Shawn, Mars, Charlie ... and DREW!

Inequity

2012-01-20T13:54:00.000-08:00

Every time I watch the show "House Hunters", I get this sick feeling, deep in my stomach.

Don't get me wrong, I still watch the show. I enjoy looking at cool houses and comparing all the different designs, prices, options, layouts, etc. Yes, I'm "that person" who will get in the car and go on a drive for the single purpose of looking at cool houses and daydreaming about what they might look like inside. If the front curtain is open, I might slow down so I can sneak a peek into the warmth and beauty of the cozy interior. Yes, I'll even snatch a flyer if a house is for sale, just out of curiosity.

However, a few days ago, in an attempt to express where that "sick" feeling comes from, Shawn and I created the following video by clipping together 2 different shows:

The feeling?

Despair over the utter inequity of our world.

Longing to share whatever we possibly can.

Frustration in knowing that it will never be so simple to just "even things out" and share our wealth with the poorest of the poor.

Desire to never reach a place that is so "high" that we would take for granted all the "things" that we have. Or even, God forbid, complain about them.

Every morning, I wake up with a roof over my head to keep me warm from the cold, or cool from the heat. I not only have this home to shelter me, but this home has soft carpets. This home has a big, plush, cushiony couch to sit on. This home has a super comfy bed with 2 blankets and a nice warm down comforter. This home has clean, fresh, untainted water that I can enjoy, drink, bathe in or even waste whenever I feel like it. This home has things hanging on the walls to make it prettier: pictures, painting, art. Things that serve no purpose at all other than something nice to look at. This home has not only "just enough" food to keep me alive, but above and beyond that - I have extra food to eat when I'm bored, when I'm full but wanting a yummy dessert, or just craving something. And if that's not enough? There are 2 grocery stores, 15 restaurants, and 5 coffee shops filled with things I "need", less than ONE MILE from my house - easy walking distance. But I don't need to walk anywhere - why would I when I have my nice little car to drive around in?

I am not:

Digging through the garbage dump to find rotten food to eat for my next meal, or to try to find a scrap of something that might be sold for a few cents.

Watching my precious children run around with filthy, cut, bleeding bare feet because I can't buy them shoes.

Sending my infant child away to live a life of scavenging through the dump because it would be a "better" life than what I would have had to offer him myself.

I am also not taking my "things" for granted.

Misunderstood

2011-12-02T14:05:00.001-08:00

10 things I wish the world knew about our Charlie:

1. Just because Charlie doesn't look you in the eyes when you're talking to him doesn't mean he isn't listening. He hears and remembers every word you are saying, trust me.

2. Charlie is extremely funny, creative, loyal, loving, honest, and unique. You may never see this, though. He hides it very well when he is out in the "big bad world".

3. Charlie deals with so many obstacles on a daily basis: bright light hurts his eyes, loud noises hurt his ears, he can't stand to be cold or to have his head uncovered outside, he tires easily and doesn't have the endurance for sports-type games, he's extremely afraid of dogs and people in costumes, etc. Charlie is sensitive to so many things that most other people wouldn't even notice. He has worked so hard to overcome these obstacles. So hard.

4. Charlie is not simply "lazy", he has hypotonia (low muscle tone) - something he was born with. He tires easily and prefers more sedentary activities because of it. He has been in therapy for this.

5. Yes, Charlie may be clumsy, but this stems from issues with his gross motor skills. Therapy for this, too.

6. Charlie is not simply "picky", he has sensory issues that interfere with his eating. We are working on this, and have been for years. And, yep, more therapy.

7. Charlie is cherished and adored by his family and those who are close enough to get inside his little world. In turn, he is astoundingly loyal to his "people". Charlie's loyalty is one of his greatest and most poignant characteristics.

The way Charlie loves and protects his baby brother is like nothing I have ever seen.

8. Charlie does not understand a lot of the ways that people relate to each other and are "social" with each other. He is often oblivious to social cues and can appear very rude or uninterested. For this, I apologize. It is something we are constantly working on and one of my biggest fears for him is that he will never "get it". Be patient and persistent when you try to interact with him. Once you finally achieve that "connection", you are in and he will love you for life, I promise (see number 7!)

9. Charlie sees the world in such a unique way that every single day I am surprised, delighted, confused, frustrated, enlightened, sad, amused, and inspired by the words that come out of his mouth.

10. Charlie has Aspergers Syndrome.

I constantly find myself caught in this paradox between how completely amazing Charlie is and the need I feel to apologize for the way he is. I haven't known what to do with this. And mostly? I still don't.

All I really know is that Charlie needs to be loved in a unique way. A way that will fit into the grooves of who he is - grooves that follow very different paths and patterns from the world around him. If you take the time to step outside of "normal" and follow him down those paths and find him there and love him there, I promise you won't be disappointed. In fact, you might not want to leave.

Why wine tasting isn't for lightweights...

2011-11-04T14:25:00.000-07:00

Drew was working on the big "Homemade Wine Project" with Shawn.

Maybe the fumes got to him?

Milksharing

2011-10-03T20:13:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to write about this for a few days now. But I haven't been able to formulate the words to express my experience: how not only has it provided much needed nutrition and health for Drew, but how deeply it has impacted ME as a person to be blessed so abundantly by the generosity of complete strangers. I have been touched by it in such a deep, personal way that I felt like a "blog post" would never do justice to what has happened. However, I just have to try. So, here goes...

My breast milk supply is very, very low. This happened when Charlie was a baby, and has once again happened with Drew. Now, I had written a whole bunch about how sick Drew has gotten from the formula and how the formula that he was taking is made of mostly corn syrup and "isn't that horrible?" and how he is only healthy when he's on my breast milk which I can't provide him with and how hard I have tried to increase my supply and blah blah blah. But you know what? I deleted it.

Because what I really wanted to say is how incredibly thankful I am for what has happened. For the solution that basically fell into my lap on the very day that Drew was at his sickest, and I was at my most desperate to find a solution for him. For the incredible, amazing, giving, caring women that I have come into contact with over the past few days. So, here's how it went down:

A few days ago, I was reading my friend Rachel's blog. She was writing about something called "World Milksharing Week". Something I had never heard of before. Basically, these women who are nursing and have extra milk they don't need find other women who have babies and, for one reason or another, can't provide enough (or any) of their own breast milk for their babies and, well, they SHARE the milk! Brilliant! I never would have thought that such a thing existed! I was blown away. I immediately commented on Rachel's blog that man do I wish I knew someone who could share some milk with me!? Moments later, I get a text from her saying she can probably hook me up. I texted her back asking how much this whole thing's gonna cost (because I'm thinking this is gonna be spendy...) and she says, "It's free, silly!" What? Not only that, but she's got 50 oz of frozen breast milk in her freezer that she will give me for Drew to have while we try to track down more for him. What?! She also shared with me some links to pages on Facebook where I could find some "donor mommies" and also a website where I can pay a small donation fee and get on their forum to possibly find more milk donors. Which I did. Over the next few days, I came into contact with about 5 or 6 different women, all offering me their milk for Drew. One of whom is a surrogate mom (a beautiful thing all it's own), who is pumping milk for the baby she gave birth to in August, and has extra to share. What an amazing person. Not only did she sacrifice her body, her comfort, her lifestyle, for this little baby, but now she is pumping milk for a full year to provide for him! Wow. She has since contacted me to tell me that as long as I need more milk for Drew, she will share hers with me. Wow. Wow. Wow. I am so struck by this. We now have about 500 ounces of breast milk, from 4 different women, in our freezer to feed our precious little guy.

Drew is feeling SO much better since switching to 100 percent breast milk. He is like a different baby now. Happy, lots of cooing and babbling, sleeping through the night, the diaper rash is gone, along with the puking and the nasty diarrhea! And for that I am beyond grateful. I feel like I want so bad to repay these women. But how do you repay someone for selflessly giving your baby (whom they have never even met!) the very best start in life?

Here is a link to a post that Rachel wrote about our experience.

I really wanted to write more, and I wanted to write it better. But I really need to go to bed before the little tiger wakes up again wanting some of that good milk! So I'm just gonna hit "post" and hope I got the important parts out right. 'Night all. :)

I love finding things like this around the house!

2011-10-03T20:10:00.000-07:00

I guess he couldn't find the "R" or the "I".

Cheap Entertainment

2011-09-24T09:00:00.000-07:00

For Drew:

And a little something for mommy, too!

An evening at the Mommy Spa!

2011-09-12T09:10:00.001-07:00

It was last night.

It was 4:30 AM.

And I got the "Triple P Package".

We start off with a little Puke, just a little, we like to ease in. Just a tad on your shoulder. Then, a little down the front of your shirt - like a peaceful waterfall. Wipe it around, to rub it in a little. Don't bother changing the shirt, there will be more.

Then we move on to the second P. Poop. Yes, lots of that! As you are changing the diaper, this Poop gets kicked around, spread around, smeared around. Oops, a little on your pants? Well, that's part of the fun! Take a fresh wipe, smear it around, rub it in, and move on!

Diaper off? Okay, time to move on to the the third P. Yep, you guessed it! Pee! Wee!!! Let's just spray that Pee everywhere! All over mommy, all over the bed, the sheets, the comforter, the pillow, even down to the floor! This 3rd P is like a cleansing rinse from the first 2 P's. A warm shower, if you will.

After the refreshing Pee shower, we mustn't forget one final coating of Puke - kind of like a moisturizing lotion. A soothing end to your evening of relaxation. Just let it wash over you and sink down into your pores.

Ahhhhhhh. Your skin will never be the same. And the scent? Oh, heavenly.

It is amazing! I highly recommend it. If you'd like to join me - you are more than welcome. In fact, this spa is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for your convenience!

The best part, though? The very best part? The "for real" best part?

Is the reward at the end:

Makes it all worth it.

Drew Tucker

2011-09-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

Before you were conceived, I wanted you.

Before you were born, I loved you.

Before you were an hour old, I would die for you.

Thankful.

A picture is worth a thousand words.

2011-09-04T22:34:00.001-07:00

Here is Charlie's "picture" of how life has been around here these days:

Yes, Drew has had some fussy moments. We are surviving...but it just doesn't leave much time to blog!

But just look at him. He is so, so incredibly sweet. Yeah, I think I'll forgive him for his fussiness!

In other news, Charlie lost his first tooth! He was so excited, and proud of himself. I don't know who was more proud - him or me? Man, I love that boy.

My amazing, talented friend, Stephanie, came out a couple weeks ago and took some beautiful pics for us.

I love them all, so much. I just can't pick a favorite! But here are a few goodies.

Charlie's first day of Kindergarten is on Thursday. Yikes! I don't even know what to think about that. I do know that I will likely be a mess after I drop him off...and may end up circling that school building like a mama bear for the entire 3 hours and 15 minutes of his first day!

How do you let go? I know, it's only Kindergarten, but he's still my baby! Everyone says they grow up fast, and it is so true. They grow up TOO fast. Sigh.

Drew Video

2011-08-09T20:24:00.000-07:00

I made a little video of Drew's first couple weeks on our new Mac. It's the first time I've used iMovie, so it's a little choppy - but I had fun!

