I don't want to think of a title

Okay, so I don't know how these pictures got layed out this way, and I don't know how to change it. So this might be a little confusing to read, trying to determine what text goes with what picture. Sorry.

Look how big my baby boy is.....it is so sad how quickly they grow up.






The pictures of Maren in the linen closet make me laugh. I had gone to the grocery store and when I got home, Josh told me to go look at Maren. Well, I turned the corner to go to the girls' room and saw that the linen closet was open obstructing the girls bedroom door. So I went to shut it. Well, it was open for a reason. Maren was partially inside the closet asleep. The story is that she didn't want to let Josh brush her teeth but he did it anyway and that really upset her. So she decided she wanted to be by herself in the closet. She even pulled down towels to make a bed. So by the time Josh was done getting Cora and Jess ready for bed, Maren was out. I have so many pictures of Maren sleeping anywhere. It should be interesting if she falls asleep on the toilet when she's potty trained..
















The next pictures are of the girls dressing up Matt and Brandon We had a bbq a couple of weeks ago and invited some of Josh's friends from school. The girls had a great time and I think that Matt and Brandon secretly had a fun time being dressed up like princesses.

Masquerade Ball

Cora and Jessica's school had a Daddy-Daughter dance yesterday. I have been so excited to help get the girls ready for it. The preparation began a couple of weeks ago, my sweet sister-in-law Leah, gave us two boxes of princess accessories that came with shoes, bracelets, gloves and a purse. Then I was able to find masks for the girls to decorate. So Thursday the girls and a friend / classmate of Jessica named McKenna came over and decorated the masks. They had a blast!! Josh didn't want his decorated though. I think that he looks like a handsome old school batman.

Josh without his batman mask.( Opps, I think that he might be upset that I posted this picture before he got a chance to edit. You can see that his suit needs to be dry cleaned.)
No daddy -daughter dance is complete without corsages and boutiniers. The girls came with me to pick out the flowers. They were very excited about the idea of wearing flowers on their wrists. I even made one for Maren, which she kinda ate this morning. So as far as I know orchids are non-toxic. Good thing. Aren't the girls beautiful.
Cora likes to pose for the camera. I have no idea what Cora is doing with her foot in this picture. Silly girl.
Apparently, there was a chocolate fountain at the dance. So the girls enjoyed chocolate covered strawberries. Mmmmm.

And so you have it. The long aticipated daddy-daughter date. It's a good thing that the PTA only put this on once a year. To buy tickets for the three of them was$25. Josh complained that High School formal dances aren't even that expensive. Oh well. I will gladly pay $25 for the fun they had and the memories that they will have.

A brick wall...

Ever have an assignment that just didn't go right. I am teaching a statistics lab, in which I am supposed to instruct tomorrows budding social scientists in the wonders of SPSS (Statistics package for the social sciences).
Day one, I grab the wrong syllabi (argghh).
Day two, there is supposed to be a drive linked to all computers in the lab to access information, I do not have access to that drive (arggghhh).
Day three, supposed to have the drive issue fixed, but no still don't have access (ARGGHH).
Day four (today) email students data set for class because I figure the stupid drive won't be working, students go to open file and it won't open properly (ARRGGGGHHHHH).
Add on top of that one of my students was looking up something online during lecture and talking about it with the kid sitting next to him, so I have to tell him to stop and at least pretend to pay attention. Honestly, I don't mind teaching Statistics (which is rare) but this class is starting to suck. Plus I started class with a sinus headache, and that never helps. I can already anticipate bad reviews from students. Hopefully next week will be better.
Also, if you ever happen to be in or move to Texas for any duration, may I suggest don't do so with little children. They seem to have an infinite supply of cold germs in Texas, all of which quickly come home and spread like wildfire. In Utah I maybe got one cold a year, and it wasn't bad, a week or so of a runny nose, some sinus pressure, a single night of tylenol to get a goodnights rest and I was back and at em. I have had three colds this year, three. The first one lasted for a month and a half, plugged up my ear for 5 weeks and I had to take z pac to get rid of it. Emmett has only been here for three months and poor kid is already on his second cold. So if it can be avoided, I highly recomend it.
-Josh

Emmett's Blessing

I have the most handsome boy ever!!! (I may be a little biased, then again maybe not)

Papa, Granny and the Girls with Emmett.

