In The Sticks

Flight to Heaven

2012-02-24T12:15:00.002-08:00

In the past year or more, I've been on a bit of a quest for more information on Heaven. I've recently finished my 7th book on the subject and had to share it. Each book I have read has been different, but each book has similarities as well. This particular book was beautifully written and is an incredible story of a man who was forever changed after a near fatal airplane accident he had when he was 19. Apart from his long journey towards physical healing, he kept his story a secret for over 40 years. After getting some advice from his grandfather, he decided that instead of telling his story, he should live it...and that he did!

After finishing the book, I went to Captain Dale's website (www.daleblack.org) and listened to an interview with him. What he shares doesn't even begin to tell his story, but it was good to hear it from him and to see how sincere he is. Though, I recommend reading the book first!

It Must be February...Cause we're all SICK!

2012-02-20T13:57:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the long hiatus, but along with some technical difficulties with my computer, we've been very, VERY sick for the better part of the last month. Despite my prayers for health, the bugs have overtaken our house and we're having a hard time getting rid of them. We started back in mid-January when Synnove got a wierd tummy bug that lasted 6-7 days...then we were all healthy for a few days and then Soren got the tummy bug (his was much worse) for 6-7 days. Who gets a week-long tummy bug!?!?! Sheesh! We were all well for a week or two. Then, Synnove got a sore throat that turned into fever and other cold symptoms. She missed a week of school, was on the mend for a week, and now she's back to similar symptoms. Soren got the same bug (way worse) a week after Synnove and had a 6-day fever with bad cold symptoms and a tummy ache. I have also been sick with the same for almost two weeks now, and Adam is now battling it as well. I'm frustrated, exhausted, and tired of being stuck in my house with sickies.

When I find the time to have some patience for my computer (picture download issues) I'll get around to finally blogging about Synnove's 7th birthday. As for now, I'm contemplating a nap.

Night Sledding

2012-01-18T10:53:00.000-08:00

It's becoming a tradition! FiFi got the ball rolling, and by afternoon we had a small party of family committed to a sledding party on Monday night at our house. We had a splendid time!

The Annual Christmas Marathon

2012-01-08T10:06:00.000-08:00

Christmas with Adam's side of the family, Tuesday, December 20th:

Adam was able to take most of the week before Christmas off, but there was lots on the agenda! We started our Christmas marathon at Steve and Patty's. Patty had made gingerbread loaf houses for each family to make, then we opened gifts and had lasagna and pizza. We didn't stay too late so that we could get home to check on our sick puppy.

Steve and Patty have a few "pet" squirrels. Soren was able to feed one by hand two different times!

Synnove and Soren's creation

Soren got another Candyland game to add to his collection as a gift. It seemed like he and the cousins enjoyed playing together!

Annual Camp 18 dinner and Christmas with My side of the family, Thursday, Dec. 22nd:

Grandma Barb joined us this year because she decided to go to Leavenworth, WA with a friend for Christmas this year. This was the first year EVER to not have Christmas Day at Grandma Barb's house.

Back from dinner to open gifts at my parent's house

Soren got a voice changer from Uncle Henry...here he is with the "old man" voice...ha ha!

Synnove was very excited for Adam and I to open her gifts to us. At school she painted an ornament and made a calendar with hand print pictures. They are precious!

Baking and cleaning day, Friday, December 23rd:

Elise and Chris stayed at my parent's house for several days during the week. Mom was working at the coffee shop while Elise stayed home to bake all the Christmas goodies. She made everything...pumpkin pie, berry pie, pecan pie (for Adam), rocky road, dream bars, magic cookie bars, chocolate fudge, peanut butter fudge, frosted sugar cookies, and date bars. I came in the afternoon to help do any cleaning or last minute chores before the big Christmas Eve dinner the next day. But, because of Elise, most everything was done. The kids stayed the night there while I had to go home to help Adam with Lucy.

Sweet Evelyn in the kitchen watching her mommy bake...

Christmas Eve dinner with the Thompson clan, Saturday, December 24th:

I don't have very many photos from this day because I'm usually busy with the gift exchange game. For some reason, Christmas Eve felt very quiet and low key. It was nice. Unfortunately, Heidi had been in the hospital with kidney stones! But, she made it out in time for our evening. The poor girl looked miserable. This was our first Christmas without John Bradley, an older gentleman from church we "adopted" several years ago. He passed away last spring. Other than him, my cousin Bryan was the only one missing. He is a lost soul in need of a lot of prayer.

My mom and Aunt Jeanne

Mmmm....Hammmm...

Christmas morning at my parent's house, Sunday, December 25th:

The kids stayed the night Christmas Eve while Adam and I went home to take care of Lucy. We literally drug ourselves out of bed to try to make it to my parent's house by 9AM...we were only 10 minutes late. I knew the kids would be up early to see what Santa had brought to grandma and grandpa's house. I got a phone call at around 8:15 from Synnove saying "we're up..we're waiting for you!"

My dad with 2 out of 3 "grand-dog's." Sophie (left) and Trigger (right) are Chris and Elise's schnauzers. However, if you ask Sophie and Trigger...they'll tell you that my Dad is their master.

Evie gazing and grandma

Soren's new viewfinder!

Evie talking to Uncle Henry while getting dressed after her bath.

Sweet reindeer buns

After opening gifts, a few of us headed to the kitchen to make a big breakfast with eggs, hash browns, and biscuits and sausage gravy. Then we all lounged in our jammies all day watching Muppet Christmas movies. The boys did end up venturing out later to go shoot Henry's new gun.

Christmas Day evening at our house, Saturday, December 25th:

Because we didn't go to Grandma Barb's this year, we were able to head home at a reasonable hour. The kids were eager to get home to see if Santa brought gifts to their house as well. Of course, he had.

Soren got an Angry bird (he'd gotten a pig and an Angry Bird blanket as gifts prior), some more Hot Wheels, and a miniature Candyland game...among other things.

On the way home from my parent's house, I asked Synnove if she had gotten everything she wanted for Christmas...she said, "yes....but, I really wanted a Tangled doll..." She wasn't unhappy with her gifts, but that doll was one of only two things she asked for for Christmas (the other being a new pair of rubber boots). It was really fun to see her face at the very end of our Christmas marathon to open her very last gift...a Tangled doll.

Some December Photos

2012-01-06T16:38:00.000-08:00

Patty and Steve's Christmas Party, December 10th:

Santa and Mrs. Claus gave out small gifts to each kid and asked each of them to make sure to make their Christmas lists. Both of my kids were very excited to see Santa this year!

Soren's Preschool Christmas Program, December 15th:

Soren and Kendall were Mary and Joseph, and JR was the innkeeper. Kendall was nervous and sort of forgot what to do after walking down the aisle and seeing all the people...but that's OK. It was very cute and Soren sang all the songs and did all the hand motions (a huge improvement from last year!)

Kendall refused to hold the "baby Jesus" in rehearsal because it wasn't HER baby. Her mom had to bring one from home...ha ha!

Trip to "You Paint It!" in Seaside, December 16th:

I rarely get to spend time with my good friend Tonya and her darling daughters. Faith (her stepdaughter) was only going to be in town for the month of December, so we made sure to set a date. It was Tonya's idea to go to "You Paint It!" I had been wanting to take the kids, so it was the perfect outing.

Synnove picked a peace sign mug (she's really into peace signs lately) and Soren picked a "transformer" (robot). He wanted to make it look like "Optimus Prime...like the one Uncle Chris has," and he gave it to Chris for his birthday (Dec. 26th). I think he really loved it :)

Soren was very concentrated in his efforts...and did his very best. Synnove's ended up taking quite a long time because of all the colors and things she wanted to do. I helped her quite a bit to get her moving.

Tonya helped Faith make a coffee thermos for daddy for Christmas.

And Miss Avyrie was a perfect peach the entire time! Ooo...I just LOVE this face!

Lucy...Our Sick "Kid" Over Christmas Vacation

2012-01-05T12:37:00.000-08:00

I love my Lucy. She has such personality...playful, obedient AND defiant, loving...on her terms. I thought it was funny when Adam said to me "if you were a dog, you would be JUST like Lucy." I laughed..."thanks?" She truly is a maremma and despite some of her frustrating qualities, she's proving to be a fantastic member of our family.

Almost a year ago Lucy ran off and we thought we had lost her. She came back looking, smelling, and acting like a different dog. We were worried she wouldn't bounce back in a "good" way and that she might end up skittish and depressed for a long time. She did go through a period of readjustment and was a bit skittish for a while. But, fortunately, she became much more obedient. Her response to the "here" command was positive at least 80% of the time. She also became unusually content spending more time in the kennel. To this day, she goes in the kennel without a fight...sometimes when you don't necessarily want her to. We still use her training collar here and there...but a small shock is rarely necessary. She quickly responds to the beep most of the time.

Unfortunately, Lucy still thinks that the entire 1/4 mile radius from our house is hers. I suppose it wouldn't be a problem if she wasn't a "puppy" anymore (she will be 2 in April) and didn't like to get into things and harass the neighbor's animals. I also don't like it when I call her and she doesn't return because she's too far to hear me. It's not uncommon for her to be gone for 1-2 hours if she runs off. In the 4-5 months after she ran away, she pretty much stuck around the house. But in the last 6 months or so, we've been trying to keep her more contained because of a comment from a neighbor. I feel bad now that it's the season of poor weather because we are rarely outdoors to play with her.

This was taken after a super excited Lucy stuck her whole head through that little hole hoping to get out. We all went on a hike 15 minutes later...she had a blast!

True to what we've read, she favors men to women. She loves Adam and her papa best (my dad). It is clear that Adam is her master and when he's around she listens to me less. Adam has been working hard when he can to start building a fence to border our field. When it's finished (hopefully by summer), Lucy will be able to run free more often...with the goat(s).

Lucy gave us a little scare a few weeks ago when she stopped eating one day. After 2 days of no eating and lethargy I thought that maybe she had caught a virus from our neighbor dogs. Just 2 days prior to her illness I had let her out to shoo the obnoxious neighbor dogs away. The neighbor dogs (at least 5 beagles and one big, mean, black dog) love to sit at the property line and bark and growl at the kids playing outside. I strongly dislike these dogs! Usually, I'll let Lucy out and she'll go chase them away. Lucy is an extraordinary dog, in my opinion, as she doesn't bark at them...she just runs up there and has a "silent conversation" with them. Obviously, she doesn't find them threatening enough to cause a ruckus. Sometimes the dogs take some convincing and Lucy will run back down to our house and just stand by me and stare at them while they bark ridiculously...then run back up again. Eventually, the dogs leave.

ANYway, back to 2 days prior to her illness...I was having Bible study at my house and our kids were playing outside. I heard the neighbor dogs start (worse than usual), and then I heard Lucy. She was NOT happy! She was growling and shaking the kennel to get out. I let her out and she darted up there and immediately began fighting with the mean black dog while snapping at the beagles here and there. It only took about 10 seconds and the dogs ran home. I could see Lucy's adrenaline in her body language as she jogged back to the house. She shook off about 30 seconds of steam and went right back into the kennel. I was so proud of her!

If you follow my blog, you know that I have a neighbor with lots of animals and no resources to properly care for them...let alone, keep them contained! So, it made sense to me that Lucy could have caught a sickness from her dogs. Lucy did come back from that fight with a small cut above her eye. Adam wasn't too concerned, but I was stuck at home with my sick puppy and I was very concerned. She would just lay there...no food or drink, heavy breathing, definite fever...ugh. On day 3 she perked up a bit so we thought she was getting better. By then, we knew she didn't have salmon poisoning because enough time had passed and she wasn't vomiting. She was back down on day 4, but we managed to hand feed her some morsels and force water down her with a turkey baster (it was a Sunday and the vet was closed). She was still down on day 5, but we were able to get her to eat small amounts and force the water. Adam wanted to wait it out and not risk the big vet bill. We had a full bottle of antibiotic saved in the fridge from when she ran away the winter before and we thought she might have contracted salmon poisoning (obviously, she never did). That reserve of medicine was the only thing giving me any peace of mind. The next morning we were supposed to leave to visit Adam's side of the family for Christmas. When I went out to check on Lucy I was surprised to find her sitting outside...which I thought was a good sign. Instead, I found some diarrhea and vomit. I wanted to take her to the vet right away...it had been 6 days! Adam did some research on the computer instead and discovered what he thought was the culprit. Elokomin fluke fever...like salmon poisoning, but milder and far less fatal. Fortunately, the treatment was the same as salmon poisoning, so we forced down her first antibiotic pill. She kept it down, we left for Vancouver, and asked my dad to check on her in the afternoon. "Grandpa" was happy to do so and was very concerned about his Lucy when she barely got up to greet him :(

When we got back home that night Lucy was already feeling a bit better and drank some water on her own. Every day she got a bit better and after being on the medicine for 3-4 days she was close to being back to her old self. This all happened on the week of Christmas, so some of our plans got muddled because Adam and I had to force a pill down her two times a day for 10 days. Still, anything was better than having a super sick pup.

Caromal'd Crib Set

2011-12-27T21:09:00.000-08:00

Back in June, Elise, my Mom, and I headed to Cornelius, OR to pick up a crib set that Elise found on Craigslist. The pictures looked good, the price was OK, and Elise needed it for the new baby. When we arrived at the house and saw it in person, I wasn't too impressed...but after making the 1.5 hr trip, it was hard for Elise to turn down the deal. We packed it up and headed home. Nobody said much about the set on the way home, but I just couldn't let my new niece or nephew sleep in such a disastrously painted crib. It had been spray-painted and rolled black over white. There were drips everywhere and the "artist" used different finishes of paint to complete it. Since Elise was dropping me off at my house first, I told her to just unload it in our shop so that I could re-paint it. I had nothing fancy in mind. I just wanted to give it a good sanding, paint it, and seal it properly. She tried to protest, but I had made up my mind.

I was too busy at the time to begin the project so it sat in the shop for a few weeks. During that time, the idea came up that I should distress it with Caromal Colours. The idea excited me, but I didn't know if Elise would be up for paying for it. She was totally up for it and we ordered Peppercorn, Parchment, toner, and chipping cream. I was eager to start, but had to wait for a decent slot of time where I could devote several days to the project without too many stopping points. Elise helped me sand it some of the really bad drip spots...but, because it was being distressed, major sanding wasn't necessary. The project took several days and a few very late nights. In the end, Elise loved it...and that made it all worth it to me :)

Because the set was already black, I didn't feel the need to do two coats of parchment. In the end, I wished that I had (the perfectionist in me).

We actually ordered two jars of peppercorn because I thought everything would need two coats. That wasn't the case! I couldn't believe how completely black the set was after just one coat! This is a shot of what it looked like just after I sanded off some of the black.
It's hard to tell the subtle change from sanded to finished, but this is after I toned it with the antique brown stuff and applied two coats of Wipe-On Poly (LOVE that stuff!)

This shot of the crib headboard shows the toner a bit better...

Complete, and in Evelyn's new bedroom

Her black, white, and yellow bumble bee bedding (MY idea...ha!) compliments the set quite nicely.

This was my second project with Caromal Colours and I can't say enough fantastic things about the product. I ordered some Candy Apple Red along with the paint from this order, and I'm looking forward to finding some time to do another fun project!

Some helpful links:

Caromal Colours website

Patty Henning's Blog

Blog entry on my dining room table

Miss Evelyn Colleen

2011-12-15T12:26:00.000-08:00

After much anticipation, my niece finally arrived on November 25th! Poor Weesie endured a long labor...but she did great. After a whole week of contracting, she didn't gain any progress and was "lightly" induced Thanksgiving night at 9. It didn't take much to get her going on regular contractions, however she didn't deliver until around 5:30 PM the next day. Mom and I were privileged to be present through the entire process...THANKS WEESIE!

Evelyn Colleen Bigelow was a big girl at 8 lbs 8 oz and a 14 inch head! There were no major complications and Chris and Elise were able to bring her home Sunday morning. I'm sad to say that I've only been able to see her three times since. We've had colds and we've been too busy to get away. I'm looking forward to the Christmas break...maybe I'll get to snuggle her some more :)

Elise at around 1:30 in the afternoon....4 more hours to go!

Getting to hold his daughter for the first time...

I like this pic...we were all texting like crazy. Everyone was waiting to hear if the baby was a boy or a girl. Grandma was waiting in the waiting room, while Dad and Henry were en route as Evelyn arrived.

Grandpa and Uncle Henry

Grandma

Auntie!

Evelyn 1.5 weeks old

Soren's Tummy Revisited

2011-12-01T11:41:00.000-08:00

Last fall/winter/spring was rough for Soren. He was getting sick all the time and his occasional tummy troubles turned into an all-the-time misery. I wrote a short bit about it HERE. Anyway, it would take me a long time to write every detail of the last year, so I'll try my best to give you the abridged version.

After a handful of unsuccessful visits to the doctor Soren was referred to OHSU Pediatric Gastroenterology. I was getting desperate for answers. Not only was my little Soren in misery, I was a stressed-out ball of anxiety myself. I dropped a good 15 lbs without even trying! Still, the thought of going to OHSU didn't settle with me completely. Our family doctor told me that if OHSU didn't call within a week to give her office a call. Over a week went by and OHSU didn't call. I was sort of relieved because I had already started Soren onto the path to what I was hoping would be some recovery. Soren was already feeling better! So, I said a big prayer..."Lord, if we're not supposed to go to OHSU please shut the door...please, please, PLEASE!" Still, I decided to call our family doctor to tell her that OHSU hadn't called. The nurse said that they were a few days late in getting the referral sent out, but that it was definitely sent out. She said to call in a few days if OHSU still didn't contact me. To this day, they have never called...we haven't been to the doctor since.

During our month of visits to the doctor and visits to the lab, I was busy at home doing my own research. I had recently gotten involved with a company called Young Living Essential Oils and was already having great results with the few oils that I had. Although, I hadn't begun using any for Soren and his tummy. I was also trying several diet changes for Soren. I would try one thing after another with no success whatsoever. Most advice was telling me he was allergic to something...but that was proving untrue. His tummy hurt all day...all day! It would hurt from the moment he woke up till he went to bed. For some time it didn't affect his eating too much, but as it got worse, he began to eat like a bird. He still pooped daily...and it was neither diarrhea, or hard/compact. Forgive me for the TMI, but it was usually several long, skinny poos. In my research I learned that your poo should be fairly firm/formed and the the size of your colon. Soren's was too small.

I was learning a lot about the products offered by YLEO through my friend Shari who had introduced them to me. She has been using the oils for almost 20 years and 30 years ago, through diet and herbs, she helped cure her husband of advanced Lymphoma in the span of 7 weeks (no chemo or radiation)! In fact, he had a tumor the size of a volleyball in his gut that was absolutely GONE in that 7 weeks! When she was introduced to the oils 10 years later and learned that they were exponentially more powerful than the herbs, she was sold. All that to say, she is a wealth of knowledge and testimonies. I had discussed Soren several times with Shari, but it took me a long time to fully be "on-board" with what she had to say. She told me to put him on a cleanse of raw fruits and vegetables to see what would happen. I was reluctant at first, but desperate enough to give it a try. Fortunately, Soren is extremely compliant! It only took two days for me to discover that he wasn't digesting his food...at all. I could see his breakfast in the toilet at lunchtime in full color (didn't look like poo)...and his lunch in the toilet at dinnertime. He was also starving! I thought that maybe his body just wasn't accustomed to the diet change, but Shari was adamant that regardless of diet change, his poo should look like poo!

She suggested enzymes. Again, I was hesitant. The product labels have dosages for adults. I was worried his little tummy couldn't handle it. But, after even more research, I found that most all the oils and supplements are safe for all ages...even babies. I also found that I couldn't really overdose him either...the worst that could happen is that he would throw them up. The labels are put on the bottles to appease the law/FDA. Also, because none of the products/oils are FDA approved it's hard to find information about them. Much of the info is shared through testimony. ANYway, it was during this time that YLEO was having a promotion on their probiotic, enzymes, and oil used to aid in digestion. I listened to an informational conference call and took copious notes. After that, I was convinced that these products were going to help my little guy get well. I ordered them ASAP!

At the time I finally received the products, Soren had been enduring tummy pain for over a year and had been enduring CONSTANT tummy pain for at least 2-3 months...all the while, catching every virus on the planet! I immediately started him on the probiotic and enzymes. Each capsule was able to be taken apart so I gave him 1/3-1/2 a capsule at each dosing. He took enzymes with at least two meals a day and the probiotic before bed. I also applied the oil blend on his tummy for times of extra discomfort. I was prepared for a gradual change to start happening over the period of a couple of weeks. His pain was greatly subsided and his poop was normal within TWO DAYS! I was floored! It's been an uphill roller coaster ever since. I say "roller coaster" because there have been several changes to his daily regimen.

YLEO offers several enzymes and enzyme blends, so I experimented with many. Only after a few weeks of splitting the capsules he was on a full dose with better success. He was on the probiotic for 3 straight months and then gradually weaned off by early summer. By August his tummy pain started to return on a regular basis. I was discouraged...but had done even more research and finally settled on the right enzyme. BUT, just as I was about to re-do his routine, YLEO introduced a new dual-capsule enzyme. One capsule releases in the tummy to break down carbs, and one capsule releases in the intestines to break down proteins. After having Soren on the new enzyme for just 2-3 days, his 6-week bout of tummy pain was over. He's been virtually pain-free ever since.

