Good Read for 2007

I recently finished a really good book by Phillip Keller called "A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23." A lot of people think of Psalm 23 as comforting for those who are perhaps dying or who have a loved one who is nearing the end of life. It is really so much more than that. This book is written about the Psalm from a shepherd's point of view and it is such a good reminder of how God is our good Shepherd and we are his sheep. Here's a sample:

Human beings, being what they are, somehow feel entitled to question the reasons for everything that happens to them. In many instances life itself becomes a continuous criticism and dissection of one's circumstances and acquaintances. We look for someone or something on which to pin the blame for our misfortunes. We are often quick to forget our blessings, slow to forget our misfortunes.

But if one really believes his affairs are in God's hands, every event, no matter whether joyous or tragic, will be taken as part of God's plan. To know beyond doubt that He does all for our welfare is to be led into a wide area of peace and quietness and strength for every situation. (p. 70-71)

Anyway, it's a fast read (less than 150 pages) and is less than $5. Well worth your time and money.

The Ancient Chinese were.....

RIGHT! I had my ultrasound/sonogram done today and learned that Baby S #2 is a GIRL! And she is a beauty. I am still amazed at the detail of the pictures....while I'm not sure where her arms are, her knees are up by her face. The ultrasound technician said everything looks great. She also mentioned that the baby might be a little further along than 21 weeks. I'm measuring more like 23 or 24 weeks (and my belly now shows that too, if you ask me). So, her due date might be closer to the beginning of May. But, as I mentioned to Paul, it could just be that she's a big girl....Elise, if you'll recall, was a chubby baby. Maybe Baby #2 is just trying to compete. We'll find out soon.....

Things I had Forgotten....

There are several things that I had forgotten about living in an apartment.

1) Sharing a wall with a neighbor does not always work out so well. We share a bedroom wall with another apartment and are awakened very early each morning by that tenant's very loud alarm clock, which once on is not turned off for quite a period of time.

2) Not having a garage in the winter is unpleasant. Elise and I were up and out the door early this morning and I did not remember to leave adequate time for the car to warm up, nor scrape the windows.

3) Not having a garage is unpleasant (period). The parking spaces in front of our building fill up by 6 or 7p....you move, you lose.

4) Living on the lower level means easier access to your apartment, but also means hearing the footsteps and every move of the tenants living above you. Thankfully, they have not been home much!

5) No keys, no entrance. Paul found this one out. Luckily Elise and I were home to let him in the building. :>)

I am grateful to have a roof over my head and a bed to sleep in right now. But I am also reminded of how spoiled we were to have our own home the last 2 1/2 years....

By the way, here's what our apartment looks like:



It's really a very nice apartment (the nicest we've ever lived in) and with just over 1,000 sq. ft., we have plenty of room with what we came with. Elise has her own room (with queen bed) and her own bathroom, so it's working out well. And it's great to have a washer and dryer right in our unit. I would be in a world of hurt if I had to give that up!

Christmas Pictures

As promised, I've posted our Christmas pictures on our Yahoo! site. Here they are:

For Paul's Family, click here or here.

For Laura's Family, click here or here.

Enjoy!

Words of Wisdom from Elise

Elise: Grandpa has a bad cough.
Laura: Yes he does.
Elise: He needs to go nigh night.


Elise: What was that?
Laura: A sniffle.
Elise: Do you need to take some medicine?


Paul: (sneeze)
Elise: Bless you.
Paul (sneeze)
Elise: Bless you.
Paul: Thank you.
Elise: Do you need a tissue?

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

The last 2 1/2 weeks have been a bit crazy, but I think things will start to settle down now and I'll have some time to catch up. Stay tuned for updates and pictures from the holidays....they'll be posted soon.

In the meantime, we landed at our new 'home' yesterday afternoon. We will be staying in a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom furnished apartment in Schaumburg (a NW suburb of Chicago). It's fairly nice and should work out okay for the near future. My only complaint so far is the mattress, which appears to have a severe dip to the center. I'm not sure what we can do about that.

The location of the apartment is pretty good. We are minutes away from Woodfield Mall and Ikea, as well as any other shopping venue you can think of. Paul has a nice 10 minute commute in the morning (not as nice as the commute to his office in the 3rd bedroom, but it'll do for now). We are also close to the highway, which can get us to church in record time (not the 30-40 minute drive we're accustomed to).

I had my first doctor's appointment with my new OB this afternoon and am pleased so far. She seems very nice and was not concerned that Elise was practically destroying her office. Somehow Elise even managed to find a package of instant oatmeal, one of her favorite breakfast foods. The baby is officially 'half-baked' and is very active (lots of kicks, wiggles, etc.). We just scheduled our ultrasound and should know the sex of the baby then (I'll leave the date a mystery for now....that way you'll have to check back).

As for our Canton home (condo)....we unfortunately still own it. The close date has been moved so many times that I've lost count. Last we heard, it should be sometime in mid-January now. I'm holding my breath. It is disappointing that we rushed to move out before Christmas, only to learn that things were being delayed. We are praying now that the whole thing doesn't fall apart altogether. Boy would that stink!

Recent Pictures

Fun in the tub:



Elise with a babushka:

Cardboard City and the Big Move

Last week was an eventful week (and I quite frankly was too tired to think about anything other than sleep!). Here's the summary:

Cardboard City: On Monday, the movers came to pack up all of our stuff. After just 3 short hours, almost all of our belongings were packed into boxes. I'm not sure how things will look when we're ready to unpack, but the men were efficient.

