Grandma and Granpa's Visit to Oregon

Well I've finally decided I had to sit and update my blog if I'm ever going to catch up. Grandma Weiler came to help with the kids while I was recovering with Charlotte. She is always great company, and always sorely missed when she leaves. Grandpa came for a visit too. The kids adore him, and so do I. They always mention his stories. This is a picture of us in Washington during their visit. The background shows an old corroded ship wreak. We took a trip out to Tillamook while they were here, and climbed Bridal Veil Falls. We also went to to Sauvie Island and the Zoo.

I was unable to stay for a lot of things since I was still recovering from having a baby and a blunder from an epidural misfire, but all is well that ends well. I adore this picture of grandpa and the kids making sand castles, and taking a walk with Elizabeth on the beach.

Hopefully it wont be long before we are able to see them all again. I wish all of our family were here in Oregon. I think I would feel so much more attached than I do. Holidays seem a little empty without cousins and siblings running around.

Mothers' Milk

This is David messing around. We showed the video to the kids. They were very amused. Lincoln turned to me and said, "Mom, I didn't know Charlotte could talk."

Family Hospital Picture. Don't know how we'll do

this next time.

Charlotte 1 day old after her first bath.

Introducing: Charlotte Ellen Weiler.

She was born at the Good Samaritan Hospital in Portland at 7:14 P.M. Weighing in at 7lbs. 10oz. She was 21.5 inches tall. She's the runt of the litter so far. I decided to be induced since my sweet mother-in-law was coming. We wanted to be able to use as much of her help as we could. She was amazing, as usual, and so great with the kids. Whenever they've been with her for a while away from me, they are always so much better behaved when I get home.

They discovered our baby had the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck. I'm sure that's why I was having such a hard time progressing during labor. It was pretty scary. She was my first anterior delivery. That made the actual delivery much quicker. She had a hard time breathing at first, and they had to administer oxygen. When the nurse finally did put her in my arms I was so relieved to see her color a beautiful shade of pink. I couldn't stop kissing her and telling her how much I loved her. It was a priceless and beautiful moment. The feeling in the room was so peaceful and I felt so close to Heavenly Father. It never stops being miraculous. I've had five kids now, and each is so unique and touching.

Lincoln tells me at least 20 times a day that he hates me. It hurt the first two hundred times, then I just stopped caring. I know he doesn't realize what he's saying. He's so fickle in his affections. His loyalty lasts only as long as I keep the cookies coming. Still, there are those magical times when I am administering relief to a boo-boo. He tells me, " I ludge you doe much." I look deeply into his eyes and I know he's sincere. It's enough to get me through the next weeks " I hate you's." Elizabeth is also struggling to adjust to all the changes in her life right now. The kids at school can be mean. It's her first time away from home, add the "mean girl" phenomenom she is facing for the first time, and you have one struggling kid. I also wonder about how I am doing as a parent. I tend to want to be harder on her than my other children. I ask myself why? I've been very prayerful about it, and have come to the conclusion that I do it because of fear. She's my oldest, and I judge my progress by her. I don't like to feel like a failure. Fear is the antithesis of faith. Fear is from the devil. Faith is how the Lord wants me to motivate my children. It's like the Priesthood. D&C 121:41-44. No Power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by gentleness and by long-suffering, by love unfeigned; By kindness and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy and without guile. Reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards and increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy; That he mayknow that thy faithfulness is stronger than the cords of death.

Introducing Pepper Batman Weiler

September was an eventful month for us. We acquired a family pet, and a new baby. For this reason I haven't been able to post as frequently as I should, especially considering that my blog address is Weiler Weekly. Perhaps Weiler monthly would be better.


While waiting for his train one morning, David spotted this little fellow running along the tracks. He was obviously a domestic rabbit, and it was clear that he would soon be dinner to some local owl or coyote. David decided to catch him and bring him home. When I say "him," I mean that's the gender we've decided that he is. Lincoln wouldn't hear of another girl in the house. David was in his suit, but that didn't stop him from a forty-five minute struggle to bring him home to the kids. A cute little old Chinese woman enjoyed the show very much. Apparently she missed two trains to watch the chase. The kids have been very happy with him. We finally settled on a name, Pepper Batman Weiler. David and I call him PB. David built him a little rabbit hutch, and we hope he will make the soil very fertile for our garden next year.

Adventures on Dog Mountain

I wanted to write to about the snake picture, but since I'm computer illiterate, it's taken a while to figure it all out. I didn't mean for anyone to see my blog yet. We decided to take a hike in Washington this summer, a hike that David called easy. It was a seven-mile, uphill hike with steep switch backs. Add four exhausted kids and a pregnancy to the mix and you get a pretty good picture of the day. David ended up carrying three of the kids on the way down. Lincoln even fell asleep in his arms. It was all worth it for the view of the volcano and the wild flowers at the top. On the way up we found the king snake shown above. David had to catch it of course. We thought it was a really neat. To add to the excitement, we discovered that it was hunting the baby rattlesnake shown below. It was very exciting. Life is always an adventure

with David.

Climbing Dog Mountain

Well I've finally posted on the blog I've been promising for months. This is the closest we have to a family picture. Enjoy!