How Time Flies...

It's bad when your last blog was JANUARY.  So much has happened in our little nest since then.  I will try and relay the various events in our lives in order:

Nate & Dave with Auntie Diane, Uncle Gil and Grandma Chin

FEBRUARY:  We enjoyed an incredible visit to the SF/Oakland Bay Area for Chinese New Year with Rachel's side of the family (the Chin Clan).  It was a treat to see Aunt Diane & Uncle Gil for the second time in just a few weeks (we were with them in New Orleans for our last blog post).  And, we loved being with Grandma Chin.  Highlights for Nate included a rousing game of Boggle late into the night with Diane and Gil, watching the Opening Ceremonies for the Winter Olympics on their gigantic television, and a special dinner with Grandma and Diane at Lake Chalet (which Nate liked to call "Lake Shall-et" with a Texas accent).

Grandma Chin & Rachel

MARCH:  The Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo and the Black Eyed Peas concert with Auntie Roxie was a huge highlight.  A BIG change for our family started the very last day of March.  Rachel accepted the position of Vice President of External Operations for the 2011 NCAA Houston Final Four.  She took a sabbatical from Mowalla and decided to take on the challenge, as did the rest of the family.  With a less flexible schedule, we had to get our "ducks in a row."  This included after-school arrangements for Nate, dog-walking for Brooks and more of Dave's cooking at home.  She hit the ground running on March 31st, flying to Indianapolis for the 2010 Final Four... she capped her 9 day trip with 3 days in Chicago to finish out some things for her MoPeeps - who she misses a great deal... however, we figured we could handle anything for a year...

Nate - First Place @ Mark Twain's Inventor's Showcase

And we were such proud parents when Nate won his school's Inventor's Showcase with an innovative idea - a Car Door Rain Canopy - a mechanism that, if invented, would have prevented his mother from getting soaked when she got in and out of a car in one of Houston's signature thunderstorms.

Go Defenders!  West U Little League

APRIL & MAY:  West University Little League took over our free time.  Dave coached, Nate played... and we spent many an evening or afternoon at the ball fields - yelling, cheering and hoping.  Although it was not the greatest record, we made it to the second round of the playoffs and then (thankfully) it was over.  Not that we wouldn't have been happy to go further, but we must admit, it had gotten fairly exhausting. :)


So...here we are in summer.  ..time is flying by - which is fine... because we are gearing up for two weeks of vacation in MONTANA - our favorite summer destination! We've rented a great house in the Paradise Valley and can hardly wait for the cooler weather, gorgeous mountain ranges off of the 1500 SF deck and fishing in the Yellowstone River.

We'll come back from our trip in time to celebrate Dave's 50th birthday!  Can you believe it???  He doesn't look a day over 30!

All this is to say that life changes quickly, time passes in the blink of an eye.  I am often thinking of the small baby that was placed in my arms in 2000, and realize that a decade of his life has gone by in a flash.  Our careers have changed and morphed and taken on new dimensions and challenges.  We've taken hold of the important things in life as Dave opened his own law practice, and after spinning like a wild woman for years as a workaholic, I decided to find balance the past two years...

Dear and special people have passed away - Dave's dad, one of his best friends, Glenn... my Grandpa Chin... a close family friend's 15-year-old son...

We don't know what life holds.  We don't know what tomorrow brings.  So, I find myself STOPPING more - to take in a moment, to be grateful, to just be present.  As I was going through the process of interviewing for the new job, I spent many hours at our family's favorite neighborhood park in the spring, finishing up a writing project and wondering what new things might be around the corner.  I had no idea it would be a job with college basketball... Nate had no idea he'd be an Inventor's Showcase winner... Dave didn't know he'd be cooking so much more :)... but here we are.

Today, my trainer, Kelly Duffy, finished my workout with me laying down, eyes closed for two minutes.  "Don't think about all the things you have to do today..." she ordered me (she obviously has come to know me well).  So, instead, I went to that place in my mind where I focus on the "being present" and revel in a moment - like when Nate's comment made Dave and I laugh hard last night, or thinking about all the special people in our lives as I addressed envelopes for Dave's birthday invitations.  At the end of the day, those are the things that define us...

It's taken me years to learn this - and I'm certain I missed so much - but glad I eventually learned how to STOP, take it all in... and count my blessings.


-Rachel for the Quan Family