The Ferens Farm

There are time periods with each one of my kids that I do not want to relive.  Zac between the ages of 2-3.5 was A LOT of work, I wouldn’t care to go back and revisit that time frame because I don’t know if I have it in me to do it again!  Zoey has been challenging on and off, but last summer was especially challenging and I am glad we are through it.  Up until now Ally has been really nothing but sweet, she has made me want to smile and cuddle her.  That all changed about a week and a half ago when she changed into Miss Mischief.  Don’t get me wrong, she is still sweet and cuddly, but she is also messy and “making bad choices.”

Ally has a best friend named Sierra.  They have been buddies since day one.  Individually they have both done a good job of following rules, but together they have gotten into trouble exploring.  They encourage each other to do things they know are wrong, and because the other one isn’t stopping whatever they are doing, they egg each other on until caught.  This behavior has been going on for about a year now, so when they are together we just keep a closer eye on them.  As a team they have wondered off in many directions, made a mess of the bathroom, played in the sink, “washed” their hair with hand soap and lotion, painted the church carpet and themselves blue, etc.  This  behavior has caused problems on and off for me, but now Ally is making these kind of choices alone and it is almost too much for me to handle.

The bathroom sink has always been a very attractive place for Ally to play.  She lingers when washing her hands, brushing her teeth, getting a drink of water, etc.  She loves to see how much water she can get on the counter and herself, as well as play with a drinking cup that used to be near the sink (this has been relocated.)  This behavior has been bothersome, but in all actuallity easy to deal with, it is just water.  As of last week the sink playing has been taken to a new level.  Ally started her new identity as Miss Mischief when she decided to wash her hair in the bathroom sink with hand soap, alone.  This is something she has tried with Sierra, but this time she was flying solo.  Then she got into Austin’s diaper cream and smeared in all over herself and Austin’s window sill.  She has also been getting into my bathroom drawers and pulling out dentalfloss to chew on.  She is on a quest for siccors and keeps cutting things up when she finds them.  Ally has also drawn all over herself with marker several times in the last week.  Then yesterday she decided to get into my bathroom drawer and cover herself with my expensive face cream (she used almost the entire container, which was 3/4 of the way full and costs $30) and hair cream.  It was all over her arms, neck, face and hair, as well as all over my bathroom counter, knobs, toilet seat cover, and her babydoll.  Oh yeah, did I mention that she had Sierra in on this one too, so there were two 2.5 year olds to clean up, as well as the bathroom.

Can you believe all of this in less than 2 weeks time?  I have been at my wits end with her.  It seems like every time I turn around she is doing something wrong and messy.  I can not relax when she is awake.  She has even started playing with her dirty dishes at the kitchen table, covering herself, the table, and floor completely in whatever she just ate (this happened before at a tolerable level, now it is just over the top.)  After yesterday’s incident, in which I nearly broke down into tears, we had a good long talk about making “bad choices.”  I think she got it because the rest of yesterday and all day today she kept saying, “Mama, I making good choices.”  And when I picked her up from my parents house tonight she said, “I didn’t make bad choices Mama.”

I stayed on her like a hawk today,and it was a mess free day (well, as mess free as a day can be with a 1 year old, a 2 year old, a 4 year old, and a 5 year old.)  The problem is, I have 3 other kids to watch, and when I am preoccupied with one of them she will likely strike again.  I am scared to think what she will get into next…

Oh Ally, little Miss Mischief, please control yourself, Mama feels like she is about to go crazy watching you and trying to make sure your baby brother doesn’t kill himself climbing up the walls and pulling glass bowls out of the cupboards!

This weekend we celebrated Austin who was given to us by God one year ago.  We had a great time celebrating our little man and enjoying family time, complete with cupcakes and present!  It was a very mellow birthday, but Austin knew something was going on and I think he learned it was all about him because he got lots of sugar and a few presents, with wrapping paper he was allowed to rip!  I can’t believe I have a one year old, again…

You know how there are some seconds in life, some moments when time stands still and the picture of what is happening burns into your memory?  Most of the time this happens during a significant event, such as a child’s birth, marriage, a time when something worked out and you didn’t think it would, an experience of extreme loss or gain, etc.  But other times it is just a moment of pure joy, when all is happy and life is good, but nothing really significant is happening.  One of these times for me is the day this picture was taken of Brandon and Zac.

The day was ordinary, Zac was nearly 10 months old and had just gotten his first tooth and was crawling.  We were living in California and figuring out life.  Brandon was working in his office and Zac and I were hanging out when he crawled in to see Daddy.  Brandon was listening to music and stuck his headphones on Zac, I snapped a picture, and a memory was made.  I love this picture because it captures Zac in such a sweet phase and for me it is a happy memory in a time that,  generally, was very challenging for me.  Well, tonight the situation replayed itself, 5 years later, almost to the day.  Brandon was in his office listening to music, I had Austin and Brandon walked over and grabbed him and put the headphones on, I snapped a picture and the moment transported me back 5 years.  Wow, life is so different, so rich, and totally not what I would have thought it would look like 5 years ago.  It is so much better, so much fuller, so much deeper.

This year flew by so fast, I have no idea where the time went, but what I do know is that my baby is turning one year old on the 27th.  Crazy to think that a year ago right now I was so sick and no one knew what was wrong with me exactly, or if Austin would be okay when he was born, or really what to expect, but he was born and I was healed and life moved on, fast.  Now one year later it feels like a distant memory, but one I don’t want to ever forget. (For some details about last August click here.)

