New Year's Eve

For New Year's Eve, we went over to the Halling's house.  They are some friends from our ward--and we recently found out that Brent and I are 5th cousins on the Snyder side!  So it was kind of like getting together with family too!

We participated in their family tradition of doing fondue.  It was fun!

Paul's Birthday

Happy Birthday to Paul!!

Christmas Dinner

We were excited that Kirsta, Morian, Devin, Mackenzie and Grandma Esther could come for the weekend!  They arrived around 4:30 on Christmas Day.  That evening we had a delicious Christmas dinner.  Again we tried to take a picture of all of us with the camera timer.  It's tricky!

Christmas Morning

Merry Christmas!!

I had a hard time sleeping--and after waking up around 6:15 from a funny position and not being able to go back to sleep--I decided to just get up.  I was also really hungry!  I just had to eat something!

Glenn didn't get up until 8:35 or so!  When we were ready, we went downstairs to read the Christmas story and sing Christmas hymns.  That is another one of Paul's family tradition.  Glenn got to put the Baby Jesus sticker on another advent calendar he was working on.

Christmas Eve

December sure flew by and before we knew it, it was Christmas Eve!  Over the years we have combined some traditions from Paul's family, some from mine and added our own.  

Glenn and Paul enjoyed making "Merry Christmas" pizzas.

December Happenings

Like most years, December was pretty busy.  I had to continually take hormone medication and go in to the lab every few days to see how my levels were doing.  We continued to settle into our home, rearranging furniture and organizing our things.  We had little get togethers and play dates and the usual Christmas and end-of-the-year things.

Glenn sure is growing up!  I can't believe how grown-up he looks!  He isn't my little boy anymore!

Pictures with Santa and Mrs. Claus

The Wells Branch Library put on a special event in December.  The kids each got golden tickets that said "Believe" on them, some hot chocolate, a train whistle and a shiny silver bell.  The Polar Express was read out loud and then Mrs. Claus led us in singing some Christmas carols.  It was a fun evening!

We got a picture with her and also with Santa Claus!

Dominoes at Home

After doing dominoes at the library a month or so ago, Glenn decided he wanted to try some of the techniques at home.  He first set up some mini figures he had been getting in an advent calendar we have.

A New Rug!

So our new home has a lot of brown tile.  It is cold in the winter, and it made our home loud and echo-y.  We had some friends who had a rug that we liked and decided to order one for our living room.  It arrived in early December and we didn't hesitate to set it up right away!

In Vitro Fertilization

When we got back from Spain, we had some big decisions to make.  For the past several years, Paul and I have been struggling to get pregnant again.  We had been meeting with a fertility doctor, taking tests and trying to figure out why.  The tests came back showing there was nothing wrong with either of us, which was great on one hand, but also frustrating.  With nothing wrong, there was nothing for us to 'fix' in order to get pregnant.  Over the past year or so we had tried 5 IUI's--Intra-uterine insemination.  Each time was unsuccessful and disappointing.  We had tried one last time--the 5th time--just before going to Spain and we found out there that it too didn't work.  So we talked about other options.  I will be honest that there were times when I just wanted to give up and say that we had one kid--who was pretty amazing--and we could be okay with that.  But then there were times that I would cry and feel like a failure or that I wasn't giving Glenn siblings, or whatever.  I thought maybe we should just adopt because for whatever reason, we weren't having more of our own.  But Paul felt like we hadn't done ALL that WE could do.  So when we got back from Spain, we met with the doctor to see what we needed to do in order to start In Vitro Fertilization or IVF.

The first step, after ultrasounds to confirm that there were no cysts on my ovaries--I had to do that with every IUI too--was to take some birth control pills.  They needed to regulate my cycle and be able to make things happen on certain days.

November Misc.

Some really great things happened in November.

The first one was our new tables and chairs!!  We had been using a folding table as our dining table for about 3 years--ever since we left Utah and had given away our little round table.  So it's been a long time coming.  (The folding table didn't stop us from having lots of friends over for dinner, but having a real table will be even better!)

Happy Thanksgiving!

This year we hosted Thanksgiving dinner at our new home!

My sister Kirsta and her family came down from Dallas and we also sort of crashed another dinner.  Well, we asked to join with them and since we added another 7, we needed to do it at our house because it was bigger.

