10/31/07 - Smart Girl

Every morning Eva comes into our room, crawls up on the bed and kisses Amanda, saying "Hi, sister!" Then she kisses me good morning, says "Hi, Mommy!", and heads off with Daddy to eat oatmeal. It's her own little morning ritual. Eva constantly surprises me with little things she says or does that show how much she knows already. A couple days ago we came home from an errand, and when I tried to get Eva out of her car seat, she pretended to be asleep. Where did she learn that, or did she just come up with that herself? When I teased her, "you're not asleep, silly!", she tried to fight a smile with her eyes still closed, and then started giggling. It was really cute. At the community center, her favorite activity is the toy kitchen. She'll pretend to cook and serve the food, wash the dishes in the sink, and then dry her hands. I'd love to get her a toy kitchen for Christmas, but we don't have room for it, so that'll have to wait.

Eva has become somewhat attached to certain cartoons now, and will specifically ask to watch Dora or Mickey. They're free On Demand, and I sometimes put one on to buy time to make dinner and such. She's very observing, and I'll catch her quoting "Oh, Toodles!" from Disney's Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, or patting her knees while saying "pat, pat" to help power the rocket on Baby Einsteins. Good thing these shows are halfway educational, because she's certainly paying attention. She likes Sesame Street, too. Her favorite book right now is Curious George, so we'll see where that goes.

Play Kitchen

Autumn Leaves

This week has been mostly sunny, but weather is getting steadily colder. Already it's dipping into the 30's at night, and the highs during the day no longer make it past 58 degrees. On TV they're giving tips on getting your house and car ready for winter. Since we're at a northern latitude, the sun shines directly into our windows at noon (instead of being overhead), warming our apartment nicely if it's not cloudy. It still trips me out as to the time of day, because the long shadows look like early morning or late afternoon to me. This weekend the clocks are set back again, so that will probably throw me off even more. The trees are starting to shed their autumn finery, leaving their naked branches shivering in the wind. It's magical to drive on a street covered with leaves, watching them dance and spin around you like colorful fairies in the wind.

I finally caught a glimpse Mt. Hood the other day. I'd heard that our neighborhood was famous for it's spectacular view of the mountain, but it was always hiding behind rain clouds. I was driving down a main street when I saw it's towering peak ahead of me in the distance, crowned with snow, and a little halo of clouds hovering near the top. It was beautiful, and I look forward to driving up to see it in person soon.

Lessons in Generosity

We've been hit with a number of unexpected expenses lately: having to buy an extra airline ticket and pay a name-change fee, replacing our broken video camera, and a tire on Dave's truck that picked up a screw. When life starts throwing curveballs, it's tempting to think, "I can't help anyone right now, I've got my own problems to worry about." But then I see friends struggling in worse circumstances without complaint, and I realize how good we have it. I want to be faithful in my giving without fear, trusting that God will honor our obedience. To me, the tradition of tithing (10%) belongs to God, not necessarily the church, and what matters is that our generosity makes a difference in the world and glorifies Him. Whether that's by helping a friend in need, donating to a relief fund, or something else worthwhile, I just want to discipline myself to be generous no matter my circumstances. It's a stretch of faith sometimes when things are getting tight, but it's a good habit to learn. I found out my sister Barocha contributes $10 a month to a Compassion International child. That's a huge commitment for her, considering the hours of odd jobs she has to do to earn the money, just so she can give it away. She's my inspiration!

10/27/07 - The Bestest Auntie In The World!

Aunt Nanci has been uploading videos of Bandit and Cleo onto YouTube for Eva to enjoy. Eva squeals with laughter watching them romp and play on the computer. It's a real treat for her. In just a few weeks, she'll be seeing them in person. I'm sure she can hardly wait!

Little Cyclist

Eva's legs are finally long enough for her feet to touch the pedals on her tricycle. She's learning how to pedal herself now, though she's not always strong enough if the terrain is rough or uphill. We took her to the college across the street to practice pedaling on their sidewalks, but she preferred putting her feet up on the frame as the bike rolled downhill. What a daredevil!

