THE NEWS

The ultrasound this morning left us no doubt....we have a 4th son! He is healthy and perfect--what more could we ask for? Our cup runneth over...with BOYS!

It takes a little bit of bravery...

...to allow finger paint into the house.

He cares about the "little things"...

Just wanted to remind you all...Our Father hears every little whisper of a need that we have, and He cares about all our details. Having purged our home of everything baby last year (thought we were "done")...save one pair of maternity pants and one little box full of little clothes that made me cry at the thought of sending out....I was in need of maternity--everything. Money is very tight these days. I whispered a prayer and sent out an e-mail to two recently-pregnant friends. Here's the result:

What a huge blessing. At the same time, our eldest had grown out of just about everything he owned. I bought a couple things on sale for him for his birthday, and asked God to take care of the rest. He provided another generous friend, whose son had just grown out of Bobcat's size. She threw three huge garbage bags of Bobcat-sized clothes in our trunk one day. He is outfitted for the entire fall/winter/spring...not to mention that those will also be able to be handed down to at least two more boys. God provides...wonderful friends, and all the "little things".

????????????

What will it be? Who is this little person? Pink? (Hard to fathom in this household!) Blue? (Continuing trend.) The ultrasound date is SET--for a week from next Tuesday, the 26th. So people...what are your guesses? We can't wait to find out! Tony and I had the big "name talk" last week...the final names are chosen, and I must confess...I am both longing for another boy...and longing for a little girl. I'm glad God has both planned and chosen and is personally knitting this little one together. He knows who the perfect little person is for our family--the little one who we all need, and who needs us. Amazing.

Mission Accomplished!

Well, today is the tenth day, and I'm counting this a success...except for the fact that we haven't actually tried these babies yet. They look and smell how I remember them; however, so I'll just bask in the glow of potential success for awhile. Here are some more shots of the ordeal, along with the finished product! My little "helper"... The brew...
The apron... I only wear this for "important", nostalgic occasions. This apron was handed down to me from my Grandma Dorothy. My Grandpa bought it for her from a woman in France while he was serving during WWII. And last, but not least...SWEET PICKLES!

The Great Pickle Adventure

My Grandma Emma used to make some amazing, bright green, sweet pickles. As a little girl I would marvel at the rows of jars lining her cellar pantry, and take every opportunity to sample the goods. I can close my eyes and remember how warm it was in her kitchen as she worked on her canning, and how her kitchen smelled. Mostly missing her, but also her pickles, I decided to track down some pickling cucumbers at the farmer's market this summer. I got my grandma's hand-written "Crisp Dollar Pickles" recipe from my mom and I'm 5 days into the venture. These babies take a total of 10 days to create. I'll let you know about the final product, but here are a couple shots of the journey:

Eight Years Ago...

...we brought our first little guy home with us. Happy Birthday Wise Bobcat!

Confessions

I love homes, which in the summer time, are clean, fresh, neat and orderly. Having gone through the ritual of a spring cleaning, the windows are sparkling and furniture is polished. Unnecessary clutter has been disposed of, and surfaces are dust-free. Windows are open, and the fresh breezes of the season waft through the rooms. Seasonal decor is in place--crisp linens and vases of flowers tucked in various locations. The home is preserved in such a way throughout the summer months, as any resident children spend their hours outdoors, and toys lay still on shelving and in closets.

MY HOME IS NOT ONE OF THESE HOMES....except for the part about residents spending their hours outdoors. We live in the yard as much as possible, soaking up any bits of sun we're blessed to receive that day. We run, we walk, we play in the hose or kiddie pool. Resident children may or may not be clothed. We play with the dogs, birdwatch, bugwatch, garden and play in the dirt. We read, we sing, we practice violin outside on a rock. We run inside to grab a drink or some food....or when Mommy frantically notices the time and realized something needs to be done about supper. Dirt and grass clippings track in the house, and stay there for a disturbingly long time. It is difficult to see through the windows when the sun shines. When was the last time the bathroom was cleaned? I think there is a toilet somewhere in there underneath the mounds of swim trunks and dirt-encrusted clothing from yesterday (Sure...it was only from yesterday.) We do pause to clean up a hairball with a paper towel if the need arises. The rest of the cleaning supplies are....somewhere. Today I wiped the dust bunnies off the vacuum and went crazy. Morning sickness and first trimester fatigue beginning to wane, now is the time. As I was working away on the long-neglected stairs, Spunky leaned in and yelled above the din of the vacuum, "Do we have friends comin' up?" This of course, was his way of asking, "Do we have company coming over?" Of course. Why else would Mom be cleaning?! I had to laugh. It's all too true. So please, friends, stop by often. It's the only way anything will "get done" around here. And please be so kind as to not mention the sweat on my brow from my cleaning frenzy.

