Ann Arbor just had a car show and we walked through it as we were searching for fairy doors. One of the first cars we saw was one just like this:
What's amazing about this car? You mean you don't recognize it? Well, I admit, neither did I, but Eden did. As we walked into the parking lot she pointed, ran over to it, jumped up and said with delight, "Look! It's Doc Hudson!" My first thought: "Yep, an old car, kind of like Doc Hudson." I walked over to take a look and sure enough, it was a Hudson Hornet, exactly like Doc Hudson. I was absolutely amazed that Eden recognized it. Now do you see it? Take a peek: Interestingly enough, I just found out that the actual Fabulous Hudson Hornet is just down the road from us at the Ypsilanti Automotive Heritage Museum. Yes, Doc Hudson was based on a real racecar.
I'm still amazed, and a bit startled, at how Eden made the connection from a cartoon to a real car that was even a different color. Maybe I shouldn't be, but it was definitely a lesson on media effects, or perhaps my daughter's love of cars. Now, just think about all those shows and commercials on TV...
So I know it's been too long since we've posted and I've decided to recommit to posting. I was just waiting to see how many people noticed. Just kidding. Life is just plain busy of course.
First off, here's the long ago promised new picture from Kirsten's birthday :) Second order of business: we're expecting a girl. She's due on August 28.
Of course, Sam has also had a birthday and now turned 2. Here's a few pictures of the fun!
We had a blast going to visit family for Independence Day. Here's a quick picture review!
And finally, last night we had a a ton of fun. Eden has been reading the Daisy Meadows fairy books and it just so happens that Ann Arbor has a small population of fairies that live around town. You can learn about them here: Ann Arbor Urban Fairies. We decided to go check them out for ourselves and we were very impressed. We didn't spot any fairies, but we did find their doors. We left some candy for them as well. What fun! If you are in Ann Arbor, make sure to check them out as you visit downtown.
I've received several requests to share the story of the last several days, particularly the craziness of last Saturday and Sunday. I think I'll pass. If you want the story, you'll have to petition Kirsten to record it. I don't feel like re-living it :) Suffice it to say that our gas and water lines are now functional and the dishwasher is hooked up.
I wanted to share something that I think is pretty cool about my family. I come from a family of eight children and most of us children are in our twenties and early thirties. As is so often the case with young adulthood, some of us (read: ME) are slowly growing out of shape. I have to swallow my pride to say that. I have to boast on Kirsten for just a second though. She's very adamant about fitness. It's impressive. Our family is now spread all over in Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Arizona, and Taiwan, but last week we decided to join up together in spirit and become long-distance exercise partners. We're all setting personal fitness goals--some have to do with weight, others with our diet, others with exercise--and working together to achieve them. So far so good. I'm very excited about working together for better health. It's great to be united in a common cause. I happened to read an article about another family that did something similar. For our family I've called it Gibson fitness, but I didn't think of the name; I think it's trademarked. My brother Dan, who is actually amazingly fit, runs a personal training gym called Gibson Fitness in Queen Creek, Arizona near Mesa. He has my personal endorsement (whatever that's worth), so if you're in the Mesa area you should check it out.
And here's the latest news, for those of you who don't know: we're expecting baby number three in August. Do me a favor and place your vote in the poll on our blog for what the baby will be. We have no idea. The ultrasound is in a few weeks and I'll post the answer then.
As I mentioned, it's been a little while since my last post, but I have to say there are good reasons. Over the past couple of weeks we packed, painted, moved, bought some new household items, and tried to unpack. Being the dependable husband and father that I am, I bailed for a few days and went to San Francisco for some fresh air, while my family endured snow storms. Actually, I have a better reason than that below, but it's probably not good enough.
I've decided to summarize the past two weeks in a little slide show. If you also want to hear the details, read on and I'll walk you through some highlights.
