer again

2009-07-24T12:24:00.000-07:00

I have had several mentions of my failure to update this blog with any regularity or at all, so I am going to post now. I have found with a new baby that we spend more hours at home, and I am too distracted to accomplish much, but not too distracted to be on the computer. So, in an effort to stop the internet shopping, I have updated my facebook page, my shutterfly page, and now, on to the blog!

Baby Ford was born June, 8, 2009. He is a happy, healthy little guy, and he is already assuming his role as the baby of the family well. I think I can post pictures to my blog via shutterfly, so that will be my next attempt. Hopefully that will work. We are spending the summer lazily with lots of swimming and adjusting to our family of 5.

Walker is getting so big I can hardly believe it! He is basically a kid and not a toddler anymore, which, although I miss the cute babyishness, I love the new helpfulness. He is usually a delight to be around and keeps me laughing at his little boy conversations.

Sophie June is turning into quite the little girl. She is finally talking, and it is fun to hear what is going on in her little head! She loves anything Walker loves, and she loves babies, coloring, puzzles, and cooking.

Our house if feeling settled, although there is still lots of work to do. We are having a great time working on it and enjoying our new neighborhood more than we even thought we would. We were unaware that there is a pachuigo down the the street from us on the way home from our favorite Mexican spot! =)

That's the news. One reason for my lack of posts is lack of interesting news. We are going on a little Colorado getaway in September, so maybe I'll fill you in on that when we return!

Summer Update

2008-08-17T16:52:00.000-07:00

Hello blogging family! Sorry about the long silence . .. we have had a very busy summer, and my computer is upstairs in the finished attic that gets REALLY hot during the summer. So, I barely check email, much less blog. Tonight I am enjoying some Olympics using Aaron's laptop to finally post.

We do actually have some newsworthy items:

1. Aaron has finished 2/3 of the ordination exam process, with the final oral exams and sermon taking place next Saturday! Please keep praying for him as he prepares for this final phase.

2. We sold our duplex and are buying a new home, hopefully moving in next Monday! It has much more space, and is single-family (this is a first for us in our married life)!

3. Walker can swim like a fish -- really! I can sit on the pool lounge chair reading a magazine while he swims across the pool, jumps off the diving board, and slides down the slide (no floaties!). He has many diving skills that are not portrayed on this video, including the "pencil," "cannonball," and his favorite, "flip."

4. Sophie June can crawl, pull up, play patti-cake and peek-a-boo, and say, "mama."

So, we are having a great time, trying to stay cool, and definitely staying busy! When everything settles down, we will post again from our air-conditioned computer desk with pics of the ordination, new pad, and probably Sophie June's birthday.

happy mother's day

2008-05-11T14:08:00.000-07:00

the wisest words from my mother...

"Don't worry about what other people are thinking about you. They are too busy thinking about themselves to care about you."

"NEVER run out of food at a dinner party."

"Some of the best theology comes from hymns."

"Don't buy a house for the outside -- you will only see the inside once you live there."

"Add oxyclean to every load of laundry."

"Always work before you play."

"We don't have time not to keep our home neat." (This went hand-in-hand with, "If you straighten your house as you go, you will never have to set aside an entire day just to get your house in order.")

"Cheez-itz and raisins are a the same snack as crackers, cheese, and grapes."

"You've got the same shoes to get glad in."

"You should decorate in odd numbers -- preferably threes."

"You must know the Word to know God, and you must know God to live."

"Chocolate makes your stomach feel better."

"Plan your schedule so that you can be available for your husband whenever he's home."

"You make time for what is important to you; so never use time as an excuse."

"Never let your toilet get a brown ring in it."

"The Flying Nun is a great show!"

2008-04-22T07:45:00.000-07:00

Why is this the picture on the weather page when the words read:

"Slight chance of thunder with 10% chance of light rain showers?"

a broken chi

2008-04-07T19:53:00.003-07:00

Last week the unthinkable happened . . . my Chi Original Hair straightening and smoothing iron broke. Walker tried to jump the cord, and it crashed to the floor, cutting an eight year relationship with my poofy hair short. As I mourned it's death, I began to reflect on how different my life is now than it was eight years ago.

Then I had a Chi; Now it is broken

Then I drove a new, clean jeep; Now I drive a messy, old subaru filled with baby gear

Then I wore awesome designer shoes; Now I wear birkenstocks and crocs

Then I applied Trish McEvoy make-up daily; Now I apply Burt's Bees lip balm daily

Then I ate Patrizio and LaMadeline; Now I eat grilled cheese and Chick-fil-A

Then I frequented Northpark; Now I frequent Wes's house and the Arboretum

Then I gardened and decorated my home; Now I watch HGTV

Then I worked out daily; Now I don't

Then I dreamed about chasing elusive items; Now I sleep dreamlessly

Then I read "Pride and Prejudice"; Now I read "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child"

Then I doted on my labradors; Now I try to remember to scratch Bella's ears sometimes

My life was certainly different before babies, but I'm pretty sure now is better than then. Now, that's not to say that I wouldn't take a car wash, a pair of hot shoes, a good work-out, and an afternoon read!

for aunt . . .

2008-03-15T07:16:00.000-07:00

noelle

lindsay

It snowed in Dallas!

2008-03-07T07:07:00.000-08:00

Sophie June opted to stay in the warm house, but Walker loved his first romp in the Texas snow!

A Fresh Take

2008-03-02T17:02:00.000-08:00

I have tired of updating randomly on my mundane life to the few stragglers who are still members of our little blogging network. However, I don't really want to drop the blog altogether, so I am starting a new plan:

Fresh template
Fresh stories
Fresh pictures

The story:

After a particularly trying week, Walker, Sophie June, and I finally had a playgroup at our house last Friday. Yea! for everyone involved because we all needed a little time with someone our own age! 11 am came and went, and no one arrived. Finally, one of the 3 families arrived around 11:15 (which 15 minutes seem MUCH longer to a 2 year old and his mother than a regular person). The others never showed, but that was okay because at least we all had a friend. The older boys were playing outside after lunch, the babies were napping, and my friend and I were eating lunch inside, when suddenly Walker's friend came in and said, "Where's Walker?" I hate that. I went looking and found my little one halfway down the street on his tiny red tricycle! He had opened the door to the garage, climbed in the car, opened the big garage door using the opener in the car, climbed back out of the car, gotten his bike, and headed out. When caught, Walker was quick to explain that we was going "a Target . . . some more soap!"

The pictures:
I am trying to set up a slideshow from our pictures on flickr to run in the sidebar, but I can't figure out how to link the two. For now, here's a video of our little biker.

