Fitting Exploration into Holiday Travel

(Warning: Photo Dump Below!)

Whew!  I think we've all recovered from the Fourth of July holiday!  We decided to make a trek up to my parents house  in Washington.  While we were out exploring, I told my husband that I didn't know how to work this into the blog, because I want to make sure that each post has something to offer you, the reader.  I just love his response: "Just share it!  Give encouragement to people to get outside and explore!"  I kinda, really love that man! =D

So without further ado, this is how our holiday travel went while enjoying some adventures, both outdoor and indoor. 

Day 1: The Drive:  So it doesn't take all day to drive up there, but it's 6-7 hours.  Given the time it takes to load and unload, it's basically a full day.  Thankfully now my little ones are doing so much better in the car, so we don't hear screaming the whole way.  When the fussing started, I'd just pull out another book, read it, then pass it back for them to re-peruse (lift the flap books are awesome!).  We'd try to take advantage of meals and gas stops to take a stretch break (or as the kids call them, shake breaks!)  Other than that, lots of dried fruit, I spy, singing and license plate tracking!   We got in with just enough time for the kids to play with a little, battery powered four-wheeler that my dad had received broken, but free and fixed it up.  That got the wiggles out!

Day 2: After a lazy morning, Josh and I borrowed my parents' jeep and headed up some mountain trails (holiday tip: you don't have to have/bring all the "toys."  Share and borrow what you can!)  It wasn't a clear day, but it was so gorgeous!  The ruggedness of the hills is so stark against all the foxglove blooming (my favorite!!!)  Josh was able to just reach out the door and pick me bouquets.

  We picked wild salmon berries and went for a small hike at the end of one of the trails.  At the very top we even ran in to another couple from Alaska, so naturally we had to stop and visit with them for a bit!

 

After we got back we loaded in the truck with my parents to hit the carnival.  Though it was a fairly small carnival, the kids were awestruck.  Our 5 year old enjoyed a few of the kiddie rides, but our 2 year old would only go on the carousel until we got to the Ferris Wheel.  Grandpa and Daddy went with them and even at the highest point you could see both of their faces beaming with delight and they excitedly waved to us every cycle!  What a treat! 

So fun to see familiar faces as well.  A former neighbor and her grown daughter also visiting from out of town, two mission trip coordinators and an former worship teammate let alone countless others that I couldn't quite place anymore. 

Day 3: My former church GAVE me a piano!  I'm so excited and grateful, but have no place to store it right now, so my dad is hanging on to it for me.  He, Josh, and my brothers moved it to their garage for now.  Boy, do I owe them cookies or what?  I just have to tease them that they'll forever be helping me move pianos!  (It may have happened a time or two before) 

First we had to stop by Wing's cabin and learn how the pot-bellied stove worked!

Ringing the church bell with Bampa

 Then the whole crew drove up to Bellingham to the Spark Museum.  If you ever get a chance, check it out.  A museum on the history of electricity, complete with a functioning Tesla Coil (I didn't remember what that was until we got there!)  I'm not a huge fan of electronics, but even I found much of this fascinating.  Just this history, if nothing else, and the beautiful detail they seemed to put into everything they did. 

We got back into town to visit my best friend from age 4 and her family and to barbeque and hang out in their new back yard.  Beautiful end to a busy day!  And I love that our kids feel like cousins!

Krista and I basically have this exact photo of us when we were this age!  Now it's our kids!

Day 4:  Church the next morning (same one I grew up in!) along with many more familiar faces.  Then lunch at the favorite spot  before the in-laws joined us for the logging show and chainsaw carving competition. 

Pole Climb

Day 5:  Independence Day!  Parade in the rain, then about 30 people came to the house for a get-together, fire crackers, and a ton of food.  Lots of playing in the  rain and dancing through the smoke! 

Day 6:  Home again, home again, jiggety jog.  When we hit bad traffic we just took old farm roads.  Better moving the long way through beautiful scenery than stuck in stress and traffic. 

I'm so grateful for my family, but I know for some staying with family can be a difficult time if they are not accustomed to spending much time outside.  I think, especially during a visit to see someone, relationships take priority.  Be with those you've come to be with.  But if the opportunity arises to get everyone out and see something new, maybe it could benefit all!

A Story of Love and Loss

WARNING: I'm hijacking my own blog just for today with a very different tone. This is not a diy, adventure, or recipe post and will likely be a bit emotionally charged.  This is real life, my heartbreak and how I got through.

