Morning Routine

Lazarus is busy. Recently he wakes up around 6:30am and immediately needs to get going on his long, long list of things to do.

During my morning coffee I secretly caught him on film.

Those pearly whites

Z loves to brush his teeth and I'm absolutely certain that he just said "toothbrush."

Distance Makes the Heart Hurt

I (Nathan) have been away from Christina and Z for two weeks, going over important matters here in Edinburgh. Things have gone according to plan and better, but all I can think about is getting back home.

Obvious reason #1, I have the best wife and son a man could ask for. I miss them like crazy. I torture myself by recalling all these idyllic moments we've had, usually frolicking in Sioux Falls:

Reason #2 for my eagerness to get home is that Christina tells me she could use a little more hands-on help with the little guy. Here's the reality of the matter:

Hang on, ya'll! Daddy's on the way!

Christmas Tree

Mr. Cool, having his morning milk and diaper change.

Our tree -- the presents are piling up!

End of the semester

Today was the end of the semester for me. At least as far as teaching goes. We still have finals left next week and I still have stacks of grading to do, but the end is in sight! It's been a pretty good first semester back from sabbatical. Z seems to have adjusted well to the change in schedule, and it is nice to have a job you love!

In other news, we got our Christmas tree last night. This is Z's first tree. So far, he hasn't broken any ornaments.

And a few more pictures of the boy:

All bundled up to go for a walk!

Z likes to play with my headbands. He's got one tucked under his arm there.

And now it's on his head!

Z Walks

Catching Up

Ok, it's been awhile. So this is just a quick update of what we've been doing.

The first weekend of November we went to the American Academy of Religion Conference in Chicago. I gave a paper in one of the sessions of the Bonhoeffer Society, which turned out to be kind of fun. We took Z with us, which we've decided won't work in the future. Toddlers and academic conferences don't mix.

In mid-November I met my friend Anne in Mankato, MN. We just spent the evening and the next morning catching up and having fun together. After Anne left to go back home, I went to visit the Betsy-Tacy Society. If you haven't read the Betsy-Tacy books, you should! Or if you have a daughter around 4-5 years old or older, you should give them to her for Christmas. The last six are newly back in print, so grab them while you can! They're written by Maud Hart Lovelace, who grew up in Mankato right across the street from her best friend. She fictionalized her own childhood and the town of Mankato in the Betsy-Tacy books. So I went to see her childhood home and the home of her best friend (you can see them in the pictures above), and the bench where they had their picnic suppers.

Then this past weekend we've had multiple Thanksgiving suppers. On Thursday early afternoon we went had Thanksgiving with two of my colleagues and their families -- a very good time was had by all. Then Thursday late afternoon/evening we had supper with two other USF families and again, had a very good time. And last night we had yet another supper with friends from church. Needless to say, we've probably all eaten enough.