Jonah- As Told by Stuffed Animals

Eriek had to come up with a big final project for his class this semester.  He decided to get creative this time and make a children's book of Jonah using our stuffed animals as the main cast.  He wrote a script out and then started envisioning what pictures he needed.

We live in The Woodlands, TX and there's this area called the Waterway that just fit the bill for this little endeavor.  He wanted the Pavilion (where all the concerts are held) to be the big city of Nineveh, and there's plenty of water, boats and trees around it to capture the rest of the story.  All-in-all, it was the perfect setting. 

What I liked most about this project was that I was able to be of some help and spend time with Eriek while he worked on the project, instead of him being stuck on the computer writing for days and days on his own while I barely get to see him.  Basically, I was the Puppet Master, arranging the characters as he described what he wanted for that part of the story.

Here I am setting up the Ninevites outside of their city as Eriek gets the framing for the shot set up.

As you can see though, these guys were tricky as they didn't want to stand on their own.  We propped twigs under their feet and that helped until the wind kept blowing them over!  Eriek finally got a great shot in between gusts...

Nice evil Ninevites, huh?  They are happy little Beijing mascots plus a little Kuwait bear :)  Then we moved on to the boat scenes.  Jonah is the bird because his name means dove (foolish bird).  The Athens mascots are the mariners.  The people at the boat house were nice enough to let us use a kayak for our photo shoot!

Jonah being thrown overboard is one of my favorite pics!  We used a wire hanger and I was dangling him over the water and we photoshopped it out :)

And, of course, the whale spitting up Jonah on the shore near Nineveh.  (The whale was the mascot from the Montreal World Championships.)

And one of the last pictures was Jonah writing his story in the Bible.

There were many more pics, but I don't want to steal Eriek's work of art!  It was just so much fun to do, and I think it would be a great project to do with your kids!  Not only is it a lot of fun to take your silly stuffed animals and make them act out scenes in the Bible, but you get to know the story you're acting out much better and deeper.

Even if you don't have kids, be your own kid!  I encourage you to try it with a friend- you'll laugh so hard while doing it, then you'll have pictures to look back on and smile at.  And you'll probably get to know God a little more in the process.

Daddy's Pregnant?!

So last night was our first "Prepared Childbirth" class at the hospital.  One of the highlights was Eriek getting chosen to wear the "empathy" vest.  The instructor first put a thick strap around his chest after he let his air out so he couldn't breathe very well.  Then she had him place a weighted patch right above his belt so when he put the vest on it would put pressure on his bladder.  Then she put the vest on which contained a 5 lbs. weighted pendulum that moved plus two 7 lbs. lead balls that also moved around (like a baby does).  There was also quite a bit of fluid in the vest.

 I think it gave him a good idea for a few brief minutes of what it's like being pregnant.  He did after all perform the classic pregnant lady sit into a chair.  I was very impressed.

See, it's almost like the real thing...  but for about 5 minutes instead of 9 months, and no actual pushing the baby out.

New Favorite Toy

So my belly has become a funny little fascination in the past few months.  With Arella growing everyday in there, I have more and more to jiggle around and play with- and she plays with me sometimes!  Eriek just laughs when I dance around bouncing my baby belly all over the place, but it has been quite the source for entertainment.

Although I now have a tendency that around the house I'll hike my shirt up letting my belly hang all out because darn it, it's just more comfortable that way.

However, I've noticed that in doing so, I'm resembling old Chinese men...

Hmmm....  not so cool...

Austin Fun

Sorry this is long overdue!  A couple of weekends ago, women's swimming and diving NCAA's were in Austin, so Eriek and I decided that would be a perfect final get-a-way for us before baby Arella comes.  So for our final weekend as a couple, all we could talk about, of course, was the baby :)  A fun surprise was the restaurant right by our hotel is called Baby A's and then right across the street we found a Zoe's Kitchen.  (Zoe is what we've named our baby we're adopting from China, still a few years away).  So we felt like both of our baby girls were represented that weekend!

We stayed at Embassy Suites and they not only have the most amazing hot breakfast, but they have this really cool pond with swans and giant koi fish!  This definitely made us feel like we were on vacation!

One of the things I really wanted to do while we were there was try and get some good maternity pics.  Austin is so scenic and beautiful, I was just hoping to find the right spot and get one or two good shots.  Eriek did an amazing job as photographer giving me about 30 shots I just love!  Here are some of my favs:

Of course taking pictures around Lake Travis works up an appetite, so we just had to stop for lunch at the infamous Oasis!  They have built this place up so much since my last visit that it's becoming a big tourist attraction, but it still has that magical view...

