Realtor & snow

We've been snowed in! Ok, maybe not quite bad, but we were fortunate this past week to have quite "balmy" weather (40 degrees F). However, Friday 6pm - Sunday 6pm is a winter storm watch and we've received about 6in so far. Total forecast is 18in!

I just finished making some juice for Erin, Nina, and myself:

Erin/Nina: carrot/apple/ginger

myself: carrot/celery/ginger/collard green/wheat grass

We all like the fresh juices in the morning. Sometimes I make it in the evening also.
Speaking of which, Nina experienced her first power-outage (blackout) last night. It was from 5:45pm - 9pm. She was initially shocked/surprised and of course knew something was wrong. Fortunately Erin called her down and we lit many candles. She had a good time later as she "ran" back and forth between us.

So we have "hot water heat" in our house. Great. It's nice because supposedly it will keep the house warm when there's no electricity, right? Wrong! We can heat the water, but there's a little electric pump that circulates the water throughout the house. Of course there's no optional battery power unit (which would be an awesome thing to have). So I was a bit concerned that the house would have frozen pipes. Thankfully it did not.

The past couple of days we have been cleaning/organizing and selling "clutter" in our house. Yesterday morning a realtor came by and did a quick assessment walk through. It's becoming increasingly real.

Erin says that there are 5 other houses snow blowing right now, so I'll be out there soon.

Kellogg/Home News

Two days ago Kellogg (Northwestern) has begun calling admits (from the BusinessWeek Forum). We are waiting on this decision. Erin is very excited about the prospect of Kellogg because of the overall family/child friendliness of Kellogg.

On the home front, we have been posting items to sell on Craigslist. Baby items sell like hotcakes!

This past week I have been completing my financial aid applications while we clean the house, repaint some rooms, and prepare for a realtor to review. It's amazing how much stuff we have accumulated! Our downstairs has been transformed into a sales prep/fulfillment center.

We've also spent a little time (while sorting/organizing/cleaning) to reflect all of the "firsts" here some of which are:

• 1st - 5th anniversaries
• Home ownership (mortgage, yard, repairs, maintenance, upgrades)
• Dog - Boston Terrier Milo
• Too many to name with Nina (see the latest below)
• Purchasing a new car
• MBA application process
• Experience of Mom battling cancer and undergoing chemo

Nina likes going up and down the steps now. She likes exploring and looking at items in the basement. Erin commented the other day that she will not remember her first bedroom, nor learning the 150 plus ASL signs.

Canadian Passport

Just received my renewed Canadian passport via courier.

Thank you processing center in Hull for the rapid response!

Encouraging News

Latest posting on my Mom's website contains the CT scan results. There's a link on the right! It's positive! Thank you Lord!

Nina has a Little Tykes truck she received from Grandma & Grandpa. Since then she has only been able to push it backwards which had proven to be awkward as she would often get "stuck" in places until today! This new found freedom of going forwards has been important in her ability to get herself unstuck.

Erin and I were talking last night about how much of a parrot Nina is lately!

Also, does anyone have a really good French DVD series aimed for toddlers to learn French in French? In terms of English and Sign Language, we highly recommend Signing Time for we have all 13 editions!

Great news and a fun weekend

Last week on Thursday afternoon, Nicolas was notified of his admission to Columbia School of Business at Columbia University! Wonderful news. We are still waiting on the Kellogg School of Management decision. Columbia has an accepted students weekend in April, so we'll be there! In the mean time, now we know Nicolas is for sure moving forward with his MBA endeavors and we will be leaving Minnesota. The house must be prepared to be sold, which is an endeavor in and of itself.

On Saturday, we were doing some errands, one of which was to stop at the library to pick up a few books. It just so happened that they were having a Chinese New Year celebration. Nina enjoyed herself and was amazed at the Chinese dragon dance with the loud beating drums.

Nicolas and I spent last night out on the town while Nina had lots of fun with Grandpa and Grandma. We went to dinner at King & I Thai and afterwards went to a concert, "A Night of Romance with Jim Brickman." It was so much fun! The concert was excellent. There were great vocalists, Anne Cochran and Colin Raye, along with an electric violinist and Jim Brickman himself on the piano. The music was really moving. He played many of our favorites, but also introduced some new pieces we've never heard like "I Wish I Could" sung by Anne Cochran, "Peace" by Jim Brickman and "Love Remains" sung by Colin Raye.

This morning we had church. For those of you who don't know, our church, Living Hope in Shakopee, has a special service for young families. It is a shorter service with fun music, carpet squares for the kids, and a simple message. Normally, Nina sticks pretty close by and watches all of the other kids, but today was different. We were in the front row and when the music started Nina stood front and center and began dancing with her mousy. It was great! She had a wonderful time and when the songs were over, she turned to Nick and I and signed and said, "More music!" It made us super happy because it seems she is developing a love of music, just like her parents. Some of her church favorites are "Walking Shoes" and "This Little Light of Mine."

