Family Photos

Here are some more fun ones from Mother's Day.

Four generations! Tronette Hetts, Ricki Hetts Feist, Melody Harrison Feist and, of course, Camden Joshua Feist 

Grandma and Camden

Our little family.

My boy and me. I love him.

Me.

Concussion

Camden tripped and fell today and had his first concussion. Poor little guy. He threw up 8 times in about 5 hours, landing us first at the pediatrician's office and then at Children's ER. In spite of being dragged all over town and being poked and prodded by numerous doctors and nurses throughout the day, he was such a good sport -- a real little trooper -- and continually made us smile. He is such a sweet boy. Here are some choice moments from the midst of the ordeal:

The doctor was testing his vision and memory:

Doc: Do you know where you are?

Cam: At the kid hospital.

Doc: And do you know who this is? *points to mommy*

Cam: (long pause; doc starts to look worried) Melody Feist! We're the Feistes!

Doc: *laughs* (to the nurse) Well, I was just expecting him to say "Mommy." (to Camden) And how many mommies do you see: one or two?

Cam: One.

Doc: Good. And how does Mommy look? Does she look fuzzy? How does she look?

Cam: Mommy looks pretty. *weak smile*

(Awwww! Melt my heart! The doctor and the nurse swooned too.)

Lying on the table, pale as a sheet:

Cam: It's okay mommy. You can come right up here and give me a snuggle and a kiss on the cheek.

(And of course, I did!)

To the nurse, who was washing out his basin:

Cam: *lifts head a little off the pillow* Thank you for cleaning up my throw-up. Thank you.

(I thought the nurse would melt right there on the floor.)

At the ER:

Doc: What's your name?

Cam: It's right there on my bracelet. You can read it! It says C-A-M-D-E-N.
Doc: (to me) Um, well, I think he's doing okay.

Mother's Day

This year, for the first time, it wasn't as hard for me to feel like Mother's Day was for me as much as my moms and grandmas. There was a moment. Actually a few.

The first was early in the morning. I admit that I am most definitely NOT a morning person. Trent and I still wonder how we two got together and produced -- yes -- a morning person, a little one. Nevertheless, at 7 a.m., that little morning person was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. I got up, grumpy and grumbling to myself. In fact, I had resigned simply to go downstairs, turn on a Disney movie for him and go crawl back into bed. However, on my way back up the stairs, a little voice stopped me in my tracks: "But, Mommy, I didn't even snuggle with you yet." How could I resist those wide eyes and foot-long lashes? Needless to say, Daddy came downstairs about an hour later to find the two of us snuggled under a blanket, watching the movie together.

Another precious moment was watching my little man up there, slouched on the stand at church, rosy-cheeked and chin resting on his folded arms. I will always remember that image, for the rest of my life. The primary children sang, "Mother, I Love You" and "Mother Dear, I Love You So." We practiced together all week (mostly while riding in the car), and he did remarkably well, especially for a 3-year-old. I'm so thankful for my little boy. I waited so long for him, and he was undoubtedly worth the wait.

The third was simple, but probably touched my heart the deepest. Out of the blue, he looked up at me and said, "I'm so glad you're my momma." Oh, that little person ...

Mother's Day was for me this year. And he's the reason.

The Buzz on Our Honeybees

Here's our family's newest venture/hobby. We are so excited for fresh honey, among all the other good things that come from urban beekeeping.

Our first hive, which Trent built, of course. This one is a top-bar hive. This simple design was developed especially for third-world countries and other places, like Africa, where tools and supplies are limited. (The crate at the bottom-right is what our girls arrived in via UPS.) 

The worker bees fanning after the queen enters the hive. (See their little bums up in the air?) This spreads her pheremones into the surrounding area to attract any stray workers into the hive.

The workers crowded around the queen.

Trent putting sugar-water into the feeder frame to help them get started. See the horizontal cross-bars? The bees build the comb hanging vertically from these, and we will slide them out individually when we harvest.

Busy bees at the "front door," which is small to start with to help protect the hive until the colony is established. 

My bee man.

Four days after hiving the bees, they had already built a comb 18 inches long and about 8 inches tall.

Putting the window cover back on.

My happy hunny. The bees are actually very docile. We love to sit and watch them, and Trent only really needs his suit when he removes the lid.

Our second hive. This one is a Warre hive. Trent found a local beekeeping supplier and is working on a contract to build kits for her -- a combination of two of his hobbies. So cool! This is the prototype. Pretty, eh? 

This is tired me, not really wanting to be in the photo, but cooperating so you can see how big the hive is. :) 

Our little helper buzzing around the workshop with Daddy. He's so blasted cute. What a fun family project!