Labor Day

Erica, Norah, and I just got back from Disney, OK. Never heard of it? I hadn't either. It is a small town on Grand Lake where uncle Kevin and aunt Henri bought a lake house a few years ago. Almost the whole family (Kevin, Henri, Sam, Jake, Joe, Gramps, Grams, Mom, Peter, and us) spent the weekend swimming, tubing, eating and having fun. The best part was that "the boys" (Sam, Jake, and Joe) were wonderfully sweet to Norah and she had a great time playing with them. I miss them already, and can't wait to go back. Norah is still recovering...

Feeding the Duck

This morning, Norah was playing outside. She picked up her duck watering can and said, "quack, quack, eat." She opened the door, walked to Kya's food and began "feeding" the duck. I convinced her to feed the duck food from her kitchen (you know ducks love grapes and onions, right?).

We bought her this cute little kitchen a couple of month ago. She was just taking the food out and putting it back in until the Killingsworths came over. LB and Abbie showed her how to "cook" and bring her creations to us for approval. She will bring us a bowl and spoon, try to put the spoon in our mouths, and saw "mmm." I am excited to see her beginning imaginary play.

Mommy's Helper

Norah caught me cleaning the toilets last week. She loved the big brush I was using, and I let her help. Since then, she has been wanting to clean the toilets - leisurely. I eventually started telling her that we could not clean the toilets whenever she wanted. Well this morning, I was putting on my make-up. And Norah walked past me and to the toilet. She proceeded to "clean" the toilet with her hairbrush. How do you clean a hairbrush after that?

Aloha

I keep this bowl of leis on the coffee table in the "formal living room", a.k.a. Norah's play room. She loves bringing them for me to put on, though she will not put them on herself because they are itchy.

When Finley came home for lunch yesterday, Norah met him at the door with a lei. She put it around his neck, like he was entering Honolulu, instead of our entry. She continued to bring him all the leis. And when she ran out of flowers, he got a cat, a dog and a bear. Gosh, she is sweet!

Picasa

NORAH.NORAH.NORAH.NORAH

I have always loved those Andy Warhol pictures of Marilyn Monroe in a variety of colors. And thanks to computer programing, Mr. Warhol's genuis has been brought into my living room. Finley's been asking me to try Picasa for months, at least. I have, and I'm hooked.

Blackberry Picking

We went to Cabot at the end of June to visit my Dad while gathering some fresh blackberries and vegetables. Norah got some training in blackberry picking.

She loves being outdoors and really enjoyed looking around Dad and Malika's garden.

Granddad taught Norah to pick the black ones not the red ones.

She got the hang of it!

And Finley taught Norah to eat while picking.

Playhouse

I had been eyeing this little pink and yellow playhouse at Target. After months of deliberation, we got it. And Norah loves it even more than I thought she would. She loves us crawling in with her, all scrunched together on the floor. She giggles with delight. (We are a "floor family" anyway; it seems that most of our best cuddling, sharing and laughing times take place on the floor.) And her pink kitty and French daschund simply must accompony her. Then she pops her thumb in her mouth and everyone get hugs and cuddles, and sometimes the thumb comes out for a much coveted kiss. I love this playhouse!

We've Moved

We've moved from our Cammack Cottage into Kathy's Condo. Thanks Mom! We are unpacking, and Norah has adjusted wonderfully. She loves the carpet, the space and above all the courtyard.

Now we wait . . .

A Happy Mommy

Finley has outdone himself this year!

I have had a wonderful Mother's Day. . .

1. We went to a family shindig at the Arkansas Historical Museum. I am a history buff, so where their are old things or houses I want to be. There were also costumes, games, gardens, friends, and my dear family. I would show you pictures but the cable to download them is packed and at the condo.
2. I had 2 cards on Mother's Day. A sweet one from my husband. And a card that my daughter picked out!!! I never knew how much I would love a folded piece of cardboard with a picture of the Backyardagins. I am smitten with my husband for taking Norah to get the card. Fin said she picked and contemplated the Backyardagin card. Put it back. Picked and considered a kitty card. Put it back. Pointed to the Backyardagin card and started clapping, then carried it around the store.
3. We went to Cozymel's and ordered only appetizers for lunch/dinner. Finley's idea!
4. I got jewelry.
5. I received a note saying that I had next Saturday off.

So Finley, I have recorded this wonderful day for posterity. Thank you, honey!

Sweet Hugs

I am really excited about Mother's Day this year. I know Norah's still too young to really know what's going on, but she is so loving that most days feel like mother's day, if I slow down to savor the moments. She has started running up and throwing her arms around my legs. I melt. She has also started looking me in the eyes and "talking." And today she combined them. I wish I could capture on film the intense trust that is in her eyes when she looks at me in those moments. She has also started running to and hugging Finley; my heart overflows.

