Week 13: Tenant's Agreement

To our newest tenant:

Welcome to your new home! We know that you may feel your arrival to be somewhat sudden and unexpected, however do know we have been awaiting your arrival with great anticipation and for quite some time! Just to let you know, here are how the next few months and years will most likely play out.

Agreements of your stay:

You are happily welcome to fully reside in your current situation for the next six months. All your food will be provided right to you, and we understand your warmth and comfort are amply covered. That said, after six months, if you have not by your own volition decided to move out due to the cramped space, you will be evicted. Neither process will be easy we hear, but certainly well worth it.

No need to worry however! You will have all the warmth, comfort, love, and food available to you in your next home. You'll spend plenty of time in our arms as you get used to things such as light and noise, and we'll be sure to take care of your every need, and most likely some of your wants as well. We anticipate a great deal of cooing and laughing!

This arrangement will last in various forms for the next eighteen years as you continue to grow and develop. After that, you will be encouraged to go build your own life in a location out from under our roof.

There need not be any concern however, because for the rest of your life you will have a firm and steady place in our hearts, minds, and prayers. You will be loved unconditionally and treasured for the gift from God that you are. This is our agreement and promise to you.

We can't wait to officially meet you in six months little Bundle (also you will get a new name at some point!), and we are so glad you are here.

First weekend in 2012

I have been remiss in blogging, simply as the beginning of the year began with a bang! Not literally, of course, however we had a beautiful influx of guests, including our grandparents!!!

Grammy Ona and Pop-pop Tom drove out here to visit. It is always so much fun to have visitors! They took us out to eat (yahoo!) and then we went to the Udvar-Hazy Air & Space Museum. Here are some pictures from the day:

Let me tell you - the way to go to this museum is with a pilot! And a smart one to boot. Here is Pop-pop Tom watching a live feed from the space station, while next to the Enterprise. Very cool.

So pop wanted to see the jets, and I wasn't sure why, however I followed along. He saw this one, turned around and stated "I flew this one." Which is totally cool! My favorite part was the young man who was reading about the plane who also turned around and asked me "He flew this plane?!" I nodded, also incredulously. It was really neat.

 Here are the two INTPs in my life reading dutifully about something cool. They both seemed wrapped up in the complexity of the machinery. I think they look cute (especially the one on the left - Grammy Ona may disagree though... ;o) )

Speaking of Grammy Ona, she was indeed there. I was moved as they both stood by the Enola Gay talking about the plane and, most likely, its most renowned flight. (You can see Grammy Ona's Purse... pop certainly isn't carrying it!)

I wish I could have captured a picture of the IMAX film we watched "Red Flag" - however you can't quite catch an IMAX movie with a phone camera... that's the point. It was fun to chat afterwards about Pop's days working in Nevada.

Thanks for visiting!!!

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat

Last night I went to bed early and when I awoke, I remembered what it was like to think clearly.

Feeling more than usually fatigued tonight, I'm going to repeat the same activity tonight (going to bed early that is).

In other news, in preparation for Jerdan Thanksgiving and early Christmas, shopping for that side of the family came early this year! To keep track of it all (as for some odd reason I don't remember doing this last year...hmm...) I developed a matrix to track the progression of each purchase through figuring out what it was, ordering it, having it arrived at our home, and finally wrapping the presents. The matrix is proving successful, we have been able to keep track of everything, and this weekend will be full of wrapping glee, as all (but one!) present has arrived. It is a good feeling to feel ahead of the curve this year. A very good feeling. And even better to have not needed to set foot in a store for a large majority of the presents! I'll need to remember this for next year - and keep the matrix intact!

Keeping the Forest Wet

I may have blogged about this analogy before, but it is worth blogging about again!

During our pre-marital counseling at some point or another, we were told to always keep our "forest" "wet" - aka, keep our relationship always saturated with encouragement, trust, and support, even when we don't really "need" encouragement, trust, or support. That way, when the "lightning" of life strikes - conflict and hard times, the forest is so wet it won't go ablaze; the relationship will be able to sustain the numerous strikes being thrown its way.

