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Lupus Loop

The Lupus Loop was great fun! It is always so nice to see my cousin Christine, her husband Doug, daughter Paige, son Quinn and my Uncle John. What a great family and what a great way to honor my Aunt Kathleen who passed away from complications caused by lupus ten years ago.

I always remember this story my father used to tell me about Aunt Kathleen, his oldest sister (she was the third born of nine children): When she was married and had her own place with my Uncle John, she used to open the fridge and just look at the food. Since they grew up in a household where opening the fridge was not allowed and no one was ever allowed to eat food without permission, Aunt Kathleen enjoyed being married and marveled at the fact that the food in the fridge was all available to her. Ha! I love that story because it is so sweet.

The walk was so nice -- great weather -- and Joshua enjoyed the quick 5k run. You can still donate here.

Happy Birthday, Joshua!

I love Joshua to bits. Not only is he:

• the most handsome man in existence;

• the person who can both keep me laughing consistently but also make me laugh so hard that it often aches;

• my best friend and confidant,

... but he also prioritizes us and our relationship before everything else. It is so reassuring to know that I'm part of a life-long commitment to someone who is so already so exceedingly wonderful but who also strives every day to be a better man, better husband and better human. Who could ask for more?

Joshua is very intentional about making sure that I'm well taken care of and that I know that I am actively loved and adored. While I try to return this adoration on a daily basis, I love celebrating his birthday since it can be a day fully devoted to him!

Here are some recent birthday celebrations:
Sailing in Seattle, 2005

Chewbacca Playing Football Cake, Philadelphia, 2006

Awesome Mustache, Philadelphia, 2007

Being Tough, South Philadelphia, 2008

With the delicious Whole Foods Carrot Cake, Philadelphia, 2009

This year, he spent this birthday helping a neighbor pack up their moving truck, going to a 3-hour pregnancy yoga class and then waking up early the next morning to do a charity run. Not that he didn't enjoy all of these things, but it is this selflessness that seems to run through everything Joshua does. He is amazing.

Simon update

We haven't written about Simon recently, so I thought I would post a recent photo I took of him at "his park" (a.k.a. the local high school where we play fetch with him every day) and an update email to his foster mom, Heather. While he isn't perfect (just visit our home to see how excited/crazy he gets for visitors), we like him a lot and I'm very grateful for his companionship and love.

---

Heather,
It has been about a year since we welcomed Simon into our home and I wanted to thank you again for encouraging us to adopt him. He has been such a great dog for our family -- he loves being outside as much as we do, he is a big ball of affection (especially for Joshua, with whom he is a little obsessed) and he even loves our cat a much as we do. While this past year has had its challenges with his desire to bark at everyone who passes by our house, dog training classes helped us all to find a way to communicate and his barking has subsided greatly.

We took Simon and Shanti (the cat) to the vet last week and the vet was excited by how healthy they both are for living in a small rowhome in South Philly. We have been blessed with Simon's ability to play in parks off-leash so we spend over an hour every evening playing fetch with him. He is quite the runner and is always getting comments on how fast he is. Most weekends we go for a longer hike along the Wissahickon Creek in Fairmount Park. Simon used to just wade in the water, but this summer he finally got the hang of the doggy-paddle and now it is all he wants to do! We have also been taking him camping. He is still getting the hang of sleeping in a tent -- it is hard to get him settled when there are so many noises in the woods -- but he is slowly learning.

Overall, we could not be happier with having Simon as part of our family. Thanks for helping us find him! Below are links to some videos of Simon and I've attached a few photos, too. Enjoy.

Hope you are well!
Laura and Joshua Chisholm

This past winter when we went snowshoeing with Simon

A month ago when Simon decided that swimming is the greatest thing ever

Some photos:

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Heather's reply:

Hi Laura -

Wow, what a great treat to hear from you guys! I've thought of Simon often and I can't believe it's been a year already. I will always think of him flying through the backyard with those ears just flopping. He will always be one of my favorite fosters ever!

I'm so glad to hear how happy all of you are as a family! I knew in my heart that you were exactly right for Simon and he knew it too! The pictures are wonderful (I LOVE the hat!!) and the videos really made us smile. Simon deserved a family that would encourage his vitality and incredible sense of wonder and joy and I will be forever grateful that he found just that!