Hope you enjoy! :)

Food Art

2011-08-03T10:48:00.001-07:00

One of the nights while we were still in the hospital with Drew, Shawn brought Charlie home to spend the evening with him and tuck him into bed. On the drive to our house from the hospital, Shawn asked Charlie what he would like to do for the evening.

Charlie's plan: make french toast for dinner, make some "Food Art", and then of course a nice long story before getting tucked into bed. :)

Shawn decided to capture some of the moments on the iTouch to share with me when he got back to the hospital. So glad he did! I got such a kick out of these video clips. They really capture our Charlie and his funny little quirks. And even more, it is a perfect snap-shot of the kinds of things that Shawn is always doing with Charlie. The kinds of things that make Shawn such an amazing dad. Creative little adventures where Charlie gets to run the show and come up with new ideas and play, play, play with his daddy. I love it!

Here he is, cracking eggs for the french toast dinner. He was gonna show me how he could crack an egg into the bowl...but it didn't go quite as planned!

Now on to the "Food Art" project. I love how he apologizes at the beginning of the video for needing to look at the Food Art, not at the camera. And at the end he says to me, "I love you. Though." Such a sweetie.

Here he describes, in a very "Charlie" way, all of the ingredients in his Food Art. I LOVE how he calls the egg shells, "egg crusts"! Oh, and the big "glop" of egg. "Glop" is a common word in Charlie's vocabulary.

Proudly posing with his creation:

...YUMMY...

And, of course, the Food Art turns into a great snack for the chickens! I mean, who wouldn't love old french toast crusts, and cut up pickles, and dried up raisins, and egg crusts - all mixed together with a little honey?!

Drew is here!

2011-07-31T19:23:00.001-07:00

Andrew Tucker Fletcher
July 21, 2011
1:54 pm
8 pounds, 11 ounces
21 inches

I can't believe our little man is already 11 days old! At the same time, it feels like we've had him forever in our hearts - we've just been waiting to meet him. Drew truly does complete our family. It feels so right, finally having him with us. Before he came, I couldn't even comprehend being able to love him even half as much as I love Charlie. I thought there was no way. But I can tell you the MOMENT I laid eyes on him, my heart was taken.

This baby is the most precious, sweet, cuddly, adorable bundle of joy. My heart is full, to overflowing. It's been a rough start for Drew - we've had some feeding/weight issues and right now the breastfeeding/pumping routine is taking up the better part of each day and night (the reason for this delayed announcement!), but we're past the hardest part now and it should only get better from here!

So...I'm just going to post a bunch of pics for now. Maybe in a few more days I'll have time to actually write more.

(Anyways, if I tried to write much now I'm not sure just how much sense it would make - massively sleep-deprived!!!)

The Final Countdown - 9 Days!

2011-07-11T21:02:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe we are in the final days of being our little family of 3.

I feel like I want to drink in every last moment of Charlie being our "only child", like it's slipping away.

While I know that Charlie will be such a great big brother and it's going to be wonderful to have Drew finally join us...at the same time it's such a big "unknown". We don't know little Drew yet. I don't have a clue who he is, what his personality will be, what he will look like, and on and on. I already love him to pieces, of course, and I'm beyond excited to meet him...BUT, I don't "know" him yet. Such an odd feeling, to be growing this little stranger in there! I don't remember feeling this so strongly with Charlie. I think maybe it's because before Charlie was born, I already had a lot of ideas about who he would be...

His personality: very socially outgoing, physically active and athletic.

Even how he would look: dark hair, dark brown eyes & a dark olive skin tone.

Oh, and VERY tiny, maybe, oh, around 6 or 7 pounds...

HA!!! HOW WRONG COULD I HAVE BEEN?!?!?!

TINY?!?!

DARK?!?!

OUTGOING AND ACTIVE!?!?!

Okay.

Well.

Yeah.

Maybe my utter failure in predicting who Charlie would be before he was born has led up to this feeling of Drew being such a stranger to me. While I have found myself SO pleasantly surprised at how different Charlie is from the boy I had been expecting, maybe I just don't want to make any wrong predictions again? I sometimes guess that Drew will be very active, just based on how extremely active he seems to be inside of me already! But, even when I say this, I always hear myself adding the disclaimer, "...but I could be wrong!"

Whoever he will be, however he will look, whatever he will be like...I know I will love him so very much. Like only a mother can. Like I never even knew was possible until I met our sweet Charlie. I'm just having a hard time waiting to meet him so I can finally get some answers! I'm anxious, excited, nervous, and just plain READY to get him outta there so we can all meet him and know him and love on him.

July 21 can't come soon enough!

Charlie the Producer

2011-04-05T18:09:00.000-07:00

Okay, I admit, I had WAY too much fun doing this! Charlie and I were bored this morning, and this is the product of our boredom. We got out the legos and the camera and the rest is history.

Charlie seriously did the whole thing! All I did was snap the shots. He set up each scene and moved and posed the guys. It was so fun!!! Here's the finished product:

Blog Slacker, yep that's me.

2011-03-31T13:49:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been a while! I'm almost 24 weeks along with little BOY #2, and he seems to be very healthy - and he reminds me of this often with LOTS of kicking around in there. He is especially fond of giving my bladder a good beating... No seriously, though. He. Is. VERY. Fond.

Here are a couple pictures taken just yesterday - Shawn took some of me when I realized we don't have ANY pictures yet of this pregnancy. Oops! So. We were originally thinking about the name "Tucker" for the little guy. Shawn and I both really like it, and so does Charlie. But...now we're leaning a little more towards "Drew", short for "Andrew" (Shawn's middle name). WE CAN'T DECIDE! Any opinions? Votes? Complaints???

In other news, we had some real good, but short-lived, March snow! Here's out our front window, looking at the driveway.

And the barn - so pretty!

Charlie even got a real live icicle out of the deal! In case you were wondering, Charlie is still into making creepy/odd lego creations - daily. Here's a small sampling of the kinds of things I find around the house.

"Dinosaur Head Man" and his crew of "Black-Headed White Skeleton with One Black Arm and One Black Leg" and a random assortment of "Bad Animals" and "Guys with Frogs on Their Heads Holding Bad Animals". We find lots of "Totem Poles" around, too. Here's a "Totem Pole-Headed Snow-Boarder" and his friends, "The White-Bearded Fisherman", "Indiana Jones" (who just happens to ALWAYS be the star and ALWAYS be the one everyone loves), and last but not least, "White-Head Covering, Four-Legged Computer-Hunchback Guy".

"But Mars, what do you mean, 'Four-Legged Computer-Hunchback'?", you ask? See for yourself. Pure creepiness, I tell you.

Charlie has got to be just the coolest kid ever. He has the sweetest heart and spirit I have ever seen. He told me yesterday, "Mom, everyone gets to choose what they are going to be. Good or bad." Me: "What are you going to choose to be?" Charlie: "Oh, mom. I already chose. I'm good."

Also yesterday, I told him the baby can hear him now, from inside my tummy. He immediately puts his face right up to my stomach, and says, in a very serious and strong, yet sweet voice, "I love you."

Does it get any sweeter than that?

Cousin Blake has been really sick for a few months - and now has mono! :( But that won't keep us away! I'm not saying we don't bring our Purell along...but, Charlie still gets to hang with his best buddy. Here they are, a very feverish Blake and his bud Charlie joining him in his little quarantined area to keep him company, or as it may be, just boss him around a little. ;)

Carnival Ride of Creepiness

2011-01-10T15:09:00.000-08:00

Charlie is a true Lego boy - a Lego Addict, really. Legos are ALL, and I do mean ALL he plays with during the day. Legos litter our carpet, our kitchen table, our bathroom counter, Charlie's bed, our bed, our couch, our car, the bottom of my purse, etc, etc, etc...

Charlie is always working on some little project with these things. I often find "interesting" Lego creations around the house. He doesn't like to use them in normal ways. No, Charlie likes to push the limits of "oddness" with the stuff he makes.

Found this one a couple days ago, some sort of two-headed, bi-gendered, 10-legged, loudspeaker dude:

I didn't know Lego had a ZZ Top line?

But today? Today's creation takes the cake. It is some sort of twisted carnival ride, complete with the creepiest riders I've ever seen. This is the stuff my nightmares are made of.
First we have "faceless turban dude":

Giver 'er a spin and we meet this lovely character, an angry Russell Crow (with light red facial hair):

Pull the lever and next up is "bearded, disgruntled auto-worker lady":

Last up is "dead skeleton man with normal alive face":

But what's the best part about "dead skeleton man with normal alive face"? He's actually "dead skeleton man with 6 normal alive faces and 1 creepy skeleton face":

Ehhhhhhh!!! I seriously see this stuff in my dreams, folks.

Speaking of Lego litterings and the general junked-out-ness of our house and stuff, Shawn built this awesome built in shelving unit to contain some of Charlie's collections:

Isn't that amazing?! Shawn is seriously talented at that kind of stuff. I was so impressed!

Really, though, I don't mind the constant messy state of our house when I'm rewarded with treasures like this one, an early Valentine for mommy:

"I LOB YOO"

Charlie has a nightly ritual of talking and singing to himself in the bathroom mirror. We have the 3 mirrors where you can fold 2 of them in and then look around and see hundreds of your own reflection. Charlie will stand on his stool and talk to the hundreds of "Charlie's" every night. It is hilarious to watch! He gets the biggest kick out of himself(s)!

I realize I kind of "skipped over" Christmas on the blog, but the most exciting part was definitely the fire alarms we all woke up to early on Christmas morning! Everything turned out to be fine (other than the flaming apples on my mom's stove), but it was a scary few minutes for sure!
Here's my sister's gang chilling on our couch to escape the smoke:
Cody, Lucie, Paisley, Levi & Jack

Charlie experiencing a little Christmas Morning Lego Bliss:

Our little Joseph

2010-12-16T20:16:00.000-08:00

Charlie had his Kindergarten Christmas program tonight! He played Joseph. There he is in the middle, the big tall one.

It cracks me up that he's a year younger than most of these kiddos, but almost a whole head taller!

He did great, but was pretty stone-faced through the whole thing. I think he was taking his role very seriously, trying not to mess up or forget anything. :)

There's a little smile for his teacher. :)

Here was his first little "solo" line. He's saying, "T is tidings, shepherds heard that day."

And his second. He actually sang a line in a song. Then he tries to hand the mic to the girl next to him but she's oblivious so he kind of does the silly dance trying to figure out what to do with it! (His line here was, "In all that push and shove.")

I got all teary eyed watching our big boy up there on the stage. It completely amazes me how quickly the years go by as a parent. I just stared at him, and replayed in my mind pictures of day they handed him to me in the hospital for the first time. Remembering his chunky little baby stages. His wobbly toddler stages.

My goodness, he's not a baby, not even a toddler anymore. Can't we just slow down the clock for a while? I sure love that boy, our little Joseph.

Guess what?

2010-12-11T12:02:00.000-08:00

Yep, if all goes well, Charlie will be a big brother sometime in July!

We are so excited, and yes, a little surprised. To be honest, I'm not sure either of us thought it would ever really happen. We had a bit of a scare yesterday, but everything is okay. However, 2 good things came of it:

One is that we got our first little glimpse of the peanut (above).

