Armless But Not Harmless

"Bed Rest"

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 19:55:00 +0000

Well, if there is anything I should have the time to do now - it should be updating our blog....

Last week was Patrick's final week of school. He studied hard all week and Josiah and I sent him out Thursday morning with BLESSINGS for a couple great exams. We anticipated his return in the late afternoon when we would begin our CELEBRATION that we had survived another semester and Christmas break was here!
I had an ultrasound appointment that afternoon in Beaverton, so I left Josiah with our neighbors and drove over for a quick check up on the babe........ little did I know I would be staying for two days. The doctor discovered that I was two cm dialated and sent me over to the hospital to see if I was having any contractions. I was. They gave me some meds to help the contractions stop -- which worked brilliantly -- and they let me leave the hospital on Saturday on strict bed rest.

I remember moments during my pregnancy with Josiah where I LONGED to be put on bed rest - I had visions of it being one of the most amazing things ever. It's not -- just in case you thought the same thing.

Thankfully, I have an AMAZING husband and a FABULOUS kid who are taking great care of me --- not to mention family and friends who have gone out of their way to help us still be able to celebrate the Christmas season with joy. Patrick's mom and step-dad came down for the first half of the holiday week to fill our living room with presents and kitchen with baked-goods and our child's heart with joy.

So - as of now, we're doing well -- adjusting to changing our expectations for the next couple months and hoping to see our baby in MARCH. (the current "due date" is March 11th......... a very significant date in our family already) :) We'll do our best to keep everyone posted on how things are going -- thanks so much for all the help and prayers!

New Post

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 05:01:00 +0000

It has been a really long time since we've posted anything new - sorry about that, readers! In the time that has passed, Josiah has turned TWO, Patrick has turned 27, we found out we're having another BOY, and we celebrated a great Thanksgiving with our neighbors.

I have some cute pictures of Josiah from the party that I may get to posting some day soon....... He dressed up as a baseball player. The neighborhood kids all came in costume and we carved pumpkins. They were all really cute (of course) and Josiah was well loved. The really sad part about the day was that Patrick fell ill the night before and had to stay in our bedroom for the entire day. I really missed having him with me to celebrate our son's second year of life - and he was really sad to miss out on it, too. Thankfully, he healed quickly and was back on his feet in a couple days.

Patrick's party was far less eventful. We had some good food, got a great coffee date (thanks to wonderful friends willing to babysit), and played Ticket to Ride with our friends and neighbors. It's our new favorite game and you'll be asked to play it if you come over in three weeks (when PW is done with this semester.....).

We are having another boy! We're really excited about Josiah's younger brother coming to join us. Though a small part of me had hoped to be making dresses, I'm very happy to have on hand all of the toys and clothes we could need for another "noise with dirt on it". :) Josiah seems like he's beginning to grasp the idea - some days better than others - and I'm already eager to have this little one out. I cannot wait to meet him.

For Thanksgiving this year we went over to the ole' A-frame for a potluck style with our neighbors. I got to make my first turkey and I was pretty happy with it! No one got sick.... as far as I know --- so I'll say it was a success. The kids made pine cone turkeys - I'll have to try to get a picture of that too because they are hilarious.

God has given us many great gifts and we're so blessed to be celebrating another year of life for all my boys --- they are so wonderful.

Uranium Ore For Sale

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 07:03:00 +0000

This is definitely worth taking a look at.

CLICK HERE!!

Scroll down to read some of the "reviews" that people have placed on Amazon for this "product".

My fav:

"Picked this up for use in one of my kid's 'diversity' projects in school (Great Success!), and stuck the leftovers in the cabinet next to the baking soda.

Ran out of toothpaste, and remembered how you're supposed to be able to use baking soda to clean your teeth, so of course, I accidentally used this instead, and Wow! all I can say is, my teeth have never been cleaner! They sparkle, they tingle, and for some reason, they STAY clean now, no matter what. Highly recommended!

However, when I ran out of that fire-ant killer powder stuff, I figured I would try some for that too.

