Natalie's Blessing day

Natalie was blessed in our church on November 7. It was such a fun weekend, with so much family around to make it quite the occasion. I want to write a post about the whole weekend, but in case I don't, for now, here are some cute pictures of the star of the show on her special day...

Her dress was made by my Aunt Lar, who makes them as a hobby and sells them in boutiques for $$$. Aunt Lar made it when Samantha was born as a special surprise for her/me. I LOVE it, and am so glad Natalie was able to wear it, too.

And, a few more, that I just took today, because she was in such a good mood...

Some random pictures

I haven't posted in awhile, and now is not the time (midnight). But here are some fun picts of some of our fun times, in no specific order, and with very little commentary this time.

At the Farmstead -- a fun little Halloween outing we had with some of the Bishop family that live around here, corn maze and all!

The whole "farmstead" gang, in the giant rocker...

Goofy kids. I think it's funny that Samantha has finally started pulling silly faces for the camera. Well, sometimes funny, anyway (as long as I'm not hoping for a less silly girl).

And, another cute Samantha picture. Isn't she gorgeous? We think so!!

Walking by the river on a lovely, warm fall day.

Natalie has some adoring fans, for sure!

I just love the spikey red hair. She's so cute.

Spencer at the park... Not sure what he's doing, but he was too busy doing it to look for a picture.

Our family has an obsession with the Idaho State Capitol building. Our kids love to go there, and ask if we can go for an outing to the capitol about once a week.

Camel's Back Park, at the top of the hill overlooking Boise. Not too interested in posing, but they loved climbing the big hill with Brian. Natalie and I were in the car waaaay down at the bottom in the parking lot (pictured in the middle on the right.)

Bath time for Natalie. She really likes the bath, and the kids REALLY like to watch her get her bath.

I love restaurants with crayons. They don't know how much entertainment they provide for our little colorer girl!

Sammie had a stuffed animal party on her bed. Everyone was very well-behaved and sat very orderly and still for the group photo...

Spencer's new pastime is sleeping ANYWHERE during nap time... on the floor in front of the door, on the big queen bed (John's bed, he calls it), or, in this case, in the chair...

If you have a second, blow this one up and look at how detailed Samantha got with her coloring. That's a new trick she has, and I think it's so cute! She loves making sure ALL the colors are used just right.

More to come some other time. I hope!

My trick-or-treaters...

I want it to be noted that I am posting about our Halloween the VERY week it happened. This is real blog progress, people. I mean, we're very lucky not to be seeing this post go up after New Years, right?

Unfortunately, there's not too much to show and tell. I didn't take many pictures at all, and we didn't do very much for Halloween. But it was fun. Here are my little trick-or-treaters...

Samantha was a cheerleader. I started to make the letters in orange, and was going to put BSU, but Brian and Sammie both wanted it to say BYU (underneath, it really said Seattle Seahawks, sorry, Randi, if you care.) Turns out, I shoulda put BSU. Everyone at our church's trunk-or-treat thing turned their nose up at BYU, can you believe?!? Oh well. Football snobs. For their information, BYU offers a FAR superior education.

Spencer was a bumble bee. We didn't really tell him about his costume until it was time to put it on. I was afraid he wouldn't want to wear it or something. I worried in vain. As soon as I mentioned "candy" he was all over the idea of putting on this funky suit. He actually called it his "candy suit" all night.

Here are some of the cousins, at grandma and grandpa's house. The three girlies were all dressed as cheerleaders, so they got their pictures taken together. So cute. Unfortunately, Samantha banged her knee on the table just minutes before the picture shoot. So she bawled all the way through them (played it up for the audience, I think). But she still looked cute...

And back at home with their loot, here's our little group. Natalie was in a little pink catsuit, and was oblivious. I never got a good picture of her, other than on Sam's lap. Maybe I'll put her back in it and at least get it up here for posterity's sake, huh? I mean, the kid will probably want to know what she was for her first Halloween. (And no, we didn't carry around a candy bucket for her, though I was sure tempted!)

One more, with Spencer begging to be done so he could dig into his "gween punkin" for more goodies...

Happy Halloween, everybody! If my kids' candy doesn't keep me sugared up, I might have to make more pumpkin bread. yum!

