Oh, Italia. We love thee.

This morning while burning Chace's toad-in-a-hole, I was surprised and delighted to hear him speaking Italian from his office. Obviously on the phone, I guessed that he must be trying to return the mystery phone call he received (on his office phone, a number that very few people have) from an unidentified Italian man a couple weeks ago. He had tried returning the call before with no success and the curiosity was killing him. This morning, he finally got through to the mystery caller, and I heard him saying, "Si, si. Ieri era il giorno"--Yes, yes. Yesterday was the day. (My due date.) This didn't sound like a work-related call, as he went on to talk about our move and our house and the wee one. It turns out it was a man Chace met in the Newark airport months ago, with whom he had struck up a conversation. He told Chace that he just wanted to check in and see if we'd had the baby and how things were going, that Chace had make quite an impression on him when they had met, and he considered him a dear friend. He renewed his invitation to host us when we're next in Rome, and wanted to exchange more contact information so that we could keep in touch better. What a delightful surprise.

So, gentle reader, when you're done praying that we'll have this baby before I have to be induced, I give you leave to start a new prayer on our behalf: that Chace will get a job transfer to Italy. He yearns for that place in a way that I don't think I could ever understand, though I'm quite fond of it too! And once in a while something comes up, like this phone call, that reopens the wound and starts him on a new mission to make his way back there someday. It even happens to me. The other day at a stop light, the slightest hint of cigarette smoke wafted into my open window, and took me through time and space to a sunny train station platform on the Cinque Terre...

Ah yes. Take me back to this.

And this.

And this.

Okay. Enough daydreaming. I've got an appointment to get to. Wish me luck! And yes, do pray that this little principessa will come of her own accord sometime soon. And then yes, do pray we make it back to Italy someday. If you do, you're invited too! Buon giorno!

Update

Sorry for our long silence, but we've been rather busy.

Busy doing what? Well, mostly scrounging for free furniture and scraping all manner of unidentifiable substances off of pretty much every surface of this beast of a house. (Oh, yes. In case we forgot to mention: we bought a house.) There have also been some major projects in there too, as well as some major fun, which we will document at greater length in future, when we find our camera charger.

But until then, we just wanted our gentle readers to know that we are alive and very well here in the great state of Illinois--it's still weird to say that. I never planned to live in Illinois. It never occurred to me. Until a few months ago, I wouldn't even have been able to point out the state of Illinois on a map. Who lives in Illinois? Is there even anything there? I had nothing to associate with Illinois except Chicago, Obama, Scarface, corruption, crime, violence, etc. But surely those were all just media exaggerations, right? As it turns out, our very own high school is host to a gang or two, and there is a curfew enforced for minors! We're not in Provo anymore! So we've been trying to work on fitting in, just in case the going gets rough. How are we doing?

But really, we are loving it here, mostly because of the unseasonably lovely weather, the charming ducks that provide endless entertainment and constantly serenade us from our backyard puddle, and our lovely friends, neighbors and church members who have been perpetually helpful, welcoming and kind. We truly feel surrounded by family. In our first two weeks here, we dined at home only about 5 times due to church functions and dinner invites from ward members. From these generous new friends we have been given furniture, borrowed tools, pick-up trucks, and many hours of manual labor and consulting on various unexpected house problems. And just last week, some women in the ward organized a beautiful baby shower for us where dozens of perfect strangers brought us gifts and well-wishes. We are feeling very loved.

In other news, Chace is enjoying his new work quarters in "The Lighthouse Room" (did I mention that almost every room is themed?) Although I think he may be getting a little too comfortable with this whole "home office" business, since I rarely see him wearing anything but his nerdy little blue sweats and on nice days, I am often surprised to look outside and see that he's climbed out his office window onto the deck to enjoy the sun while on a phone call. But I do love having him around, and I miss him something fierce on days like today when he actually goes in to the office. I may have to fake labor and call him home early!

Speaking of which: we are so very excited about the nearing arrival of our little lady. She is due in just two days, which means that, come hell or high water, we'll meet her sometime in about the next two weeks! For the last few days I've had pretty continuous light contractions day and night, which I'm not sure is entirely normal, but which I love! It's so cool to feel my body working in new ways and I'm amazed at how miraculous this whole process has been. Fortunately I'm feeling great and trying to be productive while I can.

