Finally, finals are over.

So Ryan will post eventually, but I'd like to be the first to say that finals are over!  Ryan is now anxiously awaiting his grades. 

For me, finals being over means the end of the semester. And that means only six more semesters to go until he's done with the MDiv. It also means that I get to see my husband for more than an hour a day for the next couple of weeks, and that's a major bonus. Hooray for Christmas break!

Liam now has four teeth, two on the top and two on the bottom. He is still not crawling, but is now at least making an effort. I wouldn't be surprised at all if he started to walk holding on to furniture (cruising) before crawling. He can stand up while holding on to your hands or furniture now, and is starting to take steps. For crawling, he gets up on his hands and knees, but as soon as he tries to move, he falls forward. Then realizing he is on his tummy (his least favorite place!) he promptly rolls over.  He is well into 12 month clothes now, and starting to outgrow the smaller items in that size. He is wearing 12-24 month socks and size 4 shoes. Good grief. I am eternally grateful to my friend Rebecca for sending me the 18 month clothes her son has grown out of!

We are looking forward to coming home for Christmas, December 22-30. Can't wait to see family!

We have new names

Dear Family, 

As you know, I can read. So it shouldn't surprise you at all that I can also write and type this letter to you.

I am writing to let you know that I have renamed my parents. 

From now on Dad (Ryan) will be known as DaT (very strong emphasis on the T sound, please).

And Mom (Jenn) will be know as Bwa Bwa.

That is all. 

Liam

Thank goodness

The turkey was good. : ) (Thanks Mom, Shelley, and allrecipes.com). It was big. There are a lot of leftovers. I am now making soup and we had sandwiches today. Tomorrow I'm going to make the sides again and we will have Thanksgiving dinner, the second. Complete with the items we missed from our own homes.

For Jessica I will make yams with marshmallows. For me I will make pumpkin pie. And for all of us, I will make good gravy. (Good grief!)

Give Thanks

It's Thanksgiving tomorrow. And you know what that means. The season for eating too much is upon us.(Pun, as always, intended.)

Tomorrow I will attempt to cook my first ever turkey (by myself). Sure I've watched/helped my mom do it a million times, and I was pretty confident a month ago when I offered, but now I'm nervous. This thought now consumes me, "What if I totally mess it up?!"

You might think I'm neurotic, especially if you know me well. And that's OK. I accept that this label sometimes fits me (better than my pants after the Thanksgiving meal!). But before you pass judgment, let me at least explain the reasons for my neurosis.

1.  I agreed to cook a vaguely "large" turkey. I was thinking in the neighborhood of 15-18 pounds--I'm pretty sure I mentioned this. The turkey I was given to cook is 22 pounds. HOLY COW (or should I say turkey?)...that's bigger than Liam.

2. I was planning to cook this turkey the way my mom does, in the oven. But my oven is terrible, it doesn't heat evenly, which is sort of important when it comes to cooking meat. So I'm cooking it in an electric roaster, which I have never before used.

3. This turkey is "pre-basted" I have no idea what that means. I will google it shortly because I'm not sure if I should still add a rub or not?

4. The buyer of said turkey did not realize that it needs to defrost 5lbs per day in the fridge and did not deliver it until Monday--frozen--it's been in my fridge ever since. So now I'm going to have to do the cold water bath for the last part, and pray that it stays cold enough, but not too cold, so that it defrosts but doesn't give the whole group food poisoning. 

Did I mention 22 pounds!?

So here's where I do some deep breathing, remember the family motto, and tell myself the truth about the situation.

1. This is Adventist Thanksgiving, so if the turkey isn't good, there will be a vegetarian roast to eat.
2. I have cooked things before for the first time, and they were fine.
3. The internet and my mother are no match for any new kitchen obstacle. By their powers combined I can conquer the huge turkey in my fridge. (Mom, if you are reading this, send me tips or I will call you having a meltdown tomorrow. Consider yourself warned)
4. It's just a turkey.
5. I have a meat thermometer (proud aren't you dad?) so as long as I get it to 168 degrees, people will not be sick.

I will post an update once the bird is cooked and let you know if I have conquered the turkey or if it has conquered me!

Liam in his overalls

"Play date"

I went to the park today for what moms now apparently call a play date. Of course, it wasn't really a play date since Liam can't play on the toys yet. But we went for a walk in the park together and then my friend's two-year-old son played on the toys with his mom while Liam and I walked around the equipment watching him. It was a fun time.

But let me back up for a second.

Has anyone who does not have children ever heard of a play date? OK, maybe you've heard this term on a TV show or something. But seriously, there are a LOT of terms that I had never heard before I got pregnant with Liam. And most of them, I am convinced, were created recently by magazines like Parenting and websites like Babycenter.

Here are some examples. If you don't have children, or haven't had them recently, I bet you don't know what some of them are!

Co-sleeping: Sleeping with your baby in your bed. Highly controversial. Doctors say never do it. But many families do it anyway.

Baby wearing: This cracks me up. Like they are an accessory. It means people who use slings or front packs almost all the time when their children infants. They say it promotes bonding. I say it stunts development. (I do love my front pack, but let's be reasonable.)

MOPS: Mothers of preschoolers. A mom's group that meets to do mom things while someone watches their children. AKA sanity for stay-at-home moms.

LLLI: Le Leche League. The breastfeeding zealots! They have good resources and will send out a lactation support person to your house if you need help.

Cruising: This one I just learned. It's a term to define the time when your baby isn't walking, but is holding onto furniture and getting around the room from one piece to the next.

Tummy Time: Otherwise know as torture, at least Liam thought so when he was under four months old. Putting your baby to play on their stomach so that they can earn to lift their head and push up, and eventually crawl.

