goals for 2010.

* eat at uchi
* start composting
* buy new make-up
* write more cards
* have a weekly date night
* learn photoshop

do you have any?

projects.

here's what the guys are up to today.
and here are the fruits of yesterday's labor.

bed time.

contrary to the popular vote, we are sticking with the vare-uh pronunciation. after we learned most people were calling her veer-uh, i considered changing the way we spoke it. i could go either way and i like both. but we need consistency and husband only liked vare-uh. so vare-uh it is. sorry in advance, daughter, for all your teachers pronouncing it "wrong" from kindergarten through college.

2 weeks down, 4 to go. chris is really enjoying his sabbatical and i am so very thankful that i get so much time with my favorite person. he learned quickly that vera isn't always a grumpy baby, but her usual cry-fest happens every day from about 5pm-7pm and that lines up perfectly with the window in which he comes home from work. mornings are her prime happy time. i love it when she is all smiles. she's finding her voice and loves to coo and echo my noises. besides mornings, my other favorite time of day is bath time and pre-bedtime. she is seriously loving bath time. and i do mean seriously. i hope to get a video sometime soon. her face is so stoic when she's in the water, but she kicks and bats her arms and splashes like crazy. it's funny to me that her face is so serious when doing so though. she cries immediately when we take her out because she loves it so much. i faked her out several times tonight pretending to get her out. she would start to cry and stop when she realized i wasn't picking her up. and then a smile would pop up on her face. silly girl. after her bath, i take her to her room, wrapped up in a towel. the space heater is on, so it's already warm. i lay her on the floor and let her have some naked time while i give her a nightly massage. that's my favorite part. i pray over each part of her as i rub it..."thank you, lord, for vera's head and her brain. i pray that she would use her mind to do great things for your kingdom...thank you for her arms and hands. i ask that you would use her to love all people and reach out to those who are in need. thank you for her feet...beautiful are those that bring good news...i pray that she would not have a spirit of timidity, but one of power, love, and self-discipline and that she would speak boldly of your love. thank you, God, for her tummy and back. i pray that you would make her strong to fight off illnesses and strong to fight off spiritual battles. give her armor to stand up in the midst of doubt and fear. mostly though, God, i pray that vera would grow to be a woman who loves you with her whole heart..that she'd follow Your ways, be a woman of purity, and that she would live for You with abandon. give chris and i wisdom as we raise her. i pray that we would always have a close relationship. haste the day that she would sleep through the night and sustain me until she does." that's pretty much my nightly prayer with her. :) then i put her in her sleeper, swaddle her with all of my might (chris is a super-star at the swaddling.), give her hugs and kisses and put her in bed. i turn off the light and walk out!

and i have to say, i am quite proud of her. she's cried for a total of 20 minutes when we started it..and tonight for less than a minute before she fell asleep. that's not to say that she sleeps through the night by any means, but i am thankful we've gotten the hang of bedtime at least.

back to chris's sabbatical though. we enjoyed the first week together, having a lot of down time and appreciating his help with the baby. he helped me with things around the house and helped the things ready for the christmas party. the second week, last week, we were at his parents' house near ft. worth. lots of down time there. good food, good friends, dates, and naps. it was a good time. now we are home and in the middle of week 3. his dad is here and they are working away at a couple of projects; roofing our patio and building cabinets for the laundry room.

i made an apple pie today and i'm thinking it needs a slice taken from it before i go to bed. a la mode. g'night!

roly poly.

christmas.

family time, new board games, prime rib, puppy play time, hot tea, after christmas shopping, much-needed sleep, and a very unexpected snowfall, making it a white christmas in fort worth.

cuddle time with the bug.pretty table.

grammy loves vera.

instead of going to church on christmas eve, we decided to skip out and play in the snow. chris enjoyed having me wear his high school letter jacket. all i needed was his class ring on my index finger, wrapped with dental floss so it would fit my finger (although in reality, i wouldn't have to do that since we wear the same ring size!) and i would have fit the high school girlfriend mold perfectly. i'm making fun of myself here. :)

vera's first christmas.

sasha and marlow. they love each other. marlow turned 3 years old on saturday!

we kept up our annual tradition of going out to breakfast together (alone) on christmas eve morning. we got to go on another date, too. last night we went to dinner and a movie.

around here.

my husband is on a 6-week sabbatical and i love having him home! he's been really productive and i'm impressed how ambitious he is in setting out to accomplish some house projects. this afternoon he is buidling cabinets for our laundry room. it's crazy how inexpensive it is to build them compared to buying them. love me a handy man.i came across my favorite christmas book of all time! as far back as i can remember, i have made it a fun tradition of my own to look through this picture book every christmas. no words, but there's definitely still a story. my mom gave it to me when i moved out and got married. now it is in vera's room on her bookshelf.

my sweet girl taking her afternoon nap.

paid off!

this picture was taken shortly after we bought our first car in april of 2006. we just paid it off and it feels really good! now we'll roll that car payment amount over to pay off our next highest interest loan. it will be good someday to be out of debt! i am thankful for a great husband who values good stewardship of finances and is smart about money because i am definitely not!

