The Schapora Story

Still sick

2009-05-04T15:30:00.000-07:00

Poor Braedan is still feeling sick. He's sleeping in my arms right now. He has a hard time sleeping for long when I put him down because he starts coughing. He seems to only have this problem during the day and is able to sleep at night, mostly.

Jerry is also sick. He NEVER gets sick. He spent most of yesterday watching movies. Jerry is better, but still sick today.

Hopefully the boys will feel better tomorrow....

Sicko

2009-05-02T09:44:00.000-07:00

My little boy is sick today. He has a little cough and a runny nose. Poor baby! It is so hard to watch him be sick.

We have been very lucky - this is only Braedan's 2nd cold and the 4th time he has been sick in his life. He seems to have a pretty strong immune system.

He's napping now. I think we'll spend the day watching movies and reading books. It's yucky and rainy out anyway.

Sadly, we have to miss my favorite Cave Junction event of the year - the Pet Parade. When Jobe was 6, Bosco and Sophi won the cutest couple award. Oh well.

Hopefully the echinacea, vitamin c and naynay will chase this cold away quickly!

Alyson

2009-05-01T08:32:00.000-07:00

One week ago today, my sister Kate brought her beautiful baby into the world. Alyson Jacquelyn Barry was born on Friday, April 24th, 2009.

Isn't she gorgeous?? You can just see the love and light in her eyes. Look at those adorable cheeks and perfect little mouth. I can't wait to hold her! Good job, KK!

We are so happy you are here, Alyson. We've waited for you for so long! We can't wait to watch you learn and grow. We are excited to get to know the very special person that you are.

Thank you, Kate and Brian, for bringing a new baby into the family to love. You two are sweet, wonderful parents and I'm so happy for you.

What a miracle - a new baby. It's an amazing, everyday miracle.

I can't wait to meet you and kiss those chubby little cheeks.

Soph Dog

2009-04-30T12:37:00.000-07:00

Sophi's operation on Tuesday went as well as it could have. All of the tumors (6 in all) were benign. Yay! She is resting and recuperating with a lot of ugly stitches, but she is quickly getting back to her spunky, energetic self.

Thank you for all of the love you all sent to her. What an amazing transformation from a pound puppy on death row to a beloved pet and family member. What a lucky dog, and what a lucky family to have found her!

Coast Trip

2009-04-30T10:38:00.000-07:00

We took a much needed rest and rejuvenate belated birthday trip to the coast in March. (yes, this post is late!) We went to Gold Beach and had a sweet time just being together, watching the waves and exploring the sand. It was supposed to be rainy the whole time, but it ended up being beautiful and sunny!

Sophi Dog

2009-04-18T18:14:00.001-07:00

I have been lucky enough to have a four-legged best friend for the last 10 years. Sophi Dog is the best of the best - Sweet, loyal, fun, cuddly, funny, adventurous, caring, patient - everything you could ever hope for in a best friend.

Sophi is an English Springer Spaniel. She is a nearly identical twin to Freckles, the dog I grew up with. Sometimes when I'm looking through old pictures, I have to think for a minute about whether it's Soph or Freckles.

Sophi was a pound dog. My boyfriend-at-time and I were killing some time and went to the pound to walk and play with some of the dogs. Sophi was in her little cage just laying there looking sad. There was a note on her cage that said something like - If you're interested in this dog, please tell the staff. This dog is scheduled to be euthanized.

Well, we took Sophi into the yard and played with her and pet her and loved her up and she was such a love! But, we weren't looking for a dog... It didn't fit our unstable life, or our unstable relationship. I put her back in her cage and the look she gave me... I'll never, ever forget it. It was a How could you do this to me, you bitch?

I went home and thought about her all night.... I was back at the pound the next morning before they even opened. I knew we were meant to be together. And Soph rode out of the parking lot sitting on my lap in the front seat of the car.

The boyfriend didn't last, but Soph and I have stuck together through thick and thin. She and I have been on some crazy adventures. We have traveled back and forth across the country several times by car and by plane. We drove to Alaska together and lived together in a tent for a whole summer - a very small tent. Then we took the ferry back to the "lower 48."

We've jumped in glacial streams together, swam in oceans, hiked and backpacked and explored all over the northwest and the country. We both love to swim and jump in any body of water at any chance we get.

Sophi sings a howling version of Happy Birthday - no birthday is complete without a serenade from Soph.

