… turned into this car-loving, curly-head.

Gavin turned five last week, and although his actual birthday day was full of boring stuff like a meeting with his speech-language pathologist and the autism specialist, the after-party totally rocked!

There were cars. (The red Lightning McQueen is from a supermarket in Utah from our last trip out to see my mom a couple years ago. The green dude is Chick Hicks, whom Gavin has been asking for relentlessly for weeks. Daddy gets the credit for finding the same type of awesome toy.)

There were brownies. (“My brown chocolate! My five!”)

And there were more cars. Nana scored the vintage Hot Wheels City at a yard sale a while back. This little driver is certainly going to keep this town hoppin’.

Gavin had so much fun on his big day. It was fun for us to watch him move from one thing to another, too. So often he has trouble with transitions, too many people, and too much activity, but he did great and got through the entire afternoon with nary a tear. I’m very proud of this big boy.

Love you Gav.

That’s how long it has been since I last wrote. Shameful, isn’t it? So much has transpired in our lives since then.

Baby Clara is growing, healthy, and as happy as can be. My only complaint is that she still doesn’t sleep through the night all the time, but she’s such an agreeable baby otherwise, I can almost forgive her for that.

Gavin turns five tomorrow. It’s hard for me to believe. He is starting to read and loves letters and numbers. A few weeks ago he was diagnosed with autism, so we have a lot to learn so that we can help him learn to cope with this big intense world.

Olga is enjoying every minute of life. She’s in Girl Scouts, and gymnastics, and soon her art classes start up again. She is vivacious and cheerful, and befriends everyone she meets.

Erik started college a couple weeks ago, thanks to the Montgomery GI bill. He’s taking a heavy load, and has to commute to school three days a week. I’ve never seen him work so hard. He’s thinking about getting his teaching credentials, but right now he’s just enjoying his classes.

As for me, I’m pooped. I just got off deadline, so I’m going to try to cool my jets for a few days and catch up on some sleep (baby willing). My sewing machines all went to the shop for a tune up and repairs, so I hope to be back in business soon. I’m hoping to get my garage (aka studio) straightened up a bit. Maybe I’ll even get my little etsy shop back online in the next few weeks.

I’ve missed writing. I’ll be back again.

This morning, early, as the light spilled in and the coffee dwindled, I sat with Erik and Clara at the counter and knit. I love these moments of silence, fleeting as they are in this house. Today I add another notch to my life, and as I look around myself I see so much evidence of dreams fulfilled and passions followed.

I really am so glad I’m here.

***

Clara Lynn joined our family on June 10th and brought the sunshine with her. She is such an easy going baby. We’re all doing well and adjusting to our new routine.

Deadline is over.

Our moving truck arrived.

Olga won first place in the Kindergarten category at her school’s art show.

The baby turned.

* * *

Life is still rocketing ahead, but it’s all good.

I really don’t know where the years have gone. Happy birthday, Beautiful.

I’m looking forward to regaining a bit of energy. There are definite signs of spring in the air; the daffodils are in bloom, and the fruit trees are starting to bud out. I want to be out in the dirt.

*Edited to add* I forgot to mention that the baby is fine. He/she shows no sign of distress.

I’m 21 weeks pregnant today. Still feeling really good, although bending to tie shoes or pick things up is starting to get awkward. The kitchen sink is getting farther away, too.

The Joy of Little Things

It’s good the great green earth to roam,
Where sights of awe the soul inspire;
But oh, it’s best, the coming home,
The crackle of one’s own hearth-fire!
You’ve hob-nobbed with the solemn Past;
You’ve seen the pageantry of kings;
Yet oh, how sweet to gain at last
The peace and rest of Little Things!

Perhaps you’re counted with the Great;
You strain and strive with mighty men;
Your hand is on the helm of State;
Colossus-like you stride . . . and then
There comes a pause, a shining hour,
A dog that leaps, a hand that clings:
O Titan, turn from pomp and power;
Give all your heart to Little Things.

Go couch you childwise in the grass,
Believing it’s some jungle strange,
Where mighty monsters peer and pass,
Where beetles roam and spiders range.
‘Mid gloom and gleam of leaf and blade,
What dragons rasp their painted wings!
O magic world of shine and shade!
O beauty land of Little Things!

I sometimes wonder, after all,
Amid this tangled web of fate,
If what is great may not be small,
And what is small may not be great.
So wondering I go my way,
Yet in my heart contentment sings . . .
O may I ever see, I pray,
God’s grace and love in Little Things.

So give to me, I only beg,
A little roof to call my own,
A little cider in the keg,
A little meat upon the bone;
A little garden by the sea,
A little boat that dips and swings . . .
Take wealth, take fame, but leave to me,
O Lord of Life, just Little Things.

– Robert William Service

There was our Ukranian Christmas Eve supper, which was fantastic. We pulled out all the stops and cooked up a traditional 12-course meal, including holobtsi (cabbage rolls), perogi, borscht, salmon, breads, and a huge assortment of other goodies (most of which I had never made before, which I know violates the rules of hosting a dinner party, but everything turned out delicious).

While we were cooking the aforementioned dinner, our new wood-burning fireplace insert was installed. This was especially welcome, as we had no other heat in the house besides an old, inefficient baseboard heater, and the weather has been unusually cold. Temperatures in Gold Beach rarely drop to freezing, yet we had a couple weeks where night time temperatures dropped into the low 20s, and daytime temps never reached 40. Brrr!

Not including all the holiday cooking, my friend, John, and I have been keeping the kitchen hopping with canning almost every weekend–and sometimes more often–since we started in November. Here are a few jars of delicious spiced applesauce we made, along with a huge batch of honey whole wheat bread. Here’s my new favorite recipe for wheat bread.

And just this week we celebrated Gavin’s 4th birthday with pizza and rootbeer at his favorite pizza joint in town. This kid. He just won’t stop growing. He’s so much fun. He’s developed such a great sense of humor, and he’s always talking (although we can’t always understand him) about something REALLY interesting. (These days that something is almost always centered around Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, his favorite Japanese amime; the box in the picture contains a scale model of his favorite character from said anime, up for nomination as Best Gift of the Century.)

There are a few other notable events from the past couple weeks which I would be remiss to not mention:

My hard working, handsome husband turned 26.

We successfully navigated our way through another BHM deadline (look for the March/April 2010 issue in your mailbox in mid-February).

I passed the half-way mark in my pregnancy with our little Baby Dango, I’m finally over most of the exhaustion of the first trimester, and I’m starting to feel a lot of movement.

It’s going to be a wonderful, busy year here on the Tuttle place. I hope you are all enjoying yourselves as much as we are.