thirtysomething

While tonight I will go to sleep as a twentysomething, I will wake up tomorrow as a thirtysomething. It is unfortunate only in that I don't feel like I could possibly be thirty years old. Where has the time gone? While some times past seem as though they occurred a lifetime ago, others feel as though they only happened yesterday. If I have to have the label of "30" placed on me, I'm not complaining. My life continues to get better every day. I would be foolish to say I couldn't be happier because for the longest time each new day has been a little sweeter than the one before.

A friend at work the other day said, "Your thirties is when everything falls into place." This is the time when most people become secure in their careers, their marriages, their finances, etc., and can sit back and enjoy the fruits of their labor. For me, that means watching my children grow, teaching them, learning from them, and enjoying every moment spent with them. Indeed, I feel as though I have more in common with the average 39-year-old than the average 20-year-old. And, that suits me just fine.

Legends of the Fall

It's been a while since my last post, so this will be a nice long one to catch everyone up on all the things that have been going on this fall. Autumn is my favorite season, but it also tends to be the busiest. This is partly due to the many fall birthdays in our family that lead into the holidays. In year's past, we've rarely had a free weekend to ourselves between Halloween and New Year's Day. This year things are a little extra busy for many reasons, like keeping up with Jack, preparing to put our house on the market, getting ready for the new baby, and finishing up my schoolwork for the semester. We did manage to find some time to get Jack's fall pictures taken, and, as you can see, they turned out great!

Now speaking of getting ready for the new baby, we had another sonogram a couple weeks ago. Although it's not 100%, we were told that this time it looks like a girl! We had both been thinking for no reason in particular that this one would turn out to be another boy, but we were pleasantly surprised to see it go the other way. I sure hope Jack will enjoy having a little sister around. Here, in one of the sonogram pictures, is a profile of her face. The top of the head is to the right, and you can see the little nose and lips. Pretty exciting stuff! So, we're busy finalizing girl names and browsing through all the cute baby girl clothing. I think it's going to be great having a girl. If anything, she should at least be less rambunctious than Jack!

As I was saying earlier, fall is my favorite time of year. I like the weather the best, the colors, the foods, etc. It's the best time for camping and other fun outdoor activities. Although spring is known as the season of rebirth, I always feel like each fall is a new beginning. I think that comes from school starting in the fall. Starting a new school year, from kindergarten all the way through college, was always new and exciting.

One of my most favorite things about autumn is Mummers Parade weekend. We get to spend the entire weekend in my hometown of Hagerstown, MD, in order to partake of the city's biggest annual event. I like the parade much better now as an adult because it means I don't have to march in it from one end of town to the other. Besides the parade, we managed to squeeze in a nice double date with Ben and Michelle (and without the babies) to our favorite German place, the Schmankerl Stube. We also made it over to City Park on Sunday to take some nice fall outdoor family photos. Here's a picture of Jack and his grandfather all bundled up watching the parade.

The last piece of news for today is that my lovely wife has started her own blog. You'll likely find more Jack pictures there as it gets underway, and plenty of fun stories about Jack tearing the house apart while I'm at work. Please take a second to check out the Mother Bunny blog! There's a great picture or two of Jack in his Tigger costume for Halloween. And, since that's about all I have for now, I'll sign off as Tigger himself would, TTFN: Ta Ta For Now!

Setting a Trend

We've been very excited about our upcoming move to New Market, and of course we've been telling everyone about it. Now, it looks like we're not the only ones lined up as future residents of that quaint little town. We were first excited to find out last week that our friends Angie and Aaron put a deposit down on a lot in a new neighborhood just across the road from our development. (Aaron will make a great commuting buddy as we currently work in the same building.) Then, we learned yesterday that another one of our favorite couples, Steve and Beth, also staked their claim on a lot there too! Their homes unfortunately won't be ready until about a year or so after ours, but we are thrilled to know that we'll have great friends so close by. With Steve and Beth expecting their first child a mere two months before our second is due, it looks like someday in the not-so-distant future the babies-to-be will be classmates at New Market Elementary School!

Now we just have one more couple to convince to move to New Market with the rest of us, and they know who they are. If they are able to pull it off, I predict New Market will someday have to change its nickname from the "Antiques Capital of Maryland" to the "Scrapbooking Capital of Maryland."