3.5!

The best older sister

Alma is such a caring older sister.  Here she is putting sunscreen on James before they leave the house for summer daycamp. 

Promised Land State Park

Our family plus my father rented cabins at Promised Land State Park last week.  What a fun, restful, and exciting week for all of us.  It is so great that this little Pocono gem was only a hour away.

Highlights included: lots of bike rides (Alma received a bike with pedals on the first morning; James inherited the Strider bike), morning swims in the lake, long afternoon naps, playing on the beach in the sand, boat rides (kayak, rowboat, canoe), seeing animals (Alma and I had a close call with a black bear; snakes; salamanders; comical numbers of frogs and chipmunks; bald eagles; osprey). 

Happy Mother's and Father's Day

I'm a little late on the Hallmark holidays, but I wanted it to be known that I'm so lucky to have been raised by two fantastic people, known to me by the code name Mom and Dad.

 Here is how I still picture them: Dad trying out something fun (disposable underwater camera I got in middle school), Mom being beautiful (in New Zealand, in this case), and both of them being together and supporting me in whatever I choose to do (below, being willing to go sailing with me on Lake Union in Seattle at the Center for Wooden Boats where I worked as a sailing instructor).

They are terrific and I wouldn't be nearly as wonderful as I am (ha!) without my happy childhood and their constant love.

Update on Life

Our life has been a bit hectic recently.  This cartoon summed it up at times; however, overall I think we are weathering all the changes well.  Luckily we are strong as "Team Chisholm" (a term we use at times when telling the children to buck up and be helpful) so we have been looking on the bright side and seeing all the potential awesome that is yet to come.

Joshua transitioned out of his job at CUNA and is excited to get back into a Montessori classroom.  While he is sad to leave organizing, I'm excited for him to have someone else raising the funds for his salary so that he can finally settle his mind.  Chasing money for powerful but difficult non-profit work is draining to say the least.  He was given multiple offers at great schools and signed a contract with a fantastic Montessori school near Philadelphia, where the children will attend too.  While the commute is do-able for him, it would be quite a feat for the three of them to do every day.

We listed our house for sale and are in the midst of constantly keeping the house clean while also still trying to fix it up a bit more and live in it with two young children.  Stressful, but not too difficult with Joshua's open schedule and beyond-human cleaning abilities.  Fingers crossed it sells quickly and at a fair price.  We will find a new home/rental closer to the new Montessori school and in a better school district so that when the children are done with Montessori education (~7th grade) they can transition to the public school system.  I can still easily commute to my part time job at the community college and work from home for UPenn.

We are sad to leave our delightful little Bethlehem house where we have made so many memories and fixed up just-so.  And especially sad to not have my parents just 10 minutes away.  But we know that the move -- to a better job and to a new area -- will bring new joys.

Wish us luck!

Photo with Wiggle Worms