A Full House

Greetings from the Givan household.
This summer has been one of visitors, both human and animal. Our first person to visit was Kate’s roommate Verna. Verna is a still a student at Southwestern and has been a great friend to Kate throughout her journey of the past year. It was a pleasure to have her stay with us for a night or two. Next to visit, was Chris’ friend Bismark. Bismark graduated with Chris last year from Hutch High and is now a student at Johnson County Community College. He was here for two or three days and was a great house guest. Last week, Tim met his sister in Colby to pick up his mom and niece Rachel to stay for a week. Oh, on a side note Tim managed to lock his keys in the car (while it was running) on a lonely stretch of road in Western Kansas. He did, however, have his phone, wallet and iPod on his person. AAA did come through for us and if you don’t have it we would strongly recommend it. (ask Kate how many times she has used them to come and unlock her car doors). Anyway, back to our company from last week. Rachel and Tim’s mom stayed here with us from Saturday until Tuesday and then went to stay with other relatives until Thursday at which time they returned. Even though the house gets crowded and the bathroom time must be scheduled it has been fun to have company and open our house (and it’s madness) up to others. So, if you are looking for a staycation location Hotel Givan is open!

Now for the animal visitors. For some reason, our house must let off an aura that welcomes stray cats. Our newest is one named Linda B. She is a sweet thing. We named her Linda when she appeared after we had just heard a Beatles' song and the little kids across the street named her (they thought it was a him)Bubba hence Linda B. I’m not sure if she is ours to give away, but if anyone would be interested she is mighty sweet.

Shona joined us as a family member after Kate got home. She is Kate’s dog and is busy learning manners and how to be social. Kate and I have taken her to the dog park once or twice and it is a hoot. The last time there were about 8-10 dogs there just running around and playing. Everyone is very nice and loves to talk dogs.

Last, are the new visitors at the pasture. The 6 fawns that have been released are so nice. We saw them on Friday night and again on Saturday morning. I think I can speak for all of us that we would enjoy having them in the backyard as visitors, but don’t think the city would approve.
And so, as summer winds down we shall see what other animals and humans might visit us. Remember the door is open…

New Pasture Residents

The zoo brought down some new residents for the pasture today. A total of 6.

What to do in the summer heat!

Well I'll tell you one thing - moving is not at the top of the list! Last weekend Mom, Dad, Erik, and Samuel graciously came to brave the heat and help me move, yet another time. Now I am in an apartment in Georgetown, TX, which is right in the middle of the two places I spend most of my time. It is 30 minutes from my job in Temple and 30 minutes from James, friends, excellent food, and endless live music in Austin. Two hours in the car everyday last year was just too much for me, so something had to change (I don't know how you do it Dad). I've included a few pictures of my new apartment. An old railroad track goes through the middle of the complex and we have our very own caboose :-)!



In other news, I'm home for a little while! I'll be here until Sunday. It is a little strange being the only Shook child in the house, but Ember keeps things lively by barking at anyone and everyone she sees out of the windows and Peaches and Divinity keep me company making sure to leave my clothes covered in hair :-).





Before I moved to Georgetown, I was staying with my friend Danny in his new house! To go with his new house and big backyard, he adopted a dog - Bamboo! Nothing much bothers him and he loves to sit in your lap. He reminds me of a cat the way he curls up, sleeps on his back, and leans against you when he sits on your lap.







Back to the idea of what to do in the summer heat. Even with 100 degree temperatures, I still think my favorite thing to do is spend time outside away from all the stuff we seem to accumulate. As long as you stay hydrated, you'll be in good shape. Over Memorial Day weekend Mom, Dad, Erik, Samuel, James, and I went to the Lyndon B. Johnson ranch and climbed Enchanted Rock. Left, you see a picture of us at the top! It is quite extraordinary to find this bald mountain in the middle of the tree covered hills surrounding it. There are so many beautiful state parks in Texas! I have a State Parks pass, so come visit and I'll get you in for free :-)



Love you all! Hope to see you while I'm home.




Blessings,

Hannah

Good Things Come in Threes…

We had the most incredible weekend! As many of you are aware, we were much less than impressed with our day care situation. That is over. Adelynn was dealing with a nasty diaper rash. That is almost gone. Plus, we found an extra little source for income – which is always nice!

** People like Chris, Samuel and Erik… you’re welcome in advance for the story about diaper rash on the family blog. I know it will be incredibly interesting for you :P **

On Friday, we finally said “Enough is enough” about that stubborn diaper rash, and we took Adelynn to the doctor. We had a few opinions on it beforehand and no one seemed to think it looked like a yeast rash. But none of the over the counter creams were working. (We had tried 4 different ones and it had been almost a month). We saw a different doctor in the practice but he concluded that it was in fact yeast related. So we were recommended another cream called Lotrimin AF. I went in to Walgreens and looked in the baby section with no luck. I asked the lady there where to find it and she showed me an Athlete’s Foot cream. I was a little surprised as I never saw us putting athlete’s foot cream on our baby’s bottom end. :) We are using that for her and it’s clearing up quickly! We hope to have her back in the cloth soon.

