The Blackwell Family Blog

a little longer than anticipated

2011-01-17T20:56:00.000-08:00

Not quite sure where to begin but perhaps a little recap would be good. We've been back on the Central Coast now for almost 2 years.... it's great to be back, oddly in many ways it almost seems like we never left.

We're living in SLO for the first time since before we had Owen and are actually quite happy being centrally located, though our hearts ache for walks by the back bay in Los Osos and for quick surf sessions out in Montana de Oro.

Owen started kindergarten in August at Pacheco, a dual immersion school, and is so far loving it. He'll be 6 in March and is, shall we say, a very "spirited" child, very different from the people pleasing personality of Elias our middle son who is four. The two of them fight over almost everything and turn nearly everything into some kind of a competition, nevertheless there is a fierce love and protectiveness that they show toward one another, especially Owen toward Elias. I love this about them, the love and protectiveness part, and remind them often that they are going to be brothers and buddies for their whole lives and that they are going to have to take care of one another. Elias is in pre-school 2 days a week and loves anything related to the Cars movie. This infatuation started before he turned 2 and has not let up in the least, I keep waiting for the next phase but so far Lightning, Mater and Doc Hudson take the cake.

Miles will be two in March. He is our only brown eyed boy, which we think is fitting since he's our little Mexican. He is full of smiles and like any third boy of three.... running full throttle to keep up with his big brothers. He's talking up a storm and has been for quite some time. I always joke about how Owen and Elias are always battling for air time in the car and it seems Miles is now a player in that game. He amazes me with his vocabulary and ability to articulate his needs/wants in full on sentences.

Jeremiah has very recently been hired by a company called Diversified Capital Advisers and they will be training him as a financial adviser. This is a HUGE answer to prayer and I am sooo thankful for the Lord's amazing provision.

I'm working about 10 - 15 hours a week writing research papers with the biological oceanography lab at Cal Poly where I used to work and Jeremiah's mom and dad are a HUGE help with our boys, watching them when I'm working and frequently in the evenings so that Jeremiah and I can go on dates.

In many ways the last three years have been very difficult ones on a variety of levels... I'll try and delve into that more in subsequent blogs. But with every challenge I'm continually reminded that we're not here for a life of ease... and that it really is in the times of greatest need that we are able to find the greatest joy in the Lord.

I'm not sure who out there is reading this but am so thankful for the amazing love and incredible support we've been shown by all of our family and friends. Thank You!

Time for a new family photo...

2011-01-05T09:48:00.000-08:00

We haven't been updating this blog... but I'm feeling inspired and am going to try and start updating more frequently. I thought that a good start would at least be a new photo of our family which included Miles, who is now almost 2 years old (his birthday is in March). I'm supposed to be working right now and am a bit side tracked so I'm going to sign off for now but stay tuned I'm going to try and post something more lengthy before the end of the week.

Owen Surfing May 30 2010

2010-06-01T11:50:00.000-07:00

A long time since our last post... well this video just has to be shared.

We Lag

2009-08-13T08:51:00.000-07:00

We are back here in the Central Coast... here is some info that should not suprise anyone. We lag big time at updating our family blog.

Miles Weston Thomas Blackwell

2009-03-07T14:35:00.000-08:00

Our Newest Addition.

Heading home... definitely a different experience here in Mexico, car seats are optional and there is virtually no paperwork. However, the overwhelming joy and love at bringing home a happy healthy beautiful boy knows no boundaries and must feel the same in any country. Here's one proud Papa!

When Miles is awake he is incredibly alert, it's a good thing too because he's got two big brothers to keep his eyes on.

Owen giving his new little brother some loving. He has been such a sweetheart throughout my entire pregnancy loving his little bro even before he was born.

More brotherly love... Eias is still getting used to whole idea of a little brother and how to be gentle. He's gotten really good at holding his own with his BIG brother so this is requiring a bit of an adjustment.

Miles Weston Thomas Blackwell - March 5th 2009, 11:15 pm, 6lbs 10 oz. 19 inches.

Absolutely Perfect.

Christmas in Cabo

2009-01-01T12:01:00.000-08:00

Things have been kind of crazy in the Blackwell Household these past few months so I apologize for not sending out Christmas Cards. We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas Season and a Very Happy New Year!

Sending You all our Love this New Year,

The Blackwell's

Playing in the sand after opening presents and having brunch on the beach on Christmas morning.

Brunch on the beach at Zippers.

Owen and Elias in their new Christmas Jammies from Pops and Grandma, showing off their Lightning and Doc Hudson Pez that Daddy brought home from San Luis Obispo's new sweet shop.

Elias helping to decorate the Christmas Tree

So Where do you find Fortune Cookies in Mexico?

2008-11-23T08:36:00.000-08:00

OK, only in Mexico... or maybe it's just me.

So Shelley and I are going through a book called 101 Romantic Evenings. Yes, I need all the help I can get. My first "romantic" evening was awesome as it could possibly be. My task was to get fortune cookies and swap out the fortunes for my own creative, romantic sayings (thankfully the page for this night had lots of examples), and coordinate with my favorite local Chinese restaurant to serve the cookies I brought over earlier that day. What a nice surprise. How easy! How?

Challenge #1: One Chinese restaurant that is not worth going to.
Challenge #2: no fortune cookies to swap out the fortunes.
Challenge #3: language barrier to set up the plan.

So having been here for almost three years, I think I can overcome all these challenges. Since I like baking and cooking, I figure I can just make my own fortune cookies and well, that was the only thing that I really got right - the cookies & fortunes.

