Perrine Perch

Audrey Claire

2012-02-13T17:14:00.001-08:00

Miss Audy is just perfect. I have never felt cheeks so soft and buttery in my life. I love to just rub my lips across her cheeks and I could sit for hours just taking pictures and kissing her. Bing told me he thinks that I am way nicer to Audrey than I was to Jetty... and it is totally true. Not that I wasn't nice to Jetty, I just have more time to love on her because I don't have to leave for a job, I am generally happier cause I am mostly rested and she is my last baby.

We induced a week early trying to avoid another 10 pounder. Even a week early she weighed in at 8# 8oz. So, we went in at 7:30 am to get things rolling. It being my third baby we figured it would go quickly and we would have a baby by noon. I was on pitocin from 9-4 with very little results but enough had happened that my midwife decided to break my water. I waited an hour to get the epidural and that was long enough. About 7:20 Bing thought he would head home to get the boys in bed and then come back for delivery. I thought that might be pushing it so I had her check me before he left. Good thing... 7:30 I started pushing and at 7:45 we delivered the sweetest baby girl. They put her right up on my chest and she just grunted and squeaked while we rubbed the copious amounts of vernix from her. Bing cut the cord and they just let me hold her and hold her until I was ready to have her weighed. It was so nice to be leisurely about it all and to do things in my time, not dictated by doctors or a frail baby.

The boys just adore her and are so gentle and sweet. Jetty is so tender with his sister and really loves to kiss her head and pet her. Initially he was jealous of her binky and wanted to have all of them but now, he will try to put his in her mouth... turns out, she isn't really interested!
Maddox will find her sleeping on my bed and will go round up his blanket to cover her. Then he just sits there admiring her.

So far, Audrey has been a great sleeper and is eating very well. Most nights she only wakes once to eat and so we are pretty well rested. She has been such a dream. Can't wait for you all to meet her.

I have a whole lot more to update on. We are moving to Coeur d 'alene in less than 3 weeks and so I am very busy trying to pack, care for three kids and get all of our business in order preparing our taxes and securing insurance. It is BUSY around here, so forgive my lack of updates.

2012-01-19T12:51:00.000-08:00

Just a quick update.
I am now 38 weeks, the ticker says 12 days until I am due. I beg to differ. I'm ready now and I think baby girl can come at any time. The changes in my body could mean she comes today or she may not. That part kind of sucks. I feel great other than minor discomforts associated with a foot in the liver or lungs and occasional sciatic nerve pain. I still sleep well at night, I am not ill and despite what others might think, I am quite small (at least compared to last time). I am having fun buying cute dresses and shoes and headbands but have decided to wait until we move to invest in another crib and other large pieces that would just mean more work in a few months.

Maddox is sweet to his sister and tells her goodnight and good morning, gives her kisses and thanks Jesus for his sister "Laundry". That will make sense when I go Internet public with her name. Yes, I will tell you to your face if you ask me but, no, I will not yet publish it on the web. Jetty, oh Jetty. I am slightly scared of what he might do. He gave me my first black eye last week and he uses his head as a lethal weapon. He has the ability to snuggle you sweetly and be a little pumpkin and then smash his head into you with surprising force, taking you by complete surprise. He does well with puppies though, so I am hoping a small human being is safe in his presence. She will be one tough little cookie :)

Bing continues to be healthy and has had no issues with his heart for a long time. He goes in for regular check ups and ICD interrogations just to see what is going on but, the doctors have been astounded by his complete turn around.

He and I are happy and loving the life we have managed to make for ourselves. God is so wonderful and the miracles he has performed on our spiritual hearts never cease to amaze me. We can hardly recognize ourselves as we were 3 years ago. The hurdles and hang ups, the addictions and poor choices, we were on a really ugly road! I am so grateful for the man of character and integrity Bing has morphed into. He is passionate about pouring into others, he works tirelessly to provide for our family and he makes special time to spend with the boys on a regular basis. I'm just so proud.

Jetty is up now... so done or not. See you soon :)

SOLD

2012-01-05T21:40:00.000-08:00

I know I have still to update on our Christmas adventures on the coast but, you'll have to wait.

A few days before we were to fly home a couple called Bing about our home. We had left it quite clean, tidied up and toilets scrubbed so I told him to give them the code for our lock box and have them look through. They LOVED it and wanted to sit down with us after we got home. They are only in town until the 8th and so we met with them the day after we got home, they walked through again and asked all of the questions they had, the unusual heating and cooling, solar panels and efficiency aspects do raise some questions. Bing attended to them while I wrangled our insanely busy boys and so I was not privy to all of the goings on but, they made Bing an offer that night and he told them we would discuss, pray and get back to them. We countered, they countered, and we re-countered. Then they accepted! They came over tonight with a bunch of family and friends to walk them through and show off the house they are buying. It was great that they did it all at once cause this mama is tired of cleaning up to show it, ha! They ushered out the fam and we got down to business with the paper work.

We will close early to mid February and then we will continue to rent from them for about 2 1/2 months. That gives us time to have a baby, find a home to rent(God willing in Coeur d' Alene) and move. They are young, married last summer, he is finishing school for geology and is working for Stillwater Mining Co. and she plans to get her masters in Psych. They have no children yet so, they have room to grow in this house for awhile. While I had not met them previously, we have a TON of mutual family friends, we know so, so many of the same people it is wild. They are just the couple we have be praying for, and I am excited for them to have this home!

I am thrilled to start a whole new chapter of our life. While I am sad to be moving away from my family, it is the adventure Bing and I need to grow: as a couple, a family, and our business. To be in a new place where we are both starting fresh, making friends as a couple instead of inheriting mine or his, finding a church. and relying on God and each other instead of our family... that is what we look forward to.

This year has been full of blessings and we marvel, daily, at the things God has done for us. Three years ago, we never could have dreamed the life we now have and I believe with every ounce of my being this is just the beginning. I am humbled by His good works in us and grateful beyond words for His abundant grace and mercy.

Moving Christmas Party

2011-12-13T23:48:00.000-08:00

A rare glimpse of Jetty being sweet to his brother. There are usually bats swinging, guns firing and balls flying but occasionally, they slow down long enough to hug.

The gun is up, things are about to get rowdy!

Jetty has taken a liking to all of Maddox's CARS stuff. Sometimes Maddox will tolerate it and sometimes not. Jetty likes to snatch toys from Maddox and run wildly away.

Moving is hard work! We had the joy of traveling to Bozeman for the weekend to assist Rob and Addie in moving to their new, fabulously large and pretty home. There were no official babysitters on hand so there were lots of breaks for naps, snacks, discipline and light saber dueling.

Mom and dad stayed at a hotel with a water slide so we spent one evening swarming the small pool, and the two lovey couples shamelessly hanging all over each other, in order for the boys to have some fun. Maddox and Blake enjoyed it the most but we managed to get all of the wee ones down the slide at least once. It was not a tame slide, they really shot out at the bottom unless care was taken to slow down, Matt did a great job with all three of his boys...

Mason

Mad-man

Blakey and papa

Unamused Jetty

Smiggy

Schuyler Clan

I must have caught Sawyer on Mom's camera, there is proof somewhere that they all did it.

We also had Christmas for the kidlets, as we are all going separate ways this year we wanted to celebrate as a family. Reese was in Denver enjoying other family and so we missed her but, I'm sure her weekend was far more relaxed than it would have been otherwise! Pop tarts and camo was the name of the game and they thoroughly enjoyed being showered with goodies.

It was a delightful time together, and though I know we were a help, I feel like we hardly made a dent in the mountain of boxes stacked in the Bedford's garage. Also, it is interesting and funny to hear what comes out of Maddox's mouth after a full weekend with his cousins. The chore becomes deciphering what he picked up from his dad(crapface) and what he learned from the younger crowd(poopyface, I'm gonna fart on you). What have your kids learned from us recently?

Ornery little buggers

2011-12-05T21:54:00.001-08:00

This progression cracks me up. They already grab at each other and pick and poke just to bug the other. It is funny to watch but, I wonder how long I will think it is funny before I just get sick of it!

****
Awhile back, Bing got permission from his docs to run another half marathon... he wanted to take Jetty and even the score. Well, he did it. Just to say he had. Jetty made it about 3/4 of the way before I picked him up and snapped a few pics. I like his wonky legs in this one :)

Going Coastal

2011-11-26T13:18:00.001-08:00

We hit up the coast of Oregon, yet again. It was a lovely time of relaxing, eating, coffee drinking, waterfall hiking, rock throwing and generally just playing. Bing and I had a weekend away in Portland while Grammie Marcia and Grandpa Barney watched the yahoos, with only one, almost trip to the hospital :) Maddox pretended to have pain somewhere, and wouldn't stop crying until grandpa was half way to the hospital, pistol!

I have a whole bunch of these that look awesome when viewed quickly but, I'll spare you the repetition...

He even started going down this backwards. I'm sure I will be well acquainted with the E.R.

Youngs River Falls

Fuzzy-wuzzy caterpillar

Trying to hit the big, spawning salmon

Jetty likes to dance, we call this his "pimp hand"

Oh what mischief they will cause together!

One of many coffee dates at Coffee Girl

Maddox claimed all boats as "his boat" and we made many special trips to one in particular

Sometimes he refuses to nap and then he passes out at dinner, I caught this right before he tipped and then I caught him :)

Grandpa Barney indulging Maddox in boat watching

Jetty had some sort of reaction and his eyes were super puffy and red, he healed right up though

Our date to the arcade, Maddox looks an awful lot like me in this :)

After the arcade, we had ice cream for dinner and kicked at seagulls on the beach

And then, we saw a shark exhibit. After the first shark eating pic, Maddox insisted on taking one with ALL of the sharks, and then an Elvis painting on the way to the car. Funny kid.

Jetty slept through most of the adventures, so he has fewer action shots

Jennifer and Julian joined us for "Iron Chef Goes Coastal", which is a benefit for the local chapter of United Way. There are a ton of fabulous restaurants in the Astoria/Seaside/Cannon Beach area and they get together and compete for titles, there is a silent auction and tons of food for sampling. We had a nice time out sans kids (except for Julian), eating and chatting and bidding on silly things. I came home with a few dozen light bulbs and two big bags of Boy Scout Caramel Corn... Bing is still cursing me :)

Under pressure

Trying to catch us crab for dinner, turns out, dinner came from the store that night :)

Saying goodbye to one of his boats

Trying to scare the poo out of Jetty before we loaded him into the car :)

The only picture I have of our time at Auntie Sis' new house. We had some fun visitors while we were there. Love you Bob and Teresa!

We look forward to coming back soon! I just hope we get to see more people next time. We missed out on Auntie Piper, cousins and all of Bing's grade-school buddies. There sure is a lot to fit in to 2 weeks!

Travelers

2011-11-08T21:49:00.000-08:00

Bing had a meeting in Rapid City with a very wealthy oil man, a client of his, so the whole family went to enjoy the many sights and attractions in the area. I had no idea that there were so many fun and interesting things to do there and it is only 5 hours away! On our list of things to do:
*Mount Rushmore
*Reptile Gardens
*Art Alley
*Water Park
We skipped the water park for lack of time and nap-time conflict but it looked really awesome, the other attractions were quite fun and the boys were content in the hotel pool/hot tub. Bing's work partner and his family came and Maddox claimed the youngest girl, Kody, as is best friend, literally... he called her his best friend. Not sure where he even learned the term but it was stinking cute to hear.

Mount Rushmore was unexptectedly cold

The reptile gardens were really warm, muggy, and disgustingly stinky. Bing and I both thought we might throw up from the smell.
A domed building, kept at the right temperature for several hundred reptiles combined with the things they eat and expel = horrid smell. It was still really neat to see, and Maddox ran from one tank to the next, excited to see what could be in the next one. He loved the crocodiles and repeatedly called them caca-doodoos.

This is Maniac, he is HUGE, 15 feet 7 inches!

At the end, they did a live, snake show. They brought out a cobra in a plexiglass box and it struck several times at the box, Maddox thought it was HILARIOUS and busted out into a contagious giggle each time. He was thrilled to pet the albino Burmese python, so much so we were the last to leave.

Art Alley is an entire block of alleyway that is covered in extensive graffiti work, mostly tasteful and very vibrant.

The boys love to wrestle and play together which is really a blast to watch. They are going to be such great friends :) Maddox talks to his baby sister and every so often will give her kisses. Jetty, we are teaching him "nice", "gentle", and "soft" in preparation for a new baby. Otherwise, his default is hair pulling, scratching and slapping the face... awesome.

Sweetest boys ever

2011-11-02T17:46:00.000-07:00

We headed to Bozeman for Halloween, trick-or-treating, a little cousin time and, a head start on our trip to the coast. We had a delicious meal with the Schuylers and then headed out for some doorbell ringing with Super-Sawyer-lightning bolt, Spiderman, Spiderman, a duck and a Soldier.

Maddox insisted on entering every house as soon as the door was ajar despite many attempts at explaining the proper etiquette.

You can see here, Maddox is standing NEXT to the candy lady, facing the camera :)

All was well, until the third time that Maddox ate it and smacked his face on the cement. He got a little skinned on his upper lip and squealed like a stuck pig.

You can see the owie on his sweet little face.