Attachment parenting: Dr. Sears method of parenting. He basically says that children form strong bonds when they are babies with their parents, and during this sensitive period need to feel emotionally and physically safe. It often includes things like natural childbirth, not letting your child cry, and altered shot schedules.

Cry it out (CIO): The opposite of attachment parenting. (Ha Ha.) I have been attacked by numerous people for letting Liam CIO--which really translates to fuss it out--when learning to put himself to sleep. But I'm a better mother and Ryan is a better father because Liam learned--in two days--to sleep through the night at three months old. He is a happy, healthy baby and I don't think we have damaged him by letting him fuss to sleep. That's the thing about parenting, everyone gets to do it their own way. And this was our way.

Extended nursing: Breastfeeding until your child is older than 3yrs. I will not be participating, thank you.

Demand feeding: Breastfeeding anytime your chid cries or looks remotely interested in nursing. Works for some people. I did this for Liam when he needed to gain weight in the beginning. It is hard.

And don't even get me started on acronyms used on baby websites and boards!
Here are a couple common ones. Can you guess what they mean?
DH
SO
SAHM/WAHM
DD
DS
BFP
BF
LO
SSTN
EBF
CD


You need a resource guide just to learn all this stuff! As if we mothers don't have enough to do.

Liam's teeth

Two little sharp teeth.

Car update

The weird sound was from a heater vent that the deer knocked loose. Nothing is leaking. The shop returned our car to us this afternoon for $35! We didn't even need the rental. :) Praise God.

Moral: Don't drive in the dark in the MidWest.

All we wanted was some good authentic Indian food. And last night was our “date night” so we put Liam in the car, called the Indian restaurant in South Bend to place a carry-out order, and drove to pick it up. We enjoyed a really nice drive all the way there—Liam playing and napping happily in the backseat. But once we got there, the trip got a little more interesting.

The food wasn’t ready for us. And Liam was ready for his bedtime snack. So Ryan waited inside for the food and I sat in the backseat of the car and nursed Liam. He wasn’t quite finished when we were ready to go, so we ate our semosas in the car and let him finish up.

On the road again, now it’s dark and rainy. Liam, full from his meal is sleeping peacefully in the backseat. We get to the toll gate for the freeway (they charge tolls in Indiana) and the automatic ticket machine is malfunctioning. Great. So one attendant is running back and forth…well sauntering is probably a more accurate description of her movement, but anyway…between the four open gates to manually calculate each person’s toll and open the gate. Thankfully Liam is asleep in the backseat, and we’re not in a big rush (except that we are very hungry!) and have no choice but to wait, so we do.

On the road again, Liam is sleeping, we are having a great discussion and all is well. And then I see a semi-truck parked on the shoulder with its hazard lights on and another car pulled over as well. Ryan changes lanes to the left lane to give them more room. And then I see blood in a big streak on the pavement. And so does Ryan.  I say out loud, “what the?” and we hit an animal. It was already dead. It was  in the middle of the freeway lane. The truck must have hit it and the police hadn’t cleared it yet. I thought it was a pig, but Ryan says it was a deer.(The truck had pigs in it, we saw it at the toll gate.)

So we pull over. A little shaken that we hit ANOTHER deer in this car. (I mean seriously!) But OK. Ryan gets out and tries to look under the car. It is dark and we don’t have a good flashlight. Turns out his iphone doesn’t work very well in that capacity after all. We need to put a flashlight back in the car!

Then, THUMP another car hits the dead deer. And pulls over behind us. A woman was driving this car alone and is a little freaked out. She has a flashlight. Ryan checks her car (which is fine) and then ours (which is leaking something). Liam wakes up and starts crying because it’s dark and he’s not in his bed and is scared (I assume). I calm him down.

We drive home very carefully. The car is making a weird noise.

This morning, Ryan called the insurance agency and explained the situation. They sent a tow truck.  Ryan is going to get the rental car at 1pm today. After the last bout with the deer, we decided to opt for the rental car insurance. (Enterprise will pick him up.) Our deductible is $500 for the repair, hopefully it will cost less than this and we can just pay it out of pocket.

Fun No Matter What!

The fallen leaves that jewel the ground...

All the trees are beautiful. The leaves are falling down. It's gorgeous here and I have October Song stuck in my head--hence the poetic title, it's a lyric from an old folksy song--google it. This is the prettiest fall I've ever seen. I'm trying to savor every minute of it--the crisp air, the pretty colors, the (very) occasional blue sky. Because once it's gone it will be winter.

And I'm told that winter will last until April. Still I have my new, bright green, puffy, down coat. If that coat can't brighten the winter then nothing can! I look like a giant granny smith apple in it, but I don't care. It's SO warm and it was a fabulous price--probably because people are generally not excited about looking like a giant apple. But I don't mind it. I love green and I hate being cold so it's the perfect coat for me.

But enough about my coat. Sheesh. I haven't blogged for a long time and I spend the first two paragraphs waxing poetic about the season and then writing an ode to the granny smith apple coat. You all want to know about what is happening here!

Well Liam--always the star of this blog--is doing well but still not crawling yet. I hope he gets motivated soon. Not that I am really excited about him being mobile, but he's almost 9 months old and just does not seem interested in crawling at all, so I'm a little worried. Instead, he has this cute rolling technic going. He scoots and rolls himself over to his toys and then is happy. Or he just sits up and plays with them and is happy. No ambition to go places! Perfectly content to stay in one spot and look cute. It's not a bad thing, I'm just wondering why he's not even interested?!

