Sixth Grade and Kindergarten (part deux)

I wanted to wait till the end of the day to post about the kiddos' first day of school, mostly so that I could give a report about what they thought about it!  Abby started Middle School today!  6th grade.  She was super nervous about all of the newness and wanted to homeschool actually.  Matthew walked with her the 1 mile trek this morning. Abby says: "It wasn't too far." Took them about 17 minutes.  They run a mile every Wednesday at school too, so she's gonna get some exercise this one!  She likes her teachers, says the lunch room is great (it's state of the art and really beautiful. If I can find a picture I will post it, but it kind of looks like a hip restaurant-big wood beamed ceilings, huge windows, wood tables and benches (dinner table sized), and very good quality food.  She gave it a thumbs up and said middle school is a lot better than elementary school.

I picked Noah up and he beamed, headed over with a paper bag hand puppet raccoon, and talked all about how school was "fun, pretty much fun."  He's not a fellow of many words but he told me it was much better than he expected.  He gave it a big thumbs up, talked about how his teacher was kind, and how the kids were much quieter than the kids in his class last year.  Noah is starting in Kindergarten here because we pulled him from K. last year. He just wasn't ready or thriving so we took him home.  He seems so much more ready to fly this year and we are so happy for him. Oh, yes, he also got a scratch and sniff minty sticker that he is very proud of. ;)

I will admit to crying buckets this morning. It wasn't an easy morning, and this hasn't been an easy season or transition. It's a big change for everybody, and I'm praying and hoping for the best year yet. Day ONE. A success for the littles, and we're all so so grateful for it.

Houston Quilts

Even though the year in Houston flew by, I had time to make some quilts.  A lot of this was done while Matthew was out of the country and during the first couple months while both kids were in school.  That was short lived, of course, since we decided to pull Noah from Kindergarten to give him one more year at home before trying again.  So, I had this little season of time just to create...(and play flute too, which was so fun for me, and such a stress reliever).  There are a few little quilts that I can't find pictures of--including one fun "Very Hungry Caterpillar"quilt for a sweet little baby boy.  And lots of other sewn things, but for now, here are some of the big projects I completed:

Geometric color study for Sarah, the artist.

Spider Web "Maple Leaf Rag" quilt top. This one isn't quilted yet...

Cross quilt for Emma

Feather quilt for Hannah (Abby wants one like this now!)

detail of the hand-stitching around the feathers

"Swoon" quilt for Jim

Getting Here

It was no small feat getting our family back to California after having just moved from Princeton to Houston a little over a year ago. We are weary of moving; relocating is not high on the list of things that we do well. But we were carried along by a community of people who love us, and we are grateful.  I want to say thank you:

To everybody who prayed for us and talked with us through a huge decision with the job transition. It wasn't an easy choice to make.

To the Jonathan and Maridyth Wiles for letting us use your car and washer/dryer while you were (are) in Africa.  We need a proper farewell, but maybe it's appropriate we didn't really say goodbye...

To Greg Alexander, Quique Autrey, Todd Haberkost, Meredith Maines and Mark Vogan for tremendous packing help.

To Rachel Alexander and family for meals, emotional support, and playdates.

and on the Cali side:

To Mom, Flip, Aunt Andi and Cousin Alec for loving on the kids and keeping them for days during our house search, and then for driving them the 7 hours to us!

Apparently the kids love to swim!

To Flip, for a memorable and long-awaited walk on the beach. Boy how I have missed those. Glad we saw some dolphins :)

To Bron, Jeremy, Teg, Callum and Declan Lea for welcoming us to Berkeley with hugs and flowers, and for bringing dinner to us :) and gluten free brownies. How sweet!

To Jamie C. of Berkeley for lending us your minivan so we could buy a mattress at IKEA. THANK YOU! Wood floors are so hard.

To Brent, Katie, William, and Lucy Webster for letting us crash at your house for nearly a week while you were out of town!  It was SO helpful.  And for a marvelous dinner and laughs that helped all of us feel more at home in this new town.

There are many more friends out there who have helped us in myriad ways, some I bet we don't even know.  Our heart-felt thanks to all of you!!

Little Buddy Lost Some Teeth!

This is a funny picture of Noah.  He lost his very first tooth while at Mia and Papa's house in San Diego, while Matty and I were house hunting in Berkeley! He got spoiled by Aunt Andi (his personal tooth fairy).  Then last week the little tooth next to it popped out too!  He has the most adorable lisp now, which I will miss when the new teeth come in (and they are coming in fast...).

an outing

We made it down those stairs! GULP.

We heard from friends about an amazing spot in Berkeley called "Indian Rock Park" and then discovered that it is a seven minute walk from our house!  So yesterday the kiddos and I packed a lunch and trekked over. Wow, what a view from the top!  We could see Marin, San Francisco, Berkeley, Oakland--the whole bay stretched out in front of us.

It was good to get out of the house for a little bit. We're weary of unpacking, and Abby in particular has expressed some trepidation at venturing out at all, so it was time to try something close but different.  The stairs cut into this rock are steep! I led the way and Abby followed Noah (holding his shirt sometimes just in case).  We kept telling Noah to keep his bum down and his head leaning in toward the rock and not toward the drop.  We watched a rock climber freestyle his way up a vertical climb and decided that he was quite like Spider Man: flexible, strong, graceful, and somehow able to stick to a wall of rock that should be impossible to climb.

I think this might be a favorite spot to bring friends who visit and who want a little adventure and a BIG view!

Noah would scramble up as far as we'd let him...

Abby looking at the Bay Bridge. Daddy works over there on the other side of the bay!

surfacing again

The Pearsons Four (and our Cat, Ellie) are new residents of Berkeley, CA.  How we got here is a roundabout, crazy story about four creative introverts trying to find where we fit.  A big part of that search included Matthew encountering an opportunity that he felt was too hard to pass up: he is working for Airbnb as a user experience researcher.  This work is what he most enjoyed doing in grad school, and he thought he might never get to do anything so close to his interests again.  So, we took the plunge and arrived in the Bay Area about a week ago.  Leaving good friends and an organization we love and support was by no means easy.  We've all felt the pain of such an ambivalent move.

We think that Northern California has a ton to offer and our family is well suited to lots about this place: we get to be driving distance to G's family, we all LOVE the climate (and the lack of Texas sized mosquitos), and we enjoy living in a college town near a big city.  We have a TON to learn and figure out: this is the first time Matthew has ever had a commute, we have to re-settle into schools in CA, and I (G) will have a lot to discover about on what and how to balance my focus during the next year or so (finish grad school? make more of creative opportunities that have just come my way here in SF? plant an edible garden in our back yard?).  

The kids are handling the move pretty well, but there is a natural cost that comes with uprooting. That part is hard, and these days are filled with highs and lows.  We have two weeks before school starts, which will give us some time to settle in, unpack, and hopefully do some exploring of our new spot in CA.  There's a lot to share about the adventure of getting here. And hopefully when we settle a bit I can  write a bit more about all of that.  For now, just pray for us that we can experience all of this transition and newness well, as a team, and with as much grace and mutual support as possible.  XO, G