Chicken Pox

Abby and Ryan both came down with the chicken pox last Saturday, April 17th. They've both got it good and proper, and it's been an adventure taking care of them. God has been very gracious and allowed me to be healthy, patient, caring, loving, and cheerful through it all so far. The kids have been troopers and have tolerated it quite well, aside from the occasional itching fit and meltdown.

In addition to the chicken pox, Abby has a bad ear infection, and Ryan has been cutting teeth and has a very runny face and bad cough. He had an underarm temp of 101.5 on Tuesday night, so I took him to the doctor on Wednesday morning. The doctor said that his ears were clear, lungs sounded fine, and throat looked fine, so the congestion, runny nose, and fever are all related to the chicken pox.

The doctor seemed quite tickled to get to see a "real" chicken pox case again. He said he doesn't see them very often anymore (it had been about 5 years for him), since most kids get the vaccine nowadays. He even took pictures of Ryan's pox so he could show his nurses, since some of them have never seen a real-live case before. Amazing, huh? I'm glad I could give the doctor this "exciting" experience of seeing my poor, afflicted kids. :)

I took a picture of my "medicine cabinet", which happens to be the end table by our favorite chair. We've spent a lot of time in this chair in the past week!

Randy and Abby "playing" chess on Monday night. Abby likes to steal all the horses (knights) during her moves. Randy is a good sport to even try to show/teach her the game at her age. They had fun together at least.

Here is what Abby's back looked like on Tuesday:


The kids were playing nicely together on Tuesday, so I was able to get some photos (finally!)


Abby telling Ryan to look at the camera ("Wyan, kook!")


Abby's face on Tuesday:


Ryan's tummy on Sunday. Both look a whole lot worse now!


I chose not to get the kids vaccinated against chicken pox, figuring that it is a normal rite of passage for all children, and that my kids should/would be tough enough to experience it the "real way". It hasn't been a fun week for sure, but it will be over soon and this part of childhood will be beyond them (and us!) for good. Not sure if I'll get the vaccination for the new baby. Now that I know what it's like, it'll be hard to choose to go through it again, although next time there would only be one child with the pox, not two little ones like this time. It's definitely not for the faint of heart, but God has been faithful through it all, just as He promises. And we've appreciated the support of our family and friends through this time (albeit from afar, since noone wants our germs).

Abby is Three!

Abby's birthday celebration has been spread out over several weeks this year, mostly because Ryan and I left town and went to Kansas during her and Randy's birthday week.

We started the celebration by going to Red Robin at the end of February. Randy had received his free meal coupon, and so we went there for dinner on a Friday night. Our kind waitress gave both Randy and Abby complimentary ice cream sundaes, and the RR employees sang Happy Birthday to them.


Randy and Abby standing as they are sung to.





Randy and Abby also went out for special birthday meals while Ryan and I were away.

Then this past Sunday, March 14th, we had a simple birthday party for Abby after church. I made a cake and brought ice cream, and we all sang Happy Birthday to her (she was shy and hid in Mommy's shoulder during the singing). Her birthday guests included G&G Small, U. Doug, A. Annette, and cousins Alyssa, Annika, and Annaliese, surrogate grandparents Gary and Mary Jennings, and of course Daddy, Mommy, and brother Ryan. Abby got to open some presents at this party. The silly girl did the same trick she did at Christmas when she was opening presents! She opened the first one, was very happy with it, so she showed it around and then was ready to settle in and be done opening presents. We had to convince her that she had MORE presents to open!



Cousins Annika and Alyssa on hand to help Abby open presents and celebrate.


Abby laying in Daddy's bed with her dollies and special blankie. This is a tradition that Daddy started with her. She doesn't last long, but the event always ends with lots of "Goodnight Sweetheart" and "I love you!" and kisses. They both love the ritual!


The next morning, we discovered that Abby had gotten out of bed sometime during the night and found her bag of treasures and brought it to bed with her. The funny thing is, she dumped her pillows on the floor to make room for the bag! (see the 2nd picture for the full effect). Silly girl!