He does have two teeth now though and is biting on everything he can. But I must say, he hasn't been too fussy about the teething thing. A few days have been tough, but teething tablets and Tylenol have solved those days with one or two doses. It is very cute to see his little white teeth sticking up when he smiles. I'll try to get a photo.

For those who care, he is onto the third section of Your Baby Can Read series, and enjoying it. Of course, he can't read yet, but it's good language development--at this stage he's mostly just learning that things have names and that we use letters to represent those names.  He really enjoys it and that's what counts. I want him to love reading like Ryan and I do.

Ryan is doing well with classes, studying a lot of course, and liking the majority of his classes. He had a big presentation yesterday that went well and has done well on the midterms he took. He still has a lot of projects and papers to finish up before the end of the semester.

I am enjoying work. It's been very busy the last couple of weeks and I expect to be busy now until the beginning of December as we head into finals and have some big accreditation meetings for the Seminary that I'll be helping the dean prepare for. I wish that I could spend all my time at home with Liam, but the few hours a day that I am gone give Ryan time to bond with him. And I like my job, I have a really great boss and my schedule is very flexible--which is great because sometimes I need time off if Ryan has a school project or something going on.

OK, well that's it for now. I'll try to post some photos of the cute baby soon.

Soft sheets and other morning musings.

I have new sheets. They are amazing. I may very well never get out of bed again. I did get out of bed this morning. But it was hard. Really, really hard. And only because Liam required it.

Allow me to tell you about these sheets. They are soft. They are warm. They don't come off of the mattress. And they were included in a wonderful care package from my grandma that I received yesterday. Apparently they are made from beech wood...crazy!
OK--enough about the sheets. I can tell that you are bored. But seriously. LOVE them!

Liam didn't sleep well last night, he woke at midnight and wanted to nurse for an hour. So that could also have contributed to the difficulty I had getting up this morning. Poor little guy is teething big time, two teeth are poking up through his gums on the bottom and he's chewing on everything he can get his little hands on. Including, sometimes, me. I've been giving him teething tablets and Tylenol when it gets really bad. I hope he's good today in church.

Today we are going to visit another new church. This one is a church plant in Edwardsburg.  I hope we really like it because I hate being the "visitor" and want to find a good place to stay. So far I haven't been able to see us as part of any of the communities we've visited.

For now I'm going to sit back and enjoy my hot beverage (decaf soy latte, thanks Ryan!) and do some devotional reading before I get dressed and get Liam up from his nap and ready for church.

Update-heat

Just for those who have not heard. We got our heat working Friday afternoon. Praise the Lord!!

Liam at Church

Playing with toy keys on daddy's lap at the village church in Berrien Springs this morning. A little blurry, but still cute.

DIY Pancake Syrup

Tasty. Easy. Cheap.

1C white sugar
1 1/2 C brown sugar
2tsp maple flavoring (in the spice isle, with the vanilla)
1C water
1tsp butter

Bring to a full boil and keep it there, stirring often, for 10-15 minutes or until it's the desired thickness. Done! This is enough for 4-6 people for breakfast--about 16 pancakes depending on how much you use. Also very tasty on french toast and waffles.

 Put the rest in the fridge and warm it back up in the microwave for next time. Double or triple the recipe and keep it in an old syrup bottle or other squeeze bottle in the fridge!

A couple pictures

Cloudy with a side of rain

It's cold here and raining. But I refuse to let this ruin my day. Even though we still have no heat. (Thanks Michigan Gas!) The truth is that winter lasts until May here, or so I'm told. So if I let bad weather ruin my day the next few months are going to be, well, ruined.

Today Liam is wearing long underwear, jeans, a onsie, knee socks, and a sweatshirt. Yes he is inside. It's that cold. I felt terrible because I had to give him a bath today. Really. I had to. He was stinky. But he cried as soon as I took him out and was all shivering! So now he is bundled.

I wanted to take a video and send it to the gas company to make them feel bad for taking so long to come out and turn on our gas. But then I remembered what the people I have talked with are like and realized that they do not have feelings. At least not for customers--though techicially I am not a customer I suppose because they have not actually sold me any of their product yet. I'm a little frustrated.

Still, not ruining my day. FUN NO MATTER WHAT!

I really wanted to eat chocolate and watch Chocolate last night. But they don't have it for rent on itunes and there are no video stores in Berrien. So we watched an episode of Heros instead. And then I had super weird dreams. Note to self: Lindt and Heros = weird dreams.

I realize that this is a totally random post. Sorry about that. It's a random day. And although I am at work right now, there isn't actually any work to do. But I have to stay because I need the money and also someone might call me and then there will be work to do.

I will post some cute pictures of Liam later today. Keep an eye out.

To write with a broken pencil is pointless, and other puns.

OK, now I know not all of you are as excited by puns as we are, but here are a few that I think are hilarious! Ryan, this post's for you. :)

1. Those who get too big for their britches will be exposed in the end.
2. I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger. Then it hit me.
3. A bicycle can't stand on its own because it is two-tired.
4. Atheism is a non-profit organization.
5. When William joined the army, he disliked the phrase, "Fire at Will."
6. No matter how much you push the envelope, it's still stationery.
7. Opening a new funeral parlor can be quite an undertaking.
8. The magician got so mad he pulled his hare out.

Hope these put a smile on your face!

The doer of the undoable

A couple weeks ago, my Spiritual Formation class took a day-long spiritual retreat. As part of that retreat, I wrote a short Psalm in the Hebrew style based on Psalm 103:1-5. I don't consider myself to be a poet or even artistic, but I thought I would share this anyway. It parallels my own experience with God, and, no doubt, the experience of many others.

First, Psalm 103, then my Psalm.

