Jul. 14, 2008 Prayers Needed for a Sweet Little Girl and Her Mom
Yesterday started as a typical Sunday. We got up, ate breakfast, and got ready for church. After the church service, we went to my mother-in-law's house. Again, pretty typical since we live 30 minutes away from church and my mother-in-law is only about 5 minutes away.
My mother-in-law and I left her home and went to a family bridal shower. At the shower we were informed that one of my husband's cousins got bad news this past week. Her eight year old daughter woke up Thursday morning completely blind in one eye. They still do not know for sure what happened--only that she cannot see with her left eye. One doctor said he thinks the optic nerve is completely dead in that eye. Another one said he wanted to run tests to see if there might be a brain tumor. Our cousin is having a very hard time right now because of the suddenness of all of this. Her daughter had recently been treated for an abscessed tooth, but had otherwise been very healthy. We are all praying that they get some answers soon, and that our little cousin continues to have vision in her right eye while they wait on test results. We are also praying that the first doctor is wrong and that God will heal this little girl who, by the way, is taking it all in stride and living her life as if nothing has happened.
Please remember this little girl and her family in your prayers. Thanks. |
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Jul. 9, 2008 What a Beautiful Sunset Yesterday!
| We had an extraordinarily beautiful sunset yesterday afternoon. It was one of those pale yellow fades to yellowy orange fades to orange fades to red kind of sunsets. The colors were so brilliant that you couldn't help but smile when you saw it. My daughter Kalyssa noticed it first. Bless her, she got terribly upset because she didn't have time to try to draw it. We wanted to take pictures, but we couldn't find the camera anywhere. Kalyssa just kept saying that she wished she could capture the sunset forever because it was so beautiful. She has an amazing appreciation for the simple things in life. No matter what is going on around us, Kalyssa keeps us grounded in reality. She also keeps us appreciative of the wonders of God's world. She has a simple curiosity and a genuine love of simple pleasures that helps us to forget the troubles of the world if only for a short time. Oh, if we could all just look at the world through the eyes of this beautiful, innocent child! |
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Jun. 24, 2008 Here Comes Soccer!
Well, softball is over. YEAH! Now here comes the next sport of the year--soccer. Three of our girls will be playing this year. Emily finally gets her turn! She has been waiting to play, almost begging to play, for two or three years now. It has never been enough for her to just be on the sidelines watching her sisters. Picture the little tike who runs onto the field in the middle of the game despite his/her parent's best effort, and you have a picture of Em! Not only will three of our four children be playing, but my husband and I also coach two of the teams. Yes, we have lost our minds, but we get immense joy from seeing the children learning to play and having fun! Shan has coached Lindsay's team for the last two years, and he will be coaching her again this year. I have been coaching Kalyssa, but this year she asked me (very nicely) if she could be on her friend's team which is coached by his dad. While I will miss the time I get to spend with Kalyssa on the field, I will get to spend extra time with Emily as I will be coaching her team this year. I know Kalyssa's coach and trust him to take care of her. I have spoken to him about transportation, and I feel confident he will help me out should the need arise. However, I am optimistically hoping (praying) that we will not need anyone else to transport any of our girls. We have soccer clinic this coming Saturday, and then it's full steam ahead!
One of the problems with soccer season beginning is that we will not be able to go camping as often as we would like. The weather in the fall is absolutely perfect for camping, and we tend to spend many weekends on the soccer field instead of camping. Maybe--and this is a BIG maybe--we won't have games on Saturdays this year. That would be great! I know it is not realistic to think that games will only happen during the week, but I can always dream! |
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May. 28, 2008 What a Camping Trip!
We took the kids camping this past weekend (Memorial Day). It was an interesting trip to say the least! First, Olivia came down with a stomach virus. Then, Emily fell and hit her head (nothing serious, just not good for Em due to past seizures). Finally, Kalyssa got stung by a Gypsy Moth Caterpillar. Overall, though, we had a good time, and there was no rain this time! As an added bonus we got to spend some time with my dad who is managing the campground we visited.
Our girls absolutely love camping, and we love to take them. We tent camp, and this year we are camping at a campground with no electricity at all on the loops--which I think is the best! The only thing about no electricity is that you have to go to the bath-house in pitch black darkness when you go at night. Luckily, my dad has a portable toilet for tents and he is very good to let us borrow it, so we don't have to walk the little ones to the bath-house after dark!
