Rocky has come to our family sort-of by default. He had to be given away by his previous owners and we thought, "well, he's probably going to much easier than our last dog." And, alas, he is. His size, his exercise requirement, and his demenor are all much more compatible with our lives at the moment.
Erich really enjoys Rocky but is very rough with him. It's stressful trying to teach a 2-year-old how to properly treat an animal. He's had a lot of time in "time-out."
Other than that, life is still flowing by pretty easily. We're enjoying our jobs as well as our home life.
Until next time...
Monday, September 8, 2008
Friday, July 25, 2008
Summer days
Our summer has been VERY nice this year. I think it all has to do with us feeling like we're back "home" finally. Neither Jonathon nor I regret our time in New Jersey. It definitely opened our eyes and made us more thoughtful, slower to speak or make assumptions, and made us appreciate family all the more.
My friend Andrea does a good job of listing 5 or 10 things that are positive about something, or things that can be improved. So I will try this out too. Here are 10 things I loved about living in New Jersey:
1. The History: the houses, the battles, the stories...
2. The Diversity: PEOPLE, food, music, theater, neighbors...
3. The payscale: Higher cost of living = higher earnings (helped us pay down some college debt).
4. The friends who let us be "family"
5. The Reformed Church of Highland Park, where we taught and were taught so much about environmental and social justice.
6. Lighthouses. That's also why I like Michigan.
7. Sunshine and blue sky. The storms always passed quickly.
8. Traffic. So that I know now how bad "bad" really is.
9. My sinful affair with Dunkin' Donuts coffee. I have recently broken our relationship, but remember it fondly.
10. The birth of our first child.
My friend Andrea does a good job of listing 5 or 10 things that are positive about something, or things that can be improved. So I will try this out too. Here are 10 things I loved about living in New Jersey:
1. The History: the houses, the battles, the stories...
2. The Diversity: PEOPLE, food, music, theater, neighbors...
3. The payscale: Higher cost of living = higher earnings (helped us pay down some college debt).
4. The friends who let us be "family"
5. The Reformed Church of Highland Park, where we taught and were taught so much about environmental and social justice.
6. Lighthouses. That's also why I like Michigan.
7. Sunshine and blue sky. The storms always passed quickly.
8. Traffic. So that I know now how bad "bad" really is.
9. My sinful affair with Dunkin' Donuts coffee. I have recently broken our relationship, but remember it fondly.
10. The birth of our first child.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Thursday, June 19, 2008
All hail the Tiny Saturn!
I got into a car accident yesterday morning. I was at an intersection slowing down behind someone who had stopped at a GREEN light. I had given a little "honk" so they would wake up but it didn't help. I had to slow down a little quicker than planned. All I saw in my rearview mirror was a big company van about to kiss my trunk. He hit me from behind going at about 35 mph and I hit the car in front of me. When we all pulled into a gas station to examine our cars and ourselves, he said he had turned his head because there was a squirrel stopped in the middle of the road (in oncoming traffic). All the rest of traffic was speeding along because the light was green.
I've been told by people who own very large vehicles, that they own them because they feel safer on the roads and are less likely to have damage done if in an accident. Well, our little Saturn has few scratches but no dents. The little car in front of me was also pretty unharmed except for a scratch. The only vehicle with any damage was the big ol' van which had a sizable dent in his front bumper. So throw the "big car" theory out the window!!! All hail the Tiny Saturn!
We all felt okay and since the damage was minimal we agreed to just exchange phone numbers. Well, on my way home I started feeling the pain in my neck, shoulder and left arm. I ended up having Jonathon take me to the urgent care center and was treated for whiplash. But, because it was an auto accident, my health insurance won't cover my costs unless I have a police report. So, now I have to go to the police station and file a late police report. I'm annoyed, but thankfully everyone was alright.
I've been told by people who own very large vehicles, that they own them because they feel safer on the roads and are less likely to have damage done if in an accident. Well, our little Saturn has few scratches but no dents. The little car in front of me was also pretty unharmed except for a scratch. The only vehicle with any damage was the big ol' van which had a sizable dent in his front bumper. So throw the "big car" theory out the window!!! All hail the Tiny Saturn!
We all felt okay and since the damage was minimal we agreed to just exchange phone numbers. Well, on my way home I started feeling the pain in my neck, shoulder and left arm. I ended up having Jonathon take me to the urgent care center and was treated for whiplash. But, because it was an auto accident, my health insurance won't cover my costs unless I have a police report. So, now I have to go to the police station and file a late police report. I'm annoyed, but thankfully everyone was alright.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Happy Father's Day & Happy Birthday
First of all, to my wonderful husband:
You have been such a wonderful father for our son. You have really risen to the challenge and exceeded the expectations. Erich is so lucky to have a daddy who is so involved in his life and who is a great role model. Erich and I love you so much!
And, to my little guy:
You are now two years old and still full of surprises. Being parents to you has been mostly joy with a little bit of challenge. Your easy-going nature and great personality are such a blessing. We look forward to the next steps in your growth and pray that God will give us all many more years together. Daddy and Mommy love you!
You have been such a wonderful father for our son. You have really risen to the challenge and exceeded the expectations. Erich is so lucky to have a daddy who is so involved in his life and who is a great role model. Erich and I love you so much!
And, to my little guy:
You are now two years old and still full of surprises. Being parents to you has been mostly joy with a little bit of challenge. Your easy-going nature and great personality are such a blessing. We look forward to the next steps in your growth and pray that God will give us all many more years together. Daddy and Mommy love you!
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Are we in Kansas? (Part 2)
Our house is the grey one. A very tall street tree across the street from us had one of its major limbs blown over, which knocked down an electrical/telephone pole which then came crashing down on our deck. Click on the photo to see more through our flickr account.
Sunday afternoon I was sleeping after a night of work when I thought I heard the tornado sirens (which was weird after such a nice day). My neighbor was out on the porch and flagged me down and I ran with her and her two girls down to their basement (which happen to be a little easier to get to than mine). We heard a crash and the lights flicked off, then on again after a few seconds. Then the storm was over and this is what we saw in its aftermath. Thankfully, Jonathon and Erich were over at his parents' house, and everyone was safe. And, fortunately, we're getting a new deck, which was very overdue (it was rotting anyway).
So that's our story. We finally have our phone and internet back on and we were lucky enough to have power through it all(ours is fed from the side street since we're on a corner).
Sunday afternoon I was sleeping after a night of work when I thought I heard the tornado sirens (which was weird after such a nice day). My neighbor was out on the porch and flagged me down and I ran with her and her two girls down to their basement (which happen to be a little easier to get to than mine). We heard a crash and the lights flicked off, then on again after a few seconds. Then the storm was over and this is what we saw in its aftermath. Thankfully, Jonathon and Erich were over at his parents' house, and everyone was safe. And, fortunately, we're getting a new deck, which was very overdue (it was rotting anyway).
So that's our story. We finally have our phone and internet back on and we were lucky enough to have power through it all(ours is fed from the side street since we're on a corner).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)