two months in Montana, part 2: the out of doors

"helping" the chickens under the fence

two months in Montana, part 1: family

I've seriously got to get these photos uploaded! Shoot fire - Rachel, Cam, Bennett, and David will be here in like 8 hours, and we're fixing to start a whole new bank of memories. So, with minimal commentary (unless I just can't help it), here we are with family over the last couple months.

When we arrived in late March, Rachel and Bennett were here from Portland to greet us, (along with those who live here, also of great importance). DOH. I started right off with commentary. Anyway, it was so cool of R&B to come, and it made our getting-out-of-Texas-and-into-the-northwest all the sweeter. No offense to Texas; you guys have some great turtles and frogs, and homemade salsa and tortillas. Rachel, having inherited a larger portion of the organization-focused DNA, already posted a lot of pics of our time together, so I will just grab a small selection from my camera.

Zoralee and Bennett - a clever People pairing by Rachel

We also had a precious 5 or 6 days with Papa before he headed to North Dakota.

one of my fave pictures of these two - both so gobble up-able (thanks, Heather!)




playing that chicken and pig game on Papa's fancy doodle phone 

ordinary life after the "extras" left - - -


reading Papa a story via Skype



helping Grandpa Larry "feed the forces"

(she still calls them that - we don't get it, but it sure is cute)

pitching hay

Other favorite activities with Grandpa Larry activities include wrestling, joking around at meals, reading, and gathering eggs from the chickens.

Grandma Rena is always up for a reading session, bless her heart.

Zoralee's latest thing is wanting Mom to read pages and pages of regular old novels aloud - like, adult mystery novels with complex plots and no pictures. Very peculiar.


She's pretty well infatuated with Grandma Rena, following her like a puppy all around the house. Sometimes when I enter the room, Z starts fussing, "Don't swipe me away from Grandma!" And she gets quite distraught if Grandpa ever leaves the house without giving her the option to go. It's funny that I don't have many photos of Grandpa Larry and Grandma Rena, but I guess that's the way it is when your daily lives are so entwined. I take more photos when we go in to visit Great-G & G, which we've gotten to do every few days since we've been here.

fiddle and tiny drum



fiddle and tiny fiddle



yet another toy from Grandpa Gene's endless collection of the silly and the strange



Great-Grandpa Gene is a wonder to watch around children. With boundless energy, he finds ways to delight and entertain them. He'll be standing there quietly for a few minutes, observing the child, then he'll disappear into a back room only to bring out some one-of-a-kind nic nac or wind-up false teeth or hat wig, just to see how they'll react. Or he'll suggest a "chore" they can help with, like carrying laundry. He always offers his classic healthy snacks too, Cheetos and gum drops among them. My mom says she remembers his brothers being the same way with kids - gentle, quiet, silly. Isn't that fascinating? How do you raise an entire family to be that way? I don't know, but now I'm reaping the benefits the second time around! 

blueberry art for Z by Grandpa Gene

painting a flower onto a rock

And of course, what good is performance without an audience? Great-Grandma Louise is usually the background person in photos, but that only points to her constant role of supporter, cheer-er, clapper, encourager - all of which she does with sincerity and joy, as though this is the first child she has ever heard singing their ABCs. And she's always good for some dollars to stash into Little Lamb's backpack.

Most of our time with Uncle Luke and Aunt Heather has been at their band's shows, for which I'll do another post. But this, feeding ducks at Woodland Park, was one of our outings together early on. Another was going to frozen yogurt and then the movie, Rio, Z's second-ever "thie-a-day-ter" [theatre] experience. She lasted for half of it, then zonked.


 

"Back away from the goose."

 



38.5 weeks

button over belly over boots



boots under belly under button

I am, as they say, full term with this pregnancy, ready to birth another member of the world! Any time I think much about this fact, I am once again shocked that a human's body can do this - produce another totally unique human with its own brain, personality, and set of preferences, all of which we'll have the joy of getting to know over the next half century, God-willing.

