One early February night, Brooks wanted blow out the candles after supper. Grandma was visiting with us via computer skype and we all cheered him on as he tried to snuff out the flame.
I love when he gets tickled at the end. That's his most authentic belly laugh. Now that he can blow them out without too much effort, he thinks this video of himself is very funny!
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Learning to blow out candles...
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Rome, Italy
Since we know we have just a few months left in the UK, and we want to take advantage of every opportunity to travel and see this beautiful part of the world, we had been looking at our March calendar with some disappointment. Save for a fun weekend planned at the end of the month with our friends the Grizzles, March approached with absolutely nothing on our agenda! Quelle Horreur! So Eric scoured the web and found some amazing last minute deals to Rome - perfect, I said! Sunshine and so much to see and do and eat! Ten days later, we landed in the Eternal City for a quick weekend visit - hurray for spontaneous adventures!
Rome is one of those places that I feel like I could visit every single year and never grow tired of it. The sights are amazing, the people are fascinating, the food is fantastic and the weather (if you avoid the heat of summer) is perfect. We started off our tour by heading straight to St. Peter's Basilica in the middle of Vatican City.
The richest and most impressive church on earth never disappoints me, even on a repeated visit, and I enjoyed being able to point out features to Brooks (do you see the cross up there? can you spot the birdie? where's the yellow window?) and share my favorite bits with Eric. Even behind crowds and bullet-proof glass, Michelangelo's Pieta is still breath-taking (he carved it when he was 24 years old!), and Bernini's altar and bronze canopy in the center don't seem at all out of place - even at seven stories tall! We scanned the markings on the floor, locating the names of other great churches we had visited in Europe & around the world, all carefully laid out to show their shorter length inside St. Peter's vast nave... I also loved seeing the nuns from every corner of the globe - it reminds me that Heaven is going to be filled with every race and tribe and nation. I tried to imagine the church full... it holds 95,000 worshipers at standing room only. I still can't begin to picture it.
After exploring the main floor, we took an elevator and several stairs to get to the top of the church. This walkway rings the bottom of the inside of the dome, and the walls are lined with mosaics that Brooks just loved. It was great to see an up-close glimpse of the largest dome in the world, before attempting to climb it to see the best view of the city.
Many steps, and a little bit of claustrophobia later, here's the famous postcard view from the top of the dome down over the Plaza in front of the church - featuring my two favorite faces! Roman builders and architects are forbidden from building anything taller than the dome of St. Peters - so the view is glorious!
Given that this is the highest dome in the world, it's not hard to believe that it would require quite a climb, but some of the tiny spiral staircases and leaning corridors were almost laughable.
On the way back down, Brooks loved getting his wiggles out on the nave's rooftop. The statues behind them are the ones that look down on the main Plaza over the steps - they're huge, much larger than life. And the late-afternoon light at 5pm was just beautiful!
As we got off the elevator from the roof, we heard music coming from the nave and walked in to find security guards protecting a wide aisle in the middle of the church. The evening Mass was just starting, and we watched a beautiful, noble-looking procession of clergy loop the length of the church before taking their places at the altar. It was a magical moment...
This is the end of the long procession, incense wafting up to the ceiling, bright lights illuminating the singers (usually it's quite dim, save for the spectacular windows), and the chanted song becoming more echo-y and ethereal. It was an unbelievable moment. Can you see the guy near the back with a really really big high white hat? He's just a few people in front of the security man in the black suit. Eric asked if he was the pope. Unfortunately not, but he was clearly the guy in an outfit of honor...
We slowly found our way out to the Plaza again, and gave Brooks a chance to run and play in the area where the crowds gather to the hear from the Pope each Wednesday and Sunday. While Brooks tried to catch a pigeon ("I want to pat it!"), we discussed dinner options and people-watched by the fountain. All of a sudden, I realized I was looking at a vaguely familiar face - was this someone we'd met on top of the dome? Clearly she was an American, but I was going to let the moment pass, when she approached us and asked us if we knew each other. Come to find out, while we didn't know one another personally, she attended our church in Chicago for 4 years while we were there, before moving to Rome in 2008. We had many friends in common, and it made the world feel quite a bit smaller.
When we traveled in Italy with my parents in the fall of 2007, Mom, Dad, Brooks and I visited a restaurant near Campo de' Fiori, whose motto is you eat what we feed you. This place doesn't bother providing menus, or even taking your order. They just ask white or red, still or sparkling, to bring you your preferred beverage, and then the feast begins. Brooks is chowing down on basically the same plates of appetizers that we had enjoyed 16 months earlier - yummy lentils, olives, parma ham... all of it was delish!
This was Nona Paola, owner and Mama of this restaurant. She was just as fond of Brooks this trip as last time, and expressed this affection by bringing him his own plate of home-fried potato chips! I was so glad to have my camera with us. Brooks liked her a lot but was a bit confused by her signature turban.
We started the next morning at St. Peter in Chains, a beautiful old church built in the 5th century to house the chains that held St. Peter. It's also home to Michelangelo's beautiful "Moses" statue (complete with horns, due to a long-ago mistranslation of the Hebrew word "rays"), part of a incomplete set of 48 statues planned for the tomb of a very vain pope.
Eric and I discussed whether we thought these chains were in fact the real chains that held the apostle Peter. I'm not sure we came to any conclusion... Perhaps because of our Protestant upbringing, I think we tend to see these old church relics skeptically. But given that they were being housed less than a mile from where he was actually imprisoned, it seems that they are more likely authentic than most of the highly-venerated relics in Europe. Nevertheless, we could say that Peter's chains were these or some very like them, and it was really amazing to get an actual *visual* on what the disciples experienced for their obedience...
Next up was the Colosseum. Because we did zero pre-planning for this trip (other than hotels and plane tickets) we didn't maximize our time to avoid lines at the popular sights. Instead of waiting in the painful ticket line to get to the Colosseum, we jumped into an English language tour-group that ended up being a huge win. The guides were great, very informative and fun to listen to, and we were able to zip past all those poor tourists waiting to buy their tickets to get here.
It's quite hard to look down into the ruins and *not* think of all of the Christians who died in this arena. The mostly missing floor reveals the underground caves and cages where hungry wild animals were housed until the moment they were lifted up by special elevator, hidden behind "blinds" on the ground floor and turned loose on unsuspecting "performers" - sometimes criminals, sometimes gladiators, sometimes Christians. I can't even imagine how terrifying that must have been - to not know what was going to come out from behind the blind to get you.
This photo was taken by a sweet Baton Rouge couple who were also on our tour. They did a great job of getting Brooks to smile for the camera. Eric and I have an inside family joke about how strangers asked to take a photo for you rarely take the picture you're hoping for. This shot was the wonderful exception!
