Samuel found Candy

Notice - he is once again wearing Moey's boxer shorts. Also in the back ground is our back yard. The dirt path was a three foot deep dig so we could bury water lines to the garage and garden. Mike and I are rather eager for next year's gardening season!

More cute pictures of Samuel

After Shot of Living Room

I realized I never shared an after shot of our living room. It is quite bland. I feared if I painted the walls a color too different from the couch, then the huge sectional would be too over-powering. My hope is that the two of them blend in a bit, which they do, but now the room really lacks color.

We need either lots of fancy pillows on the couch, tossing out the standard ones that came with the couch, or big luscious drapes. It just might be a crime to cover the woodwork though, although I suppose the drapes could be hung high and wide. I had thought some pictures along both sides of the windows would be nice too, but now I think they are a bit too small. I need lamps too, but of course, all of this will come in time. The room is much more welcoming now.

Prayer for Franny

Friends! Please send up a prayer for Franny - she has a mysterious physical "thorn." Although I would ask for complete healing, peace would come most abundantly if she had answers to the cause of this mystery as well. Her physicians need prayer for wisdom! I suspect when she is able, she'll update her blog. Stay posted.

More fun words...

Another fun word I always forget to use when it might be appropriate...dichotomy. Isn't that a fun word to say? Although, it does seem to be the buzz word in maternal and child health, so is loosing its pizazz.

Mike has been telling me lately that he has had an "epiphany." Love it! His last epiphany was that sometimes when I get irritable, it is just that I need help with the daily tasks and am a bit over-whelmed. Twelve years into the relationship, it is better for the epiphany to come late then never at all, huh!?

Samuel's vocabulary continues to grow and of course, he seems to ask "why" much more frequently. He even adds the hand gestures, so he really does wonder. Yesterday the massage therapist was here giving us all massages and Samuel wanted to know why she was doing that, why, why? Last night as he was getting boobie, completely asleep, I whispered in his ear that Mommy needed to get up and go pee. He let go, rolled back without opening his eyes and asked, "Why?"

Noah has always had a fun vocabulary. One of his first words was "aggravate." I remember one of the ladies at church watching him when he was very little and was completely astonished that he could say such a big word at his age. I responded that I think it reflected more on our ornery family than on our intelligence! We are always aggravating each other!

Catching up in Law School...

Well, I am thoroughly enjoying law school, but it is very time intensive. The style of studying is very different than midwifery. It seems like I can't study on the run, packing my books with me. I need to brief cases and create outlines, all of which require the computer. We don't have a lap top, although I suppose I could blow the cob webs off my PDA and use that. Several times I have contemplated putting law school on hold and trying it again a few years in the future, but then I take a quiz "just to see how I'll do" and I ace it without having given it the attention I really wanted to. I think the Lord is building my confidence. Realizing He is clearly telling me to move forward, I had to go back to the beginning and start all over so I didn't miss anything in my apathy. I know these good scores are short-lived. I am now a few modules behind, but am catching up quickly.

Often I find interesting information or quotes while I am studying that I think I need to add to the blog, but there simply isn't enough time in the day. I have enjoyed reading the history of law, the anthropological findings and underlying social values that shape law. I really have a new perspective of what society perceives of lawyers and justice, and really what the essence of the role is, which are on really polar opposites.

More recently, I found interesting a discussion about how feminist social values have, or rather haven't, shaped today's justice system. Women haven't given a voice. For example, concerning contracts, women see society and contractual relations within society in a relational tapestry rather than in sharply defined rights and wrongs. Another thought regarding feminist views is that law has traditionally treated issues that have mattered most to women as outside the law of contract. Feminists might argue for a greater role for enforceable contracts between spouses.

Interesting thoughts. I still have no idea really where this education will take me, as it wouldn't surprise me at all if it leads me down a very different path than I was visioning. Blessings!

Mike's Birthday

Noah spent a few hour decorating the house for Mike when he came home on his birthday. He did an amazing job! He blew up balloons and because he couldn't tie the knots, he used clothes pins to seal them shut. He hung streamers in each doorway with masking tape. He had banners and confetti all over the table. Excellent job and he was quite proud of himself. He has always put a lot of time into everyone's special days. He is very sensitive and insightful. He'll make a great husband.

Keely made Mike a birthday cake - white cake with lots of chocolate frosting. This came after a huge seasoned chicken, baked potatoes, homemade canned green beans and rolls. Scrump-delli-licious, Keely! She even made his chosen lunch - fish sticks and Parmesan noodles. Yuck! Keely and I had vegetable soup, which she also made from scratch! Amazing young woman, huh?

Our gift to Mike was a deep utility sink for the garage, with hoses and a removable nozzle. We just had a water-line put in from the house to the garden and garage. Mike is quite excited and next year's gardening will be WONDERFUL! Of course, we also got him a musical birthday card. Those have become a necessity for everyone's birthday in our family.

We didn't get enough pictures because we stayed busy all day, but here are a few. Enjoy!

I should note, Samuel has really taken to wearing Noah's boxer shorts or just his plain old underwear over his diaper. I wonder if that's a sign that he's thinking of potty-training?

Happy Birthday Mike!!!

Christmas Planning....

I can't believe it is that time of year again. The JC Penney catalog arrived the other day and the kids curled up just like my sister and I use to, with a pen to circle all the things they wanted Santa to be sure they wanted.

