August 9th, 2007

So, this was a first for me. I've always wanted to be a gardener, but have never taken the time to try to learn exactly how to become one. Well, our dear Meme who passed away 3 years ago was actually a Master Gardener (that's a real title for all of you who don't know much about gardening). She would volunteer time at the botanical gardens in Ft. Worth & had her own little green house in the back yard. Talk about a green thumb. Some of it rubbed off on Grandad & Lynn so I thought it would be a perfect opportunity while they were here to learn a little from them & for Lilyanah to get to play in the dirt. We spent hours the day after they got into town at Al's nursery in Sherwood looking for the perfect plants. I wished Will had been there with me to help pick but he sweetly said he trusted me so I was on my own. Grandad sat with Ethne at one of the outdoor tables they were selling & Lynn entertained Lilyanah, who loved the fountains. I think she would live in water if she could. She wore her new shoes from her mema that squeak whenever she puts pressure on the heel. It was nice to know where she was at all times without even having to look up! I'm not sure how much everyone around us liked them but they're pretty cute!
The sales people were very friendly & I was able to find plants that would do well in lots of sunlight & that wouldn't lose their leaves (evergreens). The crazy thing is I am NOT a fan of purple. I don't own a single piece of clothing with the color purple on it & don't buy any for the girls or Will (obviously). But the plants that I loved the most had purple flowers that grow on them. Most are a variation of Hebe. . . though I did get some heather & one lavender plant. I love dark, interesting leaves. . I still have to get 1 more plant but I'm not sure what I want yet so there's just a hole where a plant should be. And, I obviously still have some weeds to pull, good times. I can't say that Lilyanah was the most helpful but she had fun & that was the most important thing. On the way home from Al's we stopped at a local store to see if they had any gardening gloves Lilyanah sized. I had to get some groceries for dinner so Lynn & I went our separate ways. We came back together at the checkout line & her cart was full of gardening toys for Lilyanah. She got a little shovel & rake & a wheel barrel & one of those pads you kneel down on so you don't hurt your knees. . . have I mentioned that her mema spoils her!? But that's what grandparents are for, right?! The soil was rock hard so we had to saturate it with water & let it soak while we had lunch. Grandad did all the muscle work & dug the holes while we took turns planting & hauling away the dirt. Unfortunately we have lots of small holes hiding in the grass in the back yard that need to be filled in, so fortunately we were able to put the dirt we were digging up to use. Thank you Lynn & Grandad for coming to visit & helping us plant some pretty flowerbeds & for being so great! We really enjoyed the planting process & now we just have to make sure we don't kill our pretty plants! Slowly, but surely I will catch up & posts won't be about something that happened weeks ago! Love you all! ~Wendy.

On Saturday, August 4th, after we got back from the hospital Mom & Dad went to her 35-year Newberg High School class reunion! There were 65 people there, 40 of whom were classmates (out of a class of 210+. It was a very low-key, "no-host" gathering, and she really enjoyed it. (Note: the next weekend, August 10-11, was Dad's 35-year class reunion in Prineville. Dad and Mom also went to that and Dad found out some of his classmates memories about their friendship were decidedly different than his memory.)

