The Culprits

Friday, September 18, 2009

Protection & Healing

I. want. to. eat. it.
Boise River.

My new look.
Pet Replacement Therapy



Daddy's big catch.





Bunk bed forts.

In the hospital. Titus got a tetanus shot.....just in case.



Safe For Play/Keep Away poster Abi & Gideon made "in school". I guess they should have put a picture of a nail in the "Keep away" part too.



Enjoying the fruits of their labor. I guess I have some blog updating to do since the last blog I posted was so depressing with beloved animals dying, broken hearts, the trials of motherhood & all that. And then I left you all hanging, wondering if we would EVER recover. Well, Jarod had one more sad, horrible night of heart-wrenching grief. Then I took the boys out the next day & bought them goldfish. Who knew goldfish had the power to heal a broken heart? Not I. Jarod named his fishy Hannah after our dearly departed kitty. He stood looking at it swim for hours, talking to it, he even shot a movie of his fishy swimming. He was SO happy. Of course, 5 days later, the stupid thing died (I don't know why Jarod's fish died & not anyone else's............) & he cried again. We said goodbye & flushed it down into the Great Swirling Beyond. But after I promised Jarod another fishy, he was happy again. He's been fine ever since. One heart mended. Thanks, God...........and little dead fishy.

Many other things have happened since then. Like the flu bug going around again, this time making mommy & daddy sick too. I can't keep track of when one bug stops & another one starts, so I have given up trying.

We've been to the river a few times for some end-of-Summer fishing & swimming. On one of those trips, Jarod went missing for a couple minutes & I thought he had drowned. Turns out he had just wondered off around a corner in the river in search of the perfect crawdad. These river trips have turned into great crawdad-hunting expeditions for the boys. When they find them, they chase Abi & Yaya around with them, then put them in a bucket & take them home. Justin cooks 'em up & they eat them...........or parts of them anyway.

We started up our home school lessons again last week. Abigail & Olivia are coming over for a few hours a week while Deborah goes to school. Abi & Gideon are having fun doing "school" too.

I dyed my hair black the night before last. No not because of all the grey hair my children are giving me. Surprisingly, I don't really have any grey hair yet. I just did it for fun. Guess I needed a little change. It's not permanent in case I hate it, but I think I like it.

Oh, yeah, and Titus swallowed a nail. Yes, a nail. That was another fun evening at the ER & heart attack for mommy (we went because of the nail, not the "heart attack"). My house is about the most child-proofed place there is. I have covers on all my out-lets. I keep my sharp kitchen knives on the highest shelf in the kitchen cupboard in a box so the kids can't reach them. If I need one, I have only to reach waaayyyyy up & pull the box down on my head. I have all medicines & house cleaning supplies up on high, out-of-reach shelves. I have padding on every corner of the wall & table in the house (OK, not really..........). I even cut their hot dogs LENGTH-WISE so that they won't bite off a circle piece that could block their airway if they choke (yes, REALLY). I don't let them cross the street until they are like 13 (small exaggeration.......). I am a TOTAL OCD mom. BUT, Titus found a nail I had accidentally left in his room while hanging pictures a while back. Then he thought, "Yum. I think I'll eat this.".........and he did. Fortunately, the chance of the nail perforating was very low, according to the Dr. He said that nails are not a big deal but straight pins can do a LOT of damage. (Good thing I keep my sewing stuff up too.) He sent us home with instructions to give Titus lots of fiber & not to let him wrestle his brothers for a couple days. I got to do some fun "treasure hunting" which wasn't a big deal as I am used to this sort of thing. Usually, however, I am searching for coins, Lego pieces & other fairly harmless items which the boys think look appetizing for whatever reason. This was a little more nerve-wracking for me. But it passed with no harm done, other than a few years taken off of my life due to my newly developed heart condition.

Over all, life is great! These kids are just keeping me on my toes..............and never letting me take life for granted!!! It could all be over in one swallow of a straight pin or in one river-hunt for a crawdad. ;-) Fortunately, God loves them more than I do & I constantly find myself thanking Him for His protection.