is that a baby under your shirt or....?

okay, i have to vent here: i was in the grocery store on sunday with josh and tristan, going through the checkout lineup. there's a sweet clerk who works there and she always coo's over tristan and when i see her working, i like to go through her line. so, we chatted for a bit, relieved to hear the neither of our houses burned, and she said how cute tristan was looking etc. etc. and then she said it...the question NOBODY should ever ask a female (or a male, for that matter). she said, "when are you due?" the smile froze on my face as i said "pardon me?" thinking that perhaps her poor english had something to do with getting her words mixed up. she patted her belly and said, "you having another baby?" i did my best to laugh graciously while saying "oh no, not yet!" josh chimed in, trying to ease the awkward situation by saying, "soon!" (if it was up to him, i'd be pregnant yesterday). then we were all quiet and i could see that she was super embarassed. i think she must have said "sorry"but i can't quite remember because it was all a blur as my mind whirred with so many thoughts, the main one being "WHY did we just buy that cheesecake?" so there it is. even though i've had no baby in my womb for nearly 10 months, it still looks like i do. lovely. i've not shed a tear about this, but i have gotten myself back on my weight watchers plan from which i strayed weeks ago. big steep hill, here i come again.

in other, happier news: we found a place!!! we just signed the papers yesterday and move in the middle of november. once our town was re-opened after the evacuation, many people found their houses burned to the ground. immediately, rentals all over town were snatched up as families desperately tried to find places to live, so josh and i lost no time in grabbing what we could. fortunately, the place we grabbed is the nicest and most affordable of all the places we looked at. though its smaller than what we're in now, its been completely remodelled inside, has 3 bedrooms and even a bit of a backyard! we've already been blessed with friends and family providing things we need, like couches, washer and dryer, fridge, etc. God is so good! thanks for all of your prayers that we'd find the right place!

tristan was completely ill yesterday, the worst he's ever been. he was feverish and tired and sad all day and it just broke my hear to see him so miserable. all he wanted was to cling to me and lay his head on my chest. he slept most of the day on me, which didn't allow me to get many things done around the house. thankfully, i had just started reading a fabulous novel called "abide with me" by elizabeth strout. its written so eloquently that i want to make sure and read it nice and slowly, savouring every word. so yesterday was a day off of sorts for me, as i cuddled my sick little boy and enjoyed my book.

this is why i've got to stop blogging and actually get some things done today!

well, we are all safe and sound still, with no more threats from the fires. our town has been re-opened so everyone else has been coming home, nervously wondering if they will find their houses still standing, or just piles of rubble.

our camera has run out of batteries and we haven't been able to find the right kind, so no new pictures. we're looking at another possible place to live this afternoon....right now rentals are getting quite scarce, since those who lost their homes need a place to live as well. packing up with a baby around is quite the challenge, so i probably won't be blogging for awhile, as we get ready to move. thanks again for all of your prayers.

fire, fire everywhere

just wanted to let you know that our family is safe and our home is still intact at this point. our town was given a mandatory evacutation order, but we decided to stay for a few reasons. so far the fires haven't closed off our one remaining "escape route" we have a close friend who's husband is a firefighter who will let us know if we need to leave, as well as next door neighbors who have also stayed and are monitoring the situation. the air quality is quite bad, so we're stuck indoors all day, but i thank God that the three of us are together and safe. thanks for your prayers. here's some information from another source. i think this was the situation yesterday:

WITCH CREEK FIRE:
The latest update from CALFIRE reports the fire is now 145,000 acres and zero percent contained. The cause is under investigation.
• 600 structures have been destroyed (500 residences, 50 outbuildings, 100 commercial properties)• 300 structures have been damaged (250 residences, 75 commercial properties and 50 outbuildings)• Seven injuries to firefighters; one civilian injury
The fire is threatening the communities of San Diego, Poway, Ramona, Escondido, Lakeside, Valley Center, San Marcos, Rancho Santa Fe. Currently, about 625 firefighters are battling the blaze using 89 engines, nine fire crews, ten dozers and two water tenders.
HARRIS FIRE:
The Harris Fire has now burned 22,000 acres and is five percent contained. Some civilians have chosen not to evacuate and have created rescue problems as the fire impacts their community.
• Five firefighters injured; one civilian fatality, six civilians injured• The cost to date to fight this fire is $1,300,000
The fire is threatening the communities of Potrero, Barrett Junction, Barrett Lake area, Engineer Springs, Dulzura, Deerhorn Valley, Lawson Valley, Jamul, Lyons Valley area and Otay Mountain, and extreme fire conditions are making conditions difficult.