Two is that the doc hooked me up with some Zofran so I can stop gagging at EVERYTHING, ALL THE TIME. Nope, haven't puked yet, but if I hadn't gotten my magic drug just in time, I'm pretty sure it would not have been far off! I think at this point (8 weeks) with Charlie, I had already lost 5 pounds from being so sick. So far, this pregnancy has been a bit easier on me, but I could feel the sickness coming! I've had some interesting cravings already - first it was salsa, salsa, and more SALSA! I even got so desperate that when I ran out of chips I found myself dipping my orange slices in my salsa. I know - yuck! Now it's on to red Sour Patch Kids. Just the RED ones. I normally would never want Sour Patch Kids, or even THINK about Sour Patch Kids. Random. By the way, anyone know where I can buy red Sour Patch Kids? I'm starting to feel a little guilty about all the yellow, orange, and green Kids I'm throwing out...

No matter how it goes, or how sick I get, we are just plain thankful to be pregnant AND that baby so far appears to be healthy and strong. Please keep this baby in your prayers. As most of you know, we haven't had the easiest time with pregnancies. It is hard to believe that this is actually my sixth pregnancy. We want this baby, SO MUCH. And we are already in love.

Apple Crisp, Pumpkins, and Soccer = FALL!

2010-10-27T20:06:00.000-07:00

Charlie, Shawn and YaYa preparing apples fresh from our little orchard to make apple crisp and apple sauce.
(Yes, that is a real, sharp knife Charlie's using. Trust me, he is one of the very few four year olds I would feel okay handing a knife to.)

Finished product: the BEST apple crisp ever made.

Massive Zucchini harvest!

This pic doesn't even do them justice, these guys were HUGE!

Charlie was beyond excited about this delivery! He and Shawn got online and ordered some goodies with Charlie's "spend" money.

Charlie talked non-stop about this box for days, until it finally arrived! :)

Loralye got in on the action, too.
She LOVED the little "surprise" cans - you know, the kind where you take the lid off and something "springs" out at you? Well, these ones were of the very small, super cheap plastic variety, with some sort of weird pumpkin headed figurine that jumps out when you open it and in the process the pumpkin head just falls completely off and goes flying across the room - which, for Loralye, was the most entertaining part. These things are so cheap that the lids are nearly impossible to open and I broke 2 nails in the process of keeping this little gal entertained! But come on, look at that little face, how could you deny it?

Who woulda thought cheap crap from China could produce this much happiness?!?!?!

Charlie and I got home from soccer practice that night to find this: My mom and crazy aunts and uncle, wearing some of the new animal masks that came. Charlie thought that was the coolest thing ever! (Well, after the initial "freak-out" moment before he realized there wasn't really a pig, raccoon, panda & lion in his house!)

Heading for the pumpkin patch with Charlie's school.

Charlie reminding me that he's ALMOST FIVE!

Okay so the sun was pretty bright. Didn't get a whole lot of shots where Charlie wasn't squinting like this:

Or this:

"Found a good one, mom!"

Ready for the tractor ride, Charlie was pleased, as you can see.

See the little girl on the end, on the right side? With the glasses and the striped shirt and jeans and cute yellow boots?
That's "Josephine", and Charlie has informed me that she is his girlfriend.

There's a couple things that are funny about this:
1. I'm pretty sure Charlie has NO idea what "girlfriend" even means. I think he just means that she's a girl, and his friend.
2. As we were driving home from the pumpkin patch, Charlie says, "Josephine was wearing a pretty dress today, mom." I said, "Oh, is she pretty." He says, "Sometimes."
Okay. First I tried to argue about this "sometimes" things. I ended up just informing him that this might be something he should keep to himself for now. (I can just picture him telling her she's "pretty...sometimes.")
3. Well, then we get home, and look at the pictures, and she's not even wearing a dress! You can plainly see: she's got JEANS on, right?
Sigh. Charlie's clearly got some room to grow in the romance department. But I suppose that's okay, seeing as he is only 4. ;)

Soccer season is almost over already.
Here's a couple great shots of Blake:

Charlie hanging with his team, looking for mom and dad in the crowd, as usual. :)

Just a cute shot of my favorite little baker, making me a pancake:

And last but not least, getting a birthday surprise in the mail today from Aunt Phyllis:

A Choice

2010-10-21T07:54:00.000-07:00

We can't seem to get pregnant.

I know Charlie is a miracle. You may not know the whole story or how big of a miracle he actually is, but let me just tell you right now that he is a miracle. The more I read about pregnancy and "infertility" (I hate that word), the more I realize that EVERY SINGLE BABY who makes it to term and is born is a complete miracle.

It took us 4 very long years to get Charlie. Years of waiting, loss, waiting, loss, waiting, loss, waiting...and then loss again. Why, oh why did I think that this time would be different? Why did I think that somehow we had paid our dues with him and this time we'd get pregnant "on the first try"? I feel like I can't do all of this pain and disappointment again. Do we just give up? But what would we miss if we did? Is there a sweet little soul just waiting for the perfect timing to come into our lives and if we stop trying, he or she will never be?

So, here's that choice. I could choose to let myself live in that place of disappointment, pain and bitterness that visits me, oh, about once a month...

Or? I could realize how amazingly lucky we are to have a child of our own - and a totally perfect one at that. I had the incredible privilege of carrying a baby inside of me for 9 precious months. How I loved being pregnant with Charlie! A lot of women who long for pregnancy never even get to experience it one time, not once. I can only imagine how painful that must be. I know, because I was "almost" there by the time Charlie finally came into our lives.

The truth is, I AM lucky. Because no matter what happens from here, whether we are able to have 2 more babies, 1 more, or none at all, we have this adorably sweet, perfect-for-us, almost-five-year-old Charles Michael Fletcher.

Who showers me with affection, hugs, kisses, and tells me every day, "Mom, I love you more than anything in the whole wrild (world)."

Whose art projects are right now scattered across our kitchen table.

Who wakes up every single morning giggling outloud and running into our bedroom to snuggle with me.

Who would rather spend his soccer games searching for his parents in the crowd and waving then actually "kicking the ball" or "paying attention to the game". He's just happy to find the people who love him more than anything in the "wrild" and give them a wave.

If Charlie is "all" we ever get, he's more than enough. He leaves no room for disappointment.

So. Darn. Cute.

2010-10-12T21:37:00.000-07:00

I've been going through some old pictures and videos and found this little treasure again. Just makes me smile. What a precious toddler Charlie was. I can't believe he is almost 5!

Hello, world.

2010-09-29T20:54:00.000-07:00

Well. It seems like the only time I ever blog anymore is when Shawn's out of town. Which he happens to be tonight. And, obviously, his trips are not all that frequent! Somehow I can manage to break into Christine's blog and write a post...but still neglect our own blog.

So, what's been up with the Fletchers? Charlie started soccer about a month ago. He is an absolute crack-up to watch out on the field. For one, he gets tired after about the first, oh, 10 minutes, so then he'll just start sitting or laying down in the middle of the field whenever he gets a spare moment. During the games, he is absolutely CLUELESS as to what is going on, which way the ball should go, who's on his team, where the ball is at any given moment, or the mere fact that there is even a game taking place... He spends most of the game time looking for me and Shawn (or anyone else he knows) on the sidelines and giving us big cheesy smiles and waves. He will literally be waving and smiling at us as the ball is rolling right past his feet. Sigh. But he sure is cute out there!

The practice and games are all at Deep Creek Elementary School in Damascus, which just happens to have the most amazing view of Mt. Hood from the field:

Charlie's team on their first day of practice:

Getting some pointers from "Coach Mike" - who also just happens to be "Uncle Mike":

We've been having some serious car issues lately (think 3 new transmissions in 4 months). On the way to practice a couple weeks ago, the car decided to - once again - break down. SO, Shawn brought Charlie back home and they had their own little practice in the side yard. It was pretty cute:

Shawn's long-lost best friend, Tim, his wife Helen and their 3 ADORABLE girls came to visit. This is seriously the sweetest family. Oh how we wished they lived closer (hint, hint guys).
Rilanna, Kalanie, Adia & Tim:

Rilanna enjoying a cupcake:

Adia enjoying Charlie's silliness:

We made a trip to Wildwood and walked the trails with this gang:

Trying to get a decent shot of 18 kids, most of whom are 6 years or younger...not easy!

Fun times. :)

Well, Shawn is out of town, and in keeping with tradition I have a date with the TV to watch gory emergency room reality shows and "I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant" and such, until I can stand it no more and finally crash into sleep around 3 or 4 am, only to have strange dreams about being pregnant with a crocodile or getting impaled by large tree branches.

Night all!

Kindergarten!

2010-09-09T10:37:00.000-07:00

Charlie's first day as a big Kindergartner was a success! I'm pretty sure he didn't stop talking from the time I picked him up from school (2:45) to the time he finally crashed into sleep in his bed. It was a 7 hour long run-on sentence, no joke!

Our camera broke (yes, our BRAND NEW camera), so here's a shot I snapped with my phone as we were leaving for school:

There are only 10 kids in Charlie's whole class, which I think is awesome - especially since he's pretty shy and not big on large groups of people. He did great, and was happy all day after, hence the non-stop chatting. :)

Bring on Kindergarten, Day 2!

Some days you just need a good laugh.

2010-09-08T09:23:00.000-07:00

Okay. Seriously folks. There are so many things wrong about posting this, and possibly even laughing at this. I truly apologize if you don't find it as funny as we did. I really do.

But OH MY GOSH, this is the funniest thing I have seen in a really long time, okay possibly EVER. I can't even tell you how many times Shawn and I have watched this in the past few days, and just laughed ourselves to tears, over and over. Some days you just REALLY need a good laugh, and this worked for us.

You have to watch this one first, then the next:

Mickey Fisher: I don't know if you necessarily "want" the credit for sharing this with us. But you get it. Thanks, man.

Cuteness

2010-07-26T21:28:00.000-07:00

So. Things have been CRAZY busy lately. I wouldn't even know where to start with the update: 4th of July fun, birthday(s) craziness, my nephew Jack performing in The Sound of Music Play in St. Helens, zoo trips, endless summer barbeques, running/walking/limping through my first 10k trail run, VBS (times 2!), crazy camping fiascos, phew! It's been a blast, but man am I TIRED!

So, I'll just share some cute pics of two of my favorite boys.
How could you not love these little guys? Makes my heart melt.

"You know, that red shirt with no neck and no arms!"

2010-06-20T19:56:00.001-07:00

The other day, Charlie was going to help Shawn out in the garden. But first he decided that he needed his "farmin' shirt". He tried to describe it to us - it was "red, with blue on it, and some writing". It also had "no neck and no arms, and some strings hanging". So, I pulled out a few shirts and sweaters, then some coats and jackets. Nothing I showed him was the right one he was looking for. Shawn and I were at a loss to figure out what in the world he was talking about! We were all on a mission to find this elusive "farmin' shirt"!

Finally, after we'd inspected every shirt, coat, pair of pants, even pajama and hat in the entire house, Shawn sat down with Charlie and had him try to describe what the shirt looked like. Charlie described while Shawn tried to draw what he was saying on a piece of paper. You know, like those criminal suspect sketch artists? This wasn't helping either. Finally, Shawn says, "You try to draw it, Charlie."

You can see Charlie's drawing in the lower left section of the paper - and he added the strings to Shawn's drawing on the upper right. And there was his little Lowe's apron, clear as day!

