Pumpkins without the Patch

Last week Lauren's mom and Micah's grandma came to visit. On Saturday we all met up with Lauren's aunt and cousin at a pumpkin patch in the 'burbs. Tirzah was the most interested in people watching, and didn't notice the pumpkins.

It was probably better, as there wasn't much of a pumpkin patch but lots of carnival games and rides. As well as, uh...camel rides...? We all enjoyed the hay ride and some apple cider mini donuts.

Micah acquired some free cotton candy for us all. A little boy dropped his cotton candy on the grass, which apparently rendered it inedible. His dad bought him a new one and gave the old one back to be thrown away. Micah stepped in to rescue the cotton candy before it reached the garbage. :)

We had a fun time!

Pumpkins - photo slideshow

One Year Later...

So, it's officially been over a year since we last posted on our blog. That was right about the time Tirzah became mobile, and well, we've been rather busy since then.

Micah works full time and is a full time student. He is still a chaplain candidate in the Army Reserve, though is in the process of transfering to a different unit. He relinquished his post as president of student council at Moody to have more time at home. He began an internship with our church, First Free. He absolutely loves his job, his internship and work as a chaplain. He's not the biggest fan of school at the moment and is looking forward to completing his education to begin full-time ministry.

Lauren is a work at home mom, caring for Tirzah and nannying for a little boy. He is here for almost 10.5 hours a day, 5 days a week, so Lauren stays quite busy. She is still in school to finish her graduate degree and has only 2 classes left until graduation!

Tirzah is a happy, busy almost two-year-old (how did that happen?!?). She enjoys playing with baby dolls and helping mama clean. We're hoping this cleaning trend continues for years to come. She likes to climb and get as high as possible. She loves going outside and going on walks, but isn't a fan of the stroller. She wants to walk and doesn't get tired - she'll go for miles. She can read books and do puzzles for hours, but doesn't care for coloring (putting crayons in and out of the box is much more fun). She is quick to laugh and smile and is quite cuddly. We love her to pieces!

As far as the last year goes, we will recap it with pictures. Look for a giant photo album on our blog in the near future!

Love,
M, L, & T

Neglectful blogging

Yep, it happened again...we stopped blogging for a while. Good news is - the apartment is ALMOST finished. So we are ALMOST ready to posts pics of our new place. Just have to nail in some trim, paint a little, and get some pictures on the walls. We are having a housewarming party this weekend, so it has to get done by then!

Tirzah is mobile and still as cute as ever. She loves to clap and wave. There are plenty of videos to upload, but those will have to wait for another posting.

Micah is busy with school, work, and all his (many, many) extra-curricular activities.

Lauren is busy as a stay at home mama and is enjoying her classes (but not the homework).

These are long overdue, but here is a slideshow video from Tirzah's 6 month photoshoot.

Kitchen - before and after

New News

So, while Tirzah and Mommy wait for a phone to charge before running errands - there's a little time to update this blog.

We have been busier than ever!

Biggest news - Micah got a job at our church.

Also big news - we are moving into a bigger apartment next door RENT FREE!!!

Micah is doing facilities work for the church and his first task on the job is to renovate our future apartment. The place needed to be gutted in a few rooms and there was no kitchen - lots of work to be done! You can see it here (the living room is missing from the video - the ceiling needs to be re-plastered and the walls need some repair):

We are on a time crunch to get this place finished by the end of this month. Why the time crunch? First, the church has planned for the apartment to have been finished already and really want to see it completed ASAP. Also, our friends Kelly and Nicolas have been wanting to move back to Chicago, but have been waiting for the right opportunity. With us moving out, our current apartment needs new tenants. Kelly and Nicolas already know what our place looks like and know that the church rents this place for a low price. So, they were really excited when they heard our place was available. They had a small window of time when they could move soon or it'd be a long wait before they move. So, Micah thought he could finish everything in time for them to move here quickly.

So, we'll have our friends as next door neighbors - along with a playmate for Tirzah, their new baby girl Clara.

This past week Micah's dad and his friend Scott came down to Chicago to help with the renovations. They were such a big help and did a lot of great work. So, the kitchen is done! (Pictures soon!)

In other news, Lauren and Micah will continue their graduate studies this semester. Lauren will begin nannying for a baby boy in December. He'll be coming to our place, which makes caring for Tirzah while nannying so much easier. Lauren knows the family from caring for their daughter at her previous job. She still babysits for her from time to time. The parents are such a nice, down to earth couple and will be a pleasure to work for.

Tirzah is growing right along and is quite the talker. She can make most consonant sounds and loves to point at things with her little index fingers. She still loves music and is very smiley. We think she's adorable.

She did great on our lastest trip to MN on the Greyhound (we went to see her new cousin, Ethan) she was quite enamored with the handicap sign on the bus as you can see here:

Ah!

Ba!

Rolling!

Sitting up!

Tirzah in the SAM Octagonian

I just received the quarterly copy of my fraternity's publication, SAM's "Octagonian."
See below!