catching up.

we had a christmas party last saturday--the annual 'eat, drink & be merry with the bonsers' and it was a blast. though not as many showed up as last year (88 last year..about 50 this year), it was still super fun to pack out our 1400 sq. ft. home with so many wonderful friends. we had a coffee bar & sweets theme, so i baked lots of sugary items to be consumed and a friend who works at fourbucks..er, i mean, starbucks supplied us with caffeine free of charge.my good friend, emily, the one who was pregnant with me this summer--remember her?--is MOVING! i'm super sad because i'm going to miss her so much and especially since our babies are only 4 days apart. it has been so great having a friend to journey with through this craziness called motherhood, to bounce questions off each other, and to encourage each other. however, i am so thrilled that her husband got a dream job working on lake tahoe and they will make a lovely home there in just a couple of weeks now. we stripped our babies down to their diapers the other day and just looked at them, noticing their similarities and differences, but mostly just oohing over how dang cute they are!

other points of interest:
* vera had her 2 mo. check up and is in the 90th percentile for weight at 12 lbs. and 50th percentile for length at 22.5 inches. she's a good eater!
* my hubby is on sabbatical and home for SIX weeks! i feel so lucky.
* holy moly...christmas is one week away! i better finish my shopping.

Merry Christmas from the Bonsers

The ABCs of 2009

Aunt Carey and Uncle Chris are proud of their first niece, Nora Brielle, born in June to Andy and Amanda, Carey’s siblings.

Barf or bake sums up Carey’s first trimester. If she was feeling well, she did a lot of baking. If not…

Chilly nights will be warmed by our fireplace from the 9 trees we cut down in our yard.

Dog parks were frequented with Marlow so that we could soak up our time with him before our baby arrived.

Enjoyment sums up time on Skype this year with friends and family. Look us up!

Friendships, old and new, have been huge blessings in our lives this year.

Grandma Allison visited for the first time and got to meet her great-granddaughter in November.

House projects are planned for Chris’ sabbatical.

Impatient described the last month of Carey’s pregnancy as we waited a total of 42 weeks for our daughter’s arrival.

Jesus has changed our lives and we celebrate Him this Christmas.

Kids in the foster system are people for whom we have compassion. Perhaps someday one will be a part of our family.

Learning a new programming language, Verilog, is a project Chris has been working on.

Marriage has been going great! We celebrated 4 years this year and look forward to many more together.

New York City was our last trip as a kid-free couple when we visited family in April.

One mile, Chris swam. He called it self-inflicted torture.

Puppy no longer. Marlow will turn 3 years old the day after Christmas.

Qwirkle is our new favorite board game.

Rest is something we miss as we raise our almost 2-month old.

Sabbatical eligible. Chris will receive 4 weeks off after working for AMD for 5 years.

Taste and See Fine Dining, Carey’s catering business, was a success as she was able to work solely on her own this year.

Uterine parasite was the description we gave to break the news that we were expecting.

Vera Corrine, our daughter, was born October 15th at 6:04pm, measuring 8 lb. 5 oz. & 21 in.

Waves were splashed at the beach of Port Aransas in June. Marlow enjoyed playing in the ocean and learned quickly not to drink the salty water.

Xerothermic is an adjective you could use to describe Texans this year as we survived the hottest summer on record.

Yankee game was a fun experience when we visited NYC.

Zyg is a word you should remember next time you play Scrabble.

Merry Christmas,
Chris & Carey Bonser

dance party in my crib.

guess i should take advantage of these moments before she can look over at me and recognize that i'm in the room. what a cutie.

love the bumbo.

i sat her on the counter next to me the other day while i washed dishes and i just talked to her while she watched me. it's great for strengthening her neck muscles.

Friends.

We had a belated birthday lunch today at our house for two friends, Lydia and Sara, who've both turned a year older in the last couple of weeks. We took advantage of a photo op since our tree is now decorated.

The Pioneer Woman.

also known as P-Dub, P Diddy Widdy, and PW

If you don't know her, you should get to know her. I've only been following her blog since the beginning of this year, but I have to admit I am addicted to her daily posts about life as a ranch wife in Oklahoma. She's a homeschooling momma, cook, photographer, dog-lover, devoted wife, and believer. She's the Pioneer Woman! And I got to meet her last Thursday. Her cookbook has been published and she's touring the country, signing, answering questions, and blogging about her experiences. When I learned she was coming to Austin, I put it on my calendar and was counting down. I got to the bookstore early and got wristbands for my friend, Sara, and I so we could get our books signed. Even though we weren't far from the front, we still had to wait over an hour to meet her..but it was worth it! :)

It was also my first time 'going out' on my own since Vera was born. I was so thankful that Chris came home early from work and was on Daddy Duty all night. I left for 5 hours! I wore my boots, did my hair, put on make-up and brushed my teeth. :) And because it was a special occasion, I wore a regular bra instead of a nursing bra and brought a purse instead of a diaper bag. I felt like a new woman! It was really fun to get out and have one-on-one time with a friend and not have to worry so much about tending to my little girl, as much as I love her.

