Bangkok, Babies and Desk Job Antedotes.

Just a few notes from around the farm. Dan has had a fun weekend doing man's work. He spent yesterday and today tooling around and tidying things up. Yesterday he tooled about the farm in the skid loader dropping things off here and taking other things there, and today he chopped up lots of fallen trees for firewood. Yep, he's feeling pretty masculine right about now. It was the perfect antedote for his desk job.

Most of the big news around here isn't happening to us though. Our friends Seth and Teresa just had a baby boy today (Big time congrats!) and our friends Jenny and Russ and their two kids Manny and Gigi are stuck in Bangkok until the political activists who are causing the airport shutdown decide to call it a day and GO HOME. I think it's been shut down now for almost a week. Ack. I think I'd rather be Seth and Teresa.

LaVar Burton, Move Over.

Snug as a Bug.

I love these mornings when I wake up wide awake with an hour to spare before Ana does. The house is so quiet. The air outside is usually completely still, and lately very dark. I try to get in at least 10 minutes of quiet every morning, but an hour!! That's luxury.

Last night, I was up a bit late enjoying a new find from the library: Tasha Tudor's Heirloom Crafts. For those of you who don't know Tasha Tudor, she was a children's book illustrator and lover of the country life. She illustrated over 100 children's books with a very old-fashioned style. They are quite beautiful, and I much prefer them over the cartoon-y appearances of kids books like Dora and others. The book gave me many ideas for home crafts. Especially the melon baskets made from ash wood (which the Shire has an abundance). Very dangerous.

But the one craft I've lately attached my spare time to looking further into is making a braided wool rug. It seems it's not difficult at all, and with some patience and only a little money, Ana's room can have a nice rug for her to run over.

In other news, we've been the happy recipients of yet another of my brother's cast-offs: a toddler bed! It couldn't have come at a better time. We were starting to make plans to retro fit Dan's twin long (and super tall) bed from his childhood to make it easier for Ana to crawl in and out of when Aaron's wife Jodi called and offered their little bed. It is so cute, just like a hobbit bed. Which is fitting, because Ana's feet are huge for her little body: just like a hobbit's feet.

And she loves it. We were a tad worried that we'd have to play the "Go back to bed" game last night, but she only crawled out once. Dan met her at the door and told her that if she got out of bed, she's have to sleep in her crib. Well, that did it. She hippity hopped right back into her little bed and dove under the covers. Two minutes later and she was sawing toothpicks.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! And don't forget, Advent starts on Sunday. Hoo, where did that come from?

Honestly.

Do I have the cutest child or what?

I am shameless, I know. Show me a mother who isn't.

Speaking of motherhood, these last few days, it has really been striking me what an incredible time of life Dan and I are in. To be blessed with not just one but two of these little amazing creatures. And the happiness that we've been having with little Ana, and now knowing that we're having another one ... it is unspeakable.

Being parents has really gotten us out of ourselves, if that makes any sense. And, speaking for me only, being out of myself is far and above more fulfilling and is making way more just content that I ever could have imagined.

I can't thank God enough for the gift of these children.

And thank you God, for having Ana still asleep at 8am.

And speaking of shameless mothers, probably the most shameless mother of all time has her birthday today: It is the Presentation of Mary! This morning, I re-read Luke 1: 46-55 and remembered the glory that was brought to the humblest of servants. It really must be one of the most beautiful lines ever written. Take a looksee:

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior;
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel,
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
The promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children for ever.

Oh the Japanese.

I can say that because I'm half Thai. And while Thais aren't Japanese, who can tell? You know those Orientals. They all look alike.



And if you think THAT's funny, you should hear my mom doing her impression of Mandarin Chinese.

Belly Check.

At nearly 25 weeks. And I still have HOW much longer??

Don't get me wrong here. I honestly don't mind all that much pregnancy and all the joys and discomforts that come along with it. Most of the time. We just can't wait to meet this little person. Especially now that we know how great it is to be parents.

I should also mention that the headache I had last week turned out to be just one of the many symptoms of this years flu. How do I know? Last Friday, Dan woke up with a high temp, chills and sweats. All this lasting through Sunday, at which time The Monster Headache was added and stayed with him until Tuesday. Poor guy. At least now I have someone with whom to share the agonizing experience.