Big mistake!

Boy, it sure did not kill those ants!

Fortunately, those suckers get slower as they get bigger, so I have been able to use a shovel to take care of most of them, one at a time though, the sneaky devils.

And the darn trash man refuses to take them away..

I would have given this product 5 stars for the teeth and the project on embracing diversity, but I deducted one star because of the giant mutant ants."

We miss you, Fudges!

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 02:49:00 +0000

The Fudge family lived next to us during our first year of seminary. We LOVED having them as neighbors and miss their presence dearly in the courtyard. Josiah, especially, still remembers the kids and often chants their names: Sarah, Justus, and Ruthie. We did our best to capture it on video..... mostly for the Fudges, but also for all of you who love them and our really cute kid in action. :)

Flip

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 21:59:00 +0000

Patrick and I decided it was time for our family to invest in a video camera in order that we might share our lives with you all in a slightly more wholistic manner. So.... our blog is going to be even more amazing than before! (can you believe it?!)

This is our favorite video so far... I know there will be many more to come.

The Name

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 03:12:00 +0000

This is my conversation with Josiah as we're getting ready to go to bed tonight:

me: Are you excited for the baby to come, Josiah?

Josiah: yep

me: What do you think we should name the baby?

Josiah: bye-bye

me: You think we should name the baby "bye-bye"?

Josiah: yep

me: .................... I'll think about it I guess.

We Rock How We Roll

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 21:07:00 +0000

*Not Pictured: New Baby (still fetus)

Josiah at Katie and Noah's Wedding

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 18:38:00 +0000

Oh man, our kid is so cute.

Finishing up pictures from Katie and Noah's wedding right now, as well as trying to hammer out as much homework as possible before work tonight. Whew!

The Lord has been so good to us!

Downtown Adventure Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 21:14:00 +0000

Josiah and I just got back from the most amazing morning downtown with our friends (and neighbors) Jen, Zeke, and Mak Weaver. It was so amazing that it calls for a blog post about it.

We parked down at Jamison Square and hopped on the "train" (streetcar) to go down a few blocks to Pioneer square. The kids are at a great age for riding the streetcar -- it is the coolest thing ever to them. ;) After we landed we made a stop at Finnegan's toy store and let the kids play with all of their amazing toys. They rode bikes a little, fed baby dolls, played with a train set, and Jen and I got to dream of fun new toys for our kids to have at home. We made it out of the toy store with no new toys, no tears, and happy children!

We walked a couple blocks down to Pioneer square where the city was celebrating the opening of the Green Max line!! It was perfect timing - we got to hear a woman's choir sing, color some pictures for the Children's Theatre, listen and dance to a marching band, and paint a car (a real car). Josiah and Zeke LOVED the music - I wish we could have video taped them and their moves.

After that adventure we hopped back on the "choo-choo" to head back to Jamison Square. There they have a great water park area for the kids - the water falls down a small amount of rocks and creates a big pool for the kids to splash and swim. We picked up some snacks at the coffee shop - fed ourselves, and then enjoyed the water. It's in the 80's today - so it was PERFECT weather for playing in the water.

We were all reluctant to leave our fun adventure, but the kids transitioned great as we packed into the Weaver's minivan and headed home for nap time........... for all of us.

Thanks for a great morning, Weavers!

Who wants more Wilsons?!

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 04:35:00 +0000

You better freakin' say "me" - because we're expecting the next one on March 26th (or around that time....)!

Here's a picture of our babe at 6 weeks - we're at about 11 weeks now.

We are super excited about this little one - even Josiah does a pretty great job of showing us "where the baby is" (in his belly, apparently).

Ready to Rock

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick) — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 22:42:00 +0000

School started this week. Last weekend was a blitz with work at the OG and two shoots, one of which was our friends Katie and Noah's wedding. They are so great!

