She laughs at the time to come

Our karate grading to become green belts: we passed!

Awesome Hubs working hard on The Coop

The Coop!

I realized last week that I have 12 weeks left of being pregnant. It seems like so many!--but also so few when you start scheduling things. So I made myself a little Excel spreadsheet (I know, sooo not like me... but David and Nicole would be proud of my attempt at organization!) of the next 12 weeks and included categories such as House, Garden, Chickens, Social Events, Baby Prep, Appointments, Prayer List, Exercise, DIY/Crafts and Bucket List. The idea was so that I didn't spend my entire medical and maternity leave biking to and from the ranch, friends' houses and the lake. I mean, that's all I want to do... but I'm grateful for this extra time when I can sew curtains for the baby's room and make some freezer meals for when he gets here.

Left to right: Mrs. Fluffernutter, Sue and Lady Peepington

First strawberry from our garden!

Bottom seam has gone haywire!

I'm already behind. BUT in my defense, my sewing machine started acting up and last week was WAY too nice to be inside trying to troubleshoot thread and needles and bobbins and tension. However, this week is cold and wet. So I guess this is where I learn discipline :). And it's great! I seriously do love that I get to nest and do Martha Stewart-y things! I just have to remind myself sometimes that I won't suffocate if I spend more than half an hour inside at a time. Today at the ladies' group I attend at our church, one of the leaders got up and read from a passage in Proverbs that her husband read to her during her birthday meal last night.  It goes something like this:

¹⁰  An excellent wife who can find?
    She is far more precious than jewels.
¹¹ The heart of her husband trusts in her,
    and he will have no lack of gain.
¹² She does him good, and not harm,
    all the days of her life.
¹³ She seeks wool and flax,
    and works with willing hands.
¹⁴ She is like the ships of the merchant;
    she brings her food from afar.
¹⁵ She rises while it is yet night
    and provides food for her household
    and portions for her maidens.
¹⁶ She considers a field and buys it;
    with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.
¹⁷ She dresses herself with strength
    and makes her arms strong.
¹⁸ She perceives that her merchandise is profitable.
    Her lamp does not go out at night.
¹⁹ She puts her hands to the distaff,
    and her hands hold the spindle.
²⁰ She opens her hand to the poor
    and reaches out her hands to the needy.
²¹ She is not afraid of snow for her household,
    for all her household are clothed in scarlet.^[f]
22 She makes bed coverings for herself;
    her clothing is fine linen and purple.
²³ Her husband is known in the gates
    when he sits among the elders of the land.
²⁴ She makes linen garments and sells them;
    she delivers sashes to the merchant.
²⁵ Strength and dignity are her clothing,
    and she laughs at the time to come.
²⁶ She opens her mouth with wisdom,
    and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
²⁷ She looks well to the ways of her household
    and does not eat the bread of idleness.
²⁸ Her children rise up and call her blessed;
    her husband also, and he praises her:
²⁹ “Many women have done excellently,
    but you surpass them all.”
³⁰ Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
    but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
³¹ Give her of the fruit of her hands,
    and let her works praise her in the gates.

I pray that I might be a wife and mother of noble character, an ever-helpful friend, and a blessing to all I come in contact with! Hold me to it :). 

Karate Mum, signing out!

USA, Baby!

Last week David and I (and Baby, of course) went to the States for a last hurrah before two officially becomes three. We switched vehicles with my parents so we could sleep in the back of their SUV (which was brilliant and saved us hundreds of dollars--and was super fun!). On Thursday we headed down to Tacoma and spent the night at a sketch town motel. Seriously. The best part was that the shower head was less than five feet tall and their "continental breakfast" consisted of bananas and prepackaged cheese pastry things. But you can't complain about fresh fruit and hot showers, right?!

That night, after we checked in, we decided to head back to the outlet mall we passed in search of baby items. 

That's where the trouble began...

We went into a Carter's first and were delighted that their already-cheap baby clothes were a whopping 50% off! But as we walked in we noticed a very distinct boy section to our right and girl section to our left. I asked an employee where their gender neutral items were and she directed me to one measly little rack that had maybe three different yellow articles of clothing hanging on it. David and I looked at the rack in silence for a minute and then he blurted out something along the lines of, "This is crap! We're finding out the gender of the baby." 

Thus began the weekend of hemming and hawing about "peeking" once we were back in Canada. It didn't take much to convince me that, yes, it was a grand idea. So we found out! But I'm getting ahead of myself.

The next morning we took our bananas (multiple bananas. Perhaps five or six. Hey. What's a pregnant girl to do?) and headed west and then north to Sequim, WA, where we visited the Olympic Game Farm. If you have a chance, GO! You drive your vehicle right through the animals' living quarters and feed them bread from your car window. Friendly elk, stubborn zebra, waving bears, pushy bison, lazy lions and an assortment of other wildlife poked their noses/snouts/muzzles through our windows to eat the loaves of bread we purchased for them (Note: the more "toothy" animals were behind other fences and we tossed them bread. I didn't get to pet the Siberian Tiger. Next time.). 

