Second Birthday Party

Yesterday Evelyn and Julian had a joint birthday party.  They are 3 days apart and have many of the same friends so it just made sense to combine forces.  Little did I know when I agreed to do this, Ann is an amazing party planner.  To go with our zoo theme, she had wooden signs up that said, "aquarium" by the baby pool, "rainforest" by the water table, "monkey house" by the playground, etc.  

Her sister, who teaches science experiments to kids for a living was in town and made adorable oceans in a bottle with the kids and let them touch starfish and sea sponges.  

Maic and I made animal tails to pin onto the kids (and some of the adults), and we hung some of Evelyn's stuffed animals in the trees.  

We had brats and burgers and mac and cheese, sweet and salty snacks, salads, and some amazing animal cupcakes.  And everyone who said they were going to come came!  Always struggling to understand the boundaries between work and friendship, we decided to invite anyone who has babysat for Evelyn and their families.  That included several people from the church without having to invite the entire congregation.  I think it was a good line to draw.  

Evelyn was very into the concept of presents, and Julian couldn't have cared less.  I think she would have opened all of his if he let her.  She got a lot of great presents, and among them was this tea party set from Ann, which she supplemented with some amazing handmade felt cookies and cupcakes and embroidered napkins.  They are so beautiful and she loves playing with the whole set already!  I didn't get pictures of all of the presents she got, but I did take a few.  

Erin (and Casey) made this great magnetic bear and clothing/accessory set for both her and Julian

She got a new hedgehog family to go in her beautiful hand-me-down dollhouse

And Maic and I had a great time making a board book for Julian that is about Shakespeare as a child.  Maic wrote and illustrated the book, and I constructed it into a board book by using a different board book, cardstock paper, and duct tape.  It turned out so cool! I apparently never got a finished picture of it, but I will look into doing that!

Evelyn was not sure of the candles.  She is definitely a "rule-follower" and she was very disappointed that we would put something "hot" by her.  While Julian was clapping and excited, Evelyn was going, "Hot, Mommy.  Hot."  You can see the disapproval in her face.  She did not blow out her candles, but she did eat the frosting with her hands.

Overall it was just an amazing day.  I was completely exhausted by the end of it and got rather grumpy around 8:30.  As much as I'm aware that I need to take it easy at 9 months pregnant, it is very hard for me to stay sitting when there is stuff to be done and people to converse with, so I was up-down-up-down all day.  I am definitely sore today! 

I just cannot express how blessed we are to have found Julian and his family.  They have come into our lives at such a perfect time and we look forward to so many more amazing birthdays together.  Happy TWO, you two!  

An Accepted Offer; a Timeline

Hi Friends, 

Over a week ago we received an accepted offer on a house here in Ripon.  It's an adorable home-- barn red with a sweet, fairly private but not-yet-fenced-in backyard and a living room full of real wood paneling and a fireplace.  It looks like a little cabin.  There's work to be done, but it's the fun kind of work: painting and sanding and redecorating instead of the hard, super expensive kind of work like roofing and replacing major appliances.  Eventually it will need some of that, but we're hopeful that we can do a big project each year and bring the house up in adorableness and value. 

I dream about it all the time, but I do so with a small bit of caution.  Nothing is certain until the closing day, and the mortgage loan we're getting is a strict one-- one that requires proper working order for most if not all aspects of the house because as first time buyers with a small down payment we are at a high risk for default; they don't want anything expensive to pop up right after we buy it.  So we are waiting for the appraiser to come and tell us (and the seller) to fix some outlets and some drips and some paint and bring everything up to code.  Any 1936 house has flaws. 

I don't want to post many pictures of it until it's *ours,* but I promise that I will someday, especially after the shag carpeting has gracefully wandered out to the curb.  I confess, we will be getting rid of the Packers mailbox.  It's not that I don't like the Packers.  It's just, well... I like plain mailboxes.  

"So, Joanna, I noticed you were 34 weeks pregnant.  Does that have any effect on you purchasing and moving into a house in a month?"

Why, what an interesting question.  Actually, I've been amazed by the amount of people who have told me lately that they bought their first home/a home while pregnant.  Even our good friends Ann and Ben moved several states over in the last month of pregnancy.  I think we can do this.  And we have a TON of offers for help (all of them will be accepted!) from church members and community members and family members to the extent that they can from so many miles away.  

Here's the timeline:

Now: here I am, just waiting.  

The next few weeks: Packing, sorting, taking stuff to the thrift store, cleaning

August 20th: Evelyn turns two! 