Wednesday, August 8th was the day for guests~ My mother & granddad-in-law flew in from Oklahoma, my cousin, his wife & their son flew in from Mass. & my aunt's father & sister-in-law flew in from Missouri. I assume they flew. CRAZY! Unfortunately they also all left on the same day a week later! Anyway, it was the first time Grandad had been out to Oregon since Will & I got married almost 5 years ago! We had such a nice time, Lilyanah instantly took to her Mema who SHOWERED both the girls with gifts. But it was playing with Mema that Lilyanah loved the most. That's mostly what we did. We spent the afternoon on Thursday at a local nursery called Al's looking for the perfect plants to grow in our planter box & flower bed in front of the house. I have lots of pictures from that so that will be a separate post. On Friday Will picked up his sister, Michelle from the airport. She flew in from Texas & once she got there the games began!Will's family, like mine loves to play card games. Unlike mine, they stay up until the wee hours of the night playing. Something I'm not quite as good at since having children. But we always have such a good time. We played a lot of Round House Rummy & Hand & Foot. And I must say we women got stomped at both games, every single time. The visit ended way too quickly, we were just so glad that they made the trip to come see us. As parents we know it's mostly about the kids now. Isn't it funny how we're the main attraction to our parents until our kiddos come & then we become sidekicks!? Of course we don't mind, we love our kids more than life & love that they are loved by others too. We are so blessed that our girls are so loved by our entire family, we couldn't ask for a bigger blessing! The night before Lynn & Grandad left (early early in the morning), we took a couple of pictures of the girls with their only great-grandparents! What a treasure these pictures are to have! I had to include the one too of just Ethne & Grandad it looks like he has her smiling! Love you all! ~Wendy.

Hospital Visits 1 & 2

The 29th of July I had my first CT scan since before we found out we were pregnant with little Ethne. CT days are not fun for me. I can forget for the 4 months in between scans that I ever had cancer. God completely healed me, all I have to remind me that I did is pictures & of course memories. But even my memories seem like they happened in a different lifetime. If I'm being honest (which I try to be always, I know it always sounds funny when someone says, 'honestly' as if they aren't usually honest. Okay, off the subject.) Anyway, I am afraid of getting cancer again. I know that God could heal me if I were to get cancer 100 times, but that doesn't mean I want Him to have that opportunity! I'd had a little bit of pain in my abdomen & was a little concerned that it may be cancer pain so I think we were all a little bit nervous to hear the results this time around. Thank the Lord we found out I am still cancer free!
I don't think I've blogged this but I have told some of you. There are companies these days that will actually 'store' your child's umbilical cord because the stem cells in it can help cure diseases etc. . . Well, it's a CRAZY expensive investment, typically a couple of thousand dollars. But, apparently because I had cancer we were able to store Ethne's for a only $150. So, basically that means if I DO get cancer again she could have her chance to save my life by using the cells they collected from her cord. I hope that won't be necessary, but what a gift to have that resource available if we need it.
On August 4th we spent the day at the Beaverton Kaiser with Ethne. She hadn't eaten very well during the night & in the morning whenever she was moved even a tiny bit she would let out a very pained cry. I don't like hearing that cry! She broke the 100 mark with her temperature & when I talked to the advice nurse she suggested bringing her in. No little baby should have to go through the few tests that they ran on her. I won't mention a couple of them but she had to have her blood drawn from her little arm & an x-ray done on her abdomen. No one found anything. I think it was something with her digestion. I know we probably could not have gone in but after cancer we don't have the typical mindset of 'oh, it's probably nothing', we know it could be something & just want to make sure it's not. The picture of Will & Ethne (completely covered by the blanket)is precious to me because it was toward the end of our day at the hospital & Ethne had fallen asleep on Will's chest. And my strong, rock of a husband sat there holding her so close broken because his little girl was hurting & he couldn't do anything to help her. It may sound 'not nice' that I think that's precious, I guess it's just a testament to how much he loves his girls. By the next day Ethne was a lot better, so no worries. . . So my question, when is the last time you had to go to the hospital for something that was wrong with you, and what was wrong? Thanks again to all of you who comment, I love reading what you have to say! ~Love you all! Wendy.

