'Tis the Season to be Charitable

I know that many of you are strapped for cash this year. I know Josh and I are feeling it with a new baby! This, however, is my "soft ask" (as they call it in the non-profit industry) for you to consider a charitable donation to Higher M-Pact.

Lots of you already donate your time and money to causes that you are passionate about. You will be receiving lots of requests at this time of year to stretch a little further for a myriad of other organizations. I know that I choose who to donate my time and energy to based on the issues I hold the closest to my heart. So if children in need isn't your thing, please disregard this post :).

I am the Center and Education Coordinator for Higher M-Pact. We serve low-income, high-risk children and families in the urban core of Kansas City. You can learn more about this organization and our programs here: http://www.highermpact.org/.

At this time of year we do a really wonderful thing. We adopt families who could use a little extra help providing a memorable Christmas for their children. I spend lots of time in the homes of these families and I can tell you--there's nothing more heartbreaking for me than knowing that not only are some of these kids not expecting a visit from Santa this year, but parents are struggling to provide even the most basic needs: winter coats, food, electricity.

You can make one-time donations through our website if you just have a little extra to give. You can also sponsor an entire family if you have a small bundle of money you're not sure how to spend. Even if you can't make a donation you can consider volunteering if you're in the Kansas City area. If nothing else, you should peruse our website. There is a great story behind the founding of Higher M-Pact!

Please feel free to contact me directly and have a fantastic and Merry Christmas! jvansickle@highermpact.org.

Some pictures...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Harper sits on her own!

Ah. With parenthood it's the little things. A couple of weeks ago, Harper started sitting on her own. Now if we could just get her to feed herself...

We seem to have had a lot going on lately. Josh and I have both been busy at work. Josh is doing lots of architecty-type things. At my job we celebrated election season with a whole slew of election-themed activities. We had a mock debate between two youth "presidential" candidates and then a mock vote. We also gathered residents to go to the polls on Tuesday. We were going to provide rides, but turns out that everyone was able to get there on their own. We also had a huge election night party at the community center. I'm glad it's all over now though--the Best household was a little consumed by politics the last few months. Over the weekend, my sister lovingly and not so subtly urged me to get back to baby business on my blog. So this entry is for you Jill. But only because my candidate won. ;)

Here are some new pictures of Harper....

Harper the Dalmation

Harper going for a ride

Family photo

Harper shopping

President Obama

Nothing can beat this day. Nothing.

Baby Tales

My good friends Christy and Aali came in town last weekend from Chicago. They were nice enough to watch Harper for an hour while Josh and I ran some errands. This is what happened while we were gone. They brought out our daughter's "cool." I didn't realize she was already so unaffected by it all. Look at that "baby-could-care-less" expression! She's one tough kid!

After our errands we all went to lunch. It was fun catching up but the visit was too short. We've missed the Shahs (and this was their first time meeting Harper)!!!! Aali is completing his residency in anesthesiology at Northwestern Hospital and Christy is an extremely gifted Occupational Therapist. Josh was nervous about leaving Harper with new babysitters until I reminded him that we were leaving her with doctors. I think he felt better after that.

For those of you who don't know, Christy and I have been friends since middle school and Aali and I met in high school. Christy and I lived together in college and Aali might as well have been our third roommate. I fondly recall Aali's assistance in helping Christy and I get our "band" together (even though we never performed outside of our apartment), incessant teasing about my endless string of questionable boyfriends, and late-night "North and South" marathons (Come on people! You know...North and South? Patrick Swayze? THE Civil War soap opera extravaganza? oh, forget it).

Anyway. I miss them living in the same town and hope that once they finish all that med school they'll move back to KC.

In other news, Harper is well. She just finished fighting an ear infection and possible stomach bug and seems to be back on the upswing. Even her ongoing cold seems to be subsiding.

She also seems to be developing a new skill every day--she's almost sitting up on her own and is starting to hold her own bottle (the latter development means lots of good breaks for mommy and daddy!)

I will update again with new pictures soon. Hope all of our friends and family are well!

Tuesday.

Are you watching the Presidential debate? I am. But that's not why you're here is it? Are you here for Harper? I thought so. I'm not even going to try and pretend that you're here for my wit, beauty, and political intelligence. So without further ado, ladies and gentleman, my daughter...

Who me? You're too kind. Here's what I've been doing the last couple of weeks. Thanks for checking in. Love, HarperHere I am awake.

Asleep.

I tried some cereal.

I visited with Laverne.

And Aunt Terry.

And Cousin Pat and Gigi.

And Michelle Obama. Wha? Wait! Mom! Let it go already!

Thanks for stopping by. It was nice visiting with you. Check in again soon!

I'm Turning 30!

Well, not for another week and a half but wow! I just keep forgetting about my birthday and then it hits me. 30.

Last weekend we went to Wichita for a wedding shower and my family surprised me with a little birthday celebration. We also got to see Jill and Brad and of course, Jason and the kids. We stopped by Emporia on our way home to visit Mima and Papa Tom. As usual we didn't take enough pictures, but I've posted what I did take.

Gigi is coming in town again tomorrow and staying with us for a week. Pop (Ed) will be joining her (and us) next weekend!

Harper has had a cold in varying stages for about three weeks now (thank you daycare!) but she's still happy and active. She is rolling over, playing on her stomach, laughing, and growling. I couldn't figure out where she picked up that last one until a little girl at school crawled over to Harper's carseat one morning, peaked in at her over the side, and started growling like a dog. The girl also had a nice crusty, boogery nose and a cough. I guess it's pretty obvious who Harper is hanging out with during the day.

