happy birthdays

happy 29th birthday to my teddy!

...and today is the 4 year anniversary of my very first blog post...

more snow!

...can you believe it's only two weeks before spring and it's SNOWING in chicago??!! i swear, everytime it's been our turn in our condo building to make sure the sidewalks and back stairs are free of snow, it's snowed...

...at least it gives cadence something to look at out the window...i think all kids must love watching snow fall...

...it seems to have a mesmerizing effect on cadence...then again, i also get pretty hypnotized watching that white stuff fall from the sky...

...actually, one of my absolute favorite things to do these days is to sit with cadence on our bench by the big windows in the living room first thing in the morning while she's still in her jammies...we love watching the squirrels looking for their nuts or chasing each other or just acting squirrelly...sunday mornings are my favorite cuz ted is home too and we can all look out the window together...mornings together as a family are my absolute favorite time of the week, since we only get that on sundays...i can tell that cadence is so much happier when we're both home with her...

ted playing a show @ schubas! mon 3/6 7pm!

...hey y'all! my teddy is playing out for the first time in ages this coming monday...that's like in two days...he's playing with tim lowly, a local musician and artist who also happens to be our pastor's husband...

here's the info:
Tim Lowly (backed by my lovely teddy on drums)
opening for Anathallo
Monday, March 6
7pm All Ages $10
Schubas
3159 N. Southport
Chicag, IL

playing catchup

wow…has it really been two weeks since i’ve posted around here? well, it HAS been busy…

...we hosted our friends caleb and kathy for presidents’ day weekend when they were in town for a wedding. it gave me a chance to bestow on caleb my old gibson which has been sitting around unused for the most part. it is the ugliest guitar you’ve ever seen, but you should hear the sound caleb can get out of that old thing. i know that there is more love for that guitar in new haven, CT than here in chicago, so i felt that it was right to give it a loving home. besides, i’d always said that if i died, the guitar was gonna go to caleb, so why wait? that guitar’s hardly been played since pierre was driving through chicago. interesting tidbit about that guitar—caleb first played it in his friend ben’s living room back in the summer of 2002 (that’s him with the guitar in that photo up there), and i knew then that the guitar had found its rightful owner…and where would his first public performance as official “owner” of the guitar be but at that same ben’s wedding this month…so i guess it’s come full circle…

anyhoo, it was great to see caleb and kathy again…it also gave us an excuse to visit hyde park vineyard…the pastor there is our friend rand who officiated our wedding…rand and his wife aimee are expecting their first baby in april, so i was glad i got to congratulate them in person…aimee looks great pregnant, i think…some women really do glow when they’re prego…we also got to see our friends sam and jenny and their two toddlers, caleb and noah…sam was one of the first friends of mine who got to meet ted…he was actually with me at the last of the infamous 800 south leavitt new years eve parties that ted and his roommates threw…we were all carefree and single then…and now we’ve each got our own little families! it’s just amazing how quickly our lives can change…

...so cadence turned 17 months old last friday…she can be quite demanding and a handful these days, but it’s quite natural for her to be that way at this age…i think a lot of folks expect too much from little toddlers, who just don’t have the maturity to “behave” in ways that may seem to be more acceptable…i try to keep that in mind, and believe me, i have only compassion and empathy for other parents when i am witness to their child’s public meltdowns…

…nevertheless, cadence is a total delight, and it’s harder and harder for me to be away from her during the day, and i find myself daydreaming of family or home business ideas that would enable me to be with her everyday…

…so sunday was grandma day again…we trekked out to see grandma carol for lunch…this time, lauren and dave and dave’s new girlfriend becki joined us as well…then we headed to grandma sophie’s aka yiayia where we were joined by cousin vikki and her daughter mackenzie…

…we had dinner and played cards, while cadence, mackenzie and uncle dave played…like with all little kids, all it took to keep ‘em entertained all evening was a box that was big enough to turn into a boat, a car, a clubhouse, etc…

…and as you can see from these photos…

…cadence did not get out of that box all evening long!

happy valentine's day!

...hope it's a good one!

...so we hosted the coffee hour after church on sunday, and we baked these cookies saturday night with ted's sister lauren...i have to admit that ted and lauren did almost all of the work...i was busy keeping cadence at bay...

...of course, ted and lauren weren't just decorating cookies...they were creating works of art!

...the cookies were definitely a hit on sunday morning...we only had a handful left to take home...

...i have to say that it felt really good to be able to serve our new church family even if it was in just a small way...i didn't think i would ever want to be part of an organized church again, after my disillusionment with some of the mainstream evangelical and fundamentalist experiences of my past life...i think i would have been content to sleep away my sunday mornings, especially after a late saturday night rock ‘n’ roll show, rather than sit in a church and try to stay awake…but then cadence came along, and well, you may as well forget about sleeping in…not only that, becoming a parent has really forced me to deal with my issues regarding christianity and the church…and what i’ve realized is that faith is in fact very important to me…i am who i am because of my faith and because of who i know jesus to be…and i realized that i do actually want my family to grow in a community of faith, to put down roots, have other folks watch our little cadence grow up as we watch theirs, to be encouraged and exhorted by others who share my convictions, esp. to love and to serve a broken world…