Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Congratulations to Jonathan!

I'd like to shout out a huge CONGRATULATIONS to Jonathan for passing his "boards" today at Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station.

Jonathan has been in long training program since we moved here in August 08. He's sat through endless hours of training classes, and has traveled a lot to take more training that was out of state.

But at long last ... he's passed all his tests ... passed his boards, and training is OVER!

Congratulations, Jonathan! We knew you could do it!

Friday, October 23, 2009

Signed, sealed ... delivered!

Today we bought ourselves a house! Wooooohooooooooooooooo!!!

The move will be gradual, as I am super busy at work and we have a very active toddler underfoot (who, by the way, turns 2 on November 2!). But, a gradual move is sooo much better than the rushed move we did last year from NM to AZ.

So here are some pics of the outside. I'll be putting together a "walking tour" of the inside soon.


Sunday, October 18, 2009

Pumpkins!

We spent the morning at a local farm for a bit of fun pre-Halloween fun!

Christian was so cute with that little pumpkin he found. Right away, he went to it, said, "Ball" and picked it up. He wasn't prepared for how heavy it was ... but was successful in picking it up and walking away with it.

I would tell him, "Pumpkin ..." and he'd say, "Ball ..." Well, to him, it IS a ball. :)

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

A Field Trip to the Dairy!

We live in a rural community with plenty of farmland and dairies. Today we went to a "Baby Signs" field trip to a local dairy. Christian's favorite sound to make these days is "Moooooooooooooooooooooo!" so the dairy was a perfect place to be!

And a dairy is mighty interesting! The owner took us on a tour and explained how things work and answerd our questions. A grand time was had by all!

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Wordless Wednesday - October 7, 2009

Not so "wordless" today because I've really got to talk about this truck, "Jesus Christ is Lord Not a Swear Word."

WOW!

Jonathan and I have both seen this truck on the highway, and finally we had our camera at the right time.

It is really an amazing sight to see this truck go rolling past you!



From the company's website www.shipwithsam.com:

Our main focus at Sam Kholi transport is to present to the world that Jesus Christ is Lord not a swear word. If you notice on our trailers you will see the name of Jesus Christ. Our hearts yearn for the world to know that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior. The Creator of world, Jesus Christ is to be honored, glorified and praised by our lives and our tongue. Instead Hollywood has a driven agenda to denounce and make a mockery of our Lord Jesus Christ by stripping the power and holiness of His Name.

We have no motive or agenda other than to spread the message of hope in our Lord, Jesus Christ. Together with your help, we can fulfill our mission to send this message throughout America and Canada…that Jesus Christ Is Lord, not a swear word. Whether you have a transportation need or would like to donate to our ministry, please visit our services pages and web store.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Like Father, Like Son

Jonathan showed me this photo of himself as a child, and I simply could not believe how much it looks like Christian!

I wonder if Christian will look a lot like his Daddy when he grows up. That would be just fine with me, for I think I have a very handsome husband! :)


Sunday, October 4, 2009

A Trip to the Zoo

Jonathan had to work today, so Christian and I picked up Liz and headed to the zoo for a few hours. It seems we arrived during zoo naptime, as there just weren't a whole lot of animals to be seen.

There was a petting zoo, but there were only goats there. Christian did get a kick out of being able to brush the goat's fur without it running off the way Bella does when he tries to touch her.

Outside of the petting zoo, there was a cow of sorts (it's a cow that had a big ol' hump on it's back - don't recall what it was called). I wasn't sure Christian would know what it was ... but right away he said, "Moooooooooooooooooooooo!" Clever boy! :)

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

A Few Nice Surprises ...

With the days getting shorter, during the week we are only able to get to the house as darkness is falling. Tonight I needed to go to Walmart anyway, so we decided to check out the house while we were out and about.

The first nice surprise was seeing the nice stonework on the house. We forgot it was going to be added ... and certainly didn't thing there would be so much of it. Very nice!

The second nice surprise was to see how big our backyard is really going to be, now that they've started putting up the perimiter wall. Sure, we could always see how much yard was there ... but we assumed it would feel small once the wall went up. However ... it feels HUGE. The thought of making our backyard beautiful over time is exciting, yet a bit overwhelming. But it's nice to know there is so much space and so much potential.

The third nice surprise was meeting some of our new neighbors at the park across the street. We don't have any immeidate neighbors just yet, but we met two families who live down the street and they also have younger children (looked like there were four kids between the two different families). There were too many names mentioned during the introductions, so I only remember the name fo the dog - ha ha!

The boxes of cabinets were sitting in the garage, so I imagine tonight is last time we'll be able to get into the house after-hours. I'm certain once they start installing the cabinets, they will completely lock up the house at night.


Monday, September 21, 2009

Moving Right Along ...

Not a whole lot to report on the house. The interior insulation and drywall has been put up ... but those pics aren't too thrilling, so I won't post them. So here's some pics of the "pre-stucco" stage of the house.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Six Weeks ...

We had our "frame walk" at the house today. That is where the guy in charge takes us though the house and we get a close-up look at everything before they put in the insulation and drywall.

He told us we'll be closing on the house in exactly SIX WEEKS.

SIX WEEKS!

Keep in mind that on August 24th, all that was there was a cement slab.

Monday, September 7, 2009

Granny Comes For a Visit!

Granny (aka Jonathan's mom, Nora) blessed our household with a visit for a few days. I had to be in Albuquerque on Thursday and Friday for a meeting, so Granny came to take care of Christian while Jonathan worked.

Christian had a wonderful time with his beloved Granny ... and I know Granny had a wonderful time wtih her beloved Christian! And after I returned home Friday night, we all had a wonderful time together until she left us this morning (*sniffle sniffle*).

Granny taught Christian to drink from a straw, and to wipe his mouth when he eats! She also brought him a new Colorado Buffs shirt to wear on game day (it was a surprise for Jonathan!).

She also discovered the fruits of our labor with the "Your Baby Can Read" program. She laid out several of his word cards and would say (for example), "Christian, give me 'tiger'." And he'd give her the right card. "Give me hippopotamus." And he'd give her the right word. We have dozens of word cards, and he got it right every time. We've continued playing this game with him every night, and now he attempts to say the word ... it is so amazing to see!

He does the same thing with his alphabet blocks. "Christian, give me 'K'." And he'll scan the letters and hand us "K." And he'll do this for all his letters ... and try to say the letter, too (some letters he says very accurately!).

Remember: Christian is only 22 months old! :)

We just didn't know he was at a point where he could do these things ... and so we thank Granny for figuring it out! I'll have to get a video of these achievements and post them online.

We've also since discovered that he knows his numbers (1-10), colors and shapes! WOW!

Nora also taught me how to make tortillas (my past attempts have been pathetic), sopaipillas and chile. Liz came over and we both learned from Nora.

It was a wonderful few days for all of us, and we can't thank Granny enough for coming to visit!


Sunday, September 6, 2009

Baby Buff - 2009

And so it begins ... college football season. The tradition is that Jonathan and Christian dress up in their best Colorado Buffs outfits (this year, Christian's outfit was courtesy of Granny - thanks Granny!).

They boys watched football (sadly, Colorado lost) while Liz and I learned to make tortillas and chile from Jonathan's mom. A great day was had by all!




Click here to see Christian's first Buff's game from 2007.

The Progress Continues

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

The House ... Just One Day Later - Sept. 1

No, we aren't planning on visiting the house EVERY day.

However, yesterday we noticed that one of the 2x4s supporting the roof had split in two - but the two pieces were somehow attached to each other. So we wanted to stop in after the crew left today to make sure the issue had been noticed and resolved.

A lot of work was done on the house today, however, the split 2x4 was still there. So Jonathan will be calling the builder to ensure they know of the issue and get it fixed. All of the windows were installed today, as well as some more of the roof. It's really starting to look like a house. :)