Brookfield Zoo

Here are some pictures from the Brookfield zoo. With all of the excitement around new baby, two weddings, and great gardening weather (yeah I planted the Sum and Substance from Horrock's) it has been difficult to blog. Here are some, we hope that you enjoy:

Shhh...It Is Still A Secret In Blogdom

This just in:
Anna is preparing Earl Grey for her new friend.

GEORGE BRICE PICKERING
Born: May 23, 2006
Time: 2:26 PM
Weight: 9 pounds 5 ounces
Length: 20 inches

Congratulations to Justin and Marion Pickering!(As well as the new Opa Ray Lanning and Oma Linda Lanning.)

What Goes on in Chicago Does Not Stay in Chicago

We had a really nice visit with Lydia's parents. Upon arrival at Ashbrook we were able to see the diligent work of the Mexican landscapers who were completing their annuals for the season. The entrance to Ashbrook is always so beautiful- like a garden in itself.
We pulled up to the Malysa's house and were warmly welcomed by Irma who was putting the finishing touches on the day's gardening. She had filled the yard waste bag and confidently placed it at the side of the road without a tag. She informed us that she and the man who picks up the yard waste "had an agreement". A few hours later we dragged the untagged brown bag back into the garage- I guess that the agreement did not hold for this week.
Opa Lawrence was happy to see Owen. Owen was quite content with biting his nose, pinching his face, and loving him in his own pre-toddler boy way.
Oma was happy to see her little Anna as well. Oma has been teaching her all of the fine skills that are required to be a Malysa lady. Anna loves her Oma very much.
Owen was quite impressed with Tante Heidi as well as Peaches the bird that they have owned for 15 years. Peaches says "Hi pretty" to which everyone replies, "Hi pretty." At Owen's age Anna was terrified of Peaches.
Irma made a fine European Goulosh. Not that noodley-beany-meaty-tomato pastey thing that we Americans are used to; but a fine array of beef with egg noodles and potatoes. It is garlic and onion filled goodness. Owen ate SO MUCH of it!

Owen also got to learn what Malysa women do- they clean EVERYTHING! Owen's face was cleaned with Cetaphil and warm water- a bucket full.
We thought that it was going to rain so we did not go to the zoo that day. We went to a park and enjoyed a nice walk around a scenic pond. We fed the ducks and geese, dodged their waste, and saw many baby ducks and goslings.

We also played on the swings. This is a great picture of all of the Malysa's and the grandchildren on the swings together.

We had a really great time together. You will see how our trip to Brookfield went later. Good times.

Down the road in my permagrin

As we made our way towards Chicago the excitment was more than we could handle. I had an uber-excited grin the entire ride while the children slept soundly in their law enforced harnesses.



We had a great time and there are more pictures to come. There may even be a gnome story in here for those of you who are into that sort of thing.

Chi Town

We are going to be spending a few days away from Grand Rapids. With the close of the semester a quick get-away is in order. We are going to stay with Lydia's parents in Indianhead Park, IL which is a Chicago suburb.

We are planning on going to either the Brookfield Zoo or the Shedd Aquarium If it rains we will be at the Shedd.

We will have a post to let you all know what a great time it was. We cannot wait to see the family. It is has been too long with all of our busy schedules.

Owen, eat food.

Anna is doing a great job in filling the 'bossy older sister' role. It is amazing that you do not even have to teach her how to boss around her younger brother- it comes so naturally! Some of this natural bossiness can be used for her advantage though. She can be very helpful with Owen.
Notice Owen's shirt- it is not going too well; but it is a good start. With lots of love and some discipline she is going to develop into a great, big sister!

Chasing Vermeer

Today I started my summer reading. I began with Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett. I also finished it.

LOVED IT!

We Are Back

I know that it has been like eating broccoli for Life On Union Avenue to be closed, but we are back! We will keep you updated with stories from our lives, tidbits of information, and especially pictures for the Omas and Opas to see.
The semester ended officially this date at 12:57 Post Meridian when I hit send on the Yahoo! account to zip my final three projects over to the seminary.

It is sort of anti-climactic, since Wednesday was the day that I had to preach for the seminary. I hope to spend time in the garden this summer, as well as reading, and some travel. I look forward to the 2+ months off.

Welcome Back!

May 12th is the close of the semester. I will begin posting again that evening. The children are well as are we. Thanks for your prayers and concerns as the semester crashes to a close! I hope to enjoy the Springtime and a nice barbecue on that day.

Book Nerding It

This morning we went to Pooh's Corner to look for a couple of children's books that we want to get. One that I want is called The Wright 3 by Blue Balliet. It is on my summer reading list once my semester is finished. It is about three teens who crack the mystery in the windows of the Robie House, one of Frank Lloyd Wright's greatest houses. The book is fiction, but I love the idea of introducing teens to art history.

