WMU Teaching Excellence

On top of receiving the department award for teaching excellence my stud of a husband is now getting recognized by the entire university. A very select amount of candidates are nominated by their department for this prestigious award, and out of those only a few get it. And, not all departments are represented, so even if you are the only candidate from your department that doesn't mean you'll get it. G was the only physics department nominee and representative. It's kinda a big deal so we asked my dad if he could come down and watch the kiddos while we went out and celebrated his teaching excellence! It was fun to get all dressed up and to be able to see that others are seeing what an amazing educator he is. We did get to see our friend Dan there who also won an award for the math department. It was a fun evening of watching the best of the best be recognized for their ingenuity and performance in their area of expertise. Congrats my love you are amazing.

JVG

Physics Department Award

Well, our amazing Papa has done it again!  The first semester that he was in grad school he won this award from the department for being an outstanding educator.  Typically once you've won an award you don't get to win it again, but here he is a few years later winning it again.  Just goes to show that when you are that good you have to be recognized!  Congrats Papa!  Way to go!  :)  We are so proud of you!

JVG

Classical Conversations

Now that Dude is school aged we get the question a lot about why he's not in school.  Most people are genuinely curious and aren't condescending, and I really appreciate that about the area here.  Home schooling is more accepted than it used to be and it seems to be a viable option since there are so many groups that are there for support now.  A person we had talked with a few times and my sister had done a curriculum called Classical Conversations.  Now that home schooling is becoming so popular there are so many choices, which is nice, but hard at the same time because I don't want to choose the wrong thing for our kids to do!  We decided to give this one a try and went for a visitation day.  I went to an orientation meeting beforehand to see if it was something that we even wanted to try and it seemed all right.  It is a Christian based curriculum, and even though we are Christians a lot of them aren't very good.  For some reason people are under the assumption that you can't teach your children with Christian values but still have science and reason as part of your daily education... So, with all those things in mind I wanted to see how they treated their math and science.




Dude seemed to do well with it.  This group only meets once a week, but I thought that this interaction with other kids his age and taking instruction from other adults (besides us) would be good.  Their curriculum was OK... the thing I liked about it the most was their history and geography portion.  Mainly because that is something that I don't really find that enjoyable, but they had some great tools for it!  another thing that I greatly liked about it was that the kids had to give a presentation to the class... and it could be about anything they wanted but I thought that it was great that they had to get up in front of the class and have something prepared to say.

I'm not entirely sure what we are going to do still, but I'm wasn't over the moon excited about this curriculum.  I totally understood their basis and stuff for it, but I just didn't think that Dude would thrive.  But... who knows, never say never.  :)

JVG

Crunch time

As many of you know Gaetan just passed his comprehensive which means he is all set to finish his dissertation and present his defense... which means we are near the end of his program!  Whoo hoo!  I know that there isn't anyone more excited about this idea than Gaetan himself.  :)  This comprehensive is a big deal because if you don't pass it then you can't continue on in the program which isn't the desired outcome.  So... he has been putting a lot of work during the day, which the kids weren't used to having him gone.  He usually works a lot at night time while they are asleep but we decided that it was very important that he put in the extra time and work during the day for the last few weeks to insure success!  And, even though it was harder on everyone (I think mostly the kids because they missed him so much) it was well worth it.  It's been almost a week since his big presentation and I think that we are still recovering from it!  haha.

We went to the library a lot while Papa was working

First time Norah kept these shoes on her feet.  She looks so big!

We went to the Mins house a lot too... :)

Miss Ava making us some breakfast

This also meant that there was a lot of shuffling around with schedules due to work, Dude's swim/music classes and normal things we didn't usually have to deal with because G was home.  I think that we all came out OK on the other side but we all do appreciate having him around.  :)

Papa, like a boss, on his way to success!

We are so proud of him and all the hard work he does both at school and at home!  Congrats big Papa!  You're one step closer to reaching your goal!

JVG

A glimpse into the future

Yesterday we got to babysit the Min children, Ava and Christian.  Jane had to get some dental work done and since it was during the day her normal babysitters weren't available.  So, from one Momma to another I know how much easier it can be to do these visits solo we watched them.  At first we just had Christian because Jane didn't want to drop both of them off, thinking that it might be a lot, but then was told that Ava couldn't be in the room with her while she was getting the work done, so Goose and I went and picked Ava up and took her back home to play.  Our kids had a blast and her kids did really well!  I was worried that Christian was going to be touch-n-go wanting his Momma but he did great.  At first he wouldn't come in more than the stairs but eventually we gave him some toys and convinced him that it was OK to come in the rest of the way.  They played hard and Jane's appointment was over a lot faster than I thought it was going to be!  So, she came over and hung out, had dinner until it was time for them to get going home.

Dude was so excited to have Ava there too

The boys and their dinos

Miss Ava loves putting different things on her head

Awe... Dude has been calling her his girlfriend...

This could possibly our future!  Whoa!  It doesn't even look that out of place for me...

