O Christmas Tree

We finally did it! We finished decorating our Christmas tree! We have silver shiny and dull balls. We have red spiral stick things and candy canes to top it off. We realized a lot of people decorate with silver and red, but I insisted silver and Ben said it had to have red, so here we are with silver and red. WE LOVE OUR TREE!!! The best thing is we bought it all with a walmart gift card from our wedding.

He's going to be an adorable father

I just had to publish this photo of Ben and his nephew Gavin. I loved watching Ben with all the nieces and nephews this past Thanksgiving. I think this picture is HOT and I'm so in love with my husband who will someday be a father (this is not an announcement or anything... don't read too much into it.. haha)

Our NEW table!

We finally have a kitchen table!!! It is a lot fancier than we would have picked out, but since it is semi-used and was given on loan to us for a while from a friend, we decided to just buy it because we like it so much!! YEAH FOR US!!! It's a tall table and I love the soft leather seats. It even has two drawers on each side to store things, like scissors and study journals!

Ben's Chili

Ben is an amazing cook and any of you who have experience with his chili would agree. Friday night he made an amazing pot of chili. It was such a big pot of it in fact, it fed us until sunday night (Ben even ate it for breakfast on saturday). I made a contribution of making cornbread, which also lasted as long as the chili.

missing two plates

So Ben and I have been wondering where our other two plates were for the past month. One day I realized that we never checked the dishwasher to see if they were there. Well, needless to say, THEY WERE... and they were growing hair!!! It was hilarious! Ben is so sweet and cleaned them. If I would have, I think I would have gagged. (Obviously we never use our dishwasher).

Thanksgiving 09

Ben and I had so much fun in Iowa for thanksgiving with the Cheneys! We flew into Minnesota- Minneapolis and were picked up by Ben's sister Jana. We had so much fun eating dinner at their house, driving halfway to Iowa with James and getting picked up for the other half of the drive to Iowa by Ben's friend Russell. We enjoyed spending time with Mom and Dad for a few days before the rest of the family came into town. Ben helped Dad with the christmas lights and Stacie had fun learning how to make sour cream pancakes and 7 layer jello with mom. The men played in a turkey bowl at Ben's old highschool (apparently they play flag for 10 minutes then tackle, so no women allowed- bummer for me, so I just watched with Dad on the sidelines). After a fantastic thanksgiving we went back to Minnesota to spend the night at Janna and Jame's house, but not before eating our first Dim Sum at a chinese restaurant.

Karaoke

We went to a surprise birthday party a few weeks ago for a friend in the ward. Turns out he loves karaoke and is HILARIOUS to watch. Everyone else at the party gave it a shot too.


Mackenzie on the far left helped me stay on key, because she actually knows how to sing. Tess in the striped shirt is the birthday boys husband and is absolutely hilarious herself. Catherine in the red shirt hosted the party at her house and has a signiture dance move you can't miss. Katie on the right sang a duet with me. Steph in the black and her husband (not pictured) just moved in to the ward too and he is our home teacher. Julie Lamb with the short blonde hair is so fun and is my visiting teacher. We went to her house for Halloween.

Ben had his chance at stardum with the mens group performance. All I have to say is Ben is HOT!

Spence School Carnival

Ben and I went to the Spence Elementery School Carnival a few weeks ago. I signed up well in advance so that we would be working a booth that both Ben and I would have fun at. I chose the basketball shoot because Ben loves baskeball and I knew he wouldn't get bored (which actually never would happen anyways, because he is so fun with kids). As you can see by the picture, the demographics of the school are a bit different than what we are both used to. This is the school I work at and I absolutely love the kids. Some of the kids came to our booth multiple times after not making baskets the first few times, or came back because they made so many baskets they knew they were good at it and would win a prize.

Ben had so much fun watching the kids get so excited to make a basket. I had fun showing Ben off to all my coworkers. We were told all day long that we look like brother and sister, which isn't something new to hear for us.

Texas High School Football

Friday night we went to the Aldine Sr. high (where Ben student teaches) vs. Kingwood high school football game. We couldn't have asked for a better date night! It was incredible!!!

Some of the things I was in shock about, and thus took pictures of were: 1. The stadium looked almost like a college stadium. 2. The scoreboard had a screen on it for instant replay. 3. The marching band of the opposing team was the biggest in the region with 280 members plus a color guard (dance team). 4. At half time the teams ran out of blown up helmets (one even had smoke coming from it). 5. We were 2 of the only 10 white people on our side, while the opposing team was ALL white.

Texas Trunk or Treat

Ben and I dressed up like Samoans for the ward Trunk or treat last week. We had so much fun!!!!! Ben was a hit with his ukelele skills. Our little friend Paul from Russia (who is a genious, by the way) really loves Ben and was by his side learning from Ben how to play some ukelele.

Also by our side were our friends the Parkers. Alex and Cathrine are our good friends who we go on double dates with. We ran out of candy and they were so great to give us some of theirs.

