April Showers Bring May . . . Showers?

Every spring we renew our attempts to tame our land and direct it toward what we deem to be useful purposes.  Sometimes I wish we had 100 acres, but then the work makes our 10 acres feel like 100 acres anyway, so I don't know why I wish for more. 

The record rainfall of April and May has not assisted; Scott has struggled just to keep this property and all the various apartment lawns mowed. 

Despite the obstacles, we do our best to move forward.  The orchard - or, more appropriately, what we one day hope will be the orchard - was planted.  If you squint, you can see the 12 saplings in the foreground - a mixture of plums, pears and peaches.

We also made a lot of progress toward fencing in approximately 6 acres.  Here you can see one of the man-gates and a corner of the fencing in front of the Ring of Fire (aka "Scott-henge").

Alas, it is not yet complete.  All of the fence posts have been driven into the ground, but if you look carefully in the background you can see that some of the rails are still missing.  We need these before we can graze any livestock, which is the ultimate goal.

We also expanded and planted the garden.  The main garden and its two new flanks for vine plants total approximately 3500 square feet.  Notwithstanding our efforts, I worry that the never-ending rain may have drowned our seeds this year.

Below are the blueberry bushes and raspberry vines.  They are also just getting started following their planting late last fall.  All but one blueberry bush seem to have survived the winter.

Last year we installed a vineyard, as well.  We put in 600 linear feet of Chancellor grapes.  This year each sapling is approximately 3 feet tall and should grow to be nearly 6 feet tall (the height of the post to the right).

Abraham was not always a happy participant in our efforts.  I'm sure he will be even less enthusiastic when he is a teenager.

He enjoyed a break with Daddy, however.

The spring hasn't been all work and no play.  My mom, Abraham and I went to visit Aunt Tanya in Chicago.  She has a lovely condo in Lincoln Park.

This spring also brought Abraham's first Easter.  Grandma Linda Evans bought him a cute sailor outfit to wear to church.

I also celebrated my first Mother's Day with Abraham.  And Abraham hit a major milestone when he learned to crawl.  He is enjoying his new mobility, and the accompanying freedom, which meant we had to add serious baby-proofing efforts to our never-ending to-do list. 

Finally, after nearly nine years with Jones Day (12 if you include summer internships) in Columbus and Hong Kong, I am starting a new job as in-house counsel with a firm client, Red Capital Group.  I look forward to the new challenges and rewards that will accompany this professional opportunity.

Sunny, Warm and 40

The weather was beautiful today - sunny, warm and breezy. 

And Scott turned 40. 

We sometimes wonder whether being older parents will prematurely age us or prolong our youth.  Based on this photo, I'll vote for the latter. 

I mean, how can you feel old when this is in your bathtub?

You can ask me again when Abraham is a teenager.  For now, you can see the joy he also brought to his grandmothers during our lunch celebrating Scott's birthday.

Heritage - and a Future

A few nights ago I had a dream about my maternal grandparents, Willard and Leolyn Fritz, both of whom are now in heaven.  Of the many, many blessings I have had in my life, one of the absolute richest has been the love of godly, righteous grandparents.  They were beautiful people, as you can see here in their wedding portrait from 1942.

In my dream they were sitting together on a bench and radiant in their joy at being together and greeting me and their great-grandson, Abraham Willard, whom I named after my beloved grandpa.  Their appearance was the absolute best of my memory of them.  This photo is the closest I could find at capturing the moment.

I have since reflected on this:  their most beautiful appearance to me was the best of my memory of them from when I was a little girl rather than a more youthful version of them that objectively might be considered more beautiful.  This, in turn, made me wonder if this is what it will be like heaven.  If we all have shed our earthly bodies, then will I "see" each person at his or her best from my perspective - a perspective that will be unique from that of anyone else. 

Perhaps C.S. Lewis considered a similar possibility when his protagonist in The Great Divorce first arrives in heaven and observes the following:  ". . . I saw people coming to meet us. . . . Some were bearded but no one in that company struck me as being of any particular age.  One gets glimpses, even in our country, of that which is ageless - heavy thought in the face of an infant, and frolic childhood in that of a very old man.  Here it was all like that."

I can't wait to see them again.

Happy Valentine's Day

This morning I was greeted by a lovely surprise when I walked into the kitchen.  Scott and I aren't particularly dedicated celebrators of Valentine's Day or its Hallmark cousins, so this was an unexpected delight.

It reminded me of one of the many reasons I fell in love with my husband, though.  Twenty years ago on this date, under very different circumstances, I was a high school sophomore in Spanish III when a knock at the classroom door revealed the delivery of a tell-tale white florist's box.  Like everyone else in the class, I assumed this was intended for one of the popular girls.  I can still recall the bemused elation I felt when the box was instead deposited on my desk.  Proceeding with caution lest this was some cruel joke, I opened the lid to reveal one dozen long-stemmed red roses accompanied by a card that read simply:
"You thought I forgot.  Love, Scott". 
I've never forgotten.

Superbowl 2011 - Packers vs. Steelers

Scott and I took Abraham to Troy and Megan Fisher's house on Sunday for their annual Superbowl party.  We know we're nearing the end of what my friend, Jane, calls the "potted plant" stage (i.e., if you put Abraham down, he remains in that same place until you move him), so we're enjoying what may be the dwindling days of being invited to other people's homes.

Abraham enjoyed the festivities immensely apart from when the dramatic interception/touchdown play in the first half caused a momentary eruption in the room.  The shock of the sudden noise must have scared him because he immediately burst into tears.  I wasn't quick enough with my camera to capture the moment, but perhaps it is just as well to see him in his normal happy mode sitting with Daddy and then with our hosts, Megan and Troy.

Welcome

I'm most likely a latecomer to this venue, but I've been prompted by my friend, Jodi, to start a blog - just as she prompted me to join Facebook later than most.  As compared to Facebook (which invites concise, rapid bulletins), I think that a blog may better suit me because of the opportunity it presents to post thoughtful, although not necessarily cerebral, musings in prose.

So where do I begin?  So much has happened in my 35 plus years of life that I feel as though I am beginning a chronological story in the middle.

The recent birth of my first child, Abraham Willard Evans, on June 17, 2010 seems appropriate given that he will likely play a prominent role in future postings. 

He's 6 months old as shown here at the start of 2011 - his second calendar year of life!

Of course, credit for Abraham's existence is equally due to his father, the love of my life, Scott Kenneth Evans.  So perhaps the beginning is better placed here:

We were married on March 16, 2001 - nearly ten years ago.  Since then it's been a wonderful, rollicking, adventure-filled journey.

Or maybe the only real option, and probably the best, is simply to embrace the future and to attempt to chronicle some small portion of where it takes us.  As they say, "Enjoy the ride."