June already?

Holy cow, I can't believe 6 months have passed! Okay, I'll get over it and just write something about my life right now.

Callan is laying on the couch, sick with strep for the second time in a month. We're both home from our church's Vacation Bible School program, which I've worked hard to help put together. I feel bad missing it for two nights so far, but I know they can survive without me. Callan feels worse missing out on all the fun, but we hope he'll be up to it tomorrow evening with 3 doses of antibiotics under his belt.

This spring has been incredibly busy, planning VBS, working on starting a community garden in my neighborhood, being involved with Callan's school, and just being a wife/mom/neighbor/friend. It's a full plate I have, but I think I'm learning that God never dishes out more than I can take. And he seems to impose mandatory breaks on me and my family (like strep throat) that he knows I need and I don't. Praise him for his grace and favor...

Here are some pictures of the last few months, in no particular order or relevance.

My children love to dress up, and they even got their friend K.J. into the act (even though he's clearly a little tall for some of their clothes!).

My garden is doing well. This is an early shot, our first radishes. Thatcher has really taken to our gardening tasks. He loves to hunt for squash bugs and squash bug eggs, pull carrots and beets (but, really, who doesn't love that?), and help me weed and water.

This spring we took a camping trip we took with our friends and neighbors, the Kennedys. The weather was perfect, the kids had a great time, and we all slept reasonably well. I highly recommend traveling with another family with similar-age kids: twice the adults, automatic playmates for the kids, and a new dynamic added to your own family (instead of just dragging all your family issues to a new and unfamiliar locale!).

Love those outfits!

Callan ran his first mile road race in April and grinned ear-to-ear the entire time. He seems to be cut out for running which I think is a good fit for his personality type. It won't be long till we're doing family 10Ks!

My boys love their wheels--bikes and scooters have been the vehicles of choice, and Callan has just this month learned to ride a bike without training wheels. This next pic is him on Thatcher's bike which we first took the pedals off to make it a push bike and then put the pedals on once he learned to balance. Now he's transitioned to his big bike and loves the speed and confidence he has. We are really proud of him because we know how it's a special challenge for him to master new physical skills (he's a bit risk-averse, like his mama who didn't ride her bike w/o trainers until age 8).

Can you believe these handsome fellows? Callan loves his tie and Thatcher loves to copy Callan.

This picture is our "new" piano given to us by our church. It had been sitting in a storage room and I inquired about it and we were told that if we moved it, it would be ours! Callan and I are taking lessons together (Suzuki method, if you're familiar with that) and loving it. He has blossomed musically in a way that is inspiring, and Thatcher is even learning vicariously. Matt has also picked up some of his buried piano training again. But don't be too impressed--mostly you'll just hear variations of Twinkle, Twinkle rather than Tchaikovsky in our house!

This is Callan's beloved kindergarten teacher, Mr. LaPradd on the day of kindergarten graduation. We have had a great year at Patrick Henry Charter School, the first year at the first elementary charter school in Virginia. Not without it's dramas, disorganization and controversies, of course--but Callan had a great year and learned a lot, and I guess that's what matters.

And most recently, we had a great visit with our dear friends the Kangs from NYC, soon to be from Chicago. Jan's a longtime friend from Wheaton and Ezer will be taking a professorship there next month, so they'll be moving with their two sweet girls. Our boys loved playing with Simone and Noemi and we hope we can see them in Illinois when we visit Matt's family once a year. Ezer and I have already planned my first marathon to be Chicago 2012!

Make me pretty

The title of this post harkens to one of my DIY inspirations: my friend and neighbor Karen (aka Darling Octopus) who does beautiful things with old and discarded furniture.

So, my two "Make me pretty"s are a rocking chair I picked up at a church rummage sale 2 years ago and a footstool I bought when I was in high school. Sorry I don't have any good before pictures.

Here's the footstool in the back left of this December 2009 pic:

And I can't for the life of me find a picture of the rocker. But here's the after picture of the two finished projects:

The footstool was actually Callan's first DIY painting project, and I let both the boys help paint the rocker (so don't look too closely--there are lots of drips!).

Thanks for the tips and inspiration, Karen!

