Overview of the past 2 months

We went to Chicago via Amtrak in September.  The kids loved the train ride and slept relatively well.  We met up with Dane's family there.  Several in the family went to a Cubs game.  Most of them are die-hard fans, so you can imagine the recent exhilaration (and tears...of joy) over the recent World Series win.  Dane got something rigged up at our house and we even watched the game while Skyping with the rest of Dane's family in Nashville.

More exhilarating for me was being present for the birth of my nephew, Gibson, on September 24th.  Miriam did an amazing job and was able to have a VBAC (you can look it up).  Her midwife was great.  I was the crazy sister in the delivery room!

At some point during the month of September we bought a house!  This is the place we've been looking for since we came to Memphis.  We have great dreams for this house.  More on the house later.  As you can tell from the pictures it will involve a story or two.

I offered to go to Miriam's for a visit when Gibson was 2 weeks old to "help".  I showed up with our three kids.  It was fun, but not all that helpful of a visit!  We also got to see Gran, Uncle Chris and Aunt Rachel, the cousins and some friends on a quick trip into Nashville.

We had our second camping experience with all three kids as we met up with a friend and her son to celebrate the Feast of Booths (you can look it up).  We camped in our temporary dwelling and feasted on camp food and s'mores!

Then it was off to a church retreat at Trace State Park in Mississippi.  It was a good time to be with our church to worship, play, and brainstorm together.  The kids had a blast, even breaking the rules and swimming in the lake...in October.

Next, New York City for Dane's birthday weekend.  I was originally planning it as a surprise until I gave it away accidentally.  We took Naomi along with us, but Dane's parents, sister and Miriam all shared the care of Elise and Justus.  That was a huge gift!  We stayed with our friend Hollie in her very New Yorkish apartment and just had to get Chinese take-out our first night there.  Hollie and her fiance also babysat a crying Naomi one evening and Dane and I went to see Fiddler on the Roof on Broadway.  Dane got a temporary urban fix that will hopefully last him until his next big-city visit.

And now we're here in November and we haven't done much beyond our neighborhood's border.  And we are completely fine with that.  For next week brings more travel to celebrate Thanksgiving in Kentucky.