Some Thanksgiving photos

Not a lot of text this time, but a few notes. We did a whirlwind Columbus trip.  Very good to see family, and enjoyed meeting Stu's new friend and conversation partner, Hiaming. 

Susie and Stu gave Sam five Mo Willems Elephant and Piggy books. These were the perfect level for Sam to read himself, which he has spent hours doing. We decided to donate a book to his class to mark his 6th birthday. Today school he'll read it to the class, as is the tradition. 

Also shown, the family with Grandpa Gene. This is the fruit of several photographic attempts.

And Mom at the C.O.W.S. show in German Village. Hers is the top photo, "Pop Art." Mom and Sam are shown conversing outside the exhibition site. 

Dad and Sam are pictured excavating--an archeology project given Sam by the Mansons for his birthday. I believe I mentioned it in the last posting. Since then we have abandoned the weak little plastic tool they provide in favor of a screwdriver pounded with a pair of pliers. He's found a shark tooth, a green gem, some iron pyrite, a few fossils and at least one rock. Maybe finish it tonight?

Hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving!

A passel of photos and some news

Shown first--a fun birthday gift from the Mansons to Sam. It's a block of clay which has imbedded in it ten things to find, including fossils, a shark tooth, a gem, and rocks. The owner is to slowly chip away with authentic-looking tools. Sam's been having a lot of fun with it.  Didn't hurt that he found the shark tooth right away. I've given him a center punch to use which has sped up the excavation a little. Thanks, Mansons!

Also shown at the bottom of this post: Sam's new Drinking Glasses, being enjoyed with milk. Never has it looked more studious to drink milk! Thanks, Nana and Grandad!

Josh continues to thrive. He loves to suck on the finials of our dining-room chairs--he's pictured here taking a break from enjoying one. He's now able to pull himself up to a sitting position, which is typically followed by his crowing with delight while playing with some previously-unreachable toy.

Speaking of unreachable, we need to baby-proof the house. This weekend we twice had a fire in the fireplace and Josh eyed it with great curiosity.

We may also just not leave him alone with a fire.

The real news this past week was Grandpa Gene's visit. From what I've been told, all went well and the visit was a smashing success. (If for no other reason than no one got sick! Last visit from Grandpa Gene saw him sick with a stomach 'flu. It took no little courage, I think, to return to Rochester.)

Grandpa Gene played with Josh and read to Sam and a good time was had by all. It's especially nice to know we'll see G. G. before the year is out...

And now, I leave you with this, from Susan:


Sam (having just been returned to his bed): But I'm scared.
Me: What are you scared of?
Sam: Monsters.
Me: Fortunately, as you well know, there's no such thing as monsters.
Sam: Burglars.
Me: No...it's a safe house, well-lit, good neighborhood...
PAUSE
Sam: Meteor showers?

News from out west

 Actually, no news, just some pictures.

When I began this post, I was in Salt Lake City at a conference.

I decided not to post it until my return, just to be safe.

These photos are from a skype session with the family.

So glad to be back.  :-)

More photos and news to follow!

A.A. visit

At school Sam's class made flags from around the world

A recent, heart-warming conversation:

Sam: All kids are not orphans, are they?
Susan: No. An orphan is someone without any parents, living in an orphanage.
Sam: I know. I wish I could be a orphan because it sounds exciting
Susan: Wouldn't you miss your parents? You can't do that--your parents would miss you too much!
Sam: Well, if I were a orphan, you'd be dead or something, right?

A psychologist will give this as evidence that Sam feels safe in his current context and relationships. 

Really.

Quality/TV time

Amy visit this weekend. As you can see, she caught up on a little sleep.  :-)

She also attended small group with us (not that there was much choice--we hosted!) and went to Sam's music class and the library with us as well and played with Sam and held Josh. Very good getting some Amy time!

And witness Sam's breaking open of geodes he just received from Nana and Grandad. (See movie.) Sam was very thrilled!

He enjoyed the geodes enough that last night he indicated some large geode bookends I have, and said he'd like to have those too. 

So not only would life be more exciting with us dead, he is already picking through our belongings. Well, the geodes, anyway.

Josh and Sam have head colds, and Susan's starting down that road too. Not terrible, but Josh is having trouble sleeping while lying down. You know, the preferred way. Ah, well: First-World Problems.

Have a great week!

Special Hallowe'en Edition

 Summary: Sam had the most fun he can legally have at this age, and Josh was accepting of being dressed up like a jack-o-lantern and hauled around the neighborhood.

Nice weather. Brisk but dry, with a hazy moon.

Sam was in heaven, running from door to door talking loudly and non-stop about pretty much everything he was seeing and receiving.

The neighborhood houses put on a decent show. One house clearly had a bachelor, as he was handing out FULL SIZE candy bars.

Boy, peanut-butter cups are popular! They will all get migrated to the lab, where they can't hurt anybody, just make us fat. Susan had a primo stash on hand to swap for Sam's peanutty haul. We barely bothered with dinner, and in fact Susan and I ate at 9:30 once everyone was down.

I understand in a neighborhood near Ruth's they had hundreds of kids come through. (Ruth, is this right?) Wow! Katie posted to fb with the dire message "Out of candy in 10 minutes!", which reads like a wartime post from the the front: "Out of bullets in ten minutes." Hopefully she wasn't overrun by Fuzzy Wuzzies. (ah yes!)

On the way in this morning I wished Sam a happy All Saints Day. Being in a Reformed church, that holiday's been squashed by Reformation Day. Really a shame, if only for the hymns which are lost. "For All the Saints" is amazing. (Why couldn't they have chosen one of the nameless Sundays in Pentecost? Or, as they call it, "ordinary time.")

Anyway, told him that the day after Hallowe'en is All Saints Day, when we remember all the Christians who have gone before.

Also had to warn him that no one at school will have any idea what he's talking about if he mentions this--a common refrain these days, since we read about the Gerasene Demonaic on Saturday and I had to tell him all about demons. (He did tell me this morning that a girl in his class, Meliss, is both allergic to nuts and believes in God! I asked how he knew the latter and he said he simply asked her.)

But back to All Saints': As an example of a Christian we might remember fondly I used our predecessor Jonathan Brace Hammond, a Methodist circuit-riding preacher in upstate NY. Sam, who now judges ancestors by his connections to Gov'r Bradford and, through Uncle Paul, the Wright Bros., immediately asked if Hammond was famous. No, but still important.