Potty Training

Since we've been settled in for about a month now, and no other major changes are on the horizon, we decided it's finally time to start potty training. Eva hasn't been all that motivated to sit on the toilet, since there are so many other interesting things she's rather be doing. So I decided to give her a little sticker every time she sits on the potty. Now she's really excited about it, but she knows she has to actually do something to get on of the big stickers (haven't had any luck with that yet). I have to put the toilet paper out of her reach because she likes to unravel it.

10/25/07 - How Embarrassing!

Dave took a day off so we could go to the DMV and get our Oregon drivers licenses, and I flunked the written test! I couldn't believe it. I was unprepared for so many questions regarding ice and winter driving conditions, something I know very little about. The lady at the counter, trying to make me feel better, chalked it up to too many distractions with the kids. Dave passed with flying colors, but he said most of his questions were DUI related. Now Dave will have to take another half-day sometime next week, to watch the kids so I can take the test again. Oops!

"Cranky Pants"

Poor Amanda is teething in earnest, and wants to nurse around the clock. She gets especially cranky after 4pm, when I'm trying to make dinner, and will cry every time I try to set her down. After a long day of two fussy, teething kids (Eva is cutting a bruiser of a molar right now), I tend to get a little stressed. Eva is constantly asking to “hold sister” when she cries, and while it’s cute, it tends to make things worse. I thought getting out of the house a lot would help, but I'm usually carrying Amanda around in the sling the whole time because she hates her car seat / infant carrier with a passion. I don't know why. Eva didn't mind the car seat, and used to go right to sleep whenever we drove somewhere, but Amanda screams bloody murder if you leave her in her seat too long, so we use it only in the car.

Moby Wrap

Carrying Amanda in the sling is convenient and cozy, the easiest way to be hands-free while keeping her happy, and I love the way she buries her sleepy face against my chest and lets her whole body go limp like jello. But she gets heavy and cumbersome after awhile, too, making my back and neck ache. The last time I went to MOPS I ended up standing the entire time, bending over the table to do a craft project with one hand while supporting her head with the other, because she cried every time I tried to sit down. I guess she wanted that constant swaying motion. Not exactly the "mommy break" it was supposed to be. Amanda just gets upset a lot more easily than Eva did, so that takes some getting used to. At least Eva was able to stay in childcare without having a meltdown this time, so I got to enjoy the MOPS meeting, even with the added challenge of carrying Amanda the whole time.

Sleeping Arrangements

Dave has taken to frequently sleeping on a mattress in Eva's room because Amanda spends a lot of the night nursing in our bed, and it gets crowded sometimes. Plus, Eva's been waking occasionally during the night and won't go back to sleep unless we stay with her, so it just works out all around. It's a short-lived phase, so we put up with it for now. One thing we won't put up with anymore is our neighbor upstairs. We always know when he gets home because we can hear his TV or Playstation blaring, sometimes until 4am. Apparently he works at a video arcade and has hearing damage. It was really bad the other night, when Dave had a big meeting with his company regionals the next day. We let the apartment office know that we'll be giving notice if they don't take care of it. We're done complaining. It's bad enough we've put up with brown, rusty water, endless repairs and cockroaches - there's no reason why we shouldn't be able to sleep at night!

10/23/07 - Toddler Antics

Eva is earning her toddler stripes these days. She’s drawn to water like a magnet, stomps through puddles every chance she gets, and can’t stop talking about “waterfall”, which we saw last week. In keeping with her habit of repeating everything she hears, she keeps calling us “Rachel” and “Dave”, and has to be reminded to call us “Mommy” and “Daddy”. Her favorite song is “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”, and she can be heard singing it to herself around the house throughout the day. She’s starting to use her imagination by role-playing and pretending when she plays, instead of just exploring and figuring out how things work. Mostly she imitates me and Amanda with her baby doll, like stripping it down, exclaiming “Oh, gosh - poopy!”, and trying to change the dolly’s diaper. If she gets a chance, she’ll practice on her sister by unsnapping Amanda’s clothes and trying to undo her diaper.

