Coming soon to a theater near you....

http://web.me.com/kyle.viele/Blog/Welcome.html

A blog shower and communication tool dedicated to our new arrival. (Complete with a live baby count-down!) This is the brainchild of my mom, sister, and adoring husband. I will be updating it to go live in early February. It includes chances to vote on names and due dates, updates on the baby, and links to our registry. Check back often for updates!

Swapping

Lately, driven by a desire to save all of our pennies for Baby #2 and to chip away at our debt, I've been delving into the idea of making old things new again. I guess it kinda goes along with the green movement of repurposing. I love it! The idea struck me last weekend that perhaps some other little one out there would love to read the books that Eva chooses to read with us (over and over and over again) and maybe we could trade with that little one so that we could relieve his or her parents of the books that they have been reading (over and over and over again). Thus our first attempt at book swapping was born. Today we went over to Adam and Carrie's house. They have elementary-age girls and an 11-month-old. Sitting among new friends and good food, we swapped our books and watched some football. It was wonderful! We came home with a whole bag full of books to explore together, Eva was exhausted, mom and dad got a break because the older girls loved taking care of Eva when we were there, and our bellies were full. It was so much fun to hear the kids talk about what books they liked and those they wanted to swap. Eva is too little to articulate her thoughts yet, but she kept pulling her "tried and true" favorites out of the swap pile to squirrel away. As sweet as that is, I know that Kyle and I will be grateful not to read the Crayola colors book another time. I think we may be on to something with this swapping idea. Toys, babysitting, a dinner club? What I enjoy most about it is the opportunity it provides to connect and share with neighbors. It almost feels like a lost art.

Number Seven

The number 7 has great historical significance. God created the world and rested on the seventh day. In most world religions, the number 7 has special significance related to perfection and completion. The 7th day of the week is a holy day of rest. If you believe in numerology the number 7 represents the "scholarly and esoteric" forces of magic. For Kyle and I, seven now has its own special magic. On December 31st we celebrated our 7th year of marriage. I remember thinking to myself as a newlywed, "When we've been married seven years, we will officially be an 'old' married couple." Seven years is the median marker for marriages in the United States according to the research summaries I've read, hence the "seven year itch." On our anniversary this year Kyle and I talked about whether or not it feels like we have been married seven years. We both concluded that we feel like we have been married much longer, and much shorter, than 7 years. In so many ways the time has flown by! Our memories of our first days as a married couple and our wedding are still so vivid in our minds. When we look back at all we have accomplished together, it seems impossible that we haven't been married even longer. One thing is certain, we haven't had time to get bored or itchy. Our lives have become an interwoven fabric of lazy days, doing the dishes, putting a grumpy baby to bed, working late, climbing mountains, finding new jobs, laughing until we roll on the floor, cooking dinners, sitting atop the Roman gate, moving to one state, then another, and then back again, grad school exams, student loan payments, more exams, dinners out, breakfast for dinner, chasing run away dogs, and holding hands as we fall asleep listening to our little girl sing her ABC's. What more is there in life? Why would we want anything else? I never would have, or could have, predicted the adventures that would lay before me walking toward Kyle that day in a church seven years ago. I don't think I would have understood the meaning each small moment would hold then. I should only be so lucky to celebrate 70 more anniversaries with my best friend. Cheers to us, Kyle! I cannot wait to experience the new adventures that lay in store for us in the next seven days, seven months, seven years.....