My school schedule looks to be a bear. I have about 9,000,000 pages of reading a week, plus translating the entire Hebrew Bible once a week...well, that's what it feels like, anyway. My reading looks like it will be REALLY interesting, much of it dealing with the doctrine of the Trinity and its implications. Rachel is mostly feeling good, though occasionally sick to her stomach (especially if she waits too long to eat). Josiah's been having some rough nights, but he's still such a happy, fun little guy that I can't hold it against him.

More info to come, proably, but I've got to get to homework and cleaning up the office. WHEW! Praise the Lord for this great opportunity...now to make much of it!

Me and the Boy

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 15:43:00 +0000

Whew! The last week and a half have been a blitz! Praise the Lord that we are all home safe and healthy and in moderately good spirits! Now to work!

Busy Busy Busy

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick) — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 21:33:00 +0000

Ok! So, we've had a pretty busy month thus far and it's gonna get worse before it gets better. I'm shooting a wedding tomorrow, and then we're leaving for California the next morning for about a week (ish). WHEW!

We made the trek up north to see my little brother's new kiddo, Betty. She's cutie, so check out the pics:

We also went to Pike Place Market and then Buca di Beppo, a super fun italian restaurante with some pretty over-the-top decor. I didn't take any pictures of hte restaurant, though...bummer...

We also cut Josiah's hair yesterday. His head was getting so hot with all this heat (107 degrees yestereday!!!), and it would get all scraggly and gross when he sweats...and he sweats A LOT. So, off it came. Behold the mohawk:

Finally, my neighbor Ben and I put together a deck out of the salvaged floor of an old shed that he was tearing down. It was in pretty rough shape, but after a little sanding, border building, and sealing, the deck looks pretty great. Thanks to Multnomah for letting us carve out a spot out back...it was kinda a mudhole. Unfortunately, the sprinkler system shoots right onto the top of it, and it had pools of water on top this morning. We'll need to figure out a way to have it slope a bit to let water off. Not too much...we'll see how it goes. Here's the fruit of our labors:

Ok, that's it for now! Later sk8rs!

Website Overhaul

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick) — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 15:48:00 +0000

Well, sort of. I went onto my photography website the other day and shifted a bunch of stuff around to round it out a bit better, add some newer work, take some older stuff off that didn't fit, and just make things a bit more presentable. Go check it out! Definitely check out the blog post "Lights, Camera, Free Time!" for a look at where I'm hoping to go over the next few months with lighting and such. Hopefully, there will be much more to come! Thanks!

CLICK ON THIS LINK HERE!!!!

The weather was perfect today.

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 02:25:00 +0000

There hasn't been too much going on in the Wilson house, but I thought we were due for an update:
- Last week we took our first camping trip as a family. We purchased our very own "FAMILY" tent the day before. The thing is huge... sleeps 8 people. We went out to Oxbow Park, which is just 20 minutes outside of Portland. The place was peaceful and beautiful and full of fun animals with no fear - including a squirrel that unzipped our tent and stole some Cliff bars and trail mix. :( We hiked in the "Enchanted Forest", played on the beach, spent some time reading and playing Carcassone. It was pretty great.......... until I got sick from eating a brautworst. I have a weird reaction to super-processed meat (brautworsts are usually okay, though) and we finished the trip a night early with migrane and vomit and 11 hours of sleep in our own bed. Overall, it was a really fun experience and we're definetly going to do it again.

- Upon our arrival home, we began our teary goodbye to our dear friends and neighbors, the Fudge family. The Fudges have three little ones - the youngest is two weeks younger than Josiah. We were REALLY BLESSED to share a wall with them for one year. Saying goodbye was harder than we imagined and has wiped all of us out for a few days.

- Yesterday Steph, Josiah, and I went down to the Farmer's Market in downtown Portland. The air smelled of fresh herbs and veggies and berries..... it was magical. :) We purchase some beans and peas and raspberries - all of which are so much more delicious than the ones we buy at the store. I was pretty amazed.

- Today our neighbor, Ali, and I went to pick up my new bike! After two years I finally have a bike again... now I will be on the hunt for a trailer for Josiah. I'm really, really excited about this and have been saving for MONTHS for this very purchase.