Yes, Soren still gets tummy aches...usually when he has too much sugar or other simple carbs...OR when he spends the day without mommy and forgets to take his enzymes! But, I couldn't be happier with the results of this journey so far. As I have learned more and more, I have discovered that Soren's problems likely stem from his time in the hospital as a baby (story HERE). He was put on extremely high doses of the strongest antibiotic his little body could take and it destroyed his immune system. I have learned that your immune system stems from your gut. If your gut isn't working properly, then your body has a harder time fighting off disease. I also learned that the average person's enzyme stores in the USA is virtually nil by age 30. Our diets are filled with an overabundance of processed foods (including our "healthy" produce) that have little nutritional value and fill our overworked livers with harmful toxins. Those toxins build up in our bodies and manifest...creating disease and cancer. YLEO actually created one of it's enzymes specifically for cancer! Enzymes, I'm learning, are the keys to optimal health! They are what break down and assimilate the nutrients we eat. BUT, because we eat "dead" foods stripped of their good bacteria and enzymes through pasteurization, irradiation, and canning...we are not replenishing our enzyme stores. Make sense? Well...it's the best I can do for now.

Here is some information on a few of the key products that helped Soren's tummy:
Life 5 Probiotic
Essentialzymes 4
Di-Gize Essential Oil

Please note that not all essential oils are made alike. The ones from the health food store have little to no therapeutic value and canNOT be taken internally. All YLEO are safe to take internally, unless otherwise noted, because of the pureness and are of the highest therapeutic value because of the way they are distilled. If you are at all interested in starting a journey of your own, I'd be happy to help steer you in the right direction. There are oils for every ailment known to man...from depression to cancer. Oh the stories I can share! Email me at nicolelouiseb@hotmail.com

Waiting...

2011-11-22T17:53:00.000-08:00

I've been waiting since Friday for my little sis to have a baby. It's almost like torture, really. I'm super excited for this little one to come and the days have been dragging on and on and ON! She started contractions on Friday afternoon and she stayed home from work Saturday laboring at home. We thought for sure we'd have a baby by Sunday! Not the case. Arg! On Monday I spent the day babysitting her because everyone had to go to work and we didn't want to leave her alone in case her water broke. We thought that since she had been contracting for days that she could be dilated quite a bit and if her water broke the baby might not wait for the hospital! Elise had a doctor appointment at 4 and we were all sure that she would at least be at a 3 or 4 and they would admit her. Again...NOT the case! She was only almost to 2! She went to work today in the hopes that some regular activity would encourage some contracting. However, I've lost hope that the baby will make it's arrival by Thanksgiving.

Halloween Part 2

2011-11-16T09:01:00.000-08:00

Halloween is difficult when it's on a school night...especially when you're doing your trick-or-treating 1/2 an hour away from home. The kids and I got an early start and got to my mom's house at around 4. The plan was to hang out for a while, get ready, have dinner, and trick-or-treat. Unfortunately, dinner was pork roast and it was taking forever to reach temperature. We didn't get to head out until after 6 or 6:30.

We went out to my sister's neighborhood this year. She lives on a new street with lots of new houses and it's about 2 minutes from my parents house. Mom and I took them. I felt bad that we couldn't drive around Warrenton visiting friends and family like we usually do, but there just wasn't enough time. With smaller children, it is imperative to get them to bed at a decent hour. We ended our trick-or-treat run on my parent's road and ended up seeing a coyote race right passed us!

Synnove wanted to be a witch this year. We improvised her costume with some cute witch-like pajama's with fun striped legging pants, a little velvet shawl-type sweater (not in the pics), a big feathery hat, and fun hair-pieces. The makeup part was the most fun. She was a pretty witch...not an ugly one :)

I was happy that Soren decided it was ok to wear his hat to complete the astronaut costume. His light-up shoes were the perfect addition to his attire.

While waiting for dinner to be done, some friends and family showed up. Little Avyrie was a welcome treat.

Brielle and Tay (the Little Mermaid)

Halloween Part 1

2011-11-15T18:01:00.000-08:00

The kids had the opportunity to carve pumpkins twice this year. Grandma and Grandpa just couldn't resist buying a few pumpkins. They really got into it and enjoyed being able to use the carving knives by themselves.

Synnove's pumpkin patch pumpkin from school

I helped Soren carve two of his 3 or 4 pumpkins. He liked making crooked mouths on purpose :)

Halloween just wouldn't be complete without a preschool field trip! The kids got to go to the Jasper's farm this year. They fed the cows, chickens, and goats before heading to the patch to pick out their pumpkins. After snack we headed back to the school to do the annual pumpkin bowling and "bobbing" for doughnuts.

Soren and Kaden were both astronauts, although I couldn't get Soren to wear his hat. I think it's funny that they are both wearing crocs too :)

Many of the kids waited to put on their costumes until after the pumpkin patch. Of course, they all looked so cute!
Top: Kaden (land astronaut), Noah (a samurai of sorts?), Soren (space astronaut), Alondra (ladybug), (crouched is Annalise...Alondra's sister), Kendall (supergirl), JR (Bumblebee from Transformers),
Bottom: Rowan (dressed in orange and black), Jake (Woody), Hannah (Sleeping Beauty), Lily (Butterfly), Taylor (Rapunzel)

Some October

2011-11-03T08:32:00.000-07:00

After an incredibly busy September, we were finally able to breathe a little bit in October. Although, Adam has been busier than ever at work. In late September his boss resigned and Adam was put in charge in the interim. So far, he's been doing two very important jobs at the mill for 6 full weeks...with no end in sight. He works 12-hour days and comes home to work on the computer after the kids go to bed. Too bad he's not getting paid for two jobs! We miss him, but he has still found moments here and there to spend quality time with the kids.

October is mushroom season, and Adam took the kids out three different times to search for chanterelles. We didn't hit the jackpot like last year, but we still found a bunch. Adam and the kids were even able to take Grandpa out to show him the secret spot!

Soren is an excellent mushroom finder. He found these under a log all by himself!

As usual, we had some gorgeous October days. I hosted my ladies bible study a couple of weeks in October, and it's always perfect when the sun is out because the loud children can go outside. Soren looks forward to his sister coming home from school (even though he denies it) so that he has a buddy to play with outside. I recall one afternoon, however, that Synnove played outside while Soren was engrossed in playing with his train set inside. This never happens. Synnove was determined to climb the maple tree higher than her brother can...I think she succeeded...

The kids also spent some good time with Grandpa in October. It's nice to have my parents in Warrenton because my kids like to spend time at their house while I grocery shop. One day, while I was shopping, Grandpa took the kids to the dollar store and then let them carve a couple of pumpkins. They were rotten by Halloween, so (of course) they carved more! Halloween pics to come.

These balloons were a dollar store find. Synnove had fun making her own clown creations!

I. will. NOT. give. up.

2011-10-21T20:05:00.000-07:00

I enjoy this whole blog thing. Originally, I saw it as a way to cure some boredom, and document life. The problem is, I'm not bored anymore. I used to be that mom of little ones that never left the house and had few friends. Quite frankly, it sucked. I tried to be that mom that was happy to be at home with her kids. Don't get me wrong, I would not have had it any other way....raising my babies was a must! But my time with them was work...lonely work. Do I wish I could go back and smooch on Synnove and Soren's chubby little cheeks? Yes. But I certainly don't wish to go back to that time in my life. It is so freeing to have children that talk, go to the bathroom on their own, and can be active contributors to daily chores. In fact, right now I'm sitting in a freshly cleaned basement that my kids cleaned yesterday while I was painting upstairs. No, they didn't do it out of their own goodwill, I asked them to. But they cleaned it on their own without me going down to check!

One would think that I now have more time on my hands since my babies are now more independent. So untrue, because now they both have active lives outside the home. It's pretty fantastic, really. We are constantly going, doing, learning, and having fun! The kids have made friends with other kids, and I have made friends with their parents. And the friends I have made are great friends...friends I want to spend time with, work with, share with, have Bible study with, go on trips with, pray with, have one-on-one coffee with, etc. It's my kids, and these friends that have filled my once boring life with endless things to do. And, unless something drastic happens, I'm not leaving! I, along with my friends and family, get to watch my kids grow up here...a place where they are loved, supported, and cared for by many. What a blessing that is!

So, the blog suffers...and that's OK with me. I will persistently continue to document our lives, just less often than I or you would like.

"B"irthday During "B" Week...again

2011-10-11T16:45:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday, October 5th, was Soren's actual 5th birthday...his golden birthday! Adam and I had decided to get him a new bike since he had outgrown his old one, so we picked one up on the long drive home from Whistler, B.C. (we were at a wedding there in late September). We didn't give it to him at his party because we wanted him to thoroughly enjoy the gifts everyone had given him. Plus, we thought it would be fun to surprise him on his actual birthday. So, that morning, he woke to find it waiting for him upstairs. He promptly put on his new helmet (gift from my mom) and went outside to try it out in his jammies before school.

He wasn't outside for long because we needed to head out the door. Miss Kara had asked the kids to wear "B"lack for "B" week...so he dressed accordingly. I was snack helper that morning and Kara had planned to "B"ake "B"iscuits, but I was planning to do "B"rownies and "B"lueberries for snack, so the kids helped me "B"ake those instead of the "B"iscuits. We got to work right away so that the "B"rownies would "B"ake and have enough time to cool before making them into "B"at "B"rownies with a cookie cutter.

While waiting for the "B"rownies to be ready to eat the kids learned about "B"ats and made "B"at cut-outs with wings made out of their "B"lack hand prints. They turned out pretty cute :)

Of course, last year, Soren's birthday was during "B" week as well...only they made "B"rown "B"ears :)

"B"aker "B"irthday "B"oy "B"aking "B"at "B"rownies

"B"lowing out his candle

The "B"rownies were almost a disaster. Cutting them out with a cookie cutter was difficult, but the kids didn't seem to mind that a couple of the "B"ats were "B"roken. I had also ordered more than enough Candyland stickers for all his preschool friends to have one so Soren passed those out as well.

After school, I thought it would be fun to take him out to lunch at the Logger. It surprised me when he said he just wanted to go home. Duh...he wanted to ride his new "B"ike!

Soren's 5th Birthday Party

2011-10-11T15:54:00.000-07:00

Oh how I love throwing birthday parties for my kids! Although, it will be sad when they no longer want family parties anymore and they only want their friends over. Family parties are a fun and relaxing time that everyone seems to enjoy. Like many of Soren's birthdays, this one was was quieter than usual. Many folks were hunting in Eastern Oregon, but we still had over 25 people come to celebrate.

Soren chose a Candyland theme this year. He's been a bit obsessed with Candyland since last winter when I did a Google search on how long the game had been around and found a blog on it. He became very interested in all of the different versions of the game that have been made over the last many years. We found one at Goodwill a while back and Soren enjoyed discovering and sharing the differences between that one and the one we already had. For a while, it seemed to be all we heard about! He loves playing Candyland, and he loves winning...but most of all I think he loves talking about he game characters. Anyway, he chose his theme a few months ago and I was having a very difficult time finding party supplies online. Most of the Candyland themed supplies I found were homemade. I ordered stuff here and there when I found it over the period of a couple of months. Then, about 3 weeks before the party, I was happily surprised when I found a company that had some commercialized supplies!

The party turned out great. Soren wasn't too optimistic that any kids were going to be there, so he was surprised when Alice, Cash, Faith, and little Khol were there to pass favor boxes to. Soren also received some fantastic gifts...and I think all of them were hits!

I couldn't believe it when Aunt Suzi showed up with this gift. Soren had actually asked for this type of ball when Suzi asked him what he wanted at Elise's baby shower. I didn't think he had ever seen one before...so I wasn't sure he even knew what he was talking about. Well, Aunt Suzi found one...he loves it!

I had found a Candyland beach towel complete with game pieces and water-resistant cards on Ebay. He thought that was pretty cool.

I found a lady on Ebay that made personalized cake toppers. Because of some miscommunication, I actually ended up having to buy two of them. At least I had a back-up in case one tore...I guess...*sigh* Soren really loved his cake this year...as I was decorating it with candies he said "this is going to be a really good cake mom!"

Soren ended up with 4 dart guns and they were a source of great entertainment for kids young and old!

Enjoying playing some Rock 'em Sock 'em by...himself?

Baby "B" Will "Bee" Here SOON!

2011-09-30T10:00:00.001-07:00

I don't think it really hit me till last week...the excitement, that is...that my little Sis is gonna have a baby! Quite honestly, I can't wait till little baby B comes in November. I've been an aunt since I got married, but now one of my siblings is having a baby! WOOT!

Of course, it was only fitting that I throw her a baby shower. With all of the busy-ness of my life, I was actually having a hard time devoting enough of my energy to making it great. I thought about it all summer, but knew I still had time so procrastinated. After Labor Day Camping I kicked it into high gear and eked out slots of time to work on it. I was thrilled that Elise had chosen a bumble bee theme for her nursery. I had never been to a bee-themed shower and was excited at all the possibilities. After much searching I found a fantastic custom jpeg kit on Etsy.com and went from there. Everything that I couldn't print, I had to make or find supplies for. But, I enjoyed every detail...especially the embossed bee and honey stamps (dug up from some old Winnie the Pooh stamps I had as a kid) on the outside of the invitation envelopes. When you have a great theme...it's easy to go the extra mile :)

The shower was set to take place on September 18th, so I spent all of the day prior, my birthday, getting things ready at my Mom's house. Sounds kinda sad, but it really wasn't...I got to sleep in that day, Adam and the kids took me to lunch at "The Logger" and then mom and dad took me and the kids to dinner at "Fultano's" (only the BEST pizza place EVER)! I stayed late at my mom's that night prepping and baking. I was saved my my Grandma Barb who pitched in and bought all of the fruit for the event and then stayed to help cut it up. Writing it all down makes it sound like a lot of work...it was. There were close to 50 people invited!

The morning of the 18th I skipped church to head back to my mom's to finish up the cupcakes. I was making special pudding-filled "Boston Creme Cupcakes" and they had to set for at least an hour before serving. Then we started carting everything down to the basement. We had no choice...the basement was the only place that would accommodate that many people.

Of course, several didn't show, but we still had a large crowd. We played games, and enjoyed the food. Elise had fun, and that's what matters :)

Boston Creme Cupcakes

Party favors...honey sticks

Chris and Elise's friend Heidi Fastabend brought her this creative crown that says "preggers" on it :)

Aunt Alice and Fi Fi made her a diaper "cake" loaded with goodies

Vickie Howe (pictured left)made this beautiful bee quilt for the baby. Vickie owns the hair salon next to Elise's coffee shop and she used to live across the street from our house when we were kids. Vickie made both Elise and I beautiful teddy bears when Elise was born that we still have :)

With all the games and visiting, the shower lasted quite a long time. Weesie got lots of great stuff including lots of green, yellow, and white clothes. It's fun not knowing if you're gonna have a boy or a girl!

Our Car Accident 1 Year Ago

2011-09-26T21:50:00.000-07:00

It happened September 25th, 2010. We were on our way to the Enchanted Forest when only 25 minutes into our trip, Synnove decides she needs to go potty. We take pull up to take a left into the Clatskanie boat launch when an oversized late 70's model Chevy Blazer (stopped to pull into traffic) misses seeing our little car and rams right into us. If you've ever been in an accident you know that you can recount ever moment as if in slow motion...and that's how it plays in my head. Minus a few details, I look back at the kids and see they are stunned to silence and then blood begins to pour from Soren's head. Adam has to force the door open to get out while I reach over and grab Soren to pass to Adam once he gets out of the car. Bystanders immediately begin to help while I frantically think of what to do next. 911 has already been called so I call my dad cause we're gonna need a ride. He's about 45 minutes away...but is on his way as fast as he can go.

Synnove is silent. By now I've assured her that everything is OK and have gotten her out of the car. I can hardly think straight. I just stand there by the side of the road listening to Soren's crying "daddy daddy daddy..." over and over again. I can tell that he's going to be OK. The driver of the other car is sick with grief over what he's done. He's only just a couple years younger than I with kids of his own (not with him). I talk with him and calm him by trying to lighten the situation with smiles and pats on the back. I notice Synnove going back to the car ever so quietly. She grabs the blanket in the back...for Soren. She is still silent. The police are taking forever to get there and the ambulance/fire rescue finally arrives. By now the traffic is successfully being directed by bystanders and we have a fairly large crowd of people. A nice older woman has grabbed several towels (for the blood) from the restroom and is helping to calm Soren down. She was a breath of fresh air. I stand with Synnove as Soren is being strapped to the board and onto the gurney. I look over at Synnove...she is white...fading. I yell, "she's going, she's going!" and have to literally force her to lay down. She is in shock. I am appalled by the apprehensive volunteer fireman standing right beside me who does absolutely nothing until I have her down and resting. He checks her vitals. We caught her in time and I force her to stay completely down for the next half hour.

The ambulance leaves for Longview's St. John's hospital with Adam by Soren's side. I stay and talk with the police officer (who I'm pretty sure arrived AFTER the ambulance left) with the other driver and wait for the tow truck and my Dad. Synnove is still laying on the ground on the side of the road. I have already refused several offers from bystanders and the other driver's wife (arrived after accident) to drive Synnove and I to the hospital. I'm waiting for my Dad...not only will he take me to Longview...but he will make it "all better."

I watch as the tow truck driver loads up our little car and drives away. I think of the many recent discussions Adam and I had had about which car we were going to purchase after the new year to replace the little Civic. That little Civic was purchased as a commuter for Adam until a few short months later when a lady hit him in our Ford Explorer. Money was tight, so I drove that little car for 2 whole years...weird that the Explorer was also totaled in September two years prior. Adam had actually put quite a bit of time and money in that little car for maintenance...in fact he had just put in a new alternator the week before and we had JUST sent in the check to renew our tags...arg! It's not important...my little Soren is on my mind.

While sewing up the details with the police, my dad finally arrives. He is a welcome sight. Synnove is still on the ground and he sits with her while I finish up. She is happy to see him and in a few minutes feels well enough to sit up and eventually stand. We get in his truck to start heading to Longview but stop a few hundred yards away at a service station to grab a snack. I run into a bystander from the accident...he makes it clear he doesn't like the other driver too much and is glad we are OK.

Once at the hospital I get stopped to do a bunch of paperwork. I'm the only one allowed in, so my dad and Synnove sit and wait. I enter the exam room to find a lady literally poking and prodding at Soren's heavily gouged forehead. She's feeling for tiny shards of glass. I wrote a bit about it in a prior blog HERE. Adam and Soren had already been there for quite some time and I was there with them for at least an hour more...that's a lot of poking and stitching! Soren was an angel.

We left the hospital. Soren was in a dazed state...tired, yet wide awake. We decide to head to Rainier to find the car and photo the damage and get our belongings. It was sort of on our way, so it was going to save us a trip later on. Here are some of the photos from the accident...

At the accident site. It doesn't really show much other than the rear tire seal is busted and the rear window is shattered.

You can see why Adam had a hard time opening his door...

Soren received all of the impact. I'm pretty positive, from the injuries he received, that he was looking right at the Blazer when it hit...he calls it a "monster truck" (that's what it looked and sounded like!)

His carseat was bent and saved him from a lot more hurt

After the accident we endured a LOT more headache with the insurance. It was kind of a mess that I'd prefer not to delve into. Soren followed up with a couple of visits to a laser dermatologist in Portland. He healed up nicely and didn't need laser but had another small procedure done to improve his raised scarring. We have been religious about keeping him in hats when in the sun and today his forehead looks amazing. I credit that to God and the amazing ER Dr. who sewed him up.

It didn't take us long to decide that we needed to opt for a full-size SUV instead of the mini that we were discussing prior to the accident. We found one with top crash-test ratings and excellent reliability.

I feel very blessed...it could have been so much worse...especially in that little car.

Labor Day Luau

2011-09-26T21:28:00.000-07:00

We were certainly blessed this camping season with lots of decent weather and very few raindrops. We were especially blessed for Labor Day camping! The weather was warm and sunny the entire time! The last camping trip of the season is always bittersweet, and this was the first year that I had a kid going back to school the very next day. In the past, Synnove has started school the week after Labor Day...but now she's a big first grader!

I think that every camping trip has something special about it. We were all excited for this trip because we were actually going to bury an entire pig (small one) in traditional khalua fashion. Doris Warren (Aunt Alice's mom) provided both of the animals. Alice's sister and bro in law prepped the pig while the rest of the men devised the best ways of cooking the lamb. They chose to put half of it in the pit and cook the rest on a spit over the fire. While we all waited for everything to get cooked up, we dressed up in leis and listened to luau music. We had a lot of fun with it. In the end, every little morsel of meat was incredible...it really was awesome!

I had too many fun pictures from the 4-day weekend, so I selected a good handful for a slideshow...enjoy! You'll have to click on the link to view them...can't get the slideshow on blogger for some reason...

https://picasaweb.google.com/101845145426293001798/September262011?authuser=0&feat=directlink

The Enchanted Forest

2011-09-26T17:24:00.000-07:00

From August 31st

It was the week before Labor Day weekend, and we were swamped with things to do. Adam had taken the week off to do some deer hunting (never happened) and to do the large scheduled maintenance project on the Honda. I had endless things going on...I recall some MK, school orientation, canning tuna, getting last minute parts for the Honda, and getting ready for camping. So, it greatly surprised me when Adam announces on Tuesday night that he wants to take the kids to the Enchanted Forest. He wasn't even halfway done with the car, and I was planning to be out camping by Thursday. I really wasn't keen on cramming one more event into our already packed week. But, despite my protest, Adam's stubbornness won (that's the nicest way I can think to describe it...lol!)

