Bathtime Mohawk

Everybody needs a bathtime mohawk once in a while!

Girls I love

For the last several years I have had the opportunity to walk alongside these girls. They are very special to me. For the last year we joined together and worked through a class to prepare them for college. Last weekend we went on retreat as the capstone for the year. It was bittersweet to be with them. They have become amazing women of Christ. Each of them are beautiful and strong in character - they have blessed me and impacted me. I am thankful for each of them!

Week 6 & 7 and Our Little Family

Growing Boy!!!

Week 4 & 5

Week 3

We are starting to find a bit of a stride. Tomorrow Jeff gos in for surgery on his akilles. Thankfully Nancy Crotty has come to help us! Here are some pics from week 3.

Pretty cute...

Two Weeks

Today marks two weeks of life for Malachi. It's been a very full, rather exhausting two weeks - but all worth it and wonderful! Here's a brief summary of our life's little adventures.

1. Malachi comes home from the hospital
2. Boomba & Grandma Kubiak (name TBA?) visit
3. Dog comes home from Camp Steele (our friends)
4. We survive week 1 - lots of diapers, feedings, and little sleep!
5. Aunty Garrett and Uncle Andy come to visit
6. Jeff ruptures his akiles (spelling?) tendon and we prepare for the possibility of surgery in the coming weeks


Today marks 14 days of life....what will happen next?

Malachi John

As many of you know, our son, Malachi John Crotty arrived on Monday morning at 5:13 am. The delivery went very well. He weighed 7 pounds 14 ounces. We're back at home and doing well. Tired but doing well. Malachi has a bit of jaundice that we are praying clears up quickly and without much intervention. Other than that...all is well!

Becoming Inpatient

Yesterday we went to the doctor, again he reported that it could be anytime that labor starts and our son is born. They said that last week...and if I make it to Wednesday they'll probably say it again. I am beginning to find the phrase annoying.

We have taken our "how to deliver a baby class" and "how to take care of a baby class" and now we wait. Now, waiting is fine as I'm not anxious about delivery but what I am hating about waiting is that I feel a bit stuck. I have been working on papers and things but am bored by them and sick of just being at home. I think I feel unproductive.

Anyhoo...thats the update...anytime...anytime...anytime

Coming soon...

Doctors report today said that we should expect Malachi's arrival in the next two weeks...can't believe it!

Senior-itis? Procrastination? Pregnancy?

As you can see on my blog I am nearing the end of pregnancy. I am also nearing the end of my doctoral degree. I have a few lists of things I really need to do before the baby comes in order to finish my degree. However, I also find myself lacking any motivation to really do anything. Then I have a list of things I need to do before the baby comes, wash clothes, put sheets on the crib, etc. I keep thinking that "nesting" instinct will kick in and I'll go into super mode at least in that arena. I'm not sure if I'm experiencing senioritis? or if my pregnancy exhaustion is just simply causing all lack of motivation. I think I need a sharp kick in the pants to get myself moving on this long list of things to do!

Painted Toenails

I wanted to paint my toenails...it was the hardest thing I've done in a while. Sometimes I forget that I have a beach ball sized stomach in front of me. Funny how you could forget such a thing.

I did by the way succeed, and for the record this photo is not of me...thank goodness I'm not that huge!

Life Update

The news is out. I have made it through "match" and have "matched" with Spokane Mental Health. Which means that next year I will be working as an intern in Spokane at SMH.



Jeff and I are excited about this next phase of life but at the same time are very aware of the sadness we both feel as we begin preparing to say good-bye to our community here. The students and families we have been blessed to meet and work with here have been incredible and have touched our lives in special ways. We look forward to the time we do have remaining in this place and the time we will share with our friends and the students and families here.

We also look forward to returning to the great NW, a place that we have longed for over the last 6 years of so.cal living. We delight in the thought that our families will be able to place a significant role in Malachi's life. We also long for the slower pace of Washington living, the mountains, the lake, the clean air, and the people. I am excited about apples in green bluff, watching the leaves change, having winter weather (snow?), and so much more.

We do not know our timeline yet but will in the coming month. We'll let you know when we know more.

Target.....GRRRRRRRR

Jeff and I have registered at Target for baby stuff - as have so many of our friends. Last night we went to return a few things that we got multiples of and had hoped to exchange for something that might be more useful instead of keeping the 12 yellow and green hats. Unfortunately, we found out that Target's return policy sucks and that you can't return things without a receipt. After working with two customer sales folks and two managers - I wanted to simply scream at them. THEY WERE GIFTS WE DON'T HAVE RECEIPTS! I was so frustrated! My favorite comment made by one of the managers was, well...could you call the person that gave it to you and ask for the receipt? I think my mouth dropped open at that point. The thought of even thinking about calling someone and asking for a receipt for a gift they so generously seems ridiculous!! I think that the customer sales folks and management need to go to an etiquette class! Lesson learned...avoid Target!