Corey's Birthday Celebration

My little brother turned 29 years old on the 28th of July!!!! How is it possible that all 3 of us 'Craig kids' are almost all in our fourth decade of life! I guess it's better than the alternative. Corey was going out of town the morning of his birthday so we had a family party on the 26th. What can I say about my little brother. I love him more than life. I am so proud to be his sister & love to watch how wonderful & loving he is to our girls. There is absolutely NOTHING he could not accomplish that he set out to accomplish. He has nice legs for a guy, or so says my husband who also said, there's nothing he wouldn't do for his friends or family on top of being fun to be around. He is thoughtful, considerate, polite, insanely athletic, and a guy that anyone would be lucky to know & blessed to call friend. I just happen to be both & have him as my little brother to boot!
I included pictures of what we all did. Does it work out the same for all of you? All the men gathered in the living room & the women in the kitchen. . .
preparing, serving, cleaning up. . .The men were playing golf on Dad's wii. Will loves playing golf lately, video golf that is. I'm hoping the Wii system will go even further & pretty soon require the player to do ALL the motions. I told Will he'd have my vote to get a Wii as soon as they come out with football & you have to run the ball in addition to throwing & catching etc. That would be a GREAT workout, don't you think!?Here's a picture of two of my favorite women in the whole world. We had tacos for dinner & they were cleaning up the remnants. If you've ever been to the Craig household chances are you've had our famous tacos. Ever since we were little my mom has made homemade soft corn tortillas, can you say YUMMY!? I think we probably had them at least once a week, that & spaghetti with cornbread. And we never got tired of them, I think all 3 of us kids still make them on our own & sometimes request it when we're meeting for a meal at Mom & Dad's house. What is a meal you had a lot growing up? And do you think it's weird that we ate cornbread with spaghetti? It wasn't until going away for college that it was brought to my awareness that people don't typically eat cornbread with their spaghetti. Anyway, I had to put a couple of cute pictures of Lilyanah playing with her aunt Kelsey & uncle Jeremy. You can't tell Kelsey was playing with Lilyanah but she was. She likes to hide behind things & scare Lilyanah, which our little loo whoo loves, by the way. I just thought it was cute that I caught her under Ethne in her crib. That crib is the same one my mom used for all three of us kids. So far I've used it for both our girls though where Lilyanah was able to sleep in it for 6 months I doubt Ethne will fit for another 2. She's so long & can reach so far with her little arms. That means Will & I will soon be in the market for a crib. Will's mom got Lilyanah one of those 3-in-1 cribs & we're looking for another one of those for little Ethne. I like the idea of the girls having a bed that will be useful all through their life & that they can take with them when they're old enough to move out way down the road. Sometimes do you feel painfully aware of how quickly time is passing? I know I do when I hold my growing girls, this is precious time. I hope you all are having a great weekend! Love you! ~Wendy.

July 27th

July 19th was Will's last game of softball for the year so I thought I would take some pics! Lilyanah taking a break from following the little girls to look at me, Will running to 3rd, Lilyanah playing with a little girl from church (Allison Rockwell), Corey heading home followed lastly by Dad pitching & Will at first base. We really enjoy the softball season. Will has a blast & does a great job as the first baseman!


This past Friday I was pampered beyond belief!!! For Mother's Day my precious husband got me a gift card to Coldwater Creek THE SPA & it took me this long to use it! Mom watched the girls while I got a massage (nice). I had a little over an hour though between my massage & pedicure so Will met us & we went to PF Changs for a bite of dinner. While we were there our sweet little Ethne decided to spit up all over my white shirt. So, my sweet, sweet husband went to a shop next door & bought me a new shirt. (He has good taste I must say!) I had to hurry back to the spa to get there in time for my pedicure which was OUT OF THIS WORLD! The words going through my head were, 'thank you Will!' & 'luxurious'. I have to say pedicures at Coldwater Creek THE SPA are a little piece of heaven! They lay you back in an anti-gravity chair, literally 'tuck-you-in' under blankets & place aromatic eye covers over your eyes. The lady said most of her clients fall asleep because they're so relaxed. I did, but thankfully only for a couple of minutes because the experience is so heavenly I wouldn't want to miss a minute! They're actually booked out through the holidays!!! Isn't that crazy! Needless to say, if any of you are lucky enough to have a Coldwater Creek spa near you, the ultimate pedicure is worth every pretty little penny you spend to get one! And, thank you again Will, you're the GREATEST!