Sweaters and the Poor Birds!

It's complete. Ana's new sweater. Check out those cables. Get a load of the even stitching. Me? Proud?

Ana seems to like it. She doesn't like wearing clothes in general, so she's not head over heels. But she does like to point out the owls. It's really cute (of course!).



In other news, the other day, while Dan and I were driving around, a big wind came up and took a group of birds by surprise. So much, in fact, that they were unable to avoid our oncoming car. I think we single handedly caused the chickadee mortality rate in SW Minnesota to double that day. When we reached our destination, and exited the car, we were stunned to find one of the deceased birds stuck in our front grill, much like you'd find a dragonfly or other some such insect. There was much dismay among the humans, and much delight among the cats. To us, it was an unintended and unnecessary death. To the cats, it was dinner:



Gianna update: Please keep the prayers coming! Gianna is cancer free, but she is experiencing a rather rare syndrome in which her body acts as if the tumor is just starting, not actually gone. So, she is very lathargic, still can't breath without a vent, has tremors, seizures and her eyes constantly shake. The syndrome is so rare, that her doctors are baffled and have no idea how long it will last. Yes, it's a marathon for the Samountry's.

Outside, Over There

Late last week I received an invite to a baby shower for my friend Amy. I was a bit surprised for a couple of reasons. One, it has been maybe a year since I last talked to her, probably longer. She has been here, there and everywhere dealing with an awful and reoccuring brain tumor. So, to hear from her so suddenly and with such news took me off guard. Secondly, I knew they were hoping to have a baby for years and years, but because she had extensive chemo her first time around with this nasty tumor about ten years ago, her and her husband Chris had been hoping in vain. So, what's the deal-eo?

Well, mystery solved. I read on her caring bridge site that they have adopted a sweet little boy named James. I have to admit, a tear fell on my keyboard when I read the news. I knew they were trying for an abroad adoption only to be met with several slammed doors as soon as agencies found out about Amy's condition. But, it seems, an open domestic adoption was the answer. We couldn't be any happier for Amy, Chris and OF COURSE little James.

And another happy thing? We get to bring our favorite childhood book as a gift to little James at his baby shower. I love sharing my favorite: Maurice Sendak's Outside Over There. The pictures are so beautiful (see above), if the story a little strange (like most of his books). But it delighted my imagination. I hope James loves it as much as I did!

Flu bugs and grapefruits.

My wonderful husband is one of the healthiest people I know. While Ana and I develop chest colds from every sneeze we come across, Dan seems to stay healthy winter after winter.

Poor guy. He has his once every five years flu bug. I'm not sure, but I think he's risen from the couch all of three times today. Each time to go to the bathroom.

Meanwhile, Ana and I found the biggest bag of grapefruits on sale at the grocery store! All hail the Texas Grapefruit and the time of year when it's sold in 20 pound bags for ten bucks! We've been noshing down those two at time I tell you. Ana has a great time with the peels while I de-segment the segments and we eat them as one might a mandarin orange (sans peel and that funny opaque skin).

I was able to make a couple of sourdough loaves today, which turned out way better than I imagined they would! They rose nice and high, but the flavor isn't very good yet. A few more batches and the flavor should come in.

Time for tea! Good night all!

O Flannel. I love you.

This must be the earliest date of the calendar year that I've given in, accepted winter, and implemented the flannel sheets. Today, me and Ana washed the sheets and put them on our bed. Poor thing. I wish I could find flannel sheets for her crib. Hopefully soon, she will decide that a big bed isn't so bad after all, and she can enjoy the bliss that is flannel-ness.

Flannel sheets really are a great thing. As soon as Dan and I crawl into bed, it already feels warm. Especially when aided by our trusty rice bag: Five pounds of rice poured into an old pillow case with the opening knotted closed. We zap it for four minutes and then slip it under the covers right where our feet go. Nothing compares. I even woke up a few nights ago at 2am, and it was still warm.

In other news, the last few weeks Ana has been doing this thing where she gets a very serious look on her face and says "Hockey?" like it was a question. It has taken us this long to figure out what she is actually saying, but we did it. She is saying "Hungry?" you know, that she is hungry!! How many times have we not known what she was saying and let her go hungry? Oh the perils of toddlerhood. At least now we know.