She loves to "fish," she'll spend hours wading around in the river looking for anything that moves and when the time is right, she plunges her face in the water in the hopes of catching something - she never has...

For a long time, it was just me and Soph. We've slowly added to the pack over the years - first, Jerry and Jobe, then Bosco Dog, then Rascal Cat, then Braedan. Sophi has fallen in love with each of them, and they have each fallen in love with her. Sophi is a true ray of light and a dependable love in our family.

There have been days when Sophi was the only one that could make me smile. She seems to know just what to do cheer me up. There are times when only a kiss from Soph will stop Braedan's crying. She is a stable, caring, unconditional friend for our pre-teen. She's a dependable buddy that will stay by Jerry's side in the garden well after dark. Rascal cat can always count on a bath and a snuggle buddy. She is Bosco's sidekick.

Sophi and I have spent the last 10 years together. What a lucky human I am!

I took Soph to the vet last week because I was worried about a lump.... Usually, the doc says oh it's nothing - just a fatty tumor. This time, he didn't say that. He was quiet, then he said I'm pretty concerned about this one.... We don't know anything yet. She gets the lump removed on April 28th and we'll find out more then.

The Great Fish Rescue

2009-03-13T10:05:00.000-07:00

B and I picked Jobe up at school today and we were SO happy to see him. Jobe had that terrible, nasty flu that is going around. He was sick the weekend he was supposed to come out, so we missed that weekend. We felt sad about missing a weekend, but didn't think it was wise to make him travel or to expose B to the flu.

When we got home, we went for walk to the river. After throwing rocks for a while, we discovered a few dried up pools with baby fish. There were Salmon about 3 inches long and a bunch of sucker fish about 2 inches long.

At first we thought all the fish were dead, but then discovered that some of them were breathing. Jobe and I got right to work moving the fish back into the water. B stood next to us and practiced signing and saying fish. We even found a baby lamp ray eel. In all, we saved about 25 fish. Jobe was very proud of the effort!

B was so excited to spend time with his brother. He loves him sooo much! Jobe is such a great big brother - I feel so lucky!

Doctor Visit

2009-03-10T18:43:00.000-07:00

Peek-a-boo!

We went to see Dr. Burnett today for a Well Child Check.

Braedan weighed in at 20 pounds 3 ounces and 29.5 inches. He is a developing well and he charmed the Dr. with his signing.

He also got his 2nd DTAP shot. Poor baby! It seems so deceptive to hold him and distract him while the nurse sticks him in the thigh.

I was kind of worried about the visit because Breadan is a littler guy and hasn't really followed the CDC growth chart. Our last Dr. was worried about it and wanted to start a bunch of tests. I felt she was over reacting and went for a second opinion. The second Dr. agreed with me and felt that he was right where he should be considering his genetics. His dad and I are both smaller people. At that point, I decided to go with the 2nd Dr. as our primary care. So far, I'm happy about that decision. Dr. Burnett seems to be on the same page as we are.

The DTAP is the only vaccine B has gotten so far. I have done so much research around vaccines and came to many conclusions. I found Dr. Sears to be very helpful in making decisions that I felt were right for us. I believe that vaccines are helpful and an important method for controlling disease, but I'm not confident that they are risk free and I feel that the medical establishment is over-zealous in immunizing the smallest, most vulnerable portion of our population - our babies. They were very pushy about giving B a Hep B shot when he was 2 days old. I couldn't see him swapping body fluids with anybody for at least a few years. I later read an article about aluminium in the shot having possible side effects.

I am delaying those vaccines that he is very unlikely to come in contact with - polio, Hep B and measles - until he's older and forgoing those that I don't feel are necessary - Chicken Pox and Rotovirus. I also won't give B more than one shot a visit. My research found while the effects of the individual shots have been studied, the effects of giving 2, 3 or 4 together have not. The dosages that are given to babies, as well as the additives, also raise some questions among some Dr.'s.

I have thought a lot about this and done A LOT of research - including online, books and talking to Dr.'s and other parents and feel that I've come to a plan that limits the risks of the vaccines and protects B from the diseases he should be protected against.

This is a VERY controversial subject where I live - and for good reason. We are talking about the life and health of our most precious people. I would love to hear what you think about vaccines and the decisions that you've made for your babes.

Spaghetti Monster!

Spring Hike

2009-03-08T18:48:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful day! We spent the day searching for signs of spring, watching birds, playing in puddles and exploring the garden. Braedan and I went on a hike by the river. We had to cross the little creek, so I carried Braedan and left the stroller behind. My big boy was quite the hiker.