Ps. 103:1-5
   Praise the LORD, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the LORD, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.


Praise the Lord, my soul;
Everything that I am, praise his name forever.
Praise the God of heaven,
for his glory is never extinguished.
He is the God of forgiven debts and cleansed hearts.
He is the Lord of healed wounds.
He is the God of those he creates;
the Father of those he recreates.
He is the Lord of those he calls,
the enabler of those he sends.
He is the God who does the undoable;
who restores the unrestorable,
and buys back the worthless.
His passion has redeemed me
and his tenderness has won my heart.
He is the God of unlimited mercies
and his glory reigns forever
Praise the Lord.
Praise his holy name.

making cookies with Liam

In sickness and in health

I always thought that your wedding vows, the part that says you'll love the person in sickness, meant that you would love them even if they got some debilitating illness. But after being married for awhile, I now realize that it means that you will lovingly care for your partner even when you want to avoid them at all costs so that you don't get their sickness. And you will do it without being resentful.

Needless to say, Ryan is sick. And today I am feeling sick as well. Liam seems to be OK--but he is probably fighting something also (he seems very tired).

I live in BS

(Berrien Springs, that is.)

Liam now eats spinach, it's his latest food. He likes it a lot, plain or with apple. He's also eatting carrots now and loving them. Also his thrush is gone so that's wonderful. We ended up having to medicate. It never got really bad, but it wouldn't go away on its own either. He is getting more and more interactive and really enjoys playing with his toys while on a blanket or in his highchair. He also likes to sit in his highchair and watch me cook and do dishes. He has dimples now, just like Jessica and Sean. They are cute, but hard to photograph since they only show up when he smiles really big. :)

Ryan is trying to keep up with homework while also fitting in time with Liam, Jenn and let's not forget disc golf! He's been playing DG with the neighbors once a week or so at the new course on AU campus. He also just finished editing a wedding video for our friend Leanne who got married last summer. Busy guy.

Jenn is trying to keep up with life! Work is busy, home is busy. In my spare moments I've been designing some cards for baby announcments (Cas and Becky) and also for a ministry thing for our friend Dan. I'm also fighting a sore throat, maybe allergies? My throat has been sore for a couple weeks now, but it never gets really bad--I think it's pollen and lack of sleep. I hope I don't get sick!

Thanks for your emails, phone calls and prayers!

Romanian Apple Cake

(For Cas and Adina)

• 5 apples, peeled and cored
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan or use a small spring form. Cut the apples into 1 inch wedges. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar until blended. Mix in the baking soda, oil, cinnamon and vanilla. Stir in the flour, just until incorporated. Fold in the apples.
3. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, it takes about 10 minutes longer in a spring form pan to cook in the center. Allow to cool slightly. May be served warm or at room temperature.

More pees please!

Liam enjoyed a lunch of pees and peaches after a tough time getting shots at the doctor's office. He is now 18.5lbs, 29.5 inches.

Michigan Update

This just in:

A huge mosquito was squished dead after taking up residence in the Kilgore home sometime late last night or early this morning. "I hunted it down," Jenn Kilgore says, "and found it in the corner of our bedroom." At first she thought it was a spider or other typically larger insect, but upon close inspection, she realized that this was the object of her hunt and squashed it with a Kleenex against the wall. A lot of blood was on the tissue.

Before the kill, seven-month-old Liam Kilgore was bitten in the face by the winged creature. Jenn, his mother,  is beside herself about this casualty, "I feel terrible because I can tell it's itching and the topical Benadryl doesn't seem to help," she says. Jenn is also suffering from a larger, welt-like bite on her forearm--likely from the same source.

In other news:

The Kilgore's car is still not functioning properly. It would not start on Tuesday morning, causing Jenn Kilgore to reschedule Liam's doctor appointment (again) for next week. "He will get his shots at some point!" she says.
After testing and replacing a bad battery, Ryan Kilgore thought that the problem was solved, but by the end of the day the car was once again dead. It was towed this morning to the local mechanic for repair. The Mechanic told the Kilgores that the problem was the alternator, an expensive, but simple fix. They should have their car back early tomorrow.

Jessica Kilgore will be joining her brother, sister-in-law and nephew for a visit next week. This is Jessica's first home leave weekend and she is choosing to drive to Michigan to visit before the weather gets bad. All are very excited about the reunion.

Jenn Kilgore made tomato sauce from scratch last night to use with manicotti. Judy and Bruce Wright gave them the tomatoes from a friend's garden. The sauce was rich and flavorful! They also enjoyed fresh green beans, steamed with butter. Cafe Ladro coffee and sorbet were for desert.

Stay tuned for more updates from Michigan!

Indian curries: Korma and Masala

A few people have asked for my curry recipes now, so I'm just going to post here. Here are two of the ones I make a lot. I'll also post vindaloo and my thai curry later. These are approximate because I don't really use recipes... Just add the spices to taste, I think I use a little more than I've listed here perhaps. These recipes serve 2-4 people depending on what you make for sides and how hungry you are!

These recipes are for the curries themselves, you can add whatever vegetables, proteins and starches you like. Sweet potatoes do not taste good in the korma.

For Garam Masala

I like to add chick peas, sometimes with tomatoes,peas and carrots to make a dish called Channa Masala. If you are going to add meat or tofu, add it to the onion spice mix before you add the broth for best flavor. Also, tofu must be baked or pan fried first.