Some Pictures of Cammack Village After the Tornado

baker park

notice the bench pushed into the ground

the street sign blew into this yard

we had news vans all over

Homeless

On April third a tornado ripped through Cammack Village and now we're homeless. No, it's not what you think, but it is a long story. After a long bought with numerous winter illnesses that have finally been traced (at least partially) to mildew problems, Erica and I decided to start looking for a larger and newer home. We were torn about the decision, because we love our neighborhood, but it seemed to be the best decision. We found a cute house in St. Charles and made a low ball offer that the sellers accepted.

About a week later we put our house up for sale. After only two days we got our first offer. It was for $7,900 less than our asking price, so we decided to counter-offer. We had 24 hours to respond, so I decided to fast and pray that evening. This is where it gets exciting.

Sometime around 9;30 that evening, shortly after putting Norah to bed, the tornado sirens went off. Erica scooped Norah out of her crib and we huddled in the hallway. The sirens continued off and on for about half an hour until the wind picked up violently and hail started to fall. Erica and I prayed for our family and our neighbors until the air went still. The power went out so I checked weather.com on my phone and learned that the tornado had just passed though Cammack Village. It was a scary experience, but we didn't realize how close it came to us until the next day. The house 7 lots down from us is condemned, as are many others, and Baker park is in bad shape.

Expecting to be without power for a few days, we drove to Heber Springs the next day. Biff and Lily were out of town, but Nancy made us feel right at home. We spend the morning praying about our house and put together our counter offer, which the buyer accepted. We close on May 15th.

Meanwhile, my heart was in turmoil regarding the house we purchased. I did not feel a great deal of peace about the decision, and extensive prayer did little to alleviate my fear. The inspection report revealed many problems including mildew under the house, as well as a roof, heater, AC unit, and water heater that would need to be replaced soon. This was reason enough for me to keep looking. I felt horrible about backing out of the contract, but I'm pretty sure that we would not have been able to agree with the seller on the repair list, and I hated dragging things out while waiting on estimates.

Erica was supportive of my decision, but she was also very disappointed. She really liked the house in St. Charles, and now we were going to be homeless in less than a month if something didn't turn up fast. The idea of house hunting again was just exhausting after the roller coaster of emotions we had just experienced. We did some apartment shopping, and were leaning towards a two bedroom at the enclave in NLR, but it didn't feel right to me. We thought about moving into my mom's condo, but the current tenant loves the place (he wanted a three year lease) and we didn't want to kick him out on his butt. I even considered changing my mind about the house in St. Charles. Since it was for sale by owner, I knew that we probably had the opportunity to change our mind as long as it wasn't listed with a realtor. I drove by every day and watched for a sign out front, but it still wasn't listed.

By now I was beginning to regret ever selling our house in the first place. I had been consumed by my fear and stress and was beginning to relate to James 1:6. I knew that worrying so much didn't serve any purpose, and I began to pray exclusively for peace. Suddenly I realized that God has used this experience to bring me closer to him. I had been praying and reading scripture every day for weeks, which is something I had been trying to master for years. A tremendous peace came over me as I remembered where my joy comes from and I laid my troubles before God. I left the chapel still without answers but also without fear and drove by the house in St. Charles one more time to find that it had been listed with a realtor. I was relieved. I then decided to call my mother's tenant and touch base with him. "I was going to call you this afternoon" he said "I've bought a house and will be moving out soon." In fact, he plans to be out on May 15th, the day we close on our house.

I have been singing God's praises ever since. He could not have come through for me in a more powerful way. Mom has graciously offered to let us live in her condo rent free until we find a house. I must admit that I'm not looking forward to moving twice, but I'm looking forward to finding our next home.

Love and Hate

Daylight savings time began two days ago, and I am still reeling from it's affects. Hopefully I'll be over it tomorrow. I woke up late for work again this morning so tired that I barely cared. On the way to work I listened to my current favorite album: "Remedy" by David Crowder Band. I was stuck by the last song, which I already heard a few times but didn't listen to. After more than a decade of basking in God's love, I am still reeling from the effects.

So, here you go. In the ultimate display of my artistic prowess, I'm going to let David speak for me:

And the problem is this
We were bought with a kiss
But the cheek still turned
Even when it wasn’t hit

And I don’t know
What to do with a love like that
And I don’t know
How to be a love like that

When all the love in the world
Is right here among us
And hatred too
And so we must choose
What our hands will do

Where there is pain
Let us be grace
Where there is suffering
Bring serenity
For those afraid
Let us be brave
Where there is misery
Let us bring them relief

And surely we can change
Surely we can change
Something

Snow

We had a snow day on Tuesday. Norah has been in snow storms in IL when she was really wee but nothing since. So I took the tag off her waterproof coat and bundled her up for an educational experience.


