New Couches

After almost 7 years of marriage, we bought new couches!  Aside from our bedroom furniture, it's really the only furniture we've ever bought new.  They feel pretty fancy.

We have been talking about buying new couches for a while now.  We liked the ones we had, but we knew having a cream colored couch was just not practical with kids around.  So we did lots and lots of research.  We wanted something that wasn't just plywood and cheap materials, but we really didn't want to spend our life savings on a couple of pieces of living room furniture.

We found Stanton Couches, out of Oregon, and loved the way they built their stuff.  We kept going back to Style 109, but knew we wanted a medium gray.  After looking over hundreds of fabric swatches, we decided on "Expectation Heather."  So we ordered these on faith.  We hadn't seen more than a picture online, so we were praying that we wouldn't be disappointed.  They were delivered a week ago, and we sure do love them.

I love the sleek lines.  I'm hoping they last us a good 10 years.  We'll see how they hold up with kids jumping on them, eating on them, and expelling bodily fluids on them. 

It Looked a Lot Like Christmas

Actually, it still does look a bit like Christmas.  Now that the 12 days of Christmas are over, I think it's about time to take down the decorations.  They were pretty while they lasted.

The Ceiling Drips

Apparently the tree that fell on our roof last winter did more damage than we realized. We had our first light snow of the winter last night, and as we were going to bed, we noticed a loud dripping that didn't sound like it was coming from outside. Lo and behold, the ceiling was leaking water. So we set up the buckets and went to bed.





So this morning we rearranged the furniture, and Bryan found where the water was getting in. We talked about our options, and decided we'd try to do a basic patch job, and save the major reconstruction for next summer. So Bryan bought a bucket of Black Jack and sealed everything up. We hope. Time will tell.

Sunny Saturday

It was a beautiful day today.

Since we have a big yard now, there is lots of work to be done outside. I managed to prune all my rose bushes, pruned an apple tree, weeded my flower beds, tossed wood, hauled logs, gathered sticks, and took some pictures of my happy baby exploring the details of God's beautiful creation. She loved being outside. I think her favorite part was trying to eat the sticks.

Snow Day

It's really been more of a snow week. We've been getting a few inches every day, and I was pleasantly surprised that we didn't get the predicted eight inches today. Just two or three. But then it stopped snowing, the sun came out, and I bundled up to do some shoveling.

A couple of days ago, I strapped Chloë on in a Moby Wrap so I could go out and shovel. It's a good enough work out shoveling snow without a baby strapped to your front. So yesterday, I managed to sneak outside while she was taking a nap. Today, I had a better idea. Put her in her snow suit that is a little large, and see how she does in a big plastic storage bin. Not too shabby.

Wonder and joy, I think.



She liked touching the snow.



And eating it, too.


Cold though, I think. She was very disappointed when I pulled her away from the fresh powder.


We even tried just playing on the sidewalk for a bit.


I got most of the driveway shoveled before she started getting fussy. Too bright, maybe. I wish I could say we came inside and had hot chocolate. Maybe next year.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

I managed to get a Christmas card and newsletter out to a few friends and family members this year. I realize it is a bit late to be wishing you a Merry Christmas, but I thought I would share this anyhow.

Our Dear Family and Friends,

Greetings to you this cold and snowy season! This year has been full of many, many blessings, and we have so much to be thankful for.

We bought our first house in April, and moved into our cute little 7 bedroom home in May. Built in 1940 with many updates since, it has wonderful charm, a big kitchen, and a cozy living room with a fire place. We are slowly working on remodeling one of the bathrooms, but have been taking our time. We have a double lot with a big back yard and lots of big trees, and are two minutes away from the biggest grocery store in town. We love it.

After working for almost three years as a BSN RN at Good Samaritan, I started my indefinite maternity leave on June 1st. I have thought about going back for one shift a week when the holidays are over, but am not sure what I will do. I love working as a nurse, but there are many things about the job that I don't miss. I have also considered the possibility of doing online school or apprenticing to become a midwife, but that may still be a few years away. We shall see.

On June 13th, I gave birth to Chloë Ann Blakey, who weighed in at 7 pounds, 10 ounces, and was 20 1/2 inches long. Born at home, we were grateful for her healthy arrival, and finally being done with morning sickness. She has chubbed up quite nicely, and is a very busy and energetic baby, bouncing and rolling over, singing and babbling, and tasting everything she can get her hands on. She enjoys grabbing handfuls of our face flesh, practicing her intense abdominal workout in her bouncy chair most afternoons, and loves rubbing soft things on her face when she's sleepy.

When Chloë was a few days old, she developed a hemangioma behind her right ear. It has slowly grown since, but we started seeing a dermatologist in Spokane in October, and are trying a new topical treatment that seems to have stopped the growing. We are thankful that it is benign and gives her very little trouble, and that the specialist says that such growths normally shrink in a couple of years, and should eventually disappear altogether.