Other peoples' shoes

Last summer, a friend in our neighborhood had a c-section with her second baby. I rememeber I called her a few times to check in while she was recovering. And now we're better friends, and occasionally get together, or talk at church, etc. Well, I've been thinking about all the sweet things she's done for me while I've been recovering from this c-section:

She's called several times, brought over dinner, stopped by to visit, watched my kids, delivered homemade chocolate chip cookies, and just been sort of "on call" -- reminding me that she's happy to help whenever I need her. I've sooo appreciated her help, and it's started me thinking about some "deeper" things...

Now that I've been through a c-section, I think I'd be much more likely to really try to lend a hand if I knew someone else who has to have one. It's not that the recovery is so terribly awful -- it's not, it's just slow-going and a little more taxing than a regular birth. The real point is that I can sympathize a lot more easily, now that I've had this experience.

I've been thinking about that idea a lot lately, as applies to so many different areas of my life. See, when I'm reflecting on my strengths and weaknesses, I like to think I'm generally thoughtful and helpful to others. But then, I look at how much more sympathetic and helpful I am when I've been through something similar to what others may be experiencing. And I wonder, how come I don't do better at giving everyone the benefit of a little extra sympathy?

Some experiences to illustrate...

-- While we're on the subject of c-sections.... When I was barely 21, my best friend from high school had her first baby -- after 20 hours of labor and an emergency c-section. I visited her in the hospital, and probably brought the baby a little gift. But I had no idea what my friend was going through. Fifteen years later, here I sit remembering that experience. And now that I know what it's like, I do wish I could have been a little more helpful to her, somehow. But how was I to know?

-- Two months after our first baby was born, a friend from our church had a baby girl. At her baby shower, I remember my gift to her was all the necessary "stuff" for breastfeeding. It sounds silly, but I was sooo excited to give her the best creams and pads and sanitizer, since I'd just tried ALL the available varieties, and was confident about what works and what doesn't. It was one of those gifts that I would have LOVED to receive, myself.

Ha! How many times have I done that? -- bought a gift and felt so good about it because it's something I'd like for me? Is that being selfish? Or is that following the golden rule of "do as you would have others do unto you?" I guess I sometimes wish I was a little more perceptive to what other people really need, what would be most helpful and meaningful to them.

-- When Brian and I were dating, (or "non"dating, as we did for lots of our "courtship") one Christmas he gave me a guitar book of Peter Breinholt songs, since I was trying to learn to play guitar, and I had a thing for Breinholt music at the time. How thoughtful! He also bought me a Wallace Stegner book, knowing how much I had enjoyed the Stegner novel I'd just finished.

Hmmmm.... I kissed him for his thoughfulness, lucky him. And seriously, I loved those gifts, because he was really trying to think of things that would mean a lot to me. And they do, still. (Even though the guitar book is in a box because the guitar got lost in our move. sigh.)

Where am I going with all this? I'm not sure. I've just been thinking a lot lately about how to be more sensitive to other people's needs. It's something that's on my mind, and now on my blog. Someday, when I've got a lot more "experience" in a lot of different areas of life, I bet I'll be a very sympathetic, perceptive, helpful person. At least, that's the direction I'm trying to head. ;)

Isn't she cute?

A picture of our girl from this morning...

And one from yesterday, too...

She sleeps a lot. And eats. She growls and makes funny newborn noises in her sleep. She stays in our bed a lot, because we love to kiss her and look at her while she sleeps. What a sweetie. We love her sooo much!

Back Blogging: Crater Lake

This may not be so impressive to other people, but I have to write about our fabulous "swing by" trip to Crater Lake this summer. It was one of the highlights of my summer!

First, you should know, that I've been wanting to go to Crater Lake from the time I was a little girl. We used to have a big picture book with a lovely photo of Crater Lake featured as a double-page spread. I remember looking at that picture and thinking it must be the most fascinating place. From that time, I have wanted to go see it. I mean, hey, it's only in Oregon -- one state over.

We finally made it, on our way home from a family reunion on the coast. Yay! I figured out why it's taken me so long to get there... It's about an 8-hour detour from anywhere close to ANYWHERE! We actually took an extra day on our vacation, stayed an extra night in a hotel just to see Crater Lake. (Thank you, Brian!) And here we are...

A few fascinating facts about Crater Lake...