She was not impressed.


Of course, I had her so bundled that she was frequently toppling over. Poor baby. She was in the cold, being encourage to interact with cold, wet, sticky stuff, and repeatedly falling on her bum.

But by the end of our 5 minutes outside, she could identify snow if I asked her to point to it. So, our educational experience was a success!



this is the closest i got to a smile

Annabelle Came To Visit

Valerie and Annabelle came over last week. It was so good to see Valerie. And we got to meet Annabelle for the first time; we are smitten. She is calm, happy, amiable, darling, and . . .

quite good at kickboxing.

Quality Entertainment

During the winter months, while our family was stuck at home recuperating from our numerous illnesses, Erica and I managed to get ourselves completely addicted to the TV show "Lost'. We got the DVD's from Netflix and started at the beginning. For the last couple of months, we have watched Lost almost every night and just finished Season 3. My favorite quote so far: "...you two arguing about who's your favorite other?" I can't remember enjoying a TV show so much since "Quantum Leap", which we also watched a few episodes of before returning to New Othertown.

While going through some old junk last week I came across one of my favorite old movies: "RAD". It is a horrible movie made in the 80's about BMX bikers that I thought lived up to the name. I can't get enough of watching those punk kids walk Helltrack!

My Rainbow

Some recent pictures of Norah

Loving those animals

And the reflection in the mirror

Norah hits the bar scene

Erica, Norah, and I went to Cajun's Wharf for dinner on Friday night. We planned on eating in the restaurant, but were lured the the bar by the aquarium and then stayed for the music. A band called Sean Rock and the Toltecs was playing and it was great fun. The minimum age to enter the bar was 21, but minors were allowed as long as they were accompanied by an adult. I don't think they planned on having guests that were quite so minor, but we had a great time. We ate, danced, laughed, and came back the next night.

The Usual Suspects

This picture demonstrates two of Norah's loves: animals and queues.

Bugged

The vinson family was sick again earlier this week. This time it was a 24-hour stomach virus. It was horrible, but passed quickly. Instead of casting our vote for Mike Huckabee on Super Tuesday, we were passed out on the couch. We watched a lot of cartoons to keep Norah occupied, but I was able to squeeze in one of my favories: a documentary. For those of you who don't know, I love documentaries. My latest installment from netflix was Maxed Out. I only gave it three out of five stars, but I did get a change to see an updated version of the national debt clock. For those of you that haven't seen it in a while, here it is:

"Meo"

I have been anticipating the time Norah would attempt to talk. She communicates quite well, mind you. For example: she will point to the closet door, make the sign for "sleepy", and then make the sign for "please". This means, in the closet is the Roomba; he's sleeping, can we please get him out. Just what you thought right? We have been talking this way for months now, and I have been waiting for audible communication. And in the middle of this week, it started. I asked her if she wanted to pet the kitty (the kitty she lovingly and gleefully chases around the house, her arms outstretched. a bit too much glee in the opinion of the kitty.), and she said "meo." This, of course, was an attempt at "meow." I know from the hundreds of times we asked her "what does the kitty say". And then today, she tried to say a word. "Oomba." Yes, I think my child's first word, besides Mama and Dada, will be "Roomba."

Christmas Dresses

Norah received 3 Chistmas Dresses this year.

So I thought I would use the opportunity to post some recent

pictures of our Norah, in 2 of her 3 dresses.

A Sad Christmas

Finley and I had a sad Christmas this year. I had a miscarriage early Christmas morning. I was in my 7th week. I got to see the baby's heartbeat the Thursday before. We are choosing to trust God in this. I am grateful of His love, peace and goodness. We are very sad.

I passed my test!

I found out yesterday morning that I passed my P.E. exam. I am excited about being a professional engineer, but I am thrilled to learn that I won't have to endure another 8-hour exam (not to mention the hundreds of hours I spent studying instead of playing with my family.) Thanks so much for all of your prayers; they payed off!

