Home

We are settling in. And it feels really good.

The incredible amount of change and stress and busyness in the last year had left me feeling a little lost and, well, unsettled. We have had a lot of fun, seized life with youthful abandon, thrown caution to the wind. But there was a part of me that was awfully tired of being a vagrant. I wanted to feel like there is a place to come home to. I wanted to be rooted somewhere—to have people that love us, to have a place to worship, to have a place to lay my head. I knew it was only for a season, but it has been a difficult one.

Difficult because we have been in between in so many ways. In between homes. In between friends. In between churches. We had said good-bye to Hawaii, but had nothing rooting us in our new home. I suppose this is typical of moving, especially moving to a place where you don't know anyone. Knowing that hasn't made it easier.

But it's starting to feel like home. We've settled into a house that we love, and are looking forward to sharing it with others. We have wonderful neighbors, almost all of whom have offered to watch Ava at one time or another. When we felt like we would never find a church home, it appears that God has provided one that will challenge us, that we can love and serve, and that above all loves Jesus, loves the gospel, and loves community. Things are not settled, but there is hope. And for that I'm thankful.

Fall

Okay, so it's not really fall yet. But a few of the trees on our street have started to change and drop leaves, and it makes me very anxious for things to turn a little cooler, and for the trees to explode into vibrant hues. For now, here's a cute picture of my favorite little girl--who loves to tromp through the leaves.

The Inside.

Here are the photos I promised of the house. We're pretty much settled. It's starting to feel like home. :)

Living Room.

The kitchen. Which I LOVE. Dishwasher. Gas Range (which I have yet to melt anything with). Double Oven. Pantry. Storage. Full Size Sink. Garbage Disposal. Paradise.

The office.

Ava's "I want them books!" face.

Our bedroom.

Ava's bedroom. (Yes! She has her own! We sleep in peace! Sometimes.)

The Guest Room. All ready for visitors. Ahem.

The back deck.

The backyard again. Because I like it so much.

Did I mention?...

Ahh yes, the culmination of our year of transition: We're expecting again! We thought: "Hey this year hasn't been difficult enough, let's have another baby!"

Just kidding. What we actually thought was: "Life's never easy. We want another baby--let's have one!"

We had our first appointment with a midwife on September 2nd, where we got Tiddletoo's first pictures made. He/she (I say this for show. Daniel is convinced it is "he") was 10 weeks along at the time. I am now 14 weeks along, due on March 24th.

After much deliberation, we've decided to give birth at West Suburban Hospital, where they have an alternative birthing center. They have two rooms inside the hospital where hospital protocol does not apply. This means I don't have be continuously monitored and I can even have a water birth if I want to. It's a bit of a drive for us, but we figure that it will be a comfortable place to labor, so we can go in a bit earlier than we would otherwise.

As for how I'm feeling, because that's the first question people always ask: I really had little to no sickness with Ava, but this time I was basically nauseous from sun up to sun down. I didn't have it as bad as some people I know have, but it basically made me want to lay on the couch for a three or four weeks and eat. Which is why I've already gained seven pounds or something like that. It seems to have pretty much subsided, though, so I am thankful. One point of prayer: I tested positive for Group B Strep, so if you could pray about that I would appreciate it. I don't have any symptoms, but it could be a risk factor for the baby. I'm on antibiotics right now trying to knock it out.

The Garden

A few pictures from our time in the garden this morning:

Smelling the flowers--her Nana taught her how. (Don't worry, Mom, we checked for bees).

Sitting on her bench.

Hopefully I don't kill all these plants. They are wonderful!

New Things

This is what happens when I give my daughter a spoon and ravioli.


She has gotten pretty picky of late. The only things she will reliably eat are cheese and grapes. But I have discovered that she eats more if I let her feed herself, even if it does take a hose to get her cleaned up.

In other news:

She is starting to try to dress herself. Putting her legs in pants, putting on her shoes, trying to put on socks. She's not very successful most of the time, but she tries.

Her attention span for books is increasing tremendously. Some of her current favorites are Blueberries for Sal, Harry the Dirty Dog, and the Richard Scarry storybook her Aunt Jen got her. I'm amazed how long she'll sit still and listen to me read. It just can't have too many words on each page, or she get's antsy for me to turn it.

She loves going outside. When I ask, "Ava, wanna go on a walk?" She squeals, "Wokk!" excitedly and runs to the door.

She surprised me the other day by putting a puzzle together. One of those block ones, but still--I didn't know she could do that.

That's all I can think of for now. :) I'll post more later.

And the Parent of the Year Award goes to...

Someone else.


Yes that is my daughter, sitting on top of the kitchen table, dumping goldfish everywhere, and generally involving herself in all manner of mischief.

And that's me, behind the camera, taking the picture.

After her nap, I figured we would run with scissors.

Zoo

Daniel and I decided that we would do something fun on Labor Day rather than run the thousands of errands we had to run. So we went to Lincoln Park Zoo, just north of downtown Chicago. Pretty much Ava's favorite place ever. She pointed at everything and squealed. I think her favorites were the monkeys though.

#27

Closed on our house! Moved in!


Had a lot of help from this lovely couple:

(I promise I will post pictures of the inside in a few days. I want to be pretty much unpacked when I do).

#22-#26

22. Went to Daniel's little sister Amy's graduation in Dallas:


23. Went from there to Hawaii for two weeks. Stayed with these dear friends:

24. Watched while Ava played with this cutie:


25. Went to Kauai to visit our friends the Schoenwethers for a weekend:

26. Had an anniversary. Took exactly one photo of all three of us in which it actually appears that we are in Hawaii.