No Wonder that kid is so good looking, what a hot Mom.
(and man does he look stylin' or what)

Well, Zebby graduated (YEAH ZEBBY), and my parents came out for the graduation. Since they were here, I thought it would be a good idea to bless Emmett the same weekend. In retrospect it was and wasn't. It was great to have Mom and Dad here, but it made for a pretty hectic Saturday. We woke the girls up at 6:45, got them dressed and had breakfast in the truck as we headed down to Waco around 7:30. Fortunately we didn't hit any traffic and we pulled into Baylor with 10 minutes to spare, then we couldn't find where we were supposed to park. 15 minutes later we got out of the truck and went searching for the right building and ended up getting to the graduation about 20 minutes late. What we did see of it was good, and we didn't miss anything important. We got to Zeb get hooded in the "robes of the false priesthood" haha. Then we went back to Zeb and Leahs house for a while before driving back home to get ready for the blessing. After that we got the girls in bed, I went to the store for some last minutes items, and Carol prepped food for the next day. Needless to say we got to bed late. In the morning I started the brisquette smoking and we went to church, and were heading home just as my Mom and Dad got into Denton. We actually timed it almost perfect, so that they were able to follow us right back to our place. We hung out with them and Zeb and Leah got there about 20-30 minutes later. At 5:30 we got started, had a prayer, I blessed Emmett, and we ate and mingled. I gotta say I felt a little dorky since I ended up talking to Jeff (Mormon and in the Psyc. program) and two other students we invited most of the time, and most of it about psychology, teaching, and stats. Oh well, gotta embrace that lovable nerd in me sometime. Then one by one people began to leave and we got the kids in bed, talked for a while and headed to bed ourselves. Mom and Dad decided to stay through Monday, which was great. The girls and I ditched school and we went out to the Bass Pro Shop. Dad kept telling me that they were getting robbed blind at Cabella's and Sportsman's in comparison. Then we went to Grapevine Mills, not for any particular reason, it was just something to do. After that we headed home, rested for a little while and Dad told us he wanted some really good Mexican food. The only place Carol and I know of is all the way down in Fort Worth, so we set out again. I will say the drive is always worth it. Then we made an unscheduled stop at Cabella's in Fort Worth. The girls liked all the animals, though they have been before, and Maren keeps telling me she saw the crocodile eat a frog. It's cute. So there you have it, our jam packed, self proclaimed, three day weekend. Thanks Mom and Dad for being here, we were all so glad you came.
-Josh

And time marches on...

I tried to post a video of Emmett starting to show signs of giggling, but it didn't work. The sound was just awful, and while you could see his sweet smile it just wasn't the same effect without the sound. SO in lieu of that video, I am going to share an insightful exercise. I am taking a class in Death and Dying. Yep, it is a real downer. I don't know why but I came to grips with death fairly early on. That being said, we had an exercise recently that got the gears a turning, and Carol's tears a flowing. We had to make a Will. It was fairly informal, and I honestly am not going to post it here (mostly because I said things to certain people that I wouldn't say with out the guarantee of a more permanent barrier between me and retaliation, hahaha j/k) It was just a little to personal thus Carol crying. But if you have a late evening with your thoughts, think of the possessions in your life that you have assigned some value to and then think of whom you would like to have those things if you were to be called back home tomorrow, or whom would you like to have some momento to remember you by, and what that item would be. Then take it a step further and think what kind of message you would want that item to carry. I think you might discover a few things about the people whom you love and interact with and the relationship you have with them.
-Josh

p.s. There may be few more thought provoking threads coming out soon. I seem to be in a contemplative mood (and if you know how my brain works that is really saying something). Not all of them will be introspective, but hopefully they will help you take a fresh look at our world.

SMILES

I used to think that Emmett (above picture) resembled Jess the most, but after I saw this picture of Cora (below) I now have a different opinion.

Last week Emmett has discovered that he can smile on demand. Many of you don't know, but Emmett has a dimple on each cheek. We found that out a few days after we came home from the hospital with one of those involuntary smiles that babies do. So now I make an effort to get a handful of smiles each day from him.
I absolutely love his dimples.
Isn't he so handsome? I just love my little man!!
(fyi these are not my white hairy legs. They're Josh's)
So not much has been going on around here. Josh started school again yesterday, and Jess and Cora have been back in school since the 6th. I have been working on another baby blanket for Emmett. It's been in the works since August. I'll post it when I am done. Hopefully soon.
-Carol

Waiting........

I'm going to go out on a limb and say it is Carol's turn again. So if you don't see any new posts for a while you know who to blame. I do have some video of the girls I will post eventually, but I took it with my phone and I wasn't thinking so it is turned sideways. So once I figure out how to fix that, and Carol posts, I will put it up. In the meantime if you are looking for some blogging fun I suggest The Adventures of Pat O'Neil. Just be prepared to feel a little dumber for a while, I tend to find those things amusing.
-Josh

Happy CHRISTMAS!

What a sweet family we have been blessed with.Emmett getting one of many, many kisses.

The girls got Fur Real pets from Santa, a bird that squacks and flaps its wings, and a chimp that makes monkey noises and moves its arms. I don't know, don't ask me.

I think she is excited!

