A Shout from the Rooftops!

http://news.byu.edu/archive06-Oct-hike.aspx

 

We're thrilled to announce that Steven just accepted a position as an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at 

Brigham Young University in Provo, UT! 

The department is an ideal fit for Steven and his research and teaching interests, with the added bonus that Cristie grew up in Provo and has lots of family and friends in the area, including her mom and stepdad who teach at BYU in the English department. We loved our experiences as students there and feel strongly about the mission of the university. 

Like us, our boys are are overjoyed at the prospect of living near grandparents, great-grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins on both sides, and old friends, but sad to leave our friends and family in the East. If you ask Ben, he'll say, "What's that word that means good and bad at the same time? Oh yeah--bittersweet."

Therefore, we're counting on you to COME VISIT us and

• hike the ruggedly-beautiful Rocky Mountains 
• explore southern Utah's red-rock country
• visit the sites of the 2002 Winter Olympics
• tour the LDS (Mormon) Temple Square in Salt Lake City
• ski the greatest snow on earth

Our door is always open to you. Thank you to all who have been hoping and praying for us! We feel very blessed.

Averaged Bliss

I'm grateful for:

1) 13 blissful years with Steven (you know, averaged out through the ups and downs). He's as perfect as they come. (And thanks for Jen for babysitting for our rare date out!)

2) My mom. She's also as perfect as they come. Not only did she carry me around for 9 months, change all those cloth diapers, and put up with all my teenage angst, she still listens to my adult angst and loves and supports my family brilliantly--even from afar.

3) My kids. When I came home today after a great visiting teaching visit, Sam and Ben had posted notes and arrows for me to follow to find a treasure of cards and drawings they had made for me--all on their own while Steven and the younger boys napped!

4) Another wonderful visit with 93-year-old Dorothy. She's as sweet as they come. And thanks to Gerri who knew just the right gifts to bring Dorothy for Mother's Day.

5) Flannery O'Connor who went really well with my scripture study yesterday and reawakened my dormant literary sensibilities.

Magic & Bangs

Today I'm grateful for:

1) The magical fog that immersed the world this morning as I drove my kids to school. William, Abraham, and I stopped at the Cylburn Arboretum on the way home to take some pictures. I only had my little point and shoot camera with me, so it didn't do it justice. I'm not a morning person, but this made me one today.

2) Debbie Theobald found something valuable I thought I'd lost on our trip to Boston.

3) Earth Day

4) This has been the best visiting teaching month. Today my visiting teachers arranged to watch my kids so I could go get a haircut. Thanks, Erin! (and Ye Ji who couldn't make it at the last minute.) I feel very loved.

5) Bangs.

Bologna Forever

Grateful for:

1) My brother Rob, whose birthday it is today. It has been a dream living close to Uncle Rob (and Erin and Emily). He is soft-spoken yet strong, unassuming yet confident, funny yet serious. Oh, and he's also Rice on Bologna. : ) We love you, Rob!

2) Completely spontaneous singing of "Families Can Be Together Forever" and a group hug from the boys yesterday. That has never happened before.

3) I caught William before he could draw with a non-washable marker on his bedroom carpet for too long (and it mostly came out after much scrubbing--thank goodness). : )

4) Katie who not only lets William come over and play with Carson, but has a great listening ear.

5) How Can I Keep from Singing? (the song and the concept)

P.S. Anyone who wants to come see Ben's play, here's the info:

The 2010 Young Playwrights Festival 7pm on Monday, May 3rd. The evening is free and open to the public. Reserve your free tickets by calling the CENTERSTAGE box office at 410.332.0033.

You can find the info on all the plays here. (Note that the last two plays have some swearing and deal with racial issues, bullying, and/or peer pressure to smoke. I say, feel free to leave after Ben's play).

http://www.centerstage.org/Education/Programs-for-Young-Artists-and-Audiences/Young-Playwrights-Festival/Young-Playwrights-Festival-Honorees-2010.aspx

Who is Right? by Benjamin Charles

1st Grade, Mount Washington Elementary (Baltimore City)

Ben and Sam, a paleontologist and his butler, create a time machine in order to prove that a Kentrosaurus is a real dinosaur. Although, Sam’s disbelief and need to disagree may get him in trouble…

Tulips and More

1) Yesterday I kept trying to remember what I had planned to write about being grateful and it finally hit me in the middle of the night--of course! It was my sister Kathryn's birthday yesterday and I am extremely grateful for her. She's kind and generous and feels things deeply and can be silly and serious at the same time. Plus, she is a professional poet--how cool is that?