We took a break from foster dogs to help a kitty in serious need - Pumpkin was almost euthanized at a "pound" in Montgomery. I pulled him and got him a cage at PetSmart to be adopted but he developed a serious upper respitatory virus that ended up in his eye, which he almost lost. Most vets would have just taken the eye but Del Val decided to do surgery and, with lots of prayer, TLC and medication, he has recovered and is ready for adoption! The problem is that after all that he went though I'm not willing to put him back in a cage at PetSmart. Getting kitties adopted is tough and especially from a foster home but I'm holding out for the best! I'm hoping he will be as lucky as Simon and find the perfect family!

Please, please give Simon a hug and kiss from us! You have no idea how happy you made me with this E-mail!!!!

Many Thanks,
Heather

Neighbors

We have been blessed to live on a street full of great people. The above picture, taken at one of our recent game nights shows (l-r) Erin, Randy, H, Dottie, Joshua and my belly. Sadly, our friends Dottie and H are moving at the end of the month.

When they moved onto the block a year ago, I was so excited to have another young couple within close proximity that I very quickly invited them to dinner. Thinking that we were the over-zealous, super-conservative, over-bearing, aggressively-neighborly types, they seemed a little hesitant to join us. However, when we had them over for dinner, along with our friends Robin and Bobby, who are a wonderfully welcoming couple who had just recently been married, Dottie and H seemed surprised. In the last year, we have had many great meals, watched a good number of sports games, and enjoyed their friendship immensely. While our schedules haven't always aligned, it has been great to have them around for neighborhood gossip, tips on how to train Simon and enthusiastic waves from our front porches. Just to know that they were down the street has always been reassuring. We will miss them. Although, I'm sure that we will continue to see them occasionally.

We are blessed to have made friends with H and Dottie and we wish them luck as they move back to Central Pennsylvania!

Christie blasts city schools

By JIM WALSH • Courier-Post Staff • October 13, 2009

CAMDEN — Republican gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie on Monday night blasted the city's school system as "obscene" and said its failed classrooms are to blame for Camden's dangerous streets.

In a speech here, Christie aimed much of his criticism at his Democratic opponent, saying the administration of Gov. Jon S. Corzine has taken "deep bows" for "half measures" in the impoverished city.

But Christie also targeted teachers unions for city school failures, saying their leaders "are feeling fat and they don't want change."

Christie said he'd improve education opportunities for city youth by offering more charter schools, introducing vouchers that would cover tuition payments at private schools and through unspecified "innovations."

"The failing schools must change or they must go extinct because we can't continue to fail your children," he said a meeting sponsored by the nonpartisan Camden Churches Organized for People. About 100 people turned out for the session at Sword of the Spirit Church.

(For the complete article, please see the Courier Post.)

33 Weeks

Tomorrow will mark the beginning of our 33nd week of pregnancy. Everything is going very well. Here are some highlights and updates:

Gender: We are still waiting to find out if we are having a son or a daughter. We would be excited for either and still find the wait thrilling. Neighbors, who are rather nosey in these regards, are all predicting a girl. Although, extended family members are mostly predicting a boy. Joshua and I are still completely unsure of our predictions.

Names: While we have narrowed down the list, we haven't pinpointed the winners yet. We have a top three list for both genders, although that list adjusts occasionally.

Exercise: Joshua's mother gifted us with some awesome birthing classes through a local yoga studio (Yoga Child). The classes have been a great way for us to think about and discuss both labor and raising a child. Like pre-cana for parents. The six weeks of Saturday classes come with free prenatal yoga classes. I have been attending at least three days a week. It has been a great way to stay fit and to gain a community of expecting women.

Morning sickness/heartburn: The first 5 months of pregnancy, I suffered through some amazing morning sickness, which affected me every night around 7 p.m. I had a few weeks of feeling great but now I'm starting to get heartburn. Bummer, but it was to be expected since even when I am not pregnant I often get a good bit of heartburn.

Free time: In my first two weeks of being home full-time, I have baked over 14 dozen cookies, a bunch of pies, a few loaves of bread, made a few quilts and arranged most of the closets in the house. Most of the baking was for neighbors, many of whom are not feeling well these days. I just hate to see elderly neighbors suffering though chemo and tons of doctor's appointments. My hope is that the treats will lift some spirits.

