I've got your nose!

You know that game you play with little children where you pretend to take their nose?  You pluck it right off their face and then stick the tip of your thumb between your your first 2 fingers and give it a little wiggle so they can see you've got it.  Ben occasionally plays that game with Nora and she likes it... for about 3 seconds.  But then she's ready to have her nose back on her face -- thank you very much!  So just as Ben is finishing up saying, "Uh-oh, I've got your nose!" she chimes in with the hopeful command, "Put it back."  Ben lovingly obliges and Nora grins a very satisfied and relieved grin.
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Today Nora and I were running some errands together in town.  It was absolutely freezing so we gladly took advantage of the heated corridors of the shopping center (mall) and warmed our fingers for a few minutes.  We walked past dozens of shop windows, each decked out for Christmas and trying to convince us that we should do all our shopping with them.  There were lights, trees, snowballs, Santa's and snowmen all just behind a bit of glass.  At the clothing shops we saw mannequin after mannequin decked out in sweaters, puffy vests, blue jeans, boots and colorful knit hats, scarves and mittens.

Nora took special note of the mannequins around town this morning.  At Boswells we were looking at hot water bottles to take to bed with us and keep us warm on cold winter nights.  These happened to be  located right next to the hosiery.  "Look dat!"  Nora exclaimed with a bit of concern.  When I turned to see what she was pointing at so high up on the wall, I saw three mannequin legs lined up next to each other displaying 3 different brightly patterned tights (and posed as if they would begin to do the can-can at any moment!)  I laughed.  How odd it must be for her to see body parts hanging from the wall.  What must she be thinking?!  After all, who did these legs belong to?  Were there three people wandering around without their right legs somewhere?  Would they ever get their legs back?  And how on earth could she keep people from taking her little leg??

Later in the morning she stopped to study the long line of mannequins (there must have been at least 12) in the display window at GAP.  Here she found children sporting warm winter jackets and mittens - very similar to the winter coat and mittens she was wearing at that exact moment.  Only these fashionably clothed children had no heads!!  Oh the look of concern on her face!  All she seemed to be able to utter was, "Dat." every few seconds as she hesitantly motioned toward the headless bodies.  Poor girl!  Was someone taking heads now too?!?

My tree

On the rear grounds of the college where I work there is a large lawn of lush grass and smack dab in the middle of it is a magnificent tree.  There are lots of other trees of varying sizes around as well but I am particularly taken with this tree's thick knobby trunk and splaying canopy.  This fall its leaves have been inordinately lovely and I have been thoroughly enjoying their splendor.   

When I walk past my tree (yes, let's call it my tree, shall we?) which stands so proudly in its featured position, I like to imagine how long it's been there and how many other people - who are now long gone from this place - have walked beneath its  strong crooked branches.  Were they in a hurry when they walked by?  Did this tree make them pause for a moment to wonder how such a tiny seed could become such a mighty thing?  Did they try to guess its age, how many times it had seen each season, the changes it endures as each year it grows not only taller and broader, but also drops its many thousand leaves in fall only to bud bright green replacements each spring?  Did they stop to eat their lunch and appreciate the cool shade it provided in summer?  Or did they pass by without even noticing the hundreds of shades of greens and then yellows and then oranges and browns it produced?  Did they curse when they tripped over its knobby roots which stretch in all directions?  What has this old tree seen?  And could I somehow learn its story if I listened closely enough?

I like trees.  Old trees remind me of old people.  Each has a thousand stories to tell.  Each is a treasure that is often overlooked or taken for granted.  And I'd like to think that each is full of wisdom and that if I listen closely enough, they might share a little with me...

Oh lovely leaves!

A couple of weeks ago Nora and I hopped on my bike and I took her to see this tree that I've claimed as my own.  The lawn below its branches had transformed into a thick carpet of orange and yellow leaves which had gently fallen over the course of a week or two. Oxford had been uncharacteristically dry that week making for soft rather than soggy leaves - perfect for piling up and jumping into.  So, this was our chance to delight in the wonder of fall before it was gone for another year.



Below are a few of my favorite shots from the day.  Enjoy!

Definitely her fake smile.

Whoa.

Knee deep.

You should have heard her giggle after being flopped into a great big pile of leaves! 

Let's do it again!

Nora found a tree a little more her size...

and did a little climbing.

She didn't want to get down for quite some time.

Then she climbed onto a bench to rest.

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Love.

