Happy 3rd Birthday, my Son!

How time has passed so quickly. I'm excited for Russell's future but I miss his baby-ness as well. Thankfully, he's still young enough to kiss and snuggle with:-) Happy birthday, son. We love you.

Our Pix

These are our pictures from the other day. Picture People does not charge a sitting fee and they happily exchanged the pictures I returned for the ones we wanted. Not a dime more! I like PP because they specialize in picture-taking, unlike Sears or JCP's, where I find that the photographer is the same person answering the phones and selling lawn mowers. Not my style;-) Dan scanned these in so the pictures aren't as sharp but this will do for now.

A Day at the Mall

I took Russell to the mall today to have his third-year pictures taken at Picture People. For the second time.

We went yesterday as well. I had the outfit chosen for him and he behaved nicely for the photographer. Only problem? The prints were a lot darker than they looked on the computer screen when I was selecting which prints we would purchase. When I got home and put an 8x10 in a frame, it was just too dark. I knew I'd be hating the picture for the next 365 days, so I called Picture People and made another booking for today.

The pictures from today were on a lighter background and turned out much better. And since we were only at the studio yesterday, we didn't have to deal with Russell's bashfulness today;-)

As we were sitting on the bench waiting for our pictures to be printed, we people watched and saw...

- a woman in yoga pants and high-healed shoes
- a man in a winter coat and shorts
- a senior couple with a huge bag full of bread loaves.

Yup, it was an interesting day!

"Non-viable"

I had a sinking feeling this morning when the pregnancy test I took only resulted in a faint line instead of the bright pink line of Saturday morning. I've ridden this ride too many times to know what that indicated. My bloodwork this morning only indicated an hcg level of 6. Not 60, not 600. Only 6. An hcg level of 100 is desirable at this point, but a 6 is a slap in the face.

Dan was at Costco today and bought flowers and a bottle of red wine. Glad to have them both.

I don't know where we go from here.

Tomorrow, the 44th President of the USA will be sworn into office: the same man that will mandate and promote embryonic stem cell research. God help this nation.

Saying Good-bye to Traditional Scrapbooking

Every time I attempt to vacuum our bedroom, I have to lift (or navigate around) my large (but very nice) scrapbooking box/container. I bought the plastic container about 5 years ago when I finally gave up trying to keep random bags of all my supplies contained.

The last pictures I scrapbooked were from our trip to D.C. in May 2007 (in Russell's album) and Laura's wedding (in our family album). I have come to the resolve to use up most if not all of what I own this calendar year of 2009 and then henceforth, scrapbook online on Snapfish or Shutterfly (I also know that Creative Memories have a similar offer). I'm not an artistic sort of person and scrapbooking takes more detail and time than I wish to invest. I made a "birth-2 years" album of Russell for my Grandmother for Christmas 2007 and I really liked the outcome.

So, as Russell's third birthday approaches, I currently am printing out pictures from his second birthday and scrapbooking them;-) I don't mind vacuuming around my scrapbook box for another few months...

Chasing a Dream

I've been asked a couple of times recently so I probably should blog and say that I am, and have been, taking the Lovenox injections for almost two weeks now. After 15 minutes of an ice-pack on my belly, the shots don't hurt but I do have a weird sensation afterwards as the cold wears off. The bruising hasn't been too bad at all, either.

If we don't get pregnant (and stay pregnant) this cycle, we're stepping off this circus ride for a while. Not that age has everything to do with it but I am turning 30 this year and I want to be in a better place emotionally and physically speaking. I can't do heavy exercise during pregnancy and after the miscarriages my body is so drained I just don't have the stamina for more than a walk to the park. I want to live my life not in perpetual fear that anything I might do may cause another miscarriage. I want to eat sushi and drink red wine without thinking twice.

This has been a difficult journey for us. The doctors still don't have answers. IVF won't help us because we can get pregnant: we just can't stay pregnant. It is so frustrating and oftentimes, I feel like our prayers aren't being heard- and yet, I know this isn't true.

So, please bare with us, as in the next few days we'll find out if we're pregnant again... and to see how long it lasts. I hate calling "wolf" but I also want you to know why (if all fails) we're taking a long-needed break.

Box Tops for Education

For years, I've noticed the Box Tops on a lot of products. I like clipping coupons, points (on Pampers) and patronizing companies that give me triple points on our Alaska Airlines credit card. I like the incentive programs as long as they don't cost me money and I benefit in the long run (think "free airline tickets"). I started clipping the Box Tops last year because I kept thinking that someday I could donate them (the expiry dates are usually 1-2 years in the future).

Well, that time has come. With the state in bankruptcy and (supposedly) issusing IOU's instead of state refund checks during tax season, the schools are suffering as well as most publically funded programs. I thought as a church we could collect as many as possible and donate them to the school that is our 'semi-annual' project (usually one in May, and one in November). If 200 people donated 100 Box Tops at 10c/top, that is $2000 for the school. Not a whole lot, but not too bad, either.

For my friends out of the area that would like to contribute as well, that would be wonderful! I still have to talk with the organizers at church about structuring this idea but if you could start saving now, the Box Tops add up quickly. It would be so great if in May, we could hand a needy school a few thousand dollars and help support a few more kids in the learning process:-)

A Rockin' Start to 2009

Have you seen the news in the last few days? The war between Israel and Hamas. Millions of people laid off in China. The USA in debt into the trillions. People in Europe freezing because of the lack of fuel to heat their homes. Happy New Year, eh?

Our pastor has been teaching the book of Revelation this past fall and will continue through June. This past Sunday, he focused on chapter four. "And there before me (John) was a throne in heaven with Someone sitting on it (vs. 2)... also, before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal (vs. 6)." For those with a Bible, I encourage you to read the whole chapter.

What picture in your mind does the One seated on the throne in front of a sea of glass bring? Peace. True peace. Not a truce, not a stalemate.

When our worlds are rocked with instability and insecurity, pain and confussion, be mindful that God is still in control. He is seated on His throne. Not because He doesn't care. No, it is because His knows what will happen ultimately and He has a plan for His creation.

Christmas 2008

We landed in Victoria the evening of the 24th. The Island was under snow and ice so we rented a rental car since my parents couldn't get out of their subdivision. We stayed with my grandmother for the night and the next day. My parents and sisters finally were able to make it to Victoria on the 26th and that is when we had our Christmas. Snowy-ist Christmas since early 1970's.

Us.

For those who know my family, you might have noticed the new BF? We picked Kris up from the ferry on the 26th and we had our Christmas meal all together. Kris is a great guy, has an upbeat spirit, and is all-around smart.

The men in my life:-)

The first family picture in four years, courtesy of Kris.

Snow everywhere. Too bad it doesn't stay on the trees longer.

Russell loved to make footprints in the snow. The snow at my parents' house was too deep for him, but my grandmother in Victoria always has less, and this suited Russell just fine!

On Sunday, the 28th, we went to the Mainland for my mom's extended family Christmas. Above, Russell with Dan and my uncle Steve.

Pretty women, truly!

We came back to the Island on Tuesday and spent one more night at my parents and one more night at my grandmother's house before flying back on the 1st. Typical holiday delays in the airports but alls well that ends well. We had a wonderful vacation and a nice way to celebrate the Christmas season. Here's to another eventful year!