Thanksgiving 2011

Blog posts will be coming.  They will most likely be more pictures than words and will be in no particular order.

First one:  Thanksgiving 2011
This is the first time we have hosted a Thanksgiving and it was super.  The day started with me doing the local Turkey Trot and running my first under 30 minute 5k since high school.  It was super fun though I did skip the table mid-run offering mimosas.

We had Cory's parents a fellow teacher and an international student from our school join us.  I'd say it was  a success.  Hope this little picture of the spread keeps you salivating.  We bucked the traditional eight hour turkey for the 30 minute fried turkey.  It was delicious.  

 

Since we have a mondo break for Thanksgiving we took a couple of days and visited the Baltimore Aquarium   Edmund LOVED the aquarium.  He walked around saying "ish" (fish) and saying 'chomp, chomp, chomp' which is the sound he makes for a shark.  It was a great trip and it was fun to see Edmund so into all the animals. 

The other major bonus was heading down toward "Little Italy".  Cory and Edmund shared this giant bowl of ice cream while I enjoyed an enormous cannoli.  And it was delicious.  At the time of the picture I had eaten about a quarter of it.  

I went away again.  But I'm back now....until school starts at least.  There is a lot to catch you up on!  A lot of pictures to share too, but I'll start with these goodies I found as I finally uploaded pictures from our summer sabatical on the sun.  

 I love this one from the fourth solely because of Cory's face....The fourth made Cory seem like a kid in a candy score.  The fourth of July gives Kansas one redeeming point because you can blow up some really awesome stuff and this was his first time with the big fireworks.  It was cool.  The boys blew things up and the girls sat back and watched.  Edmund got in on the action too.

July 4 also spans at least five days in Kansas which is why you see two different outfits and locations.  We got to spend one of the shooting days with friends and the other with family.  A good mix.  

He loved the smoke bombs, chasing the parachutes and watching the big ones go bang.  He was much more brave than his father and I use to be.

There are about two weeks of Kansas that have not photo proof.  Bottom line is that it was too hot to even get out the camera (and Cory took the camera on a 10 day rafting trip).  Here was one of the coolest parts of leaving Kansas for sabbatical location #2; seeing Katherine and Tim and riding on the combine!

A New Generation

I have some of the world's greatest friends.  Many of these friends I have had since middle school or earlier.    My friend Rachel blogged about how great our friends are and how silly we are here, here, and here.  It is a very special group of girls that I am lucky to have.

In talking about our silliness one of the things we like to do is take ridiculous pictures.  We call them things like "surprised, yet confused", "point and look" and most recently (thanks to Daniel) "disinterested".  What is great is that when we take these group pictures and our husbands actually participate and though I think they'd deny it I believe they really do enjoy it!

Here's the normal group picture form the fourth at the Jost's.

 Surprised, yet confused.

 Take II

 Point and look

 The new disinterested.  Points for anyone who can find who is missing from this photo.

 Throughout these pictures you may notice Brad standing and laughing.  He is forgiven for this now as this is his first group picture event.  Jessi, you need to do a better job at educating Brad on group photo taking with the girls.

What may be even better is that without being told the new generation of friends did their own silly photo.  I LOVE IT!  I believe Finley is "surprised, yet confused", Harper is "disinterested", and Edmund is doing the "point and look".

Thank goodness for great friends and having babies that we will force into great friendship too!

Absence Ends.

Sorry blog world.  I went on a blogcation.  An intense blogcation.  A lot has happened since my pre-mothers day post.  For example, Mothers Day and Fathers Day!  Mothers Day was just me and Edmund (Daddy went whitewater rafting in West Virginia that day).  We had a blast.  Edmund took mommy shopping for new clothes!  Fathers Day was spent in Tennessee with G&G Woods.  I have a two whole pictures from our journey that included Dollywood (surprisingly awesome), the Dixie Stampede and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  We always are on the lookout for bike paths and we found that in the National Park they actually close an 11 mile loop for bikers and hikers twice a week and it was a great trip that was well enjoyed by hundreds of people (Edmund included).

A lot has happened since Pre-Mothers Day.  Here is a little run-down.

• Blue Ridge Graduation was a glorious experience as it meant that our well earned summer vacation was beginning.
• Our AMAZING babysitter moved away
• We moved from a quaint (read small) rent controlled (read free) apartment to a giagantorous (read giagantorous), also rent controlled apartment just across our lovely courtyard

• And we've journeyed halfway across the US for the big Kansas to Colorado trip.  The trip started with an epic yet wonderful drive and once we reached our final destination continued with a great wedding weekend for a great friend filled with my best girls.  

