The Perfect Tree

Welp. This is going to be totally out of order.

Remember when I told you we had a super fun day choosing our tree and then decorating it? Yes. Long ago and before Christmas... we had a really wonderful family day.

We drove halfway to Floyd to a tree farm that sells any size tree for only $10. Limited to a tree that's not terribly tall, we searched and searched until we found the perfect one (for us). Here it is on the right of Ian :)

 Ian walked all over that farm with us until we found the tree, and then he hitched a ride with Papa.

 I just love watching these two together.

 The owner couldn't find our flagged tree on his first round, so he invited us to ride along with him. Ian was on cloud nine.

 And then, not only did the owner saw down the tree for us, he strapped it to our car, too. Talk about service! All for $10. I love where we live.

 That night we decorated the tree. This is actually our first, real tree as a couple and a family. Prior to this Jim and I had a Norfolk Southern Pine and another little potted pine tree. Last year we didn't even get our own tree because we were living with friends in Richmond. This year, we had the real deal and therefore purchased our first stand, too.

 Next year we'll upgrade to a tree full of lights, too. Ha! We were so content to just have the tree and our ornaments this year. The most fun I've ever had decorating for Christmas was with this little man. He was so excited each time we unwrapped a new (to him) ornament, found a hook, and got to hang it on the tree.

 Jim & I just sat back and soaked in all of his amazement. It's a joy to marvel at the wonder of a child.

 Yowzers. We haven't taken many pictures of me this pregnancy. When I uploaded these pictures I was shocked to see how massive my belly is!! I was 30 weeks in these pictures.

 We found the ornament we made for Ian's first Christmas and compared his growth! He thought that this was really neat. For the rest of the season he would point to it and talk about how it was his foot as a baby. Every guest got the full tour (his mistletoes from PMO, his Christmas wreath from PMO, his Christmas tree made at PMO, his CD ornament with his picture from PMO, his "boot" that he made in a nursery at the church in Philly, the cinnamon ornaments that he mixed and then painted with me... I think that might have been everything).

 One of his favorite books to read this year was this incredible book my mom gave me when I was teaching kindergarten. It's The 12 Days of Christmas with pop-up pictures on each page. He found this to be mesmerizing and we sang through it often.

Tomorrow we plan to take down our decorations. It's always hard for me to do, but it will be January 7th. Our tree has had a good run. What fun it was to share this holiday season with our little man!

Stay tuned for family visits & Christmas pictures.

Happy New Year!!

A year in review, of sorts.

The year 2015 was a pretty big year for our family.

We traveled to Germany & Switzerland for the first time ever as a unit and a family. We visited my cousin, Marianne, and her family in Hannover, Germany for about a week. While there, we fell in love with the sauna and can only dream of having one like it nearby. Next we went to see my host parents from when I student taught abroad in Erlangen, near Nuremburg. What a fun, loving couple Meg & Mark are! I was so blessed to spend time with them in undergrad and then loved sharing my family with them for a few days this year. We left their home for Switzerland, where we met my friend from high school for a tour of Bern before spending a couple of nights outside of Frauenkappelen with Marianne and her family and Phoebe & James. Here we visited with my great aunt Lizzy, explored the countryside around their home, had dinner with our extended Swiss family, and then walked around Solothurn (seeing the place where my grandpa was born & lived before coming to America). It was a full and busy two weeks! Ian was a champ of a traveler, even at nineteen months old.

 When we returned home, we brought a flock of chickens into our family. It's been a year of learning, loss, eggs, and fun as we watch Ian help with the chores of caring for these birds.

We've recently adopted rabbits from our friends and this will be our next "homesteading" adventure. We're enjoying dabbling in minor animal care and gardens. Jim's dream is to one day have a permaculture haven. Right now we're dabbling and collecting books & knowledge, but one day it will happen. Stay tuned :)

 Jim transitioned from intern to a senior resident in his family medicine program in June. The end of 2014 was quite difficult, having had most of the toughest rotations stacked in that fall, but the spring of 2015 brought much more family time and room to breathe. The fall of 2015 has also brought much more family time and opportunities to pursue his passions.

His biggest thrill has been joining the Blacksburg Rugby team. With a couple of practices a week and games on the weekend, his love for competitive sports and a chance to spend time with friends in and out of the medical field have proved to be an invaluable asset to him and our family. Ian & I have loved going to games both at home and away; it's fun to have a family sport to rally behind.

 In June we became pregnant with our second child and expect to welcome him/her in February 2016!! We cannot wait to meet our little one and give Ian a sibling. Our excitement is balanced by a desire to soak up as much time with Ian as we can during these fleeting days and weeks.

As you can imagine, the pregnancy and Ian have consumed my 2015 year. I love nurturing our family through outdoor activities, seeking to provide healthy & nourishing meals, and attempting to hold down the fort during the busy months of residency. I absolutely love this purpose in life: being a mama. Each day brings such anticipation and joy as the person Ian is becoming gets unlocked minute by minute.

The biggest lesson and gift I've been given this year has been the gift of time. This summer a space became available for Ian in a local Parent's Morning Out (PMO) program. With two weeks to wrap my head around it, we decided to go for it and he started going two mornings a week. He absolutely adores his teachers and thrives through interactions with other children, fine & gross motor activities, outside playtime, and creative, process-oriented art projects. It's a joy to watch him feel so secure and comfortable in their care.

During the times when Ian's in PMO, I have tried to be very purposeful about making the most of these gifts of time. In the beginning, I was trying to get all of the cleaning, housework, etc. done and realized that this was leaving me a bit drained and not pouring life back into me. Through a MOPS talk I learned and was given permission to choose to make this time my own, doing only activities that would actually be life-giving.

It's been an exciting shift in perspective for me. I've started putting myself first during this time and have gone swimming a whole lot (what an amazing activity for a pregnant woman!), sat and journaled, sat and read, pursued other errands and activities I wouldn't be able to do as easily with Ian in tow, and I've even just sat, closed my eyes, and relaxed. It's been HUGE for my outlook.

When our second baby comes, this will once again move into flux, but I hope and pray that the lessons I've learned during 2015 will pour into the upcoming year. Tasks & stuff can wait... and they normally get taken care of faster and more efficiently when I've taken some time for myself.

 Where to start with Ian? WHOA. What an amazing kid!! We are so proud to be his parents. His enthusiasm for life, drive to tackle and complete challenges, and his ever-multiplying vocabulary keep us on our toes and in rapt attention throughout the days. His language has just exploded over the course of this year to the point that he is now speaking in complete sentences, using correct tenses and pronouns.

He loves to sing and listen to music (live and on the radio), complete puzzles, run ("Ready, run Papa/Mama?"), throw the ball for and tackle Leif, listen to/read books, study animals, color and paint, laugh with friends, help with our chickens and observe the rabbits, build with blocks, play with and set up trains, play with toy animals, and hike & play outside. Among many other things...

Ian speaks about our baby often and lifts up my shirt to point to where he/she is. He has felt the baby move within my belly and he sings songs to him/her sometimes. I'm sure there will be a transition, but he seems excited about being a "big brudder."

 This year, in particular, we've felt a strong sense of community in our area. It's wonderful to have good friends to walk with through this season of our lives. Our residency and parenting journeys have been enriched by sharing tables, trails, tears, and laughs with people in the same stages of life. For this, we are eternally grateful.

 Thank you for following our family this year. Thank you for your encouragement and love as we prepare to welcome our second child into the family. We hope our paths cross often in 2016!!

The adventure continues...

Much love,

Käthe, Jim, Ian & Baby 

Philly Thanksgiving

Pardon the tardy post! For our second Thanksgiving we hit the road for Philadelphia. Time in the car together is precious because it's normally the most uninterrupted time Jim & I have to talk. We had been waffling on a girl's name (well, mostly I had been waffling) and we chose one on the drive. We'll see if it's the one! ;)

When we arrived at Erin & Russ' house, the whole family was there to greet us. This sweet little girl had grown so much since we saw her in July, at one month old. It was wonderful to see her and spend time with her! 

She's a very sweet,  content baby and Ian had been talking about getting to spend time with her for weeks.

What a joyful cousin photo!! Gramee was thrilled to have both grandchildren together.

Thanks for a few of these photos, Erin!! I especially love this one :)

On Saturday we had our big Thanksgiving feast and spent the day together. Some left for a little sale hunting for Christmas gifts while a few of us stayed back. It was nice to have some one-on-one chat time with Erin :)

The next day was Seraphina's baptism and the whole family was in attendance. Here she is, all dressed up and ready for her big event. What a cutie!!!

Christine, pictured below, is a fantastic aunt. She makes the trek to see us in Blacksburg often throughout the year and she stops by and visits Seraphina quite often. She reads, sings, and plays with them and encourages, & loves them so well. Thank you, Christine!!!

 I didn't snap any pictures during the baptism but she was baptized by Grandpa in her home church in Philly. We were so glad to be there.

 Russ' family attends the same church, so we took an extended family photo, as well.

Many things to be thankful for this season.

Thanksgiving in Paris

This year we celebrated Thanksgiving with Mom, Dad, & Willem. Phoebe & James were in Kentucky with his family and we missed them, but we look forward to spending Christmas with them in a couple of weeks!

My favorite meal of the year is BY FAR this feast. Okay, with Christmas Eve's roast beast a close second. I've never taken photos of the food before, I don't think. And, at the point of this feast, I was still feeling fairly well, so I snapped a fair amount of pictures. Unfortunately, I was hit by an unfortunate bug during the Thanksgiving holidays and travels.