I got him calmed and he desperately wanted to know where his candy bucket was and to rejoin his cousins. Reese and I headed inside with the littler guys and the dads took the boys for more trick-or-treating. Upon their returning I learned that Maddox had fallen several more times, the last time breaking the bucket... the dads didn't realize what had happened and so he left a trail of candy behind him as it fell out the bottom. Bing recovered a small handful and Maddox was perfectly happy eating all of it, not realizing all that he had lost. I, however, couldn't help but cry for my sweet knight. I continued to replay the falling and candy dropping over and over in my head until about 4 am, and would melt into sobs, I was a big mess. He didn't even realize that he was bleeding until mid-morning when I pulled out a mirror to explain why it hurt every time he scratched at his owie. What was supposed to be a fun night with his cousins hoarding candy and sorting the loot turned out much less glorious than I had in mind, but Maddox didn't even notice. When I asked him today if he had fun last night, did he trick-or-treat with his cousins, did he get lots of candy and eat it all.... the answer was a happy yes on all accounts. He is so tender and sweet, I just melt for this kid. I suppose I could take lessons from him on having a positive outlook.

Jetty had fun too, his monster mittens made it impossible for him to hold a bucket but he stood with the best of them, waiting patiently for the candy to be dispensed.

little stinker

After eating all of his candy, we put the boys into jammies and headed out for Astoria. We rolled into town at about 9:30 this morning, napped and recovered from a really long night of driving. Whew.

because typing one handed is so tedious

2011-10-13T23:06:00.000-07:00

It has been life as usual around here, nothing terribly exciting to report on. I am still recovering from surgery, I have one week left in the splint and then I start some exercises to make it work right. We have a few trips planned for the next two months which will mean a whole lot of driving and a whole lot of fun. The pregnancy has been super easy, the boys are super busy and we are loving our life.

Here are a bunch of photos from the last of summer, they are just cute and require no stories...

Maddox loves kids, he just wants to be everyone's friend...

1st and 3rd

2011-09-27T13:42:00.000-07:00

Well, we recently celebrated both of our Boys' birthdays, several times... Maddox woke up on his birthday to grammie Marcia who flew in the night before to assist gimpy mom :)

He came downstairs to a new train set and drawing easel.

A muffin with a candle for breakfast, golfing with his daddy,

and then a sweet CARS cake from the Myers grandies.

He finally got his very own rifle (the toy variety), a Buzz Lightyear doll and blanket, to make a pal for his Woody doll, and numerous other prezzies. It pretty much rocked! I slept through the whole day, waking only for the moments described to you.

On Jetty's day, we headed to the Muzzle Loader for a fancy breakfast(by fancy, I mean red-neck), again, with candles.

Jetty burned his pointer, of course, but not bad enough to stop him for long! He devoured pancakes, eggs and some sticky bun and a funny older gentleman gave him a dollar, too cute.

He got a brand new Rody rocking/bouncing horse from the Perrine grandies

a musical standing station (not a good idea), sweet new shoes and a panda cuddle pillow. It is hilarious watching him with all three, especially seeing him sprawled out on a pillow in his crib or smashing Maddox with the drum sticks. Rody is a wee big but, he'll fit it in no time. We had a yummy dinner and cake at the Myers', Jetty was so cute with the cake and Maddox just wanted in on the action.

The next day, all of the cousins came for pizza and swimming/sliding at The Reef, an indoor water park. It was a blast, even though I had to sit out.

There are so many photos from this fun, a slide show is the only way to go!

Dr. Says....

2011-09-14T15:28:00.001-07:00

Our baby has "indoor plumbing". Double and triple confirmed :)

A brief briefing

2011-09-12T13:50:00.000-07:00

Saturday September 3rd, I severed the extensor tendon across the top of my left thumb. This is the tendon that allows you to lift your thumb into the hitch hiker position. I was trying to cut a packing strap on my new hose reel, the one I bought on clearance because I'm too cheap to pay much for such a tool.... it has since become a very, very expensive reel.
My kind neighbor rushed me to the walk-in clinic while his wife stayed with my kids until grammie Monie showed up. Bing had volunteered to help scrape and paint a lady's house that particular day and met me at the walk-in. The clinic sent me over to the E.R. where they could offer me numbing agents while trying to asses the damage. I have NEVER screamed like I did that day, the process of numbing my thumb was the absolute worst. I don't know if being pregnant had anything to do with it but I was a big, huge, crying, wailing mess.
They decided my tendon was severed and faxed my info to the Orthopaedic center for surgery the following Tuesday, as it was Labor Day Weekend... of course.
Tuesday I waited and waited for the call, they were all mixed up but, got me in for a consult with the Pediatric Surgeon, upon realising that I am pregnant he decided that surgery would have to take place at the hospital, as opposed to the Surgery Center, so they could monitor baby's heart rate. Surgery was on Thursday the 8th and went superbly. They blocked my arm and put me to sleep so I wouldn't be aware of any nasty sounds or smells. I woke up happy and, according to the nurse, funny. I wore a cast to immobilise the thumb until today, when they made me an awkward splint that I have to wear for another 5 1/2 weeks!

Mama Marcia flew in on Sunday night, just in time for Maddox's birthday! She will have been here for two weeks by the time she leaves. She has saved our butts! I can't really lift the kids, effectively bathe them or maneuver in the kitchen, knives and utensils are suuuuper awkward and probably pretty dangerous. I can't change a diaper or wash the dishes, or even shave my own armpits :) Even though I'm right handed, it is amazing how much I use my left hand. Try it for a day, you'll be astounded how helpful that second hand can be!

So, who wants to move in for a few weeks after Mama leaves us? Free room and board, stinky diapers, and lots of thank yous will be your payment.

Camping fail

2011-08-28T23:37:00.000-07:00

Seeing as we live in Montana, it would be a sin not to take advantage of the many beautiful mountains, lakes, fishing, camping etc. So, we headed to the mountains for a fishing excursion. We had more luck with the wild raspberries. Next, we attempted a camping trip to Woodbine Falls, a favorite spot from my childhood. It was a tedious process of packing everything into the "burb" and then actually finding a spot that wasn't reserved. We found a goody, unloaded our stuff and rolled out the BIG, HUGE, EXPENSIVE, ENORMOUS, canvas tent, only to find it was moldy and rotting. Apparently we put it away damp last October and it proceeded to fester in our garage.

We enjoyed a campfire, sloppy joes, s'mores, and nearby river for a few hours before heading home to sleep in our cozy beds. We caught no fish but, Maddox and Jetty had a great time throwing rocks, sticks, and whatever else they could get their grubby hands on.

Going Coastal

2011-08-13T22:25:00.000-07:00

The day after ma and pa Myers visited, Bing and I drove to Cosmopolis and dropped the boys off with Auntie Sis and the girls. We lucked out and Adara was home from Bellingham for her 21st birthday so we got to see them all! Upon leaving for Portland, we realized that our hotel was not reserved for Friday night, just Saturday so, we went out to a very nice dinner at a little know place called Jimella's outside of Long Beach. Then we found a secluded beach access and walked along the surf only running into three riders on horseback. Then, we headed back to mom and dad's and took off for our conference the next morning.

The conference was phenomenal, as usual. I describe it as church camp for adults. The weekend was full of people sharing their testimony of success in the World Wide/Amway system and all of them giving the glory to God. What other "job" offers training and leadership seminars that revolve around Christ and helping others. The goal of this business is to teach people how to be leaders of men and how to be even more successful than those that go before us and mentor us. None of my old bosses ever came to me and said, "Lane, I want to show you how I made millions of dollars and then teach you how to pass me in our business and be even more successful than I am, oh and, I love you and I believe you have what it takes!" It was so encouraging and fun to be around thousands of like-minded business owners who don't think you are weird for pursuing something other than a job that will never offer freedom of time and money.

We headed back to the harbor to gather our brood and love on the Randich family some more. One of Bing's friends from Kindergarten took Bing and Maddox out fishing in his boat. It was a first for Maddox and he even got to reel in a small trout! I didn't go along and so, there are no pictures of this fun trip.

Bing and I left the boys with mom and dad, again, and celebrated our third anniversary in Lincoln City. We sat by a fire on the beach, until the wind made it impossibly unpleasant, and then we had an amazing "dinner" of appetizers and dessert. We made a habit on this trip of ordering all of the desserts on the menu or ordering 2-3 appetizers at a time until we exhausted the list. Beachcombing was the name of the game on this trip and, while we had fun, we didn't come up with much :)

To tie a bow on the trip, we spent a night in Spokane and played the next day with Auntie Piper. There was a killer Corvette show at Riverfront Park

We played at the amusement park, and tried to cool off in the fountain

Maddox wanted to ride in the planes and was the only kid in line, last minute, two other kids showed up and novice Maddox, not knowing what to do, climbed into the back of "Random Kid's" plane. He sure enjoyed it though!

He made dad ride the boat with him, and he wanted to "hode hands, hode my hand", the whole time. He makes my heart melt.

Lovin some Piper time!

I love my life

2011-08-02T10:26:00.000-07:00

We have just returned from 2 1/2 weeks on the Oregon coast. IT WAS AWESOME! We are so fortunate that Bing is able to work from anywhere he has cell service and therefore, we are able to take extended trips without giving up income.

The first week was spent uninterrupted in Warrenton with Barney, Marcia, Jennifer and Julian. We explored antique shops, Fort Stevens, Youngs River Falls, and Seaside; we went beach combing at Cape Meares and ate out A LOT.

Sunset at Seaside Roundabout

Boys poking things with sticks at Cape Meares

Maddox A-D-O-R-E-S Julian. Most used question... "where's Juuuian?"

Annual family photo at Youngs River Falls

Maddox loves splashing in the surf, he would get sufficiently wet and then run up to the dry sand and promptly trip, coating himself like a churro. Then, walking would be unbearable and he would beg you to hold him...dad is more of a sucker than mom :)

He was not having as much fun as I was! Haystack Rock in the background.

Jetty liked all of the eating. He eats more than any baby ever born! The beads at Lil' Bayou were a big hit.

Mom and Dad Myers were on a fishing extravaganza and made their way to Astoria for a day and night. Bing and my Dad went on a guided Sturgeon fishing trip. According to Bing, Dad caught all of the keepers and a 6.5-7 footer, Bing caught all of the babies. They are prehistoric looking bottom feeders, they have no bones and their meat is nice and white, much like Halibut.

The girls and babes shopped a bit, had a fun lunch at Coffee Girl and then headed home for a mean(slightly vicious) game of Scrabble. Then, Barney made a huge pot of crabs, and Marcia cooked up her famous Clam chowder and we ate like kings!

MORE TO COME!

Patriots

2011-07-07T15:06:00.001-07:00

I love fireworks. I love blowing them up to honor our country and the Freedom that we are so blessed to have here. I love the food, the smell of sulphur that lingers in the air, the boom in your chest and the sparkly crackles in the sky.

Our subdivision puts on a first-rate production including a parade, street dance, games, cook/bake offs and a fireworks display to boot. We have yet to participate in the events as our family likes to celebrate together and you know what, there is just something satisfying about lighting your own fireworks and getting a little singed from the sparklers, churning homemade ice cream on mom's back porch, and roasting mallows for s'mores. I wouldn't give up my family time for all of the friendly neighbors in the world! Plus, there are slightly fewer mosquitoes at mom and dad's :)

Jetty slept through all of the noise which was perfect since he doesn't actually care for it. Maddox held his ears and joyfully yelled, "see it mom, see it"! He loved the fireworks and was fanatic about sparklers until he held it upright and caught a spark, no damage done.

The Perrine contribution... man we had fun buying all of that!!!! You can't see all of the big repeaters under that stash, there was a lot, it was awesome.

The partiers( Myers, Bedfords, Nuttings, Mckinnleys, Perrines)

Maddox churns his first batch of old-fashioned, homemade ice cream. What a helper.

Addie broke him in and warmed him to the "sparkler". He couldn't get enough after that.

What did you do to celebrate our freedom?

SUMMER!

2011-06-26T23:34:00.000-07:00

We have finally had some nice, hot days amidst the stormy nights. We have been making the best of those days and soaking up as much of the sun as we can.
Father's day, Maddox got a lesson in how to pee like a man, minus the super cute buns.

Jetty was brave and crawled way out in the yard and Maddox buddied up to him

We hit up the wading pool at Pioneer Park with a girlfriend and her babes. Maddox was too hot to handle in his "eyes" and Jetty was awfully brave, as if he isn't aware that he doesn't know how to swim.

We spent a hot summer day at mom and dad's with some friends, had some tasty pizza, the first, fresh picked strawberries of the season, stolen at gun point.

Maddox is becoming a boy, not a toddler or a baby. He is a big guy, with a big vocabulary, big personality and he is doing more and more on his own. Even though he does not like bugs, Horse Mascots,rowdy puppies, snap-pops or pop guns, he bravely mastered the big slide.

Jetty too... he has ceased to enjoy baby food and wants to eat whatever he can snag with his sticky little fingers. He got hold of a whole hamburger patty, half of a poptart, some tree bark, potato salad, and his brother's smores, he loves food.

Aaaaand, check out those top teeth!

****
In other news, I am now 8 weeks pregnant and have a baby the size of a kidney bean. I feel wonderful, not much of an appetite but when I do want to eat it is usually pretty particular. Bing went to Wendy's at midnight to snatch me some Jr. Bacon Cheeseburgers, tonight I had to have chinese. We had a flu bug move through the house last week, that was brutal. All good now though!

