Solace (and help for baby Imogen)

Are you looking Mama? It is time for... a sand/mud bath. Quite proud of himself.

I am sure you have seen the forest fire destroying a large portion of our favorite Oregon places on the news. It blows my mind and saddens my heart to see so much destruction. Even here on the coast the smoke has covered the sun for days, casting an eerie light on everything. Praying for more rain to help us out!

A compassionate, loving mama that I know is pregnant with a baby girl. I say I know her, but really we have never met in person. She is someone that I used to chat with frequently back when I first started blogging. I haven't been in contact with her in quite awhile but reconnected when I heard the news of her baby. The doctors have told her from very early on in her pregnancy that the baby girl would not make it once she was outside of the womb. Further testing has shown this to be true. I strongly believe in misdiagnoses as well as miracles but there is a big chance this mama will only get to hold her angel baby for a short while. I am on the opposite coast wanting to do something, ANYTHING to help both mother and baby. I felt utterly helpless but then I decided something feasible that I could so would be to knit something to wrap them in. So they feel love surrounding them. I thought this might be beautiful so this mama knows that her baby's life is cherished and celebrated but also something for her to wrap herself in to comfort her through such a painful time. A prayer shawl seemed just the thing. I chose the yarn very carefully. I remember this mama loving brighter colors and this yarn has been in my stash since C was tiny, hand spun by one of the sweetest mamas I know. I have been hanging on to it myself because I love it so much and was hoping to use it for my own baby girl someday...but this is so much of an important reason to gift it. I hope this small gesture brings some solace and covers them both with my love.

Please friends, I ask that you join me in praying (and sending love) for these two beautiful souls and continue the prayers for the upcoming weeks as baby's due date (full term) draws near. She also has a Go Fund Me page set up to help out with funeral expenses among other things. If you feel so inclined to help out in that way, I know it would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you all!

ETA: They are also in the path or Hurricane Irma which may make baby arrive sooner!

Solace (and help for baby Imogen)

The Buddy Bond

I mentioned on Instagram that my family and I were in Portland recently for a short day trip. K's beloved 8th grade buddy was graduating from high school so we wanted to make sure we were there for such an important event. K was thrilled at the thought of seeing her buddy - they still have such a special bond and K really looks up to her like a big sister. They hadn't seen one another since our last visit to Portland in 2015. She was so excited that she hardly slept a wink the night before.

We spent the days before the trip in preparation. I finished up K's dress that she requested while she sewed a gift bag for her buddy with the leftover fabric. She then tucked her most treasured nature finds into the bag, including a whole sand dollar that she found on the beach here. After she finished her treasure bag she clipped a baby spider plant from her special spider plant (she received from her 1st grade teacher on her very first day of school) and gently placed it in a pot with fresh soil and worm castings. She also picked the first rose to bloom at our house just before we left to give with her gifts.

K patiently sat through the three hour long graduation ceremony (unlike her brother that I ended up taking outside to play) and then waited in quite a long line before she was finally reunited with her buddy. Well worth the wait, of course! I hadn't seen K so happy in ages. They were able to catch up a bit and even discuss having some time together before college. K was absolutely glowing by the end of their time together. What a precious gift her buddy is to her (and the rest of us)!

K as a first grader and her 8th grade buddy then: And now:

The Buddy Bond

For them

Above photos to give you an idea of scale. We knits hats from micro-preemie size up to newborn. The hat C is holding on the left is a newborn size. The hat she is holding on the right is about 18 weeks gestation.
Last summer my friend's baby boy was born sleeping. I felt like my heart broke into a million pieces hearing her story. I can not imagine the pain that she went through/is going through. She mentioned to me that one comfort she has is the tiny knit hat and blanket he was presented to her in.

A couple of weeks back the same friend told me about a knitting event being hosted by Abigail's Hope. Their mission is to bless families through the heartbreak of losing their precious baby in utero with gifts that will help them heal and feel loved. Abigail's Hope provides handmade baby hats, blankets, books and other items to grieving families. As soon as she told me about this event I knew I needed to help and my girls would want to as well.