We then drove through Port Angeles and Forks, both of which were a huge disappointment. I mean, I didn't see any vampires or werewolves and we drove really slowly through the town to make sure we didn't miss anything. Drat.

We drove along the beautiful west coast and stopped at an amazing beach to walk the sea shore and run in the sand. David climbed a big rock; you can make out his minuscule figure in the picture below.

That night we made it all the way to Seaside, Oregon, and camped in a Home Depot parking lot. It was fun!

Our Tahotel!

The next morning we headed into Seaside and Cannon Beach to take in the sights, sounds and smells. Did you know that every other store in Seaside is a candy shop?! I looked in every one before I decided what I wanted to go back and get. I gotta be picky these days when it comes to sugar... and let me tell you that I had terrible sugar cramps after the candy store day :).

We picnicked on the beaches, wandered the streets, played Dance Dance Revolution, hiked Ecola State Park, and were pleasantly pooped for the day. 

Candy!

DDR - We both sucked at this

That night we drove into Portland and a kindly pastor permitted us to camp in his church's parking lot. He invited us to attend the service the next morning, which was followed by a spaghetti feast, but we had other plans in Portland so had to decline. We woke up and immediately went to the East Portland Community Center for a swim and a hot shower as we hadn't bathed in two days (I know. We're gross. Get over it.), but when we arrived we were informed that public swim didn't start until 11:00... and it was 9:00. And the super cool rock wall that was advertised on their website wasn't available. Bummer. But we passed a Target on the way and thought we'd check out more baby stuff and then return to swim. The receptionist seemed to feel pretty badly about everything so she gave us two free passes for when we came back--how nice!

After our lovely swim and shower we went to the Japanese Gardens in Washington Park (which is in Oregon. I know it's confusing, but try to keep up). They were lovely! This is where David realized that he was made to bonsai. Er, made to do bonsaiing. Uh... made to be a bonsaier? I need to use a lifeline on that verb-slash-noun.  But seriously, David spent close to 45 minutes standing still in one spot watching a man take tiny cuts from his bonsai. DAVID. STOOD STILL. For 45 MINUTES. I have way less patience than he does, and I think I looked at the rest of the bonsai display sixteen times before he was finished absorbing this particular artist's work. I should have known what was coming after that and mentally prepared myself for the seven hour ride home in which David gushed about his newfound love of bonsai and the art of doing bonsai(ing?), but alas, I was probably thinking about lunch or horses or the chicks at home by this point. I managed to convince him to just buy the mini starter bonsai kit at the gift shop instead of the really big (read: expensive) one but I knew he'd started on something that wasn't going to be quelled quickly... which honestly, I love! He's so passionate about everything and he loves life more than anyone I know. Some people are overwhelmed by his exuberance but he's seriously the happiest, funnest, craziest, coolest man I know. When David was a little boy he used to get so excited about going on plane rides that he would work himself into a tizzy--and then puke everywhere.  He even once did this while sitting in first class on an airplane! The entire front section had to evacuate while the stewards replaced the carpet. That is how excited he gets! And thankfully he's managed to control his puking thing now... but as a boy...

Oh sweet Moses. I willingly created another one... 

Anyway, David has decided to forego his bonsai endeavours for now in lieu of becoming Super Dad! I get daily text messages from him about the baby's development; he's created lists and lists of items we need and schedules and what to do once labour starts; and he's devouring books on sleep habits. I accept! He's already the world's best husband; he'll easily become the world's best dad! And we're having a BOY!!!!! It's gonna be great :).