I was already set to meet my dad at his house at 9:00 the morning Adam had intended to leave to can tuna, so I convinced Adam to leave a couple of hours later so that I could be a part of the kids' adventure. He was happy to wait. It was just last September when Adam had decided he wanted to take the kids to the Enchanted Forest and we got into a car accident on the way. He wanted to make sure the kids got there before they were too old to appreciate it. I had never been, but Adam really enjoyed it as a kid.

So, at about 11:00 we began our 3-hour trek to Turner, OR in our 1980 Mercedes Benz. The kids, including Adam, thoroughly enjoyed themselves while I played photographer.

Entering the park...

Once we got through the whole park, the kids wanted to do it again

Date(s) of Loss: July 19th and August 18th

2011-09-08T10:43:00.001-07:00

It was the week the kids were going to vacation bible school when I was getting frustrated with my car. Adam had ordered the factory manuals and was planning on doing a very large overhaul of several "engine-y" things that were strongly suggested per the Honda Pilot scheduled maintenance plan. On top of that, it had been making a myriad of clunky noises in the wheels/bearings/brakes...really, the issue was a mystery. The issue was getting worse and more noticeable with each day and I wanted to just park it and drive the truck until Adam had a chance to give it a good look. To that suggestion he replied..."just drive it!" So, the day I had suggested to "park" it I drove it to drop off and pick up the kids from VBS and got home sometime around 9PM.

The next morning (July 19th) I had some errands in town so we all packed in the car only to find that it wouldn't start. REALLY?! I was irate. I knew it wasn't something I could fix (battery) because it was actually trying to start. So, I just left the car, hopped in the truck, and shed a few ticked-off tears. I had been "giving my car to God" for a few weeks already because I was allowing the issues to continually chip away at my sanity. This time I said an even bigger prayer.
That evening when Adam came home from work he got in the car to try and start it (duh...it didn't start). He opened the hood and started snooping around for problems. After about 1/2 a minute Synnove pipes up and says "I hear a squeak!" The hairs on my arms stood straight up as I began to realize it was a RAT! Not even two months before, my friend had a rat get into her truck that did some damage and another friend had told me a story about a rat that had gotten into the walls of her Explorer and die. I had suggested to Adam that maybe we needed another cat for the shop since Charlie seemed to do a pretty good job in the garage. In fact, I had JUST cleaned the garage the week before and found zero rat/mouse droppings.

This rat was the biggest rat I had ever seen in person that wasn't a pet. AND, it was a momma! It probably had 8-10 fresh babies she was protecting from our reaching hands and tongs. Long story short, we ended up pushing the car out of the garage to try to hose the thing out. We never caught it, but by the next day we were sure it was gone.

Momma Rat

Baby Rats

Because of the contents of the rats nest, I was sure that the rat had only been there since the night before. And, from what was visible, it looked like she had done quite a bit of damage to several wires. Not thinking of the insurance option, Adam thought he would need to rewire everything himself. It seemed daunting, especially with all of the other work he needed to do. It took us a couple of days to get our heads screwed on straight and go the insurance route. We were sooooo happy to discover that "varmint damage" was covered under our comprehensive policy less a small deductible. I didn't get to drive my car for roughly 10 days. The total bill including towing, parts, and labor was about $1800!

A month later (August 18th) I ventured downstairs to go on the computer. During the summer, we spend very little time downstairs and I hadn't really been down there much at all. As soon as I reached the bottom of the stairs I smelled something rather foul. It wasn't overwhelming, but it smelled like dirty garbage. I started going around the basement sniffing for moldy sandwiches left by the kids. I couldn't find the source until I stepped over to the play area. The carpet was thoroughly soaked. Grrrreeeaaat. It seemed like it was a drain leak, but I wasn't sure if it was that or the outside hose. I had a lot going on that day and couldn't really deal with it. I pried off the panel that exposes the kitchen sink plumbing. The pipes weren't wet but there was a bunch wet sand everywhere complete with earthworms...gross! I pulled up the carpet, set up fans and left the house. I didn't even check Synnove's room for water (too scatterbrained I guess) but I was positive water had gotten underneath her new laminate floor.

Again, like with the car, I wasn't thinking of insurance. It wasn't until later in the afternoon when I was at my sister's coffee shop that I was convinced by my mom to call insurance asap. After a crazy series of phone calls the water was cleaned up and the claim was started. That evening Adam tested the drain and it seemed to be working. I took that as a go ahead to do some dishes the next day...but I shouldn't have. I found lots more water an hour later. I cleaned it up with my little carpet cleaner and ripped out even more pad. Because of some miscommunication, a plumber wasn't called until 2 days after I first found the water. The plumber was from Knappa, so he stopped at my house after work on Friday to inspect. He was sure it was a cracked drain pipe under the slab and he couldn't fix it till Monday. I was OK with that. He gave me a write-up to send to the insurance company to get things moving.

Bright and early Monday morning, the plumber showed up and fixed the crack within 2 hours. I was so happy because I was hoping that the smell of garbage that was now permeating throughout the house would finally subside. Unfortunately, he deduced from the look and smell of the surrounding sand that the crack had been there for several months and was allowing water to pass through for a while until it got too clogged. Insurance doesn't cover old cracks. So, my dream of having new carpet in my basement literally went down the drain.

What the playroom looked like when the plumber was there

The cracked pipe removed...

UPDATE on the car: Adam spent all of last week (he took a week off) doing the scheduled maintenance. He did a great job and I'm very impressed with his skills! However, most, if not all, the creaks and clunks are still there. The issue is still a mystery.

UPDATE on the basement: There is still a smelly hole that needs to be cemented. I'm hoping Adam will be able to fix that before I host Bible Study next Tuesday. Unfortunately, he's leaving for a 3-day bachelor party tomorrow.

Adam is just ONE man...and he can't do it all! Poor guy :( If only we could hire these things done!

Pit Pig Weekend

2011-09-08T10:03:00.000-07:00

(From 2nd weekend in August)

On Saturday, we were invited to an Adoption Party for Keirra and Kellan Quale. Tom and Sherry Quale are long-time friends of my mother-in-law and their 4 kids are all grown and range from college-age to early 30's. Sherry has done childcare in her home for several years and a situation arose where a couple of siblings Sherry cared for needed a permanent home. Of course, the process has been long and messy...but Keirra (9) and Kellan (6) were officially adopted earlier in the summer. So, they had a BIG party to celebrate at Sherry's mother's home in North Plains, OR. They buried a pig and had a luau-themed celebration that was SUPER fun! The kids enjoyed a large bouncy house, lots of lawn activities and crafts, two pinatas, and incredible food!

The flip-flop/hat decorating station

The kids brought home TONS of loot

On Sunday we were invited to Craig Weaver's 30th birthday bash in Brownsmead, OR. My preschool/Bible study friend Andrea (Craig's wife) invited us along with about 30 other Knappites. They buried a pig as well...a fairly large one in fact. It was their first time, and unfortunately, the pig came out only partially cooked. Adam (somewhat experienced in pit BBQs) dug right in and helped cut up the pig to finish on the BBQ. It took a while and we were all quite hungry by the time it was finished. It turned out pretty good though!

Unearthing the pig

The Fair and the Ferris Wheel

2011-08-30T09:12:00.000-07:00

(From the first week in August)

For one reason or another, I usually end up spending a lot of time at the Clatsop County Fair. Ever since Synnove was a baby and we lived in Cornelius, I still ended up back in Astoria spending the week at the fair. We have a pretty small fair in comparison to fairs in Tillamook County, Washington County, or even Benton County. In fact, I would say that many would think our fair is pretty boring! We go to visit, watch the 4-H kids, eat some fatty food, and wander aimlessly through the exhibits. The kids love it, especially when Grandpa is there to take them on the rides!

I am so blessed to have such a wonderful father...even more so, my kids are blessed to have such a wonderful grandfather. His patience, stamina, and knack to spoil are awe-inspiring. Dad was working during fair this year, but managed to find the time to take the kids down to the carnival for one of the days. The kids had been begging to ride the rides even before the fair opened...and they specifically requested GRANDPA. I told them that he might not be able to take them, so they were over the moon excited when he was able to on "buddy day" (buy one ride bracelet and get one 1/2 off). As in years passed, they would ride for hours, break for meals, and then ride even more.

Mom and I met up with them near dinner-time and I caught some photos. The kids even talked Grandpa into doing a balloon-popping game to get a prize. It's been a month since we were at the fair, and Soren STILL carries his prize around (a frog "buddy" with velcro hands that he wears around his neck).

Synnove jumping as she throws a dart...

Grandpa agreed to ride the ferris wheel after finally convincing Synnove to ride it...she was pretty apprehensive...

I just had to include this picture of dad texting while riding...is that legal?

Dad and Soren have their tongues out while Synnove hides from the camera...

Good Intentions

2011-08-26T11:12:00.000-07:00

Today I woke up with nothing pressing to do. "Pressing" is a relative term...if you know what I mean. I decided that I would make myself some eggs and spend some time prioritizing my day. The kids were glued to the TV upstairs, and instead of kicking them out so that I could watch a quick Paula Deen, I escaped to the basement to watch it there (which I NEVER do). While perusing through the channels I found a chick-flick that was just rolling the beginning credits...what luck!! Of course, within 5 minutes, the kids had followed me downstairs. The basement has sort of been off limits for the last week for reasons I intend to share later...so I told them to go back upstairs and finish watching whatever they were watching. Of course, that all took much longer than just a few minutes. I resumed my movie and egg eating (now cold). A commercial break came on so I decided to pause and download some pictures from my camera and prep for some much-needed blogging. In the process of waiting for my dinosaur of a computer to do that, I got distracted and started moving files and cleaning and organizing my computer desktop. That took a good 30-40 minutes. Then I started searching for pictures for my next blog topic...until I get a text from a friend that she needs some help moving some furniture. So...because I already had Blogger open to the "compose" page, I decided to write my intention. Until next time...off to my busy life again :)

Camping Out at Home

2011-08-05T17:06:00.001-07:00

I think bedtimes around our house began their summer schedules sometime in May before school was out. The goal is for me to get the kids in bed before 9, but that hasn't happened. Life on the coast can be dreary, and when it stays light outside passed 8, it's a bonus we just can't avoid. Much of July was dreary. The rain came, and when it wasn't raining it seemed like we had many gray days. Our outdoor fun was limited.

The kids had been begging to sleep out in the tent like they did with Adam last summer, but it wasn't nice enough yet. So, Synnove suggested they sleep in their tiny play tents in the downstairs living room. Once I finally agreed that it was a good idea, the kids went straight down to start prepping for their good night's sleep. They crammed their tents with pillows, blankets and every stuffed animal they could find. There was absolutely no room for sleeping when they were done. Because the tents are so small, I said they could choose 2-3 animals and have one pillow. They both had to sleep diagonally in order to fit semi-comfortably, and they certainly couldn't stretch out straight.

Before Adam and I went to bed, we went down to check on them. Surprisingly, Synnove (the wiggle worm) was still nestled diagonally, while Soren was stretched out with his feet out of the tent and under the couch. I quietly moved them out from underneath the couch so that he wouldn't break his little legs in the middle of the night trying to free them.

They woke early the next morning. I asked the kids how they liked it. Synnove had fun, but Soren said "I didn't fit!"

Later in the month, the sun finally decided to show up. Adam and I had been busy for several days down in the shop cleaning and organizing. I came upon my old tent still wadded up and unfolded from last summer's little camp out. I carefully folded it up and crammed it back in it's bag only to see it return to the house a few days later and set up on the deck...*sigh* Even though it was the middle of the week, Adam agreed to sleep outside with the kids. I suggested they take out the little TV and VCR so they could watch movies out there. It was already late, but Adam hooked it all up and settled down to watch "The Voyage of Sinbad" while eating popcorn. Adam was snoring long before the kids settled down. I checked on them again at midnight and they were all sound asleep.

That was about two weeks ago...the tent is still out there waiting for ME to fold it up...again.

One Month Ago Today...

2011-08-04T10:47:00.000-07:00

...My dear friends Tonya and Chris welcomed Avyrie Noelle to their little family! Tonya was a week overdue, but it was nice that she waited until just AFTER our camping trip :) Tonya had the EASIEST birth considering it was her first child. I'm so happy for them.

We tried to come and visit before the actual birth, but Avyrie was just too quick! Synnove and I visited a few hours after she arrived and then visited again the next day. I couldn't get Synnove to hold her, but Soren was willing....

Congratulations Chirs, Tonya, and Little Faith! You and Avyrie are equally blessed to have each other :)

4th of July Camp Trip: The Creek

2011-07-12T21:50:00.000-07:00

Maybe it was the unusual amount of sunshine, but for some reason I took a lot of pictures this camp trip. Hopefully, I'll get around to posting some more.

In the last couple of years, the weather on our camping trips has been less than desirable. We're happy if it only rains one or two days out of the usual four that we camp. This trip was perfect! It wasn't too hot, and it wasn't too cold...and we even put on our shorts! Ha ha! The kids are always anxious to get down to the creek, and it's even better when they can actually put on their swimming suits and take a dip.

Synnove, on the new 4-wheeler ready to go!

Chris, Tonya and Faith didn't actually camp overnight this trip but came for breakfast and didn't leave till after dinner every day. Tonya's baby was due June 30th and was very uncomfortable, and sleeping in the trailer wasn't the best idea. Faith didn't bring her swimming suit, so her and Chris just put their feet in...

Over the years, we've continued to rebuild a little dam and the built up water creates enough current for a fun little jaunt on a floatie. Somehow Soren suckered Lori into bringing him back up every time he went down...

Dam building...etc.

Soren was brave enough to go down river numerous times before Synnove got up the courage to do it as well.

Heather (aka "Herbie"), me, and Heidi (aka "FiFi")

Adam's Week Off

2011-07-11T10:45:00.000-07:00

Once in a while it's fun to map out a detailed week-in-the-life....so forgive the length of this post.

When Adam takes time off, there is no rest at the Brown house. There is always places to go, people to see, and LOTS of things to do. Adam had planned to get a good handful of things done during his week off, mainly clean the embarrassingly messy shop. But, after evaluating his long list, he decided to do something else...[insert sarcastic remark here]. He actually worked really REALLY hard all week building a cool loft in the shop. No, building the loft wasn't top priority, but it was something he was excited to tackle. He did a professional job, and I'm quite proud of him. I don't have any pictures yet, but I will.

Adam's little vacation started on Saturday, June 25th. Adam worked in the shop while the kids and I went to a birthday party. Saturday was the beginning of a long trend of late nights. We left at 6PM for the 1.75 hour trek to Vancouver with a truckload of Adam's Mom's stuff that she has been storing at our house for the last 2 years. This needed to be done in order for Adam to start his loft project. Fortunately, the timing was perfect as Steve and my MIL's basement dwellers (Steve's son and wife) had just moved out and Patty had a place to actually put the stuff we were bringing. We made good use of the trip by planning to visit Home Depot just a mile away from their house on our way home. We didn't arrive at Steve and Patty's till 8 and Home Depot closed at 9. Steve and Adam went to Home Depot while Patty, the kids and I visited and played with sidewalk chalk. They got back from Home Depot a little after 9...just in time for us to head to Red Lobster for a late night dinner. The kids held up very well considering! I think we got home around midnight.

Sunday, June 26th was another very big day. Crossroads Church (the Svensen Friend's church) was having a 50-year anniversary celebration service just 2 miles down the road from our house. Adam and I don't attend that church, but I wanted to go to the celebration because my great grandparents (Warren and Ruth Thompson) started the church and eventually helped build the building. My great aunt and uncle (Naomi and Gene Brown *not the same "Browns"*) came up from Eugene for the celebration as well. Naomi brought great grandma's scrapbook from the start of the church and it was fun to look at photos and hear stories. Naomi and Gene were also celebrating their 49th wedding anniversary. They were actually the first couple to be married at the new church building.

After the celebration we all headed to Grandma and Grandpa Thompson's house for Grandpa's 76th birthday party for good food, family, and fellowship.

FiFi and Weesie...matching eyes

Musta been and good one! (Gene and Naomi in background)

I think, due to technical difficulties, Grandpa didn't get to make his 76th birthday wish...

On Monday, June 27th, we all spent the day at Uncle Don's cutting and splitting wood. Oh man...it was backbreaking work. My back was already sore from when I tweaked it packing furniture on Saturday. Adam worked ALL day, while I just helped from 11 till 5. It rained off and on all day and we worked later because Synnove's game got cancelled. I left at 5 to go home and shower before heading over to Kara's ("Miss Kara") house for a scrapbooking night. I got home at 1AM.

On Tuesday, June 28th Bible study got cancelled because of the poor weather. During the summer it's difficult doing BS on rainy days because all of our kids are out of school and having the kids play indoors would be insanity! I was glad because I had much to do at home to prep for camping. Adam worked on his loft. By early afternoon I had a pretty bad headache from working so hard the day before. I drugged myself up before being picked up by my mom at about 4:30 to go with Elise to Cornelius to pick up a nursery set she found on Craigslist. First, us three girls packed in Elise's oversized crew cab in Warrenton and drove 1.5 hours to Coastal Farm and Ranch in Cornelius before it closed at 7PM. We are all about efficiency, so it made sense to pick up 22 fence posts for the fence Adam and I will be building soon before picking up Elise's nursery set. After picking up the set, we headed to Walmart to pick up a few camping essentials and pulled into my driveway at roughly 10:30 to drop everything off. The nursery set was poorly painted, so I told Elise I would fix it up and paint it for her.

Wednesday, June 29th was mostly laundry and clean-up for me. The kids were always busy riding their 4-wheelers. In fact they had been riding non-stop since the week before when Synnove finally scored her "home run." Adam continued to work on the loft. At around 11:00 I headed to town to Elise's coffee shop to meet up with My great uncle Jim and his wife Corky. They were road-tripping the western USA visiting family here and there and everywhere. I don't think I left until 2. I had planned to go to the store to do camping shopping, but it was impractical as I didn't have enough time to get everything done before I needed to get back home to pick up my family and go to the movies to see "Cars 2" with my mom, Elise, and Chris. We got out of the movie close to 8PM...just in time to go to Home Depot to pick up more lumber for the loft. We closed the place down and arrived home just before 10. *Sigh*...another late night.

On Thursday, June 30th Adam headed out early to visit his Dad in Beaverton and make another trip to Coastal Farm and Ranch for more fence supplies. I was really dragging my feet. I really needed to head to town to do my camping shopping...but I wasn't feeling too great. My head was still aching and all I wanted to do was plant myself on the couch. The kids were perpetually outside riding 4-wheelers and using their imaginations. One thing I thought was pretty cute is that they made a storefront complete with signs and "inventory." This actually went on for several days and inventory ranged from huckleberries, to flowers, to tortilla chips.

Synnove's side...

Soren's side...

Adam didn't get back home till around 5. That evening I headed to Warrenton to do a MK delivery and finish my camping shopping. I was exhausted and felt pretty miserable. I was at the store for over 2 hours along with every other person doing last-minute 4th of July shopping. While I was there I called Kara to get a yummy dessert salad recipe. She didn't answer so I guessed what was in the salad. I didn't get home till after 9PM and she called me back when I was about 10 minutes from home. I had gotten every ingredient right except for ONE! Worst part was that it needed to be cooked, set overnight, then finished the next day! The store in Svensen closes at 8 and I wasn't about drive 20 minutes to the nearest store. So, I asked Adam to wake up at 8 the next morn to get it and I would try to make it without letting it set overnight. Being the nice husband that he is, he agreed. It ended up working out OK.

Friday, July 1st...CAMP DAY! The day started off without a headache...woo hoo! I hadn't packed a single thing and got busy right away. I thought we would try to leave early, but we found out that the road was being worked on so we wouldn't be able to get our trailer in for a few hours anyway. Adam was happy to stay home and work on the loft. The kids were soooo anxious to leave town and Synnove helped me pack things down to the trailer with her 4-wheeler. Amidst the bustle, I received 3 sales calls. Two were MK calls, while the other had to do with Young Living products. Those calls/consultations/deliveries sucked a good 2.5 hours out of my already busy day...however, I grossed about $250 in sales (WORTH IT!). Then, as if that wasn't enough, received two last minute t-ball calls where I had to contact all the parents with cancellation/game/picture information (I'm the "team mom"). I suppose it was a good thing we got delayed because I don't have cell service where we camp and there might have been a lot of angry uninformed people out there! We didn't get to camp till around 7.

Yes, it was quite a busy week. Adam didn't finish the loft...but he got the bulk of it done. Our busy-ness continued through last week and doesn't show any signs of stopping...

A Little Bit of June

2011-06-22T14:22:00.000-07:00

It's been quite some time since I've sat in front of this computer to do anything other than scour Etsy and EBay for treasures to adorn my freshly painted bathroom walls. Yes, I've started projects again! Oh how I LOVE projects! A couple of months ago I got the itch to paint something, so I painted a bookcase for our bedroom. That wasn't enough to satisfy my, so I started to brainstorm ways to spruce up my kitchen...but that's gonna take a while....so I decided I was sick of looking at my hideous guest bathroom/laundry room. I've been brainstorming, painting, collecting, shopping, and decorating for the entire month of June thus far. I suppose it's now finished enough for me to be satisfied for a while. In fact, I finished today.