In the last three months Austin has “come into himself” making his mark on our family.  He brings joy to our family, his face lights up a room, the smile and those checks suck you in and you just want more!  He is silly, looking to make us laugh and snag the attention of his siblings.  What a busy boy he is, getting into everything and on the move!  Now we can say, there are definately 4 kids in our family, 4  to keep track of, 4 to feed, 4 to cuddle, 4 to care for, he is now, one of the gang.

Here are his stats @ 1 year old:

Weight: 24.5 pounds, 75th percentile for weight and height, 18-24 month clothes

Teeth: 3 (one top tooth barely poking through the gums and two bottom teeth all the way in)

Sleep: 11.5 hours at night (straight!), 2 naps a day, about 1.5 hours each

Movement: not walking, but walking along everything.  He crawls like a madman, at supersonic speed!  He loves to crawl through things, like a tunnel or under a blanket.  He will do it over and over again.  He loves to jump in his crib holding on to the side rail, or on the small trampoline.  Even though he is a very skilled mover for a non walker, he still loves to be carried or worn in the Ergo.

Nick names:

• A man
• A-ster
• Au-dee (made up and called by Ally only)
• Little Man
• Baby Boy

Food:  His boy LOVES to eat!  He screams in anger if he doesn’t get to eat before everyone else.  He likes pretty much everything but loves: fruit, yogurt, watermelon, bread, string cheese, frozen peas, ice cream, berries, anything sweet, nursing, and whatever his brother or sisters are eating. He loves water from my water bottle, he will be getting his own for his birthday!  (Really, there is nothing I can think if he doesn’t like to put in his mouth and swallow!)

Talking:  He “talks” all the time.  Constant noise is coming from him and I can tell he is talking, I just can’t tell what he is saying!  He does say a few things such as: “that?” (while he points),  ”uh-oh”, and “DaDa”.  He also waves, lifts up his arms and says “yeah”, claps, and kisses (only open mouth style!)  I also think he says Zac sometimes, but it sounds like “that” so it is hard to decipher.

Toys: he still loves to put things in his mouth, but has calmed down a bit, thank goodness!  He seems to have a special liking for balls, chasing them around the house.  He also likes to play with anything he knows he shouldn’t play with, like the toilet water, small legos, toilet paper, the washing machine, the dishwasher…you get the point!

Skills:  Austin excels at opening cupboards and drawers and pulling everything out!  He can make a mess and empty a drawer in less than 3 seconds.  His best skill is throwing things over his shoulder, usually his right shoulder.  He LOVES to empty clothes out of dresser drawers, throwing everything out as fast as he can.  He also likes to crawl to my piles of laundry (especially when they are already folded) and throw them all over the room.  He can do this at hyper-speed!  Austin has a special liking for piles of clothes and towels, I wonder if this means anything!??

Austin, you have been the perfect “last baby” for me.  Sweet, cuddly, full of love, full of smiles, fun, playful, spunky, just everything I love!  I can’t believe you will be one on Friday, if I think about it too much I tear up and start to cry.  I remember when you came out and how perfect you were, despite all the worries about if something was wrong and how sick I was, together we pulled through and it was all good, Praise God!  When you get older and I tell you the story of the month leading up to your birth, you better thank me for hanging in there…

Everything with you is bittersweet.  I get so excited when you enter a new stage, but I get sad, knowing you are growing up and I won’t get to experience this again.  Your  Daddy says I can’t baby you too much, but how can I help it?  Every time we are in the rocking chair together and cuddled up I think, how quickly this will fade, thanks for indulging me now.  One of my favorite things about you is your energy and desire to explore and learn.  You have a zeal for life and I love to watch you process how this world works.  You like to watch your brother and sisters do things and then try it yourself, I have a feeling this won’t fade in you.

You have one of the most expressive faces, I can tell how you are going to respond verbally to something before a sound comes out, just by watching your face.  You light up when someone walks in the door you like, such as Daddy, GG or Pappy, it is so sweet.  You are making a real impact on this family now, I can tell I have four kids, you aren’t just sitting back, but participating in our life and you keep me on my toes!

Thank you for a wonderful year that I never want to forget.  I am excited to get to know more of who God made you to be in this next year.  I love you more than you will ever know or understand, Mama.

As long as I can remember the importance of family has been instilled in me.  It was obvious in my family growing up that nothing came before family.  It was expected that I would choose a family event over something with friends and, for the most part (besides a few times in high school), I made this choice.  It is not just my immediate family that feels this way, the Haskins’ family as a whole places a high importance on family.  Because of this we have an annual family reunion where nearly everyone is present, nearly every year, and there are around 100 of us by now!  We spend the weekend on family property camping along the river in Rochester, WA.  My kids play with my Dad’s cousin’s kid’s kid’s!  Since I began going to this reunion around 5 years of age I have never missed it, I think this is the only thing I have done every August of my life for the last 25 years!

Every year the reunion looks a little different, depending on which family (we are broken into 3 groups based on which if the 3 brothers your family originated from) is in charge that year.  But there are a few things that are consistent: family golf on Friday; community breakfast, river float, softball, and BBQ on Saturday; community breakfast, worship service, egg toss, candy in the hay, family trivia, and community lunch on Sunday.  As you can guess when 100 get together  there is a lot of diversity and not everyone does everything, but that is okay.  We don’t have any major family arguments or tension.  We are all fairly accepting and very loving and it is fun.  I am so thankful to be part of such a “functional” family and pass on this legacy to my kids.  I LOVE my family, all parts of it, and so do the kids, it is a special blessing to be part of this kind of family here on earth.

This year’s reunion was HOT, around the mid 90′s all three days!  We spent a lot of time in the river and the shade, doing a lot of  trying to stay cool.

One “extra” thing we did this year was the kids tie-dyed shirts, here are my 4 kids sporting their shirts at home.