The Latest with the Wilsons

We moved!

Even better, we own a home!

And we're in love with it: the front yard, the back yard, the shed, the deck, the garage, the laundry room, the kitchen with its beautiful cabinets and island and dishwasher!!!, the second bathroom, the walk-in closet, the jet tub, and the extra bedroom we acquired, not to mention the many windows that actually open to let in fresh air and sunlight all through the house. Most of all, the fireplace. 3-sided and visible from living, dining, and kitchen areas (which is really just one big open space).

With the fantastic help of my parents, sister, a guy from church, a neighbor, and Sara W., we were able to get the kitchen unpacked and functional in one day, and the rest of the house was fairly put together, though strewn in boxes. We have continued unpacking, having systems checked out by professionals, and purchasing the little things that I suspect homeowners are used to doing (but we haven't a clue about). Walking in from the garage every day after work has been awesome. To finally be home.

We are so grateful for God's provision.

I wonder how long it'll take before we no longer feel like we're staying in a vacation home! Any ideas?

Best of all, Quincy loves it too! He wouldn't leave our bathroom for a full day, but when he got brave enough to venture into the living room, he found so much space in which he can run around at top speed, play with his plastic milk jug rings, and a lot more counter space to explore (and be scolded for doing so continuously). A few nights ago, he discovered the tops of the washer/dryer--they are very high, and subsequently, he discovered the top of the cabinets just above the washer/dryer--a perfect corner space where heat from the dryer rises while he sleeps very soundly (despite the constant train traffic on the nearby tracks). He also loved the open windows on Wednesday--blew his mind! (and ours)

Reading as of Late

As you might expect for a person who is in grad school for literature, I read a lot. But this semester, I'm reading for fun while I'm reading for school. How often does that happen? For me, not often.

I just finished another amazing novel. I want to read it to my nieces, but I don't know if they will get scared by it or not.

I have loved Neil Gaiman since roughly 2006 or 2007 when my mom and I took a road trip to AZ, where I was going to live for the summer. We gathered a slew of books on CD for the car ride and headed out. One of our favorites was Coraline by Gaiman. We loved it so much we would sit in the car when we reached our hotel to finish the chapter, wishing we had a way to take the CD in and listen as we rested prostrate on the beds. After being in a car for 10+ hours, this is a miraculous occurrence, to stay in the car for a second longer than needed. But we loved it. We both wanted to listen to it again after we finished it, but we were done road-tripping at that point.

Fast forward many years and a plethora of grad classes later and I haven't gotten back to Gaiman, though I smile every time I hear about Coraline, book or film. Graveyard is a similarly awesome book; a must-read and phenomenal.

I have also read, up to this point, the following other books:

 While Looking for Alaska was very deep and moving, it is not for everyone. There is a lot of adolescent delinquency in it, and while I believe the ultimate message is one of redemption and hope, conservative readers will not make it through to find the phenomenal ending.

True Diary is another well-written and surprising YA novel. Although Alaska was Green's debut novel, Sherman Alexie has been around for quite some time and has established a firm reputation. There is so much tragedy in this novel and yet, similar to each book listed above, there is much to gain, as well. Hope and redemption are necessities and are well-woven centralities in the life of young Junior.

One book of the four so far covered in my course has been terrible, and thus I'm not mentioning it here. I was sad to read it, as my course is Award-Winning Young Adult Fiction of the 21st century. How did it win an award? Well, it was a minor award and the book is lame. Enough said.

I'm excited to move on to the final two novels and to have time to explore the common themes in today's young adult fiction. This is my favorite grad class ever--and it just so happens to be the last one ever. A fabulous combination!

Because sometimes, you just need some hilarity in your life...

I wouldn't say that we're obsessed with our cat, but most of the pictures on both Kyle's and my phone are of Quincy. He's so funny.

What I love about cats are their quirky personalities; you never how they will respond, when they will go running by and busting through the closed-but-not-latched bathroom door, or when they will curl up and give you the best purring heating blanket of fur on your lap.

We have always wanted to capture what Quincy does when we turn the faucet on at the bathroom sink, but this video of other cats and their water-play will have to suffice for now.

Enjoy! (You don't need sound to enjoy this.)