Family holidays and joyful anticipation

As I sit in a corner room on the 16th floor of the Palmer House hotel in Chicago, I pause to reflect on the past week in Illinois with my family and look forward to what's ahead.  Liz and I flew into Chicago on Christmas Eve, picked up a rental car at the airport, and headed 3.5 hours south to Sullivan to spend Christmas with my mom.  And although the weather forecast called for some serious snow, not even a flake fell to make it a white Christmas.  But that definitely worked to our advantage with flying and driving.

When we arrived in Sullivan, some of my closest high school friends (Allyson, Sara, and Leslie) came over with their kids, and we got to show off our newest addition, my baby bump :)  It was so wonderful to be surrounded by women I have known essentially since birth and to have them share in the joy and excitement of this moment in time.  It truly was such a gift, and I am so lucky to still be connected to such dear childhood friends.

After staying in Sullivan for Christmas Day, we hopped in the car and drove 4 hours north to Geneseo where we went to see my 95 year-old grandma, Esther, and take her out to a full family Christmas dinner at The Cellar (restaurant).  When we arrived, her room at the nursing home was bare, and she had packed up all of her belongings, including all contents of the drawers, as she said that she has to leave this place and is planning on going to her grandma and grandpa's farm.  It is such a heartbreaking thing to see such a strong, resilient, and self-sufficient woman vascillating in and out of reality and being so frustrated by this that she is ready to be done with this world.  But, then we mentioned that we were all going out for family dinner and that she could have as many beers as she wanted, and she smiled knowing that she would be liberated and fully embraced by her family for a short time.

Dinner with the family was interesting, and I am so thankful to have such an incredibly gracious and loving partner.  Liz keeps me grounded and sane, even when I feel like running out the door.  While it was a lovely dinner, I always find it challenging to be surrounded by those who are related but do not relate in any way.  We announced the news about our expanding family, and I found the response to be quite awkward and somewhat conciliatory instead of the joyful excitement that we have experienced from our New York "family".  And perhaps this was simply my own experience of the moment, but I was certainly ready for the evening to end by the time we were finished with dinner.

After spending the evening with family, we woke up yesterday and drove to Chicago.  Now, we are here for a few more hours and will head back to New York on a 4:40 plane.  While I am truly grateful for having the chance to come back to Illinois and see the family, I am SO ready to be back home!

On Wednesday, we will head up to the house and stay for the transition to the new year.  I am continually counting our blessings and reveling in the remarkable turn that our lives are taking toward new and wonderful adventures.  

Wishing you and all of your loved ones health, happiness, renewal, joy, and all the love that the world has to offer in this new year!  From the expanding Harris-Tenenbaum family to yours ... Happy New Year!

EXPANDING TOGETHER

Expansion is the word of the day.  Metaphorically stretching in new directions, and literally enlarging with each passing day.

For some of you, you've just learned the news that there's a little human growing inside of me.  And while I feel terrible to have kept it a secret for so long, now I'm ready to shout it from the rooftops and tell it to the world.  I want to tell people who sit down next to me on the subway and those who are standing on line with me at the deli... I even find myself resisting the urge to tell people while passing on the sidewalk.  But now, it's becoming undeniably apparent as the buttons on my coat and fabric of my shirts are bursting with the news even before I can say anything.

Along with the exciting news of this lovely new country home that we have acquired, we are also brimming with joy that we will be bringing a baby boy into the world on (or around) May 11, 2015.  We went for our 16-week ultrasound about 3 weeks ago, and felt incredible joy as we watched our boy move, swim, jump, and wiggle inside of my uterus.  We were able to see that all of his parts are there, and everything looks to be in great condition. I've put some first glimpses of our little guy below at 12 weeks and then again at 16 weeks.  Check out that mug!

12 weeks

16 weeks

It's a boy!!

We are now 19 weeks along, and we will return for our next ultrasound on December 30th where we will encounter him again in his expanded form.  Currently, we're told he's about the size of a mango, but 2 weeks from now he's supposed to be as big as a pomegranate.  It's a strange weekly habit I have now of comparing this human being growing inside of me to a colorful fruit.  From the outside it already looks and feels more like he's the size of a ripe honeydew!

So, here we are after our long journey together with a new house and a baby on the way.  And we couldn't be happier.  We are so happy to share all of our expansion with you and hope that you will continue to follow us on our journey through this beautiful new life of ours :)

Feels like home...

We've made it through buying our first home together! After our closing we found a creek in the backyard called Doove Kill. When we there over the fall there was less water and was difficult to see through the leaves and foliage. 

We started moving in last weekend... And so far we adore the house even though we have so many projects to get the place in shape. The house was hand built by the last owner who was known as "Burky". Burky was an artist, woodworker and all around tinkerer. He bought the land and got a backhoe to dig the foundation himself. The house is special because it is handmade and quirky. 

My wonderful cousin Jeremy came and helped us move stuff. We are so lucky to have him as family and a friend too. The three of us had breakfast at the Elizaville Diner on Saturday. While eating pancakes Jeremy looked up and said "Whoa!! Look out the window!" There was a bald eagle flying around the lake outside. We felt very American. Nature is awesome. 

It just feels like home. Waking up there feels not only normal but exactly right. I don't know if I've ever slept better. 

Our bedroom had about 10 ladybugs hanging out on the windows. I've always been told that they are good luck. It's feels like we are VERY LUCKY. 

We'll spend weekends there and I'm already longing to be there all the time. The house is going to be a magical place for us.... Especially for our child. Thank you Burky, we love the home you built.