After racing a few blocks to pick up a speedy lunch to go, we joined back up with our tour company for the second part of the day... a guided loop through Palatine Hill. Standing in the center of the "seven hills of Rome" this area has always had prominence in the history of the city. Romulus and Remus - the legendary twin brothers who would later found Rome, were rescued as babies and raised by a she-wolf. As our fantastic tour guide Hannah explained, beginning as far back as 500 BC, many wealthy Romans built their houses up on this hilltop, and eventually, it became THE place to live for the Roman emperor. Around 70 AD, the ruling Flavian dynasty tore down the enormous lavish homes of their predecessors and smoothed out the surrounding hills to build their family a ridiculously large house. The remains of their palace are still there, amazing bits and pieces which have survived the "harvesting" of materials done by subsequent generations of builders and architects are truly impressive. Our guide said that a huge percentage of the marble found in St Peter's Basilica was originally used to decorate long destroyed palaces up on this hill. Incidentally, our word for "palace" originates from this spot - "Palatine Hill" is the place where the rulers live.
This picture is taken from the top of Palatine Hill overlooking the Roman Forum, up the Via Sacra to the Colosseum. On past trips to Rome, I've spent quite a bit of time wandering around all those rocky ruins below - checking out the house of the Vestal Virgins, the Ancient Senate building, the Arch of Titus, and the main Forum square. After one year of Latin at Brentwood Academy (oh, so long ago) and several Ancient History classes, all of these places still seemed very much alive to me. But I had never made it to Palatine Hill before and it was wonderful to find a "new discovery" in a city that I had already enjoyed so much.
From the back of the top of Palatine Hill, we could see the faint outline of the Circus Maximus - once a dramatic chariot course (picture "Ben Hur").
This photo is for Aunt Sissy. We can't see the Basilica of Constantine (Maxentius) without someone posing for this shot...
After a full day of touring through the remains of Ancient Rome, we decided that what we really wanted was a couple of plates of steaming pasta, so we wandered over to Piazza Navona to see if we could find an atmospheric spot to enjoy some of the best that Italy offers. At the first restaurant, the friendly maitre d' pointed to Brooks, perched up on his Dada's shoulders, and asked if someone was tired. I looked up and realized that Brooks was *falling asleep* with his head resting on the top of Eric's baseball cap. So cute. We did one slow lap to check menus and then went back to the first restaurant where the kind man who noticed Brooks a few minutes before went to great lengths to settle him in for a meal.
He pulled two big arm-chairs together and laid out a half dozen padded cushions so we could make a little bed for him. Brooks curled up on his tummy and immediately started snoring, and moments later the maitre d' came over with a clean tablecloth, to lay over him as a little brocade blanket. He was snug and warm and sleeping happily next to us, while we had our first vacation date night in several months! :)
Once we had enjoyed most of our meal, Brooks woke up and ate a bite before our fun bus ride back to our hotel. The next morning we packed up and checked out after breakfast and then wandered over to the Pantheon to check out Rome's most beautifully preserved interior. Eric had not seen this magnificent dome before and we had a great time soaking it up while Brooks ran around pointing things out and asking - "What's dat!?"
Afterward, we went in search of a few more interesting churches in the neighborhood, all richly inlaid with expensive marble and gilded with obscene amounts of precious metals. We admired the architecture (I mean, how can you not!?) but wondered about a religious culture that put so many financial resources into building more and more grandiose buildings, one right after another, all in just a few square blocks of the same city. It was almost too much - even for me, and I love these old buildings, I really do. Ready for a change of pace, we spilled back out into the sunshine to find...
I mean come on! Isn't this the reason why the world loves to visit Italy?! GELATO! :)
I thought Brooks might break his face, grinning so about his "lock-let" ice cream! And this was before he'd had his first bite!! :) I admit I shared his excitement.
Things continued to get a lot more messy after this photo, but I think his early chocolate smile was just too cute to resist. After this late morning snack we had to delay lunch a bit, but it was oh so worth it!
The rest of the day was spent wandering into more ancient churches - including the Mamertine Prison, which Eric had missed on his last trip to Rome in 1999. This church is built over the prison where the apostles Peter and Paul were held as referenced in the Book of Acts and being there was an incredibly powerful experience, even during its renovation. From there, we went back to the hotel to gather our things, grab a bite to eat, and head off to the airport.
A quick trip, but amazingly packed with important sights, yummy food and greatly appreciated sunshine! I love Italy!!
Rome is one of those places that I feel like I could visit every single year and never grow tired of it. The sights are amazing, the people are fascinating, the food is fantastic and the weather (if you avoid the heat of summer) is perfect. We started off our tour by heading straight to St. Peter's Basilica in the middle of Vatican City.
The richest and most impressive church on earth never disappoints me, even on a repeated visit, and I enjoyed being able to point out features to Brooks (do you see the cross up there? can you spot the birdie? where's the yellow window?) and share my favorite bits with Eric. Even behind crowds and bullet-proof glass, Michelangelo's Pieta is still breath-taking (he carved it when he was 24 years old!), and Bernini's altar and bronze canopy in the center don't seem at all out of place - even at seven stories tall! We scanned the markings on the floor, locating the names of other great churches we had visited in Europe & around the world, all carefully laid out to show their shorter length inside St. Peter's vast nave... I also loved seeing the nuns from every corner of the globe - it reminds me that Heaven is going to be filled with every race and tribe and nation. I tried to imagine the church full... it holds 95,000 worshipers at standing room only. I still can't begin to picture it.
After exploring the main floor, we took an elevator and several stairs to get to the top of the church. This walkway rings the bottom of the inside of the dome, and the walls are lined with mosaics that Brooks just loved. It was great to see an up-close glimpse of the largest dome in the world, before attempting to climb it to see the best view of the city.
Many steps, and a little bit of claustrophobia later, here's the famous postcard view from the top of the dome down over the Plaza in front of the church - featuring my two favorite faces! Roman builders and architects are forbidden from building anything taller than the dome of St. Peters - so the view is glorious!
Given that this is the highest dome in the world, it's not hard to believe that it would require quite a climb, but some of the tiny spiral staircases and leaning corridors were almost laughable.
On the way back down, Brooks loved getting his wiggles out on the nave's rooftop. The statues behind them are the ones that look down on the main Plaza over the steps - they're huge, much larger than life. And the late-afternoon light at 5pm was just beautiful!
As we got off the elevator from the roof, we heard music coming from the nave and walked in to find security guards protecting a wide aisle in the middle of the church. The evening Mass was just starting, and we watched a beautiful, noble-looking procession of clergy loop the length of the church before taking their places at the altar. It was a magical moment...
This is the end of the long procession, incense wafting up to the ceiling, bright lights illuminating the singers (usually it's quite dim, save for the spectacular windows), and the chanted song becoming more echo-y and ethereal. It was an unbelievable moment. Can you see the guy near the back with a really really big high white hat? He's just a few people in front of the security man in the black suit. Eric asked if he was the pope. Unfortunately not, but he was clearly the guy in an outfit of honor...
