Little Climber

Here I am, checking in again from Copenhagen (latitude 55°40'N--in response to one of my comments)! We've hit the rainy season here and have been enjoying warmer temperatures along with a bit of rain every day. We're finally able to walk outside without putting Ruby into her big heavy snowsuit--which is a relief to all of us! Flowers are sprouting up everywhere and it really looks as if spring may have sprung--here's hoping. As you can see, Ruby is enjoying having strawberries on sale. I can't believe how much fruit she'll eat in one sitting! She's really putting those eight teeth to the test.

We had a fairly exciting moment this weekend... I was messing around with email when I realized I hadn't heard much from Ruby in a while. We all know that in kid-world, silence means trouble! So, I went looking and couldn't believe what I found. My heart jumped into my throat when I saw that Ruby had figured out how to climb the ladder up to the loft (a.k.a. Jared & my bedroom). We hadn't yet put the ladder back up for the day as we needed clothes etc. from upstairs. While I was scared to death and the prospect of her falling, Jared took it as a perfect photo op. I must admit, the pictures are cute, but we will not be leaving the ladder down for any length of time from here on out! Before we know it, Ruby will be climbing the walls!

We have been enjoying the effects of daylight savings ending or beginning or whatever this last weekend (that always confused me). Turning the clock forward seems to have thrown a switch in Ruby's system so that she's still going down at about 8:15pm, but now doesn't wake up until past 7am!! Nana Nelson also sent Ruby a fun new crib toy this week, so when she wakes up she's been playing contentedly with that for ages before she starts complaining for breakfast. Even with the longer nights, she's taking just as long or longer naps, so I've found myself with a lot of spare time on my hands this week. I ended up reading John Irving's "The Fourth Hand", which was admittedly quite weird in places, but overall a good read. Irving caught me with "A Prayer for Owen Meaney" and I have enjoyed several of his other books since. Many times there is a fair amount of content that I could do without, but the overall stories are good. Another one of my vices is "McLeod's Daughters"--an Australian series about sisters running a ranch. I've seen the first two seasons now (it's on every week day) and now they're playing through season three. I think that they are on season 5 or 6 in Australia, but I doubt that we'll get that far here in DK. It seems like we mostly only get the old reruns here. Anyhow, it's on during Ruby's afternoon nap, so I figure that's as good a time as any to fold laundry and do ironing!

My in-laws are on a well-deserved vacation in Hawaii right now and I just had to post a few pictures from their helicopter tour! I would just love to visit there one day--it looks so lush and beautiful. Apparently they took a helicopter without any doors so that it's easier to see out and get pictures. I must admit that that sounds really scary to me. I hope they had good seat belts!

For those that were praying, I'll give you a quick update on Jared's presentation. Everything went very well, though he didn't have the results that he had originally hoped for. Everyone seemed to be impressed and happy with all that he has accomplished in six months and we believe that he'll be asked to stay on for another year. As of now, we are planning to do just that. There are so many things that we'd like to see in Europe and now that we're starting to make a major dent in our debts, that may become a reality! Jared will be going to Turkey this summer for a conference and we're trying to choose somewhere for a trip as a family this summer or fall. It's really a hard decision!! Somewhere kid-friendly and not out of this world expensive... maybe Majorca.

Also, we heard from our landlords and we may be able to stay in the house longer! They are trying to work things out so that they will be able to stay in China, which would be nice for us. Although I'm sure we'd find another place that we'd like, this really feels like home to us now and we're all very excited to enjoy the backyard and gardens this summer. As soon as everything dries out a bit, I'm sure we'll be back there for hours every day. For now, Ruby and I limit our time to a a few minutes swinging and a quick stroll before we start to feel to chilled and damp.

Well, I better get going. The day is going on without me and I have lots to do before Ruby wakes up. Hope you all are well and living every day to its fullest!