On our hike we saw lots of birds including – Stellar Jays, Turkey Vultures and Mallard Ducks, and of course, Canada Geese.

My Big Hiker

The mountains are all covered in snow.

The beavers have been busy this spring!

Sophi by the river

Old Bosco loves to hike!

In the garden with a cool stick.

Signing

2009-03-07T10:16:00.000-08:00

I am loving signing with Braedan. My sister Careylynn inspired me to sign - she signs with her 2 kids.

I started signing with Braedan when he was a teeny, tiny baby. He did his first sign - milk - at 7 months old. For a long time, that was the only sign he did and he used it for everything. Now he is a signing machine. He is driven to communicate and I am happy that signing gives him a way to do it. If I don't know a sign, he'll make one up. A few of the signs we use (bear) are ones that B made up.

I was concerned that using sign might delay his speech development, so I did some research. What I found was that the signing develops one side of the brain, while speech develops the other. Signing helps to develop communication between the 2 sides and helps the child to develop more than one way to understand a word.

I have been using My Smart Hands to learn useful signs to share with B.

Here is a (partial) list of Braedan's signs:
Dog, Milk, Cat, Monkey, Tree, More, Eat, All done, Hat, Flower, Bird, Elephant, Potty, Giraffe, Apple, Bear, River, Ball, Book, Dinosaur, Fan, Light, Daddy, Mama, Car, Banana, Up, Help, Fish, Lion, Baby, Bat - and I'm sure there are more that I'm not thinking of

Daddy's Helper and Thanks Mom and Dad

2009-03-03T10:11:00.000-08:00

Braedan loves to help Daddy. Whenever Jerry has his tools out, Braedan is right there to assist. I have to say nothing warms my heart more than watching Jerry with Braedan - it is true love!

Working on the cabinets

Putting in the door to the office.

Figuring out the next move.

There's a picture of me as a toddler "helping" my dad study - I'm sitting on the table next to my dad's books. This picture reminds me of that picture. I'm thankful that Braedan has a dad as loving and involved as I do. Dads are so important!

I can honestly say that I have never known love like I do as a mom. I had NO idea that my whole life would be taken over and transformed and I would LOVE it! What a true blessing my little Braedan is.

I also didn't understand how much and how deeply my parents love me. It's only in the experience of feeling that all encompassing devotion for my child that I can recognize it in my parents. I am so thankful to have such incredible parents. Thanks Mom and Dad!

Video montage of B's 16th month

2009-02-26T14:27:00.001-08:00

Fun with flour

2009-02-26T11:32:00.000-08:00

Braedan found the flour and a bowl and got to work. He had the right idea, if only the bowl was right side up!

Jerry is working on finishing the cabinets - that's why there are no doors. My father-in-law made the cabinets from wood we had milled up. They are going to be gorgeous! I'll post pix when they're done.

You gotta love the powdered wig look!

There's nothing cuter than a baby's bottom!

Blog restart

2009-02-23T17:37:00.000-08:00

Hello -

I'm not sure if anyone follows this blog anymore, but I've been wanting to revive it for a while now. So - here we go!

Yesterday, I turned 38! I have a hard time believing that I'm in my late 30's - can someone tell me how that happened??

We had a lovely, quiet, LAZY day. We almost never use the L word to describe our lives, so it was a real treat. I had wanted to work in the garden, or go to the beach, but it was a stormy wintery day. We watched movies and Jerry baked a cake (really!) and I played with Braedan (my favorite thing to do). We went on a short walk in the rain and let B splash in the puddles. We capped the day with some yummy sushi and early to bed - a perfect day to celebrate another year!

Pix posted at Picasa

2008-04-22T12:43:00.000-07:00

Here is a link to pictures of our most recent adventures:

http://picasaweb.google.com/schapora

Just click the link, and then choose the album - I recommend the Coast Trip :)

Grandma Finch

2008-04-17T11:36:00.000-07:00

Grandma Finch was my motivation and inspiration for starting and maintaining this blog. She would always email me about how much she enjoyed seeing the pictures of her great-grandsons.

Grandma passed away in February. I haven't been able to bring myself to update the blog since then.

Gram was the life of the party and a great dancer. She was a graceful lady who made a mean fruit salad. She had a memory better than an elephant and could tell a story like no other. We are blessed to have had her as a Grandma.

We miss you, Gram!

