Kellie's pics

These are some of my favorites that my friend Kellie took when we were in Nashville earlier in the summer. He's six months in these shots and I can't believe how much he's grown even since these were taken...










Thanks so much, Kellie!! What a gift you have for capturing my favorite of his adorable expressions! :-) These are treasures!

The first of many goodbyes

We love you two and will miss you terribly. Godspeed.

Preparing for London

Several of you have asked for updates on London. Things are moving along!

Eric got his work permit in the last several days and is now attempting to apply for visas. Over the weekend, Eric did a quick inventory of our two storage units. I met with the relocation consultant yesterday about moving logistics and how we plan to disperse our household goods (London, Chicago storage, Nashville storage, sell on Craigs list, donate, etc). The movers think that we will be able to fit everything we want to ship in PWC's allowed 10 cubic meters of sea freight which was very good news. Our closing attorney will sign for us at our condo closing, as we won't be in town. We need to submit our paperwork to our London realtor so they can begin looking for flats for us. We also need to make travel arrangements - we'll be bopping around quite a bit before Eric starts work on Sept 3, and we need to figure out at least which countries we're visiting before we get there.

We're enjoying our last few weeks in Chicago as much as possible. On Saturday, Eric's boss threw a going away party for us and another co-worker who's moving to Boston. We also said goodbye to our friends G&L this weekend, they're moving to DC on Thursday - an immediate reminder to us that life in Chicago will continue to change while we're away. We're making plans to see our families for a few days in August. And we want to take one more long ride on our tandem before we sell it. That will be a very sad day - letting it go! :*(

As Eric left for work today, he said "We're closing on our house in 20 days." That's right. And we're moving out in 16 days. We fly to London in 27 days. Wow, it really is happening. I can feel the slide show of my life speeding up... the images are whipping by like a flip book but I really do want to savor each moment. As I was trying to describe to MRY yesterday, I so don't want to miss anything. I had the hardest time finding words for my feelings. I want to have the experiences we're preparing for in London, but I also don't want to miss anything here. Can't I just clone myself? It's moments like this when I get overwhelmed a bit by it all. It's almost like there is too much life to lead at one time...

So, all I can think of right now is the chorus of a power ballad from the 90's...

"I don't want to close my eyes. I don't want to fall asleep,
Cause I'd miss you baby, and I don't want to miss a thing."

(Yes, I'm singing aerosmith out loud at my kitchen table... I know. Ridiculous!)

A collection of thoughts while awaiting HP

I've been reading LOTS of Harry Potter. I mean, LOTS. I just finished book 3 and have to re-read 4, 5, and 6 before I can begin Deathly Hallows, which of course I want to do RIGHT NOW. My darling husband has been very patient with my late night reading so far, but I could tell last night that he was ready for me to turn out the light when he rolled over and growled at the lamp.

Friday night as I stood in line awaiting the midnight release of Book 7 with Hambone and the Buzz (on the eve of his 36th birthday, no less!) and their friends, I was surrounded by hundreds of other eager HP fans, many in costumes, all buzzing with the anticipation. I had several thoughts in those moments...

Wow. These children are adorable. But some of these older folks are very, very strange.

This event and the product it's promoting are a marketer's DREAM! Complete fan obsession. Rowling has created a world and a set of characters that have entirely enchanted her audience. Her readers all lining up by the hundreds all over the world at midnight to pick up their copies of the story, so they can read it cover to cover before sleeping... Well done!

I hope very much that Brooks has the experience of being a part of a big "moment" for something that he really loves. I thought of me performing on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry in 4th grade, witnessing the Auburn/Bama game at Jordan-Hare in 1993, singing with the AU Singers my senior year. And what about me and Eric at the Cubs game 7 in Fall of 2003 (disappointing, but still electrifying!), Mom and Dad at the "Punt, Bama, Punt" game, Eric at Rice's televised win over UT on a rain-drenched Saturday in 1994... There are moments that are forever sealed in our memories, I hope Brooks loves something enough to want to dress up in costume and wait in a long line to experience it!