July 19th, 2007

Back by popular demand. . .some adorable pictures of the girls!!! The first one is Lilyanah holding Ethne's hand, I couldn't pass that one up! I apologize for the lack of entries, life gets busy & getting on the computer doesn't happen very often! If only there was a connection from my brain to the computer; I think I write a blog entry in my mind at least once a day. I need a voice recorder cause I also have more creative ideas for posts than always updating on what is going on.
Today I've been strolling down memory lane, I usually do when I'm spending time at my parents' house. Lilyanah takes a nap in my old bedroom, it was mine from the time I was 4 years old! I sit on the bed with her & read a book or two & sing anywhere from 2 to a dozen songs before we pray & she lays down. From the time I was in junior high (possibly earlier) I would rearrange my furniture at least once a month if not more. (Some things never change!) Where the bed is now is where it was when I remember stacking all of my stuffed animals around the edges of the bed so the monsters under the bed couldn't get to me. I have to admit, even now whenever I get a little scared I find comfort at having covers over me. . . as if layers of cotton could save me from anything other than frost bite! When you're scared what do you do to ease your fear, other than praying cause' if we don't, we should all do that! Love you all! ~Wendy.

SURPRISE suppose-to-be birthday party!

So, I added some pictures from Ethne's party. . . Here she is with the cake her grandpa bought her & Lilyanah laughing dancing around the living room. . . (the video was too dark to see)
First let me say the pictures currently on here have nothing to do with the content of this blog entry. The first one is from the first time Lilyanah fell asleep in the middle of eating & the second one is a before picture of the kitchen (to see an after picture check out 'Another update' from July 10th).
So, last night Lilyanah & I played in the water (in the kitchen sink) while I made dinner. I took the opportunity to sit down on the chair with her after putting the enchilada's in the oven. I should have foreseen what would happen next, but remember I'm still a rookie at this mommy thing. . . I'd already told her once that the water has to stay in the sinks & not on the floor but that didn't cover her attempts to get it into the sink. Needless to say I ended up sitting in a puddle of water with my pants soaked down to my ankles! It took 3 towels to soak up all the water on the chair & the floor, but Lilyanah loved it. She went straight from that water wonder land to her favorite, the bathtub. We got her bathed & fed & after a book, some songs & a prayer she was down for the night. (Not asleep but well on her way). When what to our wondering ears should appear. . but a knock on the front door. Kasey (my little brother's dog) was the first to pounce into the house when I opened the door, quickly followed by Corey & Kelsey. They said they were here to celebrate Ethne's suppose-to-be birthday since yesterday was her due date. I guess my parents had tried calling us when I was putting Lilyanah 'to sleep' to tell us they were all coming over @ 8pm with cake & ice cream. I decided to check on Lilyanah to see if she had drifted off to la la land in the last 5 minutes. She looked a little confused to see me looking over her crib at her, kinda like 'Mommy, I wasn't crying. . why are you here?' She was still awake & when Kelsey popped her head over the crib too Lilyanah was up in a flash. Ethne was lying under a fluorescent light (trying to get rid of some jaundice still!), but that only detained her from joining the party for about 10 minutes. We got everyone a little dessert & sang happy s-t-b birthday. We included Lilyanah because yesterday she was officially a year & a half old & officially a ham. That little girl stood in the center of our living room & danced around while we all laughed hysterically at her. I really can't believe how funny she is. Mom used her camera to record her a little bit. I'll see if I can figure out how to get it on the blog. Dad initiated our new leather couch by spilling some banana milkshake on it (& himself, let's just say he went home in some uncomfortably wet jeans). It was funny watching him dance around a bit too though! While I was in the kitchen, I guess they got Lilyanah to say Ethne pretty clearly. Only twice, but it's a start! We're still working on 'Mommy.' Anyway, it was a really fun night. Everyone left a little after 9pm & Daddy got to put Lilyanah to sleep, again. . . So I have two questions (& thank you to those of you who take the time to read this & answer these sometimes ridiculous questions, I really enjoy hearing what you have to say!) Were you born near your due date? And secondly, what are your favorite & least favorite birthday memories? Love you all! ~ Wendy.