Many people know that I love the Muppets and puppets in general. It turns out, kids love puppets too, which means I don't have to get rid of my puppet collection. For Christmas this year Kirsten surprised us with a beautiful puppet theater, which she made. It hangs in the doorway and is much, much better than any that I've ever seen at stores. Yes, my wife is exceptionally talented and creative. She can do or make anything. Amazing. I mean that. For family home evening we made paper puppets of Eden's favorite scripture story: Nephi building the boat. She loves telling the whole story, complete with Nephi, Lehi, Sariah, Laman, Lemuel, the Liahona, and the song "Nephi's courage." Kirsten drew the figures. Eden and Sam colored. Since I lack all artistic skills, I found my place with the scissors and glue. As you can see, we had a blast!
The next few days consisted of leveraging every waking hour, and many beyond that, to prepare for the move. We only moved a mile or two (Forest Hills), but it's a pain none the less. We packed. And packed. And packed. Where did all this stuff come from?! We got the keys to the new place on Friday (Feb 22) and had to paint in one day Saturday because we needed to move on Monday because I had to leave on Wednesday. Confusing? Sorry. Needless to say, it was busy. And also needless to say, we owe a lot of people a lot gratitude. I can't say enough how grateful I am for all the friends and family who helped us with babysitting, painting, packing, moving, and everything else. Now I'll go out on a limb and reserve the right to edit this post later, but a thousand thanks to everyone: Collises, Lillians, Cardons, Thackers, Quinns, Mom and Dad, Eusebios, Walkers, Bednars, Elders, Barlows, Cherries, Potters...and now I'm blanking because I know there are more people who helped and offered to help. Again, thank you!!
Tuesday was the day after the move, which is always busy as you can imagine. On Wednesday I temporarily abandoned my family and flew out to San Francisco for a "Michigan Innovators" trip with the University of Michigan College of Engineering. I did a quick 3-minute pitch on a business and product idea that I'm working on with a couple of other students. We were selected with a few other people to go to Silicon Valley and meet up with a bunch of Michigan alumni entrepreneurs. Our idea, a new skin delivery patch for large molecule drugs (think: nicotine patch, but for other things), is very early stage and who knows if it will work, so there's no reason to get excited yet, but they liked it. During part of the trip we stopped at Google headquarters. Larry Page, the founder, is a UM grad, but we didn't get to meet him. Most of the 2-day meeting involved talks from successful UM engineering alum. It was a great opportunity to make some new connections. What's that buzz word? Oh yeah, "networking." Yes, I "networked." It turned out very well.
On Saturday they booked us for a 9pm flight back, which landed at 5am in Detroit. I'm not sure why, since we literally had nothing else scheduled that day. I would have liked to get home a bit earlier to help Kirsten back at home (honestly!), but since I couldn't change it without paying a steep price, I wandered around San Francisco for a little while. Kirsten and I were married in the Oakland Temple, and I hadn't been back to the area since. Being in San Francisco brought back some fond memories and I wish she could have been there.
San Francisco is an interesting city. We walked through Chinatown, up to Coit Tower, down along the piers, over to Ghirardelli square, and took the trolley over to BART (the subway) to the airport. Ghirardelli has amazing hot chocolate! Try it if you go. San Francisco has many, many street performers: opera singers, rock bands, break dancers, mimes, and my personal favorite, the world famous bushman. For those of you who don't know, the bushman has been around San Francisco for nearly 30 years. He finds some branches, sits down, and hides behind the branches. Many, many people don't even notice he's there until he jumps out and startles them. I was looking out for him, so he didn't get me, but I just about fell over laughing watching him get a few other people. Of course, youtube has a few clips so you can enjoy it first hand. It's suprising how many people don't notice him until it's too late. Word of warning though: if you want to take a picture, be prepared to donate a few bucks.
I failed miserably at my attempt to bring back a warm front to Michigan. Here in Ann Arbor it is freezing. What else can we expect? It's been a strange winter, with a vicious cycle of snow, two weeks of cold, 36 hours of elevated temperatures, rapid temperature drop that produces a layer of ice everywhere, and then snow again. Tonight when I got home everyone was in snowsuits, so we went outside to go sledding for a little while and meet our new neighbors. Lots of fun.
