Impossible to fill in the gaps, so jumping right in...

Winning at life at the Golden Gargoyles 2011

We moved to Chicago.

Ryan is in business school and loving it.

Sid turns 1 this week. Whoah.

And onward with my thoughts on life... no time to waste~

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So this has been a crazy week! Here are just a few fun tidbits because all the details are boring, and stories are more fun.

Sid, (whose first birthday is this week!!) who has always been my angel baby and a champ at eating, sleeping, and well, most things... decided that he should start waking up in the night again. At first I thought, no big deal. Must just be teething. So I babied him a little. And then he cut a few teeth, so I thought life would get back to normal. But we're about two weeks into waking up at night, and he still thinks 2:30 am is an appropriate time to get up, demand to eat, and stay awake a while. What is funny and different is that all of the sudden he has a little will. (Ryan's response to this: "Oh, he IS ours after all!" Aha.) He knows what he wants, and he makes it pretty clear. It's adorable... and somewhat exhausting. I'm glad to see preferences and a will, though, because I know this means he is developing and learning and growing. Praise God for that! Most mornings you find mommy with an inordinately large cup of coffee in hand, a sassy remark or two (Ryan said this morning to the kids, "Mommy is just a precious, precious jewel"), and a huge need for God's abundant grace. Writing this makes me grin. I love my life.

See why it's hard not to baby him... just a little?

Holman, my amazing almost-three-year old is keeping us on our toes. Last Saturday was a big social event with Ryan's school (Golden Gargoyles), and friends from our {amazing} church offered to help us out with the kiddos so we could go. We donned rock star costumes, hair, and make up, and ventured out for a night on the town. (On occasions where we employ babysitters, I really try hard not to sprint out the door. But it's just so fun to get a bit of alone time with my hot husband). About two hours into the event, I texted our friend to see how things were going. His response... "It's okay. Holman was crying because of his cough. I think he has a fever. Very warm on his neck and back..." After my heart started beating again, my mind started racing. We were on the other side of Chicago, not in our own car, in the beginning of a very late evening of festivities. My baby! Momma bear instincts kicked in. I wanted to drop everything, hail a cab in my 80s garb, and sprint home to save the day. Thankfully, my better half calmed me down, and our amazing babysitter was able to administer medicine, hold and calm our little guy, and put him to bed to sleep (relatively) soundly the rest of the night (especially compared to his kid brother ;)). Poor Holman was pretty sick, with the croup. He is finally on the tail end of it though, and we have been really blessed to be in a building full of friends who offer to help in any way they can. These few days of house arrest have actually been a wonderful connecting time for the two of us. We have been reading a ton together, and singing, and playing, and you name it (there are a lot of hours in the day when you really can't go much of anywhere!). Yeah, he drives me nuts. But he is sweet and loving, and funny, and really, really, really CUTE! At the end of the day, there is nowhere I'd rather be than kissing his sweet little chubby face and arguing with him about who loves whom more.

My amazing toddler, so cute, during story time at Sid's party

Ryan is tough to pin down these days, but I don't mind. He makes us a priority and also is squeezing every last ounce of great stuff out of his Booth experience. As much as God paved the way for us to be here, he continues to pave it even more now. Ryan has completely embraced the experience and is narrowing down options for internships and eventual jobs. School is downright fun for him. Stressful, yes, at times. But he is such a nerd... err... I mean, intellectual, that this atmosphere enlivens him. I am falling in love with him all over again, I guess because he is sort of like a grown up version of that double major in Finance and Economics that I met back at Berry. I love the passions and drives God is bringing out of him again. I love that he is loving it again. It's fun. And boy, is it flying by. Two weeks (2!) until finals. What?

I, Sarah, am... well, I'm keeping track of all of these guys. And of course I am diving right in to mommy functions, Bible studies, play groups, various parties and get-togethers, and so on. Some days I feel slightly over committed, but let's face it, I love my life busy and full. I am EAGERLY anticipating my parents' visit over thanksgiving week and looking forward to a long(ish) break with my family in December. And I'm starting to bat around some ideas for goal setting, passion developing, and organization starting up in January. I just want to make sure that this time that is flying by continues to be fruitful and not (too terribly) haphazard. :) Oh the joys of a passionate nature.

Thanks for reading.