Oh The Things They Say

I wish I was better on keeping up on the funny things Seth and Sam say, especially with how horrible my pregnancy brain is these days. They are so funny, so full of hilarious questions and stories. At least I’m keeping up on some of them:

-On very hot days, the boys just hang out in their underwear. The other night we were eating dinner at the table (the boys in only their underwear) and Seth exclaimed, “Hey, there’s something in my underwear!” (Just what every parent wants to hear, right?) After some exploration, he cried out in a surprised voice, “Ah, it’s my missing lego. That’s where it went!” Ben and I are still laughing about this!!!

-Speaking of underwear, the boys and I were outside on a morning that was getting steadily warmer, so I told them I was going to go inside to change into shorts. “You can just wear your underwear, mama,” Sam told me. My reply, “Well, son, I don’t think the neighbors would appreciate that much.”

-It’s been a bit of a mental adjustment that we are having a boy, instead of the girl that we were hoping for—especially for Seth and I. “But we really wanted a girl, mama,” Seth will tell me. He is very concerned that now there will be FOUR boys and only one girl in our family (me too, ha ha!). The other night at dinner he asked, “Why didn’t God make me a girl?” Ben and I spent some time assuring him and teaching that God knows just what our family should look like, and that He knew exactly how to make both Seth and Sam. “So, he made you a boy,” we concluded. “Kind of like he made me a snuggler?” Seth asked. “Yep,” we replied with a smile. “And he made me a kisser?” Sam piped in. “Yep, Sam, definitely.” Sweet boys!

-Some (ok, most) days the questions continue to bog down my mind. I told Ben that these boys are asking questions about things I’ve never even thought about! For example, “How does our car stay up when we’re on a hill?” Hum. Don’t know quite how to answer that. Or, “Why is the exhaust on jets fire?” On one such day where questions were coming at me continually from both kids, I said kind of exasperated, “You guys have SOOO many questions today!” “But mama,” Seth asked so sincerely, “Don’t you have lots of questions in your heart?”

-As a parent, on certain subjects you try to strike a balance between being open and giving information, but protecting your children’s minds and hearts. Subjects like armies, soldiers and wars are coming up a lot in our house because of the soldiers in the Easter story, air craft carriers, and fighter jets. I have such a hard time explaining simply and protectively questions like, “What’s a bomb, mama?” Ugh. Another such subject is dying. We’ve been very open about death, especially after Grandma Great passed away last fall, and Grandma Minnie this spring. We want our boys to know that they’re in heaven with Jesus, and that that’s a great thing! However, it’s hard to know what to do when they flippantly talk about, “Oh ya, and then daddy will die.” Hum. I’ve tried to tell them that we don’t want to talk a lot about dying, because it’s sad for the people that are left behind. But then I get responses like, “But Grandma Great died, and we’re happy because she’s with Jesus,” or I heard this the other day, “But I want to die because I want to see what God looks like.” Oh, the childlike faith.

-Speaking of God, the other day Sam asked me how God was made. Good luck answering that one people.

-Of, course, with me being pregnant, we’re getting the wonderful question of, “How’s baby going to come out?” The first time I got this question, I told the boys to ask their daddy. Ben, the master of non-confrontation, simple told them in a round-about way, “Well, baby will grow and then it will be time for mama and daddy to go to the hospital. And then you’ll come visit us and baby will come out.” Great, for the time being. Thanks a lot, Ben, that answer did not suffice for long and now I’m getting peppered with that question weekly. Finally, I’ve just said, “Some day when you’re a daddy, you’ll get to know all about how a baby comes out.” Of, course that led to, “When will I get to be a daddy?” "Who am I going to marry?” “How old will I be?” Really, the questions are daunting…

-Seth found me to tattle that Sam was “licking the toothpaste lid.” I went in to investigate and found Seth licking the toothpaste bottle. Ironic perhaps? I then asked Sam if he was licking the lid. “Naw, I was just sucking on it.” Ben LOST it laughing out loud. How am I supposed to parent that logic?