We slowly found our way out to the Plaza again, and gave Brooks a chance to run and play in the area where the crowds gather to the hear from the Pope each Wednesday and Sunday. While Brooks tried to catch a pigeon ("I want to pat it!"), we discussed dinner options and people-watched by the fountain. All of a sudden, I realized I was looking at a vaguely familiar face - was this someone we'd met on top of the dome? Clearly she was an American, but I was going to let the moment pass, when she approached us and asked us if we knew each other. Come to find out, while we didn't know one another personally, she attended our church in Chicago for 4 years while we were there, before moving to Rome in 2008. We had many friends in common, and it made the world feel quite a bit smaller.
When we traveled in Italy with my parents in the fall of 2007, Mom, Dad, Brooks and I visited a restaurant near Campo de' Fiori, whose motto is you eat what we feed you. This place doesn't bother providing menus, or even taking your order. They just ask white or red, still or sparkling, to bring you your preferred beverage, and then the feast begins. Brooks is chowing down on basically the same plates of appetizers that we had enjoyed 16 months earlier - yummy lentils, olives, parma ham... all of it was delish!
This was Nona Paola, owner and Mama of this restaurant. She was just as fond of Brooks this trip as last time, and expressed this affection by bringing him his own plate of home-fried potato chips! I was so glad to have my camera with us. Brooks liked her a lot but was a bit confused by her signature turban.
We started the next morning at St. Peter in Chains, a beautiful old church built in the 5th century to house the chains that held St. Peter. It's also home to Michelangelo's beautiful "Moses" statue (complete with horns, due to a long-ago mistranslation of the Hebrew word "rays"), part of a incomplete set of 48 statues planned for the tomb of a very vain pope.
Eric and I discussed whether we thought these chains were in fact the real chains that held the apostle Peter. I'm not sure we came to any conclusion... Perhaps because of our Protestant upbringing, I think we tend to see these old church relics skeptically. But given that they were being housed less than a mile from where he was actually imprisoned, it seems that they are more likely authentic than most of the highly-venerated relics in Europe. Nevertheless, we could say that Peter's chains were these or some very like them, and it was really amazing to get an actual *visual* on what the disciples experienced for their obedience...
Next up was the Colosseum. Because we did zero pre-planning for this trip (other than hotels and plane tickets) we didn't maximize our time to avoid lines at the popular sights. Instead of waiting in the painful ticket line to get to the Colosseum, we jumped into an English language tour-group that ended up being a huge win. The guides were great, very informative and fun to listen to, and we were able to zip past all those poor tourists waiting to buy their tickets to get here.
It's quite hard to look down into the ruins and *not* think of all of the Christians who died in this arena. The mostly missing floor reveals the underground caves and cages where hungry wild animals were housed until the moment they were lifted up by special elevator, hidden behind "blinds" on the ground floor and turned loose on unsuspecting "performers" - sometimes criminals, sometimes gladiators, sometimes Christians. I can't even imagine how terrifying that must have been - to not know what was going to come out from behind the blind to get you.
This photo was taken by a sweet Baton Rouge couple who were also on our tour. They did a great job of getting Brooks to smile for the camera. Eric and I have an inside family joke about how strangers asked to take a photo for you rarely take the picture you're hoping for. This shot was the wonderful exception!
After racing a few blocks to pick up a speedy lunch to go, we joined back up with our tour company for the second part of the day... a guided loop through Palatine Hill. Standing in the center of the "seven hills of Rome" this area has always had prominence in the history of the city. Romulus and Remus - the legendary twin brothers who would later found Rome, were rescued as babies and raised by a she-wolf. As our fantastic tour guide Hannah explained, beginning as far back as 500 BC, many wealthy Romans built their houses up on this hilltop, and eventually, it became THE place to live for the Roman emperor. Around 70 AD, the ruling Flavian dynasty tore down the enormous lavish homes of their predecessors and smoothed out the surrounding hills to build their family a ridiculously large house. The remains of their palace are still there, amazing bits and pieces which have survived the "harvesting" of materials done by subsequent generations of builders and architects are truly impressive. Our guide said that a huge percentage of the marble found in St Peter's Basilica was originally used to decorate long destroyed palaces up on this hill. Incidentally, our word for "palace" originates from this spot - "Palatine Hill" is the place where the rulers live.
This picture is taken from the top of Palatine Hill overlooking the Roman Forum, up the Via Sacra to the Colosseum. On past trips to Rome, I've spent quite a bit of time wandering around all those rocky ruins below - checking out the house of the Vestal Virgins, the Ancient Senate building, the Arch of Titus, and the main Forum square. After one year of Latin at Brentwood Academy (oh, so long ago) and several Ancient History classes, all of these places still seemed very much alive to me. But I had never made it to Palatine Hill before and it was wonderful to find a "new discovery" in a city that I had already enjoyed so much.
From the back of the top of Palatine Hill, we could see the faint outline of the Circus Maximus - once a dramatic chariot course (picture "Ben Hur").
This photo is for Aunt Sissy. We can't see the Basilica of Constantine (Maxentius) without someone posing for this shot...
After a full day of touring through the remains of Ancient Rome, we decided that what we really wanted was a couple of plates of steaming pasta, so we wandered over to Piazza Navona to see if we could find an atmospheric spot to enjoy some of the best that Italy offers. At the first restaurant, the friendly maitre d' pointed to Brooks, perched up on his Dada's shoulders, and asked if someone was tired. I looked up and realized that Brooks was *falling asleep* with his head resting on the top of Eric's baseball cap. So cute. We did one slow lap to check menus and then went back to the first restaurant where the kind man who noticed Brooks a few minutes before went to great lengths to settle him in for a meal.
He pulled two big arm-chairs together and laid out a half dozen padded cushions so we could make a little bed for him. Brooks curled up on his tummy and immediately started snoring, and moments later the maitre d' came over with a clean tablecloth, to lay over him as a little brocade blanket. He was snug and warm and sleeping happily next to us, while we had our first vacation date night in several months! :)
Once we had enjoyed most of our meal, Brooks woke up and ate a bite before our fun bus ride back to our hotel. The next morning we packed up and checked out after breakfast and then wandered over to the Pantheon to check out Rome's most beautifully preserved interior. Eric had not seen this magnificent dome before and we had a great time soaking it up while Brooks ran around pointing things out and asking - "What's dat!?"
Afterward, we went in search of a few more interesting churches in the neighborhood, all richly inlaid with expensive marble and gilded with obscene amounts of precious metals. We admired the architecture (I mean, how can you not!?) but wondered about a religious culture that put so many financial resources into building more and more grandiose buildings, one right after another, all in just a few square blocks of the same city. It was almost too much - even for me, and I love these old buildings, I really do. Ready for a change of pace, we spilled back out into the sunshine to find...
I mean come on! Isn't this the reason why the world loves to visit Italy?! GELATO! :)
I thought Brooks might break his face, grinning so about his "lock-let" ice cream! And this was before he'd had his first bite!! :) I admit I shared his excitement.
Things continued to get a lot more messy after this photo, but I think his early chocolate smile was just too cute to resist. After this late morning snack we had to delay lunch a bit, but it was oh so worth it!
The rest of the day was spent wandering into more ancient churches - including the Mamertine Prison, which Eric had missed on his last trip to Rome in 1999. This church is built over the prison where the apostles Peter and Paul were held as referenced in the Book of Acts and being there was an incredibly powerful experience, even during its renovation. From there, we went back to the hotel to gather our things, grab a bite to eat, and head off to the airport.
A quick trip, but amazingly packed with important sights, yummy food and greatly appreciated sunshine! I love Italy!!
Monday, March 30, 2009
The sickies...
That would be all of us. Since Christmas, I don't think we've had more than three days in a row without one, or usually two of us, being quite sick. In the last two weeks, I've actually had two separate colds, and at least one sinus infection. I got sick, got better, and then got caught with another one all in 7 days time - and I'm still fighting it over a week later... How is that possible?! Really, it was worse when I felt this bad on top of the pregnancy nausea back in January and February, but I'm getting tired of this cold/flu season now. I think I'd mainly just like to be able to breathe consistently out of my nose.
Brooks also came down with his first ear infection this month. Oh my goodness, the poor little munchkin! He was in such pain but was still really cute when he was so pitiful! Quieter, more calm, a bit teary, but really sweet. Remembering my last ear infection just over a year ago gave me a great deal of sympathy for him. And I'm glad his first painful ear issues came after he could tell me what was wrong. "Mama, my ear huh-uts. No, not that one, just dis one. Can you kiss it, Mama? Can we snuggle, Mama?"
About ten days ago, Eric was attacked by "viral tonsillitis" - a fancy name for a cold virus that hits your throat. I will admit that his throat looked GA-ROssss but given this was the first stretch of illness he'd had in a long time, I was tempted to call it a man-cold and tease him a bit. He stayed home from work a few days, but seems to be all better.
Last week, one of Brooks's playmates from my Tuesday morning Mom's Prayer Group came down with chicken pox and I was afraid on Friday that he had gotten it, too. With a fever of 102, a few little red dots on his face and neck, and a specific complaint of "itchy, Mama, my neck is itchy!", I had steeled myself for a weekend of nursing a sick one. But after a few good hours of naptime and a lot of extra cuddles, he was doing great. No more red dots, and nothing even vaguely resembling a scab... we must have dodged that bullet this time.
I am SO looking forward to sunshine and warmer weather melting away all these germs. Three cheers for the approaching spring!
Brooks also came down with his first ear infection this month. Oh my goodness, the poor little munchkin! He was in such pain but was still really cute when he was so pitiful! Quieter, more calm, a bit teary, but really sweet. Remembering my last ear infection just over a year ago gave me a great deal of sympathy for him. And I'm glad his first painful ear issues came after he could tell me what was wrong. "Mama, my ear huh-uts. No, not that one, just dis one. Can you kiss it, Mama? Can we snuggle, Mama?"
About ten days ago, Eric was attacked by "viral tonsillitis" - a fancy name for a cold virus that hits your throat. I will admit that his throat looked GA-ROssss but given this was the first stretch of illness he'd had in a long time, I was tempted to call it a man-cold and tease him a bit. He stayed home from work a few days, but seems to be all better.
Last week, one of Brooks's playmates from my Tuesday morning Mom's Prayer Group came down with chicken pox and I was afraid on Friday that he had gotten it, too. With a fever of 102, a few little red dots on his face and neck, and a specific complaint of "itchy, Mama, my neck is itchy!", I had steeled myself for a weekend of nursing a sick one. But after a few good hours of naptime and a lot of extra cuddles, he was doing great. No more red dots, and nothing even vaguely resembling a scab... we must have dodged that bullet this time.
I am SO looking forward to sunshine and warmer weather melting away all these germs. Three cheers for the approaching spring!
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Thanksgiving 2008
For those who talked to me in November, you'll know that one of the things that excited me most about this fall was getting the chance to sing again in St. Paul's Cathedral. I have always loved choral music, particularly while getting to sing with the excellent Auburn University Concert Choir in college. Thanksgiving 1997 when I lived in London before was my first chance to sing at the annual St. Paul's Americans in London Thanksgiving Service. Sponsored by the American Embassy and the American and International Churches in London, this service is by far St Paul's most well attended. I was thrilled to be singing in the choir again inside this beautiful building!
Thanksgiving dawned bright and clear and cool. It was such fun to get dressed up and head out early, as I'm never in the City before lunchtime. It was great to see all of London bustling about with the coffees and a paper under their arm. We sang a bit to warm-up in the room (wow! the acoustics!) and then the organ sounded it's first notes. It was *not* obvious that this instrument was in the process of restoration. It sounded amazing! Both anthems were accompanied by organ and we rehearsed several times before the congregation came pouring in. I was really pleased with the service order as we were singing some of my favorite Thanksgiving hymns again, too - Come Ye Thankful People Come, We Gather together, Now We Thank Thee All Our God, America the Beautiful.
When the service started, I still hadn't spotted Eric, but I did find him in the crowd of thousands as we stood during the first hymn... The performances themselves were near to perfect (she says, humbly) and I was so glad for all our hard work. I even took a few stealth photos during the final Organ Voluntary.
The ceiling above me (taken from my lap during the recessional!)
Christopher Wren's gorgeous central dome (up the other direction).
Light pours in from the Western doors at the end of the Nave, opened wide for the Dean and Chapter to escort the Ambassador and his wife outside to the grand staircase. (The big central doors are only opened on very special occasions!)
Here's a view from where the conductor stood to the high altar. The choir really had the best view of everything during the service.
This is the exquisite organ, the one of the most utilized in the world - it is regularly played for ten services a week.
Here's where I sat, in the beautiful quire stalls
After the service, we went to lunch with some new American friends Cade and Melissa. They have a young daughter born earlier in the year, but it was just us adults that afternoon, and we so enjoyed having a grown-up fun conversation as we got to know them better. They're from NYC, went to Redeemer Pres in Manhattan and just moved to the UK in 2008... It was great to share stories with them. Eric introduced us to a new restaurant that had just opened near his office - Chilango. This is the English version of Chipotle and we were in love - finally good Tex-Mex in London that doesn't cost an arm and a leg! I felt very thankful, munching on my burrito and chips and guac.
Since Eric had to work a full day, we decided to postpone our family Thanksgiving feast until Saturday. The day started with quite a bit of drama, as I had wrongly assumed after last year that we could find a turkey or at least a turkey breast in our neighborhood, no problem! Um, wrong! Eric actually went to more than a half dozen grocery stores that day, tracking down the allusive bird and various other last minute things (I really *hate* not having a pantry area in which to keep "back-ups" of all my essentials!) He rode up on his bike with a 10 pound turkey hung from the handlebars at just before 1pm and we had it in the oven and roasting 10 minutes later. I was really proud of his helpful attitude and the teamwork made for a wonderful feast!
We had invited the leadership team of our HTB pastorate to join us, so we were the three Wheelers, Becky (American), Hannah (Welsh), and Michael & Sarah (New Zealanders).
