Pandsyear4

  This week was very productive.  I reached my goal of getting to the gym four times this week.  I just missed on Wednesday because I got home a little later and thought the gym would be too crowded.  Monday I started making Jacob and Brianna's stockings, I made Hawaiian Chicken for dinner and I straightened up the apartment.  I was taking the trash out and when I opened the apartment door, this thing shoots in the door and hides under our sandals.  Luckily it stopped there and I just crushed it with Paul's sandal.  I picked up the shoe to see I squished a small lizard! I couldn't believe it.  I scooped it up with some paper and took it out with the rest of the trash.  Tuesday was pretty much the same as Monday.  I made stuffed manicotti for us for dinner and made another one to take to another family in the ward the next day.  They had a baby last week, a little girl they named Melody.  Wednesday and Thursday we...

  Happy birthday to Lizzy last Saturday, and happy anniversary to the parents last Sunday! Monday was Labor Day, so I had work off and Paul just went into lab for two hours.  First thing in the morning we got the nail taken out of Paul's tire then we did laundry and grocery shopping. We talked about going to the zoo like we did last year but Paul didn't get into lab until the afternoon so then we just went out to dinner and came home and watched a movie. Happy birthday to Sierra on Tuesday.  We had a good day by going to the gym, then I went to work and got to leave early.  I put away the laundry from yesterday and caught up on some tasks that I've been putting off, just organizing stuff.  Then Paul got home and we had dinner, I made a grilled chicken salad, we did our goals and went to bed. Wednesday was equally as productive as Tuesday.  I made pesto from scratch from my basil plant and used it to make a salmon pasta dish for dinner.  Littl...

  This week was pretty good.  We thought our struggle with the heat was coming to a close but, even though the temperatures are getting lower, the humidity is really taking off and is not fun. Monday, I was exhausted from getting home late.  Our flight got in around 1 AM.  I showed up to work around 10 AM and my boss was unconcerned haha.  He left at 4 PM, so I left shortly after.  I put our stuff away then Paul came home and we got some Chik Fil A for dinner then we both just passed out from being so tired. Wednesday, Paul got his sequencing back for the DNA fragments that he's been working on for over a month and it came back correct, so he is finally able to move on to the next part of his project! His PI literally texted him "Yaaas!"  We also heard that Ben has been reassigned to Oregon temporarily while his visa to France gets processed. Thursday was frustrating for me because my coworker set up this big, all-day meeting with a client and then the...

  Monday, Paul is a week into training Motamed and Dr. Nam has given him new responsibilities in the lab.  Since Paul has been working independently for several months now, Dr. Nam has given him at least two big projects that both she and Paul are super excited about, given Paul the responsibility of training the new lab tech and given him administrative responsibilities.  This just shows how much Paul is learning and progressing in lab and showing him how much confidence Dr. Nam has in him.  This past weekend, Paul was working with viral expression systems to generate proteins that he will be doing experiments on.   Funny story on Monday.  My boss bought lunch for everyone and asked me to order "Jimmy-Johnson's". Funny story on Tuesday.  I startled Paul when I was going to bed and he was already asleep.  He was scared and said, "Sarah! Look! there are flying things!"  I knew he was sleep talking and helped him calm down a...

  We have been in Texas for one year!  To celebrate, Paul came home from lab early and we went to a nice dinner.  I can't believe it has been a year already and I also can't believe it has only been a year.  It has been full of ups and downs that we have never faced before.  It has been a huge blessing for our relationship but it definitely came with a lot of trials as well. I hope this next year will bring less challenges and more peace. Also, thank you to both Christine and Wendy for the baby gifts!  Happy Pioneer Day to our Utah folks on Saturday!

  Tuesday I got a call from the nurse assigned to me and she told me my blood test came back normal and I'm not a carrier for any genetic diseases that they test for.  We also found out that we are having a girl!  We are very excited!   Wednesday I made fish tacos for dinner and we watched game 4 of the finals. Thursday, I picked up my new glasses.  I got my prescription updated and got a few pairs to switch between. Friday, we both were tired from the week so we just watched a movie.  Paul showed me Dances with Wolves.  I hadn't ever seen it before but I really liked it. Saturday, we went to the farmers market and we got there right as everyone was packing up but there was one vendor there that stayed open and talked to us about his business.  He had carved these wood puzzles and statues that you can twist to get a different image.  It was really cool.  I picked out a giraffe puzzle that has a mom, dad and baby ...

Monday morning, we went to the gym then Paul had to rush  to lab  for the big move.  They are moving from one lab to another and it will be a big project this week.  I had the day off and facetimed the family in the morning.  I announced that Paul and I are expecting a little *firework* in January.  We are very excited!  It was good to talk and catch up with the family. On Wednesday, Paul came with me to my 12 week appointment and we got some cute pictures of our little one.  I got my blood drawn and they are doing genetic testing and will be able to tell us the gender of the baby in two weeks! I can't wait! Paul's lab move was a lot of work but he got to come home early a few days this week.  It was nice to spend more time together while the sun was still up.

