While H is away

The house is silent. (except for the crazy clock Holly bought for her bathroom.  Tick.  Tick.  Tick...)

It's raining.  The dogs are looking out the window.  (grateful they're inside, I suppose.)

Holly is in the Dominican Republic.  She's probably telling Luma about Tessa and her amazing "fwip" skills.  (translation = "flip")  And Tessa is with Justin's family in Marion.  Which means he is missing both his girls tremendously.

Above: Tessa mastering her fwips.  

Above: She's been Beiberized.  

Above: Not many of you know what I (Justin) do.
Here's a favorite snapshot of the year.  One of our dear students, Lindsay, has had a profound impact on Salem College.  Her legacy is proudly captured here. 

Above: Spring arrives with a little guest near our carport.  This little guy is a baby cardinal ...and every day MANY times each day Tessa wants to look at the bird nest and its occupants.
The sad update here is that a couple of days ago the baby and the egg were missing.  I looked for him around the base of the bush but concluded that only predator is to blame.
On a related note, it's probably not a good idea to put a bird feeder near a bird nest - my guess is that will attract unwanted pests rather than refuel momma bird.  ( :-(  - How can I explain this to Tessa? )

Above: Finally - you need a good family shot from Easter.

a belated Christmas video

where did those 3 months go?

You probably think I forgot about the blog. And I did. Mostly. But for those of you who still check to see if we're posting (ahem...Barbara)...here we are.

Where have we been? Ending summer, starting the school year, back in the DR, and trying not to spend every waking moment behind a computer screen. But you don't care about that, you want pictures. Well, here you go.

yes, it's true. justin actually touched a horse and didn't die.

hayride and visit to the pumpkin patch

punkins!

she really like picking her own pumpkin

asheville

For the first time in 5 years, yes count em 5 years, we decided to pay actual money to go on a real vacation. (Not one where we go visit friends and stay for free at their house which is what we always end up doing because we love our friends and free places to stay.) We decided to try our first B&B in Asheville.

It. was. awesome.

We walked downtown, had great meals, enjoyed the outdoors, shopped a little, met some interesting folks, and just enjoyed each others company.


The Beaufort House


Breakfast on our private deck


first course: blueberry peach cobbler


second course: 3 cheese quiche and fruit


kayaking on the french broad river


a blue heron


my arms were so sore by the end (7 miles)




a snack at the Woolworth counter

It was a short getaway, but so worth it. And we missed our girl, but she was in great hands with the Britts!

Sandbox

A few days ago we had our sad sidewalk removed since the nearby trees' roots were causing serious havoc on the concrete.

Today we went outside to play and Tessa joyfully found a nice use for the empty space: a sandbox ..."dirtbox".



Fun huh? She would grab small fistfuls of dirt and toss it in the air as though it was enchanted specks of love, glitter and magic. Well...it got me thinking. Specifically I was thinking, "this stinks, she deserves better." And furthermore, no matter how much she loved the dirt, I knew of something better. Something cleaner, blissful and wonderful. Something that she could really enjoy. (Yes, this will most like be a sermon illustration.)

So we called up a friend who had mentioned having an unused sandbox that we could have. Made a quick run to Ace Hardware for a few bags of you-know-what. And Boom! It was real play time.





I think she likes it. She was in it for a couple of hours at least. Eventually we were able to pry her away...but we had to use a cherry popsicle as bait. (In a related story, we're expecting to give Tessa more baths.)

First Pres Family DR trip

Here's a quick video of one of the many things the group did during their trip. In spite of the tropical storm that was drenching us everyday, we found moments of joy, hard work, and laughter. The video shows one of my highlights for the week. We wanted to have some time for the families to interact with each other as a whole. So, we thought of doing a "field day." But, with the weather and not wanting to invite mass chaos by giving specific invitations, we decided to hold the event in Club Cana (a covered outdoor shelter). As for the families, we decided to invite the Women's Co-Op and their families figuring it would give us a pretty good one-to-one ratio.

