2007 recap

highlights, lowlights and middlelights.

january:

constance.

what can i say about constance ebelechukwu? here's a pic that describes what has happened since she arrived:



i cannot say how my heart has grown this past year. when i think about my heart in 2006 and what the gift of our daughter's presence has done to my heart in 2007- it seriously seems to me that my heart was teeny tiny and now might outgrow the physical confines of my body b/c of this kid.

constance has been a wonderful blessed addition to our family. she is laid back, inquisitive, an observer and insanely gorgeous. she trips over her eyelashes and loves to sing and dance. she truly seems to have a wonderful mix of both charles and me. she also seems to have been given our tenacity/stubbornness (depending on which side of redemption you look at it).

here are some of my more favorite pics:


this one doesn't need a caption...




our igbo woman

february:

snow boobs.

there are no pics on this one. all i remember about february was that it snowed a lot and my boobs hurt. and i barely slept. kinda all a blur.

march:

good riddens.

march- i was still on maternity leave and found out over lunch w/ my boss that my job had been 'eliminated'. which was fine all the same- b/c i would of preferred a dull blade to dig our my finger nails to return to work there after maternity leave. my time there was tenuous but purposeful. it was also very very stressful with the regular fifty five to sixty hour week throughout my pregnancy.

in twelve step literature there are a series of promises or guarantees for those that work all twelve of the steps in their day to day lives. one that sums up this experience is that 'God does for us what we could not do for ourselves...' we (as a couple) could never have agreed for me to leave that job for a variety of reasons- but being fired allowed me to part ways (albeit not on my terms- but good terms nonetheless) and collect- UNEMPLOYMENT WAGES. the nine months that ensued have been spent getting to know constance which has been a blessing!

april:

sold the fox



for the second time in our married life- we became a one car family. and why not? i didn't have to goto work and gas prices began their dreadful ascent.

i also discovered my love affair w/ power washers.

may:

i had a second breast cyst removed this month and planted our first garden and did lots of landscaping and shaping here at 937. the cyst was somewhat stressful- but not nearly so w/ the first time i got one and required a biopsy and all that rigmarole.

so... the garden-





the immortal eyonomous i tried to kill- but am now glad is still alive.

i cut this down to the stump in april and these are the pictures of it in july. my sister-in-law says it is a manhattan euonymus that attracts house flies. lucky us. she adviced that i leave it for another year and see what happens.


tomato representin'! early in the season w/ disappointing yield.

i also did two types of oregano, basil, rosemary, broccoli, peppers st. john's wort all of which did really well. my composting is finally paying off.

the broccoli did well. three plants total. we had a little bunny who often devoured it's fruits. charles kept threatening to shoot and eat the little bunny bastard- but didn't. i was both relieved and disappointed at the same time.

i have had a sorted history with plants. i love them- but mostly i am good at killing them. i have recently thought about doing the master gardener program through ohio state extension. the typical demographic for this program are retirees. i don't know weather to laugh or cry.

i almost killed the st john's wort but it was ressurected and eventually flourished. i did manage to kill a rose bush this summer. i don't want to dig it our prematurely- we'll see what next year holds. maybe it will be resurrected as well- but i have a feeling the rose bush is just a bitch diva.

i have a three stage landscaping plan for the back yard. it is in stages b/c we're on a tight budget. maybe sometime i'll post my drawings of the plan.

june:

• dedication. i already wrote and posted pics about this huge event. it was a wonderful day and instilled in me a gratitude for the privilege and responsibility to be a parent!
• we also went to boston for a brief vacation.
• my mom also had her shoulder replaced. this was quite a big ordeal- and she was a trooper! she is recovering well. she has rheumatoid arthritis and it looks like she will need replacement for her other shoulder. stink!

july:

the most notable thing that happened this month was a visit from my brother's family.
that's all i got on july.

august:

• my next step vocationally was solidified this month when i decided to get my certificate to teach kids with special needs.

september:

• i couldn't think of anything notable for september.

october:

nigeria.



one thing that i have not written about nigeria is how much we grew as a married couple because of this trip. i have said to a couple of friends that i kept thinking throughout the trip about that passage of scripture from ruth ' your people will be my people; where you will stay i will stay; where you will die i will die'...

having a baby with charles made me fall in love with him at a new level- but seeing him in nigeria was so good for me and our marriage. the romanticism of 'PLANTING a CHURCH in LAGOS' (if i had teddy bear icons and kisses i would put them here)- is gone. instead i have an abiding sense, conviction and burden to the life work that we have to nigeria both while we're here and when we live there.

november:


my first turkey. i brined it and it was good.



someone was sick in our house pretty much everyday in november. first me- then constance, then charles. i hate being sick. we also didn't have a computer during november. and my unemployment benefits ran dry.

regardless of these downers- we did have a great thanksgiving and managed to get some nice pics.

december:

• i began working three days a week for a friend cleaning houses ) which you may of read about our adventures in previous posts).
• i finished christmas shopping the earliest ever (mainly b/c i did most of it in nigeria).
• i found a job that i am hopeful is an answer to prayer!

overall

we have so much to be grateful for! last years favorite phrase (MAKE SWEET SWEET LOVE) varies greatly from this year's favorite phrase (UNEMPLOYMENT WAGES). it has been a year of blessing and love all the same! we are very grateful!

other favorites include:

favorite book: runaway bunny
favorite song: what a merciful god (our lullaby)
favorite authors i discovered: miroslav volf and joan chittister