Summer is wonderful and makes all the hard work completely worth it when we get a good time off.  I promise I will not vacate the blog for that long again.  I will catch you all up on a few things, but nothing to new will come up since Cory stole the camera for his 10 day "work trip" to Utah.  

Have a great day blog world!

Pre-Mothers Day

My treat to myself.  Red velvet cupcake you are delicious.

Love of Hats and a Boy and His Horse

One small hope Cory and I have for Edmund is that he enjoys wearing hats.  One reason being that it protects his head and two just because we are hat people.  I think he has started to grow a love for them. Generally one of the first things he grabs in the morning is this hat.

Trying his hand at dinosaur surfing

Not only does he love his hat, but he also loves to wear it on his trusty companion, Charley horse.

 It has taken him a while, but he has figured out how to rock it back and forth and really loves it!

(he is also getting into the weird smile phase..i knew this day was coming. ugh).

Thanks Santa for the hat and horse!  It's a hit!

Dick Van Dyke

When Cory was a child he wanted to be Dick Van Dyke when he grew up.  Can you blame him?  He got to fly Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and dance on rooftops with Mary Poppins.  Dick Van Dyke is awesome.

Who wouldn't want to sing and dance with Julie Andrews?  I am pretty sure that if Dick Van Dyke would have been in the Sound of Music Cory may find it more enjoyable.

Anyways, I digress.  Some mornings if there is a lot we need to get done Cory may throw in a dvd of some kind for Edmund (read, Carrie is still in bed catching up on a year of lost sleep).  Whatever DVD it is has A LOT of music to keep Edmund entertained and he is always up dancing.  Edmund really enjoys the special features on Shrek because it plays song after song after song.  Most recently Cory put in one of his favorites "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang".  After starting it, Cory told Edmund that he would be okay with it if Edmund only wanted to watch that and "Mary Poppins" for the rest of time.  Edmund loved dancing to Chitty Chitty and he especially enjoyed the title song.  I even captured some pictures of the two of them dancing together.

Please notice that he is also dancing with only one shoe.  If you need a good dance party Edmund is ready to host it up.

 

How to Feel

Generally this blog space is reserved for adorable pictures of my sweet  little man that should most likely make you piddle in your pants a little bit because he's so darn cute.  While I will include another one of those pictures for my adoring fans (thanks mom and dad), I wanted to share a different set of thoughts today.  This is the disclaimer that if you don't want to read deep thoughts, simply scroll to the bottom and piddle in your pants a little.

When I woke up two mornings ago and heard the Today Show being broadcasted in the background from Ground Zero I had to stop and think 'it's not September, so why on earth are they at Ground Zero?'  I then heard the news that Osama Bin Laden had been killed.  "Wow" I can remember saying to Cory and then sat and watched some of the coverage.

I don't remember exactly how I felt; was I happy, intrigued, relieved?  Maybe all three.

As the day went on something wasn't setting right and I started praying for clarity.  A friend shared this verse with me and it hit me: Ezekiel 33:11-"Say to them, 'As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live.  Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, O house of Israel?"

And then I found this.  It was my "Ah-ha" moment.

Bottom line, Bin Laden was evil.  Period.  Bottom line for me is that my heart is wicked.  I'm called to love God and love others, to love my neighbors and enemies, and oftentimes I fail. I am a work in progress and thankfully there is a God who is merciful, full of grace, that loves justice and forgives.  

While I am thankful that a man who has harmed so many and caused unspeakable and unfathomable amounts of pain can no longer do so, my heart begins to ache for men like him.  For men who need Jesus.  For the boys at Blue Ridge, for my colleges, family and friends.  My heart aches for them to know the radical mercy of God.  I am thankful that my cousin's daughter had to ask who Osama Bin Laden was and makes me hope and pray that the pain and evil I've seen in my short life is not pain my son will grow up knowing.

While I am not super smart I do know these things:  God is good.  That his call on our lives is big (for he gave a great sacrifice for us).  That I need to do a better job of loving and praying for my "enemies". That Jesus' radical love calls me to repentance and my heart overflows with thankfulness for God's forgiveness and grace.  As the article says "I can be thankful that God is just, and very thankful that God is gracious".  What about you?

Easter in Mostly Pictures

The Easter Bunny Came!  We are beginning to train our own Bo Jackson in the ways of multi-sport domination.

Yes, there are bikes on his tie.

 The best picture we could get from the student walking by who we asked to take our picture.

 Next to celebrating Jesus' resurrection this was the best part of the day (and our new favorite activity), playing in the creek!

He had so much fun wading in and out and retrieving the bottle that he would send down the falls!

 AHHH!!! THIS IS AWESOME (translation from the open mouth above)

 Throwing the bottle in

Daddy is a man of leisure.

Happy Easter