The afternoon came and we were literally in drenching thunderstorms. The event was to start at 2:30 which means 3 on Dominican time. At 3pm, it was still just the Americans sitting and waiting. I decided to go up to the gate and check. The rain had let up and as I walked toward the gate, I see all the families huddled under a covered area. As soon as they see me, they yell, "Holly!" I immediately wave them over and see that they are there and excited for the afternoon.

The rest, you can see for yourself. It makes my heart smile.

her favorite things

reading


blue bear


strawberries and eating with a fork


playing dress up

the only reason i'm sad i missed the oscars...

If you don't already know this about me, I'm obsessed with SYTYCD. (Call it American Idol for dancers.) So, in my surfing the web for more about the choreographers and dancers on show, I came across the LXD. I thought I'd share my 8am inspiration of the day.

LXD from Bboy WIZ on Vimeo.

Relevant: Haiti

I know a blog post is way overdue. And I'm working on it. But for now, head on over to RelevantMagazine.com. It's one of our favorite mags and their recent article on Haiti is excellent.

http://www.relevantmagazine.com/digital-issue-46?page=48

Thank you Relevant for shedding some much needed light on the situation in Haiti.

friends

A couple weekends ago, our friends' daughter came to stay with us for the day. She and Tessa are 8+ months apart, so they are just getting to the point where they can enjoy playing together. We felt quite accomplished when we got the two of them buckled into their carseats and on our way to lunch with friends.


T, K, and Justin making dinner in the little house



swinging!



K showing T how to roll the ball



deciding who gets to sit in the chair

silence is golden

...but there's only so much singing I can do without a little help. And while I'm sure Tessa loves the sound of my singing voice, I was a little worn out on the few songs I know all the words to by heart.

See, we were recently given a second car. Yes, given. There is an awesome family that knew we were in need and asked if they could help. They had a car they weren't using and asked if we wanted it. Ummm...huh? Let me think about it. OKAY! So, it's been great these last few months having my own mode of transportation. However, the stereo was locked and no one knew the security code to get it working.

So, my sweet hubby installed a new stereo for me last week. Isn't he the best?

spinning

The Christ School in the DR

My last trip to the DR was with a group of 8th graders and their parents as well as a few teachers and the school principal. It was a quick week chock full of activities. My favorite part of the week was the 8th grade class party. We invited the Dominicans and Americans to have lunch, play games, and enjoy a baseball game together. Typical middle schoolers no matter what country you're in...they sat boys on one side, girls on the other. Then, during the game time, somehow the girls began pointing out which boys they thought were cute. They would then proceed to run over and actually tag him. Not sure the boys had any idea what was happening. Oh 8th grade. So awkward.



The week was fantastic. Reminded me why I like my job so much.

I think I forgot how to blog

Or maybe I feel so overwhelmed with blog posts that I've had in my head that I can't seem to figure out where to start. Or when I get a few moments with my computer, I realize I need to do actual work instead of write lots of frivolous thoughts. Though most of my imaginary blog posts have substance. I want to tell you about my last 3 trips to the DR, and about all the fun things Tessa is up to now that she's 15 months, and how much I love my husband and want to celebrate him on his 32nd birthday (yesterday), and how excited I am that my bff is moving within 15 minutes of my house after she's been 5+ hours away for the last 8 years, and well, there's so much more. So instead of logging into blogger and writing, I don't.

So, here's my first attempt at reuniting with my blog. I'm going to cheat and tell you to read this. Because of everything I have to say, my friend Anna can tell it even better.

Glad to be back. Thanks for reading. Oh and how about a cute Tessa pic for good measure?

planes, charter bus, subway, train, automobiles

2 weeks ago, our little mission team of 61 people was split over two flights to get home from the Dominican Republic. One group (ours) would fly via JetBlue; the other Delta. Both were supposed to connect through JFK at similar times to land in Charlotte. (so was the plan.)

This is our journey to get 31 people home that took place from 9am March 13 - 9am March 15 while the Nor'easter hovered over New England for 3 days.

• 9a-11:45a: SDQ: We arrive a quickly find out that the Nor'easter has canceled our connecting flight. JB employees frantically hit keyboard keys for an hour only to say..."you should just go to JFK (New York) and your chances of getting to North Carolina will be greater from there."
  
