A day in our life in Pictures...

So, I know I've been promising for awhile now, that I'm going to post some super awesome photos, and I will. Hopefully they won't be irrelevant by the time I post them either, say when Chris is graduating or something. I have told a few folks about how I often go camera happy and take approximately 97 photos all in one day, and then don't take any more for about a week. Well today is one such day. Now, in case some of you weren't aware, the purpose of a blog is to give the appearance of a super-exciting existence. I won't lie....mine is actually super-exciting. So, sit back and enjoy this day in our life.

We awoke as usual, and did our normal lazy day-off routine (with the exception of Tony, whom went to school bright and early, like a diligent young lad should). We ate some breakfast and hoe-hummed around for a bit. We are not great at getting out the door early...unless there is a doctor appointment or fishing. We proceeded to load up Copper as we planned on running him at the beach. This is what we saw when we got there.




There was supposed to be a super amusing video right here, but blogger's video upload is not functioning right now. If the video were there you would see that the water comes all the way up to the beach access. It would be extremely difficult for Copper to run and for us to drive with the tide so high.

We decided to take the clan down to Seaside to do some Christmas shopping. We had to use a little trickery with Tyler, but I think he will be very surprised when he opens his presents. We grabbed some lunch at Tokyo Teriyaki, which is my new favorite place. Robert loves sushi, but I'm not a huge fan. I've tried it. I've experienced it. It's not my thing. But the great thing about Tokyo, is it has sushi and generic oriental food, like pan fried noodles and spicy sauteed chicken and onions!!!! Mom made Tyler an Origami crane while we waited for our food, and tried to calm his frustration for not using his chopsticks very efficiently. We ate all our cabbage and broccoli too. I didn't have a whole lot of photo-ops during this portion of our day, but I think you all get the idea.

Next, we decided to try the beach again, thinking that the tide would be out a little more, and we really did intend to get that dog to the beach and run!!!! This is our view.

If you look closely at this one, it kinda looks like snowy mountains. I'm weird. You're not the first to point that out.

The tide has to be pretty high for Peter Iredale to be this far submerged. Plus, I think it's kind of eerie with it sticking out of the frothy waves. I did take this in a moving vehicle, whilst trying not to get stuck in the soft sand, so don't judge. :)

This one has Copper's paw prints in it, and although this is a deceivingly calm looking photo, the sand was blowing around so hard, I think it resurfaced the left side of my face. Copper could've cared less about the wind and was ssssooooooo happy to be free!!! I am a silly girl, and didn't get any pics of Copper in all his glory, but I give you my word those are his tracks.

Then, we all tried not to get stuck in the soft sand at the beach access, which isn't scraped usually, except in the summer, and raced to the grocery store for a wow-factor dinner. On the way, we turned around to find a very quiet back seat.

Mom sat in the truck while dad went inside for the fixin's of a special treat. It was a tradition that my mom started and I wanted to pass on to my boys.

It's still hard to tell the size just based on the fork and fry sizes, seeing as different people have different sized utensils and fies come in many sizes. Let's just say, that to make the burger, I used 3 lbs of hamburger. My master chef, grill-master, and otherwise Picasso of Food, grilled it to perfection. In this photo, the food definitely tastes as good as it looks.

We finished the evening with root beer Popsicles, baths, and stories. We were all pretty tired. And that is a day in our life! Enjoy and feel free to comment, message me, and leave input, thoughts, stories of your own. I love to keep in touch with all of you. Huge hugs!

Another semi-lame post...

In a recent conversation I had, I realized that many of the photos and videos I post on the blog are slightly old. Now, considering the fact that Chris is only 9 months old, most of them are much newer than that. However, it has usually been a couple of weeks by the time I post a video or photo. So, in light of that, the recent Santa photo is only about a week old, while the video I am posting was taken over a month ago. I thought this video was oh so amusing, and if you can see past Tyler's smirk of jealousy, (that I'm not taking video of him, although if I start to, he runs in the opposite direction and screams "No thanks to videos!") you will see Christopher amidst a plethora of toys and yet he is playing with socks. He much reminds me of a curious little puppy (though much cuter) as he throws the socks and watches to see where they will land. Enjoy the video and you all should know that Chris is crawling all over the house. Doors are shut and presents are blocked. He follows me wherever I go, and is usually not far behind. Big Holiday hugs!