One interesting new thing we did this trip was we took Max and Bubba (our dogs) with us to the campground. They both did rather well considering Max had only been camping one other time and Bubba had never been. It was a little strange to have all six of us plus two dogs (one small and one large) inside the tent at night. Next time we will definitely take the crates for the dogs to be in at night--at least Bubba because of his size. It was fun to walk the loop with both dogs on the leashes and to see the reaction of other campers when they saw the little Pomeranian and the large mixed breed getting along so well together!
I will admit that I think I prefer to camp when the campground is not quite so busy. My mom was very busy in the office, and my dad was busy cleaning bath-houses and making sure campers followed the rules, so we didn't get to spend as much time with them as we would have liked. Not to mention some of the other campers seemed to have a hard time understanding that "Quiet Hours" means that you have to be respectful of others and keep your noise level down to allow for sleeping--you can still talk quietly within your own site, but you aren't supposed to have generators running, loud music playing, or very loud conversations going--the site next to ours was one of the groups that didn't seem to understand "Quiet Hours".
I got to help my mom in the office some of the time. Before the weekend was over I could almost be left alone running the office--not that I necessarily wanted to be--too much added responsibility! Although, the experience did let me know that, should the opportunity arise, I could very definitely work as a camp host at one of the local campgrounds if we wanted to take on the job.
I think we had a pretty good trip--all things considered, and we can't wait to go again! |
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May. 18, 2008 When It Rains, It Pours!
Well, as if this week had not been stressful enough, we can now add a broken lawn mower to the mix! Shannon had decided to mow--I have asked him repeatedly not to mow on Sunday, but that's another story for another day. Anyway, he apparently ran over a tree root with the blade of our mower. The blade is bent, and we will probably end up purchasing new blades. Not that big a deal, except that I spent our extra money yesterday on some camping supplies that I caught on sale. Oh, if I had only known then what I know now!
Oh, well. C'est la vie! |
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May. 18, 2008 Rabbits, Chickens, and Dogs, Oh My!
First, the rabbits---my mom gave my girls two of her beautiful rabbits about two weeks ago. One is a chocolate one named Nestle. The other is a red named Scarlett. Nestle is a good little rabbit. He stays in his hutch, eats, drinks, and lets the girls pet him gently. Scarlett is a trouble-maker! She has already gotten out of her hutch. We haven't been able to catch her yet. Oh, she's still in the yard (which is amazing as we have cats and a very hyper little puppy outside). She comes and steals food; she will even get into her hutch! We just haven't been able to get the hutch closed fast enough to keep her there. We've tried setting a live trap for her, but she's too smart for that. At least Lindsay is being tenacious and refusing to give up!
Next, chickens--we managed to successfully hatch five of the eggs my father-in-law gave Lindsay. Unfortunately, only two of the chicks survived beyond the first week. My father-in-law came over last week and fulfilled his promise to build a coop for the chickens. YEAH! They are finally out of my laundry room. They were fine the first couple of days. Then, to our surprise, something found a way into their coop. When we found them they were both injured--one was missing an entire wing, and the other had a partial wing missing. We (read Lindsay) immediately started working with the birds trying to save them. Unfortunately, she lost one of them--the one missing its entire wing--her favorite, Fluffy. The other one, Squirmy, is still managing to hold on after almost a week, so we hope he'll make it. (The girls named the chicks based on how they looked/behaved when hatched.)
Finally, dogs--we all love dogs. We had two beautiful little Pomeranians, Max and Penny, as well as a large mix-breed named Bubba and a bouncy, hyper puppy named Sally. Max and Penny have lived their entire lives indoors and are as much a part of the family as any of the humans who live in the house. Bubba is an indoor/outdoor dog, and Shan and I affectionately call him "our son". Sally is an outdoor puppy, and the girls love to play tag and fetch with her. We just could not ask for better dogs. When we got home from my mom's house last Sunday night, we found our beloved 2-year-old Pom, Penny, weak and listless. I immediately called my mom (we got the Poms from her) and asked for advice on how to help Penny. We immediately started working with Penny trying to make her better. We had used a new flea spray, and we think that she may have been allergic to it--we will never know. Penny had a seizure and died about 10:15 that night. We all, including Max and Bubba, miss her terribly. Poor Max is extraordinarily lonely seeming, so we are trying our best to give him lots of extra love and attention because we certainly don't want anything to happen to him! Bubba seems to sense the sadness of the girls because even he is being extra loving and cuddly right now. Sally knows something is different; she just doesn't know what (that's the impression we get, anyway). It's amazing how the dogs and the girls seem to be bonding even more than they already had.