2008-01-24T11:08:00.001-08:00

Boy the weather has been cold! It's been down to 19 degrees - I know nothing compared to the East Coast - but it's frigid for here! Pipes are breaking all over the place.

We had some snow - which is always exciting to us in the mild climate of western Oregon. Yup, there was a whole inch and a half and school was closed for 2 days!

2008-01-21T17:13:00.000-08:00

2008-01-19T16:58:00.000-08:00

The end of 2007 brought us some fun and some new challenges...

On December 4th, I had a gall bladder attack. It was the worst, most awful pain I have ever endured. An ultrasound showed that I had over 100 stones in my gall bladder and one stuck in the common duct. I had surgery 2 days later to remove the stuck stone, and then had my gall bladder out a week later. We were thankful that the hospitals where I had my surgeries were very supportive of me as a nursing mom. For both surgeries, we were set up in a room where Jerry and Braedan could stay with me. Braedan sailed through the whole thing with out a hitch. He even continued to gain weight at a rate of 1/2 pound a week, even though I didn't eat for 10 days!

Aunt Julie and Uncle Dave made the big trip to the west coast for Christmas. It was great to have them visit and hold the new baby and spend some quality time with Jobe. Dave is a great cook and Julie is a great diaper changer!

The house is coming along slowly but surely - Jerry finished the exterior walls and is now starting to work on the inside. (Hooray!)

January 08

2008-01-16T10:31:00.000-08:00

2007-11-21T19:08:00.001-08:00

Poppy and Gigi's Great Oregon Adventure

2007-11-16T14:05:00.001-08:00

We had a great time when Mom and Dad visited. Mom was SO HELPFUL!! Thanks Mom!

I haven't figured out how to label the pix, so I'll just say here that all of the outside pictures are on our property. And, yes, that is Mom in a raft on the river. And Dad, too! Mom hopped in the raft with Jobe, and then Jobe convinced Dad that he couldn't miss out on the fun.

Click on the pictures to make them bigger.

Braedan is up to 8 pounds, 9 ounces! He's getting so chubby!

2007-10-10T15:02:00.001-07:00

Birth of our baby

2007-10-06T10:12:00.000-07:00

The big moment arrived Saturday, September 29th, 2007. I woke Jerry at 5:20am to tell him my water broke. Jerry jumped into gear getting ready for the trip to Grants Pass, and I got into the bathtub. My contractions were 2 1/2 minutes apart and lasting 90 seconds. When my midwife heard that, she asked me if I thought I would make it to Grants Pass. Not one to be deterred from my plan, we jumped in the car and headed to GP. That was the longest 35 minute ride ever!

Once at the birth center, I climbed into the tub and said "Oh yeah, I can do this!" Jerry and I had been practicing Hypnobirthing. A birthing technique that focuses on deep relaxation. I can say that I didn't feel pain. Yeah, it was intense, but not painful. It was an incredible and beautiful experience. Our birth was sweet and gentle. Shortly after the birth, I told everyone that I wanted to have 7 more!

A beautiful birth in the water brought our little boy into the world after just 4 1/2 hours of labor. He weighed just 6 pounds, 3 ounces, and was 19 inches long. He has a beautiful head of black hair and is as cute as can be.

His big brother, Jobe, cut the cord. Jobe couldn't be prouder of his new little brother.

We had a scary few days after baby was transferred to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. It turned out it was just a scare and he is as healthy as healthy can be. Thanks to everyone for your love, thoughts and prayers during our scary time.

Here are some pictures, I'll post more of our story later, promise.

Camp out on the land

2007-06-29T22:12:00.000-07:00

We had our first camp out at the land to celebrate Sophi's 9th birthday - yes my first baby is no longer a baby! We had a bonfire and Jobe kept talking about how it reminded him of being at Poppy and Gigi's house. It was great fun to spend a full 24 hours on the property. Jerry even relaxed for a little while.

We explored the river and enjoyed just being there. We all agreed that peanut will love growing up there. I jumped on the tractor and tilled up some more garden space to grow some melons. What a pregnant woman will do for melons! (love that gut! looks like i've been drinking too much bud!)

While the baby has been growing, Jerry has been patiently working with the local agencies to get the permits. He has the patience of a saint! It has been a slow and grueling process, but with his sweet charm, he has broken through some barriers and we now (cross your fingers) are moving ahead with the process.

