More Pictures of Hank

I guess I don't really care if people are getting overloaded with pictures of baby Hank. I can't handle how cute he is, and my awesome friend let me play with her camera the other day, so I have new material. I love how these turned out--and I'm seriously thinking I need a fancy new camera for Christmas this year...

New Blog!

Due to some weird issues concerning blogger, we've created a new blog and transferred all of these posts. If you're interested in seeing Brazil pictures and getting sporadic life updates, here is the new link.

http://melissapluschristopher.blogspot.com/

Does anyone still check this?

I wouldn't blame you if you didn't. Things have been going a million miles an hour around here and we haven't done a good job keeping in touch with people, updating the blog, or cleaning the apartment. But we also have been doing really great. Here's a quick update for you. Ready?

1-quit my job at Duke Hospital in June

2-Jessica came to NC and we visited Lacey in Nashville

3-started a new job at Chapel Hill Violins. This job has been a lot of fun and I can't believe how much I've learned about violins so far.

4-went to Utah in August for most of the month. Saw Mandy get married!

5-Got my first violin student

6-Started playing the piano for the Raleigh Ballet Studio. It has been the most challenging, coolest thing I have done in a long time. I can't believe how much I love it. I think I'll write an entire post on this job soon.

7-Joined the Chapel Hill Philharmonia.

Christopher has been busy too! He worked on some very cool research this summer about protein models. He has learned a ton, and we are both happy that he likes what he's doing. This semester has been his busiest so far. He is a teaching assistant, a research assistant, and taking challenging classes. He just got called to be the ward clerk at church. He is in charge of the statistics campout group for Duke bball tickets this weekend. I don't know how he manages to balance everything and still be my buddy.

Listen to this-last week he brought me lunch at the violin shop. Look what was nestled in the bag along with the sandwich, chips, and fruit.

Yes, that is a bag of M&Ms. Since Christopher knows how hot it can get in the shop, he filled another bag with ice and made the M&Ms a homemade cooler. It was a small thing, but it made my day. He's the best.

Looking forward to more blogging soon!

Back to Primary

Hey everyone, it's Chris. One of the main challenges for me in primary is to keep from laughing when the kids are misbehaving. Today during sharing time the teacher prefaced a section with, "Now I want to tell you a story! Some of you may have heard it before--"

"--and some of us may not like it!" one of our boys immediately chimed in. I know I shouldn't find this as funny as I do, and from a kid any older I certainly wouldn't, but with this boy it just kills me because he is completely being himself. It's also especially hard to hide fact that I'm laughing since this kid loves to sit on my lap.

The other choice moment today came from one of the sunbeams. A few weeks ago, the new primary presidency instituted three basic rules that they hope the children can keep in mind. They began the meeting today by asking if any of the kids could remember what those rules are. One of our boys quietly raised his hand and correctly stated, "Raise your hand." When the primary president asked for another volunteer, one of the sunbeams jumped up with unrestrained enthusiasm and yelled, "BE QUIET!" Apparently aware of the contradictory nature of his announcement, he immediately clapped his hands over his mouth and whispered, "be quiet?"

I get more thankful for our calling each week!

Late Post-Easter 2010

I am loving it here in North Carolina, but still get pretty homesick for family, particularly around holidays. So on Easter this year, Christopher and I took special care to plan a great day. I find that planning big dinners, pretty decorations, and fun things to do helps distract me from missing the usual traditions.

Maybe some of the things I do to celebrate seem a little over-the-top. And maybe it isn't very grown-up or practical to have "birthday weeks" and elaborate celebrations for two people. But I love it!

For our Easter brunch we had a sausage egg tart using this recipe for the crust, roasted asparagus, fresh strawberries and pineapple, and pretty chocolates from Whole Foods bakery. It was so fun to listen to General Conference and have a feast in between sessions.

This picture is a little fuzzy, but they turned out really cute this year. I did the pink ones, and Chris did blue/green

I made bunting! It looked so pretty we kept it up all week.

Christopher hid candy for me all over the apartment. It took over an hour to find it all. He couldn't stop giggling. Some of the candy had letters on the back. When I (finally) unscrambled it with plenty of hints, this is what it said. Yay for new music!

Something Therapeutic

Want to know something that can help you when meanies are getting you down?

Here's a suggestion. When I'm at work and someone calls, usually they are really nice. But sometimes they aren't. I just hung up with a very important person who was inconsiderate and made me feel bad. When I passed along the message to my boss by email, I wrote...

"Dr. ____ just called and would like you to give him a call back when you get a chance. His number is 555.5555 and I don't like him."

Then, right before I send it, I delete the last part, and I'm good to go. The idea of actually sending one of the uncensored emails makes me laugh, and usually I feel a little bit better.

Another email, uncut.

"The reason there is no orange juice left over from Bagel Tuesday is because I forgot to put the OJ away so a few of the residents drank all 48 remaining bottles of it last night. I think we should be glad because this means that they weren't drinking coffee, and let's be honest--they could all use a breather on the coffee."

And finally, an email to everyone in the office.

"I don't know who ordered the caffeine free pepsi. Please stop bugging me about it because it wasn't me. I know it looks suspicious because I don't drink alcohol or coffee, but trust me, if I had ordered a favorite beverage, it would be diet, and coke. And it isn't hilarious when you see me in the breakroom and joke about how I have my own personal stash. I do have a personal stash and it is under my desk. And it isn't even caffeine free so I guess the joke is on you.

Thanks!

Melissa"

Wahoo!

This picture says it all. The beach getaway was so much fun!