March 2017 - Trip to Texas

We had the awesome experience of visiting Texas this March! After such a long, dark, cold, rainy winter it was so nice to get out into the sunshine again. We visited our friends, the Meuses, in Austin, and then drove to San Antonio to meet up with Ben's family for the week. Spending a week in a house with 15 people you love is pretty awesome.

In Austin we visited Justin, Jennifer, and Kate Meuse. They lived above us in the apartment on Hawthorne for 2 years and then moved far far away :( Kate and Lily were best little friends in the apartment and Jennifer was the most amazing friend I could have asked for. We have missed them since they moved to Texas so it was a very happy reunion to see them again.

We went to dinner at a catfish place and then slept over at their house. The next morning I went to church with Jennifer while the dads and kids played at home. I don't think I saw Lily the entire time we were at their house since she and Kate just played and played. Hopefully we'll get to see them again sometime soon.

On Sunday afternoon we drove down to San Antonio where Ben's brother, Mike, lives. Three out of four siblings + families + Ben's parents converged there from three different states. We had seven kids and eight adults sharing the house, which worked out wonderfully. The older kids played together so well the entire week without any argument or hard feelings. They played Angry Birds, jumped on the trampoline, played the Kinect, went on wild scavenger hunts sponsored by Grandma, and crafted together. It was fun to see how all four of the older kids played well all together, and then how they sometimes paired off. Tommy and Jake enjoyed playing the Kinect together while Lily and Rachel really got into a pretend game of veterinarian together. It was awesome to see the cousins really play and get to know each other better.

Grandma made all the kids green jammies for St. Patrick's Day. The older kids called themselves The Green Team and wore their matching jammies just about everyday we were there.

The three babies, Grant, Clara, and Luke, mostly just ran around, made messes, and tried to pretend like they were big. They were all born in 2015 so we call them the Three Babies of the Apocalypse.

While we were in San Antonio we got out and saw a few things. We went downtown to see the Alamo, which was cool. It was much smaller than I had envisioned. We ate lunch on the Riverwalk and stared at the water taxis. We went to the children's science museum, which the kids loved. But most of the days we just hung out at home and chatted and played. I got to go running in the sunshine with my sisters-in-law and play on the trampoline with the kids. In the evenings the adults played board games together and chatted. It was lovely.

We drove back to Austin to fly home from there. On our way to the airport we stopped and got some amazing tacos from a food truck called Torchy's. It was just like being in Portland except warmer!

We can't wait to see everyone again soon! Here is a little video of our vacation:

February 2017

February was a relatively quiet month.

We spent time at OMSI each week. While Tommy is in class the girls and I hang out in the baby play area. I read Lily a book from the Rainbow Fairies series while Clara climbs and plays on the soft blocks. She just got kicked out of the baby area last week for being too adept at walking. Dang.

Tommy started a sewing class that he absolutely LOVES. One of the joys of homeschooling is that the kids get to pursue their interests, whatever they are. Tommy has already made a bean bag and a drawstring backpack and is now working on a pair of shorts.

We spent a lot of time on political activism this month. One afternoon we joined a local group to write encouraging postcards to Muslim mosques and another morning I took the kids to the airport to greet a Somalian refugee family to Portland.

We've had a couple of decent weather days, but mostly it's been very cold and wet. I am looking forward to spring more this year than I ever have before. A really miserable winter makes spring that much better :)

Clara is learning so much every day now. One sunny day I had to laugh as I watched her notice her shadow for the very first time. She stared at it, perplexed, and then tried to lean over and grab it. She often grabs at sunbeams as they flood into our kitchen through the window. One day outside I watched her hold a rock and let it drop over and over again to the ground as she tested and learned about gravity. It's amazing to see those wheels turning in her head.

Clara often takes things to the kids that belong to them, like their shoes or jackets. One evening I had her all ready for bed and then she noticed her hat and sweater in the laundry. She insisted that I put them on her, which turned out to be adorable.

