(click on the picture...I know it's dark, but it's so much clearer when enlarged)
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Taking the time.....
to slow down, relax with the kids, look up into the sky and watch the....
BATS!
(click on the picture...I know it's dark, but it's so much clearer when enlarged)
(click on the picture...I know it's dark, but it's so much clearer when enlarged)
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Play Date w/ Friends
We like to mix business trips with hanging out with friends and creating frivolity when we can. :) We took the kids to a local museum. They took great advantage of it :)
putting on a drama....
scoping out Noah's ark...
being silly...
building cars
making replicas of ourselves with "needles"....
cooking together...
and art work...
hope you guys are doing great!!! miss you!
putting on a drama....
scoping out Noah's ark...
being silly...
building cars
making replicas of ourselves with "needles"....
cooking together...
and art work...
Friday, August 26, 2011
Our First Stitches (warning- pictures)
We have miraculously managed to go 9 and 1/2 years without a child getting stitches. And though I'm late posting about this big event, I felt it needed to be documented :)
We were out of town on business and were also getting to visit with some of our out of town friends. We invited them to our hotel's pool and got to hang out and enjoy it for all of three minutes. Iris had apparently, out of fear of drowning, decided it would be better to jump into the pool very close to the pool wall instead of out into the middle of the water. Then, mid-jump, she spun around and brought her chin crashing down on the concrete wall.
All the kids were terrified for her. She was afraid she was going to die. All adults involved, I'm happy to say, managed to remain calm. We quickly got everyone in dry clothes and took her to the hospital.
She got seven. We had an iffy Dr. While, it appears he did a fabulous job with the stitches themselves, he lacked a little skill in dealing with children. He also refused to numb her further when it was obvious she was in pain. But she was quite a trooper and didn't fight, or scream. While he stitched away, she would just say, "OW" and kind of flinch while big ole tears rolled down her face.
The next day she was as good as new and played with her friends like nothing ever happened!
We were out of town on business and were also getting to visit with some of our out of town friends. We invited them to our hotel's pool and got to hang out and enjoy it for all of three minutes. Iris had apparently, out of fear of drowning, decided it would be better to jump into the pool very close to the pool wall instead of out into the middle of the water. Then, mid-jump, she spun around and brought her chin crashing down on the concrete wall.
All the kids were terrified for her. She was afraid she was going to die. All adults involved, I'm happy to say, managed to remain calm. We quickly got everyone in dry clothes and took her to the hospital.
She got seven. We had an iffy Dr. While, it appears he did a fabulous job with the stitches themselves, he lacked a little skill in dealing with children. He also refused to numb her further when it was obvious she was in pain. But she was quite a trooper and didn't fight, or scream. While he stitched away, she would just say, "OW" and kind of flinch while big ole tears rolled down her face.
The next day she was as good as new and played with her friends like nothing ever happened!
Thursday, August 25, 2011
More Pet Fiascos
After we all had to part with our family dog, (see previous entry) we got this adorable creature.....
partly to sooth the wee ones and partly because it was just SO CUTE!
The kids named her Daffodil.
Shortly after we got her, Stephen read that it was illegal to keep native species as pets. This, to us, was a stupid law...seeing as how rabbits, turtles, tadpoles and praying mantises all make great pets, but we decided we better obey it, so our kids don't disobey our "stupid" rules.
There was much weeping when we dropped her off at the zoo. We felt terrible about making the kids so sad right after they lost Kizzy....
Soooooo.....
we got this (Laurel).....
and brought her home to be friends with this (Lavender)....
Then Lavender got VERY sick and we had to hand feed her a nutrient laden laxative with no food or water, every hour for 2 days....and now she's all better....
So, now we have this.....
and we're hoping things will stay this way for awhile ;)
Shortly after we got her, Stephen read that it was illegal to keep native species as pets. This, to us, was a stupid law...seeing as how rabbits, turtles, tadpoles and praying mantises all make great pets, but we decided we better obey it, so our kids don't disobey our "stupid" rules.
There was much weeping when we dropped her off at the zoo. We felt terrible about making the kids so sad right after they lost Kizzy....
Soooooo.....
we got this (Laurel).....
and brought her home to be friends with this (Lavender)....
