Laurel Elisabeth Stevens

On Palm Sunday weekend we went camping at Lake Livingston State Park, along with our friends the Kirks and the Oosterhuises. As with all good camping trips, we had some adventure. We arrived Friday early evening and found our sites (with room for tents and well as existing shelters, sort of modified cabins) right on the lake. It was a gorgeous afternoon—not a cloud in the sky. The sunshine was great and there was just enough of a cool breeze. We enjoyed being with our friends, and Elisabeth enjoyed being with her friends, Ricky (3 ½) and Douwe (2 ½). Jennifer and John worked together to get our tents up, but the Oosterhuises had already put up their super duper Dutch tent that could withstand gale force winds on the top of a mountain. It was like a house. I didn’t really think the value of their tent would be shown on this trip. By 7:30 Elisabeth was getting so tired that she just burst into tears about nothing much, so I asked her, “Are you ready for bed?” “Yes!” she said, ...

We enjoyed a brief visit with Kristen’s parents, Terry and Kathy who were on a Texas tour. End of March saw us heading west with John’s parents who were visiting for their Spring Break. We stopped first in Austin to see Nathaniel and poked around the State Capitol—what a Texan—Elisabeth is not even 3 and she’s been there twice now. It was gorgeous weather the whole drive and we passed lots of wildflowers. We kept thinking we should stop and take pictures, but we were hoping Elisabeth would take a nap in the car. Consequently, we have no bluebonnet pictures this year, and no nap was taken. We continued onto Fredericksburg and stayed in a charming historical house. We enjoyed fabulous scones and muffins each morning from the Rather Sweet Bakery. John and I rode a couple of bikes that belonged to the house—it has been a while since I rode a one speed bike, and the territory was a bit hillier than what we were used to. But just a bit. It was a fun ride. Of course we had to climb E...

We enjoyed a brief visit with Kristen’s parents, Terry and Kathy who were on a Texas tour. End of March saw us heading west with John’s parents who were visiting for their Spring Break. We stopped first in Austin to see Nathaniel and poked around the State Capitol—what a Texan—Elisabeth is not even 3 and she’s been there twice now. It was gorgeous weather the whole drive and we passed lots of wildflowers. We kept thinking we should stop and take pictures, but we were hoping Elisabeth would take a nap in the car. Consequently, we have no bluebonnet pictures this year, and no nap was taken. We continued onto Fredericksburg and stayed in a charming historical house. We enjoyed fabulous scones and muffins each morning from the Rather Sweet Bakery. John and I rode a couple of bikes that belonged to the house—it has been a while since I rode a one speed bike, and the territory was a bit hillier than what we were used to. But just a bit. It was a fun ride. Of course we had to climb Enchanted ...

Grandmere and Grandpere have been back from Vietnam for almost 6 weeks and I finally have some pictures to prove it. They've brought their old home back to life, and now new memories are being made as Timothy and Elisabeth make themselves at home there. They love the enclosed backyard, as well as the gated courtyard in front. They love t he piano and the old Playmobile toys from Josh and Nathaniel. And they like to fight over Snoopy (poor guy--he's lost his nose in the intervening years). Elisabeth sleeps on a mat in the guest bedroom when she is there--a nice skill she learned at Mother's Day Out. It's nice not to have to put her in and out of the pack 'n play anymore. And she just sits on the mat when she wakes up. I wonder how long that will last.

She'll be 2 1/2 in a couple of weeks, and today was Elisabeth's first haircut (unless you count the little trim of her bangs last month. I don't). I found myself being the sort of mother I didn't think I'd be: not wanting to cut my child's hair for emotional reasons. "She doesn't need a haircut--it's baby hair!" But now that the weather is getting warm and I see her sweaty little head and curls that stick out to the sides, I finally gave in. Here are some before pictures, taken yesterday: See those precious locks! How could I cut them off? That goodness for Texas humidity. On dry days they look more like this: I told Elisabeth on Sunday that we would get her hair cut today, and this morning we talked about it a lot. I told her she would sit in a big chair and have a cape around her neck and would see herself in the mirror. I was sure she would cry and wiggle or be afraid of the stylist or something. We went to the YMCA this morning, and when I ...

At the beginning of February we enjoyed a visit from an old friend and colleague. Shirley Unger and I taught together at Vienna Christian School—we met 10 years ago. Time flies. Now she is in Germany as a missionary with EuroTeam. She was in Houston as part of her support raising. We had a good time, and Elisabeth just loved her. It didn’t take long at all for Elisabeth to warm up to “Miss Siryee.” We tried to show Shirley a bit of Houston, but I think she ended up seeing the toddler’s version. We made a visit for the first time to Mercer Arboretum (I may have been there as a child, but I can’t remember). It was beautiful! Walking through the gates was like walking into a lush haven—so green (well, I suppose everything looks green here for some of you), so many birds . . . We were there less than 5 minutes and we knew we had to return. So whoever visits us next, bring your walking shoes! Elisabeth also got to see Cypress Knees for the first time! Then on Monday after Shirley met with t...

Last summer while we were visiting Tim and Kristen in Dearborn, Tim made this video of Elisabeth. This was when she was really starting to talk more and more. Of course, since then she's come such a long way that we surely need a new video, but this is fun for reminiscing. Thanks, Tim, for the video.