Whoa, snow!

We're experiencing a major snow storm in Charlottesville. I honestly don't remember when I saw it snow this much. I think we've gotten at least two feet, but it's honestly hard to tell. Naturally Micah and I went outside to play.

First, we had to figure out how to get outside. This wasn't trivial, as a fair amount of snow fell right in front of our door.


At first Micah didn't really know what to do. The snow was up to his waist, and at times higher!


He had a fun time trying to follow me on paths I created. We rolled down the hill in the backyard, and I of course had fun putting in whatever large snowbanks I could find. Micah also got buried a couple of times.




We don't own a shovel. Ha! And we weren't going to make it to the store today to buy one. I started clearing some snow using our plastic garbage can, and piled it all up in one spot.


Sarina suggested using the lid of the garbage can to sled down it.


Later on, we borrowed a neighbor's shovel to try to dig out a bit. This was hard (and I'm still not done) because by this time we had stomped a lot of the snow down.


Micah, of course, wanted to use the shovel too, so I got stuck with a blue shovel from his sand box, which we had extracted earlier.


I think we played for about two hours, and we were both soaked by the time we went in for lunch. It's still snowing out. I don't know that we'll get out to play again today, but if the weather is nice tomorrow and our clothes are dry, I think we'll be out again.

Hiding under the bed

Micah has recently discovered that he can crawl under his bed and hide there.

First snow in Charlottesville

When we woke up this morning, it was raining. It's rained a lot here since we moved. However, by the time Micah was done eating breakfast (Sarina and I had barely started), something had changed: it was snowing.

Immediately, Micah wanted to go outside. So we did, and had a lot of fun. We made snow balls, threw them on the ground, and stomped on them. We also splashed in a cold, muddy puddle.






My fingers started getting cold from taking off my gloves to take pictures. I suggested that in a little while, we should go inside to have hot chocolate.

Immediately, Micah wanted to go inside. So we did, and had a lot of fun then, too.


The snow will all melt tomorrow, but I'm grateful for it while it's here.

Recent Events

I want to update you all on recent events in our lives. I was recently pregnant and went in for an 18 week prenatal appointment where we discovered that our baby had died. Rachel Elizabeth was born still on September 5, 2009.


20 min after we returned home from her delivery, we unexpectedly rushed Micah to the ER at Children's Hospital for severe croup with strider. He was admitted for three days. On the third day we were discharged and that afternoon went to a funeral home to make decisions about Rachel's remains. A couple of days later we left for Wisconsin to bury her. Rachel was buried on September 14th.


We are now back in Pittsburgh. However, we are scheduled to move to Charlottesville, VA on October 26th so that Brett can start a new job as a post-doc at the University of Virginia on Nov. 2nd.

Given all the trauma we have been through and the stress of moving very soon afterward we are doing OK. We take each day one at a time, sometimes moment to moment. The most amazing thing about this experience has been God's presence with us. Psalm 23:4 has been true for us, that even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death we should fear no evil for God is with us. It is amazing to feel God's love and care in the midst of a nightmare. It doesn't mean that we don't have questions for God or sometimes feel angry with God, but it does mean that we have a very strong sense that God did not abandon us even though we have suffered a terrible loss. And even though we wonder why God didn't save Rachel, we know that God was with Rachel as she died and that Rachel is with God now. That gives us great hope and is a great comfort. We are terribly sad not to be able to raise Rachel and to show her our love in this life, but we are so glad that one day we will see her again. Even though I want to live this life to the fullest and die old, I am looking forward to the day when I will see my daughter again, hear her voice for the first time, and have the opportunity to get to know her.

Cutting Mushrooms

The following is an article that I wrote for the Pittsburgh Toy Lending Library newsletter. They only got a picture, but you get a video!

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After reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver and having my husband tell me about The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan we have been convicted as a family that in order to be good stewards of our bodies and the earth we should eat local and organic food as much as possible. However, cooking from scratch and using fresh produce takes a long time. I didn’t want to spend all that time alone in the kitchen and not include my one-year-old son, Micah. So I found some ways for him to enjoy the process with me.

Micah can’t use knives or the stove, but he wants to cook. He loves having a job and he’s more likely to eat things he’s helped with. His favorite activity in the kitchen is cutting mushrooms. Whole Foods sells local organic mushrooms all year round. We use Pampered Chef’s Egg Slicer Plus to make this a group activity. I strap him in his booster seat with the egg slicer ready to go on his tray. I push him next to the table and put the fry pan right on the edge of the table next to Micah. Then I get rinsing. Each time a mushroom is ready to be cut I put it in the egg slicer for him, then go back to rinsing. Meanwhile, Micah expertly presses the top down, squeals, “AH HA!” and pries the mushroom pieces out of the slicer and puts them in the pan. When the mushrooms are done, I let him down, chop up some onion, fry it all together in butter and serve!

