Thanksgiving lends itself to much beauty, not the least of which is that it encourages so many people to stop and think about what they’re thankful for before they stuff themselves silly.  I celebrate this part of Thanksgiving and love that it is a part of Harry and my tradition to share these thoughts.  Additionally, I like that it’s a call to return to or strengthen a practice of meditating regularly on our blessings.  Without giving thanks, I am sure to grow bitter, forgetful, and weary.

There is also plenty about Thanksgiving with which I don’t care to identify or celebrate.  I just read this article about the historical atrocities associated with this holiday and reminded of how deep the pain runs for many Native Americans when our nation recognizes only the happily-presented (elementary school version that many adults still believe) pilgrim part of the story.  Highlighting his years of being bonded by anger, the author’s last line is perfect:  “And we’ll give thanks that we live in a country where remembering the past need not shackle us to it.”  It seems a good balance to discuss the truth and then choose to celebrate the ways that love has triumphed over hate, thankfulness over ungratefulness.

I also find it difficult to swallow the costs associated with Thanksgiving–physically, financially, environmentally, and sadly, for many, spiritually and emotionally–that could be lessened by making a few changes.  (I feel this way about Christmas, too…particularly store bought obligatory gifts.)  I’m all in favor of a local, organic, sustainable Thanksgiving meal.  Not a feast, but a minimalist, stress-free meal that allows people to engage in relational activities and enjoy the day.  This does not have to be any more expensive than a conventional meal.  In fact, by not having a turkey (which wouldn’t bother me one bit), the costs are decreased significantly.  If turkey is a must, getting a heritage turkey seems worth the extra cost.  I’ve heard the flavor is significantly better (maybe I’d actually want turkey annually if I tried one of them) and they’re not packed with hormones.  In fact, they can actually reproduce on their own.  (Isn’t it horrifying that conventional turkeys can’t reproduce!?)  You could cut costs elsewhere by having fewer sides, no alcohol, etc…  Or, don’t eat meat for a few weeks prior and after.  This would also help off-set the environmental impact of the holiday.  We have a very long way to go in celebrating this way, but I believe it is a gift to the world to do so.  It is an acknowledgment that our choices impact the whole world and by choosing simplicity, we are respecting our global neighborhood.

So, I’m done with my truth sharing and moving on towards focusing on love.  We have so much to be thankful for that it’s almost embarrassing.  Yesterday I had a twenty week ultrasound for our littlest Love.  The baby is healthy and growing well, already 11 inches and over 300 grams.  (It also seems to be following in Charlie’s shoes for head size.  Great…can’t wait for labor again.)  The appointment length was going to make Harry’s work day challenging and we both opted for him to stay at work.  So that we could still learn the baby’s gender at the same time, I arranged for a bakery near Harry’s office to prepare a half dozen chocolate coconut cupcakes for a boy and strawberry milkshake ones for a girl.  The ultrasound tech had me turn my head every time I could’ve been informed, praising me all the while for doing a good job not cheating.  She was pretty cute in how proud she seemed of me.  And she was happy to make the call even though she’d never been asked to do so before.   Harry met me at the bakery after the appointment and we eagerly opened up our box and tearfully celebrated our news with a pair of really delicious cupcakes and shots of espresso.  After a few minutes by ourselves, the delightful Tee and Cakes owner, Kim, generously brought us a onesie for the baby.  The staff there couldn’t have treated us better.  I think they liked being in on the secret.  And they probably liked my tears, too.

A few of many other things that keep me singing praises, in no particular order:

Sweet baby Caroline, who has triumphed through a very rough first year of life that included heart failure, feeding tubes, and open heart surgery.  She is as cute as a button and melts your heart with her smile.  She is recovering beautifully and beginning to really hit her stride.  Her parents,  my dear friend Leslie and her husband Mike, have been amazing.  They have inspired me countless times with their optimism, endurance, strength, advocacy, and profound love.