Samuel wants anything and everything Elmo. He likes anything with wheels and really wants his own computer. Books are right up there with Elmo, especially books with touchy, feely areas or flaps or even books with baby animals or just babies!

Noah grabbed his pen and was circling too. He likes smart toys. Things he can be active with. He is the fun one to buy for because he wants the toys I use to imagine. Of course he wants a computer too.

Keely has asked for a few things, but didn't circle any of the toys in the JC Penney catalog. I guess that means she has officially grown up. She wants a rumor cell phone, a new ipod, and clothes.

Subtracting...?

The kids were asking me tonight if my overdue mom was ever going to have her baby. I said, "Yeah, she called about an hour ago and was contracting." Noah acted shocked and I said, "You were in here when she called."

He said, "Yeah, but I didn't know she was subtracting!"

I replied, "Noah. She she isn't subtracting. She is multiplying!"

What I've learned in law school...

I thought this was brillant...another pearl from law school.

"Wisdom too often never comes, and so one ought not to reject it merely because it comes late." (Justice Frankfurter, nd)

This sounds like a perfect response to those families that say, "Well, we understand that circumcision isn't medically indicated, but we circumcised our first son and don't want them to be different." I have told families that I was once in the same circumstance but felt convicted that I needed to teach my children when I learned better, I did better. My son has said about his circumcision, "Mom just didn't know any better back then!"

No disrespect to those that choose to do so because of religious or cultural convictions.

Samuel loves the camera...

Samuel absolutely loves the camera, having his picture taken, watching the slide shows on the computer. When he is particulary onry we can sit him in front of the computer and him and Noah will look at pictures of themselves. He often says he wants to see pictures of just himself, "Me!" Yesterday he took my camera and sat on the floor for a long time playing with it - gently. I had about twenty blurry pictures of his toes. Below is a picture Samuel took of himself.

Keely and her Friends

Keely has made some new friends this year in 4-H. The picture of her above is her new friend Julia, who is new to homeschooling this year. They have been attending Wednesday night bible study and fifth quarter together. Stephanie and Leanne are also new friends of Keely's this year, although they aren't pictured. All of them are in dog obedience and Junior Leaders. Keely sweet talked her Dad into getting a bunny from Stephanie and Leanne a few weekends ago and plans to enter than in 4-H next year too. We'll have to add a picture later.

Moey...

Samuel has become Noah's little parrot. He copies everything Noah does and says. Adorable. At this point, Noah is flattered, but soon I think his appreciation will fade to annoyance because Samuel is quite persistent.

Samuel calls Keely - KeKe or Sissy, and Noah either Bubbie or Moah. Lately he has been calling him Moey, because that seems to flow easily following Mommy and Daddy. Samuel's absolute favorite thing to do is read. His first real sentence was, "Moey read book."

New Semester

Time has flown by and with the crazy new demands of the new semester, I have neglected posting to the blog. As you know, I've started law school, which really threw me for a loop initially. The study methods are entirely different than what I was use to in my previous programs. I was expecting to be told the rules and then challenged to apply them, which is nursing school style. Law school however, offers you cases and then you have to find the rules, elements of argument and figure out yourself what is important to know. I am studying torts, criminal law, contracts, and legal writing. Each are quite interesting, so we'll see what catches my fancy as the year progresses.

I have resigned from my teaching position. Much like my transition from midwifery to law school tossed me out of my element, teaching in a direct entry program was an enormous stretch from my Nurse Midwifery background. Nurse Midwifery school is hard. The profession holds an enormous amount of responsibility. I don't think a single classmate of mine ever thought the program would be easy or that she wouldn't have to work her fanny off, making enormous sacrifices to succeed. Many did not succeed and I don't think Frontier was at all apologetic. They expected excellent midwives and felt a duty to those families that would eventually be served by the midwives they created. More than a bedside attendant, they expected professionals in every respect of the word - professional communicators, professional writers, reseachers, and business women. I am grateful for the high standards because I have confidence in my training and the care I provide today. I think my assumption that graduate level work in all midwifery programs, whether that be Nurse Midwifery or direct midwifery, would be challenging and of high standard was far from reality. The greatest lesson I have learned and with which I need to remind myself prior to utilizing my law degree is that along with high standards and clear ethical principles, I really hold a lot of weight in enjoying the time I spend with my co-workers. I tend to "tough it out" way longer than is acceptable for my own sanity. Admittedly, I likely make it tough on those I work with longer than is acceptable for their sanity!

Giving up that responsibility - teaching twelve credit hours, writing curriculum, and working as a thesis advisor for five students - has really allowed me an enormous amount of stress relief. I feel a great deal less anxiety towards my own practice demands, homeschooling and have really found joy in studying law. Mike and I, along with the help of a client's family, have painted the living room and homeschool room. Mike painted the porch and replaced the porch lights. We are painting the bookshelves for the kid's school room. We have shampooed the carpets and laid down 15 yards of mulch, which a huge pile to still spread in our driveway. We enjoyed the Turning Leaves Festival and once again, sold some things in a garage sale (earning only half as much as last year, but I think sold twice as much). The kids are enjoying hip hop, junior leaders and martial arts. Samuel is speaking in sentences now! This past week, I have caught three babies and this next weekend, we are hosting our first annual celebration picnic for Believe.