Our Year In Review...

To those few of you who keep in touch with us here at this blog....sorry we haven't been more present! It's been a busy year, a good year, a complex year and it ended well. f

As is our new (ish) tradition we're offering a highlights video for those of you who are interested. Once we finished the initial version and found out it was over 12 minutes long (!) we made a hyped-up-on-adrenilene version for those of you were are only more vaguely interested.

Interested or not -- if you're one of our family or friend -- we love and miss you. Come visit us in our new digs in 2011 (more on that soon!).



And here's the Speedy (/more tolerable) Version:

Catching Up: May, 2010

It's been too long since we posted! So here's the beginning of a series of catch up posts.

In May, Lynn found out that her position had been eliminated at the Canton City School District, but the next day was offered five different positions at other schools in the district. She found a place at McKinley High School - the largest urban high school - as the literacy coach.

image borrowed (without permission) from Anthony McCune's Stark County Blog.

The beginning of May meant that I (Andrew) celebrated graduation and the end of school with my colleagues and students-now-alums. Alyssa (below) was not only a delightful student to work with, but also a thoughtful, delightful human being. Like parents, I don't single out favorite students, so I'm mute on my comparative liking of Alyssa, but I'm deeply grateful for the chance to work with her helping produce beautiful films, advising her honors thesis, having her in class as a student, and later as a teaching assistant. I've continued to work collaboratively with her now as a peer and colleague -- more on that later.

Jaelyn and Addison finished third and fourth grades respectively and finished their soccer seasons, too.

This picture of Addison using Montessori manipulables was taken during open house in his classroom - of - three years with his cherished teacher Mrs. Rimmele. Addison and Jaelyn's public school is a montessori collaborative amongst many districts in our county and is refreshingly diverse and progressive and lively.

Addison finally gave up on combing through the tangles that had grown deep into his magnificent and jealousy-inducing 'fro so one night we headed over to Aaron's apartment and Aaron worked some magic on his locks, following Addison's instructions, and emerging with this haircut:

One afternoon, Jaelyn and I had a date to our favorite downtown Mexican Restaurant - El Galeron. We were both struck by the aesthetic strength of this painted red brick wall, so Jaelyn decided to have this photo taken just which she could have on reserve for her facebook profile picture. When she turns 14.

Both kids enjoyed the spring weather. Here they go into our backyard adventuring into the bush-fort in our neighbor's yard, or walking over to Chris and Victoria's house -- our first neighborhood friends.

The previous year was a roller-coaster ride for me professionally; a new administration made me certain that my university was headed toward becoming a (more) maudlin, right-wing, evangelical institution.

So the fact that the Spring brought radical changes for me (our president was gently ousted) and for Lynn (her new unpredictable, but hopeful(?) job) was the most keen and turbulent social fact that defined our family life.

I taught a couple of online courses and got a grant to work on my reelate documentaries. The combination of Spring and the hope of Summer always makes a May a renewing invigorating month. This May was no exception.

It's Soccer Season

Coach Gives A Big FINAL RALLY Pep Talk
Originally uploaded by redbaerd

Addison's coach gives a pep talk before the final quarter...more pictures of today's soccer matches here.

Can You Guess What This Pile Is?

hint...

scroll down to find out.





















































click on the image to see better.

Feast Day!

One of our favorite holiday traditions...celebrating Resurrection Day with our ACRC Family! After working through Lent together, it's such a delight to spend the day relaxing and laughing together. We are blessed to share our life-stories with these people.

Scott contemplates the conversation.

Ginny takes a look at Laurie's handiwork.

Beautiful, beautiful Jaelyn.

Addison hanging with the best teenagers in America.

Sharing the wine...

Our Winter...

cross post from the inbetween:




It's been an unusual winter for Ohio in general.



(so much snow!)



But it was also a pretty unusual winter for us -- since we left Ohio for far better climes.





It was Lynn's 40th Birthday Present & a late 15th anniversary present.




My parents graciously watched the kids while we....





swam, hiked, read, talked, ate, explored, and enjoyed Costa Rica.




Very lucky. Very grateful.



Here's the flickr album if you want to see more....if you can bear to see so much happiness...