We have taken that to heart over this past year and have consistently (not always admittedly) made sure to keep our relationship a safe and welcome place for the other person, where we can be encouraged. It has been sappy and, for many, perhaps somewhat nauseating to be around us, however we have been determined to practice this "wetting" of the forest.

These past few weeks we now are beginning to see what our counselors were talking about- life's storms come. Between loosing Ticky-Tacky, travel through several states, a cell phone debacle to end all cell phone debacles, a crisis in a close friend's life, and the many other things life has thrown our way in the past few weeks, our relationship has not gone up in flames.

I know without a doubt that it is the Lord holding us together to Him through His grace and mercy that He has displayed to us through each other over the past few years. That said, I'm so much more committed to making sure the "lulls" in life are used to prepare for the "storms," through continued encouragement and strengthening of each other through words and quality time. With the hustle and bustle that has been the past month, it has been hard to sneak in quality "us" time, but we have had reserves to draw upon that have kept us from smoldering.

So, I write this as a reminder to my future self to keep pursuing and strengthening our relationship, to you all to encourage you in your relationships, and to Jon for all his compassion, encouragement, and hugs which have been in abundance for the past few weeks!

Humor

So, if you knew Ticky Tacky, you knew a man who could laugh. Laugh at himself, laugh at others, while not laughing at the expense of others. When we saw him last, a few weeks before he died, he was still laughing and making jokes. I heard he was smiling at the laughter around him even days before he passed.

When we'd visit, he'd often have a new show we could watch - and it was quite the ordeal when they discovered British Comedies. My oh my, I remember when they found "Keeping Up Appearances" we watched so many episodes, and he'd laugh and laugh. Then we'd troll through old comedies, and I remember clearly introducing them to YouTube and revisiting the old comedy shows back in the day. They were funny then, and they are still funny now!

When we visited him in the hospital once awhile ago, he was cracking jokes left and right. I can't remember a single one, but I do remember thinking how interesting that he would be making people laugh in the hospital. Joking about himself, doctors, and whatever. It always cracked us up, and we always knew it would be special.

I wish there was a way to capture it all - the way he'd grin, land a joke we weren't expecting, or hear a new joke for the first time and burst out in laughter. But there simply isn't a way to write about the experience of humor effectively enough so that your reader experiences it.

So I'll have to make a recommendation. If you want to experience a small taste of Ticky Tacky's laughter and joy, get to know my dad. Or my brother. Or my sister. Or several of my aunt, uncles, and cousins, and maybe even their kids. And even those who married into the family, like my mom, Jess, Jon, and all the other "in-loves" [what we call in-laws!]. Many of them whom are deeply gifted with filling up a room with delight, and all of us delighting themselves in the laughter of others and filling the room with our laughter as well. Listen to their laughter, and you'll hear Ticky Tacky's laughter too.

Constancy

This Sunday Ticky-Tacky went to be with God. This is personally my first great loss, and I'm slowly beginning to understand what it means to loose someone like this. To process, I'd like to dedicate the next week of blogs to something I remember about him, and see where that takes us. Okay by you?  Good. Let's begin.

Constancy
As I'm sure many things are, I don't think I realized what a steady constant presence Ticky Tacky has been in my life until he is gone. Between all our many moves, and my many moves and countries later, Ticky Tacky and Mom-mom would always be found in the same house in nearly the same state - kept up but nothing fancy. The home had an odd way of luring you to sleep with it's steady character- we'd come to visit them both and find ourselves falling on couches later on! What a visit, but they always said they enjoyed it anyway. And seemed to understand.

We'd come as a family, and later on I'd come alone as an adult, then one day bringing Jon to pass their approval sometime two years ago. Ticky Tacky was always so glad to see us, or even just me, in his own way, generally leaving me to visit with mom-mom after a certain amount of time, although only after taking me out to lunch first. I can't tell you how much that meant during my single years, to be taken out by my grandpa with my grandma. Afterwards he'd generally vacate the womanly chatter to the sanity of the living room or his office.

