Home Sweet Home

We are in the middle of moving into our new (to us) house. I say new to us because it was built in 1967, so its definitely not new to the world. Hopefully we only have two more nights to sleep in our apartment!!!

Unfortunately it will be January 14th before we can get our Internet installed. I guess the u-verse techs get a nice long Christmas vacation. Since I wont be having a whole lot of Internet access for the next month, here are some pics of our new house. I'll be able to check my email on Matthew's phone, so you can still email me.

This is one of the super cool lights in the master bedroom. There is one on either side of the bed. They are on the short list of things to be updated.

This is looking into the living room from the entry. Yes, that's a doggy door in the back door. No, we don't plan on getting a dog. Matthew wants to see Mallory try to go through the doggy door.

Another view of the living room. This is from the breakfast room. That door you see goes to the hall and bedrooms.

The dining area. Bonus points to anyone who recognizes the curtain fabric from somewhere else.

I think you can figure out what this is.

Looking from the kitchen to the living room through the dining area.

Again, I think you can figure this one out.

That's it for now, come visit.

Or come help move on Tuesday ;)

Tagged Again

Kellee tagged with this survey. I had done a similar one a few months ago. So I'm recycling some of it and letting you know what progress I'm making on some of it. The survey I did last time had 8 items on each list, so that's why I may have 8 on some of these. Didn't want you to think I'm an overachiever, don't know how to count, or don't follow directions.

7 Things I want to do before I die:

1. See Mallory be a big sister (not any time soon!)
2. Live a local phone call away from my sister
3. See my kids love and live for God
4. Run some of the big marathons: new york, chicago, boston (a girl can dream)
5. Have the same days off from work as Matthew or even better be a stay at home mommy. (I'm getting to experience this one right now and Matthew and I LOVE it. I don't know how long it will last, so I'm just trying to enjoy it while I can.)
6. Wear my "San Fransisco Jeans" again. These were the last jeans I bought before getting pregnant. Someday I WILL get back in them. (They are now my favorite jeans to wear!)
7. Go on vacation again
8. Fix Matthew's back (he's stuck at home today with his back out). (We are in the middle of moving right now, so we'd appreciate prayers that Matthew's back holds up through the move.)
   

7 Things I can do:

1. REMEMBER random information. Sometimes my memory scares me. I seriously don't know how I remember a lot of the things that I do. I sometimes act like I don't remember things because I think it will freak people out. My parents call me the family historian.
2. RUN. I will never win any awards for speed, but running is something I truly love.
3. CURL my lip kind of like Elvis.
4. FEED Mallory a bottle fast. I know this isn't really something that I do, but I think Mallory could win a bottle drinking contest. She can finish an 8 oz bottle in 4 minutes flat.
5. WRAP presents. I actually like to wrap Christmas presents and think they look pretty good too.
6. MAKE my own blog designs. I made this one and my last few myself. I'm ready for a new one, but have to wait until we get moved and I can use the desktop computer again.
7. MOVE. We are in the middle of our second move in 4 months. In college I lived in 4 different dorm rooms and 4 different apartments.
   

7 Things I cannot do:

1. EAT less than a whole bag of popcorn. I try to stop, but it just doesn't work. The snack size bags are a very good thing for me.
2. UNDERSTAND why Mallory wakes up so much at night these days. Matthew says last night was the worst night's sleep in his life. Hopefully tonight will be better, but its not looking good so far.
3. STAY AWAKE during movies these days. Its bad. I've probably fallen asleep during every movie we have watched in the last year. No, this isn't just since having a baby. Its just worse now.
4. WATCH, LOOK AT, or BE anywhere there are birds. I cannot stand them!!!
5. BUY the fun colored running shoes. I wear narrows and the narrows are always a boring blue design. Blue is soooo not my favorite color.
6. DANCE...seriously, its not good.
7. BELIEVE Mallory is about to be 1. She is changing so much right now. I'm constantly asking where did my baby go?
   

7 Things that attracted me to my hubby:

1. You might think this is bad, but I can't list any specifics that attracted me to Matthew. When we met I immediately knew that he was someone special. We spent HOURS at a time talking and getting to know each other. In a very short period of time we felt like we had known each other forever. I could talk to him like no one else. Oh, and I thought he was pretty good looking too. Have you seen his dimples?
   

