Seaside 2007

OK! Here are some Seaside pics. We went to Seaside for 5 days, came home, reloaded the van and left for Wisconsin. Thus the unusually long time in between posts. Anywho, the time at the beach was so relaxing and we got plenty of time with Nana, Uncle Shawn, Auntie Julie, Uncle Chad and baby Brielle. We also got to spend a special birthday with Aunt Ruby and saw relatives we hadn't seen for a long while.

Swimming Kai

The Seaside Aquarium.

They liked the touch tanks.

Nana & the boys!

This was the beautiful pool. It was right outside our deck.

Silly guy!

Tillamook Cheese Factory:

"Mooooooo!"

"Watching the guys make cheese..."

Solomon flying his kite. He got it pretty darn high!

We're Here!

So, here we are in beautiful New Richmond, Wisconsin! We arrived tired but safe and sound. I forgot the cord that lets us transfer photos onto the computer, so I just downloaded some pics from Mount Olympus Theme & Water Park's website until we can track down a cord. We're heading over to Mt. Olympus the 26th-28th of this month after we hit the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum in Pepin.
In the mean time we're having good and relaxing time with Micah's side of the family. We came over with Gramps and Gram and are staying with Micah's brother, Donovan and his wife, Vicky. We're also planning on a trip to the Mall of America. I guess it's the biggest mall in the US with a complete theme park inside. Should be cool. Then we'll fly back into town October 2nd. We're nearly done with all the house stuff and I'm excited to get back, finish it up and show y'all how it turned out!



PS - I wanted to shout out a big congratulations to Andee's sister, Alysun who just gave birth to her 2nd daughter, Mandy Rose! Emmaleigh is the proud big sister. Stop by Benton and Nathaniel's blog to see their new cousin!

1st Baseball Game!

So, we took the kids to Goga's GE work picnic which happened to be a Volcanoes game with all the food a person could stuff down the hatch. It was all the kids' first experience watching baseball and they (that is, the 2 who weren't sleeping) quite enjoyed themselves!

Here's the girls sleeping as they get gawked at. You know? Shopping trips take twice as long now. Folks see there's 3 of them (we put a thick blanket in the cart and bundle them pig-in-a-blanket style to do our shopping) and they issue me these puzzled/awed looks. My favorite responses/questions:

"Are the 3 of them twins?" ("Yes, indeed the 3 of them are twins.")

"Are they all girls?" (somehow this one only gets asked when I have them all in matching pink ruffly outfits with bows in their hair)

"Wow, triplets - were they all born at the same time?" (Uhhh, no. 3 minutes apart.)

"Wow! Triplets! That one looks different from the other 2 - does she have the same father?" (too much Maury, I reckon.)

As for the awesome threesome, well, we've had news that when we leave for vacation in 2 weeks they're going to transfer them back into the care of their mother. Now, let it be said that this placement may very well not "stick" and the girls may indeed come back to us. Mom wants a shot, though, and since she's meeting all her treatment goals and services, DHS wants to give her that opportunity. If she finds that triplets are too challenging to manage, they'll be placed back into our care and we'll be fast-tracking to adoption. We'll see. She may do great. Or she may find that 3 babies (although thoroughly cute and novel) are a great deal of work and the sleep-deprivation alone can push you to your knees. Folks keep worrying about how we're handling this news and I will tell you: We have a peace about this and none of the 4 of us have been stressing about the situation. It's a whole different ballgame than it was with Rayna. We've thoroughly enjoyed having the girls, but the peace we have about the situation is total. I may worry a bit when we're out-of-state about how Mom is faring with them, but the caseworker promises to drop-in 5 times per week and continue drug-testing and checking their environment. If I'm their mother, they'll come back to me!

Please pray for birth-mom and for the girls - HIS will, not ours, be done in their lives!

Oh, and as to Remodeling Disaster 2007....a picture says a thousand words, but I only need one: "Augh."

Savannah, Secelia & Selena

OK! All 3 babies are home and doing great! #3 got off her feeding tube yesterday and was able to join her sisters at home. She's the smallest at 4 pounds but is feeding well. I'm hanging in there and even managing some sleep every now and again.

I'm so very proud of my boys, let me tell you. They are such a blessing to me and their up-beat attitude and willingness to help out amazes me. I was a bit worried how they would adjust to 3 newborns and a very busy Mama, but they've been happy and content boys and I'm so pleased with their attitude through all this remodeling and change.

Well, I'd better not stay on here too long, we have another doctor's appointment to get everyone ready for. The pediatrician is monitoring them unmercifully which is good for the girls but exhausting for the Mama. I'll try throw updates on here a couple of times a week!

Wow. Just.....wow.

So, in the midst of remodeling disaster 2007 we receive a call. It's our adoption caseworker. She poses a question. If we were offered a foster placement that may turn into an adoptive placement, would we accept? There would be no guarantees, but chances are that bio-mom won't be able to parent. If this were the case, the State would give us adoption rights. Oh, and they can't find anyone to take this case on.

Sooooo....long story short, tomorrow we're picking up our newborn triplets!! I met them today, fed and changed them, learned about their needs and rocked them. I'm hooked. And possibly crazy.


They are a gift straight from the Father and I'm so honored to be chosen for this role (please remind me of this fact in 2 months when I have ginormous bags under my eyes and my blog turns to mush because I can't put 2 coherent words together).