-- It is the deepest lake in the US, second-deepest in the Western Hemisphere, and one of the deepest lakes in the world, at 1943 feet deep.

-- It has no outlet or inlet, and the depth rarely fluctuates within 20-30 feet, depending on snowfall.

-- It was formed by a volcano (obviously -- you can tell by the name, right?), and unfortunately I don't remember how long ago, but it was several thousand years ago.

-- It's freeeeeezing cold. They say that people who actually try to swim only stay in one or two minutes, max.

-- There's no really good way to get down to the water's edge. There's a steep trail down to a tiny, thin stretch of beach (that's where people attempt to swim), but other than that, the rim is on average 700-1000 feet above the water.

-- They have boat tours across the lake (we didn't take one, because we didn't hike down to the beach). I just wonder how they ever got that boat in the water? helicopters?

-- There's an old hemlock log called "The Old Man of the Lake" that has been floating on the surface for over 100 years.

See, doesn't it just sound like a cool place to see?! We took lots of pictures as we drove the 33-mile scenic road around the rim. Here are some of my favorites...

See that little island out there?

Closer up, it looks like this (below). It's called the phantom pirate ship, or something like that. It looks so tiny from way up high on the rim. But in real life, it's taller than a 16-story building...

A side view of the rim, see how steep it is?!

This is one of my favorites, featuring Wizard Island. I love how blue the water looks in the sunlight. It was perfect turquoise blue, once the clouds drifted away.

Here we are, at the overlook for Wizard Island (which was actually a "newer" volcano that erupted within the crater -- one of several throughout the lake, though most don't reach the surface.)

Wide view...

And, one more look at Wizard Island, from a different angle.

If you ever feel like you'd like to see something pretty amazing, and you have some extra time, I highly recommend "swinging by" Crater Lake, Oregon.

Postpartum Epiphany

It's over now, and I'm all better now. But...

A few days ago, I was having one of those baby-blues days... the one where I weep over the littlest thing and think the world is a sad and lonely place, even though nothing terrible is happening in my life. Sound familiar to any other mothers? Actually, it probably sounds somewhat familiar to anybody who has ever experienced emotional moodiness (which is most of us, at one time or another, right?)

Well, so, on my not-so-very-happy day, I stomped my feet and gritted my teeth at my children one too many times. And I pouted through dinner, like a teenager. And I sent my Samantha to bed without any kisses (until she was asleep). And I ended the day in a sniveling ball on the bed, determined to cry myself to sleep, just because. I was truly quite inconsolable, despite Brian's attempts to cuddle me out of my blues. It was a pretty ugly day, to be honest. Even now, I think I might tear up, just recalling it all.

Yucky.

Anyway, there I laid in my bed with the lights out, stifling my sobs into my pillow, so Brian didn't get overly concerned. (Don't worry -- he didn't. He was asleep faster than I could sniffle... newborn days do that, even to daddies.) After awhile, my nose got so stuffy I had to get up and blow it, and well, then I ended up on the couch, whimpering to myself. I played a few hymns quietly on the piano -- one of my stress-relievers -- and ended with "Abide with me." These words kept going through my head, as I played and cried:

"The darkness of the world, I fear, would in my home abide...

O Savior, stay this night with me. Behold, 'tis eventide."

It was making me so sad.

So I prayed.

For a long time.

And then I felt better.

I think that's the epiphany I was referring to in the title. And it's the same epiphany I get whenever I need it. It seems so easy: I pray for comfort, and I receive comfort. I pray for answers, and I receive what I need. Every time, even when I don't recognize it. I love those sweet moments, though I wish I didn't get so whiny and sad in the first place.

An extra bonus epiphany from that night... As I was wiping my tears and preparing to head back to bed, I saw a little book sitting on our end table by the piano. It was about a professor who had terminal cancer and wanted to leave his parting thoughts for his three young children. (True story, called "The Last Lecture.") Well, I picked it up and opened it randomly to a chapter in the middle. He was sharing his thoughts about the birth of his first son...

His wife had to have an emergency C-section, and their baby was very premature. Both the mother and child were in danger, but both pulled through. The father described his feelings as he and his wife went through such a traumatic experience. It was interesting and very relevant to me, after just having had a C-section (even though mine was not so scary or traumatic.) He ended with the thought that, no matter what we're going through, we can either make it worse or make it better by the way we deal with it.

