Hawaii coming up

Squeakums has been mastering so much since he turned one. Just yesterday he said the word "more" while signing it, and did this twice! he also repeated the word "shoe" after me, but only did that once. We've been working so hard at encouraging him to sign "please." But I haven't seen it yet. Some of our lady friends claim he does it with them.

Because he's one he's allowed to drink cow's milk. So I started to finish weaning him by replacing his bedtime nursing with a bottle of cow's milk. We also started giving him some milk at meals. HOWEVER...he has since stopped napping so well and going to bed. Instead he'll stay awake and cry for up to an hour off and on. We switched to lactose free milk, which I drink, and he improved some. Then yesterday we tried only breastmilk and he went immediately back to his good nap habits, which means going to sleep after only a few minutes of crying if any. I'm not sure what this means for the future. Maybe we'll try the milk again in a month or so when his digestive system is perhaps more ready for it. Our friends here had one son who was similar, never liking milk. They opted to go straight to water instead. I was looking forward to the freedom of not needing to nurse him 5 times a day...and actually get away for a day. Oh well, that's on hold for awhile.

Looks like we'll be going to Hawaii this fall!!!!! I had been convincing BearHunter this winter that Hawaii would be a nice vacation spot sometime. (He's not keen on beaches, preferring jungles anytime). We talked with enough travellers to feel we would enjoy a trip there together. So this spring I prayed specifically asking God to let us go to Hawaii. You've got to be specific in your prayers and pray for what you want. About a month ago my dad calls to OFFER us a week at a cohort's timeshare in Hawaii! Hmmm. Amazing. But how will we find a trusted babysitter while there, so we can go out in the evening or do water play, etc? Well, grandparents offered to come be babysitters! So that's it. We have a companion ticket on the airlines, which will save us one fare.

So we'll be in Maui this October. If you're gonna be there too, let us know!

My First Bear

On May 30, 2008, I stepped off the narrow trail and gazed for miles. A glacier flowed between mountains, pointing to a lake feeding a winding river. I leaned the borrowed .30-06 rifle against my leg, and meticulously marked the spot on my GPS.

A slight thump snapped my head up. Eight yards away, a black bear had materialized on my trail ambling obliviously away. My heart choked my throat and suddenly I viewed him through the riflescope. I’d been advised to not shoot the first bear I saw because there’d be plenty. But, we had seen one bear when two buddies and I arrived by boat four hours earlier.
I lowered the rifle. Would I find a larger one?

Now fifteen yards distant, the lumbering animal and would soon be out of sight! The rifle came into position. I aimed below the head and pulled the trigger.

BOOM!

All chattering of internal questions ceased with the explosion. The bear rolled from sight. I remained frozen. I had just fulfilled a dream!

But what if he wasn’t dead? I felt silly with the unloaded gun in my hands. I quickly chambered another round, but terror already gripped me. I took a few tentative steps, far enough to see a furry black body blocking the trail. How long does one wait to check out an animal bowled over by a bullet?

Twenty minutes passed before I bolstered a wobbly form of courage.

I moved slowly to within a few yards of the beast, but could not force myself closer. I saw no trace of the wound. I waited for him to leap up, shake off the stunning blow, and shred me. The rifle felt way too long—surely he’d just bat it aside. I set it down and pulled out my hand-cannon, a .454 revolver.

I kicked the body and nearly fired when it jiggled.

Finally convinced of his demise, I reached down, but there was no way I could move what seemed to be a 300-pound beast. And I knew little of gutting big animals. I left to find my friends.

We spent the rest of the day gutting, skinning, butchering, and hauling. We tossed the bones in the woods.

I arrived home to discover I was required to not only pack out the meat and hide, but also the skull. I groaned. Without it, I would face a hefty fine (amount determined by a judge).

Six days passed before I scrounged up a ride across the bay. I hiked in alone and went directly to the site of the bones. Nothing remained. Another bear (as evidenced by ample bear scat in the area) had feasted on them.

I prayed and searched. After twenty minutes of tedious eye-straining, I found one leg bone. I called Martina and she and others prayed.

A solid hour of crawling and circling melted my determination. The brush and thorns and trees kept me from any semblance of a methodical search and I simply wandered. I prayed again and looked left. There sat the cranial treasure. I scrambled to it and clutched it as though it might vanish.

The next morning, as I was about to pack up and start the hike to the trailhead for my scheduled pickup, my cell phone rang. A gruff State Park official asked if I’d killed a bear. My answer precipitated the firing of a dozen questions. My gut-pile, he informed me, was left too close to a trail.

Would this adventure never end?

Later, I received a $225 citation. But, I happily learned, I could go to court and probably get the fine reduced to community service.

When I showed the hide and skull to Fish and Game for the mandatory documentation, the biologist measured the length and width of the skull, totaling it to nineteen inches.

“Anything,” he said, “over eighteen inches is classified as a large bear.”

I shot my first big game animal—in the butt! The bullet traveled through his body and out his shoulder. I shall try to tan the hide myself.

Baby Birthday

This week has been full of fun events. Squeakums both turned one and started walking. Now he walks frequently and quite far, but also plops down and crawls to reach his destination. On his birthday the YWAM base had cookies and ice cream for everyone. He ate some with his spoon and fingers, even pieces of cookie. A few people pitched in for some baby gifts, which was neat. They gave him a little rubbery ball and a funny cardboard book.

The greenhouse is up and growing tomato plants very well, seeing some yellow blossoms now. Our outdoor veggie gardens are looking less prolific but not bad. We are thankful for an anonymous donation of really good soil which we were able to make do by mixing it with topsoil for our four beds. I have so much to learn. Put up a wind barrier today, per suggestion by a local...after I inquired why all my outdoor starts look like they are dying. She also suggested covering the plants at night because it's still in the 40's at night, too cold for them. I'm so grateful to be learning all this gardening advice. Someday when we have our own plot of ground or are living in a village somewhere I can at least have some basics down. Another friend taught me how to 'prune' my lettuce starts and harvest them as they grow, hopefully starting next month. I really enjoy working with the plants. I've been hitting garage sales for cheap garden supplies, since I will be buying it out of my own pocket.

BearHunter got his bear! He tells me he will write the tale himself and post it later. Right now he's hurriedly trying to treat the skin so he can save it. Apparently it's an arduous process and few people have any experience with bear hides, they are notoriously hard to tan. But too expensive to have a professional do it, at least $55 per square foot!