Boat-Building Brothers

In the last few weeks, my big guys have embraced a new project.

It started with lots of conversations involving paddle boat designs
and aspirations of building a kit airplane.

Dad humored the dreaming, but every time talk turned practical
he gently steered in the direction of baby steps. "Why don't you build
something simple first?"  He'd say.  "How about a row boat?"

I'm pretty sure Zachary was hoping "simple" would include jet engines
or submarine power, but eventually he was won over by a set of actual
plans for a Portuguese Dinghy.
Once the boat design was settled on, a fever of activity ensued.
Despite the fact that Clay had been working diligently on his own  model
for a paddle boat, he bought in and took ownership of this new endeavor
right along with his brother.

The boys made a list of supplies, called local building supply stores to check
prices and availability of the plywood they'd need, and talked their dad into
hauling a trailer to pick it up.

Once pieces were cut out, the boys spent several evenings assembling
the boats.  Here are some pictures to document the work up until this point.

Awesomeness.

I am so proud of these fellas!

Next step is fiberglass and epoxy.  Right now they are in process
of building sawhorses to set their boats on for that phase of the project
('cause I guess dad doesn't want his sawhorses covered in permanent goo).

You could ask them how this whole boat-building thing is working out so far,
but really, the smiles tell you pretty much everything you need to know :-)

Promised Snippets of Life

Life is just so full every day.  I'm thankful in this season, that we are home.
The only thing that calls us out is our once a week swimming lessons,
and the instructors were so gracious to work 6 children into three classes
that overlap and we're only by the pool for an hour total.

I know that one day we're likely to be driving hither and yon, but I love
being at home, and I love the lack of strain on relationships in not herding
everyone out the door to be places on time!

This is Aloria trying out the new baby's new carseat.
Looks comfy?




























And what's going on here?
Three hoodlums are talking into the floor vent trying to get the attention
of big brothers and sisters downstairs :-)






















Zachary has had an interest in building model airplanes.
From scratch, this is no simple task, but we've been very proud of his legwork, industry,
and follow-through as he's built one already and is on to the next.
All these pieces have been hand cut with the scroll saw and glued together using plans
Zack found and modified.
Dad has offered some help and some instruction, but he's wanted Z to muddle through on
his own steam because dad knows that learning skills comes from the actual DOING of
these projects.  Imperfection and mishap is part of the education :-)  It's a humbling way to learn.

Well done Zachary!  Very well done.

His other venture I haven't posted pictures of yet, is the acquisition of 3 Cockatiels.
My young son is a bit of a visionary, and so when he set his sights on getting a bird,
the reason I was ready to entertain the idea was that he had originally studied up
on ordering a baby Alligator.
No joke.
From an Alligator he transitioned to an Iguana - which after his first fixation, was looking
strangly do-able to me.

This was last year in Idaho, so when moved into a spacious "normal" house for the
winter and he decided he wanted a bird... I was nothing but supportive.

From an Alligator to a bird is a big jump, and he was smart to start working on me
with such an impossible creature!

Why 3, you ask?
Zachary was searching for just the right thing on craigslist, when he came upon a
lady getting rid of 3 birds for an unknown price.  He called, went to check them
out, and discovered that she just wanted them to have a good home.
Apparently she was expecting #2, and wanted to give them a break from her two
year old who was "terrorizing" them.
I don't think anyone volunteered to her what our home would entail, which I find
humorous.  Poor birds.  Out of the frying pan into the fire! :-D

Even Dad has a soft spot for Myrtle, Barney, and Burt.

Here's my first attempt at a mixed media piece of art.  I definitely don't have the
hang of decoupage yet!

And the Absolutely FANTABULOUS little pillow that Susanna and Clay made
me for Valentines day.  Clayton stuffed it with sawdust from the shop.
I LOVE it.

Bryce assembling a nightstand for me.
This picture is dejavu of Zack when he was this age.  Hardly seen without a screwdriver in hand!

This is the face of one who slips through the cracks.
Beats me how she does it, because in this instance I was sitting at the same table
while she was not only embellishing her cute little cheeks but also her hair.

I asked the boys if they would come up with a wood shop creation we could send to
cousin Evan for his first birthday.  This is what Clayton came up with!
It is an Ant toy.
Absolutely wonderful in my opinion!
We sent it along to him with a pair of robot Quick Change Trousers I made.

