Still a mystery

Day 6 rolled around and we woke up really early, once again, loaded Maddox into the dinosaur we call our car, and headed to Seattle. Bing's heart check up was at 8:30 and despite leaving at 5am, we hit Tacoma and Seattle right at rush hour and were a few minutes late.

Rob and Addie were headed to Hawaii but, had a really long layover in Seattle so... I dropped Bing off, turned right around and went to Seatac to pick up the honeymooners then, back to the hospital to get Bing. We grabbed a bite to eat, a coffee and then headed to Maddox and Lane's first Major League Baseball game, Mariners v Toronto Blue Jays. The Jays clobbered us, but we made the news and several news papers, what are the odds?!




The HEART of the matter
According to his doctor in Billings, this appointment was supposed to be a surgery consult. Back in January, when he was seen, his pulmonary regurgitation had progressed from moderate, to severe. With this progression, they expect the heart muscle to enlarge from all of the extra work it is doing. An enlarged heart is not good, it restricts blood flow and without surgery, will eventually shut off blood flow.

Some of you might think it odd that I didn't attend the appointment with the cardiologist; we decided there really wasn't any reason for me to be there. Why? Well, we have spent countless hours praying, and numerous family and friends have joined in prayers of healing and miracles. Bing has continued to exercise, we have fasted and, ultimately, we have trusted that God is in control. He obviously is not finished with Bing... :)

Doctor Linker was astonished with Bing's health. He said he hadn't ever seen someone so near the point of surgery(remember 2 years ago) come back so vibrantly healthy. Sure, his heart still leaks but, he has cut so much of the "bad" out of his life and maintains such a positive outlook that it doesn't affect his activities at all. Dr Linker said he doesn't need to see Bing for another year!
The miracle isn't the transformation in Bing's heart but, his spirit. He has forgiven people he didn't think he'd ever be able to forgive and as a result of that forgiveness he didn't "need" to drink like he had before. Once those two were out of the way, the smaller issues started to just fall away without much effort bringing us to the joyful and healthy state that we now bask in daily. It is amazing how a healthy attitude, and an attitude of gratitude can affect one's health. Of course the opposite is true as well... is there someone you need to forgive today?

Moving on...
After the game, we stopped in Olympia and had a funny dinner with some old buddies, some Billings folks, Jenn and Julian and some of our very favorite second cousins, Bob and Teresa. It was the most random group of people you could throw together but, it was fun! Then, on to Astoria. We hit up the arcade in Seaside and spent stupid amounts of money playing games to earn enough tickets to buy a rope licorice and a big tootsie roll. Best $15 we ever spent. Maddox frequently asks to "pay games mama, I pay games"?


I bet it took less than 5 minutes for him to eat that thing :)

We drank more coffee, watched more boats, and ate WAAAAAY too much good food.

Mmm, chocolate mousse

You too, Jetty-boo?

What a precious boy! I love this face.

The rest of the trip, we spent in Spokane. I have zero pictures and I feel like a real boob. Bing and I spent most of our time at the Spring Leadership Conference. It was a wonderful encouragement and we saw some amazing speakers, any of you heard of John Maxwell? Aunt Artie and uncle Fred, moved out of their house for the weekend so that we could have a place to stay comfortably with the kids. What a huge blessing that was! They are so very sweet.

Piper was a rock star and watched the boys for a total of 2 whole days. Also, a huge blessing. It is so nice to be able to leave the kids with someone we trust, who loves them and can't wait to give them back at the end of the day cause, we like having them back then too :)

Thanks everyone. We had such a blast and we loved every minute we had with you!

4000 miles

That is how far we drove in our 10 days on the coast. YIKES!
We bought a DVD player for the car, to keep Maddox entertained on the 18 hour drive getting there, and the multitude of car rides once we were there... genius! Jetty slept except when he woke to eat. I'm not sure that is normal for a 7 month old but, I'll take it.

I made these comfy pants for Maddox to wear in the car, they shrunk enough with the first wash that I will be undoing the hem and re-hemming, novice mistake.

Day 1
4:00am left Billings(miracle in itself)
6:30am stopped for lattes and a steamer in Bozeman, dropped off goodies to Reese
1:00pm lunch with Piper in Spokane
9:30pm stop in Portland say hi to Julian and Jenn
12:30am made it to Astoria! Dad got up to see us then went to work when we went to bed so that he could be home by the time we woke up. Now that's discipline!

Days 2&3 Clam digging, Coffee Girl, the jetty at Fort Stevens, and the Blues.
The boys had better luck the first day, filling Barney's limit (15) and Bing got close too. The second day, I joined and I loved it. I got 1 clam, all by myself. Not because I'm terrible at digging clams but, the tide didn't cooperate too well. That's my story.
Things to remember:
1)tuck your pants into your socks, it helps keep your socks from falling down in your hip waders

2)pay attention to the waves when you are on your knees digging a clam, Barney had to save me from calamity with a timely warning.
3)Keep your hand on the backside of the shovel, they're called razor clams for a reason

Maddox claimed this shovel, it is shorter than the rest. "Es my shovel" he practically speaks fluent Spanish already...ha!

Coffee Girl permeates my dreams at night, it is everything that is wonderful, especially after(or before) clam digging. If you are ever near Astoria, make a point to stop for coffee and sit watching the river.
There were dozens of enormous ships in the Columbia, vibrant and worn, they were stunning. We went for coffee on the pier as often as we could and watched them move slowly by. Papa and Maddox have a truly, special bond of mutual adoration.


We got to enjoy Barney performing at a quaint restaraunt in Cannon Beach called Sweet Basil. Bing got up and sang with his dad and they were a huge hit.

We spent several days in Grays Harbor, visiting family, grade school buddies, and fun places. We gathered oysters in Ocean Shores which, to me, is a treasure hunt and did not last long enough. Maddox didn't agree, he was so patient and sat on a rock, fearful of the flies and seagulls, so we treated him to icecream and bowling.

We visited Bing's Great Uncle Burch and his girlfriend Bebe. He is a sweet, tender man. Jetty started squawking from hunger, so Burch held him and sang to him and he was sweet as can be for an hour!
We stayed with Bing's sister Sissy, and her and her girls spoiled the snot out of the boys with attention and treats and toys.



More to come on Seattle, Dr. visit, and baseball!

Mishmash

Jetty is developing in leaps and bounds... 6 1/2 months marked the cutting of his first bottom tooth, rolling as a means of transportation, flopping as an alternate means of transportation, solid foods and lot of them, he has become less and less interested in nursing, he laughs and giggles at any attention Maddox gives him and he can sit for stretches of time without rocking himself backwards. Now that he rolls and flops, it isn't safe to leave him resting on a bed or even on the floor, he either goes boom or disappears.


Both of my boys looooove water. Bath time is a favorite but swimming and hot tubs are even better :)



In other news, the weather here has been really weird, we have had crazy winds, blowing Smart Car sized tumbleweeds(no joke, the thing may have been bigger than a Smart Car), snow falling after a nice week of 60 degree days. One snow fall provided enough wet snow for Bing and Maddox to make a whole family of snow people, who melted a horrible, sloppy death the very next day.

Maddox enjoyed the marshmallows and then refused to drink the hot chocolate... what is wrong with that kid?!


We head out to the coast in a few days and are praying for dry roads and safe travels. We are so looking forward to a fun trip!