When will we let Brooks read fantasy fiction? What will we say about these books - dementers and wizards and dragons and hippogrifs and wands and magic books and the Marauders Map? As the first HP books began to make waves, the CBA industry in which I worked began rumbling about millions of children reading about witches and wizards and magic, etc and how we need to fill our children's minds with good things, with Truth. But the fantasy worlds of Lewis and Tolkien had a huge impact on my heart and in some ways those stories brought into focus my young image of God. How can I help Brooks discover God in all the world around him - that the struggle between good and evil within a mythical, magical community can in some ways inform him of the eternal story that we really are a part of - the story of Christ in the Bible? I won't be able to answer this one immediately...

Oh, how I wish Eric loved this as much as I do. We have been married almost four years and we now share lots of hobbies. Playing rec softball, cycling (I look forward to the day when we can take Brooks along), watching Lost, visiting MLB stadiums, traveling around the world. But maybe we can share HP as well one day soon - Eric told me last night that he plans to read all the books soon - Hurray! We've even borrowed copies of HP movies 1-3 from Hambone and I'm hoping we'll get to watch them before we pack up our DVD player. I love that we enjoy many of the same things and I hope for the rest of our lives, we'll continue to discover new hobbies, new passions, and that we invite each other into our worlds... even if they are make-believe.

Okay, so you get the idea. As I walked back and forth to Shel's, I realized that little of this had to do with whether Sirius returns, if Snape is friend or foe, or how Harry Potter triumphs over Voldemort in the end, but I love the stories and I loved the moment. And even though I was somewhat lost in my thoughts, I'm so happy I shared the experience with my friends. Now, I've really got to go start Book 4 while Brooks still naps!

Big developments

I can't believe this sweet boy is 8 months old tomorrow!

Brooks is sitting by himself, playing on the floor of the nursery with a box of colored plastic block shapes. He's a lot more excited about trying to get the entire box in his mouth (futile effort, little one!). It's so cute to watch his brain trying to figure out how to handle the different pieces and figure out what to do with them. These blocks and his jumperoo are his favorite activities these days. Brooks in the jumperoo is hysterical. He just jumps up and down and up and down, and grins and giggles and laughs, it's really cute...

As I was tickling and playing with him today, I saw him laughing and said "what's that!?" Surprise surprise, he has two more teeth! The top two front teeth are just peeking through, and I can't believe they snuck in on me again! :) I thought I'd notice as he was cutting these, since he struggled so much with the first two and these are so much bigger. Thankfully he's been a really happy and not too upset by them ... just a little bit of extra drool.

However, I think he's starting to hit another milestone this week too... When we were at small group on Tuesday night, he got really upset when he was approached by one of the guys that he didn't know as well. At first, we thought it was just the feel of facial hair, but actually I think he's starting the whole "Stranger Danger" phase... He usually isn't clingy at all in social situations and he seemed to bury his face in my shoulder a lot more than normal, even as different people tried to make him smile. Perhaps he was just tired and not at his best?

He's doing really well with food... In the last week we've added chicken, plain yogurt, chunks of banana, avocado, a pretzel, blueberries (cut in half), a sippy cup with diluted juice, and he had tastes of lemon and mac n cheese. He still prefers sweet potatoes to all else and would rather go hungry than eat green beans, but he's generally agreeable to trying a few bites of each new taste. Tonight he'll get his first taste of beef - look out!

I'm getting a little bit of ribbing from those who know all about our move, etc, specifically about trying to prevent Brooks from crawling! :) Don't worry, I'm not actually tying him down anywhere or fitting him with a ball and chain! I'm just not showing him how to get up on his hand and knees just yet. He's already going backwards quite well. He gets excited when he finds himself up on his knees and then his arms push his body back. He does that pretty quickly, but then gets frustrated because he's moving away from what he sees! I'm watching him like a hawk, not just for safety (our condo isn't babyproofed since we'll be here less than three more weeks) but because I don't want to miss those first successful efforts.

