Finally...Some Pictures!

OK, one thing we've learned about having a blog is that while most of our readers will at least skim over whatever text we put up, lots of people are mainly interested in photos. And given my travel to the US and Bangkok and Nathan's recent medevac, it's been a good six weeks since we posted any photos. So, for those photo-hungry immingpool fans, here are highlights of my time in the US...

Dan, Erica, and Anna in Houston
My first stop was to Houston, where I caught up with Dan, Erica, and Anna, who are expecting baby Chaikin #2 to come along anytime now. Erica has remarkable energy for any human, much less a 7 month pregnant stay at home mom chasing after a toddler. And, per usual Erica, despite having moved to a new house less than a year ago, she already has Anna and the new baby's bedrooms decked out in delightful hand-stenciled artwork. If only some of those art instincts had rubbed off on me during our visit...


Jon, Stephanie, Edith, and Natalie in Austin
From Houston I drove to Austin, where I saw Jon, Stephanie, Edith and Natalie. The last time I saw the girls was a few weeks after they had been born 16 weeks prematurely and their future was very uncertain. Back then, they looked like this:


So when I walked in to their new house in Austin and saw these two adorable, healthy, and happy toddlers, I cried.


We had a great visit. Jon is job-hunting (anyone in Austin looking to hire a mental health counselor?) and Stephanie has the summer off from her PhD program, so they are really enjoying a few months where they can put their parenting responsibilities first and enjoy summer with the girls.

Washington Friends
After a few days in Texas, I headed to my conference in Washington, where I caught up with dear friends in the evening. First was a great night with some friends from Dumbarton, who gave me the latest gossip about what's going on at church and updates on their lives.

Then I got to spend two nights (one very sleepy and focused on doing laundry, the second a bit more social and with some great food from Southside 815) with Scott and Michelle. Scott gets to go to lots of cool conferences and visit neat museum for his job as a museum consultant. Michelle impressed me with new stories of the ridiculous things that students, and especially parents, will do in their attempts to curry her favor or make lame excuses for poor performance in the English classes she teaches at George Washington U. More than anything, though, I was delighted to hear that Scott and Michelle consider DC home and would very much like to stay there after Michelle gets her DC home. Yeah to good friends who will likely be in DC when we return someday!