Where have we been?

Faithful readers of this blog have probably been wondering where we have gone. Where are the postings of all of our adventures? What has the Asch family been up to? Why can't we get it together enough to post something? Well, your long wait is about to be rewarded. We apologize to our adoring public for taking such a long break from blogging and promise to dedicate ourselves to posting more regularly in the future. Our absence has been caused by a very busy last month and limited internet access. Here, at last, is a summary of what we have been up to with some slide shows (we have so many pictures!)

1. Visiting Mississippi
We went down to the Magnolia State (it is like coming home) to see some of Chris' Freedom Project students graduate from high school. Mark and Tiffany treated us to some fabulous Delta hospitality, while Chris drove all around the state promoting his new book with various talks. A highlight was his talk at the Indianola Public Library, which was filmed by C-SPAN's book TV. Erica and Miri got to visit the Greenville synagogue for services on Friday night, and the Silverblatts hosted a party in honor of Erica's ordination. We also visited with Michelle, Chris, and Marian, and spent some time relaxing on the porch with Laura Gardner. It was a great trip!

2. Visiting Boothbay and Attending a Wedding
After a packed Delta trip, we headed to Boothbay in Ocean Pines for a little R and R. Unfortunately, Erica took that a little too literally, coming down with a sinus infection and staying in bed all day long. She recovered in time to attend Andy and Brian's wedding in Annapolis. It was great to see so many HUC friends and for them to meet Miriam for the first time. Unfortunately, Miri was a little fussy during the ceremony so Chris had to leave -- and he and Miri almost literally ran into his elementary school hero, quarterback Roger Staubach. We partied the night away and returned to Silver Spring to try to unpack before...

3. Getting Ordained
After five long years of study Erica became a rabbi on May 31st. It was great to have the whole Seager clan (Jean, Bill, and Ben) as well as Chris' mom, Margery, there for the ceremony. It was especially lovely to see Rachel and her daughter Pardes, who made the big trip all the way to Cincinnati for the occasion. Rachel was Erica' s roommate in Israel during her first year of study and was there from the beginning of the journey. We had a great time celebrating!

4. Settling into our new place
We have finally managed to settle into our new place in Silver Spring. Chris welcomed five interns to the USPSA, while Erica made some baby food and went to the pool with Miriam. The cats had fun roaming around the neighborhood and getting a chance to be outside. We are meeting our neighbors and fixing up the house. Maybe now we will have time to post some more!!

Moving Part II

The best part about moving is arriving at your destination, especially if your destination contains a lot of family. We were so lucky to have Grandma Jean visit town for a few days to welcome us into the new house, go on the first grocery shopping, eat the first Shabbat dinner at the new place, and of course watch Miriam while her parents took care of moving things in. Of course, being in DC means being near Grandma Margery, who arrived with her arms full of groceries and some beautiful flowers. She saw her little "mini-Margery" -- Miriam's blue eyes and reddish hair leave not doubt about whose grandbaby she is.


Miriam was also lucky enough to get to spend some quality cousin time with the whole Myers clan. She spent all day with Matty and Damon (and their parents), who promptly gave her a nickname: "Mirzy." We all got to spend time together during the rest of the week -- an afternoon trip to Annapolis was a highlight. The boys were terrific with little Mirzy, and Miriam was quite taken by her big cousins. Damon showed a lot of concern for his younger cousin, informing Mommy when she was crying. He also gave her some great hugs! Pearce came over too, and we managed to get all four cousins together for a shot, but getting them all to look at the camera was quite another matter. We can't wait for more cousin time!





In other news, Miriam is such a cutie in her five month shot (sometimes parents just have to be proud!)

Moving Part I

As many of you know, the Asch clan is picking up and moving to DC. We are looking forward to Chris having a shorter commute into the office (the drive-to-Dayton-fly-to-Baltimore-train-to-DC trip was getting to be too much). We can't wait to be closer to family: Grandma Margery; Uncle Rob, Aunt Vida, & Cousin Pearce; Uncle Dennis, Aunt Debbie, & Cousin Gabe (and almost-cousin Tamara); and the Gruen crew.

