chicken feathers

snow days

We have finally been hit by some winter weather!  Of course we don't often get much snow so when it comes the town pretty much shuts down.  For a week.  School was cancelled Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday...today is Monday and we have a two hour delay.  We've been trying to avoid killing each other with all this quality time.

There has been sledding.  I finally had to shut down the sledding hill when it started to get really icy and I watched Grant miss the edge of the house by inches but still manage to run into the hose at about 25 mph, shattering the watering can that was innocently lying (laying?) in his path.

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There has been a date night.  Grant and I braved the roads and went to a Mother/Son dance.  There was dancing, of course, games, prizes, and a paper airplane flying contest...which Grant won!  That was the highlight for Grant.  He will tell you his winning strategy in great detail if you ask...or look like you might ask.  My favorite part of the evening was when Grant broke out of the uncomfortable-to-be-at-a-dance-with-other-people stage and really started cutting up the floor.  He is an AWESOME dancer with all kinds of cool footwork.  I died a million ecstatic mom-deaths when he grabbed a hold of me and spun me around in the joy of the moment. 

dinner before...at burgerville.  grant's choice.

the mighty wingman.  with his plane and prize!

- - - 

There has been playing in a [clean, unused] garbage can.

What, you don't do this?

questions

No personal history questions this week...church was basically cancelled due to winter weather.  More time to work on the boatload of questions from last week!  

I do want to share a really cool opportunity that I stumbled upon the other day.  Strathmore (like Strathmore art papers) is hosting three different *FREE* online art workshops!  I am currently "enrolled" in the art journaling class.  It's self-paced so you can fit it in whenever.  There are vidoes to watch, discussions to read/participate in, and a photo sharing page for displaying finished products.  Very, very cool!

Here's the site:  http://www.strathmoreartiststudio.com/

one moment

"...The biggest mistake I made is the one that most of us make while [parenting]. I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of the three of them, sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages 6, 4 and 1. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less."  Anna Quindlen 

 

#23 - write my personal history

Last week I mentioned writing on this blog as one of my goals for 2012.  I have another goal, 33 more goals, actually.  This year I decided to revive my not-every-year tradition of creating a list on my birthday of things to do before my next birthday.  I turned 34 this year so I am now working on 34 things before I turn 35.  I don't know if I'll share the whole list here but certainly some of it.  So, #23.  Write my personal history.  This was inspired by someone at our church who is providing a short list of questions each week that, when answered over the course of the year, will create a pretty thorough autobiography.  I am excited for this directed opportunity to write down some memories and hopefully create a document that will be of interest to my children someday.  It is also proving to be a bit cathartic as I write through some experiences from my childhood.  There is nothing quite like forming complete and coherent sentences in black and white that forces you to process thoughts and feelings - both the good and the not-so-good.

Are you interested in doing the same?  Have you ever felt compelled to write down some memories but just haven't?  Writing prompts are such a great way to get moving and get the stories flowing.  In the interest of sharing the love, I plan on posting the questions here as I receive them each week. Are you game?

Here it goes...

:: Tell about the day you were born.  How much did you weigh?  How did you get your name?

:: What are your parent's and sibling's names and birthdates?

:: Tell about your childhood friends and pets.  What did you like to do together?

:: Where did you live as a child?  Did you move a lot?

:: Did you have a favorite toy?  What was its name?  What games did you play as a child?

:: Do you have any other childhood memories?

:: Tell about the house or houses you lived in as a child.

:: What chores did you do for your family?  Which was your favorite?

:: Describe your childhood home's yard.

:: Do you remember any of your neighbors growing up?

(note: these are three weeks worth.  Usually there will only be 2-4 questions.  easy peasy lemon squeezy.)

here we are

One of the goals I set for 2012 was to write at least one blog entry per week.  It's already the 9th and this is the first post of the year...I can only improve from here!  Especially since I seem to remember making the same goal last year and seriously failing.  It's a new year with new delusions.

We are settling into life with a newborn which, honestly, doesn't seem terribly different than life without one.  It's both chaotic and peaceful, depending on when you peek in.  Chaotic when we are trying to mobilize all personnel to get out the door at a particular time.  "Where are your shoes?  Wait, where are your PANTS?"  "Did you change Rita's diaper?"  "You have spit-up down your back."  "If you don't have those Legos put away in 30 seconds they are mine."  And so on.  Peaceful moments are more rare but do come here and there.  They usually happen within the activity of the day.  It's a moment spent reading a book in the middle of folding laundry.  It's a gummy smile from a just-fed infant.  It's the magic moment when I realize all the children are asleep.  

