Julie P.

Author Archive for Julie Paquette

Jan

four years ago today

Categories: Ella

Our dear second daughter was born in Katy, Texas at 3:31 p.m. She was our ‘hefty’ girl at 7 lbs. 15 oz. She looked just like Rilyn (or so we thought!), but was a lot calmer than her older sister, (or maybe we were a lot calmer since we just had done this 19 months before…we were even in the same exact hospital room where Rilyn was born!) Four years ago, the night before we were induced, we watched on the hospital room TV t.u. win the national championship and I’m afraid, this week, they might do it again! Four years ago today, our lives were forever enriched by a silly, fun-loving, squirmy, emotional, loving, sharing, cuddly girl who brings us so much JOY every day!

Happy 4th Birthday dear Ella!

Ella showing off her sassy new hair cut and putting up four fingers!

We love you!!!

just born

our 1 year old darling

happy 2nd!

our 3 year old wearing most of her presents

Jan

I tried to ignore it

By Julie P. 2 Comments

Categories: Asher

I really did try to ignore this. But this was the third time in one week that I caught him doing it. The other two times I took the doll and threw it down telling him, “This is for girls!” But today, I thought, “Fine! I tried playing nice, now I’m going to take pictures to show you when you’re a teenager!” (Okay, that is a little harsh, but I don’t want him playing with dolls!!)

Asher-20 months

It makes me feel better to pretend that he is putting

this baby doll in a head lock.

Maybe this is a sign that he will be a good daddy!?!

Jan

Top Ten in the last ten

By Julie P. Leave a Comment

Categories: Blast from the Past, James and Julie

Got engaged-2000

James’ mom was hiding behind a tree taking this shot!

Graduated from Texas A&M-2001/2002

Both class of 2001-James just double majored so he graduated a year later

Got married! 2001

May 26th

Started our first ‘real’ jobs-2001/2002

James an accountant at HalliburtonI was a kindergarten teacher

Bought our first home and moved to Houston-2002

Look at all our mismatched furniture from our college days!And yes, there was a play gym left in our backyard by the previous owners!

Had first child-2004

Rilyn-June 3rd

Had second child-2006

Ella-January 5th

Moved to Manor to live in community with friends-2007

our home

Had third child-2008

Asher-April 24th

Rilyn started kindergarten-2009

August 2009

Wow! I think it is safe to say that we had a busy decade! As we look into the next decade wondering what God has in store, we pray that it is a little less ‘eventful!’ 😉 Happy 2010!!

Dec

zoo day

By Julie P. 1 Comment

Categories: Family Fun
Tags: zoo

The perfect day to go to the zoo-55 degrees outside, middle of the week, and no one was there! And when no one is there, your toddler can do this:

Where’s Asher? Running free in the navy jacket!

And he can do this:

Asher popping a squat

We went to the Cameron Park zoo in Waco. It is small, but so much fun! Where else could you see buffalo next to a traffic signal?

Asher again proved he was ‘all boy’ when he discovered a teepee. There was mud inside and of course he found it! He came out looking like an Indian with war paint!

And then Asher decided that the teepee wasn’t decorated enough, so he added his own ‘native art’

those are his handprints!

snoozing lion

Ella, giraffes aren’t noisy!

This tiger was chasing and roaring at us!

The zoo had an orangutan play area for the kids!

alligator!

There was also a play area for kids! Ella loved climbing all over this snake

Asher

Can you see Asher ‘sliding into the water’?

Obviously, the kids were tired out after our day trip!This is Ella who fell asleep in the car on the way home!

Dec

december outtakes

By Julie P. Leave a Comment

Categories: Asher, Ella and Rilyn
Tags: star wars birthday party

Some random pictures this month deserve to seen and so here is their turn!
Rilyn and Ella went to their good friend, Cole’s, ‘Star Wars’ themed birthday party. All the girls got to wear handmade Princess Leia buns! What a cute idea!

Asher has taken a liking to pushing his sisters’ doll stroller around the house. In an effort to thwart his ‘girly’ behavior, I switched the stroller with a grocery cart. (Just a little less girly, I know.) Anyway, before I know it, he gets in my Tupperware cabinet and fills the cart with my Tupperware! He was hilarious pushing it around the house-my own little Tupperware ~~lady~~ man!

