Carter's Perspective

Carter only wanted one present for Christmas, a "hard globe" (i.e., not an inflatable one). Santa Claus fulfilled this wish. As Carter was going to sleep on Christmas night, Erik asked him "Was there anything you wanted for Christmas that you didn't get?" Carter replied, "No. All I wanted was a hard globe."

Despite his modest list, Carter was lavished with other gifts. One of our favorites was a kid's digital camera. He has taken to recording the world from his perspective; all of the following shots are Carter's with no parental editing.


Our Tree


Grandpa and Nana Bistak


Cousin George


Daddy (Erik)


Mommy (Lea)


Grandpa H


Bob


Cousin Amelia

It's Beginning to Look Alot Like Christmas

Our tree is up, Lawrence is now coated in powdery white snow, and the students are evacuating for the holidays - Christmas is definitely near. Carter woke us up early last Saturday to get the house in order. He couldn't sleep because he was so excited about helping (hence his hair and pajamas in the photo). Although we paused last weekend to decorate, we still have many things to do before we can enjoy the holidays. Erik still has quite a bit of grading, Carter has a day of school, and Lea has dozens of tasks waiting to be done.

Buddies

Carter and his buddy Hayden enjoyed a Saturday romp outside. Hayden's mom, Jeannie, snapped these photos.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Last year we were in L'viv for Thanksgiving, but this year a little bit of L'viv came to us. Thanksgiving 2008 featured no malfunctioning refrigerators or stove, and easy access to all of the necessary ingredients. Most importantly, we enjoyed the company of Lea's parents, as well as good friends from Russia and Ukraine (Margarita, Masha, Anya, and Nazar). Nazar was one of Erik's students in L'viv and is currently a Fulbright scholar at the University of Kansas.

By Herron family tradition, Erik reads a presidential proclamation in lieu of grace prior to dinner; this year's proclamation was Franklin Delano Roosevelt's 1933 Thanksgiving greeting to the American people. We dined on standard and non-standard holiday cuisine: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry relish, squash, broccoli, daikon salad, and kim chi, followed by apple and pumpkin pies.

Carter was a helpful sous chef and enthusiastic consumer of turkey. In addition to the standard meal, he had second, third, and fourth helpings of turkey after dessert. He also entertained all of the guests with his special version of hide-and-seek.

As Erik's father, Thomas, reminds us: "we have a lot to be thankful for." Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

"You Gotta Have Art"

Although we have lived in the Kansas City area for over seven years, we had not visited the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art until today. We introduced Carter to art museums during our stay in L'viv last year, and he enjoyed (or perhaps tolerated) exploring them when it was too cold and blustery to be outside. Carter was particularly intrigued by some of the surrealist and impressionist art in the collection. Monet's "Water Lilies" was an especially big hit since it "is like a really big TV!"

Of course, when Erik and Lea encounter art museums, the tune of the Detroit Institute of Arts' 1970s commercial runs a constant loop through their heads. Fortunately, we found a website featuring videos of classic Detroit ads for Faygo, Highland Appliance, and the DIA's "We've Got Art" advertising campaign. We highly recommend it as a great nostalgia trip for all Michiganders of a particular age.