We spent the morning visiting with some of my mom's cousins, whom I hadn't seen for years. And then it was soon time for us to feast on a magazine-worthy meal.

 My mouth waters looking at these stuffed mushrooms, sweet potato & apple scallops. mashed potatoes, green beans and almonds, kale salad, turkey, homemade stuffing, gravy, cornbread, cranberry sauce.... so savory.

 Ian took this meal seriously. Who wouldn't? Jim's obviously equally intent ;)

 To make room for pie, we headed outside for our annual hike up to the Paris View. We didn't make it all of the way there due to the limited daylight and how I was feeling, but we made room for pies. Yes, PIES. Pecan and pumpkin and a berry pie (a new addition this year).

 28 Weeks pregnant at this point, I believe.

 Ian hopped up each rock and recently found his pockets, which made his walk look quite proper.

 It's such a joy to watch these two interact. Love them.

 Äma always pulls out a bunch of books, from my childhood, to read and Ian soaks in the new literature.

 Grumps spent the last morning we were there making pretzels. We were thrilled to eat them as our snack on the drive to our second Thanksgiving with the Barlows in Philly. Thanks, Dad!!

Sweet picture. Thanks for a wonderful Thanksgiving, Mom & Dad & Willem!! Won't be long until we are all together again :)

"How 'Bout Dis One?"

SUNDAY

Today was a rare and wonderful day. We had a relaxing morning with a breakfast fit for kings. We went and chose our Christmas tree, walking through almost the whole patch before finding the perfect one. Ian ran up and down the paths, eager and excited. He even got to ride on the gator with Papa and the gentleman who helped to prepare the tree to be put up on our roof.

Full of food I'd packed and relaxed, he fell asleep on the car ride home.  I took a shower while Jim worked in the yard around Ian sleeping in the car. When I got out of the shower, I glimpsed a very content duo holding one of the rabbits we recently acquired. Ian beamed from ear to ear, when it was his turn to hold the bunny. Jim said he didn't even look down at the bunny in his arms, Ian was staring forward with a look of amazement and joy.

We then brought the tree into our living room and rearranged the whole thing. We had to move things to make room for the tree, but it's also left us so refreshed and content since they've been moved. Sometimes you just have to move the furniture around to put an extra spring in your step!

I made quiche with Ian while Jim did more yard work. After the quiche was in the oven, we did a puzzle and played.

After dinner we listened to Christmas music and put the decorations on our tree. Last year we weren't living at home for the whole month of December, as we stayed with some friends in Richmond for a rotation. Since it had been almost two years since we've put up our decorations and ornaments, I had forgotten about some of them and was reminded of a few different people and memories. Familiar comforts.

The best part of the day was putting the ornaments on the tree with Ian. HE LOVED IT. He enjoyed each part... the unwrapping of the ornaments, the detangling of the hooks, and then the placement on the tree. Jim and I felt so much joy watching him today.

Jim laid out the hooks for us and Ian would walk over and get one each time we needed a new ornament. I loved his exclamation of "How 'bout dis one?", after he would choose which hook he wanted to use for that particular ornament. All of the hooks look exactly the same, but his choice of words just kept us in stitches.

We finished the night with Love Actually, a movie we watch once a year. It was great.

____________________________________

MONDAY

Would you believe it? Today was equally as wonderful. 

I took Ian to PMO and returned to the car to find six missed calls from Jim & a text. Before I could even read the text, he was calling again. The power was out at his clinic and he didn't have to be back at work until 1 PM!!!! 

WHAT?? And I happened to be free without Ian? Many a time I have thought about how nice it would be for us to have a small date in the beginning of the day, while Ian's at PMO. I never thought that it would actually come to fruition. And I happened to be completely ill-prepared for what I would do during my free time anyway (something quite unlike me). 

So, we met at Our Daily Bread, the best bakery in town for a yummy croissant and coffee date. He helped me run a few errands and we even had some spare time to walk on the Huckleberry. Pure sweetness! 

Lastly, for the first time ever, Jim got to see Ian in action at PMO... how content and focused he is with the centers. He got to meet his wonderful teachers and see their love for Ian permeate their smiles and interactions. And then Ian got to show him his sand box, truck, and spoon at the playground.

In a perfect world, this is how we'd start every Monday.

___________________________________________

This life in the medical training field is very unpredictable. Family time is limited and sometimes even when he's home, he's typing up medical notes on patients or taking phone calls at any and all times of the day. Seizing and savoring these full days of time together or surprise morning dates are what keep us going. And they remind us of how life can be again in the future.

Added Note: It's 9 PM & Jim just walked in the door as was finishing this post. He immediately had to run downstairs to his office to call in a prescription for a patient. Catch my drift?