Oh September. It's been almost two months since I last posted. There are several abandoned drafts, but nothing that's come of them. So what have we been up to?
-1-
The rest of July and very beginning of August went fairly well - if I can remember correctly. The dear husband worked on his dissertation, had his first conference paper accepted, and I picked up a few hours at work.
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As for the rest of August...
For a long time we had planned a glorious vacation to my home state to visit family, friends and some of the many historic and natural attractions of the region. I was so excited! It would be so much fun and we would come back physically tired but emotionally refreshed and rejuvenated.
Our trip was severely shortened when my mother-in-law was offered and accepted a job not far from us. With such a quick turn around for her, the bulk of the moving process fell to her devoted sons (and me too).
The few days we had in Maryland were delightful (minus a lost/stolen wallet). Short but sweet. While we did not get to sight-see half as much as I had hoped, we were able to attend two wonderful events in the lives of two dear friends.
While we were glad for all the friends we saw along the way (especially the three sweet babies we finally saw!) the frantic moving process left us more exhausted than we were when we started.
The rest of the month flew by as we settled my mother-in-law into her new place, our sisters came out to their respective South Bend colleges, and we helped my parents finish up the long-standing project of cleaning out my grandparents' house just outside of Detroit.
For a long time we had planned a glorious vacation to my home state to visit family, friends and some of the many historic and natural attractions of the region. I was so excited! It would be so much fun and we would come back physically tired but emotionally refreshed and rejuvenated.
Our trip was severely shortened when my mother-in-law was offered and accepted a job not far from us. With such a quick turn around for her, the bulk of the moving process fell to her devoted sons (and me too).
The few days we had in Maryland were delightful (minus a lost/stolen wallet). Short but sweet. While we did not get to sight-see half as much as I had hoped, we were able to attend two wonderful events in the lives of two dear friends.
While we were glad for all the friends we saw along the way (especially the three sweet babies we finally saw!) the frantic moving process left us more exhausted than we were when we started.
The rest of the month flew by as we settled my mother-in-law into her new place, our sisters came out to their respective South Bend colleges, and we helped my parents finish up the long-standing project of cleaning out my grandparents' house just outside of Detroit.
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| My packing masterpiece - and nothing broke! |
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| Go West! |
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Milestones passed in August included our 5th wedding anniversary, Peep's birthday and a fantastic visit to the B&O Railway Museum in Baltimore, and Pebble learning how to roll over.
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| B&O! |
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| Not posing. Pretending to be camera shy. |
The return of Notre Dame Football has also been a great cause for celebration in these parts. Peep is delighted he can hear his beloved Irish Band again.
I won't comment too much on our victory over the "Victors" since there's a rather sensitive Wolverine in the family. But I will say I'm afraid that given his fussiness and tears shed throughout the game, I'm a little concerned that Pebble's loyalties may lie with his grandmother's. Uh-oh.
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| Peep & his uncle |
-6-
This weekend marks 200th anniversary of the Battle of Baltimore and penning of the Star Spangled Banner.
Fort McHenry holds a very dear place in my heart for a number of reasons. I wish we could be there to celebrate!
I encourage you all to read all FOUR verses of our national anthem and the story of the amazing citizens and defenders of Baltimore. I might be a little biased, but I truly believe that the Battle of Baltimore brought out some of the best qualities of humanity and was one of those rare moments where all people regardless of differences stood united.
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| Peep and Grandma on the ramparts of Ft. McHenry in August |
O say can you see by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner, O! long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country, should leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave,
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner, O! long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country, should leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave,
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
O thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation.
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the Heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
Between their loved home and the war's desolation.
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the Heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
-7-
To end on a humorous note, these, my friends, are called ear-strings:
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| Ear Strings? |
Linking up with Jen's 7Qts.