All the rooms in their house have gone through so many changes - except his office. When we visited a few weeks ago, I took Jon through the house a bit, and of course visited the office. Stepping into the space, I felt immediately 6 years old again, sneaking into a place I knew I wasn't allowed, hoping to snag a coke out of the fridge. Twenty-some years later, there are still cokes in the fridge in the same location, except this time I can go on in without permission. Standing there was surreal, one room remaining so much the same through so much turbulence in life. Yet it felt so normal, and comforting, to feel like something  had remained the same through all of life's changes.

Ticky-Tacky was somewhat like that too. Very steady and nearly unchangeable.  We always knew what to expect - jokes, thoughts, the story about how he found an error in the dictionary, pointed it out to the authors, and didn't get a new dictionary in return. Maybe there'd be some mumbling about something or the other, however there was always a presence of love, and I would always leave with the solid knowledge he'd be very glad when I returned.

I'm going to miss that. A lot. (I can tell because I'm crying just writing about it!). It would be wrong if I didn't. And I hope I miss it for a long time, and seek to emulate the same welcoming in our own home when we settle down one day.

I am glad for one thing though. The next time we see him, there will be no returning, just a huge greeting and lots of laughter and sharing. I'll get to know him as a young man, and see him at his best. He himself will probably be able to speak a few languages (he was always in awe that I could speak German), and we'll all be together in a place that has always been Home in our hearts, in a place even more steadfast than Ticky Tacky's office - our place in God's presence, in His welcome and love.

Churching II

The other thing that's stuck with me since church this past Sunday was seeing a family file in a few rows ahead of us as the service was starting. As they got to their seats, the young girl (I'd say elementary-school-age) quickly climbed up onto the chair to be picked up by her daddy. And as she overlooked the congregation from that vantage point leaning her weight onto her father who was holding her up, with her arms wrapped around his neck, she had a huge, cute grin covering the bottom half of her face. She later did the same with her mommy. She looked so happy to be in her parents' arms.

I look forward to when Sara & I can be in the same position as those parents. What a blessing!

Charlevoix: Day 4

Yesterday we had a very unique day. We drove down to Traverse City, and then up the Leelanau Peninsula to visit some wonderful wineries! We went to Mawby and Black Star, and enjoyed it very very much. At Mawby we were able to sequester a little table away from the crowd and overlooking the vineyard to enjoy some sparkling wine and goat cheese. At Black Star we got caught in the rain, however were able to enjoy a delectable little lunch in their cafe, and then of course the wine tasting. They make really nice wines up here!

We came back "home," ate some pizza with the family, and then took a nap :o) The evening was spent chilling, rubbing moisturizer on the sun burn, and watching "Dan in Real Life" - the perfect movie to watch when on vacation with the family.

Yay marriage

As the evening was winding down, I was sitting at my desk going through the day's emails and Facebook updates after playing LearnedLeague (can you guess how many of the 13 colonies were named after an Englishman who was not a member of the nobility?), I realized that my dear Sara was on her computer too. So I unplugged my dear Claude (that's my MacBook) and picked up my wireless mouse to walk down the hallway and plop myself down on the living room floor. Like that I could be with my wife as we finish the day.

'Cause I love her very much like that.

That's all. I was thinking that and decided to share.

Lazy Friday

Today I had Friday off - good thing too, as it gave me a chance to rest my neck and spirit. It seems like whenever I start getting too busy or stressed, my body does something to force me to slow down - like getting sick or, in this case, a tremendously sore neck. My neck is feeling better, however the medication it takes to get the muscle to relax has me sleeping a lot. Which is quite pleasant, and I know kitchen floors can get mopped later!

In other news - the netbook is working out fine, although I miss the easy and sensibility of the Mac. Oh well.

The vermicomposter is still chugging along, and has found a nice new home outside. I still haven't harvested any compost off of it, and am waiting until its full to do so. Hopefully this will be less gross that it sounds, although I doubt it.

This weekend we're headed to Annapolis for a girls movie night weekend! We're both excited - Jon will be watching some guys flicks with the guys, and I'm looking forward to more relaxing! Yay rest.

Royal Weddings II - The Name

As was alluded to last week by Sara, I'd been wondering what royal families answer when asked for their last name (or "surname" as they say in the UK, which plays host to the royals we are focusing on right now). After all, they're always referred to by title and first name, but come on, who doesn't have a last name in modern Western societies?

