It's a....

(Ultra sound of baby A and baby B in their bunk beds on the left- individual shots on the right)

Okay, it is not far enough along to say that part yet. But, after a long and eventful journey, we are grateful and ecstatic to announce that….we are pregnant! With twins nonetheless! I am blown away every day by the idea of three hearts beating inside me- whoa. Although there are some twins in the family…genetics did not play a role in the fact that I have some bunk beds set up and expanding in my uterus. Chip and I tried to start a family for a while and were eventually told that the only way we would have our own children was to try in vitro fertilization (IVF). So, despite the many hurdles that make that option daunting, we went for it.

We have experienced a lot of pain, grief, and anxiety along the way, and are more than willing to talk about the details with people who are curious…or maybe struggling with something similar themselves. Infertility will affect about 15 % of couples, and we happened to not know one couple who had gone through this. We did have a few people to talk to, and that was immensely helpful. And, thank you again, you know who you are. Although it is easy to find oneself going through this kind of struggle mostly alone due the private nature of the subject matter, I don’t recommend it. Please, don’t hesitate to call or check in with us if you need someone or know someone who does need someone to talk to. At this point we are actually very grateful for our experience. wow- never thought I would say that. Of course a positive outcome helps us to embrace this mindset, but even before we knew the outcome we had conversations about the work of art we call “life” and how this was a brush stroke that we did not see coming, but added depth and beauty to our piece.



At this point, we are pretty focused on the joy and anticipation of being pregnant and parents- yahoo! It is so surreal. Due date is 1/5/2011, but many twins come before full term. However, my mom, whom my body is modeled after for sure, carried hers full term and then went 11 days late! So, we will just have to see how this all unfolds. We’ll keep ya updated on the progress here, so stay tuned.

(Us- all smiles after finding out the blood test was positive!!)


"A grand adventure is about to begin."
-- Winnie the Pooh

I'm three...I mean 21.

I have a little catching up to do. On June 8th, our puppilessness turned three...which makes her 21 in dog years...which means she can drink! Despite her parents efforts to pressure her into her first beer, she was quite resistant. She is smiling in this picture, but I don't think she took more than a lick and was not impressed. I guess it is more of an acquired taste than I remember. Guess we'll stick to water for now. Otherwise, our girl is doing awesome. She is as sweet and loving as ever, keeping me company when Chip is out of town or working nights. She guards the house with a really mean bark. In fact, she almost got a letter of complaint from the mail person....she HATES the mail person. But, once anyone other than the mail person comes in the door, she wags her tails so hard her entire body moves. She loves the water, finding any river, lake, or puddle she can (and there are lots in Portland this Spring as we have set records for the amount of moisture we have gotten in the past few months), and laying down in it. We really do love her and can't seem to get enough of her adorable furry face.




On the human front, it has been an exciting month too. I graduated with my masters almost three years ago now, but was not done with the process towards my license. I have been gathering the 2,000 client contact hours, 4,000 work hours, and a slew of supervision necessary to be deemed an official Licensed Clinical Social Worker. And, this past month...I met the mark, passed a local exam (already passed my boards), paid some more money, and received my license. Not sure what this really means. In some states it means I can start a private practice. In Oregon, I could have done that already without it....but personally didn't want to. It basically opens some doors and gives me more options. It also means I have completely made the transition to career number two. I feel pretty satisfied with it for the most part, but would not rule out another morphing of this career or a third entirely different one at some point. At this point we are more focused on making it to Chip finishing up as well and figuring out where he lands a job, and as a result, we land our family for the next stint. Vamos a ver!


Currently, my favorite bumper sticker...
"Wag more, bark less."

Pole, Pedal, Paddle

Well, this time I sat out. Emily and I enjoyed helping the boys gather gear and make their transitions as they teamed up to finish 9th in their age group for men's pairs in Bend's Pole, Pedal, Paddle. It was an incredibly beautiful day in Bend, the boys looked good, and fun was had by all. We would all like to return for a second (or first...or 50 millionth for Kyle's dad and his partner who rocked it in their division) stab at this thing. Emily and I checked out our competition...we can take them. No prob. Thanks to the Erkkila's for putting us up at their place an hosting a great weekend adventure.


“One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure its worth watching.”
-?

3P: 3D: 30M

Day One- feelin good, beautiful forest

Three people, three days, and thirty miles in this third month of 2010 was the goal. Portland has lots of good coffee, beer, food, art, and community to brag about. But, Forest Park is the shiniest gem this place has to show off, in my opinion. The Wildwood Trail offers 30 delicious miles of meandering trail through the rainforest (in one direction! love that!). While access to the Wildwood is pretty easy from downtown Portland, once on the trail, you hardly know that half a million people are gettin it done just on the other side of the ferns, moss, and dense trees you are wandering through. In my mind, the trail running in Forest Park is to runners what the Wasatch is to skiers. So, to honor and completely saturate ourselves in this trail's greatness, we decided to run the whole thing from end to end in one weekend. Kyle joined Chip and I on this adventure. We are grateful he did because without him there I could have just made this whole thing up, and, he carried his camera all 30 miles and documented this adventure like a pro. Oh, and he is a really fun dude that you want along on just about any adventure you embark on.
PS- Kessler joined us for day one and three. She did a great job, but her herding instincts drove her to run a lot more miles than any of us humans. In two days, she probably ran 60 miles. We thought that was enough.