All of my other time has been spent doing various other things. For one, I've enjoyed many lazy days with my Bible study girls. Oh how I love these girls! One girl in particular has a house/farm that is in dire need of demolition. However, she's making the best of it and we're doing a makeover on her bathroom...among other things.

The kids got a nasty bout of illness last week, and we're praying that's the end of sickness for a while...and if God answers my prayer...FOREVER! Wouldn't that be nice??

Synnove started T-ball and it's a joy to watch. She REALLY didn't want to play t-ball, but I sorta forced her to. I told her that she didn't have to play next year if she didn't want to. Still, she cried and pleaded with me and said, in typical teenage fashion,"why are you doing this to me!!??" Turns out, she kinda likes it...go figure. Her Grandpa made her a deal that if she hit the ball passed the imaginary base line that she would get a spankin' new 4-wheeler to ride. The whole ordeal is kind of a long story...but she has yet to hit passed the line. We're hoping that tonight is the night because she only has two more games until our 4th of July camping trip! She got to ride it on Father's day, but wasn't able to take it home from Grandpa's house. Of course, she's thrilled...and loves that it has "reverse."

Adam has been working a lot...this week in particular. He's been prepping for this week's chemical safety audit for quite some time. He's also been working Saturday's and has spent many late evenings at home on the computer. That, as well as last months 2-week annual mill shut-down has kept him away from home waaaay too much. We're looking forward to his week off next week!

Hmm...what else? Well, last Sunday was the first Sunday since Easter that we were actually able to attend church! Birthdays, graduations, weddings, work, baby showers, sicknesses...you name it. Our May/June gas bill was horrific.

Last minute family BBQ... first weekend in June

Lighting off the burn pile while being entertained by the "kids" on their "toys"

Because of some sort of miscommunication, Knappa's t-ball teams are the only teams that aren't coed. So, unlike the other teams, we get pink and purple shirts! Synnove is #9 with the dark helmet on.

Another last minute BBQ at the Kinder's with their family and another family I met through preschool/bible study. From left to right...Jim O'Connor, Synnove, Breanna Kinder, Kade Kinder, Tucker Regier, and Soren.

I thought that this shot captured the Summer Solstice quite perfectly...

A Couple of Memorial Memories

2011-06-22T12:57:00.000-07:00

I know it's been three weeks since we went camping for Memorial weekend, but better late than never! This year, camping season couldn't come fast enough for us. We were all tired of being sick and tired, and we really needed a relaxing break. Every camping trip has it's own vibe, and I think this one had a great one. Only the die hard campers were present for this trip...but it was still fun filled. The weather was fairly decent, we played LOTS of games, we enjoyed late night movies, and we partook in the traditional potluck feast complete with steamed oysters.

We decided Lucy would have to stay home from this trip...and probably future trips. It's a bit sad, and kind of a hassle, but her barky-ness and puppy-ness is just too much to handle.

The same ol' camping pics get old after a while, so I only included a couple...

This wasn't Soren's first time on the 4-wheeler, but it was the first camping trip that we were able to leave him "fairly" unattended to blaze his own trails. He did fantastically! We are looking forward to our 4th of July trip when Soren and Synnove won't have to share....(more on that later).

On Sunday night, Aunt Alice brought out the silly string so that Synnove, Soren, FiFi, Taylor, and Bronson could douse each other with it. I especially love this shot because it shows off Synnove's recent toothless grin...

Preschool Olympics

2011-06-08T14:56:00.000-07:00

Every year Miss Kara does a special party/event for the last day of preschool. This year it was "Preschool Olympics." Soren hasn't shown too much excitement when it comes to preschool fun. He's always very subdued at school. In fact, throughout the year several different parent helpers would come up to me and say "Soren actually talked to me today!" followed by something like..."and he talked my ear off!" If Soren decides that you're OK to talk to, he'll talk...and talk! He's such a serious little boy and his talking is usually of a serious nature. And lately, I've noticed, he's got a lot to say. Anyway, like I was saying before, he doesn't usually get too excited about preschool. There's no doubt that he enjoys it though! When the last week of school came around, he couldn't stop talking about the upcoming Preschool Olympics. He was actually very excited to participate, and I made sure he was outfitted for the occasion. Unfortunately, his shoes were a bit too small, but with summer just around the corner, I wasn't about to run out and buy him a brand new pair of tennie's.

He was shy when we arrived at school that day, as many of the kids forgot to dress for the special event. He was one of only 3 or 4 that were in appropriate attire. The first thing they did was create their number tags. Soren picked the number 100. After that, the kids practiced for their end of the year program, ate snack, then headed outside to complete 6 different events. We all split ourselves into pairs and rotated around the yard.

Soren was VERY serious about doing his very best. He was definitely faster and more agile than many of his classmates. He's also one of the tallest and oldest. He completed each even with vigor, and hardly cracked a smile the entire time. But, I knew he was having fun.

One of the events was an obstacle course that was timed on a stopwatch. It started with climbing the wall on the playstructure (below). He finished in 20 seconds! Miss Kara said that was the fastest of all 3 classes! Many of the kids took over a minute to complete it.

Once all the kids were done Miss Kara orchestrated a little medal ceremony. As the National Anthem played in the background, Miss Kara put a medal on each child and we all clapped. Everyone was all smiles...mostly the parents.

The next evening was the end-of-the-year program and graduation. Soren doesn't graduate until next year, but he was able to participate in all of the songs. He sang every word and did every hand motion. I was so proud of him.

Sarah Got Married!

2011-05-24T16:49:00.000-07:00

On May 7th one of my dearest friends, Sarah, got married. She had waited a long time for this day to come, and it was so exciting to see her so incredibly happy. She got married at the Edgefield Hotel (one of the many beautiful McMenamins sites) in a sweet little ceremony followed by wonderful food, drinks, and dancing. The ceremony had some classic "Sarah" touches including a beautifully subtle Lord of the Rings processional, and a Star Wars "Imperial March" recessional. Haha! She's such a nerd...and that's part of why I love her so much! The reception was donned with Japanese flair including paper cranes and pink cherry blossoms. Sarah has been on two English-teaching stints in Japan over the years and has always loved Eastern culture. Her and K.C. honeymooned in Egypt. I can't wait to hear all about it :)

K.C. took this photo of Me, Sarah, and Natalie...and it's the only photo I got!

May 5Th: Spring Tea

2011-05-24T16:21:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, Soren's preschool went on their annual field trip to Hunt's Market to shop for soup ingredients for the Spring Tea. Each of the kids got a short list of items to purchase after getting the full tour of the store. Potatoes were one of the items on Soren's list...

After getting back to the school, all the parents stayed to help their kids prep for the soups. The kids scrubbed potatoes, cut up break for croutons, and helped Miss Kara mix ingredients. The kids made potato soup and taco soup.

A couple of days later was the actual event. The kids set the tables for their visiting family members and then gave a short musical performance. I'm pretty sure they were reciting a poem they learned below. Soren did a fantastic job! I wasn't expecting him to even sing, but he did all the motions and sang wonderfully!

Once the performance was over, the kids and families were led to the foyer to dish up their soup and view special Mother's Day hearts with the kids' answers to the question "what is your favorite thing to do with your mom?" on them. Soren's is the purple one in the middle...he's obsessed with collecting Candyland games of all vintages.

Three of Soren's grandmas showed up (two had to cancel last minute). Soren gave me a fancy glass jar with flowers in it covered in crepe paper shapes as a Mother's Day surprise :)

Meet Kellen Brown

2011-05-08T15:05:00.000-07:00

Starting sometime in March, our Lucy-girl was becoming more of a nuisance to the neighbors. One of our neighbors had learned his lesson and made sure to leave most of his garbage contained. Lucy still manages to find all of his stray trash and whatever else, and brings it up to litter our yard. Trash is one thing, but torn-up mail packages is quite another. On two different days we found packages belonging to another neighbor strewn all over the field. Ultimately, it was our lazy mail-lady's fault, but we still knew we needed to do something about Lucy.

We decided to keep Lucy locked up and continue with more intensive training. About a week after we started, during some training, Lucy ran off and didn't come back. I was by myself that day, and I sent a text to Adam saying she had been gone for 1.5 hours....too long. It's pretty easy to lose a pet in the sticks, and can be pretty scary too. Adam came home a few hours later and hiked through the woods on a search to find her...no luck. Early the next morning she arrived...sometime around 6:30. She was absolutely filthy, stinky, exhausted, and traumatized. We were VERY happy to see her.

She smelled like fish, and I was afraid that she might have gotten salmon poisoning sometime during her all-night adventure. So, I called the vet and was able to get some antibiotics without having to take her in. A dog down the road had gotten it only a few weeks prior to that, so we were vigilant. The vet said to wait until she got feverish before giving the antibiotics so that she would have a better chance of being immune. We waited, and fortunately she didn't get sick. However, she was still acting very strange...leery, scared...not the playful puppy we were used to. Her one-year birthday was fast approaching and we had put of getting her spayed because of time and schedule. It finally dawned on me that she was likely in heat...and lo and behold, she was. That explained a lot of her strange behavior. We got her spayed about 2 weeks after she ran off.

Slowly but surely, Lucy regained her spunk. During her 2-week post-op lock up we decided to bite the bullet and find her a friend. Adam and I had been talking about it off and on. We thought about getting another dog, or a goat, or a sheep...something to keep her occupied on those rainy days when her "sheep" are at school or inside playing. Adam found a pygmy goat on Craigslist for $25 and picked it up the next evening. I had something else going on that night, so I didn't get to go with him and the kids. I came home late that night after the kids had gone to bed. Adam took me down to the field where I could meet him. He told me that Synnove had named him "Kellen." I guess Adam had asked her where she came up with that name and she said "I don't know..." So, we have a friendly and playful horned pygmy named Kellen.

Kellen spends his days on a very generous tether in the field eating grass and pesky blackberry bushes.

Lucy and Kellen still have sort of a love-hate relationship. We started slowly introducing them with supervised leashed visits. Now that we've had Kellen for almost a month, We've allowed Lucy to run free a few times. Unfortunately, she is back to her old antics and leaving the property for extended periods. We're gonna try to put Kellen in the kennel with her more and more so that they can form a better bond. We'll see. Kellen's horns are a source of concern, as Lucy can be QUITE playful. So far she's been able to dodge his head-nudges. If it doesn't work out, we're only out $25...which is already money well spent because the blackberry bushes are slowly being gobbled up! LOVE that!

Easter

2011-04-27T10:21:00.000-07:00

Easter was pretty fun this year. The kids couldn't wait to color and hunt eggs...and get presents from the Easter Bunny. We went to an egg hunt the weekend before Easter that was actually a fundraiser for a sick baby in our little town. I was so impressed with the huge crowd and all the volunteers. There was fantastic face painting, crafts, raffles, pictures with the Easter Bunny, balloon animals, and even the always popular bouncy house!

I think there were hunts for 4 different age groups.

Synnove had more eggs than she could fit in her basket!

On the Saturday before Easter, I took the kids to my Grandma's house for what I hope will be a new tradition! Back when I was a kid, my cousins (Wendey and Wesley) and I would always go to the annual egg hunt at the Warrenton High School and then head over to Grandma's house for all-day egg coloring, candy eating, and egg hunting. This year, it was fun to see our kids participating in the same fun. Unfortunately, Wesley's kids were sick and couldn't make it. It was a gorgeous day, and all the mess was able to stay outdoors.

The kids really enjoyed mixing and sharing colors...and they all got along!

My favorite part...basket filling time!

Bright and early the next morning, the kids found their gifts from the Easter Bunny. They had been begging for Hungry Hungry Hippos for months...and they finally got it! They just HAD to try it out as soon as they got back from church!

Our church had a special service at the Astoria High School Auditorium with special speaker Josh McDowell. I hadn't heard of him...but from the buzz around town in the weeks before, I realized he was kind of a big deal. Even Adam knew who he was...I was clueless. Anyway, he spoke on the resurrection and shared tidbits from his own horrific childhood. It was a great service. Afterwards we headed to Ridgefield, WA for our annual family dinner at Aunt Kathi and Uncle Steve's. Unfortunately, I didn't capture any photos, but the kids enjoyed hunting eggs with their big cousins along with Lyndel and Kevin's little one, Bristol and her brother Trenton.

Needless to say, the kids have enough candy to last them till next Easter!

Soren the Artist

2011-04-22T08:14:00.000-07:00

Like most kids, my kids (especially Synnove) love to make pictures and cards...hundreds of them! To be honest, it can be exhausting getting all of those papers with a few scribbles. Synnove isn't known to take her time on any drawing, and her coloring often starts out nice and turns to scribbles because she just wants done with it. I try to emphasize that I want them to take their time and make something worthy of the fridge (not in those exact words). Plus, they are expert paper wasters...am I supposed to be happy that I have umpteen clean white sheets of paper with the same one-color stick figure on them?

I suppose Synnove is really the main culprit when it comes to the mountain of papers I have to find places for. After a month of sitting in a pile on the counter, they secretly make their way to the recycling bin. Of course, I save the seemingly extra special ones. You know...the ones that the kids bring to you with thoughtfulness and a big smile on their face?

Soren isn't much of a draw-er or color-er. It's not that he doesn't do well at it, it's just something he doesn't love to do. I very much enjoy getting Soren's papers from Sunday school and preschool. I can really tell that he likes to take his time to get everything right. His serious and methodical nature shines in his artwork. When he started preschool in September, he was still struggling to hold the marker or crayon correctly. In fact, he held it in a way that made it nearly impossible for him to apply enough pressure to make a mark. Though it was difficult, he would take his time to stay in the lines and fill in the white space as well as he could. Watching him would warm my heart...still does. Since then, he's learned how to hold his crayon and has even learned to write his own name.

A few nights ago, the kids were downstairs making cards. Synnove had given Soren one of the blank greeting cards she had earned as a prize at school. When they came upstairs to present their cards, their faces were beaming. Synnove had made a nice card with scenery on it for me, and Soren had made a special one for Adam. Adam waited till we got to the dinner table to open his. And when he did Soren made sure to describe what he drew. He said something close to..."that's YOU dad! Those are the hairs on your tummy, and that's your stinky button!" See below...

We all laughed uncontrollably for several minutes! Soren wanted Adam to take his card to work so that he could show it to his coworkers. But Adam wanted to make sure it made it to the blog first :)

Gnat Creek Fish Hatchery Field Trip

2011-04-18T09:44:00.000-07:00

Last week Soren's preschool class went on a stellar field trip to the Gnat Creek Fish Hatchery. I love how interested those little 3 and 4-year-old's were in the life-cycle of the fish. And even though a lot of the words and concepts were over their heads, they were completely fascinated! Soren soaked in every word. Every time "Mr. Steve" spoke, he would inch his way to the front and listen intently. He had learned a bit already from his Uncle Henry and my Dad from his many visits to the Warrenton High School Hatchery, but this place was set up a bit differently. Soren even got to touch the tongue of a grown rainbow trout! In fact, I think he might have been the only kid brave enough to do it. Unfortunately, I wasn't in a good spot to catch a picture of it...but Miss Kara caught one!

From egg to fish...

There were no fish in these tanks, as they were already grown passed this stage...but the kids wanted to stick their hands in the cold water. Soren watching Steve feed the baby fish. There were so many, that it looked like rain on the water when they came up for food.

There are lots of scenic trails at the hatchery...and it's only 2 miles down the road from the preschool.

All the kids made it to this trip!

Parent photo-op time!

The Everyday...

2011-04-14T21:41:00.000-07:00

It feels good to be getting back into the old routine after almost two months of sick. I suppose Soren's tummy has been the main focus for the last several weeks. Diet changes, patterns, and daily poop examinations have led me to believe he's having digestion issues. I've been trying some new things with his diet to help him with his digestion, and it seems to be starting to work. I'm saying a lot of prayers and keeping my fingers crossed! Meanwhile, he's been referred to OHSU and I've yet to hear from them about setting up a consultation. Synnove's insecurity has been slowly getting better. I'm so incredibly thankful! We still have a long way to go, but she finally lets me go outside without freaking out. She still opens the door every 30 seconds to check on me though :) Baby steps... Lucy ran off a few weeks ago and was gone for 15 loooong hours. She came back filthy, stinky, anxious, and completely freaked out. We've spent a lot of time with her in the last 2-3 weeks trying to get her back to being her old self. Long story short, we got a goat (more on that later). By the way, Lucy turns ONE tomorrow! And...she's getting spayed on Monday :( Adam has caught himself another bug. I've been praying hard and doing all that I can to boost our immune systems so that we don't get it as well. Poor guy has been on the couch for the better part of 3 days. I don't know that I've ever seen Adam so beat down with sickness. I'm pretty sure he already got the same flu Soren and I got last month...so this is something new. And what about Me? Well, I've been doing the usual laundry, dishes, errands, MAJOR bill paying (March sickness has put us in the poorhouse), Bible study, field trips, etc. Oh, and I learned how to make sock monkeys! I'm not finished with my first one yet, but it's gonna be super cute! Here's a random picture from a couple of weeks ago. As usual, the kids were goofing off in the bathtub and they started playing with Synnove's hair bands. They were pretending to be nutcrackers...clever :) ***If there are any Blogger friends out there who know a trick on how to ensure your post doesn't get all smooshed together...I'd love to hear it! I'm so tired of these random 1-paragraph posts!***

Heaven is for REAL!

2011-04-08T13:03:00.000-07:00

**I apologize...blogger has AGAIN smooshed my post together into one big paragraph. I've tried to fix it with several edits and reposts...but it's not happening.** My Christian walk started at a very young age...I still recall, at age 5, asking Jesus to become my savior. It was at VBS, and quite frankly, I didn't fully know what I was asking...but God has a way of giving us the knowledge we need to move forward in our walk with him. Well, I've moved forward. I've finally reached a point in my walk with Jesus, that I can say wholeheartedly..."I'm going to heaven!" I thank God for my life, my upbringing, my country, my family. I'm so completely blessed. In the last couple of weeks, I've had a heavy heart. I can't help but think about our world, and how completely lost so many people are. I don't claim to have all the answers, and it is certainly not my purpose to place judgement. Last Sunday, during our church home fellowship group study, a very familiar Bible passage came up in our discussion, and 4 words have been resonating over and over in my mind ever since. Here's an excerpt from the passage... "...Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God." 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 "Do not be deceived"...4 words that our world needs to hear. I've heard it said before, and have almost been fooled into believing it myself..."well, I'm generally a good person, and that's good enough for me to get into heaven." Society has become so desensitised to sin that people are being tricked into thinking that their sin is okay. We've also made enemies of one another through misconception and confusion. Understandably so...considering the freedom we have to conjure up and announce our own non-biblical ideas, religions, and beliefs. There are so many words in our language that have lost their true meaning, and we have lost our ability to be respectful listeners. Words like tolerance, prejudice, acceptance, judgement...even compassion. Christians have been given a bad reputation by those who claim to be Christian. And what is a Christian? Well, I believe it to be a born-again follower of Jesus Christ who diligently pursues a life as it is defined by the holy Word of God (Bible). And just because Christians are pursuing a holy life doesn't make them perfect. Non-Christians are constantly looking for Christians to fail so that they can feel more justified in their own sin. Really, the only difference between the Christian and the non-Christian is Jesus. Accepting him as your savior frees you from sin and gives you entry into heaven. And once you truly accept him, he will begin to change you, convict you, and use you for his purpose. At the same time, your life will be blessed. I dunno...as I said before, I don't claim to have all the answers and it is not my intention to create controversy. All I know is that I've felt convicted by the Holy Spirit to share the above passage from 1 Corinthians. As I've grown in my relationship with Christ, I've gained a bit more boldness. Bottom line...we were all put on this earth to recruit all people for heaven. With that said, I encourage you to read this book:

I've read a handful of books on heaven and hell, and this one, because it is from the perspective of a child, is by far the best I've read. It's a quick and easy read, and is appropriate for all ages and all walks of life. I can say with all certainty that if you are even open to the "idea" of heaven then you will not be able to put this book down. It is hands-down incredible! I've already shared it with my family and many of my friends and most were able to read it in a day or two. One of my friends even shared it with her 11-year-old son who read it within 24 hours! This book is hope, and I "hope" you read it! I picked my copy up at Costco for less than $9...it's also available on Amazon HERE.

Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again. John 3:3

Goin' to the Chapel...

2011-04-04T15:55:00.000-07:00

On March 26th, my darling Mother-in-law got married. She and Steve have been dating for two LONG years. I say "long" because it was shortly after they met that they realized how perfect they were for each other and Patty wanted to make a commitment early on. Well...it took a little longer than that, but they finally decided to set a date only about a month before they actually got married. Through my sis-in-law Faith, Patty discovered this elegant little wedding chapel and reception area in Vancouver. Everything fell into place, and the day went smoothly. It was very important to Patty to have ALL the grandkids participate in the ceremony...and somehow it managed to work out with outfits and attitudes (for the most part). I took quite a few pictures, but it was a 7:00 wedding, and most didn't turn out. No, I still haven't found the time to figure out my camera yet! It's unbelievably frustrating for me!!