The good, the bad, and the thankful

Erica, Norah, and I traveled to Taylor Ridge, IL a few weeks ago to celebrate thanksgiving with the O'Connors. The trip up was much less terrible than expected thanks to the Backyardigans and the portable DVD player that I strapped to the rear headrest. It was a great thanksgiving. We laughed with family, stuffed our bellies, played with the donkeys (yes, there were donkeys), and ate again.On the way home, we stopped to spend the night in Cape Girardeau, MO. The next morning got a little exciting when Norah did a swan dive off the bed. We called our pediatrician, and he assured us that she was fine. On the following Monday, however, an x-ray revealed a minor buckle fracture. The good news: her hot pink cast was pretty cute; the bad news: it prevented her from sucking her thumb, which was much worse than the broken arm since it is her main method of self-soothing.
After only two weeks her cast is off. The actual removal was quite an ordeal, but she is so happy to have her arm back. She spent much of the day pointing to her arm and clapping. That night, she stuck her thumb in her mouth and went right to sleep...all is right with the world.

Side story: During the car ride, I convinced Erica to listen to two past episodes (which I carefully selected) of my favorite radio show, This American Life. My hope was to get her hooked. I struck out. She liked the show but says I picked depressing episodes.

Camlin Marker Funny Indian Commercial Advertisement

Erica sent me a link to this video and asked me to add it to our blog. The funny thing is that she was logged on to YouTube as me, so I thought I was receiving an e-mail from my future self. I thought it best to follow my future self's suggestion, so here it is.

One

On October 28th, our baby girl turned one. We had 2 birthday parties, both at the park. And increased exposure to cake did not help Norah like it more! She did not like the gooshy icing at all!

What I'm not doing.

For those of you who haven't heard, I took the Professional Engineering exam on Friday, October 26th. I have spent the past week recuperating from the previous six weeks, which I spent studying...whenever I wasn't studying. Seriously, I have never studied so hard in my life, and unless God speaks to me audibly and tells me...no, commands me to go to medical school, I will never study that hard again. I am not guaranteed to pass (one guy in my office failed it three times), but I feel pretty good about it. If I didn't pass, I plan to quit my job and call Truckmasters.


Keep an eye out for more posts in a few days where I'll tell everyone about all the cool stuff I missed while cramming.

Our Norah took her first steps today! She walked 3 steps from Finley to me!

Weekend Warriors

Our weekends have been so exciting recently. This weekend's drama began early yesterday morning when a policeman knocked on our door to tell us that both our cars had been broken into. Nothing was taken from Erica's car (there was nothing to take unless they wanted baby toys and a car seat). From my car they stole my wallet (which contained three or four gift cards) but they removed the credit cards first! Rather courteous we thought. The weekend ended with a huge display of God's amazing grace.

Last weekend, we started landscaping our house. After three or four mosquito bites and only one decent blister, I broke my shovel and called it a day.

On Sunday we had dinner with Lance, Diana, and Evan Hilliard. Watching Evan and Norah play together was a blast.

Two weekends ago, Erica threw a baby shower for Valerie. Chris volunteered to help out in the kitchen. Here are a few clips from that experience.

Three weekends ago, Norah, Erica, and I traveled to Monroe, LA to visit Adam, Rebekka, Chris, and Valerie. We had a blast helping them register at Target for stuff for their expected babies. It was a great weekend catching up with old friends and taking in the sites, like standing water, "The Pentecostals" (a local church), Transformers, and swamp flowers.

Jeanne Marie

This week marks the 10 year anniversay of my mom's death. I didn't remember the anniversaries at first; I believe they were just too painful. But now, my heart won't let me forget. I've had a heavy sadness all week, and today it occured to me.
I am sad that many of my friends will not even recognize her name. Most of you, including Finley, did not get to meet her.
So this blog is going to be for me.
Please feel free to skip over it, but I need to remember my mom today and give myself permission to be sad.
These are just a few of my favorite pictures of her. My grandfather was an amateur photographer,
and I am so grateful to him for every box of photos. I thought these baby photos were poetic. Going back over them I realize how much my Mom and my Norah look alike as babies. Thank you, Father. I wonder if she will continue to grow to look like her Grandma. Mom, Norah and I have the same eyes. And norah has darker hair than Fin or I did, like my Mom. I, like many children, think no one was as beautiful as my mother, so I can think of no none I'd rather my Norah resemble.
We are going to the Cathedral this weekend to light a candle for Mom. Going into a Catholic Church is like entereing the heritage of my family. It's like going home, though I don't fit in as well as I did when I was younger. My mom loved going to mass. She said that no matter how hard our week was or how much we had argued, when we went to mass on Sunday, everything was somehow okay. The walls fell down and we were able to remember how much we loved each other and how for so many years we were all the other one had.

Hilliard's in space

My best high school friend, Lance Hilliard, lost his father, Matthew Earl Hilliard, to a heart attack on Tuesday. Please pray for Lance and his brother Richard as they mourn their father's passing. At his father's request Lance and his family plan to have Mr. Hilliard cremated. His ashes will be, funds permitting, launched into space!