August 27th: Our baby nephew is coming earth-side! (This has nothing to do with our move... but we can't wait!) 

September  4th: Closing date. 

As soon as we close: Ripping up carpet, sanding floors.  Hoping to find a couple helpers for this. 

September 14th: Baby is due

October 1st: Lease is up on our rental house, must be fully moved in to new house.  

There is this weird thing happening in my mind where I almost want the baby to come late (not so late that I need medical intervention, but just...not early).  I never thought I'd have that wish.  But he will come when he comes, and I am certain that everything will fall into place.  

Well Hello, There!

I can't concentrate for anything these days.

There's a new baby coming in approximately 56 days.
Evelyn turns two exactly a month from today.
I'm coming up on my one year anniversary at the church.
And now, in a surprising turn of events, we're strongly considering putting an offer on a house here in Ripon.

For a while I had considered shutting down my blog.  It was just one more thing on my list of things to do and I thought it would be wise to just let it go.  But lately I've been thinking about how nice it would be to write out some thoughts now and then, and right now especially, since I am having so much trouble concentrating on some important Saturday evening to-dos (those are pastor code-words for sermon writing), I thought I'd take some time to write out some thoughts.

Appleton Timber Rattlers game

The last time I wrote, we hadn't announced that we were having another baby yet.  We found out just shortly after the new year, and waited until I was 12 weeks along to announce it publicly, which was in late February.  In that time, we learned that my brother and sister in law are also expecting their second baby, just two weeks before us.  We are both having little boys!

Little boy newborn clothes.  Thank God Evelyn's two best friends are boys with late summer/early fall birthdays!

This pregnancy has been harder than the first time around.  I'm sure it's because of chasing Evelyn around and my job is a different kind of physically exhausting than seminary was.  But I also feel a different kind of attachment to him.  I had a very deep spiritual connection with Evelyn throughout my pregnancy, but I don't have that now.  I think perhaps it's because I know what loving a child means now in a different way than I did then, and I worry (I know it's an irrational worry) that I can never love another child.  The attachment is growing and changing, though, especially as Evelyn gets more and more excited for him to come and when I see the excitement in her eyes my heart expands in a new way.  She doesn't understand the full reality of having a baby brother but she does know that he has things in our house, that he is inside me now and will someday come out, and that he is very, very special.  She talks about him all the time, whether it's provoked or not.  She likes to draw pictures of him and look at all his stuff.  She kisses my belly and sings to him.  If I ask her what he's doing she used to say sleeping, but now she says he's playing.  When I ask her what she wants to do when he comes out of mommy she says, "Go home."

A picture Evelyn drew of her baby brother. 

Before he is born, Evelyn will turn two.  Her language is exploding, especially since she spent a week with her cousin Zoey a month ago.  She has her own little personality that blows my mind every day.  Some of it is stuff that we taught her, but what's really crazy is the way that she comes up with stuff totally on her own.  She even makes jokes.  They aren't funny jokes, but she will for example tell us that she sees an elephant in the tree, then start cracking up and say, "NOOOO that's silly!" She also pretends to be different animals, usually a cat, but also dogs, penguins, cows, spiders.

At the Timber Rattlers game

In a fort with Nos. 

Okay, and then finally I want to talk about this house thing.  So we had originally thought that buying a house wasn't within our financial ability at this point in our lives.  But after talking to a banker and doing a ton, ton, ton of numbers crunching and talking with friends and family, we learned that it is actually a very wise financial decision for us to buy a house now.  While we're aware that the unexpected expenses of owning a house can be many, we are also tired of renting a house in a town we plan to continue living in for the foreseeable future.  This isn't the right decision for everyone, but here in Ripon the market is in our favor and with the right house, it's a no-brainer.  

There is one that we are strongly considering, and we will have some definite answers on whether or not we will place an offer by early next week.  We are hoping that if we decide to do this, we can do it very quickly so that we can be in the house before the baby comes.  That is, of course, two months away.  So it will be a very stressful couple of months.  The banker has offered to do her best to speed the process up.  Once I know more, I will share!

Weekend Love Songs

When we lived in St. Louis, it was so easy to jump in the car and go to a museum or a zoo or some  event that was geared towards young families.  Here, I find that it's not so easy.  Ripon is a good family town, but it's still small.  And when something's small it doesn't have quite as many opportunities.  That's just the way things go.  