Abby received lots of nice cards, money, and presents for her birthday, but the best present of all (in Mommy and Daddy's opinion) came from God Himself! Tonight we discovered that SHE'S GETTING ANOTHER TOOTH!!! One of the front incisor teeth (just to the left of her front center teeth) is coming in!!! Once this tooth is in, she will only be missing one tooth. Only God can do something like that! As I prayed with Abby tonight, I thanked God for the tooth and thanked Him for caring about little things like sparrows, the hairs on our head, and teeth.

We serve such a loving and awesome God!!!

Ryan Goes to Kansas!

Ryan and I flew to Kansas for a few days to allow my parents to meet their new grandson and to help them sort and pack some of their stuff in preparation for moving to Washington. It was a wonderful trip and I'm so glad we went! Most of my time was spent sorting and packing, and most of Ryan's time was spent getting loved on by Grandma and Grandpa, eating, playing, and sleeping.

Mom was able to borrow some toys for Ryan to play with while he was there. She got some really good ones! He loved them, especially this one! (Well, you wouldn't know it from this picture! :-) It had a big mirror under the dome for him to look at, and played really nice music and had a nice calming voice saying really sweet baby things. He also had an exersaucer (a must for him) and miscellaneous other toys. So when he wasn't being held by Grandma, he was playing (or sleeping under) these fun toys.




This was the first of many times that Grandma was able to rock the little man to sleep. They both loved it!!


Isn't he adorable???



The weather was really nice while we were there. It has been really cold in Kansas this winter, but we were blessed to be there during the first spring-like weather. Sadly, though, Ryan and I basically never went outside, except to shake out dust rags or take pictures. There was just too much to do inside. And besides, Ryan was happy inside, so why rock the boat?

Mom and I did go outside for a few minutes to take pictures of a beautiful sunset and to allow Ryan to meet a couple of the cats. Here he is on Grandma's lap checking out Smokey.


And here's the beautiful sunset we saw:


Shortly before we left home, Ryan started getting the hang of eating solids. When we got to Kansas, it became a MUST. He ate all the canned food I brought along for him, plus cereal and homemade pureed food that Grandma made for him. He's basically eating some solids with every meal (3x/day) now. He weighed 19 lbs 10 ozs the week before we left. I'm guessing he's at 20 lbs now. He sure loves to eat, and does a great job at it! Not much mess, and he opens his mouth very willingly (unless he doesn't like the food I'm feeding him).


On Sunday, my uncles (Mom's brothers) Gary and Wayne, Gary's wife Marva, my cousin Brent and his boys Brandon and Logan, Mom's cousin Linda and her husband Charles (who also happens to be their real estate agent), and Mom's cousin Brian came to our house to eat snacks, visit, and look over a bunch of stuff Mom had in the house from Grandma. We were trying to pass along some of these treasures to other family members so we didn't have to keep it all or sell it at a garage sale. There were things like letters from the 1930's and 1940's, old pictures, Grandma's china and silver serving set, glass serving trays and cups, some antique and family-made knick-knacks, blankets, pillows.... All sorts of stuff! Deep down we weren't sure that our guests would take any of it home with them, but when the night was over, 90% of it was gone! We were very happy to see it go to homes where it would be appreciated, and also glad that we won't have to deal with it any more.

Ryan was well loved by his Kansas family! First to hold him was cousin Brent...
\

Then it was cousin Brandon's turn...


And Uncle Gary and Aunt Marva got a turn too...


The menfolk gathered around the food and visited for a long time. L-R in this picture is Charles, Uncle Gary, Brian, and Dad.


Mom and her brother Gary (left) and twin brother Wayne (right) looking over some of Grandma's stuff. Linda is peeking over Mom's shoulder.


Mom and her brother Gary taking a close look at a picture.


Mom and Dad in their beautiful Kansas home. It will be hard to leave this gorgeous place they have developed, but God's hand has been very evident in every step of the way, and we are confident that Washington is where they belong during the next phase of their life. We will love having them here (in WA), and our kids (their grandkids) will benefit so much by having their grandparents nearby.


Ryan got his first shoulder ride from Grandma. He loved being up there and drooling in and pulling on her hair!


Grandpa finally got to hold Ryan on Sunday night. They both loved the experience!