This week will be our last week before I start watching Ivy. Ivy will be almost 3 months old and staying with us for just 6 days or so a month as her mom returns to work as a nurse. I'm excited to start adding more routine to our weeks..... we've been taking the month of June to do some extra, much needed, resting - and now we are ready for a bit more demand.

Happy Anniversary!

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 21:17:00 +0000

My grandparents have been married for 60 years. That's over twice as long as I've been alive. Last week, we made the trek up north to visit family and friends for a bit, and then we all gathered at Semiahmoo (a little resort community like Sun River way the heck out on the northwest corner of Washington state)for an anniversary celebration. It was a surprise for them, but they spotted Rach and Josiah as they were walking out the car. My grandma kept glancing over at Rach suspiciously because she looked familiar, and finally my aunt (who orchestrated the whole thing) spotted her, too, and came over. Too funny! Anyway, we took some pictures out on the beach as the sun started going down, so here's one of my grandparents. They are a super inspiring couple, and if you ever get a chance to hang out with them to talk, it will be well worth your time!

HIKING!

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 06:02:00 +0000

The Lord blessed us with a GREAT garage sale find.... a backpack to carry Josiah! We decided to try it out today in the gorge. Here are some pictures from our grand adventure out to Horsetail Falls. It was so much fun!

A post about Minnesota, plants, potty, and other fun things!

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Fri, 29 May 2009 20:15:00 +0000

Josiah and had a great trip to MN a couple weeks ago. We were able to hang out with each one of the awesome Daniels/Daniel family members - some more than others... and as always it leaves us yearning for more! Royce Daniel (my sister's first baby and the main reason for our visit) is still a tiny little peanut, but soooo strong. The boys did really well on the six hour drive up to mom and dad's and a little less than well on the way back down. The drive is what kills me, but it's worth it. I often think to myself while enduring the endless hours of nothingness "why do my parents live so far away from everything!?" - and then once we arrive and are sitting on the back porch next to the peaceful river I remember "oh yeah, this is why". It's so removed from everything - I think this was the first time I was able to get cell phone reception at their house - and the Lord uses that place to restore my soul. :) Thanks mom and dad!

A few days after our return to Portland the sun decided to come out and stay! We've been having an AMAZING time playing outside. Yesterday we picked up some plants to pot on our front cement area (we are hoping the children don't tip them over....). We are hopeful and excited to partake in hot peppers, blueberries, tomatoes, and our own fresh herbs!
The Lord also blessed us with a backpack to carry Josiah in! It the best garage sale take we've ever had - whoohoo! We are planning a camping trip for the end of June - the Wilson family FINALLY returns to the great outdoors. We'll see what Josiah thinks about that.

Most of our neighborhood friends are camping today and Patrick is at work with the car - so Josiah and I decided it would be a good day to start learning about potty and all things involved. I let him run around the house naked for a couple hours hoping he would go to the bathroom... he's been really good about sitting on the potty, but not going potty yet. I swear that kid is holding it - I had to go twice in the amount of time he ran around diaper-less. I may be in for a long ordeal.

One last fun note: Today we were riding in the car with a friend and the little 3-year-old she nannys. The sky was really clear with just some patches of clouds. Lukie looks up through the window and says "somebody cut up that cloud... that's not very nice." :)

And so it begins........

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Sat, 09 May 2009 19:04:00 +0000

The last few days have been full of rejoicing (!!!) and yet a solemn rememberance of what is to come. School is OUT! PW finished and he finished well. We are so excited to have completed our first year of seminary and look forward to long summer days in the courtyard, a couple camping trips, chances to visit family, and the opportunity to just be together as a family. As I stood in the sunshine today outside our little townhome I watched our neighbors begin to carry out their boxes... because they are moving. Many of our neighbors and friends have finished their final semester at Multnomah - and we are SO EXCITED for them. And now they have to go.... and we are bummed. So bummed.
I've always related the constant coming and going of dear brothers and sisters to us being in school - which makes sense. But the longer I've seen friends come and go the more I've realized it's a part of being in the Kingdom of God. They came because they were being faithful to God's calling in their life and they go now because they need to be faithful. I hope that we too will be faithful to go when our time comes. This will be a hard year as several DEAR friends move away - some to be near family and some to enter into ministry and some to start a new job or school... but I'm so blessed that I can rejoice in these moves because it is for a great purpose.

