12/4/11
Thanksgiving
This was our first Thanksgiving as a family of three, and though we had a few invites to spend the day with friends in the city, we opted out and instead hopped a train from Grand Central to Cold Spring, a small town about an hour outside of the city. We ate, we laughed, we remembered Scott's dad, we loved on our boy who still looks just like him, and we took a ton of pictures...we don't get out much...
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| Our train, still sitting underground at Grand Central |
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| Checking out the Hudson River views |
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| and sleeping |
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| This is a town called Garrison that we passed. I used to be obsessed with this town because of a book I had read, Little Chapel on the River. The pub (which you can see in this picture) that the book centers around is still standing, but the owner sold it a bit ago when his wife died. He now lives in Florida. Naturally. |
Cold Spring
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| Ate some Turkey and Bread.... |
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| ...then passed out, just as our wine came. Perfect. |
Random
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| Reading about his twin, Yoda. |
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| The first rule of fight club is you do not talk about fight club. |
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| Blubber face |
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| Weighing in after I called him blubber face.... |
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| Two guys, one great city. |
8/18/11
Room for three
It's no secret that Scott and I live in a studio apartment with a baby. We thought this was just going to be a temporary thing and that by the time MacPherson was three months old, we'd be in a new place. Due to a longer stay than planned down in Florida (Scroll down to the post titled "Tampa in May"), we were left with just a handful of days to find, sign, and move into an apartment up here. If you've never tried searching for an apartment in NYC, you will not understand how absolutely crazy this feat can be. We looked everywhere, from Brooklyn to Queens to Washington Heights and all over Manhattan. Everything we saw listed online was either gone by the time we could go see it (meaning gone after just an hour of it being posted) or the post in itself was a lie posted by shady brokers that lure you in with their postings of "I have a great two bedroom apartment with a wrap around terrace overlooking the Hudson for just 2k a month!" and then when you ask to see it they say "oh, drat, that one's gone. How about I show you something similar for 10k a month nearby?" Um. No. Enjoy your jerk sandwich-with a side of I hate you. So yeah...we stayed put. Next came the hard job of fitting a full nursery set into our space, as before, all we had was a changing table and a small bassinet. After moving around several things and throwing away/organizing a ton, we've done it. And so, here it is. Our humble Room for three:
And, now, a few parting quotes:
“Small rooms or dwellings discipline the mind, large ones weaken it.” – Leonardo Da Vinci
Yes, what he said. Though let's be honest, give me a mansion overlooking the sea and I'll take it and call myself weak all the days of my life.
"May your home always be too small to hold all of your friends." ~Author Unknown
Yep. Check.
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| Our kitchen, though really nice according to NYC standards, was small and becoming over-cluttered with bottles and night time formulas and teething medications and... Scott took two metal shelves and turned the area into an organized spot, with room now for all of the "stuff" that comes with babies and feeding, plus room for all of our teas and sugars/honey and mugs. It looks ten times better. Trust me. |
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| MacPherson's closet outside of our closet. We can now only open one side of our closet doors, so if Scott needs something of his, I'll be the one climbing in to retrieve it due to our vast size differences, which I'm sure all of you have noticed. If not.... |
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| Our home. Our king sized bed is at the bottom of this picture, the couch is right next to it and touches Scott's office. MacPherson's room is right behind the office, with his rocking chair and ottoman sitting right next to his crib. On the other side of the TV, by our bed, is his changing table. |
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| it works. |
And, now, a few parting quotes:
“Small rooms or dwellings discipline the mind, large ones weaken it.” – Leonardo Da Vinci
Yes, what he said. Though let's be honest, give me a mansion overlooking the sea and I'll take it and call myself weak all the days of my life.
"May your home always be too small to hold all of your friends." ~Author Unknown
Yep. Check.
And my favorite:
But you know, love grows best in little houses,
With fewer walls to separate,
Where you eat and sleep so close together.
You can't help but communicate,
Oh, and if we had more room between us, think of all we'd miss.
Love grows best, in houses just like this.
With fewer walls to separate,
Where you eat and sleep so close together.
You can't help but communicate,
Oh, and if we had more room between us, think of all we'd miss.
Love grows best, in houses just like this.
~Lyrics from Country Singer, Doug Stone. Song: "Little houses"
6/26/11
The man
These pictures are from this week and were all taken with my iPhone. That means the picture quality will be rough, but the subject matter will still be stunning. He is, after all, made by me.
There's a neck under those chins....kind of...hopefully...
Taking a break
So much love in this little house
6/11/11
Tampa in May
I'm going to start this entry by going back in time to the month of July, 2010. This is when events began in our lives that would forever shape and change us. The timing for all of these events would soon line up perfectly. Some might say this would be a coincidence, but not us.