When we were there Lydia and I discussed why Lydia never went into elementary education as a career. There was a case-in-point before our eyes. Every morning one of the owners, a skinny butchy looking lady, has a story hour for the children in the store. This woman spoke with a squeal that was so high pitched and her facial expressions were amazingly huge! Anna stood and stared in astonishment that people actually act that way. Owen did not care because he was too busy blocking the progression of a whiner at the Thomas the Train set.

We didn't buy anything, but it was fun to watch what a difference the milieu is at a children's bookstore versus one like Border's or B&N.

A Corry PA phone story

My parents phone has been disconnected for a couple of days. We talk at least three times a week on the phone and chit~chat about what has been going on. Knowing this, my mom sends me this email about a conversation that my dad had with the phone company concerning why they did not show up. Here is a synopsis. This is classic:

Our phones have been out since Thursday and we don't know why. The phone company was supposed to have them fixed by today but never showed up.

When your dad went to Preston's and called them, they said they were trying to call us to tell us they couldn't come today.

Dad said how can you call when we don't have any phones!

They didn't have an answer to that.

Happy Birthday Buddy

Brian Anderson of Poor Man's Blog and Abdicating Sanity and long time friend and brother turns 27 years old on Sunday, April 23rd. Brian is a friend from my highschool days and has been a friend to me and my family as adults as well.

When B is around we can count on Anna having a good time with one of her best friends. We can be assured that Owen will have a nose to pinch and ears to pull!

B also is always willing to help out with all things that need to be done. He paints, cleans, hauls, chops, and sweeps. Brian is a great friend.

On this day, his 27th birthday, we wish him the best!

A Union Avenue BABY announcement!!

THE NEWS YOU ALL HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR:

I have heard the statement before, "We are expecting to hear from you and Lydia any day now.."

We know what that means. So, as has been expected here is the news: Life On Union Avenue is about to expand. We are expecting a new member to the Union Avenue family! Sorry we had to use the blog to tell everyone, but this way you all hear at once...

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We have a robin nest in one of our cherry trees! Yeah! There are babies on the way and Life On Union Avenue is expanding. We are happy to host the mother and her young!

If you happen to come upon a bird's nest along the way, in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs, and the mother sitting on the young or on the eggs, you shall not take the mother with the young. -Deuteronomy 22.6

Springtime View of Union Avenue

We have our morning coffee and devotions from our sun-room every morning. It is a nice view to watch the sun shine through the windows while we wake-up. Spring is especially nice because you can see all of the flowers come up and begin to open. There are a few different times in the year when the color is so great and vibrant. Come over for devotions and a cup of coffee some morning- it is a great way to start the day.

Thanks Grandma!

Oma Eshelman made this new blanket for our basement. She has been known to make some really nice ones that people comment on. The ones that she made for Anna and Owen when they were born are often commented on in stores and other places where people see them. This one was made with our new family room in mind. It has the terra cotta and the buttercream to match the walls. Sedgwick and Anna enjoy a nap under its warmth.
For a fee she will make you one as well. Oh...I get a finders fee as well!

Some Dental Information

This article reminded me of Life on Union Avenue. I know that a lot of you attempt to be on the cutting edge of fashion, but some statements are not recommended by doctors.
Before you get your 'grillz' you have to read this article.

A Random Day

Let me begin with a prependix (I made that up..Appendix but before. I am sure that out grammarians and lexographers will give me the appropriate term.) : * There will be no announcement on this blog concerning the wedding as of now. All I have to say is that Steve has offered $50 and a steak dinner.

Today after class I was supposed to be doing taxes as well as writing a few papers that are still due before semester's end. It was such a nice day that plans were postponed for a few hours. We went for a walk to one of our favourite breakfast and lunch places. The Real Food Cafe' is a place to enjoy homemade cooking that incorporates butter into every dish. It is yummy. Anna was super excited as shown in the below picture. Owen was attempting to remove his hat so he did not care where we ate as long as the hat was gone. Eventually the hat was removed and he fell asleep. Do not think that it allowed for a peaceful lunch... he awoke seconds before the food arrived.
We ate outside since the place is always so packed that you have to wait in line. The lines are always tight and you have to squeeze next to people that you do not necessarily want to be breathing down your neck. One good thing though, as a blog reader you would love it because you always get to hear someone else's business whether you want to or not. It is like a real-life blog standing in that line. I rarely have the guts to comment though...you cannot be anonymous!
The other thing that was great about today is that Owen's Anterior-Incisors number eight and nine came in. That makes for four teeth. Teeth look funny on a baby at first.
Here is the only way that we can get him to show off the teeth. We hold him upside down and we tickle him until his mouth opens. This shot was too gross with all of the saliva and the nostrils showing. I cut out the mouth so that you could see his great little teeth.
The other thing that we did today is watch Anna garden. She thinks that gardening consists of standing around with a rake and commenting on the flowers that have already bloomed. She also thinks that talking to the statuary is part of the assignment as well. If she only knew the joys that gardening can bring other than talking to concrete children.
Here she is checking out her New Balance shoes. Lyd bought these so that she can wear them on walks. I am not sure why she is so obsessed with them. We try to get her to wear the clogs..but she insists on these little running shoes. I think that she is being influenced by outside sources. We don't wear running shoes.
Sorry no poll today!

