Hannah Entertained by a Trash Bag

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVAy0R79K0Q

Visit to Amelia's

Daddy's little girl

My little Babette

Thank you Tami for all Hannah's cute new clothes

Thanksgiving Pics

We had a great and very busy Thanksgiving. Both of our parents had lots of things for us to do and people for us to see. We got to see two movies!!!

Ode to the Toe Sucker

I pulled out my old Shel Silverstein books and I am dedicating this poem of his to Hannah as well as all those other thumb (and toe) suckers out there:)

Oh the thumb-sucker's thumb

May look wrinkled and wet

And withered, and white as the snow

But the taste of a thumb

Is the sweetest taste yet

(As only we thumb-suckers know).

As some of you know I used to write poetry... Here is one of my own- written this morning. Maybe I'll have a revival of my writing.

The Beautiful Mystery

of the ageless King

The heralds of old

join with creation and sing

so softly, so softly

that you might not hear

their enchanting voices

in the atmosphere

so loud, so loud

that you can not erase

their eternal pleadings

throughout time and space

and what will you do

when you hear their voice

will you try to hide from the awesome force?

will you try to pretend that you can not hear?

hoping that it won't interfere

with your plans, with your life,

with this age and terrain

you block out the One

that you don't want to reign

or will you join

the kingdom's quiet plea

and give up your heart

to this Mystery

before this age ceases to exist

and there is no more

resistance

Wheel of Fortune

Newest News:

Brian got called to audition for Wheel of Fortune on Nov. 30th. Please send him luck and advice!!!

A few pics from the weekend

Mom please send more pics

Nov. 13th

Lots has been going on. I turned 28 a week ago. I always wanted to have a baby by 28, so that mission has been accomplished:) I had a wonderful birthday. Brian came home at lunch with roses and lilies (my favorites), and we went out to lunch at Chic Fil A. Brian's whole family called to wish me Happy Birthday along with my family, Carla, Ross and Liz, and Leslie. Then Erin came over and babysat so we could go out to dinner. We had dinner at the California Pizza Kitchen and dessert at the Cheesecake Factory. We were laughing b/c dessert cost more than our dinner. Thanks everyone for thinking of me! We got home and researched all the candidates so we could be informed voters.

We are happy to say we successfully voted and felt good about our choices. Hannah came along for the ride and everyone smiled at her at the voting precinct.

On Friday we took our first road trip with Hannah. We decided rather than buying a new car we would rent cars whenever we go on a long trip, since our cars are about 10 years old each. We got a $20/day car on priceline. We drove to Vienna, VA for Ross and Liz's wedding. We got our hotel on priceline too and it was great! Hannah did great! She slept the whole way there. Kathi babysat on Friday night for us. It was perfect b/c she lives about 15 minutes from where the rehearsal dinner was. She had a great time with her cousins Ella and Maryn. Sorry Kathi that she refused to take her bottle:) Meanwhile we went to Nizam's for a great Turkish meal. Franklin entertained our table with stories of Matza Blob Soup. It was great to see the Kanes and of course to participate in celebrating. We had some of the best baklava ever.

Saturday was eventful to say the least. We went over to my parents hotel to hang out. They invited a bunch of people over who live near the area. Jackie and Bob came over with Wombat. Elizabeth, my cousin who I have not seen in ages, came. Rusty brought my dad's uncle Jerome and his girlfriend Karen. Brian missed the fun b/c he went to pick up and hang out with Kevin. After all our visiting, we went to the wedding. Kevin was our babysitter:) It was really a special wedding ceremony. I appreciated the thought that went into it and Liz looked gorgeous. The reception was Great- lots of food, drinks, and dancing. We also met a lot of cool people there. Luckily our hotel was right next to the reception, so we went back and crashed. Yesterday, we went and had brunch with Kathi, Kirby, Ella, and Maryn. It was really good and great to catch up with them. Hopefully we'll be better about that in the future! Our drive back was not as smooth as the drive up b/c of the weather and some traffic, but Hannah slept the whole way back too. Over all the trip gets a perfect score.

We leave Friday for Florida. We'll be there for 10 days.

Happy Halloween

This is a very Happy Day for us. Hannah slept from 9pm-6:30am and then went back to sleep until 9:30am. Go Hannah! Her newest thing is staring at her hand. I can only imagine that she is thinking to herself "What is this thing?" Yesterday I looked over at her and she had found her thumb. Grandma and Grandpa and Gramzy and Popsy came to visit this past week. We had a lot of fun with all of them. We topped off the week with a trip to audition for Wheel of Fortune (we did not get called up) and Florida beating Georgia in football. Go GATORS! This Halloween I have decided to pick up the first Harry Potter again. I forgot how great that book is.

Hannah and other things

Well, we have not posted pictures for a while or given an update. I am sure no one really notices besides my mom, but never the less- here is an update. We are getting back in the swing of things since Hannah has been born. I finished some more books- The Color of Water and a couple more No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency books. A possible day for us looks like this:

7-8am- wake up and feed Hannah
sometimes we go back to sleep if not, Hannah plays on her "gym" while I do my Bible Study w/ a bowl of cereal and a cup of coffee
next Hannah usually falls asleep and I check email, pay bills, etc.
around 10 Hannah eats again
we play some and then Hannah hangs out in her bouncer or enjoys her mobile while I do laundry or chores, if she is fussy she goes in her swing
then we await the call to see if Brain aka Dad will be coming home for lunch
Hannah gets fed again and we enjoy having lunch with Dad
In the afternoon any one of the following can happen:
a trip to the grocery store or Target
a nap
a walk around the neighborhood
Hannah eats a bunch more
more chores or errands
write Thank you notes
rock and read books
listen to music
At 4:00 we usually watch Oprah and Hannah sleeps at some point during the afternoon
Most of the time our walk around the neighborhood is after Oprah
Then we wait for dad to come home and start getting dinner ready
I usually call a bunch of people while making dinner
We turn on jeopardy and usually get sucked in to watching the daily reality TV show (Wife Swap, The Bachelor, The Bigger Loser, the Amazing Race) The only one I watch on purpose is the Amazing Race.
We all hang out and then at about 9pm Hannah has to eat a ton and starts to get fussy.
It is a guessing game as to when she will go to sleep. But thankfully it has been before 1:00am for a while now. And she sleeps any where from 6 and a half hours to 8 and a half- YEAH!

Okay I am tired- hopefully I'll be better about the blog.

Hannah is 7 wks old

Her e are some pictures of Hannah at 7 weeks old. The cute lamb is from Paige Russo, a friend from High School.

More of Hannah

Here's a few video clips of Hannah taken over the past couple of weeks (4 to 5 weeks old):


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gV-GXyyW3rU

Hannah Videos

Here's some more videos of Hannah. The first one was taken monday morning. Hannah turned three weeks old on Sunday morning, so in this video she's 3 weeks and 1 day old.

(NOTE: All videos can be downloaded directly from my computer by going to my FTP site. When you download it from me, you'll get a very large file in MPEG2 format, which is DVD-quality. Your player needs to support wide-aspect, 16x9 video. Most players do. Also, if your web browser won't play the videos on the blog, you can go directly to YouTube and view it there by clicking the link beneath each video.)

Hannah Three Weeks Old:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ol8ZZDCcSH8

This next video is of Mary and I taking a trip to the mall on labor day. This was Hannah's debut experience with the general public, and I think she handled it with poise and dignity. Also, this was a big deal for Mary, who has barely left the house in 3 weeks.

Hannah Mall Trip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmWlV7YG3uw

Allison's business

Brian's sister, Allison, just opened her own business. She designed our birth announcements which came out super cute. Here it is:



Her is a link to her website:
www.sweetwelcome.com

The Kite Runner and The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency x2

Who says you can't read a book after you just had a baby... what else are you suppose to do if you can't walk around?? Especially now that they have those nifty breastfeeding pillows- just prop your baby on the pillow and you have both hands to read a book. Is it possible to feed your baby too much?

