Mobile

Daniel is very mobile now.



Just before I shot this video, he had climbed up into the carseat, leaned in, and rocked it forward. He got up laughing, but I couldn't get him to do it again.

Save the Date

So I don't actually have any sure dates yet, but two very important things will be happening within the next 8 months.














1. Daniel will turn one year on August 24.

2. This December, provided I pass all my classes, I will graduate from UTArlington. Seven and a half years after graduating high school and 12 semesters at a total of 4 different schools, and I will be done. After this current semester, I only need to take 12 hours in the fall. The UTA calendar says graduation is December 10-14th. I know that's a crazy time of year for most people, so don't feel you need to be here to congratulate me, gift cards and checks are welcome in your absence.

The Gospel

is like a stereogram.

Seeing the big picture doesn't always come easy for me. I have to really focus and think on it.
And sometimes I do. I see it.
And it's incredible.
But just as quickly I loose focus, and it's gone. There's no doubt in my mind that it's still there, even when I can't see it. Each time I go back, it's bigger and more incredible. I can't help but be in awe of those moments when all the pieces come together and everything fits.

Ephesians 3:17 -19 And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Accomplishments

Daniel has had a busy few weeks. So many new accomplishments in just a short time.

He can now:
feed himself cheerios
drink from a sippy cup himself
sit up by himself
cruise around the ottoman (only counterclockwise)
and crawl!

Here's a short clip of the crawling:

April For Real

No joke, here are some of our goals for the month of April.

School
Plan and register for the fall semester. I will be taking 12 hours (hopefully fully funded by the Maverick Promise). Tommy will most likely be taking 7 hours. And Daniel will be attending a Mother's Day Out or part-time pre-school while I'm in class.

Financial
We've heard about the envelope system for years, but never had the desire or will power to do it. We will be instituting envelopes of $200 for groceries, $80 for eating out and $10 each for drinks and snacks. We opted not to use one for gas, because as much as I like the idea of saying "My gas envelope is empty and so is the car, guess I can't go to school!" it's just not realistic.

Physical
We plan on running in the Seminary Stride 5K. I've never run a whole 5K before, and am looking forward to it. I am currently "training" for it and ran 2 1/4 miles last night!

Spiritual
I've been greatly enjoying Tommy's new ESV Study Bible lately. I think I use it more than he does! It has motivated me to read through some of the Old Testament that I find intimidating. (I find just about all of the OT intimidating). I'm thinking I'll start reading Ezra this month.

What are some of your goals for the month? How much do you spend on eating in a month? I'd love to know where we stand on this, I know we spend more in Fort Worth than we did in San Antonio where we had the luxury of generous family nearby. Are there parts of scripture that overwhelm or intimidate you? My previous method of dealing has been to just hold my breath and read it, or to stick to the NT.

Exclusive

Though I wasn't too fond of this mug when I received it, the strong association it has with the giver has caused me to use it almost exclusively. I am so glad she called today.

OKC (Part 2)

On Sunday we went to the Oklahoma City Zoo. It was a beautiful day and we had a great time, but honestly, I was unimpressed. We had heard from many people what an excellent zoo it was, one of the top 10 in the US. As far as I could remember, it is the worst I've been to. That's not to say it was terrible, maybe it's just the other zoos are top 5! They did have a no smoking policy which I thought was excellent. Too bad one family just hid their cigarettes under the table.


One of the two highlights of the zoo occurred at the "Great EscApe." A group of kids was plastered to the window watching the young ape swing and play. The big ape, just trying to get his Sunday nap on got fed up and charged the window. I didn't check, but there might have been a puddle or two.
The other highlight was at the Alligator pond. Someone dropped their shoe down into the pen, and a worker went in to retrieve it. He walked right past the hissing alligator, with only a big stick, threw the shoe up to its owner, and walked back out.

On our way back to Texas we decided to stop at Turner Falls Park. Again, unimpressed. I saw adds in several magazines, and many billboards on the highway advertising a 77 foot waterfall and "one of the three geological windows into our past, including the Grand Canyon and the Black Hills of South Dakota."
It was the wimpiest park I've ever paid admission for. Thank goodness it was only the $3.50 winter rate instead of the $9.99 summer rate.



We got our money's worth by enjoying the playground with Daniel. This was his first time to swing and go down the slide. Seeing how my bottom just barely squeezed into the slide, we didn't feel the need to document that.




Such a happy boy!



This is a video of Daniel playing with Gage. Brandon and Laura used to live in our old apartment complex, but are now in OKC. We visited them Saturday evening to catch up and have dinner. The boys had fun playing together.

PS- I added to the captions on part 1 from when I originally posted, you might want to go back and get the full scoop.

OKC (Part 1)

Daniel's first museum was the Toy and Action Figure Museum.
We saw the sign for this museum from the highway; the museum is south of Oklahoma City in Paul's Valley. I've always wanted to be able to stop at unplanned roadside attractions, so this was spontaneous for us. It was $6 per person which I thought was a little high, but it was clean and well done. Tommy had fun finding the toys he and his friends has as kids. "Doh! Why did I throw that out?!"






Check out those wheels!

Daniel in the Batmobile.



Once we got into town we headed to the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum. We didn't spend too much time outside because no one was dressed warm enough. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, but it was very well done. I was only 11 when the bombing happened and didn't remember much so I appreciated this opportunity. If you are ever in the city, I highly recommend visiting.


The Science Museum was awesome. Tons of hands on exhibits great for us big kids too! In the weather center you could be a meteorologist, and see what the winds of a category 1 hurricane feel like.


The first day and a half was cold and wet. Fortunately not that windy.



The special exhibit was Shipwrecked, which we had to pay an additional fee for. It was nice, but I wish we'd have saved our money, it wasn't anything spectacular. And I don't think Tommy got the "Gimme your best pirate face" memo.


Arrrrgggg!!







Ahoy Matey!!


FYI- you can click on any (ok, most) of the pictures on our blog and they will get much bigger!