Another way we involve him is by allowing him to put spices in certain dishes. He plops cinnamon sticks and cloves in a pot of apple cider or dumps the measured spices for a soup into the pot. Micah also loves to put the spices in scrambled eggs. His favorite combination is basil and coriander, a strange sounding concoction of my husband’s that is quite good.

From visiting the PTLL, Micah has developed a love of painting. Whenever I make a pie, he “paints” the top crust with water or egg whites and we put the sugar on together. The irony of this particular cooking activity is that now Micah likes the crust the best. He requested an apple pie for about two weeks and I finally gave in. Luckily this happened in the winter when local apples from Dawson’s farm were available at Whole Foods. During his nap I peeled and chopped countless apples by hand, mixed the filling—except the spices which I saved for when Micah awoke. He painted the crust. When the pie was finally finished and ready to serve he ate all the “crust” and left the apples. Oh well!

While cooking from scratch with Micah is healthy and fun, sometimes I’m too tired or there’s just not time. We have sworn off all the fast food burger places and anything else that sells CAFO meat. That doesn’t leave many options. But we have found a few local places that we all enjoy without having to sacrifice our food values:

• Panera – Kids meals come with a side of Horizon organic yogurt; drinks include organic milk or organic apple juice; all chicken is antibiotic-free; Micah likes the chicken noodle or chicken and wild rice soups.
• Chipotle – Most meat is naturally-raised; Micah likes carnitas “buh-buh-buh-bitos” with black beans, rice, pico de gallo, and guacamole.
• Whole Foods – A great place for a quick hot meal.
• Oh Yeah! – They sell organic ice cream; they make waffles, can add fruit.
• Taza D’Oro – Micah loves steamers (Turner’s local hormone free milk with flavored syrup). He likes them cold, which means they’re not steamed, but who cares! He orders them like this: “code teemer, app-oh teemer!” Only one of the cashiers can understand him!

Drinking like a big boy

For some time now, Micah has been (mostly) successfully drinking out of normal cups. Every once in a while, he'll drop a cup, or pour water all over his face, but this is happening less and less frequently. When some mishap does occur, however, a well-timed and perfectly-intoned "uh oh" is in order.

Big pot

Sarina and I enjoy cooking. We eat out only infrequently, and as a result, Micah spends a lot of time in the kitchen with us. Of course, he likes to do the sorts of things that we do, like haul around big pots. We try not to fall over while carrying big pots, but as Micah learns, sometimes this is unavoidable.

Taking to the stairs

Micah has become quite a competent stair climber. He climbs with ... enthusiasm.


He's also started climbing other things, like chairs and the like. He's such a cautious boy in general that he hasn't taken in big falls. He hasn't bloodied a lip or anything. He's even managed to avoid major bruises. As a result, I don't think he's desensitized us to falling. Should we buy him a helmet?

... just kidding.

Walking and talking

What's this? Can it be? A second post in as many days!

If a picture is worth a thousand words, what about a video? At one minute long, and 30 frames per second, this video is valued at nearly 2 million words. Plus, it's Micah.

I'd heard many times that you have no better mirror than your children. Micah at one point began calling to us from distant rooms, and we quickly realized it was because we had set the standard. I think we both also walk and talk. Does it show?


Yes, we let Micah play with our cell phones. No, in general he doesn't drop them, though he does call random people and make changes to our contact lists. However, it is good entertainment, and we figure we're training him for the many hours he's likely to spend pacing the halls of his apartment, talking on the phone.

Sign language

So ... it's been a while. How are you? We're fine. Busy, but fine. You know, we should catch up sometime. Now isn't a great time, but I have a special treat for you. We have a little video of Micah doing some sign language. I think you'll probably enjoy it.


Versatile Micah, proving that if you're coughing so hard you can't speak, you can still ask nicely for milk and cookies from Daddy if you know sign language.

Thanks, Ian!

Micah, in general, displays fantastic manners: he shares, puts things away when he's done with them, says please and thank you (in sign language). Of course, he is one, and he's a boy. He also has a close friend Ian (7) who can teach him things he might not otherwise learn at home. For example, hilarious hand noises. Thanks, Ian!

Eating with a Spoon

Hello Everyone! We're back! I survived retaking two of the PC(USA) ordination exams and Brett passed his proposal. Brett is now in the middle of writing a paper for submission to DATE (a conference) and preparing for SRC TECHCON (another conference, in Austin, TX and we're all going). I am recovering from the craziness of the last month...whew!

We thought we'd update you with the latest and greatest in Micah's life tonight since we've been away for so long. Micah is now successfully and messily eating with a spoon. It is still just a new fun activity more than an eating process, but we are both impressed with his dexterity. He is also babbling up a storm. He'll rattle off whole sentences of babble very earnestly, looking you right in the eye. It's so hilarious and cute! The following capture both of these things.

This picture is Micah's I-live-in-the-'hood-and-I-eat-from-a-spoon picture.