We have a few differences at our Christmas. The major thing (a few people don't like it, but we think it is a dang good idea) is that Santa only brings 0ne present, which is generally small. First, since Santa has unlimited resources, and should conceivably be able to give any gift (since he's the biggest pirate of all, violating patent laws left and right with nearly every present he gives) this limits what the girls can ask Santa for. The second thing it does is allow the kids to be able to express gratitude to Mom and Dad for their other gifts. It is nearly impossible to thank Santa, so they can continue to learn to appreciate what they receive and show appropriate thankfulness. The girls did have a great Christmas, and we are all doing well, sitting at home waiting for school to start so we have something to do.

On a side note to legends and seeming strokes of genius. Like Santa Claus, we have another home invader. He has taken up residence in the attic, and there is no telling when he will grace us with his presence. He is known as the much feared "toy monster". The toy monster eats toys. He is small, about the size of a purse dog, has an excellent sense of smell but is nearly blind. He sleeps all day and he can't jump. Sometimes he will stumble through the house late at night when the kids are asleep. Thankfully he is deathly scared of people so he won't go in a room where people are sleeping, but any toys left out may fall prey to him. He tends to leave clothes alone, but for some reason dress up clothes he finds quite tasty! He has huge appetite and there is no telling how much he would eat if given the opportunity. He isn't clever and could never find a way into a toy box. There are a few toys that are to big to eat, such as the girls lego table, and box. For this reason I suspect he would only put a large hole in any dress up clothes, but the girls have yet to leave anything out to discover the capacity of his appetite. If you ever happen across one, I highly recommend you take him home with you and give him a home in an uninhabited portion of your home, they can live just about anywhere!

Four down...

Here is our handsome little boy. He was smiling, and we were trying to get a shot of his dimples so these were with my phone, and the resolution isn't the best, but when your that good looking it doesn't matter.Emmett discovered his tongue.

I think he was a little annoyed that my phone was in his face, maybe that is why he stopped smiling.
It looks like a cry, but really its a yawn. For some reason he just wants to sleep and eat. Lazy bugger.

This is the picture I meant to post of Carol's back after five epidural attempts. This was taken the day she got home, and you can see, it was a little tender for a while.
AND
Yeah, one more semester down. Counting summer that makes four semesters down and only 68 credit hours to go, oh that is depressing. Anyway, I read and graded the last of my papers this morning, sent in my grades, had my last final on Wednesday, and I am just waiting to get my grades.

The World we live in...

What an amazing world we live in. The other day after Emmett had come home, I was watching some silly cartoon with Jess and Maren. Maren wanted to hold Emmett, so I had her sit next to me, while she held him. After about 10 seconds she usually tires of having to sit in the same spot with Carol or me curled up around her ready to take him away if she moves in the wrong way. This time she was totally content to just sit and watch the show snuggled between the two of us. Then I realized why she was so content. The little stinker had zonked out. So there I was, Emmett asleep on Maren, Maren asleep on me and Carol was gone. What was I to do, but whip out the camera phone and take some quick pictures. That is just the first example of the crazy world we are in. It is really kind of mind boggling to think that I have this tiny little piece of plastic in my pocket that can do so much. The next example is from Emmett's wonderful arrival. As I may have mentioned the anesthesiologist kept hitting veins and having to pull out the catheter. Five times she poked my wife in the back with a needle the size of a small child's arm. Carol wanted to have a look at it but the mirror wasn't giving her the angle she wanted so I took a picture for her to see, and then a few days later took another one to compare. It looks like it hurts a lot. And I am pretty sure Carol would confirm it did. Fortunately it was well worth it when it came to choosing between that and the delivery pains. This is about 5 days after Carol came home from the hospital.

And finally, today, I was sitting at the kitchen table leafing through a magazine while Carol went to pick up Cora. Not much was going on, Emmett was sleeping (he does that a lot), Maren was playing toys, and Jess was watching Robin Hood (the Disney cartoon). Again, I wasn't paying much attention, I had noticed that it had come to the end of the big battle following the archery tournament and the "Love Goes On and On" song was playing. Then I notice Jess stand up. She slowly walked to the T.V. put her little hands around it, one on the side and one under neath, as far as she could spread her arms. Placed her feet on the T.V. stand to get a little more height, and hugged the T.V. snuggling her little cheek right up against the screen. I was agast. I had no idea what to do or think. Then she turns and kissed the T.V. Again, I did not know what she was doing, and unfortunately was not thinking enough to pull out my phone and take a picture or a video. It was one of the funniest and most shocking things she has ever done. I can only assume it was the movie and the song that she was so enthralled with that it would move her to such action. I am a little nervous that she is already very romantically inclined. If that is the case, sappy chick flicks are going to be the least of my problems once she truly notices boys. With that in mind, if she ever does that again, I will be ready. On a short aside, usually the T.V. is strictly off limits to little hands. The girls have watched me wipe off their smudges before, and they no better, which is part of what so caught me off guard. Still, I think that will always bring a smile to my face.