• 2:45pm: attempted JFK landing: wind gusts of 60-70 mph shake the plane to the point of much nausea. 300 feet off the ground, the pilot pulls up (probably saving our lives) and we're diverted to another airport.
• 3:30pm: Bradley International Airport, Connecticut: I submit that Bradley should NOT be called "international" since they only handle ONE international flight PER WEEK.
  
• 3:30pm-9:30pm - we were kept on the plane because US Customs officials were not present to process our flight. That's 6 hours (!!!) where the plane could have gone to Charlotte and back! Meanwhile, Tessa and other small ones start to lose their cool. Some students lighten the mood and seize the opportunity to snap photos in the cockpit.
  
• 10p-12:30a: JetBlue takes our group (via charter bus) to JFK. We stop at McD's along the way to eat our first meal since breakfast.
  
• 12:45am: We're in line at JB hoping to get 31 people accommodated. (because of the storm, no hotels, no meal vouchers, just sit and wait.)
• 2am - 8:45pm - JFK: most of our group gets parred down thanks to concerned parents re-booking their children on other flights. (JB's policy does not allow booking on other airlines.) People sleep throughout the day on the floor. Full flights keep us stuck. The remaining 12 of us await the fate of the 9:45pm flight to Charlotte. Tessa keeps everyone's spirits up. They figure if she's okay, then so are they. (a little lesson on perspective for us all.)
• 8:45pm: for no reason, and with clear-ish weather (maybe the clouds were too low?) - our flight is canceled. The cancellation line for JB stretches over a block long.
• 9:45pm-11pm: our remaining group of 9 - beyond sleep deprived, tired, neglected - leave JFK and JetBlue (you know the scene in a movie where the kidnapped victim has one single glimmer of hope to get out and run for their life? -- that was us.)
• 11pm: We depart via Amtrak for Baltimore, MD. (Tessa finally goes to sleep.)
  
• 1am-ish (really, now all times are vague and blurring together). shuttled to BWI airport in hopes of catching a 5:25am commuter flight via USAirways. (T is still asleep. Holly is again thankful for the reclining stroller.) Team passes out (again!) on concrete floor.
  
• 5am: 7 of us are on the flight. Holly, Tessa and Justin wait for the glorious moment when "flying standby" actually pays off. (T - still sleeping!)
  
• 5:20am: Our standby boarding passes are issued. (we're on the plane!) Tessa sleeps through the whole flight!!!
  
• 7am: We land in Charlotte!!! Tessa wakes up. happy baby. tired mommy and daddy. (no checked luggage since it was on the canceled flight).
• 8am: car ride home. Justin drinks coffee only to find its caffeine effects seem futile.
  
• 9am. We arrive in the church parking lot.

The actual mission trip to the Dominican Republic was wonderful. But we joke that we went on two trips that week. "There was the one where we went to the Dominican Republic. And then, there was the one where we went to JFK." (Thanks, Marti.)

[ By the way, the Delta group was diverted to Cincinnati and were all home by Sunday evening. They had a hotel Saturday night and meal vouchers. We're waiting to see if JetBlue can win the bronze medal for public relations by helping us cover the additional $$$ it took to get 31 people home. ]

First steps

She's so big. Learning to swim (okay... float!) and now taking steps!

guess it's time to move the candy drawer

notice who's on her tiptoes

Tessa's First Birthday

After three weeks of postponing due to snow, we finally were able to throw Tessa's birthday party. Thanks to the Shores, we had an amazing stress-free time. I take no credit for the beautiful decor you see. I'm just glad I have a pro-party planner as a good friend who loves Tessa like her own.

1 year + cupcake

Even though Tessa's party keeps getting rescheduled (weather!!!) we had a micro-party to celebrate the special day. [warning: watching the following movie may make either crave a cupcake or never eat one again.]

Video link: http://www.youtube.com/user/lewiedogg#p/a/u/0/EcVe9w6Uzxg

525,600 minutes

How do you measure...a year in the life? (Now you will be singing this all day!)

Here's Tessa on her 1 year birthday. What a difference a year makes.