You Don't See That Every Day

Getting ready to go on vacation is a lot like having a baby. This thought came to me as I was stirring up some rice crispy treats. I had found a very, very old bag of marshmallows (like from Christmas ... maybe). I decided I had better use them up, and what better way than to make a little treat for the family I am leaving behind. Tomorrow I start my trek to Texas, with my little Baby K. Taking a one year old on the plane doesn't excite me. But the end result should be worth it! I get to see my brother's house (finally) and visit with him and his family, whom I haven't seen in years. And I get to see my niece (my god-daughter) graduate from high school! I still remember the day I got the call from my brother about her birth; ah .. happy memories. So I have been cleaning, and making lists (oh so many lists!) and shopping, and storing up groceries for G. to utilize while I am gone. Just like I did when I was planning before I had the baby. Except this time it is a little e...

From this: To this: It has taken us 14 years, 5 kids, only 2 house-moves, 2 dogs, numerous friends, 3 pastors, 2 churches, numerous family members, and probably thousands upon thousands of dollars to get this far. And we've got a long way to go! We went out to dinner last night without the kids. It was my first experience at Chipotle - oh wow, is that good food!! And then, to mix things up, instead of going to the usual date-night-at-Home-Depot, we went to .... the mall! Oh yes, wild and crazy, that was our night. Actually we had fun just walking around the mall at 8:00 at night. There was hardly anyone around; the clerks were helpful, but not too helpful because they were tired and ready to go home. So just the right amount of helpful. We stopped in a card-store and showed each other the anniversary card we would've bought for each other. G. definitely was the winner this year on the funniest card (no surprise there!) It showed a picture of an older couple on the front of...

We are not a 'baseball' family. Never had the kids in Little league, or any other kind of baseball league. Except for the Backyard League. Today was one of the game days. Mainly because it was sunny out and there was no school, and Dad was home to play for a little bit. The kids and G. spent a couple of hours, with a neighbor joining us, to hit the softball, run the bases, work on their catching and pitching skills. We even had a concession stand. Except the (5 year old) proprietor left abruptly when a better gig came along. And the general manager was left to clean up the pretzels, yogurt-raisins, and cookies. Eventually the players found other interests and the game disbanded. But it was a good run while it lasted.

It's spring here in Oregon! Finally sunshine, and plants are growing. Which also means weeds are growing. The kids and I headed out to my dad's farm yesterday morning to help him with some of those weeds. We weren't able to be out there at planting time this year, so we'll make up for it by maintenance. As soon as we hit the beginning of the gravel driveway that leads to the farm, the kids beg me to stop so they can climb into the back of the pickup. I usually don't let them until we get to the farmhouse. But oh, how I remember the thrill of riding in the back with the wind in my hair. When I grew up in southern Oregon, we had some acreage outside of town, in the hills of Jacksonville. It would take us about half an hour to drive there. Back in those days there weren't seat belt laws and most of the time I would ride in the back of the truck with a brother or two, or three. It was fantastic on a warm day!. Now my kids can experience that a little bit. Not qui...

The sun was shining. My sister had the day off from work. So we took a little trip. Did you know there was a Boston in Oregon? I didn't! We went through an old flour mill, a self-tour this time, although it is a state park now, and they do offer guided tours a couple of times a day. We just didn't happen to be there at the right time. But we had a great time looking around by ourselves.     The kids got to see how an auger and grain elevator work - by using a smaller model and cranking the gears/ wheels themselves. Further along in the mill they got to make flour; First they sifted out the chaff. Then they plunked the grains into the middle of the millstone (yes, teacher took the opportunity to remind them of the Bible verse about the millstone around the neck (Matthew 18:6)). Next, they turned the stone to grind the wheat down and swept the "flour" into a box. This got dumped into another box and then sifted. And then sifted again. And...

A photo contest is happening on a blog I read occasionally. PW often has these photo contests, and even though I like my pictures, I don't think they match up to the quality of the ones that are entered and/or chosen. So I am going to just put my own selections here. Since the contest this time around is for Action Photos, here I have a few from the past weekend. And for due credit, my husband took these, not me. Do you have any you want to share?

My Mother's day started out wonderfully at church. The sermon was one on parenting (surprise) but it was so needed for my little ears. I was reminded of how I need to be gentle. (In our household, I'm usually the one who says, "Tough it out" and G is a bit more gentler with the owies kids get.) I was able to listen and actually pay attention the whole time, since all 5 kids were in their own classes. Usually they sit with us in church, but this one weekend, because of timing, it was just G. and I - which made it much easier for me to focus. After church the 7 of us headed west. A day at the beach = one of my favorite places to be; and with some of my favorite people. We ate lunch at Mo's; and then we walked the beach for awhile.The sun was shining. The wind was just barely blowing. We saw seals frolicking along the beach line. I love the lighting at the beach, so I took a number of pictures. I'll just throw them in here.  It was baby K'...

This week it was the girl's turn to run! The city here has a yearly run for all the school kids to participate. The girls were so excited, they were up before my alarm went off at 6:30! We got to the track in time, checked in the first runner, and sat waaaaaaayyyy up in the grandstands to watch. Our oldest daughter was first up this morning. She ran really well, even though her asthma flared up and her chest really hurt by the end. She ended up in the top 25 though! Next was Miss M. She also ran well, even though she said her side hurt most of the time. But we saw her down on the field having a blast with some friends she bumped into. And finally, our younger Miss M ran for the first time this year. It was a little hard for me to leave my 5 year-old on the big field with strangers. But she was able to find us in the grandstands and we waved back and forth to each other. She was also interviewed by someone with a microphone (not sure which reporter it was) and cameraman. My hu...

June of 2007. We went to Colorado and Montana for a visit with my husband's family. But - you might be saying to yourself - this is May . Why on earth am I thinking of June ? Well, it was in June of '07 on that very trip that I broke out in hives. Hives which have continued for nearly 4 years. There have been terrible times, frightening times, exhausting, frustrating times. I have had tears and anger. I have had to deal with not only physical health problems but also other problems that came along with this "illness". Chronic hives are not fun. I have lived in fear at times of food. Will it make me sick? Will it make me itch? Will it make my throat close up? I have had to live with self-consciousness, wondering what people think of my face when it is puffy like my husband might have slugged me (he doesn't!!!). I have lived with fear of how the hives and medicine affect my baby while I carried her inside me, and while I nursed her this past year. I have sought ...

"She has strong legs." "I didn't expect her to kick like that." "Oh, she is so strong." I heard these comments from the nurse as I held Baby K and the nurse gave her her immunizations this morning. K was having none of it!; although I had ahold of her arms and upper body, her little legs were flying! Poor baby - she had 5 shots today and was crying to break my heart. Her overall stats look pretty much like her older sisters - long and skinny. With a big head. We also discovered she had an ear infection. No wonder she hasn't been sleeping well. I'm hoping tonight will be a bit quieter, even with the pain of her shots. We've got some pain-relief medicine in her, and right now she is snoozing away in her crib. Overall she is developing well, and for this we are thankful!