This is one of the things I really appreciate about Shawn. Where I would have likely given up after a few minutes and said, "Sorry, you're out of luck!", Shawn turned it into an adventure and made it fun, rather than frustrating!

The 20 Year Time Capsule

2010-05-18T21:48:00.000-07:00

Several weeks ago, Shawn came in from my parents' barn with a huge smile on his face, carrying a large plastic bin. "You'll never believe what I just found!", he says, wiping at the dust covering the top of the bin.

Would you believe, it's a real, live "Time Capsule" that I sealed up about 20-plus years ago?

Funny thing is, I remember very well the day I put that box together. I remember wondering who would find it waaaay out in the year 2010? My kids? Grandkids? Okay, so obviously I wasn't an A+ math student - most people don't normally have grandkids at 34 years old...but anyways, that's what I was daydreaming about that day.

One of the first things I said when I saw it was, "Wow! That's good blog material right there." After actually going through it, though, and winding up in tears, I debated whether or not to actually write about it. But, here it is - consider it cheap therapy for me. I'm putting it out there. So, read if you want, but if you're looking for all laughs and good times, skip this post.

Here I am, going in:

First thing I went for, of course, was the "Private Notebook - KEEP OUT!"
That scary tiger on the cover couldn't keep me away.

I mean, come on, with this much security, you KNOW there's gonna be some juicy stuff inside!

A very serious warning, along with some "names for my kid" (guess I thought I'd just have girls...?):

Okay, in my defense, I didn't make that cheeseball statement up. I'm pretty sure I copied it from somewhere. Now, I realize that just the fact that I thought it awesome enough to copy makes me pretty dorky, too. But whatever.

I turned a few pages and saw this, and the tears started flowing:

Oh, man. Do I remember THAT feeling? Seems like that's the feeling that followed me through most of my childhood years. That "left out" feeling. So when I turned to this page and read these words in my own goofy-looking, 13-year-old handwriting, I couldn't stop the tears. I sat there on the living room floor, hovering over the "time capsule" box, clutching this little journal, and crying. Each time I looked at those 4 sentences, the pain washed over me again. And I could see myself, curled up inside my musky sleeping bag - feeling lonely, homesick, ugly, and just plain "left out". Ugh.

All I could think was how badly I wished I could go back in time and give myself a hug and tell "me" that everything's going to be okay. Why does teenage-hood have to be so darn hard?

At the end of the book was this quirky little paragraph:

Here's the next little treasure I uncovered in the box:
(I'm sure I thought it would be worth MILLIONS by 2010...but ebay thinks it's worth about $3.32 these days.)

Garbage Pail Kids. Anyone remember those?

The "Beaumont Middle School Parent/Student Handbook", because that would be of maximum importance to my 34 year old self, I was just sure of it!

An ice-scraper I made in shop class. Because, you know, we might have a real ice-scraper shortage come 2010.

The "Garfield Mini Note Book", AKA: the keeper of all my most dorkiest secrets.

Just the facts:

Let the nerdy, 9 year old girl-ness begin:

Ryan Roberts, if you are reading this, number one: sorry I spelled your name wrong, and number two: yeah, so apparently I "loved" you when I was 9 years old. The secret's out, I guess!

Also, I love that someone found this and wrote "HA HA YOU LIAR", classic!

Oooh, sorry Chris E. and Scott R., you were just "O.K."!
And to those I "hated", sorry, I know hate is a really strong word.

"Great" and "O.K." singers (wow, makes me feel OLD):

Proof I wasn't allowed to watch MTV - I didn't know what any of the singers actually looked like, so how could I have listed any "cute" ones?

Swimsuit from a Tropical Barbie.
Because, you know, I was pretty sure there would be a shortage of those in 2010, also...

Wouldn't want to leave Tropical Ken and his coordinating swim shorts out:

Another diary.

I didn't realize this was actually the diary I was writing in the day I came home from school to find that our neighbor had committed suicide in our living room.

"Dear Diary,
I found out that my neighbor died about a half hour ago (right when I got home). Her daughter (Sara) just got home and I don't know how her dad Ron is going to tell her. I am so sad. When I came home Ron was sitting with my mom talking. When he left, my mom and dad told me. POOR SARA!"

Ugh. Reading that was like a punch in the stomach. Knocked the air out of my lungs. I must not have known the whole story yet, not realized just how personal this was - that Karen had shot herself, in our living room, just hours before.

The next entry was after I knew the whole story. I describe Karen's funeral and memorial party as "beautiful" and "lovely".

What's funny, though, was the next entry. Starts serious - "Sara and Ron came over for dinner". Okay. Then I go on about how excited I am that I've got 26 bucks and I'm going to get another cabbage patch kid!!! Oh, then back to serious, I guess I felt the need to clarify that I don't usually say words like "lovely" or "beautiful" but I had to in the previous journal entry because that was the only way to express my feelings. Oh, then back to the cabbage patch kids! Yay cabbage patch kids!!!

What the heck?! Sigh. I was an oddball, that's all I can make of it.

The tears came again when I read those 3 pages. Took me right back in time, and once again I just wanted to go back and hug that heartbroken girl.

Random book - I remember I really liked this book. But I'm not sure what made it so "time-capsule worthy"?

A picture of my 2 turtles - Sunny and Herman.

Five dollars, shredded.

A handful of old max tickets.

My sister used to make me these "awards" for staying upstairs alone (I was afraid of being upstairs alone).
"Congragulations Marlene. You stayed upstairs alone almost 2 min."
Almost 2 minutes! Woo hoo!

A cast of my buck teeth before braces - ew.
(Insert creepy horror film music here)

"Your Psychic Calendar for the year 1988"
I think I got this from that Church of Elvis thing in downtown Portland.

Brass Plum pin - to pin on your shirt if you are so cool.

A class assignment where I had to describe myself in a negative way - then take those same things and turn them into positives.
Yup, cried some more.

"The Portland Paper"

We're talking high-quality material here:

Some well-written articles, top notch reporting and legendary artwork found inside:

Dear PETA: I'm pretty sure the dog in the following story was never actually "beaten up".

And that was the bottom of the box, folks. It was quite the journey - and if you're still there, thanks for sticking it out with me.

Our new camera came!

2010-05-18T20:25:00.000-07:00

Yes!

How sad, though, that one of the very first pics I took was of this nasty-looking spider I found in one of Charlie's toy buckets? YIKES!

Thanks, Shawn, for taking care of it for me, but next time don't just "set it free" right outside our front door - smash that sucker, you tree-hugger!

Next up...
What did I find when I opened this 20 year old "time capsule" Shawn found in my parents' barn...?

Surgeries, injuries, mini-vacations and a birthday, too!

2010-05-11T20:44:00.000-07:00

My parents have both had a lot of health stuff going on lately. About a month ago, my dad had knee surgery. About 2 weeks after that, my mom fell in the garden and broke her wrist. My dad is still on crutches, and my mom will have a cast on her right wrist for about another month.

Here's Charlie's impersonation of them both:

And the latest? About a week ago, my dad had a spot removed on his back. It came back positive for basal cell carcinoma (skin cancer - but the "better" kind to have). He goes in tomorrow to have a pretty big chunk of his back carved out - ouch... Hopefully, after that, it will all be removed and over with.

At the end of April, I got to tag along with Shawn to some "work stuff". He was presenting at 2 different conferences, in 2 different cities, in 2 days! So, first it was off to Eugene.

Here he is, hard at work getting ready for his presentation the next day:

Okay, well, here's a more realistic representation of how we utilized the hotel room:

I have to admit, what I was most excited for that first night was getting to hang out with two amazing Rainrock friends, Ali and Nikki. Love, love, LOVE these two.

"Level Life."

After Eugene, it was off to Coos Bay. I can't say I know anyone in Coos Bay, so Saturday was just a hang-out day for me while Shawn presented. I caught the end of his presentation (on Autism) and it was awesome. He is SUCH a good speaker, I must say. :)

IF, and that's a BIG IF, I were to EVER let my child get a mohawk, here's a glimpse of what it would look like:

(I came home from the gym a couple days ago to this. Oh my gosh I laughed SO HARD. And then promptly told Shawn to finish it up, seriously. Ridiculous! So, it was really only about a half hour of a mohawk, but it made for a good laugh!)

This past Saturday was Charlie's cousin Eli's 5th birthday party. This was an event that we had to do some planning and processing around, since it involved a trip to Chuck E Cheese. But, more on that in a bit.

First, it was pizza, cake and a beautiful sunny day party outside.

Charlie charmed the girls in the "girl area".

While the rest of the boys hung together at the "boy area".

The birthday boy and his beautiful mommy.

Shawn got to be the official "Water Balloon Game Organizer".

Charlie was too shy to play, so he just sat and watched...

...until it came time to "pick a partner" for a game and Charlie's precious Ellie was the last man standing - not cool.

He ran right out there and grabbed her hand - melted my heart.
Here they are all lined up for the balloon toss. (You can tell Charlie's a little nervous to be out there by the way he tilts his little head like that!)

Ready, set, TOSS!

Present time!

"Eli, how old are you today?"

YUM.

On our way to Chuck E Cheese for "Party, Part 2". Charlie's not a fan of birthday cake - so his treat of choice? A banana. Crazy kid!

Last year, we also went to Chuck E Cheese for Eli's birthday. The experience was pretty traumatic for Charlie! He was having a blast playing the game and winning the tickets and what-not. As soon as he spotted that mouse, though, he freaked. Royally. He covered his eyes and wouldn't take his hands off of them until we finally just left. He talked about it for weeks, no months, afterward. He still remembered "that mouse" when we told him we were going again this year. So, Charlie hatched a brilliant plan to deal with his fear: he would dress up in his rhino Halloween costume and scare old Chuck E before Chuck E could scare him!

Judging from this face, perhaps you can guess how well that plan worked?

Needless to say, this was the view I had for a lot of our time:

Overall, I was pretty proud of our little trooper. He managed to have some fun, despite his fears of that creepy old mouse.

Racing Aunt Christine while Ellie and Jaz watch.

The best part for me was when he cashed in his tickets for points and got 40 points. He looked at all the little prizes for a long time, pondering. Finally, he settled on two 20 point prizes - one for Jaz and one for Eli. And not a thing for himself. What a little sweetheart, made my mommy-heart proud. :)

Mother's Day

2010-05-08T22:33:00.000-07:00

How blessed am I to be able to celebrate Mother's Day tomorrow with my amazing little 4 year old miracle?

My first glimpse of our Charlie:

There was a time when Mother's Days were very painful for me. Almost beyond painful. All the cards, flowers, TV ads, reminding me of what we wanted so badly, but couldn't have. There were the roses passed out at church, to all the "real" mothers. Although I knew in my heart that I was mommy to four little angels, I had no proof to hold in my arms. No one could see the grief I held instead, down deep, the longing to have a baby of our own to hold and love and "mother". Man, those were dark years.

I will never, EVER take being a mother for granted.

Now? Now I get to wake up tomorrow morning and thank God for blessing us with the most precious little boy. I think about those 5 years of trying and grieving loss after loss. And then I think about Charlie and honestly all I can think is how lucky we are. One look at his quirky little smile, and I can't remember the hurt anymore.