I've generally had more energy here in Montana than I did in Texas. Part of that is help with Zoralee, I'm certain, as well as cooler weather and less stress. But, some days are still pretty sluggish. I think of a t-shirt I saw on a woman in Anchorage a couple years ago; it said something like, "I'm pregnant. I'm up, and I'm showered. What more do you want?"

a few details:

• The baby has been head down for months, so we're good there. It has switched some between anterior and posterior (anterior being preferred, with the baby's back against my tummy). After I spent a great deal of time on hands and knees one week, it switched back to anterior, so I need to keep up the cow/cat stretching move. I also want to try this Rebozo sifting that both Marcy the Midwife and Cousin Autumn the Midwife told me about. Looks fun, right, having your belly jiggled with a scarf? I think I'll recruit a neighbor kid for that one, just to see their expression. There are some other neat things at the same website regarding baby positions during pregnancy and labor: www.spinningbabies.com. And Friend Shana the Nurse Practitioner reminds me against reclining positions, which I am SO guilty of this pregnancy, even during sleep (rather than side-lying). 
• The baby's heart rate has been great throughout - lots of variation based on external stimulation - and has been lower lately, more in typical boy range than girl, so ??
• I've had some extra menstrual-type cramping over the past month, which we weren't necessarily worried about, but because we didn't want an early labor, Marcy had me start on an herbal tincture called Lobelia, as well as drinking catnip and chamomile teas. Can you believe those cramps went right away? I think that's insanely cool! Jason and I like to joke about the magical potions and brews midwives seem to know about, and whether or not we should keep a frog's toenail on hand in case it needs to be added in to the mix.
• My blood pressure has been great this time around, which is fun. With Zoralee it was higher in the last few weeks, and I was mildly on bed rest - real annoying.
• I was GBS positive at 37 weeks, which I was disappointed about, as I had being doing some dietary things to change it. But alas. So I'm doing the Hibiclens routine, taking extra Vitamin C, and we're prepared for extra measures during labor itself. This is to avoid antibiotics during labor, which is totally my choice. My midwife could administer an IV, but antibiotics have always reeked havoc on my natural flora, and I've been reading about the range of potential side effects on baby (like compromising its immunity against other bugs), so we're going with these options and will of course keep a close eye on him or her in the first few days. A water birth should help too, as it instantly rinses off the little tyke's mouth.
• Jason arrives Friday evening, so I'd be all about a birth any time after that, to optimize his time off. Anybody is welcome to put in an order to that effect with the Good Lord.

first "real" hair cut

you mothers

Happy Mother's Day (+ 6 days) to mothers everywhere!



Kezia and Jasper

This Mother's Day, I have especially been pondering the other mothers I'm connected with via the blogosphere or other online forums. I have learned so much about mothering from all of you, and I've been challenged, surprised, relieved, weirded out, awed, and encouraged to to do the best job that I can do. Thank you each for taking the time to post about poopy pants and the crazy things your kids say to strangers, what you do right, what you do wrong, and the heights and angst of this wild ride called motherhood. It has truly been joyful to follow along with you through conversations and debates about everything from spanking to nutrition to television watching to laundry. Yes, we've laughed, we've cried, we've bought the onesie. Same goes for in-person friends and family, naturally (!!), and many of you online friends who aren't mothers but are wise and insightful nonetheless.

From the bottom of my heart, thanks for engaging with me in this way! Happy Mother's Day and beyond. xoo

*   *   *   *   *

Every time I sit down to catch up on blogs, I get to read something awesome about motherhood; these two recent posts by friends are examples.

Here, Shelsea tells about paying her kids 10 cents a branch to help haul sticks and branches to the burn pile. The short of the story is this (but you'll have to read her post for pics): Luke, older by a couple years and wanting to collect the most money, kept whizzing past Daphne, leaving her to fall behind and to become more and more miserable in the inclement weather. Suggesting Luke encourage Daphne instead of compete with her wasn't working, so Shelsea offered to pay him for his encouragement. He then stayed right with Daphne, "telling her she was a big girl, and a good worker," and Daphne perked up and enjoyed the experience. Shelsea says Luke has continued this attitude with his sister now, totally outside of pay. Is that cuter than cute?! 