thanks for your prayers! they have been felt. God is surrounding us with His peace and comfort.

a new mom's attempt at survival part VI: flying alone with a baby

so far it's been one of those nights where i'm just falling asleep when i hear tristan's cries...jolted wide awake, i go to his room to comfort him until he drifts off into a troubled sleep. he's still feeling poorly and i'm not sure if he's teething or what is going on. he has a persistant cough which disturbs his (and my) sleep, but the dr. said its nothing to worry about. and so instead of going back to my nice, warm bed where i will inevitably be jolted wide awake yet again, i chose to blog for a bit where i won't mind the interruptions as much.



speaking of the doctor, tristan had his checkup on tuesday. he is 23lb 7oz and 31in long. i thought for sure he'd weigh over 25lbs because my arms feel like they're going to snap off whenever i pick him up! he now will hold only one of our hands while walking around the house, as long as his other hand is holding onto a toy. i think he could probably take a few steps on his own already, but i don't think he has quite enough confidence yet. he's not pulling himself up at all, or crawling, or cruising around furniture. i'm diligently using signs with him as much as i can, but no results there yet either. we're really enjoying this stage, though because he's not fully into everything yet and he is just SO much fun! his smiles are so contagious.



we've been looking around for a place to move into, and for awhile i was feeling a little desperate because NOTHING was available that was within our price range and big enough to fit us all! however, since yesterday we have found a few reasonable leads, so at least we know we won't be homeless on december 1st! it's a bit difficult to see places that are much smaller and not nearly as nice as the place we're in now, and know that they'd cost us more money than we're paying now! but we're trying to get over that fact and keep an open mind and trust that God will open the right doors for us.



okay, so the airplane story i wanted to tell you....its not nearly as great as lori's airplane stories, but it will have to do. on the way up to canada, tristan was sick. in fact, once we had boarded and i was seatbelted in with tristan on my lap, i noticed a foul odour. looking around me, i noticed that most people were glaring in my direction. the plane hadn't begun to move yet, so i hurridly grabbed a diaper and some wipes and rushed tristan to the miniscule bathroom. the changing table was directly under the ceiling of the bathroom, and poor little tristan barely fit on it! as i began changing him, he began screaming and that's when i noticed that it wasn't just run of the mill poop we were talking about; it was full on sick baby poop. runnier than i wanted it to be. it had leaked through his diaper and onto his clothes and of COURSE i hadn't thought to bring a change of clothes with me into the bathroom! so, with tristan screaming his head off, i used every single wipe i had brought with me, stripped him down, and carried him back to my seat naked except for his clean diaper. as i sat down, the stewardess hissed into my ear "did you put that dirty diaper into a plastic bag before throwing it away?" "no". (big sigh) "well, i guess i'm going to have to fish it out then!" i felt awful, but thankfully i had the nicest lady sitting next to me who was such a help. her name was donna and i think she was my personal angel. that same stewardess, by the way, walked right into tristan's head as i was nursing him and she didn't even say sorry! tristan had a fever during the flight, but thankfully i had thought to pack some infant tylenol into my carry on, so by the time we landed, he was smiling at everyone on board!

fast forward to the flight home... even though i prayed hard that i would be seated next to a nice lady again, we were unfortunately seated next to a very large middle aged man who seemingly had no sense of humour and no fondness for children. tristan happily played on my lap for the first half of the flight, smiling up at the man every once in awhile, but the man never smiled back and acted annoyed whenever tristan's arm or leg happened to bump into his leg (which, by the way was on my side of the seat!) i really had to use the restroom, but didn't have a clue what i was going to do with tristan...there was no way i could comprehend bringing him in there with me! the flight attendants were busy handing out drinks, so i finally just got up, plopped tristan down into my seat surrounded by chew toys and went to the bathroom! when i got back, only minutes later, i nearly laughed out loud. there was tristan stretched out on my seat with his head resting on the unfriendly man's leg. he was holding onto the man's thumb with his fist, while waving it about and shouting gleefully. the expression on the man's face was priceless. he looked like he'd rather be swimming in shark infested waters than sitting where he was. i gave him a big smile and said "thanks for watching my boy!" then picked up my son and gave him oodles of kisses, showering him with the attention he deserved.

all's quiet now in the house and i'm going to crawl back into my warm bed. sweet dreams..

