"Christmas Time is Here"

So... tonight I'm at our house and doing the best that I can to pack things up.

In the midst of putting together all of my music books and sheet music, I began playing "Christmas Time is Here" on the piano. It's one of my favorite pieces of all time. Perhaps because of the lush sonorities of a major tonality moving downward to an altered dominant (same reason I love "Blue in Green" by the way)... or because of the emotional connection it has to memories for me.

PJs, Snoopy, cold nights, hot chocolate, family cuddle time. All of which I haven't had enough of this season. There's been way too much "busy"-ness to be able to rest and enjoy good times and good company.

Commuting, nomadville, skype conversations, baby time, and work have taken up this year's holiday festivities.

I am thankful for the many blessings I have (of which I have a lot!), but I just wish that things were given more opportunity to slow down. I miss Liam and Mel right now. Eventually we'll get our house sold and find a new home for the three of us, but until we get there I'm not too wild about the pace that life has us in. I feel like I'm missing too much of Liam's growing up right now :-(

That's what makes me saddest of all.

I'm just tired. Going to bed early on New Year's eve actually sounds pretty appealing right now. I think I need another PJ party with my family (Yay for a new tradition!)... that and a cup of hot cocoa wouldn't hurt. :-)

Greg

Dear "Baby-D"

Dear "Baby-D,"

Your time has come. We have waited a good long while for your arrival and the time is here. Currently your mom is trying to get some rest as this is still early on in labor. I will be doing the same shortly. We want our OB to be the one to deliver you since she has been the one tending to yours and your momma's health this whole time. So, they will be administering pitocin around 4am to progress things forward.

I want to let you know that the way your birth has been so far has been a reminder to your mother and me of how God still hears our prayers. We have prayed all along in the pregnancy for several things. More specifically we asked that her water wouldn't break while she was at work teaching, we asked that I would be with her when it was time to go to the hospital, and we asked that it would happen in the evening. All of which has come to pass.

Her water broke at 5:28 pm today, but had it occured yesterday I wouldn't have been here because I was in a training session for work all day and didn't get home until later.

We have been planning and preparing for you to enter our world. We already love you with all of our heart and will do anything to protect you and establish you so that you may grow on your own.

I'm excited to finally get to share with our friends and family what your name is! However, since you haven't officially been born yet... it has to wait... for now :-)

You are beautiful my son, and I love you very much. I can hear your heart beat right now as we listen in on your world to make sure you are okay while nestled in Mommy's tummy. Just know that your heart has been close to mine for a long time now.

Love,

Your Papa "Daddy-D"

Swaddled

Currently, our most relaxing room in the house is the nursery. I'd say this is a great accomplishment save for the fact that it speaks of the other aspects in our life that are not relaxing- a kitchen full of dishes from my cooking adventures today, items in various "staging" areas to pack away and store or donate (all accumulated from cleaning and prepping the nursery), an office that is in dire need of attention.

Ugh...

But... there is peace in the nursery.

The green paint color that we chose for the walls is called "dancing green." It's vivid, yet quiet; much like how the leaves on the Aspen dance in springtime from the slightest breath expelled from the Colorado Rockies. We have a "sleep sheep" on Baby-D's crib which emits noises to lull you to sleep too: Heartbeat, Rain, Ocean... and whale calls. Whale calls? Well, not sure about that one, but it is there nonetheless.

I suppose Mel and I have great anticipation of what's to come. As we should. As I ponder the future, I consider how I desire to offer our little one a place of refuge- not only in this nursery, but in our arms, in our lives... engulfed by our love. I want to keep him safe. I want to keep my family safe. Financially, emotionally, spiritually, physically.

In light of my dad's recent cycling accident, I have come to the realization that I have entered into a new era of adulthood. It's given me pause to not only consider how to provide for Melissa and Baby-D, but that one day (hopefully in the distant future) we'll be considering how to care for our parents as well.

There is much responsibility to be had and I don't always feel like I am up to the task; however, sitting in the nursery this evening, and the security that's felt here, helps me to realize that we're doing a pretty good job and that it's gonna be okay. It's just that even though I know that God is my rock, and I have the most incredible family collective in the world, I still find myself asking sometimes...

.... Who will keep me safe?

Lack of decisions

Tonight, as I was cleaning up the kitchen and doing my best to tidy up after a cooking bonanza (I can sure make a mess when cooking!!!), I realized a key thing to why and how life can be easy or it can be challenging. It seems like many things are based on decisions or indecisions in my life and unfortunately more often than not the latter can usually occur.