2008-02-01T11:38:00.000-08:00

We went on a fun little romantic getaway to Wolf Creek, CO this weekend, and it was really wonderful! We had 13 hours in the car on the way there to finally talk without someone saying, "Look Mommy ...." Then the weather was perfect for a day of snowboarding, which I was actually able to completely enjoy for the first time in 3 years. I have been either pregnant or nursing for the last few ski trips! Then we went to Durango, where it snowed big, beautiful flakes while we shopped and ate. Then, on Monday, when we were supposed to leave at 6:00am, we woke up to over a foot of new snow. So, we spent the morning watching the snowplow and helping to shovel snow and finally left at noon for a harrowing drive down hwy84. We finally made it home Tuesday at 3:30pm. So, we had another long while to talk without anyone interrupting! It was really quite perfect.

The babies had a fun time with both sets of Grandparents while we were gone. They stayed with Mimi and Poppy the first half of the weekend and Grandmama and Pops the second half. Based on Walker's report, they ate donuts, rode tricycles, and watched cooking. I'm sure more occured than that, but that seems to be what stuck with him!

A word of encouragement to Lyndsay Walker -- the terrible twos seem to fade as 2 1/2 approaches, and, as the baby gets a little bigger, it is easier for the older one to love her without hurting her! I can actually leave them alone in a room together for a minute now! See, Walker is even taking care of some sort of ailment in this pic!

Happy New Year 2008

2008-01-07T19:44:00.000-08:00

I've been reading blogs all evening, as well as checking out the deals at Old Navy with $5 shipping (girls with baby girls, you should check it out), and I am glad to hear everyone is doing well. We enjoyed a very nice Christmas, although there was some sorrow as we said goodbye to Aaron's grandmother who passed away December 20. We enjoyed spending time with Aaron's family from Arkansas and Missouri that we rarely see, and we celebrated the salvation that arrived in the incarnation with a little more of an eternal perspective this year. We did all the usual over-eating at Christmas, rang in the New Year with Lindsay and Justin, and promptly set about working on our New Year's Resolutions. It's a new record because we haven't given up on them yet! =)

Walker is getting taller, more fun, and more independent everyday! He loves to do everything just like Daddy from the way he dresses to using his toy screwdriver to the way you stand in the kitchen to wait for your waffle to cook. It's pretty sweet to watch.
Sophie June is the perfect baby. She sleeps, eats, and smiles. Walker gets bigger grins out of her than anyone else, which is pretty amazing since she hands them out freely. She loves to watch him entertain her with dancing, singing, and tickling! I'm loving having a little girl to dress and hang with while the boys go to Home Depot, Lowes, and the dump with leaves they raked in the yard.

Aaron and I are thankfully not growing taller and more independent everyday, although I dare say that we are probably becoming more fun. That is based on a random survey, and you are welcome to weigh in with your opinion.

Walker with his favorite new toy, his "sie-sy-cal"

Sophie June was not afraid of Santa!

Walker's shaving just like Daddy!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-27T13:07:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving to everybody! From my perusal of blogs, it seems as if everyone enjoyed their thankfulness. We also had a nice time. We went to watch Lindsay run the Turkey trot, which she failed to mention. I'm not sure why since we made it there WAY after she already finished the race. Walker made a turkey with feathers and considered getting into a bounce house there. Then we went to the Morris' for the rest of the day and ate turkey, napped, and watched the Cowboys. We decorated our house for Christmas this weekend. Here are a few pictures to update. We discovered that Sophie June has been cold, so you will notice her seasonal attire in each photo.

Happy Birthday Walker!

2007-11-01T08:23:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Walker's second birthday yesterday, and he had such a great time. I can't believe we have two children now, one of them being a two-year old! We were sitting at the breakfast table thinking that just two Halloweens ago, we were heading to the hospital and had no children. It's amazing how quickly your life can change! We had a fun party last night for Walker. Everyone wore costumes, we ate pizza, played in the backyard, and went trick-or-treating. Here are some pictures to document.

October

2007-10-26T16:42:00.001-07:00

We have had an eventful October...

Sophie June took a bath.

Aunt Noelle came to visit.

Walker learned about headlamps while hanging shelves in his closet with Aaron.

Walker moved to his big boy bed . . . and his big boy pjs.

We carved a pumpkin, however we did it during the most humid weekend you can imagine. It molded, became very scary and disgusting, and we had to throw it away. Although it wasn't as intricate as Lindsay's pumpking, we were still sad to see him go.

Walker and Sophie June played together.

Fall finally arrived, and Sophie June woke up.

Walker discovered my old red ropers from high school.

Sophie June laughed!

2007-10-04T14:01:00.000-07:00

Here are a few of our latest pics. We went to the Arboretum last Saturday with Lindsay and Justin, so we managed to get a few cute pumpkin pictures.

Sophie June

2007-09-17T18:35:00.001-07:00

A happy, healthy little girl arrived this weekend, right on cue! She was born Saturday, September 15, 2007, at 11:23 am. She was 18 1/2 inches long and weighed exactly 6 lbs. We are all doing well and glad to be home!

Poor blogger

2007-08-30T12:09:00.000-07:00

Well, I thought I would take a few moments to update everyone. I haven't been posting because our life is pretty humdrum with little of interest or entertainment to it, and because, somehow, in the humdrum life, I never have a free second!

Today, however, I am home from work, Walker is napping, on into his third hour for the afternoon, Sophie June is quiet inside me and not making me sleepy, and I decided to clean the house on Saturday instead of today. Convenient decision motivated by laziness, I think.

We have had a whirlwind of a summer, and now we are into another whirlwind getting ready for the arrival of our new little one while Ben and Mimi start school. The baby is pretty much cooked, and at my doctor's appointment on Monday, we got the word that it could be "any day now." I'm hoping "any day now" means at least "2 more weeks" because I still have a few tasks to check off my list before she arrives. One of them is, how to make Walker not a two-year old. Any suggestions?

We will keep the blog updated on Sophie June's arrival!

Summertime

2007-06-05T20:37:00.001-07:00

Big news in the Morris household. . . Aaron posted. He also got pretty much our dream job. Check his blog out for details as well as some semi-hilarious wit.

Abraham and Walker are now best buddies . . . at least Walker thinks so.

We used graduation gift money to get Aaron and Walker this bike trailer. Walker loves it because it's fun to ride with Daddy, I love it because it means I get a nap, and Aaron loves it because it gives him exercise while he spends time with his boy. I think that's what you call a win, win, win.

We're going, to San Francisco

2007-05-16T12:25:00.000-07:00

Well, we already went. Aaron's parents sent us for his graduation from DTS, and we had a wonderful time. I had never even seen the Pacific Ocean, and neither of us had ever been to San Francisco. We biked all over their three natural areas, Golden Gate Park, Lincoln Area, and The Presidio. We hiked all through Muir Woods and Mt. Talampais. We shopped in Sausalito, ate at Fisherman's Wharf, North Beach, and The Mission, visited all kinds of galleries in the city, and missed Walker just a little!

He stayed with Mimi and Poppy, and apparently
didn't miss us at all! They went to the zoo for his first time, and he loved the monkeys. He also learned all about lawns, flower beds, and the importance of watering from Poppy.

We returned from San Francisco on Tuesday, and Aaron graduated on Saturday. We had a great celebration, and now he's continuing his job hunt. Ben graduates Friday, so we're all gearing up for that now!

