A Special Gift

Almost 13 years ago when I was a sales rep for The Iams Company,  I received a special gift, that made an huge impact on my life.  I was making my rounds in the L.A. area and found my to Peggy Woods Pet Emporium, one of my favorite customers.  When I parked, I saw a pretty big puppy in an outdoor cage which I had never seen before.  I asked Ira, the owner, and he told me that he was a "return".  He sells puppies, and someone had purchased this yellow lab and got more than they bargained for.  It was hard to sell him again because most people wanted the itsy bitsy tiny puppies.  He said these words to me..."Do you want him"?  I am pretty sure that I laughed it off, finished a meeting, and went about the rest of my work there.  But something happened to get me thinking.  It could of been just the darn cuteness of that animal, or the fact that I felt sorry for him and it broke my heart that no one wanted him...whatever it was...I was slowly changing my mind.  I called Bryan at his job at Petsmart where he agreed that we had room and the love for one more dog.  That was that...I loaded him up in my car, left work early, and met Bryan at work to meet our new pet.  Jake was then 4 months old. 

This past Monday, on July 11th, we had to make the very hard decision to help that beloved pet die peacefully because he just wouldn't give up and leave us on his own.  He had arthritis in his back legs so bad that sitting and standing were very hard and I could see that it was hard for him to get comfortable, though he was not a complainer.  He also lost control of his bowels which was not fun for either of us,  had partial paralysis in his throat, and an enlarged heart that was making it harder and harder to breathe. 

In the middle were 13 years with that dog which was a  huge part of this family.  That is a long time to have someone by your side....and I do mean that literally.  When I was home, Jake was pretty much at my feet.  He came into the bathroom when I showered, laid at my feet when I was in the office, was on his bed in the family room or living room when I was in there, laid right at the kitchen sink when I was cooking, and slept next to my side of the bed.  I miss that.  He was a great, and loyal companion.  Before his hearing and eyesight went bad, he was a good guard dog too.  I felt safe with him around.  I miss that.  He always greeted us at the door, tail wagging, and happy to see us.  I miss that.  He LOVED to play frisbee and when he was able, would play until we had to stop him.  I miss that too.

 Jake went on family vacations whenever we could take him, cheered us up when we were sad or lonely, and loved on our kids too when they came along.  He never acted jealous, even though he got thrown outside during the day for a few years;)  When we moved to Oregon, he got what he always wanted...a permanent indoor position as an active member of the family.  We think he lived out his last few years in luxury:)

Here are some pictures we captured of us with Jake and his last few days here on earth...I will always be grateful for these memories.

We are all adjusting to live without Jake and it is hard.  Going to bed the first night without him there was hard, waking up without having "Jake duty" was hard, leaving the house without taking him out and giving him a treat was hard, vacuuming up the last ton of dog hair aound the house was hard, even sitting in silence without his panting by me is still hard.  Brody cried the first day he did his chores and didn't have to get him water and Connor was sad when there was no one to throw his crust to.  We miss him a lot but each day does get easier.

We were lucky to have him as long as we did and are grateful for that.  He leaves a large hole in the hearts of all of us here and always will.

Where have I been? Part III!

At the rate I am going...my whole summer will be full of "Where Have I Been" postings!:)  Anyway, on to part III!

This year the boys took the stage at our homeschool groups "Delight Night" (variety show)!  I was very excited about that.  Brody put this presentation together all by himself titled "Bunnies at Home".  He designed the poster, what to put on it, and did all the writing and drawing.  I was very proud of him.  He got to take Dusty to the show which helped him get over any nervous feelings he might have had.  He also recited a short poem.  Way to go Brody!

At "Delight Night" Connor did two things.  He played three pieces on the piano and did a great  job and also introduced all the families to Sport Stacking.  He had a lot of fun and even got one of his new high records during the demonstration which really excited him. 

Brody participated in a local race called the Awesome 3000.  He ran 1 mile and really enjoyed it.  There were a lot of kids there....see him in the group shot in the orange?  I was grateful for that as I fought to keep track of him in all the frenzy.  It was so funny at the start because he laid ALL the way back and let all the crazy kids run off when they shot the starting fire.  He literally took off DEAD last.  I guess I should of emphasized the word "race" more, but he really doesn't like crowds and I heard some kids got knocked down, so it seems he made a smart choice!  He did real well, moved way up, finished the race and said...."I'm not even tired"!

The day before Brody's big race, Connor participated in Teen Pact.  This was a one day leadership training class in the government.  He even had homework to do ahead of time which involved writing a bill.  We did a prayer walk for all the leaders, a scavenger hunt, and learned all about the legislative process.  As you can see, he had to dress for the event.  I could hardly stand how grown up he looked in that tie;)  It was a terrific experience and we both enjoyed it very much!

Where Have I been....Part II

 

When there was a dry day we tried to get out and get some work done. Here, the boys are loading up firewood....well....one is loading up anyway?:)  I just love this picture. 