-Ben told me the other night as they were playing baseball, “We really need to get another glove. Seth just ran off to get his butterfly net so that he can play the netter.” (Netter is their word for outfielder). For some reason this really tickled my funny bone.

That’s all for now. Here’s some pictures of those silly little boys! (and yes, they’re doing exactly what this looks like: using the chairs to pretend to drive cars) Sam Seth Love this expression!

30 and Pregnant

I think for lots of people, turning 30 is kind of traumatizing. I’ve been joking that my 40th birthday is going to be my crisis instead. As I told Ben, if you have twins in your mid-twenties, you basically take a fast train to being 30. I’m old, I don’t long for my twenties, and I’m smack dab in the middle of another pregnancy so the hope of my past, in shape volleyball body is a but a dream.

My 30th birthday was great. We celebrated early with my parents in Lakeview, where they (and my sister Katie) gave me a “new” old sewing machine that I couldn’t be more thrilled with. Maybe someday I’ll finish baby Edmunds quilt that my last machine broke in the middle of making. Then on my actual birthday, we met all of Ben’s side of the family at Trillium Lake for the day. Nate and Holly gave Seth and Sam their first fishing poles for their birthday and they got to go out on the boat and try them out. It was a beautiful day and I was with family. We even had gluten free treats. I didn’t have to do any dishes. And Sam and Seth think I’m pretty cool now that I’m finally 30 like daddy. It is a beautiful lake! Second time going out on the boat—still no fish! Ben got me this beautiful bouquet for my birthday—his best yet! (*WARNING* boring part of post with lots of words…but I’m trying to document a bit of my pregnancy, because I know I won’t be able to remember it much)

I’m officially in my third trimester, thank goodness. Only 3 more months of people saying, “Are you sure there’s only one in there?” “Twins again?” Nope. I’m just big and have lots of room to grow. Baby’s pretty happy with my stretched out tummy and has lots of room to move around any time I’m sitting still. He’s such an active baby—I love it! This pregnancy has been fine; I wouldn’t say that I’m one of those people who “love” being pregnant (in fact, I’m not sure those women are telling the truth, ha ha). Ever since we found out it was a boy, I’ve spent a lot of time wondering whether or not I’d EVER want to do this again to try for a girl. I know we’ll cross that bridge in a couple of years, but while in the throngs of pregnancy, I’m not so sure. I’ve also wondered how I was still working at this point when pregnant with the twins. I’m currently only feeling rested in the morning if I get 9-10 hours of sleep at night. Oh ya, and don’t forget my 20-30 minute nap I try to get in every day. Granted it’s not great sleep because I’m practically in a sitting position most the time because of heartburn. I’m so thankful that nausea is almost entirely gone, and food is in general easier these days, although still complicated by food allergies; it does help that I have been eating a little bit of cheese to help me get protein. Some of my current favorite pregnancy foods are bean and cheese tostados for lunch almost every day, strawberries or raspberries with chocolate chips, cantaloupe, popcorn and Chipotle tacos.

It’s been funny the difference between the first and second pregnancy. While we are so overjoyed with being pregnant, there definitely is not the same amount of preparation for this baby. In fact, besides talking about it and growing it in my tummy, there has been no preparation at all. His room is currently our spare room, so it has a guest bed in it, extra flooring we need to complete the kitchen hardwoods, a mattress the boys use as a trampoline, and is a big mess. I have done one thing: I bought some vintage airplane wall decals to decorate with. I think we’ll put those up and have the boys help pant some wooden airplanes for a mobile. We better get going, though! We only have 10-12 weeks left until we get to meet this little one—yikes!

