World Suicide Prevention Day

Today is World Suicide Prevention Day. Approximately 1 million people worldwide die by suicide each year. (Approx. one every 40 seconds.) The number of lives lost each year through suicide exceeds the number of deaths due to homicide and war combined. Those numbers are shocking to me and I am guessing to you as well.

The International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) is encouraging people to light a candle near a window at 8pm this evening (Sept. 10) to show support for suicide prevention, to remember a lost loved one and for the survivors of suicide.

Please join me in remembering my late husband, Eric, and others who have died. Please light a candle this evening.

If you are in distress please call a helpline. You can find information at www.iasp.info.



 (This information was provided by the IASP.)

First Haircut

Well, it was finally time for Annaliese to have her first haircut. A trim really. Some bangs. Honestly, I loved the messy mane that hung in her face and gave her an "I'm A Kid So It Doesn't Matter What My Hair Looks Like" look. But the girl won't keep barretes in for more than a few minutes and ponytails usually get pulled out sooner or later. I just felt bad for her, always staring through this curtain of hair. So, this evening I pulled out the scissors and trimmed a little off of the front. I think it was a success!

Before:



After: 



Adventures at the State Fair

Yesterday our family had a great time at the Oregon State Fair. The kids have been to fairs in the past but, being once a year, they are basically a new experience every time. We spent most of our time in the barns since, as Hezekiah said on the way there, "Annaliese likes animals." Of course, the rest of us do as well. Here are a few of the photos along with some of Hezekiah's quotes (in parenthesis).

We were able to see goats...

("They're very nice.")

("I wish we had one like this to keep inside.")

...cows and pigs...

("I found a pink one!")

...ducks, chickens, and rabbits...

...and horses.

("If you tried to get on there with out a ladder you couldn't. He would just walk away." Side note: This was quite true. His back was about as tall as me, 5'9.")

For a treat, we got the kids' favorite, soft-serve ice cream. Hezekiah did a great job sharing an ice cream cone with his sister. (That is, of course, until he decided it was "too cold" for Annaliese to eat any more.)

He thought that the tractor display was great and even found this handy seat for sitting to read his new tractor catalogue.

Hezekiah learned all about forest fires and Smokey the Bear. I helped him make a necklace using stamps on a piece of wood. I was very happy that he wanted to stop for a few minutes to try a craft!

We also visited the Rock U: The Institute of Rock 'n Roll exhibit. For adults (without kids) there was a lot to read and learn. Our favorite parts were the instruments to play, including a giant keyboard, African percussion instruments, and electronic drums. His daddy would have been proud of his little drummer.

Our family had a wonderful time exploring the fair and left thoroughly exhausted. Thank you to my parents for coming along and lending so much help. I couldn't do this without you.

The Hippos

Last week the kids and I went to the zoo with my sister Brittany. This is one of the photos that I took of myself and Annaliese.

I looked at it yesterday, thinking of making it my profile picture on Facebook. I thought, "I should put a caption: Annaliese and I and a big turd." Of course, the grey thing is not a turd; it's a hippo.

This evening the kids had a bath. After the water was emptied and Hezekiah was out, Annaliese decided to poop in the bathtub. Of course, Hezekiah had to see. He looked in and said, "It looks like a hippo."

Either my son thinks like me or I am begining to think like a three year old.

Merry Christmas!

We would like to wish you all a very merry Christmas. Hezekiah hopes that everyone enjoys eating "candy cans" while relaxing in their "jamamas". And don't forget the true reason for Christmas- Jesus's birthday (or was it baby Moses's... or Hezekiah's...?). And this evening we hope that you can all enjoy the "Christmas outside" (Christmas lights) that Hezekiah has been enjoying so much.

Truly, we wish everyone a beautiful day with family and friends. Remember the love of Jesus, who left his home in Heaven to live and die on Earth for you and me.

With love,
The Linauer family

Happy Half Birthday to You!

My son Hezekiah is now two and a half years old! I cannot believe how quickly he is growing up. In these two and a half years he has learned how to scoot, crawl, walk and run. He has learned how to make sounds, words, and sentences. He can even pray for our dinner! He has formed preferences for things like trucks, trains, bananas, and yogurt. He has changed from a baby to a little boy.

I love Hezekiah immensly, even when he is driving me crazy. He is a sweet boy who loves to be silly. I cannot wait to see what the next two and half years have in store.




1 Day Old



2 Months Old




6 Months Old

  


8 Months Old

 

12 Months Old



14 Months Old

18 Months Old

23 Months Old



2 Years, 3 Months Old

One of Those Days

Today was one of those days. One of those days that I am glad is almost over. One of the first days that I have really thought, "How am I going to survive as a single mom?"

The morning started off pretty well. We went to a doctor appointment and Value Village. Hezekiah was doing pretty well at both of those. Then we got home and it all went downhill so quickly. I can't remember all that happened but I am certain there were a few time-outs for hitting or kicking his sister and that those time-outs involved a lot of sneeking away, screeming, and fake crying.

Then Hezekiah sat down for lunch. Meal times have been pretty frustrating lately because he loves to throw anything he has on the floor. Today I warned him not to throw his milk on the floor. A minute later I hear, "Look Mommy." This is what I saw:

Yes, that is his highchair tray completely covered with milk. His just-filled cup was almost empty. That was the end of lunch time. So upstairs we went for diaper changes and nap time.  We had only been home a little more than an hour but ahh, how I couldn't wait for the quiet of naptime. The only problem was that Hezekiah didn't want to nap. He had fallen asleep for about 15 minutes on the way home from the store and I guess that had energized him. So my frustration only grew and grew as I tried to get him to calm down and rest. Finally, I was able to buy myself 10 minutes of quiet by giving him some books to read in bed. Between "nap time" and going to class there was more frustration and I was very thankful to be dropping the kids off at a friends house. Spanish was a much needed break.

After returning home this evening, things quickly went downhill once again.  Within 15 minutes of returning home Hezekiah had been in time-out for doing something to Annaliese, Annaliese had scooted over and started dumping out the cat food, and Hezekiah had gotten ahold of Grandma's tiny reed diffuser air freshener and dumped it on the floor. Of course, all the while I was trying to heat up leftovers for dinner.

Dinner actually went well and so did bath. We are working on potty training so I was a bit annoyed when Hezekiah pottied in the tub right before getting out.  But he is good at going on demand and was still able to sit down on his little potty and go a little bit. Of course, he was also able to then go on the bathroom and bedroom floors. I must say that the very end of his day did end on a good note for me. Since he hadn't really taken a nap, he was asleep before I even left the room. No getting out of bed for him tonight!

I kept praying for patience today. I didn't feel like God blessed me with patience but maybe he is working on the long-term rather than the short-term. I can definetly imagine that all of this drama today will help me to be a more patient in the future.

So, if you think of it, please pray for me to have a bit of extra patience and understanding for Hezekiah. Please pray that I will learn how to do this on my own without feeling overwhelmed. Annaliese and I will be off for a women's retreat this weekend. After today, I can use the break.