The evening started out with a stop off at an ATM machine to get some cash. As I try to be a gentleman to open Shelley's door for her. I have to unlock mine first because the lock on her side doesn't work. Well, I locked the keys in the car. Fortunately our neighbor could quickly bring us our other set of keys that were at home. Whew, I was saved from total disaster.

Dinner at Hangman's (we're on a tight budget, and we just like it)
Desert at the Club 96 restaurant in Palmilla.

So I figure at Club 96 where they cater to some of the most well-to-do who live or visit Cabo could handle the surprise delivery of the cookies. When I brought my home made cookies to them in a Tupperware and told them to serve us these cookies just before we get the check, their clear confirmation and accommodation seemed like they could do just that... serve us the cookies.

Things were going perfect. The chef had brought out two other sample treats that we didn't order... it would seem just perfectly normal to have them bring out another one. As Shelley was in the restroom, I confirmed with our server that he had everything ready. The moment of truth: Out comes the server proudly bringing on a beautiful plate... my Tupperware with the cookies inside.

There went the surprise, total flop.

Fortunately, Shelley is just awesome about rolling with things down here; and we got a good laugh.

For those of you who want to give this a try, here is the fortune cookie recipe I used:

Confucius Crunch
(http://www.fancyfortunecookies.com/recipe.shtml)

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter (no substitution)
1/4 cup confectioners sugar
1 large egg white
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch salt
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
14 strips paper (3 by 1/2" each) with fortunes

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375F. Grease 2 small cookie sheets. [I used our toaster oven, because you only want to do two at a time, max... I ended up doing one at a time. TIP: Put wax paper on the tray that comes with the toaster oven, and a drop of vegetable oil to ensure easy removal.]

2. In 1-quart saucepan, heat butter over low heat until melted. Remove saucepan from heat. With wire whisk, beat in confectioners sugar, egg white, vanilla, and salt until blended. Beat in batter until batter is smooth.

3. Drop 1 heaping teaspoon batter on to cookie sheet. Repeat with another teaspoon batter, at least 4 inches away from first. With small metal spatula or back of spoon, spread batter evenly to form two 3-inch rounds.

4. Bake about 4 minutes or until cookies are lightly golden. [TIP: wait until the edge is golden brown about a half inch around the cookie] Loosen both cookies with metal spatula. [If you use the wax paper getting them off is just as easy as picking off the wax paper and turning them upside down] Working with 1 cookie at a time, place a fortune across center of hot cooke. Fold hot cookie in half, forming a semi-circle, and press edges together(a). Quickly fold semicircle over edge of small bowl to create fortune-cookie shape(b). Repeat with other cookie. Let shaped cookies cool completely on wire rack.

5. Repeat with remaining batter and strips of fortune paper to make 14 cookies in all [Yea right, makes 7 to 8 cookies], cooling cookie sheets in between batches, and regreasing sheets as necessary. Store cookies in container up to 2 weeks. Makes about 14 cookies.

a few pics...

2008-11-14T12:38:00.001-08:00

A Saturday at "Shipwrecks"

Camping and roasting hot dogs and marshmallows in our breezeway.

Halloween on "Gringo Hill", Owen was a rocket ship and since we couldn't get Elias to put his Rocket costume on he wore Camo and was Uncle Bill (his uncle who used to be a Navy Seal). Needless to say they LOVED all the chocolate!

Trying to get Elias in his Rocket costume.

A family dinner in the town sqare.

Socialism is Still Bad News

2008-11-05T09:42:00.000-08:00

I thought this was just worth posting. Some people have scepticism of Chuck Missler and his views or things he has said over the years, but this rings true with me:

SOCIALISM IS STILL BAD NEWS
by Chuck Missler, K-house eNews, November 4, 2008

Most Americans might not really appreciate this, but the U.S. Constitution does not entitle anybody to health insurance.

It's true.

The Constitution does not require Congress to take money from those Americans who possess more and hand it over to those with less. It doesn’t even encourage Congress to subsidize farmers or pay for prescription medications. It just doesn't.

In Article I Section 8, the Constitution does say:

"The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States…"

It goes on to talk about securing patents for scientists and establishing postal offices and roads and supporting armies and maintaining a navy. It says nothing about feeding all the downtrodden. There were plenty of poor people back in the days of the Founders, and they did not once mention using taxes to feed 'em. Apparently, providing for the general Welfare did include maintaining roads and hiring judges and keeping the peace, and did not include buying tuna fish for single moms.

Does that mean we should let the poor starve to death? Should we leave our grandparents without support or health care? Of course not. It just was never supposed to be the federal government's job to take care of these things. Here's why:

- Congress is not an industry. It does not produce anything that can be sold. It must take money from the people in order to pay for anything.
- Governments are by nature wasteful. It's easy to overspend money when the funds come from somebody else’s hard work.
- Governments are run by imperfect humans and are therefore subject to mismanagement. For this reason, it is best to keep them small and easily managed, with very specified responsibilities.
- Governments are run by imperfect humans and are therefore subject to corruption. For this reason, it is best to keep them out of trouble by limiting their power. (Lobbyists and special interest groups could just go home were Congress kept within its constitutional limits.)
- Bigger government means more bureaucracy, more government fingers in private lives, and less liberty.

Socialism is corrupt by nature. As soon as Congress started taking money from taxpayers to give it to somebody else, the whole idea of private property was compromised. My property is not really mine if the government officials can stick me in jail for not giving some of it to them.

