first freckle

I looked down yesterday afternoon and there on Grant's right leg is a freckle. Just one, hanging out on it's own as if to say -- "here is the start of something new!" I know it sounds crazy, but I find it amazing... fascinating really. I want to document it, put it in his baby book or give it a kiss -- it's his first ever freckle-- probably he will have hundreds over the span of his life, surely he will grow old and wrinkled and his skin will be swimming with freckles of various shapes and sizes. But I will remember a time when there was just one perfectly brown dot spotting a little bitty leg and a whole canvus of unspotted skin, waiting to be painted.

Settling in

We have settled back into life in Rosedale as if we had never left. The long drive, the non- culture, the streets named after trees that were cut down to build the big houses -- it is all just a distant memory. Replaced with the sounds and feel of the city life that we so ignorantly LOVED and didn't realize how much we loved. Our neighbors still gather around in the evenings and sip drinks on each other lawns -- but now there are toys and bubbles and baby pools to keep the little ones happy too. Grant has five friends within walking distance and I don't think he'll have any real memories of life in our old house. We feel like ourselves again in this neighborhood and we are putting all of our energy into furthering our plan to stay here. The plans for the house are done, the lot has been secured and a few (fairly big) hurdles remain before we begin our build. In the meantime we are savoring life in the new/old joy of our neighborhood, and counting our blessings of clarity of purpose and appreciation of our surroundings. Stay tunned!