Weaving prayers into each and every stitch, my girls and I knit for them. We knit for the babies that never had a chance to gaze up into their mother's loving eyes, and for the mothers that will forever have an empty space in their hearts. I hope our act of love can bring at least the smallest bit of comfort to the parents, letting them know that their baby is loved, and so are they.

p.s. - I didn't get a chance to photograph all the hats we knit before giving them to Abigail's Hope but we had a good amount. C and I have decided to continue our efforts and knit as many as we can.

For them

Blessing of the Animals

{feast of St. Vincent De Paul}
{feast of St. Francis}

As I am finalizing the last minute details before our trip I thought I would share some photographs from the past couple of weeks. The first batch is from the feast day of St. Vincent De Paul. We (coincidentally) volunteered at the St. Vincent De Paul food bank that day along with some other homeschooling families. C and K were thrilled at the prospect of helping others but L wasn't quite as sure about the work involved. As soon as he started filling up boxes full of food for families in need though he changed his tune. I rather thought he would. C truly had a blast and was grinning ear to ear the whole time. As we left she told me, "It really is so much better to give than to receive!".  I had been saying that I want us to do more for our community and this just further persuaded me that we need to. I am trying to make it a regular thing now for us.

The second batch of photographs is from the feast of St. Francis. We took a family walk to attend the blessing of the animals. It was quite the hard decision to pick which of our animals to bring. In the end we brought our dog Beowulf and our cat Simpkin (K pushed her in a stroller - what a sight that must have been for people driving by). Father blessed them both and Beowulf showed his gratitude by gently hopping up on him. He only does that to Kevin so that was quite special indeed.

See you back in this space soon - hopefully with lots of photographs from the festival!

Blessing of the Animals

Milestone

Almost two months after the fact - I am finally able to get this post together! Our dear friends came out from Oregon for a week to be post-partum doulas. I was rather in an awful way when they came, not knowing anyone around here and really feeling the weight of not having my community back home. Our sweet friends lifted our spirits and grounded my mind. It felt like they brought the love of everyone in Portland with them. Words would never do justice to how grateful I am for them and their generosity.

My wonderful friend Holly is a baby (and child) whisperer, I swear! I warned her about Baby F's colic but once she arrived you would have thought I was lying. He was so at ease and content in her loving arms (can't you see it in those photos?!) She even got Little L to allow her to cut his hair - something I had been trying to do for months. I need to get her to teach me her ways.

Then of course there was her incredibly thoughtful daughter D with us, making my three older children full of smiles and happiness they haven't felt in quite some time. She is the closest in age to K but C and L love her just as much. She taught K how to sew on the sewing machine as well as how to free mount her unicycle.

But one of the biggest parts of their trip to see us was a pretty big milestone in K and D's lives, in my humble opinion. They got their ears pierced together. K has been waiting for this day for a long time but I wanted to make sure she was old enough to fully understand all the aspects of such a big decision and to be certain it was something she really wanted. After all, she would have the holes the rest of her life. Holly and I planned it all out ahead of time and I found a piercer in Boise who was reputable with children. In Portland that isn't hard to find, in fact there are quite a few of them, but it was quite the task finding one here. I am so very glad I took the time to ask around because we found Colby at Radiant Body Piercing. He didn't bat an eye when we showed up to our appointment with five children in tow or when Baby F cried (for almost the whole visit). He made the girls, who were full of nerves and excitement, feel at ease and was incredibly friendly, patient, gentle and fast. The girls were so brave and are extremely happy with their piercings. We couldn't have asked for a better experience. I know the girls will remember it their whole life. If you happen to live in the state of Idaho I have to say make the drive to go see him - he is so worth it!

We celebrated their big milestone by going out to BBQ4Life (we lovingly nicknamed it Vegan BBQ) afterwards. Oh what fun was had! What a night!! We will never forget this visit. Thank you, thank you dear friends for being your awe inspiring selves. WE LOVE YOU!

Milestone