We celebrated Easter.  Here are Connor's amazing eggs. He did a great job and even though decorating eggs is a lot of fun...it was clear that he knew we were celebrating something big!  We also went to a wonderful service on Good Friday.  Connor was happy to hear some of the same songs that we have been learning at home.  We also enjoyed a great story called "Amon's Adventure" written just for Lent.  It was a great way to keep us focused on the death, burial, and of course the Resurrection of Jesus!


Here are the eggs that Brody decorated.  We found a neat kit this year, with little rollers.  It made the eggs very sticky, but fun and very bright. 

This year Brody got a very special bible.  I looked and looked and decided on this NIV version.  He is always commenting on the small print in Connor's backpack bible in a negative way so I found a large print bible just for him.  He seemed very excited about it!

Brody celebrated his big 7 1/2 birthday!  Wow...is time flying.  They are both very excited to do the decorating all on their own.  I'm not sure what this was, but I have an idea.  See the grass at the bottom?

We visited a Buffalo Ranch with our FIGS group and it was a great field trip.   The best part was that earlier that morning, we picked up Aunt Lara from the airport!

 We decided to take Aunt Lara to the coast to see the ocean!  We ended up with a room in a little town called Seaside.  Along the way, we just had to stop at the famous Tillamook Cheese Factory!

 Did I mention they have ice cream?  YUM!!!  Aunt Lara and I enjoyed some real Marionberry ice cream....life is good!

We just had to show Aunt Lara Flamingo Jim's outside of Rockaway.  We always stop by when see the LeVesque's on their annual visit, what a fun place!

 Aunt Lara was VERY surprised to see people at the "beach" in sweatshirts!

 Connor and Brody had their first bumper car experience and boy was that a blast!  It was Aunt Lara and Brody against mommy and Connor.  I'm pretty sure it was a tie!

We stayed at the Shilo Inn and they enjoyed many hours in the pool swimming.  We also let them go into the sauna which reminded me so much of Grandma and Grandpa's condo in Florida!

We really enjoyed our visit.  After Aunt Lara left things kept up at that pace for a while....more to come in Part III!



Where Have I been? Part 1

I think this is by far my longest "dry spell" since starting my blog. Wow...April 16th...what have I been doing since then?

The first place I have been is using an online journal called Cozi. This is so handy, and I can upload pictures and quick stories to go with them in a matter of minutes. I have found it to be a huge shortcut of keeping people informed and it even sends out a monthly newsletter to people that want that much information on my family:) However, I do realize it only does a few pictures and a small part of "the story" so I really do want to get back to my blog. After all I am three years behind on my photo albums, and I don't want that to happen here!

April and May were quite the blur...I have decided to keep this short and full of pictures then try to back into the swing of things.

In April I jumped on the chance to go to California for a week of "spring break" for us. I had a business opportunity to work a vendor fair for two days and the boys and I really needed some sunshine, some time with family and friends, and a break from school. (not necessarily in that order) We had a great time!

Shorts, sunglasses and sunscreen are pretty unheard of in April in Oregon, so it was a real treat to enjoy some beautiful weather. There was actually snow the day before we arrived and it knocked some branches of some of the palms...made for great toys!

A lot of hours were spent with Grandma & Pa watching movies, playing outside, and Yahtzee!

Of course some good times were had with Zack....

and the Barker clan at the park! We got see one of best buds Caleb play baseball...sorry no picture of that...but I did get to play a lot of "bear" with one of my most favorite little people on the planet...Ms. Lillie!We were very excited to meet our friends pony....I mean dog...Macy! What a beautiful dog! We enjoyed some play time with Morgan, Ryanne, and the whole Loomis clan!

It ended with a passel of kids on the couch watching "Tangled".

Fun, fun times. I am so grateful to for trips "home".

Stay tuned for part II coming soon to a blog near you:)

Hands Free Mom

Last week, the boys and I took a trip to California. It was the first time we flew there for a spring break and it was a blast! However, details of our trip will come in a future post.

I realized as I went through the airport that it was the first time my hands were totally free as we traveled. Connor and Brody are both growing up so fast and were extremely responsible on the trip. They almost packed all by themselves, they carried their own booster seats, and even insisted on carting around my backpack the whole way. After we checked in our bags, I literally had only my purse. It was such a great feeling and I loved seeing my boys rise up to being independent and even to serving me in that way. I was really on Cloud 9, then we got to Oakland.

While we were sitting at the gate waiting to board munching down some Annie's pretzels in the airport, I found I could not take my eyes off a young man and his parents seated directly across from us. He was probably about 15 and loved football, trust me, I could tell. It dawned on me how fast it will come for me to be sitting somewhere with teenagers! It made me a little sad in a way. It seemed like just yesterday I was in an airport struggling my way through with two little ones in car seats and diapers watching a mom with older kids, thinking how much easier it would be one day. It was an incredibly surreal moment for me.