I had a wonderful Mother's Day this year!  After church our whole family went out to the coast and chased waves, collected seashells, played on the dunes, and nibbled saltwater taffy.  But leading up to it, I've really felt the pang of separation from my babies who didn't make it.  Some dear friends of mine have recently shared with me their stories of loss in one form or another, and even in the hardest times, it was those shared stories that I found comfort in, so I've decided to post mine here in the hopes that another person will find that they're not alone and there is hope for joyful days ahead.

About a year after we had moved to Alaska, we decided we were as ready as we were ever going to be to have a baby!  We were so excited, and sure enough, I got pregnant so fast!  Yes, this was going to be a breeze.  We told everyone immediately.  Not that that would have changed anything, but we just had no clue there was even a chance of anything going wrong.  But less than two months in, I started cramping, then bleeding.  I was so scared and rushed to the ER where I met my husband.  They did a bunch of tests, but it was obvious.  Our child was no longer with us. 

Before I get to my reactions, let me just go on to say that not long after this I had my healthy pregnancy with our boy.  But then when we were ready to try again, I had two more miscarriages before our beautiful girl came into our lives.  The doctors refused any treatment of any kind unless I had three miscarriages in a row.  Anything else was considered normal.  Normal!  That still confounds me!  But statistically it's true, one in every 3-4 pregnancies ends in miscarriage!  I just had no idea and had rarely even heard of anyone going through this let alone someone I was close to.

The first was by far the worst just because of the shock.  There was a baby crying down the hall  in the ER and I simply couldn't bear it!  I was ill and my blood pressure sky rocketed.  Unlike many women I have talked to since, there was no physical pain for me.  But my heart was searing like nothing I'd ever experienced.  I had no idea how much I could love someone that I'd really never had a chance to meet.  But he was my baby!  Did it hurt him?  Did I do something wrong?  Was it my fault?  It was agony.

I tried to go to work in the morning, but I simply could not hold myself together.  I had always felt like I was very strong and in control of my emotions.  But not now.  I could feel the sorrow, anger, bitterness growing and I hated feeling that way!  I begged God to make it right.  WHY!?  I questioned everything.  How could He let this happen!?  Is He really good?  I guess those are always the questions when things aren't going well. 

I am ashamed of where my heart was, now looking back.  I was beside myself.  I did the only thing I knew how to do from my more minor trials before this.  I (made myself) read His Word and reminded myself of who Jesus had already shown Himself to be in my own life.  He never gives up.  He turns the bad things of this world into good things.  He uses our brokenness to bring life.  He lost His Son.  He knows suffering.  He loves more than I can comprehend.   He is good. 

My pain didn't (and still hasn't) go away.  It's part of me.  But God never gave up on me through this horrendous storm and saved me through it.  I knew my heart was in jeopardy at that time, and God chose to save me again, like He always does!  And slowly I was able to live again.  Our dear children in life are just that much more miracles, but I do still miss my little ones in heaven and anticipate the day I can hold them in my arms. 

Then I had to explain to all my sweet family and friends who were excitedly asking me about my pregnancy that it was over.  I felt guilty because they were so loving that it caused them pain as well.  Wow, I feel so blessed just to be able to write that.  There were many who didn't know how to respond at all because, like I had been, they never known about anyone who had lost in this way.  I can say that the simple "I'm so sorry" and "Is there anything I can do?" are by far the best if you don't know.  And just to give me time to not be okay.  But then I was shocked and comforted by all of the women who told me they really understood because they had gone through the same thing!  Some much farther along in their pregnancies.

A few more  thoughts that were not necessarily comforting, but certainly made me think outside of the grief bubble I was in.  The first was that God is so much bigger than time or space and knows all.  Perhaps He was saving the child from something horrible?  We just don't know.  The other was shared a little after I had recovered, but it was a reminder that this is a world with sin in it.  I know there are differing opinions, but I just see this world as a place that, since "the fall" where mankind chose to disobey God, continues to fall deeper into sin (death).  And no action is without consequence, whether we recognize the correlation or not.  Like I said, not comforting, but just makes me long for heaven that much more.

So, as you can tell, I went through this feeling like my biggest battle was a spiritual one.  Medically I was basically told, "Bummer for you, but it's normal.  Try again soon."  It felt so heartless to the life of the children I'd lost.  I do believe that taking progesterone early in my pregnancy helped (though I had to fight tooth and nail to get a prescription for it, because I was still normal, right?)  That and make sure my firstborn was weaned.  I know it's not supposed to make a difference, but with "old" moms like me, some research has shown that it can (Mayo Clinic alludes to it, but also an interesting article here.)  Oh!  And if you're Rh negative, make sure you get the rogham injection after a miscarriage or your body could build up activated antibodies that could then go on to attack future pregnancies.  Words of advice from someone who's been there.

