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Saturday, December 26, 2009

Goodbye Belly

Everett lost the remains of his umbilical cord last night! Growing up so fast.

OuR VeRy MeRrY ChRisTmAs.

Friday, December 11, 2009

REmembrance and New Beginnings

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQXm66EKb3M

Sunday, November 29, 2009

EveReTT CoMInG SooN!!!!!!

Monday, October 12, 2009

NeW PreGnaNcY PhoTOs

My beautiful and amazing wife!!!!!!


HomE = UtaH!!!!





















































Being away from Utah (aka home) for the last two years has been an interesting journey. The search for a new place to call home is kind of like a corn maze (happy Halloween everyone!) with no destination and certainly no candy. Not having a place to call home can be a vacant and unsettling feeling. Something always seems to be either missing or far too prevalent. Now that we are home it feels like everything is in its harmonious place; the seasons, holidays, family, friends, food, etc. all seem to serendipitously fall into their natural order/cycles-so much so that if you aren't careful things can pass without notice or question. Every other place seems to be filled with questions and concerns that confront the issue as to why it isn't representative of home. I guess nothing teaches appreciation like losing even the most simple of things. Things once taken for such granted. The law of opposition at work I suppose ("don't know what you've got until you've lost it." and all that jazz). Now Gretel and I are making a special effort to absorb the things around us. To acknowledge the simple beauties of Utah, the laugh of a friend, and the warmth of a life adorned by family, a drive up the canyon, a car filled with memorable music and the familiarity of roads traveled a thousand times over, as opposed to monotone instructions of a GPS. I suppose the necessity of a GPS altogether signifies that somewhere in your life you are lost-either literally or metaphorically. Finally, ours has been silenced. As a wise man once read to me, "Home is in the teeth." Also, the first song on our playlist has never seemed more appropriate. Here are the lyrics:

"In Your Eyes"

love I get so lost, sometimes
days pass and this emptiness fills my heart
when I want to run away
I drive off in my car
but whichever way I go
I come back to the place you are

all my instincts, they return
and the grand facade, so soon will burn
without a noise, without my pride
I reach out from the inside

in your eyes
the light the heat
in your eyes
I am complete
in your eyes
I see the doorway to a thousand churches
in your eyes
the resolution of all the fruitless searches
in your eyes
I see the light and the heat
in your eyes
oh, I want to be that complete
I want to touch the light
the heat I see in your eyes

love, I don't like to see so much pain
so much wasted and this moment keeps slipping away
I get so tired of working so hard for our survival
I look to the time with you to keep me awake and alive

and all my instincts, they return
and the grand facade, so soon will burn
without a noise, without my pride
I reach out from the inside

Sunday, September 13, 2009

NeW PhOTostreAM!!!! ThE StoRy OF Us

Gretel @ 25 Weeks!!!!



Monday, July 20, 2009

New BAby Bump Photos! So exciting!!!!!



Rodents and Marsupials R Us!



Here are some photos of the latest addition to our eclectic family. He has now joined the ranks with the the silver back gorilla, the possum in the yard, the chipmunks in the ceiling, the giant rat under the dog house, the mice downstairs. Apparently we are Philly"s Ark ;)

Friday, July 3, 2009

More NewFys and FaIrMounT PArK




New Baby-Belly photos


Thursday, July 2, 2009

Swiming in Schuylkill






We thought we'd see him do some swimin' on his own today so we went to Fairmount Park! Clearly he hated every second of it.. poor thing!

New Penn Delaware Club -Water Rescue Training!






We took Atticus to Blue Mash Lake to the training day for the newfs water rescue to see what it was all about and see if he would act interested.. He DID! He got so excited and panicked anytime any of the trainers would call for help, he would bark nonstop and try to get into the water to help. He watched every dog take their turn, not so patienly, with total focus and seemed he knew what his job was. He did not actually do any of the training but did get to swim some and now were are sure this dog needs to take some water rescue courses of his own!

Thursday, June 18, 2009

It's a BOY!!

Sorry, I have been lazy but now I have added some markers and some explanations to the latest ultrasounds. Maybe it will help to make a little more sense out of what you are looking at. This first picture shows a great front view of the baby, his head at the top and yes he is smiling!
The arrows on this picture show where his legs are, he is sitting legs folded. The red mark shows..well..why he is a he!
This is a side shot of his head and the arrow marks the babies hand, it looks like he is sucking his thumb.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

13 Weeks and COUNTING!



Okay, here are some pictures of my growing belly. Its seems more so the past three or four days. In three more days..long days..we head back to Dr. Bailey and with any luck we will know the sex!

