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)