Over the River and Through the Woods: Paul was off to NYC on Monday night (through Wednesday night), so Elise and I headed to my parents' house for a couple of days. After all, living in Cardboard City is hardly exciting for any of us! Elise was excited to see Grandma, but when Grandpa got home, she was ready to send him packing. Just wait until Christmas with all of the yummy treats. Grandpa will be her very favorite.

The All Clear: Elise had an appointment with the opthamologist on Wednesday morning. Dr. Tisch is so great. She's quick and knows how to get a child's attention so that she can see what she needs to see. I was really impressed and Elise did really well. She said Elise's eyes still look good and she doesn't see any signs of lazy eye or cross eye. We are really thankful!

The Big Truck: On Thursday morning, the moving truck arrived at 8:30a. It's amazing how much stuff we've accumulated over the 2 1/2 years! We were fortunate to have a sunny, dry day, but it was cold. The guys left at noon after having filled the moving van 3/4 full. We then had to finish cleaning and packing our cars....there was barely room for Elise and Briscoe, but somehow we managed to squeeze them in. Then we were off to Paul's parents.

Post-Move Hangover: Okay, so it wasn't really a hangover, but there's a certain feeling of having just done something big and then not having anything to do. There's no unpacking to be done (yet) and while there's plenty to do here, there's no particular urgency. I feel unproductive, but it's nice to have some down time.

The Latest

Many of you have been asking for an update of what's going on with our house, moving, the baby, etc. Here's the latest:

Selling the House
We are tentatively scheduled to close on our house (condo) on 12/15. I say "tentatively" because it may have to be delayed due to a "hiccup" our buyers have experienced with the sale of their cottage up north. Hopefully everything will be signed and sealed before Christmas. On a side note, Paul and I signed the closing papers yesterday morning.

Moving
The moving company is coming to pack all of our belongings on Monday (12/11). They will then come back on Thursday (12/14) morning to load the truck and take our stuff to storage. We're taking a bit of a gamble, moving without having a firm close date, but as I told Paul, I am not interesting in moving during Christmas and I'm tired of being in limboland as it relates to moving (or not moving).

We have corporate housing set up in Schaumburg, IL beginning in January (and until then, we'll be mooching off our parents for a warm bed to sleep in and food to eat). We'll likely be in the furnished apartment for 2 or 3 months, or until we can find an alternative housing arrangement (hopefully a house).

The Baby
The Baby will be 17 weeks old on Monday. Elise and I heard the heartbeat again on Thursday....it's really a sound to behold! My OB said she thinks the baby is a boy....she said (unscientifically) boys tend to have slightly lower heartrates than girls. We'll know in early January if she's right. My Grandma says that she'll believe it's a boy when she sees it. It's a well known fact that Bonner girls don't know how to make babies with handles (my Grandma has 7 granddaughers and 2 great-granddaughers, 0 grandsons).

I'm starting to put on a little bit of weight now and even have a little bump. This of course means that my clothes aren't fitting like they should and I'm in the weird stage where normal clothes are too short/tight but maternity clothes are much too big. I'm feeling a lot better for the most part, though I have my good days and bad days, but am still being monitored for a thyroid condition (hyperthyroidism) and this is always a bit of a concern.

The Girls
Elise and Briscoe are doing fine. Elise loves seeing all of the Christmas lights and trees and gets excited when she sees a clown (aka Santa Claus). Neither understands that we're moving. This next week should be interesting as all of our belongings are being packed up by strangers. I'm guessing Elise isn't going to like that too much. In addition, she's got a bit of a cold and was pretty cranky today. Let's hope that doesn't continue through the week, especially since Paul will be traveling Monday afternoon through Thursday morning. I think I'll be ready for a long nap by the time he gets back.

Contact Info
The best way to reach us right now is via email or my cellphone (our current home phone number). We don't have a new address yet, but our mail will be forwarded (place TBD).

My Day in Court

Today was my day to report for Jury Duty. After getting up at 6:30a, I trudged downtown for the 8:30 reporting time. The Jury Room was crowded and at 9:00 they called the first panel of potential jurors. Without fail, I was called. The bailiff took us up to the 14th floor where we awaited entry (for 45 minutes) into the courtroom. While we were waiting, the bailiff made an off-hand comment that Jeffrey Feiger had been spotted in the building. What he failed to mention was that he and his lawfirm were representing the plaintiff of the case! After introductions were made, we were told that the trial was expected to last 2 weeks....not good considering we'll be in the midst of moving next week.

The first round of questioning potential jurors must have taken at least an hour and a half (the judge, plaintiff and defendent attorneys each taking 30 mintues). The trial was a wrongful death civil suit, which resulted in very interesting questions. Of course, you can always tell when people are saying things or making things up just to get out of their civic duty. I was called up to replace one of the 3 original jurors, but was quickly excused by the judge because of moving. Needless-to-say, with everything going on, I was happy and made it home by 12:30p.

I was really impressed with the judge today and how she not only handled the explanation of the case, but also how she put things in layman's terms so that we could understand what was going on. I was also impressed with the way she handled the attorneys involved. At some point in my life, I'd actually like to see a trial through to the end. This just isn't the best time for a 2 week trial.

Feiger, by the way, looks exactly the way you'd expect. He is probably best known for his defense of Jack Kevorkian, the doctor who was convicted of assisting terminally ill patients commit suicide (physician assisted suicide/euthanasia).