Out the window of the warden's house on Alcatraz.

Aaron biking the Golden Gate Promenade

Kara biking the Coastal Trail

Japanese Tea Gardens in Golden Gate Park

Romantic Interlude in Muir Woods

P.S. For anyone who is a dedicated reader/viewer of our blog, we found out a couple of weeks ago that we are having a little girl!

Happy Easter!

2007-04-06T12:54:00.000-07:00

Spring is here!

2007-03-23T09:36:00.000-07:00

Well, Spring has officially arrived, and we are welcoming the new life that comes with it! Welcome Emily, fresh green grass, tiny oak leaves, new azalea and tulip blooms, and the warmer weather! Here are a few pics of Walker bringing in spring!

An Update

2007-02-14T15:49:00.000-08:00

Hello all! Sorry we have been so lax about blogging. My mom keeps asking if I've checked blogs, and I keep having to say no and then feel badly. I did check them today, and it seems that you have all managed to continue moving and living even though I have not been blogging. Congratulations!

We have been busy since November 28. We had a nice Christmas with family. Christmas Eve with my family and Christmas Day with Aaron's. Walker enjoyed opening his presents and is still playing with them all happily. His favorites are the banging toys with hammers and the wooden balls that come out. You can throw them all over the house and they roll loudly over our hardwood floors. What could be more fun?

We went snowboarding in Breckenridge in January, so Walker got to enjoy the snow. He went sledding and snowboarding, and he loved the cold wind on his face! He's getting excited to go back in a couple of weeks. The drive was less than desirable with us getting stuck in icy weather both on the way there and back, so we're all happy to be flying this trip!

Aaron is gearing up to graduate in May and sending resumes out as we speak, so please continue to pray for our wisdom and direction in the job hunt.

Last, but, certainly not least, we are expecting again! I am 8 weeks pregnant, so Walker will have a little brother or sister sometime around September 24th! We are so excited the Lord is adding another member to our little family!

2006-11-28T09:33:00.000-08:00

Hello all! I have been reading blogs all morning, and it looks like everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving, even those of you who spent it in the hospital. We also enjoyed our days of Giving Thanks, as chronicled on Lindsay's blog. I will not bore you with a repeat story.

The big news in our house is . . . Walker is walking! He has been taking steps for a little over a month now, but now he is truly walking all over the house. We got a new movie camera for Aaron's birthday, so we are trying to figure out how to post a video clip to the blog. If anyone (Zachary?) knows how, let us know. Until then, you'll just have to believe us and imagine how cute he looks toddling all over the house.

We decorated for Christmas on Friday, and it was quite fun. Now we are just awaiting the alleged cold front scheduled to come in on Thursday so we can feel like Christmas. Aaron will be 28 this Friday, so we are planning a fun weekend to celebrate his birth! I know a little Christmas shopping, a dinner out, a big breakfast, and a movie are in the works, so it should be a good one!

2006-11-10T08:38:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a happy Halloween and Reformation Day. We had a fun time hanging out in our backyard with a few friends and handing out candy to trick-or-treaters. Here is a picture of Walker as Martin Luther. We are thinking maybe John Calvin next year. Any suggestions?

Walker is now 1 year old, and he had a wonderful birthday! He cleaned up on gifts and is delighted with all the new-found foods he is allowed to eat. He is starting to say so many words (doggies, Bella, Abe, Daddy, silly, bye-bye, baby, hi, yuck, mmm). I promise not to list every word he learns, but right now it is so exciting and easy since there aren't really THAT many! He is cruising all over the place and taking several steps in a row, but he's not walking yet. He had a balloon at his birthday that made him want to walk -- not sure why -- but that died now, so he's back to crawling more. We think walking is still just a little too slow for him!

We are off to go backpacking this afternoon! We are going to the Talimena State Park in Oklahoma to hike along the Ouachita Trail for a couple of Days with Ben, Bella, and Abraham. Walker is staying with Mimi and Poppy, and I think they are going to the zoo! We have been getting ready for the trip all week: dragging out our camping stuff, shopping for dehydrated food and trail mix, bathing the dogs, treating the dogs with their tick repellent, cramming all our stuff into our packs. And now we are ready to go. I'm just waiting for Aaron to get home so we can load the car, my mom will pick up Walker, and then we'll pick up Ben at school! The weather is supposed to be perfect -- sunny with a high in the fifties, so we are excited. Here is a picture of our trip 2 years ago and one from our trip 3 years ago. Stephen and Haley can't go this year because they are coming home today from a 3 week long trip to Europe, but we are planning on enjoying the beautiful colors anyway!

At last, The Walker pictures!

2006-10-25T07:21:00.000-07:00

Bathtime cupie doll (This is a doll Aaron knows about, and we don't know how to spell it, but it has a curly cue on the top of it's head. He does not play with dolls -- he just knows a lot of random facts.)

Walker is always willing to share!

Foozing it up!

2006-10-20T14:31:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! Since I seem to start every recent post with an apology for the length of time since my last post, I will not do that this time. I'm sure you have all been able to get on with your life even though you have not been able to see pictures of Walker! We have been having a fun fall.

We did complete the State Fair 5K with Lindsay and Justin, however, we did not run in it. I think Lindsay and I finished in about 40 minutes, with the boys somewhere right around us. Aaron and I have no excuse, but Lindsay had to run 9 miles the next day and decided to take it easy to walk with me and chat during the 5K. It was actually quite fun, and now we have an ugly T-shirt to prove that we occasionally excercise. We also got State Fair tickets for doing the race, so Lindsay, Justin, Aaron, Walker, and I went to the fair after the race. It was the most fun we have had at the Fair in a long while. We saw the flying dogs show, the animal barnyard (which Walker loved -- he can answer "moo" now when you ask him what the cow says), the car shows, the bake contests, craft contests, and of course, we ate way too much fried food. All in all, it was quite a fun and exhausting day!

This weekend was Ben's 18th birthday! Can you believe it? It seems like just yesterday to me that he was crawling around in his cow costume on his first birthday. He had a party at this fun mexican food restaurant in Mockingbird Station on Saturday night, which we all attended. Then last night we celebrated Ben and Walker's birthdays with the family (-L&J who couldn't come due to L's busy week and studying schedule). Ben got some pretty sweet gifts from friends and family, but I don't think any compared with Walker's broom! Aaron is plugging away at school. He is enjoying most of his classes, and we are pretty excited that he is half-way through his next-to-last semester of seminary! Just 7 months away from having a Masters of Theology! He is meeting with some men from our church on Mondays to learn how to write the liturgy for our services so that he can get involved in that, and he is considering doing an internship with our church when he graduates. We are not sure of our exact path when he finishes at DTS, so please be praying for direction and wisdom.