Charlie is so awesome. I'm a little biased. But really folks, he's cool beans!

Charlie is a little boy who, when I told him I was sleepy this afternoon, says to me, "It's okay mommy. You can go lay down and take a nap and I'll just watch a video. No matter." And, I did. Lay down. I didn't sleep though, I just listened to him watching Dora for half an hour. Answering all the questions, singing along, and talking back in his precious little 4 year old voice.

A little boy who noticed I was juggling 4 of his sippy cups in my arms to bring in from the car today, and says, "Wait, mom, stop. Give me two of those. I can help ya out."

A little boy who won 40 tickets at Chuck E. Cheese today, and picked out two 20-point prizes for two of his cousins - and nothing for himself.

A little boy who also decided he needed to wear his rhino costume to Chuck E. Cheese today - so he can scare the mouse, rather than the mouse scaring him. Didn't work, but it was a good plan, Charlie. ;)

A little boy who didn't want to play the water balloon game at his cousin's birthday party today. But when he saw that "his Ellie" didn't have a partner, he ran over to her and grabbed her hand and played anyways.

And this is all just today.

How blessed am I? Beyond blessed.

Crazy baby chicks fighting

2010-04-20T20:15:00.000-07:00

I don't know if we've got some roosters in this batch, or what the deal is, but these chicks are CONSTANTLY doing this to eachother. It cracks me up the way the feathers raise up on the back of their neck when they are sizing eachother up.

Mother Nature can be so cruel!

2010-04-20T17:39:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning, at about 6:30 am, we could hear Henrietta out in the yard, complaining very loudly. After going out to investigate, we found the reason - a double-yolker! And wow, was it a whopper! She laid it, loudly, then proceeded to prance around the yard for another half-hour or so and continue to complain about it. Must have hurt. I think she was looking for some emotional support afterwards. I can relate, hey labor is hard stuff, 'specially when you've got an XL baby (or egg, as it may be).

Fast-forward to today. Another early-morning scream-fest in the hen house. Another 30 mins of marching through the yard, complaining about it to anyone who will listen. And this:

All I can say is: OUCH. Somebody give that hen an epidural, for crying out loud!

Charlie says, "Let's open it, mom!"

Yup. Two yolks.

I guess I should admit it - Shawn and I are too "chicken" to eat the double-yolkers. Is that bad? You know, seeing as she went through ALL that pain and suffering to get it out?

A bunch of pictures, not a lot of words

2010-04-06T21:59:00.000-07:00

Starting some plants for the garden.

Watching 'em grow outside.

Future "green bean tee-pee hideout".

Is there anything better than a little boy in jammies and muddy rainboots to call your own?

Heading out to work on the garden.

Daddy's always got a helper by his side.

Working the soil.

Working the swing.

12 cute, little, fuzzy babes.

Making a friend.

The chickens' new digs.

Chicken Farmer, Sr.

Chicken Farmer, Jr.

Happy Henrietta

Happy Chickens = lots of eggs.

The Great Chicken Escape

2010-03-31T21:28:00.000-07:00

A few weeks back, Shawn decided it was time to let the chickens try out their new headquarters he'd been building for them out in the garden. The Millers were coming out that day, so we figured we'd have some help steering the chickens into the direction of the garden. We grabbed sticks and created a kind of "human chicken run" to lead them in.

Sounds reasonable, right?

Here's Charlie, ready to round up some chickens with his "chicken stick":

Christine and Blake's air-tight security gate:

What hen in her right mind would dare cross the path of these two?

Here they come!

In my defense, I was not merely standing around, taking pictures. I was also laughing at them. Really hard.

Almost there:

You see the orange one on the right, looking off to the side with that sneaky gleam in her eye?

She was headed for Starbucks, I'd like to think:

"Here chicky, chicky..."

"There's a mocha with your name on it over at your new coop..."

Finally, there she is checking out her new area - or, trying to find that mocha:

Typical breakfast at the Fletcher house

2010-03-31T21:19:00.000-07:00

Trivia Question

2010-03-31T20:25:00.000-07:00

Who doesn't love a little trivia? Even better, a little "Making Fun of Shawn Trivia"?

Now, those of you who know Shawn, know that he's gone a wee bit extreme with this whole "gardening/chickening/composting" business. Don't get me wrong, I'm all about it, too. I just have my limits. One of them, you may remember, was when he suggested instituting the "composting toilet" (aka: a bucket of barkdust in which you do your business) in our bathroom "in our yurt". I laughed in his face. Or when he continues to suggest rigging up some sort of "energy-producing exercise bike" through which to power our entire...well, realistically, our toaster or possibly my flat iron. Depending, I suppose, on how hard one wishes to pedal...

We compost. Yes, we do. I throw in our food scraps, fruit peels, old bread, etc. We save it up in a bucket on our kitchen counter and every afternoon, we take the loot out to our delighted chickens, who happily feast on it.

Now, here's where the trivia comes in. Look closely behind Charlie, on the ground under the tree where Shawn's leaning down, in this next picture. You'll see something light blue on the ground - looks like old Henrietta is heading right for "it".

What do you suppose this might be? This new "item" that Shawn has recently decided is most likely compostable?

I'll give you a hint: It was already well on it's way to being composted before he even threw it out there (as many men's are by the time they finally part with them...)

Another hint: Sometimes when people throw a mixture of things into their compost pile, some strange combo-plants start sprouting up. "Squashermelons", "Zuchicumber", stuff like that. Well, I'm thinking we may have something called "Underpeas" or "Beanboxers" or "Strawpanties" on our dinner table come summer...

Negligent Blogicide

2010-03-31T19:20:00.000-07:00

I know. I know. Once again, I've gotten myself hopelessly behind on our blog! And for that, I am deeply sorry. From the bottom of my heart.

Okay now that's out of the way. Let's move on, mmmm-kay?

I've been trying to think of the best way to get caught up on the blog. I considered doing one endlessly long post of all the happenings of the past few months around here. But then thought better of it (boooooring!) Instead, I'm gonna get caught up in a series of shorter posts.

And then, I will just stay caught up from now on! Forever! I promise! Kind of.

An Anniversary

2010-02-16T20:27:00.000-08:00

2 years ago today, I drove home from Rainrock, after being gone for 3 very long, very hard months. I was thinking about writing about "it", but I guess the reality is I don't really know what to say about it, other than it makes me feel:

Sad for the time I lost with my (then) 2 year old.
Thankful for the healing journey it put me on.
Regretful for the pain my absence inflicted on loved ones - especially Shawn.
Nostalgic for the people and love I experienced there.
Sick deep down in the pit of my stomach when I think that it really did happen because sometimes it doesn't feel real to me.

I've been thinking about writing something about all of "that stuff", but for now, I'll just re-post this video I made after I got home - TWO YEARS AGO.
(Hopefully it will play - blogger has not been nice to my videos lately...)

An Oldie!

2010-02-09T22:39:00.000-08:00

I was just looking at some older posts (trying to figure out why in the world my silly videos aren't playing most of the time!) and found this hilarious video of Blake and Charlie from about 2 years ago. These boys CRACK ME UP, always have and I think they always will!

Grandpa, and Ellie's amazing art

2010-02-09T20:47:00.000-08:00

Thanks to everyone who's been praying for Shawn's dad, Chuck. Thankfully, he made it through his heart surgery yesterday just fine and is recovering in ICU now. He'll be in the hospital for a while longer, but everything is looking good for now.

I've been meaning to share this sweet, sweet card Ellie made for him:

You have to read it upside-down, it says: "It turned in too the best hrte (heart)". And the little "oven mitt" looking thing on the bottom left is the doctor's hand fixing it all up - I suppose if you've never seen a surgery happening, you might think they would wear something similar to an oven mitt. Who knows what all's going on inside the body and/or how hot it might be in there! :) Then, you can see the 2 hearts - the "before" heart with the hole in it, and then the "after" heart, all fixed up and whole again. Is that just the sweetest thing you've ever seen?

(Ellie is pretty much just awesome, and it often shines through in her art. If you've never seen the "miracle" she made for me a little over 2 years ago, check this out.)

Top Secret: Renewable Energy Source

2010-01-30T19:35:00.001-08:00

Those who know us well know that over the past few years, Shawn and I have been working very hard to become more environmentally friendly, less wasteful, more responsible, and really just more "natural" people. (Okay, small disclaimer - Shawn may be slightly more of a leader in this area. I'm sorry folks, but getting used to the idea of converting to a "composting toilet" is just gonna take a little more time for me. Go ahead, call me "prissy", but you try out the idea of poo-ing in a bucket and then throwing a bunch of sawdust on top, and tell me what you think.)

After many months of extensive research and hours-long environmental think-tank sessions held right here in our humble living room, we've done it! We have discovered a sustainable, "green", renewable, natural energy source. To be more specific, it's a wind turbine.

Now, listen. This is where this gets tricky. We want to share this idea with you, our closest and most trusted friends, but we also don't want this information to get into the wrong hands - people who may have the ability to sell our idea to the general market before we do. WE want to be the ones to make the first million on this idea. AND promptly spend that million on a bunch of plastic crap and junky electronics made in China.

Now, scroll down slowly and with discretion, and remember, this is big-time stuff. So, please try to keep it to yourselves.

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Now, obviously there are a few small kinks we will need to work out. Like the necessity for food and water breaks, etc. At first we were thinking that "sleeping" breaks would also be necessary, but upon further investigation, we discovered that Charlie actually generates quite a bit of air while asleep. So really we just need to figure out a way to affix the turbine to his mouth securely enough that it won't get jostled while he's sleeping.

And then there's that sticky issue of "child labor laws" and what-not. Our current government, however, seems to be environmentally-minded enough that I think they might be willing to overlook that minor issue. Don't you?

A Bunch of Random Stuff

2010-01-28T12:17:00.000-08:00

Our first Buffalo Wild Wings experience!

We went with Mike & Maryann and Mike & Christine - we are lucky to have such awesome people to hang out with that we also get to call family.

It was just too much fun to hang out, just us "big people". All our little people were being babysat. :)

Charlie finally had his first OMSI experience - I've been meaning to take him for a long time!

Oma & Opa were there to provide lots of entertainment, of course.

Opa & Charlie checked out the submarine. Afterwards, Charlie declared it was "boring". Oh well, maybe when he's a little older. Opa probably enjoyed it enough for both of them anyways!

Here they are running down the pier towards the sub.

Now, tractor riding, on the other hand, is WAY cool.

Last time we watched the Leiby girls, Amaya decided the kids should put on a Nativity Play.

Of course, Amaya was Mary and Charlie was Joseph.

And...Tennyson, the angel. We taped feathers to her back as "wings". You can see them poking out over her shoulders. So cute! :)

The week between Christmas and New Years, Charlie and I had the privilege of babysitting cutie Ava for a few days. What a sweetheart!

Charlie was in baby girl heaven.

Giving kisses:

Showering her with gifts (or "smothering" her with gifts):

Teaching her how to hold toys:

And...feeding her:

Ever since we had Ava in our house, Charlie keeps talking about "when" he gets his brother or sister, and how fun it's gonna be, and whether he thinks it will be a brother or sister (or both!)... Problem is, I'm not even pregnant yet! He's got a long wait ahead of him. :)

That same week, we got a little snow - so Charlie geared up (over the top of his PJ's) and headed out with Shawn to "explore".

