The Swarrell Life

So this post is a little late...I have been a little unmotivated since Autumn came home. It's been nice to just spend a few minutes with her in the evening instead of updating the blog. So it goes. These pictures are from last week, Trinity received a package on the porch from my mom. It's a Valentine's outfit...but as usual her favorite part was the tissue paper. We can't let her have that without her eating it yet, so it's not quite as fun for her as it could be, but she does love opening presents. But then again, who doesn't? She just has an infectious smile. I look at pictures of her and it makes me think about being with her when she is playing or exploring. She makes these squealing noises when she crawls because she is so excited to do it. I think it makes me a little younger to be her dad. Autumn was helping Trinity draw. She did...a little. Mostly she wanted to eat crayons. At least they're non-toxic...right? She actually did do a little drawing. We...

Autumn came home yesterday and finally the house doesn't feel quite so empty. My friend Jon asked me how things went and I told him that both work and home felt empty. You see, most of management at work was on the same trip that Autumn was on. So both places carried an emptiness throughout the week. But they all arrived back in one piece and we're all happy they did! Here's someone who was pretty happy:

So Autumn called this afternoon from Atlanta...then she called again from Atlanta...woohoo! That means she's coming home tomorrow!

So today marks day seven for the Honduras team, as well as their last clinic. Yesterday they saw 450 patients, which is ridiculous and they must be exhausted, so who knows what happened today. They also drove back to San Pedro Sula, where they will fly home from tomorrow. Actually they won't get home until Saturday, which means a long journey home. I am so excited to see Autumn and the rest of the team and hear how things went. I am also excited to see Trinity and Autumn back together. It has been a great week for me with Trinity, I love all the daddy-daughter time. I'll miss that when Autumn returns, but not as much as I have missed Autumn! Okay, so I probably should have washed her face before the picture. It's a very "dad" thing to do. Either way we have one very cute, happy, well fed Trinity-bug.

Autumn called again this evening, through an internet deal that lets you make free calls. I guess it's like Skype or something. Either way, it was really nice to hear her voice and tell her that I love her. The team in Honduras saw 450 patients today. That's a lot. Trinity and I did a couple of laps today with her lion. We walked all the way around the kitchen, down the hall and past the bedrooms. I did a little steering, but no pushing or stopping necessary, Trinity was in control! She was sliding around in her pajamas, but wasn't deterred from her mission. It is so much fun to watch her do this. I know it means that she'll be even harder to keep up with, but who cares? Watching her grow and develop is such gift. I didn't get any pictures this evening because I had a thing to go to and Autumn's mom came over to watch her. But here's one from the great send off, right before the team left for Honduras. It's a good picture of my girls

Day five in Honduras and all is well. I hear the team is doing well and spending some time on the coast. Nice! Meanwhile, it is in the 40's and sloppy here in Baker City. The sun was shining though, so I can't complain a whole lot. Trinity is walking a little more today, so that's a fun exercise! I can see now how much trouble we are in. I know that I put more than one picture up...again. So it goes. This was my view for quite a while this evening as Trinity pushed her lion all over the place, zig-zagging across the living room. She even made a run for the kitchen. Her control is much better and she rarely lets the lion get out of control. Lion tamer, that's my girl! Here we are at the end of the evening, getting ready for story time. We read four books tonight, which is about par for the course. I think we read five last night. She sure loves her books!

Okay, so I said that I was going to only post one picture each day. I am posting two today, because Trinity took what I think are her first real walking steps. Before it has been a few steps and then falling into either someone or something. Today she was leaning on the chair when she let go, turned around and walked over to her toy lion. She did lose her balance a little at the end, but righted herself without falling over. The pictures below are the best I could do. And yes, she did all of this while holding a balloon. Autumn e-mailed today, which was great. The team is going to Puerto Cortez for three days, which looks like a nice place to be for three days. Autumn says that she is feeling the best that she has felt in weeks, which is a real answer to prayer. I really miss her and I can't wait for her to come home, but I am happy that she is feeling better. I know that will help her be able to enjoy her trip a lot more. I am looking forward to hearing all about the trip!

So today is my 36th birthday. I usually forget, which is why I am so grateful that Autumn's family is good about celebrating birthdays. They help me remember. It was a laid back day involving naps (not mine), church, watching an entire football game and hanging out with friends and family. Not necessarily in that order. Also, Trinity went to her first American Girl party. I am still not sure what that is exactly, but I am told that Trinity enjoyed herself and all the 11 year old girls were fighting to see who got to change Trinity's diaper. Weird. But thank you Pointer ladies for taking care of my little lady for a few hours. My biggest present was Autumn calling me from Honduras! She is doing good and it was great to hear her voice. We didn't talk long, but it was a nice surprise, since we have mainly been exchanging text messages. Meanwhile here at the homestead, Trinity is asleep and I am soon to follow. Today's picture is pretty self explanatory. Also, she has been ...