Our friends Lonnie and Juliet finally got to pick up their son from Ethiopia and now have him in their arms on a daily basis.  I got the pleasure of meeting Daniel in October and almost couldn’t believe that he’s cuter in person than he is in his pictures, because his pictures turn me into jello.  The kid is as adorable as they come.  Brightest eyes I’ve ever seen.  Man, I want to hold him right now!  It is such exquisite beauty to see friends who have longed for a family holding their baby in their arms.

My core group girls.  I have absolutely loved getting to know these college women by having them into our home regularly for study and fellowship.  Had I known I would be pregnant or that we might be moving, I probably wouldn’t have signed up to lead a group.  It has deeply enriched these past few months for me.  They have taught me so much with their passion, exuberance, energy, vulnerability, and eagerness to grow.  I will dearly miss meeting with them if we move.  You girls better take a road trip!

Harry’s job.  While it has created a new source of difficulties, it allowed us to stay in our house, rebuild our savings a bit, and take a deep sigh of relief after our year of limited income.  It also gave us the freedom to feel like we could start trying for another child.  Now, it seems, it might be leading us to another source of thankfulness…a return to Seattle.

While leaving Colorado will be heart-breaking and extremely difficult on many levels, we are thankful that jobs exist in Seattle for Harry’s line of work.  If we had to move somewhere else, I can’t imagine how upset I’d be.  But a return to Seattle feels like a return home.  We have never stopped missing our friends and church.  We also have discovered that we’re not suburbia folks…we like city life, even the nitty-gritty.  It is only in the joy of returning to people we dearly miss and love that we can face the pain of leaving others behind.

With that, I hope you all find a moment to reflect on what is good, beautiful, and loving in your life.  If you have read this entire post, you are certainly a good friend to me!  Happy Thanksgiving!!!

• Papa, Mama
• Pawpaw, Mimi
• Grandmaw, Grandpaw
• Grammy Ellen, Grandpaw Jud
• Uncle Steve
• kitty cat
• monkey
• dinosaur
• light
• bed
• Uncle Steve’s bed
• Mama and Papa’s bed
• Elvis (his sock monkey)
• choo choo
• a few other things I didn’t understand

Given that the incantation probably would have gone on into the night had there been more time, consider yourself prayed for and healed.

What are you happiest about?

Kathleen: Having a baby.
Harry: Having a baby.

What’s the baby’s name?

Kathleen: Justin Uhlotta
Harry: Asurp Rize

No, really

…did some of you fall for that last year? We know you did. Here’s the birth announcement we posted last year.

Share a memorable laugh you had

Harry: These are two of my favorites: Charlie and the Crazy Cow; The Hand

Kathleen: I like Harry’s choices, as well as a night not so long ago when Harry talked while sucking in air and I communicated only through gesturing. Harry’s inhalation comments made me laugh so hard that I was crying.

If you could walk through any door, what would you like it to open to?

Kathleen: The honest answer is the inside of our friends’ homes in Seattle.

Harry: The honest answer is the inside of one of these.

Who is your favorite neighborhood cat?

Kathleen: Do coyotes count?

Harry: Yeah, I think the coyotes eat the cats around here because I’ve never seen one.

Will you be happy to say goodbye to anything from 2007?

Kathleen: Moving.

Harry: If I’m honest, my job at UW. I enjoyed the people, of course, but the job dynamics didn’t fit my personality. I was there 6 years, probably 4 too many.

Who has inspired you?

Kathleen: Harry. Charlie. Angie. Nickie.

Harry: Kathleen is my hero. I’m inspired by her endless thoughtfulness for Charlie, me, her family, and her friends. She has more care and concern for people than anyone I know.

When do you feel like time flies?

Kathleen: When I reflect on how much Charlie has changed since birth!!! Otherwise, it’s felt quite slow this year.

Harry: Working on Jetrecord. There just aren’t enough hours in the day.

Any favorite movies or videos?

Kathleen: All our videos of Charlie on Vimeo. Bourne Ultimatum. Ocean’s 13.