Is this a risk for us? Yes. Could we get hurt again? Yes, very much so. Does God have this totally under control? You betcha. So, beginning tonight I will refer to these little ones as our daughters. I will not segregate them from the family in words or in action by constantly putting a "foster" in front of my daughters. For now they have 2 mothers, Micah's their father, and Solomon & Malachi are their brothers.

Now, I'm off to enjoy my last night of sleep for a very long time.

PS - Names to be announced...

Let's Play "Good News, Bad News"!!

Good News: We decided to remedy the old ripped carpet situation in the front room/dining area!

Bad News: Oh. There's pre-1970's asbestos-laden linoleum underneath all this here. This has to come up. Good News: Well, we may as well pull it all up and put new flooring in the kitchen as well!
Bad News: Ooooo. Look there. There's dry-rot under the asbestos linoleum. Oh, no! It goes all up the casing to the sliding door!
Good News: We get a beautiful new sliding glass door!


Bad News: Remember that leak from the roof we fixed last summer? Well, it rotted out the kitchen cupboards - they're pulling away from the ceiling. These have to come out (Lexx and One are utterly perplexed as to the ginormous mess their humans seem to be making - on purpose, even!). Eeeew! Now look at the mold that was underneath them from the leak! Gross!
Good News: Cool! New Cabinetry! And Mommy's getting homeschooling cabinets along one wall, and below them, 2 built-in desks for the boys to do their school work (very good news, indeed)!


Bad News: Boy - all this work is really tearing up the paint/wallpaper.
Good News: Choosing a new kitchen color scheme is fun!


Bad News: Micah says, "It would cost a bit more money, but I'd really like a window in this blank wall....could you hand me that sledgehammer?"
Good news: Perfect for a breakfast nook table set!

We'll let you know when "Kitchen Remodeling Disaster 2007" has been wrapped up. Projected date of completion: March 2011.

A Rather Abrupt Ending to My Laughter...

Funny: Boys laughing at Lexx wearing Malachi's underpants.

Not so funny: 5 minutes later, "MOM! Lexx pooped his pants!!"

Blog Survey

OK, Andee, I sat and thought a long time about your survey and couldn't find anything I hadn't mentioned before on my blog, or that folks don't know about me. So. I noodled out a new Survey that I think will give a bit of insight into anyone who takes it. You may use references to TV, Movies, Music, Literature of any kind and Art for you edumacated types (please give credit where credit's due):

"If I could...."

Be any hero: Agent Aloysius Pendergast (from Preston & Child's suspense novels).
Mary any character: I'm already married to a character.
Parent any character: Ralph Wiggum. Hands down. (Simpsons)
Drive any vehicle: The Canyonaro (Simpsons).
Defeat any nemesis: Barney the Purple Dinosaur (Sorry, PBS).
Reside in any residence: Neverland, Baby! (Peter Pan).
Purchase any pet: Foghorn Leghorn (Classic Looney Tunes).
Live to any theme song: Lemonade (by Chris Rice).
Combat any villain: Count Olaf (A Series of Unfortunate Events 1-12).
Coin any catchphrase: "It's FINE!"
Encourage any underdog: Gotta be Neville Longbottom (Harry Potter).
Recruit any sidekick: Falcore (The Neverending Story).
Rescue any damsel: Princess Buttercup (The Princess Bride).
Avenge any Hero: Aslan (The Narnia series by CS Lewis)


I tag Julie, Andee, and Alysun - add more "if I could's" if you think of any!

A Room with a Veiw

For Malachi's 4th birthday we took him to "Sleeping with the Sharks" at the Oregon Coast Aquarium. It. Was. Awesome. The group was small, with just a few other families, and because it was a SHE event we were very comfortable with the folks staying with us. It was so neat to be there after they locked the doors to all the crowds and have the whole place to ourselves to explore. There was a late-night scavenger hunt that took us through all the exhibits and lots of the animals seemed more lively at night and were that much more fun to interact with. Then they fed us homemade pizza from the cafe'.

PS - I included the above pictures from Oregon Coast Aquarium's website because, although I got some pretty neat shots, my little camera couldn't do justice to the beauty of the tanks.

Say "Crab!"

Solomon hanging out at the tide pool table.

The birthday boy!


Mommy & Solly

The guys look' at some sardines.
Whoa. Spider Lobsters. Creepy.

One of the best perks was the one-on-one with the curators and keepers. They followed us around answering questions and telling funny stories about the critters. Like the Kindergarten class who came on a field trip to the touch tank only to watch in horror as Mr. Crab (usually very sedate and shy) snapped Mrs. Crab's head off with his pincher. Then proceed to eat it. Fabulous.


"Baaaad Squishy!"


Kai loved the tide pool touch tank.
All bedded down and ready to sleep. The shimmery specs are anchovies. When the lights are dimmed they sparkle and shine! It's difficult to make out with the flash on the camera, but sharks, skates and rays were all around us. It was just beautiful.

Tired boys...


"Whoa! "

In the morning after breakfast we got to go behind the scenes with the sea lions, otters and the oceanic aviary.

Then it was time to pack up our bedding and packs and stash it all in the car. What a good time we had!

The End

PS - Thanks to everyone who offered encouragement and well wishes upon the death of our little dog. We are now remembering with smiles instead of tears. We're also teaching Lexx to bark on command, continuing the legacy left to him by Jadis. In our house, Stupid will always say "Woof".