Here's a video of dinner tonight. :-)

B-day Party

Micah is ONE (as of 07/17/08)! I can't believe that we have a one-year-old. We threw a small party for Micah's b-day a week late. We wish we could have invited everyone we know and love, but we just didn't want to overwhelm Micah. Here are some pictures of the event, courtesy of Bethany Lomelino (formerly Sunquist).

Micah's cake was SO GOOD! Peggar Dixon made it. If you live in the Pittsburgh area and need cakes (or food for any event) she is the person to contact. When I was little my Mom decorated my cakes for my birthday. I drew the cow on Micah's smash cake.


Micah ate his cake with reckless abandon! He finished off almost the whole first layer. Amazingly, he went to bed at the normal time that night and fell asleep right away.


Here is a family pic. :-)


Happy Birthday Micah!

On another note, which will be very sad for most of you, we are going to take a break from posting until the end of August. We are going out of town, then Brett's proposal defense is happening on August 18th, then I take my (hopefully) last two ordination exams starting the end of that same week. There's just too much going on to keep up with the blog! We will miss you all, but don't worry...we'll be back!

Flashback filler: Look at the mess I made!

As Micah's mobility has increased, so has his capacity to make a royal mess. Here's a look back at the beginning, when he was just beginning to hone his make-making abilities.


At least there is a strong indication that Micah will be a voracious reader.

Flashback filler: I see you!

Micah discovered some time ago that he can look through objects at other objects. I'm sure there's probably a fancy name for this. I refer to this behavior as simply cute.

Flashback filler: A baby in motion

Soooooo there wasn't a post on Friday, nor one on Monday! Sorry. There nearly wasn't a post today, either. Our lives are a little busy. Is that surprising? Anyway, here's a picture from a while back to fill in the space until we can start pictures from "up north" and, of course, Micah's first birthday!

When this picture was taken, Micah didn't know how to crawl. He could pull himself up on things, but didn't know very well how to move (cruise) in that position. One day, Sarina sat him down in the middle of the living room, because she needed to go and do something in the hall or bathroom, thinking that Micah would be fine sitting there.

All of a sudden, Sarina heard an "uuuuUUUH" noise, and turning around, saw this:


So ended the days of putting Micah down someplace with any expectation that he would stay there: Micah had most likely scooted (half-crawled) across the carpet, pulled himself up on an end table, and cruised along the wall around the corner into the hallway.

Micah now crawls very, very fast. He's also pretty close to walking: he's willing to take both of his hands off of support to turn, and such. He's testing his balance, and falling a lot as a result. We're having a lot of fun, but I think we're probably also more tired. If that's possible.

The OC, Part 10

With this post, we conclude our pictures from the OC. This post is mostly made up of pictures that I couldn't figure out how to otherwise group.

Out on a walk, Clara wanted to push Micah's stroller.


Jeremy and I, however, got stuck pushing back up the hill.


Two serious moms hard at work (100% of moms featured in this post love Apple laptops).

The whole gang.

The OC, Part 9

Micah and Ruthie in particular spent a lot of time together, since they enjoyed playing with the same sort of things. You know, Micah liked to chew on plastic corn, and Ruthie liked to play with plastic pots.


Micah also liked playing with this farm. A lot. Every morning. More on the significance of this later.


Anyway, before long it really seemed that Ruthie and Micah went everywhere together. They sat on the floor for drinks.


They were held or carried by the same person at the same time.




This was a bit of a challenge, of course. Who needs hand weights with these two around? Anyway. Micah loved the barn so much, that he invited Ruthie along once. It was a pajama-paci-date.

Could it be, love?

The OC, Part 8

The three amigos spent a lot of time together, and played quite well.


Micah didn't get the memo that a picture was being taken.


And of course, they spent some time at the pool.


I love this picture. Somehow, this captures what life was like on our visit: packed full, everyone looking (or going) in a different direction, and mostly smiles on faces.

The OC, Part 7

So I was a little delinquent with posts last week. To make up for it, we're going to finish off the OC pictures with a little OC marathon, Monday through Thursday. Hopefully we'll see pictures our trip to Northern WI starting on Friday.

Clara got her whole own movie, so to make things fair Ruthie is getting her own mini-photo shoot. Cute tongue, eh?


Ruthie is infrequently separated from two very important things: Hannah, and one of her many pacifiers.


If you can peel her away from both of these things, there's something you should know: she is absolutely not ticklish in her neck, and really doesn't like it if you try.


There are a lot of cute pictures for us to get through before we can move on, so really you're getting two posts for the price of one today. Nice deal, eh? The next three pictures are from a trip to feed the ducks.

Here's Micah feeding the ducks.


When he was awake, given bread to feed the ducks he preferred to feed himself.

Clara, on the other hand, demonstrates perfect duck-feeding form.


No trip to feed the ducks is perfect without some time in the swings.