I had to throw this one in, because Tyler and I were watching it when I was posting the "sock" video, and we were laughing our faces off. It was taken on October 15th, just for informational purposes.

By the way, he says: "I run to you babe, spinning faster, to a new disast--uh hee hee hee"

It's my ringtone which is a Lady Antebellum song that says, "this world keeps spinning faster, to a new disaster, so I run to you, I run to you baby."

All I want for Christmas...

This is a super fast post. I couldn't help sharing this pic of Chris with Santa. I promise to do a better post soon. We took the boys to the Starving Artist Fair a couple of nights ago, and the boys loved Santa. Santa loved the boys too, we were the only couple with kids there. Anyway, Tyler told Santa he would really like a reindeer for Christmas. Daddy quickly told him that that wasn't gunna happen, so he changed his mind to Lightning McQueen shampoo. What an easy kid. Anyway loved the photo so enjoy!

At long last...

Hi all! I hope this post finds you all well and having a wonderful Holiday Season so far. I have never posted about Christopher's most recent visit to the cardiologist and pace-maker specialist. So, I will proceed to update you now.

Chris' appointments went really well overall. He is growing well and the cardiologist was very pleased with his color, energy, and size, saying upon entry, "wow, he's big, what a big head". The ultrasound revealed some narrowing in his new aorta, as a result from scar tissue build-up, which will have to be remedied in the next 6 months. To alleviate this problem, Chris will go to cath lab. An abbreviated term for a common procedure done to scope out the heart and it's vessels, as well as do a little fine tuning. During this procedure, Dr. Kiezer (another cardiologist), will actually do an angioplasty, using a balloon to widen the vessel, thereby improving flow. The collapsed balloon is inserted in the femoral artery access in the groin. It is then fed through the artery, to the narrowed area and inflated. Usually, these procedures are uncomplicated, but as his parents, it is never a small thing to take your child to surgery, even day surgery. I commend the parents of children, and the children, who have had this procedure done multiple times, and after each and every heart surgery. We are fervently praying that there will be no surprises during this, as we have been told that sometimes there are other problems found at catheterizing, that are otherwise undetectable. The cardiologist was otherwise very pleased with the function of Chris' heart.

His pace-maker specialist was also pleased, and informed us that Chris is sensing 100%. Originally, this meant that his pacemaker battery could last upward of 15 years before having to be replaced. We were informed at this appointment, however, that probably due to scar tissue build up, the pace maker was using much more battery to do its daily scan. This means that his battery will probably only last five or six years. That was disappointing to hear, but we are so glad that his heart is functioning all on its own and isn't relying on a machine, something we were once told it would always have to do.

Other than that, Chris is thriving. He had his 9 month well-child check-up on Friday. We were very happy to find a new pediatrician who is knowledgeable and has spent some time in NICU. We were informed that his length and head circumference are above the 25% and his weight has reached the 10%, something that has been a long time in coming. After doing all the normal checks, and a few extras and mom's request, she was happy to inform me that Christopher meets all the normal milestones for a healthy 9 month old!!! I already new that, but it is nice to hear, considering all he has gone through and how far he's come!

Anyway, I think that's about all I can throw at ya for now. I am going to do another update soon, with pictures of the boys. I don't want to overload anyone. So, I'll end my post by sharing a super awesome (that's right) slide show I whipped up in my spare time. Enjoy! Huge hugs from US, the Wirts.

New Video...

Good autumn morning everybody! I'm going to try to put some awesome pictures of the younger boys on with a family update later today, or possibly tomorrow, but I couldn't wait to put this cute video on. It seems like I'm always rushing around, and never remember to take videos until it's moments away from nap time or meal time. So, even though my house is a disaster and my voice is hoarse, I still grabbed the camera and took a few minutes of footage this morning. Please ignore both of those things in this video and enjoy the boys goofing around this rainy fall morning.

