It seems like just yesterday that I was writing about my sister’s graduation from UVA. That was, in fact, five years ago. Wow. That went by really fast.

Today, it’s Murray’s turn. A couple weeks ago, Kate, Mary, Simon, and I made the trek down to Blacksburg to help Murray celebrate his college graduation. It was a fun couple of days, and I really enjoyed meeting Murray’s friends and hanging out as a family at my (and Kate’s and my Dad’s) alma mater.

Murray has grown into a young man that any parent would be proud of. If my kids turn out half as well as their Uncle Murray, we’ll be doing pretty well. What strikes me about Murray is the awesome balance he has struck. He has been a solid student, while also getting involved in a number of extracurriculars at Tech, while still making plenty of time for his relationships with his friends and family. He is pretty unflappable, and is going to make a great addition in his new job this fall (working for PWC). They are lucky to have him.

I also count myself among the people who are lucky to have Murray. I’m really excited that he’s going to be in in NoVA to start his career, and I’m looking forward to getting some time to hang out here and there. I know my kids are looking forward to it, too. Yes, that means we’ll be hitting you up for babysitting oh. . . constantly. Mom and Dad will be glad for the time off.

Congratulations, Murray!

My new year’s resolution is to blog more often. Waiting for the laughter to die down. . .

Okay, that’s not really my New Year’s resolution. Somehow everything I want to say has recently been magically condensed to 140 characters or less. Because my attention span wasn’t short enough to begin with. Darn you twitter and facebook. So to start 2010, I present you with a picture of my whole family, taken at our Christmas celebration this past weekend.

View Large, On Black

Early Monday morning my paternal grandfather, fondly referred to by our entire family as ‘Pop’, passed away. He was 86 years old.

My mother loves to tell how I referred to him as “my friend Pop” when I was little. I remember him indulging my juvenile games and fantastical imaginary scenarios on many an evening or weekend when my parents were out. I remember what I now recognize as an amused smile as he enjoyed watching my active imagination. Those many hours and days that Pop sacrificed as my family’s go-to babysitter are precious to me and my siblings.

I remember the outings he would take us on, whether it was something as simple as a trip to the grocery store, or as exciting as fishing at a nearby lake. Most of all, I remember Pop’s willingness to teach: sinking a 20-foot putt (never did master that one!), hooking an eight pound bass (or, more likely an eight ounce Spot), or playing Gin Rummy were only the beginnings of what Pop would teach us.

Pop taught us more by his life than he probably ever knew. And only in writing this do I now realize how much I should have told HIM. Pop taught me about redemption and strength of will. He taught me about giving to the community. Most of all, he taught me how to earn the deep admiration of family, friends, and peers by living a life guided by a close relationship with Jesus Christ.

In these past few weeks, I have been touched by the outreach of Pop’s friends – his ‘extended family,’ if you will. The well wishing through cards and visitors was truly beautiful. I loved reading through his birthday, Easter, and get well cards (I’m fairly certain he didn’t mind) and seeing names I had never heard before. It firmly cemented in my mind the long reach of Pop’s generous spirit, and the humility with which he lived.

We’ll miss you Pop. See you in the next Life.

I give you a cute Simon video.

I just finished paying bills and am avoiding the piled up photos I need to process. I have two pics from Peter Across The Street’s Mom that I need to post, a basement that is a disaster area, and a laundry list of stuff to do that is waaaaay to long. So what do I do? Procrastinate by finding this gem in my archived videos. Enjoy. This is circa December 2006.

The Christmas 2008 photo session went well, and I think we got a picture we were happy with to use for our Christmas cards this year. A friend of mine was kind enough to lend me some lighting equipment (2 strobes, a reflective umbrella, and a light stand), and I was able to set up a little studio in our house. I took a metric ton of pictures, and there are probably a dozen or so I’d be perfectly happy sending out with our family’s Christmas cards. This flickr set is the best of the outtakes (view as a slideshow). Enjoy!

As of this week, I will only be buying (and changing) diapers for one child. I’m sure there will be the occasional setback, but that is to be expected.

You all can file this one under “Too Much Information.”

“Erin wants to embody her ideals, not just vote for them”

It is no secret that I think my siblings are the bees knees. But the wide range of reactions that I’ve seen to yesterday’s election (from wild, uncontained glee to clothes-rending despair), my sister’s simple Facebook status update was by far the best. And it carries so much weight because nobody I know tries harder than she does to act on her beliefs. And that’s saying something, because I know some amazing people on BOTH sides of the political spectrum.