Our days right now are busy but only within the family.  I've been pretty good about reducing my workload out the the house so I can really focus on doing essentials which consist of feeding and changing Rita, making meals and doing laundry.  I get the first two done consistently - everything else is a crapshoot.  We have stepped outside the walls of the house a few times for some fun and important things and here are some pictures to prove it.

:: school christmas program in which three of our four had parts:

...singing

 

...ringing

 

...and being holy.

 

:: Trip to the Oregon coast where we braved winter storms ::

"scary boots" help keep the rain away for a walk on the beach.

 

:: Grant's baptism ::

Grant's comment on the day - "This has been the best day of my life!"

 

:: Rita's blessing ::

Probably not the best moment of her life since it didn't involve eating but she was very calm nonetheless.

 

:: Pinewood Derby::

The silver car is Grant's.

I have determined that there are few things cuter than cub scouts in uniform.

After this flurry of activity there aren't too many big events in the coming weeks.  As fun as they are I find that I'm happiest right now at home where there's all the excitement I need.

a day of giving thanks

We had a most welcome guest at our Thanksgiving table this year!  Rita Grace joined our family at 4:18pm - just in time for pie!

Her birth was one of the best days of our life.  The day was slow and gentle and filled with friends, family and celebration.  I've been trying to assemble words in my head to describe the day but I fall so pitifully short with each attempt.  Here instead are a few pictures that try to capture the feel of the day.

 The day started with contractions at about 4am.  Pretty mild but enough to get me out of bed.  They continued to get a bit stronger with each hour so by 6am we were starting to make phone calls to all the players.  I was so nervous making those phone calls - it was Thanksgiving, after all, and I was asking people to leave their plans and families and spend the holiday with us...it better not be a false alarm!  Russell kept assuring me that the "train had left the station" and not to worry about it.  Still, it wasn't until I was ready to push that I was 100% convinced we were having a baby that day.

The angels started arriving around 8am - my friend Annelie came to whisk the kids off to breakfast, the midwives, Lori and Adria, came with their bags of supplies and Tuli, my lifeline to reality, came radiating her positive energy.  

I was feeling restless so Tuli and I headed outside for a walk while Russell made a big pot of his amazing oatmeal for those at home.

 It was a gorgeous fall day and we would stop every 5 or 10 minutes so we could enjoy the view while I swayed through a contraction.

The excitement of the day was escalating as phone calls from family and friends started coming in to wish us well.

The walk cured me of my wanderlust and when we got home I was ready to head for the tub.  

The tub, as a sidenote, was actually a 3 ft x 5 ft watering trough.  As I was getting it ready a couple weeks ago I couldn't help visualizing myself sitting in the tub and sharing the water with some thirsty goats.  That didn't end up happening but I do remember Rhett being asked to put the bath toys back in the regular tub...they weren't for playing with in Mommy's tub.

The day slowly, slowly progressed.  One contraction after the next.  I was aware of the quality of light changing the bedroom.  Starting out bright and then getting gentler and gentler as I was sinking deeper and deeper into the zone.  I have very few memories of this time - mainly just impressions.  The most significant awareness I had was of Tuli gently stroking my hand.  That was the tether that kept me grounded and still.

This image brings tears to my eyes.  I wish I could describe how profoundly comforting this simple act was.  We were truly on sacred ground that day.

And then...after 12 hours of labor, more time pushing than I can wrap my mind around, and some quick instructions for Russell on how to catch a baby, Rita Grace entered the world.

Time stopped.

And then the celebration began!  She was introduced to family and friends both in the room and beyond.  There was cheering and laughter and the deep giving of thanks.  

Over the next few hours there were lots of phone calls to be made, healing processes to start, and records to be taken and kept.  

Russell initially cut the cord but Grant got to make the final trim.  It was the greatest thing to have the kids be such a big part of welcoming their sister into the world.  They were in and out throughout labor and totally enchanted once Rita was here.

Especially Rhett!

As the day wound down and the helping women gracefully departed on their angel wings, Russell and I were left alone with our sleeping girl.  We watched with awe as her tiny chest moved up and down with each new breath.  Filling with the peace and love and gratitude that was overflowing from us.