Marathon Girl

Erin loaded up the following video of Nina practicing her running at home!

Marathon Girl

18 sec

A Nina post and Valentine's Day plans

Nina has been amazing this week. She has been talking up a storm, learning her shapes, animals, and colors. We purchased a lock box from Target that has really helped with the shapes. It is tall with different colored shapes with animals on them. It has a door to get all of the shapes out of the box once all of them have been put in through the correct slots. It is amazing how quickly she has learned. She likes to take all of the small shapes and sort them into piles by color and shape.

Nina has also made an important discover the last few weeks. She looks at pictures of herself and says, "Na!" She actually recognizes that it is her in the pictures! She even taken it a step further by hiding behind a chair and peeking at me. I ask her, "Who's back there?" She always responds enthusiastically, "Na! Na!" She is so much fun!

As I'm sure you all know, Valentine's Day is approaching. I've never been a big fan of Valentine's Day until now. It is a great excuse to call Grandpa and Grandma to babysit Nina for the evening. We'll be celebrating on Saturday, February 10. Nick has arranged for us to go to a new restaurant for tapas followed by a Jim Brickman concert. We are both super excited for our date night. Thanks Grandpa and Grandma for babysitting in advance! The photo is the most recent photo of our girl. She's been cutting teeth the past few weeks. The photo really shows them off!

Sunday Night/Monday

We wrapped the weekend watching the Disney movie Invincible. Sort of ironic that we watched a movie about a football player instead of the Super Bowl.

We had some fresh juices (apple/carrot for Erin and carrot/celery/collar greens for me). Erin enjoyed doing her own juicing.

Church Today

The message today was eloquently summed up in:

1. Live your life to Glorify God
2. Make disciples of all peoples
3. Love one another

As I listened, I thought about how my life has been and the decisions I have made. I thought about the suffering my Mom is experiencing and how hardship brings people together.

I told Erin today that I for the past month I have been thinking and praying for:

• Mom & Dad, my siblings, and the support of extended family and friends
• Erin, Nina, and us as a family
• Business School and trying to ascertain what God wants us to do

Thanks for reading.

Saturday Night Movie

Erin recalled a movie that my Mom recommended and so we watched "Just Like Heaven" starring Reese Witherspoon. It was a good ending to a day of potty training.

Nicolas' Mom's Health

Early January of this year, my Mom was diagnosed with uterine cancer. This has been extremely concerning for us. Consequently, time has slowed down as we have been living the present.

I have placed a link to her blog for more information.

My older brother will be going to Singapore to spend time with Mom & Dad from Feb 15 - 28. My younger brother will be going during his spring break from March 11 - 17. Once my passport gets sorted out, I will probably make a trip also, unless if they come state-side.

Disappointment

First the disappointment. We have found out that Nicolas has not been admitted to Tuck School of Business. While we are disappointed at the news, it isn't going to keep us down. There are still two more school, Kellogg and Columbia, both of which are excellent choices. We can hear from Columbia any day from now until March and Kellogg we have at least a month's wait. So, that said, we are living life in the present, since the present is more than enough for us.

This weekend is a brand new experience for us. We have begun to potty train Nina. For all of those that don't want any information beyond that, skip to the next paragraph. This will contain some graphic information! :-) Nina has, for quite awhile, been going number 2 on the toilet. So, this weekend we've started her wearing pullups and trying to get her to go number 1 on the toilet. We've had a few successes and a few messes as well, but the process is started! Woo hoo! Nick and I are both looking forward to no more diapers to change!

Nick and I have been working on Nina's baby book this weekend because it is SO cold here. The windchill is -25 F (-32 C) so we are all staying indoors. I've realized how much I've slacked on recording the teeth, heights and weights, and all the "firsts." I have rededicated myself to printing photos and keeping everything up to date! Of course, this means I have to try and remember everything that I've missed up to this point. Sigh, that's a lot of remembering.

That's it for this weekend. Hope everyone stays warm in Minnesota, Canada, or Wisconsin, or cool for those in Singapore or Mauritius.

A week of waiting...

This is it, well, almost. February 2nd is the date that we'll find out if we are going to be moving to Hanover, NH for Nicolas to attend Tuck School of Business. While applications have also been sent elsewhere, Tuck is our hope. It is our perfect fit. We'll just have to wait and see if they think so too. A small, safe community in a beautiful location, with an active partner's club, and even a club for "Tiny Tuckies" just sounds like home for us. Calls have begun to go out to accepted applicants on the east coast this afternoon, so all we can do now is hope and wait, wait and wait!


All of this talk of moving and possible life changes in our future started me thinking about the last year. So much has changed in a year's time, especially Nina. She is growing, learning and changing in such a short period of time. I was reminiscing while looking at photos today and it is simply amazing. Where did my baby go? What a difference a year can make...

January 15, 2006

January 11, 2007