Getting outside on a warm day.

A sign I made for our bedroom.

Mom gets spoiled with a foot rub!

Saturday morning being perfectly Saturday morning-ish with a bit of book reading
together with dad.

And just one last picture to wrap it up!

Living Proof.
His favor abounds here!

Nested and Waiting

Can't remember if I shared a picture of this quilt I made for Baby.

It's been ready and waiting for the past few months, and its colorful rainbow
stripes make me smile and think of this special little person when I look at it.

Life gets a little more hectic with each addition which is why it feels important
for me to acknowledge each precious new life.  There is not the same kind of
waiting for an eighth child as there is for a first.
Not that an eighth baby is less appreciated, just more eclipsed by daily life.
In fact, I'd say there's greater expectancy and eager anticipation in our household
because of the excitement generated by 7 big brothers and sisters!

Anyway, this bunny is the softest, most floppy and wonderful stuffed animal
I remember ever meeting!  It was my sole purchase on recent introduction to
a local Anthropology store (I'm hooked!).
Adding a bow and perching him on top of the colorful pile completed my
New Baby stash with panache :-)

Baby, I hope you know how much I love you!

I'd say the sewing projects have come to a rest.  I've still been chipping away
at some art projects I started a while back, and am continuing to make our
bedroom a comfortable retreat.  Fluffing feathers here and there, you know.

Here is a smattering of the things I've completed for my own babe as
well as a few for his or her newly arrived friends.

It must be winter. Ha!  Look at all the COLOR!






















I want to thank the Lord for the sweetness of sleep.  I don't remember the last time in 12 years
that I was getting over 8 hours of sleep every night, and that's what I'm getting right now.
I really thought it would be short-lived and that I was due at least a few weeks of being miserable
at night with grinding joints and the endless rolling-over process, not to mention regular
midnight treks to the bathroom.
Not so.

I'd like to credit the sporadic efforts at my T-Tapp workout in the last 8 months on and
off for lack of discomfort in certain regions, and I'd like to credit my easy temper
and lack of basket-case-ness to the increased sleep, but...

The truth is, I have no idea why I'm being blessed with such a peaceful, calm pregnancy.

All I can say is wow.  Thank you again Lord!  It is You and only You that covers me with
your hand of favor and sweet blessing!  
Glory is His alone.

Today I'm 39 weeks.
I have everything I need for this new baby, including some frivolous items I'm sure we
don't need but are fun to have :-)  There is a good little snow storm blowing in fresh
white drifts tonight, and with a pantry and fridge well stocked I feel ready to hunker
down and dream of soon.
Baby-Coming soon.
It may be another week or two; it could be tonight.  I'm content.  Ready.  Eager.

Wanting Oh-so-much to be holding this baby in my arms instead of the pod-like
compartment which is fast running out of space.

Soon would be fine with me :-)

Cherished

That is me.
I am the one cherished.

My beloved built this beautiful bed for me.
We've always had very comfortable beds, but never a headboard and foot board.

I showed my man a picture of roughly what I had in mind, and he undertook
to create it.  I am so thrilled!

Meanwhile this nesting urge made me buy fabrics, hack into them, and begin
sewing like mad to complete this quilt just in time to christen the new bed.

Now when I walk into the room,
when I climb into bed,
when I pull up the down comforter and quilt...
I think only one thing.

I am cherished.

I know I am loved.

Nesting... and trying to shake the bug.

furious frenzy of nest-feathering has overtaken this home! My friend Jana (who is nesting and awaiting the arrival of her little one in our guest accommodations) and I are due three weeks apart. It has been novel to nest without diving into sorting and cleaning projects, but this house is new to us, and so little furnished in all the cracks and crevices, that we can start fresh on any project we want without having to backtrack!

 Jana has been handy with crochet needle, and I have set up sewing operations in the master bathroom (yes, master bathroom) because 1. it's plenty large enough, and 2. I've been letting small children swim and play in the huge tub in order to ease the sicky blues. In camping out with my sewing machine I can make sure no one drowns :-D

I always love a good surprise ending to my pregnancy story, and prefer not to find out gender ahead of time. Amazingly, my Beloved and I agreed on names early on (when does that ever happen?!) and now I have only to create every loving detail in two color schemes.
There's no shortage of gender-neutral out there, but I find I never use it once baby is met and known.
On top of my own baby trousseau, I am trying to sneak in a couple things for another wee nephew and
one or two tiny friends due to arrive in close proximity.  Some rooms in the house resemble the elves
workshop :-)

This is the Girl baby blanket I sewed up recently.  I still have a darling Boy blanket which didn't get used
last time because we had an Aloria.  I wonder which one will be used this time around?

