Fingers?
Posted on June 11th, 2010 by jj.
Second day and homecoming
Posted on June 11th, 2010 by jj.
Baby Anna
Posted on June 9th, 2010 by jj.
Baby Showers Part II: School
Posted on May 28th, 2010 by lucy.After staying after school for help with her friend Monica, Carey, one of my Honors Physics students, had what she called “an odd request.” “I, uh, heard that the faculty room vending machine has M&M’s, and, uh, we’re not allowed in there without a teacher, and I, uh, really want some M&M’s and, uh, was sort of wondering if you’d be willing to go with me so I could get some.” mmmHMM! I was a bit suspicious. We went to the faculty room. And Carey got her M&M’s. Of course, they were purchased for her by one of the 20 or so teachers and staff in the room who were there for a surprise baby shower for me.
Lillian had put up a clothesline with adorable onesies and cloth diapers. Jessica had bought balloons over her lunch, hidden them in Karen’s room and then anchored them with rubber duckies. Karen had picked up a ducky cake. Linda had helped with decorations, and there were pretzels and a pile of gifts. Most of my wonderful science department was there, plus a bunch of other people at work who are important to me. Karen and Barbara had handmade gorgeous baby blankets. Many people had gotten together to give us a very generous Babies R Us gift card. (Ladies, we used it to buy a high-quality breast pump. Guys, we purchased something very manly with it. The most manly baby gift you can think of.) Our daughter will have many more adorable clothes, plus a few other items to welcome her. And John D. got “myJohn” and me a John Jameson & Son Irish Whiskey mug, marmalade, and lanyard. All the way from Ireland. Awesome. Thank you, Hopewell! (No pictures from this one–sorry, folks.)
The very next morning, my Logos kids surprised me. Logos, which is Greek for the Word, as in John 1, refers both to Jesus and to the word of God (the Bible). The club is a wonderful group of Christian students who gather each week to read and study the Bible and pray. I advised Logos this year. I walked down the hallway around 7:05AM to see Jennifer, the club president, running into and out of the room, which I thought was strange. Then I saw Dave, a social studies teacher and fellow Christian, coming down the hall with a hammer. “There’s a centipede in there, and I’m going to kill it,” he announced. When I walked in, students jumped out from behind desks. “SURPRISE!” They’d all brought in food, much of it homemade. There were decorations everywhere. Casey, a freshman, crocheted our daughter the most adorable little hat. Jennifer and Sarah (with some help from Mom, who routinely makes flattering yet modest dresses for her three girls) had made a beautiful baby quilt. Andrea made a pink gimp key chain. And they’d gotten a very soft and huggable “Baby’s First Teddy,” which has resided in the living room for hugs ever since. This crew has been praying for “Mrs. Jameson’s Baby” for months. I will miss them.
My four classes all brought in food, and between my current and former students, there were decorated cakes, balloons, streamers, a Baby Shower sign, and several gifts. These are “my kids,” and I will miss them.
Baby Showers Part I
Posted on May 27th, 2010 by jj.We haven’t had baby showers so much as a torrential downpour. The outpouring of love and gifts for us and this little one have been overwhelming. My mom commented that the nursery looks like Babies R Us North. Thank you all.
The first major event was the family and family friends baby shower, which was hosted at Frog Hollow, my GREAT Uncle Frank’s house. The house and land are beautiful, almost exclusively due to the work Frank and my late GREAT Aunt Molly did on it. It was also where Eileen had her baby shower for John, and where I had my family bridal shower. So it’s a bit of a tradition. Frank is so gracious.
Aunt Peggy hosted the shower, with a lot of help from my mom and Eileen. Margaret made a delicious Spanish omelette. Martha made a diaper cake and ducky name tags for everyone.
Everyone brought their favorite children’s book, and now the baby’s bookshelf has old favorites from our childhood, as well as great books we’d never seen before. Gram (John’s maternal grandmother) even gave us her childhood copy of Aesop’s Fables. What a wonderful way to welcome a child!