California Fires

I’ve been closely watching the coverage of the SoCal fires the past few days, both on TV and the internet. I tried to watch some local San Diego news footage through live streaming video online, but it froze my computer and almost crashed it, so I won’t be doing that again! A few people here have said, “aren’t you glad you’re not down there right now?” Honestly, no. It’s nerve-wracking to be so far away when so much is happening to people and places that you love. I know several people who have been evacuated, and have yet to hear the status on their homes. Thankfully the flames don’t seem to be threatening our house or my mother-in-law, but I still wish we were there to help. I wish we could send them all the rain Oregon’s been having. There’s plenty to go around, and they could certainly use it! The only thing I don’t miss about San Diego is the 90-degree weather in October. It always frustrated me that the hot summer weather hung around so long in a month when it’s supposed to be autumn. There’s just something not right about hunting for your Halloween pumpkin wearing sandals and a tank top. Up here we got to visit the pumpkin patch the way you’re supposed to: wearing a warm sweater, looking forward to hot cocoa and caramel apples.

Hood River Harvest Fest

This Saturday we went to the Hood River Harvest Fest, about an hour away. They had about 100 arts and crafts vendors in indoor booths, and a farmer's market outside. There were jams and jellies made from Oregon-grown berries, and apples as big as your head from local orchards. Amanda mostly slept contentedly in her sling, but Eva wanted Dave to carry her almost the whole time. We may have to get a backpack carrier for her, if she's going to keep doing this. She was more excited by her red balloon than anything else. We left with fresh apple cider and cinnamon-roasted almonds, and drove across the river into Washington for a quick look before heading home.

Out And About

Oregon's Beauty

It was pouring rain both ways, but you could still see the mountains and river, and each view was more beautiful from the last. We try to take pictures, but they never do it justice. The forests are full of evergreens, peppered with trees in their bright fall colors. The roads were fringed with a colorful carpet of fallen leaves. We took Hwy 84 almost the whole way, and I was surprised to discover that we could see at least four of the waterfalls, including Multnomah, from the highway as we drove past. They were roaring with extra water from the recent rains. On the way back we made a detour onto the Historic Columbia Gorge Highway. It's a beautiful drive, though the antique stone wall barriers built back in 1918 make me nervous in the rain. They're decorative and beautiful, but I doubt they'd keep a modern car from going over the edge. Dave showed Eva the Horsetail Falls while I changed and nursed Amanda. Eva was so enamored by the waterfalls last week, she's been talking about them ever since. I'm glad they're only a 1/2 hour away from home, because they're sure to become a favorite destination, especially once the girls are old enough to hike.

10/19/07 - Little Ladybug

The community center had a costume day on Wednesday, and everybody from our playgroup dressed up. It was adorable!

Costume Day

10/16/07 - Big Sister

Eva loves being a big sister. She likes to try and unsnap her sleepers, and once took Amanda's diaper off when I wasn't looking, getting poop everywhere. She always calls her "baby sister" instead of "Amanda", and proudly points her out to anyone who will listen. She loves to blow bubbles to entertain her. Eva always asks to hold her, even though the baby is too big for her to handle. Amanda is 14lbs now, and has outgrown all her 3-month clothes. I'm digging through Eva's old 6-month clothes for anything warm enough for Amanda to wear. To my shock, I myself have lost 7 pounds, and am now only 11 away from my goal. I'm going to have to credit nursing for that success, because there certainly weren't any changes in diet or exercise.

