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.

Goodbye, Kitties

Yesterday, Justin took our cat, Hannah, to the vet to get her spayed. We brought her home & she died last night. We're not sure why. She was "Jarod's cat" & he is simply devastated. We've had her since Micah was a baby.......over 7 yrs. During that time, I've had 3 more babies & have become less of a "cat-person". However, I was fond of her & used to her & am sad that she is gone. But my biggest pain comes from watching Jarod suffer. He is truly hurting. I know this is something that he has to go through, that it's a part of life. I know it's just the beginning of sad and happy things to come in his life. In a way, it's a "letting-go" thing for me because I know that I cannot protect him from this or stop him from feeling the pain he feels. I've been through this before with Seth with other pets that have come in & out of our lives. Having dealt with this before doesn't make it any easier to watch. No one told me being a mom would hurt so much sometimes. We rejoice when our children are happy & do well. We also suffer when they suffer. It seems like my heart & my life & my every breath revolves around if my children are happy & healthy or not. It only takes a minute of seeing my child suffer to rip my heart out of my chest. We had a little funeral last night. The kids had the option of saying "goodbye" to her, before Justin laid her in the ground. Jarod did not want to see her dead, so he said goodbye from a distance, with Daddy holding him tight. Afterwards, Justin & I both held him until his crying had subsided. Seth also held him & told him that he would share Scout with him (Scout is "Seth's dog"). Then (ironically) we played a nice game of Killer Bunnies to take his mind off of things for a while. :-) I spent part of the night snuggling him in his bed, which I haven't needed to do in a LONG time. My GIANT 9 yr old who is trying so hard to NOT need his momma anymore...............needed me last night. We talked & prayed. I was able to share with him that, even though we don't always know WHY God lets bad things happen, we DO know that he sees EVERY tear we cry, that He loves us so much & that He is hurting WITH us. He is THERE.

Today, Micah gave Jarod his stuffed kitty to snuggle, while Pink Panther (watchin' TV here) produced some smiles. Micah is a big comfort to his buddy.

Sadly, a couple days ago, we finally let go of Hannah's last kitty. Seth was getting attached to him & was calling him "Mo" (short for Moses). However, he knew we couldn't keep him, so he was prepared. He also has a very close bond with Scout, which is helpful. Still, he's a little sad as well. If I'd known what would happen with Hannah, I would have kept Mo.

On a happier note, last Friday I threw a birthday party for Seth & invited some of his friends. There was fun with a stun gun (don't ask), a Monster-shot incident (again..........don't ask), loud music, a rousing game of Killer Bunnies, WAYYYYYY too many kids & a migraine. So, in other words, it was a HUGE SUCCESS & I am officially a "cool mom". I really WISH I had remembered to take pictures. It was his 13th birthday, after all. I don't know what was wrong with me!!! Happy birthday anyway, Seth! I love you, I'm SO PROUD of you & I wish you would slow down on that growing-up thing you're so insistent on doing.

Killer Bunnies & Killer Babies

I can't believe this guy turns 13 in a week. Such a blessing & a good kid. I'm so proud of him. The boys & I went for a walk today. I am trying to exercise more & Jarod was learning to ride his bike (which daddy just bought for him at a yard sale yesterday). I thought he was ready to bring it on the walk, but that was a little premature. He almost fell into the canal a few times & ended up needing to walk it most of the way. He kept on trying though! And now he's a ridin' pro! On the way home Micah's flip-flop kept breaking. Isaac was screaming. I stuck Micah in the stroller & had him hold Isaac & make him happy. Problem solved. Pushing 3 kids uphill was more difficult that I had planned on it being.......but that's alright. I did get my work-out. But next time THEY are pushing ME up the hill.

Isaac's FIRST self-fed snack!

Before.

After.

Guns don't kill people. 6 month olds with itchy trigger fingers kill people.

Titus & Gideon in their "car", on their way to go "camping".

Our friends have been coming over lately to play a super fun card game called Killer Bunnies. We let the kids play with us. That might have been a mistake. My artist, Jarod, got his inspiration from the game. That is a monster eating a dead bunny. I don't even want to know what is hanging from it's mouth. I'm sorry, world.

Happy Baby

Isaac havin' fun in his new ride & playin' w/ Mommy.

More Summer Fun!

We've had a busy few weeks. Birthdays, company, more sick kids, fun outings............

Had to catch all this snugglin' on camera. Unfortunately, Titus refused to be happy.

August 4th........Happy (or sad....?) Birthday, Titus Nathan!!! Already 3. Not the baby anymore...........but he's sure trying to be!!! :-)

Licking the candle made him feel better.

"OOOoooo.....just what I wanted!!!"

August 5th..........went to a pool party/BBQ with some of Justin's co-workers.

Daddy's mean. He just jumped right in holding Isaac. It was a bit of a shock.

But..........Isaac warmed up fast. He absolutely LOVED the pool!!!

End of July, Uncle Joshua & Aunty Heather came for a quick visit. They took the boys to the water park. The boys had a blast!!!! We also had a nice picnic at the park in 112 degree weather. Joshua & Titus have the same birthday, plus Emily & Sarah had their birthdays in July.......so it was one big combo-birthday party.

Monkeys

We went to a birthday party today. It was at this great park that had the BEST climbing tree. The boys were in HEAVEN. They played on this tree more than they played on the playground equipment. My boys were doing just fine, having a blast climbing, when along came the birthday girl, Cora. (She is 9, the same age as Jarod.) Jarod was perched contentedly on a branch that he had thought was perfectly adequate. He felt pretty brave sitting up there on his limb. I think Cora said, "Excuse me, please." as she climbed past him. She scurried with the confidence of a squirrel & quickly was on the same branch as Jarod, but higher up & farther out. So of course, Jarod had to follow her & go just a little bit higher than her. He was NOT about to be shown up by a girl!!! And even though he did go a tiny bit higher, I could tell he was a little nervous. Don't tell him I said so. And look at Cora just sitting there all relaxed like it's no big deal! So much for the girly gift I put together for her! (Which I must admit I had fun doing. ) I think this one's a bit of a tom boy. I did calmly advise them to both come in little closer to the tree trunk (and the ground). I am tired of the ER.

I don't think Gideon's going any higher.

My little tree frog.

Yeah, I stuck my baby up in a tree. So?

This Month in Pictures

This past few weeks have been a little crazy. There have been ups & downs. Good days & bad days. I've laughed, I've cried. To summarize, Seth came home from Summer camp with a bad cough which turned to pneumonia. My sister in law & brother in law, Micheal & Jubilee, came for a visit. We went to a river in the mountains to have a picnic & do some fishing. Seth was miserable, but it was very nice to spend time with family out in the fresh air. When Michael & Jubilee left, my brother Mark, his wife Tracy & my nephew Asher came to visit me. They stayed a week. It was wonderful to spend that time with them. I'm afraid I was a boring hostess. Seth was still very sick. Isaac also became quite ill with the flu for a few days. Seth is finally well now & Isaac feels MUCH better. I averaged about 4 hrs of sleep a night that week. Somewhere in the middle of all this was Auntie Rara's birthday & the 4th of July..........and other stuff I'm sure I'm forgetting. Now I'm a little sick & Isaac has an ear infection. I gave the pharmacist a "deer in the headlights" look when he asked me for Isaac's birthday. I don't even hardly know what TODAY is. I told him he was rude to put me on the spot like that. I'm just confused lately. I didn't even post these pictures in order..........but here they are anyway. See if you can make sense out of my life. I do thank God for His healing & for the chance to spend time with my loved ones!!!

Mark & Asher

I didn't do it!!!!

Look at that lip!!!

Lookin' good!!!

Tracy & Asher

Fun Aunty Emmy

Titus & Yaya worked on this mud-hill together for an hour!!!!

"Woah..oh...oh.....hitchin' a ride!"

Auntie Jubilee & Isaac