That's all the news here so now it's time for pictures:

Harper & Aunt Jill (Harper's onesie says, "My Aunt Rocks"

Harper in her new footie pj's

Infant indoctrination: A new Obama onesie from Grandma

Harper and Papa Tom

The Audacity of Hope

There are times in my life when a speech has left me teary-eyed. Most often though, the speeches that have moved me most were not spoken in my lifetime. I read about them in textbooks or listened to them on tape--Sojourner Truth's address to the 1851 women's rights convention, Robert Kennedy's call to resist rioting and come together as a nation in the wake of the MLK assassination (here's a link to listen to it: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89365887), and of course the many moving words of Martin Luther King, Jr.

There are lots of speeches like this throughout history. They move people to act. They offer a sense of emotional relief because finally, someone has said what has needed to be said for a long time--and they did it in a way that was just plain powerful. They did it in a way that makes it very hard for people, even with the coldest of hearts, to resist listening.

Obama's speech last night was not MLK-esque. It may not even be ranked as a great speech in history (although I doubt it). But it was the first time in a very long time, that I have felt hope for our country. It will be remembered because of the sheer historical value of this moment in time. I haven't followed Obama's career for long--maybe a couple of years at most. But had you asked me three, four, even ten years ago, if I thought I'd see a minority president in office, I would have said "I hope so. But I doubt it." It's like the final frontier in gender and race inequality--A Black Man in the White House. A Woman in the Whitehouse (someday people, someday).

But back to Obama's speech. It was direct. It was insistent. It was strong. There was no b.s., no politician-y rhetoric, no unnecessary verbosity. I think it was even powerful enough to defrost some cold hearts ;). To me, it's not even a matter of Republican vs. Democrat, black vs. white. It's a matter of who is going to let "We the People" (not just a select few) have a place in our great Democracy again. Who is going to care for people who can't care for themselves? Who is going to protect our world and our environment? Who is going to regain peoples' trust and confidence?

Maybe it's all lollipops and rainbows. Maybe Obama won't deliver. Maybe our nation's issues (and even the world's issues) are so divisive that we'll never find common ground. But I'm savoring Obama's speech today. For this moment I am thrilled to feel moved in a way that I previously was only able to get from a textbook, or an ancient audio recording of politicians past.

Obama got my vote.



Alright, time for pictures!

The DNC has Harper's full attention*

She thinks Al Gore's jokes are funny.

Vote for Obama!

(*note to grandmas: I swear we're not letting Harper watch TV. It was just this one little time)

Finally Moved In!

Messy Kitchen!

This past weekend we finally got moved back into our condo. It's really beautiful and Josh and I are so excited about our new home (and being first time homeowners!). My parents came up once again to help us get settled and Josh's Aunt and Uncle also pitched in. We had help from our good friends Kim and Andy and without all the assistance, we'd be swimming in boxes right now.



Here are some pictures from the weekend:

Mom, Dad & Harper in front of the new house

Harper being stinky

New Video

Sorry I'm talking so much in this video--but people, (*ahem* my sister), have been asking for a new video of Harper. She was really chatty tonight and this was the best one I could get of her.

Crazy Two Weeks

Harper has been doing well these last couple of weeks--she has really enjoyed being at home with my Mom and then with Gigi! We're not really looking forward to daycare tomorrow. Ok, I'm not looking forward to daycare tomorrow. Harper is growing and thriving though, and of course seems very happy. We have a lot to be thankful for!

Today we attended the Minter Family Reunion. This is an annual gathering of Josh's family on his mom's side. I hadn't seen many of his extended family since my baby shower in March--they were all excited to see Harper and it was nice catching up!

I've been trying to get back into my work schedule. I've now been put in charge of the community center and all of the educational programming so there's lots to catch up on and my days are busy. We've also got a move to look forward to--our condo will FINALLY be ready next weekend. Today, Josh realized that our move coincides with the annual airshow at the downtown airport. Hundreds of people park on our streets and gather on the bluff a block from our condo to get a good view. It gets so loud that it rattles our house. Moving should be interesting.

Here are a few pictures from the last couple of weeks. My mom took a series of photos of Harper (my favorite is the bottom pic below) and I will post more later.

Gigi & Harper napping

Papa Ed & Gigi

Harper in the Hospital

Well, this wasn't quite how we envisioned Harper's first illness. A week ago we took Harper to the emergency room with a high fever. Concerned that she might have caught the viral meningitis going around, the doctors subjected Harper to a battery of tests which included a spinal tap. She then had to stay in the hospital for observation for 48 hours. We feel so lucky that everything came back normal. Most likely she caught a bad cold or stomach bug but because of her young age, the hospital always follows "standard procedure." Our families were incredible--Josh's aunt and uncle came to the hospital right away and stayed with us throughout the first day. My parents headed to KC as soon as they heard the news and then my Mom stayed on through the week. We are thankful for their help and for Harper's quick recovery.


In other Best news, I've started back to work this week and am trying to adjust to the new schedule. Gigi was going to visit us next weekend but decided to head in early after hearing about Harper's hospital adventure. She will be staying with us this week and babysitting. I hate being away from Harper during the day but it's been nice leaving her with her grandmas!



Some pictures of Harper in the hospital...

Photos from July...

Happy 4th of July!

Harper's First Trip to the Zoo

In her zoo outfit looking skeptical...

Checking out the penguins...

Making friends with the gorillas...

Happy 50th Terry!

Josh's Aunt Terry (and Harper's dedicated babysitter) will be celebrating her 50th birthday this week. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Also, some pictures from Papa Ed's and Gigi's visit:

Harper's new outfit from Gigi: