On Pregnancy, Birthdays, and Blogging

Hello, faithful readers -- all two of you who still lurk around to see if I might come back and write some more here! I'm back, sort of. Actually, I'm pregnant -- and not just sort of. :) so NO WONDER I've not been blogging, right?! That explains a lot, phew!

Well, I've already announced this magical, fourth little miracle to facebook, which means all of you already know our exciting news. But hey, this is the family blog! This kind of news needs to be reported and celebrated on the blog, right?!

Pregnancy details...

So, 13 and a half weeks, and counting. How exciting! Our baby is as big as a jumbo shrimp, or a pea pod, or... what else is slightly larger than a lime, but still smaller than a lemon? Well, that's what we've got, and we're calling this one a "he" because... well, just because. No, I've had no revelation, inspiration or inkling feeling that we're getting a boy this time. But to even the odds, we might as well call him a "he" for the time being, right? Spencer and I are voting blue, our girls are voting pink, and I'll go ahead and cast Brian's vote for one more blue, even though I'm totally putting words in his mouth here. :) Anyone else care to vote??

The details of this pregnancy -- have you been wondering?? Well, you probably don't really want to know too much. But so far it's been my roughest and most nauseating, by far. I've had lots of weeks of not-much-food-staying-down, and can't-keep-my-eyes-open-for-more-than-two-hours-at-a-time, and it's felt kind of overwhelming at times. But I have good help (named Brian!), thoughtful, kind friends and family (Dalana, Mom Bishop, Gina, Ann, Cindy, etc.), and patient kids, which really has helped. I keep teasing that I might write a book called "Parenting from the Couch," since that's what I've been trying to do for the last two months. (It's not very effective, btw, and probably would not be a top seller!)

The good news is, I think I'm getting closer to turning a corner, nausea-wise. So, looking on the bright side... right? :) :) In a few more weeks, maybe I'll be in that middle stretch where I feel pretty "normal" and good. (Fingers crossed!!)

Things I'm not blogging about...

Obviously, since I've been so unwell, the pregnancy has been paramount on my mind. And, the rest of the summer has just sort of "happened" around me. I'm sad that I haven't blogged (or even journaled!) about some really sweet, memorable happenings this summer. But everything has sort of seemed nausea-laced to me, (including the computer), so I haven't felt up to writing about things. But for the record, here's a quick list...
-- I went to Girls Camp as one of our ward leaders for a few days. It was super fun and I was so glad to be there with our girls. I had to leave early, to go to my grandma's funeral. But the time I spent there was really inspiring and was a nice break for me.
-- Brian's parents celebrated their FIFTIETH wedding anniversary this summer! We worked together with all the siblings and Aunt Cindy, and threw a huge open-house reception for them at the end of June. It was beautiful and so sweet to be part of their special time.
-- After the reception, we took a week-long reunion trip with Brian's family, to the Oregon coast. We all stayed in a big house together and planned outings together and had so much fun being with everyone. It was a hard trip for me, but I loved being there even though I felt pretty queasy a lot of the time. We even spent an afternoon at my favorite beach in the world -- Indian Beach, at Ecola State Park... probably my favorite moments of the trips, right there.
-- My kids have spent time at pools, parks and play dates quite often this summer, thanks to my sweet friends who have invited them to join, even when this momma was too sick to do a lot of the traditional summertime outings.
-- We spent a weekend at a remote cabin in the Sawtooth Mountains with some friends. I magically kept food down and felt good for almost two full days. I think it was the gorgeous surroundings, or the distraction of good company. It was a great respite for me, and the kids LOVED roaming free, riding bikes, and wading in the shallow river right in front of our cabin. Super fun!
-- We celebrated two important birthdays in our family -- Brian's and then mine. Brian's was actually while we were in Oregon with his family. I confess, I have not been in a store since the first of June, so his birthday-tlc was scarce, poor guy. :(  But his family made up for my lack of planning and energy, and put up streamers, birthday signs, and made cake for everyone to share. Man I love that guy... I still have birthday ideas for him, though they'll be a month (or more?) late.

Birthday girl

Speaking of birthdays, mine was a sweet one. The kids helped Brian do some shopping and clean up the house for me. Natalie came into my room the night before my birthday and said, "I need to tell you something. We bought you a hot air balloon... But don't tell!" And off she ran, knowing she'd just dropped a secret. ha! The "hot air balloon" turned out to be a big foil balloon that the kids loved for three days until it got stuck in our ceiling fan. :)

In the morning, we went to a Pioneer Day celebration for our church. They had a big pancake breakfast, then the kids got to be in a parade. We all dressed us up like pioneers and took old-time pics, they had face painting, fresh scones, a dunking booth, cupcake walk, snow-cone machine and other pioneer games. It was quite the party. (I think the pioneers would have thought it was pretty fancy!!)

In the afternoon, I took a nice nap while the kids helped Brian wrap presents and bake a cake for me. Then I got to open their sweet gifts -- a jewelry box with family photos in frames all around the sides, a 500-piece puzzle from the dollar store, a little "I love you Mother" plaque, and... a KITCHEN-AID mixer!! I've been wanting one for sooo long, but wow! That was quite the birthday surprise! Can't wait to try it out, hopefully soon. That evening we went to dinner at Olive Garden with Mark and Dalana, while Brian's parents watched our kids. Good food, sweet company, and a nice ending to a good day.

And now, I'm a year older, and feeling VERY conscious of it! Hmm... I had a lot of thoughts I wanted to write about this, but well... not tonight. I'm just very glad to be where I am at this point in life. And that's a good thing, right?  :)

Goodbye for now, blog. I want to write more. Promise. I even have pics of lots of the outings and things I wrote about here. Someday...

My Grandma Fern

My grandma passed away on June 4, 2013. She was 86 years old, and was a wonderful, strong, courageous woman. I am one of her 59 grandchildren -- her first granddaughter. I miss her, and this post is for her.

A couple of weeks before we left on our trip to Boston and New York, my mom called one evening to tell me that her mother, Grandma Fern, was in the hospital after another major heart attack. In the previous few months she had suffered three or four different heart attacks. After this one, the doctors informed her and her children that her heart was operating on less than 17%.

Along with the heart attack, they suspected other problems, including kidney and/or bladder cancer, and internal hemorrhaging. With her heart functioning at such a reduced capacity, they were hesitant to operate, but suggested an initial laparoscopy to locate problem areas. Grandma refused, and told them she did not want any surgical procedures at all. Her children discussed with the doctors -- and with her -- and decided to take her home to their homes, and arrange for hospice care to make sure she was comfortable and not in pain.

She spent her remaining weeks in the care of her sweet daughters and daughters-in-law, in their homes, as she had been for the last few years of her life. On the day she passed away, she spent the afternoon and evening surrounded by almost all of her nine living children and their spouses. They sat around her bedside and sang songs together, told stories, and reminisced with her about some of their favorite memories of her as a mother. She was quite lucid, but at times seemed to drift. She thought it was Christmastime, and kept asking them if it was snowing outside. She asked her daughters to take some money from her purse and buy Christmas presents for all the grandkids.

One sweet incident my mom told, that I don't want to forget... At one point in the afternoon, she asked her youngest son, Rick, if he could get "four $5s" out of her purse for her. He found the money (though her children cared for her, they always made sure she had her "own" money in her purse, as she occasionally liked to give it out to them or to grandkids, for various little gifts and trinkets). Grandma held the $20 in her hand and whispered to Rick that "this is for Karen. Is Karen here?" My mom came to her side and told her, "I'm here, Momma."
"This is for you, Karen. I want you to take this money and buy yourself something really nice."
"Thanks Momma. Maybe I'll go buy some nice perfume or something?"
"I don't know what kind [of perfume]... but buy something nice."
At that point, my mom's younger sister Robin walked into the room and saw my mom taking the $20. She sat down next to her mom and, teasing, said, "Are you giving out money, Momma? Did you just give Karen $20??" Grandma nodded that yes, she had given the money. As when they were children, Robin pretended to protest and said, "Well, how come you're giving Karen money, and not me??"
Grandma was quiet for a moment, then shook her head a little and whispered, "Karen works!"

Everyone laughed out loud at this. It's true, my mom was the oldest of their family of nine children. And she did, indeed, work very hard, right along side her mom for years and years, helping to care for so many younger siblings. I love that she was able to get that time with her mother, and that parting tribute -- one last little gift from Momma.