It's hardest to find things to do during the winter, because we can't just go to the park down the street or play for a long time in the backyard (plus I hate-- nay, I detest being cold).  So when we reached this weekend and I was feeling a particularly large amount of Cabin Fever I was determined to find something to do other than sit around.  So yesterday we went to the Zoo in Madison.  It's about an hour and a half away, but it worked out well because I was able to visit a church member in rehab as well.  

The zoo was practically empty because nobody goes to the zoo in the winter, but there are plenty of places to go indoors at the zoo, so that's what we did!  And it was a blast. 

There were little jumpy quails in there.  

She loves alligators.  They say, "HHHAAAA-UMP" with a chomping gesture.

Curious little guy. 

This guy didn't mind being outdoors.  

Neither did Evelyn mind being outdoors if it meant seeing a bear walk around!

Then this morning, we did stay inside but we got a great pots and pans band going with Julian.  They loved making lots of noise!  Good kids! 

Alright guys, winter is LONG!  Get out and do something.  Or stay in and do something.  Just get goin' on the memory making, because even if winter is long, life is short!  

Keeping Mama Humble

Days have been good lately, as Evelyn has teamed up with another toddler-fellow, Julian.  Julian is three days older than her, and quite a bit more adventurous and jolly.  I'm not saying Evelyn isn't a happy baby, but she is and always has had a very serious soul.  She can be silly with the best of them, but she didn't crack a smile until she was probably three months old, and we still have to make a pretty good effort to get a good chuckle out of her.  She can most often be found analyzing-- a book, a puzzle, a stuffed animal, a piece of furniture-- poking and examining.  Julian is a go-getter-- sitting on the coffee table within seconds of entering a house, attempting to drink out of two sippy cups at the same time while playing the toy piano.  

I loved Julian's mom's description comparing the two to Downton Abbey characters-- Evelyn is the Dowager Countess and Julian is the American cousin.  I'm sorry I don't have any pictures of them yet to put on the blog.  I will at some point.  Julian has thick, long hair with big round rosy cheeks, and always, except at nap time, a big smile!  

Here is Evelyn just before going to Julian's for the first time.  All ready with her purse and her horse, wearing her Hilary Clinton power suit.  

She loves Mommy's scarf fashion.  She fits in really well with the Ripon College crowd.  

Lately, we haven't been great about getting out and doing things together as a family, besides going shopping at Target and Pick N Save, so tomorrow we're excited to be making our first journey down to Madison, WI.  A church member is in rehab down there and I've wanted to go to the zoo for a long time, so we are going to spend tomorrow in Madison killing two birds with one stone (is there a less violent expression I can use?)  I can't wait for her to see the animals in real life.  We used to go to the St. Louis Zoo all the time because it was close and free, but we moved before she really reached an age of understanding and being excited to see the animals.  Now, she knows about 20 animal sounds (she's seriously obsessed with learning them.  She even knows lizard, rhinoceros, and penguins.  Three sounds I was quite unsure of before she told me.)

I have to be honest, here.  It's good to catch you all up on my blog and let you know what's going on in our lives over here, but the true reason that I wrote this blog entry was to share these photos of Evelyn wearing Hello Kitty slippers and a diaper.  

She keeps me humble, you know.  When I think my job and all the errands I have to run are SOO important and the world would collapse without me, this little girl comes running into the room all excited because she's wearing cats on her feet.  And then I remember... Oh yeah, that's what life is for-- loving and living and laughing.  

Good girl.  

Being Fair.

That time has come again for me to apologize for not writing more often...except...I CAN'T!  

Why?  Because it would go against my New Year's Resolution.  I have just one: To be fair to myself.  Many of you know that I'm very hard on myself-- especially when it comes to my job and parenting.  So, no more, "That wasn't a very good sermon," and no more, "I don't spend enough time with Evelyn," and no more, "I haven't been a very good wife lately," and the list goes on...

This year it will be all about, "I do what I can and trust that God will use me."  

Sound good?  Will you hold me to it?

We had a beautiful Christmas, both here and in Ohio.  The Christmas Eve service at church was well-attended and, for a first run, well-executed!  You can listen to my Christmas Eve sermon here.  I believe God is truly doing something with me here in Ripon.  People are coming to church.  People want to be a part of the community.  People are contacting me for help and support and encouragement.  I only hope it will continue; that the novelty won't wear off; that I won't wear out! 

Christmas at home was wonderful too.  We are blessed by such amazing families.  Maic's siblings are all maturing into such wonderful people and they each lead such interesting lives.  Evelyn was really confused at first because she kept thinking everyone was her daddy!  But no one quite compares! 