Ingredients:

1/4C diced onion (sweet is best)

1 tbs curry powder (I use Andy's brand, which has turmeric, salt, pepper and onion powder in it)

2 tsp garam masala (ground spice blend)

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp cumin

2 tsp cardamom (ground)

1-2tbs olive oil or melted butter

1C vegetable broth or 1tsp bouillon paste with water

Directions:

Saute the onion on medium to low heat (depending on your range) in the butter or oil until it is coated, then add the spices. Stir continually until the onion is soft. Then add tomatoes. Next add broth and vegetables, tofu, chicken, potatoes or whatever! Simmer until the vegetables are all soft adding water as needed to maintain the right viscosity (it should be thick like porridge.) Serve over rice with flat bread like pita or naan and hummus on the side.

For Korma

I like to add cauliflower, potatoes, carrots, and peas to this. See Masala recipe for protein instructions.

Ingredients:

1/4C diced onion (sweet is best)

2 tbs curry

powder (I use Andy's brand, which has turmeric, salt, pepper and onion powder in it)

1/4C cashews (raw, unsalted)

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tsp cumin

1 tsp allspice

2 tsp cardamom (ground)

1 tsp sea salt

1-2tbs olive oil or melted butter

2 Roma tomatoes, diced

8oz coconut milk or half and half (do not use fat free)

1 tsp bouillon paste or 1 Tbs bouillon powder

1 Tbs plain yogurt (I use goat's milk or soy)

Minced cilantro for garnish

Directions:

Saute the onion on medium to low heat (depending on your range) in the butter or oil until it is coated, then add the spices. Stir continually until the onion is soft and add nuts. Then pour the coconut milk or cream into the mixture and add bouillon paste or powder. Stir in yogurt. Next add tomatoes and and vegetables and simmer until soft, adding water to maintain viscosity (it should be smoothie-like in thickness). Top with cilantro and serve over rice with flat bread on the side.

The difference an hour can make

Today for an entire hour I sat in the coffee shop (yes, there is just one here in town) with a new friend and talked and commiserated and laughed. Ryan watched Liam so I got to go by myself. It was fabulous. I came home in such a good mood and with renewed energy that allowed me to get an enormous amount of housework done in a short time. It's now the end of the day and I still feel the affects of my morning out--not too tired and full of energy. This is the affect that an hour of talking can have on an extravert who lives with an introvert! I also work for an introvert! No one wants to talk to me all day :/. So thank you to Emily for the fun hour.

In other news, Liam is now eating peaches and took all his naps today. However, I think he might have a little thrush. So I've been dosing him with apple cider vinegar (just wiping out his mouth with it) and am regularly sterilizing everything that goes in his mouth (including myself :P). Then giving him water to drink. It doesn't look too bad, and he isn't bothered by it at all. Also he has a doctor's appt. on Tuesday, so if it's still hanging out then, we'll get some drugs to fix it. In the mean time, no sweet potatoes for him! (sugar + starch + milk = happy yeast!) We'll stick to peas for a bit.

What else. Let's see--I've been happily designing baby announcement cards for friends this week. That's right, friends. I seem to have started a trend. So in my spare time I've been creating cards for them. I just finished the third one. Yay! Anyone need a card designed? I'm having a lot of fun with it.

That's it for now. Stay tuned for more exciting adventures. If we had a theme song it would be playing now.....

Happy Family

We're into the second week of classes now, and our family is doing well.

Our schedules are weird. The Seminary operates essentially on a 3-day week (Tues-Thurs), so it has been an exercise in creativity to cram all 16 hours of class and still have time for Jenn to work in the afternoons. Who has ever heard of a 3-day school week? I do have one class on Mondays, Spiritual Formation, from 8:30 to 11:20. It's a required class for new students that is only offered on Mondays in the fall semester. Tuesday through Thursday at 8:30 I have Development of SDA Theology. The 9:30 period I have free. The 10:30 period is reserved for chapel on Tuesdays and other committees and special meetings. At 11:30 I have Issues in New Testament Theology: Matthew. At 12:30, Inspiration, Revelation and Hermeneutics. On Tuesdays from 1:30-3:20 is Issues in Origins. On Thursdays in the same two hour slot is Doctrine of the Sanctuary. So Tuesday and Thursday I have no lunch break. Jenn makes me a lunch and I chow down before my 12:30 class starts.

I am enjoying my classes so far. Many of the lectures and discussions are interesteding, but a lot of it seems to be review of material I already know. Many things I learned in my undergraduate program. Thank you Walla Walla for preparing me well. Now I'm bored in class. I keep wondering, Can't we move on already? This was not something I was suspecting in a graduate level program. I suspect that it will lessen as we get farther into the semester.

Back to the family. I've been enjoying spending my afternoons with Liam, even if it means I can't really get any studying done. Liam has been eating solid food regularly now with most meals except early in the morning and just before bedtime. He's getting the hang of it and it's fun to watch his reactions to new flavors. When he gets too crabby and won't take his naps, we end up going on long walks around campus.

Jenn has been cooking more often recently. It's been really nice to have good breakfast every morning. And good lunch. And good dinner. I think during the past couple weeks she has made every meal except for maybe one or two. We've had things like stew with fresh corn on the cob, vegetable fajitas, pancakes, sandwiches, all kinds of fresh fruit, waffles, mandarin tofu, and pureed peas. (The peas are my personal favorite.) Jenn is pretty much awesome. Liam and I sing her praises when we eat the good things she's left for us in the fridge. Good food makes for a happy family.

But what makes for an even happier family is God's presence. And we've been having a lot of that lately.

Today is a day to chant (warning, a little gross)

FUN NO MATTER WHAT.

Ok, so it's not really that bad. But I woke up exhausted today because the rain woke me (it was raining really hard--it does that here a lot apparently) and then Liam had, how can I put this delicately?

I can't.