Harry: Dramatic Prairie Dog, I Trusted You, Beverly Hills Cop, Bridge to Terabithia (watched without sound on the plane to Louisiana), Superbad, and surprisingly, Blades of Glory. Yet again we’re way behind the times on movies. We became Netflix members this year so I hope we’ll at least catch a few recent releases.

Any favorite music or books?

Kathleen: I’m still playing the same music from last year’s post! I finally read One Hundred Years of Solitude which was incredible, but probably not a good choice when I’m feeling a bit of solitude myself these days…

Harry: As for music I discovered The Acorn this year. I also bought Radiohead’s new album In Rainbows and I love it. Sadly, no books to mention. And really, my music appreciation has been restricted to passive listening at work so I’m not sure that counts, either. Maybe four years from now when someone buys the business for $20M I’ll take some time to read fiction again.

Favorite web sites?

Kathleen: Same answer as last year: “I’m not much of a web surfer, so my vote is for my email account. Harry always shows me funny sites, so I get to see the good stuff without searching for it.” Although—and I’m hesitant to admit—I joined Facebook after getting roped in by a friend (you know who you are!).

Harry: Tip: for the last few years I’ve found all my interesting sites from two places: Delicious/popular and kottke.org. Of course there’s more going on out there but that’s where I start. I joined Twitter in March. Interesting communication medium.

Other than the baby, what are you looking forward to this year?

Kathleen: For the first time in my life, I have almost no idea what this year will bring…apart from spending most of my time with Charlie. I hope to get back to work (very) part-time if we can figure out good care for Charlie and I hope to visit Seattle. I am looking forward to starting the seeds of new friendships and fellowship, growing relationships in Colorado, and the treasured conversations with friends of old.

Harry: The day after Christmas this year I realized that I have everything in life that I’d ever hoped for. That said, I’m looking forward to opening the doors on Jetrecord for the second year in a row.

The End.

As always, we update Loveoirs from time to time with our thoughts so you can keep up with what we’re doing. Our photos (all 2,700 of them) are still on Flickr and we’ve put together a set of 2007 highlights to spare all of you who aren’t his grandparents from looking through our hundreds of pictures of Charlie. Our videos are on Vimeo. Everything else will at least be mentioned here.

Cheers and Happy New Year!

Do boot campers experience anything like labor? I haven’t written about my labor yet, and might do so in more detail at a later date, but here’s the highlights for those who haven’t heard:

• Harry had strep and I had a cold (all my symptoms stopped during labor and returned after delivery)
• Contractions started on Februrary 4th at 2am and I delivered on the 5th at 6:20pm, making it a grand total of 40 hours (20-24 of which were “active”, of which waaaay too many were pushing).
• We had a doula, who is also a friend, present with us for the last 22 hours or labor! If an award exists, she should win it for her dedication and amazing coaching. I believe that without her the labor would have been much more difficult and I might’ve ended up with a cesarean.
• Thankfully we needed no serious medical intervention. Being able to walk and use different positions for contractions, and eat(initially)/drink also probably helped me endure. And the 3 Rs (relaxation, ritual, rhythm) work! (Again, thanks to our doula reminding me to use them and knowing when to change things up.) FYI- I highly recommend the Simkin books Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Newborn and The Birth Partner for labor prep.
• 3rd degree tear/four lacerations total- this is why I was essentially bedrest for the first two weeks and am still not supposed to lift anything heavier than Charlie. I am much better now and incredibly thankful to be sitting, walking, driving, etc…
• It was the most profound spiritual experience of my life. I have never felt God so present and comforting. He undoubtedly prepared Harry & I for this experience and made specific, tangible ways for us to endure the challenges, including: Harry’s fever breaking right as we needed to go to the hospital; friends sharing verses with me that I ended up clinging to during contractions; providing us with an amazing doula, especially since Harry was sick, labor took so long, and Harry & I would’ve had no clue about how to make contractions less painful and more productive. There are many other specific incidents, as well.

