Clearing Webs

And Yet More Pup

Our Pup

Looks like it's probably gonna be this one.


We're driving out to Idaho Falls Saturday night, camping and visiting the puppies Sunday morning. So for those of you waiting breathlessly for more pictures, they're coming. And the name is down to three: Leo (Andy's fave from Leo Kottke), Arlo (my fave from Arlo Guthrie) and Zuko (Gideon's fave. I think it was in his subconscious from Shawn who's a big Grease fan). We'll decide for sure after we've hung out with the pup long enough to see which fits him best.

Gid's Fourth Birthday

Gideon turned four on Saturday. *sigh* It was a great party. It helped me realize how many friends we have made in the eleven months we've been here. My friend Chelsea helped me out tons. I can't believe we didn't get a single shot of her! Lots of candy, cake & junk food. Lots of fun. Here are some teaser pics. Who knows if we'll get the chance to post the others.

Gid enjoyed licking the bowl.


What little cowboy doesn't wash his cake batter down with milk?


Gid decorated his own cake. Ike "helped".


Zack did Gid's hair for the party. Gid's a big fan of the mohawk.


The pinata was a big hit. Ooh. Sorry 'bout the pun.


The other parents seemed a bit fearful when I told Shawn he could have a turn w/the pinata. I carefully showed him not to hit to either side, but only down and he did a great job.


Phin. Need I say more?


Moira

Farquar Twins are Born!

Ethan and Betsy Farquar's newest ones arrived last night. William George was born at 8:30 and David Walker was born by C-section at 9:30. David went to NICU with initial breathing difficulties but is doing well. William was 5lb 7oz and David was 6lb 5oz. Pray for lots of rest and a fast recovery for Betsy. She'll be taking home the twin boys to join their Elizabeth who's 18 months old!

William's on the left of the picture and David's on the right.

The Finalists

It looks like it's between these two pups:


We're looking for the curliest coat possible and of course trying to read loads into personality style and temperament from one photo. We're gonna try to take a trip out to see them the end of April before we visit back east. Then the visit, we come home and we get to pick up the new pup for keeps! Gid's given a few name suggestions. Top two: Izpuh and Zuko. We're also considering Arlo, but I dunno. I might want to save that one for a human child. Opinions?

Two Things

1)I love my husband immensely and am continually overwhelmed by God's grace and wisdom in giving Andy to me.

2)Up until yesterday I hadn't been horseback riding in seven years. That's a long time for a horse lover. My Aunt Donna arranged to have a friend's horse (Mouse) for three weeks during which time we'll take two major rides, one big ride and be able to go to her house and baby, bathe, pet and generally bother mouse. Yesterday was the first ride. We were in the saddle for over eight hours and it felt so good! I mean, I'm pretty dang sore today but my soul is so rejuvenated. I got a few pics before the camera batteries died, so more details later. For now Andy has reminded me we should probably feed the kids (details, details).

It's A Boy!

It's for sure! By the end of May we'll have a little doodle AND I'M SO EXCITED!!!!! We have to get our yard fenced in before then (which we were planning on doing anyway). We're heading to the southeast for Andy's graduation and a visit. The boys and I will fly back with my mom (yeah!) on the eleventh and hopefully soon after we'll be able to drive out to pick up our new pup!

Now, any name suggestions? I haven't a clue.

Another Perkins?

Could it be? I got you excited, didn't I?

Well, it looks hopeful for my goldendoodle in the near future. Alright, it may actually be a labradoodle, but they're not sure about the father (these cases are so sad, aren't they?) and seeing as how it's in question I'd like to think of them as goldendoodles. We've been thinking about, looking into, deciding about getting a dog for almost a year now. I talked to a woman on the phone today about her pups and it looks, again, hopeful. She screens pet adoptions, doesn't give on a first come, first serve basis. I like that. So if she finds our family fully acceptable we may be showing off pictures of the new Perkins before long! I'm breathless.

These are the actual puppies themselves. Ooh, dontcha just wanna eat 'em up?


Their hair reminds me of Phin. The females are all spoken for already. They're four hours away so there's talk of perhaps driving out to make contact and ensure no adverse allergic reactions on my part. I'll let you know as I do. Never fear.