The kids love wrestling and playing with each other. Clara likes to play bite their toes and join in the fun. Lily has an amazing imagination and loves to play at everything. If we are cleaning up we have to pretend to be Cinderella, if we come home we have to pretend that we are at a friend's house, when we eat we pretend we are at a restaurant. It's exhausting sometimes, but I love her brilliant mind. Tommy loves to build, build, build. He has recently discovered that he loves to read, too, especially books like Diary of a Wimpy Kid. He continues to be the best big brother a little sister could ever hope for.

The kids have recently started climbing into bed with us in the morning. Thankfully the usually wait until after 7:00 to do so. It's usually Lily first, who just molds into the shape of my body. Then Tommy, who brings his own blanket and likes to talk about his ideas for inventions or stories. Then Clara, who rolls around the bed and puts everything from our shelves into her mouth. We sure adore those kids and we love the time we have to snuggle and play and talk together in the morning.

January 2017

January..

We started the month out with two major winter storms, one week after the other. The first ice storm coated the entire city in a lovely layer of ice that was accompanied by such fierce wind that we had ice in the cracks of our windows and doors. As it melted a few days later it leaked into the house.

The next snow storm effectively shut down Portland for a solid week. We received about a foot of snow, record-setting for these parts. I know that my friends and family in the Rockies laugh in the face of 12 inches of snow, but when you don't have snow plows, rock salt, snow shovels, or snow tires, it can be disastrous. Pair that with the heavy winds that knocked down trees and ripped apart rooftops all over the city and you have a pretty crazy winter storm. Luckily, we got to hunker down inside, play in the snow, and enjoy lots of hot chocolate and reading around the fire.

Clara did a lot of standing at the window and watching the kids play in the snow.

In January Lily lost her first two teeth! They both came out within a few days of each other and neither of them stayed loose for very long before falling out. The Tooth Fairy made a visit, much to Lily's delight. As she placed her first tooth under her pillow she said, "If the tooth is gone in the morning, I'll know the Tooth Fairy is real."

The kids played outside in the snow quite a bit. Even as it started to melt they were able to build "Mount St. Helen's". They spent hours together working on their mountain volcano and even made a secret entrance into it on the side.

Once the snow melted we met our homeschool group at Oak Bottom for a beautiful day outside. It was still cold, but it was so wonderful to be able to enjoy something other than our own home for awhile.

The kids found a huge puddle that was frozen ice on the bottom with a layer of water on the top from rainfall. They skated out to the center and back again several times until, of course, Tommy fell in. That was pretty cold!

Clara has a great time being outside, too. She can go anywhere in her rain suit and boots!

The day after Inauguration Day, we joined nearly 100,000 resisters at the Women's March in Portland. It was raining the entire time, but that didn't stop us. It was the first time I have felt hope since the election last year. It was empowering and inspiring to be surrounded by strong women and men of all ages during that march. This was the first day of our new civic-minded, politically-active, socially-aware life as a family.

Oh yeah! And Clara started walking in January! She has been cruising for several months now, but she finally got the hang of standing up and taking a few steps on her own. P.S. Our lives are now over :)

Lily finally got to perform The Nutcracker after it was cancelled twice due to snow and ice. She performed three different dances and did such a lovely job.

Here are a few snapshots of our daily chaos. Clara loves emptying out cupboards, trash, backpacks, and boxes. Then she just leaves the mess for us to clean up, that naughty baby :)

Helping the Homeless

I have never seen a person's eyes light up the way his did at the word "socks".

For the past 2 1/2 years we have lived in close-in Portland. Our south-facing windows open up to one of the main drags. Our neighbors are both the millionaires and the destitute.

For the past 2 1/2 years we have lived among the homeless, yet our walls and our roof set us apart as much as if we lived in a parallel dimension. I have seen them forage through trash, sleep in doorways, shiver under wet trees, emerge from dumpsters, bathe in fountains, and relieve themselves on the roadside.

And yet none of this disgusts me.

It makes me feel completely and utterly heartbroken and GUILTY.

