Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho, it's off to work I go...

Needless to say, I've been keeping busy this week, getting my room ready for another year of Music classes. I haven't been very excited about it, but I got a bunch of cool new materials in the mail from DO (District Office) to go with our new textbooks and suppliments for them, so I'm getting more excited. I also am enjoying getting rid of more old junk from the previous music teacher to make room for the cool new stuff.

One thing that has made this week feel more comfortable is my Mom. She is taking very good care of Elliott and Jillian and our home, too. She helps out with things like laundry and loading the dishwasher and stuff. I have a much more peaceful feeling about going back to work, even if I would prefer to be home with Elliott myself until he's at least 1 year old. They are, you know, only this little for a short time.

I had a PartyLite show tonight at my place and while I had only 2 guests, we still had a good time. Linda and my neighbor, Giusy, came by and sniffed candles and ate cake. It was pretty good considering that Thursday night seemed to be a bad night for everyone else I invited.

I hope to post stuff from COTW soon, but that may have to be Brooks' job. Overall, I enjoyed it very much. There was so much good stuff, that the only thing I could think to suggest to improve for next time would be: pray for less rain, and don't bring a baby if it can be helped. Some of the highlights were spending time with the family, learning 4 new games, getting to know Lesley and Eric and Ava, and being able to walk everywhere. The chapel service speaker was great and the concerts were fun, too. But since I'm a people person, and I also enjoy games, I think my favorite part was playing skipbo and other fun games with Eric and Lesley. I didn't know them at all really before Camp, and once again, I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed them, just like when I met Karl and Alyssa, and others. I just didn't know what to expect, and it turned out fantastic!

Well, I'm very tired and it's getting very late. Time for bed!

For Mom and Jim

From Camp-of-the-Woods
on Lake Pleasant
in Speculator, NY
home of the
Adirondack Mountains
With Love, from Susan and the Fam

The most current pictures of Elliott so far.



I almost caught a smile...


Jillian and Ava (her cousin) at the mini golf course last night.


Brooks, Elliott, and Jillian on Monday for the big Dunkerton family reunion pictures.

Hope you like! We have had a pretty fun week and we miss you! Wish you were able to be here with us!

Love,
Susan

PS-Watch your mailbox!

Mommy Thoughts

Tonight we visited with dear friends, Damon and Crystal Schroeder, who you may remember from our wedding...Damon read scripture and Crystal was a bridesmaid with dark, curly hair. Jillian played with their children, Abby, Stephen, Grace, and Silas. It was a visit long overdue, as we last saw the Schroeders before Silas could talk, and he turns 4 on Monday!

Damon grilled out and Crystal prepared salad, veggies (tomatoes and cucumbers, my favorite ;) and chips. They all enjoyed taking turns holding and playing with Elliott, to the point of our hosts holding Elliott while we ate, and they refused to have it any other way! It was so nice to have a (mostly) quiet meal for a change. Elliott really seems to seek the most attention at some of the most challenging times, like meal times. The Schroeders are so kind and patient and encouraging, and they have fun children. They aren't monsters, but they aren't perfect angels, either. :) They have a loving home and I always enjoy our visits there.

Crystal talked to us about a variety of things, including home schooling, home birthing, and cloth diapers, but never pressured us to any of the above, which was very nice. While we will use cloth diapers when my mom starts babysitting (her idea, she offered!), home schooling isn't in our future, and I doubt home birthing is either.

Lately, I've been thinking about going back to work, and what a struggle and big transition it will be. Of course I would love to stay home with Elliott and get Jillian on and off the bus every school day and make dinners and clean house every day, but in reality, we can't do it financially. Could we do it if we spent less? Maybe, but we do have some debt, the biggest being our mortgage and Brooks' law school student loans. Perhaps if we were debt-free *and* didn't need to save for car, emergencies, repairs, etc. we could do it. Or if Brooks worked for a firm and made twice as much, and was home 1/2 as much as he was before screening...sigh. I'd prefer to have him home, and he knows it, and he agrees.

So, in my recent efforts to prepare myself to rejoin the full-time working world, I thought I would ask a friend who had a baby (more recently) before me what their experience was like. I thought of Sarah, who was a middle school teacher, but declined tenure (for very good reasons) and opted to be a stay-at-home mom. Then I thought of Jess, who had been wanting to quit her job for years, and did so when she had Jack. I remembered Karen, who used to missions with an organization helping orphans in Ukraine and Russia, but her 4 year commitment ended just before Ann was born. And Kate was a vet tech until Megan was born...all of my closest friends (in proximity) became stay-at-home moms! None of them returned to work!!! I'm the only one who will be juggling my family (especially my sweet baby!) and my career! :(

I feel...alone-ish. Yes, Brooks is here. That's not the point. Yet another thing seems to separate me from some of my friends. I don't know...I guess I'm jealous? What do you think? It's getting late...time to let the pondering rest for the night.

Jillian's Birthday week

I'm back. After much harrassment, I'm finally posting to the blog again. Here's a recap of the past week.



Jillian got an early start to her birthday celebration when Grandma and Grandpa Locke came for a brief visit 10 days ago. Among her presents from them were this purple sun dress . . .



and Anne of Avonlea, the second book in the series.

Jillian was in a summer music camp at church all week. Friday night the kids performed a show called "Power." Jillian had two speaking parts (total of 4 lines), first as Shadrach, then as a person on the street. She did a great job and even pronounced Nebuchadnezzar correctly. The picture is from the reception afterwards.

Jillian discovered this week that she could ride a bike without training wheels after all.

On Saturday, we had Jillian's birthday party at Nana's house. A grand total of 10 kids, plus parents enjoyed a beautiful sunny day by eating hot dogs and swimming in the pool.




Jillian and her neighbor friend Mia.




And don't forget the ICE CREAM CAKE!!!




Jillian received a number of great presents, including 4 different Barbies!

My cousin Heidi arrived Saturday evening. We had a great time going to a Chinese restaurant, walking around downtown Wheaton, and going to church on Sunday. We can't wait to spend more time with her this weekend at COTW.


Heidi got to meet Elliott for the first time.





Elliott is really enjoying his new bathtub!!!

It's a long one...

FINISHING UP THE ROADTRIP!
Of course I wish this had happened sooner, but our wireless availability was zilch after we left the Blairs, and other things have been keeping us busy. However, I hope to get everything up-to-date soon...Jillian is staying with my parents this week before we go to C.O.T.W. so we'll see what kind of time I have!


SILVER SPRING, MARYLAND - THE BLAIR RESIDENCE

We had a lovely visit with the Blairs, and I also got to meet Stefanie Campbell and her daughter. Stefanie and Brooks grew up together, and I got to meet her parents briefly at our Forcey visit 3 years ago. The girls played together very nicely, and Stefanie is expecting again. She taught Meredith and Austin in school (kindergarten) but now she stays at home full time. This is the part where I sigh and remember that I will be returning to school in just a couple of weeks, and leaving my sweet baby at home. I'm thankful that my mom will be taking care of him, but I will certainly miss him a lot. It will be a very busy and hectic time, but God will help me get through another year of teaching and being away from my baby.

Anyway, Joan took lots of great pictures of this visit, so here are a few.

Stefanie, Amelia, and the Lockes (minus Elliott, who was sleeping).

Jillian enjoyed playing with Austin, especially on his PSP.

The Lockes go blue for the day.

SILVER SPRING (area), MARYLAND

We didn't manage to get any pictures from the great reunion-style party that Kristy hosted at her parents' home, so here's the verbal synopsis.

There were tons of people from Forcey, and of course, since they aren't the friends that I grew up with, I can't remember all of their names, but I'll try to recall a few: Cyndi, Beth & Brian, Micah & Heather, Zarnez, Mike and his new bride, and of course Kristy and Rhonda. We also got to meet Kristy's boyfriend, Brendan? The group helped celebrate Zarnez's birthday, too.

The next day, we got to visit Kristy's pottery studio, and we even got to paint our own pottery! Jillian and I made gifts, and Elliott got in on some of the fun, too, while Brooks and Kristy visited. I got to make a trivet with ivy on it to go with my green and ivy kitchen. Yay! Thanks, Kristy!