Sam is at a fun age. He is really starting to pick up on words. When I lay him down in his crib for the night he often says, "Good night. I love you," which warms my heart. Sometimes when I go to pick him up after he wakes up he starts jumping up and down when he sees me. He just smiles and jumps and jumps and jumps and then finally jumps into my outreached arms. It's moments like those that make being a dad extra special.
Here's one of my favorite pictures of Sam.
We're getting ready to move this weekend. Moving is never fun. Fortunately this should be our last move in graduate school. We're also fortunate that we're not moving far. It will still take a lot of work and we're in the middle of packing things up. We'll be pretty busy, so I'm not sure if they'll be any time to post anything for the next little while, but we'll see. Kirsten says that after the move she'll start posting too. I'm sure that will be more interesting than my blabbing.
One final note, one of my former mission companions had a pretty funny post about Russia. "You know you've been in Russia too long when" If you've been to Russia and know the culture you'll find it's right on the mark. I keep chuckling each time I look at it as I recall specific memories linked to each point. If you've never been there, well, you just won't get it. Let me know if you want to go and I'd be happy to be your tour guide.
The recent string of violent events in schools across the country over the past week has weighed heavily on my mind. Many students have lost their lives in a middle school, high school, college, and university over the span of just a week in four separate events across the country. Other similar tragedies have also occurred outside of schools. The frequency and magnitude of these events is disturbing and saddening. As a university student it is difficult to think of such an occurrence on campus, and yet it has become a reality for too many. While I have had no direct connection to anyone involved, as far as I know, I have been deeply saddened by these tragedies and want to try to express love and empathy.
I do not pretend to understand the pain that comes from such an experience, but I do understand the pain of losing an innocent loved one. My sister Beth Anne was just 9 years old when she passed away from complications arising from an aggressive brain tumor. It was a disease she fought courageously for 7 of her 9 precious years. From the day she was born she brought a special spirit to our family. She was full of love and life. She was a peacemaker. She not only touched our hearts, but changed our hearts making each of us a little better. She was happy and made us happy. She was everyone's favorite. She still is. She was always close to heaven and I believe she was continually lifted up by angels. I think of her often and feel her near. I love her dearly and I look forward to seeing her again.
This week, in preparation for the Priesthood lesson in church on Sunday, I read chapter 3 from the Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith entitled "Jesus Christ, the Divine Redeemer of the World." The entire text can be found at Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith. I would like to share a few pertinent passages from this chapter to express my understanding of Jesus Christ, His Resurrection, our resurrection, and the hope and comfort I gain from it. It is during these critical times in our lives that we must place our complete faith and trust in the foundation of our religion, who is Jesus Christ. It is during these times that the true principles of the Gospel become clearer to our earthly understanding and the picture of eternity becomes even more beautiful to our earthly eyes.
The following passages, in quotations, come from the teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith.
“The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it.
“ ‘As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive;’ all shall be raised from the dead [1 Corinthians 15:22]. The Lamb of God hath brought to pass the resurrection, so that all shall rise from the dead.
“Christ Himself has assuredly risen from the dead; and if He has risen from the dead, He will, by His power, bring all men to stand before Him: for if He has risen from the dead the bands of the temporal death are broken that the grave has no victory. If then, the grave has no victory, those who keep the sayings of Jesus and obey His teachings have not only a promise of a resurrection from the dead, but an assurance of being admitted into His glorious kingdom; for, He Himself says, ‘Where I am there also shall my servant be’ [John 12:26].
“Those who have died in Jesus Christ may expect to enter into all that fruition of joy when they come forth, which they possessed or anticipated here. … I am glad I have the privilege of communicating to you some things which, if grasped closely, will be a help to you when earthquakes bellow, the clouds gather, the lightnings flash, and the storms are ready to burst upon you like peals of thunder. Lay hold of these things and let not your knees or joints tremble, nor your hearts faint; and then what can earthquakes, wars and tornadoes do? Nothing. All your losses will be made up to you in the resurrection, provided you continue faithful. By the vision of the Almighty I have seen it. …
“God has revealed His Son from the heavens and the doctrine of the resurrection also; and we have a knowledge that those we bury here God will bring up again, clothed upon and quickened by the Spirit of the great God; and what mattereth it whether we lay them down, or we lay down with them, when we can keep them no longer? Let these truths sink down in our hearts, that we may even here begin to enjoy that which shall be in full hereafter.