Then Lavender got VERY sick and we had to hand feed her a nutrient laden laxative with no food or water, every hour for 2 days....and now she's all better....
So, now we have this.....
and we're hoping things will stay this way for awhile ;)
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Some neglected events
due to a crazy summer, father's day and birthdays for Stephen and Papa were neglected on my blog.
to remedy that, here are some highlights...
we ate at Macaroni Grill, more because Lu eats there easily, than because it was a favorite of the birthday boys....cause they love that girl!
that's a golf bag umbrella
and this is a crazy ninja card Clyde picked out
Stephen's birthday cake always has an equation on it that equals his newly acquired age...this is tradition since we got married
he got a deer rifle that had to encompass father's day and birthday and is not pictured due to respect for my mom's firm dislike of guns.
to remedy that, here are some highlights...
we ate at Macaroni Grill, more because Lu eats there easily, than because it was a favorite of the birthday boys....cause they love that girl!
and this is a crazy ninja card Clyde picked out
Stephen's birthday cake always has an equation on it that equals his newly acquired age...this is tradition since we got married
Kizzy
Shortly after Stephen and I got married and moved to Dallas, Texas, I started crying alot. I was so lonely without my family and friends. Then I started pleading with my husband to understand why we DESPERATELY needed a dog in our one bedroom apartment. Growing up, none of his puppies lasted long, they died or ran away. So his memories of pet-ownership were not positive ones. But seeing as how his new bride of 2 weeks was moping about and crying all of the time, I think he didn't feel he had much of an option.
We arrived at the Dallas Pet Adoption Agency (I learned the hard way not to call them an animal shelter) and were given a tour of all the dogs by the 12 year old son of the owner. Stephen tried to steer me to the calm looking small dogs. The boy tried to assure me that the pitbulls and chowchows were splendid.
But I saw this beautiful boxer/rhodesian ridgeback mix jumping up on his cage door and NOT barking (a plus in an apartment) and asked to go in the run with him. Stephen and the boy seemed a little surprised, but let me in. I sat on the concrete ground to watch him and let him smell me, but he just curled his tall, lean body up in my lap...guess he thought he was a lap dog.
We named him Melchizadek and joked about the tenth of our income he took. Kizzy was the PERFECT dog for us. We had our mishaps with him, but he was a loyal, loving companion and we treated him like he was our baby.....till we had a real baby ;)
"Kizzy" was Lucy's first word. He was very patient and tolerant of all of our children. Around the time Clyde was born he was booted out to become an outside dog. He loved being an inside or outside dog!
Shortly after this we had to move to Tullahoma and couldn't find a single rental home or apartment that would accept a dog his size. My Dad had always coveted our precious pooch, so the obvious choice was to send him to live with Grandad and Grandmom :) He never came back.
They loved him so much, that even once we got a house, we knew we could never ask for him back. It was all just as well, however, because shortly after that, we found out Lucy had a severe dog allergy and that our house was infested with a permanent pest and we could not keep it. We got to see and enjoy him at my Dad's everytime we visited.
He would "sing" with my Dad as he played the saxophone. It was very cool! The kids would fight over who got to feed him a dog biscuit. We always took him on our long hikes in the woods.
Just a few weeks ago, Dad and Janet had to put him to sleep due to a tumor growing that they had already tried to have surgically removed. It was awful. It was awful on my Dad and Janet who just loved him so much and had to get used to him not being around. It was awful on Stephen, Sherry and I because we had just adored that dog...he had been around the 11 years Stephen and I have been married. And it was awful on the kids. Lucy took it particularly hard. She hated to think about how sad Grandad was and she just couldn't imagine not having Kizzy around, because he had always been there as far back as she could remember. I was very surprised she was able to put words to her feelings as she normally struggles with this.
They cried on and off all day. They just sobbed. And they just couldn't bear to go to bed. I let them come lay in my bed, but then they wanted me. They cried and cried some more. Suddenly Clyde sat up and prayed, "God thank you, for making this wonderful dog. He was so special and kind-hearted. There was no other dog like him and he loved us and we loved him....in Jesus name...Amen." And then, of course, I cried like a baby.
Stephen came in and observed, "Well, they certainly eulogized him well." Then he picked each one up off me and carried them to their beds.
We arrived at the Dallas Pet Adoption Agency (I learned the hard way not to call them an animal shelter) and were given a tour of all the dogs by the 12 year old son of the owner. Stephen tried to steer me to the calm looking small dogs. The boy tried to assure me that the pitbulls and chowchows were splendid.
But I saw this beautiful boxer/rhodesian ridgeback mix jumping up on his cage door and NOT barking (a plus in an apartment) and asked to go in the run with him. Stephen and the boy seemed a little surprised, but let me in. I sat on the concrete ground to watch him and let him smell me, but he just curled his tall, lean body up in my lap...guess he thought he was a lap dog.
We named him Melchizadek and joked about the tenth of our income he took. Kizzy was the PERFECT dog for us. We had our mishaps with him, but he was a loyal, loving companion and we treated him like he was our baby.....till we had a real baby ;)
"Kizzy" was Lucy's first word. He was very patient and tolerant of all of our children. Around the time Clyde was born he was booted out to become an outside dog. He loved being an inside or outside dog!
Shortly after this we had to move to Tullahoma and couldn't find a single rental home or apartment that would accept a dog his size. My Dad had always coveted our precious pooch, so the obvious choice was to send him to live with Grandad and Grandmom :) He never came back.
They loved him so much, that even once we got a house, we knew we could never ask for him back. It was all just as well, however, because shortly after that, we found out Lucy had a severe dog allergy and that our house was infested with a permanent pest and we could not keep it. We got to see and enjoy him at my Dad's everytime we visited.
He would "sing" with my Dad as he played the saxophone. It was very cool! The kids would fight over who got to feed him a dog biscuit. We always took him on our long hikes in the woods.
Just a few weeks ago, Dad and Janet had to put him to sleep due to a tumor growing that they had already tried to have surgically removed. It was awful. It was awful on my Dad and Janet who just loved him so much and had to get used to him not being around. It was awful on Stephen, Sherry and I because we had just adored that dog...he had been around the 11 years Stephen and I have been married. And it was awful on the kids. Lucy took it particularly hard. She hated to think about how sad Grandad was and she just couldn't imagine not having Kizzy around, because he had always been there as far back as she could remember. I was very surprised she was able to put words to her feelings as she normally struggles with this.
They cried on and off all day. They just sobbed. And they just couldn't bear to go to bed. I let them come lay in my bed, but then they wanted me. They cried and cried some more. Suddenly Clyde sat up and prayed, "God thank you, for making this wonderful dog. He was so special and kind-hearted. There was no other dog like him and he loved us and we loved him....in Jesus name...Amen." And then, of course, I cried like a baby.
Stephen came in and observed, "Well, they certainly eulogized him well." Then he picked each one up off me and carried them to their beds.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
A Study; How Siblings React To The River Rampage
Older two children.....
Results of study...
Seeing as how older two siblings were exposed to this ride since they were three, we can only conclude that age is not a determining factor of enjoyment. Therefore, it must be birth order. Do not take "the Baby" of the family on this ride.
Youngest Child.....
Results of study...
Seeing as how older two siblings were exposed to this ride since they were three, we can only conclude that age is not a determining factor of enjoyment. Therefore, it must be birth order. Do not take "the Baby" of the family on this ride.
Water Park
I just have to praise my God for a really perfect weekend which He has just granted us. A time to just really absorb having us all relaxed together and enjoying one another.
I am really weird. I have always LOVED water parks. They are my favorite places. Maybe it's because it's one of the only places I can stay in the sun all day without passing out....due to all the WATER! keeping me cool. I don't know. But I have been bugging Stephen half-to-death to take us to a water park for YEARS! Soooo....we went! And it was the PERFECT day! Everybody felt great. No one was too afraid of anything. They even had slides the whole family could go down together! So without further ado...
these two....always chattin it up....for which I am very grateful!
was it a success???
oh yes it was!
I am really weird. I have always LOVED water parks. They are my favorite places. Maybe it's because it's one of the only places I can stay in the sun all day without passing out....due to all the WATER! keeping me cool. I don't know. But I have been bugging Stephen half-to-death to take us to a water park for YEARS! Soooo....we went! And it was the PERFECT day! Everybody felt great. No one was too afraid of anything. They even had slides the whole family could go down together! So without further ado...
was it a success???
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