Seth and Sam at 4 Years Old

If I’m being honest, so far having two 4 year olds has been kind of difficult. Perhaps it’s because I’m 6 months pregnant and we’ve had a very busy past month; however, I believe it comes from a very marked increase in their curiosity and to put it bluntly, some major moments of not using their thinking abilities. I have caught them doing things in the past months that they have NEVER been allowed to do. For example, they stuck a bunch of stickers on the wall—my parents wall, none-the-less. After a huge talking to about that, a week later they were given a sticker at Fred Meyer and Sam turned and stuck it right to the wall in the check-out stand. WHAT!!!!???? How about this one: I was talking to my neighbors in the garage the other day, and turned around to find both boys groping the furnace and all connecting pipes. Sam was trying to turn the natural gas pipe lever. I wanted to scream! They have never been allowed to touch the furnace and now all of a sudden curiosity has taken over and they think that they are allowed to explore those “no-no’s”. Ben and I have been discussing these brain laspes, trying to reason and find a way to discipline correctly. We believe some of it has to do with the fact that they have been allowed to do increasingly more as they “grow-up.” For example, I’m letting them plug things in, while plug-ins used to be off limits. I can understand why in their minds they might think that everything is “ok” now that they are big four year olds. It sure has been difficult!

There has also been big blessings and rewards. Just as I was about to complain on facebook about a particularly brain dead afternoon for the boys (one that included Sam trying to “help” me put up the electric garage door right after I told them not to touch it), I went out to check on them only to find out that they had cleaned all their toys out of the garage, swept, and put them all back. So sweet. This is my favorite recent story: one afternoon we took them to Toys R Us to pick out a special lego set using birthday money Grandma Luscombe gave them. They both picked out a “big” set and had some money left over, so I brought them four or five small boxes and told them to pick out a small set as well. Misunderstanding what I meant, they both picked out a small set and merrily put their big set back on the shelf. I asked Seth what he was doing, and he held up the small box and smiled saying he liked this one best. When I told Sam that he could have both sets, he replied worried, “But I want Seth to be able to have one.” It is those moments where Ben and I looked at each other as parents, with full hearts, and felt there is hope.

Here’s some other aspects of Sam and Seth at this age:

-They are 40” tall….which means that they have grown 2 full inches since we went to San Diego a month a half ago. Crazy! They are lucky to hit 37 lbs. on the scale. Ben and I are wondering if they will ever hit that 40 lb. mark so that we can finally put them in boosters instead of car seats.

-So full of questions and very, very curious. They want to know how everything works and why God made it that way.

-Love legos. It’s the first thing they do when they wake up and last thing before bed. They love to follow the directions and put each car, jet, etc. together. Sam can do entire sets basically on his own. Seth doesn’t like to look for the pieces and isn’t as thorough so he tends to make mistakes and needs more help.

-They finally are doing much better with their shyness. They will go and play with other children now, without me by their side. It’s very nice. We’ve also been able to leave them with family and a babysitter without crying fits. Thank goodness! When we were in Lakeview, they even introduced themselves to their rarely seen Uncle Mike. “Hi, I’m Sam,” Sam said while looking Uncle Mike in the eye and sticking out his hand for a shake. “And I’m Seth,” Seth piped in, going for the other hand to shake. I was AMAZED! They have never done something like this and usually hide behind my legs when meeting someone new.

-Favorite foods: pizza, french fries, Cheetos, and fruit (especially strawberries, pineapple, cantaloupe)

-We’re still completely gluten free. They eat eggs in baked goods, but struggle with them scrambled, etc. They struggle with too much sugar (which is a nice reason to continue to limit it). Seth’s tummy is doing much better and we just started to wean him off his acid reflux medicine…praise the Lord!

-Sleep still is not their strong point. We now have officially been dealing with sleep terrors for over two years. We’re pretty fed up with this and hope they grow out of it before baby brother comes! They still have a terror almost every night, around 10:30, especially Sammy. They go to bed at 8, fall asleep quickly, and get up around 8 the next morning.