Takeaway: You're not alone, but it's not "normal" nor how it was supposed to be.  If you've lost a little one, please don't suffer alone!  You are loved and you can find joy and purpose again! 

A friend of mine who is no stranger to the pain of loss just wrote this beautiful piece about losses of women and I wanted to share it with you.  Please check out Trena's blog, Forever Blessings.  Also, huge list of helpful links, stories, and encouragement on Amateur Nester

(Note: I chose to keep this a photoless post as I have no photos to share of my beloveds in heaven)

Learning to Hike with the Littles

Can you believe October is almost over!?  I know I do this every month, but WOW!  We have just been enjoying every moment to the max and I think that makes time move at a quicker clip.  One of the highlights of this week was doing an apple u-pick across the road and getting a TON more apples!  Such a great time made even better by sharing the experience with friends (a few more photos on my Instagram growwildmychild).  I bring this up to let you know I’ve added (and will likely soon add more) recipes to my apple round up post from earlier this season including apple scones and apple sauce!

 

Our second great adventure happened this week when my beloved got an extra day off work and took us to the mountains!!!  Oh man, the mountains are my place.  Do you have somewhere that, just by being there, you can literally feel yourself recharging and being inspired!  I think it’s different for everyone, but for me it comes from the majesty of the mountains. 

And I think this little one and I are like minded

 

I think it’s important to get to these places as often as possible (maybe through mental imagery if not physically?) and that we need these moments of getting away to refocus and remember the Almighty Creator.  He knew we would need these wild spaces to discover!  I love how several times in the Bible (Matthew 5:8, 14:23, 15:29, 17:1) it mentions how even Jesus took time to go out into the wilderness alone or just with his closest friends.  Of all the things Jesus exemplified to us, I don’t think this seemingly small act should be overlooked.  Nature proclaims the glory of God!

 

Now, hiking with little wildlings may not always be such a rejuvenating experience.  What I’m about to write is mostly my learned-the-hard-way lessons!   But when we started having children, I began to wonder if our bush-whacking, mountain climbing, woods-wandering days were on hold until they were much older.  And to be honest, we did cut back for a bit (partially because of the Alaskan winters), but I’ve learned some ways to get out with the little ones in ways that everyone can have a wonderful time, do some exploring, soak up the grandeur, learn so many new things that we might not at home, and make memories together.

 

1.       Getting there:  before I had children, I just thought that all little ones would just fall asleep in the car.  Boy, was I wrong!  Both our children HATED car rides and would often scream. The.  Entire.  Drive…  Needless to say, this is quite stressful and does not make for  a refreshing day for anyone.  Honestly, we did everything to keep our car rides to a minimum those first years (life got better with forward facing car seats).  So, I’m just going to be real and let you know that we tried to find things that were as close as possible and went just because we knew we needed to!   There are many great resources to keep little ones entertained in the car (several in this list), but I think a CD of silly songs we put together was the best remedy for our babies.  And any snacks or drinks possible, especially if you’re doing any elevation change and ear-popping needs to happen.  I kept thinking they must get car sick and now I wonder if there’s any way to diffuse peppermint or something that might help with that?  Hm, just a thought.

 

2.       Tiny Legs:  we’ve been trying to keep to the trails that are pretty short (less than 3 miles) partially for their little legs trying to keep up and also just knowing ahead of time that we’re probably going to be carrying them for portions, depending on their ages.  If you go in expecting that, you can be better prepared.  Think about what shoes they wear, if they can ride in a back pack or carrier or just your arms?

 

3.       Realistic Hikes: you know your kids and what they’re going to be capable of.  Or if you’re not sure, start with shorter paths and work your way up.  Trail heads should all have a sign that the start that will give you an idea of the trail’s length and difficulty.  Or check out everytrail.com  It lists all the trails in your area and gives these details as well. 

 

4.       Permit Rests:  Depending on the age of your little ones, frequent rest (or just distraction) breaks should be expected.  When hiking alone, I tend to want to see the sights on the way, but basically keep moving and get to where I’m going.  I think this is where it is beneficial to have children with you because they make you stop and notice things differently.  Give yourself permission to take breaks with them and really observe things that they find interesting.  This is where so much spontaneous education can occur!  We found a bouncing branch and a tree root slide that never would have caught our attention had we been walking alone! =)

 

5.       Bare necessities: exploring can be hard work, especially if your legs are barely a foot long!  Don’t forget to pack a few snacks (for sustenance and incentive!) and plenty of water.  Dress in (or pack in) layers.  Even if it feels fine at the trailhead, some areas can be windy or cooler (near flowing water or ice?)  And a couple band-aids (yeah, wish I had brought those!)