Sweet Baby James

On thursday evenying Erica and I went to meet Lucy James. To my delight I got to hold her for a few minutes, and I think we bonded. She must have known what it took for us to get there. Here is the story.

Erica remembered Amy's comment that she was delivering at Doctor's Hospital next to St. Vincent's. As we drove up to the Doctor's Building Erica went in to ask where Amy was, but the information desks was vacant. We finally decided that she must have misunderstood, so we drove across the street to St. Vincents. After parking in the deck and walking in the door Erica picked up the phone at yet another unmanned information booth. We learned that Lucy James was in room 434 on the OTHER side of the street. Back across the street we went, laughing at our own ignorance. We parked and went to the fourth floor of the Doctor's Building. It was deserted. After a deep sigh, we spotted a janitor that told us we were in the "Doctor's Building" but needed to be in the "Doctor's Hospital". "There is a breezway" she said "on the fifth floor".

At this point I must add that if you are getting bored with the story please feel free to skip to the next paragraph. It won't hurt my feelings. I must also explain that even though I grew up only a few minutes from this hospital, and was actually born there, I had not been back until thursday. My family is loyal to Baptist Hospital to a fault. Anyway, back to the story. We took the elevator to the fifth floor, walked down a hall and found... a dead end. I peered through the window and saw the breezway on the floor blelow us. At this point Norah looked at me as if to say "you have got to be kidding me". We took that stairs (they were closer) down to the breezway and crossed over in triumph. "We're almost there" I said in a desperate attempt to keep my family's spirits up. At the other side we reached our destination only to find a locked door. "No!" someone in the family cried. By now we were feething like mice in a pshycology experiment. I looked around for some explanation or way out and found that we had in fact walked across the TOP of the breezway. Down another floor we went, through the breezway, through the door, up the elevator, and we saw a sign that said "NICU". "We must be close" I said feeling a little like John Edredge hunting elk in Montana. A few more turns and we entered the labor and delivery waiting room. "We're here" we exclaimed to everyone else in the room as if we had just discovered america.

It was worth it. If you have not met Lucy yet, I highly recommend it. She is in "Doctor's Hospital". Tell her I sent you.

Charlotte Mullhearn

Dear, sweet, Charlotte Mulhearn passed away early Friday morning. We never got to meet her, but after praying for her for so long, Erica and I had become quite attached to her. She will be dearly missed.

6 Years!

On Saturday, Erica and I celebrated our six year anniversary. It didn't go as planned, but it was a wonderful day. The bed and breakfast was booked, and our baby sitter was out of town. Instead, the whole family spent the day together. We began by returning books at the library. Actually, the books were ours, but we didn't want them anymore, and no one else did either. So, we put them in the drop box and sped away. Next, we went to the mall and shopped for clothes. Norah had a great time sticking her tongue out at herself in the dressing room mirror. After a nap, we had dinner at Loca Luna. We sat outside, which was fun, but the mesh tables proved to be a challenge since the holes in the table were the perfect size to accept Norah's cheerios. Norah loves feeding herself, but needs a little more practice. Erica and I, thankfully, did not drop as much of our dinner on the ground as she did. We concluded the evening, after bathing Norah and putting her to sleep, by watching The Queen. We give it three stars. It was a good night, and it was nice to spend an entire day remembering how blessed I am to have such a wonderful wife.

Norah has a tooth

My baby girl has her first tooth! If you look on the lower left you can see it. She cut it a couple weeks ago and is working on cutting its neighbor. I know because Norah and I were up doing battle with it from 12 to 3. I love this picture.

Just like daddy

My little girl already loves to be behind the wheel. Click here for the appropriate backgrount music.

Memorial Day

We just took Norah's 2nd trip to Illinios. (I think she is just darling in the suitcase) Uncle Ray and Aunt Elaine have a big party/ family reunion every year on Memorial Day. They live in the country and have a farm house, stocked pond and two barns - one for the growing animal population and one for toys (remote control planes, tractors, and this year an inflatible barn for jumping).

The kids also got their faces painted. I love having so many children in our family; here are Ireland and Kiki. Finley loves visiting the O'Connors and the dynamic of a big family. He has decided that he wants a large family as a result, well that and being an only child (same for me). We want our kids to be able to share the memories, joys and hardships of growing up and having us a parents.

That is actually a difficult idea for me; I know that I will do things that will hurt Norah. I just pray that I am the kind of parent who can listen and apoligize without getting defensive. Okay back to Memorial Day, I especially love this last picture that Finley captured of me throwing Norah in the air. Click the link for more pictures: Link