That's all for this edition of Confessions. Eaglet is yelling, "Mommy! I can't get out of the school room!" Seriously.

Way to go, Bobcat!

Green Belt??

Thursday afternoon, our little Tang Soo Do artist powered through a 2-hour martial arts testing to try for his green belt. Tang Soo Do testing is among the most stringent martial arts testing in the world. These guys and gals earn their ranks. We'll find out Tuesday if he earned the new rank, but whatever the result, we are SO proud of our big-little guy. He practiced hard and he performed his best. Best of all, he has a blast with this training. Check out that grin as he holds up his broken board!

Memorial Day Weekend....

Some friends generously invited us to go camping with them last weekend. We took their boat ten minutes or so up the river to a beautiful, peaceful sandbar. This is the first time we'd taken the boys camping, and we had a blast! It was cold though...Saturday you could see your breath, the wind was whippin' and the RAIN was pouring. Those 8 hours were not the highlight of the weekend, but we were amazed by the toughness of our boys, who did not complain even though I'm sure they were fairly miserable (as we all were). It was worth sticking it out though...just when we thought we couldn't take any more, the rain stopped, a gentle breeze came in and we were graced with an incredible double rainbow! It was so gorgeous, one guy even caught his foot on fire as he took in the majesty of it all. Enter the quote of the day: "Um, excuse me sir!! Um, your foot is on fire!" After quickly thanking our Wise Bobcat for being so polite, Matthew extinguished his boot.

Thanks for Supporting Us!

Just wanted to give an overdue "Thanks a milli0n" to those of you who so graciously supported the boys and I and HPC for the Walk for Life. Asking for financial support is definitely out of my comfort zone...but God used this to build our confidence and faith in Him. We were able to take in $295 to help new babies and their families in our Valley...just $5 shy of our goal of $300! The sun was shining and fun was had by all. The Center brought in over $23,000 that day. Awesome.

Coming Soon.....January 17, 2009!

Sooooo....the mystery of the last post is solved! Those are the roses (accompanied by Dove chocolates) my husband brought home to me the day we suspected our newest little blessing. Just wanted to have that confirmed before we shouted it out. So, that said, WE'RE HAVING A BABY! WE'RE HAVING A BABY!!

News to Come....

Birthday Party on The Butte

Today we spent a gloriously sunny, spring day with friends in the Alaska outdoors. Our friend Andrew turned the big 0-9. We celebrated with ice cream cones on top of The Butte!

We're Walking for Life!

The boys and I will be walking around a local track on Saturday, May 17 in order to raise money for HeartReach Pregnancy Center. This place is an incredibly positive attribute to our community. They do so much, but in a nutshell, they provide help and support to families and individuals facing unplanned pregnancies. I have volunteered for this organization in different capacities for about 3 years. The boys are very excited to join in helping this time! When I asked Bobcat what he liked about planning to walk for HeartReach, he stated, "Well, it will help the babies...and it would help a lady who is (thoughtful pause) pregnant." 'Nuf said. If any of you readers are interested in sponsoring us, we would surely appreciate it. Our goal is to raise $300. So far, we have $40. It's a stretch but we know it's possible! If you feel led to help in this way, please drop a post and I'll contact you...or you can just call us if you know our number. Thank you!

Care to join a spinning class?

Look Who's Taking Over...

Now that Spunky has joined the big boys in their bedroom downstairs, looks who has taken over the "baby room" and toddler bed!

Why We Love (?) Break-Up in Alaska

The picture definitely does not do justice to Spunky's experience today. This was taken about 2 minutes after arriving home from church. He gleefully ran out to the swingset. Next thing we knew, or heard, actually, was high-pitched screaming. I dutifully rescued my youngest from the pit of despair (mud). He was soaked from the first of three major splash-downs today. The third of which had us carrying him a 1/2 mile home nearly naked from the waist down! And the reason we LOVE break-up in Alaska??...it promises, in a deranged sort of way, warmth and green will be here in a flash.

"Happiness" According to Age 3

This is from Easter...but needs to be shared...even if it is (once again) a sideways video clip. Ok, Ok! I'll quit taking them with the camera angled!