View from a Hill

People often ask us why we left the convenience of the city and the stability of a steady paycheck for life in the country. Believe me, there are times when this is a question we ask ourselves! In our more sane moments, though, we are reminded of the rewards of our simple life here. Enjoying fruit canned at its peak freshness and flavor, roasting a chicken raised organically in our backyard, knowing (and liking!) neighbors who would give you the shirt off their backs (and vice versa), sitting carefree in the backyard watching shooting stars after a hard day's work - these are comforts that cannot be measured in monetary value but are ultimately rich nonetheless.

Now that we feel we have made a little progress on the house and farm, Jordan and I are purposing to take the time to enjoy the beauty of the northwest. Recently, we made a trek to the top of Mt. Dominion, seen here from the north side of the house:


Despite a temporary roadblock (a not uncommon occurrence out here)...


...we pushed on and made it to the top in record time. We even managed to see some wildlife along the way. Here are some elk in a neighboring field:

At the top, we were rewarded with some amazing views of the north side of town and the Canadian Rockies beyond.


We even caught a glimpse of our house (circled at the bottom of the photo below). Seeing the size of our home in relation to the environment around us reminded me that our problems and issues are tiny in comparison to life beyond our four walls.


Actually, I think that the trip above accurately summarizes our decision to live as we do. Yes, we do hit some roadblocks, endure "hardships," and travel some unsteady roads on the proverbial mountains that we climb. Determining to make the trek and delighting in the sights along the way, however, make the satisfaction of arriving at the peak at each summit that much sweeter.

Big Sister

The biggest change in Annabel's life is that she is now a big sister, a role which she relishes. From the very beginning, Annabel has been quite taken with Thane, and she likes to hold and feed him as often as we will let her. She repeats his name all day long, and she'll tell him "Don' cry, ba ba" whenever he fusses.

Annabel continues to flourish here on the farm. She absolutely adores the animals, and she is fearless with them. Her favorite pasttime is collecting eggs from the chicken coop (whether the hens have finished laying or not!), and she'll boldly walk through the herd of sheep in search of Estelle, her favorite ewe. As you can imagine, keeping her clean is quite a challenge. If you ever stop by to visit, this is most likely how you'll find our little girl.

Don't worry, though, Annabel will grow up with some lady-like qualities (we hope). She seems to clean up fairly well - for a few minutes anyway.

She's great at channeling her inner diva, too. Whether she grows into a true blue country chick or a city-loving fashionista, we're pretty sure that she'll keep us entertained every step of the way.

Our Wee Sco'ish Bairn

On Monday, October 5th, at 7:47am, in a cold operating room, we warmly welcomed the arrival of Thane Brogan Lentz. Apparently we're not as good at math as we thought, as Thane ended up being a few weeks younger than planned and was technically premature. He still weighed in at 8 lbs 15 oz., and it just figures that we would have a 9 lb preemie! He initially had difficulty eating and gave us a little scare when he continued to lose weight, but he has overcome and is rapidly catching up (note the double chin in the photo below).

Thane, by the way, is the ancient Scottish title for a feudal lord. It comes from the Anglo-Saxon word "Thagn", which means warrior. At a mere 9 pounds, however, he'll probably need another year or two to live up to his name.

In the interim, we are grateful for a healthy baby boy, who is perfect from his hands...

...to his feet.

Thane is a very mellow little guy, and he mostly sleeps. In fact, people who have met him don't believe that we have ever seen the whites of his eyes. For the doubters out there, I've even managed to get a quick photo of his baby blues: