Grayson James and Aggieville...

He's here!  Actually, he's been here since December 4th, but I haven't had a chance to blog.  My cousin Hannah has blessed our family with a beautiful baby boy. He is the very first grandson on both sides and we are in LOVE!  I was so lucky this little guy was born a little bit early!  I was home for Chad's graduation and I got to see him.  Words really can't describe how it felt when I got the call he was finally here.  Or the feeling of holding him for the first time.  It truly is a miracle.  There is no better way to describe it.  Welcome to the world Grayson James Heinz.  You are so loved!

My brother, Chad.

My cousin, Zach

The very best Christmas gift

I have a picture of me with the little one, but it's on my I-phone and I haven't quite got that figured out yet...  I get to see him tomorrow, so I'll be sure to post more!

Later that weekend, I went to Manhattan to see my brother Chad graduate from K-State.  He graduated with a degree in Construction Science and has a JOB!!  Whoo hoo!  He reminded me what a great place K-State was and how much fun he had when he was there.  We had so much fun hanging out at his house: aka "The Casa".  Chad went to Porters just for me.  My mom says I skipped to aggieville I was so excited.  Maybe I did and maybe I didn't...

More pictures of the awesomeness to come.  One things for sure... I really miss Manhattan.  I miss aggieville, the Pi Phi house, football games... all of it.

Way to go Chad and Hannah!  Couldn't be more proud!  Hey Zach - you and I need to get with it.  The youngin's are starting to pass us by.... :)

Thankful

I have so much to be thankful for.  I know that might sound really silly, but there is really no other way to describe it.  I am thankful.

I am thankful for my loving parents who are always there for me no matter what.

I am thankful for my brother, Chad.  He is graduating college this December and I couldn't be more honored to be his big sister.

I am thankful that I have an extended family that has always been my biggest fans and closest allies.

I am thankful for the newest addition to the Pederson clan.  Baby Heinz.  I am not going to lie... I cried buckets when I drove away from this beautiful mama, but I know that I will get to see the whole Heinz family soon.

I am thankful for my in-laws.  Isn't there a better word for them?  These people have been loving me and supporting me since I was 18.  You'd think they could be called something other than In-Laws...

I am thankful for my friends that talk me through every decision and stand by me when I make the wrong one.

And last but not least, I am thankful for my husband.  I am thankful that I know he will love me forever.  What else is there when you have that?

So, sorry for the cheesy post, but I need to remind myself of everything I am thankful for.  It is so easy to get bogged down with what sucks.  Traffic is terrible, my students aren't learning to divide fast enough, there is so much laundry to do, another assignment is due tomorrow... and the list goes on.  I realized when I got home from our Thanksgiving trip that I could be sad about leaving, or I could be thankful for the time we had together.  I guess you know which one I chose :).

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  Christmas is just around the corner!

The Best-Laid Plans of Mice and Men Often Go Awry. . .

For those of you who don’t recognize the title, it is a modern-day English translation of a passage from the 1785 Robert Burns poem, To a Mouse (thanks Wikipedia!).  And while I do not really know what it means, I am going to act like I do and say it means that you can plan and plan all you want, but sometimes life tells you where to stick that plan.

Life gave Lauren and me that message loud and clear over the past few months.  When we packed up the U-Haul just over two years ago, we knew this D.C. thing was just a temporary diversion.  “We’ll spend a couple of years there why Chris goes through school,” we told ourselves, “and in May 2012, back to Kansas City to pick up where we left off.”  We had our plan.  Life had a different one.

Life’s plan first put Lauren in a school in Arlington, Virginia.  A school where the majority of the students live below the poverty line and speak English as a second language.  But a school nonetheless where each student (although having to deal with issues every day that would give them every excuse to give up) show up each morning eager to learn, trying their hardest so that they may obtain the education that their parents have sacrificed so much to give them a shot at.  And she is killing it!  Although some of Lauren’s students are still learning English, and although each year they have to compete against the affluent neighborhoods on their standardized tests, her class scored the highest in the district on their test this past year.  Lauren was recognized by being named a lead teacher at her school, a position through which she will share with other teachers ideas and strategies she uses to keep the students engaged and performing well.  She is also serving as a mentor to a new teacher in the school, and is finding a true passion in being able to interact with other teachers and help them through their first years and other tough situations.  This is definitely keeping Lauren busy (not to mention that when she finally does get to come home she has several hours of homework for her master’s degree each night) but she is truly happy and knows she is making a difference in the students’ and teachers’ lives.

And then life led me to an intellectual property law firm in D.C. where I feel at home and where I enjoy the work I am doing.  The firm took a chance on me, granting me a clerkship the summer after my first year of law school.  I walked in the first day knowing literally nothing about patent law (the first year of law school is only general classes), and was thus a long way from being able to contribute any useful work for them.  But all the lawyers at the firm were willing to answer any questions I had along the way (with a smile), and although they were probably tired of dealing with me all day long, they still acted excited to grab a beer at quitting time.  I eventually started to figure the work out, and the firm invited me back for a second clerkship this past summer.  Every day of the summer I was excited to head to the office because I was working on stimulating projects for great clients with a group of people I enjoy being around.  The experience has been wonderful.

And so now, as I enter my last year of law school, we should be putting our plan into motion.  We should be looking for a place to live in Kansas City, freshening up our resumes, and preparing for the big move back.  But there is something about life’s plan that we just can’t ignore.  For some reason we are having a hard time leaving all this behind—we feel there is still a chapter of our lives yet to be written in D.C.  And so, after one of the toughest decisions we have ever made, Lauren and I have decided to stay a little longer in our nation’s capital.  I have accepted a full time position with the law firm and will begin next fall.  And Lauren will continue to change lives at her school as a teacher, mentor, and an instructor.  Kansas City will always be home, and we still see ourselves there someday.  But for now we know this is where we need to be.  Here’s to you life—I hope you know what you are doing!

