Summer and Berries

What fun we've had the past few days...picking raspberries in the evening sun last night and blueberries in the early morning hours this morning. Our girl ran up and down the rows eating as much of the berries as she could and we enjoyed good friends, good food, and great conversation. Can summer get any better!

Bottling Beer

Hello all...

I just had to add a post about Finn and Jeremiah bottling his home brew tonight. First they inspect the bottles...she looks at each one while squinting her whole face...then hands it off to papa for further inspection. Then they take the brew to the bath tub where they clean the carboys...again she inspects everything and takes it back to the kitchen. Then it's bottled and she helps place each cap perfectly on top of the bottles. She's the only soon to be 3 year old who loves to bottle beer and hang out at the brew shop while papa has his home brew club meetings. She knows right where the toys are at the shop and play happily while they discuss home brewing. Finn is definitely a papa's girl. I love the two of them.

Limpet Is Officially A BOY

We had our 32 week ultrasound and all was well.  Our doctor has ordered an ultrasound for 32 and 36 weeks to double check that our little guy is putting on weight (his sister was a bit petite) and their are no placental abruptions from the accident.  The worry has been that a small one could have existed but gone undetected until the placenta got larger with baby.  I'm proud to report all is well.  All his measurements were perfect and we noticed he is in fact a boy.  At our 20 week ultrasound the tech told us Limpet was a boy but their is always a chance of error...but at our ultrasound last week we discovered their is no room for error :)  So far he looks just like his sister...same nose and chin and head. 

All is well in our world.  Jeremiah got a new job at CBI (Conservation Biology Institute) and is really enjoying it.  Finn and I are settling back into a routine where papa is gone all day...hard but we're getting used to it again.  That's when we all wish we were independently wealthy and he could be home with us everyday. 

My work is going well...slow at times and fast at others.  As the pregnancy progresses I find I need a few more naps than I used to so I have to be more organized to get everything done in a day.  That's when I really rely on Jeremiah.

I had an amazing baby shower last week and a fabulous mummy shower last Friday.  My best girlfriend Kai put it on for me...women visiting...good food...and a fabulous atmosphere.

Finn is still riding horses and loving it.  She's getting ready to turn 3 next month...where has the time gone.  She had her first Urgent Care experience last week.   While at the garden plot she fell with a hand trowel and cut not only her finger but took part of the nail with it...ouch.  Papa scooped her and a queezy mummy up and we all went to the urgent care.  She was so brave...and her papa showed his amazing fathering skills.  What a great father I have chosen for my children...I'm amazed everyday. 

Love to you all!

Some very busy days...

We've been pretty busy these last several days (when aren't we, I guess) but we've also been having a pretty great time.

Last week, Finn could hardly wait to get back out to Trish and Roger's farm to ride Riggins the horse ("with the purple sadd-oh" [saddle], she says). Sure enough, as soon as we got out there, she promptly asked to ride Riggins and use the purple saddle (it's actually just a riding pad but she loves it). And she wanted me (Papa) to walk Riggins around (Trish usually does for the first little bit). So we called all the horses up from the pasture, saddled Riggins up and walked over to the riding arena.

Without skipping a beat, she asked to be hoisted up and off we went, her happy as a clam, me leading Riggins around (we're still getting used to each other out but have developed a nice, respecting relationship), and mummy nervously watching as I led them around the arena.

Then, perhaps in an act of defiance since we called him up from pasture and saddled him up BEFORE giving him grain, Riggins decided to trot rather than walk as I'd asked him to. So there's mummy standing very nervously by the fence, Finn looking a little uncertain and me trying to get Riggins to mind. After Riggins and I worked it out, Finn got back up on him again as Trish had just returned with a camera to take some pics. I've included a pic here but you can view all of them on this Picasa web album (http://picasaweb.google.com/jeremiahosbornegowey/TheFarm?feat=directlink).

Friday, after several exhausting marathon days working on a proposal (prospective job), I decided to take the day to "relax". And by relax, I mean "do all the outdoor chores that had been piling up". But the day's activities hinged around making another batch of homebrew (this one an Imperial Red-Rye). It was my second all-grain batch and I've been learning a lot with every brewing session. Since so much of the time is spent waiting for water to boil, or grains to steep, or proteins to rest, or enzymes to break down, I had the chance to clean the gutters for summer, pot several more hops rhizomes (hops are the herbs that give beer its bitterness and impart floral/citrus aromas to balance out the malty sweetness), move the greenhouse to let the grass grow, mow the yard, get some more veggie starts going, organize my brewing supplies, and build a new-fangled hops trellis for the roof. A busy day for sure.