As George Mason University economics professor Walter E. Williams wrote recently:

"Whatever Congress wishes to give, it has to first take other people's money. Thus, at the root of the welfare state is the immorality of intimidation, threats and coercion backed up with the threat of violence by the agents of the U.S. Congress. In order for Congress to do what some Americans deem as good, it must first do evil. It must do that which if done privately would mean a jail sentence; namely, take the property of one American to give to another."

But...if the federal government did not take care of poverty, of health care, of the elderly, then who would do it! Who would take care of all these things that need serious attention?

We would, of course. We the people.

We are caring for people every day in communities all across this great nation without any government involvement. Unfortunately, we Americans have gotten so spoiled, we're in danger of losing the ability to properly govern ourselves. We think that "freedom" means license to do whatever we want to do. We think that "general welfare" means adding on to that massive government feeding trough. As we have stopped obeying God's Word and controlling ourselves, as we have gone lax in caring for our own families, young and old, we have found ourselves in an increasingly deep hole, surrounded by a growing number of government officials, along with red tape and high taxes, and... the poor still with us.

Let's get back to taking responsibility for ourselves, to doing what is right ourselves, and maybe we will find the federal government shrinking as a natural result.

Belated Tribute to the Birthday Boy

2008-10-23T21:35:00.000-07:00

Jeremiah quickly posted last week about Elias’ 2nd Birthday but I thought it seemed like a good idea to devote a little more space to the big E and his second year of life. I think I could start by saying that this little guy is one tough cookie and has a heart of Gold. The heart of Gold part was in full effect the day that Jeremiah saw him give Owen and big hug and say "I Love you", a completely independent, unprompted act.

Elias so admires his Big Brother it’s amazing. When Owen has taken toys away from him and has been asked to apologize to Elias, Elias will always respond at the same time with an “I’m sorry Owen” even though he hasn’t done anything wrong. The other day Owen got nailed in the mouth by a Matchbox car that came sailing off the coffee table, needless to say it came with a lot of blood and lots of tears. I was so touched by the outpouring of concern that Elias showed to Owen, wanting to kiss his lip and make it better. It was such genuine care and concern it melted my heart.. Most of the time Elias’ admiration for Owen is demonstrated in a positive way. However, there was a rebellious period a couple of months ago where if I asked Owen to do something Elias would look at me with a sweet but defiant little grin and do the very thing that I was asking Owen not to do. The funniest was the request I made of Owen to stop picking his nose, in response to this request, Elias promptly stuck his index fingers up each of his nostrils and defiantly grinned at me. I could hardly keep myself from breaking down laughing.

Elias loves to watch videos, almost every morning he’ll wake up and ask “watch movie?” or “wanna watch the Cars movie”. We haven’t let him turn into a total couch potoato though, he still loves swimming, going to the beach, and most recently he loves to swing in his new swing. When we first moved it from the meager 2 foot height of a low tree branch to our pergola I could hardly drive into the driveway without Elias declaring “I wanna swing”, his favorite is the “underdog” where his Daddy pushes him so high that he almost touches the bottom side of our pergola, which is about 13’ high. Until I perfected my version of the underdog and figured out how to get him high enough he would say to me, “No, not Mommy, want Daddy to push” He is definitely our little dare devil, The pathway down to our front door is just a dirt path, pretty steep, without any stairs. Elias will run down this pathway hooting and shouting with his hands in the air, when he reaches the bottom he turns around and says “did you see that? Did you see that? Did you see that? Did you see that?” and no I’m not exaggerating when I say that he repeats most statements or questions at least 5 if not 10 times.

A few of his other favs… are bubbles and singing Jesus Loves Me. Whether it’s bubbles in the bath or bubbles blown outside he can’t seem to get enough of them and when it comes to singing “Jesus Loves Me”, I think could sum it up best with the statement “mo Jesus”. If I had a dollar or even a peso for that matter, for every time he has said “mo Jesus” I would be a very rich woman. I’ll sing "Jesus loves me" to him a few times before getting up to leave the room when he’s going to bed and without fail before I reach the doorway he says “sing Jesus one mo time” It’s pretty hard to resist when your baby is saying “mo Jesus” I mean really, what more can a mom ask for? Though I do wonder if it’s often not just a delay tactic to postpone the inevitable bedtime or naptime.

A description of Elias’ 2nd year would not be complete without explaining his absolute infatuation with the Pixar Cars movie, and in particular the characters of Lightning McQueen and Doc Hudson. During our cruise to Alaska in July, Elias’ favorite thing to say was “where’s Doc Hudson” even if he was holding the Doc Hudson car in his hand, he would ask the question “Where’s Doc Hudson?” and as I said before, the question would be asked a minimum of 5 times. He sleeps with both Doc Hudson and Lightning McQueen nearly every night and for every nap. Whoever thought of sleeping with soft cuddly animals didn’t know anything about the Blackwell boys. Owen has been know to ask to sleep with a piece of re-bar, but for his first three years was content to cuddle up to his sippy cup as if it were his second mommy and Elias has opted to snuggle up to his two favorite metal racecars Doc Hudson and Lightning.

I could go on and on about all of the cute, shocking and wonderful things about Elias but those are some of my highlights. Hopefully they give each of you a better picture of who this little guy is and what he likes. He’s captured my heart, his Daddy’s heart and I even think his Big Brother’s too!

After a Long & Fun Weekend

2008-10-19T20:28:00.000-07:00

The Blackwell family is out of gas.

The Elias Show

2008-10-17T12:57:00.000-07:00

Can you feel his excitement?

