We're home

It's official. We are homeowners. Our new address is:

115 Chisholm Place

Charlottesville, VA 22902

We are so thankful to have my parents here with us this week to help us paint, clean a bit, do some small repairs/improvements, move-in, and move out of our apartment! Tonight, they are the first ones to stay in the new place, humbly sleeping on the aerobed. Tomorrow, Michael's parents are coming to help paint too. How sweet it is to have so much support! We met several neighbors tonight and a bunch of their pets - we felt very welcome by all and can't wait to get to know everyone. It's the beginning of a crazy week ahead of us. But we are so grateful that it's finally here. Noah is very excited about the new house. He excitedly asked me today, "Are we going to stay in our new house forever?" I think we're all kinda done with moving around for now.

House Update

Just in case you were wondering...no we're not in our new house yet, but we know for sure that we will be closing on it this Tuesday, October 20th at 10:30am! Let's pray that everything goes smoothly over this next week. My (Laura's) parents are planning to come for the week to help with moving from our apartment here, painting, and doing some other handy-man (definition of my Dad) types of things. Michael's parents will be coming up to help with painting and playing with the boys too. We are so excited to finally begin to truly unpack after so much transition and create our home here in Charlottesville. We are looking forward to meeting our neighbors and finding our niche in our new community. God has led us here and we are eager to see how He plans to use us now! We hope to post some more updates about moving in soon.

U2 - a delayed post

Wow. U2 coming to C-Ville?! It was a surprise to Michael this Spring when he got tickets not knowing whether or not we would be living here. We have learned that this town is very small. So hosting a group, like U2, shuts the place down. Scott Stadium has only been used for concerts two other times; for Dave Matthews and The Rolling Stones. We heard people recalling the terrible traffic it caused. This was likely no different. But, it was incredible to take part in. There was an aura in the city on Thursday; everyone abuzz. Everyone was preparing for the unavoidable parking issues. People that lived near the stadium were even renting out parking spots in their front yards. Posters hung outside college houses. The Rugby Rd. bridge was painted like a billboard. They were the cover of "The Hook," our local paper.

Michael and I were in disbelief that we were going; our first datenight in Charlottesville. Only the day before did we find someone to watch the boys. A dear friend from nursing school, Lisa Cotten Hetherington, had just contacted me through facebook saying that she and her husband had just moved here too. She also offered to babysit sometime (being very qualified as a pediatric nurse!) and had Thursday night free, despite having to wake-up early for work the next day! Wow. That's a servant. (Thanks again, Lisa!)

We parked at Venable, Michael's school, and walked about a half hour to get to the stadium. It was a beautifully clear, crisp fall night. We could hear the concert going on already. We decided to miss most of the opener, MUSE, so that we could put Noah to sleep first. We were sitting with some of Michael's new co-workers, Laura and Carol, and it was nice to get to know them while we waited for U2 to come out. It was also nice to run into one of my nursing school professors, Dr. Hulton! She and her daughter were sitting a few rows behind us.

I didn't really have a category to put the whole experience into - the set, lights, and multi-media were unlike anything I've ever seen. Michael could only compare it to the last time he saw them, 13 years ago, but it was nothing like this. In describing the actual concert, I want to link to a blog that I read the night before going to see them. It showed a lot of insight and helped me enjoy the concert so much more. Here is the article. The crowd that attended ranged in age, from elementary schoolers (some in Michael's classes) to those appearing to be in their 60s. What's not to like about these guys? They have brought Gospel themes into pop culture in a way that speaks to and captivates their audience. An unforgettable experience.

A day in the life of "Mommy!"

Woke at 5:30am to Noah saying "Mommy, it's time to get up." Now, I consider myself a morning person, but before sunrise - not so much. It wasn't but a couple minutes later that Ethan too was awake. I blamed Michael's alarm clock that had gone off and did a great job of waking up everyone. It's not the alarm clock's fault - this happens sometimes even when the alarm isn't set. It took me a few minutes to calm down and then repent of my anger to my son for waking me before sunrise and then to my husband for being mad about the alarm clock.....so I decided this early morning would at least be a productive one. We all got ready to take Daddy to work by 7 or so.

After dropping Michael off at school, I decided it would be fun to get some fresh bagels at "Bodo's," before heading to the grocery store. As we were walking in, with Ethan being carried in the bend of my elbow in his carseat and Noah in tow, we stopped at the line of newspaper dispensers outside. I picked out one for me and Noah wanted to pick one out for Daddy. A woman walked out of the store, saw me and began laughing. She said "You think you have time to read?!" I responded in laughter. She was speaking the truth. I haven't gotten past the first page all day of what I picked out - but I guess I could be reading it now...

Happily we got through grocery shopping - Noah with Bagel in the cart, Ethan in the Bjorn being entertained by his big brother facing him. Noah even helped me unload everything at the register. We had a few minutes to unload the car of all the refrigerated items before dashing off to Bible study at church. The boys were happy with their caregivers there while I got some great fellowship and teaching. I am so grateful for that time!

I'll skip ahead to this afternoon at the park where he introduced his stuffed puppy, recently named, "Aney," (Yes, it's a boy) to a new friend there. Then, Noah found somebody's forgotten toy remote thing, resembling what Noah believed was a cell phone. We walked along the Downtown Mall, using it to "call" Daddy and "the man who runs the merry-go-round." He had no problem coming up to complete strangers, holding it out, and saying, "I have my OWN cell phone!" Then he was so proud of how he could fit in his OWN pocket.

Ethan successfully took all of his naps in his carseat today. Poor second child. He was happy at most other times throughout the day, especially when giving carrots a go tonight at dinner - he chooses to eat them from the spoon primarily using his tongue, more lollipop style, and get them all over his hands and face too.

Lastly, as of yesterday, Noah has finally asked that we speak Spanish to him! Until then, he had not wanted us to and would get upset if we did - something about the way he divides his two languages in his mind perhaps. Then yesterday, Michael was speaking with him over dinner and now he wants more of it - reading it to him, refreshing his vocabulary, and even tonight he asked that both of his lullabies be in Spanish.

My precious boys. They teach me so much everyday. Mostly, lessons in patience, my own selfishness, and my desire to control everything. I'm sure glad I really can't control everything and that Someone else is in control of ALL things. Thanks for reading the ramblings of this harried mother...

8 Months

Our little Ethan is 8 months old today. Enjoy his most recent pictures!