At my parents' house, the biggest joy was seeing Evelyn and her cousin Zoey together.  Zoey is 

the best little girl and role model for Evelyn.  She is smarter than you would ever believe a two-and-a-half year old could be, and she is so well-behaved.  Sometimes she will just look at someone with the most sincere face and say, "(insert name here) you're the best!"  One time she went around the whole table, "Gramma, you're the best!...Uncle Maic, you're the best!...Daddy, you're the best!"  But the thing is, you get this sense that she really believes it!  She's such a lover. 

I do often wish we lived closer, because I miss seeing everyone on a regular basis, but it also makes trips like these so sweet and special.  Looking back, I remember I only saw my Grandma and Grandpa Smyres twice a year growing up, but they still meant the world to me, and those trips to see them made my heart explode with excitement.  I think that's how it will be for little E, too. 

Welp, I'm back to work now, and so glad I have a job to return to with anticipation and excitement.  

Home-Work

I feel like I'm about to start that trend where every blog entry begins with an apology for how long it's been since I last wrote a blog entry.  The thing is I'm just SO busy, and now I've jumped into the year 2012 and gotten myself on a Smartphone plan, so I don't get on the computer as often as I used to.  I just spend 2 minutes here and there checking Facebook and E-mails and it's both a blessing and a curse-- constantly connected.  I love being able to share stuff with my family 500+ miles away, but then sometimes I realize I've said something to the Facebook world that I forgot to clue my husband in on!  It's almost like I'm more connected with those who are distant than I am with the one I share a bed with!  

But things are great.  I love the season of Advent.  As a person with absolutely zero patience, this season teaches me to WAIT, to WATCH, and to LISTEN.  In Maic's family tradition, Jesus didn't show up in the manger of the Nativity scenes until Christmas morning.  You know, he's not here yet.  I like that tradition.  It separates Advent from Christmas.  Our Nativity Scene, a gift from Maic's priest, will arrive on Friday night with our good friend Stacy from St. Louis.  She held onto it for the move, since we had to save room, and as a promise that she would come visit our new home before Christmas.  

Source

As I am now a Real-Live Pastor, I've been asking some very hard questions about what I want Christmas to be like for my children.  Where's the balance between secular and religious?  How do I make sure my kids get to participate in some of the same traditions as their peers, without giving into the consumerist nature of the holiday?  And then, as an obnoxious liberal (more at home than in public) how do I keep from ruining the magic of Christmas with my rants about the sweatshops in which so many of our Christmas decorations were made and the ethnicity of the Christ-child and family in Christmas decorations and, for that matter, Santa.  All I want for Christmas is a really well-adjusted Pastor's Kid who doesn't go over to a friend's house for Christmas cookies and say, "I see you already put your Caucasian Jesus in the Manger before the second Sunday in Advent.  Did you know the stable was more likely a cave-like rock structure and we don't actually know how many kings arrived on Epiphany?"  

And then, of course, I have my husband who explained to me yesterday that it made sense for us to put our large Noah ornament on the top of the tree instead of the star because in the same way that the star pointed the way to Baby Jesus, so did Noah.  For the story of Noah and the Ark is a Covenant with God, just as Christ's birth is a New Covenant.

Our poor kids.  

Anyway, I started this blog because I wanted to write about some work we are doing to our home.  It is a rental home, so we don't want to put too much permanent work into it, but we decided that for Christmas instead of buying each other gifts, we would buy furniture and organize our office.  This room has been closed off since we moved in and used exclusively for stacking boxes and throwing piles of laundry. 

Yesterday, we chose this desk, which we should be able to pick up and assemble by the end of the week:

From this Collection

It seems like it will be perfect for what we need it for-- crafting and writing and sewing and storing all of our crap.  We'll also need some curtains and perhaps another bookshelf.  I'm looking forward to it being completed and usable. 

We've also been working on reupholstering a chair.  Neither of us has ever reupholstered before, but I read some books and found some tutorials online, and I think we're doing just fine.  I bought this chair for $7 at a Rummage Sale.  It has great fabric already, but it's wearing out and has a couple of tears, so it's time for a new one.  

The new one will have the fabric on the left.
The fabric on the right will be for the couch,
which I've started but found to be a little out of my league.  

Well, eventually...I dunno if it will be next week or later this week, I will share some photos of our journey to get a Christmas (Advent?) tree.  Evelyn loves the tree.  She says it's "OOOHHH!  Pweeeeeeee!"  Which I've taken to mean "Pretty."