40 Years of Faith, Family and Friends

Another big event this summer was celebrating my parent's 40th Anniversary. We did some celebrating with the whole family out in Seattle, and then Peter and I helped host an open house in Rochester with lots of old and new friends in attendance. It all came together great and was a blast!

It was very cool to see people from my childhood gather and share in the celebration of the values my parents have always worked to embody. I was reminded of those things that most define them, as I thought about what it meant for my parents to reach this forty year milestone. My mom and dad are not perfect - of course no family is - but from the start of their relationship, they centered their relationship on faith, family and friendships. FAITH: They were part of underground Bible studies in college, were fresh-faced evangelists to friends and family members, and knew they were called to be in ministry in the church and to love and serve others. From the beginning, they anchored their relationship and our family's foundation to God and to a local church. That is a big reason that today, I still consider many Salem Rd folks like my extended family; they've known me longer and better then anyone else, and they have always been there and stepped into my life and my story.  FAMILY: Even before they were married, they knew they wanted two kids, and they had names picked out for a girl (Elizabeth Margaret) and a boy (Timothy David).  It is funny to me, now after becoming a parent and naming our firstborn, to think back to when my parents were this age, to realize that they once had kids at this age and that they gave me and my brother our names and the start to our stories. Sometimes I forget that they were at this stage too, that they weren't always "adult parents of adult children." FRIENDS:  From as far back as I can remember, we had people in our house and went to visit and eat with friends at their houses. My parents worked to be hospitable, generous, and welcoming friends, and I remember often heading home from church with a new family who visited following us for a beef roast meal, or dropping off homemade jam/crisp/bread to someone during the week. Even without a lot of financial cushion, my parents valued helping and giving to those with less, which I think has always stuck with me as part of how we live like Christ and love our friends and neighbors. 

Celebrating with my mom and dad on that humid summer day in Minnesota, I felt so much gratitude. I felt the sweetness of remembering the good and the faithful things that my parents and their community had done so well for forty years. I felt the joy of watching children and grandchildren grow and move forward, of the generational movement that my mom and dad have helped advance. And I felt the peace that comes whenever I acknowledge that God is always good, and working for good, in those who love Him and follow Him; and whether it is forty years, or forty minutes, we each have the opportunity to keep learning and relearning how to follow, and love, and be loved by, such a good and gracious God. What a gift! What a thing to celebrate! So thanks mom and dad for giving me so much good in my story.  Thanks be to God.   

Travel logue part deux

Another great trip we made this summer was to the cabin in WI that we've rented for five years in a row. It's situated on a beautiful spot off a channel that leads into a great lake, and has shady views, a paddle boat, a pontoon that we take out many times a day, and a nice little town nearby where we go jogging, get email and coffee, and visited the thrift shop and grocery store.

This year was a fun one because Eva was old enough to do so much more than in previous years. We went swimming a lot, including braving high waves on a very windy, very humid day, with her floaty and while the boat was tethered to the trees nearby.  She went paddleboating with Grammy and Gramps, wanted to play baby and mommy mosquito and get "seahorse" rides in the water. She helped roast marshmallows for s'mores, practiced her dance routines with Grammy, and even helped set the table.  We also enjoyed game time at the cabin, finding a new park and nearby ice cream place, watching West Wing Season 3 in the evenings, and watching Tangled (adults only). 

On the drive home from the cabin, we saw lots of farms, animals, and beautiful country-scapes on the way. Eva enjoyed this change of view from her backseat vantage point, and noticing what was passing outside the window helped pass much of the time driving.

My favorite car comment of hers was as we were driving through cornfields in Wisconsin. She pointed to the right side of the car and said, "Mom, look how tall that corn is growing!" And I agreed. Then she pointed to the left side of the car, at what was probably a soybean field, and asked, "Is that shorter field where they grow the popcorn?"