It was my first time using minky fabric and it looks like I could use some practice,
but I'm pretty sure baby won't mind my puckers and goofs.  It is bright, cheerful,
and very much "me", that fabric!  I couldn't help thinking of my mom too, because
I think this is a print she'd give a high approval rating to :-)

In other news, our illness prevails.  Thankfully we have no plans this week and can
lay low.  I read to the kids this morning, but my voice is pretty weak because of the
cough I've had.  Reading isn't ideal.  Poor Aloria-girl woke with a fresh bout of
sickness this morning, and she was the first it hit at the beginning of the week.
With a fever, runny nose and miserable cough, she wanted only to be held all day.
Though everyone has been trouping along with admirable endurance, by this evening
I felt ready to be done being sick.
All of December we were knocked out, and this round has me discouraged.

Thanks Lord for all the bright colors in fabric, the sunshine most days, the snow
flurries today, friends who make dinner, children who are my hands and feet
when mine are taken up with sick babies...
Thanks Lord, for hot baths, and more hot baths :-)  Yes, for all the hot baths a person
could dream of.
Thanks for a husband near-by, and for music to listen to, and a potty-trained little boy,
and plenty of books,  and for fresh fruit because we're really going through the fruit!

I'm loving the freedom and resources to create; loathing all the fevers, flushed faces,
and germs flying to and fro; and in my tired-of-being-sick state, I have an awful lot
to be thankful for.

For the Dad of Our Family

Dear Dad of my Children (My Own dearly Beloved),

Your kids are very creative.  You may have picked up on that by now, but they sure have it in them!

Thank you for facilitating their imaginations and their fancy, by providing such a wonderful wood shop.
As you'll see below, Number One was inspired to organize the workbench you built!
(Well Done Number One!) Thank you for making that workbench a priority over the top of a long
list of projects to be done.
You are the best!

Clay built one robot this morning and before long, he had a very colorful gathering of friendly and
sociable robots.  I love them.  I love the colors.  I love your Clayton.

Do you see what Z did with the wheels your ordered?  He built two different rolling toys.
Bryce took them both to bed.

Here's a picture of The Robot Dogs Clayton imagined up. My bookcase in the
living room is starting to resemble a Toy Store! :-)

The picture below it?  Some votive candle holders Zachary made and is sharing with me :-)

Now.  Here is our latest acquisition: 3 Goldfish.
Did you know you approved of their purchase?  You did it when you married me
and made me the mom of these hoodlums.  I hope you don't regret it ;-)

At 27 cents apiece, why not seven fish - one for each child?
Because I don't want to hear a sob-story about who's fish just died.
Let's make sure the victim belongs to everyone equally.
I may be a pessimist, but I think I'm setting myself up for success.

Not so sure about the fish.

Finally, a bit of my own creativity.  This sign is a knock-off of someone else's creation, but I'm happy with
my spin.  It was great to have Zacks help cutting this and nailing that, finding me the right screws and
retrieving the ladder... I practically made this sign from cedar fence boards all by myself!
What would I do without an 11 year-old son?

So again, dear Dad...(My own Love), thank you for being such a man.  Thank you for blessing this crew
with opportunities to explore and create.  Thank you for providing the resources.

Thanks for these pretty amazing kids.
I like 'em a lot.

Love,
~me

5 little, 6 little, 7 little Monkeys...

The big kids have been helping Dad with a very special project.

Last weekend they spent a lot of time in the wood shop - especially Dad :-)

Then everyone turned their attention to the "Romp Room" downstairs.
The Romp Room is a large empty space dedicated to running off steam
 - or maybe the doughnuts we ate for breakfast!

It's looking like we have a fabulous start to our indoor playground!


Our own personal Park :-)

Monkey Bars were the first thing on the list - kind of like a test-run for the new
(craigslist) shop tools
Now they are up and running (not soon to be slowed I think), and ready to build
some other things for our amusement park!

What a great Dad we have.
And what cute little monkeys ;-D