2006-08-23T07:30:00.000-07:00

Hello. I thought I should post, but I don't have much to say. Walker is doing well -- the diaper rash is pretty much cleared up, so he is clothed most of the time again. He is starting to eat real people food, which is kind-of fun. We met Aaron at Chick-fil-A yesterday for lunch, and he had chicken nuggets and french fries. Mmmmm. All the books say not to feed babies french fries so they won't like them later on and will have healthy eating habits. I think that's dumb. Who wouldn't like french fries?

I have resumed my training for the infamous 5k. I mapped out my route with Lindsay's calculator, and I plug away at it daily. It is much harder to walk/run with a baby stroller than you might think. I find myself avoiding all the hills, which isn't really easy in my neighborhood!
It's still hot here, and that makes it really hard to work because I drive around all day. At least my car has airconditioned seats!

Life as we know it

2006-08-10T07:09:00.000-07:00

Well, we're back in the real world. Colorado and New Mexico were wonderful. We hiked, biked, shopped, played, talked, etc. in the incredibly cool weather and beautiful surroundings! Walker really enjoyed riding in his backpack, and we had fun introducing him to our favorite place. Enjoy some pictures.

2006-07-26T07:16:00.000-07:00

We leave today at noon for Colorado! Hooray! We are meeting our friends, Julie and Oscar, in Denver for a couple of days, then meeting Aaron's parents in Breckenridge for a few days, and then headed down to Red River to hook up with the Walkers there. Hopefully it will be cool, fun, and relaxing!

For those of you wondering, I have not run since Saturday. We are taking our bikes to the mountains, so maybe I can get some exercise there even if it's not running!

I updated our albums on www.walgreens.com. Username karawmorris password bella2660 for your viewing pleasure!

And, a huge congratulations to Brenda and Zachary! We are so excited for you!

On the run

2006-07-21T07:55:00.001-07:00

So last weekend, my dear sister, Lindsay, asked if I might want to run the Grapevine Grapefest 5K with her in September. (This story is illustrated with the gear required for our family to run because I don't have any pictures of us actually running.) I enthusiastically agreed. I loved to run in college and ran at least that distance every morning. On Monday it occurred to me that this running in college was about 7 years ago. On Tuesday I realized that it has actually been about 15 months since I exercised regularly at all. On Wednesday I thought perhaps I should go for a walk or run sometime before the 5K in September. I don't want to look stupid or be outrun by my own little sister!

So Aaron, Walker, Abraham, Bella, and I went for a run Thursday morning. The thermostat read 89 when we left the house at 6:30 in the morning, and it was up to 92 by the time we returned 29 minutes later. We managed to walk quickly for 2.25 miles (our usual Saturday morning stroll), and we actually ran a whole block of that distance! :) We both agreed that we are horribly out of shape, and made a covenant to work out sometimes.

I went again this morning. I was sore because of my extreme work out yesterday, but I pushed through it and tackled the nieghborhood sidewalks again with the jogging stroller and both dogs. Aaron had to work early, so he lucked out and didn't have to run. Today I managed to run almost a mile of my total distance. Then I had to walk slowly all the way home because I thought I was going to pass out.

I will keep you all up to date on my "training," and I will provide real-life pictures of our adventures in the future! So far, I'm a little worried for us. Maybe we should get a stroller like Walker's and let Lindsay push us at the Grapefest.

Happy Monday Morning

2006-07-10T06:40:00.000-07:00

Well it's official. Aaron is again a seminary student! He starts his Biblical counseling class this afternoon. He is still working part time at the insurance company but is excited to be back on campus to study and see all his friends. This class is two weeks long and then we go to Colorado and New Mexico. Hooray!! It will be Walker's first summer trip since it's also his first summer.

Speaking of Walker-- He's still cute. Whew. He crawls really fast all over the house and is getting much better at pulling up. He's figured out that if he doesn't sit down very carefully, he'll fall on his face. So it's funny to watch him put his hand out and lower himself to the floor very slowly. He still sings and moves to music. So obviously he's only half Walker. Walkers don't typically move well to music. By that I mean dance. No offense anybody.

2006-06-17T13:33:00.000-07:00

The past few weekends have been chocked full of activities . . . a trip to Odessa for study redecoration, a clinic move, Walker visitors in Dallas, a trip to the Ft. Worth Modern, weddings, backyard Bible club, shark sculptures, doctor and vet appointments, pergola building, Mavs, portraits, and then the usual . . . yard work, cleaning, church, swimming, working, Walker Christian, and a Volvo for sale.

Walker learned to go from laying to sitting without help, crawl, and pull up all in one week about 2 weeks ago, and our "usual" life has become a lot more exciting. He loves anything shiny or dangerous, such as rocking chairs, trash cans, outlets, and his crib. We have fallen in love with the pack and play, and I think he likes it too because he doesn't fall and hit his head nearly as often! He is also learning to ride, but he still needs some help from Daddy with that!

...that starts with T which rhymes with P, and that stands for POOL!

2006-05-25T18:44:00.001-07:00

So Walker went a-swimmin in the cement pond for the first time this week. And me and Mamma, we's real proud. He laughed and kicked and carried on so. He really enjoyed the new NaCl system...it feels very nice; no stinging eyes and it won't dry you out like lesser pool systems. It's clearer than we've ever seen and talk about low maintenance; sewee!

Sorry there are so few pictures, but the camera's not water proof and it ruins all of our Marco Pollo games if we constantly have a "fish out of water."

Mother's Day

2006-05-15T15:40:00.000-07:00

We had a lovely first Mother's Day for me! Walker and Aaron made me mini-french toast for breakfast and gave me some lavender lotion and shower gel. Then we had a wonderful church service with a great sermon and a semi-cooperative Walker. He, in honor of mother's day, I guess, has become more attached to us, and he won't really stay in the nursery at church. So, we took him with us this Sunday, and he made it almost to the sermon before he got upset and had to be walked in a stroller. We walked in the stroller in the halls for a little while, and then I handed him off to a nursery worker to walk the halls and went back in for the rest of the service. After church we went to Macaroni Grill with Mommy, Daddy, Lindsay, Justin, and Ben. That was fun. We ate on the patio and opened gifts. Then we all went back to my parent's house and chatted and played with Walker for quite a while. Finally, to finish the day, Aaron and I went to one of my good friend's wedding yesterday evening. It was beautiful at the arboretum with perfect weather and good food and cake. Mommy and Daddy went too, so we even had our own little fun group for hanging out. The weather here has been so nice that we have been outside tons. We had a fish fry Friday night outside, grilled hotdogs on Saturday, and then had the day of dining outside on Sunday. I am just itching to get into the pool, which is the BEST I have ever seen it due to the new salt water system, but we are enjoying the spring temps while they last! Here are a couple of Walker shots, and, for your viewing pleasure, we uploaded pictures to www.walgreens.com. You can enter in our username: karawmorris, and password: bella2660, and then you can view and order pics if you want them!