Going to the Chapel and we're gonna get married...

As most of you know I have two weddings scheduled for May 27, 2006. This is very difficult for me since I want to attend both of them very much. One is my cousin, who I love a lot and would love to enjoy this day with her. The other is my friends, Steve and Janna, here in Grand Rapids. They are members of my church and we are really good friends.

If I attend Steve and Janna's wedding then my family in Pennsylvania will be really hurt and I will be taken out of my parent's will and all of that... If I attend Stephanie's in Pennsylvania then my friends will all think that I am a terrible friend. Plus they have asked me (a long time ago) to be the Master of Ceremonies at their reception and I would love to be obnoxious there.

Please take my survey and tell me which wedding you would attend if you were in my shoes. Then in the comments section you can say why you would choose that way. Please do not vote this way, "I am friends with Steve and I want you there". or "Nathan, I am your mother and I want all my kids home at once". Think about what you would do if you were in my situation.

Which wedding should I attend
	My cousin Stephanie in Pennsylvania
	My friends Steve and Janna here in Grand Rapids
Free polls from Pollhost.com

*Steve, Janna, Stephanie...no matter what I choose just be happy to know that this has been tormenting me for months....Steve, there is not a way that you can sue me if I do not come to yours is there?
*Also, if anyone wants to buy me a seat at either wedding- bidding starts at $250 and that will make the decision real simple!

Talkin' Turkey

Today I was doing some gardening along the driveway. I was carefully trimming one of my roses when I heard this huge swooshing noise above my head. I looked up and it was a turkey flying out of the old Oak of my neighbors! It flew across the street into the trees behind Saint Joseph's Seminary, but when I went to find it I no longer saw it.

Later in the afternoon I was talking with my other neighbor, Jim (who has lived here 30+ years), and he said that the Garfield Park Nature Preserve used to have a flock of about 30 that flew around from time to time. He was pretty amazed though, he hasn't heard of one being seen for years around the Alger Heights area.

You might be a redneck if...

I am not sure how these things occur, but Anna has placed the idea into her head that duct tape is an appropriate wound care product. Yesterday she wanted a piece of duct tape around her 'ouch' and I thought that it was pretty funny since my father always used duct tape as the choice item to promote sanitation and healing of wounds related to the opening of the skin.

The problem arose when we were heading out of the house for a dinner date with friends and she would not take off the tape. The picture to the left is not her babying the wound, but protecting it from me attempting to remove it. Thankfully our friends found our quirky daughter to be more cute than quirk.

Dimwhit and the dimmer-switch

At my work we have a room where patients have to sleep sometimes called a Think Tank. This room is the classic "padded room" minus the padded walls and other cliche' associations with psychiatric care.

This evening a patient was required to sleep in this room for reasons of his or her own safety. This room is not a very comfortable place to sleep; it has a large Styrofoam mat that is on the floor and there is a half moon mirror so that the staff can see the patient at all times. There is also a very bright, obnoxious light that glares down into the face of the one that is trying to sleep.

In my Christian compassion I found it necessary to turn down the lights for him or her so that he or she could sleep a little better. The dimmer switch (that is the same as the one to the left) was not dimming. Some of these industrial switches require that you place a paperclip or other such item into them for the purpose of dimming the light. I attempted this with my restraint key.

For this compassion I received a shock that ran down my arm, knocked my backwards, and caused my tongue to go numb for a moment. I was totally embarrassed as well as 'shocked' that this had occurred. This, my friends and faithful readers, was not one of the such afore mentioned dimmer switches.

The joys of psychiatric care.

Sticker Mania!

It is always great to walk in on Anna and Owen when they are quiet and find them being the best of friends. This does not always happen, of course. Often when you walk in on quiet children it is because they are being naughty; but sometimes cuteness prevails.

Today they were putting stickers on each others faces and it was worth capturing. Owen of course was passive in all of this but Anna was the sticker queen placing them on everything. By the end my face was covered as well!