Sometimes I wish I didn't take so many pictures

2011-06-19T22:42:00.000-07:00

We had an impromptu trip to Bozeman on the same weekend as my folks, so the whole fam was there together, enjoying the fickle weather. We spent most of the time together, outside: pummeling Maddox with the hippity-hop(pretty much everyone had a shot at him), roasting marshmallows, "fixing stuff", and all around enjoying one another.

Preparing to "fix stuff"

Daddy's favorite sport ;)

Tuckered punkin

Maddox wandered out of the camper with a box of matches and then actually lit one...awesome.

Handyman Schuyler
(WHY can't I tell them apart? If I can't see Smith's freckle I am stumped)

On Sunday, we headed through Yellowstone National Park, praying and hoping to see a moose. Bing had never seen a live moose. The weekend before, Mom and Dad went through and didn't see one... we saw 5! The first mom and baby were so far away, you could hardly make them out with my telephoto lens, better than the naked eye. Those moose, each time we saw another it was closer than the last. How cool is that?

Mom and baby 1&2

moose #3 &4

Moose #5
Each photo was taken with the camera fully zoomed in so you can tell how much closer we were each time! We also saw a black bear, loads of Bison, deer & antelope. No wolves. I'm fine with that.
Coming over the Beartooth Pass was exciting. There were 12 foot banks of snow still fully encasing the highway, it was foggy, snowing and slushy. At 11,000 feet on a road that you know falls off the face of the earth, because you've seen it without all of the snow, it gets you a little freaked.

Um, Mother Nature, it's June, can we please have our summer now?

There are lots more photos, check out the slideshow to see the rest.

Creepy crawlies

2011-06-09T10:50:00.000-07:00

Well, Jetty now crawls. He is very mobile and very cute. He doesn't move terribly fast just yet but, goes right for electronics.

Maddox has discovered guns and loves shooting at the TV, my bottom, dad's jewels, you know, what Funniest Home Videos thrives on.

This was an intense movie, as you can see in his face. This is pre-haircut... He hates them so much I do one super short cut as infrequently as I can get away with.

On a rare sunny day we had a play date at the park where Jetty moderately enjoyed the swing while Maddox went round and round on the slide.

My friend's little guy loves babies and was so tender to my Jetty, even with his own baby brother laying inches away.

We had a fun family night just days ago, we made cookies and Maddox helped measure and scoop, he added the chocolate chips one at a time and licked the beater.

Then, when the first batch was baking, he headed out for a quick bike ride. He is easily distracted by simple things like rocks and dandelion puffs.

He hasn't yet mastered the strider bike but waddles along just fine.

Quick swing break, and then in for the goods...

Delightful, no?

Multiple cookies didn't quite hit the spot so he climbed up and helped himself to some "menon".
We love having our dad work from home. We have such fun times together and often get to take mid-day breaks and play during the good hours, when most daddies are at work. He is never "too tired" to play catch or take the boys to feed the ducks. It has been such a huge blessing! We are so excited to add another bundle to the brood :) Nothing so precious as new life!

Boys upon boys: A photo barrage

2011-05-29T20:49:00.000-07:00

First of all... who would ever have thought that the Myers/Nutting/Womack clan would have sooo many boys. For decades, it was the slough of girls versus Wesley. Now, between me and my two older sisters we have 6 boys! With Birthdays and family visiting from Denver we have had the great pleasure of spending lots of time with our cousins.
It has been raining for almost two weeks now with very few breaks. There is major flooding in some parts of the state but for us, just copious amounts of mud, snot and, worms. Every time we visit my folks, Maddox winds up stripped to his skivvies and we are scrounging around for something to wear home, and I get a bag full of muddy clothes...except for the one time I came prepared, then he stayed perfectly clean but for the marshmallow smeared over his face.

Mud, snot, and worms(I hate snot so much it took everything in me to not delete this)

Nogi Bear

Snot trough Mud Slinger

Sweet Sawdog

Feisty Sawdog

Uncle Todd, aiding and abetting

Maddox adores his cousins, of course, and has recently transitioned from parallel play, and just watching the older boys, to being fully engaged. Last weekend we went to an indoor water park where Maddox and Smith went round and round, for at least half an hour, holding hands and climbing up to the biggest kiddie slide. Once at the top, Smith would usher Maddox into the tube and then follow him down. They'd climb out, hold hands and run back to do it again. Then, we got to go back this weekend with Blake! *****
A few of my favorite quotes from the last week:

"Maddox, Maddox, wanna go down the yellow swide with me"?
"Where's Smiff, where's Smiff, wets go"!
"Go see cussins, I see Mason, I go swimmin"
"Go see Grammy, I see the chickens" this is his assumption every time we get in the car.
Me: Maddox we're gonna go swimming with the cousins!
Mad: (no response)
Me: Maddox, did you hear what I said?
Mad: Yes, I hear you. I honk your nose, honk, honk, honk.

And while those are adorable(at least to this mama,) the squeals and peels of laughter were really the best.

After spending a weekend with the older boys, Maddox made his first attempt at standing while urinating, unprompted and REALLY inaccurate :) There is a definite learning curve and he has since reverted back to the old method. Of course I snapped a photo because it was hilarious and Bing was missing it but, as I thought more about it, I decided I would like him to like me during his teen years and thus, deleted it. I have not a single photo of the water park because I was actively involved in the fun and my camera is not water friendly, but trust me, it ROCKED!

For Good measure. Jetty is rarely involved in the heavy action and so the only pictures are of him being totally adorable.

Shoving in puffs by the handful

Can you believe those eyes?!

***** Thanks Auntie Gail for hooking us up!

Gun slinging, club swinging, egg finder

2011-05-24T10:00:00.000-07:00

Easter was mellow this year,we participated in the neighborhood egg hunt on Saturday morning, we went to church,had a nice dinner with family and a mock egg hunt for Maddox on Saturday night and Sunday morning we went for a drive in the mountains and explored Benbow Mine.

Jetty is now 8 months, is cutting his top teeth and whines a lot. He really likes to be held. Except for when he doesn't want to be held, then he wiggles and pushes away until you almost drop him. He LOVES puffs and eats them vigorously, dropping most of them on the floor where Maddox comes along on his hands and knees shoveling them into his mouth. Jetty thinks that Maddox is hilarious and laughs hysterically at him... boys are great. I love that they love each other!

Ah balls. Let the jokes begin.

2011-05-07T22:14:00.000-07:00

We made a last minute decision to drive down to Denver for the weekend. There was another Leadership Conference that Bing wanted to attend with a couple of folks and I got to spend the day relaxing with the babes.

My cousin Hannah had a lunch/play date scheduled with another friend and her two youngsters so we crashed the party. Midway through the day, we had a pleasant surprise. Joy, another cousin who lives three hours away from Denver, was stuck at the airport and wanted Hannah to rescue her. It was so much fun! Joy and Hannah are both pregnant and our three oldest children are within 6 months in age. I haven't seen either of them since Aubyn's wedding, last August and it was nice to spend some 1-on-1 time and catch up. They both got to meet Jetty for the first time and he was very well behaved and tricked them into believing he is an angel :)

Is that the face of an angel?

The boys spent most of the afternoon throwing balls: at each other, at the garage, at the fence, and ultimately, all 75 tennis balls and the horse ball, wound up in the neighbor's yard. Once the balls were gone they turned to wrestling. Rather, Noah laid on top of Maddox while he shamefully cried like a little girl. Looks like Bing's dream of having a wrestler has been dashed! It was pretty stinking hilarious. To get back at him, Maddox dumped sand on Noah's head and got it in his eyes.

Selah hung with the boys like a real champ. Neither of the boys tried to wrestle her or bury her in sand although, Maddox has not learned the art of sharing balls. In his mind, all balls are his and he doesn't care how cute you are, he will take it right away.

I love Noah's face in this picture so I had to include it.

And this one looks like they are all line dancing,
I'm not sure what caught ALL of their attention. Must have been something really cool.

The only picture of either cousin. Joy and her bambino-belly.

Maddox bracing for impact.

And... thunk!

Still a mystery

2011-04-27T22:19:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-22T15:21:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-04T12:30:00.000-07:00

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!

Chicks

2011-03-24T14:40:00.000-07:00

I have been to Bozeman more in the last couple months than all of the last few years we've been living in Billings and boy is it fun! I love being in the same place as both sisters and ALL of the boys. They are loud and slightly out of control but, they are boys, and they have fun knocking each other around.

On one such trip, we packed all of the rascals to Murdock's to see the bunnies and chicks. The chicks are sooo cute and we all just wanted to pick them up but alas, it is not allowed.

Maddox and Sawyer

Sawyer particularly likes Jetty. He gets right up in his face and says "hi" repeatedly and in a very high pitched, sing-song voice. It is pretty stinking cute.

Dunked

2011-03-19T10:39:00.001-07:00

Can I just tell you all, how VERY proud I am of this man. My husband is so passionate, honorable and self sacrificing. He earnestly seeks the Lord's heart and will for our life and wants nothing more than to give abundantly to others. One of his chief aims in life is to bless others and to increase their quality of life, so much so that we have discussions on budgeting and what we need as a family first. He literally would go into debt to help others.
He has made a miraculous transformation from the man he once was, and if you cannot see God's hand in all of that, you are blind.

Brief synopsis: two people meet at a mall 1000 miles away from his home, fall madly in lust, party and drink and carouse, move in with his folks 1000 miles away from hers, get pregnant, move back to be close to her parents, get married, have several heart attacks and survive them, Bing quit drinking(almost 2 years w/o a drop!), win a house,quit smoking, get pregnant, start our own e-commerce business. Because of this business, Bing was able to find a day job (alongside another business owner) that supports us to the point that I can be home raising two of the most beautiful and precious boys in the history of man.

While Bing had already begun the journey to a closer relationship with Christ, the mentorship that he has received through our business associations has spurred him forward with great ferocity and zeal.

We have the great joy and honor of meeting with five other couples and exploring life issues and studying the Bible. The couple who hosts this group are phenomenal people, who have been "doing life" with my parents for the last 30+ years. Bing asked Fred if he would baptise him as an outward declaration of the choice he has made, to serve and surrender to Christ.

I AM SO PROUD OF YOU BING PERRINE, I MUST SHOUT IT TO THE WORLD! YOU ARE AN AMAZING HUSBAND, FATHER, AND LEADER. YOU HAVE THE MOST TENDER AND SELFLESS HEART AND GOD MADE YOU BROKEN SO THAT HE COULD SHOW MANY PEOPLE HIS GREATNESS THROUGH YOU. I DON'T KNOW WHY GOD CHOSE US FOR THIS EXTRAORDINARY LIFE BUT, I AM HUMBLED AND HONORED TO BE A PART OF THE GREAT WORKS HE IS ACCOMPLISHING. I LOVE YOU ENDLESSLY.

LANE

ah poop!

2011-03-09T13:32:00.000-08:00

Well, today was the open house for all of the Realtors in town. When you stay up until 2am cleaning and organizing, 8am comes really early. The open house ran from 9-1 and they recommend that you not be there so, the boys and I headed out to ma and pa Myers'. This Sunday is our first public open house, we pray for a buyer.
Enough about that.

****
Maddox is still doing great in the bed, and he is learning the art of procrastination and potty tactics. Yesterday, at nap time, he attempted to get to the potty but, here is what happened.

He got out of the pull up, accidentally peed on his bed, started for the bathroom but, it was more urgent than even he knew. I came upstairs to him cheering, "I did it, I went poo poo" while holding the potty tray and showing me his victory. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of his failure, lying in the doorway to his room. At least he was trying to get to the potty! Ah, the joy of toddlers.

Jetty is starting to get into the new schedule I am enforcing for him. In bed by 9:30 and if he wakes up before 8am, he gets transferred to the pack-n-play in the other room so he can cry it out without disturbing the rest of the house. The last few nights he just decided that sleeping is good and he passed on the crying, yay!

Mom leaves tomorrow for Israel so it was great spending the day at her place, away from Realtors, in the sunshine, playing baseball, and running the length of the property to gather rocks and then throw them into the ditch. Mom got a sassy new hair cut too, look at how pretty she is. I ADORE my family.

For Sale

2011-02-28T16:35:00.000-08:00

We met with some Realtors again today. After an ineffective stint, trying to sell on our own, we decided to let the best have a crack at it. Ron and Betty Bergland are an amazing couple, they work as a team and are so very sweet. While Ron was going through papers with us, Betty was bouncing and talking Jetty to sleep. He was cooing and gurgling and chatting up a storm for Betty until he conked out.

What they do...
They take a bazillion pictures and virtual tour and they list their homes on every site imaginable. They get it out into as many places as they can and do a darn good job. They are leagues above the other Realtors that we considered as far as their presentation and process. They have nice color copy handouts, market analysis and comparables and they take the time to talk you through it all and explain why they want to price it where they do.

As they were getting up to leave, Betty said "We'll start praying now". I just love that! It wasn't insinuating that it would be difficult to sell but, that they entrust their business to God. Amen, R&B :)

I am excited for what is to come, I feel like I am vibrating these days. Each chapter of our life just gets better and better. I feel a new season of growth coming, and while that usually isn't EASY, it sure is fun!