Giving Thanks

We were lucky this year to get to celebrate Thanksgiving with several groups of people - we had a bunch of friends over in Chicago, we saw Alicia and Dave in town for a quick and delicious meal, and then spent time in MN with family, where we also saw my Grandma Marly and caught up with some friends in town at the Danielson's house. Jed also came down for a couple days for family time (appropriately), and we explored a new (to us at least) local hangout that had a fab live band (which reminds me that I need to track down their name...)   

We had a great weekend with Mosbo family and friends over the holiday - here are a few pics from our trip:

This shot was taken during a break in the middle of the jumping/dancing festivities with Bo and Megs!

 Beautiful table!

 The guys...

 ... and the girls! (Minus the little girl who was sleeping.)

Fun with Grammy.

This trip was the first time that Eva seemed to get how time leading up to a drive and time leading up to leaving worked; she would ask how soon we would be there, or how soon til she had to leave. She also talked about going to "Miny - sohta" a lot beforehand - she somehow even has the MN accent down!

Happy start to the holiday season - there is so much to feel grateful for!

(This is a gratitude tree that Eva and I made together; each branch has something written on it to be grateful for.)

Super Grammy!

Last week was one of those whirlwind weeks, followed by a full weekend, and then followed by crazy full start to another week. It was just one of those sequences where fun, and work, and church, and household-ey things, and two flat tires, and deadlines all piled together to make a very full week and a half. In the middle of this full calendar, and contributing to the fullness, Peter left town for a conference for 3 days. I was planning on just using extra sitter help and winging the Sunday-Wednesday stint on my own, but then my mom got off of work and fabulously volunteered to come to town and help out while he was gone. Tonight, now that she's gone, I am realizing just how much she did while she was here!

Grammy Lou did all the dishes and almost all the meals for me while she was here. She left us homemade apple crisp, pumpkin pie, and shelves full of groceries and Target items. Grammy cleaned up the playroom and kitchen each day, and tidied up other rooms, clothes, and stuff on tables strewn around hourly by our two year old. She re-sewed two pairs of curtains for our bedroom, hemmed my dress pants, and took us girls out for Chinese and shopping at night. She helped me pick up our car from the mechanic's lot, provided a second car for a few days in general, and watched Pirates of the Caribbean with me in the evening. All this was on top of, and not an expected/required part of, me asking her to come and help out with Eva while I was pretending at single parenthood. She got up with Eva in the mornings, watched her while I was teaching or at work, and made up games, songs, crafts, and homemade cocoa with marshmallows for her grand-daughter. It was SUCH a relief to have her help and I kind of can't believe all that she got done. BIG THANKS to you mom. :)

I told her when she was leaving today that I should get her a cape - since she's Super Grammy!      

         

Cabin Quotes

We just got back into town after a long week traveling to MN, then WI, then MN again, and then back to Chicago. Whew! Eva traveled fairly well, slept amazingly great at every new place, and the weather mostly cooperated (aside from a near-tornado billowing through sleepy Cumberland, WI, where we were staying!) Today has already been consumed with unpacking, cleaning, making grocery plans and babysitter/work plans for the week; and it's only 9am! But we all got a great break this past week and I feel refreshed and re-focused for our dive back into summer!

There are a slew of great photos coming soon... but before I forget, here are a few of my favorite memories from this past week in the form of Eva quoteables.

"Hi Bo! I like your dress!"
To Tim, as he picked her up for a hug, while he was wearing a t-shirt and shorts:

"Want to play me? Want to go with me?"
To everyone, all day, most days.

"I hear a frog! I hear it! I hear it! Shhh. Quiet."
Said while running toward the lake shore, with her hands on her face to help her 'be quiet' to find the frog.

"Awwww. Hi kitty! Awwww. She's coot! She's coot! Awwww. Come here Meow, Meow. Come here. Up the stairs with me Meow, Meow."
Said while playing with a stray kitty Peter found and brought home; Eva named her Meow Meow and spent quite a while walking up and down the front stairs with her, clapping and explaining how cute she was.