Who needs bowls?

When we were in Fort Worth, Ella fell in love with Aunt Mandy’s cat, Leyle. Did I mention this kitty has a weight problem? That didn’t seem to bother Ella though, as she carried Leyle around the house like she was her baby. Poor kitty!

Dec

Christmas in Temple

By Julie P. Leave a Comment

Categories: Asher, Ella, James, Julie and Rilyn

After our family Christmas in the morning, we drove an hour north to Temple for the Erickson Christmas!

our Ella

Barbie movie!!

Don’t you just love the looks you get from your kids

when they open presents?!?

spoiled with gifts

my nephew, Caden’s, first Christmas!

wonder and awe of the season

Asher was so excited to see his new chair!

Their new uncle Eric, a police officer, gave Asher a talking police helmet.

Looks like the girls will be using it first for awhile!

The Erickson clan: Back row: Jessica, Eric, Caden, Jeff, Becca, Norine, Ella, Rick

Front row: Rilyn, James, Asher, and me

Dec

our family Christmas morning

By Julie P. Leave a Comment

Categories: christmas

Our girls woke us up looking like this:

I love that Ella has this face before she evens seeswhat the gift is!

We let Asher sleep in-much easier that way!

Daddy is so proud explaining how the ipod shuffle works to his daughters!He is raising them to be music lovers like he is!

Only my girls would be this excited over desk chairs! (Granted, they do have wheels!)

The big reveal: their own art desk in the kitchen(for now)!

Asher wakes up and sits on his present

Daddy blows it up and Asher loves his new ball pit!

Dec

happy birthday jesus cake

By Julie P. 7 Comments

Categories: Christianity, christmas and traditions
Tags: happy birthday jesus cake

We started a new tradition last year which was to eat birthday cake for breakfast on Chrismas morning for Jesus! Last year’s cake was okay, but this year, I wanted to try even harder for more ‘meaning’. After searching the internet, I came up with this creation:

couldn’t be a party without party horns!

blow out the candles!

Three layers of yummyness!

1st layer of cake = is brown for our sins.

2nd layer = is red for Jesus’ blood shed for our sins.

3rd layer = is green for life (ours if we confess with our mouth and believe with our heart that Jesus Christ is our Lord.)

Frosting is white = stands for Jesus’ purity & righteousness.

Gold Star in middle of cake top = star of Bethlehem = led wise men to Jesus. Star is 6 pointed =Star of David = Jewish nation in which Jesus is born.

Big Red candle in middle of star of David is Jesus.

We lit the red candle in the middle. Then each of us took our small candles and lit them from Jesus’ candle & carefully stuck in the cake. Let our lights shine before men! Then we sang Happy Birthday to Jesus!!

Dec

From our family to yours

By Julie P. Leave a Comment

Categories: Asher, Ella, James, Julie and Rilyn

We wish you a blessed Christmas and may you celebrate Emmanuel! God with us!

Christmas Eve 2009

Don’t let the above picture fool you…
It was very difficult to get a good group shot of the kids!
Here’s PROOF!

My 3 kids who love each other so much!

the Paquettes 2009

Dec

Fort Worth

By Julie P. 1 Comment

Categories: Asher, Ella, James, Julie and Rilyn

We just got home spending the ‘first Christmas’ of the season with James’ family. We always enjoy spending time with them-don’t get me wrong, but, GOSH! Asher sure makes it hard to really enjoy the holidays right now. Is it his age? Or that he is a boy? Or a sign of things to come with his personality? I don’t know, but what I do know is that pictures don’t lie…(okay, sometimes they do when I cleverly photoshop them, but I promise, these pictures were not photoshopped!) 🙂

‘Bruiser’ was his nickname on this trip because he received

a busted bottom lip, a rubber burn on his chin from the mall playcourt, and an

unknown head injury

Lollipops kept him content, (he still is looking for trouble in this picture),but if

you dare take the lollipop away because there is nothing but the stick left…

you get this

and this

James’ Christmas in Fort Worth could be summed up as “Sprite and Saltines”. He got food poisoning right before we left and he never fully recovered the whole time we were there. Poor guy!