We've Moved

Thankfully we haven't "moved house" as our British friends would say, but we have moved blogs. Blogger has been good to us over the past few years, but I got the itch to change things up and have now been lured away to Word Press. Perhaps this is a classic case of the grass seeming greener, but there was only one way to find out.

You can now find our blog at: sweetsimplicities.wordpress.com

And then there were three...

After my last post on December 5, I continued waiting in good company for another 6 days for our little one to make an appearance. With each passing day I was getting more and more anxious, not because I was tired of being pregnant, but because my parents' departure date was getting closer with each day that went by. I was desperate for the baby to come so that we could have as much time as possible with the baby AND with my parents! But we waited as patiently as we could and finally in the earliest hours of December 11, my labor began. (I don't know if anyone has ever been as delighted as I was upon realizing my water had broken - I was overjoyed!)

We arrived by taxi at the hospital just before 2am, and it was just about 12 hours later that our daughter, Emeline Rae, entered the world. My mom and Tony were a wonderful duo supporting me through labor and though we were hoping to have my mom with us for the birth, she wasn't able to be with us because the delivery was a bit more complicated than expected and only Tony could accompany me to the "theatre" - the operating room where she was born. We were reunited with my mom a couple of hours later in the maternity ward and spent the rest of day falling absolutely head over heels in love with little Emeline.

The past 4 weeks have been the most memorable of our lives and though it is hard to believe four weeks have already gone by, in many ways it seems like she's been a part of our lives forever. We've learned so much about her and are always anxious for her to wake up from her naps so that we can cuddle her and just observe as she is taking in the world around her.

Having my parents here when she was born was wonderful, and knowing that Jon and Lindsey were coming with little Kate just a few days after my parents left was the only thing that made our goodbye bearable. We thoroughly enjoyed having Jon, Lin and Kate here with us over Christmas and we will treasure that time together for years to come. Edinburgh had a white Christmas this year, which is a real novelty as we rarely get even a dusting of snow, let alone enough to cover the city in a shimmery white blanket!

We've been flying solo since they had to leave on December 30 and though there are still so many things to learn as new parents, we do feel like we're getting into the swing of things slowly but surely. Tony returned to school last week and Emeline and I have been spending our days together here at home while the freezing temperatures and icy sidewalks have been lingering in the city.

We have so many things to be thankful for and each glance at our little girl serves as a tangible reminder of God's goodness and faithfulness in our lives. Emeline is an absolute sweetheart and we can't wait for the adventure that awaits us as she continues to grow up!

(We have an exorbitant number of photos of our little darling, so I'll do my best to pull a few favorites out for now!)

Waiting in Good Company

Well, I'm officially 3 days overdue which I know isn't much, but it has obviously put BABY even more to the forefront of our minds than it was before! I know I must be huge now because everyone who comments now assumes I am very close to delivering, whereas before they would politely congratulate me and ask about the due date. : ) I enjoyed being able to give a single digit response during the last week, and now it's quite satisfying to be able to say I'm in fact overdue.

My mom arrived on Thanksgiving and we've been having a wonderful time with her while we're waiting for this little one to arrive. We've had only 2 or 3 days of rain since she arrived which has been a blessing and we've been able to get out and do a lot of walking and exploring in the city over the past 9 days. I felt such a sense of peace about the arrival of this baby when she arrived and it's been an absolute joy to have her here with us while we're waiting for Baby to make an appearance. We've had fun catching up and enjoying quality time together and are now hoping the baby will come soon, but are trusting in God's timing and in the comfort that he knows the exact details of this little one's arrival. We'll definitely put an update here when the time finally comes, but thought I'd at least get one last blog post in before then!

Generosity

As of 3:30pm today, I am officially on maternity leave. I feel a sense of relief on some level, but I still don't think the reality of what is coming next has really sunk in yet. Despite all the baby stuff that is now set up throughout our flat, it's just hard to believe that this active little baby in my belly is actually going to be joining us as an autonomous human being in the coming weeks. I keep wondering how I will feel when labor begins - part of me thinks I might burst into tears over the sheer velocity with which our life will change in the proceeding days. I'm beyond excited to finally meet this little one and to transition into this new phase of life, but I have to admit that the rate at which everything will happen is a bit intimidating to me!

I'm sitting on the couch this evening feeling overwhelmed by the generosity of the people in our lives. There is a big box full of pampering items for momma and essentials for the baby sitting on the coffee table, so thoughtfully put together by my coworkers as a send-off gift. A changing table from one of the members of our Board of Directors at work is to the right, stocked with baby gifts from the shower my mom and sister threw back in Denver this summer. Our stroller, which I am in love with, is next to it and will always be a reminder of my parents amazing generosity and thoughtfulness. I have bags of clothes passed along from a dear friend here in town, along with books and resources from my sister that have been my companions of the last 9 months. We have a crib, baby bath, monitor and Moses basket all given to us by coworkers. I'm just amazed at the provision of all these things by the generous people around us. God has supplied for all our needs, and we feel so loved and cared for as we're walking ahead into unknown territory. It really is humbling to just look around and see these many reminders of the generosity in this world, as it's easy to lose sight of it with the many tragic news stories and reports of suffering in this world.