Eric and I prepped the main meal and Hannah made a yummy apple pie!
Brooks had a great time playing with all these fun friends that he knows well, and did a great job patiently sitting through the meal. I was so proud.
We finished the night with an unusual card game that had something to do with planting and harvesting bean fields. It was quirky, but still really fun - mostly because after Brooks was in bed, this night felt very much like our former pre-parent lives! Yummy food and game night with a group of friends.
All in all, this was a great Thanksgiving, and we had much to celebrate. I'm looking forward to enjoying next Thanksgiving with one of our families in the States, but looking back I'm glad we got to be thankful right here in our little London home!
Thanksgiving dawned bright and clear and cool. It was such fun to get dressed up and head out early, as I'm never in the City before lunchtime. It was great to see all of London bustling about with the coffees and a paper under their arm. We sang a bit to warm-up in the room (wow! the acoustics!) and then the organ sounded it's first notes. It was *not* obvious that this instrument was in the process of restoration. It sounded amazing! Both anthems were accompanied by organ and we rehearsed several times before the congregation came pouring in. I was really pleased with the service order as we were singing some of my favorite Thanksgiving hymns again, too - Come Ye Thankful People Come, We Gather together, Now We Thank Thee All Our God, America the Beautiful.
When the service started, I still hadn't spotted Eric, but I did find him in the crowd of thousands as we stood during the first hymn... The performances themselves were near to perfect (she says, humbly) and I was so glad for all our hard work. I even took a few stealth photos during the final Organ Voluntary.
The ceiling above me (taken from my lap during the recessional!)
Christopher Wren's gorgeous central dome (up the other direction).
Light pours in from the Western doors at the end of the Nave, opened wide for the Dean and Chapter to escort the Ambassador and his wife outside to the grand staircase. (The big central doors are only opened on very special occasions!)
Here's a view from where the conductor stood to the high altar. The choir really had the best view of everything during the service.
This is the exquisite organ, the one of the most utilized in the world - it is regularly played for ten services a week.
Here's where I sat, in the beautiful quire stalls
After the service, we went to lunch with some new American friends Cade and Melissa. They have a young daughter born earlier in the year, but it was just us adults that afternoon, and we so enjoyed having a grown-up fun conversation as we got to know them better. They're from NYC, went to Redeemer Pres in Manhattan and just moved to the UK in 2008... It was great to share stories with them. Eric introduced us to a new restaurant that had just opened near his office - Chilango. This is the English version of Chipotle and we were in love - finally good Tex-Mex in London that doesn't cost an arm and a leg! I felt very thankful, munching on my burrito and chips and guac.
Since Eric had to work a full day, we decided to postpone our family Thanksgiving feast until Saturday. The day started with quite a bit of drama, as I had wrongly assumed after last year that we could find a turkey or at least a turkey breast in our neighborhood, no problem! Um, wrong! Eric actually went to more than a half dozen grocery stores that day, tracking down the allusive bird and various other last minute things (I really *hate* not having a pantry area in which to keep "back-ups" of all my essentials!) He rode up on his bike with a 10 pound turkey hung from the handlebars at just before 1pm and we had it in the oven and roasting 10 minutes later. I was really proud of his helpful attitude and the teamwork made for a wonderful feast!
We had invited the leadership team of our HTB pastorate to join us, so we were the three Wheelers, Becky (American), Hannah (Welsh), and Michael & Sarah (New Zealanders).
Eric and I prepped the main meal and Hannah made a yummy apple pie!
Brooks had a great time playing with all these fun friends that he knows well, and did a great job patiently sitting through the meal. I was so proud.
We finished the night with an unusual card game that had something to do with planting and harvesting bean fields. It was quirky, but still really fun - mostly because after Brooks was in bed, this night felt very much like our former pre-parent lives! Yummy food and game night with a group of friends.
All in all, this was a great Thanksgiving, and we had much to celebrate. I'm looking forward to enjoying next Thanksgiving with one of our families in the States, but looking back I'm glad we got to be thankful right here in our little London home!
Brooks at 27 months
The last few weeks of Brooks's life have been hysterical. He is fully into real conversations now... complete and complex sentences, abstract thought, really funny insights. People actually stop me on the bus or tube to ask me how old he is, and most comment on how much he's talking. The most consistent Brooks-initiated conversation pattern goes something like this:
And Brooks will then answer some combination of Miss Becky, Miss Hannah, Mr Ben, Abby, Abby's Momma (only occasionally does he refer to her as Ms Heather), Mr Ross, Mr Rachel (we're still working on who gets a Mr and who gets a Ms), Shireen and YangPing (he knows they go together but he's still working on which is which), Thea, Abbey...
Depending on the day, he'll bring up his new favorite babysitter (Melinda) or start listing out family members that we've seen in photos or talked to recently on skype. Sometimes if he's thinking of home he'll name various Chicago friends. I can't believe how tuned in he is to social things and the importance of friendships.
Some other little funny bits of language are his (very few) mispronunciations...
Dada's Strawberry... for Dada's blackberry.
Brella... for umbrella.
Dina-hores... for dinosaurs.
Gampa Shar-lie... for Grampa Charlie.
Is it wrong that I really don't want to correct these?! It's just too fun to have him still hovering around "baby talk" for a little while longer. Water is no longer wa-wa, it's clearly wah-der. I think I'll miss these phrases soon enough. Also quite fun are his use of the words "actually" and "because"... He's figured out "right now" is an important phrase, and "just a minute". Sometimes he'll leave me folding laundry or washing dishes and announce that he'll "be right back, going to get a book, wait here just a minute" all in one complete thought. It cracks me up. He's started saying "Momma, look!" or "watch me, Momma" or this morning it was "Momma, would you look at me?" ... anything to engage with us.
He loves to jump. Jumping is the funnest activity ever. We got him a pair of Wellies this week, so that he can thoroughly enjoy the garden before the mud dries out. Aside from riding a bike with Dada (they're doing that right now on this quiet Saturday morning), he wants to "run fast and fall down" (to be a "football player") or "be a man" (which means to march, just like the ceremonial guards at Windsor Castle do). Just in the last few days we've started doing car and truck races on our glass top coffee table - one on one playtime with Momma or Dada is the best! He loves to cook - both in his own little red kitchen and standing on a chair next to us in the grown-up kitchen. Today he enjoyed watching the egg whites foam up as he helped Dada make buttermilk pancakes. Dancing and singing and playing his piano are all still big fun. Jesus Loves Me and the ABC song are constantly ringing through the house. The next toy purchase will have to be a child-size guitar, because he's constantly playing air guitar ("ga-star") on all his hard-cover books, complete with toe tapping and hip wiggling. And we spend literally hours every day reading or flipping the pages through his library of books. Right now, Dr. Seuss is a lot of fun. Alternatingly, the favorite title is Doe, Gog, Doe and Go, Dog, Go...