Preparation: We have also been doing a lot of work on the house to get the baby's room (and let's face it, the whole house) together. Lots of moving furniture, patching walls, and the like. Next weekend, our street is hosting a multi-family yard sale. We are looking forward to getting rid of some furniture and old books.

Medically: Since the doctor felt that I was measuring a little on the small size, we had an additional ultrasound last week. The ultrasound showed a healthy, good-sized baby. They estimated that the babe is approximately 5 lbs now, which is great. Once again, the ultrasound photos weren't the clearest ... the last time the baby wouldn't sit still and this time the baby decided to cover his/her face with both hands. Ha! SweetPea is shy.

Baby shower: My best friend, Kate, hosted an awesome shower at our house yesterday. It was so wonderful that a bunch of women could gather to celebrate the upcoming birth of our child. I felt very blessed to be surrounded by such wonderfully supportive and loving women.

I would have been happy to just have a day with these great women, but the gifts we received were an added bonus. It is touching that family and friends are so generous. In the same way that I still look around our house and see all of our kitchen utensils, towels, and everything else we received for our weddding as a sign of the support and love of our families, as I put away all these soft baby clothes and useful supplies, I just imagine the nest of care that is going to cradle this babe as we welcome him or her into the world. That is so special to both Joshua and me, although sometimes it is a bit overwhelming to realize how blessed and loved we are.As can only be expected, Kate made tons of tasty food, had fun games (a matching game with celebrities and baby names -- i.e. Homer is Richard Gere's child, Reignbeau is Ving Rhames child, Ka-lel (Superman's birthname) is Nicolas Cage's child), cute napkins (see photo above), and even a craft project for everyone!

The project was to decorate onesies for SweetPea. They came out so well. Here are a few:



CUTE! My mother even wrote "Sweet Pee" on the bum of one of the onesies, which was one of the funniest comments of the day! Thanks to all the women who joined us!

U.S. block grant to take down Camden's most dilapidated

By Matthew Spolar, Inquirer Staff Writer

In August, an abandoned, crumbling home at 923 N. 27th St. was named the ugliest house in Camden's Cramer Hill neighborhood.

Now, thanks to a federal grant, its days are numbered.

The building took the crown in a contest that Camden Churches Organized for People conducted to bring urgency and publicity to the problem of abandoned houses. It was chosen from among 13 candidates by parishioners at participating churches.

The organization demanded it be torn down within 48 hours. At the time, Pat Keating, Camden's public works director, said a recent major demolition had left him with too little money to make that happen.

Late last month, however, $500,000 in federal Community Development Block Grant funding was approved for demolitions in the city.

"That's the money I've been waiting for," Keating said.

He will use it to demolish 33 houses on the city's "imminent hazard" list: 12 throughout Cramer Hill and East and North Camden, 12 in South Camden, and 9 downtown.

On the list is 923 N. 27th St. and its decrepit next-door neighbor at 925.

"They're going to be in that first batch," Keating said.

The list is set for bidding by demolition contractors. The contracts would then require City Council approval.

"If that comes down, it'll be a big relief for all of us," said the Father William "Jud" Weiksnar, the pastor at St. Anthony of Padua Church, who spearheaded the contest won by 923.

But the contest should not end efforts to rid Camden of abandoned properties, he said.

"The reason for the ugly-house contest was to draw attention to a situation most people [in Camden] had become used to - living with dangerous or abandoned houses right next door," he said.

...

Keating said the building at 923 N. 27th St. would likely have been on the list of 33 even without the attention brought to it by the contest, but he still applauded the efforts of Camden Churches Organized for People.

"God bless them. I love that stuff," he said. "That's how you keep people engaged. You need these folks to do what they do."

(For the full article about this CCOP victory, please visit the Philadelphia Inquirer.)

NOTICE: Community Organizer Needed

Camden Churches Organized for People (CCOP) is seeking a highly talented and motivated Community Organizer with a commitment to developing grassroots leaders and a passion for social justice. Community Organizers are responsible for providing training to low-and moderate-income congregation and neighborhood leaders to effectively organize to improve conditions in their neighborhoods, schools, and communities. CCOP has an excellent work environment – exciting, fast-paced, friendly, flexible, faithful, and challenging.

For more information, please visit Idealist.org