Spring Cleaning

2006-04-26T08:00:00.000-07:00

You know how sometimes you look around your house and it just starts to make you clausterphobic? I mean, all of a sudden, you realize that there is stuff on every surface, in every nook and cranny, and it's all covered in dust! That happened to me last weekend. So, this week, I am spring cleaning. I did the back of the house yesterday, I'm doing the front Friday, and the upstairs on Saturday. I am paring everything down and summerizing the decor, cleaning out all the closets and drawers, and giving all the surfaces a good scouring.

Yesterday, I changed out bedroom by taking down the sheer curtains and changing the pillows and throw on our bed to a more summery palate, cleaned out the hall closet, and sorted through the thousands of sample shampoos and lotions that I for some reason feel the need to keep in the bathroom. I also had to clean out the nursery. It has to be done all the time because Walker is constantly changing what he uses and outgrowing his clothes! Now I have a clean back of the house, a giant trashbag full of stuff, a big box of stuff for a garage sale, and a couple of boxes of baby stuff for the attic. I feel like a true housewife. It's true when they say, "She works in the home..." I worked harder yesterday than anyday when I go to work! Walker helped me all day. He was quite the little angel, either napping, or playing happily while I worked. The dogs were no help. They just napped and dropped their fur everywhere!

Walker's First Easter

2006-04-19T20:00:00.000-07:00

Spring

2006-04-11T13:06:00.000-07:00

I had the day off today and went to the park with some friends from church and their kids. It was fun, and it definitely made me grateful for my two days off and a little envious of their "stay-at-home-mom" state. The weather here in Dallas has been gorgeous lately. It's that kind of weather that makes you happy just to look out the window: sunny, floating white clouds, gentle breeze, 70 degrees, green buds and colorful blooms everywhere . . . I wish it would stay like this all year!
We worked in our yard last weekend. I pulled weeds, trimmed bushes, and cleaned out pots, Aaron mowed and edged, the dogs followed us around, and Walker played and talked in his pack-and-play. He is really enjoying being outside. We have been eating out on the patio every night, and he loves sitting out there with the wind blowing on his little face. On Friday, he kicked his feet in the pool. He really liked it, and we can't wait to get him in the water when it gets a little warmer. OK, so maybe I don't want it to stay like this all year!
The spring is such a time of new life that it makes me happy that is when we celebrate Easter. What better time to remember the resurrection of Christ than when all the plants are "resurrecting" after the winter as little pictures in creation of His majesty! Our Maundy Thursday service is going be held at the Arboretum, and I'm looking forward to mourning his death and looking forward to life in that beautiful setting.
Sorry no pictures. Our camera has been out of batteries, but we'll take some this weekend and post them!

I've got nothing to say

2006-03-31T07:27:00.000-08:00

Walker Christian . . . 5 months

Bathtime!

Chillin' in the crib

2006-03-25T13:38:00.000-08:00

Aaron read his paper yesterday at the ETS conference. He did a great job! There were more people there than I expected, he read well, and then there were several questions following that he handled very well. I think he was able to think on his feet so well because he was wearing a suit-and-tie and his reading glasses. If you look like a professor, maybe you also think like a professor! The conference was in Ft. Worth at Southwestern Theological Seminary, so we drove out there to hear him read and then rushed back to Dallas for our home group.

We have home group for church once a month, and we really love. So, we didn't want to miss it because of the conference. Luckily there wasn't much traffic coming back to Dallas, and we were only a few minutes late. We had a fun time worshiping together, eating pizza, and playing with the kids. Our group has five families in it, ranging in age and family make-up. There are two couples with older kids (college and late high school), two families with four young kids each, and then us. It's quite a rambunctious group!

Napping advice from one Bella to another:
I have been reading a book about baby naps that I just love. So, for Kyle and Lyndsay, I'm plugging it here. It's called "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Marc Weissbluth, M.D. It is really interesting with information about how our bodies sleep and then suggestions for helping your baby to sleep. Walker is just now really ready for it, but I wish I'd had it a couple of months ago so that I could have an idea of where we were going next. So, CrazyUncle, you should pick that up for your grandbaby! Walker is taking nap #3 today as we speak, and he went down without crying or protesting a bit!

Here are more pictures. If y'all are tired of them, let me know, and I'll think of something else to post!

2006-03-21T05:10:00.000-08:00

I am officially only working 3 days this week!!! I feel like a new woman, and I am determined to have two days off plus the weekend even if all I am able to do is try to recover from my hectic three days on! I saw 11 patients yesterday, and I have equally long days Wednesday and Thursday, but Walker and I are going to Bible study and lunch (if the budget permits) today and then to hear Aaron read his paper on Friday.
We had flooding, torrential rains all weekend! Our neighborhood made it on the news because of all the cars trapped and people having to be rescued less than a mile from our house. All the streets around us were completely blocked off with firetrucks, and we heard sirens all day on Sunday. Our own backyard looks a little like a Mississippi mud-slide, and our garage still has standing water in it! But, the ground is drying, and soon we should be able to allow the dogs in the backyard again.

That's all my news. Aaron posted something to Abraham's blog and was hoping for some readers, so I'll give him a plug. Check out the dogblog.

Life and babies

2006-03-10T05:11:00.001-08:00

Well, life recently has been pretty ho-hum. We are just moving along, each day similar to the last! Last weekend Aaron's sister, her boyfriend (whom we had not yet met), and his aunt and uncle came into town last weekend for his grandmother's 88th birthday. That was nice and fun to see all of them. They all, of course, enjoyed meeting little Walker.

Speaking of the most interesting thing in our life, he is still growing and changing every day. Now he "talks" all the time. He shouts out little vowel sounds and gurgles while he plays, and it is really cute! He can roll over consistently now, so in the mornings, he is on his back just smiling and talking when I go in to get him up. He is such a happy fun little guy! A couple of weeks ago he decided to start waking up in the night again. I think he may be having a growth spurt and just need to eat more, so we are going to try cereal in the evenings pretty soon. Last night he woke up TWICE!! Thank goodness I didn't have to work today!
I have been working my schedule so that I only have to work 3 days a week. It has really been nice since Mommy's back has been so painful for her. Kathleen (Aaron's mom) watches Walker on Wednesdays, and then that only leaves 2 days for Mommy. She loves keeping him, but I'm sure it is hard on her poor back! Of course, the problem is that I should stay home and clean house, do paperwork, etc. on my days off, and she should rest. Instead, we tend to run around and play. Today we are going to Northpark, which has TONS of new stores, to attempt to spend the $50 gift certificate I found in my purse on new summery clothes for Walker. We might accidentally spend a little of it at LaMadeline. Good thing baby clothes are tiny and inexpensive!

Aaron has been enjoying work much more lately. He has had some good sales and has a few big companies that seem to be about to come his way, so that is a blessing. He also has been talking to some men in our church about other career options for the next year and when he graduates including teaching in a private school or pastoring. Please pray for us as we consider all these options and try to make the best decision for our family and God's glory. He registered for his summer and fall classes at DTS this week and is getting so excited to be back in the swing of school! He is taking Paul's epistles this summer, a class in hermeneutics (which will help him with his thesis topic), a greek class focusing on Luke, Teaching in higher level Christian Education, and Hebrew Exegesis in the fall. I am excited for him and not the least bit jealous!

