Friday, May 23, 2008

Cranky day

Well, I think everyone here has had a cranky day. The kids didn't have school, and the weather was rainy and cold. The girls had tutoring this morning, which they enjoyed, but which also wore them out.

Joshua had a chiropractor's appointment, and we finally found out why his knees hurt him so often. He has flat feet. The chiropractor said he really should see an specialist to have insoles made for his feet. His shoes already wear differently, and his legs may be slightly different lengths. Yet another trip to the doctor with the kids. *sigh

Michael has had a tough week at work. His company laid off 10% of the workforce, and there are a lot of "clean up" things that Michael has had to do in conjunction with that. Also, since they laid off the other guy in the IT department, he has a lot more work to do. There has been a lot of tension in general, and we are still hoping that one of the job opportunities he is pursuing will come through soon.

I had a migraine last night, and am still not entirely back up to full strength. Adding to that the fun of keeping track of all the fertility things, and I have been pretty stressed out and cranky too.

So, the whole family has been cranky today. Hopefully tomorrow will be better!

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

An eventful evening

I took Joshua, Sarah and Kathleen to see The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe at the high school tonight. They really enjoyed it. The girls got a little overwhelmed during the fight scenes, but Mom and Mark were sitting behind us, so they each commandeered a grandparent lap.

Joshua and I read the book over the weekend, so he knew the story and it was fresh in his mind. He came home anxious to read the rest of the series. I am glad he is interested in stories that aren't computer games, so I will read them to him. :)

It was really nice to have the kids chattering all the way home about the play, and the story, and their favorite characters, instead of fighting over who has the better house on toontown.com

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Please vote

While I know that not everyone is an Oregon voter who will read this, I feel like I should remind everyone that it is election day here, and if you haven't voted yet, you should.

Sarah and I went out this morning and hung door signs to remind people to vote, and Kathleen and I are going to man the booth at Clackamas Community College for an hour this afternoon where people can turn their ballots in and then we get to take them to the county elections office. It isn't much, but Sarah sure enjoyed "helping people vote" and I think Kathleen will too. I want them to know that voting is important.

Monday, May 19, 2008

Joshua the Great

Joshua and I went to tour Mt. Pleasant today. He has been seeing a counselor who is helping to do some testing and evaluate Joshua. It seems that he has not only problems with attention and processing speed, but also with transitions and repetitive tendencies. (Prayers on his behalf are always appreciated.) So, we went to Mt. Pleasant so he could see their program, and then talk with his counselor about what his best option(s) might be.

He was really excited about Mt. Pleasant, and we spent part of hte tour in the library. Joshua was interested in all the books, but also in how much more light there is at Mt. Pleasant when compared to Jennings Lodge. (The lunch room and library are both in the basement at Jennings Lodge.) He was also impressed that they had a big computer lab and computers in each classroom.

While I have mixed memories of being a student at Mt. Pleasant, I think it is the right place for the kids to be. I am so proud of Joshua for being able to see the areas where he is struggling, and that he is willing to be part of finding ways to address those concerns.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

The garden is growing

Well, we have been working on the garden, and are finally starting to see it pay off. I think we might have some of our first lettuce in the next day or so, and the tomato and pepper plants are doing really well.

Michael, Joshua and Sarah planted green beans (bush variety) and peas the night I had to take Kathleen in to the ER to get the bark removed from her eye. So far, we have over 120 pea plants coming up, with more rows not yet up, and over 80 green bean plants currently above ground. I predict some major thinning in another week or two.















So far I have been very pleased with the garden. We had it written into our lease here that we could put in a raised garden, and with the help of the missionaries, and quite a few loads of manure, dirt and sand, it has turned out to be a great investment. The kids love to help plant and water it, and it gives us some great family things to do together. I have never had a garden that was big enough to grow more than one or two things, and while I dont' have a great green thumb, I am lucky that Michael does.

