Quotables

Our running list has been somewhat updated.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Happy 60th, Dad. Wish we could have been there. See you soon.

(I wonder what Jon D was so happy about?)

Cross-blogging News

We have found a hospital. Amazing...

Missing A2 #4: Eunice

Last night, we went to a U of M concert band performance with our good friend Eunice. As a rule, our list of Missing A2 items does not include people (which is obviously the thing we'll miss the most), but we make an exception here, since Eunice is a wonderful friend, but also an Ann Arbor institution.

Eunice was a missionary linguist to Papua New Guinea for 26 years, and has been back in Ann Arbor for over 20 years now. For years, she hosted boarders in her spare bedroom, including the both of us at various times. For years, she also hosted a lunch group of largely UM grad students from around the world, now disbanded, but resurrected as a Facebook group titled "Eunice's Lunch Bunch".

Eric first met Eunice the very first time he visited Ann Arbor, when he flew in to interview for medical school in 2001. Having ended up next to her sister on the plane from Nashville, Eunice drove him into town the first time he ever came. She has been a friend and mentor, and dinners at her house or a nights out to a music performance will be incredibly missed.

Five

Forgive the grainy quality of these images, but such is the way of ultrasound images, that sometimes you have to use a little imagination. Nevertheless, people ask us how our baby is doing. Well, our most recent look shows that s/he has 5 fingers, on at least one hand. Can you see it? And we included a less detailed, but easier to appreciate image, below. Things are well..

November

The snow is on the ground. It's not much, but it's enough for Tennessee schools to be out, and for the grocery stores of Nashville to be stripped bare. Here in Michigan, it just signals a change of season.

November is our English Muffin month. Yes, these common breads from across the pond do count as Ethnic Bread of the Month. They turned out well, and are interestingly cooked on a griddle instead of in the oven. Hmm...

All Dressed Up

This past weekend, a few days past Halloween because of scheduling issues, our small group from church hosted a potluck costume party. The rules were set as follows: Your food contribution had to contain a double letter (e.g. jeLLo or souFFle). Your costume had to utilize only items found around your house.

Rachel had great success with a New Guinea spear from Eunice, chopsticks from Cambodia and various Swazi trinkets.

Eric utilized Rachel's MD graduation gown, a shawl from Afghanistan, a couple dress sashes, and some souvenir daggers for a dandy Sikh get-up.

The surplus of weapons did get a bit out of hand.

And here our wonderful small group. Note that some were not as excited about the costume element of our party, though Kelly gets full props for dressing her baby boy up as a pumpkin even before he is born.

For some interesting thoughts on Christians celebrating Halloween, I suggest Thomas' thoughts.

Missing A2 #5: The Arb

When talking to people who are considering moving to A2, I often mention the extensive parks system, since I assume this will be more broadly appreciated, compared to the bus system or the free birthday stuff. The Huron River snakes its way through the city, and all along the way, parks fill the city. Two honorable mentions include the canoe route from Argo to Gallup and Gallup Park itself.

However, first place in our opinion is most definitely the Nichols Arboretum, or "The Arb" for short. This park is an extensive botanical garden/park near the medical center, that is tucked away in such a way that you could go right by it for years without realizing it exists. But when you enter, you find layer upon layer of varied nooks and crannies, and adjoining praries and hills. It reminds me of an garden version of some of the best of the world's cities, where each neighborhood has its distinct features, and years of development have given it a legacy of it's own. One our all-time favorite Ann Arbor activities has been stopping by Bubble Island to get a couple bubble teas, then walking over for a stroll through the Arb.

Publication

Congrats to brother-in-law Brian, for getting his short story "Together at Last" published on the online literary magazine Monkey Bicycle. Here's the link. I read it a while back, and it's delightfully quirky. Most of you who check this site would enjoy it, though if any of you understand what he's talking about, let us know. Brian, you can comment if you which, or keep your mystique all to yourself. Congratulations.

Missing A2 #6: Plethora of Restaurants

When Rachel first moved to Ann Arbor, we made a list. We like to make lists. Seeing the bounty of culinary options in our fair small town, we wanted to make sure we were diligent and gave ourselves ample time to sample them all. And we have made good on that, with the notable exceptions of Bella Ciao and West End Grill, which are too expensive, and don't offer anything free on your birthday. Good food, and of almost any variety. So, here we submit some of our favorites. Fellow Ann Arborites, feel free to chime in. (n.b. we are also including venues outside Ann Arbor proper.)

