Sunday, October 26, 2008

He's Home!

Yeah! AdventureDad is home!!! I'll update soon, I promise, but right now we're just basking in our togetherness.

Friday, October 24, 2008

Still Waiting


There really isn't any new news on the arrival of AdventureDad. He left his "office" several days ago but has several legs of the journey to complete, all of which come with their own potential delays and frustrations, so we wait.
In the meantime, the Gutsy Dad is home safely, so there is hope! I am so happy for the Gutsy Family and their new beginnings. Yay!
Here are some pictures of our very patriotic neighborhood. Our home is the bottom one, and the rest are just some others that caught my eye.


Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Treading Water

I found out today that the arrival of AdventureDad has likely been set back by several days. No real reason, at least that he could tell me, other than the problems that are likely to arise anytime you are busy moving thousands of people from one continent to another. I knew better than to set my mind on any particular date, but it is a setback in my life. I have had a mental timeline that was helping to keep me on track during this time of anticipation and stress, and now I'm going to have to adjust. Not that there isn't plenty to do... I'm going to put the extra time to good use (when I'm not busy feeling sorry for myself), but it is amazing how much it has thrown me off kilter. Imagine someone telling you (after you had made your plans) that Christmas was going to be moved to December 28th this year, but just for your family. That's about how I feel. I'm not only holding my breath now, I'm also treading water. I'm not sure how many other life-sustaining activities I can keep up at once!
Luckily, time does march on, and in the meantime M is doing a great job of keeping me busy. We went for a 45-minute walk today in our neighborhood during which she demonstrated to me all of the microscopic wonders of nature. This kid notices things that pass everyone else by, from a particularly green chunk of moss in the sidewalk crack to the tiny red berries on a bush, a crunchy leaf that she stepped on, even an invitingly round stone in the gravel caught her eye, all of which she hands to me with a "thank ummm", her version of Thank You ("Your Welcome" ends with the ummm sound, so this phrase does too), which she says in advance for me whenever she hands things to me. I have yet to find out how long she would keep this up, as I usually end up eventually having to interrupt her tiny explorations so that we can make some forward progress. It is kinda nice to have to "stop and smell the roses" (or berries or dirt) sometimes though!
Also, I fully intend to take some photographs of the neighborhood decorations, so keep your eyes open. Hopefully I'll get them posted tomorrow.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Holding my Breath



Ahhh, the end of the RLBT is nearing an end. I find myself alternating between a state of calm acceptance of the craziness that is my life, during which I know that things can change until my husband walks through the door, and that I shouldn't count my chickens before they hatch. Then there are the times when I feel like a 5-year-old at Christmas, a 12-year-old waiting for my birthday, an 18-year-old waiting for that last summer break, all rolled into one. I'm holding my breath for these last couple of weeks, trying not to turn blue, and it is not easy.
Today I spent a large part of the day decorating for the "homecoming". It is fun that we live in a very small community, and we are all friends and neighbors. That means that the entire neighborhood is being decorated, and it looks great. There is no doubt that a large celebration is being had in everyone's life right now. I will post some pictures in the next day or so, but it is a wonderful sight to behold. In addition to my patriotic decoration, I also decorated our small covered porch on the front of the house. I put out some nice winter flowers (it's weird being in a place with "winter flowers"... heather, chrysanthemums, and asters, among others, will bloom all winter here), a pumpkin, and I made a little wreath for my door. It looks so nice I wonder why I haven't done more of this stuff!
I am also scurrying around the house trying to get some of the sorting and organizing I meant to do over the last 15 months done. Of course I never will finish it all, but hopefully my priorities can at least be finished. The house is currently at that stage where it looks worse than it did before I started though, with everything pulled out of its hiding place. Sigh. I'll catch up one day (hopefully before we pack up to move back to the States!)
It is also most definitely fall here. The fall weather is kinda dreary with lots of rain, but there are also sunny days in which to enjoy the beautiful show of foliage. I found an amazing leaf that has every color in it, and M got to enjoy a big pile of maple leaves .

Saturday, October 4, 2008

More Race Pictures



Here is an irresistible photo of M, plus some of the pictures I ordered or swapped from the race.
Enjoy!