Grandpa sang songs to Ryan, including "This Little Light of Mine".



More silly time and hugs and kisses for Grandma...




Our airplane rides were....well....and adventure. The trip to Kansas took way longer than originally planned. We missed our connection in Minneapolis, and ended up taking a detour to Memphis before arriving in Wichita. We arrived 5 hours later than we should have, but my luggage didn't arrive with us. Apparently it didn't get on the plane in Seattle, and wasn't due into Wichita for another 1-1/2 hours. We didn't want to wait around (it was 9:45pm already, and we didn't want to wait until 11:15), so made arrangements for the airlines to deliver it to my parents' house the next day. We didn't know what time the bag would be delivered, and my suitcase had my stockpile of diapers and formula, so we had to make an emergency stop at WalMart on the way home to get the essentials. Turns out that the bag was delivered at 3am in the morning (shocking!, but wonderful).

I had some great seatmates on the Seattle to Minneapolis flight. One was a retired OB doctor, and the other was a young man my age. The OB doctor had adopted 2 kids, and the young man and his wife hadn't been able to conceive their own bio kids yet and were considering adoption. It was great to be able to share some of Abby's and Ryan's stories, and for the guys to be able to hold Ryan. They both did great with him, and vice versa!

The trip back to WA went much smoother. We made our connections, and the flights departed on time and arrived early. I had another great seatmate on the Minneapolis to Seattle flight. She was a grandma and was just tickled pink to be able to hold and care for Ryan. She played with him, fed him his bottle, and changed his diaper. He wouldn't go to sleep for her, so I got to do that part. Once asleep, he slept on the empty seat between us for about 2 hours! Ryan didn't seem to have any problems with ascending or descending on the trip. I tried to feed him a bottle as we went up and down, but the timing didn't always work out, and it didn't seem to affect him either way.


Before leaving on this trip, I was concerned about my own stamina (being tired, having a sore back, getting a headache, etc.), and about Ryan's traveling mood. He's not quite as easy-going as Abby in that respect, and I really wasn't sure how he would respond to the long days, the airplanes, and the car rides. God was SO GOOD to us and answered all our prayers in these areas. I felt great traveling, even during the extremely long day as we went to Kansas, and Ryan never did have a screaming meltdown. Sure, he cried a little here and there, but overall he was very cheerful. We got lots of compliments about him being such a good little boy! Thank you Lord! You are so gracious to us!!

Randy and Abby had a great time together while Ryan and I were away! They went out to dinner to celebrate their birthdays (Randy's was on the 4th and Abby's was on the 7th), played games, went on walks, did yard work, hosted a church pizza and game night at our house, ate ice cream and popcorn, stayed up late, and basically enjoyed their time without Mommy and baby brother around. In fact, Abby is ready for us to go away again! (Randy isn't). Randy did a fantastic job of keeping the house cleaned up (he loved it!) and taking care of his little girl. All in all the time went very well for all of us, and we're thankful we were able to do it.

10th Anniversary Getaway

It's hard to believe that we've been married 10 years already! I used to hear other couples say they've been married 10 years and think "Wow! That's a long time!" It is, but for us it's gone very fast.

Lots has happened in those 10 years: New house (bought in June 2001), new wheels for both of us, Randy's transition into the ministry at our church and reducing his hours at Perry Pallet, my change in roles at Blythe and reduction of hours as we add kids to our home, wrestling with the inability to conceive our own bio kids, and then traveling the adoption road resulting in two fantastic gifts from God. And then there is our miracle baby girl who is due to arrive mid-June this year. Through it all, we have found God to be our most ever-present and faithful Guide and Friend, and we have grown in our relationship with each other and the Lord.