In the midst of all our projects and productivity however, Chace and I were grateful to take a little time off this weekend to focus on a very special event. Besides being a weekend of glorious holidays (Passover, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday), it was also General Conference weekend, when the leaders of our church, after months of fasting, prayer and careful preparation, share with us the things they feel we most need to know. We always anticipate this event because of the love we have for the leaders of the church and because we know that by following their counsel, we will lead happier, healthier lives and grow closer to our Savior and our Heavenly Father. We know this because we have put it to the test. By trying our best to follow the teachings of our leaders and prophets, we have found indescribable joy and peace in our lives and in our marriage. We know that the church was established and is now lead by men and women of God who receive inspiration on our behalf. Chace and I were especially appreciative of the many talks that addressed the importance of the family and sacred responsibility of parenting. We are so excited for this responsibility, and we're grateful that not only can our leaders receive inspiration for us as to how to live in this crazy world, but that when we are trying our best, we can receive direction for ourselves and our families straight from heaven.

I know that Jesus Christ lived, died, and lives again for me and for you. He knows us, and wants us to know Him. We can know Him and hear his voice through His prophets on the earth today, through the Bible and the Book of Mormon, and through the Holy Spirit. He is our brother, our perfect example, and our Savior. Because of Him, I can change each day and be better than the day before, and I can have peace, joy and direction in my life. I hope you found a moment to reflect on these things this past week. We are all so blessed. Happy Easter!

Happy Birthday Chace!!!

Precious angel from above,

Filling all our lives with love,

Born this day to us below

Twenty-seven years ago.

Happy birthday, Love. I'm so glad you were born.

Insomnia

I woke up before 4 this morning. Hungry. What's new!?

I like being awake early in the morning. It's a good time to think. The world is so quiet and the light outside is eerie against the snow. I like to hear my sweet boy breathing softly, occasionally snorting, beside me. I am so in love. A little critter wriggles in my belly. Yes. I am so in love.

My house smells funny, like someone else's furniture. Kind of like when you do your laundry at your in-laws'. I'd better wipe down those craigslist finds and see if I can't freshen things up a bit. What else do I have to do today?

-Work out--may or may not happen.
-Get homeowner's insurance--I think I've found the cheapest policy.
-Close out our IRAs and move everything to checking--we're about to be very poor!
-Meet my midwife for the first time--I'm so glad she took me on, even at 33 weeks. Did I just say 33 weeks?! Holy cabooses. I'm about to be a mom!
-Make dinner.
-Go to the temple with my sweetheart--once this little lady comes, it may be a while before I can go again. My burgeoning belly won't fit into my temple dress, but they say they can find something for me to wear!

I remember back to just about one year ago. Life was perfect. I was pregnant then, too. But I wasn't feeling so well. We were having dinner and a movie at Thomas and Melissa's when I realized I was miscarrying. I sat, crying, on one side of the bathroom door, Melissa, crying, on the other. Chace and I didn't make it to our temple shift the next day.

How long ago that seems. A lifetime ago. I'm sure the passage of time has dulled the pain of that episode, but even now as I think back on it, I remember the overwhelming feeling: "All is well." Unpleasant as it was, we were okay. Chace was an angel in every way, of course. And Melissa fed us well for days and days! And how relieved I was to be back in the temple the next week, the place where we learn who we are and why we're here and that there's a Master Sorter-Outer who knows me and what's going on in my life. Because of my experiences in that sacred place, I never had to wonder if it would all work out. I knew it would, somehow. Just like I knew it was no coincidence that we were with Thomas and Melissa that night--the closest thing to a brother and sister around--someone for me to cry with, someone to put a strong hand on Chace's shoulder. Just like I also knew it was no coincidence that we were allowed to be temple workers that semester, even though we couldn't commit to the usually-required 6 months. The temple presidency bent the rules for us, and I know that those 6 hours a week made all the difference.

Now, again, life is perfect. Not because I deserve it, and not even because it really is, but because I know there is a perfect Father and His perfect Son in charge of it all. And even when it's not perfect, it's okay. I'm trying. And He knows. And it all works out.

I can't wait for tonight!

Going out on a limb...

Okay, it's always dangerous to recommend movies, but I had never heard of this one and probably would never have come across it if not for the recommendation of my sister, so I feel rather obligated to share. Here goes:

Lars and the Real Girl. See it. Don't read about it first; the synopsis may throw you. Just get it and enjoy one of the sweetest, most tender yet subtle movies you'll ever see. We loved it. Let us know what you think!

It's official...

I now weigh as much as my husband. He insists that it's just extra muscle from carrying this girl around, but I know the truth. It's the nachos.

And I thought I was doing so well when, after coming home from our Christmas vacation 10 pounds the wiser, I lost 4 of those pounds within the week. Oh well. At least I'm not alone--Chace is the proud father of not one, but two babies: one human child, one jerky baby. I dread what that scale will say in two months when this baby is ready to evacuate. Heaven help me.