Northwest

Living in the Northwest is different in so many ways you'd never think of. For one thing, I'm amazed at how dark it still is even at 7am. And the position of the sun means there are long shadows on the ground even at noon. Sometimes it really throws me off as to what time it is. The nights are getting colder, and our forecast is all rain for the next week. The weatherman says "we've had a break, but it looks like fall weather is finally settling in". Whenever people hear that this is going to be our first winter here, their first reaction is, "Good luck! The first winter is always the hardest." The Portland area gets around 200 days of rain a year. They say the key to beating the blues is to get out as much as possible. If you plan on curling up with a good book every time it rains, you'll never leave the house.

Gray Skies

I've always been taught not to waste electricity by turning on unnecessary lights during the day. But when the weather is gloomy and gray, that extra light can make a big difference in your mood. David noticed that several of his residents have so-called "sun lamps" in their rooms, which mimic natural sunlight. He thought they were kind of goofy, but now he's beginning to think it might not be such a bad idea. Apparently depression during the winter months is pretty common up here. They call it "Seasonal Affective Disorder," or SAD. I guess that means even if you grew up used to it, the weather can still have an effect on you. That's bad news for people like Dave, who live for sunshine. An admitted "sun worshipper", Dave has a feeling that months of rain and clouds on end might put a damper on his moods. He hates being indoors on a sunny day, and is always eager to get out and soak up every ray of sunshine that he can. Even in SoCal, he never could get enough, so this is going to be a tough adjustment for him.

I, on the other hand, don't mind cold weather or being indoors, so long as it doesn't involve shoveling snow off my driveway. I burn so easily and am so self-conscious about my pale skin and postpartum body, I prefer long pants and sweaters anyway. The only bummer for me right now is that we don't have a fireplace to make things cozy. Talk to me in a few months, though, and I'll probably be sick of the rain by then.

10/14/07 - Pumpkin Patch

For our fall tradition, we took the girls to the pumpkin patch at Sauvie Island Farms on Saturday. They had cornfield and hay mazes, a haystack pyramid, bounce houses, a giant pumpkin slingshot, barnyard animals, kettle corn, caramel apples, and much more. It started off cloudy, but soon burned off into a bright, sunny day. I forgot the sling, so whenever Amanda cried in the stroller, I carried her bundled up in my jacket. Some of the activities were too big for Eva, but she still enjoyed the "amimals" and playing in the hay maze. I tried to get some video of the experience, but our video camera won't focus and everything looks blurry. I'm afraid we're going to have to take it in for repairs. In the meantime, we got some great pictures, and brought home farm fresh apples and a huge pumpkin, perfect for carving. There are a couple other farms with pumpkin patches in the same area. They're all so popular that it took us an hour and a half just to get off the island, because the traffic was so backed up. At one point Amanda had a blow-out diaper and we had to change her, outfit and all, right there on the road, in traffic. I'm still glad we went, though. Last October my Grandmother passed and we missed taking Eva to Bates Nut Farm. Little did we know that the following fall we'd be taking her to a pumpkin patch in another state, with a new baby sister! God has a great sense of humor.

Sisters

Columbia River

The Falls

Multnomah Falls

On Sunday we decided to take a drive along the Historic Columbia River Highway to see Multnomah Falls. It was a beautiful drive with gorgeous views of the Columbia and Hood Rivers. Everywhere we look, the leaves are turning vibrant shades of red, orange and yellow. For someone whose never lived anyplace with real seasons, it's an amazing sight. Some of the trees are actually still green on one half, and golden on the other, which looks really weird. I always thought they changed all at once. Eva was so excited, she kept yelling “waterfall!” and pointing. Later we stopped at the drive thru at Arby’s and Eva called out her order out from the back seat, repeating everything Dave said: “sandwich”, “chicken”, “drink”….it was so cute!

10/11/07 - Blog Fever

People always ask me how I find time to write with two small children. I've always been a writer, and to me it's a stress reliever - a way to decompress, organize my scattered thoughts, and preserve a memory at the same time. I never would have imagined, when I started my little online pregnancy journal three years ago, that it would balloon into the regularly updated saga of our family. I hope that someday when the girls are older, they'll be able to look back on this blog and laugh at my struggles learning to raise them through their early years. And when they have children of their own, they'll have a record better than any baby book to compare notes with. In the meantime, I hope that friends and family living far away enjoy our little story as it unfolds, and feel somewhat closer as a result.

