The Luncefords

May 23, 2010

Chad

Now that school is out, summer has started and it's yet another challenge. Chad has started/joined another research project at ASU and will be working there during the summer. Unfortunately, I can't tell you a whole lot about it because I don't know much about it myself. But he's really liking it so far and so I'm happy for him. :D Speaking of Chad, he has decided to drop the Astrophysics major and just do general physics. In doing that, he gets to graduate this fall. (Plus, he's kind of become disenchanted with the whole Astrophysics thing anyway.) We're both pretty excited about him being able to graduate though!
He was looking at the process (and prices) for him to take his GRE this morning and we realized why more people aren't going to school - $300 to take a test!! School is exhaustingly expensive (not to mention the price paid in stress!) But it'll be worth it. Eventually....Right??
This morning we were also looking at and thinking of schools for him to go for graduate school, and to my not-so-shocking surprise, our options are very limited (due to extreme pickiness) :) We don't want to go anywhere cold and all the warm options aren't exactly places we want to live.We would both really like to stay in Arizona and we'll do our best to stay here (we belong here), but we are considering other states. Yes, Utah is one of them... but only because I don't want to go to a NEW cold place!! :)
So we'll see. Chad will just have to pick a few, apply... and then hope for the best. Hopefully that's exactly what he gets!

May 16, 2010

Mykala

I feel bad that I wrote an update on Jace and then took a break. I never got to write about Mykala!

So.. here she is. :)

Our sweet, beautiful, Miss Mykala 4 years old has been engrossed in Les Miserables the last few weeks (thanks to Grama and Grampa's roadshow) and because of it, we've been getting our daily dose of Jean Valjean. :) Kala knows most of the songs pretty well! We're quite proud of our little musical fanatic. :) She gets real into it - her expressions and tones change when she sings... she's so fun to watch. (Course, now that we've watched the DVD five times a day for the last 3 weeks, it's starting to lose the spark it once had. lol.)

In other news, Kala can now write her first name all by herself! I'm actually really impressed... I don't know if that's normal for her age or not, but I sure am proud of her!!

Kala is still very much into Dora (yay for us) and is into her little brother... no one can make Jacer laugh like his big sister Mykala can! And every morning the first thing she asks is, "Can I go talk to my brother?"

Also, I thought I should mention how much she cares for her Grampa Jensen. Ever since we've gotten back from UT, she's been praying for him with Grama and Grampa Lunceford. She asks that Grampa Jensen will feel better... still. It's adorable how much she loves and cares about him. She really has one of the biggest hearts this world will ever know....

May 15, 2010

May 14, 2010

Graduation!

I finally did it! All the hard work, stress, and time spent in the last 3 years is being officially recognized. This last Friday I graduated with my Associates... two, actually. I walked for my Associates in Arts and General Studies (with Distinction!). I'm well on my way! :) And it's about time!! :) This was a rough semester. I didn't think I'd be able to pull off an A this semester, let alone 3 of them, but I did it!!

At first I wasn't planning on walking... I didn't understand the point of standing for a long period of time then afterwards sitting through a whole two hour ceremony in the heat just to be handed a fake degree that would eventually be mailed to me anyway. BUT, I am very glad I walked. Even though I didn't like being squished in the heat next to random strangers, it was a very good feeling to walk across the stage. And it felt good to have closure!

I know normally one probably doesn't pay attention to the graduation speakers, and under other circumstances, maybe I'd be one of them. But as cheesy as this is going to sound, one of the talks stood out. One of the speakers struck me with the line "not just an Associates degree". I guess it struck me because that's how I felt. In fact, that's part of the reason I didn't want to walk... because it was "just" an Associates Degree. And the fact that it took me 3 years (compared to the normal 2) to get here made me feel a little embarrassed. But that little speech kind of made me think a minute and realize that I shouldn't be so negative - I should be proud of my "little" Associates Degree... after all, it's one step closer to greatness. :) Even if it isn't as big as a PhD, it's still an accomplishment that a lot of people haven't achieved. I deserve that little piece of paper that acknowledges all the time and hard work spent - heaven knows it wasn't exactly easy for me to make it here!

I am glad I walked... and that my babies were there to see me! Kala was adorable and told me how great I did... and she and Chad bought me roses :) (which, as you can tell from the picture, had a rough night.)

I did miss my family at the graduation, though. It was completely understandable... I wasn't expecting them to make one heck of a trip for a 2 hour ceremony. But it would have been nice to see them! And I wish that my dad had been able to see it (or even know about it)... but life, as they say, goes on. Even though it feels like it shouldn't, it certainly does.

Thanks to those who supported me (and continue to do so!) You're absolutely wonderful!!

April 18, 2010

Little J-Race

When I came home from work last Thursday, I picked little J-Race up and realized that that little boy has put on some serious weight... he's getting so big and heavy! And with this sudden realization, I also realized I haven't put an update in here about the kids. So here I am.
Our little J-Racer is about 14 months now, and growing like a little weed! (Part of it, I'm sure, is from all the bread and crackers he eats. He won't eat much else.)
But in all honesty, I guess there's not a whole lot new about Jacer... he's still our smiley, happy, cuddly little boy. He's got more teeth, and is becoming more independent, though. He's still an absolute sweetheart, has more nicknames than I could name off, and loves to play with Kala's toys. He still blabs, but no new words. Actually, I think that "mama" now means "food". Hooray.... I have been replaced.

What has seemed to take a lot of importance in Jace's life (even more so) is his little white bear. I cannot express the adoration our little boy has for this bear. He cannot live without it! He sleeps with it, walks with it, plays with it, hugs it, kisses it, buries his face in it, and (my personal favorite) talks to it. His face lights up completely at just the sight of him - it's his best friend and for the most part, it doesn't leave his side. It's also the only way we can get him to go to sleep. I've noticed that in Jace getting older, his love for the bear has only increased, and that kind of surprises me. I guess I expected him to grow out of it the older he got. I'm sure I have a pic somewhere. Let's see. Ah yes, there it is....

Little Jacer is also becoming more adventurous. He's getting into more things than he should be, but he's very very sweet about it - it's fun to watch him. When he knows he's doing something wrong, he'll turn around and look at you with a big smile, hold up whatever he's got, and will give a look that says, "Here you go! I got this just for you!!" :)

In older news, Jace moved up a class in daycare since he's a walkin'. This was a while ago, but I forgot to put it in here. One of my favorite memories of it was when we bought him shoes for the class (a requirement) and I put them on him the night before. He absolutely HATED them. He looked so cute with them on, but boy, did he hate them! He started crying and screaming... and it made him so mad that he couldn't walk well in them! My favorite was when he tried with all his might to kick them off... he was really not a fan! (He's fine with them now, of course...)
The jist of it all? My little boy's freakin' adorable!