Pictures! Isaiah 5 Months

CLICK HERE and look for the album name: Isaiah 5 months

He's getting huge. There's no other way to say it.

Isaiah 4 months

Pictures, pictures, pictures...

Isaiah - 3 and a Half Months

SEE MORE PICS HERE!

Pictures of Beginning Week 3

Beginning Week 3 of Life! He's getting so big already!
(No surprise there...)

Thanksgiving 2009

Thanksgiving 2009 in a brief summary of bulleted words:

local
delicious
preggers
gluttonous
beautiful

Enjoy a few pictures of our holiday...

Barn-ilicious

A few months ago, Nick got a storage box from home. It was heading toward the trash and we salvaged it, thinking we could use it for Isaiah's things. Nick didn't tell me right away what the storage box looked like. He just said, "Just come see it."

It was a barn.
















Oh.

Well, that's kinda cute, I guess.

We took it home and put some baby clothes in it, hand me downs from Isaiah's cousins who quickly outgrew of barely used some of the outfits.

I forgot about the barn the past few months.

Then, last night, Nick and I headed to a good-bye party for one of my co-workers who was moving to Boston with her husband and 7 month old son. It was a special party. You weren't allowed to bring gifts and you had to take a "treasure" with you. Meaning, the things they couldn't take to Boston were up for grabs. There were some pretty nice items including deck furniture, shelves, books, trinkets, frames, unused clothes and jewelry...I was busy sorting through the frames and ransacking the unopened spice bottles when Nick calls me across the room, "Leese! Do you think that's up for grabs?" He's pointing near my feet.

I look down and don't see anything.

"Where? Which one are you talking about?"

He points again, "That one!"

I look and see some sort of vintage, Fisher Price box that I thought was garbage.

Oh, this thing? I ask.

"Yes!" Nick was so excited, I honestly didn't know how to react to his excitement over this dirty box.

But it was no box.

It was a BARN.
















He explains as his eyeballs roll over it, "We had one just like this when we were kids!"

Oh. Ok. So you want it, then?

YES.

So, we bring it home and I say that it's an interesting toy. The barn doors open to a Moooooooooooooooo sound. It came complete with animals and tools to play with.

As we are leaving, Nick gathers bags of treasures - books, spices, a baby swing, a frame, and countless little things I can cook with.

But he's most excited about the barn.

I wondered what was up with the barn theme. Then I heard him introduce himself to someone at the party, "I didn't grow up on a farm, but I'm definitely a farm boy."

Well, that explains it.

Missing Nick and Michael

Photo taken 6/21/09, Filipino Festival in Cleveland

It's amazing all that can happen in 10 days when you don't blog.

In addition to Jan and Rog Borchers coming to visit us in Cleveland, Nick and I attending the Cleveland Filipino Festival, my friend Alexis who I worked with in Boston last year moving to Cleveland last week, having 10th row at a New Kids on the Block concert!, seeing the movie "State of Play" (mildly good, entertaining, nothing great), attending our nephew Zach's 4th birthday party, watching fireworks in Massillon, having another ultrasound (Baby Plum is no longer a plum and is growing quickly!) on Wednesday, hosting Kelly Borchers Norris this weekend on her way to Abby Cordonnier's (cousin of Nick and Kelly) bachelorette party, and seeing Nick off for a week long trip to Kentucky -- even with all of that going on, what I just can't believe is that Michael Jackson is dead.

(I'm listening to "We Are the World," as I write this.)

Trumping MJ's cardiac tragedy, the biggest heartache is being separated from Nick for a week. Now, I know how that sounds -- I was gone for 2 months last summer and globe trotted my heart out -- but I'm pregnant now and that means two things: 1) I get to say whatever I want without feeling bad and 2) I'm uber emotional

(My MJ music marathon continues. Now on my ear "You Are Not Alone.")

Nick will be back Friday afternoon and that seems like eons away.

Sometimes when Nick is gone, I feel like this blog becomes the soggy pillow where I consistently weep into with my sadness that he's not around telling me a corny joke or trying to work some miracle with our shower's water pressure.