Enough of that! Enjoy the pictures of Walker. Also, I got my haircut and posted a pic of that for those who care!

It's tough to be a baby!

This is first thing in the morning! Isn't he sweet?

2006-02-21T12:46:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post to say hello! We just returned from a fabulous and extremely tiring ski trip to Wolf Creek with my parents, Benny, and the Walker grandparents. We left Thursday morning at 5am in the Morris' Navigator, picked Mommy up in Albuquerque, and arrived in Pagosa Springs at 7:30pm NM time. We hit the slopes Friday morning despite the blizzard and managed to ski Friday and Saturday in white-out conditions with high temperatures in the low teens! Then the skies cleared on Sunday, the temperature soared to almost 20 degrees, and we threw down some pretty nice runs. Obviously, I was ablet o catch some pretty nice air! Then we loaded up the car and headed back for Dallas at 5am on Monday.

Walker tolerated the long car ride pretty well, and then he had to adjust to the altitude on Friday. It made him feel icky. I think he might have been irritated because by the time he finally got to feeling like himself again, we loaded him back up in the car and headed back to Dallas. I'm assuming the irritation based on the crying he did for the last hour and a half of the drive home! He was so happy to finally be back in his own little round crib!
Aaron had to get up this morning at 2am to drive to Oklahoma for a three day business trip. Poor guy. I think he is in a hotel in Oklahoma City sleeping as we speak! All the rest of the trippers (I'm speaking for those in Dallas) went to work and school as usual, however we all felt like we had been at a slumber party. So, we had a blast in the mountains, and now we are only bummed that it is over!

Walker and the The Walkers

2006-01-26T11:26:00.000-08:00

The grandparents Walker came to Dallas this weekend to visit Walker and the rest of us. We had such a nice visit, and it was wonderful to see them since it's been so long since we saw them last. I know they enjoyed getting to know Walker, and he liked meeting more people who share his name!

Granddad, as usual, fulfilled his duties and helped Daddy with lots of house jobs. When they finished at their house, the dynamic duo came to duplex and put a door on our detached garage. It's so awesome because prior to the lovely metal door with a knob, we had an open door jamb with an old interior door sitting sideways on the ground to keep the dogs out. We had to climb over it, and now that I have Walker in his carrier, that was become dangerous!

We also had a fun belated birthday party for Justin on Friday night, and Mommy cooked cherry briskit, cheese grits, blue cheese cole slaw, and molten chocolate cake. As usual, it was fabulously delicious! Happy birthday to Justin!

This week has been rather uneventful. Work is busy; I'm back to full-time, so Walker goes to Mimi's Monday through Thursday now. Aaron had a rough draft for the paper for his internship due today, so he has been working on that every evening and stayed up all night last night trying to finish it. I miss him, but it just feels like the last three years that he's been in school!

Walker will be three months old on Tuesday, and he is just more fun everyday! He actually almost laughs out loud and makes many little sounds. He's not babbling yet, but he wants to, you can tell. He has just started to enjoy toys. He grabs at the dangling toys on his gym and bouncy seat, and his favorite toy is his "barr bear." He pulls it up over his face and looks like he's embarrassed, hence, the "em'barr'assed bear!" I have tried to update the pictures so you can see how big and darling he is.

Walker, and other less important things

2006-01-12T20:30:00.000-08:00

Well, this has been a busy whirlwind of a week. I am trying to get my caseload back up to full time as quickly as possible, and it is time-consuming to work full time! Aaron and I made a budget as part of our New Year's Resolution and realized that I can't dilly-dally in picking up patients anymore. So, I kicked it into high gear, and she got to keep Walker all week while I had to go on visits! I think I will get used to working soon, but right now it's kind-of a bummer. I really hate leaving our little guy, even if it is with his Mimi! For those of you searching for work, know that I am thankful for my job and praying for you as you look and wait.
We have a baby shower this weekend for one of my college roommates, Mary. She is having a little boy in March, and Miriam is coming into town from Houston to help us give the shower. This one is easy. It's at a girl's house in Allen, and we just have to take a casserole and a punch bowl. Miriam is also pregnant! She is due in July, so we are planning all kinds of baby and mom parties as well as making plans for Walker to either be best friends with or marry (depending on the sex) her baby. While Mir and I go to the shower, Aaron gets to rake leaves and bag acorns and unmentionable dog waste. I know he is really so excited about that, but I told him that it is only a matter of time until he can make Walker do it!

Walker is growing like a weed. He had his two month check-up last week, and he weighed 10 lbs, 3 oz. and was 22 inches long. He got his first round of shots, and it was so sad because he screamed and then felt pitiful all night. We had to give him tylenol, which was weird because it was the first time we had given him anything but milk. He loved it -- I think he thought it was candy.
Now he smiles and coos all the time. He thinks that we are just hilarious, and he is very intrigued by his dogs. When they walk by, his eyes open up really wide, and he, of course, looks adorable! He loves for me to sing to him, so we sing silly songs and Hide-em in your Heart with Steve Green all the time. It's fun to be parents!

Happy New Year

2005-12-30T09:17:00.000-08:00

Well, we enjoyed a wonderful, fun first Christmas with Walker. It was great to go to church, spend time with family, the food (mass quantities at two houses) was delicious, and Walker cleaned up on the gifts. He now has plenty of toys, more clothes, sweet blankets, and a bouncy seat. He calls the bouncy seat his "miracle chair" and sits in it happy as a lark all the time now.

Monday after Christmas everybody went away on vacation but us. The Walkers went to Cloudcroft to relax in the resort-style ranch, the Wards went to Purgatory to ski on rocks, and our neighbors, the Presleys went to Arkansas and Kentucky. We stayed here with all five dogs and our baby. We offered to keep Lindsay's new 4runner for her, but she said it would be allright without her!

The week turned out okay after all. Duke settled right in at our house, and the Presley's dogs only had one episode of diarrea in the house. Luckily Aaron's a pro at cleaning up dog messes after Abraham's weak stomach of his youth! I worked a few days, and Aaron enjoyed a short week with Monday off. I went to lunch Monday with Julie, my longtime friend (the daughter of Jane and Bill who own the resort-style ranch in Cloudcroft), and I was supposed to have a friend come over for lunch today. She has been my friend since the fifth grade, and we get together occasionally. Today we had alot to discuss because she just got engaged and hasn't met Walker yet, but, alas, she is a nurse and worked with a newborn with Chicken Pox last night at the hospital. So, she couldn't come expose Walker to the disease, and I am left with tortilla soup and a wasted clean house!

Now, we have big plans for New Year's Eve including working for me and writing for Aaron and even bigger plans for New Year's Day including making a budget and putting away our Christmas decorations! Ahhh, the life of an adult! It's not as exciting as it seems when you are young in bed while they laugh loudly and play dominoes. Maybe Aaron and I will do that after we put Walker in bed on New Year's Eve just to get him used to it!

