ZumwaltOhana.com

Sorry to Leave You Hangin'

I thought I would be better about keeping up to date with our lives this summer, but the summer got the best of me apparently!  We did have a fun time in Colorado and Caspian had a chance to recover from the illness that made the trip so difficult, so our drive back was much more peaceful.  I won't lie and and say that it was entirely peaceful, but it was much better than the drive there! 

While we visited my parents in Bayfield we got to go fishing and ride horses, ATV's, and tractors, as well as visit all the farm animals and a few members of my extended family.  Caspian called every animal he saw a dog, but apparently learned how to count while we were there.  There were two horses pastured outside my parents' house and he would become very perplexed when he could only find one and especially perplexed when he couldn't find either of them.  He would rush around from window to window saying, "Where go?"  "Dog."  "Where go?" and then he would go back to normal things like calling the elk head on the living room wall a dog and saying, "Soft!"  I kept joking that he must know how to count to two at least because he knew there should be two horses.  I thought I was just being silly, but a few days later when I tried to hand him a snack of some sort he held out his other hand and said, "Two?" 

We left my parents' house and drove over Red Mountain Pass and stopped in Ouray, CO at Box Canyon Falls to see some nature and relive part of my childhood.  Box Canyon looked much different as an adult than it did as a kid.  We hiked around a little there and then hit the road to head for Grand Junction again where we would be staying with Zak's grandparents, Hunt and Myrna.  We got in to their house at around 8:30 that evening and you would have thought it was the middle of the day.  The boys were ready to play and Hunt and Myrna were ready to join right in.  They have saved all the toys from their children over the years, have kept them in pristine condition and love to share these with our boys now.  It is always so much fun to see what they have saved and I'm sure Koa and Caspian enjoy them just as much as Fred, Rose, Von and Jon did.  What a treat it was to get to spend a couple of days with these lovely people!

Even though we were only there for a couple of days, we got to visit the horses and Koa got to ride one of granddad Hunt's horses for a few minutes.  We also were able to visit their church family and we got to have dinner with Rose and Mike.  The weather was nice and the boys loved playing in the back yard so I got to sit and watch them play and relax a bit while Hunt and Myrna entertained.  I even escaped one afternoon while the boys were napping and found a coffee shop with WiFi and Skyped with Zak for a bit.

As I mentioned before the trip back was less traumatic for everyone.  Caspian was no more fond of the car seat, but was exceedingly more comfortable without the diaper rash.  I did finally break down and buy my very first package of disposable diapers (we had been given some to use before [like when Koa was first born], but I had never actually purchased any for us, so this was a big step for me!) and it was an adventure all its own trying to figure out just which brand and what size and style and...holy moly there are a lot of choices!  After I finally did this I had to stop and ask myself why I waited until after Caspian had such bad diarrhea to make this move....sometimes I'm not so bright.  I admit it was much easier, but I did learn the hard way that those things DO NOT belong in a pool....ewww!  So that's why they have swim diapers, eh?

Speaking of the pool.  Remember the ridiculous Caspian-trying-to-drown-himself episode?  Well, I was so afraid he was going to be terrified of the water after that, but no.  He would actually go to the ladder, climb down so he could sit on the top rung and then try to jump in.  I was, of course, always there to catch him, but he would try to bat my hands out of the way so he could do it by himself.  I've started calling him Kamikaze Caspian.

Across Idaho (or somewhere in there) I figured out a good way to teach Caspian to spit out his gum instead of swallowing it and also keep him mildly entertained while sitting down.  I buy healthy gum (surprise!) and it only tastes good for like 30 seconds (maybe a slight exaggeration) and Caspian LOVES gum (which he calls "dumba dumba dumba"), but he always swallows it.  I buy said gum in bulk so it is much cheaper and I had A LOT with us.  During one particularly boring stretch of road I started giving each of the boys a piece of gum and then just a few minutes later encouraging them to swap it out for a new piece.  I don't know how many miles we did this, but I ended up with quite the mound of gum tree or whatever it is made of sitting next to me on the console.  But Caspian rarely swallows his gum now and we survived Idaho!

Another thing that kept Caspian entertained was driving on the rumble strips.  At some point along the way there was an intermittent rumble strip on the outside lane that sounded like a barking dog when I drove along it and Caspian was convinced by the sound and got very excited!  So after that, any time I drove on bumps of any sort he would get very excited and start shouting, "Dog!  Dog!" 

Also as we were driving through Idaho Koa had one of my favorite lines of the whole trip.  As we were passing a feed lot he looked out the window and said, "That's how Wendy's treats their cows."  He hasn't asked to eat at Wendy's since then, either.  I guess The Omnivore's Dilemma won't be required reading for him this year.