Thank goodness we just bought 2 new tables!  We pushed them together, moved the couches and other living room furniture and it worked out great!  All 19 of us fit around the 2 tables.  It was loud, it was crazy, it was wonderful!  We had good food and lots of great company!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Thanksgiving Week Fun

Monday, November 23 my sister Kirsta and her two kids came down from Dallas to spend the Thanksgiving week with us.  Devin had the entire week off, so they came to enjoy the entire week--Morian, her hubby, had to work until Wednesday, so he joined us Wednesday evening.

We were sure happy to have them here with us!  Paul also got the time off from work, so we got to enjoy the whole week together!

Throughout the week we played LOTS of games!  I didn't really take many pictures of that because I was usually playing in them.  But just know that we all had a really fun time. :D

However, I did take pictures of one game--Funny Bones.  This game is always picture-worthy!

Little Passports Continues

I know it's a monthly thing, but Glenn really enjoys Little Passports.  This month Sam and Sophia went to Egypt!

Dominoes at the Library

November 16, the library had a domino day.  We watched a video about different chain-reaction things and then the kids were set loose to create their own chain reactions.

They had learned some different techniques--to put the tiles closer together on a curve, how to split the lines, etc.  So Glenn was eager to try them.

Happy Veteran's Day

November 11, Glenn and I went to Pfluger Park to attend a Veteran's Day Celebration.

Soccer Ends

Glenn's soccer season ended on November 10th.  There were so many rained-out games that I feel like we got short-changed.  But there isn't much we can do about the weather.  Normally they have games on Saturday mornings, but they tried to get one last game in--to make up for all the rained-out games--and had one on Tuesday evening.  

I was kind of surprised too that the association didn't provide team photos.  So we took this opportunity to take pictures of the team.  We were missing a couple of players that night, but this was most of them--along with the coaches (and mini-coach).

Happy Halloween 2015

Each year our ward has a Halloween party.  This year we were pushed inside because of bad weather. Glenn had wanted to be a vampire this year, so we all went with that idea and went as a vampire family.

October Misc.

October seemed to fly by!  We had soccer practice and games and all kinds of things.  We also had a lot of rainy and bad weather.  But we still managed to have a little fun!

Chili Cook-Off

Also on October 17th, there was a High Priest activity.  It was a chili cook-off.

Paul and I had been going through papers a while back when he saw a recipe for chili from a local restaurant.  It was different than the normal chili you might think of, so he cut it out and said, "I am going to win the cook-off with this chili!"

So he made the chili and guess what?!  He got 2nd place!!

I realize now that I didn't take a picture of the actual chili, but it was really good!  And it had a good color to it too.  So if you're looking for a good chili that's different than your normal, average chili, let me know and we can send you the award-winning chili recipe!

A Special Baptism

A few months back I had been called to be a Ward Missionary for my church.  That meant that I was to help the missionaries assigned to our ward and go to lessons and such with them.  One of the people that I was privileged to meet and attend lessons with was Lindon Walker.  He is an amazing man!  He has been blind, basically since birth, but that hasn't stopped him from doing so much.  He recently lost his wife, who was also blind, to cancer.  She had been the one to first invite the missionaries over, but Lindon felt strongly that he needed to listen as well.  Then when his wife passed away, he really felt the need to listen and take the missionaries' message to heart.  And when he did that, he knew he needed to be baptized!  So on October 17, Lindon Walker was baptized!

It was a beautiful ceremony and I was so happy to be a part of it!  He had asked me to give the talk on the Holy Ghost.  I had a hard time getting through it because of the Spirit we all felt.  After being baptized, Lindon said, "It's like drinking Austin water your whole life and then getting a taste of pure, mountain water.  This is good.  This is real.  This is true.  This is right."

What an incredible man!

Soccer Saturday

Glenn continued to play soccer and have games on Saturday mornings.

Pictures at the Thinkery

Our friends invited us to the Thinkery with them one afternoon.  We used to have passes but the year was up and we just haven't renewed yet--much to Glenn's disappointment.  

But we did have fun with them and seeing the new things the children's museum had to offer.

A Visit from Dennis and Robyn

At the end of September, we got another set of visitors--Grandma Robyn and Grandpa Dennis!

They were able to find cheap flights, so they took advantage of that and came to see us.

Their flight brought them to Austin pretty late, so Glenn and I didn't see them until the next morning.

We had taught Glenn how to play Cribbage so he could play with Grandpa Dennis.

Swim Goggles

For his birthday, Glenn got some goggles.  He had been learning this summer to swim--just with Paul and I--and getting brave enough to go underwater.  He takes after me--not really liking going underwater and all that.  But he was excited to get the goggles.  