Come, and Know me Better Man!

2005-12-23T10:38:00.000-08:00

Sorry we are so behind on this post. We have been sadly lax in our blogging lately. Merry Christmas eve, eve! Also, a big Christmas congratulations to anyone who can name the movie quoted in the title of this blog!

Hot Chocolate or Egg Nog?
Hot Chocolate, no doubt!
Does Santa wrap the presents or just set them under the tree? Santa sets them under the tree but he doesn't bring very many gifts! Mom and Dad want the credit they deserve (good answer Lindsay!)
Colored or white lights on the tree/house? White, but I have been liking the big, old fashioned colored ones lately. If I could get Aaron to put lights on the house, that's what we'd have.
When do you decorate? the weekend after Thanksgiving
What is your favorite holiday dish?
Sweet Potatoe souffle and Pecan Pie
Favorite Holiday memory as a child?
Probably sleeping in the study with the half wall and the Christmas tree at Grandmummie's house on the floor because I wouldn't share a bed with "kicks alot" Lindsay
Do you open gifts on Christmas Eve? We open on Christmas morning
What kind of cookies do you set out for Santa on Christmas Eve?
never set out any cookies
Snow! Love it or hate it? I like it on the ski slope but not where I live
Can you ice skate? sure
What is the most important thing about the holidays for you? Celebrating the Incarnation with those we love most in the world!
What’s your favorite holiday dessert?
It's hard to have a favorite when the dessert makes your mouth water!
What type of tree? Real noble fir, unless allergies preclude this
Which do you prefer, giving or receiving?
I know giving is the right answer, and I love that, but I do really like getting a great gift. So, send them my way, you givers! =)
What is your favorite Christmas Carol? Joy to the World
Candy Canes, YUCK or YUM?
YUCK, even the new ones with colors are stick and nasty
Favorite All-Time Gift?
Kirsten, the American Girl Doll. Lindsay and I could hardly contain ourselves that year

And now the obligatory Walker pics...

Great our Joy!

2005-12-17T19:08:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas Everyone! Aaron and I are getting into the Christmas season. What a wonderful season it is to spend an entire month reflecting on the mystery and glory of the Incarnation! Here is a song that has encouraged and inspired us this Christmas along with a few pictures of our darling boy. Try singing it with your family. We think you'll be blessed.

Isn't he the cutest thing you've ever seen!?

This is what happens when Aaron gets on a theological rant...

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

2005-11-29T08:51:00.000-08:00

Good morning! I have been reading everybody's blogs, and Christmas decorations seem to be the theme. We also took advantage of our long weekend to get our house in the Christmas spirit. Aaron put up the tree and lights Friday morning, and then we spent the afternoon and evening decorating the house and tree. Unfortunately we have an artificial tree, so there was no cutting down or picking out to be done, but it is really pretty, easy, and it doesn't make me sick with allergies. So, it works for us. It is actually one of my favorite Estate sale finds. It is a very nice, realistic, 8 ft. tree that I got at a sale for $20 the year we moved into this house! Walker mainly slept through the decorating(except for the hanging of his own little stocking), and the dogs joined the festivities by wearing their favorite reindeer antlers and jingle bell collars for a little while!

We are so excited for Christmas this year. It is always amazing and humbling to reflect on the helpless form that Christ took on in the incarnation, but looking at our tiny baby boy really brings home the reality. Jesus humbled himself, taking on our bodies, and not even our adult bodies, but the body of a completely dependent newborn, so that he might serve as the propitiation for our sin in his death! What an amazing gift! It makes all our shopping and preparation seem so useless when we meditate on his sacrifice and ultimate gift.

Now here a few pictures of our precious little guy and Katie being the first extended family Walker to hold the newest Walker!

First smile!!!

Sic 'em Bears!

Bella's first time to babysit

Addresses?

2005-11-17T08:20:00.000-08:00

Happy week before Thanksgiving all! What a wonderful time of year to enjoy the nice weather and reflect on all the gifts in our lives. We are working on getting our birth announcements out and need some addresses from you in the younger generation. I don't have Kyle and Lyndsay's, Brenda and Zachary's, or Katie Ellyn and Justin's. If y'all would send them to me, I will send you a cute little announcement. I dare say, that, although they are simple, you might be proud of me, Brenda! I think I may have pulled off being crafty, for once. Here's one more picture of our darling baby!

Walker Christian

2005-11-12T11:12:00.000-08:00

Walker is still doing very well. He is starting to be more alert and interactive, although he is still pretty much in his own little newborn world. This morning he stayed awake for 3 hours (a new record), and he was so sweet and fun. He laid in his crib on his tummy for a while and stared at his exciting octopus toy while he listened to "Hide 'em in your Heart." Do you remember that, Lindsay? That CD (it was a tape at the time) has most of the scripture I have memorized on it! Then he turned over and watched his mobile for a while.

Then Mimi had a car accident near our house on her way to get Ben at wrestling. She was okay, but Aaron had to go get Ben, and Walker and I went to give her moral support while they waited on the police. The driver who hit her was of course uninsured and unlicensed. Walker rode along, enjoying the motion of the car and watching out the window. When we got back home, he played with his Daddy for a while and finally decided he was ready to eat lunch and take a nap.

It is so fun to be parents! We love it, and we are constantly amazed at the awesome responsibility the Lord has chosen to bestow upon us. It is exciting and a little overwhelming as we do our best to prepare our hearts and lives to raise Walker in a god-fearing home. I have been reading to him out of Genesis, and just today we got to a part where Isaac tells Abimelek that Rebekah is his sister rather than his wife because he is afraid. I was struck by the power of the example of your parents because this is exactly what Abraham had done to Abimelek with his wife Sarah years before. Isaac just followed in the footsteps of his father. I pray that Aaron and I will be granted the grace from God to set an example worthy of Walker following!

Now, here are some fresh pics of the boy!

Friday, November 11, 2005: All ready for his first trip to Mimi and Poppy's house!

Sleeping in a little on Saturday morning

I caught a glimpse of myself in the octopus mirror and thought, "Maybe I should be professionally good-looking for a living!"

Welcome Walker

2005-11-09T10:21:00.000-08:00

Hello everybody! So sorry that we haven't updated with information and pictures of our new little boy. He is just so darling that we have trouble coming upstairs and working with the dumb computer when we could look at him. Now, however, Aaron put all our pictures on my computer, Walker is napping while his Mimi holds him, and I am updating the blog.

All is well. Walker is perfectly healthy, gaining weight, changing every day, and sleeping like an angel! He sleeps about 4 hours at a time during the night, so I am actually quite rested and able to easily make it through the day without a nap. I think I've got him on a schedule where he eats at 9:30, goes down at 10:00, and then I just have one feeding at 2:00 am before morning and time to get up anyway comes. The Lord has blessed me because I am not a "middle of the night, not get much sleep" kind of girl! When he is awake, he just looks around and makes cute faces. He has started to push up with his arms and legs when you hold him to burp, and he tries to lift his head up, which usually results in it suddenly flopping back down.