Kids Are So Smart

Eva can get into almost anything these days, and nothing - not snaps, buttons, doorknobs or latches - will stop her. She even carries her toddler chair around the house to give her a boost to reach things. Her favorite word is "more", and she drives me crazy repeating it a million times a day. It doesn't matter whether she wants a bite of whatever we're eating, to turn something on or open something for her, the first word out of her mouth is always "more". I have to make her stop and tell me exactly what she wants with the right words. Although she can't always find the right words on her own, she can repeat almost anything (and usually does), knowing exactly what it means. Yesterday she was calling "Mommy!" while I was changing Amanda's diaper, and when I didn't come fast enough, she started calling "Rachel! Dave!" just like she's heard us do. Eva's showing a lot more interest in the potty now, telling me whenever she has to go, but cries whenever I try to sit her on the toilet, as if she thinks it's some sort of punishment. The truth is, Dave is the only one who's been working on it with her up until now, and she wants Daddy to do it, not me. She loves to blow bubbles to entertain the baby with a special Gymboree blower that makes dozens with each breath, and a solution that makes bubbles that last for hours wherever they land. She’s fascinated by planes flying over, and yells “airplane!” and makes engine sounds with her mouth whenever she sees one in the sky.

Amanda is getting so big now. She pushes to a stand with her legs if you're holding her, lifts her head and looks around the room. There's a mobile of teddy bears hanging over the pack-n-play that fascinates her to no end, and she'll stare and coo at it, and follow it closely with her eyes when we move it. She's outgrown all her 3-month clothes already, even though she's only eleven weeks. We recently graduated her to size 3 diapers as well. They're a bit large on her, but the size 2's were getting tight and would overflow whenever we used them.

Decisions, Decisions

Our lease for the apartment is up in March, and we know already we don't want to renew it, so we've kept a good portion of our stuff packed. Now we have to decide where we want to go. Buying a house would be expensive unless we sold our home back in SD, which we're not ready to do yet. We could purchase a manufactured home outright, avoid a mortgage and just pay space rent. Or we could continue to rent somewhere else, where we don't have to deal with brown water and cockroaches (that's right, I've found three so far, coming in from our neighbor's wall). I want whatever is most cost effective, gives Eva a yard to play in, and doesn't require moving every six months. So we're checking out our options and making calls, and took a tour of a mobile home park with a realtor last week.

The Friendly Skies?

We've finally updated our auto insurance, and were surprised to find it's more expensive now because Oregon is considered a high risk driving area, what with all the rain and occasional ice. We still need to register our vehicles and get Oregon driver's licenses. We're also trying to enroll in our new health insurance, but first we need to get Amanda her social security number. So many little things that just take time.

Next on the list was to book tickets for our first visit home. We wanted to spend time with Dave's family sometime around the holidays, so a couple weeks ago we bought three non-refundable tickets to come down to San Diego the week before Thanksgiving. That way we'd skip the big travel rush, and Amanda would ride on our laps. A few days later, the State of Oregon moved the dates for David's required licensing class right over our trip. He can't postpone or skip it, because his building will get fined if he doesn't get his Oregon license at the first available opportunity. I asked the airline to change Dave's ticket to Amanda's name so we could keep the seat, and Amanda would ride in a car seat next to me. They charged us a $60 difference for "selling" Dave's ticket and "repurchasing" another ticket for Amanda at the current rate, plus a $100 name change fee! They say it's for security reasons required by the TSA and FAA, but nobody is forcing them to charge such outrageous prices for a simple name change almost two months before the flight! Dave, meanwhile, had to purchase another ticket to come down a few days later.

