Home Coming!!

Gracie's First Day!!

Grace Caroline Lochhead

Our beautiful daughter was born yesterday (May 27th) at 1:45 in the afternoon. She weighed 9 lbs. 1 oz. and was 21.5 inches long. She came out with a head of brown curly hair, which turned to a lighter blond after her first bathing. She is amazing!!

Not yet...

Being early never has been a Lochhead trait--at least with THESE Lochheads! So, with tomorrow as her due date, we're not too surprised that our offspring hasn't shown up early for her party...still...

...the carseat is loaded...

...the bags are packed...




...and we're anxiously awaiting her arrival!



We'll keep you posted! :)

The MOMS in our lives...

Happy Mother's Day Weekend! Jeff and I feel God's grace in our lives in many ways, but one of them is seen through the mothers He's given us! We are so blessed to have amazing moms and all four of our sweet grandmas involved in our lives.

Colleen

1. Colleen is very good at making others--especially us!--feel important because of the care and thought she gives away. Supporting words when they're needed, homemade soup when hard times invade, parties to celebrate all of life's good things, hugs for EVERY occasion, phone calls just to see what's going on...we never doubt how deeply she cares for those around her!

2. She is also a gifted detail organizer! Usually all we do is mention something once and our priorities suddenly (and seemingly effortlessly) become hers. She's planned hundreds of get-togethers (bbq's, weddings, showers, birthday parties), found "the perfect gift" more often than not ("Where in the WORLD did you find this, Colleen?!"), and has arranged many projects (wedding bubbles, surprise slideshows, curtains for our livingrooms)...all with thoughtful detail that we never would've imagined!!! This is truly a gift of hers--we see her get energized by loving others through the smallest personal touch!

3. She is able to find humor in all areas of life. She thinks WE'RE funny--even when we're probably just weird--and laughs with us all the time. It's so assuring to have a mom with a sense of humor! Her laughter is contagious. :)

Joan

1. My mom is one of the hardest workers I know. She hides it, though, because she has so much fun while she works! Any project that I'm too overwhelmed to start she comes in with an "oh, this isn't too bad" attitude and before I know it we're having fun getting SOMETHING accomplished. Many of my favorite memories come from the work we've done together...potting plants, boxing (and unboxing) things in a move, organizing our mountain of baby STUFF...

2. Mom is good at making big deals out of everyday things. Whether it's taking time to stop by the perfect antique store on our day of busy errand-running or wearing her great-grandma's aprons on her 100th birthday to celebrate, Mom finds a way to find hidden fun in every day.

3. She's an obsessive gift-giver! There are not many times where you'll find mom going ANYWHERE--work, to our house, to her NAIL APPOINTMENT--without a little gift to give in hand. Case and point: she just came to stay with us for a few days to visit the doctor and she walks in with a wrapped present, coupons and comics clipped for us, and food for the week! (and SHE was the one having surgery!) She's a giver!

And then there's our GRAND-mothers...

G'ma Caroline...hugs, potato soup, PJ's when you're sick, shared stories...


G'ma Trudy...giggles and pranks, flowers, family updates...



G'ma Dorothy...Wednesday night dinners, thoughtful inquiries, secret quilt-making, caring conversation...

G'ma Bonnie...dinners out, gracious gift-giver, sports enthusiast, giggles...


As I get closer and closer to becoming a mom, I become more and more grateful for the wonderful MOMS that we have been given. They're amazing--we LOVE THEM!--and we'll celebrate them in BIG WAYS this weekend! :)

Bloomsday Fun!!

"Run, Johnny, run!" Jeff and I didn't participate in Bloomsday this year--his bum knee and my swollen belly and ankles--so we got to enjoy being spectators this year! Jeff, Rachel, Hazel and I saw many runners on the corner right below Doomsday Hill but they all went by so quickly that we didn't think fast enough to snap pics! Jeff caught this ONE pic of speedy John--we thought it was a great one!

We got to watch little Hazel during the race. She broke in our new stroller--it works nicely!--as we watched the runners and got to play with her at our house. The VanSickles came over to see Beau and Becky and Hazel...this is Alea holding Hazel!

What a cute family! Hazel is nearing nap time in this picture--she really was amazing for us! We decided that we'll take one just like her! What great practice for us!

The Beauty of a Rubik's Cube

Two weeks ago, Ellie and I attacked the basement and storage room with a vengeance. What came of this endeavor...throwing away all of my notebooks from college (I thought I would read them again, WHEN?!?), countless birthday cards and letters, dinosaur computers with about five years of dust on them, a bunch of boxes from the appliances we received for our wedding, and garbage bags full of just STUFF that for some reason I could never bring myself to throw away or give to charity. After the bloodletting was complete, I had managed to whittle down all my "collectables" into one medium-sized container...including my prized Rubik's Cube. I had bought it while working at Camp Spalding in the hopes of stretching my mind and impressing campers with my amazing talents. Turns out the cube was way beyond my capabilities. So, I coerced a fellow counselor to teach me how to solve the blasted thing. Long story short...after a couple days of fascination I lost interest, and thus how it ended up at the bottom of a plastic tub filled with decade-old camp stuff. This past week, with the help of www.rubiksolver.com, I have pretty much mastered THE CUBE, and have been able to use my new talent in the classroom. Kids are fascinated by the littlest things, even when they know I learned how to solve it on the Internet!!

BIKE TO WORK WEEK!!

As you might know already, May is Bike To Work Month. I have been doing my best to try and celebrate this annual celebration of fitness and stickin' it to the man!! As gas prices approach college tuition prices, instead of going with the option of selling my sperm, I've decided to just kill 'em off with my bike seat!! In actuality, I have been riding to work off-and-on for about three weeks and it has been awesome. I am getting to work faster, because traffic is so bad with all the roads being torn up by construction. I feel much better physically, and I am more alert at work!! Anyway, I am currently signed up for Bike To Work Week next week, which will earn me a free T-shirt and pancake breakfast on Monday at Riverfront Park (7-9AM). If you have nothing better to do next week why not "STICK IT TO THE MAN" and hop on your bike. You will feel great!!

It's MAY!

I was pretty sure this month would NEVER arrive! But, alas, it is MAY 1 and we're going to have a baby this month! (Or at least we'd BETTER! Due on the 25th...by the 31st if she's not here yet we'll be either jogging or going for long bumpy car rides...)