*sigh* It's going to be a long week.

(last song for tonight's MJ's dedication is Nick's favorite MJ song: "Man in the Mirror")

A Walk in the Rain

Within moral reason, I would do just about anything to keep the temperature at 61 degrees for the rest of February. I cannot believe the difference it makes to wake up and not have your first thought be, "Damn, it is so cold I do not want to live in Cleveland anymore." This morning I woke up and thought, "Good morning Nick! Good morning world!"

Much nicer.

Over the weekend Nick and I celebrated many things. First, we went to Cincinnati and celebrated Catie Bella's inauguration into Club 30. And Erin Kraft Houston's impending water burst. As of Friday, she was one day overdue. Then, we headed to Russia and celebrated Nick's grandfather's 80th birthday. For pics, see here.

The warm temperature this week are big fat teasers and I wish they could stay. 97% of our house and property has melted and you can see my car's tire tracks in our front lawn. Spring cannot come soon enough.

But we took advantage of the weather and took a nice long walk today. It's been awhile since we did our normal 3 mile early evening walk and it felt like it was taking FOREVER since we haven't done it in several months. As we dodged lake-sized puddles on the sidewalk, we discussed our plans for Valentine's Day. I tried to hide the fact that I get a little more excited about Friday the 13th than Valentine's Day, but we decided that to celebrate our wonderful love and life, we'd do something special. We're not big Hallmark people. Nick nearly goes into a spasm on Sweetest Day and I don't really feel the need to make a big deal out of it. We're loved everyday, I tell people, and I think it's rather DUMB to do cliche things for 1 day out of the 365.25 days out of the year.

But, we decided to do something fun.

Nick announced we would have a theme. (If you haven't noticed, we're big on themes.) The theme for Valentine's Day 2009 is IN LOVE IN CLEVELAND.

That's right! From 12noon to midnight, we will do all the things and spend time in places that we love, think we grow to love, or are falling in love in Cleveland. For me that means rocking independent bookstores and the west side market, unexplored cafes and coffee shops, art galleries and the Tremont area of town where there's a real artistic spirit. It's going to be super cool and super fun.

Forget roses and chocolates, leave poems at the door, but give me an art gallery any day of the week and I'm happy.

So, Nick announced this as we huddled under the umbrella during our evening walk and in my excitement almost slipped on thawed out dog poop on the grass.

And, just on cue, a dog - on a long leash held by a small child - started barking at Nick. I tried to move out of the way because I could sense what was about to happen. The kid didn't make any effort to pull the dog's leash shorter and the stupid animal bit Nick in the ankle. A rare annoyed look passed on his normally calm face (at a CHILD) while he lightly said, "That's alright...." to the kid's apology.

I didn't laugh as I normally would have because I know a rare occurrence when I see one. When Nick is that annoyed, I just shut my trap.

What IS It about Old Pictures...

that makes you want to bawl your face out?

I mean, I lead a perfectly content, challenged, intellectually stimulated and emotionally satisfying existence with the love of my life, a great family, and more blessings than I can keep track of...

So, why is it, when I glimpse a photo of childhood, I find my hand drifting toward a roll of toilet paper to gently dry my flooding cheeks?

Is it the nostalgia? The lost innocence? Realization of age? Sweet memories? I mean, I'm sure life was great right before I turned six years old, but I think it's radically better now that I:
1) Do not share a bathroom with my siblings
2) Drive
3) Prepare whatever I want for meals
4) DO NOT SIT THROUGH PHONICS CLASSES AND BAND PRACTICE
5) Live the way I want to live, skip what I don't like, watch whatever I please on TV

....

AND

...

(as I often reference to Nick)
Live the part of our lives we've been waiting for; ever since our parents used to say, "You can do that when you're older," "you can do whatever you like someday but right now..."

I CAN DO WHATEVER I WANT INCLUDING WRITING A BLOG ABOUT HOW I LOVE BEING ABLE TO DO WHATEVER I WANT.