We left Colorado on a Monday and got home by Wednesday which was our goal.  We needed to be back for our co-op drop from Azure Standard on Thursday and we did.  And I promptly paid someone else to clean out our car! 

Back in the Saddle (so to speak)

We are back home from Colorado and have been for a week now.  I finally gave up on ever getting caught up on chores etc and decided to TRY to get caught up on the blog/journal. 

The week that Zak left I decided to take a hiatus from most household chores and focus on keeping the boys busy with activities and adventures.  We went to parks, took a canoe trip, had friends over, ate out more than I would care to admit and generally kept VERY busy.  One of our adventures was not intended to be an adventure, but a quick errand that went awry.  We ran to Vancouver, WA "real quickly" to pick up some bamboo some friends were needing to off-load.  By the time we got up there it was POURING rain!  We got our bamboo and some frozen strawberries and cherries from them and then headed back home. 

The errand itself went pretty smoothly other than the sogginess involved.  We headed back toward home only to discover that traffic was AWFUL!  There are two bridges into Vancouver and one of them is undergoing major construction.  I guess that, coupled with the rain was a bad combination.  So, I decided rather than sit in traffic forever we would find something interesting to do.  I called a friend and she recommended a little coffee shop with a play area.  We found it...eventually...and headed in for some play and refreshment.  I stepped to the counter to order a beverage for Koa and me and apparently also paid for the kids to play (didn't know that was part of the deal, but ok).  As I was walking away from the counter the lady says, "The kids need to leave their socks on and take their shoes off."  Oh, I guess that means they need to be wearing socks?  Kids who wear slippers don't typically wear socks.  Well, unless you're Koa and then even if you are wearing rain boots you don't typically wear socks.  So, play area nixed.

We sat down at a table with our beverages and there were some cartoons on a TV, so Koa was perfectly content.  Caspian was not.  Koa's chocolate milk was just too enticing.  So, I thought to myself, "I'll just get another chocolate milk in exchange for the play time in which we are not partaking."  By the way, no one in their right mind lets an 18 month old who never eats processed sugar consume chocolate milk in public.  I should just clear that up.  Oh, and this establishment had a keiki potty (a child sized regular toilet) that both kids were totally obsessed with and between the two of them we made about 19 trips to the bathroom in less than 1 hour's time.  Oh, and I only brought one diaper (remember this was a quick errand) which Caspian promptly pooped in seconds after I applied it to his behind since he wouldn't actually USE the keiki potty.

In between trips to the potty and Caspian climbing on and off his chair like a monkey on crack he managed to spill his chocolate milk three different times.  I can't even figure out how the minute amount that he consumed made him act so crazy!  I even insisted that he leave it sitting on the table and drink from the straw and he still managed to spill it THREE times.  The fourth and final time he had picked it up and as I was insisting he put it back on the table, he dumped it right over his head.  As I was frantically cleaning up and scurrying out of there I made a mental note to myself that sitting in traffic is a much better alternative to losing your mind.

We didn't get to it that day, but soon after, we used the bamboo we picked up to build a trellis for the garden that also serves as a teepee for the boys.  Not that I am kicking them out of the house, yet, but just a way to make the stump in the middle of our garden a more interesting and useful fixture.  You can see pictures of it and some of the pea trellises I built in our latest garden photo album.  I didn't get a picture of it, but as soon as I built the teepee Caspian climbed up and started singing like it was some sort of stage.  I really wish I had kids with just a little bit of confidence! 

As we came home from one of our adventures, we were walking in the house and Caspian walked to the edge of the driveway just to see what I would do and stepped one foot into the street.  Koa, in a most encouraging tone told Caspian, "You shouldn't do that.  The cars come by here fast and they will squish you, then we won't have a little brother any more and we will have to use the new baby."

And He's Off!

Zak left on Sunday bright and early with a shiny, clean-shaven face.  The boys aren't really sure who it was that left our house, but they sure do miss their daddy!  I thought I would resurrect the blog in order to keep track of what's going on especially during this time that we won't be able to communicate with him.  Heaven knows I won't be able to remember it all in order to recap for him once we do talk.  I'm sure Tutu will be happy that he's gone since this mean she, too, will get to see the updates.