Christmas Eve anticipation.

Christmas morning!

The Huntleys spent the night on Christmas Eve and so there were lots of little pitter-pattering feet (5 extra little pairs of feet, to be exact!) around on Christmas Morning - so much fun!

Some of the kids helping Charlie with his favorite "Sticky Mosaic" art projects.

Another favorite - we spent a good part of the day painting these animals with glow in the dark paint.

My sister - Aunt Melissa - made the most awesome quilt for Charlie. It's like a little map and it's got everyone's house on it, and roads and train tracks - so cute! Charlie has slept with it every night since he got it.

Here's Ellie & Blake's house:

Even a zoo!

Lucie & Baby Paisley - almost a year old already!

Christmas Aftermath, on happy little boy. :)

My Boys

2010-01-25T19:59:00.001-08:00

I just got back from a Home Depot run to pick up some "6-inch C Clamps" (ended up getting the wrong thing, but that's another story...), and this is what was going down as I opened the front door. Some sort of impromptu song-and-dance-while-getting-your-jammies-on gig.

And here's a little clip of Charlie explaining how something works to Shawn - it is especially funny to me because this is exactly what Shawn does for Charlie when he's explaining "how stuff works", pretty much a daily occurrence around here.

Charlie has so much fun with his daddy - wrestling, making up silly songs, making banana pancakes, working on chicken coop or house projects, and, of course, having Shawn draw out explanations of "how stuff works" (anything from underground aquifers to plant roots to how our bodies take vitamins out of the foods we eat - seriously, Charlie LOVES learning about this kind of stuff).

It's just lovely to watch these two together and I'm blessed beyond blessed to have both of them to call my own little family. :)

Um, Facebook ate my blog...?

2009-12-25T22:06:00.000-08:00

I know. I know.

I could give a whole lot of excuses for not blogging.

The school year starting.

Sickness(es).

Spending LOTS of extra time at the gym getting all good and healthy.

The Holiday Season.

Errrr...too much time on Facebook.

Blah. Blah. Blah.

Or, I could just blog.

Okay, let's see now, where did we leave off? Oh, yeah, Halloween. Oops...wow! :)

Well, a few days after Halloween, Charlie's Oma and Opa FINALLY returned from their month & a half long road trip across the States. Boy, were they missed! And, boy, was Charlie excited when they came rolling up!

You can tell Charlie's thrilled to bits when his little shoulders go up like this:

Eating a banana and scrambled eggs (fresh from our hens!) for breakfast. This was a victorious morning for us. You may know that Charlie is picky. Actually, Charlie takes "pickiness" to a whole new level. To such an extreme that he's starting "food therapy" in February. Yes, our 4 year old has somewhat of an "eating disorder". Okay well, that would be kind of funny, but...

Anyways, this was the morning Charlie finally decided he would try eggs again (after not eating them for over a year) and he LIKED them! Yes!

We LOVE waking up to seeing this outside our bedroom window...

and this outside our living room window.

Oh, and I loved coming home to find Shawn and Charlie playing Monopoly. Charlie played for over an hour and loved it! The kid cracks me up.

The other day, I put the nativity scene out. As soon as Charlie saw it, he ran and grabbed his Playmobil nativity set and integrated it in.

There's something kind of cool about this, something deep. It's 11:00 pm on Christmas...and I can't put it into words right now. But can you see what I mean? Something about the "timelessness" of God and how He holds life and meaning to all ages and through all ages. And all the different styles and different interpretations, they really all add up to the same thing in the end.
I dunno, something like that. :)

A few weeks back, it was early in the morning and Shawn and I were in bed, and we heard Charlie get up and rummage around in his dresser for a while. I didn't think much of it, being still half-asleep. Well, a few minutes later, he comes running into our bedroom, cracking up, looking like this:

What a nut!

Doing some art...but FIRST, and most importantly, gotta organize all the markers by color!

One of Charlie's very most favorite birthday presents - the US Map puzzle. LOVES it. I frame it in for him by doing the edges, and he can put all the states in all by himself! I think this kid knows more states than I do now!

Well, it's late Christmas night. Both my boys are sleeping (poor Shawn's crashed on the couch - he is SICKER THAN A DOG). It was a nice Christmas (I'll post pics soon) even though we were all varying degrees of sick. It was so fun to watch Charlie open presents and get so excited and spend time playing with his sweet cousins.

Okay, before I go, I want to post one last picture. I pondered doing a post on just this wedding alone, but thought better of it - for the privacy of the family. This family has been through the unimaginable, absolute devastation. When I first heard the news about 2 yrs ago, something inside my own heart literally broke. I was in shock and cried, prayed and questioned God for weeks, and even months later, for my friend and her four children. Some reading this know the details of what I'm talking about, but most may not. All I can really say is that it would be like waking up to your worst nightmare. Ever. Ever. EVER.

But now...it has come to this. This beautiful picture of love, security, safety, happiness, healing. My heart was bursting at the seams with joy during this ceremony. I re-cried all those tears, but this time they were tears of happiness and relief! It is, to me, evidence that we should never lose hope, that there CAN be life again after utter tragedy. Out of oceans of tears and sorrow, springs life and love again. And I couldn't help but share it with you. How utterly magical is this?

For Eric & Leah

2009-11-02T08:22:00.000-08:00

Okay guys, well, here's the only shot I got of the short-shorts-sporting grandpa...you can see a tiny bit of leg if you look right above the purple-triangle-looking thingy on the bottom right side of the picture. But lemme tell ya, the bare leg went up waaaaaay dangerously higher than that! Ah, so disappointing. I'll have to aim better next year...

Charlie's 4th Birthday Celebration...and Halloween.

2009-11-01T20:11:00.001-08:00

Charlie was a rhino for Halloween!

I forgot to grab him a trick-or-treat bag, so he "decorated" one of his birthday present bags with stickers. The kid is easy to please. "Ding-dong!""Knock knock!"

"Trick-or-treat!"Brian, April and Loralye (aka "White Tiger") came along with us. Sorry, Brian, somehow I managed to not get a picture of you! I guess I was too distracted by your daughter's extreme cuteness!My most favorite part of the night was the very first house we went to. This 70 + yr old guy answers the door in the shortest little shorts you've ever seen - and the funniest part was they weren't supposed to be a "costume", I'm sure of it. He was totally serious! My mouth was just hanging open, and April seriously laughed outloud! Made my whole night. Ha ha! Sleepy Rhino - after about 8 houses, Charlie said something along the lines of, "I'm already asleep, mommy." So we headed back home. :)

Charlie had his much anticipated "4th Birthday Celebration Bash" on the 30th. I meant for it to be a small gathering, since Charlie tends to shy away from lots of crowds and excessive noisey-ness. But, we ended up with a pretty good sized crowd and Charlie did great with it! He was SO excited and happy all night long. He loved it! The best part was about half-way through, when I said, "Charlie, are you having a good birthday?" And he said, very seriously yet also very dreamily, "Mom, it's EXACTLY how I wanted it to be." Melt my heart! I love that kid. :)

The night before his birthday, I attempted a 2-layer cake. Charlie doesn't even like cake, but insisted we have it because "all the other kids like it". Well, other than the bottom layer breaking completely in half...it turned out okay. Of course, I had a lot of help! And once it was covered in frosting, you couldn't even tell the bottom half was in 2 pieces!

I have to admit, although my OCD is mostly cured...if you compare the previous pictures to the following one, you can see how I had to take the 2 m&m's off of the letters of his name. I just couldn't stand it! It really bugged me, for some stupid reason. Sorry, Charlie.

Anyways, here's the finished product! Too cute. And yes, I did his name, although it might look like it was done by a 4 year old. Yeah, so I'm not too handy with the icing tube...

The "spread", and pumpkins designed by Charlie! He drew the mouth for the big one. And the little one was inspired by his "prozac pumpkin".

Ellie and Jasmine in baby heaven - holding Paisley and Ava.The pinata line-up!

Eli taking his first swing.Little Cody taking a shot!

Ellie

Blake

Jackson

Charlie - here comes the candy!

CANDY!

Opening presents.

Cake time!

Singing the song - he was a little embarrassed, thus the quirky look on his face. But, I could tell he was pretty happy about it, too! :)

Blowing out the candles!

Happy Birthday, Charlie. You are loved beyond anything you could ever imagine!

Art only a mother could love...

2009-11-01T20:05:00.000-08:00

Here's Charlie's entry to the New Seasons Halloween Coloring Contest: What do you think, is it a winner? :)

Kinda makes me think maybe he's got some issues with aggression?

Egg Factory

2009-11-01T17:36:00.000-08:00

Our chickens are in full egg-making swing! Today, we got 3. We're pretty sure that 3 chickens are now laying. So, 3 down, 8 to go! We are having so much fun. Every day we have a little egg hunt. This morning, there was a HUGE commotion, and sure enough we found 3 eggs (up until today, it's just been 2 a day), so we're pretty sure another chicken laid her first. Sorry neighbors...

Scrambled eggs, anyone?

"Flighty Whitey" is still putting out an egg a day - that's her white one on the right. The other hens are laying brown ones - on the left.

Blake's 4th Birthday - and our FIRST EGG!

2009-10-26T12:38:00.000-07:00

Blake is 4! We had fun celebrating on Saturday with all the Millers and Fletchers.

Opening presents.

Blowing out candles.

Waiting for a piece of cake.
Too bad it was "coffee" ice cream cake, as if all the sugar weren't enough stimulation for all the toddlers! Ha ha, oops - nice pick, Uncle Mike M.! :)

Playing with all the "little guys" with Aunt Maryann.

Sword fighting with Uncle Mike F.
(Charlie didn't want any part of this, but the other 4 cousins had a BLAST!)

Shirtless Warrior, Birthday Boy Blake!

Jasmine keeping those eyes protected, and of course fighting in pretty in pink style.Proud mom and dad watch their 4 year old enjoy his birthday!

Since Blake and Charlie are only 6 days apart, Charlie's 4th birthday is this Friday, the 30th. I can't believe the boys are 4 already! There will be plenty of pictures to come after Charlie's celebration, I'm sure...! :)

In other news, on Saturday morning, we FINALLY got our first EGG!!!

Flighty Whitey was acting really crazy all morning, jumping into baskets and buckets and "bawking" up a storm. So, we knew it was coming! She finally chose this old purple rubbermaid bucket that was filled with hay (completely ignorning our cute little nest area that Shawn built for them to lay their eggs in alongside the coop). After she "did the deed" she was a little traumatized. She burrowed down inside the bucket and wouldn't come out. It was funny, but also a little sad. I mean, really, she was probably thinking, "What just HAPPENED to me?!?!?!"

The fun part was that my sister and all of her kiddos happened to be visiting when it happened. So, Shawn came and got us and we all went running back there to check it out.

Shawn's reaching in for it.

Charlie was so proud of the egg! He took it in the house and kept hiding it in different spots. Then it occured to me, he was thinking we needed to hide it like an Easter egg. So silly!

Flighty Whitey strutting her stuff after the laying.

The egg is still in our fridge. It's really small. I am having issues with eating it. It almost seems like we should let her work all the kinks out before eating the eggs, get a few out, get the wheels turning, you know? Rusty plumbing? Is that strange?