I do believe the scooting was jump started after a visit to cousin Nancy's, although he's been playing with the idea for months. You see, she has carpet in her front room, and Chris was loving all the wonderful traction carpet was providing for his mobility. As you can see, he is quite mobile now, even on slippery floors and in a sleep sack no less (he won't keep his socks on at night, so when the footsie jammies are dirty on goes the sleep sack, even though daddy thinks they look like a nighty)! I turned off the camera 2 second too early because right after the video stops Chris started clapping and saying "yay!"
Tyler is being a ham as usual. Luv to all and Enjoy!

Scriptures and Quotes

I hope you have all been reading and enjoying my scriptures and quotes section of the blog. I usually put a couple of new scriptures on it a week (if I've been reading my scriptures that is....). I hate to say it, but more often than not, my scripture study is usually me trying to remember a scripture I heard once...then trying to flip through and find it. Then, usually when I find it, I've remembered it totally wrong, and when I read it how the original author wrote it, it's like a slap in the face! Sheesh, no wonder these things get messed up like a child's game of telephone, only let's pretend it's in a foreign language.

The point here is, if you've ever had a favorite book over 500 pages long, there is a good chance you might forget things here and there, even if you just read it (unless you're my brother Paul). A key part of the plot, an event, a character, all of which are highly important if we are to understand the book. Even the slightest variant in any of these things can have catastrophic consequences. Therefore, (said in a very ominous and foreboding voice or maybe just gentle and firm) "Thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up." Deuternonmy 6: 7 "And he shall read therein all the days of his life..." Deuteronomy 17: 19


So, I know all of you highly religious readers are just begging for more verses, so you'll enjoy this post. I was reading in Matthew today, when came across a familiar scripture. I have read Matthew a few times and remember most significant scriptures at least halfway. I know this scripture well but it was different for me today. So, all you scripture scouts, get out your New Testaments! Granted I could go on about the chapter before this and the chapter after this forever, as it is the Sermon on the Mount, but I'm trying to reign in my ADD (no offense to anyone who may really have it).

For this particular post, let us just go to Matthew 5: 38 and for all of you who don't know where your scriptures are..... " 38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: 39 But I say unto you, that ye resist not evil: but whosoever smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also. 41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. 42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. 43 Ye have heard it hath been said, Though shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you , and persecute you; 45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? Do not even the publicans the same? 47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do you more than others? do not even the publicans so? 48 Be ye therefor perfect, even as you Father which is in heaven is perfect."

I tried to see if I could paraphrase or edit some versus to help the length, but all those versus need to be there and need to be read together. One part that really hit me, that I'm sure I never noticed before was, "resist not evil". WOW!!! I thought that was the whole point! What an eye opening scripture about understanding the evil in the world. I also was clearly not using my spiritual ears before. I know that the verse "turn the other cheek" can be taken very literally and usually is. But what about spiritually. Some days I definitely feel like my spirit has taken a metaphorical beating. But the Lord knows just what to do! I marvel at how simple what we are asked to do really is, but how monumentally difficult it seems. Good thing he is always only a prayer away to help!!!!!! I know Heavenly Father knows my heart, and knew that even though I was flipping around the New Testament not paying attention to much, eventually I would see the verses, today, and boy did I need to. I have had a hard few days, but I know a few things for sure:

Heavenly Father loves me, and Heavenly Father will help me. When I read these versus, it reminds me that even when I have something set in front of me that seems extremely difficult, all I have to do is ask for His help and follow His commandments.

I have so much more to say but it is already past midnight. I try to stay moderately safe in most of my posts, but like I've said before, this is my blog, if you don't like it, don't read it and go make your own. But I sure do appreciate the encouraging words I have received. Sometimes I just like to write what I'm thinking instead of an update. Love to all and keep these scriptures in mind when everyone is cutting in line or shutting a door right in your face, or going before they should at the 4 way stop or making up nasty things about you at work or...you get the idea. Hugs, blessings and good karma!