Saturday, May 30, 2009

10 Week 3 Days!!




The ultrasounds are getting so exciting, lots of movement and definition. The doctor also told us that in three more weeks he will be able to tell us the sex.. WOW, this will be a long three weeks!

Monday, May 18, 2009

HaPPy BiRtHDaY tO AttICuS!!!!!!




It's true, Sir Atticus of Ainslie turns two today! Atticus, as I am sure many of you know, is my velcro. The second we got Atticus, we were smitten (me probably a little more...with "a little" being an understatement). A little bear cub that hated us for two days until finally feeling comfortable enough to roll over onto his back and snore. Little did we know this combination would soon become his trademark (Snoring and sleeping © of Atticus Industires). He has grown into a beautiful animal (sometimes resembling a bear and others a silver back gorilla...others a pain in the ...) and over the course of two years Atticus has become my partner in crime, my amigo, and aside form Gretel, my best friend. He is a constant companion, albeit a filthy, shedding companioin, but literally one that keeps me sane in an otherwise insane Philadelphia. Now that Atticus is two and Gretel is pregnant, he has made the sacred journey into manhood. He is gentle giant with Gretel (although I am still fair game for a little roughing up), and has begun to guard our house with pride, something he has never done until Gretel became prgnant. We are not sure if he would ever do anything, but let me tell you...it is a frightening sight if he doesn't approve of you approach to the house. As Lord Byran brilliantly stated about his Newfoundland, Atticus too is "Beauty without Vanity,Strength with out Insolence,Courage without Ferocity,And all the Virtues of Man without his Vices." So Happy birthday Handsome!! We love you and would be lost without you!!!!!

Sunday, May 17, 2009

oNe YeAr DoWn. Woo Hoo!!!


It seem as if yesterday we moved to Philly, went to sleep, and woke up a year later. Time is literally moving at the speed of light. The first semester was a little rough (a little being a huge understatement), but this past semester was a blast! I absolutely adore my cohort...I really think I have made some life long friends here. My teaching assignments have been fantastic and I am happy with my academic performance as well. However, there will be one big change next year (as you know from the previous post). We will have a baby! Now I know having a baby during comprehensive exams may not have been the best plan, but we are thrilled!

One down and one to GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm pregnant!



So the first couple of weeks things were great no morning sickness, sweet!! Really what else could you ask for? That was short lived, not only do I have morning sickness... I have all day, all night and in between sickness. Food is a thing of the past, and vitamins?.. RIGHT! I think it took me five hours yesterday to convince stomach it was okay. Driving myself to work makes me car sick, not the best way to start out a day of work. With any luck this will pass in a week or so and I can spend more time being excited.
I am not the only one with growing excitement. Wes is so funny with the whole thing, his concerns started with the logistics of it all(anybody knowing Wes would not be surprised by this). For instance: "so.. how do you get a newborn home from the hospital?" and "what size of diapers will we need?". These are things I don't typically worry about but for someone having not so much experience its very understandable and very cute. I love it, I love when he wants to look at baby clothes and furniture and when he leave the room for ten minutes and returns with several more name ideas(good ones too!). The thing I have loved the most was hearing the heartbeat, yes I got emotional(I'm sure if you ask Wes this is not a surprise at this point but what can I say) but it truly was the highlight..so far. The due date? WOW, the 24th of Dec.. I know, I know, not so ideal for someone who works in retail but really a little too late to change this. No promises but the doc and nurses are sure its a boy..So much more to look forward to and and I feel like I will explode with the excitement, all I can say is ITS ABOUT TIME! Here a some pics until next time.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

GrEteL is PrEgnaNt!!!!!!!

More coming soon....

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Atticus is sick


Well, last night Atticus developed a hotSpot on his back leg. We took him to the the vet today and had him treated but he cannot seem to stop itching and biting himself impetuously. So tonight Atticus gets to wear a cone on his head. As the joke goes, "He can't lick or bite himself, but his hearing has improved!"

Monday, February 16, 2009

hAppY BiRTHdaY 2 GrEteL

Love you baby! Now where's the cake?!

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

SHiPwReCkeD iN PhILLy

For all of your Newfoundland dog needs...
http://lewisandclarknewfoundlands.wordpress.com/

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Superbowl


Once again, I may be reading into this a bit too much, but for two people who are not all that into sports, we certainly are having impacts on the places we live(d) (I know, I am stretching a little with the Steelers; technically should be the Eagles). Just want to let the franchises out there know that Gretel and I are available for full time work as good luck charms (and no, you can't cut off our feet; that's just cruel).

Friday, February 6, 2009

UrBAn SceneS