Pumpkin Patch 2009!

2009-10-22T20:34:00.000-07:00

This last Sunday, we met up with the Miller clan at the Liepold Farms Pumpkin Patch. We got there a little early, so the 3 of us had a few adventures on our own while we waited.

Tried out the "apple sling". One buck gets you 3 apples to sling at some targets. It was cool but for some reason it was really bugging me that they were wasting all those perfectly good apples. I finally had to stop obsessing so I came up with this whole daydream involving a whole bunch of really happy pigs living out back who would feast on all those smashed-up apples later that night.

The proud apple-slinger!

And. Still waiting.

We decided to try out the hay ride.I pretty much really dislike how I'm looking in this picture, but I just had to put it up because the kid in the back is cracking me up. I think he was trying to pose with us. Charlie's long-lost older brother? Hey, they kind of look alike, I guess.

Charlie wasn't too crazy about all the noise the tractor was making!

We got back. Still no Millers. Still waiting.Ah, here they are!

Would you believe that Charlie is the YOUNGEST here?

Little baby Ava's first pumpkin patch trip - so cute!

Ellie and Charlie

"Let's do it together!"

Silly Ellie

"Let's go find Blake!"

The Millers
(Christine, you look a little crazed, what's up with that? Excited for the hay ride?)Ivan, Melissa and baby Ava & Justin, Michelle and little Viola - too cute!

My mom and dad are still on their crazy long road trip across the US. Right now, they are headed for Tennessee. If you look close, you can see where Charlie's been putting little tacks, and then the red string that traces their path.

They have sent postcards galore - much to Charlie's delight!
We miss you Oma and Opa, come home soon!!!Spotted this sweet spider web outside our front door this morning. I couldn't really capture how cool it was, it was much better in person. But how amazing are spider webs, really?

Pumpkin Prozac

2009-10-16T13:54:00.000-07:00

Charlie made this little Jack-o-Lantern at preschool today. I glanced at it briefly when I picked him up at school and told him "good job" and all that. When we got home, I brought it in from the car and took a closer look...hmmm...sad.

I didn't know preschool included art therapy - what a deal!

Not sure what was going on here, probably something about Mrs. Claus leading all of Noah's animals into the Promised Land in her big red fire truck...?Charlie decided these bad "aminals" needed a nice, long time out.Below is what I thought would be a great photo opportunity. The lighting was so perfect! I thought I'd just sneak up and take a few candid shots... Until I realized Charlie was missing his pants.Not ONLY was he missing his pants - he also had his blankey shoved up his shirt.That's our boy - he's an original!Charlie does not appreciate the bright sunshine at all. So, he often wears my sunglasses. He really thinks he's a big shot.Talking on the phone to Oma and Opa - who are gone for a whole MONTH road tripping it all over the United States.

We sure miss them! Charlie doing what he does best these days, chatting it up! He's holding 2 of our newest little baby chicks.

Papery Bakery

2009-09-23T16:12:00.000-07:00

Charlie's little play corner in our living room is referred to as his "bakery". He started calling it this when we first set it up for him. Charlie spends a lot of time playing in his "bakery".

But anyways, today I was puttering around cleaning up a little around the house and Charlie was in his "bakery". A few minutes later he says, "Look, mom, it's my Papery Bakery!"

And this is what I found:

Okay folks, I'm going to try to be a better blogger. I think between summer, Facebook, and Shawn's fantasy sports addiction (love ya, Shawn!)...the blog has been on a back burner. :) I think I have somewhat of a solution that might help: I'll try and do more frequent, but shorter, blogs.

THIS IS A HIJACKING

2009-09-17T15:10:00.000-07:00

Marlene, I have waited long enough for some new pictures! I am done waiting and I decided to take matters into my own hands. Due to the fact that Mars has completely abandoned her blog I am logging in and posting my own pics for the Fletcher family. This is for all of you who have been wondering when you will get to see more of these 3 wonderful people.

Here is Marlene King of the SCUM!

(Card game) She won so many times that she found a "I AM KING" sign in a magazine and proudly used it as her name plate.

Shawn's heart attack burger!

Charlie and is Dorito lips :)

Growl, Marlene being a lion & playing an animal card game with Charlie.

Can you tell Mars really gets into card games!

Mr. Fletcher

I just love this picture

Cousins eating pizza together

How cute is he?!?!

And of course a few of the fun pics from our photo shoot.

Another one!

2009-09-05T22:01:00.000-07:00

I'll post a "real" blog soon, I promise. But this was just too cute to not share...

"Lord Jesus,
Thank you for not making monsters in the whole wide world, only pretend monsters, so they wouldn't scare the little kids and so little guys won't be afraid when they go outside.
Thank you for making videos and books.
Thank you for making tools so people can fix things.
Thank you for making lights so people can see - and thank you for turning them off so we won't run out of air.
Amen!"

A new night, a new prayer

2009-08-30T21:06:00.000-07:00

Tonight's prayer: "Lord Jesus, thank you for protecting us from the scratching lions and tigers. And thank you for mommies and daddies. Amen."

Bedtime Prayers

2009-08-27T21:15:00.000-07:00

So, although you can't actually "see" anything in the video, it is SO worth taking a listen to - it is about the cutest thing ever.

Here's a transcript, in case you don't speak "Charlie".

"Lord Jesus. thanks for...being up there in the sky. So people won't - so the little guys, and the big people won't be so alone, be afraid of monsters. Cuz you're so, kind of like, you're big and kind of like as big as a giant and, well, look kind of like a duck. And thank you for protecting us from those monsters and ... thanks for making videos and books in the whole wide world and thank you for making cars so people, so we can drive. And, um-ee, thank you for making strollers for when our cars are, when all of our cars run out of gas and cuz our stroller doesn't have gas in it so we can just ride all the time. And, eeh, thanks for making other houses cuz I like to visit a lot...because, um, when people are all alone and they don't have their mommy and daddy, when they're not where they are then they stay home, cuz their mom and dad go somewhere else and it's night and the little guys are already in bed, um, thank you for being ... and you can be in the house when there's a monster up there and ... it's just pretend monsters in the whole wide world. AMEN!"

Our baby chicks are growing fast.

Charlie spends a lot of time making little "houses" and things for them.They spend a lot of time strutting around the house like big shots....
and I, in turn, spend a lot of time following them around cleaning up all their little messes.

(We lost our little black chick a few days ago. She just kind of stopped growing and one morning we woke up and she was gone. :( So, we're down to just the brown and yellow one now.)

Let's play "Name That Cop"Yes, folks, it's none other than the beautiful and famous Officer Devonna. Nikki, Charlie and I spent the better part of an entire Saturday hunting around the Hawthorne area on foot (and in stroller) for this celebrity.

Remember the game you used to play as a kid called "telephone"? Well, we had a grown-up, real-life version. Devonna told Nikki she'd be at 39th & Lincoln. Nikki thought she said 30th and Lincoln. So, Nikki tells me 30th and Lincoln and what do I hear? 20th and Lincoln. So...we park at 20th and Hawthorne, thinking we only have to walk a couple blocks over to Lincoln. Only to learn (to my dismay and Nikki's UTTER JOY!!!) that we are 20 blocks off. It was a day of WALKING, to say the least!

It was well worth the hunt - we got to stand at the street corner and smile and wave and snap pictures like the paparazzi for about 10 minutes...and then we had to "move along folks"!

Hmmmm...one way or another we always end up at Starbucks. :)

Ivan and Melissa finally got to welcome little baby Ava into the world! Isn't she gorgeous?!Proud cousin Ellie

Sorry it's been so long - blame it on the summer!!!

Benadryl perks and other stuff

2009-06-16T11:07:00.000-07:00

Charlie is allergic to something - we're not sure what it is yet. Every evening, around 5:00, he breaks out in hives all over his face. So, we drug him up real good with Benadryl and they go away - and of course there are some other perks to the Benadryl...

On the way to grandpa's wedding.
Eli, Jasmine, and Ellie. They are all growing up so fast!

My friend, Nikki, drove up to Portland for a visit, so Devonna and I got to hang out with her on Saturday. We walked up and down Alberta street. ALL the way up and down Alberta street - that's one of the benefits of hanging out with Nikki, you always get a REAL good walk in!
Thank GOD Nikki's doing better. Doesn't she just GLOW with beauty? I love you, Nik! :)
I love these two so much - we have been through so much together that I will never forget. :)

Charlie and Opa having a deep discussion.

Sickness

2009-06-01T13:58:00.000-07:00

We had a great time at the Cornerstone retreat this past weekend. It was so nice to just hang out with everyone and relax. Charlie was a little cranky and tired, but we still managed to have fun. On Saturday, Charlie took ... ready for this? ... a NAP! This kid has not taken a nap since he turned 2 years old, and he slept in our room for over 2 hours Saturday afternoon.

It was awesome!

Until we figured out the next morning why he had crashed out so hard. He had a high fever when we woke up Sunday morning. Poor little guy slept in my lap for the whole 2 hours of Sunday morning service at the camp. He was burning up! Thanks to the Moffats (both sets) and Jen and "Aunt Kisteen" for helping get him all medicated afterwards - he seemed to feel better on the drive home.

Today, we're just chilling at home. Charlie was up coughing most of the night, finally got "up" at about 10:00 this morning and wanted chicken nuggets with ketchup, LOTS of ketchup, and I thought he must be feeling better, so why not? He ate most of them, then I gave him Tylenol, the bright red variety. Afterwards, he crashed on our couch, our white couch, and his fever started to climb again.

If you can see where this is going, you are either a more experienced mommy than me...or just plain smarter, 'cause I sure didn't see it coming... Sure enough, just moments after I snapped the 2 previous pictures, our couch gained a new pink section. Ooops.

Well, a bath, some WHITE crackers, a banana, and a bowl of WHITE yogurt later, and he seems to be feeling a little better finally. We're just keeping the "puke bucket" real close by.

Here he is trying to smile, but you can tell he's still miserable. Poor baby!

For Melissa

2009-05-27T17:19:00.000-07:00

Hey all,

We are finally back up and running! We are getting all settled in from our move and are now fully connected with the internet world once again - yay!

I'll do a full post soon, but for now here are a couple cute pics for you, Melissa. Lucie and Charlie are being waaaay too cute right now - playing and playing and then playing some more. :)

Oh, and one last shot for Christine - making a cake with Oma!

My beloved grandmother, Mildred Lee Mason

2009-05-06T15:11:00.000-07:00

Mildred Mason, 93, of Clackamas, Oregon, passed peacefully in her home on the evening of May 4, 2009. Mildred Lee Mason was born Dec 8, 1916, in Fayetteville, Arkansas, to John Walter (Bud) and Verda Strickler. With the influenza outbreak of 1919, Mildred lost both her father and grandfather, William Strickler, within a week of each other. Mildred's mother, Verda, married a wonderful man named John Foster about 4 years later and the family moved to Washburn, Missouri.

As a child, Mildred was a very energetic, brave girl and she carried these traits with her throughout life. Mildred was fearless. She told of riding horses as fast as they could go and, at times, almost crashing into cars on narrow, winding country roads. She loved life and loved people. The friendships she made in her youth she maintained throughout her life.

