Two Months in a Nutshell...

Since our last post, I am sure we must have done something noteworthy. It's been two months, for goodness sake!

Let's see. I could write about Isaiah's lip stitches (a freak shower injury), or our trip to Upper Michigan to see my parents (not sure what the kids did up there, but I slept a lot--very nice!), or Jamey's work schedule (Isaiah keeps asking if we can go to "Daddy's house". Not so nice.), or Jude's suave new dance moves. Not that is worth writing about, because I have rarely seen anything so funny. Jude possesses a surprising amount of gravitas for a 16 month old. He contemplates life with a cool detachment, surveying the passing scene like a lord on his manor. This is not to say that he is always stern, but his smiles must be earned and he is not given to frivolity.

But when the music starts, watch out! It starts with a little bounce of the knees, a little swaying of the diaper. Then his arms wing up and out, his tummy waves back and forth, and he is carried away--all but his head.

That's the funny part.

He maintains a completely straight face throughout. Sometimes he even looks vaguely alarmed. I am not sure if he is trying to impress us with his coolness. ("Stand back while I bust this move, Mom") Or if his body just breaks out in mutiny against his cool Swedish reserve when the music starts. Whatever it is, I have it on video so I can play it at his wedding:)

Lest anyone think that we are blasting some sort of vile hip hop music at our son, I want to be clear that Jude dances to any beat. The rhythmic swishing of the dishwasher can set him off. Tonight he was swept away when the kids started singing "Praise to the Lord, the Almighty" after dinner. He's a musical animal.

What else is new...Rebekah is now playing the harp (as of two weeks ago). She is taking lessons from Sister Mary Margaret, a Franciscan nun who lives up the road, and already the music sounds beautiful! I am of the opinion that you could drop a harp down the stairs and it would sound beautiful, but that is not to take any credit away from Rebekah. Already, she can play Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, and Yankee Doodle.

Christina is embarking on violin lessons and playing with a little ensemble made up of some friends from church and Bible Study. They hope to be good enough to play at some local nursing homes by Christmas, and at church. When I was a child, I used to scoff at the adults who would leave our piano recitals with tears on their cheeks. I have now joined their ranks. In fact, I get choked up when I hear a perfect C-scale coming from a little violin. What is it about watching a child perform? They just couldn't be any more precious!

The rest of our summer was filled with pleasant normalcy--Bible studies, days spent with friends and family, babysitting, gardening, church picnics, good hard work (thank you Jamey) and slow, pleasant evenings. I will end today's entry with one typical example. It is simply called, "A Day in the Life of Elijah and Isaiah: Tireless Explorers, Best Friends, Small but Manly Men."

Today was one of those steely grey September days--cold, wet, and dreary. So of course the boys were outside as soon as the sun came over the trees. It wasn't long before they noticed that they could see their breath out there, which (they insisted) meant that snow was sure to follow within mere moments. Oh, the shrieks of excitement from both of them! "Mom! Snow! Get the sleds! Where are my boots! Can we throw snowballs?"

Twenty minutes later, they were geared up for a blizzard, wearing hats, scarves, mismatched mittens, coats and boots--and shorts. (They didn't see the logic in changing their pants for some reason. Perhaps because that would have required going all the way upstairs.)

The girls and I got minute by minute updates on the latest "snowflake" sightings from both boys. At one point, Elijah became very concerned about the fate of all the cold bugs lying around the foundation of the house, so he began bringing them in one by one, and putting them on the kitchen table. He found a beautiful praying mantis and a somewhat dessicated grasshopper, several crickets, some beetle-type things, a caterpillar, several spiders, and a pile of mayflies--all of which appeared dead.

Unfortunately, the toasty kitchen revived a large number of Elijah's little friends before I noticed them crawling, falling, and flying off the table. At this point, I heartlessly insisted that they be corralled and thrust back out into the wild, much to Elijah's dismay. We did keep the praying mantis since he made no effort to escape, nor is he ever likely to.

And alas! No snow:)

Testing. Is this thing on? Did I make it in?

Oh my goodness! I am IN! And writing! And so far it is working!