Well, as I found out after some brief investigation, the British royal family didn't until 1917 (that's still less than a century ago, folks!). They were known by they name (first and middle(s)) and the name of their dynasty. I guess in a way that makes sense, since last names came into being to distinguish between all the Johns and Rachels out there, to make things more convenient than "John, the son of George."
- Is that George, the son of Henry?
- I'm actually not sure about his father's name. He's from London.
- Well, half the Georges I know have lived in London.
- Hmm, is he Mary's brother?
- John doesn't have a sister.
- No, I'm talking about George! Does George have a sister named Mary?
- Oh! I see, no, you're thinking of that other George, the blacksmith, right?
- Yea, I was. So he's not John's father?
- No, no, no. He has a nephew called Johan! And he only spent, like two years in London. He's originally from Exeter.
- So were you talking about George, the carpenter?
- Of course!
- That's right, I did meet his son John once!
- Cute kid, right?
- Certainly... Now, what about him?
- ... I don't remember.

You see, that's too complicated, so instead last names were instituted so that you can just say "John Smythe," and everyone's on the same page. But that's not necessary for the royals, 'cause titles were dead giveaways. For example if you say "the Duke of Edinburgh" or "Prince Harry" everyone knows who you're talking about, even if his name is actually Henry (true!). So the monarchy did not see it necessary to adorn their Christian names such.

But then the world caught up to them. And with the anti-German sentiments rising during the Great War, it grew uncouth for the King of the Britons to be of the house of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. So George V picked the name of Windsor (after the castle) to be from then on his family's name. Much more British, you know?

Yet Windsor is not the current last name of Buckingham Palace's inhabitants. The story goes on, because, as we all remember, in 1952 it was a daughter who inherited the throne. And she was married to Philip Mountbatten, aka His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (formerly Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark -- it gets complicated if you dig too deeply). The young couple decided in 1960 to hyphenate their names to keep the Windsor royal name while still distinguishing themselves from all the other relatives.

All this to explain that the new Duchess of Cambridge gave up the name Middleton to now be Catherine Elizabeth Mountbatten-Windsor.

Interestingly enough, the "Mountbatten" name also appeared in 1917 so that the Battenberg family could also distance itself from its German roots.

More details for those still following and interested available on the family's website and Wikipedia.

An open letter to DOT

We just got home from a family weekend in Maryland. It started raining while the cousins crowd was enjoying a late night "family dinner" at Chik-fil-A after a truly impressive concert at Annapolis Area Christian School. And it kept on raining seriously until our exit from the toll road. The different Departments of Transportation around really need to figure out a paint to mark the lanes that is still visible at night when the roads are all wet and reflecting all the lights.
Also there are still drivers out there who didn't seem to notice that roads could get slippery and visibility was poor in the storm.
We made it home safe and sound, don't worry. My anticipation skills got some good workout. :-)

731 days

Today marks 2 whole years that I have not been in France! Hmm... Time to save up for a big trip to show my wife my childhood stomping grounds. Can't wait, can't wait, can't wait!

Also, congratulations to Mom Jerdan on buying a house in record time. Have you tried contacting Guinness?

The best cake in the world

Today marks 6 months + 1 week that we have been married! In celebration of that, since we were back in Arnold with a big family (yay for having all six kids & spouses together!), we broke out the leftover cake from our reception. So Sara & I were able to get a real taste of the delicacy beyond the bites that we gave each other for the ceremonial moment of gastronomic romance in the Banneker-Douglass. I hope everyone who attended was able to get a piece, 'cause it was a yummer. Thank you Heather Woodfin!!

We then stopped for gas where we had our first post-crowd activity as a married couple: washing off the decorations painted on our car window.

