Wounds

Some of you that are my Facebook friends probably saw me post this picture this week:


There are many things I want to say about wounds and the importance of looking beyond the surface with people...but, the reason for this post today is not for a rant about wounds. (because that's what it would be) It's because of my friend Laura and her family. Laura and I went to school together. In fact, our senior year of high school, she was my dearest friend. Our friendship had only just developed that year but we had a lot of fun together, did school projects together and I loved spending time at her house with her crazy family. We haven't seen each other much since graduation. A few times here and there. She married her high school sweetheart Steven and they are the perfect match - they complement one another so well...they are a great couple. Anyone would be blessed to have them as friends.

As we've grown our families, we have stayed connected on Facebook. I've enjoyed seeing her 3 boys all close ages to 3 of my boys. There is something about having only boys that boy mama's get. We were pregnant at the same time in 2011, her with her 4th baby and first girl. Me with my 6th boy, Kingston. I really enjoyed seeing the process through Facebook, a girl nursery all decorated and ready for her arrival. Kingston was born on her baby's due date. Laura went past her due dates with all her boys so they weren't concerned. But, on the 24th, something went wrong. You can read her story on her blog http://finneganlife.blogspot.com/. What did happen is it left their family without a baby girl to bring home and without the option of even trying for another. They are devastated. They are in mourning. I can't imagine how one would even move forward with that kind of pain. Laura has done a great job sharing her raw feelings on her blog and I would encourage you to read it and pray for them. I am so encouraged by her willingness to just be real with her readers. If you are interested in helping another way, you can donate to an upcoming walk that they participate in to support The Tears Foundation. It's a non-profit created to help parents offset the funeral and burial costs after a baby dies (things you never even imagine you'll have to think about), and they also provide a monthly support group for grieving families. They will be walking in Tacoma on June 15th. If you want to give to this great organization and support the walk you can donate here: First Giving

I want to honor the memory of Brynna. Her birth and death changed me. My letter to Laura in the next post explains how it changed me. I hope that you will walk gently through the lives of those around you. You just don't know what people are dealing with.

She's beautiful, they're beautiful.

Playing catch up

I've been such a terrible blogger lately - but I'm hoping to get a little caught up and then do some steadier posting!  So, here are some of the things we've been up to the last couple months:

We found the pool on the left at a yard sale this summer for $5!  Hands down, the best $5 we spent all summer.  We spent a lot of time in the backyard with the older 4 cooling off in this little pool and learning some great swimming skills!  Phoenix had a much harder time keeping his head above the water in that pool so we set out to find him something smaller and somewhat durable, so we found the little turtle pool  (actually I think it's a sandbox) at another yard sale for another $5!  He had so much fun in this - we have video of him running and jumping into it! He loved having it all to himself. The last picture on the right is our back patio.  This house has a covered patio that runs almost the full length of the house!  I had a lot of fun setting up a little living space out here with some extra furniture we weren't using inside.  We found the little outdoor fireplace on Craigslist for $15 too! What this city lacks in decent thrift stores, it makes up for in yard sales!  My goodness, there's a lot of yard sales around here!

We ate at Costco more times than I care to admit.

                                                                      because of that fun pool we found, we spent a lot
                                                                      of time wearing goggles...a lot.

                                                                              We went on a church camp out to Boardman, OR. 
                                                                        We played in the Columbia River, rode scooters,
                                                                     and played chess with a wise G'pa from our church
                                                                     with a gift for teaching! 

I found a few projects to work on - like this one - which still needs some tweaking - but is a nice alternative to a plastic water or iced coffee mug! 

We played (oh so carefully) with friends down at the Columbia river.  Swimming, digging in the dirt and looking for fish to catch!  We found a sweet spot by the boat launch..trust me, it's safer than it sounds. 

We celebrated Titus turning 4 and Phoenix turning 2!  Phoenix also really enjoyed the discovery of worms...or did he enjoy it?  I can't tell for sure from this picture.

We found an orchard in Yakima and picked blueberries, apples and pears and promptly ate all three (55lbs worth) within a week and a half of getting them home! 

Hewitt and I spent some time at Swedish hospital in Seattle doing some diagnostic testing for his epilepsy.  He did an admirable job of hanging out in bed for 36 hours...especially for a 6 year old!

We rejoiced (okay, *I*, rejoiced) in all the non homeschooled kids going back to school so we could play at our favorite park again without running the risk of losing a member of our family in the mob of children that play there in the summer.  These 5 look thrilled to pose for me don't they?

Having (real) espresso with a former student in Seattle.  (Love you and miss you Leslie)

Painted Hewitt and Titus' room and we're slowly working on finishing the details.  One of the fun projects I did was recovering this lampshade in yellow yarn!  I really love how it turned out and love the yellow with the color of the walls!

A gracious friend shared a huge bounty of basil with us and the night before going into the hospital Hayden and I put up all this pesto in the freezer!  Yay for a stock of pesto.  I used it in a pasta dish 2 nights ago and the boys said it was "THE BEST PASTA I'VE EVER MADE."  They also didn't eat their lunches that day because the broccoli cheddar soup I made was NOT the best soup I had ever made and they were particularly hungrier than usual.  But, we'll go with "THE BEST PASTA" anyway.  Every mom loves to hear those kinds of compliments on dinner!

And, here we are, the last pic of "just" the 7 of us before Hayden and I headed into the hospital to meet the new little one!

And many hours later - we have some proud big brothers.

A beautiful thing happened when the boys got to the hospital to meet him.  He had been pretty fussy since birth - about 2 hours.  He just couldn't get settled for some reason.  As soon as they came in and started making all the noise that 5 boys make, Kingston settled right down.  He knew.  It was familiar.  I loved it!  It was such a sweet moment and a story I suspect I will be telling for years to come! 

                                                                

What we have been up to

Kingston Magnus LeRoy

10.15.2011

7lbs.11oz. 20.5 inches

boy names

i think we have this little man's name narrowed down to one of the following:

Harrison
Easton
Deacon
Kingston
Griffin

oh boy - it might take us a couple days again to name this little man when we meet him!  would love to hear any name suggestions any of you all might have!

our criteria:  not traditional, common...unique without being weird!  and at this point i think 2 syllables since his brother's names are ALL 2 syllable!