The girls, of course, had a funeral for both the chicken and our Penny this week. That was something that both my husband and I remembered doing as children when we lost our pets, so we both thought it was an important step in saying goodbye--it seems like we've done a lot of saying goodbye lately.
Anyway, it's been an interesting, enigmatic, emotional couple of weeks. Hopefully, next week will be a little more normal--if there is such a thing as normal! |
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Apr. 30, 2008 4 girls + 1 boy = exhaustion and joy!
| Well, I had almost forgotten how challenging it can be to take care of a baby along with toddlers and a pre-teen. I have been taking care of my cousin's 3 month old little boy for the last week and a half. While I am having a blast, I am still exhausted by the end of the day. At least I don't have to do middle of the night feedings! It's been a good experience for all of us. The little ones are especially enjoying having Jace here during the day. He's really a sweet little boy--which in and of itself is something different for me as I have all girls! The younger girls (2 and 3) ask me every evening when Jace will be back. That alone makes it worth all the work, but add in the smiles on ALL of the children's faces (Jace included) and it's more than worth it (except maybe the getting up at 5 a.m. to be ready for him part). |
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Apr. 24, 2008 Wow! What A Busy Week!!
| Just a brief synopsis of our week so far: Monday--we came home from Memphis (we had a great time!); Tuesday--I had Jace for the day and then a ball game that night (Jace is a doll; the girls lost--AGAIN!); Wednesday--we took Emily to the neurologist at Children's Hospital in Birmingham and Mom kept the other girls and Jace for me (we can wean Em off the Keppra, YEAH! Thanks Mom!); Thursday--Jace is here, and I'm trying to catch up on laundry from the weekend (not working very well, though). I'll give more details later, but right now Jace is crying, so I'd better go check on him! |
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Apr. 15, 2008 Memphis, Here We Come!!
My husband and I will celebrate our 14th wedding anniversary this Saturday, April 19th. I can't wait for the weekend to get here! We always try to do something special for our anniversary--some years we just have a special dinner, some years we go to a movie, some years we take a trip. This year, we get to take a trip--just the two of us. We are going to Memphis for the weekend. Neither one of us have ever been there, so we thought we'd check it out. It's only about 3 hours away from where we live, so it's fairly easy driving distance. While we probably won't be visiting Graceland, we still want to see the sights and enjoy the sounds of the city. We are planning to tour Sun Studios and the Rock and Soul Museum (which is run by the Smithsonian Institute). We are both BIG music buffs and I am something of a history buff, so we thought those two attractions would be good to see. Otherwise, we plan to take advantage of the walking trails along the Mississippi River and through historic sections of the city (a friend told us about the trails--hopefully he's correct about them), and we plan to just enjoy spending time together alone! Yeah! |
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Apr. 12, 2008 It's gonna be a LOOOONG softball season!!
| The "Kick-off Tournament" for softball was today. Lindsay's team played a double-header--right in the middle of the day. Unfortunately, the girls lost both games. I felt bad for Lindsay. She is the oldest player on the team, and has the most experience, but she got barely any playing time--especially in the first game. In the second game she got a little more playing time, and she looked great out there! She plays right field, and she really has the concept of how to play that position. Batting was another story for her today. Unfortunately, she was at the bottom of the line-up and struck out each time she batted. She was so angry with herself! They have another game Tuesday night, so maybe they will play better as a team then. I certainly hope so; otherwise, it's gonna be a LOOOOONG season! |
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Apr. 11, 2008 They're Hatching, Mom!!
That's what I heard Tuesday evening when we came in from Lindsay's softball practice. Sure enough, they are indeed hatching. We are up to four baby chicks so far with one more in the process of hatching. Lindsay is being a very protective Mommy to these little feathered babies. I am amazed by how dedicated she is to them. She has even named a couple of them!