The second exciting thing that happened over the weekend was finding a second job for me. Mary’s Mary Kay Sales Director, Rachel Wahle, was looking for an office assistant. I thought the job would be part-time and would let me take Adelynn with me to work. The only disappointment was that it was only 10 hours a week. So it will just be a second job instead of my main one. I had no interest in quitting Stifel, because I love it so much, but if being able to take Adelynn with me would save us money for childcare and would get us out of the day care… I would be all over it. So as it turned out, I accepted the position and Rachel is just too much fun. She is energetic, but not overwhelming. This week is my first week and we are spending it by planning Thursday’s event. I basically get paid to be creative and organized… two of my favorite things to be.

When I had my interview on Saturday, we talked about the day care situation and she suggested a friend who was looking for a job. Her name is Lisa Erbe and she started watching Adelynn at our house this morning. She is very very nice and they both had a great day. She came over last night to meet us and she ended up sticking around for a couple of hours just talking to us and playing with Adelynn. She graduated with a Theatre degree so we checked with both Mary and Charles about her and they both said she was great. This was about the first morning in 3 weeks that I haven’t cried or been sick to my stomach because I had to leave her. (The exceptions were the mornings that her Grandmas came to watch her.) The only down side is that she will only be available until school starts, then we are back to square one. But the Kstate Jardine day care should have openings by then because they open a second infant room during the school year. But as we know especially well, when God closes one door, He opens another.

A year ago if we were doing this blog, Dave and I would probably just tell you about our relaxing weekends with our friends and what random things we did.

This year is completely different… and we wouldn’t change a thing. :)

The rainbow and the stairway

I despise having my picture taken! And according to Mary's email the photo just has to be of something important to us, so I present here my first photo. This is a slightly edited, although I assure you real, image from the South Pole station showing a halo phenomenon around the sun (incidentally I assume this is only a camera effect but the description does not say...if Andy sees this perhaps he can clear that up). Nothing in this photograph is significant to me. I chose it, instead, for its caption:

I will make company with creators, with harvesters, with rejoicers; I will show them the rainbow and the stairway to the Superman.

Combined I find the two very captivating. Unsurprisingly the quote is from Nietzsche and when I view the image through the lens of his praise for the heroic in man I fall in love--with the stark contrast of the orange against the white, with the gradient of the sky, with the defiance of this one intrepid man. I love this picture.



In counterpoint I present this photo taken from the top of the Wiley building, one of my favorites from Facebook. To a lesser degree it represents, in me, what I see in the image of the South Pole; the picture was taken after an intimidating climb up several fire escapes and a series of ladders. Like the other picture it represents an overcoming, an overcoming of my fear, my desire to remain on the ground, an extreme effort (even getting to the fire escapes was difficult) to reach a goal. The stairway to the Wiley building is the stairway to one of my greatest efforts.

Can you believe this?

At last pictures from breakfast on the 4th.

It only took me 4 days to get it here! Anyway it was a fun day and we missed you guys that weren't here.

Have a good week-end.

Love, Grandma

The Newest (Canine) Addition to the Family

Hello everyone,

I have been home almost 2 weeks now from Laureate and am beginning to adjust. The adjustment has been helped by the addition of Shona (pronounced Shawna) to the Givan household. Shona is a 10 month old puppy from the shelter. We think she is part yellow lab and part corgi or border collie. This assumption is primarily due to her build and the fact she looooovvvveeeesss to herd the feline members of the household. This has already resulted in several claw marks on her little nose. I picked her up yesterday which was a week later than we expected since she managed to catch kennel cough. She is doing well now and is settling in nicely. Connor even kind of likes her which as some of you may know is a minor miracle!

Shona is named after my sophomore college roommate, Verna. Verna is from Zimbabwe and the dialect she speaks is called Shona. Shona (spelled Shawna) in Hebrew also means God is gracious, God is merciful. Verna has been a HUGE support to me while I have been at Laureate and it just made since to me that my dog be named for her in some way. Verna has become my "sister of the heart" and now looking at Shona it's a good reminder that people care about me which gives me motivation to continue to recover. The meaning of the name I felt is also very appropriate since I have really experienced God's mercy and graciousness this past year.

Anyways, Shona is a good start to my new life in recovery. I don't know what life is going to look like exactly but this little girl will be there with me. l will keep you all updated and enjoy the pics of Shona! I'm afraid I don't have many yet. She does not like to sit still long enough to take pictures. :)

Love to all!

-Kate and Shona

A few pics from the 4th!

Dan, Brisco, and I spent Saturday with most of you...and then spent Sunday with his parents at some friends. Aside from the rain, it has been a relaxing weekend. Brisco has NOT enjoyed the fireworks or the rain. Today we put storage shelves in the laundry room. The office and baby's room are currently a disaster area. Above are two of my favorite pictures from the weekend.