The last several weeks before Zak left are still a bit of a blur, but we milked the time we had as best we could.  Zak finished his finals on a Friday and the next day we hosted a recovery workshop for Agape which made Zak's finals week even busier than it already was, but the workshop went great and we were happy to have the next two weeks to spend hanging out as a family, tying up loose ends and getting Zak ready to be shipped off to Officer Development School in Rhode Island.  We tried to fill every day with some sort of adventure like visiting the Portland Zoo, going to parks we had wanted to visit, going camping and a trip to Seattle.  While in Seattle we made a list of all the activities we most wanted to do and knocked off nearly every one of them including but not limited to...[bum, pum, pum]...the duck tour!  I'm a little embarrassed to say it since it is about the cheesiest thing I can imagine, but I think the cheesiness, the obnoxious tour guide and the ridiculous price might have been worth it for the look on Koa's face when we drove into the water!  His eyes were SO big and he said really quietly, "Are we gonna' sink?"  Once we reassured him, he was totally fine and hasn't stopped talking about it since we were there.

We got back from Seattle at 1:30 AM on Wed and set to work early that morning getting all of Zak's stuff together that he would need for ODS and chaplain school (which he goes to in South Carolina for five weeks as soon as ODS is finished).  We fit in a couple of dates and Zak and Koa had a daddy day and went for coffee which they have been planning to do for a while.  The plan was to ride bikes to the coffee shop, however, Zak's bike was recently stolen and it was pouring rain, so they drove.  I think they still had fun.

Koa and I both got some terrible cold right before the recovery workshop and couldn't seem to kick it which is very odd for both of us.  I'm sure the camping in 40 degree weather, being up way too late every night and silly stuff like that didn't help.  I finally called Dr. Jen and asked her if she had something I could take.  She asked me about my symptoms and then whipped up an herbal tincture for the occasion that worked amazingly well!  I also vowed to rest when things settled down a bit.

Our two week whirlwind came to an end last Sunday morning when Zak got on the plane, but I'm sure his was just beginning.  Wes came over to stay at the house so the boys could keep sleeping and Zak and I left for the airport at 4:30.  Before I got home, I had a text from him saying he had to pay a $100 fee for his bag being 8 lbs over weight.  Thanks United Airlines!

I will have to start the journaling tomorrow since I'm too pooped tonight.  I wrote this entire post yesterday catching us up to last night and the computer ate it when I went to post.  Arrg.  So, if it does the same thing tonight I'm afraid we are just out of luck.  I'm not doing this again!

Strawberry Patch Installed! YaY!

My house is a mess.  We are leaving for Vancouver tomorrow and leaving the kids with someone else all day and night.  I have to get my groceries ordered before we leave.  I need to do a little shopping and pick up our produce.  There is A LOT to get done.  But...it was also sunny!  Those of you who live or have lived in the Pacific Northwest know what that means--I spent a good portion of the day OUTSIDE!!!  I even wore shorts and a t-shirt.  It was bea-u-ti-ful! 

One of the things I have had on my "to do" list was to get some strawberries in the ground.  We had a garden party at our house last week and I was blessed with several free containers of runners.  But, it's been pretty yucky most days since then.  So, today a new friend and her daughter (Koa's new friend) came over to help me make the border for the strawberry bed.  We quickly realized that my chainsaw was dull and that project was going to last WAY too long, so we abandoned that and let the kids play and paint together.  Then after the kids went down for their nap I escaped to finish my strawberry patch and made an impromptu border that will never last...because I have little boys who love sticks too much!  I am so very excited to have strawberries and to have my very first gardening project done!  Yippee!  Summer is right around the corner!

  
 
I also learned at our garden party that sunflowers help pull the lead out of the soil.  Since I planted the strawberries near our house that probably hasn't been painted since the 50's, I pulled out some of the seeds I had saved from Koa's sunflowers and planted a row of those closest to the house.  Hopefully that will insure that we don't get lead poisoning from our strawberries...

Now, off to tackle my "to do" list...in a hurry!

The Things We Missed

Wow!  Has it really been almost a month since our last post!?  Where has time gone?  Oh yes, I remember:

Way back in May when we were planning our giant summer trip across the country, Kathy and I jokingly said after looking at our schedule that we weren't going to get a break until Christmas standown.  Seven months later that turned out to be correct!  When I finished my Spring semester last May I took a summer class, then we were on the road for a month, then when we returned I had a couple more weeks of a second summer class I had started during our trip, and then the Fall semester started.  So these past 4 weeks during the holidays was the first real break we have taken in close to a year!  Perhaps needless to say, we tried our best to (finally!) do nothing for a while - and it was wonderful.