Patty's grandkids are on the left and Steve's are on the right

Synnove wouldn't stop fiddling with her dress, and when told to smile, Soren gave this face... Patty and I in the bride's room just before the ceremony

Each of the girls had their own flower basket, and each of the boys carried a rose and were asked to give the rose to one of the ladies in the audience. Soren was the last boy to walk down and ran out of aisle-seat ladies to give his rose to...so he gave it to a boy :)

Adam agreed to give his mom away. He wore the tux he bought in high school...the same tux he ended up having to wear for our wedding! Still fits!!

Just announced as husband and wife...

At the reception, just after signing the marriage license. The best man was Steve's brother, and the Maid of honor was Susan, a friend to both Patty and Steve. The pastor was also a friend.

The chapel provides all-inclusive packages...everything from the cake, music, catering, bar, emcee, etc. Patty even purchased her dress at the chapel weeks before.

There was a garter and bouquet toss, as well as a bride and groom teddy bear toss for the kids...Obviously, Samantha caught one...

There was lots of dancing! The kids had a BLAST sweating it out on the dance floor!

Congratulations Patty and Steve!

Clam Digging

2011-03-30T14:51:00.000-07:00

Spring break was last week, and we did virtually NOTHING! We were all still recuperating from being sick and the weather was awful. On the first weekend (first day of spring break) Adam spent the day out of town, but came home by 5:00 to drag us out of our cabin fever rut and go clam digging. We didn't get to the beach till about an hour before dark, but we made a go of it anyway. We knew that clamming wasn't that great, so we weren't expecting much. Really, we just wanted out of the house. It was cold, but it wasn't raining, and the wind was just a whisper. And although we didn't come home with any clams, we all enjoyed the fresh ocean air.

March 19th:

What I Managed to Capture in the Last 3 Weeks

2011-03-22T20:21:00.000-07:00

It's been a lot of sickness and rain at our house...more than usual. I suppose it started with President's day, and our two snow days....all downhill from there. We've been sitting on the couch in front of the television for most of it. It's gotten so bad that I've been trying to avoid the TV altogether. It's still raining outside, but at least we're feeling better...venturing into town is like a mini-vacation!

Call me a bad mother...but when you aren't feeling well, the TV is a lifesaver. Don't get me wrong, I love that the times have introduced 24-hour preschool programming, but I get tired of watching it myself...all day. So, for the times I want to watch something, I change the channel and say "go find something to do!" But, with Synnove's current fear of being away from me for 5 seconds, finding something to do has been difficult...especially since Soren hasn't been well either. So, one day I trudged off the couch to make some play dough. It had been at least a year since I'd made it before, so it was welcome entertainment as far as the kids were concerned. I'm so thankful for the huge assortment of cookie cutters I scored at Goodwill several years ago!

Soren is very good at playing independently. If he's interested, he'll play for quite some time. While he was getting over one of his colds, I found him in our unusable tub playing with his "pirate garden." His poor face is raw from blowing his nose...

Synnove managed to FINALLY lose a tooth! This tooth had been hanging by a thread for the better part of a month. She would NOT pull it out...and was quite terrified. One day, when Soren was sick, I had my Dad pick Synnove up from school and she lost it on the 2 minute drive home. She already has another tooth coming in. AND, she lost the one to the left a week later. As far as I know, she didn't actually "pull" either of them out...they fell out on their own.

I look forward to life getting back to normal. It's sad that in three weeks, these are the only pictures I have. We're all feeling better, but Soren is still having a battle with his tummy/intestines. It's been going on for the better part of a year, and has recently turned into a full-blown issue. We're currently searching for answers...little luck so far.

Con"flu"sion

2011-03-12T13:55:00.000-08:00

The Brown family is finally on the mend. We've had a rough few weeks of cold, strep, and flu. I feel like I've been on the couch for an entire month! Soren and I have been the sickest, while, Adam takes a close 3rd, and Synnove's escaped with just a couple of regular colds.

So people ask me..."what are you sick with?" and I say..."the flu." And they say..."oh, so you're throwing up?" and I say "no...I actually have the real, honest-to-goodness flu!" I don't know where info got all mixed up over the many years, but even I used to think that the flu was a stomach illness. It is most definitely not. However, it can occasionally cause nausea and vomiting in young children. I was set straight about 6 years ago when asked by a doctor to get a flu shot. After he told me what the flu really was, I wasn't all that interested in getting the shot.

What is the flu exactly? I found a short and simple definition at the Mayo Clinic's website:
"Influenza is a viral infection that attacks your respiratory system — your nose, throat and lungs. Influenza, commonly called the flu, is not the same as the stomach viruses that cause diarrhea and vomiting."

There you have it...now, go educate your friends.

Snow Catcher

2011-02-24T10:53:00.000-08:00

"MOM!!!?"

2011-02-21T21:19:00.000-08:00

*Note...I actually drafted this post last week and I'm just now getting around to finishing it*

I have completely run out of patience. Synnove is going through some sort of bout of insecurity. This has happened before...and the phase lasted for several months. So far, this has been going on for about two weeks, and I'm so completely done with it.

Patience is not one of my strong suits, and I know it's a problem. At the end of the day, I'm kicking myself for the things I've said and done just because I don't want to be bothered. There are many mornings that I wake up and pray for patience for my day, but by the time I pick up Synnove from school and have her home for just 15 minutes...the patience is immediately drained. For example, I'll pull into the garage and the kids will get out of the car. Usually, I take a little more time gathering my purse, phone, mail, etc. Then, once I'm out of the car I cover the hood with an old sheet so that Charlie won't get his filthy paws all over it, close the garage door, and walk up the stairs to go in the house. All of this takes me less than a minute...and I do it every single time I pull the car into the garage. Synnove has been in the house for an excruciatingly looooong 15 seconds, so she frantically opens the door and yells "MOM, WHERE ARE YOU!!!???" Just the sound of the word "mom" is like fingernails on a chalkboard, so I respond in an annoyed..."closing the garage door...like I do every time we come home..." Then, maybe at this moment, I'll tell Synnove that I'm gonna check on the bunnies and give them some food and I'll be in in a little bit. Two minutes later I hear the door open and I immediately want to scream...but instead, Synnove yells, "MOM, WHEN ARE YOU COMING IN!!??" and I respond in the the even more annoyed "when I'm done feeding the bunnies!" When I finally come in the house, I put down my purse, take off my shoes and begin to walk towards the bathroom and immediately Synnove pipes up and somewhat frantically says "MOM! Where are you going!?" I respond (raised voice this time) "to the bathroom..." I go to the bathroom and leave the door closed, but not all the way. Synnove has followed me to the bathroom and waits by the door and decides to ask me a question "What are you doing in there?" *REALLY!?* I respond "going to the bathroom...please let me be." She sheepishly says, "Ooooh kaaayy..." I flush the toilet, wash my hands and open the door to find she hasn't left the hall. 15 minutes haven't even passed since arriving home, yet my patience is 3/4ths gone.

*Fast forward to today*

This charade goes on all day, every day. Today, because it was President's Day, Synnove didn't have school. I didn't really have anything planned, but had lots of house cleaning to do. She followed me everywhere. When I asked her to go do something, she made up questions and comments to come and ask/recite to me every couple of minutes. If I didn't answer her "mom!!?" within a split-second time frame...it turned into a frantic "MOM!!!!!??" Can you imagine hearing "MOM!!!??" every 2-5 minutes...ALL DAY!? This is not an exaggeration. Eventually, I sent the kids outside while the weather was decent. I was vacuuming, and for 15-20 minutes, I did some emailing. While I was emailing, Synnove stood outside the sliding glass door staring at me from minute intervals and saying "mom!" every so often. I won't even mention the countless times she came in and out of the house to search for me and tell me some ridiculous fact for ask me a non-question...countless! Soren, on the other hand, came in one time to go potty.

After about an hour of playing outside, the kids had to come in because it started to rain. I still had lots of cleaning to do upstairs, so I put a movie in downstairs for them to watch. I did laundry for 30 seconds before I heard Synnove trudge upstairs to tell me something like..."the movie started." Within 15 minutes, she had come up to the laundry room at least 5 times...each time I told her to go back downstairs.

Really, this is all just a taste of what the last couple of weeks have been like with Synnove. It is exhausting. I have had sit-down talks with her on a couple of occasions...one being today. I asked her what was wrong...what was bothering her...etc. I let her know that I loved her, that Daddy loved her, that we would never leave her. None of this is good enough. Something is wrong, and I don't know what to do other than to pray. Because this has happened before, I'm not that concerned. I know that when I was a little girl, I felt bouts of insecurity...but nothing like this (at least I don't think I did). When this happened with Synnove last time, it lasted for several months, and I don't know that I'm up for that again! Come to think of it...it was only a few short weeks ago that Adam made this little comment to me: "I'm so glad the kids don't freak out anymore every time we go outside...that was no fun!" I guess he spoke too soon!

Saying Goodbye...Twice

2011-02-13T16:54:00.000-08:00

It was only two short weeks before her death that my Great Grandma Myrna Backe accepted Jesus into her heart. Saved at the age of 100! Her salvation had been on my mind for quite sometime...I knew that she was afraid to die. My mom was the one who received the nudging from the Lord to visit her one day...January 12th. Just two short weeks later, on January 27th, she went to be with her savior. 100 years on this earth is a long time, and her memory lives on in those she left behind.

Pallbearers (from left to right as shown): Mike Falleur (long-time family friend), Mark Balensifer (Grandson), Wesley Balensifer (Great Grandson), Ron Davis (long-time family friend and neighbor), Rick Davis (long-time family friend and neighbor), and Mike Balensifer (Grandson)

It was a very nice service and an absolutely gorgeous day. Although, being as it was February 1st, it was freezing outside! Though Grandma was very old, she was not forgotten. People came from near and far to say their final goodbyes. We will all miss her, but we are glad she is singing with the angels for eternity.

Great Grandma this last Christmas with her Great-Great Granddaughters, Halle and Tay.

Then, last Thursday, we had to say goodbye to Miss Reese Holland Becker. It's one thing to say goodbye to someone who has lived a long and full life...it's quite another when that someone hasn't even reached 1 year. Reese would have been 5 months old on February 20th. I can't even begin to imagine what my dear friend Shannon and her husband AJ are going through right now. Baby Reese was beautiful, healthy, and happy. I saw the whole family and met Reese for the first time just a couple of weeks ago at Synnove's birthday party. Today, I feel privileged to have been able to hold her and talk to her...what a joy she was! Her life was abruptly ended by SIDS. My heart is breaking for Shannon, AJ, and their son Josh. I wish we still lived in Cornelius so that I could be with her...cry with her, but I know she has lots of very supportive family and friends near her right now.

My Dad got to hold Reese while Synnove opened her gifts...in fact I think he held her for the entire time. She was an angel :)

A picture of Shannon and Josh at Synnove's 5th birthday. Shannon had told me just a few days before that she was just a few weeks pregnant with Reese. I was SO excited to hear she was having another one! Although...the poor girl was feeling quite queasy when this pic was taken...
AJ, Shannon, and Josh at the party a few weeks ago...

We have sent flowers and many messages. I haven't spoken to her, as I know she is being bombarded with calls. I don't know how I would feel if I was her...I don't know that I'd want to answer the phone. Fortunately, the family has been very open with the happenings of the past few days over Facebook. The outpouring of support has been incredible. And I know that the many prayers and kind words have been appreciated. If you remember, pray for them as well...especially on Thursday as they say their final goodbye.

For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. 2 Corinthians 4:17-18

Six

2011-02-08T16:32:00.000-08:00

She's my big helper, she's already growing out of the clothes I bought her in the fall, she's got 2-3 loose teeth, she loves to read to me, she can ride her bike like a pro, and she just turned SIX!

In the last few months Synnove has turned into quite the school girl. She seems to do well with her "studies" and often comes home to tell me about what she's learned. It's weird for me to have a daughter in school for six hours each day. I know that her innocence will start to deteriorate, and the thought makes me sad. I'm looking forward to Soren going to kindergarten so that I can help out in the classroom and be a part of their school lives. So far, Synnove has done well and has made good friends. I pray this continues.

ANYway, Synnove had her big party on the 23rd (actual birthday is the 27th) because Adam was going to be leaving for Georgia the next weekend. As usual, we had lots of guests and had a great time. I served tacos and the yummiest red velvet cupcakes anyone has ever eaten!! I took a week-long break on my diet for those babies! I surprised Synnove with her very own cake (she thought she was getting a cupcake and didn't know how the candles would fit) and she very timidly blew out her candles. She was shy and nervous to open her gifts in front of the guests, but so excited that she didn't even eat lunch.

On her actual birthday, Grandma surprised her by coming over to give her a sewing lesson. She actually got her little toy sewing machine over a year ago at Christmas, but I told her she had to save it till she was six. Quite frankly, I'm a novice sew-er and I wasn't keen on teaching her how to do it and was happy my mom volunteered. Synnove had been talking about it for weeks because she knew that her sixth birthday was coming soon. Synnove was elated when Grandma pulled into the driveway and told her to get her sewing machine out. Synnove thoroughly enjoyed herself and did very well with her stitching. Their time was cut short when we got word that Great Grandma had just passed.

On the weekend after her birthday, I planned to have a few of Synnove's friends over for a "glorified playdate." Synnove didn't know her friends were coming until the last minute, and it was fun to surprise her. That morning, Synnove had a slight stuffy nose and her eye was red. I thought that maybe she was just really tired from spending late evenings at Grandma Barb's house. We had gone to bed very late the last few nights and Synnove slept in till 10:30 that morning! Unfortunately, the "pinkness" wasn't going away. About an hour before her friends were set to come over, I started to panic that she had pink-eye, so I told her she had to wear a gauze patch. She endured it without complaining the entire time, and even wore it that night when we were at Grandma Barb's that evening. Her eye stayed a bit pink for about 2-3 days.

Jena, Brooke, Synnove, Emily, and Grace

I told the parents "no gifts"...but some parents just don't listen :)

I'm Ready for a New Month

2011-01-31T11:04:00.000-08:00

January has been full. It's January 31st, and yet it feels like March. Here's why...

I suppose the mayhem started in late December when Synnove contracted Molluscum. Thankfully, Soren had gotten a very mild case over the summer (at the time I had no idea what it was) and when I took him to the dermatologist for his forehead scarring from the accident I asked the Dr. about it. By that time, Soren's immune system had fought it off, but after a brief description, the Dr. knew exactly what it was. I had never heard of it, but learned it was very common. I'll skip the details. ANYway, I started noticing bumps on Synnove in early December, but didn't pay much attention because I knew what it was, and it was mild and harmless. It wasn't until about New Year's Eve that her few bumps exploded to hundreds and hundreds! Plus, they were creeping to her face, hands, and the bottoms of her feet. Frantic, I Googled treatment options. I already knew that there wasn't much for treatment other that cutting them off...but I researched for options. Molluscum is a virus that can attack the body for months to years! I was desperate for find a solution. I found a homeopathic treatment that was kinda spendy, but readily available at Walgreens. That night my mom picked up a bottle for me, and I started treatment right away. It was a long process and had to be done morning and night. Synnove was supposed to go back to school in just a couple of days and I had to get it under control because it's contagious.

In a couple of days, the bumps had slightly faded....enough for me to feel comfortable to send her to school. I told her not to scratch and to wash her hands often. She did. Synnove's case was on the verge of extreme...and the treatment we had was meant to be put on individual bumps without touching other skin, but we had to put it all over her body because the bumps were infinite! I went back to the internet for more answers. I happened upon some product reviews and a specific post where a gal talked about another natural remedy that worked for her son. I when to the natural foods store in town to see if I could find what she was talking about. I found one thing, but not the other. I started with Synnove right away (little sublingual pills called Thuja) and her bumps started vanishing within a few short days. It was miraculous! I was thanking God! Now she only has a few of the larger bumps and we continue to manage them with both medicines.

In the second week of January I started attending TWO Bible studies. One is a study though our church that meets 1/2 a mile up the road, and the other is a woman's study that meets on Tuesdays around lunchtime. I'm so excited to be a part of them! Not only are they a great way to delve deeper into the Bible and into spirituality, but they help me get connected with other Christians in my little community.

I attended the annual MK Seattle Sizzle Conference with Star Consultant perks. I also had the pleasure of cheering on my friend Andrea as she won Queen of Sales, Queen of recruiting, and Queen of Seattle Sizzle! It was the first time in the conference's history that there had ever been a triple queen! She is an incredible inspiration to all, a dear soul, and dear friend. She also earned directorship and her car! Believe-it-or-not, she only signed up 1 1/2 months before me! Mary Kay has been keeping me busy this month...especially with my latest "New Years Trade-In Sale." I actually made quite an impression with my fellow MK ladies with all the stuff I collected from my customers!

I was wrangled in to volunteer for the Knappa Schools Foundation annual auction fundraiser. I've been calling local businesses asking for donations and running all over town picking them all up. It's fantastic fun...ha ha. I finished most of my work last Friday...that's a big load off!

I started attending a new monthly scrapbooking group. I haven't scrapped since I was pregnant with Soren, and I've only scrapped up to Synnove's birth. Saying that I'm behind is a gross understatement.

Synnove turned 6 last week! I hosted TWO parties for her. I made tacos and cupcakes for 40 two weekends ago, and yesterday I had 4 of Synnove's friends over for a "glorified playdate." 5 6-year old girls together is quite the handful! Pics to come...

My Great Grandma Backe died last Thursday. It was just a few posts ago that I wrote about her 100th birthday! And it was only two short weeks ago that she finally asked Jesus to be her Savior. She is proof that it's never too late...what a miracle! The last handful of days have been spent driving back and forth to Warrenton for dinner and family time. It's a blessing, really...but the late nights are taking their toll...especially since everyone in my little family is....

...SICK! Fevers, coughing, stuffy noses, vomit, pinkeye, earaches. We are finally on the mend, but the last 2-3 weeks have been misery. Soren has been the worst as he's been sick for most of January. Adam hasn't had this bad of a cold in as long as I've known him. Synnove, despite her molluscum and a mild case of pinkeye, has been blowing her nose the least. However, she did get the croup the same night Soren was throwing up with a 103 degree fever. I've been keeping the cold at bay for most of the last couple of weeks, but it caught up with me a few days ago. Yeah, it's a bad cold...but not NEARLY as bad as what Soren and Adam have been battling. We have gone through at LEAST 5 boxes of tissue (doesn't include all the toilet paper we've used) to blow our ever-stuffy noses.

Adam left for his annual conference in Georgia yesterday. I'm just praying that we continue to feel better, and life can return to a less-busy normal. We've got Bible study at my house, a funeral, a field trip, and snack duty.

I love my life!

Christmas Sillies

2011-01-25T13:25:00.000-08:00

I know...Christmas was a month ago, but I've got to document it sometime! So, instead of boring you with the traditional family poses, I thought I'd pick a few sillies...

I kept asking him to smile, but he kept giving me faces...I think this was the second face I caught.

At Camp 18 for our traditional pre-Christmas family dinner...
Synnove and I both got robes for from my parents, and in the middle of posing, Soren decided to come and scare me with his new "Toothless" toy (from "How to Train Your Dragon").

Elise bought her husband a Wii for Chrismas...the kids are just learning how to box...Synnove beat Soren virtually every time. It was pretty funny to watch them.

We got home late Christmas day to find gifts from Santa. Soren got the BIGGEST kick out of his new wind-up toy...as you can tell...

Synnove watched one of her cousins open this gift earlier in the day and was really excited to get one herself!

Pre-Christmas December

2011-01-13T12:29:00.000-08:00

My sister had been planning a surprise 30th birthday party for her husband, Chris, for quite some time. His birthday is the day after Christmas, so birthdays for him have been (I'm sure) less than exciting. Elise thought it was PERFECT to surprise him by throwing him a party on her birthday (the 10th). We were supposed to meet her and Chris for "dinner at the Shilo for Elise's birthday." Somehow we lured him downstairs to the banquet rooms for the big reveal. He was surprised...and I'm pretty sure he enjoyed himself :)

Auntie Piggy gives a shocked Chris a hug...

Soren's Christmas program was the next week. He was a Christmas Star along with all the other 3-4 year olds. He did everything he was supposed to do...except he didn't smile or sing. Maybe next year?

A rare photo of myself...and my little bruiser. He had a goose-egg on his head (ran into the corner of a wall), a swollen and bruised jaw (tripped and hit a barstool). A few days later, he fell and split his chin open!

He was the HIGHest star!

A couple of days later we had a big storm. Really...the wind was blowing hard, but not harder than a typical coastal storm. But, because the wind was blowing in an easterly direction, branches were falling like raindrops! I didn't sleep well that night because there were constant thuds on the roof...I was afraid one of our skylights was gonna shatter! The next morning, we woke up to this....

Frankly, this picture doesn't fully illustrate the magnitude of the mess. Adam was busy fixing his Mitsubishi (AS USUAL!) and I worked non-stop for 5 hours cleaning up the property. I could have done more, but I was soaked to the bone and a bit chilly. Except for our "hurricane" 3 years ago, I've never seen a storm create such a mess! Fortunately, the larger branches managed to land in perfect places!

Dancing in the Minefields

2011-01-11T20:47:00.000-08:00

A good friend sent this to me today...thought it went nicely with my last post. Sorry it's been so long, I'll post soon.