So, why the tears?

I have no clue. I look at that stupid bowl-shaped haircut and remember getting trounced by my brothers, tagging along at the heels of my sister, and never getting what I wanted because I was the youngest and had to wait my turn for everything.
But, any picture of childhood has a mysterious power to send me into a sniffling state of brokenness.

::sniffle::

Older, Maybe Wiser

Here are two Christmas pictures taken in Russia. One was last year and the other was this year. Other than the fact I am in the 2008 pictures, do you see any differences other than the gifts we're holding?

I guess we're slowly aging. That's good news.

I just hope we're wiser.

Photographing Munchkins and Travel Plans

Nick and I are back under the same roof, thank the good Lord.

Last week he left for El Salvador for a five day trip and I headed to Cincinnati for a wedding reception. I stayed with old friends, Julie and Pat (aka Goatee) Ryan with their too cute progeny, Nathan, (aka Sideshow). The Ryans live in lovely house in Loveland and I had shuttled myself between Loveland and downtown Cincy with trusted traveling icon, Moses (our GPS). It was a a terrific weekend.

One of my biggest fears of photography is photographing children. Wait, I should more accurately write, one of my biggest fears is photographing children with hyperphoto parents. In my quest to single-handedly bring down the portrait department of Walmart, I have begun studying the technique of photographing children. There's not much that can be done in terms of lighting, grips, lens, and aperture when children are just scared of this gigantic black device with a huge glass eye staring them down in the face, all the while you have stuffed animals flying behind them and high pitched voices asking them to smile. If I were a toddler, I'd start crying too.

But, I had the challenge to try and photograph Nathan, aka Sideshow, who is one of the cutest babies around and he's a completely adorable ball of fun. And then yesterday, I went to my first pumpkin patch with my niece nephews. It was another portrait session with Halloween and fall colors as the background. In both cases, it's hard to keep kids interested. Thankfully Goatee and Julie and my brother and sister-in-law are NOT the overeager, piggybacking the photographer kinds of parents.

In other news, Nick returned Sunday night from Latin America with a renewed spirit and commitment to social justice. We fell asleep that night, he - exhausted from travels and El Salvador, me - exhausted from driving and Cincinnati, mumbling about our plans to live a more intentional life so we can give more to those who are in true need around the world.

Our travel plans continue: this Thursday we leave for my cousin's wedding in New York City. We'll be driving with my sister and her boyfriend for one of those three day fancy schmancy weddings which we love to attend as guests. It'll be a nice Factora family reunion with lots of folks coming in from all over the country to party it up at Cipriano's.

While I continue to send pitches to magazines and reputable presses, i've also received a few inquiries into my photography services. YES! Continue to spread the word: I will travel whenever, whereever, and will be an awesome smiling photographer on your special day. In the meantime, more resumes are flying around like the dried out autumn leaves. Nick actually asked if I would be interested in working at a bank while something more permanent rolls around.

A bank?

Like, working with numbers?

The only award I ever received that included numbers was in the 4th grade playing travel when we had to memorize long division drills.

I don't think banking is for me. Just sayin'.

TO SEE SOME PICTURES OF FOUR SERIOUSLY ADORABLE CHILDREN, CLICK HERE.

She's All Grown Up - Kelly Borchers to Kelly Norris

Quick Video Before the Ceremony

A few minutes before the ceremony, here the bridesmaids are downstairs of St. Remy Church with Kelly and Kay.

Big Fun Pictures

Remember, I wasn't the photographer for the wedding and made a conscious decision to put my camera away so I could truly be in the moment. That being said, this was probably a dream to photograph because everything was really beautiful and the lighting was perfect for the entire day. So, here's just a few of the pictures I have...if you want more, you'll have to wait for Natalie Baumgardner to finish up.

CLICK HERE FOR BIG FUN PICTURES.

Pretty in Pics

Here are two pictures from the housewarming. In one of them you can see Nick loving whatever Tom Ward is telling him; not an unusual sight. The other is of two dear friends of mine who made the trip from Cincinnati and Louisville to help warm up the house.