 

 

 

what not to do with a baby

There have been a lot of conversations surrounding the new sibling (who is not here, by the way).  Grant has been going on walks with me lately - he's the perfect walking stick size when I put my hand on his shoulder.  While on these walks one of his favorite topics is how the baby is trying to crawl out of me.  I've started cutting him off after a few sentences because it's just too uncomfortable to listen to.

Anna and Rhett also have a favorite baby topic - "what not to do with a baby."  I think it started when we introduced the idea of where it's okay to touch the baby - basically the top of the head and the feet.  We explained that we don't want the baby to get sick or accidentally hurt.  This has slowly morphed into comments like Rhett was making this morning: "You should NEVER put the baby on the roof.  It would roll off.  And bonk its head.  And cry."  Or Anna's: "You should never put the baby in the middle of the road and leave it there all night.  It would get squashed by a truck."

REALLY?!?  The roof?  The road?  I honestly don't know what to say to that.

evidence

I realized the other day that I did not have any pregnancy pictures this go around.  None!  This poor kid is off to a lousy start in the baby book category.   

I shoved the camera in Russell's hand and we went outside before it got dark...here I am last week at 38 weeks.  

I have had two different strangers congratulate me on having a girl...what do you think?  Girl or boy?

I hope we'll find out soon.  Tonight would be good!  Or tomorrow.  That would also be fine.  Either one and I wouldn't complain.  At all.

mystery solved

Before coming home last night, Russell checked his e-mail and was surprised to see several on-line fruit orders hanging out in his in-box.  They had all come in within a few hours of each other.  By morning there were several more.  On-line sales are usually a slow trickle...what was up with the rush?

A quick check on the Oregonian website confirmed a suspicion that an article had been run about the cannery.  A reporter came out last week but Russell wasn't sure when, if ever, the article would run.  Turns out it hit the web last night and will likely be in today's paper.  We're grateful for the positive publicity!

Here's a link to the article, if you're so inclined to read it.

 - - - 

Update:  The article did indeed run in the paper...on the front page!  Above the fold!  Russell said there were a bunch of on-line orders and the phones have been ringing off the hook this morning!  Totally amazing.  Such a blessing!

 

 

a snapshot

This is one of my favorite photos from this summer.  Actually, it's one of the few shots of the summer but a favorite, none the less.  I'm sure Grant's dress-up days are numbered - his self-consciousness slowly increases with the ruthless passage of time.  So, in the meantime, I try to appreciate these snapshots of childhood.  I know the these moments are brief and lovely.

I also enjoy this picture for it's glimpse into life with three children.  Three is not a terribly large family, I know, but certainly outside the "one boy and one girl" scope.  It's surprising to me how many people question our decision to have more than two...especially now that it's very obvious that a fourth is on it's way.  I swear, if I had a dollar for every "you sure have your hands full!" comment I could buy our own private island where I'd never have to hear that comment again.  I've been asked several times if I know where babies come from and I've fielded countless well-intentioned questions implying that surely we must be done.  

The thing is, we love our kids.  The chaos and noise, while exhausting and overwhelming at times, is full of joy and...life.  Our kids get along (on most days) and seem to enjoy each other's company (most of the time).  This picture of our three kids on our front step, collaboratively dressed; laughing together is why my hands are indeed full.  Full of joy.  Full of hugs and caresses.  Full of crayons, pencils and pages of books. They are full of meals prepared and cleared.  They are full of soap and towels, of homework and erasers.  Full of laundry, oh the laundry.  They are full, so very full of love.

When I look at this picture I see the innocence and exhuberence of youth and then, with a deeper gaze, I catch a glimpse the future.  I can see my children grown with families of their own.  I see them coming back to us, filled with stories and memories.  I see us gathered around the Thanksgiving table, laughing.  I can hear the sounds of their children running through the rooms and it sounds rich and full and wonderful.  I am looking forward to the legacy of our four children.  We have strung our loom and are filling it color and pattern.  I can see that it is lovely now but how much more beautiful will it be with more fiber, more weavers?  It takes my breath away to consider it.

Do I know where babies come from?  Why, yes I do.  They come straight from God and I am grateful to be welcoming another bit of heaven right here, into our very own family.  My hands are full but but not too full for this new soul - this new weaver.