  On Tuesday, Paul met with Dr. Nam and she told him that she is giving him the projects she is most excited about and that, if the project works out, they will result in very impactful papers and open all sorts of doors for Paul and the lab. Congratulations to Jacob and Brianna for having a beautiful baby girl, Finley May, join their family on July 1st. Paul was busy in lab most of the weekend but Sunday he was home.  I made swedish pancakes for breakfast and Paul made a fun summer dinner for the 4th.  We went out and watched fireworks in the evening.

  Not a lot happened this week.  Paul is working hard in lab and I had work.  I bought my plane tickets this week for the end of August.  We're excited to see everyone!

Dear Wendy, I just wanted to let you know what an inspiration you are to me.  Your quiet strength brings so much comfort to me and to the whole family.  Underneath all the craziness of family gatherings is the foundation of love, trust, patience and respect that ties us all together.  I know I am not alone in appreciating your constant effort to anchor your family in Christ.  Though it is easy to be apprehensive with new people coming into the family and to be worried about differences we see in each other, you are the first to sow seeds of love and acceptance.  You see these differences as beautiful, not scary.  You set the tone for us to look past unimportant factors and to appreciate having time together as a family.  I have enjoyed growing closer to you over the past five years and have been blessed by your friendship and prayers.  Through the challenges that Paul and I have faced together so far in our marriage, we have always felt that we ca...

  Monday started with me getting my second hair appt.  They finished the back of my head with highlights and bleached the two front pieces again to get rid of the yellow.  It is still a little yellow, which I am disappointed in but I guess I will just live with it. Tuesday we got very exciting news! Paul was personally chosen by his PI to collaborate with a distinguished researcher at the Max Plank Institute in Germany on RNA research.  He is being recognized for his hard work and long hours in lab and is being trusted with this huge opportunity! We are so excited!  We celebrated by going to Chik-fil-a for peach shakes. Friday I got home early and was able to finish packing and getting ready for our trip to Utah for the weekend.  Paul got home and we grabbed dinner then went straight to the airport.  We watched some NBA games while we were waiting for the plane to board and we were on our way! Our flight got in to Salt Lake at 12:30 AM. Mike ...

  This week was not very eventful.  We just worked and didn't do anything interesting.  I got my hair highlighted on Friday.  That was the "highlight" of the week haha

  Memorial day we finished up chores we didn't get done on Saturday then we went to Buc-ee's for a little bit.  It was really busy, so we didn't stay long but one of the workers dressed up as Buc-ee but we were too star struck to get our picture taken with him.  The week went back quickly since it was only a four day week.  It has been really rainy all of May and for the first week of June.  I was sick of it and wanted to escape, so we drove an hour and a half north to Oklahoma.  Unfortunately, it was still rainy there and we drove through some heavy rainfall but it was fun to get a change of scenery.  That was the first time we left the metroplex since moving down here. While we were in OK I met bigfoot and he seemed nice enough but I punched his arm off for good measure.

  This week was good with work and school.  Paul needed to get some stuff for school off amazon and surprised me by buying Anne of Green Gables.  I love that movie and I just got done rereading the books a little while ago. The weekend was all cleaning and resting after a long week, so we didn't do anything exciting. 

  Monday, Paul finished with his classes.  We celebrated by going to the Cheesecake factory.  Paul no longer has classes and will be in lab full time! Tuesday, Paul's brother, Sam, got his mission call to Indiana, Indianapolis! He goes to the MTC September 1st.  We are very excited for him! Wednesday I noticed a fourth bud on my hibiscus! I hope it stops raining so much so we can get a little more  sun for these flowers. update: Friday I noticed 6 buds! Saturday we had Brianna's baby shower for Finley.  Thank you to everyone who came and participated.  To summarize, we did an ice breaker game where Whitney won by listing the most baby items in one minute.  Then Brianna and Lizzy opened gifts and Jacob showed them to the camera for Whitney and I to see.  The next game we went through questions that Jacob and Brianna answered and Amelia won that one.  Then we went around and followed a prompt to send well wishes to baby Finley.  ...

  This week has been pretty good.  Not a lot of variation from the norm.  My hibiscus had about 12 buds and one flower almost bloomed!  In the picture you see it at its peak bloom before it fell off haha.  I had to trim off some buds too because they were covered in ants and some buds just fell off on their own but there are still some that are trying to bloom.  The last few weeks have been very rainy and not very sunny, so maybe that's what is to blame. Paul is getting more independent in lab and is ready to take ownership of his project.  He loves what he is learning and is progressing quickly.   Thanks to everyone who joined the zoom on Sunday, I led the discussion on Elder Stephenson's talk "Hearts Knit Together".  We had a great turnout and a great discussion on kindness and gratitude.  Thank you to everyone for participating. Happy 30th anniversary to Mike and Wendy this week, what a great milestone! Love you all and hope you ...