baldies.

hope i don't get in trouble for that one. :)

happy girl.

i am building a cathedral.

on a day like today when i have to go outside numerous times to breathe and silence my ears a bit before returning inside to a screaming baby, i receive a card in the mail from a dear friend who knows exactly what i need to hear. this really blessed me today and i hope it touches you, too.

a man walking down the road encountered three dirt-covered tired men on their way home from work. curious, the man asked the first worker about his job. "i lay bricks," the man grumbled, "brick after brick after brick." the man asked the second worker about his job. "i build walls. i finished one today, in fact. tomorrow i will start another," he replied. the man asked the third worker about his job. with spirit in his voice he said, "i build cathedrals--great, beautiful monuments that glorify God and draw people to Him!" the man thanked the workers and continued down the road, with a hurried step to see the cathedral underway.

the man knew that all three workers were brick layers. though they worked the same trade their perspective differed greatly.

and she followed the story with a sweet letter to me...

"you are now a brick layer, each day is another brick, each stage another wall. but that view will break your spirit. no, you are more than a mere brick layer. you are building a cathedral! you are building a great, beautiful monument that will glorify God and draw people to Him! this is the perspective that truly encompasses the incredible job before you. make sure you take a few steps back every once in awhile to gain perspective, in order to preserve sanity and to appreciate the beauty of your trade."

perfect timing. thank you, shannon.

me and my girl.

thus far we have learned a few things about this little human that now inhabits with us.
1. she's a stubborn little goober.
2. she's quite opinionated.
3. she's got a fiery spirit.
4. she will probably require lots of time outs someday.
5. she's super sweet when she's happy. and we must remember that when she's not happy.

bad sassendorf or bust.

chris loves to keep updated on the traffic flow and stats of this here blog. i haven't logged into analytics in a long time but i did yesterday and discovered some interesting things. i love seeing from what cities around the world people are reading in from. i forget that more than just my parents and a few local friends read my words, but now i know more of you are out there! here are some cities outside the u.s. (some of which i've never heard of) where you readers are located. feel free to make your presence known and comment every now and then.

nome, alaska
adelaide, australia
st. denis, france
singapore
kaiserslautern, germany
bad sassendorf, germany
pelotas, brazil

a daddy with his daughter.

i promise that i'll blog about more than vera in the future, but for now, this is what my life consists of and not much else. i do love these daddy/daughter pics. this cute onesie is from aunt meredith--thanks!

this week we enjoyed the company of chris's grandma and aunt who flew down from chicago. here is a 4-generation photo.

happy halloween.

my neighbor let me borrow some halloween attire this year so vera could get dressed up...our little ballerina.

she has magic poop skills. she managed to poop up and out the sides of her diaper this afternoon onto this lovely, borrowed onesie.

marlow loves her.

our little pumpkin.

for the grandparents.

sleepy girl.

made my day.

look what i got in the mail yesterday! what a pretty package. this was a complete surprise from a dear friend from my days at purdue. she's also owner of kiss 'n tell. i'm guessing she made these. it wouldn't surprise me. she's very crafty. i almost cried when i opened them and saw how beautiful they are.

the most adorable bibs ever. my girl will be eating in style! (take note of the precious owl card, too. she must have picked up on the owl sheets on vera's bed.)

AND an absolutely gorgeous quilt. i wish you could see it in person. seriously. beautiful. tummy time will be so fun now with such a pretty blanket to lay on.

thank you, karissa!! you're the best. i miss you.

on becoming a momma.

i truly did not expect it to be this hard. on top of the baby blues, the lack of sleep, and feeling like i never hold a happy baby, i think i've pinpointed that it's the identity change that is the most difficult. it's already funny to think that just a few weeks ago i hopped in my car alone and drove to fredericksburg for an afternoon of doing what i wanted when i wanted and how i wanted. vera is not even 2 weeks old yet and i'm coping with the fact that life really is going to look a lot different. i thought i could hop right back into life as i knew it and do the things i used to, with her as my little tagalong. not so much. and to be honest, i'm waiting for that moment when the joy of motherhood settles in. i'm not there yet.

it has been amazing to watch my husband become a father. he was so helpful and loving during our time in the hospital. i could really sense his concern for me through labor and it was one of my all time highlights in life to see him fall in love with his little girl. he loved her instantly and for some reason i expected otherwise. i thought it would take him awhile to get used to handling a fragile, squirmy body or to figure out the diaper changing process. he has been amazing. it has most certainly increased my love for him. he's truly wonderful.

chris's parents welcomed us home from the hospital and were super helpful to stay at our house and watch marlow while we were gone. then my parents and brother flew into town and stayed for five days. it was really a treat having them here, although i know they did not get the best of me since i've been so tired. we ventured out a few times and did some fun things in austin; ate at the oasis, walked around at mount bonnell, took marlow to red bud, ate at rudy's, and played our new favorite board game. we already miss them and wish they lived closer!

before and after.