Travelled Out

The last of our "Summer Trips" finally came to a close last weekend. Now we're back on the home front refreshed, newly haircut-ed and ready for the Fall. A new exciting change in our house is that Chris has recently started school at Mesa Community College. He goes twice a week, making for two very long days, and seems to be doing well. Also with the Fall comes new adventures on the outdoor front. Our targets: a raised bed for a future garden and a fire pit (to be used and enjoyed especially this Fall/Winter). Lyra updates: The girl is really blossoming. Due to our numerous visits this Summer she has developed an appreciation for "big kids" and gleefully squeals with each new encounter. She has also expanded her vocabulary with words like "help", "butt", "up", "lap", "banana", "pool", "cat" and "cool". Most definitely a chatter box. In other news I sold four large cloth bags a friend back in Indianapolis. A project that was long, difficult and rewarding; spurring me on to consider other sewing projects (starting this Fall). Beth's work with the church has been very consuming with the result of some awesome things happening. Tons of student small groups are starting this Fall and all involved are pumped. Lastly we celebrate one year of being here this September. It's crazy to think that it's already been one year...but then I look down at my feet and see a cute little girl and think "nope, guess it's not that outrageous."

A Homecoming

The reader will notice that I haven't written in quite some time...this would be due to a much needed vacation/family trip/etc. back east. Having been in Phoenix for nearly a year (shockingly) we felt it necessary to visit some family, friends (no to mention two weddings) and old haunts just to check in and catch up. With most trips there we difficulties and trouble spots to navigate but on the whole it was "epic" to say the least. Of course Lyra did her fair share of glad handing (whether on her own accord or with some prompting from mom and dad) and clowning around with kids close to her age. We shared so many conversations, stories, laughs, dances, meals, drinks, rooms, homes, cars to lead one to think that our family had a knack for traveling; gypsies maybe? I celebrated my 26th and Lyra celebrated her first. Of course cake was a part of each celebration. While this was not my first time devouring a red velvet birthday cake (my favorite) this WAS Lyra's first [cup]cake experience. Let me just say the girl was up for the challenge! While she was a little hesitant at first once she saw/heard all the encouragement from family to just "dig in" she did just that. So face covered with cup cake and frosting mom, dad, grandpa, grandma, uncle, great uncle and great grandfather all stood back and captured the moment (to be used later for embarrassment purposes). Our trip ended just as it started with a plane ride followed by a sleepy car ride home. Home where our counter awaited to receive the trips many bags, boxes and books. Home where our beds waited patiently for our exhausted bodies to collapse; appreciative of their soft embrace. Home. Home. Home.

Communication

Lyra is almost a year old but I swear she was only born last month. Each day as she physically changes and matures I think to myself "wow, how quickly you're growing up" and she, most often times, smiles in return as if to say, " oh yeah, check me out!" I am awestruck as well with how much she can process and express (using her baby signs of course). We truly share a common language not merely through the signs we display but something deeper, unwritten. I struggle even now to put it down in words. The only feeling I can compare it to is a marriage relationship. Please don't hear me say I feel an attraction to my little girl...yikes! no way...but a deep connection. A connection that acknowledges the understanding "I am yours and you are mine"; I am your father and you are my daughter and we are bound by something more profound than ancestry. Ok, ok so I may be putting words in her mouth but these are atleast my true feelings. I guess what I'm trying to flesh out is this: we communicate. Not in any way close to/similar to the I communicate with Beth, my mom, our friends or other family. And it just strikes me as profound. And I love it.

Back in the saddle again.

So I don't even remember when my last post was nor to I care to look (for it would be too depressing). Needless to say it's June already...hello summer! Which means my birthday, Lyra's birthday..loads of other birthdays. Ok enough small talk on with the updates: Since my last post we have been pretty busy ( as one might guess). We had family come into town which was fun, chaotic and really a breath of fresh air. Some new outside toys have been added to the Wolff's back yard. A small kiddy pool and a hanging swing, both of which have received much use since there arrival. More and more homemade treats have been gracing our refrigerator. Things like peach jam, yogurt, 4o some odd meals (courtesy of Beth's mom) and some lovely banana muffins. Other homemade/craft items include some lamp shades that Beth has crafted to hang in our kitchen; replacing the terribly awful fluorescent lights. Oh and I almost forgot the most important update: WE PAINTED!! As of a couple of weeks ago the inside of our house looks much brighter and more lived in. It's all about the small steps. Paint a little here, landscape a little there, reorganize somewhere else. The whole thing is coming together quite lovely. Some news on the social front: Lyra and I have begun hanging out with a group of stay-at-home dads just a short drive from our house. While the group mostly consists of dads/kids who are in fairly different life stages from our own it is nice to share in this community (especially when it gets you out of the house). Lastly my studio work has been progressing. I have been trying to get myself on a more structured schedule. I figure if the time has already been carved out there shouldn't be any excuse not to use it. Lunch time is approaching so I should probably go.