"Good job Megs! Good job fishin'."
Said to the fishing queen, after she caught a crappie.

"I will miss you! But I will see you again soon. You come again? You come play me again?"
Said to Grammy and Gramps as we were leaving.

Stateside!

We got back into town Wednesday after a full two weeks of traveling. Whew! It was great and so much fun and full of so many different experiences... and we are still unpacking, cleaning, finding our "normal life" stuff around the house, and getting our sleeping clocks back in order!


My favorite phrase from Eva since our return home has been, "Momma home! Momma home!", closely followed by her newest expression of excitement, "Oh my!" (pronounced 'oh maui.') She did splendidly with the Mosbo grandparents while we were away and transitioned back home really well (so far), which of course helps us transition too. It was great to have a break from parenting and all the daily 'normal life' stresses, and I have to say it's also great to return to our normal life and to our little girl who is growing and changing and expressing herself more every day. I like that balance - enjoy time away, and enjoy the returning.


We have SO MANY great photos from our time in Thailand, and so many great stories! It has been fun to share some tidbits of our travels with others, but it is hard to sum up all we did - and it is surprising that it already seems so far away and long ago. We were lucky to have Tim and Megs show us all over and plan out our itinerary; looking back, it balanced out into a fantastic tour of seeing the country's various regions, doing touristy and every-day Thai stuff, and having a great balance of both fun and down time with our crew of friends, too.


I hope to get more pictures and stories online from our travels soon, but for now, the three of us are all getting used to life back in Chi-town. I feel very lucky that we got to celebrate ten years of marriage, having awesome siblings/siblings-in-law, and having great friends this way - yeah for "Toyland!"

Leaving on a Jet Plane...

We're off to Thailand for TWO WHOLE WEEKS tomorrow morning... and it feels surreal! I already miss our little girl more then I thought I would, and got teary-eyed making a little calendar for her that shows the days we'll be gone and ends with a picture of us holding her. Sigh.

I also cannot WAIT to see my brother and sister in law in just 24 hours, and have them show us around their world over there. We have such a fun group of people we will be traveling with, and I think it will be a perfect mix of adventure, relaxing, seeing sites and chilling on the beach - it all sounds so great... once we get going and on the plane all the running around the past week or so will fade away.

Here is the cute girl we are leaving behind (with loving grandparents!)

Below is a great recent video of Eva dancing and giggling with me. ( I also have a stellar clip of Eva reading with daddy, but it's not loading properly tonight... I'll try another time.) This clip is for her - and us - to have online while we are out galavanting around Thailand! I know Eva will have a fantastic time with her grandparents in MN, probably learning new skills, words, and songs every day - but I know I will miss her and will now have to work to remember how to be without her. She's at the age where she is a total information sponge and so fun to watch learn; my parents have planned so many activities for her visit that I wonder if she'll even notice we're gone? :) How blessed we are to have people who love our daughter so much and help keep her safe and supported while we are gone - and we are also grateful for the financial ways my parents also helped make this trip possible. Big thanks grammie and gramps! And thanks Tim and Megs for being our in-country guides! As Eva would say, "wow!" What an adventure we get to embark on! :) See you in two weeks.

I. Met. Oprah.

Well, along with an audience of 150 or so other people!

My ever-vigilant online mom snagged us tickets to attend a taping of an Oprah show last week - woo hoo! Mom was spending a chunk of a week with us for babysitting help, and while she was in town, she and I got to spend an early morning/afternoon driving down to Harpo Studios off Randolph Street (did you Chicagoans know that her studio is two minutes from the highway where we all drive all the time? I didn't.) While waiting for the taping to start, we were told that we were part of the first audience to tape for the new 24th season - so we of course thought we'd get to hear Whitney Houston or someone amazing to kick off the season. But, I think we were the first show they taped, not the first show that will be shown (they didn't tell us when our show will be aired, as mom kept pointing out - over and over - and again.) Sadly, we did not get to hear Whitney sing (or win a free car), but it was still a really cool morning!