Saturday/Sunday

Saturday was a blast too! Quick run down of events:

1) Woke up leisurely and we all ate a light breakfast together.
2) At approximately 1pm, we all gathered with the extended Jerdan family at IHOP and listened to their stories about the bridge run. Sounded like alot of fun. Sleeping in I think may have been better.... (for this year at least!)
3) I walked around old town Charleston with Jon, Dad Jerdan, and the Weckessers (Jon's sister and her husband). It was beautiful! So unique to see an old southern town littered with Palmetto trees. Also got to visit an old church with a beautiful English garden. On the cornerstone of the church was inscribed Jon's grandfather's name, among others, who had helped refurbish the church. We have pictures, will post later.
4) Returned "home," then went to Jon's aunt and uncle's farm for dinner! We saw a baby goat (2 weeks old) who was still figuring out how to jump, 3 month old goats, and lots of chickens. Ate a great meal with family.

Sunday:
Woke up, had breakfast with one of my friends in Charleston, and drove back up here! I'm still feeling a little car-sick from all the traveling, however happy in spirits :o)

Bald eagle!

While driving down through Virginia yesterday, I saw a bald eagle for the first time in my life!

We started going over a bridge, when Mom, who was beside me at that point, exclaimed "Is that an eagle?" when looking way ahead toward the other end of the bridge. I looked ahead and saw this big bird, mostly brown, with a white head and white tail, diving down next to the bridge, apparently going fishing in the river below.

Now I've seen a real, live bald eagle with mine own eyes and not through a screen.

Yay!

Successful Saturdays!!!

Today was a grand day in the finishing of the Jerdan apartment! Let me tell the story:

A few months back we received a "welcome to the neighborhood" coupon from Bed, Bath, & Beyond (affectionately called "B3"). It was 20% off the entire purchase!!! For newlyweds, who had their registry at B3 to finish off, this is a tremendous opportunity. The coupon expired in February, however I knew that if we weren't careful, we could very nearly forget about it and pass the date by, so I was a bit anxious to get underway to B3. That said, we left it on our fridge for awhile until we identified everything we absolutely needed, not just coveted, from the store. And once we had some free time, we could finish our list at 20% off!

Today was the day! We carefully looked at the list of things we needed: a rug for the hall to keep the carpet from wearing to thin, a pot for soup, black-out curtains for our bed-room (as our window faces the parking lot, there's an oraganeish glow at night), a toaster, a blender, cutting boards and a few more dish-sets, but only if we had remaining cash. We tallyed our remaining cash gifts, gift cards, and credit from returned items, and came up with our budget. And remembering ALL of these numbers and lists (hard for iNtuitive Perceivers), we set off for an afternoon of shopping.

Entering B3, we began - first to kitchen utensils to figure out cutting boards, then to pots and pans to figure out the best value for the best pot. Despite a good deal for spending $300 dollars on Caphalon, we settled on a good soup kettle with steaming features and kept going. Then on to kitchen appliances, and then to curtains, where we found the most helpful lady who helped us identify curtains within our budget. We landed on a pair of blue/grey drapes which had lining sewed in the back that obscures 98% of the light (better savings than the black-out curtain with drapes!). After a bit of effort we found the rugs, and identified one that worked for our hall on clearance! Then, after adding all our totals on our calculators, we realized we had enough left to buy 3 more dish sets, allowing us to set our entire table with the new plates, glasses, and silverware. Fairly confident in our calculations and decisions, we headed to check out.

There, I was anticipating being over-budget, which happens more often than not for me, despite careful calculations and thought. However, we weren't! We actually came in near $50 UNDER budget after 30 dollars was knocked off the rug for some reason.

Euphoric and delighted, we headed to the car, packed it up, then drove to 5 Guys to spend some of our extra cash on some good meat (Jon definitely needed a man-meal after shopping for the home) and a night of no cooking and no dishes. It was a fabulous Saturday. Most of the new items are settled in, and I can't express how much more "at home" I feel without the constant reminders of what needs to be bought for the home to be at a good, functional level (at least in my mind!). The room looks absolutely elegant with the new curtains, I'm happy to not walk down the hall thinking "We should get a rug in here" and I can't wait to make some soup :o)

Other highlights: Talking to the brand new Smiths! It's so much fun to talk to a couple so newly married and in-love like us (actually this was the actual highlight of the day, but makes a less interesting story unless we typed out the transcript of the conversation)! & watching "Guess who's coming to dinner" with Jon, who had never seen it. Yay newly married life.