That's not a new idea, of course. (Life is all about attitude; it's 10% what happens and 90% how we respond, etc.) But if felt new to me as I thought about the way I had dealt with my rotten day. It was something I needed to hear, and something that has made me want to try to do a little bit better. I'm not saying I shouldn't have cried and felt down. I know that "down" days just happen. But I did determine that I can do better at ... well, at making things better for myself (and whoever else is around me), instead of worse.

And next "down" day, maybe I won't pout through dinner. Maybe Samantha will get her kisses while she's still awake. Maybe I'll let Brian cuddle me into a better mood. Then we'll see that epiphany put into action!

Remember Summer?

Alright, folks. All summer long, I talked about the many fun pictures I was going to add to this blog... when I had time. Remember? Well, that time has come. I'm to that sit-around-and-nurse-a-baby-all-day stage of life again. And I should at least do something somewhat productive while I'm so "less active." Right?

So, here and now, I'm vowing to backblog about the following:

-- Camping trip in June, with most of the Hones

-- Big Phelps reunion over 4th of July

-- The REALLY big Bishop reunion in Delta Utah

-- The other big reunion in Oregon

-- Crater Lake

I'm sure you're all very excited about this. Keep checking for more, because this time... THIS TIME.... there WILL be more! I'm serious!

Back Blogging: Camping in June

I love, love, loved this camping trip. It was such a fun start to the summer. We went up near Kelly's Canyon, by Idaho Falls. All my side of the family was able to be there, except my bro, Blaine and his family (they were excused for having a new baby 3 weeks earlier).

Here are the highlights....

First, we found a new way to drive across the ugliness of middle-Idaho -- by way of Craters of the Moon. It was a prettier drive with more to see, and not quite as boring as the normal freeway way that passes through what Brian's brother calls "Idaho's Protective Belt of Ugliness."

Don't judge the entire drive by this picture, which only shows the famous lava beds...

Brian and I were in charge of breakfast the first morning. We cooked an awesome spread of traditional breakfast fare (eggs, hashbrowns, pancakes, bacon and sausage.) When everyone was full, Lance and Brian cooked up the rest of the pancake batter into the most enormous pancake I've ever seen! It was awesome that it stayed whole! (And no, I didn't really eat it, even though I was "eating for two.")

The kids found this perfect little "hiking hill" that became their grand adventure --- going up and down the hill over and over again. Spencer found his own way "down" (pictured, in red), which left us with one less pair of jeans by the end of the trip, oh well...

The bike trailer was also a huge hit! Brian gave the kids rides, two at a time, up and down the road just outside our campground. Good exercise for him, eh? :)

It was Spencer's absolute favorite. This shot (below) was taken before we asked him to get out and let another kid have a turn. I shoulda taken an "after" shot of him screaming, but I was too busy trying to pry his little fingers off the bars to help extract him...

Our cousins came along, and brought their English bulldog, Bubba. I know, she looks dead. But that's just the way she looked. the entire campout. no joke. I love our nephew's look, as he checks her out...

We took the kids on a 30-minute nature walk, on a little trail behind the campground. They LOVED it. Samantha still talks about how fun the "big hike" was, and wants to go back so we can do that again.

They all took turns being "the leader," walking single file on the path. Sammie's at the head of the line in this one (below). Fun times...

Spencer found another new love -- the four-wheelers! He calls them shore-wheelers, and so do we, now...

Everyone took turns riding the four-wheelers, or at least pretending to...

Even my mom and dad...

We rigged up a pinata for the kids. I like the look on Brian's face in most of our pinata pictures... I think he enjoyed being the one to pull it back and forth. ha!

And yes, it was an authentic, red pepper pinata!

I was a little late getting the "after" picture of everyone scavenging for the candy (I had to help Spencer get some).

Dutch-oven dinner and cobbler. Yum!!

And lots of games (though I never got to sit in on the gaming, too bad.)

A gorgeous mountain sunset and songs around the campfire...

Like many really good camping trips, we got rained out Saturday night, and everyone left in a muddy heap first thing Sunday morning. But it was still a great time!

We stopped at this little one-horse town on the way home at their "city park" and ate our lunch sandwiches in this cute little gazebo. The kids loved the caboose...

The end of my first bit of back blogging summer 2010. More to come.