But if we were going to move to DC, we had to get there. Enter the U-haul trailer. We packed it full and threw our two cats, Miriam, and the two of us into the car. Off we went!

Considering how Erica thought this trip would go, it was really quite a pleasant eleven hours. The cats did remarkably well. Thunder enjoyed sitting on the armrest, and later he curled up in Chris' lap. Lightening was also a superstar. We truly appreciated how great they were when we were treated to two hours of caterwauling on the trip back--but that's a story for another blog.

Miriam did great for the first part of the trip. She was quite content to eat her teething bee (which was then unfortunately lost on a walk to the subway later in the week. Mommy was devastated---Miriam did quite well with the loss). She was a champ until about 7PM when she finally realized, hey, I've been sitting in a car seat all day! What's up with that?!

Parking the U-haul once we reached DC was quite a task, but we found a place at last. Chris enjoyed his first meal in the new house. Cereal, of course! After a good night's sleep we unloaded the trailer. It was filled with everything from storage--books, winter clothes, blankets...everything we don't need. Good thing we are making another trip next week! We enjoyed a breakfast of French toast and pumpkin butter (thanks to Grandma Margery who brought over some much needed groceries) and settled in for a week of fun. Stay tuned to read about Miriam's adventures with the cousins and her grandmas!

A Brief Leave of Absence

We are sorry it has been so long since we have posted, but we have been in DC for the last week and a half with limited internet access. We moved into our new place (sort-of), visited with all the Myers cousins, and had an adventure traveling in the car with Miri and the two cats. Look for pictures and updates in the next couple of days!

Take Miri out to the ballgame...

We here at the Asch household have always been big baseball fans. We do have a bit of a mixed marriage (what with one of us rooting for the Padres and the other for the Nationals), but we still manage to cheer for the Reds together. We admit, it helps that they are in the Central Division.

One of the best things about living in Cincinnati (other than the Graeters ice cream) is the city's great baseball tradition--the opening day parade. Cincinnati always opens up the baseball season at home because it was the first professional baseball team. So, for opening day we packed up the kidlet and went out to celebrate with the city -- it's basically a holiday, with kids and adults alike taking the day off. Miriam liked getting her baseball and looking at the floats (can you see Mr. Redlegs in the background?). The pig (a symbol of Cincinnati) made her so hungry she ate her hand. (We'll talk to her about that vegetarian stuff later.) The parade was a hit and Miriam was exhausted by the whole day and slept all the way home.

On Sunday we took Miri out to the ballgame for the first time. It was a beautiful day (70 degrees) and it turned out that a lot of other people had the same idea we did — we wound up in the nosebleed seats overlooking the Ohio River. Miri made friends with all the Reds fans even though her parents were sporting Padres and Nationals gear. She even participated in her first Wave when Daddy lifted her whole body up! Just as the Reds mounted an amazing 7th inning hit parade (4 runs scored!), Miri decided to try to take a nap. Alas, the roar of the Reds faithful kept jolting her awake...much to the dismay of her parents. She did manage to fall asleep by the time we sang "Take me out to the ballgame" and we took her out of the ballgame under the cover of Daddy's Nationals cap (at least it's red). This girl's head is so big that none of her summer hats fit her — that's one big-headed girl, as our Delta kids might say.

Purim!

Miriam got to dress up for her first Purim last week (okay, a couple weeks ago by the time we actually posted this!). Picking an appropriate costume was quite a task for Mommy and Daddy, who didn't want to run out to a costume store and buy something (not that there are a lot of costumes for sale in March). After discarding several ideas (we couldn't find the pope hat and the boxer just wasn't working), we finally went for the tomato. Some thought Miri was a strawberry, but whatever the fruit or vegetable, she was pretty darn cute. Mommy played a munchkin in the Wizard of Oz Purim Spectacular. Check out both the 'munchkins.'


In other exciting news, Miri got to pose for her four month picture. That pillow sure is shrinking!

Miri Look-alike Meter

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