First of all, I'd like to thank Sarah Painter. Without her invaluable tech support, pep talks, prayers(?), this endeavor would never have made it off the ground.

Thanks also go out to my family, who have endured some neglect and a teensie bit of snappiness from Mommy as I attempted over and over to access my own blog in order to record some cute little family moment just after it happened--only to be met with repeated failure (loss of password, loss of email address, loss of patience, phone call, dirty diaper emergency, etc.).

Thanks finally to my dear husband, Jamey, who walked me through every step of how to log in to our blog at least three times--but then forgot to tell me how to enable cookies, thus helping me to see the depths of my need for further sanctification.

Now just in case anyone is still reading...a cute family moment!

Elijah is up north on the farm with Papa, Grandma, and Grammi this week. He and Grammi (age 92) have always enjoyed one another in limited doses. About 10 minutes into the visit, she will threaten to sit him in the corner or ask him when it will be time for him to go home--very sweetly, of course since she is every bit a lady. So I wondered how a whole week of 24/7 Elijah exposure would go.

The verdict is in! They are now best buddies. Mom called yesterday to say that she was working in the basement when all of the sudden, Grammi came down the stairs, half-running (which she is not supposed to do since she normally requires a walker and support to get around). Mom expressed surprise, and Grammi responded by saying, "Quick! Where can I hide?"

It turns out that she and Elijah were playing hide and seek upstairs and Grammi ran out of good spots. Mom told her to hide in the laundry room, and so Grammi trundled in and shut the door. Shortly after that, Elijah appeared and Mom winked toward Grammi's hiding spot. A few minutes later, he came out of the laundry room (which is not that big, by the way) saying that he could not find her.

So Mom went in to look. Sure enough, no sign of Grammi. Thinking that she may have sneaked out while Mom's back was turned, Mom and Elijah searched the rest of the basement. No Grammi. Finally they went back to the laundry room to look, and there, wedged between the laundry cart and the furnace, was Grammi--completely concealed by the ironing board she was holding up in front of her!

Grammi and Elijah rounded out the day with some spirited games of Zitternix and a few good books. According to Elijah Grammi is "better at hide and seek than anyone". Not only does she have grace, style, and flair, she also has an impish sense of humor! May I be so blessed one day...

Just a bit late to this blogging game...

After being in Michigan for just over a year now perhaps it is time to give an update on how things are going. I feel terrible about how poorly I have kept in touch with all the wonderful and dear friends from N.C. and beyond. I could of course give the old line about how terribly busy things have been and there just hasn't been any time, but... who isn't? Maybe the fact that I haven't loaded any pictures from my camera in 5 mos indicates that as well.

As poor an excuse as it is, it really is the truth. We have had an incredibly busy, but blessed, year since our move. I can't believe that 12 months have passed already.

We are so grateful to be blessed with a God-fearing church, wonderful friends, and a beautiful home.

I have had a really rapid increase in my Med/Peds Rheumatology practice and that is certainly a double edged sword. It is great that I am getting so many referrals and the practice is growing but with that has come some very long hours as I still learn how to navigate being the "final answer" and not having a supervising physician to lean on. Needless to say, I love what I do and couldn't ask for a better specialty to practice in.

Sandra and the kids are doing very well. This has been a very busy year for them as well. School was great and the kids all excelled. Elijah finished his first year of "school" and has learned so much. The girls continue to show amazing gifts for learning and most importantly have demonstrated ever-increasing hearts for serving God with their lives. We are so blessed by their selflessness and diligence.

Our home has been a true blessing and a wonderful retreat from the business of the days. Sandra has (as always) made our new house truly HOME and I still can't believe that this is where I live. It is so peaceful with beautiful views on all sides during all seasons. Her gardening skill just adds incredibly to the natural beauty. I really am going to try and get our photo site updated soon as well. However, one of the big impediments is the continued slow uploads from our satellite internet provider (no cable here).

We are going to try and do better about keeping you informed on our "happenings." We miss everyone and are always ready to host any who wish to escape the summer's heat, or alternatively, experience a bit of true winter!