I guess I need to back up and give a little bit of background on this little experiment of ours. About 3 weeks ago my father-in-law, who has not been terribly supportive of our homeschooling adventure, asked Lindsay if she would like a science experiment to try. (He asked me if it would be okay first at least.) He had a hen that had laid approximately 15 eggs and another that had laid 5 or 6 eggs. Both hens had been injured and unable to sit on their nests, so he thought it might be fun for the girls to hatch them in an incubator--Lindsay in particular. He told her that if she was successful and I didn't mind then she could keep the chicks to raise, and he would come help her build a chicken coop for them. I agreed, provided Lindsay, her sisters, and their father take care of the chickens as I am terrified of birds--having been flogged by some of my Daddy's geese when I was a child--and provided they clip the wings of the birds as they get larger so they can't "fly the coop"! So, we now have 4 chicks and 9 more eggs to go. (Some of the chicks tried to hatch but died, and a couple of the eggs were never fertilized and became rotten--much to Lindsay's dismay.) Wish us luck! |
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Have you ever noticed that when you are at someone else's house for an extended period of time you come home exhausted? I spent the day at my little sister's house. She had some workmen coming, so as she had to work and the girls and I had no plans she asked if we would stay at her home to make sure everything went smoothly. I absolutely did not mind doing her the favor. However, as the day wore on, I got more and more tired. (It probably didn't help that I have not been sleeping particularly well as of late.) I kept thinking to myself, "If only I were at my own home...." I had/have a list of things that needed to be done at home, but I was not home; I was at my sister's house--my sister's clean, less-than-child-friendly home with four children in tow. And we have to go back again tomorrow. Yes, I could have said, "no"--at least in theory. In practice, I am that person who doesn't mind helping anyone out--especially my family. I really didn't mind helping her; I didn't have to do anything. I actually think that was part of the problem--I didn't have to DO anything--except sit and wait, sit and wait, sit and wait. So, sit and wait I did. The workman finally came around 2:30; after I had been waiting since 8:30. At least the girls were well-behaved--this time.
Now, I am exhausted, but can't seem to relax enough to rest. Maybe I will get at least a little sleep tonight--I can always hope!
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Apr. 6, 2008 Finally feel like blogging again/ rough two weeks.......
I finally feel like spending time on the computer again. I logged in once last week with every intention of blogging, but ended up just reading one other blog and logging right back out. I guess I just haven't been in the right frame of mind.
It's hard to believe that Easter Sunday was just two weeks ago! It seems like such a long time ago. Of course, it wasn't the typical Easter for us this year, but I'm about to decide that there is no such thing as "typical".
My sister gave us some great news the week after Easter! She's expecting her first child this fall. That will be the first cousin for my girls on my side of the family. We are all very excited about that! My girls are currently arguing over whether the baby will be a boy or a girl as well as suggesting name choices to their aunt. I'm sure she will have her own ideas about what to name the baby, but she is at least humoring them with their suggestions!
On a more sobering note, that same sister had her house burglarized last week. She came in from work one day and found her back door kicked in and their electronics (t.v.s, etc.) gone. The worst thing though was the thieves had thrown her 18 year old cat against a wall and hurt him severely. He died later that night. She understandably feels very vulnerable and unsafe right now. Her husband is extremely angry (again understandably). I must admit I have felt less safe in my own home as I live one road over from her. We all as a family are taking measures to make ourselves feel more safe and to help her feel more safe as well.
Hopefully, next week will be better. At least we are finished with our "official" school work as we started early this year. I think the girls and I all need a bit of a break.
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Mar. 24, 2008 Goodbye, Granddaddy
I'm not really feeling much like blogging, but I thought I would give a brief update of recent events.
My grandfather (my dad's dad) passed away on Thursday afternoon. This was not a shock for me because he had been suffering with cancer for quite a while. However, I'm not sure the knowledge that the day was coming made it any easier. It has been a rough weekend. Because some of the family were out of town due to Spring Break week, the services were postponed until Sunday, so it made for a very long weekend for the rest of us. We buried Granddaddy on Easter Sunday. Grandma seems to be handling things pretty well considering she just lost her husband of 57 years--and she is trying to fight off pneumonia herself--she told Daddy today that she was okay, but she doesn't want to be alone yet. So, he is going to stay with her tonight. She has really been relying on my dad because he is her oldest son (and the second oldest child of 10) and he is a rock in hard times. I feel badly for him not just because he just lost his dad, but because he really hasn't had the time to just grieve because he has been being so strong for all of his siblings and his mom--not to mention for all of us kids and his nieces and nephews. He's really had a rough couple of weeks as he has lost a co-worker and his dad within just a short time. As for myself, I am hanging in there and trying to move forward. I am doing pretty well most of the time, and I am trying to make life as normal as possible for my girls--and trying to honestly answer their multiple questions about death, life, and sadness.
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Mar. 12, 2008 A Little Joy and A Little Sadness......
The joy came in the form of snow this weekend. We woke up Saturday morning to a little bit of snow in our yard--probably 1/2 to 1 inch of the white stuff--any is unusual for us in Alabama. The girls were amazed and overjoyed with the prospect of playing in the snow. They woke us up at 6:45 that morning shouting, "It's a miracle! It snowed! It snowed!" That was immediately followed by, "Can we go out and play in it?" and, "We want to build a snowman!" Unfortunately, there wasn't enough to build a snowman, but they did have a good time throwing snowballs and playing. They even brought a big snowball inside and put it in the freezer to try and keep it!
Now, for the sadness. Actually there are two things that can fit into this category. One is that an acquaintance/coworker of my dad's from the campground he will be managing passed away yesterday. She was fine on Thursday, became ill Thursday night, was in surgery on Sunday (they almost lost her then, so they didn't complete the surgery), was back in surgery on Monday, and passed away around 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday morning. Unfortunately, her husband was at the campground when she passed away, having decided to go and get a shower and some rest while she was sleeping, but he said he had already said his goodbyes before he left. My dad took the call that let her husband know she was gone, so that was hard on him too. This family is from Pennsylvania, so the husband will be traveling home today along with his daughter and son-in-law to prepare for his wife's funeral. My prayers are with them.
The second note of sadness came in the form of news from my grandfather. He is in the last stages of cancer, and we were told around Christmastime that it could be any time. He has managed to hang on so far, but has been getting progressively weaker. My mom called last night to say that the hospice nurse came to see him yesterday and said that it looks like he has an abscess forming around a tooth. She said that in his weakened condition it was highly unlikely that his body would be able to fight off the infection and that we should be prepared for the likelihood that he is in his last days. This is my dad's father, and although I am not particularly close to him, I do not want to see him suffering. I would ask that anyone who reads this please add my family--in particular my dad--to your prayers if you have an inclination to do so. I really appreciate it.
Kristi |
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Mar. 5, 2008 Daddy and His Girls Mar. 4, 2008 "Just good clean soot, Michael" on Pajama Day!
| I was reminded of one of my all-time favorite Disney movies this morning as I cleaned the ashes out of the ash bin of our wood-burning heater. The line that came to mind was, "It's just good clean soot, Michael" from Mary Poppins. Of course I really don't think that the ashes that covered me, the hearth, and a good portion of the den were "good" or "clean". At least they weren't hot! I probably would have been spared the ash bath had I not been stubborn early this morning when Shannon kindly offered to start a fire before he went to work. The problem was before he went to work it was still 60 degrees outside! I probably also would not have been bathed in ash if Shannon had remembered to clear the ash bin the last time we had a fire in the heater--which would have probably been last Thursday because it's been so warm around here. Adding insult to injury was the fact that I had declared today to be Pajama Day around here, so I was still dressed in my nice comfy p.j.s when it was raining ashes in the house. Oh well, they'll wash--and I have another pair, so we can still have our Pajama Day. C'est la vie. |
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Mar. 3, 2008 Little Miss Manners
| I have been diligently attempting to teach my four lovely ladies good table manners. Good manners in general are something I would love to see them all possess, but I particularly have been concentrating on table manners lately. Today, at lunch, I was as surprised as anyone when Little Livi (Olivia--2) looked at her big sister (12) and said, "No elbows on the table Ma'am!" At least someone has been listening! |
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Mar. 2, 2008 Getting Better....I Hope......
The girls and I are finally getting well--at least I hope so. We unfortunately have been fighting off a round of colds/flu this past week. It was bad enough on Thursday and Friday that Shannon decided to stay home from work and help me out. I got to stay in bed those days, which absolutely NEVER happens, so now I feel much better. And I think the girls enjoyed having Daddy take care of them while Mommy recovered. Little Olivia (2) still has a bit of a runny nose, but other than that I think the girls are all better. Unfortunately, Daddy seems to be trying to get whatever bug we had, so we will probably have to take turns taking care of him. But it was great having him help out those two days. Too bad telecommuting is not part of his usual job description!!
The weather here has been gorgeous this weekend. So, the girls got well just in time. They have played outside non-stop except for lunch and nap for two days. It has been most refreshing to be able to open the windows and hear the sounds of the outdoors after being cooped up in the house for the winter. I can't wait for spring!! I KNOW the girls are ready to be outside all the time again. We even do our schoolwork outside on pretty days--something everyone enjoys.
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| That's what I heard from my two-year-old just a few minutes ago. Living in North Alabama, it's rare that we see snow. So far it isn't sticking, just swirling around in the air, but it's thick enough that it's making the girls extremely excited. They are all hoping that it will stick at least a little bit so they can at least throw a snowball or two. Honestly, that wouldn't bother me either--I would love to see the girls have a blast in the snow. |
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This was taken last October while we were camping. This is Shannon and our four princesses--Lindsay, Kalyssa, Emily, and Olivia.