I just finished: The Kite Runner
http://www.amazon.com/-Kite-Runner/dp/1594480001/sr=8-1/qid=1156882077/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-8184958-1487865?ie=UTF8

and the first two books in this series

No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency
http://www.amazon.com/-No-1-Ladies-Detective/dp/1400034779/sr=1-1/qid=1156882161/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-8184958-1487865?ie=UTF8&s=books

http://www.amazon.com/Giraffe-Ladies-Detective-Agency-Paperback/dp/1400031354/sr=8-1/qid=1157382486/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-8184958-1487865?ie=UTF8&s=books

I enjoyed all of these books particularly for their cultural aspect. The Kite Runner is the story on two boys growing up in Afghanistan. Just a few comments. I definitely cried while reading this book. At first I was not sure if the book was fiction or not, but it became evident it was fiction... since too many things come together in the book. I don't know anything about Afghanistan (except a few blurbs I pick up from the news), so I feel a little more educated being transported into the world of these characters. Living in our house in America, it was a good reminder of the war going on in all parts of the world. Our lives are not as safe as we believe and anything could happen to change the course of history. I like being reminded of this through this book rather the watching the news. I get depressed after watching the news because they rarely offer any hope, and I am left with a sense of fear and despair. In this book, there is a glimpse of hope though it is slight, and I feel like in the midst of pain and suffering- healing and progress is possible.

The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency is about a Lady Detective in Botswana. I started reading this book right before I had Hannah. I read a few chapters and did not get back to it until after she was born. I could hardly put the book down and hurried to the library (one of my only outings) to get the second book. I love the main character Precious and her simple yet profound statements. One in particular is a conversation she has with her assistant about whether it is wrong to lie to a bad person or for a good cause. I have often wondered this ever since reading about the honorable Rahab in the Bible. What is she praised for? Lying! Just one quote from the book, "Well, Dr. Ranta... I think that you are a man who has lied to a lot of people, particularly to women. Now something has happened which you may not have had happen to you before. A woman has lied to you and you have fallen for it entirely. You will not like that, but maybe it will teach you what it is like to be manipulated." I enjoy reading about Precious's life, thoughts, and her detective cases. I also enjoy hearing about Botswana and Africa.

I recommend reading all of these books.

Hannah slept six hours!!

This deserves its own post. Hannah slept from 1-7am last night giving mom a much needed break after the night before. Today we are going to try to take a family outing to the mall. We'll see how things work out.

Hannah - 2 Weeks Old

Here's a few videos of Hannah, who turned 2 weeks old on Sunday:

Part 1:


Part 2:

Hannah is here!

We'll I have yet to get anything up about our latest change- HANNAH. Mainly because things have been a whirlwind.