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Baby Bird Funeral

Sarah and Kathleen came to me and told me very solemnly that there was a baby bird in the back yard that had died. They wanted me to come help them try to save it. I told them that baby birds do die sometimes, and that we can't bring them back to life. They asked if they could give the baby bird a funeral and bury it.

So, I got a shovel, dug a hole in the garden in an area we haven't planted anything yet, and moved the baby bird's body to the hole. The girls helped me cover it up with dirt. I asked them if they wanted to say anything, and Kathleen said she wanted to sing it a song. She and Sarah then created an ode to this little bird. I wish I had thought ahead to record it. It was full of their simple wishes that the bird had lived, sorrow that it hadn't and a send of to Heavenly Father, where they knew this baby bird would be happy. The melody they made up was a haunting and beautiful. After they finished singing, Sarah said a prayer and asked Heavenly Father to take care of "their" baby bird until they came to heaven someday. She also asked for more baby birds to be born in their yard that wouldn't die so they could feed them when they got bigger.

Lazy Saturday Morning

I got to sleep in this morning!! The kids didn't come in to wake us up until 8:15 am, and sleeping in never felt so good. I got up, made breakfast (cereal, eggs and bacon) for the family, and then took a long hot shower. I even shaved my legs so I could wear shorts today.

Sarah and Kathleen went with me to the Farmer's Market in Oregon City. We bought cilantro, an herb mixture, carrots, asparagus, homemade soap, and lemonade. With all the hot weather we are having this weekend, there might even be strawberries next week. I love going to the Farmer's Market and getting things to use in next week's meals. We are using some of the carrots for the picnic today, and Kathleen is insisting that we have the asparagus bunch she picked out for dinner tomorrow.

I almost have everything ready to go for the picnic, and Michael and Josh should be back with all their hairs cut soon. I just have to hope that I can handle the cub scout fishing day with the heat we are supposed to be getting.

Friday, May 16, 2008

Do you believe that forks are evolved from spoons?

I do believe the forks are evolved from spoons, but only after a long evolutionary process, controlled by a loving and all-knowing creator, who enjoys tinkering with her favorite creations to find ways to improve them. Sometimes there is the need for a refining fire, or periods of intense changing of shape, but through it all, the essential structure of a spoon is there, even while it is being carefully shaped into the fork that the creator desires.

Musings on infertility

Well, most of you reading this know that Michael and I are trying to get pregnant. If you didn't before, you do now. lol While getting pregnant with Joshua wasn't easy (it took 5 years), the twins pregnancy was a nice surprise, because I didn't have to do any "trying." As soon as I stopped breastfeeding Joshua, I got pregnant. Since my body is older and the polycystic ovarian syndrome has been acting up more, this time around it has taken a lot more work.

So, since Michael and I got married, I have been on chlomid to try and make my cycles more regular. So far I have only had two "regular" cycles, and not for several months, so we are upping the dosage to see if that will work. It is the same medicine, but at this dosage there are a lot more side effects. They warned me about all of them, but I hadn't realized how big a difference this was going to be, since I had almost no side effects previously.

So, here is the whiny part. It is beautiful outside, the weather is hot, and I would love to be outside hiking or gardening, or anything to enjoy this, probably brief, round of beautiful weather. Since I am on the medicine though, I am much more sensitive to the sun, I burn easier, and I don't' sweat. So, I have spent most of the time inside my cave-like house. I even need sunglasses to be able to drive, which is unusual for me.

Sometimes I wonder if I will look back at this, holding a baby in my arms, and feel a sense of fulfillment because I was willing to do the things needed to bring ore children into the world. Or, will I look back at all the time I could have been spending with Joshua, Sarah and Kathleen, and wish I hadn't spent so much energy trying to create another child that never came. I guess that in the end, it will depend on the Lord's Will, and my willingness to recognize it when He shares it with me.

A beginning

Okay, I am not sure that I will actually use this blog much, but it seemed like a good place to be able to talk about some of the things going on in life, and to keep in touch with people who are not on the family website. I guess it will be telling to see how many posts there are in a month, and whether or not it sticks.