1. Seeing all the little girls in their cute summer dresses.
2. Picking berries with my kids.
3. Being able to let the boys play outside virtually ALL DAY.
4. Fresh berries on vanilla ice-cream.
5. Family Camp.
6. Visiting Tri-Cities when it’s super hot and enjoying all of the air-conditioned houses with my parents or friends while the kids play outside.
7. Picnics and evenings at the park.
8. Babies staying cool in just a diaper.
9. Lush, vibrant flower gardens everywhere (just not at my house).
10. Outdoor church events where the kids have plenty of space to run and play while the adults visit or play games.

Can you believe that it’s the end of August already?

I suppose, if you want to quibble, that using milk rather than water ramps up the calories and decreases the heart-healthy benefits significantly, but I said I wasn’t doing it for health, didn’t I?

My sister-in-law is Hispanic, and, if you know me at all, you know that my family is very much your average mongrel mix of Northern European white folks, so the wedding was quite a cultural melting pot. The wedding ceremony was much the same as mine, with traditional vows and hymns, but the reception was a little different. The bride’s family hired a caterer who provided some of the best Mexican food I have ever had – it was soooo good. After the wedding, the floor was cleared for dancing, and THAT was when you saw the cultual amalgamation really swing into action, with a combination of Spanish pop/dance music, country tunes, the occasional Oldie, and some current American dance music. While there weren’t many songs my husband and I knew how to dance to (and he was roasting to death and uninterested in dancing anyway), it was lots of fun to watch, because there really were quite a few folks who actually knew how to do the Latin dances and did it with a lot of flare.  For the toasts, the names of all of the people who had helped with the wedding, either with time or money, as well as the wedding party were called to the front and stood in a line and served special wine (ice wine from Kiona – don’t know what it’s called) with which we toasted the bride and groom during the four toasts. It was all good!

So, here’s to the new couple, Sam and Valerie, and may their cultural union continue to produce pleasing results for the rest of their lives together!

Now I know the answers to all of those questions!

Turns out I DID have that baby. Turns out he had to be induced, though only half-way – they gave me progesterone to efface my cervix, and that started my natural labor, so I never needed an IV pitocin drip. Turns out I had plenty of time for an epidural, but that my actual labor (from when I started having real contractions 5 minutes apart) only took about 5 hours – during most of which time I lay in warm drowsy comfort waiting for the exciting part: pushing (which only lasted about 10 minutes – 4 pushes, max.)

Turns out little Phinehas is a medium baby: medium size, medium temperment, somewhere inbetween all of my other kids. He looks like Monica to me – somwhere between Judah and Ezra, with Judah’s smaller features, but Ezra’s coloring. More boyish than Monica, though, and with a larger nose. His two distinctives are that he only recently started trying to stand up, when I hold him upright on a surface (the other children all started that immediately), and that he will take a pacifier, which is a totally new arrangement for me! He sleeps a lot, like most newborns, but I’m having trouble getting his long stretch (4-5 hours) to take place at night when I’m sleeping. Unlike Monica and Ezra, it can take a long time to get him down for a nap, but like both of them, he nurses very quickly, when he’s hungry. And unlike my other kids, he seems quite capable of waiting a whole 3 hours between most meals, which is very nice for me! (I think the others were all more like 2 hours, which makes it difficult to get anything done!)

So now I know! Turns out I didn’t need to know the answers to all of my questions 5 weeks ago – God answered them all in His good time, and here we are today!

Best baby and me picture I can do for now...

Born May 29, 2010. 7 pounds 10 ounces, 20 inches long.

Yes, he’s a treasure, that boy, and I love him!

1. Free Play
2. Listened to kids game songs (ex: The Farmer in the Dell) while the four boys ran around in circles in the living room.
3. Played with Bubber
4. Kids played outside – they whacked off the heads of dandelions with sticks and imaginary games. 
5. Fed kids a snack.
6. Played outside more.
7. Fed kids lunch (sandwiches, fruit, juice,  and cookies)
8. Kids built fort in bunk beds
9. Kids got out construction paper, stickers, staples, glue, etc. and made crowns, books, etc.
10. Went to the park for the last hour (brought granola bars and water) and got home less than 10 minutes before their mom showed up to claim them.

All in all, it sent pretty slick, I thought. The house is still standing and I had the kids clean up the messes as they made  them, so it’s not even in shambles. And during that time I made 4 loves of bread and a double batch of granola and even got to lay down for 10 minutes or so. (thanks to the two older daughters!) So, all’s well that ends well – now to prepare for a big weekend!

Michael and I

“I ought to say,” explained Pooh as they walked down tot he shore of the island, “that it isn’t just an ordinary sort of boat. Sometimes it’s a Boat, and sometimes it’s more of an Accident. It all depends.” “Depends on what?” “Oh whether I’m on the top of it or underneath it.”

……………

“I don’t know how it is, Christopher Robin, but what with all this snow and one thing and another, not to mention icicles and such-like, it isn’t so Hot in my field about three o’clock in the morning as some people think it is.” [Eeyore]

……….

“When you wake up in the morning, Pooh,” Said Piglet at last, “what’s the first thing you say to yourself?” “What’s for breakfast?” said Pooh. “What do you say, Piglet?” “I say, I wonder what’s going to happen exciting today?” said Piglet. Pooh nodded thoughtfully. “It’s the same thing,” he said.