It's a long haul; enjoy the journey

Chugga chugga, chugga chugga, chugga chugga ... It can't be much further now. Wait, what's that? A light at the end of the tunnel. No, it can't be. Yes, I think just maybe it is!

That's right, ladies and gentlemen, the Neelys' time in Gainesville is in the home stretch. There's still a lot to be done before we move to North Carolina in August, but the reality of our departure is definitely starting to sink in more.

Of course, the biggest hurdle still to jump is my dissertation defense, which is scheduled for April 4. That's when I will lay my scholarly soul bare before my committee and humbly ask for their blessing on my work of the last three and a half years.

Then this summer, Kendall and I will travel to Wilmington, NC, for our house-hunting trip. Our plan is to make the final move sometime in early August before my start date on the 15th.

While any major life change like this comes with some adjustment, we are looking forward to this next chapter in our lives. I'm excited to see what God has in store for us and what life has in store for our family.

With the time we have left here in town, we've been trying to get out and enjoy some of the local Gainesville attractions. This past weekend we went out to Kanapaha Botanical Gardens. The weather was lovely, and since dogs on a leash are allowed at the gardens, Henry got to go too! Even though many of the flowers there aren't in full bloom yet, we had a great time walking around and enjoying the day.

A few weeks ago we went to Devil's Millhopper, a huge sinkhole on the north side of town that they have turned into a park and nature preserve. Kendall and I got our exercise walking down and then back up the many stairs that descend into the sinkhole. Eden got her exercise running away from us on the woodland path that goes around the top.

We've also enjoyed taking Eden to the park a few times since the weather has been so nice. She is a big fan of the slide, and she's starting to warm up to the swing.

Back home, Eden seems to discover something new every day. Most recently, she has found out how funny it is to bend over with her head between her legs and look at you upside down. After she's done that for a while, she'll proceed to use you as her personal jungle gym. There's nothing that says "I love you" like throwing all your weight onto the stomach of an unsuspecting family member.

Let's see, what else is she doing these days? She climbs on everything! One of her favorites is the toy box. She has taken to climbing up there and dancing as close as she can to the edge. I'm telling you, that girl is fearless. Even her teachers at daycare have said she is one of the toughest and bravest little kids they've seen.

Eden has also become extremely independent (or at least that's the way she sees it). She has made it plainly known that we are not to help feed her at mealtimes anymore. She is perfectly capable of spreading her food all over her face, throwing it around the room, dropping it on the dog's head, and occasionally even getting some in her mouth all by herself.

In fact, Eden has decided that she is so good at this eating thing that she can even do it with pretend food. Her favorite imaginary meal seems to be dipping an imaginary french fry (i.e., a plastic toy block) into the imaginary ketchup (i.e., an empty plastic toy cup). Not only is she a natural pro now at feeding herself this imaginary food, but she'll also share this slobbery block delight with you when she's in a hospitable mood.

But Eden is not only interested in eating the food; she seems to have a penchant for the culinary arts as well. She loves to pull the Tupperware out of the cabinet and run around with spices she's swiped from the pantry. Many evenings Eden serves in the kitchen as Mommy's commis, hanging on her pant legs and sitting underfoot - Tupperware strewn about the floor - as Kendall fixes dinner. Look out Paula Deen!

Kendall continues to serve as a stellar histology supervisor for Shands. I know a few people there have commented how much they will miss her when she leaves. I think they probably recognize that they're going to have a very tough time trying to fill her shoes. She goes above and beyond what's expected of her every day. I know because I hear the phone calls she answers when she has to handle the frequent after-hours emergencies that arise.

I tell her, probably not as often as I should, but I should tell you all too: I am very grateful to have such a supportive wife and teammate in this journey of life. God truly blessed me when He brought us together.

That's the news for now. We'll keep you posted.

News for the New Year

I'm sitting down and I'm doing it. I'm writing this blog post.

I know it's been too long since our last post, and I apologize for that. With the fast pace of the holidays and then getting back into a new semester, I just haven't been able to carve out the time. But so much for my tiny violin and my very sad song. I'm carving out the time now, so here's the news.

Things have been fine as frog hair in the Neely home. Granted, there remain a number of logistics to figure out with our upcoming move, and Kendall and I are both staying busy.

I'm trying to tidy up this dissertation and get out of Dodge. I have a defense date set for early April, so at least I can start to see the finish line.

Kendall's work keeps her hopping with both managerial and technical responsibilities. Her latest project has been a complete inventory of all the chemicals in her department, which is no small task. (Imagine counting all the money in the U.S. Mint one dime at a time.) She was finally able to work on it after she finished revising all the constantly-changing policies and procedures.

But enough about the adults, right? I know why you guys really visit this blog. Our beautiful girl is doing just splendidly.

However, I received some rather alarming news a couple of weeks ago when I dropped her off at daycare. Apparently, Eden has a boyfriend. At first, the teacher said they were good friends and liked to hang out and eat their snacks together. Okay, no problem there. But then the teacher told me that on Eden's first day, she wouldn't stop kissing this little boy!

What's a dad to do?! I mean, only a year old and she's already chasing the boys and kissing them! I thought about having a little sit-down talk with her, but Eden can't even sit down long enough to finish her ABC book most of the time, so I thought it would really just be an exercise in futility.

The holidays went very well for us all. We went to Tampa to see family. Eden thoroughly enjoyed her first Christmas and her first birthday. She got the hang of the paper-tearing after a few tries. She also discovered that she loves boxes; that is, she loves getting in them.

She would tear the paper off a present, we would help her open the box, she would promptly pull the gift out of the box, throw it on the floor, and get inside the box. Next year, we're just going to wrap some empty boxes and save some money!

On Christmas Eve we went to church with Kendall's parents and then enjoyed the annual tradition of watching "Christmas Vacation." We stayed there and did Christmas morning at their house, then we traveled over to my parents' for the annual Christmas dinner. There were 20 people at my parents' house this year - the most they've ever had.

The next day, we woke up and went back over to Kendall's parents' for Eden's first birthday party. Almost everyone who was at Christmas dinner came over for the birthday party too. It's really nice to have an extended family that all gets along.

Eden had the ceremonial "smash cake" in her high-chair. However, much to everyone's surprise, it was the cleanest cake smash in baby history, we think. We actually had to encourage her to make a mess. All I can think is that she was trying to convince everyone that she's not really a messy eater. Yeah, right!

Nonetheless, everyone was very impressed with her decorum and how ladylike she was. Thank you to everyone who came to the party. We are so grateful that you all helped us make that time so special.

Eden continues to bless and impress us everyday. Some of her favorite activities include: taking spices from the pantry and arranging them on the floor, taking her hard plastic toys and banging them on the doors, hugging Henry, patting Henry, smacking Henry, bringing you a book to read to her, pulling Tupperware from the cabinet, pulling all the toys out of her toybox, and dancing to the animal train song.

I suppose I could write all day, but I guess that covers the highlights. That's the news for now. We'll keep you posted (sooner or later, I promise).

Hustle and Bustle

At Kendall's parents' house, Eden has a toy music table. If you press a button on that table, you'll hear a fun little ditty that goes, "Busy, busy, busy, busy; there's so much to do." I think that could be our theme song.

Eden is now into everything. If she can reach it, she grabs it. If she can open it, it's open. If she can pull it out, off, or down, then we just hope it isn't breakable or dangerous. She's even starting to become fairly adept at climbing - Lord help us.

I know it's been longer than normal since our last post, but we've been ... well, busy.

After Halloween, Kendall, Eden and I geared up for the next holiday adventure. This year for Thanksgiving, we were blessed to be able to go on an eight-day cruise with Kendall's mom, dad and grandpa. We all packed into our Tahoe and headed to Ft. Lauderdale, where we boarded the Carnival Freedom and set off for Cozumel, Mexico; Limon, Costa Rica; and Colon, Panama.

We had a wonderful time the entire trip. OK, almost the entire trip. If you ever have a choice between getting off a cruise ship at Port Everglades in Ft. Lauderdale and sticking a burning needle in your eye, suck it up and go for the needle. Leaving that port was the most chaotic, uncivil, blood-pressure-raising thing I think I have ever experienced. Just trust me, it's awful.

Thankfully, that was the only negative thing that happened on our cruise. We all had a lot of fun together, ate some great food, and laughed at how unfunny the comedians on the boat were. In Cozumel, we pretty much just hit the shops in port, tried on funny hats and ate at a good Mexican restaurant called Pancho's.

In Costa Rica we took a tour of a banana plantation and went on boat tour through the rainforest. However, I personally thought that our stop in Panama on Thanksgiving Day was the highlight of the trip. After a bus ride from the Atlantic side of the country over to Panama City on the Pacific, we took a boat tour through the Panama Canal. After going through the first set of locks, Tom, Grandpa and I marked the occasion with a commemorative Panama beer.

I was a little sad that we weren't able to be with my mom on her birthday this year or celebrate Thanksgiving with everyone on my side, but the trip was a wonderful once-in-a-lifetime experience. As my mom would say, "You have to grab those memories when you can."

After we got back from the cruise, we were barely unpacked before it was time to turn around and drive up to North Carolina with my mom and dad for my cousin Travis's wedding. Travis, who is eight months older than me, is stationed at Ft. Bragg. My cousin Cody is a chaplain in the Army, so he officiated the ceremony. The service was beautiful and we had a lot of fun at the reception. It was great to have a chance to catch up with aunts, uncles and cousins while we were there, and Travis and his bride, Shannon, looked like they couldn't be happier. Congratulations to you both!

Through all these travels, Eden did remarkably well. She hardly fussed at all during the four-hour drives to and from Ft. Lauderdale or the nine-hour drives up and back from Fayetteville. Of course, she had grandparents sitting back there to giggle with on both trips, so she made the most of her opportunities to ham it up. Henry also went with us on our trip to North Carolina, and he was a good boy too.

Speaking of going to North Carolina, I've also gotten a job since our last blog post. In August of next year, I will start as an assistant professor of journalism at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Kendall and I feel very blessed. Of the dozen or so schools that I applied to this year, UNCW was on the top of our list. I think the job will be a good fit, and we are really excited about living on the coast. Everyone I've spoken with who has been to Wilmington loves it, and many have commented that it is a great place to raise a family. God truly does know the plans he has for us.

Kendall continues to plug along at work despite equipment failures and personnel shortages. She also continues to be a stellar wife and mother. Don't ask me how, but somehow she manages to juggle it all.

From all of us at the Neely home, we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year.

A 'Hoppy' Halloween

Eden's 1st Halloween!

Family photo

Getting ready to trick-or-treat!

Do you have any peanut butter cups?

Eden's 'Scary face!'

Pumpkin butt

A happy bunny!

Patience and pitter-patter

Not long ago, a friend and mentor shared a wonderfully witty modification of a common adage. She said, "Patience is a virtue. It's just not one of mine." I can relate.

I don't know where I fall on the spectrum, but I have to be improving. At least, I hope I'm improving and not just retrodding over the same well-worn ruts of worry and anxiousness. Some days are better than others, I suppose.

The last couple of months I have had a lot of "learning opportunities" as I wait on word from prospective employers. Kendall and I both continue to learn how to embrace uncertainty as I make my way through the job hunt. There's been some progress and some prospects, but still we wait.

Taken 10/28/10

Meanwhile, the thought of waiting seems to be the last thing on Eden's mind. She is walking all over the place and can't seem to get where she wants to go fast enough. Her technique is simple but effective - lead with her head and pitter-patter her feet as fast as possible to stay upright. Sometimes she flops forward and falls on her hands, other times she gets a little too much weight in the back end and plops on her bottom. But for the most part, she's staying on her feet and on the go, go, go!

This weekend we'll be heading back down to Tampa to visit family, and Eden will be dressing up as a bunny for her first Halloween. We will post pictures, I promise. Kendall and I did a little dress rehearsal the other day and couldn't stop smiling and chuckling at how cute she was!

Eden has also been doing a few other things that have been keeping us in stitches. One of them is when she makes flubberdub noises (is there a technical term here?) with her mouth while she's crying. Check out the video below to see what I mean. She did this after dinner the other night. Maybe this is the new signal for, "I'm full. Please get me the heck out of this chair."



Kendall continues to plug away at work. She gets to an all-expense-paid daytrip to Alabama next week, so I'll get to take care of the baby on my own that evening. I'm just hoping I can keep her distracted from the fact that Mommy isn't there because if she figures out what's going on, she will not be happy. She is a BIG fan of Mommy.

Anyway, that's the news for now. We'll keep you posted.