Morning by morning I wake up to find

The power and comfort of God's hand in mine.

Season by season I watch Him amazed,

In awe of the mystery of His perfect ways.

All I have need of His hand will provide.

He's always been faithful to me.

~

I can't remember a trial or a pain

He did not recycle to bring me gain.

I can't remember one single regret

In serving God only and trusting His hand.

All I have need of His hand will provide

He's always been faithful to me.

~

This is my anthem, this is my song,

The theme of the stories I've heard for so long

God has been faithful, He will be again.

His loving compassion, it knows no end.

All I have need of His hand will provide

He's always been faithful to me.

~

~He's always been Faithful ~ Sara Groves

our week away

thank you for all of your kind words of encouragement. this morning i was struggling with anxious thoughts when thinking about how we would find a new place in time. God gave me the words to a song called "He's always been Faithful", which was sung at our wedding. if we never went through bumps in the road, then His faithfulness would never be shown! i know He'll take care of us.

as i've already said, our trip to canada was Wonderful! despite the nearly constant drizzle of rain and of tristan's nose, we had a thoroughly relaxing and enjoyable time. of course, a visit to house of james was mandatory, as was a trip to my favorite clothing store, jacob. i was able to see a few friends, lots of family and many brilliantly colored fall leaves. tristan enjoyed his first canadian thanksgiving dinner with my family, making a great big mess out of his turkey and yams.

on a rainy friday, tristan and i went with my mom and sister to fort langley where they were celebraing their annual cranberry festival. it was quite chilly out, so we warmed ourselves up with homemade borscht and biscuits in a quaint little bakery called tracy cakes. we also ordered a dozen of these "babycakes" which were just as delicious as they look!

my mom and i have always agreed that when it comes to going out shopping for a day, the most important part of that day is lunchtime :)

there were 2 sunny days during our visit when my aching eyes were thrilled to see mount baker unveiled in all its snow covered glory. this concord grapevine winds its way around my parents sun deck. my dad uses these grapes to make his famous grape juice, which was served at our wedding.

the biggest highlight of our week away was spending time with my immediate family. that's my older brother andy with his 3 year old daughter sarah. andy and cara and sarah spent tuesday with us, which was so lovely. sarah is a quiet and gentle little girl, who rewarded me with smiles and words by the end of the evening. in the background, you can see part of my younger brother, james. he was one of tristan's favorite playmates, never tiring of walking him around the house. james also introduced me to one of his rpg's (role playing games) which was actually quite hilarious and fun. my dad had 4 days off while we were there, and tristan was quite taken by his grandad, sitting on his lap and giggling away at him. of course, my younger sister cherie was also a hit, as always. she took many of the pictures you'll see on tristan's blog.

i have a story about our flight home, but that will have to wait for another post. i'm going to rest and enjoy the rest of my saturday before the stress of having to pack up our house overcomes me.

change

we arrived back home on wednesday and had an EXCELLENT time away. however it was so great to see josh again and settle back into the regular routine. the day after we arrived (yesterday) our landlords asked us to move. this came as a huge shock to us. we have LOVED living here for the past 2 1/2 years and were not planning on leaving so soon. i cried pretty much the whole morning, then got ahold of myself and started praying hard that we'll find a new place by december 1st, which is when we have to be gone. so the search is on for a new home for our little family. please join us in prayer that God will open the doors for us to find the right place.

i will blog more about our canadian trip later. right now i need to go to bed :)

we made it!

new pictures and videos (yay for high speed internet!!) on tristan's picture blog :) we've been enjoying the crisp fall weather and warm hospitality in my hometown. despite a trying plane ride with a sick little boy, the rest of our vacation has gone without a hitch. thankfully, tristan is beginning to feel much better and is letting me get some rest at night. we miss josh terribly, though....i keep thinking about what he might be doing back home. we still have thanksgiving dinner to look forward to as well as re-uniting with tristan's cousin sarah and seeing lots of family on sunday at my aunt's house. the days are really just flying by! will post more when i can..