2) I'm also grateful for cute boys who helped write this silly limerick for Kathryn:

There once was an auntie named Kathryn
Who didn't complete all her math then.
But when she writes poems
She's second to no one.
So we're trying to follow her path, Ben.

She has a very hard name to rhyme with. : )

3) Steven's going to drive the boys to school one last time tomorrow before leaving for his conference in Florida for 5 days.

4) The boys ran around the huge grassy field by our house 3 times before going inside after school. We should do that everyday.

5) Yesterday: hope. Today: faith.


Pictures at Sherwood Gardens--the most-visited Tulip Garden in North America with 80,000 Tulips. Pretty much my heaven.

Esther Stonely came along:

We had to go back to show Steven on Sunday:

Do you see the 3 boys?

Beautiful flowers and boys with sticks

What?

Ben at Centerstage's Young Playwrights Festival

Revising his very short play about time travel and dinosaurs--it will be staged May 3rd!

Sam and Olivia's Science project on Volcanoes--thanks to Joyce for helping them put it together!

Abraham was the most popular science project : )

Grateful

1) Tulips. Lots and lots of tulips.
2) Steven speaking about "Love at Home" in church today. He exemplifies love at home.
3) Young Playwright's Festival with Sam and Ben yesterday.
4) Aimee Hickman's Relief Society lessons.
5) Hope.

Pictures to come.

I'm Grateful

1) A miracle happened today: my visiting teaching partner and I visited 3 sisters all in one day! And I left a voicemail message with our 4th person--and it's only the first Sunday of the month [note: please diesregard our terrible record in the past and pretend that we're always this on top of things]. 

2) I had a slight epiphany that we could pick up one of my visiting teachees from work and drive her home, which not only saved her time (faster than the bus), but allowed us 20 minutes to talk and give a message. It worked out perfectly!

3) We had a delightful conversation with 93-year-old, Baltimore-born-and-raised Dorothy. She is always cheerful and happy to see us.

4) Dorothy's nursing home roommate Gladys acknowledged our presence for the first time.

5) Sis. Seward finally allowed us to come and deliver her Relief Society manual to her (it's only 3 months late).

A Good Saturday

Grateful for

1) A date with Sammy to see the Percy Jackson movie The Lightning Thief. Sam is the funnest and funniest boy! He has always been delightful and is such a voracious reader that I can't keep up with him anymore. Sam was kind enough to wait for me to finish reading the book before going to the movie (the cardinal rule of English majors and the Cowles household growing up: you must always read the book first before seeing the movie!). We both liked the movie but LOVED the book.

2) Steven who watched the other kids so Sam and I could see the movie.

3) Boys who got along, cleaned up, and helped out for most of the day.

4) Time to exercise, inadvertently fall asleep on the yoga mat for 20 minutes, and then take a shower.

5) Unexpected insights from the scriptures.

Three in a Row!

I'm grateful for:

1) Rosalyn, Amy, and Erin who actually commented on my blog when I didn't even remember that I should be checking for comments. That made me laugh!

2)The big ball of roundness aka Abraham (or "Yabby" as William calls him). For the record, Erin, you don't make a good ball of roundness. : )

3) Root beer floats.

4) Art.

5) Joyce who dared have Sam and Olivia create their volcano science project at her house and not mine.

Today's List

Today I'm grateful for:

1) Realizing Cub Scouts is next week (not today) while pulling out of our parking garage--instead of driving all the way to the neighboring ward's church building before figuring it out.
2) Beautiful blossoms on the trees, some that smell like candy.
3) Abraham only crying for a few minutes after I put him down for bed.
4) One of the best pediatricians in the country, and not just because he acts and dresses like Magnum P.I.--including the mustache : )
5) Best friends, even when they're far away.

Okay, I think I managed to get a few pictures on here from our Easter Sunday with my brother Rob and Erin and Emily. I can't express how wonderful it is to have them living so close by. Enjoy.