Good night and stay warm!

We find ourselves an extra night in Minneapolis than we had planned, thanks to the threat of slippy roads. It's been rather nice staying in during this nasty weather. So, I won't complain.

I am, however, missing the fun that awaits me at home. I am trying to start some sourdough culture on my counter top. And just before we left, it was really active and I can't wait to get home, stir it a few times, and ask it how it's doing. I am intrigued by a bread that does it's rising overnight. You really can't beat a bread that you can eat warm out of the oven with breakfast as opposed to right before bed which is when we usually eat it at our house.

Which brings me to this thought: Since when did I get excited about silly little chores? If you had told me fifteen years ago that I would froth with excitement over making bread, finding organic whole barley for 85 cents a pound, or triumphing over diaper rash I would've laughed and laughed. But that was well before I had met Dan, or knew Ana. I guess that's what love does. Makes a girl all homemake-y.

Well, I'm off to bed. TTFN.

Thoughts on Prudence, by Dan

Prudence, St. Thomas Aquinas teaches us, is the virtue which enables us to choose good ideals and avoid evil ones by way of individual, concrete actions. It is an "intellectual" virtue, meaning that it resides in our intellect, and informs our intellect's reasoning process. Of course we mortals are finite, and only have access to a limited amount of information with which to base our decisions, nevertheless Aquinas affirms that we can sufficiently exercise our virtue of prudence, even with the limited information we possess.

Parenthood, by its nature, is full of opportunities to exercise this virtue of prudence. In principle, we want nothing but the best for our children and spouses: health, happiness, and a strong relationship with God. But we must strive towards these abstract principles by way of choosing particular actions and avoiding others, and in so doing, we exercise prudence. Or at least, we try to. Some of these choices are easy, such as "No, Ana, I know it's pretty and red, but you can't play with my Swiss Army Knife." Some, however, are not as clear-cut. Do we let her watch a third episode of Winnie the Pooh in a row, or is two really enough right now for her growing brain?

Far too frequently, we rub up against the limits of our knowledge. For how can we be adequately trained in everything we might encounter? Our bodies are fragile; parents are often called upon to make medical diagnoses that are beyond their ability. When is a headache more than just a headache?

Such is the situation in which we found ourselves this weekend. Friday saw, for Joy, the advent of a headache that put all prior headaches to shame, being impervious to the assaults of Tylenol and other home remedies. A headache is a very routine thing; except of course when it isn't. And Joy is not one to typically suffer a headache (except when she misses her morning coffee, but that's a whole other story...). But panic and rash judgment are firmly opposed to prudence, so we merely retired for the evening to see how a good night's sleep might affect things.

Awakening at 2:00 in the morning with the "mother of all headaches," we knew that the situation might need careful monitoring. This was an unusual event. Aquinas helpfully breaks prudence down into its basic components, four of which are: memory, foresight, shrewdness, and understanding. Memory told us that a really bad headache could be a sign of something more serious. Foresight told us that if we didn't find out more information we wouldn't be able to make a good decision, which could have horrible consequences. Shrewdness told Joy to think outside the box; she had just gotten together with a friend who had recently recovered from meningitis; could it possibly be this dreaded disease sneaking up unannounced? As for understanding - well, we didn't have any; neither of us knew anything about meningitis, except that it's a really bad thing. That, of course, is where the internet comes in. Mere seconds after typing "meningitis" into Google, we were sufficiently relieved to know that meningitis was likely off the table. Joy had passed the "can you touch your chin to your chest?" test, which, if failed, would have signalled a likely diagnosis. We had enough understanding to retire for the evening, convinced it was likely no more serious than a migraine. Of course, our knowedge still being limited, we really didn't know...

Waking on Saturday, the throbbing was still omnipresent. Nevertheless, we had a "coffee date" that was not to be missed. En route, however, Joy called her midwife to see if there was a more potent weapon than just Tylenol that she could take. That conversation, however, turned out to be anything but routine. After a gruelling interrogation, with Joy frequently answering "well, yes, I have had those symptoms too" the nurse told Joy to go to the emergency room right away; the fear was that it was possible that she had pre-eclampsia. Never mind that we had just sat down at the coffee shop, muffin and mocha in hand. But, as Aquinas teaches, docility - that is, respect for those who have more knowledge than us - is another component of prudence. So after an abbreviated breakfast, off we dutifully went to find a doctor. A diagnosis of pre-eclampsia was nothing to sniff at - it typically means bedrest for the rest of the pregnancy.