Jerry has also been patiently dealing with our neighbor who has decided to block our driveway with a few junker cars to prevent us from using it. We still have another way into the property, but it is much less scenic and the road isn't in very good shape. It looks like we're taking our neighbor to court - what a great way to start out a neighborly relationship! Luckily our other neighbors are great.

Belly shots

2007-06-29T21:51:00.000-07:00

I have been terrible about keeping up this blog! Sorry!

I am 25 weeks now and there is no hiding my pregnancy! I look like I swallowed a soccer ball. The baby weighs a pound and a half (or so) and is about 9 inches from "crown to rump." What a lot of growing he/she has done in the last few months. I've done some growing, too.

Here are some belly shots

13 weeks

21 weeks

The house plan

2007-05-02T15:21:00.000-07:00

With a well in and a baby on the way, we got busy with the house plans.

Jerry, Jobe and I spent a rainy Sunday around the kitchen table with pencils and graph paper drawing out our ideas. Jobe's design was very cool - several stories with slides and ropes from balconies. After playing with our ideas we came up with a basic concept and a site and went to our friend Charlie to put together some plans.

Charlie's usual gig is designing tree houses - yes, real houses in trees - and he has been nice enough to work with us. Check out his website for some cool pictures treehouseengineering.com/gallery.html.

The basic idea is that there will be 2 stories. The downstairs will be "partial earthberm" which basically means that it will be basement in the back with the front at ground level. This will help it to stay cool in summer and warm in the winter. We are putting 3 bedrooms and a bath downstairs and upstairs we'll have an open floor plan for the living room, dining room and kitchen, there will also be an office/guest room (hint hint). We put the bedrooms in the part of the house that will be coolest and the living space where it will be warm and has a great view of the mountains. We plan to mill up most of the lumber we need for the house right on the property from trees that have either blown down or had to come out to make room for the house.

Meanwhile, I was enduring the first challenge of being a mommy - morning (actually all day) sickness. Poor Jer had to pretty much take over all the cooking, cleaning and moving forward on the property, not to mention putting up with his weepy, crabby, nauseas, whiny wife. I have to say he was an absolute saint, taking it all on with out a complaint and taking time to consul and hold miserable me.

The great adventure begins

2007-04-30T19:03:00.000-07:00

Now it's the end of April and so much has happened since January! Namely - me and the baby have gotten bigger and we have a well, field, house plan and a big hole that will become our house!

Our first ultrasound was amazing - I was pretty nervous. But as soon as the doctor zoomed in we could see our little peanut jumping all around. I hadn't expected to see such an active little baby in there. I cried. Jerry squeezed my hand and stared wide eyed at the screen. It was real. There was really a little tiny baby in there with a heartbeat and his/her dad's inability to sit still. I'll never forget seeing the baby for the first time. The picture of the ultrasound is above - click on it for a better view.

About the same time, we had Clouser Drilling come out and drill our well. It was a pretty cool operation to watch. A big truck with a really long drill attached to the back. As they dug down, soil and water from the hole poured out onto the surface. I wondered how long it had been since that soil had seen the open air and what the land must have been like then. I wondered if our land was a dense, lush forest filled with critters of all sizes unmolested by humans. I wondered if Takelma women had walked across the that soil searching for berries and roots. Local lore holds that there are some remains of Takelma houses either on or near our land. We haven't found anything yet, but we're going to keep looking!

They dug to 170 feet and we are the proud owners of a 20 gallon a minute well - which is pretty good in this part of the world! Below is a picture of Jerry watching the drilling, the lighter color, muddy looking stuff is what is coming out of the whole.

1st entry

2007-04-30T18:42:00.000-07:00

My sister Kate suggested that we start a blog to chronicle this great adventure that Jerry and I are embarking on.

For a little background:

On January 23rd of 2007, Jer, Jobe (Jerry's 10 year old son) and I closed on a piece of property that we had fallen in love with at first sight. It is perfect! 36 acres on the Illinois River just a mile from Cave Junction. It has about ten acres that are flat and open with great soil for farming, 1400 ft of river frontage and is bordered by 40 acres of big old trees on BLM land. It was as if the land was tailor made for us.

That's Jobe on the property at river above.

On January 29th of 2007, the test was positive! The pregnancy test, that is. After nearly a year of negative tests, it was thrilling to see 2 lines. I have to admit, I was not quick to believe the test, and took another 6 tests, just to make sure.

So this adventure of growing a baby and building a house began - all at once!

2006-10-07T10:41:00.000-07:00