The fox is in the box

"The Fox is in the Box,", is the sentence our awesome ("possum") child read last night off of a sight word practice worksheet while riding in the car to Walmart! We couldn't believe our ears/eyes! She is reading! Ella can read. She can read sentences with the sight words she's learned so far, and per my previous post/entry, there are lots of them... . We got so excited and wanted to reward her (not only for this huge milestone but also for being a good little girl throughout the week) so we let her pick a toy. Boy oh boy, does she take her time?!!!! She changed her mind so many times.. I think we were in the toy isles for over half an hour but I don't blame her with so many choices it is hard to make up one's mind. Finally, with some "help" from daddy, she picked a Ford Truck with a Horse Trailer so she can carry her horses around. We usually don't buy a lot of toys for her, only on special occasions, such as birthdays and other milestones (like this one :-))  Really proud of you, baby! Now on to making cards for Teacher's appreciation week coming up...

Busy busy

Move:
-Set move-in date & movers: check
-Change utility providers: check
-USPS address change: check
-Select paint colors: check
-Change address with current providers: working on it
-Select painter: still working on it...
-Order refrigerator: still working on it
-Shopping/selecting rugs: still working on it...
-etc. ...
The list goes on and on... lots to do but we're so excited! Can't wait!

Ella: will be attending private kindergarten at Primerose starting in fall. We're so excited as her teachers said she's ready and up for the challenge. Our concern was that maybe the challenge would be too big but they assured us she's ready. In less than six months she's learned and mastered things others have been learning over the past couple of years (having had the benefit of being at Primrose from their preschool, toddler/infant years.) This kiddo knows a ton of sight words, can count to a 100, can write all the numbers up to a 100, knows the coin denominations, can do additions and subtractions, and many other things. Amazing indeed and I give such much of the credit to her wonderful teachers, Miss Ashley and Miss Brenda. Miss Ashley's teaching style and perseverance helped Ella immensly in her transition to the new school. Grateful beyond words for such a sweet little girl we have! We love you, darling!!

Hrishi: is winning the dad of the year award again this year! Love to watch him spend time with Ella, take her to her swimming and gymnastics classes, coach her and be there for her every step of the way. He's so very busy at work but never fails to bring his best at home, never complains, has a cheerful and happy attitude which is so refreshing. He's been doing great with his golf game too! Hurray for all the (many) beautiful golf courses in the DFW area which he's happily exploring with his friends. He makes the best banana bread and muffins I've ever had, the best chicken/beef/lamb kobabs, and the yummies pan seared trout! He helps so much with house chores and he jokingly calls himself the best "houseband" in the world! Recently he launched a great initiative at work tied to simulation that's going to save the company tons of money. And not lastly, he's the most loving and supporting guy ever. And has a great sense of humor! Love you, honey! So happy to be in this together!

OK, I never want to write about myself but since I made the decision to document our life on this blog and make it into our family history (thanks to the Print to blog feature), here I am.
I've been a little better about eating healthy (at all times, I'm very good before 6 pm when I get home!) Still need a little more work on the excersise front. I've been eliminating most processed foods/ingredients from our daily meals which I think it's pretty great, thanks to my buddies here who are starting to love whole grain everything, buck-wheat pancakes, this will take us long ways. Also manage to have two leafy green/veggie sides with every meal. Work is going great, pretty busy with  more complex projects but I'm enjoying it. I'm so grateful for the growth opportunities and recognition, the people I work with and especially my boss. She's great! I've been doing good too on my daily scripture study so plugging right along. Hope and pray to keep it up.  I love being a mom and a wife as primary profession(s) and also having a challenging and fulfilling outside-the-home job/profession. I can see now that all those hard-working and sometimes heart-breaking and exhausting years at BYU have paid off.

We feel blessed beyond words and I pray to always remember and be the best that we can for all those around us.

Earth Day

So today is Earth Day! What a wonderful thing that we get to celebrate the beautiful planet we were given to grow on, enjoy, treasure and care for. All throughout last week and this week, Ella's class did a lot of art and science projects to celebrate our planet's beauty and natural resources. Great reminder of the treasures we have which we tend to take for granted (I know I do...) They talked a lot about recycling and reusing and she made a recycle sign herself and told me that she wants to start recycling things she doesn't need anymore. How cool is that! It made me want to go more "green", be better at reusing and recycling stuff.

