Banff, Alberta, Canada

The perks of being the self-employed wife of Mark Vigoroso are endless. A few weeks ago, I got to tag along on a California trip and spend time with my sister and her family in Rancho Cucamonga. This past week I was able to fly to the Canadian Rockies and enjoy breathtaking scenery while Mark presented to a bunch of food service executives at the Buffalo Mountain Lodge in Banff.

Some of the highlights:

· Watching mule deer and elk graze what grass they could find amongst the masses of snow right off the back porch of our room.

· Walking the two main streets and many side streets of the town of Banff and exploring each and every shop along the way.

· Taking the frozen trail around Bow River in Banff and walking out on the river itself to get a better view of the countryside.

Our two nights in Lake Louise were amazing. Mark had finished his work at the conference and we were on our own to make the most of the weekend—and that we did!

· The first thing we did was check out Lake Louise itself. The lake was frozen solid so we were able to walk right out to the middle of it. Cross country skiers, ice skaters, horse-drawn sleighs and mommy-pulled sleds all occupied various spaces around the lake. It was spectacular. We were even able to get close to a massive frozen waterfall at the back of the lake cascading off one of the surrounding mountain sides.

· On our last day, Saturday, we did it all. We took a dog sled ride through a mountain pass to the Great Divide into British Columbia. Mark and I even got a chance to drive the sled ourselves!

· Then we drove out to Johnston’s Canyon, passing Moose Meadows along the way. It was at the meadows that we saw a lone moose standing by the side of the road. I was so excited because I had never seen a moose in its natural habitat.

· The walk to the lower falls at Johnston’s Canyon was quite interesting. We opted not to purchase the shoe covers that provide traction on the ice. So we shuffled, slid and slipped up the walkway to the falls in our sneakers (not too smart on our part). The railing became necessary for survival. I clung to the metal rail using it to pull myself up the inclines and to safely slide myself down the declines. Needless to say, I was exhausted by the time we got to the actual falls. You will have to see the photos to believe it. The water gushed behind a beautifully draped covering of ice.

Now it is back to Boston for less than two weeks before the big move.
Thanks for taking this adventure with us.
Love, Sharon & Mark

Chicago Move

C changes
H home
I instantaneous
C courage
A adventure
G God’s timing
O open doors

One day Mark comes to me and says: “Looks like we’re moving to Chicago.”

Shocking myself, I say, “Oh, okay. Let’s do it!”

How can you be so quick to jump on a moving truck? You ask. Well, it wasn’t as instantaneous as you might think. We actually thought we would be relocating to San Diego this year, but that was not in the cards. Mark liked the idea of a warm climate, pleasant scenery and a place to set up his desktop at Qualcomm’s headquarters. I liked the idea of being close to Laurel, Lars and Luke, along with other long-time friends and family. But as it stands, colder winters, hotter summers and no ocean in sight happens to be our destiny for this next chapter of our lives.

The Lord was working in my heart independently from Mark’s. Only days, or even hours before my husband relayed the news to me, I had come to the conclusion that I did not want to live in San Diego. Why on earth not? You ask. Well, several reasons came to mind—none of which make much sense in a sane world.

In my head, I knew Chicago was going to be best. I liked the idea of Mark being close to his team, working in the same building where his division held offices. Believe it or not, I would have missed the snow too much and the obvious season changes. But let’s be honest, the part I was most looking forward to was the affordable housing market. I knew we could get much more for our money in Illinois than in southern California. I was tired of seeing the same four walls day after day. I craved space, multiple doors, rooms and even a yard of our very own. My desire to walk out my front door and run down the street or take a long walk without fear of being abducted became overwhelming. I started liking the sound of Chicago’s western suburbs more and more.

The decision was actually much more difficult to stomach for Mark. “It’s the Midwest,” he kept saying. To put things in perspective a little…Mark was born and raised only a few miles outside of Boston and has lived in the heart of the city now for five years. The city and he are one. He loves the cuisine choices and the ability to walk to famous places, restaurants, cinemas and theatres. I don’t know if you can imagine the struggle it took to get him to even consider moving to the suburbs of Massachusetts, no less the suburbs in the Midwest. It wasn’t until we began the house hunt that he became convinced.

The homes closest to Chicago were considerably older, smaller, packed in closer to the neighbors, and more expensive. Once we started looking farther west, we found the homes to be the complete antithesis. We made our selections from the realtor’s website and booked our flights to check out our favorites.

“You have to keep an open mind,” I kept telling Mark. He had his sights on one house in particular and believed with all his heart that that would be our home. While Mark spent his days at the office in Chicago, I had the freedom to tour around the neighborhoods with Mitzi, our divinely appointed realtor. She took me everywhere, showing me each town center and driving me around the neighborhoods so I could gain a full perspective of the potential residences. Just by doing this we excluded two or three homes. By the end of my first day of house hunting, I had selected four homes for Mark to look at that evening—including the “one”.

Let’s just say that sometimes photos you see on the internet look much more appealing than the actual space. That’s what happened with the “one”. It turned out that we felt much more at home in a second choice house—which ended up being our new first pick. At the end of day one, we made our decision. The “purple house” as we affectionately call it, was going to be ours. We informed our realtor that we wanted to see the house again the following day and after a second walk-through, would most likely put an offer in on it.

Boy oh boy, did things ever fall quickly into place. Negotiations lasted a full five minutes until both the sellers and buyers were satisfied. I tend to think we got the better deal, as they say, “it is a buyer’s market right now. “ We locked in an amazing mortgage rate and were able to get the home inspected the next day—so one of us could be present to hear the results. I flew home that afternoon completely at peace about our decision.

Mark flew out to close on the house this morning (Friday, March 07, 2008). We make the move the last weekend of March. Praise God. Let the adventure begin.

I will post photos once we get out there. Stay tuned…

Our Second Nephew

Almost one year to the day after the birth of our first nephew, our second was born, this time on the other side of the family - Bruno Hugo Salvatore Perry! We got to spend Thanksgiving with him (see pix). He mostly just eats and sleeps, but he was still the main attraction at this year's holiday feast.

"Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!" (2 Corinthians 9:15)