~Current Events~

OK, so it's been a while since the Happy Baby post went up -- time for an update.

Let's see... THOM -- At this very moment Thom is enjoying attending a theological conference at Villanova University near Philadelphia. I think this is his third conference at Villanova. For any of you who might recall the story of Kara and I visiting the Philadelphia Zoo in the snow December of 2003 -- that was the weekend of one of the conferences Thom attended. Previous to that he attended one on St. Augustine in the Fall of '01 I believe it was. He was particularly excited about this conference as his dad was meeting him there for a sort of Father/Son weekend getaway. I'm sure they were out clubbing until the wee hours of the night -- those party animals! (Obviously -- I'm kidding!) Meanwhile, Thom has been fully accepted into the leadership training program at Thomas Nelson. He was recommended by his supervisor, but initially only accepted as an alternate. We suspect this was because of his length of service thus far at Thomas Nelson. At any rate, he was able to attend the kick-off event and the first meeting and after the first meeting he was accepted fully into the program on the merit of his involvement. I was very proud of him! We continue to hope for more job advancement at Thomas Nelson as the company is going through a restructuring that will hopefully open up more opportunities in the coming year. In other news, Thom has been doing an excellent job leading our church's adult Sunday School class through a book on the virtues. Everyone seems to be enjoying the book Thom chose and his teaching.


OK... how's KARA... well, it depends on who you ask... Ask her teacher and she is a model student doing very well in her subjects and never causing any trouble in the classroom. Ask us, and we'll tell you we love her dearly, but she's having some serious trouble around here with regard to respect. She wakes up grumpy and downshifts to crabby with occasional bursts of nasty and delightful highlights of sweetness. With Thom out of town we have tried a different morning routine, which I think has helped. Today is Wacky Clothes Day at school, so we mixed and matched and she actually enjoyed this without getting frustrated or being nasty. We did two braids in her hair and put funny little clips all over the top of her head. She has two different socks and two different shoes and two shirts that don't match. Try as she might to look wacky, she still came off looking pretty cute! In fact, had it not been wacky day, she kind of looked like a trend-setting teenager. Trouble is most of her wardrobe is colors that match, so we really didn't get too far from normal. I'm looking forward to hearing how the other kids dressed. All in all, we're making it through this difficult time with her and trying to remember love and grace and forgiveness apply to all of us - especially Mama and Daddy at times, but most often toward her. Thom will appreciate me saying it seems to be a conflict of law versus grace if ever there was one.

On to CALEB... he is just too cute these days! He's talking a bit more and LOVES to play. He says "Ma'E" for Mommy. Which is kind of funny because Kara calls me Mama, something I encouraged in her, yet with him it seems Mommy seems more fitting and I don't know why. Isn't that strange?? I think with Kara, I thought of Mama as a loving endearment and a closeness and being a mother was so new for me that I somehow projected that into encouraging her to say Mama. With him, it's sort of sappy, but Mommy seems so traditional and normal and expected and it just somehow sounds right when I say "Give this to Mommy" or "Come over here to Mommy" or "Say "Hi Mommy." I don't know... we'll see how this plays out. Truth be told, Kara calls me both Mommy and Mama, so maybe we'll never even notice. As for toys, Caleb has discovered pretend play. He likes to pretend with Kara's kitchen set and pretend to give me a cup of something to drink. He also loves musical toys like his xylophone and drumming toys. He is definitely the kind of kid who is happy making noise with a pot and wooden spoon from the kitchen. I have been snapping pictures of him with his different musical toys for the sake of a scrapbook page and this would be one without precedent -- I don't have a matching set of pictures like that from Kara at this age. Oh, the other big deal is "in" -- he loves to put something into something else. A few days ago he and Kara ran around the house chasing a soccer ball for about 30 minutes. They were having the best time!! They have a great relationship and that is the best thing about having two kids.

As for me...I've gotten into a routine with my writing and I've gotten my first paycheck as a freelance writer! I am presently writing for EBSCO, where Thom and I used to work, doing some writing on an encyclopedic high school product. Last month I was doing articles on world capitals and this month I'm working on hot topics for their points of view product. The research and writing is very enjoyable and it is great to be working during the day and relaxing in the evenings. I'm liking that much better than doing evening Pampered Chef shows. I think with two kids I'm getting up earlier and tired earlier. Either that or I'm just getting old!

The best news of this month was that our close friends SWR and QE came down for a visit mid-month. We rearranged furniture and moved the kids together into Kara's room and SWR, QE and little SI all slept in Caleb's room. (Thanks Auntie Kara for loaning us the awesome Air Mattress!!) Anyway, we had a GREAT time with them! We went into Nashville for the Oktoberfest in Germantown. We ate at a fabulous Indian restaurant for a fun lunch of politic-talking with my brother. We oohed and aahhed over the little ones and stayed up WAY TOO LATE playing penny poker, watching movies, and reading. SWR enjoyed watching the History Channel, eating my cooking and reading the Sports Illustrated mags I've been saving for him (the former tenant of our apartment never bothered to get their mag forwarded so we get them!) QE enjoyed sorting through a mountain of baby clothes for SI with me and the welcomed rest from the world of boxes they've been living in since mid-August as they are in the process of moving from Massachusetts to Connecticut. We enjoyed getting to spend time together with them! Hopefully we'll be able to travel up to Connecticut sometime after the New Year to visit them and see their new home!

Well, that should catch everyone up on current events here at our house. The only real current event we're dealing with here is the election next week. Every member of my family has a different view or take on who to or not to vote for in this Senatorial election. Unfortunately, no matter what happens we'll get a politician and we'll likely be disappointed within a year! On that happy note, have a great day and make it a great weekend!