 

6.       If cries happen, it’s okay.  It keeps the bears away.  We ended up reaching our first hike right about nap time and our little one had about 15 minutes of bellowing.  I figured she’d either fall asleep or get over it (it was one  of those cries) and she decided to keep on trucking and see one more waterfall!

 

Then just soak it all in and enjoy your time together!  Actually, on our way home, the kids were crashed in the back seat as the sun was setting and we came upon a waterfall just off the road.  Josh and I took turns running down the hill to experience it while the other waited with the tuckered tykes.  For all the joys of hiking with the littles, I must say, if you get a moment to yourself among a sight like this, TAKE IT!   There’s something powerful and calming about being alone in nature, even just for a minute.  Then go back to enjoying those with you and treasure the moments in your heart!

 

“For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.”  Isaiah 55:12

Happy adventuring!

Happy Hiker!

 

5 Ways We Took Preschool Beyond the Books--Our First Week!

 

 

Four years old and incredibly excited to start school.  Well, in his words, he wanted to “go to university” but we explained to him how he had to take first steps first.  It feels like we are always teaching him new things and he’s just a little sponge anyway, so preschooling at home seemed like a great idea to me, too!  So we got tiny backpacks (sister couldn’t be left out), some basic supplies, and a few simple work books.  We added in what we already had at home (crayons, glue, ruler, scissors, “science” books) and his anticipation was tangible!

We weren’t going to start until the local schools did, but I realized his excitement was not going to allow his supplies to wait at this point, so we set a start date for the following Monday.  At last the day arrived and he powered though all his lessons and put his stickers on his chart like a champ!

As I woke him up for our next day of school I told him with enthusiasm, “and we get to do school again today!”  To which he responded, “MOM, do we HAVE to!?”   Really!?  That was all I got!?  ONE day of excitement about school!  Boy, I was going to have to get creative, and quick!  =)  Thankfully, as soon as we started, he was really into it again.  But it definitely got me thinking about how I was going to keep this boy engaged.

So with that, I bring you our second week of preschool:

1.       Stick Letters:  Thankfully he can form his name with mostly straight lines.  Our only trouble was his sister trying to rearrange the letters to suit her own creativity!  I’d like to try this again with other new words as he learns them.

 

2.       Insect Anatomy: As we read about the basics of insects this week, we decided to grab a bag and collect whatever little pieces we thought we might be able to glue down.  We counted antennae, wings and legs of our newly made insects and found symmetry in that the insect would have the same number of parts (legs/wings/antennae) on one side as it did on the other. Then we were able to examine a couple live ants in our driveway!

 

 

3.       Chalk Tracing:  I know not everyone has a place to scrawl on with chalk (this is the first time we ever have!) but could be done just as easily with crayons/markers on paper.  This is all over Pintrest, but the idea is that you write a simple word (I did mine in a pale yellow so he could really see his red or blue chalk over it.  Then we would talk about the sounds each of the letters made and blend them together until he read each word!  This last step took a little determination, but he was so excited when he did finally READ a word!

4.       Rendering Lard: I’ll be writing a post about this later, but this was a fascinating experiment!  For those of you who do not know, lard is pig fat that is rendered through a slow heating process.  It’s used like shortening in baking and is making a comeback for it’s natural, healthful properties (Lauren goes into that in a little more detail on her page).  Anyway, this led to some interesting conversations about what lard was, and then what fat was, why our body needs it, but not too much, and what was left over after the lard was removed (small portions of muscle, blood vessel, and tendon) and then their role in the body.

5.       Baking:  I’m not going to lie, here: baking with these wee ones can be super stressful sometimes.  I’ve come to realize that many recipes are more forgiving than they let on, because there is no way we ended up with the right proportions of the ingredients!  But, we were able to use some of our fresh lard to make snickerdoodles (having cookies as an end product is always great inspiration to be a good helper!)  Although they don’t understand the fractions or even the measurements yet, we talked about them and he was really pointing out which measuring cups were bigger than others and asking about why we needed one teaspoon of salt instead of one cup! 

 

We still did our work books, science reading, and bible verses, but doing the extras and taking it outside sure kept him focused longer.  And with much more enthusiasm!  I hope these ideas have sparked some ideas of your own!  What have you done to keep your little ones engaged?  I would love to hear how you find ways to incorporate real life into your school!

Lemonade Stand! And My Lessons in Branch Lashing...

