A few pictures from the beginning of July during the Auld reunion in Ohio, and from our trip this week to the John Ball Zoo with the Jewetts. Enjoy!

Lots of pictures taken lately. Here we've got a few candids from an afternoon of raspberry eating and from a lazy Sunday at the beach in Holland. Take a look.

A few pictures taken in June, including cousin Lydia and a trip for ice cream with Uncle Erik. Take a look.

Since it's been a while, a bit of water has passed under our family bridge since news was last posted here. The biggest detail is that Kristen has been admitted to Michigan State's Masters program in Theatre, and will be starting classes in the fall.

OK... It's been a long time, but here are some pictures from our March trip to Chicago and of our visit to Holland's Tulip Time. Take a look.

Christmas was a LONG season for us. In the end we had 5 separate family Christmas events. Here's a smattering of photos from the various gatherings. Take a look.

It's been a while since I've updated the site, especially with news about Kristen--so here's a brief update. She's been off her blood thinners since mid-December or so (with the hematologist's blessing, of course). This week she also saw her neurologist, who scheduled her for an EEG at the end of the month. If that comes out clear, we're going to start tapering her off of her seizure meds as well. So unless the EEG or a couple of last blood tests for obscure genetic conditions come out badly, it sounds like we're getting ready to put all the medical weirdness of 2007 behind us.

Kristen had a tough time deciding what Penn should be this year--and not a lot of time, given all our other commitments. The answer: a squirrel. Take a look.

Well, after waiting around Spectrum Hospital for a couple of days, we have a new addition to the family. Why don't you take a look at a few pictures of my niece Lydia.

On a beautiful October Saturday we took the Bensons to one of our favorite places--Robinette's apple orchard. The light was beautiful, the cider was fresh, and as you can see the doughnuts were delicious. Take a look.

Also note that I've revised Penn's picture page. Given that we've now got over 30 galleries of photos, the page was getting a bit long. All the old galleries are still accessible in a new rotating display. To cycle through the galleries, use the "Older Photos" and "Newer Photos" links.

Penn had his visit to the pediatrician today. Overall it was a fairly short visit, since Penn is in good health. He weighs in at 26.5 pounds (in the 25-50th percentile) and is 34 and 3/4 inches tall (putting him in the 75th percentile).

The doctor was also very impressed with Penn's mastery of the alphabet and numbers and thinks that in not too long we'll be able to start reasoning with him. Now we just have to wait for Penn to agree!

Kristen had her first trip to the hematologist on Tuesday. We'll have to wait a couple of weeks for the final meeting (and for the results from the blood they drew), but the doctor's initial feelings are that Kristen probably won't need a long term course of blood thinners--which was definitely good news.

It's been a while since we had an update about Kristen's health, so here's the current lowdown. Just this past week Kristen met with her orthopedist, who's quite happy with the status of her shoulder. Unless something goes wrong, she doesn't need to go back. Her general practitioner wants her to stay on her blood thinners at least until October; we'll check back then and see what he's thinking. Over the summer, her neurologist changed her anti-seizure drug (yeah, side effects) and wants her to stay on them for at least a year from the time she went into the hospital.

The neurologist also scheduled an appointment for her this coming week with a hematologist, who should help answer some questions about her blood clot and what that might mean for her long term need to be on blood thinners. Fingers crossed!

After ironing out a few kinks due to software upgrades, new pictures of Penn are available--including pictures from his second birthday party and from our trip to the zoo. Take a look.

A few pictures taken during our trips up to Fremont this summer. Take a look.

Today was Kristen's "six month" check-up with the neurologist. The news was good, in general. We were a little surprised to learn that the doctor wants Kristen to stay on anti-seizure meds for a year total, not just six months as we had thought. He is willing, though, to switch her to one that won't cause problems for any potential pregnancy we might have. And which will have fewer side effects over all. He's also agreed to give her a referral to a hematologist so we might get a better idea what caused her blood clot in the first place, and whether there's any reason to believe she'll be inordinately predisposed to them in the future.

My first solo publication has come out, an article about my use of podcasting in the classroom. Unfortunately, because it's in an academic publication, you probably won't find it in a library near you and I can't link you directly to anything other than the table of contents. A pre-publication proof is available here.

I just received word that an article I wrote on podcasting is going to be published in PS: Political Science and Politics, one of political science's premier journals. This marks my first solo peer-reviewed publication.

Enjoy a few photos from our family reunion in Ohio, including fun on the slide and a swing. Take a look.

Just a couple of pictures of Penn with his grandmothers. Take a look.

A bevy of photos from our lovely afternoon playing at the Meijer Gardens with the Pollmann family. Take a look.

A few new pics of Penn playing in the garden, having fun in the bath, and so on.

Today Penn had his first encounter with a playground slide. In all, he conquered the straight slide, the curved slide, and the twisty slide. His favorite? The twisty slide. Face first. Sadly, we didn't have the camera with us.

Well, it's official. After some uncertainty about what we'd be up to next year job-wise, I've been offered and have accepted a one-year position at Hope College as a "Visiting Assistant Professor." While I'm excited about the fact we get to stay in the area and they're offering good money, I'm particularly excited that I'll no longer be an "Instructor" or "Lecturer"!

Long-time overdue, the "Our Baby" section of the site has now become "Penn's Pages," where you can still check-out pictures of our son--as well as other fun things, like his current list of words and the books on his bookshelf. Enjoy!

Kristen went to her orthopedic surgeon today, and he was very impressed with how she's been doing after her month of physical therapy. And at least for the time being, he's not going to recommend any more surgery! She'll head back in June for a check-up, but we're grateful for the continuing good news.

On Monday, we made a trip to the nearest Spectrum facility for an MRI to check on the progress of the bloodclot. Today we heard back from the doctor, and it was good news. Back in January, the left (?) superior sagittal sinus had apparently been entirely occluded--something we hadn't really known until now. On her most recent MRI, though, there was still a thread-like mass but the sinus was otherwise entirely clear. Kristen will stay on the blood thinners for the time being, but we're quite grateful for the good news.

Three new cute pics of our son, plus news from his eighteen-month doctor's apointment. Take a look.

A couple of new pics of our super-cute son. Take a look.

After staying with my parents for some 5 weeks, Penn is back home. Life isn't really back to normal, and probably won't be for a while, but this is a good step in the right direction.