We just got them, like, minutes ago! It all looks great and nothing was broken. :)
Jillian's princess crown


My ivy trivet :)


DAMASCUS, MARYLAND

I finally got to meet Mr. and Mrs. Karl Hjembo! They were in Germany for the past 3 years where Karl was stationed. Now they live in a home that Alyssa's grandmother inherited. It's nothing new, but Alyssa and Karl have done such an amazing job making it look beautiful and more up-to-date. I was so impressed with how much they did in such a short time. Alyssa is an excellent cook, too!


We also got to meet the future Mrs. Jonathan Hjembo, Ally (I may have misspelled her name...). They are getting married on October 4, 2008--yes, that's soon! They shared some of their wedding plans with us, and it sounds like it will be a beautiful event. It sounds like Ally will make her own wedding gown, too!



Mr. and Mrs. Hjembo and Mr. Hjembo and the future Mrs. Hjembo. :)


The very happily engaged couple--it's quite clear in person, even if it's not in this picture. :)



This picture is supposed to recreate the "tripartite talks" they had in Maryland.


The ladies wrapping up before the bride-to-be and groom-to-be have to leave.


Jillian and Gregory playing with his train sets.



Jillian, Gregory, and Ethan, chillin' on the couch.




I thought this was a cute picture, so I put it in. :)

It was so nice to finally meet Karl and Alyssa! I'd heard so much about them, and we had such a great visit with them!


FAIRFAX, VIRGINIA

We stopped at a Panera in Virginia to visit with Jeremy and Stacy Root and their sweet daughter, Susannah Margaret. They adopted her last November I believe. One of the restaurant patrons assumed that the two babies were twins. It was cute. :)


The Root family--aren't they adorable?! They were such kind people--I enjoyed getting to know them and spending some time with them. It has been a long time since Brooks has seen them (I was meeting them for the first time, if that gives you any indication) so I'm glad we were able to see them, even if it was relatively short.



I tried to get them all in there...oh well. It's still a cute picture.


LANGHORNE, PA

After many long days of travel, we were able to relax a bit and spend some great time with (Great) Grandma Locke. Brooks and I were able to help her by pulling some weeds and some carrots (which were not planted this year--somehow they planted themselves from last year!)
Grandma took us out to eat at Michael's as a thank you. :)

Here are some great pictures of Grandma with Elliott! She was wonderful with him!!!


Aww...


Snuggle buddies.

Elliott gets some time with Great-Grandma before going to bed. Notice the shark jammies.

"I wish I could stay in Great-Grandma's arms all night!!!"

Dear Grandma Locke,
Thank you for the wonderful hospitality! We had such a wonderful visit and we look forward to seeing you again soon! We would love to have you visit us in Carol Stream, so we can see you sooner, too!
Love,
Susan and Brooks


PITTSBURGH, PA

Elliott got to meet his cousin, James, as well as Torrey and Anne. We had such a nice visit we didn't want it to end so soon! We also got to attend church with Torrey and Anne on Sunday. Torrey made yummy chicken that reminded me of brushetta. I'm not a tomato fan, but it was still delicious!


They must be family!


Brooks is introduced to MarioKart (Game Cube version) and he and Torrey had much fun competing!


Jillian liked it a lot, too, and moves with the turns--it's cute.


Elliott borrowed James' bumpo chair and was much more content sitting up. Thanks! Isn't this a sweet picture of him?



Elliott sits and watches his big sister play Mario Kart.

Anne and Torrey were so sweet to throw a little birthday party for Jillian! We had cupcakes, ice cream, and Jillian even got some fun gifts!



Anne scoops some ice cream and Elliott asks Daddy if he can have some, too. Daddy looks at Mommy, but he already knows the answer is "no."



The men with the boys :)



The Lockes in Pittsburgh--what a lovely home the Babsons have here!

Overall, we had a great road trip east. It was wonderful to meet (yes, I'm still meeting folks!) and see so many friends and family. Jillian and Elliott did very well keeping each other company, so that made it much more enjoyable for us all. We are now looking forward to driving to Camp of the Woods for some extended family fun!