He had projectile poop. That's right folks. This morning he launched operation poopy mommy and as I was changing him he shot a small brown ehem, turd, right at me! Luckily, thanks to the fiber in his new diet, it was more solid than poops in the past--but because it was more solid it flew out of his bottom (powered by more gas than I thought possible) and bounced off of my shirt and onto the floor--at which time I burst out laughing.

FUN NO MATTER WHAT!

Then as we were eating peas and brown rice, he managed to hook his little hand into the container and tip the whole thing out of my hand before I even knew what was happening. Result? Baby covered in 5oz of green food. Needless to say, the bib did not help. Did I mention that he just had a bath this morning? He grinned and I sighed.

FUN NO MATTER WHAT! (Say it with me now.)

So then I put him down for a nap only to discover that at some point earlier in the day he had peed in his bed. Don't ask me how this happened because none of his diapers were soaked through, but there was pee there all the same. So, with a very tired and beginning to be cranky baby, I changed the sheet and put him in the crib. And guess what? He smiled up and me and went right to sleep. And in that moment it was all worth it.

A good morning

Today Ryan started his first class and I am at home with Liam until work at 1pm.

I feel like God really blessed our morning because everything has run very smoothly so far. Liam slept in until 6am this morning (I know, that's early, but he's usually up by 5am) and so I got to sleep a little later as well. After I fed him, he went right back to sleep until almost 9am.

I made pancakes (and eggs for Ryan) for breakfast and had time to take a shower, do the dishes, fold a load of laundry and make the bed before Liam woke up. Now he is taking his second nap of the day and I am getting things ready for Ryan to watch him this afternoon.

I'm feeling very blessed that I have my mornings free so that I can spend time with my little man and take care of a few things at home also. I am well aware that not everyone has this luxury.

Yesterday I made Liam some baby food. Sweet potato and brown rice puree, and peas and brown rice puree. He likes them and is now eating about 6oz of "solid" food a day. We really need to get a highchair! It was on the list for yesterday, but we haven't gotten to that part of the list yet.

That's all for now, I need to fold his diapers and make lunch before the town crier wakes up again. :)

Into the Seminary

The end of this week has been busy. I finished studying for the Greek Entrance Exam on Wednesday, and I ended up doing well on it. Immediately following the test, the New Seminary Student Orientation began. That kept me busy for much of the afternoon. As soon as I was done there, I began seriously studying for the Bible Knowledge Entrance Exam. The study guide I received indicated that the test would cover significant amounts of material from the Old and New Testaments including dates, names, places, and events, as well as general material about the culture of biblical times, theology, etc. There were also a number of scriptural texts that I was expected to have memorized as well.

The orientation program continued at the seminary Thursday morning and afternoon. There was a Hebrew exam Thursday morning which I did not take. I'm planning to take that next year. On Friday morning I took the Bible Knowledge Entrance Exam, which I also passed, and then went to more orientation meetings for the rest of the morning. All this time, Jenn has been working around my schedule at her new job as the Executive Assistant to the Dean. Thanks to Dr. Fortin for his understanding and flexibility!

So while I've been at school, Jenn has been taking care of Liam, and I've been watching him while she has been at work. Liam and I had fun on Thursday afternoon memorizing scripture together while pacing back and forth through the living room (not many paces). It's tough to study while taking care of Liam, but I think if I plan right, I will be able to make some use of our time together in the coming months. Perhaps some of the time we'll be able to go on walks together while doing some studying or reviewing of material, but most of my reading and writing will have to be done while he's napping, or while Jenn is watching him.

Friday evening we all had an enjoyable time at the welcome banquet for new seminary students and their families, which was hosted in two of the large conference rooms at the cafeteria. There are well over 100 new MDiv students beginning their studies here this semester. Add to that all of their families and all of the faculty and staff and their families, and you have a pretty good sized group. I was somewhat surprised to learn that including the extension campuses and distance learning programs, Andrews University has one of the larger seminaries in North America, with close to a thousand students.

Dinner was very good, and we got to meet another family who has recently moved here to Berrien Springs in pursuit of the same degree. I spent a lot of time walking Liam around until he finally went to sleep. Unfortunately, he soon woke up, and we had to leave halfway through the vespers service so that we could put him to bed.

Classes begin Monday, and we'll soon get settled into a regular routine: me going to class mostly in the morning, Jenn working mostly in the afternoon. We will say a brief hello to each other as we hand over Liam and exchange places. I'll probably be spending most evenings as well as Fridays (when I don't have any classes), reading, writing, and doing other classwork. So the busyness of this week has probably been a good warmup for the routine of seminary life we're about to experience. I hope that the sense of community we have been finding here this weekend will also prove to be predictive of the things to come.

Greek genuis

Update: Ryan passed his test with flying colors. I never doubted him--he's a smarty pants. We went to dinner to celebrate the fact that he does not have to take any Greek classes at AU. Liam sat in a highchair for the first time! That's his front pack stuffed behind him for support. So handy that Ergo pack! He enjoyed some cold watermelon in his teething/feeding mesh thingy while we ate dinner.

Working: Better than expected

Today was my third day of work and I finally started to feel like maybe this will be a good thing after all. I spent a good part of today doing actual work (not just filling in employment paperwork) and liked it a lot. My boss, Dr. Fortin (the dean) is very kind and also extremely organized. Two qualities that I hold in high regard.

And since I work just a few hours a day, I only have time to miss Liam a little before I see him again. I will work one morning a week, Friday, and then not until nine. I feel spoiled by this schedule because it means I get breakfast with my boys and I can spend all morning with Liam. Then I spend a few hours in the afternoon acting, talking and dressing like a grown up and am home in time to make dinner, put Liam to bed and spend time with Ryan.