So, I came down from Cloud 9 and remained a little stunned (for lack of a better word) for a while. Luckily, it didn't last too long. I decided to just enjoy the moment I was in appreciate this stage of parenting without dwelling on the future....sounds funny, huh? Don't we normally dwell on the past? I know the future will come fast enough and one day before I know it one of them will be driving me to the airport! I want to look forward to it, and embrace the process God has designed. I love being a mom, I can't imagine not having them around all day every day, but I am raising adults and that is what I pray they become; adults who can get themselves through an airport one day, and maybe help someone along the way. I have to admit, it is looking great so far!

Waiting to go through security with all the "stuff"!

They wouldn't even let me help them carry them up two flights of stairs! The escalators were not working anymore and without the stroller, we can't use the elevator anymore!

Hanging out in an airport....I just LOVE the looks on their faces in this picture!

The Apple Pie Experience

One of the many things I love about our co op is that Connor and Brody are exposed to so many things that I would most likely not do on our own! A prime example of this was Apple Pie Day that took place last week. For our community service project one of the moms had the idea for the kids to work together to make apple pies to take to "Apple Pie Day" at the capital. The purpose of this day is for homeschoolers to gather at the capital to show our desire for freedom in home education and to take each member of legislature an apple pie. I had never been before and wasn't sure what to expect, but it turned out to be a great day. The event is sponsored by OCEAN Network which we are a member of, and who works hard to protect homeschooling freedom here in Oregon. It started on our regular co op day which was Wednesday. My friend Kim gave a great class and presentation on the basics of the process a bill takes through the House of Representatives, the Senate and on to the Governor. Then we broke the kids up into groups. There were three groups of pie makers...

Connor went with the kids that worked on the dough...

Brody got to be an apple slicer!

When they weren't in the kitchen working, they were busy writing letters to their Representatives and Senators. I am pretty impressed that Connor can tell you the names of the people holding those titles in our district. I couldn't do that before last Wednesday! They told them a little bit about themselves, something they like about homeschooling, and asked them to support our freedom that we currently enjoy. It was such a great thing and I am grateful to my friends Tera and Kim for organizing it all! Then the next day we were off to the capital! We went with our friends Kim, Sam, and Grace. We didn't have much to do until our tour time, but we had fun. The tour included a walk up over 100 stairs to the top of the capital which Brody decided not to do. I stayed with him, and luckily Kim took Connor with them, because he was thrilled! Older homeschooled kids had an opportunity to be volunteer pages for the day and a lot of people had appointments with their representatives and senators, which we just might do next time. Then there was a rally at 12:00 which included children performing and a special speaker that is with HSLDA (Home School Legal Defense Association) and it was very informative and encouraging!

I tried so hard to get the golden man in the shot...oh well, the kids are much cuter anyway!

I don't know how many people were there, but it was a lot! Here is just a piece of the crowd that we were in...what a great thing! The rain even held off for us!

Oh....and there were baskets and baskets of the yummiest, juiciest apples;) Here is Connor's journal entry about the whole thing....

For Apple Pie Day, we went to the capital! There, we went (or I went) to the top of the building! That was really cool. We learned how a law is made and about the legislature. OCEAN Network supports homeschooling. If someone wants a law, a bill is taken to the House of Representatives. If it passes it goes to the Senate. From there, it goes to the Governor. The Governor can like, or dislike, and it will pass either way. If the Governor hates it, he or she can veto it and it goes through a process I don't know about. Our trip to the capital was really fun!

Turns out all this interested Connor a great deal and now he even wants to participate in an event coming up in May called Teen Pact. They offer a one day "class" for 8-12 year olds where they can learn more about the legislative process, which I am looking into!

Ugghhh....the "classics"

After reading the book, "A Thomas Jefferson Education", I was impacted in a number of ways. One of those was an encouragement to continue to pursue my own education particularly in one area. I really want my kids to be thinkers. I want them to read or learn something and be able to discuss it rather than "parrot" back some details. In order to teach that, I have to learn to do that myself to be able to teach them and participate with them. I am such a classic example of a "typical" public education. I didn't even take advantage of the education I did receive. I memorized what they told me to, read really fast, and just happened to be a great test taker (then forgot all those pesky little details)! I was real good at finding the "answers" and got great grades all through school. Every day as I teach my kids I am embarrassed at what I didn't retain, but excited to be learning along with them. Part of me thinks that every almost 40 year old mom should take an elementary history class;) So...I threw the idea of a book club out to some friends and we have quite the little group going. We have committed to pick books from the reading list and get together once a month to discuss these books. We just finished "A Tale of Two Cities" and I will admit, it was quite painful for me. I read it out of duty and accountability more than desire, but it turned out to be a great experience for me. I have to re-train my brain as I read and learn and it was a good first step. We had some great discussions and it made it worthwhile. Our next assignment is "Jane Eyre" and although I was dreading that a little bit as well, I am loving it so far! I also realized that as much as I embrace most of the new technology, I just can't get excited reading a book on screen yet. I had to go get the hard copy after downloading it for free to two different apps. I thought it would be so convenient, but it just isn't the same. Bryan teases me because he reminds me how much I was opposed to the digital camera saying that I would never make that switch;)