Milestones of Marriage

2010-12-21T11:28:00.000-08:00

I think this week is going by too slowly. Surprisingly, my days haven't been filled to the brim with endless things to do. Correction: there is ALWAYS endless things to do! I suppose there's nothing pressing for me to do...so I've been sitting around...procrastinating. You know that feeling you get when life slows down a bit? Instead of doing the things that you've been meaning to do, you do nothing? Well, that's me this week. Synnove and Soren are out of school. Adam, though he was scheduled to take the entire week off, had to go to work yesterday and today. He will also be gone for most of tomorrow and the next day as well...doing things away from us. It all depresses me a bit.

My dear Adam...he's been so busy. Hunting, trapping, fixing, working, traveling, sleeping. *sigh*...I've been sitting here for the last 15 minutes thinking on what I want to say next. All I can come up with is this: Life is constant compromise. Adam is forever being pulled, and he does the best he can to balance the tugs.

Adam and I both reached 30 this year, and next month we will have been "together" for 11 years. We have established a rhythm...a cycle of give and take. It works for us. But, in the last year, our lives have changed dramatically. Maybe Adam doesn't feel it as much as I do, but it is undeniably different. Both of us have started new adventures. In the last year, Adam has started his own trapping business and has become a "rookie" Honda/Mitsubishi mechanic. And I have successfully established my business, and become the busy mom of a preschooler and kindergartner. As a result, dad, mom, husband, and wife duties have become exponentially more challenging. And, when posed with a choice of who comes first...the answer is always the same: the kids.

Weekends are full. They have been full since last March. We don't get a break. Adam and I tried to go on a date over the summer...lol! It never happened. Last Saturday we had a relatively plan-free day and sleeping in sounded divine. The kids got up at 7:00 and "snuggle time" was completely eliminated...let alone sleeping in. I know that there will come a day when I will miss the kids barging into our room screaming that one is chasing the other and that they need our help to save them. Today is not that day.

The last time Adam and I had some alone time together was the night before we picked up our "new" car in October. We arranged for the kids to stay at my parent's house because we had to get up early the next morning. I remember thinking it would be fun to go out that night, but we were both so pooped that we decided to pick up some groceries and spend the evening at home. We turned in early so that we could get up at 5AM to make the long drive to Salem. Fortunately, we made a fun day of it before rushing home to pick up the kids.

Heh...we take what we can get!

Marriage is a perfectly planned-out journey. If you do it the right way,after you get married, you spend all of your free time together and build a trust. You live together and learn that life can be blissful and challenging. Then, you have kids. You fall in love again and discover the balance between spouse and child. As your kids mature, the marriage should mature. You learn sacrifice, compromise, and the importance of communication. Your lives begin to separate and trials seem endless, but your marriage grows stronger because of the strong foundation you have established. You realize that your spouse is your constant and the love you have for them flourishes into a realm that no other person could fully understand. You grow old...you've found your soul mate...one of the greatest, if not the greatest, gifts you could ever receive.

Quite honestly, I love my life. I love my husband. I love my kids. And though I wish that Adam and I could spend more time together, I know that our relationship continues to grow. We get on each other's nerves, we wish things that aren't possible, we pursue, we pull away, and we doubt. But without those things, the moments of laughter, appreciation, love, and forgiveness wouldn't be as wonderful.

Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. I Corinthians 13:7

Only 9 Days Left!

2010-12-16T12:29:00.000-08:00

I couldn't believe it when Thanksgiving came and went, and I only had two Christmas gifts purchased. I didn't have a plan either. I was at a loss as to what to get for everyone and I was starting to panic! Fortunately, I got the Christmas card ordered before Thanksgiving! Last year we didn't send one out, so I had to get one out this year. By the time I paid for all the postage, I was wishing I had skipped this year as well! I started looking for blocks of time where I could get out without the kids. The weekends were full, Adam was busy, and I was starting to brainstorm other options. My Mom was in a bit of a panic as well, as she often relies on me to help her figure out gifts. Somehow we found a block of time to run to Longview for a quick trip. But, before we left, I had to take the kids over to the local church to meet Santa. Synnove had been begging to go! It ended up being a bust because neither of the kids wanted to get within 6 feet of Santa...

In about a weeks time, I finished my Christmas shopping. Online shopping is great!! I could finally breathe a bit...but the house still wasn't decorated. Synnove was soooo excited to decorate, and asked me several times a day..."when are we going to get the decorations out!?", and my response was always.."not until we get our tree." Getting the tree was proving to be difficult. We were busy...constantly busy. And when we weren't busy, it was either dark or raining. We were looking forward to cutting our own tree out at the dairy, but I was beginning to wonder if we were going to have to pay an arm and a leg to the boy scouts down the road for one of theirs. BUT, the weather cleared one day after Synnove got out of school, and we raced to Brownsmead just in time to be home by dusk.

The kids took a bath before dinner (they were filthy and wet) and I made homemade pizza. When dinner was over, I turned on the Christmas music and the decorating began. The kids had such a great time. I think this is the first year that I felt the kids could handle decorating the tree on their own (less the lights and garland)...and they did. Adam helped, while I decorated elsewhere. It really was a fun, no-stress, Christmassy time!

Soren loved all the ornaments...and was constantly coming up to me saying "look at this one!"

Synnove was my grown-up helper girl...she's got this whole Christmas tree thing down pat.

That night I was exhausted, but determined to wrap a few gifts. I ended up wrapping every single one! I still had a few that hadn't come in the mail yet, but, for the most part, I was done! I went to bed well after midnight and was dragging the next day. The kids were surprised to see all the gifts under the tree the next morning and started checking the tags for their names. Synnove was pretty disappointed that there was only one gift with her name on it...ha ha.

We still haven't put any lights outside, and I haven't done any baking...but it feels good to be almost ready for Christmas!

Lucy Lately

2010-12-03T13:01:00.000-08:00

We've had our Lucy-girl for a little over three months now (7 1/2 months old)...and, like all puppies, she's a ball of mischief. We've tried our best to stick to the no-hitting plan, and so far it's been alright. Although, there have been a couple of recent situations that warranted a good scolding. She's very lovable and sweet (in her own puppy way) and has adjusted well to her new home. After only a couple of weeks of having her, we decided to let her loose. After doing more research, we realized that she would stay in "her" territory as long as she knew her bounds. In the first couple of weeks we walked her every morning around the perimeter of the property with a leash so she would understand where she lived. Yes, she does her fair share of exploration to the neighbors. Two of our three neighbors don't have any animals, and I haven't heard any complaints yet. She has gotten into the neighbor's garbage a few times...but we have done our best to catch it and clean it up ourselves. Our other neighbor has no reason to complain if our dog ends up on her property...lol (see blog on that)!

As she has gotten older and into the "teenage years" she has discovered her bark. She rarely barks during the day...but she can be quite a nuisance at night. There is no doubt...she's barking at something, but she won't quit until the "threat" is gone. I say "threat" because I swear that sometimes she barks at falling leaves! Scolding her does no good, and we have become more creative in finding ways to contain her on such loud nights. The previous owners of our house already set up a fantastic kennel, but we have to put her in the garage when she barks. There is a sectioned off area in the garage that has a doggie door to the outer kennel, but there is no way to seal her inside...so we've been screwing plywood on the door. It's a temporary solution until Adam makes her a lockable doggie door (hopefully in the next week!) She's started to figure it out though...when we come outside to get her, she won't come to us, and trying to get her through the doggie door can be quite difficult. She fights it!

She really is true to her breed. She guards her territory, only comes to you on HER terms (she can be very difficult to catch!), loves her family, is highly intelligent, very independent, and is a good judge of character.

Here are a few Lucy antics we've come to love and hate:

It took her about a month to stop chewing on the house every chance she got. Fortunately, the house is in need of a new paint job next summer! She has also destroyed the back-up lights on the truck, pulled wires and insulation off the heat pump, gotten in the truck (kids' fault) and chewed up the registrations for both the truck and the trailer, chewed up several bike helmets and two bike seats, and, of course, has done a number on the fencing in the kennel.

She rarely comes to you if you call her, but when she does come to you, her excitement towards Adam and I comes in the form of a sort-of submission. She puts her head down and to the side for you to pet her. Once you pet her, she's a ball of excitement and she jumps on you. She's getting better at not jumping...but not good enough. Once she calms a bit, she's a joy to love. She gets down on her back and wants you to rub her belly...if you stop, she gently paws you till you do. She also loves to be hugged close and doesn't pull away.

She loves garbage. I've cleaned up entire trashcans full at least 4 times.

Lucy and Charlie are hilarious to watch! Lucy chases Charlie at every opportunity. She's not aggressive...but playful. Charlie mostly hates Lucy...but he has become a LOT more tolerant. Adam has even watched them touch noses...twice!

She likes to steal Adam's tools and hide them...among other things. Our neighbor likes to burn all the stuff he wants to get rid of and often leaves it outside to pile up. Lucy has brought home many many interesting items to play with. She has also found the spine of an elk to chew on. It's currently sitting in the back yard along with the elk leg bones that Adam brought home from this years elk harvest. It's a regular smorgasbord for Lucy!

Synnove and Soren are Lucy's "sheep." She paws and mouths them (herding instinct) and is waaay too playful. There are times when Lucy plays nice, but about 70% of the time, I've got to put her in the kennel if the kids are outside.

We didn't get much snow the week of Thanksgiving, but the kids loved playing in it anyway. I can't help but laugh at these pictures I caught of Lucy "loving on" the kids...

Synnove's face is priceless in this picture.

Soren has just gotten the thrill of sliding down the slide, and Lucy is right on his tail.

Again, Soren has just gone down the slide, and Lucy is making sure he gets up ok?? LOL! Soren...the live dog bone :)

A couple of minutes after that last picture, I had to put Lucy away...go figure.

The Miracle of "Caromal Colours"

2010-11-30T09:48:00.000-08:00

A few of you may know that I've been talking about re-doing a table that I "inherited" a couple of years ago. This table has been in the family for quite some time. I don't know for sure, but I imagine it was purchased by my grandparents (my Dad's parents) sometime in the '60's. I should find out, but I imagine it was new? Later, my Dad inherited it and it was our family's dining room table until my parents built a new house in '96. I'm sure my Grandma loved it at one time, but the love died...and I don't think my mother ever loved it. She was happy to get a new table and the rickety "picnic table" was retired to the basement. It was occasionally used during Christmas...but that's about it. I think my mom tried to get rid of it...even tried to give it to me...but I didn't want it (at the time). It wasn't until we moved here that the table became more appealing to me. Our current house only has one dining area, and though I love my hand-me-down farm table and chairs (thanks Uncle Steve and Aunt Kathi), it isn't very big and only seats 6. The infamous picnic table has the ability to scrunch 8 kids and 2 adults (if chairs are added on the ends). NO, I don't plan on having 8 kids...it's just a visual. Plus, it's not akward and oversized, takes up little space, and leaves room for people to walk around it even though it's bigger than the other table. So, I agreed to take it off of Mom's hands.

Since then, I've spent many hours researching a solution to it's ugliness. From tole paint, stencils, and crackle paint, I was NOT finding anything I could get excited about. I wanted it to look authentically old...not look like a 1960's thrift-store find. I went so far as to purchase some crackle paint on MEGA sale (thank goodness), but was not happy with the results. I like crackle, but it doesn't make furniture look authentically old...it looks like the faux finish that it is. I was stuck. I wasn't going to proceed with the project if I wasn't going to be completely happy with the results.

Last June my parents took the kids and I fishing on the islands for Father's Day. To help relieve the boredom, Mom brought several magazines...one being Country Living. I love Country Living. Anyway, I found a tiny little ad on one of the pages for a faux finish technique called "Barnworn" from Caromal Colours. I was over-the-top excited, looked up the website on my phone, and was obsessed with finding out more about it for the next few weeks. In my research, I came upon Patty Henning's "Fabulous Finishes" blog. If you're into any kind of faux finishing, Patty is your gal! She's got lots of pictures and how-to's, and though I never contacted her, she's available for all your questions and concerns. She doesn't know it, but her website helped me a TON when it came to choosing my paint and attacking my project.

The purchase of the paint was going to be a tad spendy, so I spent lots of time deciding my colors. In fact, I ended up spending more than needed because I just couldn't decide! Btw, Patty's blog has a section where you can actually SEE and order sample finishes...it's great! Anyway, because of lack of time, I didn't get around to starting the project until a couple of weeks ago. Here it is...

I never understood why the table had two drop-leaves. They served little to no purpose. I showed my Grandma Barbara the table last Christmas and she said that she thought it was a "bench-table." It can be used as a picnic table (obviously), or the leaves can be dropped so that folks can sit the opposite way like a bench! Who knew?

I reluctantly did the entire project in the basement. It was freezing and rainy outside and I wanted to be where it was warm where the paint could dry properly. We didn't run the woodstove for a few days so that the paint wouldn't dry too fast. Below shows the benches painted with two coats of the "Putty" color Textured Basecoat. The paint is thick, like peanut butter and can be applied to ANY surface without prep! Plus, you're meant to smoosh it on or paint it smooth depending on the effect you want. Sloppy is better for a more worn finish.
After applying the first color, the next step is to apply a layer of "Chipping Creme." Chipping Creme allows the bond between the first color and the final color to be weak so that the final paint color can easily be chipped or sanded off to make the furniture look worn. Once that is dry, you paint on the final color of Textured Basecoat (I used Wisteria). AS SOON as that's dry you sand and distress it however you like. I used my mouse sander as well as various screwdrivers, toys and other tools to create dents and scrapes. Once you're done with that you can choose to apply the Toner (like a glaze) for added depth and antiquing. The next two pictures are a comparison of the benches...one toned, one not.

Once I was done with the toning, I was so, SO pleased! The table looked better than I imagined it would. Then, at Patty's suggestion, I used Minwax Wipe-On Poly in Satin to seal it. And oh. my. GOODNESS. I wish I would have discovered this product years ago! The wipe-on was so easy to apply! If you've ever painted on polyurethane, you know how stressful and complicated it can be.

The table was in it's place the next day. Even Adam was impressed...because he wasn't so sure mid-way through the project. Now that I have my wall and my table, I have some SERIOUS re-decorating to do. Maybe an area rug, new wall-hangings, and new drapes. But, that probably won't happen till after the holidays ;)

Wall O' Shame to Wall O' Fame

2010-11-23T17:20:00.000-08:00

You've all seen it...or at least caught a glimpse of it in my pictures. [Check out #6 on my "hate list" HERE.] The wall of shame has been a half-torn-down eyesore for two long years. We were sure we were going to have to tear it down and start over because of all the wood glue and torn-up sheetrock. And, to be honest, I didn't have much faith in Steve when he said we should just mud over it. We never got around to attempting to fix the wall because it was in such a difficult spot...right in the stairway. We were going to need scaffolding to do anything...and Adam and I have never sheetrocked before. It was to our great surprise and appreciation that Adam's Mom and Steve offered to help us out. Steve actually works at a GP mill in Camas, WA and was coming to "our" GP mill (where Adam works) to do some union business for a couple of days in mid-October. So, what better time to come and help us out? He started in on a Thursday evening, worked Friday afternoon, and all day Saturday. I can't remember, but he might have put another layer on Sunday morning as well?? We were having some issues with the sheetrock paper bubbling with every layer of mud. But, as each layer was applied the wall looked better and better. Steve had actually done this before a few times and is quite experienced in sheetrock and home improvement in general. Still...I was skeptical.

Scraping the last of the wood off...

Applying the first of at least 5 thin layers of mud...

Because it was taking so many layers of mud to smooth out all the horrendous imperfections, we had to wait until the next weekend to sand and texture. Steve's son has a professional-type texture machine and they managed to fit it into Patty's car and bring it to our house. They sanded and textured within 2-3 hours that Saturday.

Trying to cover the ugly fan so that it wouldn't get texturized as well...

For half of the following week I primed and painted the wall. Because the wall is so high, I had to wait until Adam came home from work to do a lot of the painting and touch-up. The wall remained blank until last week when I asked my mom to come over and help me hang the pictures that have been in boxes since we moved out of our house in Cornelius. She and I work well together when it comes to moving and arranging furniture and hanging pictures. I'm sure I'll add to it as I find more things, but what I've got is a great start.

Sorry it's so dark, our ceiling fan is burnt out and we have no light in the entry. The bottom half will be wainscoting one day...but sheetrock will do for now until we can re-do the other entry walls (they have that ugly wood on them as well).

I didn't believe it could be done...but YOU DID IT STEVE!! Thank you soooo much for making my house much prettier!

Happy Belated Halloween!

2010-11-20T10:41:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that Thanksgiving is less than a week away...and here I am, finally posting about our Halloween.

This year, Halloween threatened to be wet. It seemed to pour the entire week prior, but we had a nice break to go to the pumpkin patch with the preschool. Miss Kara told the kids to bring their costumes instead of wear them since she thought it would be mucky, but it didn't rain and the muck wasn't too bad. Like last year, we went to the Weaver Dairy.

Once back at school, all the kids dressed up in their costumes for a party. Soren was Spiderman this year, but he wouldn't wear his mask in public...unfortunate, because it really completes the costume. Oh well. I caught a shot of the kids praying before their snack. Like a good boy, Soren was one of the only ones (if not THE only one) closing his eyes...

Synnove also went to the pumpkin patch. I couldn't chaperone because I had Soren, so Synnove came home from school one day with tears in her eyes. She thought that because I couldn't go, she couldn't go. She didn't understand that field trips at school were different than field trips at preschool. Once she understood, she piped up a couple of days later and said, "Mom, I'm gonna have to give you a hug before I leave to go to school on Friday." I said, "how come??" She said, "Because I'm gonna go on the bus to go to the pumpkin patch!" How sweet that she thought that because she was leaving during school that she was going to need to give me a little extra love.

The kids stayed the night at my parent's house on Friday night so that Adam and I could leave very early in the morning to go look at a car to buy in Salem. That night the kids carved their pumpkins with Auntie Weesie. This year was actually the first year that they ever carved pumpkins. They've always painted them instead.

On Saturday, we brought home our "new" car...an '04 Honda Pilot. LOVE it!!

The next day was Halloween. That night, we took the kids to my parent's house to get ready for trick-or-treating. We then went to all the grandma's and friend's houses and finished off in the old neighborhood. We did that last year...it's a good route for us :) Along the way, we ran into Tay, Brielle, and Faith...here's a picture of them all (including Auntie)...

100 Years Old!

2010-11-14T16:10:00.000-08:00

From Sunday, October 24th:

On October 27th, 2010 my great-grandmother, Myrna Backe, turned 100! To celebrate, we threw a bash for her at her retirement home in Astoria. It's amazing, but she was living on her own clear up until 3 or 4 years ago! She's absolutely unbelievable! In the last year or so, her health has been going downhill, but she still has a lot of spunk. My grandma Barb (her daughter) has been spending every day with her and they are the best of friends. How wonderful is it that my 75-year-old grandmother still gets to hang out with her mom??

The party was great. There was a slide show, lots of food, and a giant cake (almost didn't make it!). Many of Great-Grandma's friends from the home came to celebrate as well as all of her family and a few friends.

Mother and Daughter; Myrna and Barb

A view of the crowded room

Myrna and her daughter and only grandsons Mike and Mark

Myrna and her Great-Grandchildren and spouses (not in order and missing Wendey)

Myrna and her Great-GREAT-Grandchildren! Getting them to all smile at once was a chore. There were several cameras to look at.

All of us that came who are related. The gentleman on the left with the red sweater is Uncle Leo (Myrna's youngest, and only living, sibling) and to the right of him in the back is Myrna's nephew (I think his name is Mike) and the woman towards the middle with the purple scarf is Myrna's niece (her name has escaped my memory).

Mushroom Picking

2010-11-08T13:24:00.000-08:00

From Sunday, October 17th:

It was a beautiful fall day, and we skipped church...one of the reasons being that Synnove was sick with a fever the day before. So, instead of spending a lazy day at home, Adam decided he wanted to take the kids out hunting for chanterelles. Adam and the kids got started mushroom hunting when my Dad took them out last fall. Adam has always been interested in mushrooms, but never found the time to start a new hobby (imagine that). Adam and the kids went out with the kids a few weeks prior and found quite a few, so he wanted to try his luck again.

I had never been, and had a great time on our little treasure hunt. I snapped quite a few pictures and found quite a few species of mushrooms. They are all so interesting and different. Of course, we stuck to what we knew, and only picked the chanterelles. We could have picked for hours, but decided that two bucket-fulls was MORE than enough. Thank goodness they are tasty, because we were drowning in mushrooms for over a week!

Adam let each of the kids have a semi-dull knife to cut their plunder. More mushrooms will grow if you leave part of the stem...and they are easier to clean!

Adam cleaned mushrooms for a looooong time. Below is only 2/3 of a bucket-full and we had TWO buckets! Thankfully, we found lots of takers.

So Much to do, So Little Time...

2010-11-04T12:46:00.000-07:00

Monday: Take Synnove to school, run to Astoria to work for Elise, juggle the kids from person to person, end up working most the day, get off, run to Les Schwab before it closes, get new tires, pick up the kids at Grandma's, run home in time for bath time.