Koa is starting to become old enough to understand all things Christmas, which has made the season fun.  Anticipation for Christmas morning; eggnog; Christmas lights (Portland International Raceway & Peacock Lane); Christmas music; Rudolph, Frosty, and Santa movies (and of course Veggie Tale's Christmas movies!) are now standard fair.  But more importantly, he's now old enough that we can have somewhat legitimate conversations with him about Jesus, being thankful, and blessing others who have a need.  Along those lines we went as a family under bridges downtown and handed out food and coffee to homeless people, and when we could, we gave people standing at the street corners new socks or hand-warmers or ponchos from our car at red lights.  In fact, Koa gets upset now when we pass someone without giving them something or asking their name (hard to stop in an intersection when the light is green!).  Speaking of blessings, it was amazing to see how many gifts we had under the tree this Christmas.  Thanks to everyone for your letters, gifts, and cards - we are very touched by your thoughtfulness and generosity.  And we'll be sure to pass those blessings on to others whenever we can.

Since we didn't get any snow during the break and we were itching to get away for a while, we packed up the family and went on a two day trip between Christmas and New Year's Eve to Bend, OR.  It was about a 3.5 hour drive which should have been less if it wasn't for the snowy roads going through the Cascades and over Mt. Hood.  It was then that we discovered our snow-chains were back home in the garage!  Oops!  Needless to say, we were thankful for our 4-wheel drive and never ended up needing anything more (though we were sliding around quite a bit).  It snowed pretty hard while we were in Bend so our first day there we tried doing whatever sight-seeing we could, whatever walking around the little downtown area that we could, and whatever eating we could!  We ate at "Bend's Best Lunch" which was a Thai place and then got some coffee (Eggnog Chai for me!) at "Bend's Best Coffee House" which served Stumptown coffee.  Then in the evening it was on to the highlight of the trip for Koa - the hotel swimming pool!  This was the first time ever that he wanted to go in the (very cold) water all by himself and we were happy to let him.  Brrrr.  With his floaties on, he would swim from one end to the other, climb out on the ladder and go around to do it again.  We had to teach Caspian about the dangers of running by the pool.  Somehow that seemed a little amusing that we had to keep talking to our little 13 month old about running by the pool.  He also was very fascinated by the hot tub and would walk/run over to it and make the sign for "bath" and then walk/run back to the pool and just look at it like, "I don't have a sign for that."

Our second day in Bend we set out to do what we went there for - play in the snow!  There are a couple sledding hills along the way to the top of Mt. Bachelor (Bend sits at the base of this mountain) which we heard were very good, so after brunch at a great local restaurant we bought ourselves a couple of cheap plastic sleds and a $3 day pass and off we went!  Getting up to our sledding spot was tricky without snow-chains, but eventually we made it to Wanoga Snow Park and began suiting up.  Since we didn't have any snow clothes of our own, all four of us were either decked out in boots, coats, and pants we borrowed from friends or found a couple days before at a thrift store!  Koa had never worn so many clothes at one time in his life and so he acted like he was being eaten alive.  In fact, he and Kathy had to sit in the car for a couple minutes and watch Caspian and I sled by ourselves while he calmed down and realized that not playing was worse than being bundled up.  Once he finally escaped the car and began playing, he was fine.  Caspian looked like Ralphie's little brother Randy who couldn't put his arms down - he could have been going on a deep sea expedition or to the moon and worn a smaller suit!  To make a long story short, we all had a blast and ended up sledding for much longer than Kathy and I anticipated.  Each time down the hill, Koa would get braver and start from a little higher up.  By the end he was going down the hill by himself!

We took a different route on our way home from Bend, this time to the south through Sisters and then Salem, which should have been about an hour longer than the way we took getting to Bend.  However, this route through the Cascades was apparently less popular because the roads were much slicker and less plowed.  Our drive was long, slow, and tedious until we finally made it to Salem and I-5.  We got home late from our great little trip, ate some dinner and put the boys to bed.  You can see pictures of our Christmas break in the Christmas 2009 photo album.

So now we come to today - my first day back to school for the Spring semester.  This semester I'm taking "Romans" (the next Greek class in which we translate, diagram, and exegete the book in Greek), "Advanced Church Growth," "Christian Theology II", an independent study with one of my professors called "Intercultural Ministry Project", and "Pastoral Internship II."  12 credits which is full-time, but still 4 credits less than a standard load!  I think this is going to be a really interesting semester.

Sheesh! Where Have We Been??? (updated with links)

Yes, I know I have been negligent in updating The People on the Zumwalt Ohana happenings for far too long.  So, I will try to make a short post summarizing our last month or so and catch everyone up to date (and ease my conscience).

We have retreated to the coast a couple of times in the recent past.  Zak and I were able to attend a free weekend marriage workshop in Cannon Beach with the Northwest Marriage Institute.  The workshop wasn't anything amazing and unfortunately Zak was the sickest I have ever seen him (Swing Flu!?), but we got to spend a little time at the coast and Koa got to have a sleepover with his friend, Caleb.  The Cousers went out and did the workshop with us, so that made for a fun couple days.

