13.1 with only 4 extra minutes!

Howdy all,

The first item for Triumphant Tuesday is that I am back on to the family website after a several month hiatus. The second item is that I survived the half marathon on Sat., Feb. 28th up in Fort Worth. My running friend and I usually do about 10 minute miles, so we were expecting the race to take us 2 hours and 11 minutes if we were consistant (doubtless this is a granny's pace compared to all the other runners in the family, but hey--slow and steady for this gal). Our first hurdle was the temperature: 37 degrees when we parked the car before the race started! The whole week had been in the 70s and then the night before the race this crazy cold front blew in. The second challenge was the hills in the course. We'd only trained here in our subdivision in flat Cedar Park, and the course description said there was ONE stretch uphill that was about 3/4 of a mile. ONE?! The entire 13 miles was uphill and down. Needless to say, I was sore for a few days in places I hadn't been sore during all our months of training. But, we did it in 2 hours 15 minutes--only 4 minutes off our goal. I got a good laugh when Darrell's sister asked him what place I came in . . .

Rising Star of Settlers

Awesome news people: i beat mom and dad at the christmas Settlers of Catan Tournament!!! WOOHOOO!! the first game i ever won and it was worth something!!
its actually the second tournament that i've won, NERTS, of course, being the first and im looking forward to many more wins as we continue the game fun!

Emily Ready for Broadway

Emily did such a fantastic job as Hodel in the Graded production of "Fiddler on the Roof." They had four performances: one on Thursday, December 4, two on Friday, December 5, and one on Saturday, December 6. Thursday she became quite nervous. But I told her that this chance to sing and act on stage was what she wanted, and that she couldn't waste a bit of any performance feeling nervous and scared. She knew what she wanted to do on stage, and now was her chance to shine. And shine she did! It was wonderful. She sang "Matchmaker" (a family favorite...Joy, remember you san it to try out for Encore!) beautifully. And her acting was great, too. William Richardson played Perchik (the teacher Hodel falls in love with), David Kern played Tevye, and Cassia di Roberto played Golde. Stephanie Feder played Tzeitel and Binca Ioshp played Chava. Hunter Wilson played the tailor, Motel Kamzoil.

Heart Murmurs Exam

We had an exam on our ability to audibly recognize heart murmurs, and I aced it.
I could have been a primo cardiologist!

4-1 is on its way

Aupreille and I are ecstatic to announce that Aupreille is 7 weeks pregnant with our first child!!!
We just had our first ultrasound picture of him/her (which I'll post soon) and we saw the heart beating! It was amazing to me, and I felt a tsunami of gratitude. Aupreille deserves a gold star for hiking the entire way into and all around the Havasupai Indian reservation, carrying our own packs, and all this and being pregnant too!

Jared, king of the 21 club

I'm 2 weeks late posting this, but Jared had a great piano recital this month. He performed his 2 pieces without incident (thank heaven!), and then came the award ceremony. He received his gold medal for getting a perfect score on the state music theory test (he knew that was coming). Then he was given the 1st place trophy for most measures memorized during the 2007-2008 school year, out of all of the 50+ students that take from Ms. Ana. 1241 measures, to be exact--printed right there on the trophy. (This was a surprise to all of us). Jared had been first to enter Ms. Ana's 21 club this spring (the group of kids who memorize at least 21 pieces), but I assumed some of the older kids would have a greater total number of measures memorized. His "Mr. lemon-head" grin was going from ear to ear.

1st Year Finished!

Today I donned my Hawaiian shirt and made the trek to campus in the wee hours one last time for my last final exam in physiology, completing my first year. What a year it has been!
As I look at the pile of notebooks on my desk and the gigabites of powerpoint and mp3 lectures on my computer, I am amazed.

Integrity

I married a great woman! This week Christa is at a conference in Chicago where the business development side of her company is getting training on negotiation skills. Some of the activities are designed where two sides are negotiating with each other, and you will always do better if both sides cooperate (expand the pie) rather than try to shaft the other party. The tension comes as both sides have an incentive to stab the other party in the back, each side doesn't trust the other side, so both parties defect and they end up doing poorly (prisoner's dilemma).
Christa's group ended up winning the competition--both teams cooperated and made the best deal. The other team said afterwards that when they heard Christa was on the other team, they knew they could trust them because 'Christa always tells the truth.'
Sometimes we don't see how we are making impressions on those around us: neighbors, family, co-workers, etc. A lot of little actions add up to people's perceptions of who we are and what we stand for. I'm proud of Christa for living in a way that everyone around her knows she lives and acts with integrity. Way to go!

Waffle Irons and a book on CD

I am completely thrilled because today (Sunday) for lunch, i added waffles to my list of things i know how to make!!!! KUDOS FOR EMILY!!! besides waffles theres only box brownies....... ...T-T........BUT this is still a major accomplishment becaaaauuuuuuuuuse mom is still at grandma's house--i.e. i made them completely by myself!!!!!!! yes, there was no one in the kitchen besides me, the ingredients, and the cookbook!! unless you count dad, who was TRYING to help but ended up wandering around the kitchen, occasionally getting in my way. it's the thought that counts, though, right?? ;D

Indiana Jones is back

Last Tuesday Warren did his oral presentation to a couple 4th grade classes on the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World (his independent study topic this year). He decided to start off by playing the theme song from Indiana Jones and come running into the room--hunting for a precious artifact. He did a great job with the dramatics as well as the presentation of the facts. The boy's a natural performer, so look out Harrison Ford.