The whole experience was really fun and seems only fitting for someone who a) has lived in Chicago for over a decade now, and b) loves all things Oprah. The show we attended was about international stars - famous people from around the world that Oprah wanted the US viewers to be introduced to. We met "the Chinese Oprah" - Chen Lu Yu - and her live audience via Skype; the "most famous couple in the world" - Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan were in studio from Bollywood (the 'Indian Hollywood'), and an Argentinian polo player turned Ralph Lauren model named Ignacio 'Nacho' Figuera also joined Oprah on stage for an interview. The guests were all very interesting - and funny! - people.

A few favorite memories from the day include:
- when we drove up to a nearby parking lot on our way into the studio, and mom rolls down her window to tell the parking attendant, "We're with Oprah - where can we park?"
- when we found *free* street parking (after said parking attendant told us his rate was $30.00)
- when we met two other people from Rochester, MN, sitting one row over from us in the waiting room for the taping
- when we met a couple who spent $1,000 just on their last minute airpane tickets from California to come use their Oprah tickets and visit Chicago for the first time (yes, we spent $0.00 to use our Oprah tickets)
- when we first walked into the actual studio, on the same plastic, white and silver hallway on the set that you see Oprah walk on every time, and found our seats under the hot overhead lights while Mary Blige was pumping on the stereo - it felt electric!
- realizing just how many famous people are doing cool stuff around the world that we don't hear much about
- seeing Oprah and her whole team in the studio in action; I was really impressed with her voice-overs, interviews, how she read people intuitively while interviewing them, responded to tricky questions, etc. She is GOOD at her job; from the eensy-weensy amount of work I've done speaking on camera and writing communications material, you can tell she has done this for years and is a PRO-fessional at it - very cool to watch.
- hanging out with my mom and having a crazy-lucky morning 'with Oprah' together!

Cabin 2009

Our last big trip this summer was to a cabin in Wisconsin with my parents for the week. Eva was there last year, but didn't fully appreciate the wide outdoors, boat rides and new house to explore at just three months old. This year she LOVED our vacay up north; especially all the time with Grammy Lou and Gramps, kissing all the pretend animals in the yard, and standing with her face in the wind at the front of the pontoon boat. Even though we had some cooler than normal temps (so yes, that is a fleece jacket that Eva is wearing in several of the pictures), she got to swim, ride and help drive the pontoon boat, "fish" with dad, take walks, blow bubbles, and have lots of fun inside the cabin too.

Peter and I also had an amazing week - a big break from "normal" life thanks to our two almost full-time grandparent babysitters. We loved sleeping in/getting up to run when we wanted, taking walks into town for coffee and email breaks, going out for a movie date at night, and having more time to enjoy Eva along with help from more hands around to do all the other day to day demands that life brings. Having family and friends excited to help out with a baby/toddler is something that I never understood until I experienced it as a (relatively) new parent; there are few things more supportive and meaningful at this stage in our lives. And there is nothing quite as sweet as watching your child be loved unconditionally by others who love her too - we're lucky.

Communicating.... and "pups"

Our daughter is a tad bit obsessed with dogs. It started with a visit to Uncle J and Auntie K's place a few months ago (Josh and Kara in Mpls), since they own two cute little puppies that Eva was first petrified of, and then fell in love with. Now every time she sees a dog, even from far away (as in before I can even see them), she opens up her mouth big and round, starts saying, "oh, oh, oh," very emphatically, and sometimes even growls or barks at them. Sometimes she will flail her limbs along with her noises, or crain her neck all the way around from her stroller/car seat/shopping cart to look at the "pup" as she calls them for as long as she can. It's quite entertaining.

Here is a snippet of Eva interacting with Grammy Lou (Liz's mom) on a visit to MN, that includes some talking, singing, and then - a puppy spotting. Yes, that is Eva (and Grammy Lou) growling. Loudly. Hee hee... it cracks me up to watch it, every time!