Tuesday: Wake to Soren and his ever-aching tummy, take Synnove to school, run to Portland to take Soren to the dermatologist, go store hopping for this and that, make sure Adam picks up Synnove, get home by 7:00 to find Adam not well, put the kids to bed, fall asleep to the TV.

Wednesday: Take Synnove to school, run to town to make several deliveries, arrive home by 1:00, talk to Tracy about arrangements for Thursday's fundraiser at the school, feed starving chickens and thirsty bunnies, pick up Synnove, change clothes to clean leather upholstery, buff for two hours, change back into regular clothes to drive into town to meet Adam at the Credit Union, sign papers, go grocery shopping, meet mom and friends for dinner and a movie, get home at 10:30.

Today: Adam's car exhaust explodes (literally), yell at severely grumpy children, attempt to take kids to school but car is dead, (Adam took the truck because his car exploded) frantically call friends to pick up kids to take to school, call Aunt Alice to come jump my car, couldn't get car out of garage so had to put it on a charger, blew debris from latest wind off the driveway for a half hour, started making fliers for tonight's fundraiser, went out to successfully start the car, picked up Soren, chatted with parents and teacher for a while, came home to make lunch, finished fundraiser fliers, now off to mow the lawn before rain comes tomorrow. Pick up Synnove in an hour, change clothes, be at fundraiser all night.

Tomorrow: More of the same...add babysitting, and picking pounds and pounds of crab to the list.

My house is a mess, the laundry isn't done, dishes aren't washed, but I did find 10 minutes to write this blog! At least I can check one thing off my list...right??

My 30th Birthday Surprises

2010-10-29T08:54:00.001-07:00

As most of you all know, I turned 30 last month...September 17th, to be exact. It was a pretty uneventful birthday filled with yummy chocolate cake, a heap of Facebook greetings, and a whopper of a migraine. I was feeling a bit better by evening, so Adam took the kids into town to pick up some take-out Fultano's Pizza (my request). The kids gave me a camera strap slipcover that I LOVE, and Adam said that his gift to me was on it's way via USPS. As usual, I had told him not to get me anything big, and I was perfectly happy to spend a quiet evening at home with my family. The next day was going to be busy, as I was helping out at Tonya and Chris's wedding! So, really, celebrating my birthday was not number one on my priority list.

Camera strap cover (an Etsy.com find)

Little did I know...Adam had a few surprises in store.

The next week I was looking forward to getting a phone call from my dear friend and former roommate Sarah. I hadn't talked to her in ages (at least a YEAR), and she had just gotten engaged and I wanted to hear all the details. She called. We talked. Then, the subject of getting together came up. For over a year now, my roommates and I have been trying to find a weekend to spend together, and it just hasn't happened. In August we were seriously considering September, and as September started coming to an end, I decided "enough is enough!" Sarah suggested the first weekend in October would be good and I told her I would ask Natalie. Mandy, our non-roommate friend wasn't going to be able to make it because another of our college friends was getting married.

That evening, I got a message from Nattie saying that she could make it. I was stoked!! I was texting both Sarah and Nat at the same time getting all the details worked out. I knew that Adam would be fine with it, but I finally asked..."hey honey, is it OK if I have some friends over for the first weekend in October?" Strangely, he responded..."what friends?" Long, sad story short, Adam had already asked them to come for that weekend for a birthday surprise! I was still VERY surprised and VERY touched that Adam would go to such lengths to make my birthday special. I couldn't believe I had unintentionally ruined it...I mean, really...I talk to Sarah once a year!!

The next weekend (September 25th-26th), we got in our car accident. We didn't go to church that Sunday because...well, we didn't feel up to it. Sunday evening my family showed up with pizza, salad, and cake. I thought they were there to cheer us up from the accident, but instead they were there because Adam had asked them to a few weeks prior. Because my birthday weekend was full of wedding and headache, he wanted to give me a surprise mini-party!

Adam was kinda bummed that my gift hadn't arrived in the mail yet. It actually got sent registered mail and was delivered to the post office. I picked it up the next week. Unfortunately, it was packaged in a bag sent from Great Britain and I could totally guess what it was. I was impressed he remembered the hint I gave him a few months prior! I couldn't wait to open it, as it was still going to be a surprise because I didn't know what design he picked. When he finally came home from work I ripped it open to find he'd picked one I loved! He bought me a Golla DSLR camera bag with a design only available overseas. I love it, love it, LOVE it! Super sturdy, durable, well-made, comfortable, and stylish. It's even got a zipper wallet compartment in the front so I can use it as my purse for travel! Plus, the inside is PINK!

Later that week we all got a bad cold. Mom had wanted to take me shopping for some new jeans for my birthday and we were having a hard time finding a day to do it. That Friday, though I was feeling miserable, was the only day that seemed to work. So, when Mom got off work, we packed up the kids and headed to Tanasbourne. We actually had a really nice time. Surprisingly enough, I found some pants that fit (among other things)! We ate at the Macaroni Grill and headed home late. Funny story...we got "accidentally" pulled over on the way home by the same cop that handled our car accident the weekend prior. I think he was a little embarrassed that he pulled over the wrong car. Still, the flashing blue and red was enough to get us worked up for the rest of the ride home.

The next day my roomies were coming! Adam had to go out of town to take care of some things, so the kids and I were left without a vehicle. We had the Montero, but because we forfeited Soren's car seat in the accident we couldn't take the kids (the boosters don't work in the Montero). Sarah and Nattie arrived around noon and the kids were in our faces for the rest of the day. They love guests and always want to be the center of attention...so, they were. I was bummed that Adam didn't come home earlier...and we didn't get to leave the house to have dinner till almost 7:00. Because it was late, the girls and I opted to not take the long drive into town, and instead have dinner at "The Logger." They found it quaint, to say the least...not to mention, it was homecoming night and all the kids were gussied up for a nice dinner at, none other than..."The Logger!" *sigh* The girls now want to make it a tradition...lol!

Me, Nattie, Sarah

We arrived back home to find an empty house. Part of the birthday surprise that I didn't know about was that Adam planned to take the kids and spend the night at my parents house. It was nice to stay up late and not have to worry about waking the kids with our laughter. We had a blast! Truly...it was just like old times.

In conclusion, my 30th birthday was flat-out awesome! Thanks to everyone, especially my sweetheart, for making this milestone a celebration to remember fondly.

Never In My Life...

2010-10-28T12:13:00.000-07:00

...has my kitchen been this messy.

What you can't see are the crumbs, the exploding sink full of dishes, the empty silverware drawer (cause they are all in the dishwasher), dried-up yogurt, random bent nails and loose screws, and goodness knows what else. I walked in from taking Soren on his preschool pumpkin patch trip and just had to take a photo. It's sort of a glimpse of how our lives have been in the last month. Our house has been a construction zone, a guest house, a place to entertain, and a hospital for one of the sickest months on record. And, when I'm not doing laundry, cooking dinner, cleaning up vomit, scouring the Internet for our next vehicle, running my little business, taking kids back and forth to school, vacuuming joint compound dust, painting, selling stuff on Ebay, running to the post office, entertaining guests, making deliveries, throwing parties, attending meetings, and sleeping....I'm plopped on the couch for some much needed down time.

Forgive me for my 3-week hiatus...I hope to catch up soon :)

My Big Boy's Birthday

2010-10-05T22:36:00.000-07:00

We've pretty much said goodbye to toddlerhood at the Brown house. Wow. Soren had an awesome 4th birthday. We ate burgers, visited with friends and family, ate some cake, and opened some gifts...typical birthday stuff. Soren wanted a Disney's Cars themed party...so that's what he got. He also received LOTS of Cars themed birthday gifts...including (but not limited to) jammies, coloring books, Moon Sand (that's a fun one for mom to clean up), various toys, and a Lightning McQueen shaped radio/CD player. He didn't say much, and was quite serious throughout the party. One thing that eked a smile on his face was the new addition to his rubber chicken collection. As many know, Soren has a strange love for rubber chickens, and chickens in general, that started a couple of years ago (click HERE , HERE, and HERE for a couple of past "chicken" blogs).

When squeezed the chicken whines.

He told me his remote control car was his favorite gift...

I just had to share this pic...such a mess :)

Today, on his actual birthday, he went to preschool. It was nice to return after missing an entire week last week from sickness and stitches (he's still coughing though). I was snack helper and we ate freshly baked cupcakes and strawberries. It's "B" week this week, and Miss Kara thought it was funny that Soren Brown was having his Birthday today. They read "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" and made Brown Bears with the letter "B" glued on the tummy with Black Beans! At circle time Miss Kara presented Soren with a card signed by the class and a book to take home. Then, all the kids made him an imaginary cake...

A Rough Week for Soren

2010-10-04T15:05:00.000-07:00

I think I've cried more times in the last week than I have in the last year. I've had many reminders this week of how blessed I am. That, mixed with varying unfortunate events, has put me close to my limit. When it rains, it pours...right? Well, for my little Soren boy last week, that little statement is quite true.

Last Saturday (the 25th), Adam wanted to surprise the kids with a trip to the Enchanted Forest in Salem. It was supposed to be a beautiful day, and when we left our home, the sun was already beaming. We didn't tell the kids where we were going, and Synnove just couldn't stop asking questions....she was excited! About 20 minutes into our 3 hour drive we got into a car accident. I'm going to save the details of that little event for a later blog. Unfortunately, Soren got the brunt of it and won himself an ambulance ride to Longview. He got the works...an IV, a CT, at least an hour of glass removal, and 11 stitches. I thank God for my husband, as he is usually the better "mom" in situations like these. He rode with him in the ambulance and kept him in good spirits throughout the afternoon while they poked and prodded.

Soren is such a brave little boy. The doctors were so impressed with his ability to stay calm and sit still throughout the entire procedure. As I've said before, Soren is sooo reasonable, flexible, and trusting. He was very quiet on the ride home, but perked up a bit when we arrived. And, despite the scary morning, he slept soundly through the night with his special bear from the hospital.

The next day Soren was doing well. We put him to bed...and with some snuggling, he fell asleep. I was worried about the kids having nightmares from the accident (Synnove was a bit affected), so my ears were sensitive to sounds coming from their rooms. At about 2:30 AM Soren woke with a tummy ache and ended up with the throw-ups all through the day until the next evening. And, in typical Soren fashion, he was a trooper...AND, always landed in the bucket :) Still, I was heartbroken for my boy and was on my knees throughout the day pleading with God to end the misery. From severe headache to severe tummy ache...what next??

Sick on the couch with his new buddy from the church ladies at the hospital...he named him "Lightning 'the' Queen"

It actually took him a couple of days to recover from his sickness. He was well on Tuesday, but still not 100%. He was very nervous to get his stitches out on Thursday. He doesn't say much these days...but I could see it on his face. I assured him all would be well, and it was. He sat completely still and only shed a single, silent tear when the doctor had to tug a bit on a scabbed up stitch.

That afternoon, the sun was out and it was actually warm enough for the kids to play in their swimsuits. It was just the remedy we all needed for a rough-week-pick-me-up! The kids played while I mowed the lawn and Adam mowed the field. Normalcy...it felt great.

The next few days were busy. I was doing a lot of running around, and we were all battling a bit of a cold...Synnove was the worst...lots of coughing. On Saturday, Synnove was sick with a touch of what Soren had. But, thankfully, it wasn't bad enough for her to want to lay on the couch. She didn't have much of an appetite, but that was about it.

In order to start his IV in the ambulance, the medic had to cut his shirt off...Soren was sad about that. I found an exact replacement on Ebay in a size larger...we got it in the mail on Saturday.

Yesterday, we celebrated Soren's birthday (he's turning 4 tomorrow!), and both kids were relatively healthy. Adam and I put the kids to bed and settled into watching SNL on the DVR. We had to keep hitting the pause button to make sure Soren was OK...as he was doing a lot of coughing...and then whining. I went down to get him to see what I could do to make him feel better. He wasn't well. He was having a hard time breathing and his coughing was making him gag. Then, as if that wasn't enough to end the horrid week, he was also crying in pain. Growing pains...severe growing pains. We stuffed him with medicine...cold medicine, Tylenol, and applied some Vick's vaporub. Then, while he sat in Adam's lap watching Oobi, I massaged his aching legs.

I'm praying for a better week this week!

First Day of School: Soren

2010-09-25T08:00:00.000-07:00

My baby boy...

...is now in preschool. I'm so thankful for the little preschool we have out here. It's just plain wonderful. I love the people and I love the teacher. Fortunately, Soren gets to attend for 2 years! He's currently in the 3-4 year old class and goes to school Tuesdays and Thursdays. I was a bit surprised at his hesitation to go since he's been there so many times and knows Miss Kara well. At orientation, he was the only kid who wouldn't participate in circle! On the first day of school, he was so distraught at the thought of me leaving, that I decided to stay. Here's a few shots of the day...

The two boys that Soren is sitting next to are actually little brothers of students in Synnove's class!

Finding our eyes, ears, noses, and mouths...
Soren was pretty quiet all day. He wanted me to push him on the tire swing when we were out on the playground. He seemed annoyed when a little girl (Kendall) came to get a ride as well...

Then, when Abbie wanted a push as well, Soren was...well...his face says it all! LOL!

On Thursday I decided to leave him at school. I knew that he would be just fine after I left, but I was sad to go. Soren's face fell as I hugged and kissed him goodbye, and he even shed a small tear. As soon as I was gone, all was well and he went off to play. After I picked him up and brought him home, he was really proud to show me his apple project and recite the new poem he learned. So...for a guy that doesn't say much these days, I think he's happy to be a preschooler!

First Day of School: Synnove

2010-09-24T16:50:00.000-07:00

5 short years ago...

Last week...

The school years are here and it's taking me a while to get into the swing of things. It doesn't seem that long ago that I was in elementary school...and here I am, all grown-up. I'm the one signing permission slips, volunteer sign-ups, and checks to the cafeteria lady....not my mom. For Synnove, this day has been coming for a long time. I don't think she really knew what to expect. How could she? She's never been there...then again, neither have I. Quite frankly, September 13th was my first day of school as well. AND, it was Synnove's teacher's first day of school! Mrs. Gantenbien is fresh out of college and just as timid as her students for her first day.

Teachers did home-visits the week before the kindergartners started school. Both Synnove and Mrs. Gantenbien were a bit shy when they first met.

I wasn't really expecting to get emotional, but as I walked towards the school and saw "Welcome Kindergarten" on the reader board, I felt a lump form in my throat. I walked a few steps further and saw the new principal...Mrs. Collier. Not only was Mrs. Collier my 4th grade teacher, she is also my parents' neighbor and long-time friend. It's always good to see a familiar face, and it was fun to reminisce with her about school. I wanted to get a picture of her and Synnove, but she tricked me and snapped this instead...

Once we made our way in, we found the bustle of school in full swing. Everyone else had already had a week of school, and the kindergartner's were standing around like lost sheep looking longingly at their proud camera-bearing parents. Synnove wasn't completely forlorn, as there were lots of friendly faces from last year's preschool.

The clock read 8:15, and the supervisor didn't waste any time lining all the kids up. Most of the classes went to their rooms to drop off their coats and backpacks. Synnove's class stayed and waited for everyone else to return to do their morning "sing-along!" I don't know which warms my heart more...the first day of kindergarten, or morning sing-along! Every morning the k-4th grades gather to sing songs, and, apparently, they've done it that way for years. Love it!

Sing-along

After sing-along I decided to leave. It was a bit surreal for me to leave Synnove at Elementary School for an entire day of learning. Yes...and entire day...8:15-2:15! This is the first year the school has done a full-day kindergarten. So far, I think it's going well. Synnove absolutely LOVES being a school-girl :)

Labor Day Weekend

2010-09-23T15:45:00.000-07:00

Labor Day weekend was a welcome break. Our family was plum pooped and we needed some lazy days sitting by the fire. The weather was decent and nobody was sick...so we were already off to a great start! Usually, Labor Day camping is the BEST because most everyone is available to come. However, we were missing a few this year, and it was quieter than normal. It was great to have Jeremy and Jessica and their kids there. Our kids love camping, but they love it even more when they have friends to play with. So, between my kids, their kids, and Faith they kept themselves pretty busy.

Faith is slightly terrified of the ATVs, and so we all did some coaxing to get her to overcome her fear. She did NOT want to be on the 4-wheeler! Once the weekend was up, she was an avid rider :)

I told him to smile...

On Saturday, Adam and I had to run home to shower and head to Vancouver for our friend Kristin's wedding. No, I wasn't too happy to leave camping and be in the car for 4 hours, but I wouldn't have missed my friend's wedding. Ultimately, she's the reason I even met Adam! It was a beautiful, intimate, backyard ceremony. If you wanna check out some of her pictures, they are posted HERE.

Just before everyone started to leave on Monday, they all gathered to move the BIG woodpile under cover for the fall/winter. Earlier in the weekend, they all went out and did some ATV logging and cleared more trails.

We only had Lucy for one short week before taking her on her first camping trip. I was a bit nervous, but she fared OK, considering. We gave her some Dramamine for the trip there and back, but both times she got pretty darn sick. As the weekend progressed, she had to be kept on the line more and more. She would bark and whine because she so desperately wanted to be with everyone else and play with the other dogs, but she was just too mischievous. At night we had to keep her in the trailer (not my first choice!) because there were lots of coyotes out. Amazingly enough, she stayed quiet and did awesomely in the trailer! Next year will be a completely different story...I'm sure of it.

Frustration

2010-09-15T15:38:00.000-07:00

Technology is moving too fast for my budget.

I just spent the last 45 minutes trying to download pictures and videos onto my hard drive from my camera. Yes, I did finally succeed (sort of)...but 45 minutes is too long! I love that my new camera takes better video than my actual video camera, but my computer doesn't. I only have a 1 gig memory card, but have been looking forward to getting a larger one so that I can take more video. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like that idea will be "compatible" with my elderly computer. Most of my trouble in downloading came when I tried downloading a 2 minute video. TWO. MINUTE. VIDEO. My computer didn't like that so well and timed-out during my first two tries. I actually had to restart my computer because it was staying frozen for too long in "thought." I went to view it when the computer finally accepted it. First of all, the video was only compatible to QuickTime....lame. Secondly, the video didn't download properly and was all jumbled, choppy, and the timing was off. Ugh...the whole situation makes me a little sick to my stomach.

There's really nothing I can do to improve the video, and I don't know how to make it compatible with other media players. Until I get a new computer I'm going to have to download videos onto my parent's computer and save to CD or DVD. Who knows....even if the videos did work on my computer, I wouldn't be able to burn them to CD because they might be too large. My computer doesn't even have a DVD burner.

Another thing I'm a little frustrated about...
I've been doing a little bit of research on photo-editing software. I'm interested in a particular program, but the the customer reviews have been discouraging. I've read quite a few, and I've come across a large handful that say that the installation caused their "older" computers to crash. As my Grandma would say...."scratch that."

Still...I love my new camera, and I'm so thankful to have it :)

Blog Post #200: The Last Week of Summer

2010-09-12T16:43:00.000-07:00

I know it's a cliche, but time has flown by. Two years ago, when I started blogging, I didn't really think I would stick to it...but here I am. And, for some reason, people actually read what I write! Folks, these days, are fascinated by reality...whether it be extraordinary or mundane. I don't see my family as either, but somewhere in between. Still, you all keep reading...and I'll keep writing, regardless.

If I haven't mentioned it before, I'll say it again: This has been the busiest summer of my life. Much of it has been spent in the car traveling back and forth to town. That's one of the major downsides of living in the sticks. Even if I've got a quick errand to run, it turns into an all-day event. I've got to make the trip worth-while...right? Thankfully, I've got my reliable fuel efficient money saver to keep me on the go. Well...less than a month ago, that little car of mine broke down. Fortunately, it happened in a place where I could pull over and Aunt Alice was able to pick up the kids and I within a short 10 minutes of parking. Adam towed it home the next day and fixed it. I wish that was the end of the story.

The week before Labor Day weekend, Adam took the week off of work. He had some parts coming in the mail to fix the exhaust on his Montero. That project, along with the kick-off of hunting season, was going to keep him busy for most of the week. It was Monday afternoon, and I was just getting back from an overnight bachelorette party for Tonya. I can't remember, but I think I got home in time for Adam to take a trip to the auto parts store. I went up to the house to visit Lucy (we had had her for only 5 days) and found that the water to the hose was turned off. Then Adam came up behind me and informed me that the water was turned off completely. There were some guys doing some work on the waterline up the road and we just assumed it was an emergency shut-off. I was kinda miffed as it was a warm day and we hadn't received a call from the water company.

That night we were going to my parent's house for dinner...they were having an experimental moose roast. Monday also happened to be the day before my mom's 50th, so we celebrated with gifts. ANYway, before getting in the car at about 6:00, I decided I should call the water company to see what was up. Adam was dirty and sweaty and needed a shower, and I wanted to make sure I didn't need to bring some shower items to take to my mom and dad's to take a shower as well. I couldn't believe that the water was off all day and we hadn't gotten a call. The water company was closed and there was no emergency phone message. After some last-minute finagling with the water-main and a few trips up an down our driveway, we decided to go up the road to ask the guys still working on the waterline. On our way, the car started to make a rattling sound. We asked the water guys what was up. Turns out it was a planned water shut-off and we were not informed. UNbelievable. Anyway, they were actually turning the water back on as we drove back down to our house, and the car started rattling with a small vengeance. We parked it, popped the hood, and Adam discovered that what he fixed before was now broken again. It's been jacked up in the garage ever since. I was thankful, however, that we were able to make it up our driveway and we didn't need to town it home again. We can thank the stupid water company for that!