And here, Christi shows in photographs a night when two of her three boys just weren't connecting with the concept of bed time. Too tired to fight, she resigned herself to sit back and capture on film their moods and expressions. It's a great series of shots, and she concludes with the tear-jerking reminder, "I am thinking that someday after they all leave to create a life of their own and the house is too quiet, 8:00 at night will be one of the loneliest times of the day." 

*   *   *   *   *

Then there was this article called, "The Weirdest Mothering Tricks In the Animal World" on msn.com just before Mother's Day. It might be gag material for some of you, especially the part about mother Stegodyphus spider rolling over and letting her babies kill her with their venom and eat her flesh. Then they eat one another until, I dunno, they decide there's a small enough number left to survive and thrive.

*   *   *   *   *

And I sign off with this image. Sure, this mother's attire suggests she's strolling as opposed to jogging, but I'm gonna go ahead and call this a 90+ year old DOUBLE JOGGER. Such gadgetry has been possible ever since the invention of the wheel, but I was floored when I saw this a couple weeks ago at a memorial service. I don't know - I was struck by the repetition and similarities of motherhood through the ages.




our mother's day 2011

four generations: Heather (sis-in-law), Rena (mom), Zoralee, Grandma Louise, and me

 

a few more exerpts from Celtic Daily Prayer

I've got to get Celtic Daily Prayer back to the library (so far, less than a buck in late fines, so pshhh), but I want to write down some of the excerpts from the daily readings section. The themes of the mid-to-late April readings were suffering and seasons, and how to best approach such. I am certainly familiar with seasons, less so with deep suffering, but these seized my attention because of family and friends who are familiar with both. I find comfort in the thought that when we pray prayers or read psalms that don't seem to apply to us right then, we become more in tune with the rest of the world, knowing that others are facing what we're not, and hoping that our faith can help carry them.

April 14
"What kind of Christian can best endure suffering? That Christian doesn't exist. I could handle your problems easily. You could handle mine with a yawn. But it didn't happen that way. I got the ones I couldn't handle; so did you."
accompanying Scriptures: Psalm 44:17-26, Isaiah 54:11, John 21:17-22

April 15
"Many a Christian worker has raised up a work that perhaps was worth to be called 'church life' or 'body life'. Once built, problems developed. He fought tooth, tong and nail to preserve his work. Why? I wonder. Why fight to preserve it? It will stand if it is Christ. If part of it stands, and that part is really Christ, then having nothing but that little part surviving is far better than a large work that has to be held together by reason, logic, theology, fear, accusation, doctrine or whatever. In my judgement, the worker might seriously consider stepping back, even out - dying to his work, letting the fire fall on that work and seeing just how much of it can survive."
accompanying Scriptures: Psalm 141:1-10, 2 Samuel 15:10-14, Acts 14:1-7

April 24
"What can you do, in your hour of hurting, that might please your Lord? My guarded answer is: very little. You can rejoice. That's one possibility. You can yield to Him. With joy you can offer up to Him the situation and say, 'Lord, I know this is from Your hand.' But the chances are you are not going to get anywhere near that. So what can you do in the midst of adversity? You can kneel; you can weep, and weep, and weep. This you can do. There is one thing you must not do. Complain if you must, groan if you must, and get angry if you must. But oh, dear brother, stay far distant from bitterness, and from blaming others. Do that and you are dangerously close to forfeiting all future spiritual growth."
accompanying Scriptures: Psalm 102:1-4, 2 Samuel 12:16-23, Hebrews 11:14-15