The last picture I was saving for parents to show of all that I brought back from the Philippines: two bottles of wine, countless wooden crafts, three textile wall hangings, a barrage of snacks available only in SE Asia, handmade soups, jewelry, bags, books, and various trinkets and souvenirs from my travels. It is nothing short of a miracle that I was not detained in customs.

Last night Nick and I met some friends out for dinner in Little Italy. Of course, I bought two cannoli's for late night enjoyment. After dinner, Nick went out with Matt Thomas, aka Books, and even though I promised to pick him up later, I fell asleep the moment my head hit the pillowcase. Good thing Nick is a patient man. This weekend Nick is going Tim Norris' bachelor party at Salt Fork while I continue to get used to life in Ohio. Two weeks to Kelly's wedding, aka Big Fun, and we're both pumped and ready for another great family wedding!

Eat, Pray, Love (Not necessarily in that order)

This past weekend, one of my best friends from childhood, Tricia, came to stay with us during the long weekend.  Taking the infamous Fung Wah Bus (it's a bus company that takes you from NYC to Boston for $15), Tricia and I enjoyed a nice long weekend of long talks, buying books at Barnes and Noble, and drinking fine wine.

My latest book is the memoir, "Eat, Pray, Love," by Elizabeth Gilbert.  I am on the 6th page and have already decided that I need to write a memoir of my own, complete with my own journeys and travels.  "Eat, Pray, Love" is a book that takes you to India, Indonesia, and Italy to explore the true meaning of self, life, and God.  I already highly recommend it.  The first six pages are riveting.

Speaking of books, Nick is still nose deep in his theological studies.  February is almost over and almost mid point for this semester.

Where does the time go?

Updates

The city after a snow storm.

Me and Kristie

Nick and I out with my co-workers/support system
(left to right, Dan, Nick, me, Leanne, Alexis)

Random Update:
I got my nose pierced with my friend, Kristie, while we were in Cincinnati over Christmas break. That's a picture of us above that was taken right after we had them done. If you look closely, you can see a small red swollen spot on our noses. Yep, that's because a gargantuan sized needle went through our nostrils about 3 minutes previously. Shh - don't tell my parents.

City Updates:

• The city is crazy for the Superbowl which starts in 6 hours.
• The city is crazy for SuperTuesday which starts in 48 hours.
• The city is crazy because if the Patriots win the Superbowl, they'll have a parade on SuperTuesday.

Other Updates:

• I finally got my Massachusetts drivers license.
• Last night we found a Filipino restaurant! SCORE!
• We saw the movie Juno this weekend and give it two very big thumbs up for its one liners.
• We potentially have found a parish that we'd like to belong to: St. Cecilia which is an energetic and booming community in downtown Boston.
• Nick's 2nd semester classes are going well is schedule is a little less stressful with one less class.
• My job is consuming my life and have made a decision to at least begin job hunting for next fall.
• My brother and sister-in-law just found out they're having another boy! That's four kids total! 1 girl and 3 boys. God love 'em.
• Nick and Kelly Hartings just had their baby girl, Emma Jeane, on Friday morn - CONGRATS!
• I'm playing with the idea of applying to a masters program at Simmons College. It's a masters in Gender and Cultural Studies. I figure while I'm surrounded with academics why not jump in, too, you know? Not to mention, this is my area of specialization.

And there you have it - a small glimpse into our lives for the week. Don't forget that February is when I celebrate my birthday month. * Along with the start of Lent, Mardi Gras, Presiden's Day, and Valentine's Day, February holds one of the most treasured days of all time: my bday.





*Ask Nick, I am not exaggerating this statement.

Our Competitive Sides

A random moment caught when we're both talking smack to each other, aka making fun of each other/challenging the other to an absurd opportunity to compete against each other to prove one's superiority.  This competition has included: bowling, wrestling, corn hole, geography trivia, rumicube, beer pong, and tripoly...just to name a few.

Home for Christmas

Home for Christmas