Presenting Owen Blackwell

2008-10-17T12:42:00.000-07:00

Owen loves to sing and create his own versions of the classics. Let him know what you think... since he asked so nicely.

Mr. Elias turns TWO

2008-10-17T08:56:00.000-07:00

Elias had a wonderful birthday yesterday. Oh can you just see the excitement in his smile? We had a blast! I'll upload a video or two soon.

Bring it on, Norbert!

2008-10-11T07:48:00.000-07:00

Here are my boys giving us their best tough guy faces. Bring it on, Norbert! It is nice to have a little bit of change and actually have clouds in the sky. Yes I am actually very thankful that we are not getting hit by this Category 2 hurricane, but it does make for some good pictures, I think.

Blackwell Boys Talent Show

2008-10-10T18:25:00.000-07:00

Owen and Elias doing their thing.

In Honor of Travis Avila - I Did Something Manly

2008-10-03T17:18:00.000-07:00

So I have been in the hospital or at home on my back for about a month now. Mind you, I have had such excellent progress that I would consider it a bit of a miracle.

So I get a call from Shelley letting me know that she thinks she is running out of gas on the way to the gas station. Quite frightening for me, in that I have not ventured off our property for a month. Let alone sat at the dinner table for more than six meals in the last month. Confirmed. She cannot make it up the hill just before the gas station. What do we do? We have a gas can with gas in it here at the house... So I think to myself, I had better take a muscle relaxant just to be sure my back doesn't start spasming on the way. So I pop my preemptive strike on pain... lift the gas can into the 4Runner and drive off. Fortunately we had a baby sitter here, or I would have been forced to throw the boys into the car without car seats. Got to love Mexico!

As I drive away from the house, I am thinking of Trav and his awesome display of manliness. I didn't get greasy like him, but I did end up with that lovely smell of gasoline on my hands. I got Shelley back on the road, and made it back home no worse for ware.

Sunday Update

2008-09-28T07:32:00.000-07:00

Well, I am getting better. There were a few days that I have had no progress... It has gotten a little depressing feeling like I am not going to get any better, but yesterday I have been able to be up a bit more, and today I feel even better. I am still staying in bed most of the day, but I have been able to sit through a meal. Yet there comes a point where the pain starts to shoot down my leg. I jump onto the inversion table, and that seems to make the pain go away instantly.

If I continue to make more progress, it is looking like in another week, I'll really be able to start with some physical therapy & swimming. Otherwise, I fear that I might need to look into some other solutions.

Thanks for your prayers.

I Love This Stuff

2008-09-18T11:01:00.000-07:00

If you ever want a taste of the best Mexican Hot Chocolate. This is it. My boys agree.

Check out the cute little Hot Chocolate Mustache on each of 'em.

Monday Update

2008-09-15T09:52:00.000-07:00

So I think things are going VERY well. Please keep up with your prayers, there is still a ways to go.

Yesterday I only took ¼ pill of the Valium in the evening (no other pain meds) because I started to feel some of the muscles spasm at the end of the day. During the day… just the steroid. My pain levels have only been up to maybe #2 at the worst, but that is while sitting (I only DO that when I have 2). For the most part, the pain has not gotten past #1 level. Yesterday I was up and out of bed more. Mostly because I just want to get up and start some sort of ANYTHING. When I’ve gotten up, I will get in the inversion table before lying back down in bed.

When I start to feel the pressure build in my lower back, I get on the inversion table for a minute or two… sometimes more (if I start reading a book, I’ve accidentally stayed inverted about 20 minutes.) We also added a lumbar pillow to help my back get into the normal curved position.

I would like to get into a pool and start swimming as soon as possible, but I know I need to take baby steps, but for me… I seem to always jump in head first (usually after assessing how deep the water is).

I am still in bed or on the table 90% of the day, but I am very hopeful that I will be healed.

I don’t know what your take is, but I’m thinking there’s a little miracle happening here.

Moms are so GOOD

2008-09-14T10:22:00.001-07:00

THANK YOU MOM!!!!

My mom has been here helping in any way she can. We would be in shambles without her.

My little SUPERMAN

2008-09-14T05:03:00.001-07:00

Elias has this special ability to be somewhat super-human. If you remember, the nickname "tope" almost stuck.

More than anything his desire to sing "Jesus" every time he goes down for a nap or to bed for the night brings me right back to reality. His sweet voice (but most of the time there is quite a bit of whine in it) saying "sing Jesus, sing Jesus" melts my heart! Jesus' love for us is not earned by any of our actions or ideas... It is totally just Him.

JESUS LOVES ME.
I am weak, he is strong.
YES! Jesus Loves me.

Thank you Elias!

Hang Time

2008-09-13T19:53:00.001-07:00

Jeremiah hanging to get some space for those blasted disks.

Today's Back Update

2008-09-13T11:25:00.000-07:00

Things have gotten better every day. I have not had any pain going down my legs for the last three days. The clinical/physical check the doctors did on me have been improving as well. At first they could only lift my leg to about 30 degrees after being at home and on ice regularly. Then when I was in the hospital (not on any ice at first) they could only lift my leg 20 degrees. The day I came home from the hospital after being on ice for three days and on a steroid to reduce inflammation, they can lift one of my legs 45 degrees and the other a little bit more. Still with no pain shooting down my legs. I have all the normal feeling and reactions in my legs and feet as they would expect.

