Welcome, Quincy!

Here he is in all his adorable, hairy glory!

Quincy!

Look at that tail!

Our friend, Leslie, said the tail is like Quincy #2--a whole separate being.

We're only now discovering how very true that is.

Naughty or nice? You decide.

Just hanging out.

When life gets awesomer

We knew last week would be a good one because at the end of it, we'd be adopting a cat from a dear friend. But half-way through the week, I also got my syllabus for my first ever literature grad course that begins on the 11th of this month. I've been very nervous about this class, mostly because intensive summer courses overlapping with my time working here leaves me wondering how and when I will be able to complete the work for every class, let alone do my normal home and work functions.

In the end, God is always looking out for me and sometimes he hands you gifts at random times, not birthdays or Christmas or even Easter. Nope, this was a random late-April gift. And here it is.

The course is called "Austen and Adaptations" within which we will read Emma and Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen, and then we'll watch 4 to 5 movie versions of these, as well as The Jane Austen Book Club. We will also read Sense & Sensibility & Seamonsters, one of those strange modern adaptations that adds some of the Gothic drama that Austen left out of her novels, but was popular at the time it was written.

We will have to write 5 very short essays and one research paper, as well as serve on a panel to present our papers (like a literature conference would require) to the class.

Oh, and the brilliancy doesn't stop there. During the month of May, when I was particularly concerned about work time overlapping with school time, we will have "virtual class", meaning I won't be driving the 1.5 hours each way to class on Tuesdays and Thursdays. June 1st, which begins my first week off of work for the summer, is when actual sit-in-class-in-Indy begins.

You've got to be kidding me. But I'm not. That's how I know God is good and looking out for me, and giving me gifts that I don't deserve. Content I am very comfortable with (Jane Austen), comparing film and literature (fun!), and practically no work-school driving conflicts.

The weekend rolled around, and I was beaming with excitement about my classes. I was able to see a couple of friends, and finally, we brought Quincy into our home. He wasn't sure about us, even though he's visited us before (and was not skittish that time). He stayed hidden for hours, but after the group left, he began to venture out and slink around to explore every room. By nightfall, he was no longer slinking. By morning, he was playful and wouldn't let me sleep. Last night and today, we've seen the extent of his insanity. He's still very much kitten in his attitude, even though this month makes him 1-year-old.

Oh, and get this. The day I ordered my school texts online, I got a call from my credit card company to say they had suspicious activity on it from the previous night and they had put a hold on the account. Despite a few hours of panic, in changing auto-bill-pay for some things and changing payment for the books I'd just ordered...everything worked out. They closed the account, are setting up a new one for me, and nothing is lost.

Spring Break pictures: Easter

The pictures resume.

I had several pictures of Easter, but so did Em, and then we exchanged pictures and now I don't remember which are mine and which are hers. And she posted some on the GOFR. So, I'll just post a few from that day. It was awesome. We shared a feast (that seemed relatively easy to prepare).

The happy couple. We were SO enjoying ourselves!

Cute sisters.

What Jackson actually looked like ALL of Easter Sunday (post-church, thank you).

A happy momma with her screaming baby.

You can see his head is read from yelling.

Finally, look at how TALL she is?

I don't even know what to DO with that.

Spring Break pictures: Sedona to Flagstaff and Back

We made a quick trip through Sedona to Flagstaff to the Formans' favorite Mexican restaurant. Mmm, good. And also, beautiful drive. I took my Dramamine so that I wouldn't get car sick, but let me tell you, I still did. Franz was gracious enough to tone down the fiesty switchbacks as we neared Flag, otherwise, I might have lost my delicious Toffee shake from Wendy's.

We were in a convertible, which made the Sedona mountains even BETTER than when I'd seen them before. It was insane! Kyle got some great shots because of it. Maddie and I froze in the back seat because of it. But I'd say it was worth it.

The driver.

The tween and me.

She had her iPod and was into her music most of the trip.

It was too loud and windy to converse.

But I was so glad to share the back seat with her!

Coming up on Sedona.

First glimpse.

Sedona.

The mountains of Flagstaff!

Spring Break pictures: The Wildlife Zoo

The infamous day of the 3 P's, Kyle, Maddie, and I had a terrific time at the Zoo. Here are a few of the shots we liked best.

Maddie and Kyle got on the sky lift.

I kept my motion-sick self on the ground.

We were all happy.

The view from the lift.

A very cool perspective.

They had many insane looking creatures.

Like the white alligator

(two of them actually, in separate habitats, in separate exhibits).

The hairy wart hog. Gross.

Somebody needs a hair cut.

The snoozing crocodile. Outside of the baby animal house.

Kind of weird to see cute baby porcupines and tiny wart hogs,

and exit to find a giant crocodile.

A pacing jaguar. He was hungry.

We did get to be around the snakes at feeding time.

And, Grandma, I know you hate snakes, even the thought of them,

but it was REALLY cool. Their reaction time is lightning fast!

Sweet little turtle family outside the baby animal house.