“The scripture says those who will obey the commandments shall be heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. … ‘The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God, and if children, then heirs of God, and joint heirs with Jesus Christ, if so be that we suffer with him in the flesh that we may be also glorified together.’ [See Romans 8:16–17.]
“How consoling to the mourners when they are called to part with a husband, wife, father, mother, child, or dear relative, to know that, although the earthly tabernacle is laid down and dissolved, they shall rise again to dwell in everlasting burnings in immortal glory, not to sorrow, suffer, or die any more, but they shall be heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ."
I believe these teachings to be true. I believe in the resurrection of all of us and that, eternally the grave has no victory. It is difficult now, but "all our losses will be made up" in the resurrection. Though we suffer now, we can be glorified eternally through Christ. In this I find comfort, peace, and hope.
I would also like to mention the ever increasing need to strengthen and protect our families. The law cannot protect against all injustice. The protection of society--physically, spiritually, and morally--begins and ends in the home. In the Church's The Family: A Proclamation to the World, we read:
"Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. “Children are an heritage of the Lord” (Psalms 127:3). Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, to teach them to love and serve one another, to observe the commandments of God and to be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations.
"The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities. By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners.
"We warn that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God. Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.
"We call upon responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society."
Adhering to these principles does indeed bring happiness. The attack on and disintegration of the family is perhaps the greatest problem of our world today. Many of the difficulties we face are an extension of this attack. We are accountable for the sacred responsibility of teaching and raising our children. I do not mean to imply that every choice a child makes into adulthood is a direct reflection of his or her upbringing. We all have our freedom to choose, but I do believe that many of the problems of society could be greatly reduced by strengthening the relationships within our families. It is within these eternal relationships that we find our greatest joy and happiness.
I'm sure know one really wants to read about me that much, so I thought I shared a little something about Eden. Eden recently had her 4th birthday and I'm convinced that there's something a little different about her now. I mean, she's always been bright and clever, but suddenly she seems even brighter and cleverer. Let me share two recent experiences to illustrate my point.
Eden has an amazing imagination and especially loves to pretend to be different animals. For the past two years our mornings frequently begin as follows: Me: "Good morning Eden. How did you sleep?" Eden: "Great dad. Hey, what do you want to be?" Me: "I don't know, I was thinking about being a giraffe or an elephant." Eden: "Well, I was thinking about being a tiger. I'm going to be a tiger." Of course, it could be just about any animal. Sometimes Kirsten and I are the Mommy and Daddy animals and sometimes we're the zookeepers. Sam is always the baby brother animal.
Frequently at some point in the day, usually after we ask Eden to do something, we'll hear the following question, "Do baby tigers listen to their parents?" Of course, I always assure her that the baby animals do indeed listen to their parents perfectly without exception. A few days ago Eden was a shark. I asked her to come to the table to eat her shark food. She replied, "Dad, I'm a super shark. Super sharks get to do what they want." I quickly answered, "Well Eden, that's almost right. Super sharks are super not because they do what they want, but because they do what's right. Super sharks always do what's right and eating dinner is the right thing to do." Eden quickly came to eat her shark food with her octopus spoon and I was satisfied with my cleverness.
Later that evening Eden and Sam were taking baths in the "shark pool." When it was time to get out I said, "Super shark, it's time to get out of the shark pool." Without missing a beat or even looking up Eden answered in full confidence, "Dad, I'm not a super shark now. I'm just a shark." Her message was clear and she continued to play with her bath toys. Realizing I had just been outwitted, I did the only thing I could do: I let her play. She deserved it.