Last week recap

Ahhh, the life of a girl on medical maternity leave!  Well, it's only been a week--and a very fun-filled week at that--but this is what not having a job is all about, right? My last week at Timberline was extremely eventful. That weekend was Mother-Daughter Camp and it was by far the smoothest and most fun camp I have been a part of since working at TR.  I had a dozen volunteer wranglers come in for the weekend to help run activities in the barn; with the exception of us letting most of the horses out accidentally on Saturday night and chasing them haphazardly around the property and across the main playing fields during the dinner banquet, I would vote that the entire camp was a happy success.  The following day we had a guest group in, so it was a day filled with trail rides. My other wranglers had worked six days straight, so I gave everyone Tuesday off. It was my intention to come in for the morning, feed and do a few chores, and then come back for the afternoon.  I had a few hour banked hours I needed to use up anyway, so the planned seemed perfect. However,  Tuesday was a horrible-awful-sad day.  After loading the tractor bucket with hay I proceeded to feed the herd stationed in what we call the dirt field. As soon as I opened the gate and drove into the field, I saw a sight that caused my heart to nearly stop: Bailey, one of our older, true blue horses, was caught in amongst the fence, some green metal paneling and a cement barricade. Her legs were  rigid, her breathing was labored, and the flies were settling on her blood-crusted wounds. I called for help from one of the maintenance guys, as all my wranglers were off that day. Unfortunately Bailey was already in shock by the time I found her, and even though we chainsawed the fence boards apart to pull her from the mess, we were too late. Needless to say, it was a terrible experience.  I'll never forget the  look in Bailey's eyes as I gently pulled her head and neck free, and how quietly she passed while still in my arms.  The rest of the day passed in blur of phone calls and doing the things that need to be done in a barn, regardless of circumstances.  Brooke and Phil graciously offered to do the afternoon feeding for me, so I left at lunch after what felt like a day that lasted an eternity.  I had Wednesday off but the poor girls in the barn had to deal with the loss of one of everyone's favourite horses during their regular work day on Wednesday. Our pre-planned ride up to Golden Ears and Allco Park for Thursday was a much-needed escape after a grueling few days, and we all appreciated having a "fun day" to look forward to. Thursday truly was a gift from the Lord! The ride was everything we had hoped for: good weather, safe horses, great scenery and fun gallops through the parks! It took nearly four hours to get to Allco because a bridge was closed on one of the main trail routes.  After some genius maneuvering by Kim and Nicole we were able to make it home in two and a half hours AND we found an alternate trail route for future day-long rides. Yippee! Friday presented us with amazing weather so we elected to bathe and photograph two horses that we've put up for sale. After lunch we had my last staff meeting (*sniff!*) where the ranch presented me with a gift card and a fruit bouquet (in lieu of cake, which I cannot digest these days)! I wasn't excepting anything and was extremely touched by their generosity and kindness.  By the way, fruit kicks cake's butt any day. Strawberries, melon, cantaloupe, blueberries and pineapple on skewers? Heck. Yes. I was sad to leave, but I'm grateful for these three months before Little One gets here--and besides, I can visit the ranch lots and lots and lots :). On Saturday David and I went up to Hiker's Beach for lunch and general lounging. I really enjoy lying on my stomach when I'm in the sun, but that doesn't seem safe or pleasant for Babe... So I dug a small hole in the sand, lay my towel over it, and presto!--a perfectly comfy belly hole! :) That evening we had friends from Kamloops and Abbotsford come over for dessert and visiting.  It's always great seeing old friends and it always seems like the time shared is too short. Sunday was my first Mother's Day! We walked to church (as is our custom now--yay!), came home for lunch and gardening, and then biked to Timberline to visit the petting zoo. What a hot day! But it was lovely. We then biked to my parents' house for a joint Mother's Day-slash-birthday for Paul with the siblings and kids. It was a super weekend and a great way to step into mat leave!

No day is complete without a stampede, right?

I only have four more days left of work--FOUR! It's crazy and sad and I don't feel ready for it at all... But I'm very much looking forward to working in our garden, getting handy on my sewing machine, editing the book written for our church's centennial, and spending lots of time being active outside and with friends as summer approaches! This weekend at the ranch we have a Mother-Daughter camp. It's great seeing these moms and their girls connect over riding, rifelry, rock climbing, archery, vaulting and just hanging out in the petting zoo. Today was an eleven hour work day but it always seems to go quickly when we have non-stop activities all day. However, at 5:30 when the hay is thrown down and the herd is anxious to get to the fields for their much-deserved dinner, no one anticipates that an un-closed gate will catch the eye of a particularly observant horse who will in turn lead the rest of the team away from dinner and out to the open playing fields and roads around the ranch at a break-neck pace. Oops. Thankfully my wranglers are extremely capable and willing to take "all hands on deck" to a new level; Brooke even vaulted over a fence with the agility and ease of a gazelle as she sprinted after the thirty stampeders! All in a days' work. And in the days to follow our work will certainly consist of filling the hoof holes around the ranch with sand :). Next week the full time wranglers and I are going on a "send off" trail ride up to Golden Ears. A whole day in the saddle and the weather is supposed to be glorious--I can't wait! We'll pack picnic lunches and the only interruptions will be the countless times we'll need to stop so I can empty my bladder :). Also next week we have our very good friends from Kamloops coming down for a few days! David is competing in the Spartan Race with his buddy, Phil, in North Van, and then we'll celebrate Kari's birthday that evening. Fun times! As promised last post, I have created a baby pool for friends and family to guess when Baby will be born and other stats. There is a very real and very awesome prize for the winner! You can make your predictions here: www.bebepool.com/janellekristine. Good luck!