Baby Shower

Over the weekend the families from our church threw us a baby shower. It was wonderful to celebrate the coming birth of our son with these wonderful families. We received so many lovely things it was slightly overwhelming.

I bet you have never seen a diaper cake before?




After the shower we came home to go through all of the gifts and begin to organize them and put them away as they filled out our apartment. By the end, we were both exhausted.

Sometimes we just aren't even sure what things are used for...or just need a good laugh...

Denali Update

Last weekend was Denali's birthday. He turned 1. We took him to the dog beach with his best buddy Guinness. We think he enjoyed it. Here are some updates on him.

1. He still hasn't learned to lift his leg to mark his "territory", however he does want to mark - so he has taken to climbing up on top of bushes to pee on them.

2. His favorite treat isn't your typical dog bone but rather an empty peanut butter jar or water bottle.

3. When we take him outside when it is dark, he neurotically follows a laser pointer.

Pregnant Belly

Here it is...my big belly. We've made it 8 months. 2 more to go. We're getting ready but still it feels a bit sureal

Valentines Day Grinch

I think I might be a Valentines Day Grinch. I have always thought that Valentines Day was a contrived holiday that Hallmark has done an awesome job marketing making it a multi-million dollar industry. I realize that I am lucky, that I am married to a man that often tells me how he feels about me, buys me flowers, and honestly treats me in an incredible way. Now, don't get me wrong. Jeff & I generally exchange cards, rarely gifts and enjoy a great meal. I enjoy this time greatly, but I'm not sure that I enjoy it anymore simply because we do it in the name of Valentines day.

In order to change my grinch-like feelings towards the holiday I thought I would do some Valentines Day Research. Here's the history...interesting...I thought:

Roman Roots

The history of Valentine's Day is obscure, and further clouded by various fanciful legends. The holiday's roots are in the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia, a fertility celebration commemorated annually on February 15. Pope Gelasius I recast this pagan festival as a Christian feast day circa 496, declaring February 14 to be St. Valentine's Day.
Valentines Galore

Which St. Valentine this early pope intended to honor remains a mystery: according to the Catholic Encyclopedia, there were at least three early Christian saints by that name. One was a priest in Rome, another a bishop in Terni, and of a third St. Valentine almost nothing is known except that he met his end in Africa. Rather astonishingly, all three Valentines were said to have been martyred on Feb. 14.

Most scholars believe that the St. Valentine of the holiday was a priest who attracted the disfavor of Roman emperor Claudius II around 270. At this stage, the factual ends and the mythic begins. According to one legend, Claudius II had prohibited marriage for young men, claiming that bachelors made better soldiers. Valentine continued to secretly perform marriage ceremonies but was eventually apprehended by the Romans and put to death. Another legend has it that Valentine, imprisoned by Claudius, fell in love with the daughter of his jailer. Before he was executed, he allegedly sent her a letter signed "from your Valentine." Probably the most plausible story surrounding St. Valentine is one not focused on Eros (passionate love) but on agape (Christian love): he was martyred for refusing to renounce his religion.

In 1969, the Catholic Church revised its liturgical calendar, removing the feast days of saints whose historical origins were questionable. St. Valentine was one of the casualties.
Chaucer's Love Birds

It was not until the 14th century that this Christian feast day became definitively associated with love. According to UCLA medieval scholar Henry Ansgar Kelly, author of Chaucer and the Cult of Saint Valentine, it was Chaucer who first linked St. Valentine's Day with romance.

In 1381, Chaucer composed a poem in honor of the engagement between England's Richard II and Anne of Bohemia. As was the poetic tradition, Chaucer associated the occasion with a feast day. In "The Parliament of Fowls," the royal engagement, the mating season of birds, and St. Valentine's Day are linked:

For this was on St. Valentine's Day,
When every fowl cometh there to choose his mate.

Tradition of Valentine's Cards
Flower

Over the centuries, the holiday evolved, and by the 18th century, gift-giving and exchanging hand-made cards on Valentine's Day had become common in England. Hand-made valentine cards made of lace, ribbons, and featuring cupids and hearts eventually spread to the American colonies. The tradition of Valentine's cards did not become widespread in the United States, however, until the 1850s, when Esther A. Howland, a Mount Holyoke graduate and native of Worcester, Mass., began mass-producing them. Today, of course, the holiday has become a booming commercial success. According to the Greeting Card Association, 25% of all cards sent each year are valentines.

Waiting....Waiting...Waiting

I feel like I do a lot of waiting these days...

waiting to see if I match
waiting to have a baby
waiting to make future plans for our life

I don't think I'm very good at it.

Mystery Gift...

Yesterday we arrived home and discovered a lovely gift on our doorstep. The pack and play that we registered for. However, we have no have NO IDEA who it is from. There was no note, packing slip with a "from", or any other info. Anybody have any clues for us?? We would LOVE to thank someone for it!