Ryan took his Greek exam today and the results are being posted soon. I'm sure he did great. As you may have noticed by reading his last post, when he is likes something, he REALLY likes it. He likes disc golf and he likes Greek.

Liam is taking a nap. I have finished the dishes, the ironing and a load of laundry. I'm feeling very accomplished and that makes me happy.

Tournament Recap

On Sunday, as Jenn has already mentioned, I played in a disc golf tournament a couple hours north of us at Flip City Disc Golf Park in Shelby, MI. This course is ranked on DG Course Review as the top course in the country. It has 24 holes on private land owned and maintained by one man, "Flip City Bill" since 1980. A lot of the holes play across a small valley that runs through the property, and every hole presents a unique challenge. There's great variety and lots of elevation change. It really is a great place to play!

One of my favorite holes was #7, where you tee from an elevated location across a steep valley to a basket elevated on a ridge 300 feet away. Trees and shrubs line both sides of the fairway, and the bottom of the valley has a number of tall trees on the left that block a direct route, as well as some small but thick apple trees that will block your upshot if your drive misses the smallish gap on the right and your disc ends up at the bottom of the valley. Once you get up the steep hill and near the basket, putting can be dangerous as the ground slopes away in both directions, and a missed putt could end up rolling back to the bottom of the valley. It's a beautiful hole with great risk/reward.

My first round on Sunday started fine. I was playing solid par golf for the first 12-15 holes, and eventually moved to the top of my card (meaning my score was better than the other players I was grouped with). That was really my goal for the round. Just win my card. After a few bogies and one double bogey, I held on to win my card by two throws with a 77, or 5 over par.

The second round, my goal again was to win my card, but this time I also wanted to make up the 3 strokes that I was down from the top round of the morning. I started out well, with a par then two birdies. My putting was better, and in spite of a string of bogies later in the round, I made a few more birdies and ended up winning my card with a 74 (2 over par). That score was good enough to win me 4th place out of 38 players in my division and a few discs as prizes. You can see the full tournament results on the PDGA website here.

All in all, I felt a lot better about my play than I had the previous weekend where I played significantly below my ability. Plus, I had a lot of fun.

Now it's back to work. Jenn starts her new job this week. I'll be preparing for my entrance exams and doing some tasks such as assembling our Ikea furniture and getting our car fixed. On Wednesday, the seminary orientation begins. Then classes start next week.

Disc Golf and the beach

Ryan's just headed off to play in his last tournament before school starts and I am trying to get Liam to take a short nap before feeding him again and heading out to find myself some breakfast. We're in Muskegon, which is on the beach, for the weekend. I start work again tomorrow and Ryan starts school next Monday so we decided to take a short trip before we have to start our new responsibilities.

Life goes on

Well, the week is coming to an end and I will be going back to work on Monday--part-time work, but work all the same. I hope that it turns out to be a really great. This morning I'm headed over to the HR office to fill out my employment paperwork.

Now that my kitchen is finally all the way unpacked we've started eating normal meals again. And yesterday I made a peach cobbler so the house smells nice and homey.

Liam's having a tough time adjusting to our new time zone, schedule and home. We're having to do some retraining for naps and bedtime I'm afraid. I hope he gets the hang of it soon! I hate to see him have a tough time.

Getting Ready for Classes

In spite of the condition of our home, the fall semester at Andrews University continues to draw closer. This week I've been taking care of those somehow unforeseeable, yet seemingly endless series of tasks that are part of moving across the country. The theme lately seems to be: "I can't unpack this box until I have this space clear, but I can't clear off this space until I have storage for these items." Now that Ikea has been conquered, I'll spend the next few days assembling furniture. (Why did I pay to work in Ikea's sweatshop? Oh yeah, it was for the great bargain.)

Anyway, I'm finding it hard to get into the mental mode of school. I don't quite feel like a student yet, since I'm not constantly thinking about what tests, projects or assignments are coming up. And yet, my seminary entrance exams are coming up next week. I should be more concerned.

It's not that I'm not preparing. I've been going to the optional Greek review sessions this week (actually I'm in one now). They're helping me to get back into a deeper mode of Greek. (I've been reading my Greek New Testament off and on since college, but haven't been doing a lot of really technical study.) But I still need to get more serious about preparing for the general Bible knowledge exam. Can you name the major kings of both Israel and Judea in order? How about the names of the 12 apostles? Me either. Yet.

In any case, I'll finish registering for class hopefully by tomorrow (just got the last registration hold removed today). I'll assemble at least some of the Ikea furniture by the weekend, and then do a lot more preparation for these exams.

The new student orientation at the seminary begins next Wednesday. Classes the following Monday. Then I'll be in the thick of things. Since Jenn got the part time job as the executive assistant to the dean (Denis Fortin), I should be in class mostly in the mornings, and home watching Liam mostly in the afternoon (so she can be at work then). Hopefully we're able to finish settling in between now and so that I will be able to focus on my studies without trying to set things up or unpack boxes or make extra trips to the store.

Ikea has been conquered, now for the living room

Well we went to Ikea and got a lot of things to make our house space more workable. For example, a nifty wire shelf thingy that now holds my major appliances, and a plastic drawer with our silverware (that's right, it doesn't fit in the drawer!). So the kitchen is better. We also got our bed frame, which we've been saving for and planning to buy for like a year now. It has night stands that attach to it. And a TV stand for the living room since I'm using the chest of drawers that we used to use for the TV stand as, you guessed it, more kitchen storage space (baking dishes). We got a curtain rod and curtain to cover up the ugly hot water heater space and hooks to hang our mugs from underneath the cabinet. So now my living room is once again filled with boxes. Sigh. But we couldn't finish unpacking until we got some storage! I got spoiled having tons of closet space at our last house.