So.... if you're in the area please come visit! Josiah will entertain you to no end. He is quite the little ham and is full of new words: squirrel, truck, car, stick! all of the important things a little boy should know about.

Here's the verdict

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick) — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 05:38:00 +0000

Josiah had two ear infections, one in each ear. No wonder the little guy was in such rough shape. The doctor gave us some antibiotics and even after one day he looks a TON better.

Seriously folks, he had a dark Jedi, Darth Josiah look going: oozy eyes and nose, deep dark circles under the eyes, general crankiness.

First wedding of the summer was today and I'm beat. It was a weird experience, and maybe I'll have a bit of time to reflect on it. But for now, lentil soup and bread and filling out an adendum form to our tax return that I neglected to furnish.

Bummer...

Sick!

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 17:40:00 +0000

Everyone is getting or has been sick. It's the pits. Josiah has some nastly looking goo coming out his nose and eyes, and he's at the doctor's office right now getting checked out. Rach is blech. I was puking last weekend and might be descending back down the abyss.

Pray for us PLEASE!!!

A Quick Update

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick) — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 15:13:00 +0000

So, I've finally decided the direction that I will be taking for my emphasis here at Multnomah. Having now taken classes from each of the heads of the various fields, I decided that historical theology is the path that I will be taking for the next couple of years. Here's what the means:

-I'll be studying under Dr. Robertson, a missionary in Ecuador for several years before heading off to Oxford to get his doctorate in historical theology.

-I'll be specifically emphasizing in patristics and will spend a bulk of my time dealing with figures from the first 700 years of the church.

-Dr. Robertson informed me that, despite the fact that our school does not offer any of these, I will have to learn 1) Latin, 2) French, and 3) German (all in addition to the standing language requirements of Hebrew and Greek...YIKES!) We took a family outing to Powell's Bookstore on Hawthorne yesterday and I picked up a beefy looking beginning Latin grammar. Yay summer...!

-Much of my remaining elective and guided/independent study credits will be devoted to readings in specific eras and people. This coming Fall, I'll be doing readings in either the Cappadocians or St. Augustine (I haven't yet decided) with special emphasis on the articulation of Trinitarianism. I may be reading Athanasius as well.

-I'm really excited!!

And finally, a picture of my lovely wife!

Neighborly Love

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 05:17:00 +0000

I just got in from running two donkeys over to my friend's house. She was working out and it made me kick myself for not going on a good long walk or run during the sun-shine today. Tomorrow is PALM SUNDAY! and she wanted me to draw a couple donkeys for the kids to "pin a palm on a donkey" at church. So great. :)

My sister is in labor right now........ and everytime I think about that my insides want to explode a little from my desire to be with her. I really wish I were there right now.

Patrick worked a double yesterday and a double today (sick.) - and Josiah and I were blessed to receive the hospitality of our neighbors. They fed us and then I stayed and watched a movie while Josiah slept. It's a really, really, really great gift to have great neighbors... and friends.

THOUGHTS.

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 02:09:00 +0000

It's a little after 7pm and my Friday is officially coming to a close. PW is at the OG, Josiah is up in his bed "roaring" (literally), and I'm just about to make myself some nachos and watch a little Gilmore Girls. I thought before I truely kick-back, I should send out an update on our happenings.