In the evening one of Grandma's sons gave her a priesthood blessing, releasing her spirit from this life. She passed away just before midnight, with some of her children attending her bedside.

I got to see her one last time before she died, as our family was leaving for Boston. We spent the evening with her at my Aunt Darla's house. She was so sweet and kind, though it was easy to tell she was in pain and was extremely tired. I spent time sitting at the foot of her bed, talking to her and listening to her talk to her son, Rick, and his wife, Janell, who had also come to visit that night. She told me several times, "I'm so glad you came, Kamber. It's so good to see you. You have such a beautiful family." I'm sad to admit, I forgot to take pictures with her that night. But I will not forget how beautiful she looked, with her long red hair and her make-up all fixed up like usual, and a nice light blue blouse and dress pants -- even though she was in her bed much of the time. The last picture I took with her was at our Phelps family Christmas party last December...

We were able to attend her funeral on June 15, in Grantsville, Utah. It was such a sweet, hard experience, but I'm so glad I was able to be there, to grieve with all my family, and to see her one last time. She looked so peaceful and beautiful at her viewing, all dressed in white, like an angel. At the funeral, I played the piano for my mom and her siblings while they sang a song their mother had taught them when they were young -- a ballad about some Mormon missionaries, trying to share the gospel in Illinois. I've always loved hearing them sing; they all have beautiful voices and harmonize with each other beautifully -- something their mother taught them.

I wrote a tribute to Grandma Fern shortly after she passed away, sharing some of my memories of her and what I've learned about her and from her, through all her children's stories and examples. I thought of sharing it here, but it's looong... and some of it may be too personal. But I will say, she had a hard life, and she lived it well. She raised her family to trust in God and believe in, and live, the gospel of Jesus Christ. She lost a baby, her second child, when he was 8 months old. She always remembered him and, I think, his memory changed the way she mothered her family, giving her a great sense of faith and comfort to know that she could see him and be with him again if she lived and taught her children to live righteously. She gave her all for her family, and in return, they took such good care of her in her later life. Their good lives are, to me, her greatest legacy. I am so grateful for her example, her courage, and her faith. Knowing her has made me want to be a better, stronger, more deliberate mother, in memory of Grandma Fern.

I love you, Grandma.

East Coast trip: lovin' life!

So, I will try to resurrect this blog, yet again. And I'm starting where I left off, with our super fun family trip to Boston and New York...

When we moved back to Idaho last fall, Brian and I talked about how it's so hard to keep in touch and stay close with friends and family when we live far away. So, we made a plan to return to The East to visit within the year. And... Southwest obliged with a great ticket sale that corresponded with Brian's brother, Reed's graduation from business school, in Massachusetts. yay!

We left a few days before Samantha was officially out of school. So, her LAST day got to be the day her class took a field trip to the zoo. I got to chaperone, and we had a great "last" time wandering around with her cute friends. Then, they tackled her for group hugs before she left...

 It was a good send off, and I think she felt okay to miss those last couple days of school, even though it was kind of sad...

First day of our trip was REED'S GRADUATION day!! yay for Reed! Luckily for us, the graduation was outside, so our restless bunch had a bit of "wiggle room." (Plus, they had Squinkies to play with, so they were well occupied, most of the time.)...

 The one "wild card" was this little mischief-maker, Miss Natalie! She had already been soooo good on the plane the night before, and again at church that morning. But by the time the graduation was underway, she was really ready to run crazy! Luckily, there was a nearby grassy area, where her dad was able to take her and let her roam free...

The Graduate!!! He did it!

 Way to go, Reed! This has been quite the undertaking for their sweet family!

 Alysa fixed a fun, celebratory dinner for Reed and all of us that evening, and the kids really loved playing with their cute cousins, Aftyn and Bronwyn.

Here's our rowdy bunch, trying to get to sleep on their special pull-out hide-a-bed couch...

After only one night, we learned that the best way to "sleep" people was to put rowdiest Natalie in bed with us until she was out, then move her back over to be with the other two, who magically went to sleep on their own very easily.

While we were in Boston, we took a trip out to Old Sturbridge Village, with Reed and Alysa and with Brian's parents, who were also visiting. (And, oops, I don't think I got a single picture with them! oh no!)...