To begin: In July, Scott and I decided that it was time to makeadababy. We were not expecting it to happen so quickly, but it did. Pretty much immediately. Knowing many dear friends who are struggling with conception, I say this almost in a bittersweet way. I knew that we were among the lucky, but this was the EXACT time that was ordained for us. We now know why.
Right before I went into labor, Scott's father went into the hospital. (Jim DeVore was diagnosed with Wegener's disease back in 2003. For information on this, you can check out this site: Information on Wegeners.) Jim has occasional Wegeners flareups which have recently required more hospital visits and was in the hospital for several weeks prior to our due date. This meant that neither he nor Scott's mother were able to fly up to NYC for Mac's birth.
Scott's mother Linda posted on Facebook about it saying:
Because of this, we decided that once our son was born and given the clearance to fly, we would head down to Tampa to show him off properly and introduce him to his grandparents DeVore and the rest of our family who love him so much. We got the OK from the baby Dr. and away we went with our 6 1/2 week-old baby on a plane. He flew like a pro. If only we all could have a giant comfy lap to sleep on for our plane rides....
Let it be said that we have never traveled to Tampa in May. We usually visit for Christmas only. The sole reason for our visit was to show off our new baby boy. Our plan was to stay for two weeks and then head back to New York to begin our search for a new apartment (we are moving in a couple of weeks to a bigger place with a little more space for playing and crawling.)
Our two weeks in Florida was spent almost entirely with our families. We usually try to spend time with as many of our friends as we can when we are in Florida, but this time, neither one of us had any desire to do so. We saw almost everyone that we loved at once during MacPherson's Tampa baby shower at the DeVore's home, and it was wonderful.
The remaining days were solely spent with Buckmasters or DeVores. The final event is a rather simple one, but it would have the most effect on this story. Two nights before we were scheduled to leave, we went out to an evening movie with my brother David and his wife Kallie. They live in Lakeland which is about a 45min drive from N. Tampa where Scott's parents live. Because of this, on the evening of May the 27th, we did not get home until late and therefore were later in getting MacPherson to bed.
In Tampa we had usually gone to sleep around 9pm. This evening, God needed us awake at a later time. Around 11:15pm, as I was rocking our son to sleep and feeding him one last time, we noticed a light come on in the hallway. Some time later we noticed the light still on so Scott decided to get up to get us a drink and turn off the light, and that's when he discovered his father who had had a stroke in his home office in the next room. For me the world seemed to stand still. Scott woke up his mother and tended to his father. 911 was immediately called while they stayed with him assessing his condition.
Throughout the night at the hospital his body grew weaker and weaker and he suffered a massive heart attack. This would be the end of his life here on earth. All those years of dangerous, risky, harmful and necessary medicines to treat this rare disease had taken their toll. As he lay breathing his lasts, the entire family was there, even his 87 year old mother Janet. Shortly after, James Antrim DeVore Jr. entered into the gates of Heaven.
So many small details which seemed insignificant at the time all lead up to one much larger, God-drawn picture. Jim DeVore was suffering. We all knew his time was going to come sooner rather than later. If we had to have picked a time for his pain to end, it would've been in a situation such as this, when all of his sons could be present and when help would be called in the moment it occurred. We try not to even let our minds comprehend what would have happened to Jim had Scott not immediately been by his side. That would have been a horrible evening of waiting and pain and suffering for Jim, and an unthinkable morning for his wife Linda and the family. God knew. God is good. He was faithful to all involved. He made it easy for a faithful humble servant man to come home to his great reward.
I leave you with an encouragement, or at least I hope to: On Jim's office door hangs a plaque containing part of a verse from the book of Isaiah in the Bible. It simply reads "The Lord will guide thee continually." The verse goes on to read "he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your bones. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail." Today, Jim's bones have been strengthened. He will never know pain again. His heavenly body will never fail him as his earthly one had for so many years here on earth.
My sweet friends, remember that even when you do not see His hand, it's there. Guiding you even in the most mundane bits of life. You may not believe but he is still there, waiting, watching, loving you. He has a perfect plan for us all. And I am thankful.
To begin: In July, Scott and I decided that it was time to makeadababy. We were not expecting it to happen so quickly, but it did. Pretty much immediately. Knowing many dear friends who are struggling with conception, I say this almost in a bittersweet way. I knew that we were among the lucky, but this was the EXACT time that was ordained for us. We now know why.
Right before I went into labor, Scott's father went into the hospital. (Jim DeVore was diagnosed with Wegener's disease back in 2003. For information on this, you can check out this site: Information on Wegeners.) Jim has occasional Wegeners flareups which have recently required more hospital visits and was in the hospital for several weeks prior to our due date. This meant that neither he nor Scott's mother were able to fly up to NYC for Mac's birth.
Scott's mother Linda posted on Facebook about it saying:
Because of this, we decided that once our son was born and given the clearance to fly, we would head down to Tampa to show him off properly and introduce him to his grandparents DeVore and the rest of our family who love him so much. We got the OK from the baby Dr. and away we went with our 6 1/2 week-old baby on a plane. He flew like a pro. If only we all could have a giant comfy lap to sleep on for our plane rides....