Mildred met Leo Mason, who was the love of her life, down on Sugar Creek one summer day and their love grew over the next couple years. Leo went to Mitchell, Nebraska, to work in the sugar beet harvest with his father in 1936 and returned in October of that year. Upon arriving home, Leo went straight to Mildred's house and asked if she would marry him. Mildred said yes, and the couple found a Justice of the Peace and were married that day.

Over the years, Mildred and Leo did migrant work in Milton-Freewater, Oregon, and developed a love for Oregon and its beauty. The couple returned to Missouri and bought a little farm. Mildred and Leo soon built a small house where twins, Carl and Carlene, were born. While on the farm in Missouri, three more children joined the family; Ben, Betty, and Donna.

In 1948, the family of seven moved to Oregon and added three more children to the family; Anna Mae, Ronnie, and Phyllis. Life was hard with very little money, but there was never a shortage of love and good times. The year 1954 marked a low point for the family when young Anna Mae was killed in a fire in Boring, Oregon. Due to their love and a strong faith in God, the family survived and prospered. The farm in Boring produced wonderful crops of berries and lots of great memories.

Mildred was a woman of deep faith in God and loved to read His Word. Mildred's children recall kneeling in the family living room to say prayers, going from child to child until all had prayed. Mildred would faithfully take her large family to church whenever the doors were opened.

Today is a day of great joy for her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and great-great grandchildren as we celebrate the decades of tremendous love and blessings Mildred poured out upon each and every one of us. Pen and ink fails miserably to convey what this dear woman means to each one of us.

Mildred is survived by Carl and Sonja Mason of Roseburg, Oregon, Carlene and Claire Harstad of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Ben and Kim Mason of Russels Point, Ohio, Betty and Chuck Morris of Clackamas, Oregon, Donna and John Rector of Woodburn, Oregon, Ron and Catherine Mason of Wichita, Kansas, and Phyllis and Don Dumont of Portland, Oregon. Mildred was Grandmother to 17, Great Grandmother to 32, and Great-Great Grandmother to 3.

A Memorial Service for Mildred Mason will be held Monday, May 18, 2:00 pm, at Lents Baptist Church. In lieu of flowers, Mildred requested that donations be made to: The Women's Missionary Fellowship of Lents Baptist Church, 5921 SE 88th Avenue, Portland, Oregon, 97266, 503-771-7379.

Pray...and crying in Walmart

2009-05-06T12:58:00.000-07:00

Hi all. I don't have much time - so sorry if this is jumpy or random. I'm borrowing Christine's computer again. Thanks again, Christine! :)

First, I wanted to let everyone know that my beloved Grandma Mildred Mason (my mom's mom) passed away on Monday afternoon. It is so, so sad to lose her...but I am SO happy that she is free of pain and suffering now. I'm working on writing her obituary right now, I'll post it up here when I'm done. (BTW - I'm also doing the slideshow for her funeral...I went to Walmart yesterday and spent THREE AND A HALF HOURS scanning in 93 pictures of the family...then spent the next 3 hours CRYING MY EYES OUT IN WALMART when their scanner locked up and I lost them ALL...but that's a whole 'nother story for a while 'nother blog post...)

Second, my sister's friend's daughter could really use your prayers. Her name is Annie and she is 2 years old and she's dealing with a brain tumor. Please, please, please go on over to their blog and check it out and POST A COMMENT of encouragement to Annie's family that you are praying for them. That would mean so much to them!!! Even if you don't know them...which you obviously probably don't - just let them know you know and you care, okay???

Click here to see their blog

Sorry

2009-04-30T14:43:00.000-07:00

Well, folks, I'd love to blame the long absence on this whole "pig flu" thing...okay, well maybe I wouldn't LOVE getting the flu again. But anyways, the real reason for no blogs lately is that our stinky internet is down again. I'm hijacking Christine's computer right now. Thanks, Christine. :)

That said...I don't really have anything to say. I'm kind of speechless without pictures. Just wanted to let you know what's going on. Hopefully, we'll be back online soon.

Hmmm...on second thought, maybe I'll prowl around on Christine's computer and see what kind of interesting pics I can find to put up...

Here's an interesting one. Is this what they do when we're not around? Lay around on the kitchen floor admiring their slippers?

Or, maybe just hang out and stick Goldfish crackers in-between their toes...?Ah! I've figured it out. They gather 'round the camera and make funny faces for fun. That's what they do. Boy, we need to come over more often, I guess. Give them something better to do...

Easter Traditions

2009-04-11T19:13:00.000-07:00

Well, folks, in keeping with Easter Tradition - Charlie has the flu. The only Easter Charlie has been able to celebrate so far was his very first, when he was about 6 months old. Every other Easter since then, he has been sick, really sick. This year, apparently, it will be the flu. Argh!

Fortunately, this year we got some of our Easter celebrating done early, thanks to YaYa Carol's planning and the Millers' willingness to host! On Good Friday (yesterday) the Fletchers got together at Mike and Christine's for pizza and an Easter Egg hunt. I'm just gonna be lazy and send you to Christine's blog for pics. :) Gotta go take care of my sick little boy.

Pimp My Stroller

2009-04-10T13:02:00.001-07:00

This is too funny - especially if you (or your husband...) have ever watched the show "Pimp My Ride".

Excuses

2009-04-01T08:14:00.000-07:00

There are some pretty good reasons I haven't blogged for several weeks. Number one being our super-stupid internet connection. Today is the first time it has worked in about 2 weeks.

Other than that, we've been...

Planting seeds. NO, Lori and Rachel, you silly sisters, not "those" kind of seeds...these ones:

Building planter boxes for our vegetables.

Finding worms to put in the vegetable garden.

Being sick

Playing lots of hide-n-seek.

Doing lots of activity books.

Making super-cool stuff with the lite brite.

Some cool creations I have discovered left on the lite brite:

A "FLOWER" (apparently he ran out of the green pegs)

A "CROCODILE" (you can see the big jaws on the right side, and the tail on the left)

A "RUNNING GIRAFFE" (long neck and head on the left, tail on the right)

Lots of trips to the zoo

Charlie's rule: We HAVE to get a map every time, and use it the entire time...

Celebrating our 10-year anniversary on March 13th!

And, of course, lots of just goofing around. :)

Get some kleenex

2009-03-12T21:17:00.000-07:00

I wept liked a baby when I watched this:

Here's the info that was posted on youtube with the video:

"Nathan was a 16 year old, with Down Syndrome, who passed away and went home to be with his Lord. The news of his accident and death received nationwide attention. His memorial celebration was held on March 10, at Easthill Church, in Gresham OR. Almost 2000 people attended. This slide show was presented at the celebration."

A long day for mommy, a long day for Charlie ... and still missing Shawn

2009-03-11T11:55:00.000-07:00

Shawn is still in North Carolina. He gets home late Thursday night. Charlie and I are both missing him like crazy!

I got sick again yesterday - woke up at 5 am with the flu ... AGAIN! My mom, "Oma", came and got Charlie in the morning, thank goodness. I spent most of the morning in the bathroom, being sick.

By about noon, I realized I was becoming dehydrated again. I called the advice nurse and talked to her for a while. After hearing all my symptoms, she told me to call an ambulance! No way! So, I called the next best thing, my mom. :) My mom and dad came with Charlie, my dad took Charlie to Christine's - who also happens to be sick herself (THANK YOU, CHRISTINE), and my mom drove me out to the hospital. After blowing a vein in a VERY bad way, they got an IV in and I got all pumped up with fluids and other good stuff (Zofran, thank goodness for Zofran!). We were there for several hours (I can't remember...6 or 7, maybe) - then finally got to go home. My mom dropped me off here at home, then went to pick Charlie up at Christine's and take him home with her. When she got Charlie to her house, she had him sit on the potty (by now it was about 9:00 at night) and apparently the day finally caught up with him!

I am so, so tired of getting sick - not sure what is up with that!?

BUT, I am SO thankful for family - Oma, Opa and Christine.

God, why?

2009-03-04T00:12:00.001-08:00

Why so much suffering? It seems like one thing after another these past few days. I've heard about a number of tragic, painful, and devastating things that have happened in the lives of people I care deeply for in just that past few days.

And now this:

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/nathanvredevelt

My spirit is so heavy, it feels hard to breathe.

Please, God, just bring comfort to each of them:

The Vredevelts

The Knifong/Swift Family

Caitlin

Kimberly

Nicole

Abby

Nikki

Lauren

Cora's family

L & K

This kid is cracking me up lately

2009-03-03T09:47:00.000-08:00

Charlie's sitting on his potty right now, watching Sesame Street. He keeps going, "AAAAGGGGHHH" - making this horrible, ugly, scratchy screaming noise. And then, in a perfectly normal, serious voice, he'll look at me and say, "Is that not very nice, mom?"

New information

2009-03-02T23:22:00.001-08:00

Charlie has been teaching me lots of important, new things lately.

"Mom, snakes don't have knees."

"Birds don't have toes."

"Cats come in all kinds of colors, mom."

"Mom, some spiders are nice and some spiders are mean."

"Mom, both frogs AND monkeys can jump."

"Alligators don't have belly buttons." (Charlie calls his little, um, "boy part" his "belly button" - so I'm pretty sure that's what he's talking about - and, if you really think about it, it would be tricky for an alligator to have one of those...)

This is serious stuff, man. I need to take note.

Loving our kid!

2009-03-02T12:19:00.000-08:00

A "croc-dile" made by Charlie - one of his favorite things to do lately is to make little animals (usually "croc-diles") out of legos and then feed them, put them to bed, make them mommies & daddies, etc.
Love that precious smile - and the pb&j on his cheeks makes me smile, too!

This is one of my favorite things - Charlie and Shawn just sitting around making up silly songs. Charlie comes up with the lyrics, and then Shawn makes them into music. Charlie and Shawn just free-styling it. I could watch this for hours - it just cracks me up and melts my heart at the same time. :)

Meeting baby Paisley and 3-dollar "drit"

2009-02-27T08:57:00.000-08:00

Melissa (my sis!) had her 5th child one week ago today - Paisley Skye. Yesterday, Charlie and I went out to Rainier with my mom and dad to go and see her - Charlie's 9th cousin!

She is a DOLL!Charlie LOVED her to pieces, it was so cute.

Charlie's NINTH cousin!He kept kissing her and "nuzzling" her head with his. He even asked to hold her again after he had given her back to me. So sweet. :)Opa and Paisley
Charlie and Lucie doing a puzzle.
Poor Jackson was sick - and rested on the couch the whole time we were there.But he got lots of loves from Oma.Well, that's not entirely true - by the time we were getting ready to leave, Jack decided to climb up the wall.

Lucie, with a little "help" from Charlie.

On our way out to the car, we found this:

Those kids crack me up - little entrepreneurs.Charlie's a little obsessed with these hidden picture/sticker books from Highlights.He had to bring some for the car ride out to Rainier.And got a little help from Oma. Charlie doesn't really appreciate my camera-wielding ways anymore. :)

(Hey, is anyone else having issues with Picasa? I can't use it to blog anymore - it keeps saying I'm not connected to the internet when I try to load pics to the blog!)

Poor baby

2009-02-25T20:51:00.000-08:00

Oh, this poor little boy! This is really funny & cute, but also really sad - I just want to give this sweet little kid a hug.