Triumph!

It only took 4 months and Aup flying to Texas but the hunt is over.

There's just something about Texas and being able to find a Wii when you want one.

Jared's masterpiece

Jared has been working on a very large acrylic painting of our new house for the past several months. Last week he completed it and today it was hanging up behind the front desk at the fine art academy where he takes weekly art lessons. His smile was so big it almost split his face in two. We plan on putting the painting in our huge art niche at the top of the stairs with the scripture from Joshua printed on another canvas (As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.) So, if anyone out there wants to commission a piece for your private collection . . . Jared would be more than happy to comply.

First Steps!

This is the triumph of the year for our family so far. Ethan, at 17 months and 35 ish pounds, finally took some steps this weekend! Hip hip hooray! We are so excited, and he has been taking them all day today! My back is rejoicing...can you hear it breathing a sigh of relief? Ahhhhhhh, I can. :)

Rachel's call!

Here's the video--in 2 parts--of Rae opening her call. I hope you all enjoy her seeing her cute facial expressions and all the before/after fun. What an exciting blessing! We can't wait to hear where Spence will go!

part 1: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3786699149220548184

part 2: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5980391611122540897

It will fill the earth...

Bishop Fisher announced that this coming Sunday we would be meeting together with the Kleinwood Ward at the stake center for a special Sacrament meeting with the stake presidency. There are so many strong families in this area that the time has come to once again split the ward. My understanding is that they will create a third ward from the area that presently constitutes our two wards. We are excited to see what shape these wards will take and we are thrilled that the Church is growing and becoming such a strong presence in the area. And as much as we all enjoy being together, it is great to know that our family is helping to grow the church all around the world!

A Professional Paint Job For 1/10th of the Price!

Well I painted a big portion of our downstairs area this week. There were two triumphant parts. The first was that it would have cost about $350 to have someone do it for us, and it only cost me $30 for the gallon of paint (so I actually MADE money!) The second part was the awesome little tip that I wanted to share with all of you in case you ever get the painting bug. :)

I had a guy here working on re-wallpapering our study, and he is also a professional painter, the night before he came, I had taped everything after the kids went to bed to get it all ready to paint the next night after the kids were in bed. Well he told me to put a thin layer of caulk along the tape, you don't put very much, just a tiny bead, and then smear the caulk over the seam so that it seals the tape to the wall, then your paint doesn't bleed through on to the door jambs, baseboards, and crown molding. Since you just have a tiny film of caulk you can't see it at all after you remove the tape.

I did it, and it was miraculous, it seems like no matter how careful you are when you tape, there is always a little spot that bleeds, well not this time! It was awesome, perfectly straight, clean lines. FANTASTICO!

The plague has left...finally!

Well, after more than a month of sickness, today I feel is truly a TRIUMPHANT day, I feel great, and so do the kids, I think we may be over the hurdles that have come our way this last long while! HOORAY!!!! (Knock on wood.) :)

We just got home from having a picnic at the park with some friends and it felt so great to be out and about. The only great thing about being sick is that we get to be reminded about what a blessing our health really is!

Blessings and Hard Work

I just want to publicly say how proud I am of Rob's work ethic and humble reliance on the Lord here at law school. At a school where everyone is very capable and intelligent, Rob decided from the beginning that he wanted/needed to have the Lord involved in his studies. He really felt that if he just did his best and then asked in faith, Heavenly Father would take care of him and magnify his efforts. Rob definitely put in a lot of hours working dilligently, but as the semester progressed he really felt Heavenly Father's hand helping him to understand and process everything he needed to learn.

Yesterday Rob's first semester grades came out and we both feel like Heavenly Father answered our prayers to let all of Rob's hard work be visible in his test grades. We feel like Heavenly Father is confirming our decision to come here and is showing us how pleased He is with Rob's integrity and humility. Way to go, Rob and Thank You Heavenly Father! I just keep hearing the voice of my favorite mother-in-law saying, "F-A-I-T-H, FAITH!! FAITH!!"

She's arrived safe and sound!

Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers. Anne-Lorenne is healthy and happy! Hopefully she and Laura will be able to come home tomorrow.

Follow the link to see some photos from the hospital today. More to follow...
http://picasaweb.google.com/frere.jacques/AnneLorenne

Victory by accident

Yesterday we finally succeeded in getting Nolan to use a sippy cup. Although it really was a victory by accident. We've been putting the cup in his mouth for the past month or two, and all he would ever do is bite down on it--like it was a teething toy. Yesterday as I fed him lunch I put it in his mouth and he accidently inhaled . . . eureka! His eyes got big as saucers as he tasted the water coming out, and then he started sucking in earnest. I couldn't help thinking that so many of our triumphs, victories, discoveries, etc. happen while we're doing something else--Christopher Colombus, Benjamin Franklin, Albert Einstein . . . So keep on doing good things, because you never know what you might stumble across :)