10/7/07 - Family Visit

Grandma and Grandpa came up to visit this weekend, bringing Aunt Barocha, Uncle Caleb, and the little silky (there were no dog-sitters available). They’d never been to our new house before (except Grandma, when she helped us move in), so it was nice to show them around. They took us out to breakfast on Saturday, and Dave ordered a milkshake, which was a big hit with Eva. Later we walked through historic old town Gresham with it’s quaint little shops, and tried out a little Chinese restaurant that Dave and I definitely plan to visit again. We decided to check out an evening service at East Hill, but Eva started crying in the two-year-olds class and they paged us to pick her up when she wouldn’t calm down. She’s been pretty cranky lately, having trouble sleeping and getting upset over things that normally wouldn’t bother her. I think that new molar must really be bothering her.

Making Ourselves At Home

We're starting to get familiar with the area now, and don't have to carry MapQuest printouts everywhere we go. They're still helpful when we're going someplace new, but our neighborhood isn't so much of a mystery anymore. I've figured out my strategy for getting things done: watch the weather forecast for the one or two days per week when it's not supposed to rain, and run all my errands then. On rainy days, outings only consist of places where I can let Eva run around, like the community center. Of course, you can't always predict it, because sometimes it will look cloudy and threatening all day, and never spill a drop. And then the next day you'll have a freak hailstorm followed by a few hours of sunshine.

But rain or shine, it's always pretty chilly outside, and I'm slowly getting used to never leaving the house without a jacket or umbrella. Inside our apartment, it's pretty warm, and we've only had to turn on the heaters a couple of times so far. Each room has it's own thermostat, and the heaters run along the baseboard for the length of the room. You can't put any furniture or anything within a foot of them, for fear of fire or heat damage. The thermostat in Eva's room is broken, unfortunately. We set hers at 60 degrees, but the other night it got to 80 in her room because it kept blowing and wouldn't turn off. Dave finally had to flip the switch on the breaker in order to shut it down.

All About Baby

Amanda recently found her fist, and chews or sucks on it every opportunity she gets. Normally I would take that as a hint that she was hungry, but right now I think sometimes it's just a comfort thing. She doesn't spit up as much now, but she drools constantly. She's become more social lately, and always wants to be where people are, sitting upright where she can see what's going on. Amanda gets really upset if we lay her down by herself and walk away, so if she's awake when I have to set her down, I try to make sure her swing or bouncy seat are facing the action. Even asleep, she prefers it to be noisy. If it's too quiet, she'll wake up, so I always have the TV or radio or some form of white noise going.

Eventually, Amanda just wants to be held, and nothing else will do. This is where the sling comes in handy. I've spent whole mornings with her asleep or quietly watching the world from the sling, only fussing if she's hungry or dirty. It's very convenient when we go out, especially if I don't bring the stroller. People's first comments when they see her usually involve some variation of "look at that hair!" They always love how spiky it is. Big sister Eva likes to play with it, and I'm hard pressed sometimes to keep her from pulling it or running dirty fingers through it. Once she left a booger in Amanda's hair, which totally grossed me out. Don't you just love toddlers?

10/3/07 - Baby Teeth

Amanda changes more every day, and her personality is really starting to show. Her cheeks are plump and rosy now, she has an adorable double chin and sparkling blue eyes. Although she seems to be more sensitive than Eva was, she's still usually a content, observant baby. She recognizes faces and voices easily now, and smiles much more readily when we give her direct eye contact. She's drooling and fussing a lot lately, and I can barely feel the ridges of tiny teeth trying to emerge in her lower jaw. Amanda loves it when we rub her sore gums with a finger, and flashes us a gummy grin of gratitude. She still wants to be held most of the time, but if we wait until she's in a deep enough sleep, we can lay her down and she'll stay asleep for up to an hour. At night she's still sleeping fairly well, despite the teething. She goes down around 9 or 10, and gets up around 8am, waking only a couple of times during the night to nurse. Right now she's struggling with a persistent stuffy nose that makes it hard to breathe or nurse.

