Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Dad and Mom! We love you and wish we could be there to celebrate!

We Are Home!

(My sister, Allison, and her daughter as an angel in the reading of the Christmas story)

(My nephews as a shepherd and a donkey...the one with slippers tied to his head is the donkey)

(Brandon and I with our Christmas sweaters)

(the Bride and me)

(Brandon, Karona, and Ben)

(the ladies)

(Mr. and Mrs. Peter Morrow)(The picture of Brandon's dad with a coffee cup is perhaps the most extraordinary moment of our vacation... his first cup of coffee in 3 years. He rang in the new year with a cup of joe. Welcome back to the fold!)
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After 17 days we are back in Chicago. We were both on Holiday break so we left Chicago for the entire time. We spent the first week with my family celebrating Christmas. We had three Christmas celebrations, saw lots of family, ate tons of food, and laughed! We then headed to Minneapolis for a few days. We stayed with Brandon's brother and his family. It was fun to connect with them and catch up. We were there for the wedding of my dear friend Sarah. Sarah and Peter got married! It was a beautiful wedding! We had an awesome time catching up with college friends.

We then traveled to be with Brandon's Grandpa and family. We spent the week in Guttenberg. It was so relaxing. We slept, read, and talked. We are both very grateful for a few weeks to slow down and enjoy the people we love.
Here are some pics of our time.

Pearl Harbor Day?

For most of you December 7 is just another day. For us, it is the day we chose to spend the rest of our lives on earth together. 5 years ago Brandon and I said "I do". On one hand, it feels as though we have always been married, that we have always been a team. Yet, 5 years sounds like a long time to me and it has just flown by. I can say hands down that I married the best man in the world. Brandon and I have always had lots of jokes about how different we are, but the reality of being so different in how we live and view the world is that he is my perfect balance. For those of you who know Brandon, you know that he brings joy into your life. I have laughed every (and i am not exaggerating) day of my life since Brandon walked into it. He protects me, cares for me, speaks truth to me, and knows how to love me. I am the luckiest.

Slide Rules and Abucuses

Mom and Dad,

I love you, but this sounds vaguely familiar.

Christmas!

I noticed tonight that it had been too long since one of us had posted. The silence is due to the fact that it is crunch time for us. There are three weeks left in the semester and so much to be done in that time! Here are a few pictures from last weekend. In the midst of our hectic schedules we are still finding time to be festive!

The top picture is us in front of the big Christmas tree that is in Daley Plaza. We took this picture last weekend with my sister and her husband. We found out it is not one big tree, but 60 smaller trees put together. Brandon was very disgruntled by that fact, but he still smiled for the picture.

The bottom picture is us in front of our tiny, but mighty, Christmas tree. We can only fit a small tree in our apartment living room, but I still love it. Having a small tree really simplifies decorating, it only took about 20 minutes from start to finish.

Jeenyus!

Abe got the tip for this blog test from Matt Proctor's blog and we thought our results were worth sharing. We are so smart, s-m-r-t!

Test your blog and post the results.

Get a Cash Advance

Happy Thanksgiving!

Brandon and I both had to work this Thanksgiving so traveling to be with family was out of the question. We decided to host Thanksgiving dinner at our place. We were joined by my sister, her husband, their new baby Wes, and our friend Cyril. I got up at 6:30 to put in the turkey. My first turkey ever! It cooked beautifully.

We spent the day cozy in our apartment eating good food and celebrating all that we have to be thankful for. Brandon and I both enjoyed snuggling our new nephew who is such a blessing. Brandon is at work now until 2 am. I just had my second piece of pumpkin pie. What a grand day! Tomorrow we put up our tree. I love this time of year.

Go Elf Yourself!

After watching this.

Beard Check

Dear Sirs,

This is a courtesy notice to remind you that we are now nearing the midway point of No-Shave November. Thought I'd share a picture of where I stand as an encouragement to you (J. Sanchez) to continue in this hairy venture. The beard is not as strong as it has been. But where my beard is weak, my resolve is strong.

"Continue to fight the good fight of the beard. Hold fast to the beard to which you were called."
1 Beardithy 6:12ish

*** As an added bonus, please note (Shane) the button down oxford shirt. It's not much, but it is a fair distance from my usual semi-soiled t-shirt and hoody. While this is certainly not the fashion show you might have desired, it is partial proof of the renaissance de couture in its burgeoning stages.

keeping up appearances

In a conversation last week I made a mention that I wouldn't mind starting to dress "nicer." My dress has always been a source of interest to those in my life. From Seth Barker wearing his hat "like Brandon Mick" to my in-laws, not-so-subtly, buying me a suit for my birthday last year to someone borrowing a shirt from me to use as a Halloween costume this year. For some reason, my appearance seems to summon all sorts of emotive responses from people.

All of that is fine. I'm used to it. But when I said that I wouldn't mind starting to dress "nicer," my wife responded, "Well that's nice, you are almost thirty."

Nice honey. Nice.

Paul Soupiset

My very own Soupiset watercolor! I fell in love with Paul's work last Lent, when he was in the midst of his lentenblog series. So when Jake announced he was giving away a Soupiset watercolor as a prize for the relaunch of his website, I had to get in on the action. Special thanks to JakeBouma.com and Paul Soupiset. Thoughts on this piece will come soon.

Family

The baby is here! After a really rough labor and delivery I have a new nephew. He is blonde and adorable. I got to hold him tonight and he is just incredible. I am so grateful to have this new addition to our family.
My Mom, older sister, and her kids are also in town. In between hospital visits we saw lots of Chicago. We took the kids to the Shedd Aquarium, Lincoln Park Zoo, and the Chicago Children's Museum. It was busy but so fun.
Today is Haley's 2nd birthday. She got to pick out a bitty baby (I think thats what it is?) at the American Girl Store. Haley was so excited!
It has been a weekend filled with blessings. We have so much to be thankful for. Pictures of new baby will be forthcoming when we get parental consent.

Baby on the Way!

My sister is in the hospital working hard to bring my new niece or nephew into the world. We got a text at 3 am from my Bro-in-law that they were at the hospital. No news yet! My mom, my sister, and her kids are all on their way here. I cannot wait! Pictures to come soon!

www.jakebouma.com 4.0 prize giveaway!

I wanted to bring it to the attention of our blog's readers that Jake Bouma will be launching version 4.0 of his website. In celebration of the event, he is giving away some great prizes. Click on the picture, below, to see how you can get your name in the drawing.

The Today Show in Chi-Town!

I got up uncharacteristically early this morning with my friend and co-worker Steph. We headed down to Michigan Avenue to watch the taping of the Today Show. I had very low expectations and it ended up being a riot! The crowd was relatively small when we got there, so we were able to be right up front to watch the segments being taped. I was somehow always in the wrong spot so you won't see me on TV. I did get ridiculously close to Matt Lauer...who was a very pleasant man! Here are some pictures of our morning excitement.

MMMMM, Zingers.

My evening, as pictured above, made me think of Brandon Barker. What makes you think of Brandon Barker? Take a picture and post it, I dare you.

Family Visit

My parents came to visit last weekend. As usual, we had a great time. We ate at three really great restaurants and had great conversation. We also celebrated at a baby shower for my sister and her little one that will be here so soon! I always love when my parents come to visit.

Patricia Anne Wood-Mick: 1924 - 2007

Tomorrow we will be heading to central Iowa. We are going to bury my grandmother. She battled a plethora of cancers over the recent years. She fought hard, but lost the war on Friday night. She died peacefully at home, surrounded by her boys (my three uncles and my dad) and her husband, Bernard (of 59 years).

Abe and I had the privilege of saying good-bye to her last weekend. Though she was tired, she was perfectly clear in her love for us. And though her voice was failing, she told me she was proud of me. I mostly just sat next to her and held her withering hand. But as I walked out of the room for the last time, tears streaming down my face, she belted out a strong and hearty, "Buh, Bye!" It echoes in my soul.

It was the same "Buh, Bye!" that I'd heard thousands of times growing up. You see, of all my dad's brothers, he was the only one that settled down out of town. So we'd have to travel a couple of hours to be with my grandparents. That being the case, we had to say "Buh, Bye" an awful lot. I've been saying "Buh,Bye" to this woman my entire life. And I'm sure that when I was really young, those "Buh, Bye's" stung. But growing up, through the adolescent years and beyond, I became used to them. It was just that time when my grandma would follow me to the curb, remind me to buckle-up, tell me to get some Coke or something to keep awake, warn me to watch out for the "other guy," tell me that she loved me. And as I'd pull away, inevitably with the window down, I would hear her call out, "Buh, Bye!" But it would barely register.

Until last week. She called out and I knew. All the years came rushing back to me. And it stung.

Please pray for my family. My grandmother was incredibly important to us all. Pray especially for my grandpa. I can't even begin to fathom the depth of his loss and the breadth of his grief.

Brandon and Abbey Simpson

Thanks to Jake for this time-waster.

Hello...Are you still there?

Abe recently informed me that she would no longer carry this blog by herself. I am to pull my own weight or it is over. The shop will close, the carpets will be rolled up, and the candles blown out. So I figure that I ought to publish something, as it is the only fair thing to do for our viewing public. For a life without LITGD is hardly a life at all.

Speaking less facetiously about life, you might be wondering about where I have been and why I haven't posted for some time. Well I guess that you could describe my life, as of late, more appropriately as a mere existence than a life truly lived. I'm not sure what's been going on, but I just haven't cared...about anything. My summer, following my summer class, was spent in front of the television. I sank into a world soaked and reeking of the Discovery Channel. And though I now feel like fast friends with Adam and Jamie and the other Mythbusters, I hardly feel as though I am alive.

School is re-acclimating me to the waters of the living. But the process is slow. However this morning I was truly alive. I awoke at 8:15, after sleeping through my alarm, with an hour-and-a-half commute standing in between our sleepy bed and a 9:15 class. With a flurry of arms and legs and a few expletives, I raced to get to class before it was over (that is if you can call crawling traffic a race). I was late, very late, but I was alive like I haven’t felt in a while. There was something about the urgency of it all that may have crash-paddled me back to life.

The semester that lies ahead looks to be challenging, but good. I just hope that I can wake up for it...both literally and figuratively.