Photos as promised

Still a lot of unpacking to do.

Across the street view.
Our new townhouse apartment.

Ryan gave him his own mini disc, but Liam mostly just wanted to put it in his mouth.

We all went disc golfing yesterday afternoon. This was Liam's first time!

Liam asks, "Is it time to eat again, Mom?"

Liam asks, "What do you mean, moving?"

Ryan and Liam sitting on the couch in our old house two days before leaving.

Here's Liam looking cute on his rainforest mat a few days before we left for Berrien Springs.

Getting settled

It's Monday morning and we have now officially lived in our new place for more than a week...and it's still not unpacked all the way. I gave it the good college try yesterday, but wasn't able to get all the way done. Ryan played in a disc golf tournament yesterday, sadly he didn't do very well and was feeling a little down about it last night. So we ordered a pizza and watched a show after we got Liam to sleep last night.

Liam is fighting some kind of bug I think. He's got a mild fever and is super fussy. It could just be teething, but whatever it is, he isn't himself. Yesterday he had a tough day--which meant that I had a tough day. I hope today is better.

I am actively searching for my camera cable so that I can upload photos. It's here somewhere....

Not feeling like home yet

Whew!

Now that I've finished uploading my road journal I can give you an update since last Sunday when we arrived. I can't believe we have been here for a week already.

First of all, when we got to our apartment/townhouse (whatever it is!) all of our things were already here because the landlords let the movers in on Friday to unload. This was really great. :) However, our apartment was not ready for us. It was really dirty and several things needed to be fixed. So after a very minor melt down (I think, though Ryan maybe doesn't agree) we decided to do what we could to clean and meet with the landlords on Monday night to discuss what needed fixing.

Ryan used all of his diplomacy and I um...well, I actually shut my mouth for once, and the landlords agreed to fix the broken things during the Monday night meeting. All ended amiably. So then began the massive cleaning and unpacking campaign--which I can assure you required much reminding of the family motto!

Yesterday was Sabbath and we took a break from all the cleaning and unpacking, slept in, and went to the park. Ryan played disc golf and Liam and I walked alongside. It was a nice course and we had a good time.

Today, Ryan is playing in a tournament and so Liam and I are at home. I'm trying to finish some unpacking and household chores when Liam will let me. He's had a hard time adjusting to our new home (and the new time zone!) but seems to be doing better today. He did sleep all night last night and the night before, so that's an improvement. :)

I have some cute photos that I'll post later on.

So close and yet...

August 2

We are on our way to Berrien now, just had breakfast at the Country Kitchen restaurant, which was actually the best breakfast we’ve had for the whole trip. They had really good pancakes. I got blueberry, which reminded me of my mom since that’s her favorite. Ryan had plain with an over-easy egg and turkey sausage. Liam was crabby, so we didn’t linger over our meals, but the food was tasty all the same. I’m feeling mixed feelings about going to our new place. On the one hand, it will be SO great to not be traveling anymore. On the other, it means that things are final, that we are actually doing this crazy thing--moving to Michigan. And it’s that second hand that makes me want to delay getting there. My heart hurts because I miss my friends and family so much. I can’t believe that we have actually moved so far from them--and the distance is painfully obvious when you make the drive. It’s taken us almost a full week to get here.

Almost there

August 1

Well, we called our landlords about an hour and a half away from Berrien and they said that they can’t meet us until tomorrow. So we stopped driving and took refuge at the Comfort Inn, which actually seems pretty comfortable. Tomorrow we’ll pack up and get to our new home, I hope! I’m so tired of driving every day. But this will be nice because since the movers already put all of our things in the apartment, we can get started tomorrow with putting stuff away instead of getting there late tonight and having to set up our beds. I really hope that the landlords are nice. Going to watch the Daily Show with Ryan now (using headphones and a laptop), Liam’s asleep in his crib. I hope he stays that way.

Deer in the headlights

July 29

Well, we hit a deer last night in Wyoming. It wasn't too bad, actually, and the car is still running. But now we are going to have to get the car fixed when we get to Berrien, which will be interesting since we only have one car. Ryan and I are practically chanting it now...."FUN NO MATTER WHAT....."

Michigan Bound

July 28

We’re on our way to Michigan after a very tearful goodbye to our friends in Walla Walla. It was extremely hard to say goodbye to our friends yesterday, but we got through it and now we are driving across the country on I-90 to Michigan where we will start over again. At least that’s how it always feels to me when we make one of these moves. Starting over isn’t all bad, but it’s always difficult because it makes us step outside what’s comfortable.

I have a job interview with the seminary dean to be his executive assistant a week from tomorrow. I’m not sure if that job will work out or not, but it might be a good thing if it does. I’m hoping that it would help me to feel more connected to the faculty and to Ryan’s friends in the program--I’m sure it would mean that I would have a better idea about what is going on and maybe I’d feel less awkward than I did participating in events when Ryan was at Walla Walla.

Right now we are going through the continental divide in Montana (the Rocky Mountains). It’s over a mile high here. The Rockies are weird looking, it just looks like piles of big rocks with trees growing out of them. Not the type of mountains I’m used to seeing. I’m sitting in the backseat with Liam who is trying not to fall asleep much to my disappointment. He has a cloth book that he’s looking at and we are playing very soothing music, which I think is making us more relaxed than him! He was is so tired, but he’s also so tired of being in his carseat. I hate to think what the rest of the week is going to be like, this is only day two of our five day drive.