For those of you who are interested in her birth:
On Saturday night, August 12th Brian and I went for pizza with my cousin Ross and his fiance Liz at Satisfactions in downtown Durham. I felt slightly weird at dinner and had a little back pain. At dinner I announced that I felt like I was going to have the baby that night. Of course I had been saying that every night, so Brian did not really believe me. We came home and did our normal lounging around the house. I was really tired at about 11:30 and got in bed to rest. I played Hannah some baby Einstein CDs which was our nightly custom for a little while. Brian came up at 12:30 to go to sleep. I had a sharp pain in my stomach and went to use the bathroom. It appeared that my water had broken, but not really knowing what to expect- I was not sure. I called Caron, the midwife on call and told her I thought that my water had broken. It became evident as we were on the phone that it did indeed break. She replied that my labor would probably be a long event and I should try to remain at home as long as possible. She advised us to go to sleep and call her at 8:00am. She asked me what my birth plan was... of course I was thinking- Ummm, well it's 1:00am I can't remember what my birth plan was. Who do you call for support at 1am. Brian and I got ourselves together. He put everything in the car and called our parents. Then we prayed together and tried to get some sleep. I laid down for a total of maybe 10 minutes and that was about all I could handle as I was in a great deal of pain. We went downstairs and I tried to sleep in the Lazyboy recliner. Eventually, I realized I was having contractions, and we started keeping track of them. They were consistently 1 minute long and six minutes apart. I called Caron again around 2:30. She said I could come to the hospital any time I felt I needed to, but that my labor could be really long and I should try to stay home as long as possible if I wanted to deliver the baby naturally. At 3:00 am I was in a lot of pain and decided to call my mom. In the middle of the conversation I threw the phone to Brian and made him talk to her. As he tried to use all the nifty soothing techniques we learn in our childbirth class I started screaming "Don't touch me" "Don't talk to me"-- poor guy. By 3:30 I was screaming through my contractions. This was pretty embarrassing because we thought I was in early labor. I was convinced I would need an epidural. At this time I screamed to go to the hospital. I tried to keep control of myself on the drive to the hospital and we made it there by 4:00am. Brian got a wheelchair and wheeled me into the lobby. I then let out another scream and two guards come running to us. Someone had delivered a baby in the lobby the week before so they rushed us through all the security doors. I made it to the examination room. I could not even put on my robe before I fell down in pain. All the nurses started taking bets as to how far along I was. Caron came in and managed to get me on the table to examine me. She announced I was 10 cm dilated and ready to start pushing. It took about an hour of pushing to get Hannah out, and she was born at 5:18am. I had to have an episiotomy(sp?) and then got a fourth degree tear (I thought the highest tear was a third degree). They had to call in a doctor to stitch me up- which took an hour and a half, so I could not see Hannah right away. Meanwhile, Brian had a whirlwind experience. At one point he had to leave my side to go pray because he was worried about me and Hannah. One plus about having a baby at 5:00 am is that there was plenty of staff to assist me. Only one other person was in Labor and Delivery at the time. It was an answer to prayer that she was born when she was (thanks for all you who were praying she would be born before Monday- especially Carla who I gave such a hard time to) otherwise I would have had to have a series of ultrasounds and be induced. She came out 7lbs. 9ozs. 20 inches long. We loved the UNC Hospital and would definitely deliver there again. I have had a slow recovery (I have just started to feel like I can walk okay and I have not really left the house), but I can't complain because Hannah is healthy and a great source of joy for our family. Brian has been home this week and last week- he goes back to work on Monday. It has been two of the greatest weeks of our lives.

August 11- Still no Hannah

Please come before I have to be induced!

August 10- Still no Hannah

We'll it is August 10th- 4 days past my due date and Hannah has still not made her entrance into the world. They scheduled me for an induction on August 17th at 8:00am. I hope I don't go that long!!!

This morning I had breakfast with Irene Brinkman from Jacksonville. It was great to see a familiar face from Jacksonville and keep me distracted from the fact that I still have not had the baby. I get like 10 calls a day wondering if it has happened yet:) We'll keep posting.

Sigrid Undset's Kristin's Lavransdatter

Sorry I love quotes and find it hard to cut them down. (Spoiler included in this post)

A quote by Sigrid Undset who converted to Catholicism:

"By degrees my knowledge of history convinced me that the only thoroughly sane people, of our civilization at least, seemed to be those queer men and women the Catholic Church calls Saints. They seemed to know the true explanation of man's undying hunger for happiness - his tragically insufficient love of peace, justice, and goodwill to his fellow men, his everlasting fall from grace. Now it occurred to me that there might possibly be some truth in the original Christianity.

"But if you desire to know the truth about anything, you always run the risk of finding it. And in a way we do not want to find the Truth - we prefer to seek and keep our illusions. But I had ventured too near the abode of truth in my researches about 'God's friends,' as the Saints are called in the Old Norse texts of Catholic times. So I had to submit. And on the first of November, 1924, I was received into the Catholic Church."

Brian and I want to make a habit of reflecting on the books we read rather than just moving on to the next book or event in our life. Although the task is often difficult to start, I always find it rewarding for both my mind and soul. As I am a little rusty in this area, I figured that something is better than nothing. We'll see who gets their post up first as Brian just finished an Isaac Asimov book.

Kristin Lavransdatter was written by Sigrid Undset, and I would put it in the historical fiction category. It was finished in 1922 and takes place in 14th Century Norway.