Not every event turns out so nicely though. Last week Kirsten went into the bathroom and found the toilet paper roll was completely unraveled. She called out, "What happened in here?!" Eden entered the bathroom with a look of both surprise and distress and said, "I know Mom, I can't believe it...I forgot I was four years old!" There she is. Cute and innocent as can be! I find myself increasingly challenged to match her cleverness. I have to ask: am I smarter than a four-year old?
The snow in Ann Arbor continues to fall. And I continue to forget to look at the weather forecasts. Today I found out it looked something like this:
That only really matters because this year I've picked up a new hobby: biking. I've always enjoyed biking, but now I just love it. I bike about 5 miles each way to and from campus every day (and for those of you wondering, yes I do change my clothes when I get to school so I'm not all sweaty). It's fun, it's a good way to work in exercise time, and it's a challenge. It turns out to be a bigger challenge in the snow. Frozen gears, sliding head first across ice patches, uncleared sidewalks, and poor visibility all add to the, um, fun. I admit that sometimes, albeit rarely, if I know the weather will be horrible I'll take a bus, but it hurts my pride, so most days I bundle up and go. I have proven several times now that "Pride cometh before the fall." The morning sun deceived me into believing that today was a perfect day for commuting. After lunch I looked out the window and realized I'd been tricked (again). It looked like a blizzard outside. I couldn't help but recall a classic Bushism, which you may also enjoy by clicking here or on his picture.
Fortunately today I made it home without any hard falls, but several times I had to walk my bike and it took me about twice as long to get home as normal; however, traffic everywhere was at a standstill so I'm pretty sure it was quicker than a bus or car. Who needs four-wheel drive?! Oddly enough, there's something exhilarating about getting on my bike and meeting the challenge head-on. And you know what, I think I'll just keep on doing it.
Here's a picture of what it looked like when I got home, as well as a picture of us after an earlier snow in December. In the words of a world famous wrestler (yes it is him, Nacho Libre), "My life is good."
So the time has come when we must enter the 21st century. Yes, the Gibsons have finally started a blog! I'm not sure why it took us so long, but here we are. Just like everyone else, I think I finally realized that a blog can be a great way to keep in touch and up-to-date with friends, family, and loved ones. In fact, almost every day something happens and I think, "I should put that on our blog. Well, actually, I should start our blog and then put something on it." Of course, I don't mean to imply that I'll post every day; I'm not convinced that would be good for any of us! I've never been very good at keeping in contact with people as I should, so I hope this will help to partially fill that gap. And what a better time to start than when the temperature hits 0F with a wind chill that makes it feel like -25F. As they sing in the Frank Loesser Oscar-winning duet, "Baby it's cold outside." Yes, this is life in Ann Arbor, MI.
I should simply say that I feel we are very blessed, regardless of how cold it's been. I'm in my third year of my graduate studies at the University of Michigan going after my PhD in biomedical engineering and aiming for graduation in 2010. Kirsten is an absolutely amazing wife and mother. Eden just had her 4th birthday and is full of non-stop energy and conversation. Sam is nearly 20 months and is always exploring everything from high how he can climb to what he can find in those never-before-seen-nor-touched nooks and crannies. Life is exciting for all of us.
I have to admit that I feel a bit sheepish about not getting a Christmas letter or card out this year. I did put together a little slide show with photo highlights of 2007 set to some of my favorite music. I love folk Gospel music. I'm convinced that it's in my blood from my West Virginia roots. I've included the video here. It's also currently posted in a directory at UM in higher and lower resolution sizes (www.umich.edu/~mattgib/2007), but I'm not sure I'll keep it there. The video is about five and half minutes. If the saying is true that a picture is worth a thousand words, then I've just given everyone the equivalent of over 100,000 words, which is roughly the same as about 400 pages of text. Not bad. The video proceeds chronologically with pictures from family outings, birthdays, our summer in the Philadelphia area for my internship at Merck, holidays, vacations and other fun moments. I realized that I should have made a narrated version or added captions. Maybe I still will. And maybe not.
Interestingly enough, I just found out that the actual Fabulous Hudson Hornet is just down the road from us at the Ypsilanti Automotive Heritage Museum. Yes, Doc Hudson was based on a real racecar.