Since this post has taken me 3 days to write by sneaking in sentences while Charlie’s content in a bouncy chair, I must end it before he’s 6 months old and none of this is relevant anymore!

Yes, we have the cutest baby. I’ve added more photos to the week 1 photo set.

We’re doing much better. Kathleen and I are starting to get into a rhythm. My throat feels better. Kathleen is still in pain but isn’t coughing as much. We’re getting used to the sleep. After our fun start last Sunday, any sleep feels heavenly, so one hour here and one hour there isn’t so bad.

Charlie is … weep … wonderful. What a gift! On Friday I taught him Life Lesson #1: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.” (Proverbs 1:7) And some of you may be saying “whah?” Fear? In a way, yes, fear is a little part of it, but in the same sense that you would fear Mount Everest as you climbed it. You’re not running away from it and cowering waiting to be struck down. At the same time you have a healthy respect for something so grand and majestic and dangerous. The word used in this instance is the Hebrew word Yirah, which means “reverence for the Lord.” I want Charlie to know that, above all, we stand in awe of our God who gave us life and chose not to spare his own. That kind of love is terrifying.

Lesson #2 was doing his multiplication tables, which he memorized.

Cheers.

Of course, I am biased. I have read her works with awe and gratitude since high school, one of the few authors whom I sought for that long without obligation from teachers. I even deferred admission to Wake Forest, where she’s on faculty, hoping that someday I could learn directly from her. That still makes me shiver, but meeting Harry, going to Siberia, meeting my college friends, and allowing my dad’s retirement to occur before 80 certainly outweigh that scant possibility.

Anyways, her voice and message were rich. She alternated between sharing her own life experiences and reading poetry (both her own and others) to encourage us to believe in our unique gifts, see our potential to be rainbow amidst others’ clouds, and be thankful for those who have done so for us. She shared that without rainbows in our clouds, none of us could say “Good morning” everyday. None of us could continue through life keeping our heads high. At the end of the night, the woman sitting next to me, who came by herself, tearfully told me she really needed to hear Maya’s messsage. I could see in her eyes that she had been in a desperate place and was leaving it. I may never cross paths with this woman again, but she blessed me that night through her vulnerability. I believe she left changed, encouraged, and renewed. I believe this was the case for most of the audience. What incredible work.

This is what I want to remember to strive for: to be like Maya was for the audience, so that each person I encounter may know they are loved, unique, and special. In the midst of the daily grind, it is hard to remember that this is so important. Not only for our loved ones, but for strangers. For those whom a simple “Good morning” could make their day.

I realize it’s not a unique experience, but the course of how it happened was wonderful. I happened to view a site this morning that I usually only check on weekends (it’s about Seattle events and my weekdays tend to be eventful enough). Delightfully spying Anne’s name, I discovered that she was in Seattle tonight at 7pm. Given that my work schedule usually occupies me until 8, I was bummed but not distraught, thinking, I’ll catch her the next time. But my boss cheerfully gave me permission to see if my last client could come a different time, and she could! Hooray!!! After years of reading her books I could finally hear Anne’s voice! And she definitely did not disappoint. Staying true to her written expression, and I suppose, ultimately who she is, her responses to audience questions exemplified the gifts I savor in her storytelling: genuine faith and all its complications, humor, honesty, courage. Many times she had the audience roaring with laughter.

Due to arthritic hands, Anne refrained from personalizing books afterwards and only signed them with her name (although, after being asked to do so, I watched her graciously write a message for one woman which I imagine she did many times over). She joked that we could write our own messages if we wanted, so I took her at her word. Harry suggested, “Kathleen, you’re awesome! Love, …”, so I went with it. I imagine she must’ve seen my fifth grade yearbook message and thought either a) good thing she’s not an author, b) she’s full of herself, or c) interesting choice… Either way, I’m glad I personalized her latest book to myself. Thanks to my mom’s gifts of two signed books several years back, my collection is growing. Let me know if you want to borrow any of them…

I feel like this sometimes.