First, I read this book twice- once in the older translation and once in the new. During my first reading of the book I was enthralled with the passionate love story between Kristin and Erlend. I was reading as fast as I could to find out what would happen to these characters. I have to admit I often skipped chucks of the book because I wanted to know how things turned out. I actually almost stopped reading the book after Erlend's death because I wondered what else could possibly be as exciting. Also, the older translation of the book was sometimes hard to read, especially when trying to decipher the political views and leaders of the time. I read that the newer translation was easier to read and truer to the original. After reading both translations, I think the newer translation is definitely better. I was able to follow the political events as well as other characters when reading this translation. Granted I had the benefit of having read the book through once, but I still think the newer translation is a better read. Plus you can get the newer copy on Amazon.com for only $16.00!

So how do you start to evaluate and reflect on a 1,100 page book??? Well obviously I can't look into every aspect of the book- especially on a blog! Some interesting comparisons might be Fru Aashild and Kristin Lavransdatter also Ragnfrid; Erlend and Simon; ancient superstitions and folklore vs. Catholicism, etc... I could also explore how Undset uses nature in her novel. You could write a paper on each of these topics. I think what I would rather explore though is the reality of life (or sin) as portrayed in this novel.

I will never forget a talk I heard my freshman year of college. A pastor named Tom Nelson gave a talk on marriage. He basically said that marriage is a sinner marrying a sinner giving birth to sin. He went on to talk about the difficulties that occur in marriage and why girls who have grown up their whole lives waiting for prince charming and thinking that marriage is a fairy tale- need to stop thinking this way (well at least that is what I took away from the talk). This was honestly the first time I ever heard this before. Also in our marriage counseling, Pastor Rick Bourque stated that it was his job during our times together to convince us of how incredibly difficult marriage was so that when we actually were married we would think it wasn't "that bad."

I think Undset is trying to express a similar idea in her book. Kristin and Erlend have an intriguing, passionate romance that blinds them from their sin and the obstacles standing in the way of their perfect life in the garden lasting no more than basically one night.

It was late at night, and the bonfires were mere mounds of glowing embers that grew dimmer and dimmer. Kristin and Erlend stood hand in hand beneath the trees by the garden fence... A remnant of the day's hot, spicy scent wafted toward them, muted and damp with the coolness of the dew. The night was quite dark, the sky hazy gray with clouds above the treetops... Erlend pressed the maiden to him once and asked in a whisper, "You're not afraid, are you Kristin?" Suddenly she vaguely remembered the world outside this night- it was madness. But she was so blissfully robbed of all power. She leaned closer to the man and whispered faintly; she didn't know herself what she said. They reached the end of the path; there was a stone fence along the edge of the woods. Erlend helped her up. As she was about to jump down to the other side, he caught her and held her in his arms for a moment before he set her down in the grass. She stood there with her face raised and received his kiss. He placed his hands at her temples. She thought it so wonderful to feel his fingers sinking into her hair, and then she put her hands up to his face and tried to kiss him the way he had kissed her... He pulled her down into the grass under the bushes; they sat with their backs against the stone fence. Kristin said not a word, but when he stopped caressing her, she raised her hand and touched his face. After a moment Erlend asked, "Are you tired, dear Kristin?" And when she leaned against his chest, he wrapped his arms around her and whispered, "Sleep, Kristin, sleep here with me." She slipped deeper and deeper to the darkness and the warmth and the joy at his chest.

This is the perfect night for Erlend and Kristin, and they end it with a pledge to never take another in their arms again. Sounds so romantic, yet there is more to the story. Kristin is living in a convent and is pledged to marry another man, Simon Andresson, while Erlend has quite a past and two bastard children with another man's wife- further this woman is still alive and wants to marry Erlend when her husband dies- and even further, he has promised he would! Yet when reading about this night all I want to do is believe that it is possible for them to live happily ever after- forever. Unfortunately, that is not how life works. If Kristin had been one of my friends I would surely agree with Ingebjorg and counsel- "You ought to be a little more careful about that young man, Kristin. Do you think Simon Andresson would like it if you befriended him?"

But the damage is done, and Kristin will never turn back. Once married the reality of life and the consequences of their sin start to make themselves at home in their lives.