And I found the lovely diving statue, which always makes this place feel a little more like home.

And one final picture to leave you with.  Austin, although more liberal than the rest of Texas, is located in Texas, and you know we like to cling to our guns here in this great state.
So this is why you "Don't Mess With Texas."

St. Baldrick's

Eriek and I went to a local Irish pub, the Goose's Acre, on Sunday to celebrate St. Baldrick's.  Never heard of it?  It's way more fun than just wearing green on St. Patrick's Day.  It all started on March 17, 2000, when some people turned their St. Patrick's Day party into a head-shaving event to benefit kids with cancer. Their 20 "shavee" recruits planned to raise "$17,000 on the 17th." Instead, they raised over $104,000!  Now 11 years later they have raised over $57 million for St. Baldrick's Foundation (the charity they started after that initial head-shaving event) which is committed to funding the most promising research to find cures for childhood cancers and give survivors long and healthy lives.

So, pretty cool concept.  I've donated my hair before (cutting off 10-12") to make wigs for kids with cancer, but I'm not sure if I have the guts to shave my whole head.  But there are many who are- men, women and kids.  But you don't have to shave your head to help the cause, just be part of the events as it's now world-wide!    
St. Baldrick's Foundation

Here are some fun pics from the event:

John lead off the day by shaving his greenish-teal hair... not sure why they left the beard...

Then we had some brave little men...

And I was most impressed with these women...

A lot of fun was had, a lot of hair was donated, and even more hair floated away in the breeze and into the Waterway.  Hopefully one of these days we'll be able to knock out cancer just as easily!

Sweet Little Face

So we're at 29 weeks, not too long now before we meet little Arella face-to-face.  We had our 4D ultrasound today which was AMAZING!  She made lots of fun faces for us and checked out right on track for her due date- May 24th.  Enjoy the pics!

When we first said hello to her this morning, she was in a little ball (that's my flexible girl!).  That's her right foot in the center, her big toe next to the profile of her nose which is right above her finger and thumb.

She stretched out her legs, but kept that left hand right by her face the whole time.  There's a hint of a smile in this picture.

She worked that hand all around her face trying hard to suck those little fingers for a brief second.

This is by far my favorite picture because she has the sweetest smile on her face exposing an adorable little dimple on her left cheek, just like her daddy's!

She was playful, sticking her tongue out at us a few times.

She sure likes to smile, and here's a great big one.  I can just tell it's the kind that comes with a big belly laugh!

I can't wait to hold her in my arms and kiss that incredibly adorable little face!  Thank you Lord for this precious little miracle I can call my daughter!

Things About Diving

So the story goes, I retired from diving following the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.  But after a hard couple of years and just missing it very much, I got back in the water in 2010 and competed 3 meter springboard (I'm usually the 10 meter platform girl) at the summer nationals.  But shortly after that I found out I was pregnant (woohoo!) and had to hang up the suit.  I've still been around the pool deck everyday helping coach the Woodlands Diving Academy team.

Although I'm very much loving being pregnant and looking forward to motherhood, I can't help but long to be in the water with the divers I'm coaching.  Wondering where this longing was still coming from, I thought I'd make of list of the things I miss about diving and the things I don't miss about diving.  Enjoy!

Things I Miss About Diving
1. Flying through the air at 30+ mph

2. Feeling like a superhero, leaping tall buildings in a
single bound

3. Being scared to death of something, but having the opportunity to overcome that fear

4. The awesome crazy teammates I've had, and the amazing people I've met along the way

5. The feeling of doing something to the very best of my ability

6.A reason to bring 2 families all together in one place (and get them to wear the same T-shirt!)

7. Being exhausted & sore at the end of the day, and knowing that means I've accomplished something

8. Overcoming an injury & "impossible odds"

9. Learning how to share the excitement of diving with someone else

10. It's just home to my heart, it's where I belong

Things I DON'T Miss About Diving
1. Nothing

All the things I thought I didn't like about diving (like putting on a suit first thing in the morning, or being tired and sore, or the frustration of injuries or fear) are also the things that I loved about it that drove me to work hard and push through difficult times.  I love the sport with a passion that sometimes I don't understand myself, and I'm pretty sure I always will.