My Nana

Janice Ruth Anderson was born August 9, 1934 in Chicago, IL. In her youth, she played violin and the organ at church. She married her high school sweetheart, Rich Wahlberg, in December 1952 and during their lifetime together shared many adventures, laughed together, cried together, and loved one another. Janice served for 21 years as a volunteer at the front desk of Presbyterian Hospital, adored her dogs, enjoyed traveling in their fifth wheel trailer, did puzzles, and was an excellent seamstress until the rheumatoid arthritis in her hands prevented her from threading a needle. She loved to laugh and would often snort in the middle of a fit of giggles.

I knew this woman as Nana.

My grandparents always lived down the street from us, usually within an easy bike ride. I spent countless nights at their house in the summer, staying up late playing Monopoly and watching movies. She was a great spoiler of her grandchildren. My mom, Nana, and I had great fun together - eating a pretzel at the mall while window shopping, decorating the house for Christmas, cooking together in the kitchen, taking walks on our camping weekends, and laughing the whole time. We had a blast during Mom's weekend in Pullman eating pancakes at the firehouse and admiring the young firemen who lived there. We took a road trip to Denver to watch Wicked, a trip in which Nana drove all of 3 miles and never lived it down.

Her face beamed when she spoke of her grandchildren and was proud as a peacock to become a great-grandmother. The world revolved around my grandpa, to whom she was married for over 60 years and whom she loved fiercely until the end. We lost him to brain cancer in June of last year. This strong woman lasted until late November before joining him, stubbornly refusing to spend a single anniversary without him by her side. I blame my stubborn streak on the Scandinavian genetics I inherited from that side of the family.

The shock of losing both grandparents within 6 months has only slightly worn off. In my down time, it's hard not to reach for the phone to call and update her on the latest doings of my children, a topic from which she never tired. Her death brought my family siblings together for the first time in over 5 years which is no small feat. I admit it was strange to stand in my parents' kitchen, observing my grown brothers have a conversation. I guess they will always be my "little brothers" in my mind.

I miss her dearly and with for the chance to see her again, to hear her laugh, to spend an afternoon walking the mall munching a pretzel, or take a walk through the campground next to her with a dog on the leash.

She was the only person I've ever known to use the phrase, "tookie in the hoovit." How could you not love such an individual??

A Day of Thanks

I love how this time of year brings out the better humanity as a whole - there is more giving, more gratitude, and more tolerance of one another. It's a time to take a few moments and remember what we have been given, from where our blessings come, and a time to think outside ourselves for a season.

Each November, Chadwick creates a wonderful "thankful tree" from which we hang leaves expressing things we are thankful for each day. The trunk and limbs are in themselves a work of art and by the end of the month we have a blooming tree of gratitude. I love to see what the children are thankful for each day. This year, he created a "thankful branch," mostly because a full tree wouldn't last more than 15 minutes (20 tops) before Spencer started re-arranging all of the pieces.

We had the opportunity to host Thanksgiving day at our house - Nancy and Steve and James with his family joined for the fun. That morning, we slept in, watched the Macy's parade on television while prepping the food and house for the big meal. I started quite a few things the day before and, overall, Thursday went quite smoothly. We always have enough food for twice the number of people in attendance and never enough room in our stomach to eat as much as our eyes desire. Turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, green bean casserole, green salad, olives, carrots, pickles, cranberry sauce, stuffing, Nana Manwaring's cranberry salad, and squash. I have been on the search for the perfect dinner roll....this year I found the recipe. It was one that I received about 6 years ago from a friend, but I was intimidated by the looks of the card. My culinary skills must be improving as I no longer shook in fright when glancing through the "how to" section of the recipe. They were worth the wait. Pie and ice cream were at Aunt Sheila's new house in Meridian with several other Fife family members.

I love how Chadwick's family pitches in to create the meal. How we help each other clean up. The interest we show in each other's lives and accomplishments. Watching the cousins play with one another. Observing Spencer run happily between Chadwick, James, and Gideon, trying to catch and throw a football as big as his head. Seeing Jordynn and Mallorie sitting next to one another on the couch drawing quietly. The warm feeling that comes from having loved ones and food in the house at the same time.

There is much for which to be thankful.

