More pictures

These first three are from Forrest's trip to California a couple weeks ago for the Anglican Men's Weekend. He and Rick went to the beach before going to the camp...they said it was pretty dirty though.











































Some pictures of the kids...
























































These are from last Sunday, at Manito:












































































































Antonio, being a superhero:

Pictures

They're a little old, but here are a few pictures from the end of April...

Twelve weeks!

I'm really glad to be at 12 weeks. It seems in some ways that this time is going slowly by, and in other ways that it's actually passed remarkably fast. I mean, it doesn't seem like it's been almost 2 months since I found out I was pregnant, but to have been sick pretty consistently for a month and a half makes me feel at times that the morning (uh, I mean all day) sickness is never going to end. I know it will, though, and I don't have it as hard as some people. So I really shouldn't complain. Actually, it seems to have gotten better lately. (As I type that I wonder if I'll have spoken too soon!) Last Thursday and Friday I felt so good that one of the days I went for a walk (albeit quite short) with the kids. We avoided being on the Wall street sidewalk though and stuck to the side roads and alley, which really helped while trying to keep track of three kids and a puppy all full of wanderlust. The amazing part was, I can't remember which day but one of these I didn't throw up at all.
Saturday I couldn't do much more than lay around the first half of the day, but in the afternoon I managed to get through a trip to the circus. It was a lot of fun but I was so worn out by night time.
Sunday and Monday were the first TWO days in a row without throwing up since before Holy Saturday. They were great--both days we went to a park! Monday I even made a regular dinner for my family.
So, even though I haven't felt as amazing as that since then, it's still encouraging to have had those days. I think God gives the good days as kind of an assurance that it won't always be this way, and to help me to keep going on the harder days too.
And I'm convinced that some women would have to go through this kind of pregnancy to really understand that morning/all day sickness is something that I have much less control over than they might think. If I feel good one morning, it's not because my attitude is better. There's no apparent reason to me for my feeling good, and I would love to feel that way every morning. If I feel sick one morning there is no way to get to feeling better but taking it extremely easy, eat something that sounds edible, and lay down as much as I possibly can. And the feeling better may not come for a day or more...but I'll feel worse if I try to ignore the sick feeling.

Out with the old...

...in with the new. Not that this will be exciting to anyone but me, but I got a new truck this week.
here are some pictures, old and new:

New Hymns?

So I heard an interview on the radio today and the guests are hymn writers of all things, Keith & Kristyn Getty to be exact. They have written quite a few hymns like 'In Christ alone' and 'The Power of the Cross', Keith says "I love storytelling in songs and I think people love stories. People will sing theology forever if the song takes them on a journey, and with 'In Christ Alone,' I wanted to write a song that would tell the whole story of the life of Christ, almost like a modern creed.".
This is a beautiful song they wrote for Communion.
Check them out! (esp. you Rick :-))

Dishwasher detergent

Product reviews:
Recently I decided we needed to change our dishwasher detergent, since Kirkland Signature brand (though it gets the dishes really clean) contains somewhere around 6% phosphates. (Note: this just might change as Spokane County is going forward with a phosphate ban this year.)
So I decided to try Seventh Generation Automatic Dishwasher Gel. Well, I was disappointed right away and wondered if all "natural" dishwasher detergents worked so poorly. (And this particular product of theirs is actually not as natural as other natural brands!) The glasses usually looked streaked, and often the plates and other dishes had residue on them, especially grease. Also, it didn't take out coffee/tea stains. This product retails for about 6.49, and I'm not sure how many loads it does, but it's 45 oz. and the instructions are to fill the dispenser cups in your dishwasher completely. I'm guessing, then, it does at best 45 loads. That's 14 cents a load. At best. Oh, and I always had to add Borax or baking soda to increase effectiveness.

Okay, so I did a little research online before buying another product I wouldn't like. Biokleen had good reviews--better than Seventh Generation. At Super Supplements, they have this for 6.79 right now. I got Biokleen's Automatic Dish Powder, and it does 64 loads. That figures to 11 cents a load. I only use 1 tablespoon for a load, and am very happy with it. No greasy residue, hardly any streak on the glasses (and those that are, I'm suspicious are just leftover from before). I recommend this product if you're wanting to switch to something more natural for the lakes and rivers, and for your own health (chlorine is toxic).

Earth-friendly Money-savers

• Dry your clothes on a line outside.
• Drive less. (for us lately, this has not been hard, since I don't feel up to going anywhere!)
• Have a compost pile.
• Recycle as much as you can.
• Use cloth diapers. (I know this is debatable whether it saves money, but if you do a lot of laundry like I do, it's not going to put a big dent in your energy or water bill.)
• Grow your own veggies and/or herbs.
• Wait until clothes are really dirty to wash them.
• Spend more time outside (then you can turn your lights and TV/computer off!)
• Buy clothes at a thrift or consignment store when possible.
• Buy other items at a thrift or consignment store when possible.
  
• Make your own household cleaners using vinegar, borax, essential oils, etc. (recipes online are easy to find.)
• Use energy star appliances (as long as you can afford the initial cost)
• Ride a bike to work (if it's close enough)
• Use cloth grocery bags. (Here, you get 5 cents credit per bag per use...20 uses, and it's paid off! Beyond that you actually "make" money.)
  

I thought this would be appropriate for Earth Day...I also wanted to show myself a list of ways we can be eco-friendly that actually save money too. There are some things out there that cost more, and if you have the ability, I think many are worth doing (or cutting some non-essential out of your budget so you can do it). I was just thinking about this recently while listening to a radio show on KMBI, where they were asking people "what do you do to save money in these harder economic times?" I noticed that several things people were saying--the majority, in fact--were either better for the environment, better for personal health, or both.

I was also thinking about the fact that while the global warming advocates say that overpopulation is a big, bad deal, it's ironic that in the U.S., the average children per family is not even 2. And, I know this is a very blanket statement to which there are plenty of exceptions, but isn't it much more likely that families with two or less children will buy their children and themselves more non-essentials, rather than doing several of the things on the above list? Families with more children are probably more likely to have a garden, buy clothes and other things from thrift stores, and do several other things to save money. Besides that, they are probably more likely to teach their children a better work ethic--in a bigger family you have to do your part. I know this is all just my own opinion and speculation. What do you all think?

Oh, and I found it quite ironic that Wal-Mart is selling lots of new t-shirts for Earth Day. Like, if you care about Earth Day and what it's about, why would you buy a new shirt that you really don't need anyway in order to show it? Anyway, maybe that's just me.