Just a few weeks after that we spent about four days at Twin Rocks Friends Camp for a retreat with Zak's grad class.  It was nice to get away and relax following the stress of finals.  We all stayed in barracks, so the "family room" we were in had three bunk beds in it.  When Koa tells stories about that weekend he says, "Remember at that bed place..."  Each room didn't have a bathroom, so we all had to share a public bathroom on our floor.

Speaking of the finals, Zak ended the semester with three A's and one B.  He's currently taking an intensive Hermeneutics class (the classroom work is finished, but he still has to give a sermon at Agape to finish the class), and then will be taking a Biblical Leadership class starting next month.  Although I didn't get an official grade for the Greek class I took with Zak, I think I squeaked by with an A when all was said and done.  I will take Greek II with Zak in the fall, Lord willing.  I was planning to take a class at Western Seminary this summer called Intervention Strategies for Victims of Sex Trafficking, but in the last week before class started I discovered that the professor had changed, the class syllabus had changed significantly, and even the focus of the class had changed.  So I decided it was not in our best interest for me to take the class at that time.  As disappointed as I was to not be taking it, I was also a little relieved to have one thing taken off the "to do" list for the summer.

As most people know, Portland is known for the amount of rain received on a continuous basis each year.  However, Portland's best kept secret is just how beautiful the summers are!  This may be the biggest reason this poor blog has been so neglected!  We have had some beautiful days lately!  Those days have been filled with lots of gardening and playing outside.  We just finished planting our corn and beans and we filled in some extra space we had left with some starts of red cabbage and bell peppers that we got from the nursery.  We tried to plan our garden harvest around our trip this summer (more to come on that soon) so everything will not be ready to harvest while we are gone.  Hopefully that plan will work, but if not we have faithful garden-sitters standing by - the Cousers.  They will be maintaining the slug saloons, as well.

Summer not only brought beautiful weather, but also wonderful house guests.  Well, one of them was actually a hotel guest, but he stopped by the house on occasion.  Zak's dad was in town on business and he made time to hang out with us while he was here.  What a treat that was for us, but don't worry, Regina, he didn't really enjoy it at all! :)  We sent him on his way with his own little family of kefir grains and anxiously await the news of propagation.

Just recently we have had the Cousers move in with us while they are in between houses.  It's been like an endless Summer slumber party at our house!  We are getting very tired because we all like to stay up too late and talk.  Zak recently built us a great little fire pit in our back yard and we have been thoroughly enjoying cooking dinner over it and visiting until late into the night by the fire.  We have also consumed way too many s'mores and ports in recent days!  If anyone has a good marshmallow recipe that also toasts well, please send it my way.  Mine just melt into a big sugary mess instead of toasting nicely.

With beautiful weather comes and opportunity to get out and play some Frisbee!  So, Zak and I have been hosting an Ultimate Frisbee Home Community on Multnomah's campus once a week for the past month or so.  It is so nice to get out and run around again, but it has made it painfully obvious how inactive we were in the colder months.  We will have to be more purposeful this year about being more active even when it's cold outside! 

The boys have been growing and changing with each passing day this Summer.  Koa can be found with his ball and glove out in the yard most days and will pitch (quite well, I might add) to anyone with a stick in hand.  He is taking free swimming lessons right now at the community pool near our house.  He keeps insisting that he already knows how to swim and is frustrated that the instructor won't just let him go into the pool by himself.  We haven't gone over during "open swim" time for him to try it out, but I suppose we should.  Who knows, maybe he does know how to swim and we just don't know it.  Caspian has been faithfully working on crawling.  He has made a lot of progress just in the last day or so and now does the inch worm crawl and can go from laying to sitting all by himself.  I'm sure there will be pictures and videos posted soon since Zak recently got his new computer (after the two month saga) and will be able to edit all the videos we've had waiting to be posted.

Hopefully The People feel sufficiently up-to-date because this sleepy girl needs to head to bed!  Good Night.

Take Me BACK To The Islands!

Every day I suppress the urge to gripe about the cold.  Mostly.  I get up in the morning and I'm dumbfounded by how quickly my coffee gets cold (inside the insulated carafe!) or how often I have to re-toast my bread because I didn't grab it the second it popped out of the toaster.  Heaven knows you can't get the butter to spread properly unless you do. 

Uhh the butter.  It doesn't matter where you keep it.  In the fridge.  Out of the fridge.  It's all the same.  Solid, un-spreadable butter.

I've conquered the dry skin by making my own lotion which I lovingly call Kathy's Mainland Winter Salve. 