Our days are much more routined now that he's taking two consistent naps, and he continues to sleep very well at night. I think we've been blessed with one of the sweetest, happiest, easiest babies around. Thank you, Lord!

We plan to celebrate his 9 month "birthday" by flying over to London, so we're savoring every moment of this last month in the states.

Wheeee!!!!!

Brooks loves to swing. This is a new discovery in the last month, as we don't have an indoor swing for him. On Father's Day we tried out the kiddy swings at the playground in Lincoln Park and OH BOY! Did he ever have fun! Last week when he stayed with my folks, he loved swinging in a Brooks-sized swing on their back porch. And then Saturday, we strolled back to Lincoln Park and he enjoyed the playground once again.

These pictures are from Father's Day. (sorry there are so many, too hard to choose!)



It was so cute watching him touch everything and try to figure out how it all worked.



Eventually he realized that he just had to hold on and enjoy the breeze! :)



These are my favorite ones... I love that we were able to capture that gleeful expression.



I can see us spending lots of hours at a London playlot with me pushing the little guy up and up and up, while he squeals "higher, momma, higher!" What a joy!!

A Nice Break

Last week we spent several days in Culver, IN with some of our good friends from Park. There were lots of things to celebrate while we were together, but we mostly just enjoyed playing in the quiet lake (mid-week seems to be the ideal time to go!), shooting fireworks at night and dodging afternoon thunderstorms. The time to catch up with our dear friends was a gift.

This week we headed to Colorado to see the Rice Crew. This is a group of eight friends, six of whom graduated from Eric's alma mater (Elisa and I married in!) who have vacationed together once a year or more since 1999... This year we switched from New Years to July 4th and it was perfect timing as two of the couples are expecting a baby within a month of New Years 2008! We hiked, played rummikub, watched the hummingbirds, dipped our toes in the (FREEZING) river just outside our Bed and Breakfast, and just enjoyed the scenery in the shadow of CO's tallest peak. Eric and I really enjoyed the car rides to and from Denver and the time to cover lots of conversation topics.

That was also our first two or three days sans Brooks since his arrival last November. While it was fun to have grown-up adventures with our friends, I really missed him and thought several times "I wish Brooks were with us!" But it was probably good for us to have a couple of days without the kiddo, especially while we have eager Brooks-sitters just a quick SWA flight away. My family in Nashville had a great time hanging with the little guy - thanks so much!

But when I sat down to write this morning, I titled the post based on my feelings today. It was such fun to see everyone and do everything we did in the last two weeks, but I've had a lovely morning of low-key time at home and I'm so thankful for it. As I sat down to write, through the monitor I could hear Eric reading Brown Bear and A Very Hungry Caterpillar to Brooks. It's moments like these when I'm so amazed by joy. I love hearing Brooks and Eric play together. Before parenthood, just a year ago, we definitely would still have been asleep at this point on a Saturday morning. But I've been up for several hours already... and I don't even mind! The quiet weekend days seem longer when they start before 6am! :) Just really sweet times, and so very different that hiking mountains or jet-skiing all over an Indiana lake with a crew of friends.

Today I'm thankful for all of these moments...

His perfect timing

Great news! We think we have sold our condo. We're really pleased that we have an offer on it just 2 weeks after we listed it in the MLS, especially at this season in the real estate market. Lots of back and forth negotiating with the buyer, but now that it's sorted, we're both happy.

Also, Eric finally got his offer for the UK position from his employer. There are several elements of the offer that still need to be discussed, but it's great to (finally!) have it in writing.

And what's really amazing?! They've requested a start date for Eric of September 3. That date is 10 years to the day of when I arrived in London the first time. I haven't been back since I left in the summer of '98. I had been praying that we could enjoy the summer in Chicago and take off in early fall... and now that's exactly our plan. How perfect is this?! :)

Thank you, Lord, for orchestrating even the logistical details in such a way that I can KNOW that You're paying attention, and that You care about our lives. Please give me everyday the faith I have in You tonight.