Chatty Eva

Eva is becoming more independent every day, wanting to do everything herself. She drinks from a regular cup now, and helps me fold towels and burp rags, and unload the dishwasher. She's got eagle ears when it comes to the cookie jar: she can hear the lid coming off a mile away, and immediately comes running asking for a cookie. Her grasp of language is really maturing, too. She can finally say her name clearly, after months of "wawa" and "ewa". She puts words together in sentences now, like "down, please" or "baby sister crying". She loves to watch the "Little Einsteins" or "Dora the Explorer" on TV, following along with actions like clapping, and repeating their vocabulary words. Her favorite DVD right now is a sing-along Mary Rice Hopkins concert with hand motions. She sings, dances, and tries to follow along with the motions. She's become quite a little parrot, and you never know what's going to come out of her mouth next. The other day I was driving along when I heard "C'mon, Eva!" from the back seat. It was the last thing she'd heard as I tried to get her into the car, and she kept repeating it for the next half mile. Later she climbed up on the dining room table, and before I could say a word, she looked straight at me and barked "get down!" I hate to be predictable, but that's exactly what I was about to say, and she knew it. She likes to bring you something and say, "Here, for you!" Often when we're trying to get out the door, Dave will shout "let's cruise!", and Eva will come along behind him, yelling "let's cruise!" over and over again.

Adventures in Diaper Changing

We decided to check out a local church called East Hill this Sunday, after a sweet lady we met at a shop in Troutdale found out we were new to the area and recommended it to us. It's only 5 minutes from our house. We took Eva to the 2-year-old's classroom, and after a few minutes of natural clinginess while she sized the place up, she promptly joined another girl working on a puzzle and ignored us as we said good-bye. They gave us a pager in case she needed us, and we took Amanda with us into the service. That wasn't the most memorable part of the morning, however.

After the service, I went to the "Crying Babies Room" to change Amanda's diaper. (They have a live video link in there so parents with fussy babies can enjoy the service without disrupting it). I took only the wipes and one diaper with me, while Dave took the rest of the diaper bag with him to pick up Eva. Bad idea! Amanda started pooping the instant I took her diaper off, staining her outfit and even the outside of the new diaper. I had to put the soiled diaper on her, wrap her in a thin receiving blanket and head down the halls in search of Dave. He was standing in line outside Eva's class with the other parents, so again I took just one diaper and a spare outfit with me, and left the rest with him (What can I say? Some of us take longer to learn). This time, the minute that diaper was off she started peeing everywhere. I was scrambling with paper towels to try and soak it up, but it still ran all the way up her back, soaking her hair and the whole changing table. I cleaned her up with baby wipes (all I had), dressed her in her new outfit, and put her in the sling, which she promptly spit up on, including my shirt. Dave and I hurried through the rain to our car, each carrying one child and an umbrella. I gave Amanda a bath as soon as we got home, but no sooner did Dave dump out her bathwater than she spit up all over herself again, and I had to give her another bath. What a morning! Amanda certainly likes to keep us on our toes!

A Church Home?

East Hill Church reminded me of Anaheim Vineyard back when I went there in high school. The large auditorium, the modern worship band, information booths for all the different ministries, and even the bookstore and café. It's the same casual "come as you are", jeans and t-shirt family atmosphere we've come to prefer. They also offer prayer to anyone in need after every service, and encourage everybody to be involved, not just the elite leadership, which are values very dear to my heart. I never felt comfortable with a church that expects most people to ride the bench and pay their tithes while the "professionals" (read: seminary graduates) do "the work of the ministry." In any church, there always will be something you eventually disagree with, but that’s to be expected. What matters is that they’re grounded in the Word, and eager to share God’s love with others. The big test for us right now, however, will be if we can find a family friendly home group. In a church this size, you have no hope of getting to know anybody unless you're involved in a small group. And since we don't know anybody who could baby-sit, and would prefer meeting other parents with small children anyway, that's what we're looking for. We know God brought us to Oregon for a reason, so we're trusting Him to provide a church home.