April 28
"The Lord did not complete His suffering. It has been given to the church to complete the sufferings of Christ. Suffering not yet filled up waits out there for you...each one of us - because we are in some mysterious way one with Him - will taste some part of His experience of suffering. One within your fellowship may know ridicule. Another will partake of physical pain, another will know rejection, perhaps someone else may taste what it means to be vilified and verbally, socially crucified. And perhaps, just perhaps, there will be one within your fellowship who will touch that awful thing which Christ touched in that last moment on the cross: the dark night of the spirit. There is one aspect of the cross that none of us will ever know - praise God! We will never know what it means to be the sin-bearer."
accompanying Scriptures: Psalm 22:1-8, Isaiah 53:6-7, Matthew 5:11-12

*   *   *   *   *

These were written by various anonymous members of the Northumbria Community, which is a "geographically dispersed Community, scattered all over Britain and beyond...journeying, alone and together, seeking and exploring a new monasticism." (as stated in the book's Introduction)

hm....okay, mono-winning

On the house for purchase, they counter-offered our offer this morning, and we decided to decline. That means we'll be in the rental indefinitely. We were at first disappointed, but since we're not in a desperate situation any more, we've thought of all kinds of reasons to be very happy about the rental. Staying mobile and flexible right now is a good idea, and we'll be getting essentially the same life style we would've in the other house but without the commitment. It's much better financially, at least in the short run, and we'll be able to use our money on other priorities - like traveling away on vacation. And, we'll only have one move with a new baby; that's worth something! There's less indoor space, it's lacking the sweet out buildings that are set up and ready for chickens, horses, and goats, and we won't have the freedom we would've with home ownership, as far as remodeling or home improvements. But, those things will probably come by and by.

(My) first priority for Jason, after he finishes the projects to pay for rent, is to build us a portable outdoor wood-fired sauna! Woooooo-hoooooo! I don't know what free time I'm expecting him to use for all of this, with a toddler and a new baby I'll surely need to hand off sometimes, but practical concerns needn't get in the way of good old dreaming. Right now all I'm seeing is a naked little family sweating out their toxins and stress in a hot sauna while the cold north winds blow outside.

Anyway, this farm house is a dandy little place. Why, here's a picture of the brook running by.

bi-winning

Quick little update on our housing situation, which seems to have taken a sudden turn for the yippee-ai-oh! I mentioned last week a place we were second in line for. Long story short, we've put in an offer and should know by tomorrow evening whether it's a go. Meanwhile, because we wouldn't be able to move in until August, Jason also happened across a sweet rental that he was able to start moving in to the next day after finding it, with no lease. It's a real laid back situation, just the kind we like, and the owners are excited about Jason doing some remodeling and property projects in lieu of rent. Hello! If the purchase of Place #1 doesn't go through, we can rent Place # 2 indefinitely.

Both are farm houses in or near the hill country, with open acreage all around, which is what we've been looking and hoping for. By "hill country," if you are from the northwest, you'd do best to imagine "slight alterations in the flat terrain." ha ha. No, they are actual hills that would leave you out of breath if you walked up them quickly. They have trees and a jillion little lakes and bird varieties, plus plentiful deer, moose, and elk, hard as that is to believe about North Dakota!

We will be happy with either option and are really grateful things are panning out. I think of the old saying, "Families that live in houses together stay together!" or something like that. I hadn't realized how much the lack of a house to go to was weighing on me, but when these options opened up within a day or two of each other, I was surprised by my relief. When I think of standing at a sink doing dishes or of lying outside on the grass with the baby or of making a little quiet place for Zoralee to read her books, it just helps to have actual mental footage, you know? My friend Elisha had a good point: my body is in prime nesting mode, so it was a particularly awkward time to not be able to envision our future environment.

Pics will be posted when we know for sure whassup, oh yes they will!

a leetle song from my love

Jason made a song. How can I not tell you people about it? It centers around an idea we speak of frequently - being each other's home. He is a good man, my husband, and I miss him so much. Thank you, J, for this gift.