Hungry camel, eating his alfalfa.

This brilliant peacock was trying to find his female amidst all the people chaos.

What's crazy is that little girl in pink behind him,

she actually snuck up behind and touched him.

I promise you, I'd never do that to a fully displayed male peacock. SCARY!

The petting zoo was a favorite for Maddie, I think.

And my absolute favorite in the cage was this baby llama.

One little girl couldn't stop following it around to pet it,

because it was SO soft.

A happy, and very tired, group at the end of our day.

Kissed by the sun and entertained by the animals!

Spring Break pictures: The Hike

A couple of times on our break, we went for a splendid hike that begins about 2 blocks from the Formans' front door. It's got mountains, saguaros, lizards, strange and scary black beetles, a bee hive in a cliff side, all kinds of flowers, and even some water (see below).

The coolest cactus we could find.

The ridge line.

The water behind the dam.

Kyle, atop a mountain, the highest one, I think.

He said it was very windy.

I declined the offer to climb it with him, as I was really tired at that point.

On the side away from the city. This would be the North side.

Beautiful view of Lake Pleasant Parkway.

Here is the suburbia side. The first home you see across the street is the Forman home.

Looking straight down, this is how high we were at one point.

Gave me vertigo.

Me, in all my hiking glory. And suburbia behind.

I love this desert!

A parting shot. This land is gorgeous!

Spring Break

It was lovely. The weather couldn't have been more perfect -- clear, wide blue skies every day. The one day that had suggested a chance of rain turned out just as amazing as the days before and those after. We had great company, too, in the form of great hosts. I had plenty of time to get my baby fix for the year (although with three new babies in our immediate family, I feel we'll have plenty more time this year for baby fixes). Jackson seemed to warm up to me pretty quickly and although he's a hefty 12 lbs., I loved holding him, too. He is such a sweet baby. The girls are a riot, as usual, but because of an unfortunate stomach bug that Katie got just before Easter, Kyle and I actually had significant alone-time with Maddie. I kept trying to remember life as a 7-year-old and I really can't. I'm always so impressed with her perception and sympathy and reasoning. I'm not sure I was that mentally developed at age seven.

Kyle and I got two great hikes in during our stay, both on the mountain just behind the Forman's home (the trail starts about 3 blocks away). The first trip, we climbed the first peak we could find. It was really difficult and we encountered a bee hive in a small cavern on the side of the mountain. Hundreds of bees. Luckily, we were a distance enough away to stay safe. It was mating season for some sort of nasty beetle with a red thorax and head. They were everywhere, but only at a certain elevation, which was interesting. The second trip we decided to do the entire WestWing Loop trail, which circled the mountain near ground level on the south side, and then climbed to several scenic overlooks. That hike lasted 2 and 1/2 hours, and it was very windy which helped cool us off.

Here is a list of other really fun things we did:

• Fire pit and roasting marshmallows on our first Sunday evening in town.
  
• Barnes & Noble / PetCo with the girls and Jackson.
• Movies with Em & Franz nearly every night after the kids were in bed.
• Kyle and I played tennis on two beautiful mornings at a nearby park -- our first tennis matches of the season!
  
• The Wildlife Zoo (just Kyle and Maddie and me).
• Convertible trip a la Franz with Maddie and Kyle and me through Sedona (which Kyle had never seen) and up to Flagstaff, where we had dinner at the beloved Casa Bonita Mexican restaurant.
• Easter church service and a wonderfully relaxing day, full with Easter egg hunting and a scrumtrulescent feast of ham, cheesy potatoes, broiled & herbed asparagus and green beans, delectable rolls, and two kinds of pie.

Maddie is always so creative and there were two very small, but fantastic things she did for us while we were there. Upon our arrival, as we unpacked in the guest room, I found a tiny vase of our great-grandmother's that had four beautiful, tiny flowers in it. The desert was aBLOOM because of the recent rain -- everywhere was green, purple, orange, red, yellow, white, and pink. The fuchsia bougainvilleas were full and crawling every wall you could see in the neighborhoods. So, Maddie had chosen a few of these flowers to welcome us. It was precious!

The second thing took place under my nose and I didn't even realize it until days later. After school on Monday, Maddie was very busy cutting and coloring and glittering. I didn't pay any attention to it, but the morning we left, she brought down two little egg-shaped pieces of paper that were bedazzled in various glittery designs, with messages on the inside, specific to the person she was giving each to. I'm constantly amazed at her thoughtfulness and creativity.

The vacation was so relaxing, despite the fast-paced life of the Formans. It was fantastic to get away from here, to rest, to play, to hike and have sunshine every waking moment, and to be with family. I'll have some pictures up here shortly; there just hasn't been time yet for laundry or picture-sorting!

Upon returning, I've noticed that everyone on campus is smiling, has some color in their cheeks, and seems to have reversed the bad attitudes from stress that accompanied the weeks prior to break. It's nice to have the hope of Spring and Summer, shortly thereafter!