Mother's Week 2013

Bryon and Kai always spoil me the whole week leading up to Mother's Day.  Although just being a mom is enough in itself, it's pretty special to be spoiled above and beyond for a whole week.  Thanks guys!  

Here's what we were up to this year...

This plate of cookies was waiting for me when I got up on Monday morning :)

Lots of fun games, clues, and activities came throughout the week.

Finally, I figured out that we were going to Neskowin for the weekend.  So, on Saturday we were off and away to the beach!

Our first day was beautiful and warm and sunny.

Mother's Day pictures with my big boy.  Love him!

The weather on Sunday was not very nice, but the view out over the trees to the ocean was still beautiful.

Out for Mother's Day breakfast at a fantastic bakery in Pacific City.

After breakfast, we headed to the beach to fly my new kite (one of my clues from the previous week).

Puzzle time/American geography lesson thanks to the well-stocked toys/games cupboard
at our vacation rental.

Of course, we stopped at the Tillamook Cheese Factory on the way home.

Kai was mesmerized, as were we!  Who knew cheese could be so fascinating?

And, that was our lovely long-weekend away.  Thanks Bryon and Kai for celebrating motherhood with me!

Sidenote:  I hesitate a bit in sharing the following, but am feeling like I need to open up a bit and ask for your prayers.
Mother's Day is slightly bittersweet to me.  In one sense, I have an amazing, healthy son who I love more than I ever thought possible.  But, my heart still aches for the baby we lost last year and for the baby we wish we could have now.  I often question why this has to be happening to us...why we can't experience the joy of more children and why we can't give Kai the sibling he wishes he had. He would be the best big brother and he asks us often if he can have a sister.  He claims he doesn't need a brother because he's already the brother :)  So, he keeps praying for a sister, and doesn't understand why God hasn't answered his prayers yet.  He also doesn't understand why we can't just buy a baby at Target.  If only!  It breaks my heart to see him missing out on this part of life.  I want him to experience the joy of being a sibling...I want his kids to have an aunty or an uncle and cousins.  For myself, I want a house and car and yard filled with the laughter of our children.  I know I am blessed beyond measure already, but somehow my heart aches for more.  I don't think our journey is over yet, but sometimes it's just really hard to wait and see how it will unfold.  

I would love your prayers.

Life Lately (and not-so-lately!)

A little photo dump to catch you up on the little details of our lives from March until early May.

This train set has given us countless hours of fun. 

Practicing his writing in shaving cream.  At first he wasn't too sure about the texture, but after awhile it was pretty fun :)

More practice with writing/spelling...this time in cornmeal.  He can now spell short phonetic words, like "cup"...

...and "cat".

Bryon got to go skiing at Whistler when he came to pick Kai and me up in Canada in April.


Even better, he got to meet some of his college friends there (this is Reuben I think).

Getting our garden all ready for planting.

We had a streak of lovely hot weather in April. 

Reading in the backyard after a trip to the library. 

Family dinner out.

An evening bike ride along the Columbia River.

A chilly swim downtown at Jameson Square.

Evening soccer at Grant Park.

A little day trip to Hood River for some frisbee golf and time on the beach.

On a particularly warm day, I froze some of Kai's plastic animals in a container of water, and then let him chip away at it to free his animals.

The spoon wasn't working very well, so we got out the hammer :)

We found the best kids' haircut place, and for once Kai didn't spend the whole time trying to see where the scissors were.

Bryon towed Kai up to a lookout near our house.  Kai apparently asked Bryon to stop halfway up the steep hill because he was so tired...Bryon obliged willingly :)

Hiking to Wahkeena Falls.

A Saturday on the coast.

Cross Border

Way back in April, I and three of my best friends from Quadra-days decided to have a little reunion in Vancouver.  So, Kai and I packed up and traveled up to Canada for a week.  It was fun to see friends, get our kids together, and also spend lots of time with family.

Last summer we tried to get Kai to ride on the lawn mower at my brother's place, but he would only ride in the trailer, claiming that when he was 3 years old he would ride on the big seat.  So, this visit he made true on his promise :)

We also got to watch Kaden's volleyball tournament.

And, we got to see my grandma.  We also found her a place to live in Abbotsford, so she will be moving from the island in just a few weeks.  It will be nice to have her a little bit closer!