 Sturbridge Village is kinda like the old-time pioneer village at This is the Place Monument in Salt Lake City. It's set up with a saw mill, a grist mill, a black smith shop, a pottery kiln, and dozens of other "village" buildings with costumed guide and demonstrations of how old-time life used to be. Our kids especially loved the children's dress-up section and hands-on demos. Here's Natalie and Bronwyn, in their pioneer dresses...

 All three of our kids were "riding" the hog...

The kids were making us laugh so hard with these cut-out holes! There were five kids and six holes, but man! we had a hard time getting a pic of all of them in a hole at once...

 Here was our best attempt... Spencer was mad because he was the baby girl, and he did NOT want to be a girl, so he wouldn't look at me. ;)

The grist mill, in full operation. It was actually really cool to watch!

Looking at the farm animals...

Brand new little baby lambs. They were so cute, with wobbly little legs!

In the old school house. Spencer was the "teacher"....

Next stop, we went to visit our friends, Becky and Tim, for a delicious bbq dinner. Our kids had so much fun playing with their kids. It was fun to catch up, and watch the kids interact...

 Here's a group picture, I think the neighbor took it...

 Most exciting for Spencer, while we were at Tim and Becky's, Becky taught him how to ride a bike!!! yay! Brian and I had been working with him for a few months, but they had a bike that was just the right size for him, and Becky was a "fresh start" teacher for him, so, in a matter of five minutes he had it mastered. We took several cute videos of him, but of course blogger does not believe in letting me load videos. So, all ya get is that cute pic of him with our group.

The next morning, Becky kindly offered to watch our kids so Brian and I could take a little trip to the temple. Of course, the kids were more than happy to go back to their house, especially Spencer, so he could continue honing his new bike skills! :)

Lovely temple, lovely peaceful time with my Brian, reliving some sweet Boston memories of our single days and courtship...

After the temple, we stopped by the Old North Bridge in Concord for a quick visit. The bridge is way back in the background...

 The whole gang, except Dad...

 Sad memory about this picture (above)... Just across from where we were standing was a great big beautiful climbing tree. As we took that picture, I whispered to Samantha that she should go climb that tree. We looked at it and right then a little girl was climbing down from the last branch of the tree. Right while we were watching, she FELL out of the tree, landed on an exposed root, and BROKE her arm! It was terrible! The poor parents were Russian, though they spoke pretty good English, thankfully. Brian helped them make their way to the visitor's center, where they called paramedics and took her off to the hospital. Needless to say, I changed my mind about letting Samantha climb that tree!!

We went back to Reed and Alysa's that night for delicious pizza dinner, and a birthday party for Aftyn, who is FOUR! Bronwyn just turned two a few weeks earlier, so she got some presents, too...

 Happy kids, fun presents!

The next morning, we took off for New York, but stopped for a quick visit to Boston's Children's Museum, which our kids LOVED!!

 We let each of the kids have a bit of souvenir money and pick out a present or two for themselves as we traveled. At the Children's Museum, Natalie picked out this gem, which kept her busy most of the way to NY....

Once we got to New York, our kids were in HEAVEN, because we got to stay with some of their favorite people in the world -- Zach, Parker, and Leah! Aren't they all so cute?!

 Samantha and Leah were especially happy to see each other. ha ha!!

So, the sad thing about our time in NY is that we misplaced our camera after those first couple of pictures. It was under the front seat in our van, but we really couldn't find it. All the pics we took of our time together were on our cell phones. And, I'm lazy enough that I haven't figured out how to upload pics from our phones yet. But the list of what we did...
-- Stayed with Adam and Lindsay and their kids, helped them paint their new house that they're moving into.
-- Went into the City to the Museum of Natural History
-- Ate lunch with friends at Powells restaurant
-- Visited Erin and Spencer at their new house, had delicious Sunday lunch with them
-- Went to an amazing Greek restaurant with Erin and Spencer (still dreaming of that food!), and took the kids to a fun climbing gym and play place
-- Saw so many fun friends at church, visiting our old New Rochelle ward. Oh, how homesick that made me feel!!
-- Went for a walk around our old neighborhood, across the pond bridge, around Harrison village, etc. (That was actually just ME, at 7 a.m., and it was a wonderful 3-mile walk of serenity!)
-- Went to New Jersey to stay a night with our dear friends, Brian and Debbie Hunter, who we first met when we both lived in London.
-- We celebrated Memorial Day with the Hunters -- had a delicious breakfast of homemade crepes, took a walk/hike through historic Jockey Hollow, where Washington's troops camped in the winter of 1780-81, then had a fun bbq along with our friends, Meg and John, also from London days.