The Bubbas

Our busy, inquisitive, sweet boy is 18 months today. His belly laugh is contagious, he is a bottomless pit when it comes to food, isn't much of a picky eater, adores his sisters, likes to read books, and is obsessed with cars, planes, and balls. He's a good sleeper, travels well in the car, and responds well to men. If I can't find him at the park, I just have to find a grandpa, and Spencer is sure to be with him. He waves at trucks, points out horses and cows as we drive on errands, and misses nothing with those big, blue eyes. His eyelashes are the envy of the women who meet him and men warm to his smile. Part monkey, he's been banned from the corral where Chadwick is working on the barn as Spencer is too quick to scale to the top of the ladder. Our little man is adventurous, enthusiastic, and well loved by his family. I have never heard Chadwick giggle as he does when Spencer pounces on him during scripture reading, attempting to pull him over, an impish grin on his little face.

His vocabulary has greatly expanded over the last few months and he jabbers constantly. When it's quiet, I can often find him in the living room, reading a book to himself in whispers. His index finger constantly points to the things he sees and wants to know about.

• Mama - at first this word was reserved for me. Now it pretty much applies to anyone in his field of view for whom he has affection. Or whose attention he desires. 
• downstairs
• "woo-woo: - with the guttural tone of a growl - dog
• "eh, eh!" - his way of getting your attention when he wants something
• "ooh, ooh" - moo
• mane - plane
• bup - up
• bup-bup - water bottle, usually
• car
• peas - please, not vocalized often. Normally done via sign language.
• "ow, ow" - meow, said softly
• bye-bye - said with a question mark at the end, tone rising on the second word
• "sss" - like the hiss of a snake - book. One of the first books he enjoyed had a snake, and I have a feeling that's where he created his word. It's stuck so far. 

It makes me giggle to watch him run, full speed ahead, his feet floating awkwardly. I love watching the joy on his face as he feels the movement of his body. 

He entertains himself well for short periods of time and without fancy toys. Who knew shoes and a toilet could be so fun?

And if he's not asleep or reading, he's moving. Or building. Or wrecking. Gleefully.

 We are grateful to have this boy in our lives. I am thankful for what we can learn from him. And I can't wait to see what he does as he grows.

Weekend Getaway

Our plans for a tenth anniversary getaway never materialized and we just at the chance for a quick weekend in Seattle at the end of October. Stephen called Chadwick about a month ago asking if he would be willing to make a run from the lighthouse at Discovery Park to the one on Alcai Beach. Chadwick replied in the affirmative without hesitation and now had another reason to continue his training - the run was approximately 15 miles along the shoreline.

The original idea was to take the kids and make a road trip. This quickly turned into a husband-wife roadtrip when Nancy offered to watch the kids for us. And that morphed into flying as our time frame was limited.

I left Sunday morning by myself and met up with Chadwick at his brother's house after dinner. While packing, I mentioned that I wasn't entirely sure I was capable of actually packing only one single suitcase. With a smile, Chadwick noted that people did it all the time. Yeah, but....I am not sure I have actually ever done that! The mission was accomplished and I was proud to travel with one purse, one coat, and a small suitcase that didn't need to be checked.

Two and a half days of not having to answer to "Mama," two and a half days of visiting family and friends, two and a half days recharging my mom batteries and not having to make many decisions. It was refreshing.

Sunday was spent with my best friend from college, Dessa, at her house with her sweet son, her husband, a childhood friend Ande and an assortment of their friends who randomly showed up at the house that afternoon.

As the adults sat around her kitchen table chatting, munching on nuts and pringles and drinking beer, it occurred to me that this was a very different kind of afternoon and not one I had experienced since Morgan made me a mom. None of these adults - Dessa and myself excluded - had children. Majority had at least a master's degree, a firm opinion of politics, and had known each other for years which made the banter flow easily and insults fly freely. Not once was there talk of children, schools, temper tantrums, diapers, teething, snotty noses, or pregnancy. The mention of a naked child's bottom sent one of the men scurrying out of the room in search of his companions downstairs watching the Seahawks game. Even when my children aren't present, their presence is still felt, communicated, and noted.

Dessa's friendship is one of those I hold most dear and I'm glad for the chance to have spent time with her and her family for a bit. Our visits are never long enough.

We awoke Monday morning to the sound of Chadwick's nieces and nephew preparing for a day of school and the smell of french toast wafting down the hallway (which is probably one of my favorite breakfast foods of all time). After a quick shower, Tara and I left our men sitting in the living room, in their pjs, lost in a deep discussion neither of us wanted to break into. When there is a spare 2 hours, why not run to Ikea? I love the idea of that store, she needed a few things, so off we went. Luckily, my suitcase was not big enough to return home with much and since the store is snobby and doesn't ship to residential addresses....so I did a lot of looking. The guys were ready when we returned to the house and the four of us took off for a tour of a Seattle chocolate factory called Theo.

There is no better way to spend Halloween than sitting on a bench in a warm, humid room, listening to a younger African American man dressed in a judge's robe discuss the finer points of where chocolate originates, how it is processed, and freely handing out samples of high quality dark chocolate. He intended to come across as Sonja Sotomayor, the Supreme Court Justice. And he giggled when we called him "Your Honor." I wanted to take a photo with him but chickened out at the end of the tour. We saw the area where the cocoa beans were brought in hulled and then processed to create "amazing, delicious, and mind-bendingly wonderful chocolate."

We bought four 70% dark chocolate bars to take home. I can't wait to hit up Fred Meyer for a few more.

Our men were left, in the wind and partial sun, at the lighthouse at Discovery Park in Seattle. Tara and I drove home, picked up her son from kindergarten, and hung out at the house for the afternoon.

Oh, and did I mention that their dog, Enzo, had kennel cough? Goose-honking, vomit-inducing wrenching kennel cough that kept us all up for a good chunk of the night. He had an appointment at the veterinarian for some meds. Chadwick and Stephen finished their run about 2:45 later...and while my hubs was in decent shape after - aside from being super cold - Stephen was not faring as well. Some beef soup and several slices of toast improved his color and by the next morning he was moving and feeling more normal. The kids went trick-or-treating in the rain while Chadwick and I played games in the warmth of the living room and we hit the sack.

My alarm went off Tuesday morning at 4:00. Ugh. We made it to the airport for our 6:20 flight on time despite my best efforts to get us lost and having to return the rental car. Once back home, Chadwick showered and went to work and I started mentally re-packing...Friday the five of us were boarding a plane for San Antonio.

Halloween

I have to admit that Halloween is not my favorite holiday. I don't consider myself a crafty person and the thought of coming up with and creating cute costumes for my children is not something I look forward to at the start of the month of October. When people ask what I'm going to be, I usually fall back on "just me" or "a WSU/BSU fan" while wearing some college apparel. 

This year was no different.

The kids' costumes came together nicely - even Mallorie's spider was a total success - and I think they enjoyed the few activities we chose to join. Friday night of Halloween weekend was the annual trunk-or-treat with our ward - the first one of its kind for this ward - and it was hosted by a family in the ward with this amazing back yard. Fully equipped patio, multiple small picnic tables for the littles, beautiful lawn, a play structure that would make Bear Creek Park jealous, and a concrete path that wound from the patio around the yard and back again. It was the perfect place to spend a cool evening. Now, since the ward is relatively new, I don't always recognize people. These people in costume were impossible to identify! 

As I pushed the stroller with Spencer and tried to corral my girls in the necessary direction, I recalled the vow I made last Halloween: I was not going to do this again by myself. For the second year in a row, my hubs has had to work late, leaving me the task of herding our three small children through dinner and trick or treating at the trunks of the vehicles lined up along the sidewalk. Everyone wants to go a different direction, it's dark in the yard and I can't really see Spencer, none of the kids ate more than three bites of anything, I'm cranky and wondering why I bothered as I don't truly have any friends there yet with whom I could mingle. My sweet visiting teacher came and sat with me with a smile and brought a ray of light into the evening. 

Morgan found a little friend and the two of them plus Mallorie sprinted ahead to collect their candy. Sweet Spencer got two pieces of candy, one in each fist, and refused to put them into the bucket so he could get some more. With a great deal of cajoling and help from others, he was convinced that by putting the candy in the bucket, he could get more out of the deal. 

The sugar kicked in by the time was were home and the bedtime routine was chaotic. I might have lost my cool at least once during the process, something that made me stop to think whether or not the whole ordeal was worth the effort. One apology offered and accepted, time to stew in the post-bedtime letdown, and a few pieces of candy later, I was calm again by the time Chadwick got back from work.

I think the effort was worthwhile.

Chadwick and the girls climbed the ladder to the loft of the un-finished barn for a little pumpkin carving. As usual, they were masterpieces.