Fine dining: Real Seafood Company, Chop House (overpriced, but fantastic if someone else is paying), Common Grill (in Chelsea, and Rachel has never gotten to go, but we'll amend that), Pacific Rim

Indian: Temptations, Madras Masala

Middle Eastern: Charlie's Mediterranean Cuisine (formerly La Shish, in a blunder of PCness), Ali Baba's, Jerusalem Garden

Ethiopian: Red Sea in Ypsi

Vietnamese: Dalat in Ypsi

Microbrews: Both Grizzly Peak and Arbor Brewing Co.

Cheap Eats: Nothing beats 2 for 1 on Sundays at Moe's, the hot bar at Aladdin's Market, Pea Pod Inn in Ypsi

Thai: Tuptim, and formely Banh Na (R.I.P.)

Pubfare: Ashley's, Sidetrack's in Depot Town

Peter and John

"In the morning of the resurrection the disciples Peter and Johannes on the way to the grave"

-Eugène Burnand (1850-1921)

I was given a post card with this picture on it, from my brother-in-law's father (Jim Beise), and I've been quite taken with it, using it as a bookmark. I'm amazed at how much expression can be captured in a still shot. It also freezes a moment of the gospel story that I often brush over. So, I thought I'd share it with you.

Wisdom

I started a post today, and it ended a bit longer. Since I don't want the baby news too far down on the blog roll, I'll just put a brief excerpt here and you read the rest:

A 35 year old lady with 3 kids at home and no dad anywhere around comes in because she has terrible headaches. She's also overwhelmingly anxious and doesn't sleep well. She has plenty of reason to be anxious, since her oldest son just ran away, she fears her 13 year old daughter may be pregnant, her boyfriend gets abusive sometimes... (read the rest)

Grateful to the Pinch Hitters

In the wake of announcing the first McLaughlin and Selle grandchild (and great-grandchild), we must do homage to the Workman Family, good friends of Eric's parents that have 2 adorable boys, on which my parents have been able to pour all of their pent-up grandparental love for the last several years. I'm sure this has made the up-til-now absence of another McLaughlin generation easier on parents and children alike. Thank you, Workmans. =)

Choereg

When I was young, I remember coming to that question that every child asks at some point or another. I walked over to my mom, tugged on her pant leg. She looked down inquiringly, and I asked "Mom, what kind of bread do Armenians eat to celebrate Easter?" She smiled with that matronly glance, and fixed her eyes on some far off thought. "One day you'll know for sure," she said, and I swear there was the shadow of a tear in her eye.

A few months ago, the long culmination began, when we came across a recipe for Choereg, or Armenian Easter Bread. The next step was to head to Aladdin's Market in search of mahleb, which we learned is somewhere in the cinnamon/nutmeg genre. Then all that remained was to find a block of time at home, and a ton of butter, and we pulled the above loaves out of our oven. One of our pastors, Bob Lynn, who has visited Armenia a number of times (which, by the way, is an actual country, adjacent to Turkey, with a fascinating history) tells us that their bread is made is meter-long loaves baked in holes in the ground and then stored up in their rafters. Hmm... maybe. But not apparently on Easter.

The above baking experiment had two immediate effects. First, it heated up our kitchen nicely, whilst we wait for a new heater installation starting tomorrow. Second, it gave me the irresistible compulsion to speak about my imaginary childhood on Santorini, except I used a faux-Italian accent to do it. In turn, this had the effect of causing Rachel to reluctantly smile and shake her head woefully.

Introducing

We'd like to introduce you to our baby. (S)he is approximately 13 weeks old and will be joining us outside the womb on approximately April 29th. (S)he is about the size of a ripe plum currently. We are super excited, and the only reason we haven't told everyone until now is that we're super paranoid doctors. To answer a few of your questions:

1. Rachel is feeling pretty well, better lately but never too bad. She is craving Macaroni & Cheese.
2. We will probably find out gender in December. We thought we might want to let it be a surprise, but Rachel's ultrasound skills are a bit too savvy to make that possible.
3. The baby will likely be about 6 months old when (s)he first travels to Africa.
4. We have already had 4 ultrasounds, 3 of which Rachel has done on herself. If you currently look our baby straight on, you can tell (s)he is in the "I look at a lot like a Roswell alien" phase.

"The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy" - Ps 126