Children for sale, you haul

2011-02-23T22:25:00.000-08:00

My goodness. Jetty thinks that he is the boss of me, every forty-five minutes he wants to eat for five minutes before falling asleep. And when I go to lay him down he wakes up screaming bloody murder until he is nursing again. Every so often he will accept a bottle but, it is NOT the preferred method.

So, after several hours of battling the little devil, he fell asleep again. I asked Bing to take him and lay him in his crib. Of course, he woke screaming but, when he entered the room Maddox was saying, "haircut, I wike ya hair". This is never a good phrase coming from Maddox. It means that he has some sort of goop, food, or slime and is rubbing it all over his head. He found the vapo-rub, got back on his bed and began scooping it out and onto his head, jammies and favorite blanket.

Bathing your child in DAWN soap is never a good thing.

He was sooo happy with himself and wanted to bounce off of the walls with excitement for what he had done and he kept repeating, " I wike ya hair mom, I wike ya hair".

Anyone looking to get on some REALLY EFFECTIVE BIRTH CONTROL? I've got what you need.

Photo Fix

2011-02-21T12:47:00.000-08:00

Maddox wearing Jetty's jeans, buttoned and everything. So, if you were considering buying him capri pants for spring, don't bother, we have hand-me-ups :)

Jetty sleeps just like Maddox used to. He looks almost identical too, I can't wait to see their grown up faces although, I am not ready for them to grow up!

Maddox was so sick, and so tired. He didn't sleep well for days and pooped out on the couch.

Jetty looked terrible and sounds even worse. His cough is super yucky but, he is recoving otherwise.

Loving his feet.

Loving his face

They ADORE each other, it is just too cute.

Roomies

2011-02-11T21:38:00.000-08:00

Maddox is doing fantastic in his bed. He doesn't get down until we come in and get him so no problem with toys or wandering into our room. He just sleeps, who knew that could happen?

We moved Jetty into the crib and the nights have been so much easier! He usually sleeps from 10-5:30 and then back down until 8:30, which is so much better than waking up two or three times a night.

On top of that, the boys are now sharing a room. Neither one of them seems to be bothered or roused when the other is crying and I just can't believe how easy this transition has been.

Maddox got sick from the other little guy I have been watching and has been feverish, coughing and wakes up crying "hurt daddy, hurt". It just breaks your heart to hear him so sad and sickly but, on the bright side, he actually cuddles me! I don't want him sick, but I really love the snuggles. We took him to the Doctor because the cough is so terrible, of course it is a virus of some sort and nothing can be done except managing symptoms. They weighed him and the kid weighs 30lbs now! Holy crap, how are my arms not totally ripped?

Big boy

2011-02-07T22:33:00.000-08:00

Oh my goodness, my heart is overflowing. Maddox is the sweetest toddler on the face of this earth. Tonight is his first night in a bed. Just as soon as I had the bedding on it, he climbed in. He gave me a hug, said "dreams" because I always say sweet dreams when he goes to bed, and then he pushed me away and snuggled in.

When I peeked in on him, this was the scene. He climbed out of bed, got his beloved baseball, glove and hat and got back into bed. And he didn't even make a peep when my noisy and bright flash went off to capture the moment. What a good kid, I really adore him...

Ahh naps, gotta love them

2011-02-03T14:36:00.000-08:00

OK, the kids are both sleeping and I don't have Joshua today so, I am going to try and hammer this out!

I have been watching a neighbor boy for about six weeks now and have him until the end of February. Tuesday-Friday 8-5:30, he is five and has a ton of questions. I am learning a lot about myself through all of this, like, I don't like people all up in my business. You don't need to know why I am in this room or that, upstairs or down. I move around all day, and you should just be OK with that. And no, I don't know what is for lunch yet, probably PB and J since you are vegetarian and we eat meat for every meal. To be fair, he is completely normal for a five year old, but I don't have one of those yet, my two year old is still learning to put sentences together and has not yet learned the art of asking questions. So I am learning to answer them politely and without snapping as he is also a tender hearted, sensitive little man. I am surprised he doesn't break into tears half of the time, because as you all know, I am not the "coddling" type, I am more apt to say "buck up and brush it off", than I am, "are you okay"(insert comforting mommy voice).
Anyway, he is a sweet, well behaved boy and we are all learning a lot from this.

Jetty continues to bewilder me. He sleeps through the night sometimes and others he is up three or four times. I am wondering if he doesn't have acid reflux issues because, he won't be soothed until he is upright, popping the binky back in just doesn't do it.

We will be transitioning Maddox into a big boy bed this next week, and Jetty into a full crib. I'm not exactly sure where everyone will be, the two boys in one room might not be an option with screaming Jetty. Once Maddox is in a big bed, I will try potty training again; what is the point if he is trapped in a crib and needs to go at night or early morning. I have tried leaving the crib rail down but, he has not even attempted to get out, he'll lay there with his feet up on the wall talking to himself until you come in to get him. Now, when you walk into the room he says "there you are(high pitched singsong voice) good morning momma!"

Maddox has LOTS of words, phrases and, some sentences and continues to be a joy. He is generally very polite and well mannered, happy, silly and very tender. He makes us laugh all day everyday. Jetty is also a joy when not waking up in the middle of the night or screaming his head off while I'm trying to make dinner. He has a huge smile and the sweetest giggle. He is now rolling from back to front really well and he loves his feet.

Maddox also loves to dance! The original is over two and half minutes long :)

Dedicated

2011-01-16T21:50:00.001-08:00

We had the boys dedicated at church last Sunday. They did just great! Both of them were silent and well behaved as Pastor Stan prayed over them, and over us; that they would be strong men of God and that we would be diligent in raising them up in the church and according to the Word. Here is the video that the church sent us.
What are those boys up to these days? Well, Maddox is a riot, per usual. He is most certainly a busy two year old and very smart and sassy. My favorite right now is when he goes potty in the toilet and then says to himself, "Good job Maddox, you did great"! It is so stinking cute, even when he barely tinkles, he is just so proud of himself. Also, he uses his Sit-n-spin as a step stool, dragging it all over the house and teetering on the post to grab at things we are trying to keep from him. He now totes his Woody doll around and says "hey cowboy, yee-haw". He frequently grabs my face and kisses me repeatedly saying "muah, muah, muah, muah".

Jetty is coming into his own. Now that we have figured him out a bit, he is so very sweet and mild tempered. He is very, very happy and smiles and giggles often. He is extremely grabby and once he gets a hold of your hair, or the skin on your neck, or your nose, there will be pain to get it back. He also does this super sweet, and tender thing when he nurses where he puts his hand up to his cheek. He loves to snuggle equally as much as Maddox hated it. He would be perfectly content to be held and kissed and nuzzled always. He gnaws on everything, he is constantly shoving both of his fists in his mouth and tries to catch anything that comes close to his face. He likes his binki, but he wants me to hold it in and then he holds on to my hand, it is precious and annoying, cause mama has stuff to do, darn it!

I finally grew my hair out, the longest it has been since 7th grade. I really didn't care for it! All that time and all I wanted to do was chop it off. Ma Myers got me a cut and color for Christmas... brilliant! So, Saturday, I treated myself to Starbucks and then got pampered for 2 1/2 hours. Can you believe it? 2 1/2 hours all to myself, no diapers, boogers, slobber or tripping over trains; just me, my coffee and some girly chatter.
This is the best before shot I could come up with

aaaaand the after shot

2 Minutes of joy

2011-01-12T16:52:00.000-08:00

CHRIST-mas

2011-01-01T14:01:00.000-08:00

More of Christ, that is how I interpret the word Christmas. Mas (pronounced moss) means "more" in Spanish, more Christ. We all need that don't we. Our little family of four went to the Hymn Sing at our church and for the first time in 27 years I listened to the lyrics of the most popular Christmas songs and felt them, and understood them. They tell a story, and I always sang along without a clue as to what they meant. It is much more fun to sing them now, let me tell you, they have meaning and significance, they aren't made up like Santa Clause and elves, they aren't greedy and centered around gifts and treats and ugly sweaters. I so want our boys to grow up knowing why we celebrate Christmas, that our Savior came to earth as a man in order that he might be a living sacrifice for our sins. The gifts are fun, but, they should not consume this holiday like they do and bring on the stress that I feel.

We stayed in Billings this year, and my sisters stayed in Bozeman, so Christmas was a quiet and personal affair. Mom and I headed up to Bozeman the Tuesday before, the cousins all played and fought and played some more, the women chatted and sort of supervised, but mostly let them do their thing. We drank coffee and ate Mom's tasty chili, and homemade treats from Reese, we did a very little bit of shopping and then we headed back before it got dark. It is not supremely difficult, it is IMPOSSIBLE, to get six children to look at a camera and smile all at the same time. Between mom and I we got some decent photos, but none where they are all looking...HA! Joke is on us for trying :)

Christmas Eve, we packed the boys over to Grammie and Papa Myers for nachos and some gifts. I requested nachos for dinner much to Bing's dismay. They just so happen to be one of my all time favorite foods and they are so easy and quick, no hassle, mmmmm, I want some now just talking about it!
Christmas morning we spent at our home,we ate a yummy breakfast and opened loads of gifts.

Thinking we wouldn't have much under the tree, I wrapped every t-shirt, candy bar, and sock individually. Well, the packages just kept coming in the mail and we had soooo many gifts to open, we had to force Maddox to keep opening and stop playing. Jetty's stuff got pushed to one side and had to wait til later since he had to go down for a nap in the middle of everything. Christmas evening we had a delicious Prime Rib meal at the Myers with several of their friends. We played a few games and enjoyed the "mature" company, they are older but not so mature.

Most of the gifts we gave this year were hand made by Bing or I, we are trying to live within our means while still giving meaningful and appreciated gifts, not something random that we bought because we aren't' really sure what our family wants or needs. That being said, every single one of the gifts that we received this year was absolutly, dead on; things that we were needing or really wanted. Maddox needed a whole new wardrobe basically and he got loads of great stuff: socks galore(fun ones just like mama likes), pants, shirts, shoes, puffy vest, a CARS rolling backpack, jammies and nap mat, the movie "Toys" with a Woody doll and blankie, books, a leather jacket and sunglasses(hello James Dean), a book written and illustrated by Grammie P; seriously you guys did good and we THANK YOU! Jetty is most snuggly in his new Bundle Me car seat cover, he sleeps like a champ in that thing! He also got some great stuff but less exciting to talk about :)Bing got a piece of petrified horse crap from his wonderful niece, she even wrote "sorry Lane" on the package, we no longer speak to that side of the family... HA! We were most blessed this Christmas, much more than we deserve.

New Years Eve we also spent at the Myers house. Reese and a few of her boys were there and we just hung out. Maddox and Smith played while the adults watched Toy Story 3. Bing and Dad enjoyed a cigar while lighting off some fireworks to awe the wee ones. We were home by 10:00 and in bed before 11:00, we read our books like real adults and were asleep before the ball dropped. I slept in until noon, only waking to feed Jetty a time or two. It was much needed, and I praise my husband for allowing me this sweet luxury!

As promised, photos of some of the neighborhood decorations. There were many, many more, I just didn't get out with my camera.

Brother Love

2010-12-16T22:37:00.000-08:00

Thought you all might enjoy a glimpse of the boys. Maddox sure loves his Jetty... maybe a little too much.

gobble gobble

2010-12-03T23:22:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving was delightful this year. We were missing some of our favorite faces, but the food, oh the food. It is hard to believe that the old favorites could get better, but they were.
We had 2 of the 3 Myers girls and 5 of the 6 grand boys. Hans and Aubyn, the Schuylers, the Myers and the Perrines. Rob, Addie and Blake didn't make it on account of the weather.
Maddox sure loves his cousins, although he mostly just watches them play, he is getting better about joining in.

Christmas started going up the day after and will probably be done(ish) tomorrow. I made Mama Marcia's creme wafers for a neighborhood gathering and all 3 dozen were gone within an hour. Bing and I have been trying to start a collection of holiday music and I'm thinking that a yummy Yankee candle in pine scent may be in order. I should probably start a puzzle just to pull it all together and make me feel like a kid growing up on Harvard Ave. all over again.

Our neighborhood decided on Whoville for a theme. There are story boards lining the street as you enter the "hood" and the houses along the main street have fun, whimsical cutouts and lights. I will post pictures soon, this must be shared.

And now I will end my rambling until next time.

2010-11-20T20:25:00.001-08:00

Jetty had his 2 month baby visit and as we suspected, he is a big boy :) He was 13 lbs 2oz which puts him in the 85 percentile for weight. Not a roll on the boy though, he is just dense! At this visit, we learned he had an ear infection but that wouldn't stop them from stabbing him 3 times with needles to vaccinate against worse things.

"Bulldog"

The funny thing is that his ears didn't really seem to bother him. Anyway, he is now on amoxacillin to obliterate the infection, but that gave him thrush. So, throughout the day, Jetty gets 2 doses of amoxacillin, 4 of nystatin, and special nystatin paste for his butt. Then, I have an ointment to use after nursing so we don't pass the thrush back and forth. There is a whole lot of medicating that I will be oh-so happy to be done with.

Sporting the OWL hat my friend Janelle knit for him.
We aren't into a solid routine just yet but most nights he sleeps between 7 and 9 hours. AMAZING.