7 Things I often say:

1. West Houston Church of Christ this is Marcia (not so much anymore)
2. Hey pretty girl
3. Hey watcha doing?
4. Love You
5. Call me later
6. Mallory, Mallory, Mallory Joy
7. ...and a large Dr. Pepper. (lately this has become Diet Dr Pepper - see #6 above)
8. stinkin' astros (obviously a holdover from this summer when I answered these last time)
   

7 celebrity crushes:

1. Chris Daughtry
2. Dean Cain (back in high school)
3. Mark Ruffalo
4. Rob Lowe
5. Patrick Dempsey (i watched Can't Buy Me Love this week, his looks sure have gotten better with age)
6. Mark Wahlberg
7. Jason O'Mara (i was really stretching on these and i like the new show Life on Mars, so why not?)

I tag: anyone who can count to seven.

Who's that girl?

I sent Matthew and Mallory out today so I could get some packing done. While they were out, he sent me this picture from his phone. I'm not sure who this girl is. It can't be my Baby Mallory???

Just Some Pictures From the Last Few Days

Our little karate girl who LOVES her bottle.

I guess she needed a little boost to play with the box on top of the storage tub.


Just monkey in around.

I was too slow with the camera. I had just caught her with my headband around her head.

The Houston Blizzard of '08.
This was the view off of our balcony tonight.

Gobble Gobble

Our Thanksgiving was long and busy, but lots of fun. Mark (Matthew's brother) and I kicked off Thanksgiving Day with the Turkey Trot. I missed it last year so I was glad to run it again, even if it was hot and humid.


We spent Thanksgiving day with Matthew's family. Mallory wasn't too excited about the turkey, but she loved the sweet potatoes. She got to have some fun times with Aunt Laurie too.


On Friday, Mallory and I went to my parents house while Matthew stayed behind to work. Mallory and her cousins had lots of fun playing together. She wowed everyone with her walking skills. She wont walk far, but if I put her down arms length away she will step towards me. When she took some really good steps on Saturday Nathan said, "that's incredible." He said it with such sincerity and amazement at his cousin. It was so sweet. I'll try to get some video posted soon.

We had a little photo shoot Saturday trying to get some Christmas card photos. After that experience I can say that getting three kids to look at the camera at the same time is tricky! These are some of my favorites that wont be in anyone's cards.

I love that I caught Mal just as she was starting to fall in this one.

On Sunday it was just Mallory and I with Mom and Dad, so she got have all the attention!

We stayed an extra day so I could help Mom put up the Christmas tree. We tried to barricade Mallory away from the tree. You can see how well that worked.

I think this was Mom's favorite part of the tree decorating. She always wants to rock her grandkids, but they aren't big rockers. Sunday afternoon, Mallory let Dee rock her to sleep and then took a nice long nap in her lap.

Mallory was VERY interested in the tree when she woke up.


And in other news...WE'RE MOVING! No, I'm not looking forward to moving a second time in 4 months. But, I am looking forward to living in a house again!!! Mallory must be excited too since she's already in a box and ready to go. ;) Our last move was not the smoothest, so we're hoping this one goes better. Just the fact that it will be December not August has to make things a little better.

Getting to Know Me

My mom forwarded this to me. Instead of answering them via email, I decided I would blog it and whoever feels like participating can.

1. What time did you get up this morning? 6:45
2. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? either Sex and the City or Expelled (how's that for a contrast)
4. What is your favorite TV show? Gray's Anatomy
5. What do you usually have for breakfast? cereal lately
6. What is your middle name? Ellen
7. What food do you dislike? mushrooms
8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? none
9. What kind of car do you drive? highlander
10. Favorite sandwich? does a hamburger count?
11. What characteristic do you despise? fakeness
12. Favorite item of clothing? jeans
13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? somewhere warm and sunny
14. Favorite brand of clothing? not sure if its my favorite, but New York & Co was the last thing I bought
15. Where would you retire? ???
16. What was your most recent memorable birthday? 30
17. Favorite sport to watch? college football these days (except last night)
18. Farthest place you are sending this? to the ends of the blogworld
19. Person you expect to send it back first? ???
20. When is your birthday? September 25
21. Are you a morning person or a night person? night
22. What is your shoe size? 8 1/2 narrow
23. Pets? just Mallory's puppy
24. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with us? God is good
25. What did you want to be when you were little? a nurse
26. How are you today? great
27. What is your favorite candy? skittles
28. What is your favorite flower? I don't have one
29. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? Tuesday, Matthew's next day off
30. What is your favorite pastime? running
31. What are you listening to? the air conditioner
32. What was the last thing you ate? Blue Bell Birthday Cake ice cream
33. Do you wish on stars? nope
34. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? red
35. How is the weather right now? not as cold as I wish
36. The first person you spoke to on the phone today? Matthew
37. Favorite soft drink? Dr. Pepper
38. Favorite restaurant? Pappasitos (it was the first thing that came to mind)
39. Real hair color? Brown (and its back as of Friday)
40. What was your favorite toy as a child? i don't remember
41. Summer or winter? summer
42. Hugs or kisses? hugs
43. Chocolate or Vanilla? chocolate (is that really a question)
44. Coffee or tea? iced tea
45. Do you want your friends to email you back? sure, but you can blog your answers if you want
46. When was the last time you cried? can't remember
47. What is under your bed? empty bags
48. What did you do last night? had a good night sleep again thanks to Mallory
49. What are you afraid of? apartment fires
50. Salty or sweet? sweet
51. How many keys on your key ring? a few
52. How many years at your current job? 10 months or 6 years
53. Favorite day of the week? Thursday
54. How many towns have you lived in? 5
55. Do you make friends easily? not as easy as I wish
56. How many people will you send this to? all my millions of blog readers
57. How many will respond? I hope at least 1