The food was fantastic and beautiful, decorations abounded, and people from different parts of our life were there. Max, my brother, even stopped by. John and my dad perched to watch the proceedings. Once, he was even permitted to open a gift, but he had to wear a feminine hat. Leanne, my cousin, brought her son, Josh, who we were delighted to finally meet (John and I had tried three times, to be foiled by huge snow storms twice and the norovirus the third time). Family and friends who couldn’t make it sent gifts and regards from California, South Dakota, Ohio, and North Carolina.
We were delighted at the outpouring of love for our daughter, and are very thankful for all of you.
Most photos at the beginning are John’s, and during the shower Amanda and Shauna took pictures.
The littlest pro work…
Posted on May 17th, 2010 by jj.Just finished processing images from a “glamor” shoot for a little munchkin. Gallery is private, but here are two of my favorites:
Little munchkin mugging it up
Woo bubbles!
Babymoon!
Posted on April 27th, 2010 by jj.We spent last weekend at the Chimney Hill Inn in Lambertville for our “babymoon” — the last goofy getaway before wallpapering the house in boxes of diapers.
Why the Chimney Hill Inn? Because they raise alpacas. And alpacas have the shape of giraffes, the wool of sheep, the face of Sam the Sheepdog, and a personality that is somewhere between dog, goat and rabbit. They are a South American camelid, and if you can stare one in the eye without laughing hysterically, you are probably depressed. The lady alpacas at the Chimney Hill Inn, by the way, are protected by two guard llama. Also not a sentence that can be spoken without giggling.
Lucy feeds the alpacas:
John feeds the alpacas:
The rest of the photos:
Incoming baby!
Posted on April 7th, 2010 by lucy.
This is the nursery , which has come a really, really long way from not too long ago. It’s exactly what I wanted, and makes me smile whenever I poke my head in. The lavender (which is Amethyst Cream, to be precise) came out as I had hoped, and gives the room a very cheery, feminine feel. I feel so girly for wanting it, and John was good enough to oblige me. He even likes how it turned out. Our parents did virtually all of the work for the nursery, and I did hardly any, as most of it involved fumes. My parents and Eileen tore out the old pieces in the closet (which John is standing in to take this picture–the door to the room is immediately on his left). Eileen spackled and the parents sanded at least three separate rounds, transforming a wall that could only be described as mountainous into a crisp, smooth wall. My parents painted everything white. One morning, John and I returned from church to find my dad there painting the purple. You know your daddy loves you when he comes over to paint the nursery. You know he really loves you when he comes over to paint the nursery purple. My parents also picked up the chair rail John and I had picked out (hooray for a minivan! our little “go-kart” of a car wasn’t long enough), then stained it at their place so that I didn’t have to deal with the smell. Then John and my dad put up the chair rail. [John took a picture that shows off the chair rail's beauty, but due to what is probably the norovirus infecting my poor husband, I've been evacuated from my home and computer to Eileen's home and computer until John is better and can disinfect the place to prepare for my return. I'll put the picture up later. Feel better soon, John! I miss you!]
You may have also noticed that we have a crib! Marc and Elise, parents of three who are in our Bible study, were generous enough to give us this crib, which is absolutely gorgeous. They’d warned us that the last movers who had disassembled and assembled it had used the brute force method, so it would need some repairs before use. Enter my dad, who makes furniture for fun. He fashioned two brand new support pieces from oak. They’re now the sturdiest part of the crib, and I can rest easy. Thanks, Dad!
Also pictured is one of the twin beds I grew up in (bunked with either Megan or Max, depending on age) with a quilt made by Gram, John’s maternal grandmother. There’s more to be done, but for now the nursery is a tangible reminder, along with my expanding belly, that there’s an:
New Life
Posted on April 5th, 2010 by lucy.
“But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to [Jesus'] tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, ‘Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.’ And they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened.” ~Luke 24:1-12, ESV
Happy Easter!
Baby Registry
Posted on March 29th, 2010 by jj.
If you’re just joining us now, here are some past updates: