More random updates...

The month is going waaaay too fast! Micah's fully entrenched in Nursing School now and working full-time as well. It's busy, and we squeeze in every moment we can with him.
We got the Zephan's full DHS file/medical records and were shocked at the extent we didn't know. Keeping in mind we DID know about the various cocaine, alcohol, pot, anti-psychotic overdoses during the pregnancy and also the severe beating she endured while carrying my son. I am IN AWE of God's protective hand over this child. I will also try harder to remember that the strong will I sometimes battle is the same strong will that refused to give up in-utero. He's my miracle.

Malachi impressed us all by earning his yellow belt!! He did great and it was so cool to watch him, the littlest in his class, work his ninja. He's got his Daddy's talent. And he's adorable.
As it's been getting cooler outside, I've been finding him and Furgus cuddled up. Those creatures are kindred spirits!

As the weather changes, we're also finding other creatures cuddled up in different (and slightly stupider) places:

We've also had a mass infiltration of Blue Birds. They're SO big and beautiful! And really noisy. The boys love to shred the heels of bread and scatter them out in the back yard. The wait is always worth it when the birds visit :)

Pumpkin Patch 2009

Here it is, Fall again, and the weather was beautiful for our annual trip to Bauman Farms. The last 4 years have been rainy, so we found ourselves over-dressed and having to strip off layers. This seemed like a milestone year for me for several reasons; Solomon & Malachi took their buddies and a flash light and conquered the Dark Maze. And when they say dark, they mean DARK. Hay bales make up a HUGE maze which is then enclosed, letting in no light. Most folks take 45 minutes to get through it. My eldests and their buds emerged on the other side, all smiles. Way to go, bigs! Also, this year Zephan wasn't in a sling or a front-pack. I had 4 walkers (runners?) to keep eyes on, but we're falling into a system and my littles are learning to stay close by. This is a good thing!
Zephan really liked the train ride and the apple cider donuts, but all the activity and people (120 from our homeschool group alone) sent him into several over-stimulation meltdowns/panic attacks. I ended up toting him a lot and making several trips back to the van to sit quietly with him for a few minutes at a time, which settled him fairly quickly. Then he was ready to go again. All in all, a very good day was had!
This was the cider room. A big ol' machine presses the apples until the juices flow and they put the fresh cider right on the shelves from there. It's SO good. Right, Malachi?
Then on to the animals. This place has everything cute and cuddly. And I managed to get pictures on this leg of the trip as Zephan was willing to get down and interact with the critters!





I wanted to covertly stash a bunch of these critters in the van, but you know how Micah is about illegal farm animals/more poop in the yard. Kill joy.
And then, of course, we had the huge castle built of hay bales, ginormous swings, obstacle courses and treats aplenty. Tomorrow they're going to lift a 500 pound pumpkin up into the air with a helicopter and drop it on a car. All proceeds donated for watching this event is going to The Make a Wish Foundation.
Cool, cool place.

Brothers: Can't Live with 'em, Can't live without 'em

They were quarreling quite a bit today and I had had enough. "Little boys! If you can't play nicely together and share, Mommy will separate you! Zephaniah Henry, go outside and play in the back yard. Levi Anthony, you go to the nursery and play in there."

10 minutes later:

Levi's looking longingly out into the back yard and Zephan's dragging a table across the yard and putting it under the nursery window in an attempt to break in from the outside.
Sigh.

This & That

Our school year is off and running! (Furgus likes to keep a careful eye on the students :)
I'm teaching 1st grade, Kindergarten and Pre-K this year with lots of field trips planned.
Micah's starting Nursing school in less than 2 weeks and we're enjoying as much time with him as we can as the next 2 years will be full time work AND full time school for him. I'm apprehensive about the amount of work he's taken on, but so proud of his attitude of faith and determination. Even financially, he's planned as well as possible and where he sees (sometimes very scary) gaps in incoming money and expenses, he says, "God's got it. We'll make it!" I'm so blessed to have that guy! Let's see. Updates:

Our little bird, now named Brighten, is growing into an insufferable pest due to all the attention she's received from the boys since her hatching. She'll be our tamest bird by far, although her mixed parentage has made her a bit of a mongrel.

I found Zephan a new shirt which I think fits him nicely as he moves his 2's in just a couple of weeks.

The Clubhouse is coming along nicely...it has a roof now! Micah's trying his hardest to get the door up and siding on it before school begins, but time is getting away from him with school preparations and working overtime.

