It should surprise no one that Jeri first word was "book". She is our little book worm. Her favorite books are "Sheep in a Jeep" and "Hop on Pop" (although she refers to them as "Beep Beep" and "Pop"). She can't really read yet, although she has most of "Hop on Pop" memorized. She can read her own name though. She will sit by herself with a book and turn the pages, even books without pictures. We have recently spotted her "reading" out loud to a very nervous cat.
Last year, Jeri spent her days at home with Brian. However, when a vacancy appeared in the Math department at Wartburg College, Brian applied and was selected for the position (no, Mariah wasn't on the hiring committee). Now Mariah and Brian have offices down the hall from each other and get to attend all the same department meetings. Jeri had to get used to spending the days with the Figura family, who have a daughter Jeri's age and 3-year old son. The adjustment period lasted about ten minutes. Jeri and Emma have become best of friends and dance for joy when they see each other in the morning. The socialization has been good for Jeri; she is very good at playing with other children and has been known to share on occasion.
We did a fair amount of traveling this Summer. We visited Denver where Mariah attended a curriculum development conference and Jeri and Brian went to the zoo. In Chicago Brian attended a Church Worship and Design conference, while Mariah and Jeri visited with Aunt Judy. We stopped by Boston to visit Uncle Torrey on our way to a conference in New Hampshire about using Physics to teach Calculus. Mariah also had a conference in San Jose on incorporating community service into coursework while Brian and Jeri stayed with Grandma Judy. All in all, Jeri travels very well, but she prefers her bed back home to anything you can get in a hotel.
We spent more money on our house. We did manage to get the living room finished. For some mysterious reason, projects just take longer to complete now that we have Jeri. We are working on the small bedroom and have been since June. Hopefully we will be finished before next year. We did hire someone to paint the house. We were stopping traffic outside while our house went from a very faded white to a deep burgundy with cream trim. Ever since then we have had complete strangers stop us in the street and report how much they like our house. Such is the joy of living in a small town.
Brian's parents gained another grandchild, courtesy of Susie and Jim. Joshua Mackey was born in early August and became their twelfth grandchild. Susie and Jim moved from Houston to Maryland in January. Brian's brother Bill is working in Maryland, while his wife, Natalya, is staying in Connecticut finishing up her school work. Mariah's brother, Torrey, has been given a deadline to finish his degree because his advisor is leaving MIT. We are all optimistic that this is the motivation he needs to finish. Mariah's father, Don and his wife Katie sailed from Australia to Indonesia. Mariah's grandmother passed away in July at the age of 85.
There is no denying that we have been blessed. Mariah and Brian have both found jobs doing what they want to do and what they were trained for. Working at the down the hall from each other is a plus and not a minus, due in large part to the positive working environment at Wartburg. Jeri is a constant joy in our lives. She is happy and healthy, and she is growing and learning at a fantastic rate. We have found a wonderful town to live in, both for Jeri's well-being and for ours. Our only wish is that we were closer to friends and family, but since there are so many of them in so many different places there's not much cure for that.
We miss our friends in California and Michigan and those who have moved away from California and Michigan. We have found new friends in Iowa, but friends are not the sort of things that get replaced. Wherever you find yourself this Christmas season, may you be with people you love.