SPRING BREAK
This week Patrick and I learned that we need to change our idea of family vacation from "really restful, refreshing time" to "really fun, super great memory creating time". :) Our dear friend, Stephanie, (blog of her own to come - and you should read it) has a couple awesome parents that have adopted us as their own. They invited us to spend a couple days with them in Sunriver, OR -- and of course we said "YES". We had never been to that part of OR - it was really gorgeous. We stayed in a house with the rest of the fam and spent some time swimming, hot tubbing, biking, "boppin' around" (Steph's term), and playing games. It was really great and Josiah thought so, too. He decided he didn't really need as much sleep as he normally does - which was his first mistake. And then the child we brought home was not the one we had known previously. Ah! I think ANY parent can relate to the process of detoxing a child from a trip where they are loved on A LOT.... it was our refining fire. Thankfully, we've all evened out a bit and the remained of Spring Break has been pretty great, as well.

LENT
I think that many of the inner-workings in my heart over the season of Lent are meant to be between me and the LORD, but I will say this. This year Lent has been more meaningful to me than any previous year. I started observing it with my friend who is Catholic when we were 13 or so (thanks Kate!) and I'm really grateful that 1. it became a part of my life even though my church back home didn't observe it, and 2. that our church now takes delight in opening our eyes to the history of the Church and its calendar.
Previous to Lent 2009 I read a book titled Girl Meets God, by Lauren Winner. I REALLY recommend her stuff. Her experience of anticipating the rising of Christ and truely rejoicing in it made me want to have a similar experience. This year my own weaknesses have been revealed to me in great ways... I have sought so much comfort in other things besides my Saviour. Silly, passing things - and I don't want to do that anymore.
We are hosting Easter at our home this year for the first time ever and I'm really, really excited. I love to celebrate and I'm blessed to have friends who share the same passion - so we are going to rejoice hard core. He is alive and we are saved. Amen.

BABIES
We will be welcoming a couple new little ones into our home come summer-time. When I quit my job at Starbucks, I made a commitment to the LORD to not look for another job. It was really hard for me to drag myself away from job postings and I realized that I was trying really hard to find my value in my ability to make money - not a good idea. So He and I decided that if He wanted me to work, He would bring it to me and I could just hang out and be faithful where he placed me for now (with Josiah). Okay - so I'm going to start watching a couple new babies! We're hoping to have it be just two days a week so we can still hang out with PW a lot - but we're all being really flexible with one another to see how it all goes for everyone. Both babies are first born: one is Hudson who is now 3 months old, and one is yet to be named and born - but she belongs to our good friends, Jim and Dara Gossett. I'm really excited for this opportunity to be a blessing to these families and to be blessed by caring for precious little ones again.

OTHER STUFF
We just have six more weeks left of school and Patrick will have officially survived his first year of seminary. Whoo-hoo!!! We are STOKED for the summer and think it might be kind of weird to actually hang out with each other again. :) He's doing a super-awesome job all around and Josiah and I are really blessed by his on-going efforts.

We had our family pictures taken yesterday by our good friend Jelani Memory. I'm sooo excited to see them. Josiah is officially 18 months this month, so it was good timing. He's like a little kid now, getting a lot better at communicationg and a hoot most of the time. Stop by and see us... because he's really entertaining. :)

TWENTY-FIVE!

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 20:52:00 +0000

My birthday was so great. so great. I'm really glad to be twenty-five. It seems to push me up into the official adult stage -- and I'm ready for that.

Our festivities were pretty mild - which was perfect. I seriously loved every minute of it. I was SO BLESSED by an abundance of thoughtful cards and gifts and notes and hugs... the LORD has provided me with beautiful friends and family who show me a fraction of his deep love for his kiddos.

Yesterday Patrick arrainged for our dear friend (and neighbor) to hang out with Josiah for the day (THANKS JEN!!!!) while we escaped for a day at the beach. It was PERFECT weather - sunny, not too cold, and just a light breeze. It had been about two years since Patrick and I had been to Canon Beach together --- and it was sooooo great to be there with one another again. We walked for a long time, ate out at Camp 18 and Bill's Tavern (where they brew their own rootbeer = awesomeness), and Patrick even got to take a few pictures. :) My husband is so wonderful.

Thanks again to EVERYONE who blessed me with phone calls, cards, texts, presents, and love - you all are great and my cup overflows.