Tonight was the last straw!  I was making a quiche for dinner (I think that's what you call it when it has a crust, right?).  So, as I was sauteing some of the ingredients for the filling, I was baking the crust.  Just as the crust became a beautiful golden brown I took it out of the oven and set it on my faux stainless steel counter top.  Just in time for the glass pie pan to EXPLODE into no less than a million pieces!  What in the world!?  Can there really be that much temperature difference from the oven to the counter top?  Am I the only person who doesn't know this? 

What a mess!  So, we had a frittata (That's what you call it when there's no crust, right?).

It doesn't help that this happened right after I got off the phone with Brenda and Terry who were on their way home from the beach and telling me just how beautiful a winter they are having on our beautiful islands...

I guess it's a good thing I am already terribly attached to Portland (and my sweet husband) or I would be raising money for a ticket back to Hawai'i tonight!  There would be a lot of things and people to pack up and take with me!

I guess I'll just go turn up the heat and put on some more Mainland Winter Salve.  Maybe I've got a little extra Suck It Up I could apply along with it.

M'Boys

What an interesting holiday season we had!  We had lots of fun hanging out together as a family and there are many things to update. 

Zak finished up his semester December 12 with three A's and two B's.  That seems like a very successful semester considering how incredibly busy he was.  He finished a big project (an Expositional Commentary on Ephesians 3:1-13) for his most difficult class (Principles of Inductive Bible Study) which was worth 50% of his grade with a 95%.  Not only did he finish with great evaluation of the work he did, I think he also grew significantly in his knowledge of the Bible and his relationship with God.  I certainly can't speak for him in this regard, but I have seen evidence of this as he grows in his compassion for people and becomes increasingly more generous with his blessings.  

It's been different being completely separated from the college for almost a whole month.  We've only seen his classmates on two occasions.  We had dinner at the home of one of his classmates and his family before Christmas which was a wonderful treat.  Then we had several Multnomah students to our house for a worship service one Sunday when most churches had canceled services due to weather.  We had 11 Multnomah students who walked here and 10 people from Agape who actually braved the weather enough to drive here!  We served chili and rice and bread for lunch and it was a wonderful time of fellowship!  We were very grateful for the meat my parents brought when they came!  There is no way I would have been able to make enough chili to feed that many people otherwise!

Zak's latest challenge has been in regards to weight loss.  He has put on a few pounds over the past few years (and past couple civilian months!) so he needs to get back within the Navy's weight requirements.  To this end, he has been working out every day with a work out I got to design for him.  And, of course, I get to feed him the nourishing food to help him meet this goal.  So far he is doing very well and has moved from 220 to 211 in only 4 weeks.  His goal is to be at 210 by January 12th and at 200 by May 15.  I'm sure we will keep The People updated on his progress with this goal. 

Since we have had lots of time to spend at home due to inclement weather and holiday free time, we took the time to finish some of the decorating of our house that was still incomplete.  This has been a bigger deal to Zak than it has to me as I am admittedly more interested in function than form.  However I have to admit that our house is more "homey" now that we have finished up some of the decorating.  You can find pictures of this in the Mult-Home-Ah photo album.  The cheesy palm tree was my idea.  I grew fond of it during our Christmas season and wasn't willing to put it away!

One of the updates we made to the house and its decorations was a new big boy bed for Koa.  I have been looking for the perfect bed for long term use that will work in his room.  I wanted to do a bunk-bed-type so we could consolidate the beds when Caspian got big enough to need a big boy bed, but their ceiling is too low.  So, I needed a "junior loft" bed in order to fit the bill.  Of course, I also didn't want to buy it new since that just seems wasteful.  We finally found what we had been looking for on Craig's list and made a short trip up to Vancouver, WA to pick it up.  The crazy weather made it a bit of an adventure, but everything worked out really well.  This was Stimple and Tutu's Christmas gift to Koa and we got to pick it up just a couple of days after Christmas.  Now he and Caspian are roommates.  It's nice to have them in there together and they make good roommates.  They don't even seem to wake each other up very often.  Their room is my favorite room in the house now.  I think it is partially because that room stays clean most of the time and is easy to clean when it does get messy. 

Koa is definitely two years old, and sometimes I hope that will be over soon.  He protests anything that he thinks is not his idea--even if it was his idea!  We spend a lot of time working on having a good attitude.  That means that some days he spends a lot of time in the corner.  This has been a great tool of discipline until recently.  All of the sudden one day he decided that he LIKES the corner, in fact he LOVES the corner.  So, when I would give him permission to come out because his attitude was better, he would say he would rather stay there.  Back to the drawing board.