-They love wearing  basketball clothes (shorts and tank tops). They love any clothes that are red and black (just like their daddy). But, if they had their choice, they would hang out in their underwear every day, which I’m ok with during the summer!

-When they grow up, they want to be pilots. Sam wants to fly a passenger jet, and Seth a fighter jet. They know all about jets, and build the most amazing replicas with their tub of legos, complete with engines and exhaust pipes in the correct places.

-They love being outside and play for hours upon hours on their own. They play “making food” with dirt, mud, grass, etc. They ride their bikes and race each other. They use wood scraps and make houses, jets and boats. They play baseball with each other. They talk constantly.

-They love our neighbors on each side of our house. Frank and Joyce, a couple in their 70’s, live on one side and the boys just LOVE them. They’ll go feed the baby ducks at the pond behind our house with Joyce, or watch Frank as he’s doing any project. The other day I went out to check on them as they were chatting with Frank and let him know that if he needed to go or if they were in his way, to just let them or me know. Frank’s joyful reply was, “I always wanted sons, and look what I got for neighbors!” Sam is a funny kid. We continue to compare him to what his Uncle Nathan was like at his age. He’s very passionate, and a bit obsessive about the things he likes. He’s emotional—quick to laugh and quick to cry. Sam will stray farther from us at social events and go play with other children quicker than Seth. He loves to wrestle with his daddy, and wishes he could spend every moment with Dad. Seth has gone through a bit of an ornery spell lately. He’s had a couple times where he’s hit or even spit (gasp) at Sam when he didn’t get his way. Yikes. He’s more into taking risks than Sam.  He looses interest in activities quicker than Sam, and is always coming up with an idea of something new to do. He loves that baby in my tummy and pats it in the morning and says, “Good morning, baby,” and again at night to say, “Goodnight.” He’s also quite frustrated in the lack of lap I currently have—it’s cut into our snuggles! (I was so proud of him in this picture for having the guts to hold a chicken all by himself! Neither Sam or I would try that!) Seth, Sam Sam, Seth

Grandma Minnie

This past weekend we celebrated the life of my Grandma Minnie, who passed away at the age of 78 of Alzheimer’s, a disease which she has had for the past 10 years. In some ways her death was a welcomed thing: she now has a new body and mind in heaven and is with Christ, and she is no longer suffering. It also was very sad and hard, especially because she got the disease at such a young age, and my children never really got to meet the Grandma Minnie I knew.

The Grandma Minnie I knew never seemed old, never looked old. She lived minutes away from me and I saw her at least once a week, probably more. Every memory I have of her is happy. I never saw her angry, never heard her complain or speak ill of someone else. She was gentle, kind and patient. She loved and served the Lord. 1 Peter 3: 4 says, “But let your adorning be the hidden person of heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.” This verse describes Grandma Minnie perfectly. When she first heard the news of her disease from the doctor, she did as we all would, and thought, “Why me?” But after several days, she came to the conclusion, “Why not me?” She later told my mom, “Who am I to accept the good, but not the bad?” Now that is faith.

Grandma Minnie was a hairdresser for 20 years, running her own business. I remember her smelling like her shop, and the knobby knuckles on her hands from so much use. Each fall before school she would give Katie, Kristi, Caitlin and I perms. Who else was lucky enough in the 80’s to have a Grandma who could keep one’s hair permed?

I have my Grandma Minnie to thank for my jaw line (I was always told that I looked like her side of the family, the Canon's) and for my enormous feet. I thank her for my knowledge of canning, which she taught my mom, as well as how to make homemade tortillas. I wish I could make turkey noodle soup, homemade macaroni and cheese, and fresh applesauce like her—not that I don’t try!

The four of us cousins spent every Monday in the summer at Grandma’s house. We thought it was the best! Oh the things we thought up at Grandma’s house. One summer it was playing the Oregon Trail, trekking back and forth across her back lawn using a huge box as our wagon. Another summer we spent hours at her counter bar creating pretend families and documenting their lives in a notebook (we all had 10+ children, and many sets of twins and triplets). We even had a club, the Bubble Gum club, that did some pretty hairy detective work, like trying to figure out where Grandma was getting all that “gold” (petrified wood in her backyard).