I was able to walk the 14 steps to the toilet yesterday & today I took a shower as well, only feeling a little dizzy and unsure of myself (having been laying down on my back for over a week)… without pain getting past the #4 level (only while sitting down)! Yes I am still on pain meds, but in the hospital on more pain meds I had pain up to #7 while in bed. I have also been able to get into an inversion table yesterday and today. This allows for the physical space between the vertebrae to open up and allow for the disks to get back in place. This is a slow process and will take some time, but it sure seems like it is working very well.

Down here I feel the doctor is way too trigger happy to jump into surgery. His plan was to go in and scoop out all the nucleus of both disks! No way! At that point we decided that if it came to surgery we would absolutely come back to California. The very well respected surgeon who performed the surgery on me the first time after reviewing the current MRI’s recommended we wait. Our plan is still to give this one more week of natural therapy then reassess. If we need to come back up to California, Shelley’s uncle has offered to drive their motor home down the Baja and take me back up there. I’m sure that will be the best ride over the Baja that anyone could hope for.

Keep seeking the Lord on my behalf, and please don’t forget to pray even more for Shelley. Even though my mom is here helping way beyond the call of duty, it is still VERY hard for Shelley.

We are the worst bloggers

2008-09-13T11:17:00.000-07:00

It has been far too long for us to have posted anything here. Please forgive us.

The following is the email that we sent out to most everyone... Please accept our apologies if you were not on the list. Keep us in your prayers. Not just for me, but even more for Shelley!

=====================

I (Jeremiah) was in the hospital since last Thurs. with two ruptured disks (the L4/5 and L3/4). I have been unable to walk since then and have been fighting extreme pain, we had MRI’s done on that Thurs. and had been waiting for the neurologist here in Cabo, he was out of town until Monday. The orthopedic surgeon and the neurologist here have recommended surgery, stating that they don’t think my body is going to heal on its own, though they can’t tell us that for sure.

At first we were thinking that surgery was going to be the best solution. We were feeling comfortable with having the procedure performed here and were more or less just waiting for the neurosurgeon to return. However, after much prayer and thought we’ve decided to take a more conservative course of action. We’ve been praying that the Lord would guide us in the decision making process and give us wisdom.

Before speaking with the neurosurgeon I had Shelley read to me out of the Bible - John ch. 5 where Jesus heals the man who has been an invalid for 38 years. Both of us are feeling the need to be more patient and desiring that the Lord would give us more faith in Him and His healing.

Another nugget of wisdom the Lord gave us, I believe, was a direct result of the neurosurgeon being out of town. This delay gave us enough time to have our Chiropractor and my neurosurgeon in San Luis Obispo (who performed the same surgery on me in 2005) look at the MRIs. They both have recommended that we give my body more time to heal before jumping into surgery.

All that being said, I am now home from the hospital. The plan, at least at this point is to wait 2 weeks and then reassess. I am on painkillers, muscle relaxants and now steroids & ice to try and bring down the inflammation. We are hoping that a combination of the medications, hanging upside down on an inversion table and more time will help the healing process. I am still unable to walk and in pain, we know that this is not going to be an easy road and are depending on God’s strength and grace to get us through.

My mom came down on Sunday to help us and will be with us for 2 weeks (or more if needed). Having her here is a tremendous blessing and has really taken a lot of the burden off of Shelley's shoulders. Thank you so very much for your continued prayer, love and support. We would not be making it though all of this without all of you and your prayers.

We continue to pray for wisdom, the Lord’s strength and for His Healing touch on me. If you know someone who would like to pray for us, please fill them in on the details and keep them posted.

Much Love, Jeremiah, Shelley, Owen and Elias

Been a while...

2008-05-12T23:27:00.000-07:00

I've been absent from the blogging world for a while, thankfully Jeremiah's been picking up the slack for me. Anyhow... a lot's been happening in the Blackwell household. For starters we've moved, no not back to California but into part of our house. Even though it's only a small part of the house that's actually finished its a whole lot nicer than trailer life, Owen turned 3, we sold our trailer yippee!, Elias now outweighs Owen, Owen and Elias are starting to speak Spanish and we are now back into surf season here. (which means if you want to come for a visit you better come soon before it gets too stinkin' hot here!)

Here's one of my favorite shots from The Big "O's" 3rd birthday. Mexican Law mandates birthday parties must include pinatas, needless to say we've had to give in a little on the no sugar thing. After all, we couldn't have the authorities after us...the look on his face seems to say "I can taste the sugar already".

about the moving thing... Everyone's told us that carpenters are almost always the delay in the construction process here, our story is no exception. After weeks of hearing manana, manana, manana one Sunday afternoon our carpenter pulls up, kitchen cabinets in tow.

The good news was our kitchen cabinets arrived, though the windows and doors we're still a work in progress. As of now we have half of the doors and windows for the downstairs installed. We're still waiting on the rest. Apparently it's a pretty common thing to move into your house here and still be waiting for the doors and windows.

A few fun shots of living in an "unfinished" house...

our bedroom before paint and tile

owen's bedroom at night, living room and dining room by day

owen's bedroom by day and the one that will really be his and Elias' room once we have a window for it.

You may be wondering what's hanging from the ceiling in the upper two shots...yeah you guessed it, the mosquitoes are back in full effect. Most nights it's okay though occasionally we'll wake up to find a handful of little skeeters buzzing around and I go on a killing spree squashing them between the mosquito net and my had... our once pretty white chiffon netting is now stained with the bloody remnants of nightly mosquito hunting.

What's a post without a couple of photos of the boys... Yeah I know Holly can pull it off but I don't seem to have the same mastery of words that she does.