He really is a lot of fun to be around when he's not trying to be difficult.  He loves to play pretend (maybe that's why the corner is fun) and will play with anything!  He likes to make families out of any random objects he can find.  In fact, his first family was a toothbrush, toothpaste and a bottle of grape seed oil.  Then there were the dish brushes, pencil eraser, cups, silverware.  His most favorite little guy is a gold-colored furniture bolt.  He calls it his "treasure guy" and that is the first "toy" he looks for in the morning.  I also have to be on guard or every cup/bowl shaped container will make it into his toy cabinet (or the living room floor) as a hat for somebody!  Fortunately he is getting better and better about picking up toys and books and adhering to the "one toy at a time" rule most of the time.  His mom is just a little bit crazy and likes the toys to be put away in an organized fashion (ie. balls and stuffed animals in the top drawer; cars in the middle drawer etc.) and he is pretty good at getting things put away in their proper place, as well. 

He likes to play "introduction" with his toys.  He'll say, "Hi, I'm Koa, what's your name?  I come from Waikiki with Wes and Jessi."  Then he proceeds to tell about the zoo in Waikiki because Wes and Jessi and Tracie took him to the zoo once.  It is amazing to see the details he recalls from that long-ago trip to the zoo.  He also likes to try to introduce himself to people he doesn't know (as long as I don't ask him to...) and he will tell them his name means "warrior" and he gets his curly hair from his dad.

He's also getting better at memorizing books so he can "read" them to Caspian.  We still haven't gotten a good video of that, but I hope we can soon.  He also has a knack for categorizing books.  He recognizes when the artwork or story is the same or similar.  For instance, he will know that it is a P.D. Eastman or Laura Numeroffe book even if it is the first time to read it.  He also has pointed out other artwork when it looks similar.  We saw a calendar one day with cartoon drawings on it and he said, "It's a Sandra Boynton book." and it did look very similar to her illustrations.

I don't think we have ever mentioned Koa's total fascination with Veggie Tales!  He adores Bob and Larry, but Larry is definitely his favorite.  He loves to look at the picture of Zak when he was Larry Boy for Halloween.  He knows most of the songs on any Veggie Tale video he has seen and he asks daily to watch them!  We've gotten pretty bad about agreeing to it and now he watches a lot more TV than we wish he did.  We never got cable when we moved into this house, and it has been great.  We don't miss regular TV.  So, I suppose it's not the worst thing in the world if the only thing we ever watch is Veggie Tales and Signing Time.  At least both of them are teaching him something.  However, I don't want him to get in the habit of just vegging out (pun intended) in front of the TV all the time.

And then there's Capian...  He is such a sweet baby, and very calm and content when his tummy is feeling well....which is hardly ever!  Fortunately he is really good at soothing himself.  He's a thumb sucker and he's good at it!  He can find that thing almost instantly, and he will sooth himself right to sleep.  He also usually just wants to lay on his tummy and sleep when he is feeling bad.  So, that is a good thing, too, unless we are out somewhere that he can't really just lay around.  Then it is really bad. 

You'd never know by lookin' at him, but occasionally he will go 8-12 hours without eating for some odd reason.  We thought there was some consistency to it, but now I am beginning to believe it is totally random.  Like maybe he just eats like normal every three hours until he gets full and then he just hibernates for a while.  He sleeps pretty consistently 7 hours at night but one night he went 12!  I tried waking him up to feed him, but he would just get angry and go back to sleep.  (Needless to say, I was up at three in the morning pumping!)  Sometimes his strikes are in the middle of the day.  He will wake up at regular intervals, but will just REFUSE to eat.  Then he will be ready to go back to sleep in just a little while.  Doctor Jen is baffled by it.  He rarely ever acts like his tummy is upset when he does this.  He will just be very content unless I try to feed him.

He has started becoming a little more regular with pooping which has helped with the upset tummy issue.  For a while he was having solid poops most of the time, but I think that has resolved itself.  Poor Caspian, all we talk about is his digestive issues when we give updates about him.  He really is very sweet and mellow.  He still has very tiny smiles and sometimes he will give us a little laugh which makes them especially cute!

We have used a Babywise-esque routine with both boys and they both have responded very well to that.  Caspian doesn't need quite as much structure as Koa did.  With Koa if we strayed from his normal routine very much we would have to detox for several days and get him back into his comfort zone or he would be a pretty fussy baby.  Caspian will roll with the punches for the most part, but if we expect him to do that for too many days we get a fussy baby.  That is what happened this past week when we went to Astoria.  For the days leading up to it we were coming and going a little too often for him to get a regular nap and we paid for it part of the time in Astoria.  So, we have been staying home and "detoxing" since then.