Let it be said that we have never traveled to Tampa in May. We usually visit for Christmas only. The sole reason for our visit was to show off our new baby boy. Our plan was to stay for two weeks and then head back to New York to begin our search for a new apartment (we are moving in a couple of weeks to a bigger place with a little more space for playing and crawling.)
Our two weeks in Florida was spent almost entirely with our families. We usually try to spend time with as many of our friends as we can when we are in Florida, but this time, neither one of us had any desire to do so. We saw almost everyone that we loved at once during MacPherson's Tampa baby shower at the DeVore's home, and it was wonderful.
The remaining days were solely spent with Buckmasters or DeVores. The final event is a rather simple one, but it would have the most effect on this story. Two nights before we were scheduled to leave, we went out to an evening movie with my brother David and his wife Kallie. They live in Lakeland which is about a 45min drive from N. Tampa where Scott's parents live. Because of this, on the evening of May the 27th, we did not get home until late and therefore were later in getting MacPherson to bed.
In Tampa we had usually gone to sleep around 9pm. This evening, God needed us awake at a later time. Around 11:15pm, as I was rocking our son to sleep and feeding him one last time, we noticed a light come on in the hallway. Some time later we noticed the light still on so Scott decided to get up to get us a drink and turn off the light, and that's when he discovered his father who had had a stroke in his home office in the next room. For me the world seemed to stand still. Scott woke up his mother and tended to his father. 911 was immediately called while they stayed with him assessing his condition.
Throughout the night at the hospital his body grew weaker and weaker and he suffered a massive heart attack. This would be the end of his life here on earth. All those years of dangerous, risky, harmful and necessary medicines to treat this rare disease had taken their toll. As he lay breathing his lasts, the entire family was there, even his 87 year old mother Janet. Shortly after, James Antrim DeVore Jr. entered into the gates of Heaven.
So many small details which seemed insignificant at the time all lead up to one much larger, God-drawn picture. Jim DeVore was suffering. We all knew his time was going to come sooner rather than later. If we had to have picked a time for his pain to end, it would've been in a situation such as this, when all of his sons could be present and when help would be called in the moment it occurred. We try not to even let our minds comprehend what would have happened to Jim had Scott not immediately been by his side. That would have been a horrible evening of waiting and pain and suffering for Jim, and an unthinkable morning for his wife Linda and the family. God knew. God is good. He was faithful to all involved. He made it easy for a faithful humble servant man to come home to his great reward.
I leave you with an encouragement, or at least I hope to: On Jim's office door hangs a plaque containing part of a verse from the book of Isaiah in the Bible. It simply reads "The Lord will guide thee continually." The verse goes on to read "he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your bones. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail." Today, Jim's bones have been strengthened. He will never know pain again. His heavenly body will never fail him as his earthly one had for so many years here on earth.
My sweet friends, remember that even when you do not see His hand, it's there. Guiding you even in the most mundane bits of life. You may not believe but he is still there, waiting, watching, loving you. He has a perfect plan for us all. And I am thankful.
The Road
There's something healing about an open road. A lot of people told us we were nuts to think about taking a 10 week old baby on the road for days at a time, They said he'd act up and we'd regret our choice within hours. Good thing we have a baby that's weirdly beyond calm. The kid slept 99% of the time that we were in the car, leaving Scott with silence and peace to just drive and think, and me with some much needed down time to just read or sleep. Here's what MacPherson basically looked like each and every time the car engine started:
Our first stop was in Savannah, Ga.
This is also about the time that MacPherson began talking to stuffed animals....
Our next stop was North Carolina. There we saw our friend Daniel Kirby for about 5 minutes, gave MacPherson his first ever swiming experience, and wore some boots. All life changing things really.
The hairline of a business man is starting to show.....
Look closely to see how our son feels about being changed in a car. Sinner.
Look closely to see how our son feels about being changed in a car. Sinner.
Next we drove to Washington DC. Didn't stay long. Holy hotness. I do have to say though, it compares in my mind to NYC. It had the same exact sense of fast moving purpose and great architecture all around. I wouldn't hate living there.
Finally, we stopped over in South Philly, PA for the obvious cheesesteaks. The boy was not impressed-look closely. He spit up.
And now, after a long, precious, heartbreaking, memory filled three weeks away, we are back home, in New York City, where the residents of our fine building are currently boarding a bus for Atlantic City. Bless their hearts.
Finally, we stopped over in South Philly, PA for the obvious cheesesteaks. The boy was not impressed-look closely. He spit up.
And now, after a long, precious, heartbreaking, memory filled three weeks away, we are back home, in New York City, where the residents of our fine building are currently boarding a bus for Atlantic City. Bless their hearts.
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