We loved seeing all of the kids costumes, and even some of the parents. Our favorite was Obi-won-kanobi and yoda. Others that we liked were the zoo keepers and their animals, noah and his wife and their animals and we even saw a whoopi cushion. Fun times!!!

Bobby's baptism

This is a little boy from our ward who is so cool and got baptized. His mom just started coming back to church and his cousin and grandpa just moved here and they are rock solid in the gospel. It was one of the neatest baptisms ever. The mom, grandpa and cousin spoke and it was really cool! Ben is busy as ward mission leader.

Last night we had our friend Nevoy over dinner. He is a friend we met through the missionaries right when we moved here. He is going through a hard time right now and getting ready to rejoin the marines. It was so fun having a guest over for dinner and having some neat discussions with him. We want to always have new friends in our home!

Houston Rain = wet feet

I just wanted to express my feelings concerning rain that comes down in sheets of solid water. It would not be so bad if I didn't have to drive in it, walk in it, wade through the puddles it makes, and it definately would not be so bad if I didn't have to stand in it for over an hour at work. This is what has happened to be twice this school year.

I do "car rider morning duty" everyday. This is actually one of the most eventful parts of my day because I deal with cranky parents and half asleep kids. twice this year it has rained- horribly- during my duty in the morning. Luckily they give us ponchos and umbrellas to help keep us dry. What I do is open the car doors of the cars and welcome the kids to school as they get dropped off. Today was a rainy day and the poncho and umbrella only kept my upper half dry. My feet were soaked to the core. I had every intention of using one of my 10 paid vacation days and going home, but I thought, well I have nothing to do at home, so I shall stay.

I stayed and put on my black sandals that I had in the car. I had the sandals because in order to leave my house this morning I had to wear them, roll up my pants and wade through the puddles outside my apartment. I looked so funny wearing sandals all day. They are illegal/against the dress code at my school. I did get approved from the principal to wear them (thanks dad for teaching me that your "pal" is the principal to help me remember how to spell that word).

enough about the rain... go on and read something more interesting

Super Saturday

Saturday was a special day, it's the day we got ready for sunday... and did a lot more. This past Saturday our friend Olga (who is from Russia) was baptized. It's been so fun seeing her faith in God grow and her desire to accept the restored gospel grow as well. She has two ADORABLE kids. Stacia (we like the name;) and Paul (who the beehives are quickly getting a crush on). Mike, Olga's husband, is working way out in Western Texas right now, so he wasn't able to be there for the special day, but he's excited too. It was a very sweet baptismal service and Olga had a lot of support from the Ward, which is by FAR the best ward in Texas! We love it, and we're so happy for Olga!

In this picture: Front - Rachel Sorber and her daughter, Lucy, Stacie, Paul, Olga, Sister Nelson and Bother Nelson. Back - Mackenzie and Billy Osulnd, Ben, Elder Phelps and Elder O'Driscoll.

2 month surprise!

Benjamin is the best husband in the whole world!!!! Look what he got me for our montheversary!!!! He suprised me with this blown up picture, which now hangs in our room. We have had such a great two months! It has gone by really fast, but has been amazingly fun! I am so greatful for Ben and for his constant kindness and patience with me. He is perfect for me!

By the way, we went to NASA

We posted a lot of NASA pictures on facebook and therefore I neglected to post them on the blog too. We had a great day at the Johnson Space center in Southern Houston. It was our first time driving through the actual city of Houston and we were a little nervous, but we made it. We became season pass holders, for only $3 more- so now we can go back whenever we want for FREE. Notice our ID pictures- Ben came up with the SUPER happy face idea, so I followed his lead.

I heart my Kitchen Aid

From the time I took my cooking class in 2008 at BYU I have wanted a white kitchen aid. I knew it would only be possible if I got married. So I set out to find myself a MAN! Haha. No not really... but I really did want a kitchen aid after I took the class. Ben knew I wanted one, but I told I wouldn't get it until we had everything else we had and then if we had Bed Bath and Beyond gift cards left I would love to have one. The time finally came... and instead of running to the store to get it, I cried. I cried like a baby! I didn't cry because of joy, I cried because I felt so stupid spending so much money on a thing- a kitchen thing. Who have I become? I was feeling so materialistic and silly. Ben helped calm me down and kept reasuring my decision to buy one by telling me all of the good I will do with it- all of the people I can bake for- all the bread I can give away. This may sound silly, but what Ben said actually made me stop crying and I felt much better about my decision, so we ran to the store and bought it! I've already made mashed potatoes for shephards pie and pizza dough for the potluck we went to for conference. I know it is silly that I cried for feeling guilty, but I really do feel so incredibly blessed that I have this amazing machine to make my life a lot less messy and a lot easier to cook. HOORAY FOR HUSBANDS AND KITCHEN AIDs- in that order!

