Labor Day Weekend

Levi's sister Joanie and her husband Chris came to visit us for the long Labor Day weekend. It was a great visit. It's nice now that we only live about 6 hours from them - they're our closest family neighbors now! Hopefully we'll be able to visit with them often.

I think Olivia had fun with both of them...of course her Aunt Joanie brought her some shoes (Aunt Joanie has always bought her the coolest shoes). This time they were pink cowboy boots! When in Texas, I guess...

She immediately had to put them on with her pj's.

And then we had to bring her pony downstairs for her to ride with them on. Silly girl. I think she wore the things all weekend...even with her red and black preppy skirt. lol.

We went swimming on Saturday, which was fun for all.

And then on their last night we met some other friends of theirs at a Japanese Steakhouse. Olivia loved the show that the chef put on!

Waiting for the show to start...

Wow! I love the look on her face. She did this through the whole thing, along with laughing and squealing. Fun!

Other random pictures:

Reading with Aunt Joanie (which gave Mommy and Daddy a break!)

Having fun with Uncle Chris

Lovely girl!

Having fun!

Melba and Tammy Jackson's Visit

This past week, Levi's mom, Melba, and his oldest sister, Tammy, came to visit. They were our first visitors since we moved to Austin! I think they had fun...swimming in the mornings, playing in the afternoons. We had dinner at Chuy's one night, an Austin original restaurant. It was very yummy!!

I think they liked our house, and enjoyed the visit. Especially with Olivia! :) She kept them occupied...and they helped to wear her out!

Next up for a visit: Levi's middle sister, Joanie, and her husband Chris! They will be here this weekend!

Imaginations Run Wild

Lately Olivia has been very imaginative...she's been putting on "shows" for Levi and I. It's really very entertaining.

"Hello children," she starts, "and boys and girls! We're gonna have a great show today!"

She then proceeds to dance around the living room with a vaccum cleaner attachement, and call for volunteers from the audience...namely Levi, me, Princess (Imaginary Friend #1), and Witch (Imaginary Friend #2).  This sometimes includes props, which for some reason means winter beanies (apparently she has no concept of hot weather):

"I am NOT taking pictures, Daddy!"

It's much fun for all!

It's....a New Car!

Before we left Nashville, we donated my old Chevy Cavalier to the Purple Heart Foundation. It had been my car since my senior year (quite a long time!) and it had been a great car, with only an occasional hiccup. Still, it was getting old and we didn't want to move it. The plan was to buy a new car once we got to Austin.

It took a bit longer than expected, but....

Look what I got! :) It's a 2012 Hyundai Sonata. I love it! :)

Lovely in Love

Today is the 10-year anniversary of the day Levi and I were married!

It's strange, it seems like we've been together forever and yet at the same time I can't believe it's been 10 years already.

So much has changed since we first met - we've graduated high school and college, we've gotten married (obviously).

We've moved across the country four times. Levi has a Master's Degree. I'm now a doctor.

Most importantly, we have a beautiful daughter that daily teaches us the lessons of love, patience, and imagination.

I know that we're far from done growing together, as a family and as a couple. I am thankful that despite - or because of - all that we have been through together, we have such a deep understanding and love for each other. I pray that this though it has been 10 years already, it is only the beginning.





Baking Cookies

Our new house in Austin has an amazing kitchen...okay, so it's probably a "normal" kitchen by anyone else's standards, but we've spent the last several years in less-than-stellar kitchens. I LOVE this kitchen - it has lots of nice, spacious countertops, new appliances, a gas stove! I've been cooking alot and trying to bake some of the things I didn't have the space or nerve to try before.

A few days ago my favorite food blog, Annie's Eats, had a recipe for those yummy soft frosted sugar cookies you can buy in the grocery store...you know, the ones that have different frosting depending on the season or nearest holiday that are so yummy you want to eat the entire box? yeah, those.

I decided to try them...and of course, I have a helper in the kitchen. She really does well, as long as I remember not to fuss at her about getting flour all over her shirt or eating half of the sugar before I can get it in the bowl...

The cookies turned out very well, though the icing left much to be desired. I wanted that fluffy, thick icing that comes on the cookies in the grocery store, but my icing was very runny. Will have to play with it next time (maybe use real butter, which I ran out of this time).

This was taken the next day, after they'd have time to set. Levi caught me right after my shower...

Olivia is very proud of her cookies! She loves to help me bake.

close up of the cookies. Can you guess who picked the color? :)

Evening Prayers

We've started saying prayers at night as Olivia goes to sleep. It started out with me praying out loud and she repeating what I said. Something like:

"Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for this day
Thank you for my family
Thank you for Jesus
In His name we pray, Amen."

Now we've moved on to Olivia saying the prayers, and of course she wants me to repeat them after her. These go something like this:

"Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for this day
Thank you for my family
I hope you love my kitty
and my lips
and my cheeks.
I love my ears so so so much.
In Jesus' name we pray, Amen."