Easter Happenings

Our church has some pretty cool Holy Week goings on. Passover Celebration last night, Journey to the Cross tonight, viewing of The Passion of the Christ tomorrow night and a sunrise bonfire at the empty tomb followed by a church breakfast Sunday morning. The Journey of the Cross begins at the Old Idaho Penitentiary where there's a dramatic monologue by Pilate. Then we're led out the old stone prison and a hike up to Table Rock where there's singing, a sunset over Boise, the raising of a wooden cross and a dramatic monologue by Simon the leper. Then it's a hike back down in the dark. We did that tonight with all three boys and - whyooh - was it a back-breaker! The hike itself isn't killer, but it's serious. Add to Andy the weight of Phin on his back the entire time, plus another child two thirds of the time and he's sore. I carried one kid or another probably a third of the way up and almost the entire way down. Ow.

But it was so worth it. Mmm, on top of Table Rock with the wind blowing, the sun setting and a huge crowd of people singing praise and reflecting. It was amazing. And the extreme work to get up there somehow made it that much more real. Christ did a hike like this. After he was beaten. His followers climbed like this in uncertainty and fear.

Add to it all the joy of being with my whole family, my wee little guys truckin' their legs along - oh, it was so joyful. Gid's our little mountain goat, not to mention our little motor mouth. He's had such thoughts about the cross and Jesus and the entire thing. It's such a blessing to be able to create these kind of real memories with them. Okay, maybe more later. Maybe Andy'll give you his perspective since he's not writing a dissertation anymore.

Table Rock

Kefir

The problem with me and making homemade kefir is that I can't resist the hot goat's milk! Those of you who haven't tried making kefir, or haven't heard of it for that matter, go for it. It's like yogurt only in liquid form and has even more beneficial probiotics than yogurt! It's very easy to make (and you don't have to use goat's milk if you don't care for it). Kefir's cool for drinking plain or for adding fruit to sweeten it up in smoothie form.

You can find kefir starter at the same types of places you buy yogurt starter. It should be about two to three dollars for enough starter to make about eight quarts of kefir. You can save some of the initial batch and make around six or seven more batches using that as starter but I'm not to the point of experimenting with that yet. I'm still working on getting my initial batch perfected. Making kefir is as simple as heating the milk to 180 degrees F (or to barely boiling if you don't have an appropriate thermometer) pouring a little milk into a separate cup, mixing the starter with that then combining the starter milk with the rest of the milk in a clean container. Cover and let stand at room temp for about twenty-four hours until a little thicker than milk (somewhere between milk and yogurt) then store in the refrigerator. The standing temperature and the time it stands are the two components one plays with to vary the kefir taste. The longer the kefir stands the more bitter it will taste.

Go for it, guys. It's so easy, so tasty and so good for you!

Note: Commercial kefir starters are more easily attainable but not exactly the same as "real" kefir curds which can be attained at G.E.M. Cultures or Dom's Kefir In-Site. I haven't worked with actual kefir curds.

On Bated Breath

So I know you've been waiting for "the rest of the story". Yes, Bob, I had tried putting my hand into the toilet to feel around - to no avail. Later Andy tried the old coat hanger effort, again to no avail. He then disappeared into the basement and made a bit of noise for a sufficient amount of time that the boys and I were convinced he'd made some sort of effort at something having to do with the toilet and diaper scenario (though the cat, who'd taken a peek, whispered something about beer and strange ceremonies. . .). When he emerged from the nether regions of our house (still in his work clothes I might add - a little suspicious to anyone but me?) he declared the situation permanently unresolved and encouraged us to continue an optimistic use of the downstairs toilet in hopes all would be well. Thus far it is. Thank you for your stories, your well wishes and your tea spewed through the nose. That is all.



P.S. Did (does?) anyone else have the alligator-coming-up-through-the-toilet fears growing up? Andy says an alligator is simply unrealistic, whereas the eel is a sober fear grounded in actuality. Where I see that an eel might be able to traverse the system of pipes more aptly, I see no way an eel could actually make contact with the bum, whereas an alligator has legitimate bum biting potential.

Am I the Only One?

So I just flushed part of my cloth diaper down the toilet. Well, Phin's diaper, not mine. He had been the last to wear it. Well, the last of those who have, me not being one of them. Point being: As I was rinsing the wee-est one's poop out I flushed prematurely accompanied by what turned out to be a poor grip on the diaper insert and - whoosh! - it was gone. I tried to plunge to no avail. I didn't really have hope for that. I mean, do we really think the plunger's gonna pull back up a diaper? All right, the diaper insert. The main diaper didn't get flushed. Still. So, after giving the token plunge or two I made the call in to Andy and left a message with him. I mean, who doesn't want to look forward to a plugged toilet the rest of one's work day?

So make me feel better. What else have people accidentally flushed?