This 3-day getaway was a wonderful opportunity for us to reconnect and spend quality time with each other. Originally we planned to leave Ryan with my sister and take Abby along for the weekend, but our sister-in-law recommended that we try to do the weekend alone. It was kind of scary for both of us, because we weren't sure that we would enjoy being together by ourselves. Sure, we did it for 7 years before Abby came, but that was then. Thankfully, we found out that we DO still enjoy being together and we DO still love each other! We had a great time talking, going on outings, sitting in the hot tub, working on our projects, and just hanging out together. I particularly enjoyed getting up early in the morning and sitting in the lounge chair and working on my Bible study book (Beth Moore's Esther book). My back often hurts by the time morning comes, so it prompted me to get out of bed around 7am each day. I was able to open the shades and watch the rising sun shine on the Olympic mountains, and the boats and shipping vessels travel in and out of the inlet. The weather was gorgeous while we were there (clear and sunny every day!), so it was a very peaceful and beautiful time of day. I also enjoyed discussing a variety of things with Randy. We love talking to each other!

{Randy is not here to give his input on his favorite part of the weekend. I'll have to get that from him later and add it to this post.}

Abby and Ryan got to experience their first nights away from home. Abby stayed with our friends, the Peacock family. They say she did great, and was a good girl. They've raised 3 girls, so they are very familiar with the needs and habits of little girls. They also have a very laid back dog, whom Abby enjoyed very much. Abby was very wound up when Randy picked her up on Sunday afternoon! She was excited to see her Daddy and Mommy and to be home again.

Ryan stayed with my sister Laura and her family. He didn't fare quite as well, but he was alive when I picked him up and he recovered and was back to his normal self in a couple days. He decided to make sleeping and eating a challenge, and was therefore pretty "wigged out" - almost in a stupor - by the time I picked him up. He was well loved by his boy cousins and aunt and uncle, and did give them some smiles and giggles to make the time worthwhile for them, but they were ready to give him back. :)

Here are some pictures we took over the weekend:

The front porch of the cabin (the Bush Point Hideaway). We actually didn't sit out here during the weekend; it was just a little too chilly. But this gives you a flavor of the view we had.


The inside of the cabin:
Top left picture shows the living room and the view out the windows.
Top right picture shows our bedroom. Every time we go to a nice place we say we should take pictures BEFORE we mess it up! Well, we didn't this time either. The bed was very nicely made before we used it...
Bottom left picture is of us in the front room, looking toward the dining room table. I spent a fair bit of time at that table doing some scrapbooking, and Randy had his laptop set up and did a good amount of work and play on it.
Bottom right picture is looking at the living/dining room from the other direction, toward the front door.



Randy noticed this sunset on Friday night, and I grabbed my camera and got it on "film". The vertical streak above the Olympic mountains caught his eye, and the colors were really pretty too.


We took a little drive on Friday and found a spot where we could get closer to the water and look further up the inlet. It's hard to grasp the view in a single picture, but if you look closely you can see Mt. Rainier in the background, some of the Seattle skyscrapers to the right, and a ship coming up the lane. VERY neat view!


We took a hike on Wilbur Trail in South Whidbey State Park on Friday. It wasn't a long hike (.8 miles), which is good since neither of us is in great hiking shape. It was perfect for us! It's just a walk through the trees - kind of boring if you're looking for great views - but we found some small streams, interesting trees, and a woodpecker along the way. I took a movie of the woodpecker so we could show it to Abby. We got quite close to him, but he didn't seem to mind us being there.


Self-photo of us on our 10th anniversary!


These two trees were both leaning. The smaller one is hung up on the larger one. I'm sure they'll both fall down soon - not by Randy pushing on them (which is what he's doing in this picture).


My 23-1/2 week pregnancy picture.


We came across this little side trail that took us to this "Ancient Western Red Cedar Tree", which apparently is over 500 years old. If you click on the sign picture, you should be able to read the notes on it. It actually was quite a fascinating sight! Very hard to get in a single picture, but I tried! :)




And here is a sample of some of the neater looking boats we saw, with the Olympic Mountains as a backdrop. Beautiful!




As I close, I want to say THANK YOU to Randy for planning this whole getaway, to Mandi for telling us to do it alone, to the Peacocks for taking care of Abby, to Laura and Kevin and boys for taking care of Ryan, and to Alex and Sherilyn for taking care of our house and cat while we were gone. And Randy gets another big THANK YOU for being a wonderful husband, leader, father, and friend. I love you Honey!!! To God be the glory, great things HE has done!! (that was the theme of our wedding, and it is still true today).