We could not have anticipated how much joy our little girl has brought into our lives. We love being parents.

July marked the beginning of Bryan's 5th year at EMSI (Economic Modeling Specialists Incorporated), a small economics and consulting firm here in Moscow. He is the head of the development department, and gets to manage the writing of the computer code that allows the website to function. He enjoys working there, and hopes to be there for many years to come.

In August we flew to Iowa for a mini family reunion where Chloë got to meet Great Grandparents and Great Aunts and Uncles. It was special visiting the farm where her great great great grandfather first settled. Being the first grandbaby and the first great grandbaby on both sides of our family, she is used to being held most of the time.

In November, Bryan and I celebrated four years of marriage. We are more madly in love than ever, and absolutely love our cozy little life here in Moscow. We have a wonderful church and many great friends, and Bryan's parents and three sisters all live in the area. We love our Sunday Feasts out at the folks, and the baby always gets passed around. My parents will soon be living closer, at least some of the time. They are in the process of buying the house right next door to us, which we are very excited about. They still have their little farm in Bonners Ferry, so they will be doing a bit of back and forth.

Blessings to you and yours. Stay warm, keep in touch, and have a wonderful Christmas.

Much love, Bryan, Bess and Chloë

Praise God For Weird Architecture

We woke up to a loud crack and boom and rumble in the middle of the night last night. In a daze, I thought maybe it sounded like an animal being dropped and then scrambling to run away. A cat with a poorly judged jump, perhaps? Or a branch maybe? Well, the baby was still sleeping in her bassinet, so we both fell back asleep.

In the morning, glancing out the windows, nothing looked different. There was a twig the diameter of my pinkie resting on one of the ceiling windows, but it couldn't have been that. Bryan went out to shovel snow for a bit, and came back in and said the snow was very sticky and heavy. "Oh, and that noise last night? A tree fell on our roof." Wait... what?!

There is a big tree just a couple of feet away from the wall of our bedroom. The master bedroom was an add-on 10 or 15 years ago, and there is a strange pop-out section with a low roof that makes absolutely no sense. It was part of the add-on, and didn't match up with any existing structure, and we couldn't figure out why it had been built that way. Maybe the people who built it wanted a cozy nook for a desk? And up until this morning, I had always thought it a bit of a nuisance.

We had a bit of a blizzard last night, with some small drifts here and there, but only a few inches of snow accumulated. For some reason, the ol' tree decided to give out in the middle of the night. It split at the base, where it had grown two main trunks, and one side fell. Since it was so close to our house already, it only had a couple of feet to fall, and couldn't have gained much momentum on its way. And, wonder of wonders, it looks like someone gently placed it on the corner of the weird pop-out of our bedroom. No crashing through the roof or ceiling. No tearing up the deck or siding. Maybe jostling a bit of insulation in the upper walls, but very minimal damage, considering.

Chloë's bassinet is a foot away from where the pop-out ends, with our bed on the other side. We praise God for His odd ways of protecting us and our home.

It is looking a bit like Christmas.

Happy December! I have really been slacking with the blog, I know. But here is the official "we got a lot of snow" and "we got a Christmas Tree" blog post.


Yes, we got our tree! It seems that we always seem to go get our tree when it is 3 or 4 degrees out, so I was pleased when we went yesterday afternoon when it was a balmy 30. Although my feet got soaked. (I need good winter boots, hint hint, Santa.) But it was worth it. Now to start the present wrapping extravaganza.



I am really this cheesy.


Snow. Yes. We have lots of it. A record breaking lot of it, apparently. More snow in November than we've had in a hundred years. It sure is beautiful, especially when the sun comes out.


Out our front door, looking at the house my parents are buying!


Man sakes alive, I love it all.


And just because I love that I can take a decent close up.


So there you have it. Late November happenings to come.

Pumpkin Carvings

We had a few friends over last Saturday to carve pumpkins. Pumpkin guts were spilled, and many beautiful masterpieces were created. I'm sad that I didn't get any pictures of the chaos, but since Saturday, Bryan and I have carved even more pumpkins.


Mr. Owl! I'm quite pleased with how he turned out, although I wish I could claim the idea as my own. Thanks again, Martha.


I do like carving pumpkins.
The green one is from my mother-in-law's garden! Thanks, Ma!


Bryan's, mine, mine.


Mine, Bryan's, mine.


Welcome to our home!


Last but not least, I had to include a picture of our latest Autumn themed centerpiece.

Before It Was Cold

Autumn is suddenly upon us. Just a few days ago, we were having beautiful warm sunny days in the 70s. Now, snow is in the forecast for tomorrow.

When it was still nice outside, Bryan would often take Chloë out on the front steps during his lunch break. I had to get a few pictures.