Pooh Pat has an outing and meets the next generation

Greetings from the Givan household-Auntie here! On the 4th of July, Grandma got into the cedar chest for baby books and brought out her stuffed cat, Pooh Pat. I just love Pooh Pat, mostly because he makes me laugh. (I'm actually chuckling as I write this). I'm not sure why he makes me laugh, he always has:) Anyway, I decided Pooh Pat needed an adventure. I don't think he had seen the light of day for a very long time. Here is Pooh Pat's adventure.

First, he tried some bird watching-but much to his disappointment, no birds arrived.

Next, he tried to act like a bird to see if that would attract any. No luck again.

Pooh Pat's favorite part of the day was meeting the next generation-Addie.

He was very tuckered at the end of the day, but also very glad he got to be a part of our special Kinast 4th of July.

Greetings from the Johnstons at 400. Uncle Randy enjoyed playing with the Hutchinson Municipal Band on Saturday in the fourth of July parade. However, everyone else decided to keep Grandpa company at home. With Grandma at the wheel, we enjoyed a drive through the line up of the parade to try and find the band float for a picture. It was the way to see the parade! Hee-hee!

Aunt Vicki enjoyed getting to know Addie after her nap. She was all decked out in her fourth of July dress. Addie really liked hearing Grandpa's voice and would turn to him whenever he spoke to her.

Sunday: Rain, rain, go away, come again another day! It even flooded our streets. Luckily we moved the cars before they too got filled with water. It was a weird day for sure!

Happy 4th of July from Austin!

In honor of the Kinast Family Breakfast, James and I had friends over and put together a pretty tasty supper to precede the Austin fireworks over Lady Bird Lake. It included homemade hamburgers, a few sides, sangria, brownies, strawberry icecream (made by our friend Danny), and key lime pie. Yes, there was plenty of sugar, but there is a lot to celebrate!

I have included a few pictures of the Austin fireworks. Hope you enjoyed your 4th of July!

Blessings,

Hannah

4th of July!!! - Mary's Surprise Photo(s)

What is that in my hand you may be asking yourself??? We stopped at a lobster shack on our way to the Sharp House a couple of Monday's ago and I picked out my first lobster (paying a mere $9.00 for a nearly 2 lb lobster - time to take a peak in the KS grocery store tanks), soft shell and quite squirmy!!! Indeed this was my very first, hands on lobster cooking experience[the lobsters we received in the mail when we were kids were just terrifying] - Francois, as named by Mark(the guy in the background) who is the main stage manager at MSMT this year was wrapped in yellow bands. Mark was quite helpful in the gaining of courage to hold the lobster as I plopped it into the boiling vat of water that awaited it. Oddly, Francois looked quite well settled as he began to boil away in the water next to his little friend. Under normal circumstances, with so many details and such involvement in the process, I would barely be able to look at the lobster, let along crack it open, but after all of that, I was even able to eat it!!! Maine Lobster...yum, yum, yum!!!!

Erik's Turn

Good day family. I hope wherever you are and whatever you are doing is going well. As for my summer and life in general I'd have to say things are going pretty well. There's always things I'd change but I can say, standing back and observing my life at the moment, I'm quite satisfied with how things are running.
In every person's life there is a period of finding yourself and who you are. For me, that period of my life seems to be over. I know who I am and where I belong. I have the greatest group of friends anyone could imagine, and the times I've spent with them are some of the happiest moments of my life.
One activity in which I participate with my friends is Ultimate. We get together often for a pick up game. Every Sunday at 6pm those of us who can, play at WSU. The opportunity to play with a college team has strengthened our own team and now it has become an equal match. The games we play against the WSU team before last year and the end of the previous year were usually terrible losses but now we've become much better. I see myself in the shoes of the juniors that were here my freshman year, and now we're even better than then. Its looking like my high school life is starting to come full circle. Every once in a while, we have a movie night. We get together in the late afternoon or evening and simply hang out playing games and watching movies. So far our record is four movies. Each movie night has always included a disney movie. Several years ago I would have never thought disney would become one of my favorite things to watch. I've enjoyed every movie night, and some of the memorable events of these have been laying out over a couch into a fat sack(basically a super bean bag chair) cranium was played once after everyone had gone to sleep except for Stephen, Hillary, Me, and Abby. I can tell you cranium at three in the morning is very entertaining:) It was after this we went and lounged outside until the sun appeared as staying up that long had put us four in an odd state of mind where we were awake and didn't need sleep but still functioned as though we were sleep deprived.
Abby and I have had a lot of fun this summer as well. We took a trip to the zoo and recently I went along with her family to visit her Aunt in Mcpherson. She also is officially caught up on Chuck and has become a fan as well.
A couple of assignments I have this summer is my extended essay, for which I just finished a informational camp. I also have to complete two books for IB, The White Tiger and Elephant Vanishes.
That is all that I can think of as note worthy for now, other than National Youth Gathering in a few weeks. Love you all, God bless.
PS If you need a bit of entertainment and would like to see our Ultimate Team in action follow this link to a Ultimate Video created by myself and Abby.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ta7pLePsK5c