Checking out the Hippos at the San Diego Zoo

Owen in the pilots seat

a quick but yummy breakfast with the Millers and Fosters

sorry but I couldn't resist such cute little buns

Missing you all terribly and sending you our love,
The Blackwell's

The Boys

2008-03-27T07:11:00.000-07:00

Life is fairly simple for us boys. When I get my hands on the little video clips that are on Shelley's computer... I'll post the essence of fun that Owen experiences here in Cabo. For now, let's just say that every toy Owen has (whither it was meant to be or not) is for DIRT.

"Hey Owen, what's that for?"
"Dirt."
"What is that?"
[who cares what he picked up]
"What's if for?"
"Dirt."

It's a good thing we have a lot of dirt. Elias on the other hand is all about food. "bite" "eat" "yogurt" "bana" The moment any food comes into site... he makes a bee line to it. Owen has to guard his plate. I'll serve up Elias a little bit more food... he'll eat it, and then move onto the plate that is closest. Elias and I are thinking about a self control class to help us manage our ability to eat everything in site.

Where Owen and Elias are really bonding is... well... dirt. Owen loves to play in it, and Elias doesn't mind eating it, having it pored over his head or whatever his big brother wants to do with it.

Boys are so simple.

Thank You!!!

2008-02-01T19:29:00.000-08:00

Wow!!! What a week. I can't begin to thank each and every one of you enough for all of your thoughts and prayers. We have been so incredibly covered in prayer, thank you for your overwhelming love and support through all of this. For those of you here in Cabo, thank you for the food, the toys for the boys and your sweet visits to the hospital or by the trailer.

The Lord's faithfulness is amazing. Above all things I pray that His name is magnified through this and that we all will grow in our faith and knowledge of Him. I firmly believe that either the Lord protected our sweet baby boy from harm or that he healed him on the way to the emergency clinic. Regardless of the method, we are unbelievably thankful that he is okay.

It is so nice to be home, I must say the hospital room began to feel pretty cramped, especially as Elias started to feel better. Chasing a 15 month old with an IV in his arm was pretty exhausting. Today was a beautiful day and Elias was so content to be able to play outside with his tractors and trucks. He is not back to walking yet but is doing very well getting around crawling. The doctor thinks that he should be walking in about a week or two.

Sending our Gratitude and Love,
Jeremiah, Shelley, Owen and Elias

Priest, Bishop, Pope!

2008-01-31T19:03:00.000-08:00

So we have been at the Nun's hospital for a few days now. They are all calling Elias the miracle baby and claiming that he will be a Priest, Bishop, and then Pope.

I'm not sure about all that, but I do know that God has had his hands at work. After the car drove over his little body, the only thing that has happened to him was a few scratches and a slightly fractured pelvic bone. Either he was protected from harm as it happened, or he was healed. That is the only thing I can figure. The God who created heaven and earth is also the master physician.

Elias really liked the sound of his laugh in the hallway, not to mention the full attention from everyone. He was really playing up the laugh. We're all home now, and snuggling in for the night. Thank you all again for your prayers.

I'm sure I'll be playing this video over and over again through the years!

Elias wanted his "Cow" book

2008-01-30T14:33:00.000-08:00

So I send a few things for Shelley and E last night with a good friend. One of them was the Cat in the Hat book. Well, he thought it was Where is My Mother?, the one he really likes because it has a cow in it. Well, I brought the book today, and he was VERY happy to have it.

Again, I couldn't get the camera out fast enough, but when they got to the cow page, there were giggles and "Cow. Cowww! Moo. Cow." and many smiles.

Prayers for Elias

2008-01-29T22:00:00.000-08:00

We had an unfortunate occurrence this afternoon. A good friend of ours accidentally drove over our little guy Elias. At a VERY fast pace, Elias walked in front of his car as he moved forward. The tire went over his left femur and pelvis.

Elias has a small, very small, fracture in his pelvis. NO signs of internal bleeding. The biggest risk is that if there is a severe increase of muscle protein absorbed into the blood that could trigger kidney failure. The protocol as I understand it is to keep him on and IV drip to "Flush out" or dilute any proteins that could cause any damage.

So we are in the PRAY, watch and wait pattern for 2 days.

3 Blind Mice!

2008-01-28T10:59:00.000-08:00

I have tried to share Owen's songs with family, but every time we call, most of the time he goes into this whispering singing style that no one can hear.

I finally caught him and did he ever perform.

Enjoy. I'm sure only Grandma, Pops & Gramie will enjoy this as much as us. So I won't be offended if not many people watch. =)

E!ias

2008-01-28T10:57:00.000-08:00

Here is Elias' smile on command. "Smile Elias." and then he busts this out:

Above, Elias is warming up the banana... to then jam as much of it in his mouth as he can:

something to think about

2008-01-23T06:29:00.000-08:00

I've been reading a book this last week called "Dangerous Surrender", in the book the author, Kay Warren talks about how every interaction we have with other people is an opportunity to make an invisible God visible. We are His Hands and Feet. How different would our lives look if we could remember this on a continual basis? Not quite sure why but for some reason this just really struck me and challenges me.

And they were complaining about the cold

2008-01-16T12:42:00.000-08:00

Offshore wind, 70 degree air, and in a spring suit.

Here, Shelley demonstrates how to set up for a speed section at K91 on the Pacific Side of Cabo. I was hanging out with the boys at home, so I only heard the stories.

Looks fun doesn't it?

growing up...