Year End Family Photos

It's been too long since we've posted here -- but the holiday season gives us a moment to reflect on the year past. One way of reflecting is looking at the pictures we've snapped. Here's an excessively indulgent look at the things we thought were picture-worthy. Friends, family, trips, meals, work, play -- these things gave our year the happy textures. It's hard to take pictures of the things that make a year difficult, and if you've spent time with us this year, you know that this year brought its share of darkness. But the trouble of the year makes all of these memories of happiness even more heartening.

If you're here at all, reading this blog, there's a significant chance that you're one of the great reasons for happiness in our life. Thanks! Hope we can see you and spend time together in the new year!

We Made Pasta Together!

Tons of fun. So delicious.

Summer Memories

While we've already posted our most recent, fun-filled trip to Nashville, we neglected to include many memories from earlier this summer.

We began the summer by running away from Canton to Northern MI where we spent over two weeks with just us, other Rudd family members, and the Livermore gang. Such an amazing time!  We visited the cabin, Traverse City, Sutton's Bay, and of course, Muskegon.

We were also able to celebrate cousin Shea's wedding in Fresno on July 4th. Great fun and memories were created...especially after the first generation of Leindeckers retired for the evening.

There have also been overnights with the Biss kids, multiple other playdates with friends, VBS at First Friends (?!), Boy Scout camp (!?!), and lots of lazy morning cuddling.

Craig, Deb, Shea, and company transform the old church/warehouse/barn/scary-dark-place into a beautiful home for the wedding.  (Fresno Bible Church began in this very building...with much less tule...)

Keith gets down with his bad self while Jaelyn dances with Marcus.   Either Addison is developing a new move or he has something in his eye.

17 years and counting since our Fresno nuptials.

Kristy and Cathy pose for the camera.  Fun conversations and laughter reign throughout the evening!

Greg and Shea cut their cake.  (Always my favorite part of any wedding celebration!)

In Muskegon with the annual summer cousin picture.  There are always various degrees of success with this endeavor.  Emma and Liam are to be super-imposed into this picture at a later date.

Will takes off for the water slide.

Addison grills with Grandpa.

Emily and Jaelyn cook breakfast pancakes on their own for both families while Lynn vainly tries too keep up with the racer Linda Livermore on the backroads of Suttons Bay.

The Livermore family smiles after a much-needed ice cream.

A magical walk with the Livermores at Christmas Cove.  The kids played and discovered Petosky stones while the adults talked deeply and analytically about life, faith, and books.

Jaelyn finds her favorite habitat at Century Farm where we stayed with the Livermores.

Still the Livermore family.

One of the cabins at the Century Farm.  This was a wonderfully quiet and perfect get-away for our families.  There was hiking, fishing, frog-catching, and much more.  The kids had their own cabin for some Lord-of-the-Flies type of adventures, while the adults stayed in another cabin and talked long into the night.

Addison reads on a rock at the cabin.

Jaelyn's feelings toward being at the cabin and free from societal constraints.

This year Addison learned how to build his own fire while at the cabin.

One of the many family walks down the cabin road.  This was after we ran from a flock of mosquitos but before the influx of tics.

Jaelyn and Addison enter the absolutely frigid waters of Lake Huron.

I think Heaven might look a little bit like this for some people I know and love...

Visiting Nashville

Our last road trip of the summer was a trip to see our friends Cliff & Mary. While the Cliff & Mary franchise has always been one of our favorites -- the two new features -- Jack and Maddie -- only added to our delight.

We talked and laughed and shared and parented and trekked and ate and talked and laughed and shared.

Pure magic.



Maddie on the Capitol Steps. We bussed down to the capitol, the library and a great Mexican feast.



Waiting at the bus stop. Mary busses to work every day. Cliff & Mary always inspire us to simplify and clarify our lives. From transportation - to Mary's thoughtful & incisive clarity of direction - to Cliff's documentary Immaterial John (some of you have seen it) -- to two of his new documentaries that we got to watch -- about interfaith and interracial dialogue and cooperation.



Jack and Addison at the Zoo. Despite their angelic qualities, the boys were masterful at mixing things up a bit together.



Jaelyn at the Zoo. Her whole weekend was animal-loving: capturing butterflies and moths, visiting the zoo, watching Spongebob. (Sponges are animals, right?)



While Cliff & I spent hours sitting together talking -- we were rarely as...close...as we were when we visited the children's department of the Nashville Public Library (which is *amazing* BTW!)