On Saturday, while Cat was participating in the 5K CARDV (Center Against Rape and Domestic Violence) with some girlfriends, Finn and I helped dig camas bulbs to bake for the annual OSU Native American Longhouse Salmon Bake. We've been digging camas bulbs for the event for several years but this was the first year Cat had another prior engagement. We missed her dearly but had a great time anyway. Camas bulbs are a traditional PNW tribal food staple and, when baked, taste something akin to a starchy onion (think potato and onion cross). The property we dug on this year was VERY soggy and we got covered in mud but enjoyed ourselves tremendously. Finn had a blast walking around to all the different diggers but had a particular fondness for a few of the ladies...and they, too, were enthralled with her (go figure, eh?!). I dug about 150 bulbs (and have a blister to show for it) of various sizes and had a great time making with new friends. Later in the day, after her 5K walk, Cat was able to join us for lunch (what a treat!). We were invited to stick around for a sweat in the sweatlodge later that afternoon but we headed home, all exhausted from the day's outings, as Finn was in desparate need of a nap (which lasted until nearly 6pm!; perhaps we'll sweat with them in two weeks time...). Later that evening, Finn and I got out the crepe paper, scissors, crayons, markers, pencils, pens and tape. We made mummy a very special Mother's Day card and wrapped a few presents (bird feeders). What fun!...

Sunday morning, Cat got up early for her early morning walk (ritual) with Quinn and Finn and I snuck out of the house, walked down the street to a friend's house, and picked some beautifully dark purple (almost black) lilacs. I made her a special breakfast of tarragon egg puffs, yogurt and a scone from the local food co-op. We spent a wonderful day together playing the yard and gardening but the previous day's activities caught up to us both and we took a marvelous short nap together while Finn napped. A wonderful day indeed!

Wow...it's been way too long since we've updated our blog. Well, for those who don't already know we are having a boy! He's due August 10th...but his sister was due August 3rd and came July 11th so who knows. We've been wanting to post our ultrasound pics but we've been having technical difficulties. Things are going well...Finn is growing so fast and talking all the time...she loves to say "mummy let's have a conversation". We've had a great start to our mothers day weekend...I walked the 5K family violence/domestic violence prevention walk with a girl friend and her mom this morning while Finn and Jeremiah dug camas with the Native American Longhouse for the Salmon Bake on Wednesday.


I'll try to update with new pictures today...but the sun is out so I might have to go plant flowers...we'll see.

Stay Tuned...

On March 11th we will know the gender of our little Limpet...as soon as we know we'll post and let you all know.

Our Faith Restored in Humanity

For those of you who don't know two weeks ago our family, while on vacation in California, was hit by a drunk driver. After a visit to the emergency room our family is all fine, I was checked out the most since I'm pregnant and the impact with the seat belt caused small contractions. Unfortunately our car is not alright...it's totaled.

At first the woman who hit us took off and never stopped, she looked right at us and speed away. We limped our car off the road and sat there scared to death...me in contractions and Jeremiah trying to comfort me and Finn while calling the police. We were in a strange large city feeling like no one cared...boy were we wrong. Two amazing individuals restored our faith in human kindness. One man who witnessed the accident got the woman's plate numbers and pulled in behind us, called an ambulance for us, and stayed all through the event to make sure we were okay. Another man who witnessed the accident followed the drunk driver and pushed her into a parking lot, called the police, and stayed blocking her exit until they arrived.

These days it can often feel like we are all alone and no one cares but in that moment we had two individuals show us that we were not alone. We were able to get a copy of the police report last week and found both of their names and addresses and I plan to send a thank you card to them...they have no idea how their faces made us feel safe and not alone. I can't tell you how grateful we feel...how terrified we were. I haven't been so scared in my life. We sat in an emergency room, me crying, Jeremiah with huge eyes trying to get me seen... wondering if we would lose our baby. Thankfully we have also have an amazing family, Jeremiah's brother and sisters live in the area and took Finn for the evening, and our dogs who were also in the car, and allowed us to go to the hospital without scaring Finn more than she already was.

Hold your family close tonight and be glad for the little things...and know you are not alone in this world...we sure learned that.