Attempting to be prudent with something else - our finances - we remembered that Urgent Care was open and opted to stop there instead. Surely they could do a once over and tell us what's going on, right? Well, as it turns out, no. Or as the nurse told us, "The doctor thinks this is something more appropriate for the hospital. Go to Labor & Delivery." Labor and Delivery? Gulp. This *must* be serious.

Labor & Delivery wasted no time admitting Joy, and beginning the barrage of tests. One by one the tests were done, and one by one they came back with pretty normal results. But achieving this knowledge took time. The hours passed. Fortunately Ana was having a happy day over at Grandma and Grandpa's. Having her taken care of and off our minds was a blessing. For our part, we had a nice time passing the time watching cable TV.

About five hours later, we were sent home, secure in the knowledge that, whatever the headache was (a migraine? we still don't know), it wasn't anything serious. It was *just* a headache. And it was okay for Joy to take a little extra dose of Tylenol than normal to take the pain down a notch.

Now, we eagerly await the hospital bill. I'm sure we'll have lots of laughs (and perhaps shed a few tears) over the cost it took to determine that Joy was having, well, a headache. No overkill here. Then again, Aquinas gives us yet another component of prudence to ponder over: caution. We're talking about two irreplaceable people here - Joy & Baby Boy Wambeke. There's no dollar figure or amount of time spent that could ever equal their worth. So thanks, Thomas Aquinas! You've helped me feel a lot better. If we nailed any part of prudence this weekend, it's that we were cautious. Really cautious.

As the children grow, we'll have many more opportunities to practice prudence, I'm sure. Here's hoping that we keep erring on the side of caution!

Chinese Doughnuts, Egg Rolls and Cream Cheese Wontons

Today didn't go even close to plan.
More about that later. Dan wants to do a Dispatch on that whole story.

I have been granted permission to describe what happened at the end of the afternoon. Dan and I were on our way to pick up Ana from Grandma and Grandpa's house, and decided to stop off at the only Chinese (or any asian food for that matter) place in Marshall: The Panda Buffet. We had pretty much sworn off any Chinese buffet's after a harrowing experience at The Nasty(Barf) Chinese Buffet in Boise. But, we were feeling charitable, and I had a hankering for egg rolls.

So, we walk into The Panda Buffet where we found we could fill up to go boxes from the buffet for $9 each. Kinda spendy if you ask me. Dan thought so too and told me so when I started my box with white rice ("We can make that at home," he said.) Aha. Fill up our boxes with as much gun powder as we possibly could for a bigger bang. I follow. This strategy was never better illustrated when, before we left, Dan piled the top of his box with chinese doughnuts, egg rolls and cream cheese wontons. Hmmmm, his weaknesses have been exposed.

Once we got home, I made a batch of white rice and we settled in for a dinner of tasty goodness. It wasn't so bad. But it wasn't Sawatdee food, it wasn't the Lotus, and it FOR SURE wasn't my mom's thai cooking.

Quickies.

Some quick pics so Dan can see Ana enjoying her first cognition of snow!

A Looksee Please.

Take a peek at this, and sign it if you wish. I post it because I think we can all agree (pro-life and pro-choice) that our common goal is to whittle down the number of abortions in this country. And that establishing a fundamental right to unrestricted access to abortion would increase, not decrease, abortions.

Rainy Day!

Ana is on her weekly date with Grandma (whom she calls Mag with emphasis on the "g"). These typically last all day, which means I get a day to tackle projects without interruption.

Usually, I spend a whole lot of time in the garden or other some such outdoor project. But, today it's raining, and the garden has already been tucked away for the winter (save for my beloved kale which lasts until late November. I love you kale!)

I did have two little projects to take care of. One, changing out headlight on the accord. And two, scrubbing clean the carpet of the accord's trunk. Followed by a healthy downpour of baking soda. You see, Stewart got locked in the trunk last Saturday night. We didn't find him until Sunday morning, when, on our way to church, we heard a pitiful howl. Poor guy. Needless to say, he had made the trunk his home for the preceding 12 hours. And I mean home, and all the facilities that come with homes. SO, I spent a portion of the morning scrubbing and scrubbing and scrubbing.