Chicken Masala

Ben and I have befriended the local Indian market. We love going into the store and imagining ourselves in India. Friday night for date night we bought a bottle of Chicken Masala paste to make the curry. We also bought a 10 lb. container of Basmati rice. We felt so authentic. We got a premade package of Naan bread that just had to be baked for 1 minute in the oven. Ben picked out a new suprise for our Indian cuisine- Pappadums- which are so fun to deep fry. They look like flat round chips, but then you put them in oil and they expand and grow into crunchy goodness.

The other exciting part about our friday date night is we were wearing our school shirts. Mine is a red shirt- the Spence Stallians, and Ben's is blue- the Aldine Sr. High Mustangs. On fridays we get to wear our shirts, jeans and tennis shoes to work! Fridays are wonderful!!! Usually Ben wears a shirt and tie every day and I wear dress pants/slacks with a nice shirt. The district we work for is very formal. We are loving teaching!!! I am loving my job and all the little suprises that occur daily when you are around over a thousand k-4 graders.

We Bleed Blue...Still!

We're finally getting settled here in southernland. Life is getting even more exciting because now we have friends! last night we had our new friends, Olga, Mike and their 2 yr. old daughter Stacia (good name, huh!) over for dinner and watched the first half of the BYU football game on our brand new TV! It was great! Mike is from Utah and Olga's from Russia. They're also newlyweds (just 4 months), so it's fun to hang out with them. Stacie made some incredible fajitas (she's become an incredible chef) and Olga made a delicious cake. Just before the end of the first half we went on a beautiful walk down the waterway in The Woodlands. Ben and Stacia had the time of their life playing "cuckoo" - which is like a Russian hide and seek. Stacia and Stacie are now best friends, and Stacie has decided that she 'wants one'. Ben's not opposed to the idea either ;)...

The Waterway was AMAZING. We'll have to put up some pictures on this some time, but the walk is beautiful, and near the town center there is an incredible setup of fountains for kids to play in that have lights that change colors for the kids to play in. We didn't come in our swimming suits, so we couldn't play last night, but we GUARANTEE we'll be back.

After the walk, we headed back and were in time to catch the last five minutes of the game. WAHOOOOO!!!! It was great! Good job guys! you made us proud...literally. I think they were mentioned in atleast three testimonies at church today. It's looking like this could be a GREAT season for BYU. Here's to hoping anyway. Stacie just had to take this picture of me in front of our new TV eating ice cream and watching football because she thought it was 'cute'...I'm still scratching my head, but whatever keeps her loving me, I'm just fine with. We're sure we'll have more updates on the way.

Houston Temple and 3 week-versary

For our 3 week-versary we went to the Houston Temple and then to Rudy's to eat BBQ. It was a fun day! Ben didn't have to wake up at 5 am and we got to relax all day!! Great way to spend such a great saturday!

TEXAS!!!

Some of the great things about texas:

1. Everything is Red White and Blue

2. The Cheese at HEB is in the shape of the state of Texas

3. You can buy food from all over the world. This is truely an international hub of the world.

4. You can eat at Rudy's (Ben's new favorite BBQ restaurant).

5. You meet friends everywhere... the people are super friendly.

6. You hear or read spanish everywhere. (Stacie's own little piece of heaven).

7. It is soooo green- because it rains once a day

8. (well that is all for now, we've only been here for a week and half-so more to be added soon)

Our Home

This is our home. We waited to take pictures once we finally had things kinda in place and pictures on the wall. It is still a work in progress. The two chairs we have in the family/living room are both gifts from a good friend of my moms who lives in Houston. We can now have company over and kinda entertain them (while we sit on our card table chairs). We have two bedrooms and two bath (so we enjoyIt is so fun being married and we love fixing up the house to be our home! See if you can spot Ben in a few of the pictures (he is the new waldo).

The Cheney Chefs

We have been cooking a new recipie every night, and it just happened to be German pancake night, and we failed! Oh well! We have loved using Chelsea's cookbook she made us and a few other cook books we recieved as gifts. We have made pork chops that were "yum yum" and lemon spaghetti that was to die for! We loved it and made so much we had enough for a few days!! Sunday we had the missionaries over for dinner and we made homemade pizzas for them. They were good, but I don't think great. Ben is so sweet to tell me how great things are, but I really think he can eat just about anything! Our most recent cooking adventure brought us to Quiche. I have never made Quiche, but am in love with eating it. Last night we made it, but we couldn't do one of the important steps (cook it in the microwave for ten minutes before cooking it in the oven. The pie tin we have is aluminum and we didn't want fireworks in our new microwave, so we were worried it wouldn't cook, but IT DID!!! We left it in the oven for 15 minutes more than called for and two beautiful quiches came out of the oven!! Our next adventure (after we finish off the quiches) will be Rocky Mountain Salad!

Iowa=family

We loved our time in Iowa visiting with the family. Stacie got to meet a lot of the family she had never met before and it was so fun to hear all the family stories. We especially loved the time at the Story City reception. It was incredible to not have any worries and just be able to relax. Thank you to all the wonderful people in Iowa who pulled that off for us!