This week from Elder Pietr

2/1/2010

"I've left my abode in XinDian AnKang. I love that place. It was a ghetto little piece of city nestled in steep-cliff mountains covered with thick jungle. I saw MANY miracles there, to share a few:

Cui & I had an impression to go to a certain area of the city and contact people/knock doors. When we got there we came to a place where the small street we walked divided into 4 small lanes, we both felt to walk down a certain one, and the first door we knocked a small Taiwanese came out, she listened intently as we briefly shared about Heavenly Father and His restored gospel. She didn't really understand what we said (many of them really have no idea who Jesus Christ is, so His 'restored' gospel has even smaller import) but she felt the spirit and wanted the blessings we promised her family - she is doing great & LOVES church, she's progressing so fast.

One day Cui I were contacting in a park, and I saw an apartment building across the river and thought to go there and knock a bit. When we got there, we had several doors to choose from (each door leads into a complex of probably 50+ apartments.) We rang one of the 50 doorbells, and someone let us in without checking to see who we were- Cha Ching! We started knocking the complex without much luck, when we only had 5 minutes left. Cui said, "OK, just knock the ones that feel good, we only have a few minutes. "This door seems good." We knocked and met a college-aged girl, gave her a tract and welcomed her to church, expecting nothing of it. Next sunday she showed up!!! and started meeting with the sister missionaries. She will be baptized this month! It's a great feeling to be a sharp Rambo knife in the hand of the Lord. There were many more miracles. I will miss that place..."

Happy New Year!

Love, Baby (Girl) Wilcoxson

'Tis the season to...

GRADUATE!!!

I just got my official certificate of completion for my independent study class--my last class of my undergraduate career. Bittersweet moment (as you can see from my face.) Actually, mostly just pretty darn sweet! It was a close call. Two whole weeks of sweat and tears went into that blasted class, making me one sweaty, happy college graduate. Just one more thing to celebrate! Life is good.

----

In other news, Chace will also be 'graduating' from Dow's Commercial Development Program next week, after which we will probably be graduating from from being Michiganders to being Chicagoans, and from apartment rentership to home ownership. Unfortunately, I will probably be graduating from my regular wardrobe to maternity clothing and, I'm certain, after several holiday feasts in the coming weeks, from the 150 lbs and under category! But I suppose it's all worth it for our graduation from childlessness to parenthood! We sure like this little lady already--even if she does wake up her mammy in the wee hours of the morning with her squirming...

---

P.S. Little Cricket's mugshots to come. And for those who've requested belly pictures: don't worry-- there hasn't been much to see till recently. I'll see if I can bring myself to post a picture of my jolly self one of these days... no promises!

A Word On Motherhood

I first saw this on a handout announcing a mother's group activity. My sisters and I laughed heartily. What makes it so funny? Is it the fact that it's true? I'm not sure, but it has been very thought provoking for me.

*Disclaimer: I am not, and have never been, a mother. That is, unless you count my brief stint as a tomato mother this summer, which ended in my being forced to give up my precious tomato plant baby for adoption when we moved to NJ. Or unless you count my numerous childhood attempts as a parakeet mother, all of which ended with a little heap of stiff, starved feathers at the bottom of a cage, followed by another tearful placement of a large rock in the corner of the yard surrounded by an awkward planting of woodland hyacinths and other flowers stolen from various flowerbeds. (Mom! Dad! Why did you keep letting me get parakeets!?)

However, I have had the privilege of observing many mothers, none of them perfect, but some better than others.

Recently I had the misfortune to be lazing by our pool in New Jersey one fine day, enjoying the glorious sunshine and a good book, when my peace was interrupted by a mother. I repeat, by a mother, not by her children who were, granted, making all kinds of noise. But their noise was not offensive to me. Hers was. At intervals of about 3 minutes, this mother would take a break from her conversation with another mother (which must have been a real sacrifice for her, as they were discussing with relish their favorite late-night reality t.v. show). She would then proceed to bark at her three children for a period of about 5 minutes, after which she would resume her conversation, apparently satisfied that she adequately demonstrated--to the entire neighborhood-- what a conscientious parent she was. These are the kinds of things I heard:

"Barney! BARNEY! Get out of that pool this INSTANT!"

"Why, Mom?"

"Barneeeeeeeey! Don't make me count to 3! One... Two..."

"I'm coming! What is it?"

"Take a drink of water!)

"But I'm not thirsty..." (Barney reluctantly drinks)

"More... MORE! Three more gulps! THAT wasn't even a gulp! C'mon Barney, three big gulps... NOW! Don't MAKE me count..."