Chirstmas 2010: A summary in photos

Snow days. Glad I bought those snow pants and boots at the resale shop in October. Nightly advent devotionals, inspired by Ann.

My angels. Yes, they really were during the pageant, dutifully waiting for their turn to go onstage.

Which is better? Making candy and gingerbread houses with grandparents. Or eating them after Christmas?

A day trip to Bevell's Hardware Store in Blackstone, VA for the largest single train display we've seen yet. The boys were in awe. Me too.

Hope you all had lovely memories and time together this year.

My productive, unproductive time

I've read Oliver Twist and am halfway through The Man Who Was Thursday. I've knitted 1 1/2 pairs of mittens. I haven't cooked a meal all week, nor have I done any dishes or laundry or taken care of my children much. I've hardly showered and rarely made it out of my pajamas and robe. I sleep a lot and stay in bed a lot more.

I'm either selfishly slothful, clinically depressed or....I have pneumonia. Yep. It's the latter. I can be glib about it now because in the present moment I have a small trickle of energy, even though a pulled muscle in my rib cage sends my pain meter through the roof whenever I cough (which is often).

Can I just say how grateful I am? God has blessed us with friends who would do anything for us, and have. Cared for and fed my children (Abby). Folded my laundry (Nate). Shuttled my kids around (April and Susan). Brought us dinner (Leigh and April). Shopped for our groceries (this vacancy is still open--any takers? hee hee!). Brought me tea and cookies and took my kids to the science museum (my dear mother). Been the most tirelessly sacrificial, uncomplaining, and faithful to his wedding vows husband ever (Matt). Prayed for me and called/emailed with kind words (too many to name, but I can bring each of you into my mind).

So, it's not all bad to get pneumonia if God turns it into joy when others love me and I want to love them more in return.

Plus, Oliver Twist is a really good book. You should totally read it, or anything by Dickens. There's my plug. Good night.

There I went!

Just a quick post to let you all know the outcome of my race. It was fantastic! The weather was perfect, I had great energy, I met my target time goal, and I was with my great running girlfriends. I am really grateful for the strength and the community God has given me so that I can run. Sorry I don't have any pictures to post (guess I'm just too fast to capture on film...). Thanks for your well wishes and prayers :) They helped!

Here I go!

By the grace of God, I will run farther than I ever have today: 13.1 miles. The Richmond Half Marathon. A little nervous. A little excited. Just wanted to let you all know so I will remember to post afterwards. After all, it's not just my kids who have milestones, or mile markers in my case...

Country road, take me home...

Yes, we were singing that John Denver tune all the way around the winding roads of West Virginia last weekend. My parents (plus Abby the 15-year-old schnauzer) joined our family in a mini-vacation to the Dancing Bear Cabin and nearby Franklin, WV. Matt and I had spent a long weekend there last year for our anniversary, and we thought it would be a fun family getaway. Here are some of the highlights, in pictures:

Hiking up the Seneca Rocks

Apparently, our family owns a line of trucks--can you see the "Hartman Trucking" sign on the truck? (something to fall back on if this chemistry professor gig falls through...)

Gorgeous fall color

Thatcher is a train aficionado, so we paid a visit to the Cass Scenic Railroad. But we didn't ride it--2 hour train ride + 3 year old boy = whine-o-rama. Watching the train from the outside was much better!

Callan loves rockets and space as much as Thatcher loves trains, so there just happened to be a huge radio telescope very nearby the Cass Railroad, including a neat space museum. I italicized the word "happened" because I feel God really blessed our boys on this trip by giving them things to do (in the middle of nowhere) that specifically related to their interests.

Thatcher will take any opportunity to snuggle that he can get--even under a rock!

A family pic, high atop Spruce Knob, West Virginia's highest peak.

A shot of the Dancing Bear Cabin, so named because the owners snapped a shot of two bears up on hind legs "dancing." We never saw any bears during our time there, dancing or otherwise.

Callan signed the guest book.

On our way home from WV, we stopped at our favorite out-of-the-way apple orchard, Dickie Brothers in Roseland, VA. The pictures sum it up: Thatcher ate and Callan picked!

So, there you have it. Great views, perfect weather, peak foliage, and fun family bonding time. It turns out West Virginia is for lovers, too!