Now that that's all finished, I find myself in an empty but warm house. Not even noon yet. I guess I have nothing to do but give myself a pedi, do some knitting, and make some yummy things in the kitchen.

Here's one thing I'm working on right now for me and Ana to gobble up once she comes home:



I know it doesn't look like much. But this soup must be the top of our winter favorites. Roasted vegetables pureed and simmered with navy beans and kale (love the kale!). Oh so delicious. Here's the recipe from Simply Recipes if you find yourself in the mood for this earthy soup over the next cold snap.

Fantasies.

I swore I'd never do it.
I'm reading The Hobbit. Again.

I read it once, back in junior high. And I couldn't tell you any one scene in the entire book because fantasy just. takes. it. out. of. me.

But, after Kristin Lavransdatter and Jewel, I got the urge to read something classic and set in medeival times. Enter The Hobbit.

I'm not committing my choice to the iron clad side bar that is "I'm currently reading ... " That will remain my cereal box. For now. But I may change my mind in the near future and show the world that a Little Women lover can simultaneously enjoy (gulp) fantasy. Well, at least J.R.R. Tolkein fantasy.

Election Day!

Well, happy Election Day to everyone! I hope everyone got out to vote, and by the sounds of it there were record numbers. That is great news.

My mom and I just listened to McCain's concession speech, which I thought was very nicely done. Very gracious, which is refreshing.

I must say, it is always inspiring to me to see so many people voting; even though we don't all agree on how things ought to be, we are still one community working together and participating in helping choose our leaders.

It's also funny to see old Caribou customers as political commentators on the news. Here's Brian Lambert on Fox News talking big words and with furrowed brow, and all I'm thinking is "That guy was (and probably still is) a coffee fiend."

In other news, it seems running after a toddler all day is heck on vericose veins.

Ick.

Oh November.

Why do you always start so nice?
It was a beautiful day, with lots of sun and little wind.

Dan and I made sure we had no plans except yard work today. Which was good, because Ana was in no mood to do, really, much of anything except practice throwing tantrums.

This morning, Dan built a fire around a stump where we are planning on building a Sugar Shack for our maple syruping operation. Much of it is gone, even as I type! While he did that, me and Ana made german pancakes which are a lot like those panakoeken's (how the heck is that spelled?). So good.

After breakfast we all mosey'ed to the garden to start prepping it for winter. Dan hacked down the sunflower stalks while I attempted to stack tomato cages. I say attempted because Ana let me do about 2 or so before her first tantrum erupted. It was about 11am at this point. And let's just say I didn't make it out again until 2:30. At which time I finished the tomatoes.

At 3:30, I came back to the house to find that Ana had taken a brief nap and woke up a BEAR. So, while I endured more Ana fun, Dan spent the rest of the afternoon finishing up the garden. He was able to take down the corn stalks, scythe the grasses that had sneakily sprung up between the straw, put away all the tomato cages and tires, and tuck away the black plastic we use to mulch the tomatoes.

Whew!

And now, post dinner, my husband my hero brought Ana to Wal Mart to get some marshmellows to roast over our stump tonight. And Mommy gets a break.

What a guy.

Today is All Saints day, celebrating all those who have gone before us and now share in the glory of God in heaven. They give me hope that it can be done!! And tomorrow is All Souls day, which is a commemoration of ALL the faithful departed, so all the saints in heaven, and those who weren't totally perfect when they died and are spending some extra time in good old purgatory being cleansed of those last buggers. Pray for them!!

Here are some photos that are aching to be shared. Well, I'm aching to share them. How's that?

Here's Ana in her posture de rigeur.

Cute tub shot from last weekend when Jenny and Russ brought their two little ones, Manny and Gigi. I think this one's my favorite.

Here's Ana about to go trick or treating. She's Laura Ingalls (of course!). We had to improvise with Poppa's hanky on her head because, although I thought they closed at 5, the Walnut Grove museum closed at 4! So we missed our chance to buy a sun bonnet. Oh well. But look! She even has her little corn cob baby: Sally!