"Mavis! If I have to tell you one more time to get your thumb out of your mouth, you're gonna be sorry! Who do you think's gonna pay for your braces when you look like some kind of circus freak! Huh? HUH?!?"

"But Mom, I think I got stung by a bee..."
"Don't give me your excuses! Did I raise you to talk back to me?"

"Elbert! ELBERT!!! Get over here this minute and tell my why you splashed water on your sister!"

"Because... we're at a pool. We're just playing around. See? Look, she's laughing. Everyone's splashing..."

"OH YEAH?! If everyone decided to jump in front of a train, would you do it too? Huh? Sit down over there in the scorching sun and shut up until you can behave yourself. And TAKE THREE GULPS OF WATER!!!"

*Names changed to protect childrens' identities. And okay, I may have exaggerated the outrageousness of this mothers' demands a little--but not much!

I'm a realist. I know that mothers don't always like their children, but I think they sometimes have more choice in the matter than they care to claim. I mean, seriously, what's one more gulp of water? Maybe it's a matter of choosing one's battles a little more carefully. And I'm always interested to see how different parents go about it. This is an area in which I think my parents excelled, and that my siblings are good at too. We always knew that our parents loved us, and maybe more importantly that they liked us (there's a big difference), even when we were naughty. And now it's such a delight to see how my siblings genuinely enjoy their kids. Not that they're always angelic. Kids aren't supposed to be! But their parents have commented to me that, often, the characteristics in their children that drive them the most crazy are also the things that they most enjoy and admire about them. Maybe that's the trick. Remembering that they're children, and remembering to admire them.

But, again, what do I know? I may eat these words someday. For as I said, I'm not a mother. At least, not until April 7th... ish!

So, apparently we should not reproduce...

...at least, not if our offspring are gonna look like this:

Can you tell how bored I've been without Chace?

Ni hao & Guten tag!

My sister Anna compiled this little collection of quotes from our missionary brothers. Here's what she said (with a few additions)--If you don't have time to read the whole thing, skip to ones with asterisks; they're my favorites!: "I enjoy getting letters from my brothers (both serving their missions in Taiwan) oh so much. They are so them! I was just reading one from Adam and the brilliant idea came to me to post bits of their letters for the enjoyment of all. With that, introducing:

Elder Pietr Mikkelsen
3/16: "Time is strange here in the MTC. Chace was dead on when he said 'a day seems like a week, and a week seems like a day.'"

*3/30: "My companions and I were teaching a little family, a father, a mother and their teenage boy. We were in the process of explaining what the Holy Ghost was, and what the Spirit felt like, when my companion (Elder C, he's odd but a cool guy) says to the mother, "The spirit is like a warm calmness, like.., like.., How did you feel when Mark was born?" It took all I had to contain my laughter. The father and mother just looked at us like 'What did you just ask?' I'm sure whatever that mother was feeling when she passed her 9.5 pound kid it wasn't the spirit."

"I love to tell the MTC kitchen workers to make me giant plates of meat, to disgust of all the sisters."

4/13: "This week we had a Grape Nut challenge. To see who could go the longest eating nothing but water, & Grape Nuts. I went the longest at 3 days, of the 8 that started the challenge everyone washed out."

*5/25: "Our apartment [in Taiwan] is quaint, we don't have any cockroaches, which is good because they won't be crawling on me as I sleep, but bad because we won't be able to have competitions with them..."

*8/16: "I survived the typhoon here, it wasn't very bad in Taibei. But the southern part of Taiwan (Kaoshung namely) didn't do so well. There were some towns in the south that got completely covered by giant mudslides & a lot of people died. The missionaries in the Taichung mission having been doing a lot of service digging mud out of homes. It was the worst typhoon in 50 years. It's a good thing Yard-Work-Adam got there when he did, with his countless hours of horse-stall cleaning experience he will be a HUGE asset to relief efforts, doubtless to become "Mudder Teresa" of Taiwan."

9/29: "We're working with a lot of investigators, a couple of them around my age. It is a struggle to keep them progressing & continually applying the gospel to their life. The BOM is difficult for them to understand often. Try explaining "circumsized of heart," which is very directly translated in the Chinese version, as they read with a mix of fear & bewilderment. The last transfer just ended - I will have been in the same area for 6 months at the end of this one. We continue to search for Bruce Lee..."