In hindsight, our parents didn’t bring us to Grandma Minnie’s house on New Year’s Eve for our benefit only (they probably were thrilled to have an evening to hang out with adult friends). But we loved this tradition! We’d stay up until Midnight, fixing Grandma’s hair with her special beautician clips, making confetti, and would ring her cowbell and flush the toilets (Katie’s idea we swear) to bring in the New Year.

When we reached high school and got active in sports, Grandma was our biggest fan. She rarely missed a game (at home or on the road) and our quiet little Grandma wouldn’t be quite so tentative in the stands. She especially loved volleyball and in later years we’d often find her at home watching tapes of our old State volleyball games. Even as we played in college, she’d travel up to Salem to watch us for the weekend.

Doesn’t she sound amazing? She was. Even in her last years, as Alzheimer’s stole her mind, she was a blessing to her caregivers. Her sweet spirit continued, she loved to hear the Bible read out loud, and she would give a hand squeeze or “I love you” at just the right moment.

I’ve thought a lot about my Grandma Minnie these past couple of weeks. I’ve missed her a lot. I wish my husband and my children could have known the Grandma Minnie I grew up with. I’ve been challenged to follow in her Godly example of a woman with a gentle and quiet spirit, whose beauty continues through even the greatest challenges.

Thank you Grandma Minnie for the life you shared with me. I miss you.

Check out those perms!

She went to Disney Land with us She watched us win the State Tourney And was there for my final college volleyball game She was there for my college graduation And quickly loved and accepted our new husbands She spent every Christmas morning with us

I love you Grandma Minnie!

4 Year Old Birthday Party

It’s been a busy and emotional couple of weeks. We took a trip down to Lakeview to see my parents, celebrated the boys’ 4th birthday, my Grandma Minnie passed away, I turned 30, and now I’m headed back to Lakeview with just the kids for the service as Ben’s on business trip. Sometimes when there is so much going on, I have a hard time making myself sit down, write, and post pictures on a blog. At the same time, I want to document thoughts and memories; I want to post on what Seth and Sam are like at 4 years old, how it was turning 30, and memories of Grandma Minnie. So here’s my attempt to catch up on a little bit of what has been happening lately.

We didn’t have a big party at home this year because we were in Lakeview for Sam and Seth’s birthday. The boys had a bunch of mini parties, however. We went out Aunt Tani’s to celebrate with cousins on the farm (pics to come later). Katie and Nick came over for dinner, and each girl picked out a little gift for the boys. The day before we left for Lakeview, Grandpa Deedo and Grandma DiDi came to Portland and took the boys on a special birthday outing where they went to Sky High Sports to jump on the trampolines; they also gave Seth and Sam their first little pop guns. And then we had the Lakeview party…that’s a lot of partying! Here’s some pictures of the happenings: Grandpa teaching Seth how to use his new gun Love Sam’s shooting face (notice the new floors/no base boards in the background…our house has been a construction zone since Easter) The boys dressed up for church on their birthday. Notice Poppel and Charlie in the shopping cart…so cute! Seth, Sam Sam, Seth (We’re 4!) wearing the new outfits we got them. We’re all about Blazer (or Dufur rangers) colors in our house A batting tee so the boys can play baseball just the two of them Sam Seth (Sam, Seth) I was trying to go with a bit of a lego theme for a party, so the brownies were frosted with M & M’s on top to look like legos. Unfortunately the frosting melted and they looked more like a mess. I’m loving these facial expressions It was so fun to celebrate Seth and Sam’s birthday with their rarely seen cousins Jack and Nora. The boys loved it! Here’s Seth teaching 18 month year old Jack how to use his gun. The boys playing with baby Nora!