It was an interesting perspective to have watching 5 kids... because I think that is ultimately how many we are going to end up with.  There are days (most days) that I think I could handle one or two more but then there are those days where I don't think I can handle the three that I have, and they are relatively good children!  I know that when we do finally get a chance to adopt that they will most likely be older, since we would like to get siblings, so we won't be on infant duty and our kids seem to love to play with any other kids.  Gaetan did great.  I think that out of the two of us he is better with wrangling lots of kids at a time... good thing he wants to teach!  So, at least on that front I know that I have a lot of support for when we do expand the VG family.  Whew... crazy to think... but adoption has always been on our hearts so I know that barring any big life change we will be doing just that.

It was also really nice to have somebody appreciate your help.  I know that when you help someone you aren't doing it for their approval, but it sure is nice when they give it and truly appreciate it.  It was really fun hanging out with Jane and getting to know her better as well... she and her husband are extremely nice and intelligent people... people I feel comfortable having my kids around.  I know it may sound weird that I mentioned their intelligence, but it really does make a difference in how things are handled, and that we know they are on the same page as we are.  Looking forward to hanging out with them more!

JVG

Year two: Complete

This morning Gaetan had his stat mech final.  His prof was kind enough to let him miss class once Norah was born and still come in and take the final... he even allowed him to not do the homework without any detriment to this grade.  :)  Just goes to show what being a good student, working hard and showing you know your crap the entire time will pay off!

I honestly can't believe that he's just completed his second year of grad school.  And that he has one more semester of classes and then it's on to the dissertation!  Time is flying by (well, at least it feels like it for me, but I'm not the one suffering through these classes...) and I am getting more and more excited that the end is near.  I can imagine that he is ready to be done with school forever!  This is just getting us one step closer to the rest of our lives!

So, good work hard working Papa!  You are making grad school look like a breeze and giving me a skewed idea that it IS this easy haha.

JVG

Christmas at home

This year was really the first year we did a lot of the 'Christmas' type things.  Even though we've had a family for 4 years now, this was the first time that the kids were going to be excited about it.  Dude loved putting up the tree and decorating other parts of the house and he LOVES seeing people's Christmas lights outside.  This was the first year that we went Christmas shopping for the kids because there actually had interests in things.  :)  It was nice because we could have Christmas how we wanted it, and how we wanted it is low-key.

Since we had been doing Christmas things at my parents all weekend, it was nice to be in our own place with our own choice of loudness.  I know that with that amount of people even if they're all whispering its still going to get noisy.  After the kids woke up we had a lazy breakfast (actually, Dude requested M and M pancakes) and then got ready to open presents!  The hardest person to shop for was Lucy.  She's at that stage right now where she likes everything that Big Brother likes... so we felt like we were just buying all the presents for him!  We got them a lot of books and one or two toys and they loved it.  He was more into opening presents than she was, but they both had fun.  :)

Big brother helping her see what it is... we got her a sit and spin

Opening it up!

She was having a lot of fun on the bottom of it even without the middle part to help her spin!

Dude was helping to spin her as well

After we got it all assembled she wanted to sit on it like this and go around very slowly... silly girl!

Ultimately I would like to start a tradition where we do different culture's/countries Christmas every year or so.  This way it gives the kids a perspective that there is 1.) A bigger world around us 2.) that there is a culture side to holidays 3.) educational and fun!  :)  I'm thinking that it's going to be a few years yet until Tristan is at least a 5 or so, but who knows... Really, it's because I probably won't get organized enough to do it until then, but weirder things have happened.  haha.

The beginning of the excitement...

Yeah, we didn't really wrap them in fancy paper, but they didn't seem to mind

Dinosaur Train... Nature Trackers!  This is a book he knew we had bought him for months now and he was excited to finally have it

We got him a duo book that he always gets from the library.  We highly recommend it... it's called Zero and One by Kathryn Otoshi.  For being a kids book it has a great message in it.

Here's my quick add for Better World Books.  You get books for way cheaper and every time you buy a book they donate one :)

Children's classic... Richard Scarry's 'Cars and Trucks and Things that Go!'  He calls it the Goldbug book... 

His toy.  The underwater version of the dinosaur train

After it got put together.  Train track and all!

Some dinosaur train toys came with 3D glasses...

Looking good baby girl!

Its always fun giving your kiddos gifts and seeing the appreciation in their eyes as they open it.  We are fully under the impression that you don't have to wait until a holiday or special occasion to give them things, which is why they probably didn't get a ton at one time.  Also, then they get overwhelmed with new things and it gets lost in the shuffle.  :)  But, the few things we did get them I knew they would really like and they did.  :)  Merry Christmas all!

Hahaha our presents to my parents... ReinBeer!  ;)  Thanks Pinterest.

Momma's shiny present... the husband knows what i like.  Thank you!

JVG

Baby Fever...

It's kinda fun to look back to see how this pregnancy has been similar (and different) than the one with Lucy.  Tristan's pregnancy was so easy and I felt so good the entire time, (except for the labor part) that I just chalk that up to the best pregnancy ever.  With Lucy I'm starting to see a lot of similarities... which is why I'm leaning more towards it being a girl.

Lucy's heart rate during my first appointment was 175, and this one's 170.  We couldn't find a heart rate for Tristan at first, so I'm not sure about that.  And right now, I don't feel very pregnant.  Other than my belly is starting to show and my belly button popped already (yes, I know, ridiculous) I feel great.  I'm excited because next appointment we get to find out what it is, and usually before that I can start feeling the baby kick!  Whoo!

I mean, really, can this get any cuter?  They love each other so much they couldn't stand the idea of not sitting next to each other in the cart.  Goobs.

Now... here's the ridiculous part.  I think because I feel so good and I have really been loving watching Tristan and Lucy interact and really want to play with each other, the more I think I want to have a boat load of kids.  I know I know, just ask me how I feel about birthing more children when I'm huge, waddling (because there's no way I can walk anymore) and am so uncomfortable the thought of sleep is out of the question, but for right now I'm loving the idea.

I guess you could always argue that we CAN have more children, and I don't have to birth them, so we are back to the adoption plan.  :)  I think that's probably the way it's gonna end up.  I had this feeling that I was ready to have more kids when I was still pregnant with Tristan, but not so much Lucy.  So, I guess we will see!  I have a feeling that the Dr's are going to tell me that it's probably not safe/good idea to have more kids because one's body can only take so many c-sections... Looking forward to seeing what the future holds :)

JVG

Qualifier has been passed!!

Today was Gaetan's first day back for his last year of classes.  I received a text from him after his first class that was a picture, which I thought was a bit strange... wasn't sure if he was showing me his office or something.  But... it turns out it was his letter from the Graduate Advisor saying that he had passed his qualifier!!  Whoo hoo!  I was a bit overwhelmed actually when I realized what it was.  Not gonna lie, I cried a little.

That is such a huge accomplishment, and I know that we all figured he would pass it because he's brilliant, but he still had to actually perform and get it done.  There were 7 other people who took it with him and nobody else passed it, so it wasn't a sure thing.  This means that for sure that he can move onto his PhD for sure, so all the research he's done for the summer can be used for his dissertation.  :)

We are so proud of him and everything that he continues to do!  Even though we had all the confidence in the world that he could do it, it's still impressive none the less.

JVG

Summer time!

Gaetan has been done with school now for a few weeks and we weren't really sure how the summer was going to go with his research grant and all.  He did have a meeting with his advisor, so we got some answers!  :)  It appears that because his work is theoretical he doesn't really ever have to go in on campus. That most of their communication about the project can be done via email, which he will be able to access the school computers from home.  His advisor told him that he could do his work sitting on the couch, after the kids were asleep if he wanted.  After his meeting he also came up with a thesis for his doctorate maybe:   R-Matrix MQDT (multichannel quantum defect theory) Rovibrational Frame Transformation Approach to Molecular Photoionization. Not really sure what the heck that means, but good for him!  :)

His advisor also told him that after he was done with classes (which is next year) and passes the qualifier (which is hopefully at the end of the summer) then he could research from wherever... and Gaetan asked, "From Seattle?" and he said, sure if that's where we wanted to be.  With such freedom that opens a lot of doors... exciting and kinda scary at the same time!  So we will see what that holds for us!

Enjoying the outdoors

Some Papa-Lucy snug time

As for now, we have been enjoying all the time that Papa has been home.  I know that the kids love it, and I enjoy seeing his lovely face around here more too.  I'm sure there will come a point when he will have to go somewhere to research or work, for the sanity of all, but for now, we are enjoying it!

JVG

Late night talks

One of my favorite times of day is after the kids go down and Gaetan and I get to hang out... just us.  That has been one of the most important things for us to do is to make sure that we have 'us' time.  It's so easy just to get wrapped up in the busyness of life, kids and then just wanting to fall down at the end of the day. But, I'm glad that we can keep this up :)  It's a really nice time to catch up and really talk.  Of course we talk through the day but we don't get to have those deep important talks because most of the time they're interrupted.

With the holiday season around and having to spend more time with family there has been a lot on our minds.  I'm still struggling with how to deal with Ingrid, and show her grace while not exposing my children to unnecessary things.  I know that Gaetan is still trying to figure out what role his family plays in ours.  And, because it's the holidays, we're forced to spend more time with them than we would probably actually like to.

We got to spend some time talking about what our future holds... and how exciting it really is.  We are very content with where our lives are right now.  We are where we have to be for school, and the community around us is great for the kids.  Of course we're still talking/deciding about home-schooling or not (but we're leaning more towards yes) and the importance of having fellow believers around us.  Right now, we pretty much just hang out with each other (which is great and fine) but we are definitely seeing the need for other believers to fellowship with on a daily basis.  We love Mars Hill and what they have to offer, but the drive there a couple times of a week is hard.  I know that God will either make something available to us down here (through them) or we will find another great church community to connect with while we're here.

We really have been preparing ourselves for something big.  Things have just been falling into place that have made me realize that we're probably going to end up moving across the country... and at first that was terrifying to me, but now I'm getting really excited. :)

I love that I still want to talk with my husband... that I look forward to spending time with him.  Its so easy to get lost in the common ground of our kids, and that our love for each other can be pushed to the back burner, but ours is still front and center and burning hot ;)

JVG