A Quick Update

I realized today that I haven't done a thing with my blog for...oh, let's just say a LONG time. So much has happened since I last posted I'm not sure where to begin.

I'll start by saying that Tom and I have been married for 2 years now. Goodness, has it really been that long? Last month was our anniversary, and although I spent it alone (Tom was in Omaha for a conference for work) it gave me a chance to reflect on the past two years. I realized that I am probably the luckiest girl in the world. I have a wonderful husband who honors his priesthood, works hard, and is so caring. Rachel is my little ray of sunshine each day. Yes, I think I'm pretty blessed.

Tom has started school again. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I hardly see him with school, work, and homework, but that's what you have to do sometimes. He is now sporting a new goatee. It used to be a full beard, but he compromised for me. (I still like the clean shaven look best.)

I enjoy being a mom and teaching piano lessons. It keeps me busy to say the least. Last month I held the second piano recital of the year. I love seeing my students progress and get excited about their songs. The Winter/Christmas recital is all that's left for this year, and I can't wait to give my students their new Christmas songs!

Rachel has grown up so much since the last post. Not only does she eat real food, she crawls, walks, has two new teeth (soon to be three), and says some cute little words. She has a kitty toy that she loves. She takes it everywhere. She doesn't know how to say "meow," so she says "me" instead. It's adorable. Books are "boop," bananas are "nana," babies are "bebe," and she says "mom," "dad," "uh-oh," and just today she said "roar" when she saw the leopard in her jungle book. She loves books and has claimed Tom's banana chair. I love her little laugh and sweet smile.

Anyway, I'm grateful to have a wonderful family and the gospel to guide us.

Bored Bored Bored

What do you do when you're bored out of your skull? I'm so bored it's upsetting.

Real Food!

We decided to give Rachel real food this week. Yay for baby cereal! She loves it (and she looks adorable with cereal all over her face)! My mom told me that if I give her a bit of cereal before I feed her and put her to bed, then she'll sleep better because her stomach is more full. I certainly hope that's true. It would be nice to get some more sleep. I'll give it a trial run this week and see what happens.

A Brief, Musical Moment

Last night I was taking care of Rachel when all of a sudden I heard a song in my head. This happens to me now and then, but usually I don't do anything about it. I did this time though. I rushed to the piano with staff paper in hand and wrote down everything I heard. I tweaked it to my liking and ended up with a nice chorus of a song. I have words for it and everything! Now I am working on making verses for it, but writing words to my song is turning out to be a tough job. We'll see how it turns out or if I ever finish it...

The Secret World of Computers

In attempt to figure out "the secret world of computers," I tried to write this post in Html. It didn't work, but it was worth a shot. I was reading some of Tom's slideshows from class and thought I understood what it was saying about html tags. But apparently it's different here on blogger. Hey, at least I'm trying to figure out computers so I can know why they excite my husband so much.

Family

I grew up in a large family and hope to have a large family someday. There are 8 of us total--dad, mom, 3 brothers (Greg, Jason, and Jonathan), and 2 sisters (Jen and Connie). We all got along very well growing up. Of course, there were times when we didn't, but they were few and far between.

My mom and dad were smart--they didn't let us watch much tv and we only had one game system (which broke and was, thankfully, never fixed). I can remember the Sega being the one thing we constantly fought over. I think that this lack of tv helped us want to do more creative things together. We made up neighborhood games (and growing up there were 36 kids in our cul-de-sac that were roughly our ages). We had candy sales. We made up dances and skits on Sunday. We pretended to be on our own tv and radio shows. We made blanket forts and each time they got bigger and better. There are so many good memories with my siblings. Growing up we made a pact that we'd stay close friends even after we got married. So far we have been true to the pact and I'm glad.

Now I have my own family. I married Thomas Lamar Dastrup on August 24, 2007 in the Salt Lake Temple. I can't believe we've already been married for a year and a half! I love Tom with all my heart. He is sweet, kind, smart, handsome, and all of those things that a girl looks for in a husband. We each have our quirks, but we love each other for them. Sometimes I think he's more patient with me than I am with him. (Actually, I'm sure that's true.) He helps me each day to be a better person, and I love him dearly.

Rachel Kristen Dastrup is our latest addition to our family. She was born September 19, 2008. We love her with all our hearts. She looks a lot like mommy with her red hair and blue eyes, but she has daddy's patience. Lately, she has taken to rolling all over the house. Everytime I turn around she's somewhere new. She really keeps me on my toes. I love her happy-go-lucky attitude and calm temperament. I'm glad that we can be a forever family because I wouldn't want to live an eternity without anyone in my family!

My DVD Diversion

Yesterday, I spent the majority of the day working on home DVD's for the family. I never realized I could get so into technology. My projects are still far from done, but I had a good time regardless. I've found it's almost like scrapbooking in a way. It takes lots of time, but it's LOTS cheaper.

About Me

This is for all of you sisters-in-law who have been wanting me to start a blog. I really don't know what I'm doing, but here goes...

About Me:
Name: Kristen Colette Harris Dastrup
Born: Boise, ID (moved to UT when I turned 6 and I never want to leave)
Family: Tom (my husband) and Rachel (my 5 month old). I come from a family of 8--3 boys and 3 girls. I'm the second oldest. I love big families!
Likes: My family and friends, music (especially piano), singing, drawing, writing, reading, cooking (as long as I don't have to clean up afterwards), vacations, dill pickles, quiet time and naps, anything crafty (I'm always up for learning a new craft), and more.
Daily Routine: Wake up, feed baby (this is repeated over and over so I will not mention it again), exercise, shower, write in journal, read scriptures and ensign, read lesson due for church, play piano, clean, teach piano lessons, cook, check emails and facebook, and spend time with my family and/or friends. I don't necessarily do all of this in one day.
Goals: To be a better cook, to one day finish school and become an elementary teacher, to be a good mom, to go on a couple's mission one day, to be more organized, to be a better visiting teacher, to learn something new, to read more books, to learn to decorate cakes, to start my geneology, to get better and memorizing songs on the piano, to get my house clean (this goal I might not ever reach!), and to be better about what I eat and how I exercise.
Things I'm Working On Right Now: I'm finishing my book Inkspell. I have only 4 more books until I've read my entire children's library. I am starting to organize my recipes so they're all in one place and easily accessible. I'm trying to get my house clean and take good care of my family.

Well, I suppose that's pretty good for a first posting. Hope you all enjoyed it. I realize that once I start writing I actually do have a little something to say. Who'd have guessed it?!