Right now, both boys are sick with a cold!  So, we stayed home from church today.  As you can see, that has given me time to catch up on posts that are way over-due!  Hopefully my little boys will be back to health soon and we can continue with life as usual--as usual as it gets around here! :) 

A Weekend...In The Middle Of A Week

One of the requirements for Zak to be accepted into the chaplain candidacy program is an interview with a real, live Navy chaplain.  The closest Navy chaplain in our area is on a Coast Guard base in Astoria, Oregon.  Since Zak has some time off from school and we were wanting to explore the state a bit more anyway, we took this opportunity to escape for a night along with our friends, the Cousers. 

Wes and Jessi came over Wednesday night after our home community meeting and stayed the night and we got up relatively early on Thursday and began our day.  We were slowed down a bit by the need to fetch our car from the dealership where we had to have the entire transmission replaced this last week (praise God for extended warranties!)  Once we had our car, we all piled in and headed for the coast.  Due to the recent snow fall and heavy rains there was some flooding that threatened detours along the way, but we made it without incedent.  Please pray for the people whose homes and crops have been effected by the flooding.

We got into Astoria on Thursday afternoon and Zak, Wes and Koa visited the Columbia River Maritime Museum for a couple of hours.  Jessi, Caz and I went and found a nice, warm coffee shop/tanning salon (interesting combo, huh?) in which to hang out.  While I fed Caspian we watched part of the movie "Bubble Boy" without sound.  I think the fact that there was no sound actually made the movie more interesting.  After our relaxing afternoon we visited a local winery and then went to a nice dinner together at the Silver Salmon with a coupon we were given. 

We rented a suite with two beds and split the cost with the Cousers which made the trip more cost effective.  It happened to be in a hotel with an indoor, heated pool!  We were excited to have a pool at our hotel because I knew Koa would love that, but when we got in that night he was so tired that he just went straight to bed.  Zak stayed in the room with the boys and worked out while Wes, Jessi and I went to the pool together.  I didn't realize how much I missed swimming!  It was WONDERFUL to be in the water again--especially without the extra pregnancy weight!  I was really surprised by how much I really enjoyed it.  I guess it's the first time I've been in a pool without a child to tend or in my belly in 3.5 years!

The next morning Zak had to go to his interview, so Koa and I got up and headed down to the pool at that time.  I think Koa enjoyed it as much as I thought he would.  We left just long enough to grab some breakfast at the small buffet provided and then headed back to the pool.  By that time Caz and the Cousers had joined us.  I intended to take Caspian in the water, too, but he was ready to go to sleep before he even made it in the water!  So, he just took a nap on the blanket by the pool...ahh, the life!

Zak had his interview with the chaplain on the Coast Guard base but didn't get to say a whole lot since the guy talked almost non-stop. It was less of an interview and more of an infomative conversation about the reality of being a chaplain.  Zak thought it was really valuable and enlightening because it was another perspective of the corps that he hadn't heard about yet.  He would have liked to ask a few more questions but didn't even get to do that.  Hopefully the guy got enough information to recommend Zak for the chaplain candidacy program. 

When he got back we all packed up and headed out for some more exploration of the area.  There is a lot of history in this area since Astoria was the first permanent settlement west of the Rockies and the last place Lewis and Clark visited before making the trek back to St. Louis.  We made a few more stops at museums and forts and the like.  We enjoyed a bit more seafood at Dooger's, along the way, as well. :)

It was a wonderful little get-away and a fun time with friends (we have photos to prove it and there should be more to come)!  Even though we moved out here with the Cousers we don't get to see them nearly often enough since both our families are involved in ministries at different churches.  We've all agreed that we need to make these get-aways a regular occurance.  I hope it works out that we can!

Snow Day!

Zak finished up his first semester of seminary (Woo Hoo!) just in time for our first snow in Portland!  He had his last test on Friday and Saturday night/Sunday morning it started to snow!  "The powers that be" canceled services at Agape, so we ended up staying home all day.  Zak finished this semester with 3 A's and 2 B's (a 3.3 GPA).

Zak and Koa ventured out to play in the snow while Caspian and I stayed inside and kept warm!  However, you can see Caspian (and all of his chins) in his snow gear in his photo album to the left.  He was all dressed to go to church before we found out it had been canceled.    While Zak and Koa were outside Caspian and I made homemade hot chocolate with peppermint whipped cream for the boys to have when they came in from the cold.  It was a nice treat.  Now Koa keeps asking for chocolate milk with sour cream.

Last night Zak had a chance to edit another video for us.  The People can observe Caspian's first real bath if they so desire in Update Eighty Four.  You can find more snow pictures in our Portland Christmas 2008 photo album, as well.

Today it is beautiful and sunny and the snow is already melting away...