Sorry Folks.

Sorry everyone. Our fall has been insane. In addition to working out life with 2 full time working parents, we had to move just before Thanksgiving because signing a lease without carefully checking out the house first was a very bad idea. We did have some fun holiday time with J, checking out Illuminations at Botanica, driving through Christmas light displays, and jamming to great music at Preachermama's church, but at present I don't have any pics to upload. Christmas week was a pretty big bust at our house. J got a stomach virus on the 19th, and at some point in the week developed a bladder infection as well, which came to a head on Christmas day. We've made 2 trips to the ER this week and we're just exhausted. We're now going to have to schedule some tests to see if the infection is an indicator that there are more urological abnormalities than we knew. I'm hopeful that there will be a time coming soon when I'll have some fun posts to share.

Recentering

Last week I left for a continuing education event in Chicago. I know that continuing education is not a spiritual retreat, and perhaps the epicenter of one of America’s largest cities is an unusual place to find solace, but somehow, the trip was a real time of re-centering for me.

I left with a brain absolutely reeling on a million levels. Both my Senior Pastor and I would be out of town, and I would be the only one reachable by phone for the week. Baby J decided, on the day I flew out, to try out biting at daycare, resulting in a concerned phone call from his teacher. PreacherDad and I are both still adjusting to our decision to move… in November… to a place half the size of our current home. It’s all enough to make one nauseous.

But in Chicago… I had time.

I haven’t had time in ages. I had planned to work some while I was there, but shifty internet service meant there wasn’t much I could accomplish.

So I walked.

I walked along Michigan Avenue and around the Ohio Street Beach.

I shopped our beloved Trader Joe’s and rode the public transportation system. (I even rode the 147 right past my old neighborhood and sighed with nostalgia)

I stayed up late drinking decaf and catching up on life with friends, and my soul was deeply renewed.

My parent friends soothed my anxieties with their own tales from the trenches. My preacher friends rejoiced with me in the blessing of an appointment where I feel like a respected team member. Friends who hosted me on my last night reminded me that a warm, inviting home doesn’t have to be a 3-bedroom house with a yard and a fence.

I was hugged.

I told dear friends I loved them and heard it back.

I cried with a woman I consider more a sister than a friend over the difficult task of discerning God’s call… still.

When I got on the plane to come back, it was not my head but my heart that was full.

I am giving thanks for that time and for each and every person who contributed to it, and I pray that it will sustain me until May.

Gallery of Art

The last few weeks have been crazy busy. PreacherDad and I are actually pretty proud of ourselves that we've not yet actually forgotten J at daycare or left him in a car or something, because the back and forth of our work schedules is insanity.

Needless to say, there've been no lazy saturday afternoons for great adventures and picture taking, so J's fans will have to settle for a taste of his daycare artwork.

B is for Bird....

James loves birds! He used to sit at the window in Plainfield for long times just watching the robins play in our yard. Last May, we took him to Lincoln Park Zoo and while everyone else was watching the Gorillas, he was pointing and squealing about the sparrows that hang out in the Gorilla habitat. He just loves them.

The other day Ross and I went with him to the zoo for a couple of ours, and since it was just us, we wentthrough the australiahabitat that is mostly birds. He had a blast listening to all the birds' evening calls and looking for them. I took a bunch of pictures while we were there, and am thinking of making him his very own book of birds.

But there were also some other cool things, like the wombats who run loose inside the Australia exhibit....

And it was pretty warm out, so we finished the evening with a popsicle, which is always a hit! I also had to get a picture of his unique sense of style. He's been picking out his own shoes lately, and decided that what this outfit needed were some red sneakers. Rock that individuality kiddo...

Just a little late summer Zen

We had a nice warm night, so we took J over to a local park with a great fountain, but the water was a bit cold. He had a blast anyway. Enjoy this video of J.

Daycare

There've been no real pictures on my recent posts because I was without my own computer for a little over a month after our house was broken into in August.


Since Preacher Dad started his chaplain residency in late August, that's also when J started daycare. It was a surreal thing to take a school supply list to the store and buy him crayons and scissors and watercolors already. I was veryanxious about how he would do the first day. I knew that even if he cried it wouldn't last long, but you just hate to leave them wailing.

He was so excited to go, but then when he realized I wasn't staying he got pretty upset. I had to leave him sobbing and reaching past the teacher for me. I smiled, told him a confident, "Goodbye, I'll see you at lunch" and then I went to my car and cried before I drove to work.

The next day he was just a little whiny when I was leaving, and by the third day, he ran off to play, only quickly running back to give me a kiss. Now he's eager to go and hardly waits for me to sign him in before running off to play. I love that he loves it so much, and we are both happy andfulfilled, and that's worth every penny.

Ready to go to his first day at daycare!

Isn't his Elmo Backpack cool? Cuddle bear goes with him to daycare, but stays in his cubby except naptime or if he gets hurt.

This last picture is of him heading home from his first day. he is such a big boy!

Little Victories

Today I'm just feeling ridiculously grateful for some things that may seem really strange to you. I have this outfit, a pair of brown herringbone trousers and a pink button up top that I bought about 3 years ago. It was a favorite outfit, the kind that made me feel stylish, professional, feminine and powerful.

Then I got pregnant... then I had an ileostomy bag...then I was underweight and it hung on me like a big ugly bag.

Today I wore that outfit to work, and it fit, and I looked in the mirror and recognized that same stylish professional feeling.

To top it all off, I got the results of my bloodwork back and my hemoglobin levels have returned to a good healthy level.

They are little victories, but for me they represent an immense sense of relief, wonder, and gratitude.