Now that my energy is picking up again as I enter the second trimester, and we seem to be over the winter yuckies, we're scheduling more fun things during the week. Monday we spent the morning with Abby and got to visit with her mom, Heather. There were several times we had to stop chatting to laugh with our kids, who were giving themselves hiccups from belly-laughing so hard. Tuesday was mom's prayer & pastorate - both great times of fellowship, and Wednesday we got to have brunch with our friend Kim, in town from Chicago. Thursday we went to Tots and Toddlers (always a winner) and did some High Street shopping afterward. That night we had a birthday party to go to, and as the only kiddo in the restaurant, Brooks had fun with lots of grown-up friends, despite the late hour. Yesterday we went to a gathering of the Credit Munch - a group of professionals from our church's Pastorate, all recently unemployed due to the recent economic "crunch". We were at Ross's house, and Brooks and Abby were invited to join, given their permanent jobless state. While we dined on Ivan's amazing french toast & pancetta with maple syrup, Brooks and Abby played in the curtains and ended up rolling around laughing hysterically. I love that they're such good friends.
Dada and Brooks just rode up on the bike and Brooks just announced to me through the front window "I'm having fun riding Dada's bike".
I think I need to go squeeze a toddler! :)
Brooks - Momma, shall we talk? (yes, he says "Shall"...)
Me - Okay, Brooks, what do you want to talk about?
Brooks - Wanna talk about friends.
Me - Which friends do you want to talk about?
Brooks - different friends...
Me - Like...?
And Brooks will then answer some combination of Miss Becky, Miss Hannah, Mr Ben, Abby, Abby's Momma (only occasionally does he refer to her as Ms Heather), Mr Ross, Mr Rachel (we're still working on who gets a Mr and who gets a Ms), Shireen and YangPing (he knows they go together but he's still working on which is which), Thea, Abbey...
Depending on the day, he'll bring up his new favorite babysitter (Melinda) or start listing out family members that we've seen in photos or talked to recently on skype. Sometimes if he's thinking of home he'll name various Chicago friends. I can't believe how tuned in he is to social things and the importance of friendships.
Some other little funny bits of language are his (very few) mispronunciations...
Dada's Strawberry... for Dada's blackberry.
Brella... for umbrella.
Dina-hores... for dinosaurs.
Gampa Shar-lie... for Grampa Charlie.
Is it wrong that I really don't want to correct these?! It's just too fun to have him still hovering around "baby talk" for a little while longer. Water is no longer wa-wa, it's clearly wah-der. I think I'll miss these phrases soon enough. Also quite fun are his use of the words "actually" and "because"... He's figured out "right now" is an important phrase, and "just a minute". Sometimes he'll leave me folding laundry or washing dishes and announce that he'll "be right back, going to get a book, wait here just a minute" all in one complete thought. It cracks me up. He's started saying "Momma, look!" or "watch me, Momma" or this morning it was "Momma, would you look at me?" ... anything to engage with us.
He loves to jump. Jumping is the funnest activity ever. We got him a pair of Wellies this week, so that he can thoroughly enjoy the garden before the mud dries out. Aside from riding a bike with Dada (they're doing that right now on this quiet Saturday morning), he wants to "run fast and fall down" (to be a "football player") or "be a man" (which means to march, just like the ceremonial guards at Windsor Castle do). Just in the last few days we've started doing car and truck races on our glass top coffee table - one on one playtime with Momma or Dada is the best! He loves to cook - both in his own little red kitchen and standing on a chair next to us in the grown-up kitchen. Today he enjoyed watching the egg whites foam up as he helped Dada make buttermilk pancakes. Dancing and singing and playing his piano are all still big fun. Jesus Loves Me and the ABC song are constantly ringing through the house. The next toy purchase will have to be a child-size guitar, because he's constantly playing air guitar ("ga-star") on all his hard-cover books, complete with toe tapping and hip wiggling. And we spend literally hours every day reading or flipping the pages through his library of books. Right now, Dr. Seuss is a lot of fun. Alternatingly, the favorite title is Doe, Gog, Doe and Go, Dog, Go...
Now that my energy is picking up again as I enter the second trimester, and we seem to be over the winter yuckies, we're scheduling more fun things during the week. Monday we spent the morning with Abby and got to visit with her mom, Heather. There were several times we had to stop chatting to laugh with our kids, who were giving themselves hiccups from belly-laughing so hard. Tuesday was mom's prayer & pastorate - both great times of fellowship, and Wednesday we got to have brunch with our friend Kim, in town from Chicago. Thursday we went to Tots and Toddlers (always a winner) and did some High Street shopping afterward. That night we had a birthday party to go to, and as the only kiddo in the restaurant, Brooks had fun with lots of grown-up friends, despite the late hour. Yesterday we went to a gathering of the Credit Munch - a group of professionals from our church's Pastorate, all recently unemployed due to the recent economic "crunch". We were at Ross's house, and Brooks and Abby were invited to join, given their permanent jobless state. While we dined on Ivan's amazing french toast & pancetta with maple syrup, Brooks and Abby played in the curtains and ended up rolling around laughing hysterically. I love that they're such good friends.
Dada and Brooks just rode up on the bike and Brooks just announced to me through the front window "I'm having fun riding Dada's bike".
I think I need to go squeeze a toddler! :)
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Pickles and Ice Cream
What is it about pickles and pregnancy?! As I type, I have a salad fork propped up in a jar of "cornichons in sweet vinegar" - the closest thing I could find in the UK to my Great Aunt Na's sweet pickles - stabbing at another one like a starving woman, even though I've already had dinner and then a dessert of fresh fruit. What is it about pickles that makes me HAVE TO HAVE THEM!!! Or ice cream, for that's another common weakness in my condition? I mean, I love chocolate in any form pretty much all the time, but vanilla ice cream has the most appealing ring to it right about now.
When I was pregnant with Brooks, I had several cravings. Early on it was berries (blue, straw, black and rasp in great abundance) but I chalked that up to berry season hitting around the time that raw meat just looked disgusting. I spent a lot of time in the produce department. I also really needed watermelon. I remember lugging a least a dozen full-sized watermelons up to the 3rd floor condo in my second trimester, thinking that my belly was soon going to be growing to the size of this fruit. I ate them all myself.
But the worst craving was definitely postpartum. The week before Brooks arrived, we enjoyed a delicious supper at our friends' Tim and Melissa's place, and Melissa served a simple yummy dessert of rice pudding with a dash of ground cinnamon on top. Well, that was the end of that. I had to have it, all the time. In the hospital after Brooks was born, Eric brought me two containers that I scarfed down in less than a day. And once we were home again, for the next... I don't know, maybe three months? the Wheeler family bought our Jewel out of their store brand rice pudding (so glad that I liked the cheap version) each and every week. Eric would come back from a late night grocery run while I was nursing Brooks and *apologize* because he knew that buying them out of their last four tubs would only last me about 48 hours. In the end, he had to make me a cauldron of rice pudding from scratch using a huge bulk bag of white rice because none of our three local grocery stores could keep up with my demand. What a darling husband I have. He only teases me about this a little bit.