I've had a few fun craft times with my boys, including beading their Converse, making breads and fun snacks, and doing this to the big boys' socks:

"Why?", you may ask? Because their Sensei spends 10 minutes each class correcting the boys on their right and left feet. I kept hearing, "...now, step forward with your left foot. No, Malachi, your OTHER left." So, I brainstormed and got out my tempera paint and alphabet sponges. Worked great! Sensei LOVED it!

And our first field trip of the year was at the beautiful Oregon Gardens for Homeschool Day. It was gorgeous.

I wish I could have taken more pics, but my little guys need both of my hands. They're such good little guys, but with so many ankle-bitters running around, it's easy to lose track of mine!
It was a great day of hiking, friends, and afterwords we went to House of Dragon, Solomon's favorite restaurant, and shared a couple of Sweet and Sour Chicken lunch specials. Zephaniah's fortune cookie said, "You deserve respect and you shall soon get it."
The kid already shows signs of being a future Mafia don, all he needs is encouragement from a stupid cookie.

Wedding

We went to a wedding yesterday and had a blast. It got me thinking how short of a time we really have to raise up and enjoy these little guys. We were sharing a table with a single dad who has 2 children who have just left the nest. He was saying that he had to put a boom box in his sons' room and play it continuously so as to distract his brain from the hole they left. How he absentmindedly makes meals for more than one and then realizes that it will only be him in the dining room. How his house is quiet as he comes through the door. He's having a difficult time.

This morning Micah and I woke up to boys laughing, little feet jumping on the couch, a baby pleading for his sippy of milk, a boy who needed help getting a bowl, another who had a dream he wanted to share with us. We hit the ground running (when they finally pry us loose) and get so busy that I forget they will spend the majority of their lives away from me. I'm going to approach today with joy and gratitude for my little guys. It's easy to do when they're THIS cute, though:

Thank you, Lord.

Busy, Busy, Busy...

So, if anybody even comes around here anymore (I've been so lazy about sitting down and posting since the weather has been so awesome!) Here are the end-of-summer-ish updates, in chronological order :)

It got to be REALLY hot for us Oregonians - 107 degrees! The sun chased us to the beach where we enjoyed time with Nana, overcast but warm conditions and just a perfect day in general. The waves were georgous, the boys played and then Nana treated us all to lunch at The Spouting Horn, right on the world's smallest bay. We watched the boats come in and ate bacon cheeseburgers until our hearts were content.

The kids are great and we're gearing up for another year of homeschool. All their curriculum came in the mail and supplies are bought. Levi will be starting Pre-School this year and I'm excited to see how quickly he picks things up!

On the Zephan front - the adoption still isn't finalized (I WOULD post that, no matter how nice the weather!) and his caseworker told us that there was a little legal issue they had to clear up but they didn't want to worry us as it's not a big deal. Hmmmmm. This beautiful pic was taken after he fell and broke his lip open. We e-mailed the worker to let her know what happened and she mentioned the amount of supervision he requires. We'reconsidering having him evaluated to see if he would be elligible for the next higher bracket of benefits, for kiddos who require more assistance. I think this guy would qualify, but I don't want it to bite us in the butt when we apply for a new little one. Will they think we have enough as it is and not place with us? I don't think so, but we need to think a bit more about it....

Let's see. What else. Oh, our pigeons didn't waste any time "getting to know" one another and produced these 2 lovely eggs. Of course, because they're fertile, this means that we don't have all females (duh). And, of course, we can't have this going on continually, but it's a cool life-cycles lesson for my boys and I was thrilled to get the 3 eldest out of bed last night so they could watch the babies hatch. Congrats, Moo & Mr. Grey!

Solomon tested and passed for his yellow belt! We're so proud!

I tried my hand at cornrowing Levi's hair, and I think I could become proficient at it. I missed the curls, though, and lamented the fact that it made him look older, so I soon took them out. He really liked them, though, so we'll maybe experiment some more.

Micah is building the boys a clubhouse! He's trying to get it all up before school starts...we'll see. They're already having fun with it! Micah was able to find cheap windows and even a skylight from a place that sells things that are still usable from tear-downs and slightly irregular building supplies. The clubhouse is the big topic of conversation around here and discussions are being had concerning exterior paint color, flooring options, and if we'll be able to find a small section of kitchen cabinets to install inside. They're happy as clams about it.

Well, soon school will start and we'll have more structure and with more structure will come more posts, but until then....I'm off to finish enjoying the sun!