The dogs are adjusting well. Abraham is happy to have a new family member, but he does not like it when Walker cries. It makes him all nervous. Bella is glad that we got her a baby, and she thinks that I am not really the best mom she's ever seen ... not enough licking. We are having a great time with our new family. Speaking of dogs, I find it funny that Kyle and Lyndsay have Morris Walker, and we have Bella Morris. Great names!

Here are a few pictures for anyone who wants to see more than Mimi and Poppy have already posted!
Walker is cheering for his Aunt Noelle's school. He is very family-oriented, otherwise he NEVER cheer for any team but Baylor! This weekend, he will be a Baylor Bear all the way!

Here is our family in the hospital parking garage and Walker in his seat on our way home for the first time!

Happy Reformation Day

2005-10-31T05:48:00.000-08:00

Good morning family and friends! This is just a quick post between contractions to let all of you know that it looks like today is going to be the day. Aaron and I are waiting at home right now until the contractions are a little closer, longer, and harder, and then we are supposed to head to the hospital. I hope you will all be praying today, and we will post with pictures and details when the labor thing (yikes!!!) is over!

10 days!!!!

2005-10-24T17:51:00.000-07:00

Pregnancy update:
I asked about inducing labor today at the doctor, just to get an idea of how long we might have to wait for labor to kick in on its own. To my delight, my doctor said we could schedule a date for induction right now! So, the date is set .... November 3, 2005 at 6 a.m. Now, Walker could still decide to come before then, but we will bring him in that day if he hasn't come yet! Aaron and I, as well as the rest of the fam, are quite excited! We will have a new member in 10 days or less. Let the countdown begin!

Weekend update

2005-10-24T05:41:00.000-07:00

Hello blog friends! Sorry that we have been so lax in keeping up our site. We have been busy lately waiting for Walker to come, and we haven't had much to say on the blog. We had a nice weekend. We all (Mimi and Poppy, Lindsay and Justin, and us) went to Ben's play on Thursday night. It was cute and funny, and Ben was quite the ham as usual. Saturday, Aaron and I worked on a few more things to get the house ready for Walker such as hanging a "W" on the wall and washing some more baby blankets and clothes. We took the dogs for a walk, enjoying the finally cool weather, and had a nice dinner at home of cheese and chocolate fondue. We spent alot of the weekend watching our teams lose. First, Texas beat Tech, then OU beat Baylor in double overtime, and then the Cowboys threw away the game in the last few seconds! It was really depressing for those who care about football. I didn't let it get to me, but I was pretty disappointed for the Bears! Aaron and I braved the freezing temps (48 degrees) and went to our last new member's class at church this Sunday, which is always fun, and we will be presented to the body next week if we're there. I'm hoping we will be home with our new baby by then! We are getting really ready for the little guy to come. Our doctor said, "It could be any day now," two weeks ago, so now it's just a waiting game. Aaron panics everytime I make any kind of sudden movement or surprised remark. He's ready to grab that bag and head to the hospital! I have an appointment today, so perhaps we will have more baby news this evening.

The crib's here!

2005-10-06T15:44:00.000-07:00

Well, it finally arrived, and Aaron put it together because I really couldn't wait! We're still missing the mattress, but it's on its way. Notice the detail on the bumper ... isn't it cute!?

Showered

2005-10-04T19:07:00.000-07:00

Well, it looks like it's my turn to comment on the baby shower. My sweet sister and roommates from Baylor threw me (and I guess Walker and Aaron too) a beautiful baby shower. Although I did have an inkling of some of the gifts beforehand, there were many fun surprises. Walker will be quite the well-dressed baby! I am putting some pictures on the blog, but the photographer I assigned mainly took many pictures of me. Hopefully Lindsay has some of the table and decor because it really was so cute.
Some of the larger gifts were, of course, the stylish diaper bag from the hostesses. They also gave us our white bumpers from the Pottery Barn Kids. Nice girls. We got our stroller, which is a travel system. This means that it is a stroller, infant seat, and car seat all in one. Aaron put it together, and I pushed it around until Miriam told me that she felt like Walker was in the stroller and I was pregnant with #2. I decided to put it away after that. We also got a Pack-n-Play, which will come in handy if we go to Cloudcroft at Christmas. We got lots of little outfits, stuff for the nursery, and toys. And my parents gave us our crib, which is being delivered Thursday! We will post again with pictures when it arrives!

Sorry that our blog is all baby, but that is pretty consuming right now. 5 weeks! Yikes/Can't wait! I went to the doctor Monday, and Walker now weighs 4 pounds, 9 ounces, and we both are healthy! Thanks for all your prayers! Have a wonderful week, and we are thinking of all of you who are busy moving. I know it is stressful and exciting and exhausting!

A new post...

2005-09-28T18:18:00.000-07:00

Well, crazyuncle told me that I needed to post something on this site. The only problem is that I feel a little pressure to be clever or to at least actually have something of value to say. Aaron is downstairs doing the dishes, so I will give up the clever and witty and go for value.
I am getting excited for the baby shower this weekend. It is at Lindsay's house, and I heard that she has planned a fun menu with equally fun presentation. My Baylor roommate, Miriam, is coming in from Houston to help with the shower. She's staying with Aaron and me, and I am excited to see her for the whole weekend. I think we will participate in such girly fun as haircuts, manicures, and a dinner with our other roommate, Mary.
As far as baby showers go, I have discovered yet another marvel of the internet. When you register for gifts, you can manage your registry online. This means that it is possible to see the gifts that have already been purchased from your registry. Since I am trying to exercise restraint, I only check each registry once a day to see what people have purchased. It's like trying to see through the wrapping paper on Christmas presents, only easier!
Oh, and rejoice with us! Aaron went to work today and got paid! He has been trying to get his start in the insurance industry, and it has been slower than we expected. A lot of his hard work paid off today, so we are extremely thankful. It's amazing how God takes care of you ... it just sometimes seems like He waits until the last possible minute!
Okay, I'm not sure if that was valuable or clever, but it was certainly something.

If blogging is cool, consider us Miles Davis

2005-09-24T10:23:00.000-07:00

Apparently, Aaron and I have been missing out on this new venue for sharing our opinions with others, and we didn't even know it! After conquering the world of ecommerce on eBay, we were ready for a new venture, but had no idea where to turn. Thank you, Lindsay, for loving us enough to take us aside and tell us about blogging. We don't know if we can live up to the high cyber standards set by our predecessors, but we hope to contribute something of value to your otherwise dreary lives.

A Quick update on us:
We are busy getting ready for Walker to come into the world in early November! Aaron is working on his new job in insurance and enjoying a semi-break from the world of homework. He is interning this year for a professor and will be working on a paper ... any time now. I am decorating the nursery, working, and trying to take it easy since the doctor put me on modified bed rest. As far as I can tell, that means Aaron gets to do ALL the household chores! Here are a couple of pictures to catch you up.