Guilty that I have a house and food to eat and a family and a church who would never let me go without a house or food to eat. Guilty that I was born into a white middle class family with college-educated parents. Guilty that by dumb luck I was born into circumstances that make a roof over my head and food on my table automatic.

There are some people who don't have that privilege. They don't have the privilege of staying dry in the rain. They don't get the privilege of eating three meals a day (or any meals a day) or wearing clean clothes. Some people are consigned to a fate of living under a bridge, of begging others for their basic needs.

These people are shunned and hated. The "haves" are so disgusted by these dirty, hungry people that they say, "They brought it upon themselves. If they just did [insert judgemental command here] they wouldn't be homeless." To those who think that a man chooses to live in the dirt, chooses to sleep in a wet sleeping bag, chooses to go without the daily necessities you and I take for granted, I would ask one question:

"Have you ever talked to a homeless person?"

Have you ever put your judgements aside and listened to him? Really listened to his story? Because if you have, I guarantee that you know that nobody chooses to live like a dog on the streets.

Personally, I don't care how they got there. I just care about how we can help them.

There is a man I have known for 2 1/2 years now. He lives underneath the bridge by my gym. He is mentally and physically ill. He carries around a pillow because he can only take 3-4 steps at a time before he needs to sit on the ground and rest. And as I watch him walk and rest and walk and rest the only thought running through my head is, "We have failed him."

We have failed him. And so many others like him.

I don't have large scale solutions. But I know that these people are people. They are human, just like you and me. The biggest disservice I can give to them is to ignore them. To bottle up my guilt and my disgust and let them fade into the background. To tell myself they deserve to live like that and to kid myself that I did anything to deserve what I have.

Tonight my family bought 10 pizzas, soda, and apples, and took them to a camp of homeless people at our neighborhood park. They were thrilled, to say the least. We were met with many "thank yous", "God bless yous", "God loves yous", and even one, "I hope you have many more children!" They were lovely people. They called their friends over to share pizza. They smiled and they laughed.

Since we are moving we had bags of socks, shirts, and pants to give away. They received the bags of our old stuff like it was Christmas.

When I was younger I always got this really warm fuzzy feeling when I helped someone. I don't get that anymore. Sure, I feel good that we were able to deliver some necessities to these people, but I don't kid myself into thinking that I am solving their problems. Tonight, as I sit in my soft bed with my air conditioner running, my door safely locked in front, those men and women are still homeless. They are still sleeping on the street. They are uncomfortable. They are dirty. And I am powerless to fix that.

The gift I CAN give these people is to see them. To see them as people, even as my brothers and sisters. To see them as deserving of being seen. To teach my children to do the same. To lobby for change in our city so that these people have their basic needs met.

As we drove to the park tonight to deliver pizza I told my children that providing a meal is not going to fix the problems these homeless people face. But letting them know that someone cares, that someone sees them, that someone may even love them? Well, that may just help a bit. So that's what we'll do.

July 2016

We had a busy July this year! Both kids did camps (gymnastics, skateboarding, and bouldering) while Clara and I missed them at home. We spent plenty of time enjoying Portland parks, playing with friends, enjoying free shows at the library, discovering the hat store, and taking a trapeze class. Here are the highlights:

Latourell Falls

Whelp, we finally bought a car! More about that later. After 3 1/2 years of living car free it has been quite the adjustment, but it was time. It's a nice shiny used minivan. The kids love that it has a DVD player in it so they can watch a show on longer trips. I love the freedom that we have now, even though I am having some surprising withdrawals from riding the bus daily. I feel much more disconnected from the community now that we simply drive by it. I'm sure we'll find our balance.

The first weekend we had the minivan we celebrated by driving out to the Columbia River Gorge and hiking up to Latourell Falls. Now we can be some of those Oregonians who constantly post pictures of different waterfalls and secret swimming spots!

The hike was a 2 1/2 mile loop. The kids are awesome hikers and loved both the lower falls and the upper falls. I was feeling a bit sick, but carried Clara the whole way while Ben carried the food and supplies. It turns out I actually had Strep Throat so I felt totally vindicated for feeling achy and tired afterward.