Elder Adam Mikkelsen

*6/1: "PIETR ("Man Beast") IS A LEGEND HERE [in the MTC]! I am not kidding in the least. Within minutes of getting to my room I heard "little MAN BEAST?" shouted from the door...all the older elders came to see what Pietr's little brother was like. He said good things about me fortunately. I will list some of the things he is legendary for: 1) His 4-square skills...a game they play in the gym, talk to Pug. He was really good at it and everyone knew it. When he got someone out he would run at them with arms outstretched like Wolverine and shout "FORGET ABOUT IT!" 2) His chinese...they all say he had some of the best chinese of any of the elders... 3) His crazy diet. The first meal all the older missionaries came to check my plate and and see if I was a patron of the legendary "Meat Salad"...a plate stacked with nothing but meat. Then days of nothing but Grape Nuts...the fiber cleanse. 4)His work in the referral center which he wrote about so much. Last night two of the sisters went on and on about how great he was in there... They said he had pages of investigators that he found and that he called and taught each week..."

6/29: "Once agian I find myself on a getto keyboard so forgive my bad spelling...it isn't totally my fault. We had a special fireside and seven of the twelve were there!!! I sat close enough that I didn't need to watch the screen. It was amazing and as intense as ever. Elders Bednar and Oaks gave some of the elders chest bumps as they came in but I didn't get one. This week I broke Pietr's fiber cleanse record of three days and went a solid four, of which I am very proud! Being as how it is coming up on the halfway mark it is expedient that my system be cleansed in preparation for going to the island."

8/19: "The second night [in Taiwan] we went to a night market and all the new missionaries took turns getting on a box and preaching as loud as they could, then going with a senior missionary and contacting people and setting them up for appointments. I yelled pretty darn loud and turned a lot of heads and got got 6 people to meet with us."

*9/9: "I got some pot stickers for dinner on Sunday but left them out and ants got into them, but I can't afford to buy new ones and there are a lot in there so I just refroze them and am eating them with ants on them, mmm."

10/22: "My comp is starting the "Return With Honor" diet and trying to eat healthy before going home since this is his second to last move call, not htat you gain much if any weight here. The food here is just so greasy it is hard to be cut. So we started a subway only diet this week. Subway is comparatively expensive here so we eat less and more healthy..."

10/27: "The subway fast was great, we are finishing it today. I recked more food this week; I left out a bag of brown sugar and it was defiled by ants within 10 minutes. Coagulated pig blood is grose. Nutella costs its weight in gold around here... Good luck to those who are heavy laden with child: Miriam, I hope to hear of a new record, how about an 11 pounder, I know you've got it in you...literally. Liz, I hope you have a good medicine man around there. I hear crushed rattle snake rattles helps, that is what Sacagawia used at least..."

Then there's Chace's brother, Scott, who is serving in the Germany-Munich mission. His letters are so funny to read after my brothers'. They are so long and emotional and very heart-felt, whereas we're lucky to get a couple solid paragraphs from Pietr--certainly no talk of feelings. Adam is a little better! But we take what we get! How we love these missionaries! We're so fortunate and so very proud to be related to them.

Elder Scott Wilcoxson

4/4: "This week had alot of up and downs. For example Monday I bought my lederhosen, Big up! The next day we were dooring in a city about 20 mins away by bike. I was so tired and for some reason we had like 30 doors in a row slammed in our faces. Some people are just jerks! That did not help my energy levels at all. Finally about an hour of absolutely nothing we decided to head home. While we were riding home (this ride is so pretty, its right along the riverside and its lined with trees and bushes) I was falling alseep on my bike. I ran of the path a couple of times and i could not wake myself up. Finally Elder F noticed what was going on so he slowed down and started riding behind me to make sure I didnt ride into the river and die."

5/11: "We got a letter for a missionary who got transferred 2 months ago so Elder F and I steamed opened it and stuck a bunch of random pictures of us in there and then sent it to buro. lol I cant wait until I see him and hes just like It was you!!! HAHA!!!"

*6/2: "Today is a members birthday so we're all taking her to lunch. And we're going to wear our Lederhosen."

7/27: "So last P day we went up to the top of the Alps in our Lederhosen. There was still snow up there and so of course we had an Alpine snowball fight. Elder K and I went hiking a little bit and came across a heard of sheep. They were afraid at first but after like 3 minutess they came to us. Maybe they smelt our leather and thought we were one of them. "

*8/10: "Most of Elder B's and my conversations are about how we can help [other missionaries] and what we should do. One night while we were talking he looked over at me and said, "Man its like we have kids, like we're an old gay married couple who are worried about our kids." It was so funny but its completely true. I feel like that a lot. Not the gay part, but the fact that I'm doing well and so is my companion so we just focus on others and trying to help them."