This time, I had some pretty intense early taco cravings. Conveniently those struck while we were home for Christmas (the English have expensive bad Mexican restaurants), but Eric thought it was crazy that I didn't care where they were from - Satco, Chipotle, Taco Bell - soft chicken tacos are yummy anywhere! I haven't missed a morning yet of Special K and skim milk. Yum! I've wanted lots of ginger ale and grapefruit juice lately and I've eaten dozens of citrus fruits in season. Who can explain this whole cravings thing to me...? Thankfully they've been mostly healthy... so far.
Pickles and Ice Cream is also the name of a precious maternity store in Cool Springs, near my hometown of Brentwood, TN. I got several cute outfits from there when I was pregnant with Brooks, and I'm already digging out my maternity clothes for this go around. Just 15 weeks into this gestational period, I already look like I'm 7 months along. This doesn't bode well for my third trimester, as I can imagine myself hot and huge in the South in August eating watermelon and ice cream until I can roll down the stairs... Lord, help me! :)
When I was pregnant with Brooks, I had several cravings. Early on it was berries (blue, straw, black and rasp in great abundance) but I chalked that up to berry season hitting around the time that raw meat just looked disgusting. I spent a lot of time in the produce department. I also really needed watermelon. I remember lugging a least a dozen full-sized watermelons up to the 3rd floor condo in my second trimester, thinking that my belly was soon going to be growing to the size of this fruit. I ate them all myself.
But the worst craving was definitely postpartum. The week before Brooks arrived, we enjoyed a delicious supper at our friends' Tim and Melissa's place, and Melissa served a simple yummy dessert of rice pudding with a dash of ground cinnamon on top. Well, that was the end of that. I had to have it, all the time. In the hospital after Brooks was born, Eric brought me two containers that I scarfed down in less than a day. And once we were home again, for the next... I don't know, maybe three months? the Wheeler family bought our Jewel out of their store brand rice pudding (so glad that I liked the cheap version) each and every week. Eric would come back from a late night grocery run while I was nursing Brooks and *apologize* because he knew that buying them out of their last four tubs would only last me about 48 hours. In the end, he had to make me a cauldron of rice pudding from scratch using a huge bulk bag of white rice because none of our three local grocery stores could keep up with my demand. What a darling husband I have. He only teases me about this a little bit.
This time, I had some pretty intense early taco cravings. Conveniently those struck while we were home for Christmas (the English have expensive bad Mexican restaurants), but Eric thought it was crazy that I didn't care where they were from - Satco, Chipotle, Taco Bell - soft chicken tacos are yummy anywhere! I haven't missed a morning yet of Special K and skim milk. Yum! I've wanted lots of ginger ale and grapefruit juice lately and I've eaten dozens of citrus fruits in season. Who can explain this whole cravings thing to me...? Thankfully they've been mostly healthy... so far.
Pickles and Ice Cream is also the name of a precious maternity store in Cool Springs, near my hometown of Brentwood, TN. I got several cute outfits from there when I was pregnant with Brooks, and I'm already digging out my maternity clothes for this go around. Just 15 weeks into this gestational period, I already look like I'm 7 months along. This doesn't bode well for my third trimester, as I can imagine myself hot and huge in the South in August eating watermelon and ice cream until I can roll down the stairs... Lord, help me! :)
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Excel Spreadsheets
One of the many hundreds of things I just adore about my husband is his incredible proficiency at spreadsheets. Eric is amazing with Excel. Just one of the benefits of marrying an actuary, right?! This skill plays itself out in some unique ways within our marriage...
One (not exactly surprising) way this helps our marriage is money management. In our first year of marriage, Eric built this incredible document that tracked our spending month to month that tied to my preferred book-keeping method (MS Money), so that I could enter our spending in a user-friendly format and he could import that data and manage our total cash flow. A brilliant solution to get a theater major and a math / economics major to work together on budgets - and we still use it to this day.
Another recent excel spreadsheet victory is our family packing list. We have a lengthy detailed travel list coded for me, and Eric, and Brooks, plus gear and specialty items (ie, bathing suits and hiking boots don't get included each and every time we travel). I use it every single time we pull out our luggage - I'd be lost without it. It's so nice to not have to rack my brain to remember if I've forgotten anything critical before we walk out the door - especially since we're generally packing in the middle of the night, or ten minutes after we were supposed to leave for the airport.
When we were planning our move to the UK, Eric put together a ridiculously long "London To Do List" in excel with categories (health/medical, legal, packing, housing, etc.), along with a needed action date, and the person responsible for driving us towards that due date. One of the many challenges we faced was that most of what had to be done required input from both us but we needed a way to divide and conquer and to know who was going to spearhead what. This document was my brain during our last six weeks in the US in the summer of 2007, especially as we wanted to take time out to see friends and family and enjoy lots of "lasts"... If we had not had all this stuff down on paper, I would have been a nervous wreck. Plus, it was a great confidence boost to look back periodically and see all that we had checked off the list!
When we learned that we were expecting our next baby to arrive on the scene approx 10 days before Eric's contract in the UK was to expire, we both felt a bit overwhelmed with our choices and decisions. Do we stay in the UK and await the babe's arrival in our (very expensive) flat, possibly even after Eric's stopped working, knowing that we'd then have to pack and fly home with a toddler and a newborn, finding a house in Chicago and being somewhat nomadic without the support of family close-by? Do we try to rush home early to get settled into our new home in Chicago before the baby arrives, knowing that I won't be able to nest or even set up the nursery, since our baby furniture and essential home items would still be on a boat from the UK? Or do we look for another option? And does Eric need to work until the last moment so we can get paternity leave from his firm? Or we do choose his last day based on what's most convenient for us and ask for an unpaid leave of absence? After hours of conversation and laying awake several nights trying to sort it all out, Eric decided to put down all the pros and cons in writing. He crafted a brilliant spreadsheet with all the factors (including my pregnancy travel limits, estimated start and end dates of both work and housing, and approx financial impact of each decision) laying out the best four or five options he could come up with. It was brilliant! I love the way his mind works.
For a normally emotional, go-with-my-gut woman who's currently extra hormonal and pregnant, this effort was such a gift! Eric creating such a fabulous spreadsheet felt like him slaying the mental dragons that had been plaguing both of us. It allowed me the opportunity to weigh everything carefully, to see it all clearly, rather than trying to feel my way towards the right decision. Thank you, darling husband, for using this skill to make our home life so much better!
For those wondering about the rest of the story... We spent a week or two thinking, praying, and talking over our options and then made our final decision after speaking to Eric's Global Mobility Consultant. Turns out, Eric's US firm WILL provide paternity leave, no matter what country we're in, or whether he's currently working in the US or not. And it's somewhat expected/normal for folks to take an extended leave of absence following an international secondment. Two months seems relatively short by comparison, given what other co-workers have done and the fact that we'll be welcoming a new baby to the family.
Can you even believe how good God is to us!? Not to even mention how THRILLED we are to be going to Nashville for the summer, enjoying the neighborhood pool and sunshiney weather, letting Brooks play in the garden and with my friends' children - and knowing that when it's time to head to the hospital, Brooks will be happily tucked in bed at "home" and getting loved on by his grandparents while we go meet his new "baby brudder" or "baby sister". :)
We are so blessed.
One (not exactly surprising) way this helps our marriage is money management. In our first year of marriage, Eric built this incredible document that tracked our spending month to month that tied to my preferred book-keeping method (MS Money), so that I could enter our spending in a user-friendly format and he could import that data and manage our total cash flow. A brilliant solution to get a theater major and a math / economics major to work together on budgets - and we still use it to this day.
Another recent excel spreadsheet victory is our family packing list. We have a lengthy detailed travel list coded for me, and Eric, and Brooks, plus gear and specialty items (ie, bathing suits and hiking boots don't get included each and every time we travel). I use it every single time we pull out our luggage - I'd be lost without it. It's so nice to not have to rack my brain to remember if I've forgotten anything critical before we walk out the door - especially since we're generally packing in the middle of the night, or ten minutes after we were supposed to leave for the airport.
When we were planning our move to the UK, Eric put together a ridiculously long "London To Do List" in excel with categories (health/medical, legal, packing, housing, etc.), along with a needed action date, and the person responsible for driving us towards that due date. One of the many challenges we faced was that most of what had to be done required input from both us but we needed a way to divide and conquer and to know who was going to spearhead what. This document was my brain during our last six weeks in the US in the summer of 2007, especially as we wanted to take time out to see friends and family and enjoy lots of "lasts"... If we had not had all this stuff down on paper, I would have been a nervous wreck. Plus, it was a great confidence boost to look back periodically and see all that we had checked off the list!
When we learned that we were expecting our next baby to arrive on the scene approx 10 days before Eric's contract in the UK was to expire, we both felt a bit overwhelmed with our choices and decisions. Do we stay in the UK and await the babe's arrival in our (very expensive) flat, possibly even after Eric's stopped working, knowing that we'd then have to pack and fly home with a toddler and a newborn, finding a house in Chicago and being somewhat nomadic without the support of family close-by? Do we try to rush home early to get settled into our new home in Chicago before the baby arrives, knowing that I won't be able to nest or even set up the nursery, since our baby furniture and essential home items would still be on a boat from the UK? Or do we look for another option? And does Eric need to work until the last moment so we can get paternity leave from his firm? Or we do choose his last day based on what's most convenient for us and ask for an unpaid leave of absence? After hours of conversation and laying awake several nights trying to sort it all out, Eric decided to put down all the pros and cons in writing. He crafted a brilliant spreadsheet with all the factors (including my pregnancy travel limits, estimated start and end dates of both work and housing, and approx financial impact of each decision) laying out the best four or five options he could come up with. It was brilliant! I love the way his mind works.
For a normally emotional, go-with-my-gut woman who's currently extra hormonal and pregnant, this effort was such a gift! Eric creating such a fabulous spreadsheet felt like him slaying the mental dragons that had been plaguing both of us. It allowed me the opportunity to weigh everything carefully, to see it all clearly, rather than trying to feel my way towards the right decision. Thank you, darling husband, for using this skill to make our home life so much better!
For those wondering about the rest of the story... We spent a week or two thinking, praying, and talking over our options and then made our final decision after speaking to Eric's Global Mobility Consultant. Turns out, Eric's US firm WILL provide paternity leave, no matter what country we're in, or whether he's currently working in the US or not. And it's somewhat expected/normal for folks to take an extended leave of absence following an international secondment. Two months seems relatively short by comparison, given what other co-workers have done and the fact that we'll be welcoming a new baby to the family.
Can you even believe how good God is to us!? Not to even mention how THRILLED we are to be going to Nashville for the summer, enjoying the neighborhood pool and sunshiney weather, letting Brooks play in the garden and with my friends' children - and knowing that when it's time to head to the hospital, Brooks will be happily tucked in bed at "home" and getting loved on by his grandparents while we go meet his new "baby brudder" or "baby sister". :)
We are so blessed.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
I'm back!
I can't believe it's been two months since I last posted... I haven't given up my blogging forever, believe me. It's just been a time warp somehow! We left for Christmas the day after my last post of 2008, spent 3 wonderful weeks in the States visiting friends and family, and have been back in the UK for almost 6 weeks now.
The big news during all this fun craziness is that (drumroll, please!) we're pregnant! Hurray!! Our second baby and Brooks's sibling is due to make an appearance around mid-August, and of course that arrival date is definitely having impact on our repatriation plans. Much of our free time in January was spent hashing out our hopes and dreams, limitations and challenges regarding our move home and all that would entail, and it seems we covered every aspect at least 14 times. But we are most excited about our current plans - leaving London in late June/early July, spending several weeks in Tennessee with my parents in July and August, while we await the arrival of the baby, and then moving back up to Chicago in September in order for Eric to start back to work before October. It will be wonderful to have over two whole months with Eric on a leave of absence from work (something that we both absolutely LOVED when he moved from Towers Perrin to his current job in summer 2004) and I am thrilled to be able to spend some great quality time with my family and Nashville area friends. Lucky us!
January and February in London have not been without adventures though - we have lots of stories to tell and pictures to show. Unfortunately, my Mac is completely crammed full of photos from the last several years' activities and needs a complete overhaul before I can download the photos we've taken since before CHRISTMAS! I wish I had a techie friend close-by that I could pay with home cooked meals and baked goods to work miracles and free up some memory on my precious Mac. Until we have a solution, I'll just let you know that we're alive and happy and enjoying our "home stretch" in London.... Knowing that we have just over four months encourages us to make every moment here count!
More soon!
The big news during all this fun craziness is that (drumroll, please!) we're pregnant! Hurray!! Our second baby and Brooks's sibling is due to make an appearance around mid-August, and of course that arrival date is definitely having impact on our repatriation plans. Much of our free time in January was spent hashing out our hopes and dreams, limitations and challenges regarding our move home and all that would entail, and it seems we covered every aspect at least 14 times. But we are most excited about our current plans - leaving London in late June/early July, spending several weeks in Tennessee with my parents in July and August, while we await the arrival of the baby, and then moving back up to Chicago in September in order for Eric to start back to work before October. It will be wonderful to have over two whole months with Eric on a leave of absence from work (something that we both absolutely LOVED when he moved from Towers Perrin to his current job in summer 2004) and I am thrilled to be able to spend some great quality time with my family and Nashville area friends. Lucky us!
January and February in London have not been without adventures though - we have lots of stories to tell and pictures to show. Unfortunately, my Mac is completely crammed full of photos from the last several years' activities and needs a complete overhaul before I can download the photos we've taken since before CHRISTMAS! I wish I had a techie friend close-by that I could pay with home cooked meals and baked goods to work miracles and free up some memory on my precious Mac. Until we have a solution, I'll just let you know that we're alive and happy and enjoying our "home stretch" in London.... Knowing that we have just over four months encourages us to make every moment here count!
More soon!
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