Having two out of our three vehicles out of service made for an interesting week. Either I or Adam had something going on every day that needed a vehicle. Plus, we were supposed to be going camping on Thursday. Adam and I were both on edge and getting very frustrated with each other over everything. Quite honestly, it was a terrible week...not a great way to spend a week off of work. On Tuesday, after Adam's morning hunt, the truck (either I or Adam driving) went back and forth from town to home 3 times for three different things...there was no way around it. That night I had my MK meeting (Tracy picked me up) and Adam needed to get a part welded at Don's. The kids ended up eating at the Logger Restaurant at 8:30 that night! They were so hungry that Adam let the kids eat pie before their actual food came. On Wednesday Adam tried to fix the car...and was unsuccessful. That night we drove the fam into Warrenton to attend an open house for Henry (my little bro) and his baby...the Warrenton High School Fish Hatchery. Henry has been getting some attention from news wires around the state for the new water filtration system he and his team developed. It's impressive! I have pictures on my camera upstairs...ha ha! After getting back home that night, I put the kids to bed while Adam worked till 2:30 AM to fix the exhaust on his Montero so that we could bring it camping the next day.

I'm pretty sure we slept in on Thursday, but I could be wrong. There was lots to do to get ready for camping...including a trip to Warrenton for groceries. At around noon, Adam took Lucy into town for her shots while I went to the store. The vet was closed for lunch, so I met Lucy and Adam at Elise's shop for a sandwich. *Sigh*...After all our packing and running around was done, we headed to Naselle and arrived just before it was too dark to set up camp.

Since getting home, the up-and-running '89 Montero has been the family sedan. We drive the truck as little as possible to save on gas. Our trouble with vehicles lately has put me over the edge. The Civic has given us a large handful of trouble this spring/summer (not just it's current problem). No, none of the problems have been huge, and all have been fixable...but it's getting tiresome. It's fortunate that Adam has been able to fix most of the problems on our "vintage" Honda, but time is precious, and Adam doesn't have much of it. I'm hoping for a vehicle maintenance-free fall, because, quite frankly, our cars have stolen our summer.

Meet Lucy Brown

2010-09-01T17:00:00.000-07:00

Let me first start out by saying...my life is now complete. I have my doggie! The story of how we found Lucy started about two years ago when I was taking Charlie to the vet. I came out of the exam room to find a beautifully groomed, milky white, GIGANTIC dog. I was in awe. I asked the owner what kind of dog it was and she told me that she thought it was a mix of Pyrenees and Maremma Sheepdog. I knew what a Pyrenees was, but had never heard of the other. I was curious, so I googled the breed when I got home. After reading quite a bit about the dog, I started to think that it might be quite perfect for what what we wanted. Trouble was, they are fairly rare and finding a puppy was going to be a challenge. The closest breeder was in Bellingham, WA. I emailed the breeder a couple of times for information and price. They were $600...and driving to Bellingham in the truck was going to cost a small fortune as well. That didn't detour our wanting one...we just didn't make it a priority. As everyone knows, dogs are a big commitment, and I was content to wait. So, we waited.

Last spring, I got together with one of the mom's at the preschool for a playdate. She lives waaay out in the sticks on a farm. Somehow, in our conversation, we started talking about dogs. I told her about the dog I wanted, and she said that her mom (who lives right next to her) and her other neighbor has those dogs for their goats and sheep. I got really excited and asked her to ask her neighbor where he got his dogs. Turns out he got them in Bellingham, but she said that sometimes there are ads for them in the Capitol Press (an agriculture newspaper in Oregon) for mixed breeds, and even full breeds for much cheaper. I knew my dad got the Capitol Press and asked him to save his papers for me, but he told me that he stopped getting it. Life got real busy, and I just didn't take the time to keep on actively searching.

Two weekends ago, my sister and I threw a bridal shower for our friend Tonya at my parent's house. When it was over, I sat and chatted with my family. Dad told a story about an article he read in the Capitol Press. Dad was getting the Capitol Press again! Hooray! I asked him if he could save the classifieds for me, and I meant to take a few papers home when I left, but I forgot. The next day Dad called me with a number for a guy in Gaston, OR selling Maremmas for $350! Within seconds of hanging up, I was dialing Adam's cell phone. He agreed I should call the guy. Long story short, I called the guy, he had two left (a boy and a girl). I asked for the girl. Fifi and the kids came with dad and I to pick her up last Wednesday.

Lucy is a pure bred Maremma Sheep Dog (classified as a livestock guard dog) and is already almost 5 months old. She has been kept completely isolated from the world. Breeders keep them away from human contact, etc. so that when they get to their home, they bond with and protect the sheep or goats. So, when we got her, she was quiet and nervous and leery of just about everything. Maremmas are an ancient working breed and were bred in Italy 2000 years ago to be independent guardians. Therefore, they are stubborn and do what they want. In fact, they see themselves as equal to humans, and expect to be treated as such. Training them is a challenge and they aren't known to come when you call them...especially when in pursuit. These are all attributes I was familiar with before purchasing her. One characteristic I'm particularly nervous about is that they tend to bark a lot. Bark collars aren't really a good option, as they will often bark more, and if you hit or harm them in any way, they will remember it and dislike you for the rest of their days. She isn't at the barking phase yet, as puppies are just curious and playful and don't have their guarding instincts yet.

On the other hand, Maremmas are extremely loyal and love their families dearly. They are wonderful with children and other animals, and are an excellent judge of character. Of course, we got Lucy as a companion dog, and not as a guard for livestock. However, she will guard her territory...meaning, our other animals will be protected as well. Maremmas also know their boundaries and are not known to wander beyond their home. This is great, as we don't have a fenced field because the elk and deer would destroy it anyway.

So far, Lucy is adjusting very well. She only whined the second night and hasn't since. We are going to try our best to socialize her as much as we can, as soon as we can. It would have been better had we gotten her as a small puppy so that we could have given her more experiences with other animals and people outside the home before she turns into a "teenager"...which, I've read can start at about 6 months. Socializing Maremmas is extremely important if one plans to keep them as companion dogs...otherwise they can be overly guarding and aggressive towards other people and animals outside their home.

After a trip to the vet tomorrow, we're taking Lucy camping with us! Wish us luck!!

Readers Beware: Graphic Images

2010-08-24T13:58:00.000-07:00

I wasn't going to blog about this, but the story is almost too unbelievable not to share. While my in-laws were visiting, in the wee hours of the morning, Adam woke to some "sounds" outside. He woke me up and told me he thought something was in the live trap he had set in the garage. We have a pesky raccoon who loves Charlie's food and have been trying to catch him for the last few weeks. I questioned how he would actually hear an animal trapped clear in the garage...but when it comes to animals, Adam has a pretty keen ear...even in a dead sleep. Anyway, he ran outside, only to return seconds later to retrieve a flashlight. I didn't know why he would need a flashlight in the garage...but whatever. Seconds after he went back outside, I heard a little squeal/scream. Adam then came rushing back in the door yelling profanities under his breath. He darted to the basement to retrieve the appropriate gun and came upstairs to load it. He then informed me that a mink was INSIDE Bunny-Him's cage trying to eat him! I couldn't believe it! I thought that maybe the kids had left his cage open...but no, the pesky varmint had literally "weaseled" it's way into the cage by half-way pulling out the food trough (not an easy task). And, for those who don't know, our bunny cages are at least 4 feet up off the ground.

Mink are aggressive little carnivores, and, when hungry will even attack small dogs. There was no way Adam was going to stick his hand in that cage, and our bunny was running out of time. Once the mink was taken care of, I went out to assess the damage. Both Adam and I questioned whether or not Bunny-Him was unharmed enough to be spared. I was surprise he hadn't died of shock! This was the second time Bunny-Him had been attacked. Last time, his cage had been torn down and rolled down the field by a couple of dogs. The dogs never managed to open the cage, but the poor bunny endured quite a scare.

Bunny-Him's face was quite bloody. I tried to take a picture, but he was having a hard time holding still. Because he's a lop and has a flat face, his nose is quite a bit lower than other bunnies, therefore his nose was still in tact. However, he was having some trouble breathing freely. Upon further investigation, we discovered that half of his right ear was missing! Poor little guy was in bad shape. We decided to wait till morning to reassess.

Bunny-Him's ear...

His poor little face :(

The next morning, I discretely went outside to check on him. I didn't want the kids to see him yet, so I was careful not to say anything. I took some celery with me, as I decided he would rather eat something fresh...and I wanted to see if he would eat it at all. I stuck my hand in the cage, and he reacted in his usual fashion. I gave him the celery, and he started in before I could put it down. I was happy, but still unsure. His breathing was still labored and his eye was starting to swell.

The next day, we took Aunt Alice's advice to apply some antibiotic cream. I was hesitant to do so as the wounds were starting to scab up and I didn't want the bunny to try to wipe the ointment off and aggravate his wounds. That was a few days ago, and he seems to be improving. Today is a hot day, and I'm still very concerned about his breathing. I don't know if his nose is actually damaged, or if it's just overly swollen. In hot weather, bunnies almost pant like dogs...but through their noses. So, Bunny-Him is going to have a rough day. I hope he heals.

After some research, Adam learned of the mink's particular breed, and that it was not native to Oregon. In fact, it was one of the many mink released by animal activists several months ago at a farm in Svensen. Check out this activist blog link regarding the story.

Visit with Cousins

2010-08-24T13:27:00.000-07:00

My sister-in-law, Amanda, was in NY last week, so my mom-in-law watched Samantha and Carter. We don't see them too often, so it was a nice to have them visit for a couple of days last week. Grandma Patty had promised Synnove some new additions to her "fairy garden" that they started last year, and she wanted to do some fun crafts with the kids all together. Faith and her two kids came too, so we had a full house! The kids enjoyed all the company and played for hours outside. Patty had planned to stay the night, and thought that both Faith and I knew. Communication isn't a strong Brown-family characteristic...lol! I wasn't doing anything for the next couple of days, so it worked out fine, but Faith was a bit bummed that she didn't come prepared to stay as well. She had an appointment the next day and didn't want to be all frazzled. Still, she stayed till almost 11:00 that night visiting and loading up on coffee for the drive home.

Quite the fairy garden, if you ask me. Notice, Synnove is watching Grandma work...lol!

Samantha playing peek-a-boo with Cash and Synnove and Soren through the window.

The next day, Patty and I spend a lazy morning visiting while the kids played outside. My fridge wasn't full enough to create a suitable lunch, so we headed to town to have sandwiches at the Wheelhouse. Coincidentally, Patty and I both were in dire need of oil changes, so we got that out of the way and headed to the beach.

The weather was surprisingly beautiful! I took them all to Fort Stevens to explore Battery Russel before finally ending at Peter Iredale Beach for a quick run through the sand. I actually wasn't planning on going, so I didn't have my camera with me. I could have got some really great photos of the kids playing in the little pools created by the shipwreck. Though the beach isn't far, it's rare for us to actually go there. In fact, I'm pretty sure I was pregnant with Soren the last time I was at Peter Iredale. Peter Iredale Beach is less than 5 miles from my Parent's house. I suppose knowing that it's there is enough for me :)

Cash Michael Turns 1

2010-08-22T22:10:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, the 14th we went to Vancouver for Cash's birthday. We were having a mini heat wave so we decided to take our gas-guzzling truck with working air conditioning. I'm so glad we did! Of course, that gave Adam an excuse to find something big to buy on Craigslist that just happened to be located in Vancouver. He bought a roof rack for his Beast...we picked it up on the way to the party.

We arrived on time...most everyone else was quite late. I just hate that. Anyway, he opened his gifts and we started in on the food. Cash looked so dapper in his tie and suspenders, but was later stripped naked to take a dip in the kiddie pool. The heat would have been stifling, had it not been for the slight breeze outside.

He's so stinkin' cute!

Grandma Patty with all her grandbabies

When the party was over, talk of IKEA crept into conversation. I had only been once, and Adam was game to go...if only to quench his slight curiosity. Plus, IKEA has cheap dinner!! SO, Faith, Alice, Adam, the kids, and I headed over there. Patty, Carter, and Samantha were gonna meet us there a bit later for dinner. There is just something about IKEA that makes me love it. Maybe it's the meatballs??

They had a special on crawfish...Faith had never had them before

We must have spent a good 2-3 hours there. Even Adam wasn't too unimpressed with all the Swedish particle board. By the time we left the store, it was about 8:45. The kids were flat-out pooped and were asleep within just a few minutes of us getting back on the freeway.

Bathtub Sillies

2010-08-22T21:35:00.000-07:00

Chris and Elise and Chris, Tonya, and Faith came for another Friday night dinner on the 13th. We ate homemade pizza on a HOT day. During bath time, Faith and Soren were practicing putting their faces in the water. I caught a shot of them just after they lifted their faces...too funny...

Afternoon at the Salisbury's

2010-08-22T20:49:00.000-07:00

So, the next few blogs will be me trying to catch up from the last couple of weeks. I've finally found some patience to deal with my large file sizes! Ha ha!

On Thursday, the 12th, I met up with my friend Melody and her 3 darling boys at Tracy's parents house. Tracy is my MK director and good friend (if I haven't mentioned that before) and we spend quite a bit of time together. Tracy and her son Kevin are actually living with her parents, Dave and Shari Salisbury. The Salisbury's and Melody's parents are old friends. ANYway...just trying to share the link we all have.

Melody and her husband moved to Kansas last year for work/school and they happened to be in town for a few weeks. I love getting together with Melody, and her boys are so lovable! It was a chilly morning when we arrived. Tracy made coffee and tea and we visited (or at least tried to) while all 5 boys and Synnove played. We ate quesadillas and sugar snap peas for lunch as the sun started to peak through. Sure, there were a few squabbles and tears, but I know the kids enjoyed their visit.

Melody with her oldest, Justus.

Tracy, trying to get a smile out of Synnove with a kiss...it sorta worked :)
6 little blondies: Justus, Benjamin, Soren, Kevin, Synnove, and Gabriel

The kids spent most of their time on the trampoline. I actually got quite a few funny pictures! My new camera takes great action shots!

At the end of our visit, each kid took a turn down the hill with the power wheels (dead battery). They all got a bit kick out of that little thrill.

"Your Images are NOT Being Uploaded to Blogger"

2010-08-19T20:45:00.000-07:00

For the last half hour I've been staring at the phrase "your images are being uploaded to Blogger." I knew that this would be an issue when downloading photos from my new camera. I love to blog, but a good portion of my time is taken up by photo uploads. Even with my point and shoot set to to the very low 1-2 megapixel setting, it still takes a good 5 minutes to upload 5 photos. My new camera is a 15.0 megapixel camera, and as much as I would love to take 15.0 megapixel pictures, it's just not practical. For one, my computer hard drive would fill up alarmingly fast, and two, I would NEVER blog with pictures. Currently, I have my camera set to 8 megs which, in my opinion, is very high quality. Still, each photo size ranges from 3.5-4.5 MB (my point and shoot boasts mere 800 KB file sizes) and uploading is horrendous!! Of course, I could reduce the file sizes, but that also takes time...time I don't have. It's also tedious, and I've been known to accidentally ruin photos by doing so.

Lately, I've noticed that by the time I get my pictures up, I'm just about out of my "allotted" time so I rush through the actual blogging. I suppose this equally frustrates me, as I would like to put more thought into what I have to say. I'm tired of the "yesterday we went to so-and-so's and it was fun...the end." BOR-ing! I suppose you're tired of it too? No, Mom, I'm not talking about you.

Anyway, I have lots of photos to share from the last week or so, but I'm just too tired of waiting for my antiquated computer with it's Pentium 4 processor from 2003...*GASP*!! Maybe I'll have more patience tomorrow? Until then, I'll be dreaming of Core processors and uploading medium-quality 30-second movies in less than 20 minutes! Wouldn't that be a feat?!! The sad thing is, I'm not being sarcastic.

You Want Whip With That??

2010-08-10T10:50:00.000-07:00

All of last week was devoted to the fair. I was pretty excited for this year as Tonya, Weesie, and I would be working together. Unfortunately, I started coming down with another cold on Monday night. I couldn't believe it...third cold of the summer!!! The weather wasn't supposed to be that great either. Last year, the business was non-stop because of the heat wave, but this year the weather was supposed to be cloudy and drizzly. Like last year, I was going to have to juggle the kids around. Dad was working, and mom was at the coffee shop. FiFi was able to help entertain the kids a bunch while they were at the fair, and Don and Alice pitched in too. Adam drove out after work when Dad wasn't available and Mom came out after work as well. Somehow it all worked out.

Tonya came in early with Elise all but one of the 5 mornings...6:30...uck! People wanted their coffee in the morning even though the fair didn't actually open till 9. All the kids and parents who needed to take care of their animals every day had to be there early like us. At around 10:00 we would get the carnie rush. And they ALL loved their 20 oz. white mochas with extra shots. Weesie was an animal on the coffee machine! Because it was a rented machine, she wanted to be the only one liable, so she made ALL the coffee. Tonya and I would prep cups and steam milk. By day 2 we had a pretty good system.

Elise had ordered a bunch of smoothie mix and brain freeze mix because last year we sold SO much and had to frantically order more. This year, she sold a LOT of hot coffee drinks and not so many of the other. We still made our fair share of cold drinks though. Unfortunately, she has a lot of product left over. ANYway, our busiest days were Friday and Saturday. Tonya had planned to go up to Portland on Saturday to do some dress shopping for her wedding next month, but she sooooo nicely went on Sunday instead. Elise was going to shut down the shop in town so that Henry could work if Tonya couldn't be there. It's really hard to run that booth in a rush with only two people.

Because of my cold, I didn't sleep well all week, and by Friday I was starting to really drag my feet. I told Tonya she could sleep in on Saturday and that I would come in at 6:30. So, on Saturday, I woke up at 5:00 and didn't get home till around 10:30. I was beyond exhausted. So exhausted I was wired...so I didn't get to sleep till after midnight. Sunday, I slept in a bit and woke with a headache. Even Soren slept in till 10:00 that morning!! The kids had a very eventful week and had late nights as well. We didn't go to church. I picked up my exhibits at the fairgrounds that afternoon and went to the grocery store. I had entered a couple of photos at the last minute and got a 2nd place ribbon on my picture of Soren with his baby chick (see 2nd photo down from THIS blog). I wasn't expecting to get any ribbons because the photo was a bit blurry...but in Clatsop County there aren't that many folks who know how to take pictures :)

Because I was in the booth all week, I didn't really get a chance to see much of the fair, or take any photos. I brought my little camera to get pictures of us girls and a few of the kids. Dad took the kids on the rides on Thursday after taking the kids and I out to breakfast. They rode the rides ALL day...literally. Dad sent me updates every so often on how many rides they went on. They would take breaks and come to the actual fair for food, but they didn't leave until at least 8:30! The kids stayed the night with Grandpa that night :)

Me, Wessie, and Tonster on the first day. We're wearing our Shanghaied in Astoria pins and our "I 'heart' Mary Kay" pins. I was doing a $50 drawing for MK at the booth....and Weesie and Tonya are my "MK groupies."

The fair sponsored a craft booth and FiFi took the kids there on several occasions. Synnove is a kitty, and Soren is a tiger (I think FiFi drew the glasses and 'stache.) He LOVED his tiger mask and growled at us all of Wednesday afternoon.
Soren wanted to scare mommy when I got home from my night. He did, and then he fell asleep. This is what I found when I went to check on him before finally turning in for the night...

On Thursday, it was warm enough for us to take our sweatshirts off for most of the day. Weesie had pink shirts made for us girls especially for the fair!

At our booth, we tried to play our own music, but the stage was pretty close by. A comedy duo called "Brothers from Different Mothers" played the stage at least twice a day and their music got to be obnoxious. Anyway, we would poke fun at all the acts to pass the time and decided we needed our own act....we called ourselves "Sisters from Different Misters"...I know...you can't contain your laughter.

Friends and Bees

2010-08-09T10:08:00.000-07:00

Last week my friend Margo was in town. She doesn't come into town very often...so I get to see her about once a year. Fortunately, she was able to get together on Monday (my ONLY free day!). Synnove, who remembers her girls, Abby and Norah, was excited to have visitors. And thank goodness Soren is well-adjusted to being the only boy, because that situation seems to happen often.

As usual, Margo and I chatted while the kids played. We had few meltdowns, and only a smidge of whine (pretty good if you ask me). Abby, Margo's oldest, is quite the "pretender" and got the kids together to create a party with snacks and games for Margo and I. We played "toss the plum" and "find the plum" and had a mini scavenger hunt.

Self-portrait

Toeheads =)

Later that day, Adam planned on spraying the massive yellow-jacket hive above our garage. We only discovered it a couple of weeks ago and were shocked at the size!! I wish I would have had my camera out when Adam went on the roof to spray it. Adam didn't want to get stung so he put on a white "Hazmat-type" suit (something he inherited from his old job), two pairs of gloves, and a motorcycle helmet with a full face cover. OH MY GOODNESS it was HILARIOUS! He looked like an under-puffed astronaut. He didn't kill all the bees with the 2 cans of spray so he's gonna have to go up there again. Maybe I'll get a picture next time!!??