Missin' the good ol' days...

This is a different kind of post today. I know many people use their blogs to keep relatives up to date with their lives. Others, perhaps, use it as a sort of online journal. I think I tend to use it as both, though only I ever know what I'm really thinking. :) Today, though, I wanted to share what my thoughts were with you. They are not deep, nor are they stirring, just thoughts.

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and I find myself once again far away from home. I have my own home now. But wherever my parents are, will also always be my home (much to their joy or dismay). I have many in-laws in the area with whom I have made new memories. But, I still often think back and miss home.

More specifically, I miss Thanksgiving with my family. And now for a trip down memory lane. I will try not to sound like a butter up or be too poetic.

I can't remember missing a Thanksgiving with my family up until I was 17 or 18. We would travel to my Granny and Poppy's house darn near every year. My Poppy would always carve the turkey, and my Granny would always get out the good china. She would make all sorts of goodies for us to eat off the good china. Sometimes the "kiddos" would get to sit at a card table. But sometimes we would get to sit at the grown-ups table. I do miss so many things about those Thanksgivings. I miss my Granny's mandarin orange jello. I miss mashed potatoes and gravy. I just miss all of us being there together to share a home cooked meal. Surprisingly, I don't remember anyone fighting (though it might be because I was a kid). Everyone helped, if they didn't cook, they cleaned up. No one really ever complained. Hopefully these are accurate memories, and not too sugar-coated.

Whilst I was thinking about these things, it got me to really missing my Granny and Poppy. I wonder if they know how much I miss them. I wonder if they think about me as much as I think about them. Well sheesh, of course they do, they're grandparents!!!! So once again we travel down the lane of my childhood, and while many folks won't really get this post, I wanted to write it anyway.

Granny and Poppy: two people whose laughs always make me smile. Though I never quite got their humor until recently, I didn't really care because if they were laughing, I was laughing. Anyone who knows how much of a wet blanket I can be, can appreciate the fact that Granny and Poppy always make me smile.

I miss all their habits, like going to Pappy Ganders for breakfast, or going to get the newspaper and check the PO box. I miss Poppy salting up a huge turnip and just eating it like an apple. I miss Granny correcting my bad grammar, or teaching me something in Spanish. I miss Poppy surfing the channels on the tv or reading the paper, while Granny knitted some new wonderful creation. I miss them doing those things while sitting in their appropriate chairs. I miss all the funny magazines. You really can learn a lot if you have some National Geographic's laying around. I miss lazy days at the lookout.

I miss playing in the basement, although I don't think Granny or Poppy ever really liked us to play down there. I miss playing war in the lilac bushes, and going for walks to the playground at the school. I miss Granny playing the piano or the organ and singing some hymn or show tune and filling their house with music. I miss the records they listened to. I even miss bagpipes. I miss going to Polar Bear for ice cream. I miss picking up apples, and eating the dehydrated ones. I miss how neither one of them really likes to drag out goodbyes because they get a little misty eyed, even though I'm sure they wanted to ring our necks a time or two per visit. I miss all their great stories from their lives (good thing Granny wrote some books).

Most of all, I miss their wisdom. I miss listening to their logic. They really do know a thing or two. I miss how with every conversation they had with me, they unknowingly encouraged me to think and learn. They are two of my biggest heroes. They are gentle, kind, loving, generous, intelligent and best of all, they are mine.

I think folks should say what they are thinking (within reason) instead of keeping it to themselves (once again, use discretion here).

I love my Granny and Poppy and hopefully they know it, because Lord knows I don't say it enough. I really do need and I mean NEED to come down to your house and eat some orange sherbet, and talk government or finances or something very soon. Hopefully you will be up for a visit from all my boys and me. I'm sure you can handle it, you handled me! Love you a ton Granny and Poppy.

Your Granddaughter,
Rachel