Today is day number two for the medical team in Honduras. I received a text from Autumn saying that they had already done one clinic and were working on getting medicines together for the next clinic. Autumn called me at 6am to tell me that they were about to leave Atlanta, Georgia for San Pedro Sula, Honduras. She had at least an hour and a half of sleep last night. Plenty of rest! Not. Meanwhile, Trinity and I went swimming, grocery shopping and even visited Auntie Beth for a few minutes! Trinity sure is a great little baby. She had a little congestion today, but no fever. Here is a funny shot of her crawling around. That little thing on her face is a crumb that I missed when I dust-mopped. Whoops!

I suppose that it's a bit like a race; the team to Honduras is on their way to Seattle as we speak. Trinity and I went over at noon to see them off. We took this shot of the team. Of course the baby isn't going. But the rest of them are off to Honduras. I just got off the phone with my wife (I miss her already) and they are waiting to leave Seattle. It is 8:04pm here. It was harder to watch Autumn leave this time for some reason. I assume it is because she is pregnant, so I worry a little more. I don't usually worry too much, but this is a different situation. But I know that God has a plan for this team and I am excited to see what happens while they are down there. Meanwhile, Trinity is already asleep after a yummy dinner of beef stew and canned peas. Okay, so one out of two isn't bad... Go Team!

So this is going to be an experiment. There are no pictures this post because I am just going to lay the groundwork for this coming week. Autumn is going on a medical mission to Honduras with ten other people from Baker City. Trinity and I are going to stay home and man the storefront. Autumn is going to miss Trinity terribly. I am sure that she'll miss me too, but not quite the same way. In order to keep Autumn up to date and give her a Trinity fix, I am going to post a blog update of the day's activities so that Autumn won't feel like she is missing as much. The team is bringing a little netbook, so they can check email and the like, so as long as there is cell service, Autumn should be able to check in on her little girl. The posts may not be nearly so interesting as our normal ones, but I suppose that's part of the experiment as well. This will be an experiment in sharing the mundane of our lives with all of you. I hope that any time you spend sharing life with us i...

No apologies, your slow connection isn't my fault. But there are LOTS of photos in this post. How often do you get a first sledding event? Trinity's grandma and granddad got her a sled for Christmas and Saturday was the day to try it out! We bundled her up and buckled her in and took for for a ride around the yard. Boy did she have fun! So here we are loading up and strapping in for the ride. Trinity sure seems to like the snow already. She was constantly reaching for it to see what the heck it was. Love at first pull, the smile says it all... Ooh, let's try a hill and see how much fun THAT is... It looks like we have a winner here, she loves it! More sledding happiness! Faster mom, faster! Okay, so the dad in me wants to take things a little further than necessary, but what the heck, she IS buckled in! Looks like this one's a winner too! Is there anything she won't do? Haven't found it yet! This is the winter version of...TOUCHDOWN! It also qualifies as the ran...

A kind lady I know asked what I do for a living. When I told her that I am in information technology, she said that she thought I would be in a job that was highly organized. Boy if she only knew! It was a kind thing to say, so I won't linger too long on the subject, but I am almost as random as you get. Speaking of which, here are a few random pictures. Here is Trinity with her granddad, showing off her little pigtail, or ponytail, or whatever. I'm the dad, hair terminology will always escape me. Her daycare provider did this. I don't know how, since Trinity never really sits still. She didn't sit still when we took it out either, poor girl. Here is another picture that really shouldn't be public. Trinity and I will both regret having this picture posted on the internet. I look like an idiot and she's naked. So there you go. Unca Chris came over to drop a few things off, so he was kind enough to pose for a few pictures. Trinity is so lucky to have such a great ...

So, as you may well know, Trinity is doing all kinds of new little things these days. The newest thing is to climb up onto furniture and hurl herself off. The good thing is that she can't actually climb up onto furniture herself. That means when she throws herself off, we are already there to catch her. She learned it in swim class, you know, jumping into mom's arms while sitting on the edge of the pool. This is just like that, only with less water. Enjoy the videos.

It's been a while since Trinity has ventured into the world of wrestling. I have received a number of questions for updates regarding this topic. The fact is that Trinity took a little time off from wrestling to recover and regroup, but she is embarking on a comeback. We decided to start her off slowly, since she has wrestled much since "the event" back in August. My uncle Brian sent us a package yesterday that fit the bill perfectly. Here is what transpired: Okay, so it was the old "box within a box" trick, but we eventually unwrapped the prize: a huge black bear, as soft as silk, as big as Trinity, and the perfect victim. We named him Bri-Bri. He had no idea what was coming: I told her to start off easy. She's been pretty sedate, so we don't want to pull a muscle this early on the road to recovery. She started off with a simple arm lock, nothing complicated. This was going pretty well. I warned her again about showboating. No need to get injured jumpin...