New Heights

Playing at the Park

Sick and Cuddly

We had a sick little boy last weekend. Eli had a high fever and he was super cuddly. Below is a picture of our little guy in the thick of his sickness. He wouldn't move from this position.

And here are some pictures taken today. All better!

Filling Wall Space

If any of you have been to our apartment, you know that we have one wall in our living room that is large, white, and empty. We've been wanting to fill the space with artwork that is nice, large, and meaningful, and we finally did it! I got out my rusty artist hands (I haven't really done any artwork since high school) and started working on a series of three pieces. Below is the finished product. Thank you, Jake, for the art critiquing and for cutting out the matting and doing a masterful job hanging the frames.

(Don't mind the flash bouncing off the glass in each of the pictures.)

(Pictures 14"x19" - Frames 19"x24")
(Charcoal & chalk pastel)
These three pieces represent the roles God plays in our life.

The Potter's Clay

Living Water

In the Palm of His Hand

Mama's a Comedian

We should really rename this blog. Something like, "The Elijah Show" or "The Excellent Eli's Extravaganza" would be more fitting. Clearly, whatever this blog is about, it's no longer us. With that, I give you the star of the show...

On the verge of mobility

Okay, So You Don't Like the Hat

Sunday Changes

Last week our ward split, so we went to church this morning like it was the first day of school. This time I got to sit by the two cutest boys in the class. There is no one new in the ward, we just kept a portion of the people from our old ward. Our entire Relief Society presidency is still in my current ward, so we were called again to our same callings today, which means an other year (plus) of being the Enrichment Counselor. Jake was also called to be Priest Quorum Advisor again, which he is very happy about.

Our ward now starts at 1:00. Not a good church time for the youngsters. Yes, we all get to sleep in a little, but boy does it mess with naps. Eli got about a 15 min nap at the beginning of church when he usually takes a 2 hour nap at home, and he was one cranky, wired boy by the end of church. We took him home for a nap afterwards, and he only slept for 40 min and woke up crying and upset. We finally managed to put him back to sleep, and he slept for another 2 hours like this...


Daddy is the best mattress in the house.

Here are some other pictures from our little family (okay, the reality is that all our pictures are of Eli).


If you click on the picture below to blow it up larger, you can catch a glimpse of his first tooth that came through (middle right side).


Below are some pictures of Eli playing with one of his favorite toys.

Rae Gun Ramblings: Giveaway and Tutorial: Fabric Headbands

Rae Gun Ramblings: Giveaway and Tutorial: Fabric Headbands

Get Up, Stand up

Sink or Swim

Today we went to the pool at our complex for the first time. The temperature outside was 97 degrees, and with humidity it felt like it was over 100 degrees. We had a fun time cooling down in the water.

Being Startled Is Hilarious

Who knew being frightened would be so fun. The video quality is bad because we used our webcam for this.

Back to the Grind Stone

We recently returned from a fabulous vacation. We visited my family in California for a week and then flew to Utah for Jake's family reunion. While we were away we were able to visit some of our favorite friends as well, including Susie, Heidi & Daniel, Katie & Josh & Zach, Lauren, and Lisa. It's bittersweet returning to reality.

Below are some photos from our trip.

Eli with Grandma Criddle

Eli and Grandpa Criddle ("Opa")

Meeting Aunt Adrienne and the McConkie cousins.

Family photos taken by my mom.
Trying to get both Wylie and Eli to cooperate. It never did happen.
A night out with Heidi & Daniel.Farny reunion.

Chillin' with Susie.

Rice Mouth & Ducky Boy

Funny Noises

Eli started making funny faces and funny noises yesterday. Here is some footage

Happy, happy, joy, joy

Church got let out early because of the swine flu today. Both Jake and I were supposed to teach. We're not complaining.

Sunday Fancy Pants

Hello friends and family. I have a little time to write, so I am going to do a brief blog post update on our happenings. Jake is finishing up his first year at UNT. I think he only has about 2 weeks left and then finals. He is almost done with the first draft of the introduction to his thesis, and that has been taking up much of his time. He is still an adviser to the Priest Quorum at church and having a lot of fun with it. Last week they played disc golf for their Wednesday night activity--much to Jake's pleasure. The quorum is getting larger and larger. It seems like every Sunday there is a new young man being sustained to the office of priest.

Life has calmed down slightly for me over the past month. I decided to cut down on working, so I'm working 1-3 hours a day instead of the 4 hours a day that I had been working from January through the end of March. The extra time to get things done around the house has been wonderful. Who would have thought that I would actually start to enjoy the "free" moments to clean the dishes and fold the laundry. Right now I'm looking forward to our upcoming trip to California and Utah to visit family. Eli and I don't get out of the house much (besides daily walks/runs), so it will be an adventure taking our first plane trip together.

Eli just changed overnight again on Wednesday night. All of the sudden he is grabbing for his feet, turning on his side, making a whining sound, and...drum roll please...eating his first solid food! Here are his stats from his doctor's appointment on Thursday: 40% for weight, 60% for height, 30% for head circumference. He's got a little noggin. Below are some pictures of his fancy pants outfit he wore to church today.

Messy Eater and Attempt at Walking

Jabber the Hut

Big Boy

Joanna and I both feel like Eli has suddenly hit a growth spurt so we thought we'd post another video of him.