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The noisy man with the leaf blower has come and gone and taken away almost every trace of our luscious fall carpet.  My tree's branches are bare and make a stunning pattern against the pale, gray sky.  We've had lots of cold, wind, and rain since this day of fall bliss.  

Winter is surely on its way.  

Graffiti Artist in the Making...

The girl is serious about her art.

Don't mess.

All Hallows Eve 2010

We were told that now that we live in an actual house, in an actual neighborhood, we would definitely be getting loads of trick-or-treaters this year.  And after having spent last Halloween in our apartment building and not hearing a single knock on our door I was more than ready to offer a smile and a sweet treat to little cowboys and princesses and sheet-adorned 'ghosts' toting flashlights and plastic pumpkin buckets full of goodies.

So this afternoon we ran to the store to get a bowlful of mini-sized candy bars and sat down with Nora on the kitchen floor to carve a friendly pumpkin or two for this evening's guests.

Nora was eager to get to work removing all those stringy, slimy pumpkin guts.

She started scooping with a big spoon...

but soon realized her hand worked a little better.

Hooray!  All done!

And all lit up!

Only guess what!  

It's 8:30 and we have had a grand total of 0 trick-or-treaters.  

So sad.  And yet a little glad that we now have a bowlful of goodies to enjoy ourselves!

"I Ride Bike"

The title says it all…just a little tidbit for those who like Nora.




(If you turn up the volume you can hear more of her adorable voice.)

ewwie-gooey, sticky-icky worms

So we moved last week.  
We're busy, busy, busy - sweeping, scrubbing, pruning, painting, weeding, and generally just making this place home.  Hopefully we'll be able to post some pictures of the house in the next few weeks (once we've made a few improvements.)
But for now...
We now have our own garden (back yard) for Nora to romp around in and although it needs a lot of work to make it really beautiful, we're loving it!
Nora loves digging around, exploring, stealing (not-yet-ripe) blackberries off the vines when we're not looking, sweeping the path and finding ladybugs (called ladybirds in England) and worms to play with.  

This photo is of the day we moved in and this worm in particular received several kisses from our sweet little girl.  (Don't worry, we've been discouraging the kissing of worms ever since.)

It's so nice to be able to let her get all dirty and then plop her straight into the tub!  

Here she is that night telling us all about her 'wum' (worm).

What a happy girl!

Long time gone...

Okay, okay, I know you haven't heard from us for awhile... but we've been busy!

In early July after an exhausting couple of weeks of work for me (Deanna), we headed home for my sister's wedding which meant that EVERYONE was in Oregon!  My parents picked us up from the airport (after LONG flights - made even longer by a curious toddler) and drove us out to their place.  The drive out to their house offers breathtaking views of Mt Hood and seeing Oregon again made me realize how much I miss the mountains!

We had so much fun introducing Nora to the cousins she hadn't met yet on my side of the family.  Luckily she didn't have to wait long because my parents organized a family picnic.

There are lots of really great things about living in England.  Oxford certainly has its charm and the last thing I want to do is complain about God bringing us here.  However, it is absolutely terrible being so far away from my family.  I recently read this and it resonated with me,

    "My mom and dad and brother [and sisters] have grown through the years into my closest friends,    

    the people who tell me the most searing truth, who give me soft places to rest and present to me a   

    bright future when the only one I can see from my vantage point is dim and breaking before my 

    eyes.  Families can go either way, and I take no credit for the way we've gone.  I accept it like a gift  

    or a winning lottery ticket, and I hold that ticket in my hand tightly, and I take every chance I can 

    get to be with them, for an afternoon, for a weekend, for a vacation, and every moment feels like 

    being given one more winning ticket."  - Shauna Niequist, Cold Tangerines

I hate being far away from the people we love.  I want my dad to teach Nora to fish, just like he taught me.  I want my mom to teach her how to play the piano.  I want her to know her Aunt Trinette's laughter and joy.  I want her to know her Aunt Larissa's compassionate heart and fierce devotion.  I want her to understand that although her Uncle Nick can be a man of few words -minus the sarcastic comments- when he does get talking, it is so worth listening.  I want her to hear her Aunt Linnaea sing because when she does, she lights up the room.  I want her to have slumber parties and birthday parties and Christmases with her cousins.  I guess because it is all these people, all these things that have made me who I am and have made me feel loved and known despite my many flaws and I am so very very grateful.

Dear family,
I love you and I miss you.
Love,
Deanna