April Fools

So this month me and the babe have been laughin' a lot! From forceful signings of "more" to playful head-butts in the face I have found myself laughing out loud on numerous occasions. What can I say the girl is HI-larious. Things around the Wolff house hold have been quite busy as well. With no shortage of appointments, tasks and chores I have decided that one could quite literally spend the whole day doing laundry...AND THAT WOULD BE IT! But enough house work. What else is going on? We started some garden prospects out in the back yard. Exciting to see how things shape up. We planted strawberries, a small butterfly garden, some Kentucky Wonder Beans and some herbs. The key right now is to keep them alive during the summer so that when fall comes we can actually PLANT them...strange, eh? Good news on the studio front...I HAVE BEEN FINDING THE TIME!! Exciting! Small steps though...nothing earth shattering. But I love the man cave it's comforting to retreat to after a particularly long day. In other news I went to the dentist today. It had been like four years since Beth or I had gotten any dental work done and...you guessed it: CAVITIES!! HOORAY!! But it gets better..crowns and teeth cleaning. Ok so the teeth cleaning thing is good to do regularly. Moving on...[ which requires some explaining]: we visited the dentist a few weeks ago to see what all we needed to have done, most definitely get a cleaning, but also see what else we needed to take care of. A longer story cut short; we couldn't get really anything done that day because of a number of issues...scheduled another appointment for each of us then went home and cried. Why cry you ask? Well here's why: Beth needed three cavities filled and a cleaning and I needed one cavity filled, a crown for a tooth and of course a cleaning. Total bill [with help of insurance mind you]: around $2,000...WHAT?! So much for insurance. So today was my appointment. Originally scheduled for 10:00am. At 8:15am we got a call from the dentist's office asking where I was. Confusing I know. Apparently they failed to mention to us two weeks ago, when we were scheduling it, that I needed to arrive at 8:00am for the crown and 10:00am was my cleaning. So needless to say I dashed out of bed and drove to the office arriving by about 8:45am. Approximately two hours later I emerged from the dentist's grasp with a temporary crown and cleaned teeth. My face was entirely numb on my right side and my jaw felt as though it had been worked over like a lump of clay. The strangest part of this dental marathon was my time spent in the dentist's chair. For an hour and half I lay negative thirty degrees ( that's not flat for those confused about this one) desperately trying to keep myself from slipping to far toward my head rest. After my procedures Beth and I went to a going-away for someone at church. It was difficult, to say the least, eating pasta with a half numb and aching jaw. Well that's about all I have. Until next time stay classy Internet.

A New Revelation

So I've discovered this notion that I would like to share with all of you.. For some time I have been under the impression that I was the father of not one but 21 children. "Really", you say to yourself, "really...how is that possible?" Have you and your wife been conceiving and miraculously birthing numerous babies or have you adopted children with anyone knowing?" NO on all accounts. The root of this dynamic dad-Dom that I find myself in stems from my involvement at our church. For the past three or so months I have been volunteering as the worship director/coordinator for the youth program at Mountain Park. Needless to say things have begun to get a bit difficult (without going into too much detail). I have been mulling this situation over and over in my head, talking with Beth about what has been going on and I think finally it hit me the other day....I am not these kids parents. As much as I enjoy playing music with them, worshiping with them, mentoring them, rooting for them, encouraging them....I am not their parent! I am an adult leader who is volunteering his time to work on this thing we call worship. They don't consider me anything more than this so why should I ? Grasping this was relieving. I know that this will be a continuous struggle as I am a new dad still getting his daddy legs about him. But, it will be a target I can aim at when my proverbial ship is lost at sea.

"It's all happening.."

Ahh "Almost Famous" how I love thee. Anyway, good news on the home front... the Wolff"s have hot water!! You guessed it that means showers, laundry the whole shebang. What's next you ask? Well that's a mighty good question. Who knows it. The yard got a much needed tending to this past weekend courtesy of Chris ( our outside Christmas lights were even taken down). Pretty amazing. Oh and I guess furniture would be nice. Never fear...we order some sweet "sack chairs" to help fill out the living room. Now I know what you're thinking...bean bag chairs GROSS! Ha! You are in luck these bad boys are nothing like bean bag chairs (except for the outrageously huge part). The key is that they are filled with furniture foam instead of beans! Genius!! Other than these house updates we have been doing a surprising amount of traveling (which has lead to many different kinds of exhaustion). It will be nice to lay low for a while and enjoy the homestead. And yes pictures, pictures, pictures. Been taking lots of those but have yet to post any...figure that one out. Well I'm all out of information. More to come later. Peace.

A very belated hello

So tons of things have happened since my last post. We found a house, bought it, moved in and now are in the process of fixing it up. Basically here's what we did: tore out the entire kitchen and replaced it with sweet stuff from IKEA, replaced all but the fridge (kitchen appliances wise), then replaced the carpets in one of our living rooms, Chris' room (Chris is Beth's brother who lives with us) and Lyra's room. To say that this undertaking has allowed for a crash course education in home repair/maintenance would be a huge understatement. Not only has my knowledge base increased with all the work, repairs and installations we have done but, my tool collection has also increased. Oh baby! It's bittersweet I guess. The most recent home owner dilemma has been the water heater. After numerous "fixes" I am still sceptical of whether is has truly been fixed. The test will be to see if we have hot water in the morning tomorrow (it miraculously came to life this evening while eating dinner...who knew). But all appliances aside it feels good to have a home to "come home" to. Even though boxes are still everywhere and we still have virtually no furniture it's a good fit for us. Somewhat far away from the church (15-20 minutes) it does offer us prime access to the 101. Another exciting bit of news is we finally obtained a lens for our newly acquired digital camera. Thanks to Suzy Ivy (Beth's sister) we can now take some sweet-action photos of Lyra, our family and whatever else. Speaking of Lyra she has gotten quite a bit larger since my last post (sorry for no pictures yet...that's what the new camera's for silly!). She is now seven months...crazy. She is babbling as all get out and enjoys grabbing everything, eating, rolling, playing, dancing, sitting in the hammock and going for stroller rides. Church related issues are going well. I have taken on a lot more responsibility with the Student Union band experience. It is becoming more like a part time job than a volunteer opportunity (which if I was honest I could have told you was coming). We also recently took the senior high to winter camp (which was a miniature resort). It was crazy fun (see facebook profile for some pictures). I have also begun some serious work on the studio area I have claimed for myself in our Arizona room (or three season porch for you mid-westerners). I am uber excited about that space but am trying to be cautious not to "throw it together". Still even with all these things taking place I am still somewhat home sick from time to time. Just too many fond memories from Indiana you know? I'm sure we will create "fond memories" here but it takes time (really we have already begun to create some courtesy of winter camps taken with the youth group). Well I feel that this is a sufficient enough update. More will come (now that my yahoo/google account shenanigans have been ironed out). I'm off to check the water heater...wish me luck.

In the beginning

So I have been at this "Dad" thing for a little over six months and I must say that I've got it down. Sure I have faced challenges: Quit my job and moved accross the country to live in a place I have never been, only have access to one car, have NEVER been a parent before (not to mention we had a girl so use your imagination there!), have been living with a very wonderful couple for the last five months...I hope the reader will pick up what I'm puttin' down...YIKES ON BIKES ALL THOSE CHANGES MAKE-A-ME CRAZY!! Being a parent is like being Lewis and Clark...you are navigating waters that you have never seen but quite possibly have heard about...maybe? All joking aside this has been one glorious ride so far. Certainly moving all this way (Indianpolis-Phoenix) was challenging and is still challenging. And, up and quiting your job to stay home with an infant is not wisest career choice BUT, you know what...WHO CARES!! I dig this little girl. She is the most important, most frustrating part of my life and I can't even begin to imagine what things would be like without her. I am still recovering from our first meeting int the delivery room. And, I can be honest...I still don't know where she came from. Yeah, yeah you can explain the whole womb thing and the nine months thing and the whatever. But seriously...my mind flips to more of a science fiction track. Like Aliens, Gremlins, etc. Ok so she is tons cuter than all those fictional creatures but, it was just as creepy seeing her emerge from my wife's belly. Moving on to other things (before you know who interupts)...
The desert. I honestly love it. I wasn't sure at first coming from the Midwest. Yes it's not as green, sure there aren't as many fun trees to climb or streams to play in but...I can wear a t-shirt in January so, that's wicked sweet. And, I am surrounded by mountains not to mention I can "take a hike" to a trail head in like five to ten minutes. Eat that Midwest! Also we have two growing seasons here (haven't actually experienced them yet but am excited to try) so that means sweet gardening action.
Ok so I don't mean to wrap things up too quickly but my little friend needs some attention. There are plenty of things/events/adventures that I have omitted. Not purposefully but just ran out of time. So we will give this blog thing a try and see how it goes. So long.