Looking at the next week, I'm hoping to do a few more posts with pictures from recent events and perhaps a pic of my massive belly in celebration of maternity leave. I am so excited to have some free time on my hands - oh, I just can't wait to soak it up tomorrow!

A little cultural lesson...

November 5 is Guy Fawkes Night, or Bonfire Night, in the UK. Anyone out there ever heard of this before? I certainly hadn't until we moved to Edinburgh, but with fireworks going off outside tonight and the smell of bonfire that filled the air earlier this evening I suppose I am now not only aware of, but somewhat experienced in the British tradition.

Although we were living here at this time last year, I didn't actually learn about this tradition until this year. Why? Because last year I was holed up in our flat desperately looking for jobs and manically filling out applications with little to no contact with the outside world. Oh, there are no words to express my gratitude for being out of that situation!

Guy Fawkes Night is the annual celebration of the day back in 1605 when Fawkes and a group of conspirators were discovered and stopped in their attempt to kill King James 1 and most of the protestant aristocracy by blowing up the House of Parliament. The plan was uncovered, Fawkes was arrested, and he and his conspirators were subsequently tried and hung.

The Brits now commemorate that fateful day every 5th of November by burning effigies of Guy Fawkes, setting off fireworks and lighting bonfires. It's quite the celebration going on tonight!

Happy Guy Fawkes Day!

November??

In the middle of September I remember looking at my calendar and eagerly anticipating the arrival October, which I expected would be a calm and far more low key month than the ones before it. Inevitably my calendar filled up with work responsibilities, an ever growing personal to-do list as we're preparing for the baby, and mid-week social engagements as we've been trying to get more connected in our community here. And now we've turned the calendar page into November and I can hardly believe it!

November holds a lot of exciting dates for us and I'm so glad it's finally here! Here are the highlights:

This weekend: a mini-vacation from the chaotic work schedules we've both been managing - our last chance for a little getaway as a couple before the baby arrives and life becomes wonderfully different.

Nov 14/15: our 2-day intensive prenatal classes (I'd be curious if this qualifies as an "exciting event" for Tony...I think I'm speaking for myself on this one!).
Nov 18 - my last day of work!
Nov 19 - maternity leave begins! I've got big plans for the following 2 weeks before my due date - lots to get done!
Nov 26 - not just Thanksgiving, but also the day my Mom arrives in Edinburgh!
Nov 28 - my original due date, which I'm still attached to even though I know it will most likely come and go along with my new date of Dec 2.

And then we're into December which holds a whole other bundle of exciting events - my dad coming for the last part of my mom's visit, my sister, brother-in-law and niece coming for Christmas, and most definitely the arrival of Baby Bolos (hopefully earlier in the month than later)!!

Beyond the routine responsibilities that have been keeping us busy this last month, we've managed to have a lot of fun. I've been thoroughly enjoying the autumn season and all the beautiful colors and crisp, cool air that come with it. We enjoyed having a weekend visit from a friend studying down in London. We've been spending time with new friends and settling into our new home church by joining several groups. And we've been mesmerized by the active little baby that now has the ability to shift my entire stomach from one side to the other as it moves around! Life is full and I'm grateful for the connections we're finally starting to make after being here for a year.

A few picture highlights from recent events:

A recent walk through The Meadows

Our new Moses Basket for the baby, kindly lent to us by my manager at work

Tony's hands on my ever-growing belly!

A gorgeous autumn sunset in Edinburgh
(this is our neighborhood, by the way! I still love all the chimney stacks around here...)

First of many...

Yesterday morning Tony taught what will most likely (and hopefully!) be the first of many classes in his philosophy career. With undergraduate classes now underway here, Tony's responsibilities for the fellowship he received from the department have kicked into high gear. This year he will be doing 6 hours of "tutoring" per week, which is similar to being a teaching assistant in the US. This semester he is working with undergraduate students from a huge (500+ students) intro level philosophy course. Since the lecture class is so big, they break the students up into small groups of 14 students for a one hour seminar where they discuss the class material and get more personalized teaching from PhD students. Tony is really looking forward to the semester and the opportunity to work with these students over the course of the semester.

In other news, summer has officially bid us farewell here in Edinburgh as the days are now noticeably shorter and the infamous Edinburgh wind has returned. I don't really understand how wind can be a seasonal thing - I would have thought it to be a geographical one that wouldn't change with the seasons. But unless the past 4 months of still air were a fluke, the wind does seem to be seasonal here - and it's back!! This also means that even my best efforts to keep my hair in a presentable state before walking to work, church, etc. are now futile.

Baby Bolos seems to be growing well as my belly is getting bigger and bigger. I've hit my baby bump with the refrigerator door several times in the last couple of weeks, nearly knocked over the pot on the stove by hitting the pot handle with my belly and have noticed small collections of crumbs resting on top of my belly after eating crumbly things lately...so apparently I am getting bigger than I even realize!

We've started meeting people at our new church and Sunday felt like a major turning point in our quest to get connected. We saw many of people we've recently met through the two groups we've joined (a parenting class and a theology reading group) and actually sat with someone we knew during the service. For the first time in a long time I feel somewhat at home in a church and I'm so thankful that this is coming together as we're preparing a major life change with this baby on the way.