2008-01-07T20:02:00.000-08:00

I know it's so cliche to say how fast your kids grow up but man, Owen and Elias are changing so fast, I can hardly keep up:

Elias demands to feed himself and asks for his own fork, water, more, bite...
granted they are only one word requests but it seems like his vocabulary is expanding every hour. Tonight he added "gecko" and "owl" and earlier it was "shorts on" This kid is only 15 months, I wonder what he's going to be asking for in another year. Owen didn't start talking until he was close to 2.

Today for the first time Elias climbed down the stairs from the trailer all by himself. He runs with agility and is intent on trying to escape the yard and either go out in the street or down behind our house that is being built. I can not take my eyes off him for fear he will take off.

He is an amazing sleeper, unlike Owen he goes down really easy... read him a book and sing him a song and he's good to go. Last night he slept from 6:30pm until 7:15am. After battling through the whole bedtime thing with Owen I must say it is a welcome reprieve and definitely gives credence to the saying that babies come with their own unique personalities. We really didn't do much different between Elias and Owen with respect to the whole bed time thing. Elias goes to sleep on his own and Owen, well I can remember trying to let him "cry it out" one time for over an hour. He still has a longer bed time routine than Elias.

Owen is a fantastic big brother... he is amazingly patient with Elias wanting to play with almost everything that he has. He gives him loves, hugs and kisses and seems genuinely concerned with Elias's whereabouts. Sure he has his moments but don't we all. Owen's vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds also, he even has a few spanish words in the mix.

Lately he has been really into letters and numbers and pretending that he is reading. He also spent a lot of time with my mom while she was here over the Christmas holiday. Well, the other day when my mom was with him he said that he couldn't read something because "he needed his glasses". Wonder where he learned that? My mom just happens to wear magnifiers to read with. He's also picked up an exasperated sigh that he uses in all too appropriate moments. Crazy how our kids can be mirrors we don't want to look into. I never even realized I made this obnoxious noise until Jeremiah pointed it out to me.

I am amazed by how much he picks up on, their little minds are truly like sponges. Scary and at the same time hopeful. I feel a sense of urgency to try and fill Owen's sponge with as much truth and wisdom as possible.

I almost forgot to mention... I think we might be finally on the road to potty training Owen. Until now he's had virtually no interest in the toilet whatsoever. At the suggestion of my mom we decided to offer m&m's after every successful use of the toilet. Owen LOVES chocolate. It worked for the first couple of pee's and then there were about 5 days where he very clearly decided he didn't want to use the toilet, even if it meant forfeiting the m&m's. We're back on the toilet today and he's happy about the m&m thing... I'm truly hoping we're on our way to ditching diapers.

Sick with a cold, but still happy to eat

2007-12-12T16:04:00.000-08:00

Poor little guy has a fever and is fading between whimpering this miserable little cry to wrenching and screaming. (I have no idea where he gets this behavior from... I would never act like that if I were sick... yea right!) Then we dish out breakfast, and he makes a bee line to the chair. Once in, he is focused, happy, and well... I wonder... Elias is a little bit like me, isn't he.

Excavators or "Ecuagers"

2007-12-07T10:18:00.000-08:00

I know I am totaly biased when I think that my boys are the cutest kids in the world. But the excitement that Owen has when it comes to tractors, cement mixers, and trucks just makes me smile so big.

Like most kids as they are learning how to talk have their own language for a while. One of Owen's favorite things to see around Los Cabos are excavators, and tractors. He'll almost go into a panic to make sure you see it to. It might take a while for us to get him to say it correctly, but he sure likes excavators.

Check out his attempt:

travel time

2007-11-27T22:18:00.000-08:00

My Friend Anna had this on her blog and I thought it was pretty cool so I thought I needed to go make one for myself. I love to travel, though I haven't done too much of it lately with a one year old and a two and half year old. I look forward to the day when they can share in the excitement of traveling to new places.

If you haven't checked it out before we put together a website of our year long trip around the world http://journal360.com... every so often I take a trip down memory lane and relive our adventure. Hopefully someday we'll do it again with our kids.

watering our new palms...

2007-11-26T22:34:00.000-08:00

We were given a couple of coco palms that Elias and Owen love to water...

a quick update

2007-11-16T21:28:00.000-08:00

We had a flurry of visitors and activity in October, with Jeremiah's Mom and Dad in town for a week and a half and then a visit by the Pollards and the Rodgers. Thanks to all of you for making the trek down here to visit. We loved having each of you here.

Simon took some really fantastic photos of our family while he was here. Thanks Simon!!! Here's one of them.

Elias and especially Owen loved having Lily, Max, Oliver and Milo here. So much fun to have playmates his own age.

This last month has been especially exciting with the construction of our house in full force... All of the walls for the bottom floor have gone up and the rough plumbing and electrical are almost all in. We'll put up more on our construction blog http://casitaconstruction.blogspot.com to show the whole process, but here's where we are today with the walls:

a few of elias's firsts

2007-10-24T21:45:00.001-07:00

Elias loved his birthday cupcake and couldn't eat it fast enough. Unlike Owen however, who had never had any sugar before his birthday, it certainly wasn't his first taste of sweets. Isn't it funny how we are so different with second children, so much more laid back about all the things the infamous "they" tell you to and not to do with your kids.

The other first for Elias last week was that he got his first hair cut. He looks so much more grown up with his short hair, here's a before and after shot for you to compare. The guy who cut his hair put product in it to make it spikey.

here's the before...

and the after...