A dear friend of mine from college used to always say, "everything has a home." It becomes my mantra while cleaning:

"Everything has a home, everything has a home. Okay this thing clearly doesn't have a home..."

and BOOM! A decision has to be made. It can be left there to be dealt with later (which is a decision within the indecision), or I can be proactive about it - get rid of it, create space, return it to where it belongs, or rather should belong.

I think the same thing could be said about how time needs to be decluttered, and managed a little bit more proactively in my free time- get rid of it, Create S P A C E, return it to where it belongs.

And so... on that note I must close, for this time belongs for sleeping :-)

~Greg

Wokka Wokka!

Recently I have been emailing back and forth with a dear friend of our family, Lefty. He and I share a similar passion... namely - COOKING!

...That, and having things that need a little TLC and seasoning. We've talked a lot about seasoning cast iron and how I was on a quest to find a good wok and lo and behold... He sent us one! Yippee. It's the traditional shape (i.e. not flat bottom) and has the same joys as cast iron. It'll develop a great nonstick coating from seasoning over time due to it being a carbon steel wok.

So, here it is being used on the grill for the first time to obtain some rip-roaring high heat.

This was my first attempt at making beef and broccoli. My mise en place...

The results!

I think I still need to tweak the recipe a bit, or perhaps try another recipe, but this was definitely a great start to my experience in wok cooking. :-)

-Greg

Three

Three years ago today, I was preparing to become a husband to my beautiful bride. In less than three months from now, I will be a father to the newest member of our family... Well, his name will be announced then. I'm officially in my third decade of life. Mel and I were born three months apart.

For many aspects of our life three seems to be quite relevant. Over the next year of our married life we'll be embarking on SO many new and exciting things! We are anxiously awaiting our little one and I know that I am excited to meet him. Surreal seems to hardly cover it.

I think the most difficult thing I face in writing this blog... is whether to focus on my emotions of becoming a father, or to reflect on what it is to be a husband to my precious wife. I don't know how to do both simultaneously AND effectively. I suppose that's an important challenge to realize as we learn about our newly developing roles as parents - how to tend to our own relationship while concurrently tending to the relationship of parent/child, and family unit.

We've decided to take today in stride. Nothing huge. No blowout budget decisions. Perhaps a nice dinner, and a postponed pottery painting date next week.

We have a lot on our plates these days and our focus is trying to organize our life right now so that we can prepare for being disorganized come October :-) I know that things will never be perfect - we are just working as a team to whittle these mountains down to molehills; one stone at a time. The great thing is... we're making progress! The nursery is looking more and more ready to receive things (rather than just store stuff which it has done for 3 yrs). The office is... well... it's still a work in progress, but it IS better! :-) And Salvation Army? Well... let's just say that it is a good thing that they're an army because we're about to give them a lot. :-D

Yay for tax write-offs!

We'll see what the day holds! I'll try to post an update :-) (But, we all know that I'm not the avid blogger right now... so, we'll see).

Greg

Murphy... and mercies

Sometimes, when you least expect him... Murphy shows up and lays down the law. A few Sundays ago my car was towed from a parking spot where my management told me I can park. Well, "lifted" is more like it because I walked out there as the guy was putting my car up on his rig. So while it wasn't "towed" away I still had to pay One-hundred-and-fifty clams. (Does the hyphening make it feel bigger to you? Hope so. It was a pretty big deal to me that day).

When I got home Mel had been dealing with medical bills and insurance for 2 and 1/2 hours. Needless to say, we were both pretty wiped and just cried and held each other for a while.

It's wonderful to have a spouse that is also your best friend. It's not even that we couldn't suffer the financial blow... it was more the emotional one that was hard.

We have both felt overwhelmed lately. Seems like that's one of our life's themes... but I digress.

So, I'm choosing not to ramble on right now. Sure... I could vent about all the little things that are causing stress (and believe me... there's a lot of little things; I know Melissa has her own list. If only I had a venn diagram right now! :-), but I won't. Instead, what I'm going to do is remind you dear reader (and myself!) of how I have an amazing God that loves me dearly and counts me valuable in spite of what the world may say and how his mercies are new EVERY morning.

Tomorrow's a new day. And, though that new day may have a cluttered kitchen with dishes left to be done, I will have slept the night with my bride by my side and our little one growing in her belly. God is good and there is MUCH that I can be thankful for -- even the little things :-)