I need to...

I need to blog more.  Maybe I'll be better in 2013...

Pumpkin Adventure

So this past week, before Hurricane Sandy's imminent threat, we had the task of buying pumpkins for a pumpkin-carving party.  We had choice of just going to the grocery store to get it....but then, where would be the fun?  Fortunately, there are a few pumpkin farm/patches around...

The last pumpkin on the far right was an ill-attempt (unfinished) of a character in Star Wars.  But it looks more like a brain....(Okay, that was Edwin's team pumpkin... they claimed they didn't have enough time to finish.)

And then an industrious friend took home all the pumpkin and pumpkin innards and made soup out of them.

Autumn in New England

Hello world!  The last time I updated this blog was back in early spring...around Easter.  Yikes!  How did half a year fly by so quickly?  Since then, it's been getting cooler and the leaves are turning color.

6 months.  A lot has changed.  From being "temporary" residents of Massachusetts and living in the quintessential New England town...we've now moved into the inner-city Boston. We exchanged our Texas license plates that we held on for as long as we could...for Massachusetts ones. It was a bittersweet day...as we'll always be Texans at heart. We now live next door to a laundry-mat and a fast food Chinese take-out restaurant that opens till 1AM.  Instead of hearing crickets chirp at night, we now hear police sirens whizzing by.  (So do not let the above peaceful photos deceive you...)  

The pictures above were taken in New Hampshire this past weekend, during a church retreat.  New Hampshire is on fire with fall foliage right now! It's only 2 hours north of us, but the color differences were breathtaking. We were just blessed to be there at the right time and right place. It puts Boston to shame.  Right now, down our street, there are a few random orange trees, a few dead trees, and some random green ones that looks like it doesn't belong.

I need to do another post to catch this blog up to speed with what's going on with our lives.  But since it's already past midnight... I must wait for another day to do so.

Until then, enjoy the crisp autumn season.  Enjoy the pumpkins and pumpkin pies...

Happy Easter Egg Coloring!

Happy (early) Easter! I always love that eggs are an icon during Easter.... signifying that we have "new life" in Christ, when He died (and resurrected) to take upon Himself on the sins of the world.

Hence, new life = lots of eggs! :)

Recently, Jocelyn's friends' grandma came to visit! She ended up setting up a whole Easter egg dyeing station for the kiddos. Evan (not pictured) lasted for exactly 5 minutes because he started knocking over all the cups, plates, dishes, and started splashing water. We promptly removed him from the kitchen so that the other kids could dye their eggs in peace.

Here are some photos:

Focusing hard on sprinkling glitter onto the eggs....

Carefully adding on sequences.... I love her chubby fingers.

Voila! Eggs dyed successfully by two 3-and-a half years old kids & a 2-year-old kid!

A FLASHBACK:

Ironically enough, exactly 2 years ago, Jocelyn and her same buddy Josiah also dyed Easter eggs with the same grandma who came to visit. (The other brother Levi who is in the above pictures was JUST born, so of course he did not participate!) At that time, Jocelyn was right about Evan's age now (~ 15 or 16 months old). Except she was much more willing to sit still and learn... and they actually had a successful try at egg dyeing.

Here's an old photo from 2 years ago. (Crazy how time flies!)

Please note: At 1.5 years old, they had to be stripped down to their diapers since they got color on EVERYTHING.

(To think of it, Evan would also probably be able to dye eggs if we stripped him down to his diapers and sat him on the floor.... oh well. Today, he was outnumbered by the older kids.)

Exactly 2 years ago...

Happy Easter!!