Maddox is a good brother. He mostly ignores Jetty, but when he is paying attention it is all hugs and kisses and petting. Potty training is on hold, as Maddox is not interested in participating. He loves the treats for staying dry and going on the potty, but not enough to do it without prompting and 24/7 supervision. I love the way his britches get all folded and awkward when he pulls them up by himself.

He did this to himself. Funny and totally unsanitary!

Play doh is a favorite right now as is playing swords, coloring, trains, and watching movies. Kung Fu Panda, CARS, Bob the Builder and Astro Boy are common around here. We would LOVE new movies for Christmas... just an idea (by we, I mean Bing and I).

The snow is coming down in Billings and Maddox is finally big enough to enjoy it a little. We went out today and stomped on the perfectly flat snow. Maddox likes messing up the perfection and will go in a line down the sidewalk pressing his hands into the fluff.

Boogity-BOO!

2010-10-31T21:11:00.000-07:00

Bing was in Denver this weekend, so I was alone for sugarfest 2010. To do it up right, Maddox had a Poptart and juice for breakfast. After his nap I fed him muddy buddies and more juice while he watched CARS.

"Mums the word" is right! Don't tell dad :)

Jetty gets really excited about candy. Aunt Sissy sent us this 3-6 month ditty that already fits at 6 weeks, and Grammy Myers made the cute blankie.

I asked Aubyn and Hans to come over and trick-or-treat with us and help me with my sanity, since I'm not smart enough to help myself and ease up on the sugar. Maddox was supposed to be a fireman but, he refused to even touch the costume, much less try it on. We opted for Red Sox player since I knew it wouldn't be a fight and we had what it takes.

He loved ringing the doorbells, and was very thankful but, refused to say trick-or-treat.

Jetty came along as the token, tasty treat. We all took turns munching on him and helping Maddox.

We hit about a dozen houses and retreated to the warm house and a glass of wine and passed out candy to the older, greedier munchkins.

I'm so very happy the Bones were here to lend a helping hand and some adult conversation. THANKS Hans and Aubyn!

2010-10-30T16:35:00.000-07:00

I can't help myself... I know my family can appreciate this. And, while I don't like to steal other peoples' thunder, they don't blog. Julian has the most awesome Halloween costume ever, Inigo Montoya, from the Princess Bride. If you haven't seen it, RENT IT.

Get some coffee and settle in

2010-10-21T15:15:00.000-07:00

I sometimes forget what I have and haven't shared, it is Facebook's fault. These might be repeats for some of you but, I know my mom and some others will appreciate it!
We went to the Nuttings and helped chop wood, by "we" I mean Bing. I stayed out of the way and nursed the babe. Maddox was born to be a little logger, or at least look the part.

***
I made fried chicken for the first time, it was perfection.
***
We went to the pumpkin patch to get fall pictures... harder than we thought. It was getting too dark, Jetty doesn't sit up on his own, Maddox is two and the list of obstacles could go on and on. It was a really fun place though with big slides, a tee pee with a corn "sandbox" inside, a cow train pulled by a four wheeler, two different corn mazes and homemade kettle corn, YUMMY!

***
Jetty is straight thuggin' and is not as easy as Maddox at this stage. He cries more, we are pretty sure he is really gassy, like Bing. Actually, I think he has some reflux issues and his skin is a bit sensitive. We had to switch to fancy pants, expensive diapers to save his rear :(

***
Bing works from home now and so we get some good "daddy time" which usually involves little clothing, baseball and quite often treats. The favorite right now is caramel apple suckers, we love them.
This is mini Bing
Maddox is a superb mimic so watch your mouth when you come to visit!
***
Barney and Marcia came to visit and kick my tail at Scrabble. I am sure Marcia's only purpose in coming was to serve me up a fatty slice of humble pie. But really, they are such a blessing and a joy to be around. Barney got to go pheasant hunting with the menfolk, a much anticipated event around here, and the women ate popcorn, played scrabble, went antiquing and checked out the Harvest Fest. The visit was faaar too short but we crammed a lot of fun into the time we had.

***
I turned 27 this year, AAACK!

Bing made me a tasty cake and we celebrated with my parents and the Nuttings.

I bought myself a crown and scepter, because my household needs to be reminded who is the pretty princess. There is a whole lot of testosterone around this place.

Maddox likes pink

Jetty hates baths and has learned naughty gestures already

but is oh so sweet when he sleeps

Who's who?

2010-10-17T23:05:00.000-07:00

Can you tell which baby is which? If you don't already know the pictures, my bet is NO.

To see a larger version, click on the photo.

Take what you can get

2010-10-14T13:20:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm not sure I am ever going to get birthday pictures from Julian so we'll go with what I've got.

He was the super star of the day, being celebrated like a champ. We started off with chocolate chip, banana pancakes topped with whipped cream and a candle. He loved the candle and we had to relight it repeatedly. Even now, when we have pancakes he requests "fire".

After breakfast we went to church where Maddox was moved from "walkers" in the baby wing of the nursery to "2 year olds" in the awesome wing. He loves going there, with the slide, and basketball hoops, and coloring, and running around, it is all kinds of fun!
After church we were off to Grammie and Papa Myers' house for a birthday celebration with cake and LOTS of presents. It took a minute or two for him to get the concept of opening presents and after the first one he wanted to be done so he could play, but he soon caught on. The kid made out with some major loot, as you can see.

play guitar, real guitar, knit monkey backpack, books, play dough(tons of it), sweet new clothes, helicopter, puzzles,a cellphone, and CARS(swim trunks,sippy cups, books, and his very own Lightning McQueen)
Strider bike from Aunties Tiff and Piper and Grammie and Papa Perrine

Thank you everyone for showering us with lots of love and toys with batteries :) Your turn will come!

JWP

2010-09-16T13:11:00.000-07:00

Jetty Willson Perrine has finally joined our family !
- September 15th at 8:40 am
-weighing in as a heavyweight at........ 10# 7oz!

His head was 14 inches around, the same as Maddox. I thought it was 2 inches smaller, turns out, the rest of him was so big that his head is dwarfed in comparison.

THE BIRTH STORY
There was an amazing electrical storm and sheets of rain pouring down. Bing and I watched from our porch and every upstairs window we could see out of and I said, "watch, I'll go into labor tonight ". I started feeling crampy and noticing some blood around 10 pm on that rainy Tuesday night. About 10:45 the uncomfortable contractions started but were nothing I couldn't handle. I had asked my mom to be in the delivery room so we called Mama Myers and warned her, it could be a long night. Her and Julian showed up around 11 pm, I hopped into the bathtub hoping to relax some muscles and power through contractions. It helped a lot, slowing the contractions and making me relax. We sent Mom home and told her we'd call when we headed to the hospital and Julian stayed the night to care for Maddox.

Bing and Julian watched "Of Mice and Men", while I lay in bed breathing through contractions. I got minutes of sleep here and there, but the contractions were consistently 3-5 minutes apart from the get go. About 3:45 it was too uncomfortable and we headed to St. Vincent's where Mom met us shortly after. I was already at 4cm and 90% effaced.

By 6:30 I was at 6cm and 90%, I got my beloved epidural, she broke my water and we were on our way. My midwife said we'd probably have a baby before 9am. Too bad, there isn't a picture editing function to remove extra chins....

My epidural was more appropriate this time, and I could actually feel pressure, my contractions and when to push... all without pain :) 8:15 I said I think it's time, midwife agreed, and pushing commenced.

Jetty's head made it out, but the rest was lodged in my pelvis, not wanting to budge. The midwife had to reach in and pull his shoulder forward in order to get his body out before he lost all oxygen to his head. With that tight of a squeeze, the umbilical cord gets pinched and the diaphragm is useless, so there is a real risk of losing the baby when they are stuck like that.

No problem for us though! He popped right out, no broken clavicle and just a slight cone head. Surprisingly I was almost completely unscathed. Five stitches later and I'm good to go. I was up and walking around the next day. I feel wonderful and my body has mostly returned to me. I am 3lbs heavier than my pre pregnancy weight just 8 days later! I can thank my linebacker for that. I'm sure he eats around 1000 calories a day, HE'S huge!

Stew is back

2010-09-12T21:30:00.000-07:00

Oh yes, he didn't go far. He had been hanging around and showing his face here and there, hiding under the neighbor's grill, eating the tasty bites we used to lure him without getting caught. Alas, the neighbors caught him and put him back in the cage....he then got out again, within the hour.
Today, I set a hunk of lettuce in a big Tupperware bin and tipped it on its side, when he crawled in to munch, I flipped it up and tada! caught. Now there are clips holding the cage closed, opposable thumbs required :)

Still PREGNANT!?

2010-09-09T21:48:00.000-07:00

I am now 39 weeks, according to the doctors. I didn't think I could get any more "rotund" but I am apparently wrong more often than I will admit. I had an appointment today that provided good but altogether uneventful news. I am 2cm dilated and still just 50% effaced. Doc says with the second pregnancy , it is common for women not to fully thin out until labor is in progress, and often the baby doesn't drop until then either. If you don't understand what all of that means, you probably don't want to know anyway. My feet and ankles have become quite a sight! I have never, ever retained water like this, it makes me giggle every time I look at them.

****
Stew escaped today. I am not at all disappointed, although I feel bad that he most likely got eaten by a large bird within hours of freeing himself. Maddox loved the little guy and would stick his hand in the cage and say "come on bunny, come on" it was sooo stinking adorable. I am sure he will forget about it soon, especially once the cage isn't sitting empty in the yard!

****
Bing's heart is doing really well, all things considered. The doctors told him to stop running 1/2 marathons because he doesn't feel pain like he should, he doesn't know when he is pushing his heart harder than it can handle. He now runs 2 or 3 miles every other day and has lost over 40 pounds. He's lookin' good, let me tell you, mmm-mm-mmmmm! He started taking supplements that we sell on our website and at his last doctor visit we were surprised to hear that his leak has improved slightly. That is unheard of, so they will retest him in a few months. Who knows, maybe the omega-3 heart health is a miracle drug... who knows.

****
I'll have to update you later, on all of Maddox's accomplishments and changes as well as his birthday. Julian has most of the pictures from the party and I never see him, even though he lives with us....

2010-09-05T23:18:00.000-07:00

HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY MADDOX!!!!
pics to follow

Stew

2010-08-30T21:26:00.000-07:00

We named him Stew. Jokingly, we say it is because that is what we will make out of him. In reality, Stew is living in a cage in our garage, it is a portable cage so he gets to be outside when it isn't raining all.day.long...
The first night, we came home and realized we had left Stew's cage in the yard, and the sprinklers were on. He was sitting right on top of one :) We have been more thoughtful since.

I bought a water thingy, like you have for hamsters, and rabbit food. He really, really likes lettuce and the carrots I bought from the Hutterites. Currently, it looks like he spilled his "rabbit food" and then peed on it. Apparently he is a picky rabbit.

I am NOT a pet owner

2010-08-26T22:57:00.000-07:00

I don't like hair, or cleaning up stray poop or having to remember to feed something that can't tell me that it is hungry. At least babies wear diapers and cry or tell you when they want to eat, they don't shed hair any more than the next person...

Bing caught a teeny-tiny rabbit in front of the mall. Maddox l-o-v-e-s bunnies and is so excited to have one. Although, he just threw rocks at Bing the whole time he chased the thing round and round the thorny bushes. Took about 20 minutes of Bing, dashing back and forth behind the bushes before he snagged the little bugger. Maddox wanted so bad to hold it and kiss it, but I'm pretty sure he might pull a Lenny and squish him if we let him, and I'm also pretty sure I don't want him kissing a rabbit, especially one caught, not bought.

From 2010-08-26

Maddox asking if he can "hode it"

From 2010-08-26

washing our hands on the sweet stool that Papa Scott built

Baby update

2010-08-18T11:15:00.000-07:00

Doctor says I am 36 weeks.... my ticker says 37 and a day, who is right? Well, if you have spent any time around me lately, you would know that I am, of course!

36 weeks by my best guess. 35 weeks Dr.'s best guess.

Ask Bing and he'll tell you I have been wildly emotional, kinda crazy and a bit critical. I say, what's new? Oh, but even I have noticed my demeanor change. I am quite unbearable even to myself. This baby is superbly active still, sometimes doing acrobatics for hours on end. Last night he had a 3 hour run of somersaults and side kicks.
While I still have a month left until my due date, the doctor says that any day would be fine. All of my "practice" contractions have been doing what they are intended to do and I have already progressed farther than 14 hours of labor with Maddox.

MEN you may want to stop reading now.
I am 1 cm dilated and 50% effaced, good news this early in the game. I am ready to meet this raucous child!

Help please?

2010-07-29T08:05:00.000-07:00

We are in desperate need of a computer. Our laptop went KAPUT! CRASH! BAM! BOOM!.... You get the picture. If you know of anyone getting rid of a decent computer, either for free or super cheap, let us know. We just need something that will get us by until we can purchase something new.

Coasties

2010-07-24T15:10:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful time in Oregon. Our time was spent with lots of good friends and family, eating good food, drinking tasty coffee, throwing rocks and sand, seeing the sights, etc.
The conference was amazing, very inspirational and informative. We have found something awesome here and the more I know about it, the more I want to share it. I won't bug you though, if you are curious then ask me about it! Especially if you have kids or men, I learned really cool stuff about laundry... HA!

Being on the coast made Bing's desire to be there more intense. All I hear about these days are his thoughts on moving back, when it might be possible, how we could make it work and on and on. It is beautiful out there, for sure. My skin loved it and my hair never saw a blow dryer cause it is basically pointless. If only my side of the family was interested in relocating!

Dear Placenta,

2010-07-10T18:33:00.000-07:00

Thank you for moving out of the way; I did not, and do not, want to have a C-section.

I had my doctor's appointment on Thursday and my 2nd ultrasound on Friday and the combined results are inconclusive. My belly measured right at 30 weeks, which is "technically" correct. According to the ultrasound, baby measures in at 32 weeks. So, I feel safe saying this baby could come any time from the last week in August to the 16th of September. Also, my placenta moved up and outta the way so no worries there. Little Guy might be THE most active baby on earth. I swear he never stops moving, jabbing, kicking, rolling and sticking his butt out. It gets down right painful and sometimes gives me the feeling of motion sickness.

Bing, Maddox and I leave for Portland/Astoria on Wednesday evening. We are driving the 18 plus hours which should be really interesting with an almost 2 year old and a pregnant lady who already has the smallest bladder on the planet. If anyone has ideas on how to make that more pleasant, please advise!

We are attending a conference/rally for World Wide Group. It should be a wonderful time of learning and inspiration for the two of us, and be really instrumental in getting our business to flourish. We are trying to pursue this HARD so that it might be possible for me to stay home with the kiddos after Baby#2 arrives. Things are tight with two incomes so there is no way we can hack it without something else bringing in the $. We sold Bing's old truck after we got the suburban and we put that money away for this trip. Bing longs for the coast and it blesses me to be able to allow him time there, not to mention all of the amazing family and friends we see while there.

Here is the latest belly shot.

4th at Mithter Teve's

2010-07-06T22:02:00.000-07:00

Our 4th of July was awesome! I have always loved the fireworks, playing with torches, the smell of black powder but this was one of the best. The entire family was invited to stay in a friend's cabin on Canyon Ferry and enjoy their fun water toys and showering out-of-doors. The showering was fun, except for the breezes that blew the cold, wet, shower curtain into your body and exposed you to the deer grazing on the hillside.

We played in the paddle boat, roamed the huge lake on the wave runner, went on boat rides, fished(with no luck), jumped on the trampoline, played catch with their dog, ate ungodly amounts of watermelon and other delicious foods, drank margaritas and watched 10's of thousands of dollars worth of fireworks explode in sparkling glory.

Except for getting frostbite in July it was a perfect weekend. Oh, didn't I tell you? While replacing the ice cube tray in the ooold freezer, my slightly damp fingers froze to the metal liner. As I whined that it was burning, my mother got a bowl of warm water to free me. I barely got my hand free before that also froze. I now have 3 purple fingers that are slightly blistered. Ouchy.

Word

2010-06-27T01:10:00.000-07:00

"I gonna bake it"... Maddox's favorite new phrase. What he means as he says this with much mischief in his voice is "I'm gonna break it". His favorite time to pull this one out is at bed time when I am trying to calm him and smooch his cheeks. It is so stinking cute, and very random. He mostly quotes phrases he has learned from me, like: made a mess, gonna bake it. He quotes other things from Bing, we'll leave those a mystery.

Things Maddox loves right now:
-holding hands and leading you around
-watermelon and corn on the cob (video included)
-balls, any type of ball. Baseball, golf, basketball and football especially
-guitars
-books
-swimming
-I'm gonna get you!

Daddy has some free time during the day and has taken Maddox to the pool. Maddox throws Bing's sunglasses so he has to retrieve them and then takes a running leap into the pool with no one to catch him. I will try to get this on video, promise.

He has amazing coordination for an almost-2-year old and is very good at hitting a baseball, making contact with a golf ball and throwing. He is hilarious as he slaps the ball before lifting his leg and throwing like a real pitcher/quarterback.

Guitars are affectionately called "tars" even when singular. Same with "more"... he uses his sign language while emphatically repeating "mores, mores, mores". The kid is seriously repetitive, but does a good job of saying "pease and tay tooo". Dad is called mama, most of the time. And when he isn't gender confused, he sometimes just shouts out "Bing"!

He has a distinct lack of boundaries when mom and dad are using the bathroom, sometimes wanting to sit on your lap and read books, or sometimes getting a very close look :)

Today he kept looking at my belly and, with his hand really close to his face, waving and saying hi to his brodder (brother). He then tried to feed a blueberry to my belly button.

With each passing day, he becomes less of my baby and more of a boy. It is so much fun to watch, but also kind of sad. I hope he always likes me enough to give me hugs and kisses and tell me wild stories.

Fun time

2010-06-15T21:48:00.000-07:00

Maddox has taken quite a liking to the rocking horse and gets going so hard you are sure he is going to tip it over. He also insists on wearing the cowboy hat everytime and it is only good if it is on sideways with the string hanging in his face.

He is on his way to being potty trained. He usually tells us when he has to go potty and names which one it is. What a punkin!

Words are coming fast and furious, and he mimicks everything you say. When he is around older toddlers and his cousins he copies whatever it is they do too. Tonight he watched Blake drop his trousers and pee in the yard and Maddox acted out what he saw, trying to get out of his own britches, quite a task with a onesie snapped at the crotch and a diaper to get through!

A lesson on submission

2010-06-01T20:37:00.000-07:00

I have long been a "worrier". You name it, I have probably fretted over it. Bing and I have had many discussions about me worrying and it usually goes like this. "Honey, you know that I worry about ... and I think that maybe you just don't worry enough".

Bing is blessed with the gift of "anti-worry", I know it isn't a word but what else do you call it? He not only doesn't worry, he talks a big talk about how everything is going to be ok and not only ok but awesome. HE is going to be "awesome" and make lots of money doing something. Yada, yada, yada. Meanwhile, I go on worrying.

At church, Pastor Stan talked about trusting God. If you say you trust him, but then go on worrying you are a liar. Worrying is like saying, " I know better than you God and this might not be ok".

I don't know how many times I have heard this basic concept, or read the right verses in the Bible, or prayed that I might stop worrying, and nothing changed. This weekend I heard it, and then read it somewhere else and it all of the sudden hit me. It became a TRUTH in my heart and I realized that it is SIN for me to worry and God is my ultimate protector. When has He not taken care of me?

I repented, I tithed more than I thought we could "afford" and I have consciously let the worry go.

Today, we received a large check from a very kind man who was a patron at the wine bar and barely know us. Enough to make our mortgage payment this month. The mortgage on the house the we have been talking about selling because we can't really afford it.

Thank you Lord, for richly blessing my family, this house, and my relationship with Bing. The more you reveal to me and the more I listen, the better and more joyful my life gets. Thank you for protecting us and generously providing for us. I love you.

Lane

Moving right along

2010-05-27T10:54:00.000-07:00

I had my second prenatal visit yesterday. They still aren't changing my due date, so they said I am 24 weeks but I measure 25 weeks. I'll go with the latter. The doctor could hardly find his heartbeat because he is SOOOOOO active. Let me tell you, I feel this stinker all day, everyday, every knee, elbow, and heel. I think because I sit all day long there is no lulling him and he is squished by my lap so he revolts against me and jabs every which direction.

I have a low lying placenta which isn't terrible, just something to watch. If it doesn't self-correct, it will mean a c-section. So, I go in for another ultrasound in about two months to make sure it has moved up and outta the way.

Maddox is as spunky and sweet as ever. I notice little attitude changes from being around other naughty kids but nothing that doesn't iron out about and hour after I pick him up. That "stuff" don't fly with mama.

He loves the moon and says it so adoringly "moooon". Last night it was covered by clouds and I asked "where did it go"? With a shrug and a worried look he repeated," "waid-i-go" a pause and then very excitedly "oh, MOOOOON"!

He has lots of words now and learns more every day. I will soon have a talker on my hands and me-thinks he will never stop. He already babbles on and on with inflections and expressions that make you believe he is having a serious conversation.

From 2010-05-16

Maddox either hold his fork with one hand and puts the food in his mouth with the other or he picks up the food and tries to push it onto the tongs, stabbing the food is still foreign.

Getting ready to play outside. Hats aren't a favorite but with white hair and semi-fair skin, a necessity.

The mysterious Bison

2010-05-10T20:07:00.000-07:00

Our Mother's day was moderately quiet and relaxing. Maddox slept in until 10 am and so did we! Bing got up with Maddox and cooked us all breakfast, a fried egg and smoked cheddar on an English muffin per my request. Then we headed outside to play for a bit. Our 3 year old neighbor, Davon, got up at 7:30 and sat on our front porch for 30 minutes just hoping that Maddox would come out... not so little buddy, not so.

Davon, Eve and Maddox

We dinked around the front yard for an hour with the neighbors and then met up with Julian and his girl for a relaxing drive around Roundup. Bing and I discovered that we like the area up there, with lots of open fields, treed areas, wildlife, and the Mussleshell River. We came across a baby Bison munching on some grass alongside an assortment of horses, ponies and mules. A very strange bunch they were, and the bison was outside of the fence, not readily found in that area. I am still wondering if it belongs to someone or just wandered far from home, all alone. I dared Julian to climb on, but from the looks of the little guy he would have contracted some major fleas or disease, he passed on the dare.

About 15 miles outside of Billings, our HUMONGOUS new Suburban ran out of gas. Luckily we had cell phone service and AAA. We pulled out the golf clubs and hit balls into the field and threw copious amounts of rocks at signs while waiting for our gasoline to arrive. Upon pulling into the gas station on the outskirts of Billings, we saw another curious sight... this unlikely dude wearing $200+ True religion jeans. Everyone laughed at me for whipping out my enormously conspicuous camera and snapping a picture with the flash.

To top of the day we had a delightful sushi dinner to satisfy my craving. The problem with that is that it really just feeds my cravings and I want Sake Nigiri for every meal.

It was nothing terribly out of our ordinary but, it was a delightful day with some of my very favorite people. Thanks Binger, for making me Queen for a day.

Blah

2010-05-08T12:00:00.000-07:00

So, Bing is now working two jobs and I also work full-time. I am gone from x:30 until around x:00, Mon- Fri. Bing takes Maddox to the babysitter at 2:30 and works until x:00 Mon-Thur. Saturday, Bing works another 8 hours. That means we only see each other on Friday and Saturday evenings and Sunday, unless preggo stays up way past her bedtime to see the hubs.

I am tired, sad and lonely. I have no regular babysitters that I can call, just to go to the grocery store or to simply enjoy a fun store on Saturday, the only day that I would be able to visit fun places that aren't open past five during the week or Sundays. I am wallowing in self-pity today, even indulging myself in some tears.

I know this is just temporary. I know that we need all of these jobs right now. I know that Bing would have it be different if he could. But, knowing these things doesn't make me feel better about being alone all of the time. Maddox is lots of fun when he isn't sick or sleeping (he is both sick, and sleeping right now), but not fun to take to the stores I like to visit, just to browse. What almost two year old likes browsing a fabric store for an hour?

***
On a lighter note... thanks to the sunny days and the roof full of solar panels, our electric bill was only $6 this month. Taxes and delivery charges only. Our house created more than enough energy to power itself. Pretty cool huh?

He got the moves

2010-05-03T22:14:00.000-07:00

Notice the "snapping". He loves to rock and will randomly stop walking to get down.

Well world...

2010-04-28T20:11:00.000-07:00

We are having.....(insert drum roll) ANOTHER BOY! Not totally surprised by this, after all there were 5 before him. He is big and perfectly healthy. They aren't changing my due date yet so, Sept 16 is the projected date. I'm guessing he comes really close to Maddox's birthday, Sept 5th.

2010-04-22T21:32:00.000-07:00

So... here I am, all 19 weeks of me. Bing swears I am having twins. What do you think? We have our first ultrasound on the 28th, it is 4D to check Buggar's heart for defects and groins for gender evidence. If you voted on the gender pole, I would love for you to claim your answer in my comments and tell me why you picked what you did....You can also cast your vote on twins. Oh BOY!

From PregnancyII

Easter, postponed

2010-04-21T11:14:00.000-07:00

I am not on the ball these days, like I used to be... HA! Here is the tale of our Easter.

The day before, our neighborhood put on an egg hunt for all of the neighbor kids. It was like a mini carnival with face painting and a jump house and other diversions. Maddox was so sweet, not sure what to do, he put the eggs in other kids baskets. He really is good at sharing but to give away candy!?

Sunday morning we tried going to church. Maddox was sick, and to be kind to the other parents, we grabbed a coffee and sat in the lobby while Maddox ran around and flirted with the other sick kids hanging out in the lobby. Needless to say, we didn't actually catch ANY of the sermon, but it was worth a shot.

After church we went over to Grammie and Papaw Myers' for a delicious lunch of ribs. We attempted another egg hunt, but Maddox was far more interested in the game of badminton that was going on, and got awfully distracted by the many balls laying about the yard. Also, how much fun is a solo hunt anyway? His Aunts and Uncles were selfish and stayed in Bozeman where the weather was nasty... next year they'll know better.

For dinner, we had Julian, Jen and Jeremy (brother, brother's girlfriend, brother's roommate), over for dinner and then went to Riverfront Park to feed the ducks. Maddox loves to feed the ducks and will repeat "duck, duck, Duck, DUCK" in the grocery store bakery. That's right, we feed the ducks warm, fresh-baked, french bread.... don't judge us.

It was a full and lovely day spent with family. Aren't we blessed to be surrounded by so much family?

2010-04-05T21:41:00.000-07:00

Reese and the boys came to visit a couple of weeks ago and the cousins had some fun. Maddox is enthralled by all of his older cousins, he just follows them around and stares at them while they play, occasionally joining in. When we got them all in the hot tub, Maddox's fun side came out. He had more fun splashing and sticking his face in the water and splashing some more. Mason joined in the splishy, splashy fun and the rest of us kept it mellow with squirting bath toys.
After grammie read them a story, the older boys went to bed and Maddox kept us entertained with his funny, glass-smooshing faces.

Good news and daycare blues

2010-03-31T11:46:00.000-07:00

We finally got the Internet hooked up at home. This means that I have one fewer excuse for not posting! I hope to get some new pictures and videos on here soon.
Bing has had several interviews and will most likely have several jobs to choose from. The second income is desperately needed however, this means that Maddox needs someone to care for him. With Bing and I both working normal, day-time hours comes the need for daycare :( This could almost bring me to tears. Why you ask?
1)I hate the idea of someone else "raising" my child
2)I really want to be at home with him, he is atrociously adorable and fun
3)Bad habits are learned from all of the other little shits at daycare
4)Daycare is expensive!
Not to mention, I have no idea where to begin looking... I don't trust any of them.

Oh, those Chinese

2010-03-11T11:28:00.000-08:00

According to the chinese gender chart, this baby is going to be a girl. I was 26 when we conceived in Dec, see for yourself! Looking back at the numbers it was accurate with Maddox, and is said to be more than 90% accurate. Shall we start a poll? I will be finding out the sex, but I would like to know what you all think.

Spicy pickles

2010-03-10T11:51:00.000-08:00

Jalapenos, lucky charms, miller lite with clamato and Tabasco sauce, and yes... spicy pickles. That is what I crave these days. Just in case you all were wondering.

I'm almost 13 weeks along and have only gained 2 lbs. Granted I had a 10 lb head start on this pregnancy but, I feel great. Even though I don't like running and I'm really bad at it, I daydream of running in the morning sunshine. It could be that I am stuck at a desk all day, looking out the window at the nice weather, or maybe I am destined to be a runner some day. HA!

Pictures coming soon :)

New Year Surprise

2010-02-19T17:13:00.000-08:00

The 27th and 28th, Bing and I spent in a wonderful house on Bella Beach. We hit the largest outlet mall I have ever seen, beach combed for hours and hours, ate good food and had our first bubble bath together.

Back in Astoria, we had a delightful dinner with mom and dad, and Bing made(or started to make) a custom, oak, wine rack to fit in a piece of furniture. Barney gave Bing a couple of guitar lessons, as we brought two guitars home with us. I spent about 4 hours doing laundry and very strategically packing our car. We had waaay more stuff than was needed.

We spent New Years Eve in Seattle where once of Marcia's classmates hosted a party for us. We had more good food, fun folks and a rooftop view of the Space Needle fireworks. We got to the hotel around 1:40 am where we both noticed I looked about 5 months pregnant. I took a test and waited. A very faint line appeared, starting our new year off with the happiest of news! I am now 10 weeks along.

Driving, driving and more driving, A Christmas Tale

2010-02-19T16:38:00.000-08:00

One of the evenings, we spent hanging out with Bing's old buddies, had delicious pizza, watched the kiddos learn how to share, and enjoyed each others' company once again.

Ashley and Maddox are several months apart and were pretty funny to watch. We tried to get Bobby to let Ashley wear the red singlet so we could have a wrestling match, but he is already protecting her from boys! :)

Christmas Eve we spent with Nick, Tiffany and the girls before heading to a Christmas Eve service with great Uncle Burch and Bebe. It was a delightful service with a nativity play in which, there was a child in a wire edged star suit that made me laugh until I cried.

Christmas morning was also spent with Randich family who spoiled Maddox with wonderful gifts. I have to say my favorite is the dinosaur flashlight that roars... I'm just saying. After presents and breakfast with Nick's side of the family, we drove back to Summit Lake for lunch and a gift exchange with Barney's cousins. What a hoot they are, we played games and ate waaay too much food before driving to Astoria to spend Christmas evening with Barney and Marcia (grammy and pappy). Unfortunately, I have no pictures of the evening.

August rush wannabe

2010-02-18T20:24:00.000-08:00

This kid is really amazing. It isn't perfect, but it is still a marvel to watch. Yes... I have time to look at random youtube videos when the internet works cause I'm not blogging :) It takes much longer to compose a well written post and add pictures than it does to search for young talent.

He plays a lot of different songs, check em out.

30..30..30..30..30..30..30...30!

2010-02-16T08:54:00.000-08:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Addie-waddy-piddy-paddy!! You're 30... here's to the whole world knowing it! :)

Maddox gets a haircut

2010-01-30T16:38:00.000-08:00

Maddox got his first "official" haircut. We were all prepared with a smoothie to keep him happy, we thought about a sucker, but that just gets hairy. Turns out, we didn't need anything to distract him. He sat perfectly still with a worried look on his face for 15 minutes while Katie gave him a sweet faux hawk (fake mohawk). She even said it was the easiest baby cut she has ever done. Maddox has the most even and symmetrical baby haircut ever.

Lake Quinalt

2010-01-26T11:35:00.001-08:00

December 20th we headed out of Billings and onto our great adventure. We were supposed to leave by 6:30 am, but when the alarm went off, and went off, and went off, and Bing didn't rally, I turned it off. We woke up at 8:30 feeling slightly refreshed after our Christmas Fete the night before, I, slightly hungover, and Bing, angry that we were getting a late start.

We made our way to Bozeman where we stopped and saw Reese and Sawyer, all of the other boys were out, and we exchanged gifts. She made me some very cute, custom napkins, and we gave them beer. By noon, or half past, we were leaving Bozeman on our way to Spokane. We arrived perfectly on time for dinner at Red Robbin with sister, Piper Claire, and then followed her to Uncle Fred and Aunt Artie's. We played a hilarious game called "My Redneck Life", made even funnier because we played with Artie who works at a convent. The woman is seriously wonderful, and sweet, and very good natured. I won because I had the most teeth, fewest children, and smallest debt at the end. HA!

From there, we made our way to Hoquiam, Aberdeen, Cosmopolis, & Summit Lake. On the 22nd we had dinner with lots of Bing's old buddies, guys and gals, and I got to meet lots of new people. We had a great turnout, and it allowed us to see lots of friends without spending our whole vacation driving around to see them... don't be fooled, we still drove all over, 3500 miles all told. After dinner, we moved on to Bob and Teresa Glenn's beautiful, lakefront home. They hosted us for several nights and were superbly generous.

On the 23rd, we took a daytrip to Lake Quinalt to see all of the pretty sights it has to offer. Bing's friend, Buster, came with and offered all sorts of comical relief. I am not sharing some of the pictures for Buster's sake, and yours.

More to come! I uploaded over 500 photos when we got home, so I will do this in bits and pieces. Enjoy.

Sorry people

2010-01-25T12:02:00.001-08:00

I am sorry for the extremely long gap in posts. We no longer have access to someone else's internet at the house. My life has been crazy enough that I haven't had time to hit a coffee shop with the laptop. I promise, I will make time soon to update you on our Christmas in Oregon, the latest with Maddox, Bing's health, and more. Love you all.... bear with me!

2009-12-29T23:31:00.000-08:00

Bing and I just returned from our escape at Bella Beach. Grammie Marcia and Papa Barn thoroughly enjoyed their three days alone with Maddox. Marcia was very good about sending us little video clips of our sweet baboo. He is getting more and more hilarious, goofy and energetic with each passing day.

While we were gone: Maddox pummeled Rudy (family dog), climbed into a clothes basket to read his book, ate in mass quantities and pooped just as much, refused to be gotten out of bed by throwing himself violently all over the crib post-nap. To our delight, he squealed and flashed us a face consuming smile when we crashed in on bath time, and then, jumped up offering kisses left and right. I know there was loads of fun without us around but, it is so fantastic to be received with such excitement and fervor.

Also, while we were gone: Bing and I ate amazing seafood (and lots of it), scoured for sea treasures on multiple beaches for hours on end, hit up the local outlet mall, ate more delicious seafood (little, raw oysters are yummy), took a candlelit bubble bath, massaged each others' feet and enjoyed several days of childless, marital bliss!

We tried to get cute pictures of the two of us but we both agree they turned out disgusting so, all you get is the corny, yet cute, beach video...

2009-12-24T20:26:00.000-08:00

Something about the Randich house does funny things to Maddox's bowels. He has never pooped in our bathtub, nor has he gotten diarrhea all over our carpet. I think they just bring out his crappy side :)

For those who missed it...

2009-12-16T23:00:00.000-08:00

I could do without the closet segment but, other than that, they did an awesome job. This is the piece they did on our moving day.

We have been in the house for a week now. WOW! Most everything is situated comfortably; there are a lot of things that we need, like furniture. Two living rooms means multiple couches and end tables and lamps, etc. For now, we have a pretty sweet dancefloor. Maddox is into everything and is really loving all of the room to run. I will have to post more on all of the mischief he is up to.

Sunday we head out for the coast and boy are we excited! We have two weeks of fun, family and friends. We get back on January 2nd and on the 4th I start my new job at Eide Bailly as a Medical Billing Specialist.

Our blessings come in pairs

2009-12-10T11:10:00.000-08:00

So... yesterday we closed on the house and spent our first night sleeping out there. Awesome! Today, Bing got a phone call from St. Vincent Hospital and they have 100% forgiven our debt with them. For those of you that don't know, that is a $23,000 burden lifted from our shoulders. Thank you, thank you God!

Hilarious!

2009-12-09T21:16:00.000-08:00

Oh, too funny... That last post was an attempt to update you from my phone. As I waited at the bank to sign the loan papers, and then go over to the title company, I thought it would be nice to post a little something. Who knew it would go so wrong! :) So... this is what that was supposed to say.

"Today is the day folks. We sign all of the papers and that awesome DREAM home is ours! Most of our stuff is in the garage already, waiting to find a new home at 1644 Front Street. The McCalls had it cleaned already so I only have to worry about cleaning the apartment. What a blessing! Thank you for all of your prayers and financial support. We love you all and count ourselves overly blessed."

Everything is done. Maddox has a room already set up and Bing made our bed while I ran around. I came back to a fully dressed bed.... he even got the skirt on! What a man. I am so grateful for his tender heart and how eager he is to make me smile. Tonight we sleep in our very first home.

Thank you Jesus for your provision and blessing. Thank you everyone, who helped watch Maddox(mom and Aubyn); move our clunky, oversized, ridiculous furniture (Randy, Dad and Julian); and all of you who will be helping us soon (You know who you are, now get over here and help me get my kitchen situated!)

2009-12-09T07:55:00.003-08:00

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2009-12-09T07:55:00.001-08:00

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wah wah wah

2009-12-03T23:06:00.000-08:00

Closing was postponed. Now we are shooting for Wed the 9th. Here's hoping this one is for real.

So it's settled

2009-12-02T07:52:00.000-08:00

Friday. 10:30 am. We take possession of our brand....new.....home! I'm sure Bing will have a truckload of stuff to move in as soon as we leave the title company. Of course we are all excited but, Bing is more eager than anyone. Never mind that I should probably go in and deep clean before we move in, he will not wait, I'm just sure.

Other good news: Remember that Bing had an episode in 2007? The one that brought him to Montana. Well, we have been sitting on a bunch of unpaid medical debt ever since. Bing has been working diligently to get those debts settled and boy am I glad he is tackling this. So far, Ketchican General Hospital has settled for $2051 on an $8000 debt and yesterday, we got news that UW will settle for $800 on $4000. All that is left is the ambulance ride and they are unwilling to work with us. We will probably pay them as little as possible, each month, for the next 20 years or so ;)

With his credit cards paid, his past medical taken care of, all that is left is the current medical debt. We are still waiting to hear from St. Vincent's, Billings Clinic, and UW regarding our financial assistance applications. All said, there has been a huge burden lifted. Praise God!

Thanksgiving '09

2009-11-26T22:33:00.000-08:00

We gathered together, those of us who could, and gave thanks for our overwhelming abundance. This year has been a rollercoaster filled with excitement and emotion but, ultimately WONDERFUL! We are greatful for many things
*Our family and friends
*God's provision
*The sweetest most handsome baby ever
*Great relationship and a successful marriage
*A home, and not just any home, our dream home
*Bing's heart condition, without it we may have never met and our life would not have taken all of the turns that have brought us to where we are
*Undeserved grace
This is not an exhaustive list, but it has some biggies:)

Closer, closer, CLOSER!

2009-11-23T22:57:00.000-08:00

I talked with our loan officer today, and if all goes well, we should be able to close on Dec. 4th! If we close on the 4th we get to start moving on the 4th. What a whirlwind, even Maddox is shocked at how quick this has gone! I don't even know what to say about it except that we are so very excited and can't wait to have a home of our own.
******
Bing has health insurance now....has had it since October. I am a little behind on my updating. With his heart condition, he qualified for CHIP which is a catastrophic health insurance for uninsurable people. The premium is only $200 a month and there is only a 4 month preexisting condition clause, which means he could have surgery January 9th and it would be covered.
******
Maddox is teething again and will soon have four teeth on top and only two on the bottom.... awkward. He is still super adorable and has a wonderful temperament. I couldn't ask for a sweeter, more wonderful baby boy.

You can't see it very well in this picture, but tooth number 3 is on the right of his top 2.
******
We are heading to Oregon for Christmas. We will leave Billings on the 20th and won't be home until January 2nd. My amazing, wonderful, generous in-laws are keeping Maddox for two nights and putting Bing and I up in an unbelievable rental near Lincoln City. New Years Eve will be spent in Seattle where a gentleman who graduated with Marcia is hosting a benefit ("Bing" in the New Year). 2009 has been an incredible year and I believe that 2010 is going to blow it out of the water. We continue to see blessing after blessing and good things are happening all over the place. What a wonderful life we have.

Our sweet neighbors put rollers in his hair and took incriminating pictures. Thanks guys!

Ah nuts!

2009-11-15T15:58:00.000-08:00

Bing is the best husband ever and is making some beautiful furniture for our new home. His first attempt at making funiture turned out splendidly as you will see. I have two walnut end tables that will eventually have smaller versions to nest beneath them. He is also going to attempt a coffee table made of the same material, once I decide on the look that I want.

L-MoneyMillionaire

2009-11-09T14:43:00.000-08:00

We met with a hilarious gal at Western Security Bank today to discuss our financing options and what we can qualify for. She approved the loan for a higher amount so that we can pay off my car with it, apparently that makes me look better somehow. If I work full-time at the wine bar, I personally, without Bing's income, can get a loan to cover our taxes on the house! Our mortgage payment will be almost exactly what we pay now for rent, utilities and my car payment. The house, and the loan are solely in my name, that way, creditors can't come after the house for the medical bills in Bing's name. What a huge blessing! We should be able to close in mid December and be moved in before Christmas.

Praise God for all that is good and wonderful in this world. How can we ever realize his true goodness if we never experience a bit of hardship? He really reveals his power and authority when we admit that we need Him and trust Him for the outcome. Thank you Jesus for showering us with blessings.

Walk this way

2009-11-04T21:18:00.000-08:00

Maddox now WALKS. Not just an occasional spurt. He crawls to a solid object, stands up and walks. We are no longer safe in our own home. He watches me go to the bathroom, attacks me while snacking, touches the computer and sound system and insists on throwing away our remotes! I have to check the garbage before taking it out, we now have TWO, count them TWO beard trimmers and no charger. We have lost every remote in the house multiple times and he likes to put things in the toilet and bathtub.... crap.

He is still as sweet as ever. I laid on the living room floor while he was playing and every two minutes or so, he waddled over to me and leaned down for an open mouth kiss before going back to his walking business. He still dances every time he hears a musical tune and he jumps up and down in his crib, all the while watching himself in the mirror and egging himself on. He is the sweetest, most mild tempered and adorable child EVER!!! I am the most blessed woman in the whole-wide-world! I am so happy and I thank the Lord for bringing me Bing and Maddox.

House update

2009-11-03T17:37:00.000-08:00

I have avoided posting news of the house because it seems to change very quickly. I didn't know how to share what was going on without retracting my post and starting over with every little event. I will briefly share the many thoughts and options we've been pondering and end with the latest.

1st- ecstatic, we have a house! We didn't believe we would ever be able to buy a home, due to the massive medical debt and the toll it has taken on Bing's credit rating.

2nd- We were told the income taxes on the house would be more than $100k and we didn't know what we would do. We most likely couldn't get approved for a home loan to pay those taxes and if we could, we probably couldn't afford the monthly payments in combination with all of our other expenses.

3rd- The builders (really wonderful people), offered to buy the house back and build us a less expensive home. By selling, we would have the cash to pay the taxes as well as some of our medical debt and then build something else. We were stuck on this one for a while and were pretty sure this was the solution. It is an awesome solution but not the desire of our hearts.

4th- The appraisal finally came in. The appraiser, knowing our situation, made every effort to appraise the house as low as possible,initially they said it was worth $410,500 but, the final number is...$311,000. Most of the time that isn't a good thing, for us, it means significantly lower taxes and a very, very good possibility that we can finance the taxes and live in our dream home!

That is by no means an extensive list of what has transpired over the last 6 weeks but, the major points are there. Everyday is filled with phone calls, paper work, e-mail, and faxes in order to sort out our debt and apply for financial assistance. We are working hard and praying harder. We are so blessed and we know it!

2009-10-26T00:08:00.000-07:00

Since Maddox can't wield a knife and carve his pumpkin, we tried finger painting. Turns out, he still puts everything in his mouth and the paint didn't taste good. He barely got any paint on his pumpkin, but his biscuits got slathered!

Sock hand Muscle Man

2009-10-12T21:54:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, I toy with Maddox. I guess it is in my nature, me being the youngest and all. The other day, I put socks on his hands to see what he would do.... he wore them for about an hour. He didn't try pulling them off, he just went about his business, using mitts instead of digits. My coffee table got dusted and we got a good laugh.

Maddox loves his Little Tyke car and gives his penguin rides on a regular basis. He also really enjoys putting our remotes and cell phones in the cup holder or throwing them away. He keeps us on our toes! He has started walking little bits on his own but, he gets so excited when we squeal that he pretty much dives face first into the carpet.

Here is a snippet of him "walking", it is at the end :)

Maddox loves to dance. He dances along to the radio, commercials, my cellphone ring, but his favorite is Lil Wayne.

Maddox and dad regularly practice throwing a football and flexing their muscles. He will be a star quarterback by the time he is 5!

Why don't I ever have wine in my house when I really want some?

2009-09-30T14:53:00.000-07:00

Oh my! We have been so brilliantly blessed over the last few months. Ever since Bing's hospitalization, I have realized the enormity of relationship and community. People that we don't even know have come along side us and supported us financially, emotionally and spiritually.

All of this said.... I now realize that I am an introvert. I like to be around people but not in the center of everything. I do not like being on TV, or in the newspapers, or being recognized by every Tom, Dick and Harry at the grocery store, and I want my privacy. Funny comment to put on a blog, huh?

It is different to share our life with people who love us and want to be updated and to be able to control the details and edit the details. I never lie on Burch Perch, but sometimes I leave out details that I feel are private. The newspaper is cutthroat... they have misquoted, twisted and blurted out information about our lives and I DON'T APPRECIATE IT!

My husband revels in all of this. He is thoroughly enjoying every interview, photo op, and video taken of him. Not the inaccuracies but, the attention.

I am enjoying this rainy day, blogging, inside and alone. Now, why don't I have any wine in the house?

The beautiful home that we won!
http://tours.imagemaker360.com/Viewer/15.asp?id=95797 Click this link to see more photos of the home.

Dream Home

2009-09-28T20:06:00.001-07:00

When Bing and I heard that there was a home being raffled off, we discussed buying a ticket. With all of the medical nonsense we were dealing with, it didn't seem plausible to spend $100 on a ticket that would likely not win us a home... Lord only knew how many people would buy tickets, our odds couldn't be good. I suggested that we pray about it and let God provide the answers (could we afford this, how many should/could we buy).

Bing wanted to buy 3 tickets. I said, "If God wants us to have this house, we only need to buy 1 ticket". We compromised and bought 2 tickets using some of the money from the benefit in Grays Harbor.

Weeks later, Bing approached me saying that the Lord was really laying it on his heart to buy a third ticket. It is hard to deny a request when you word it that way... even in all of my anal retentive frugality, I couldn't deny him the third ticket. I went in to McCall Homes to buy another ticket and spoke with two gals from St. Jude. While they looked for the right book of raffle tickets, I shared our story with them and left them with tears in their eyes. As I left I said " See you in a few weeks when I win the house".

The Bing-efit was on Saturday, September 26th and the drawing for the house was the next day. At the beginning of the week I told Bing it was going to be a good week, "we have the benefit on Saturday and then the next day we are going to win a house". I fully trust that the Lord has our best interest in mind, but I never, never, never thought that we would win. We were watching the live broadcast and eagerly awaited the drawing for the house, I was bummed when we didn't win $10,000 worth of new furniture because my couch is worn out and sinks in the middle. A beautiful little girl with brain cancer, reached into the hopper and pulled out the ticket, handed it to the news lady and...............drum roll please, announced that Lane Perrine had won the house. I screamed at the top of my lungs, jumped out of the sink-hole in my couch and landed on top of Bing. We both jumped up and down, screaming, squealing, crying, hugging and kissing. We immediately started calling our family and sharing the good news. In between phone calls, Bing hugged me and confessed, " I didn't tell you this, but on Monday nights when you were working, Maddox and I went down to the house and prayed over it".

I missed the call from St. Jude, so they called Bing and asked us to come down to the news station. When we walked in, the gal who sold me the ticket stared at me wide eyed, started bawling and said, "it's you". We hugged and cried and shook hands with a huge group of people who were waiting there to congratulate us and then we all headed down to our new house.

News crews, the builders, neighbors and the St. Jude folks were all there watching our reactions as we walked through. Bing had toured the house before, but it was my first time seeing the inside of this beautiful home, and let me tell you, it is AWESOME!

I don't have photos yet, but I will soon and I cannot wait to share them with you. We have to meet with lawyers and figure out all of the tax stuff and what not, it could be a month or so before we are even close to moving, but we hope to be able to host Thanksgiving.

When Bing bought the first two tickets, he put "Mr. & Mrs. Bing Perrine" on them, when I bought the third ticket, I only put my name on it. That is how we know that the third ticket was our winner. I am grateful that Bing was so faithful in prayer and had the wisdom to listen. I am grateful that I was able to submit to my husbands wish for a third ticket, and didn't argue our lack of finances. God has blessed us with more than we could have dreamed, THANK YOU GOD!

BIG BIG GOD= BIG BIG BLESSING

2009-09-27T21:20:00.000-07:00

Tonight, we won a $400,000 St. Jude Dream Home. We have been blown away by the generosity of our friends and family. The benefit last night was outstanding! We had such a wonderful turnout and were superbly blessed by all of you. To top it off, our prayers to find a bigger home have been answered in a way we still can't fathom. I will share the full story soon.

Love you guys.

Ouchie

2009-09-25T22:22:00.000-07:00

I got a bee sting in the palm of my hand today. It made me want to throw up it hurt so bad. I thought I might swell up and not be able to use my arm, but alas, nothing happened. It has been about 8 hours and it still aches, I'm pretty sure I never want to be stung again.

The commercial took longer than expected to edit, it should be on Youtube in the next couple of days. They put it on Youtube in order to raise money to put it on local TV. The first ad that came out in Maine raised about $100K in 12 hours on Youtube... pretty crazy.

I think we are going to develop big, huge, heads from all of the publicity we have been receiving. In the last week we have shot a commercial, a news program, and had an article in the local newspaper and the Bing-efit is scheduled for tomorrow. Not to mention, there are posters and fliers all over town with our picture and a brief synopsis of our predicament. What a blessing to have so much love and support and all of these people trying to help us. We are so appreciative!

Maddox now growls when asked, "what does a bear say?" Blows kisses, flexes his muscles, knows where his nose is, dances when he hears music, stands briefly on his own &
knows sign language for more and all done (those are the only two I know).

Photo frenzy

2009-09-23T16:08:00.000-07:00

We took a day trip down to Sheridan, Wyoming to see new sights. We checked out the Don King Rodeo, kinda lame, we don't know much about calf roping and all of that but it was a really cool arena. It was just a wide open, grassy field. There were very few fences, which is apparently uncommon. Someone kept throwing a ball out into the field for their kids to retrieve. The announcer totally called them out and asked someone with common sense to explain why this was a bad idea... probably the highlight of the whole thing.

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Mom and I had a garage sale to rid our homes of unnecessary crap (I mean treasures). We were pleasantly surprised at the turnout, especially since it was so far out of town. We made a couple hundred $, while spending a good deal of time together... totally worth it! Maddox hung out with us, wandered around in the walker, entertained shoppers, and shared Grammie's snack food. Dad didn't pack socks and shoes so we were stuck with pink socks and the leather moccasins that my sisters and I wore as baby girls.

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Bing, Maddox and I are in a commercial for the Progressive Change Campaign. We filmed out at my parent's house and a little bit in downtown Billings. It should be on Youtube tomorrow and TV by the weekend.

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Aunt Sissy gave Maddox a Little Tikes car for his birthday, what a hoot! He loves the thing and tries to put all of his other toys into it... they promptly fall through the open bottom. Maddox fell out the bottom and Bing didn't notice, so Maddox was run over the day we got it :) He also love the little scooter/walker we got him for his birthday and like to fill up the "trunk". The first day he figured it out, he would hold it open while desperately trying to reach something to put into it. Blocks are the best fit. At his 1 yr visit we learned that Maddox is tall and skinny with a very large head... tell me something I don't know! Also, the doctor told us to start brushing ALL of Maddox's teeth, he much prefers doing it himself.

The Big, Billings, Benefit is this weekend! Pray for a good turnout, good weather and a rocking-good-time. For more on this see Heavy Head or The Softer Side of Cynical.
Soon to come: baby shower, friends come to visit, Bing-efit...

2009-09-16T15:38:00.000-07:00

I finally got my videos loaded. I know there are a bagillion pictures of Maddox eating his birthday cake, but now.... there is VIDEO! Also, Maddox has learned how to give kisses. They are very sweet and very, very slobbery.