Where Did She Go?

I'm having some real "Where did my little baby go" moments lately. Mallory is just looking so much more like a big girl these days. She is doing better and better standing on her own. She walks great while holding on to someone or something. When she's feeling brave she even walks with just one hand for balance. Tonight, I discovered a new tooth peeking through. That's number 5 if you are counting. We got her second flu shot today, and my brave girl didn't even cry!

Here are a few shots from our week.

I love how she looks like she is posing with her puppy.

Here she is with Matthew today. I think the jeans and shoes really made her look grown up to me.

We got to celebrate Aunt Laurie's birthday tonight at Texas Land and Cattle. Mallory didn't get any steak, but she did get some yummy squash that Laurie fed her.

She got to practice her walking with Laurie too.

This is where I found her a few days ago while I was checking in on Facebook.

What has her laughing so hard? Just playing with her daddy! She is a big Daddy's Girl these days. I think it started at the beginning of the week when I was not feeling well and she knew he was more fun.

That's just a peek into our fun times this week and all the fun times I get to spend with my little girl and her daddy!

10 Things I Love About You, Mallory!

1. You are learning to eat without making such a mess. You even make the cutest little crunching sound now.

2. You have such sweet little feet.

3. I get to watch you and your daddy play and laugh together.

4. You make us laugh every day with your love for getting into tight places.

5. You love to cuddle with your puppy and chew on his tail.

6. You rarely make this face anymore, unless we don't give you your bottle when you want it.

7. You are so fun to watch playing and entertaining yourself with your toys.

8. You wave bye bye with a big smile.

9. You greet us when you wake up standing and facing the door with a smile on your face.

10. You are our sweet baby girl that God made.

Happy 10-month birthday, Mallory!

Happy Halloween!

I decided to participate in the 6-6 picture post going around. You are supposed to post the 6th picture in the 6th folder on your computer. My 6th folder didn't have 6 pictures (i guess it was a slow day), so I went with the 6th picture in the 6th from last folder.

This is Andy and Renee on the last WHCC staff fishing trip I went on. I sure miss all those fun people I got to work with. Not sure who the stranger in the back is. No offense, but I can't say I miss him.

And just to be fair, here is my part in the other one going around. The rules: Grab the nearest book. Open the book to page 56. Find the fifth sentence. Post the text of the next two to five sentences in your blog along with these instructions. Don’t dig for your favorite book, the cool book, or the intellectual one: pick the CLOSEST.

"If I hadn't studied Scripture for a number of years and learned to recognize behavior that was characteristics of Christ, I might have marked the first two statements. I tend to cheer for the underdog, and strictly from appearances, I might have been tempted to think Jesus didn't seem to give them a chance. Since we know His heart was perfect and patient, something more was going on in that encounter than meets the eye. Murky waters like these force us to dive in and see what's stirring on the bottom." From my Jesus the One and Only workbook by Beth Moore.

Another Punkin

Matthew told me I left off his favorite picture. Here it is:

Punkins!

I have been on a mission to find a pumpkin patch so that we could take some pictures of Mallory in the pumpkins. Well, we found one and took about 100 pictures today. I'm not exaggerating. Don't you just love digital cameras?!?

Mallory wasn't to generous with her smiles. But smiles or not, here are a few of our pictures. If you really want to see the other 95 or so, let me know. We'll work something out.

Here she was checking them out.

Jessica, I thought of your comment and made sure I got on the other side of the camera for a change.

I think all the grass and straw were her favorite parts.

We were the only people there, so Mallory had free reign to crawl around as much as possible. Since our apartment is TEENY TINY, we let her crawl and crawl and crawl. Man, is she fast!

The one picture where both of them were looking anywhere near the camera.