Our shining stars!

The girls are now officially famous. Today they put their prints in concrete on my parents front porch. I think the prints add a lot of equity to their property. Neither of the girls liked the experience but they'll appreciate it later. When we were kiddos dad bought a HUGE satellite dish & we put our hand prints in the concrete around the post. The satellite dish is gone but since the post is still there we're pretty sure the prints are still there just underneath a lot of dirt! Jeremy's little bitty baby hands are still in the concrete porch of my parents first house here in Newberg. Dad said he thinks he pushed them down about 1/2" so they aren't going anywhere! The whole reason there was concrete to put their hands in was because dad & 'the gang' poured a slab out behind the shed. Papa, Corey, & Will were all here to help. My dad LOVES concrete! We're pretty sure he'll keep pouring until all the grass is gone & the whole yard is concrete. We tease that if he & Gigi had their way the yard would be all flower beds & concrete. It seems like every season Gigi pushes a little bit further into the grass to make her flower beds a little bigger. We of course joke about it in love! So, while the guys were out working hard we women folk got to relax inside in the air conditioning. Here's my precious mom with my precious daughter. Lilyanah is pretty possessive of mom's time so she only really gets to hold Ethne whenever Lilyanah is sleeping or occupied playing with someone else. It was a full day! Will & I started it out stacking some of the wood piled in our yard, then there was the concrete & now my sweet little brother & his wife are over at my parents & we're all visiting. It's a good day. And now, Ethne needs me. What a beautiful blessing! Love you all! ~Wendy.

Just a bit of silly-ness

I can't believe I didn't write about our day last Saturday! Of course I had my camera but took absolutely NO pictures so I thought I'd put a 3 generation picture up from the hospital. Anyway, on Saturday Will & I headed up to Washington to visit some friends & go to a wedding. But before we left my dad found Will's wedding ring that had been MIA for over 2 years!!!!! I never thought we'd see it again & was so pleasantly surprised that he found it. I guess it was in a really obscure place in the trunk of my parents' car somewhere in the cd player. Random, I know! So that was good thing #1. Secondly we got to visit with some friends in Woodland, the Graham family. Justin & Tammy just had their second baby a couple of months ago (Josiah Ross Graham). He's one good lookin' baby & is lucky to have a sweet, beautiful, big sister, Jaylee. It was our first time getting to meet the kiddos & we had a very relaxing, nice visit. Afterwards we headed to Rachel (used-to-be) Alloway's wedding at the Vancouver church of Christ. What a beautiful new building & even more importantly, what a beautiful wedding! Rachel is an amazing woman & met a guy who truly loves the Lord! What more can we ask for our dear friends! This was our first outing with the girls since coming home from the hospital (other than church). We spent a half hour after the wedding sitting in the car getting the girls changed & Ethne fed. Good times. After Will had changed Lilyanah's diaper, I quickly wrapped it up & put it in the garbage, but she had taken some extra wipes out of the container & picked up a clean one. Will apparently didn't know it was clean because when he saw her with it, he got all panicked & said, "WHERE DID YOU GET THAT!!!!?" I, being the sweet wife that I am, started to laugh at him. To which he replied, "You have no idea what it's like to be the father of two little girls." He's priceless! Lilyanah was so good at the wedding. She fell asleep about 2 minutes after we left the Graham's house & woke up as soon as we pulled into the church parking lot (only 30 minutes later). That was the extent of her napping for the day! She would have probably slept through the wedding but her aunt Kelsey was there so she sat with her, playing with her cell phone & such. After the wedding, though, there were four little boys in tuxedos crawling down the aisle, picking up the artificial rose petals that the flower girls had thrown. I looked down to see Lilyanah picking up petals, too, & putting them in the bag. The next thing I knew she had the bag wrapped on her arm & was running down the aisle to the oldest boy to let him put some petals in the bag. How she got a hold of the bag I'll never know but it was the most adorable thing! Usually she's shy, so I was surprised & wish I'd pulled the camera out, but no.
I'll end with a rather humiliating story about our pugs. Yesterday I was calling them to come back inside the house & saw them standing by our neighbor's fence, both barking with hair standing straight up on their backs. We still have piles of wood in our backyard so I couldn't see what they were barking at. Titus came running when I called the second time, but Gideon wouldn't move, so I slipped on my flip-flops & went to see what he was so concerned about. It was a cat, lying about 4 feet in front of him just swatting her tail back & forth like she couldn't have been any less scared. One 'scat' from me & she ran away but I felt so sorry for my poor dogs not being able to scare the kitty cat out of our yard. That had to hurt their little egos! Again, I wish I'd had my camera handy! Anyway, just some silly things happening to the Mathias family. Thanks to those of you who shared some fun childhood memories. I've been thinking about my childhood a lot lately. I guess because we now have two little girls that I only hope we can give half as many good memories as I have of my childhood. Question? Any silly pet stories you'd like to share? Love you all!

Another Update!

So, because I have been so neglectful with this blog I am going to have to do another update entry! The first pictures are from Father's Day. For Father's Day Lilyanah & I decided to surprise Will with a weekend near Multnomah Falls. We picked him up from work the Friday before Father's Day & headed to a great little bed & breakfast right across from Bridal Veil Falls. We spent the weekend hiking to different falls. It was such a great way to spend the weekend before we thought we were going to get to meet Ethne. Of course most of you know the story, we had the amniocentisis done on the 20th & they found that her little lungs weren't ready yet. I haven't told you all though how God answered our prayers by putting off our being induced. That week the hospital where we had her had a staph infection go through the NICU where Ethne would probably have had to spend a little time. At least one baby died and another came really close. So, what a blessing it was not to have Ethne in a position where she could have been exposed! God knows best doesn't He! The induction was postponed until 12am Friday the 29th. But, as I said before that God never lets us make the plans, He surprised us with a call Tuesday saying we could come in at midnight on the 27th instead. And you know the rest of the story. Ethne was born 13hours after we were admitted into the hospital. This is just a sweet picture of Lilyanah playing over at her Gigi & Papa's. And a picture of Lilyanah holding Ethne. She really does a good job of being gentle with her (most of the time!) Of course I had to stick a couple of pictures of the girls in here. The picture of Ethne is from her first bath at home. She took it in the sink in a rubbermaid container. And she LOVED it! Lilyanah has always loved baths too, the only part she doesn't like is when she has to get out! So, I'm going to end this blog entry by telling you all what a sweet husband I have. Last night while I was putting Lilyanah down for the night my husband was busy at work cleaning the kitchen up. Isn't it amazing ladies, what a blessing it is when our guys take care of things that because they did we don't have to. I was kinda dreading having to head back into the kitchen to clean up dinner (turkey burgers, yum yum!) so it was heaven when I saw him finishing up loading the last dish. I thought it was a good opportunity to put some pictures of our kitchen on the blog. I've still been catching some slack for not having posted pictures of the house. I know it's just the kitchen, but it's a start, right? Well, I have to head over to the house to meet the air conditioning guy. . . Our a/c doesn't work so we're spending the day over at Mom & Dad's. 100 degrees is way too hot to be in a house without a/c. Will thinks
80 degrees is too hot to be in a house without a/c! So, just out of curiousity, what are some of your favorite childhood memories of summer? Other than not having to go to school of course! Love you all & hope you're having a GREAT day! ~ Wendy.