Now she once again sat alone with Erlend in the evenings, and there was not much companionship in him. He would sit over by the hearth, say a few words now and then, take a drink from the ale bowl, and play with his dogs. He would go over to the bench and stretch out- asking a couple of times whether she was coming soon, and then he'd fall asleep... Now that Erlend was asleep she no longer tried to hold back her tears. There was not a sound in the hall except the firewood collapsing in the hearth and the dogs stirring. Sometimes she wondered what they had talked about before, she and Erlend. But then they hadn't talked much- they had had other things to do in those brief stolen hours together.

This all happens of course after he had proclaimed in the garden, "You I could never hurt. Don't ever weep a single tear for my sake. I never thought a maiden could be as good as you are, my Kristin..."

And Kristin doesn't turn out to be as good as Erlend thought on this night.

Erlend was greatly annoyed that his wife refused to accompany him anywhere... And by constantly sitting indoors, brooding and worrying over his misdeeds, she had grown weary and pale. It was during Christmas season that fierce quarrels erupted between them. But this time Erlend didn't come and apologize for his bad temper, as he had in the past. Until now, whenever they had disagreements, he had always believed that he was to blame. Kristin was good, she was always right; if he felt uncomfortable and bored at home, then it must be because it was his nature to grow weary of what was good and right if he had too much of it. But this summer he had noticed more than once that his father-in-law had sided with him and seemed to think Kristin was lacking in wifely gentleness and tolerance. It occurred to him that she was overly sensitive about petty matters and reluctant to forgive him for minor offenses which he had committed with no ill intent. He would always beg her forgiveness after taking time to reflect, and she would say that she forgave him. But afterwards he could she that it was simply stored away, not forgotten.

Erlend and Kristin's relationship is a sinner marrying a sinner giving birth to sin (8 sons to be exact). Towards the end of the book, Kristin acknowledges, "She felt now as if he had worn her out. She had neither the youth nor the courage to live with him any longer, and she would probably never grow so old that Erlend couldn't play with her heart. Not young enough to have the strength to live with him; not old enough to have patience with him. She had become a miserable woman; no doubt that was what she had always been. Simon was right."

And it is not only in this relationship that Undset portrays the reality of the fall, but in many other disappointments, deaths, murders, betrayals, separations, imprisonments, etc. in the novel. Simon wishes he would have been more prepared for this aspect of life when he reflects, "It was too bad their father hadn't given them advice on how to forget as well- when the friendship was broken and the honor dead and the faithfulness a sin and a secret, disgraceful torment, and there was nothing left of the bond but the bleeding wound that would never heal."

Also as Kristin reflects on her life in The Cross, “Then it occurred to Kristin Lavransdatter in a new way that the interpreters of God’s words were right. Life on this earth was irredeemably tainted by strife; in this world, wherever people mingled, producing new descendants, allowing themselves to be drawn together by physical love and loving their own flesh, sorrows of the heart and broken expectations were bound to occur as surely as the frost appears in the autumn. Both life and death would separate friends in the end, as surely as the winter separates the tree from its leaves.”

So from these quotes, I conclude that the life of Kristin Lavransdatter is pretty complicated and messed up, yet not with out joy. Kristin definitely had some “garden” moments in the book, and there is a final redemption for her at the end of the book…

It seemed to her a mystery that she could not comprehend, but she was certain that God had held her firmly in a pact which had been made for her, without her knowing it, from a love that had been poured over her- and in spite of her willfulness, in spite of her melancholy, earthbound heart, some of that love had stayed inside her, had worked on her like sun on the earth, had driven forth a crop that neither the fiercest fire of passion nor its stormiest anger could completely destroy. She had been a servant of God- a stubborn, defiant maid, most often an eye-servant in her prayers and unfaithful in her heart, indolent and neglectful, impatient toward admonishments, inconstant in her deeds. And yet He had held her firmly in His service…”

May God hold us firmly in His service in the midst of this fallen world!

Jenny and Carla visit #2

pregnant Mary in front of the house

Jenny, Mary, and Carla at Spanky's in Chapel Hill
Brian and Mary at Spanky's
Mary and Jenny at Duke Gardens
Mary at Duke Gardens
Carla and Jenny at Duke

Mary and Jenny at Duke

Carla stops to smell the lilies!