Day Two- muddier, longer, and a bit more pain.

Before you put us up on some pedestal about how healthy we are, let me complete the story by letting you know that part of agreeing to participate in this activity included a commitment to go out to eat each day after we were done running. We rewarded ourselves with treats like pizza, burritos, crepes, beer, and burgers. .. we ate our way through the weekend just as much as we as we ran our way through it. And, it was equally as enjoyable as the incredible trail. We discovered some really stellar spots in the city.

Thanks, to my husband for organizing our put-ins and put-outs ;)...and agreeing to do this adventure even though he has no time to run or train for anything these days (Pretty much we all "off the couched" this....that might explain the pain I am in right now). Thanks to Kyle and Emily for being our partners in crime again this weekend- pictures, shuttling, eating, laughing, and loving the city with us. So much fun. What's next?!

Day Three- 30.25 miles complete!

"A lot of people run a race to see who's the fastest. I run to see who has the most guts."
- Steve Prefontaine (link)

Snooze Button

Haven’t written in a while…again. I did some sand tray therapy as part of my social work studies and one thing that illuminated itself at that time and pops into my head often since then, is the idea that hibernation is good. It works for bears. However, my favorite example, and the one that came to life in my sand tray, was that of a tree. I love trees. I know, who doesn’t, right? But, I have always felt this affinity for them similar to that of my attraction to blooming flowers…or puppies…
(a sunny afternoon at our new favorite back country spot below Mt Hood)


I grew up around lots of trees, especially deciduous ones that put on a fantabulous color show in the fall…and then seemed to hibernate. They would stand there looking dead all winter, getting clobbered by snow, wind, and rain…naked. I felt sorry for them. But, then, come April, they would come back to life, and grow back not only the leaves that they dropped in the fall, but would extend their branches a tad bit further. That bright green tip reaching just beyond last year’s mark... hibernation made that possible. Trees are smart. Some of them give themselves an entire season to rest, shed the excess, and draw into their center so that they may have the energy and ability to grow that extra little bit, be that much stronger, stable, and able to support that much more life. So like a tree, I am…have been… in a bit of a hibernation, at least a blogernation (yeah urban dictionary, what do you think of THAT word?!). And, I trust that upon revival, I will extend my green tips further. In the meantime, doing my best to find center.



(an awesome weekend trip to the coast with Emily and Kyle- skim boarding on the warm, February, Oregon waters)



PS- Unlike the tree, I don’t have to stand still, or naked, to pull into center and regain strength. So, here are some photos from things of the past six weeks. Hasta pronto…mas pronto esta vez.

"Accept the present and intend the future."
- Deepak Chopra

Hear, hear!

Seriously, Ohio's tax dollars paid for this. I love it. Chip and I decided this would be our mantra for 2010.

Happy New Year! To be honest, there were some highlights in 2009, and at the end of the day, Chip and I recognize all the amazing blessings in our lives. Still, at the risk of sounding ungrateful and pathetic, in summary, it was one of those years where I hope to leave more in the past than will be remembered fondly. You want it straight- Good riddens 2009! It happens. I am, by profession and practice, pretty solution-focused. However, Chip and I found it more therapeutic this New Years Eve to shamelessly make a list of all the things that sucked about 2009 and burn it five minutes before the clock struck midnight. No longer bogged down quite so much by those things, we also took the opportunity presented by the full and blue moon to put our positive intentions for ourselves and loved ones for the coming year out to the universe.


So, we are back in Portland. It snowed upon our return and created some beauty. Find it.


We have a boatful of smiles in our pockets from recent travels. Embrace them.



And, we remain hopelessly hopeful about our future and the futures of our loved ones despite past and inevitable pain. Just do it.

This is an action shot from the bottle rocket escapade in Philly- blast off 2010!



“Peace out- one love.” - Mortified author

National DuRoss' Christmas Vacation

I have to slip in a special Christmas entry. Our trip back east was epic. We flew into Cleveland to spend the first four days with Chip’s family. This was epic in that we had not seen Chip’s parents for a year- our longest separation since….I can remember….ever? I guess we knew that was a possibility when Chip started school, but it was other complications as well that contributed to the time between visits. AND, we got to meet Derek and Hope’s newest family addition, Mercy. She completes their adorable family perfectly. The pictures accurately depict the warmth and joy shared with family in Cleveland.




Then, we hopped in the car and headed further east to Philly to spend the holiday and four more days with the Mulliken/Voss family. This was epic in that it was the first time in SIX YEARS that my family has been together in entirety. Not only was this exciting, but then we also had a mini family reunion (for the second time this year) as extended family joined us for an evening of great food, company, and drinks at Tina and John’s. The collages from this part of the trip capture the laughter and energy of our time in Philly.




We are so grateful to the hosting homes and family members in both locations. Mindy put it well when she said, “ I feel like you guys put WAY more effort into making this happen then we did in getting here.” I couldn’t agree more.

Lookin’ forward to the next time.

"Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas... perhaps... means a little bit more."
-Theodor Seuss Geisel, "The Grinch"