This morning I found the cutest sage tricolor herb pot on my desk in celebration of Earth Day. What a neat thing! So grateful for the thoughtfulness that went into it. It made my day!

Here's to reducing, reusing, and recycling!

The words of this hymn we sing in church come to mind. They sum up so well what I feel right now:

For the beauty of the earth,
For the beauty of the skies,
For the love which from our birth
Over and around us lies,
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our grateful hymn of praise.

For the beauty of each hour
Of the day and of the night,
Hill and vale, and tree and flower,
Sun and moon and stars of light,
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our grateful hymn of praise.

For the joy of human love,
Brother, sister, parent, child,
Friends on earth, and friends above,
Pleasures pure and undefiled,
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our grateful hymn of praise.

For each perfect gift of thine,
To our race so freely given,
Graces human and divine,
Flowers of earth and buds of heaven,
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our grateful hymn of praise.

Dreaming

I just can't wait to move into our new home. I've been dreaming (day and night dreaming) about setting everything up, picturing how the furniture would be arranged, the wall decor (need a lot of sprucing up here as we don't have much stuff that would fit with the tall walls, but I'm working on it), the kitchen, the bedrooms, my plants on the deck, where the tomatoes would go, etc.... I just can't wait. Hrishi was lucky to go there again a couple of days ago with one of our friends who is a civil engineer (one of the real smart ones-- he was the lead engineer for the new Dallas stadium) to take another look at the house with his professional eye. He couldn't see anything amiss so that brings extra piece of mind. I told him that I wish I could go there almost every day... but I'll just have to wait the end of May when we close.
I have great visions of this place. I think it's going to be good home for us. A happy place where we can grow together, fill the air up with laughter and singing, a place of peace, of teaching and learning, a welcoming spot for family and friends. How blessed I am and we are. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Lately I've been checking out a lot these websites....can you guess what for?
Pottery Barn  Pier 1 Imports  Cost Plus World Market  Rooms to Go 
If you know of any other home decor/furniture fun (and affordable) places to shop, please send them my way.

Up in the clouds

Ella said the other day, "mommy, I'd like to go up in the clouds!" We asked why, honey? She answered, "because I can see everything from up there!" Pretty amazing. Love you, sweetheart! You bring great joy and happiness in our lives.

Just got back from the local farmer's market, always so fun to go to! We just bought some natural honey and our little teddy bear ate a lot of it already! So happy she likes it!

After farmer's market, we went to a local kids amusement park, had fun there doing all the kiddy rides, stopped by McDonalds for a happy meal and playground fun. Now we're home enjoying some toffutti icecream cones and getting ready for a nap! We love Saturdays.

Home is where your story starts (or continues)

I like this little quote. I modified to fit our bill as we're CONTINUING our story in our new TX home. Hurray!!! We're so excited and grateful and humbled and just amazingly happy for this wonderful blessing, our new home. Isn't it beautiful?? Love it, love it, love it!

We're closing end of May, lots to plan, lots to do and I know it's going to be crazy but boy oh boy, are we excited! Ella is probably the happiest as the neighbors across from us have a nice property with horses that graze nearby and there's a beautiful park with playground just a few steps away from the house.
One of Hrishi's favorite things about the house is the brick color which is very close to the Dallas Temple's exterior color (but the temple is marble of course! :-)) One of my favorite things about it is the nice kitchen with stove exhaust/the kind that vents outside as there'll be a lot of cooking going on in this house. It's got tons of other beautiful things that we fell in love with. So please come visit us anytime you wish!

Easter 2010

Colored eggs

Egg cracking contests

Lovely gifts from grandparents

Martisor
Easter bunny bonnet
Lamb roast

Gogosi (Romanian doughnuts)

Cozonac (Romanian sweet/sponge bread)

Drob

Conference talks

Duck feeding

Nice naps

That was Easter for us this year!