Lauren and me at a Halloween party a few months after we moved to D.C.  We sure have come along way from feeling like tourists every day!

Alaska!

This blog post is way overdue, but in June, the entire Dawson family went on a cruise to Alaska.  Chris's grandparents were celebrating their 55th wedding anniversary and they decided to celebrate by taking everyone to Alaska.  Alaska was an absolute dream and if it isn't on your bucket list, get it on there.  It was amazing.  I do have one more suggestion for your bucket list.  Take a family vacation with your entire family.  It was such a blast and it meant so much to everyone there.  So worth it!  Now for the moment everyone has been waiting for.  Pictures :)  You will be booking your tickets after you see them.  (PS... Ryan is an excellent photographer and his pictures are way better.  We will update soon so you can truly see all the awesomeness.)

Leaving from Seattle

Cheers!

Float Plane Ride :)

Chris is ready!

View from the plane

When we landed, they had us get out on the floats of the plane.  Lynda and I were hanging on for dear life!

Chris didn't get to see a live moose, but we saw bears when we landed on the water.  It was awesome!

Katie and John on the boat.

Brotherly love :)

Loving it!

My first glacier sighting.  Wow!

Iceberg straight ahead!

Isn't he cute?  Desperately looking for mountain goats.

Bike ride.  WAY out of my comfort zone, but I did it and loved it :)

Our guide kept telling me I was on the "scenic tour" way at the back.

The view at the end was totally worth it.

He is almost 26....

2nd part of the "bike and brew".  David Dawson's favorite part.

Our hiking day was really cool.  We spent the day with the Burress' (minus Betsy).  We had a great time!

Snicker Bar snack.. yum.

Annie and Ellie on the train.

Thanks Kipp for the picutre :)

History Lesson: These used to be used as snowplows during the gold rush days.  Aren't they crazy looking?

So there is a big gap in pictures here.  We had a day and a half at sea and I got sick.  Really sick.  In bed for 30+ hours and couldn't move sick.  Ugh.  But I started feeling better right when we got to Victoria.  Thank goodness because it was really fun and beautiful!

Parliament... I think?

Our ship from a distance.

Our trip was so special and we will cherish our memories forever.  As Chris and I prepare the celebrate our 2nd Anniversary, I can't help but think how lucky we are to have such wonderful role models of what a strong marriage looks like.  I hope in 53 years we are as happy as Norman and Nancy.  Thank you for the trip of a lifetime.  We love you!

Hannah Kay

My cousin, Hannah is engaged!!!  I couldn't be more excited for them.  Brett (the groom) is truly the greatest guy.  He is so fun and laid back and he's so obviously in love with Hannah.  They are really the sweetest.  He proposed yesterday at the beach.  Both of their parents were there to share in the excitement.

It is times like this that I really miss home.  I can't believe I can't give her a huge hug and bring over all my brides magazines.  Ugh.  Good thing I will be home in about a month.  Watch out Hannah... I can be obsessive.

Since I AM the oldest, I have some advice for the journey you are about to take.

1.  Remember that this is all about you and Brett.  If you focus on celebrating your relationship, you can't go wrong.
2.  Enjoy every single second of being engaged.  It is so exciting!
3.  The best is yet to come.  Being married is what it is all about, and you will absolutely love it.

Now a photo montage of the baby of the family and yours truly.  Love you, Hannah Kay (you are keeping the middle name, right?  After taking the boy's last names, it's the only thing we share!)

Hannah was the best Maid of Honor ever.  Thank you for everything :) 

What kind of dress will she pick???

Love you!

Good old siblings weekend.  Thanks for always coming up and hanging out with me Chris.

Bahaha!  This one cracks my up.  The gang.  Chad.... is that you????

What a beautiful bride and wife she will be!

Catching Up

I totally stink at blogging.  Totally.  I could tell you that we've been busy, schools been crazy, yada yada... but on with the post.

Here's a quick recap on what we have been up to...

Chad and Katie came to visit!  (Chad-brother, Katie-his gf)

Aren't the cute?

Love her :)

Cherry Blossoms were in full bloom.

Out in Adams Morgan.

 Getting some late night pizza.  For those of you who don't know my brother, he has giant mitts.  This picture doesn't do it justice.

Right after Chad tried to run up and down the train car.  Sweet.  Doesn't he look like John Pederson in this pic?  Scary.

It was so good to have them here and spend time with them.  Chad and I have always been close, but it is so fun that he is dating such a great girl.  Katie is awesome and I love that they wanted to spend their spring break with us.  Ok, so now I am homesick.

For MY spring break, I went home for a few days.  Chris was studying for finals and I wanted to give my mom and dad a hug.  Of course I didn't take any pictures, but I did get to see Lauren Strathman.  She just announced that she is expecting!  So exciting.  I don't know what I was expecting when my closest friends started to get on the baby train, but I am so completely elated and excited for her.  It is a great feeling.  I can't wait to meet the little one.  I am already in love him/her.

Other than that, we have been hanging out at home.  Chris finally finished the semester and he is loving his internship.  Common conversations at our house include: 

Lauren: "How did work go?"

Chris: "Great.  They took me to lunch at a sweet restaurant. Someone ordered steak tartar."

Lauren: "Did you puke when you saw it?"

Chris:  "No.  I figured I shouldn't since they catered breakfast today."

Lauren: "Oh yea, my school catered breakfast for us too today.  Most expensive bistro in dc."

Chris: "Really?"

Lauren: "Uh huh.  It was the same day we had a happy hour in the library.  They are so nice to us."

Chris:  "Yea whatever."

I promise to pick up the posts.  If you still follow our blog, we love you.