We headed back to Boston for our last couple of days. And, miraculously, we found our camera. So, we got some fun pics of our last days in Boston. On the T, going into the city for a family day...

We stopped at the Frog Pond, but it was kinda slimy. So we walked over to the Public Gardens. Our kids loved the "Make Way For Ducklings" statues, of course...

And, they loved the Public Gardens, also...

On the Swan Boats, too sunny to smile properly...

From the Swan Boats, my lovely, lovely Boston...

So, once when I was on a Duck Tour, the driver touted this little bridge as "the world's shortest suspension bridge." But guess what? It's not really even a suspension bridge. hmm... But it is pretty...

Where are we?? The Old North Church, of course!

Our kids really didn't care about the "one if by land, two if by sea" bit, so I took them out to the bathrooms while Brian stayed for the tour and more pictures. (Fyi, the public restrooms behind the gift shop behind the Old North Church are GOOD!! They have a box for donations for their upkeep, and I gladly put in two dollars for a CLEAN bathroom experience, after DAYS of helping toddlers in filthy, disgusting bathroom situations. Let's hear it for some sanitary bathrooms!!)

In the North End, next to one of those really old, cool cemeteries...

We had lunch at a little Italian restaurant where Brian and I had gone on our first Valentine's Day together, when we were first dating (Round 1). The owner happens to be from Jordan, and Brian started speaking Arabic with him, talking about Egypt and Brian's love of the Middle East, etc. The restaurant wasn't crowded, so the owner kept coming by to chat while we ate, and even introduced his nephew, who just moved from Jordan to the US a few month ago. By the time we were finished eating, Brian had made some new friends, and... we got free lunch!! :) The owner absolutely refused to let us pay, but we left a nice tip anyway.

More souvenirs for the kids at the Old North Church gift store (which was one of the BEST gift stores we visited... had so much variety and so many cute, creative little trinkets, btw.) Our kids each chose a stuffed animal, which they're showing off in this pic, below...

We had to stop and stomp through the fountains on top of the Big Dig, just for fun...

Then back to the T, finishing with a good snooze on our way back to our car...

I'm pretty sure that was my favorite day of the trip. We finished off that day with a visit to Walden Pond with Reed and Alysa's family...

 We brought Blue Ribbon bbq for dinner, and let the kids play in the water until the sun went down...

 Yes, it was cold water, and yes, we were the only ones letting kids get into the water. But they loved it, and it was a fun way to end the day...

Goodbye, lovely Walden...

 Goodbye, Boston. Goodbye, fun trip to the East Coast...

We actually DID have one more day in Boston. BUT... we were sick with stomach flu. Not fun. Nat and I were up vomiting through the night, then Brian got it the next day. We were pretty lethargic, and stayed in our hotel room till nearly noon. But then we made it to the Science Museum for a few hours anyway. (No camera.)

 And then, we packed up and headed home the next morning. Here's one pic of our really long layover in Denver. Not sure why Spencer's jacket is on his head...

 On the plane...

We flew into Salt Lake in the early afternoon that day. We had plans of staying in Utah with family for a few days. But we were still feeling crummy with the flu, and Spencer was starting to get it, and we didn't want to pass it on to anyone. So, we courageously took ourselves ALL THE WAY home to Caldwell that SAME day... from 5 a.m. East Coast time, to about 11 p.m. Mountain time. A LOOOONG day!

We stopped a few times to rest our legs and run around. And, finally, we made time to stop in Twin Falls and see the majestic Shoshone Falls. (It's been on our "list" for several years now, so we were glad to finally see it.)...

 Welcome Home, Bishop Family! That's the end of our fun start-of-summer trip to the East Coast. It was a lovely, bittersweet trip, making me homesick for the green, green loveliness of New York and Boston, -- making me miss some very sweet, dear friends who feel soooo far away right now. But in the end, I am glad to be home. And glad for the memories.