The last bittersweet days of summer…

…are still incredibly hot!  It was pushing 100 degrees as we sat at our lemonade stand.  Which, I suppose, is good weather to have a lemonade stand in… either way, it was a much more preferable event than my trial and errors of making the stand itself!  So I wanted to share my experience with you with the hope that you might have an easier go of it. 

It all started when I read to our little guy about a lemonade stand in one of his books. We talked about it a bit and he (okay, we) got really excited about the idea!  We talked about how it would work and flavorings we would make, and when he asked, I told him I would see if we could make it work. 

First, I asked our landlord if it was even okay, then set to planning.  I’m not going to lie; my first plan failed miserably.  It wouldn’t even stand up.  So I’d like to tell you what not to do and then what worked for us. 

So, if you read my post about our fort (here) you’ll recall we have a ton of fresh, strong branches from a recent tree trimming and I thought they might make a cute, rustic sort of lemonade stand, too.  Josh insisted that lashing the round logs was the best way to secure them, but he showed me the right way to do that this time.  I’ll pass along that bit of knowledge in a bit, but first I’ll explain my failed design:  four upright posts, two braces on each side and a couple angled supports.  In the end, I had to back track and take several pieces off to make it a sort of A-frame.  Another gem Josh taught through this experience is that triangles are sturdier than squares/rectangles.  MUCH sturdier, though it still sits at a bit of an angle on our uneven ground.  But, it worked fine and I still like how it looks. 

So here’s the bit about lashing that I found very helpful and hope to use again in the future: I started laying the branches (each about 6 feet long with a 3 inch diameter) out the front on our patio (propping them up on paint cans made for some extra elbow room) and lashing the cross beams to the uprights.  So, we started with a clove hitch.  The best way I can describe that is to wrap your twine around one branch twice so they cross with a long tail.  Where the twine crosses, slip the tail under both sides and pull tight.    Easy peasy.

For the long beams across the front, we did square lashings, meaning I would go up and over the branch on top, down under the branch on bottom, then over the top on again on the other side.  Basically going around instead of cross.  Hopefully the photo can explain what I can’t with words.  I followed this pattern about five times over.

To add strength, I was advised to keep the twine as neat and snug as possible.  I’m afraid I didn’t achieve either to the degree I would have liked, but each one was better than its predecessor.  When the five times over-under-over-under pattern is complete, it can be tightened even more by doing the opposite: over the bottom, under the top.   About five times around again. This takes up much less twine each round because you’re only circling around the first batch to tighten them in together.  Again, I’ll have to refer you to the photo.

Once you’ve tightened the lashing, complete with another clove hitch and there you have it!  I did a slightly different pattern for the shorter braces going front to back.  The only difference is that after the starting clove hitch, I did a cross over back and forth so that they will support the board, still finishing with the tightening portion and ending in another clove hitch. Then lash the tops together in the same way and you’re done with the frame! 

I did add some kitty-corner braces in the front upper corners to give even more stability.  We laid a board across the top and decorated a little with table cloth, pendants, and sign (instructions to come for this one!  SO easy and fun!) 

This was by far the hardest part of the adventure.  Especially since we had to backtrack a bit there, but now that I’ve made that mistake you can save yourself the headache of it!  In the end, the materials I used were:

·         6’ long branches x 5

·         2’ long branches x 4 (2 for the front to back beams that held the counter, 2 for the corner supports)

·         12” board (ours was only an inch thick and 4’ long, but this could vary for you so long as it fits between your frame braces)

·         Lots of twine!  I used about half a skein.

·         A little scrap fabric if you choose to decorate

Total cost: $12 –but this was only because we had to buy that silly board and twine new.  Do you have something already laying around your house that would work?  Maybe you could make it for even less!  I was looking at lemonade stands online and all I found were well over $100.  Very well constructed all and would probably last forever, but I didn’t feel like we needed that. 

 

 

And, what I think the best part about this project was, the kiddos were able to help and learn along with me.  They helped pick the straightest, strongest branches, haul them to the patio, set up, and pick up all the stray strings and branches.  We had so many people comment on how much they liked the uniqueness and style of our stand as they came to visit and many random visitors took photos!  Of course, it was probably just for these two cuties sitting behind the counter! =)

I hope this helps you create your own stand at some point, even if you’re on a budget (be it time or money) and can save you a headache or two!  Coming up on Tuesday: an amazingly simple lemonade recipe that tastes amazingly good!  I’ll even throw in a couple flavoring syrup recipes, too! Stay tuned!

 

In need of more inspiration for simple lemonade booths?  Check out an adorable pallet one here, or this sweet one made of painted cardboard!