Birthday Boys in Cabo

2007-10-24T12:34:00.000-07:00

Blackwell Family in Cabo. Grandma and Pops came down for a visit. Pops and Elias had their birthday parties at "The Condo" It sure was nice to have everyone here. We do miss having all our family together. Maybe next time. =)

Owen Goes Racing

2007-10-24T12:28:00.000-07:00

Owen goes racing for the first time. On Uncle Ryan's lap, they came in first place! Owen still goes to sleep with the flier for the Kart Center.

2007-10-04T13:01:00.000-07:00

Boys are so great...

dirt, sticks, rocks, cement = SOOO MUCH FUN!!!

the important things

2007-10-02T20:47:00.000-07:00

Construction on our house is moving forward fast and I find myself all too often envisioning what life in our own home will be like. Our life this last 18months has been really scattered and transient and I am learning and being reminded this world is not our home and that a home really isn't the walls we are surrounded by. I've been reading through some of our friends blogs lately because we just got internet to our trailer and am again reminded that I shouldn't be worried when we will have a home to move into. Some of you have had some pretty profound things to say, thanks for helping to keep my focus heavenward and on the meaningful things this side of heaven. Interestingly neither Owen or Elias seem to care we're in a trailer surrounded by dirt. In fact they love always being so close to us and as for the dirt, they can't seem to get enough. One of their favorite things to do is to play outside with their tractors and "dumpies".

E Man Walking

2007-09-26T08:51:00.000-07:00

Elias caught on film WALKING!!!

The Wheels on the Bus

2007-09-26T08:45:00.000-07:00

The wheels on the bus go round and round!

That is one of Owen's favorite songs right now. Elias is just trying to keep up. We're back living in the trailer on our lot... right in front of the construction. Owen LOVES it.

The Hurricane Dissolved

2007-09-25T08:49:00.000-07:00

Well God sure did answer our prayers. Hurricane Ivo dissolved into nothing as it approached the coast.

It did prompt our workers to bust things out. We got the cement trucks to pour the foundation over the week end.

Photos to follow on the Casita Construction BLOG.

Hurricane Ivo

2007-09-20T06:47:00.001-07:00

We pray that hurricane Ivo does not dump too much rain on us. We really don't need to have more of our dirt wall fall down before we get our retaining wall up.

One thing is for sure... we will likely get some GOOD surf from this storm. We'll keep you posted.

Jeremiah still likes to surf

2007-09-17T11:07:00.000-07:00

Some tourist guys took this photo of Jeremiah surfing at shipwrecks.

This is one of the reasons we live here.

Surf Lessons for Owen

2007-09-17T10:47:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Owen's half birthday, and Uncle Ryan's Birthday. We spent the afternoon at Shipwrecks out on the East Cape. Mommy surfed, Daddy surfed, and Owen had his first surf lessons in the ocean. It took a little while, but he got the courage to leave the death grip on daddy and go for it. We were real proud of Owen. He didn't want to stop, in fact he kept asking to go outside and surf with Mommy. We figured since the sets were six to seven feet, that was not a real good idea.

Enjoy the Video and Photos!

Hope to stay in touch better!

2007-09-15T22:29:00.001-07:00

I've decided to give this blog thing a go. I always wanted to keep a journal, I'd start off on the right track but then get side tracked by everything else in life. Not to mention I've never considered myself much of a writer and I often seem to agonize over wording (I suppose that's usually for scientific papers though, haven't done much free form writing in a long time) Anyhow I'm going to try this for a while and see how it goes. Besides I'm hoping it will help me to keep you all up to date as to the happenings in the Blackwell Household.

Most recently Owen, Elias and I were in California doing a bit of a road trip. A visit to San Diego, some time in the Central Coast, a weekend with the Brackett family in Tahoe and then down to Santa Barbara for my friend Mari's wedding. We had a fantastic trip, the only downfall was that Jeremiah was only with us for the first 5 days. He was holding down the fort here in Cabo and getting the construction on our house started. Towards the end of our trip I was starting to get a bit worried about coming back to Cabo, the heat this time of the year can be horrendous and I tend to lose my patience way too easily as well as the fact I was getting nervous about moving back into our travel trailer. (We put a trailer on our lot that we are living in while we are building). All that to say we made it home safely and so far all is well, the heat isn't unbearable, nor is the trailer (though we are housesitting for a friend right now) I am actually beginning to recognize the benefits of being in such close proximity, especially given Owen and Elias are so little. It's also a lot easier to cool such a small space down.

Due to the hurricane that hit about a week ago everything is beautifully green, it's so amazing to see the desert transform from such a dry brown landscape to fresh bright green in a matter of days.

A quick update on the kiddos...
Owen still loves tractors, dumpies, pretty much anything with wheels including trains and planes. He rode the train from ventura to Santa Barbara with his Grammie and continues to talk about going on the big train. One of his latest things is jumping , he really got into it jumping on Grandma and Pop's trampoline as well as the one at the Brackett's. Another new thing for him since we've been back is that he's asking to go surfing so Jeremiah's taken him out to paddle around a bit in the shallow stuff.

Elias is changing like wildfire, his hair is almost blonde and he is starting to wave. We were at the beach this evening and as Jeremiah was walking down the beach to go surfing Elias began to wave bye bye. It wasn't the first time, however it was completely unsolicited, he just knew it was the appropriate thing to do as his Dad walked away. Isn't it incredible how much our little ones understand, they are far more perceptive than we think.

Anyhow... I think I'll wrap this up for now. I am going to try to do this at least once a week, sorry no pictures this time but I'll try to get some up soon.