Since it wasn't really swimming season anymore--I don't know why they close the pools so early when it is still so hot out, but whatever--Glenn got some goggle practice in the bathtub!

Little Passports Continues

Glenn loves his Little Passport!

Whenever we check the mail, he asks if he has a package.  And he is always so excited when he has one from his pals, Sam and Sophia.  He looks forward to reading about their latest adventure!

Devin's 7th Birthday

One of the benefits of homeschooling is that we don't have to limit our travels to the weekends or holidays.  Cousin Devin's birthday was in September during the week and Glenn and I were able to travel up to the Dallas area to celebrate with him and his family.

Devin still had to go to school, so Glenn and Mackenzie and I went to the park to play during the day.  I got some cute pictures of them while they played together.  

Glenn Starts Soccer

At the beginning of September, Glenn joined the Wells Branch Soccer Association.  He had a week or so of practices and soon started playing official games.

Saturday September 12, Glenn had his first soccer game!

Glenn's team was called the Wild Ones and they wore green jerseys.

Glenn's Birthday Party

This year, Glenn asked for a Super-Hero birthday party.  

And a Super-Hero party Glenn got! :D

Paul and I spent a lot of time planning and figuring out how we were going to do all the fun things we had imagined.  It took some time, but after all the cutting and gluing, and all the furniture rearranging, we were finally ready for the party.

Saturday September 5th we finally hosted Glenn's birthday party.  (We wanted to wait to have his friend party until we were in our new house--thus allowing us to invite more friends and to have more space for the activities.)

New Bed

I've had lower back pain a lot of my life.  Our mattress used to be comfortable to me, but not anymore.  In the last few years, I would feel worse in the morning after having slept on it.  I don't think it was a bad bed in general, but something wasn't right for me.  

Paul had heard ads on the radio for a new bed called the Casper bed.  After watching and reading reviews, we decided to give it a try.  September 1, it arrived on our doorstep!

Misc. in August

I know the title of these blog posts aren't the most exciting, but sometimes I don't know what else to call them.  They comprise all the leftover pictures in the month--pictures that I'd still like to share, but don't know if I want to do an entire post just about them.

So you get them all here, together.

And why not start out with some pictures of my cute boys sleeping?  I probably could fill up an entire post just with those pictures, but I won't. :D

Kelly Clarkson Concert

Saturday August 29th, Paul, his sister Cheryl and I drove out to the Austin 360 amphitheater for a Kelly Clarkson concert!!

Mu Sool Won in August

In August, the kids were learning some weapon skills.  

They first had to learn how to respectfully accept the weapon from the teacher.

"Thank you sir!" with their hands outstretched.

ANTS!

We had been in our house for only a couple of days when Ants happened...

We Bought a House!

I don't remember if I mentioned this before, but when we came back from Spain we started looking to buy a house.  We had been looking at houses on Zillow while in Spain and when we got back we found one in a neighborhood that we liked.  That house, unfortunately, wasn't available after too long, but it got us in the market.  We found a Realtor and started looking.  Well, I started looking.  Glenn too.  Paul was home in bed with his foot propped up--remember he stepped on a nail?  Then he got the flu and was really sick.  So he didn't come out looking with us.  

I'll admit it was stressful and I didn't like not having his input on the houses.  One day our Realtor, Angela, showed us a house in the neighborhood where we liked that other house.  It was a great house and we looked at it a couple of times that day actually.  I really wanted Paul to see it though.  But there wasn't time.  So I had to decide.  When I got home I told Paul about it and we looked at the pictures online.  It was a good house in the neighborhood that we wanted and it was a newer home--only 2 years old!  To be honest, I wasn't in love with the house, but I liked it better than the other ones we saw.  And I knew it would go fast.  Everything was.  More than a 100-200 people move in Austin every day--at least in the summer!  Crazy!!

So we decided to put an offer on the home, without Paul actually having been inside it yet.  I was apprehensive and almost had us back out of it, but we decided to move forward.  And they accepted our offer!  So we were on the road to buying a home!

Things didn't go real smoothly, but in the end we signed all the papers and got the keys on August 10th.  We were home owners again!

Glenn Turns 6!

July ended, August began and Glenn turned 6!  

Kirsta and her family had just moved to Dallas in July so they were close enough to come for his birthday.  We were so excited and happy to have them!

The morning of his birthday we played with balloons and ate breakfast--Glenn had asked for Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal.