From a conversation in the van this morning:
Me: Poodle, what days begin with an "S"?
Poodle: Saturday and, oh of course, Sunday
Me: How about "M"?
Poodle: Monday.
Me: Which days begin with "T"?
Poodle: Tuesday and Thursday.
Me: Okay, which one begins with a "W"?
Poodle: Wednesday.
Me: Very good. And, now, which one begins with an "F"?
Poodle: NACHO NIGHT!
:-)
This might help you understand that last one. I love a girl with nachos on the brain.
To those who are still rebuilding - you are in our thoughts. To those who have rebuilt and are helping others now (Jennifer and David!), we are amazed with your generosity!
The Katrina experience truly brought out the best and the worst in people... but today, I hope we all celebrate the BEST that was brought to light. God WAS glorified thru the storm by the outpouring of love and support and good-will that followed the storm waters. And, at the end of the day, that is what matters the most.
Stand tall MS Gulf Coast!!!
My apologies for this indulgence, but I need to do a little journaling here to keep up with baby things.
Let's see...... things I need to make note of:
Tooter is now sleeping all night, and has been for the past month or so. Go Toot!!! (All night is 7'ish pm to 6:30'ish am).
He got his first "2 year" molar, gosh - what - about 2 or so months ago, and is working on his second on the bottom right. I remember Poodle not being very noticeable during this process. Toot gets downright cranky. It's a joy. ::ahem::
According to Poodle: "Ti - a drink with jam and thread". "So - a needle going thru the thread".
"Mommy, I don't need your assistance, I need your help!"
Okay. I think that's all I had in mind to get down in print. I may have to come back and adjust this during the day, but for the most part, we can all go back to our regularly scheduled program!
We just returned from spending about an hour at the neighborhood pool.
Random poll question time everyone:
Raise your hand if you knew that there is a new trend in swimming pools - forgoing chlorine for salt water.
Mmmhmmm. Salt water in a swimming pool.
Now, it's not Gulf of Mexico kind of salty, but it is honest-to-goodness salt water. Some of the other residents there were telling us that this is a new trend because it is better for skin and clothes and it keeps the water as clean as chlorine does.
I just wish we had some kind of example in nature that could have kept us from bleaching our pool water all this time.
Oh. Wait.
::wink::
Thanks to GrandCandy, the kids are now well outfitted for football season! (Tooter's MSU sippy cup didn't make it into the pictures).
Thank you GrandCandy!!! (And we haven't been able to get the uniform off of Poodle yet. ha!)
Mom had a basal cell carcinoma removed from her nose today, and everything went nicely and uneventfully. They biopsied it after the removal to verify that it was, in fact, a skin cancer and to verify that they had removed everything that was necessary.
She came out about an hour later with some bandaids on her face, instructions to keep the area dry for the next couple of days (and some other things that seemed to slip out of my memory banks due to their being mixed with very tired and fussy children noises), and she will return after a certain amount of time to have the couple or 3 stitches removed.
Praise the Lord that it wasn't more serious, and that it all went so well!!!
Ahhh - you're wondering about the picture. Well, the kids and I sat in the waiting room during the procedure, so Poodle and I started taking "crazy pictures". Toot was sitting on the benches eating pretzels during this awe inspiring photography session. Then, I pulled out the computer and we watched The Sound of Music, a.k.a. the "Do Re Mi Movie". Well, Poodle watched it. I played with Tooter.
We're all so glad that Mom caught this so very early!!!
The following is from an email I received from a friend who lives near us - her kids are 5 and 2 (girl is older), and are darling! But, as with all kids that age, they are prime material for some gooood stories.
Ask Jmk - while reading this, I got to laughing so hard I couldn't see the screen for the tears. This is exactly what she wrote, with only her kids' names reduced to single letters for privacy. Parents - enjoy!!! Thanks Patty!
While I’ve got a minute, I’ll share last night’s experience with someone who can truly feel for me. Speaking of THOSE days. Long ago, I had promised a neighbor that I would come to her Southern Living at Home party if she had one, because she said nobody would come. So, Rodney was stuck in
I don’t know how many times I went upstairs – completely lost count. At least nobody broke anything (that wasn’t already broken – the post thing). It was full blast boy energy unleashed upon the entire house from one corner to the other, attic to mudroom. I hope I didn’t buy the most expensive thing in the book – didn’t have time to judge.
We have attended two events at Morrison Heights Baptist Church recently.
The first was the wedding of a young, very-much-in-love couple. Jmk was a groomsman, Poodle was the flower girl. It was filled with family and friends and the whole place seemed to have love and joy spilling out from its seams.
The second, this past weekend, was the funeral for a not quite as young, very-much-in-love couple who were liked by everyone. MHBC was filled with family and friends and the whole place seemed to have love and sorrow spilling out from its seams.
And during both events, God was glorified and His love filled the hearts and minds of all that were there.
The stark difference between the two events was not what surprised me like I thought it was originally going to. The similarities did. And, to me, it was a lighthouse-in-the-storm moment of how present God is in our lives. He is with us in the good times, and He is with us in the bad times. And, like Bro. David said during the funeral - being in the house of sorrow is what is more likely to change lives. The Lord filled that place with His spirit on Saturday.
I don't know if any of you have ever been a part of a funeral for a fireman (or police officer, etc). But it was so.... honor-filled. Respectful. I don't have the right word. It wasn't dramatic, or full of artificial pomp and show. But the things that his fellow firefighters did to honor Eddie and his wife Vicki were things that I will never ever forget.
The funeral itself was relatively "normal". I lost it when the bagpipes were played, but most people have a hard time maintaining composure when they hear that beautiful, touching instrument. And, of course, seeing the two young girls in so much heartache was a tearful thing. But the memory sharing was wonderful, and the preaching was uplifting and God-honoring.
Then, it was time to leave. This is where I felt so honored to be a part of the day. I was in the very back of the line of cars leaving the church. I wasn't going to the gravesite, because I didn't want the children out in the heat. So I let most folks get ahead of me, and due to where I was parked at the church, there weren't but a handful of cars after me.
We get around the long frontage road that leads us to the highway, and the procession has been guided to the center of the road. The reason became apparent as we rounded the last curve. Two ladder trucks had their ladders fully extended and touching each other, so as to create an upside down "v". A stairway to heaven, if you will. With 7-10 firefighters on either side, in front of both trucks, standing at attention.
And this wasn't just for the deceased. And not just for the family. Or even those going to the gravesite.
But for every single person who was there to mourn the loss and celebrate the life, both here on earth and the eternal one.
Every single carload of people were shown the same respect and honor for being a part of the funeral. We were shown that honor as a tribute to the firefighter, and his wife, who had gone home to God.
And from that point on, every side street was held to a stop for us. Highway 80 was held to a stop. Lining every turn, every traffic light were firefighters and police officers and AMR workers. All at attention with somber respect. There were fire trucks from all the neighboring counties. It was a sight to behold - one for which my poor grasp of the English language does very, very little justice.
And at the risk of sounding like quite the broken record, this honor and respect was shown to every car of mourners - down the the very last one. This was a very long procession of cars in 95 (and climbing) degree heat.
And, you know, it's what these professionals do for us every day. They work hard, at a life-threatening job, and show every person they encounter the same respect. They work as hard in putting out the fire at a crack house in the slums as they would a multi-million dollar mansion on the water.
Saturday was a day I hope I hold in the forefront of my memory banks. I know the intensity of it will diminish as the days pass. But I hope I can always hold some part of what the day has brought to my mind and heart.
We're off to the beach!!! Poodle had a calendar in her room where she marked off the days till it was time to go. She was SO excited!
It was a wonderful trip, and everyone involved worked so hard to make it that way. Thank you to everyone!
When we first got there, our condo wasn't ready for us, and we spent some time at David and Jennifer's office. Jennifer took us and the kids to a nearby park that had recently been built, and it was beautiful! I hate that I didn't bring my camera to show pictures of all the donated trees that came from all over the country. I think she said the park was a project of the Junior League (or Auxilliary - never can remember the difference). Beautiful grounds, tons of cool play equipment for kids - great place!
As an aside (non vacation related request), please remember our pastor the next couple of days. He will be preaching the funeral tomorrow (Saturday, Aug 18) for Eddie and Vicki McGowan. There are likely to be so many people there - please pray that he will have the words of comfort and encouragement that they will all need. That the Lord will ultimately be glorified and the hearts of all those listening will come away more peaceful.
Now, I hope you enjoy the pictures from our wonderful little vacation!
Yaaahhhhhh!!!!!
lol.... The kids were going crazy when we first got to the condo. They were doing the crazy laughing/yelling thing that kids do. "Scaring" each other from behind the curtains.
This is the master bedroom, btw. Those sliding doors led out to the balcony that you could also access from the living room.
Babies' first sandcastles! It was soooo hot out on that sand. We weren't able to stay out very long. Just enough to give them a big desire to come back again soon.
I tell you what, I had the BEST time showing Poodle how to do the whole sandcastle thing. I felt like a kid again!
You can see our condos behind the kids. We were in the tower on the right. Thanks, Jennifer, for helping us find it!
The original reason for the planning of the trip - to see my dear friend Kim Wimmer and her band, Clockwork, at the Island View Casino. They actually live and work in Las Vegas, but due to renovation work at their regular gig, they are doing some touring right now. We had SO much fun listening to them! Even with a stand-in keyboard player and drummer, I thought their repertoire was fantastic.
Kim and I go waaaaay back. Like she said from the stage, she and I "attended different high schools together". We were both our state representatives for Junior Miss, which is how we met originally. And our friendship has endured thru the years, even though we have actually seen each other very infrequently. Since college, Kim has been in Orlando, New York, Japan, California, and Las Vegas - but that has only made the heart grow fonder, as it were.
Jmk and I tried to talk her into coming home with us for a few weeks so I could mommy her and help her take a break, but no dice. :-)
She has been having some serious thyroid troubles, and her entire adrenal and hormonal systems are totally out of whack. Please add her to your prayer list!
We love you Kimmer!
Our brave companions for the evening, Robert and Megan. We didn't even leave for the casino until, gosh, almost 10pm. Y'all, Jmk and I don't see 10pm. Hardly ever. Even this young newly married couple got pretty pooped before the evening was over.
But, oh - it was so worth it to see Kim!!! I had so much fun. Thank you again to SueSue and Amy for watching the kids and giving us the chance to be out so late. It was wonderful to see my dear friend!
Kim Wimmer during one of their sets on Saturday night. Even with most of her voice gone, she still sounded incredible!
Here is her band's website. They are a good group of really talented people!
I really meant to post some pictures from the beach today. But I have managed to acquire an oh-so-lovely sinus infection and used naptime to actually lay down myself.
Man. I've never been prone to sinus infections (praise the Lord!) and can not even remember the last time I had one. I had forgotten how uncomfortable they are. Blugh.
Pictures soon! I promise!
I am afraid I may have sounded irritated or frustrated about questions regarding schools and pre-schools and such. Please know that I haven't been!!! It's just one of those natural questions that people have, especially those that care about us and want to know about our lives because they are close to us.
I think I was taking the easy way out and using the blog to get the word out in one fell swoop. But, as is normal anytime one mentions the word "homeschool", there are naturally a lot of other questions that arise. Mostly because it's a new'ish concept for this day and age.
Hey, we're not anti-preschool! It's just more cost effective for us to do pre-school at home. There's a reason that I'm able to be a SAHM. Being creative with how we spend our dollars makes it possible. With the taxes that we all pay these days, I think it's something that everyone understands!
Now, enough about all that - pictures from our vacation are coming!!! I will try to get some up today of our new beach babies!
I get the "is Poodle going to preschool this year" question quite often, as she is turning four next month. The problem is that she is turning four after that magical Sep. 1 date which precludes her from joining the other 4 year olds. So, that means that she'd need to join a 3 YO program. And, we've chosen not to enroll her thusly because that will be too tight on the budget, especially since it's not absolutely necessary.
InSTEAD - we're going to "homeschool" this year! Well - pseudo homeschool. Four year olds don't need all day structure. They need a lot of free play and a lot of imagination time, and the learning stuff can be snuck in when they aren't paying attention.
However, it makes some folks feel better to hear that we're "homeschooling", and that Poodle isn't going to be "just" sitting at home playing with Mommy.
We're even going to be involved with one of the local homeschool groups that a lot of the families from our church belong to, so that Poodle can see her buddies more often. Do some cool stuff. Field trips and the like. We won't try to do too many things, because we're just not "go and do all the time" kind of people right now. But we'll pick the stuff that she'll enjoy. One of her swimming class buddies will be in the group, too!
Now, I'm sure saying all that has raised some questions. So, let me answer them:
1) No, this doesn't mean that we are officially homeschooling forever and ever, amen. We will probably "hs" again next year, assuming things go well this year. But when it's time for her to start 5 yo kindergarten, (which won't be for 2 more years, as weird as that sounds), we'll seriously evaluate everything. Make decisions then. Year by year - as long as the kids are getting what they need. Not saying we will - not saying we won't. Just taking things year by year.
2) No, we're not about to buy a goat and start making all of our own clothes out of hemp. Okay, we've JOKED about a goat so that Jmk doesn't have to cut the grass in the backyard. But then we'd have to deal with the whole neighborhood covenant violation thing.....
3) Yes, I do think about homeschooling "for real", but we live in a fantastic public school district, so we are blessed with a lot of options with schooling. I like the idea of a private school quality education without the private school cost, but homeschooling isn't for everyone - and I don't know if it's for me and my family or not.
4) No, I really enjoyed school, personally. Good experiences and most excellent teachers.
5) Yes, I agree. Technically, any parent who keeps their young child at home is homeschooling. Even if they don't give it a specific label.
6) Nope. Not using any type of curriculum. The stuff we need to learn to color inside the lines can be obtained from the dollar store. And magnet boards are fantastic for practicing letters. Again, she's only 3-almost-4.
7) Yes - she's still our little social butterfly. I have no intention of changing that about her! Okay, maybe we can curtail her tendency to go up and hug complete strangers (who happen to be in the 3-5 year old range) in the mall.
8) So why call it homeschooling? Mostly so that everyone understands when I can't always answer the phone right away, or it takes me awhile to answer an email. If we're going to introduce some structure to Poodle, then Mommy has to be willing to focus on creating said structure.
So...... there we are. All of y'all out there who have kids near Poodle's age, puh-leeze feel free to keep me posted with what they're doing or did at their preschools. I may not be trying to structurize (like that word? just made it up.) her entire day, but I do want to be sure that she's getting all she needs. Being all she can be. And all that.
Happy New School Year to everyone!
There is a new link for pictures for all the grandbabies (including Baby Audrey!) at the website! We've had a Windows crash (shocker) on the main computer at home, and I won't be able to get the month by month pictures updated until we can get around to fixing that. Having some issues with the whole thing. (groan)
But I'll get to it asap. Be sure to leave me a comment with your email addy if you need our website address.
No updates on the situation with Alex and Carmen. Just continue to keep them in your prayers.
For a family at our church - 2 young girls (7th and 8th grades) lost both of their parents in a horrible car accident last night. The girls sustained injuries also, but are going to be okay physically.
Please pray for the girls and for the parents of Eddie and Vicki.
And then pray for those girls again - Alexandra and Carmen. They are so close to their parents. I can not even imagine what they are going to go thru when they come out of sedation and have to be told that their mom and dad are gone.
Monday P.M. update: More on this from The Clinton News.
We had a lovely time down in Gulfport this weekend, and I'll post lots of pictures... or at least post a picture link... just as soon as I can. I might get to a few onesies twosies pictures in the meantime. BUT, until I can get to all of that, here is a neat post by one of our local meteorologists. Hat tip to Kiley for this one!
Kimmer - by the time you see this, you'll hopefully be safe at home. I hate that we couldn't stay longer last night, but when we got back to the condo, Poodle was awake and panicky that I wasn't back yet. So, we were right in leaving when we did. But we hated to leave you!!!
Tooter decided to conk out in Daddy's chair yesterday. He was watching "Monsters" while I was paying bills yesterday, waiting on lunch to get finished cooking. At least I thought he was watching!
I'm pretty sure she was "attacking" PopPop during this moment in time. She and Tooter were running around the room like crazy people, and Poodle would jump up in P's lap for a second, and then take off running again.
I long for that kind of energy again!
MooMoo and GaGa picked the kids up from us at our meeting place yesterday afternoon, and got them back to our house. Even though Jmk and I weren't feeling up to snuff, we still took the time to go eat together in a non-busy way, which as parents of small children, we don't do very often.
So, in the meantime, MooMoo runs to CiCi's to get the kids' favorite pizza, and also picked up some pasta for Poodle. She gets it home, and while the story gets fuzzy from here, this is what we discovered when we got home.
There was no white sauce on the pasta. Poodle knows that Cici's has white sauce. She then apparently asked MooMoo to go back and get said white sauce.
Now, I'm sure you know that had it been Jmk or myself, there would have been a resounding "uh, no - we'll figure something else out, but there's no way we're going all the back to Cici's". However, being the doting grandmother she is, MooMoo went back and got the white sauce.
It's the prerogative of the grandparents! Spoil those babies, and enjoy every minute of it!
Tooter, later in the evening, crawled into GaGa's lap and apparently practically put himself to sleep.
(In all seriousness - we are so grateful for the love that all the kids' grandparents have for them. Thank you for blessing them with yourselves!!!)
"Our culture is increasingly adverse to the absolute truths of the Bible and those who embody those truths. Nevertheless, we must be constant salt and light representatives of Christ, the one True God, even as the culture falls away."
I read this in an email that dealt with "an increasingly secular culture", based on polls and questionaires showing that Americans aren't as Bible-believing, God-believing, or religious as they once were. That those things are in a steady decline in our culture.
This email also mentions a "failure of the church". Maybe? I don't know. In order to reach out to a spiritually declining population, churches have tried to evolve to accommodate that population. More activities, bigger buildings, looser theologies, etc.
This email almost immediately brought to mind something my preacher said last Sunday. This is paraphrasing, but here's the gist:
Jeremiah 31:3
The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting (emphasis mine) love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.
Okay. So, here's the thing that Bro. David said. Either we can believe in a God whose love is universal - applied to all people - but who will put a percentage of those people in hell (i.e. quit loving them). Or, we can believe in a God whose love is enduring and everlasting for His elected children.
Thing is, we can't believe both things. The first view is the most common view in the religious world today, although most people wouldn't actually SAY that God ceases to love. But that's what has to be true in order for hell to exist. The second view, while very much less common, is in line with "everlasting". But it requires one to agree with the doctrine of election.
I wonder if that universal view, somehow, contributes to an increasing apathy regarding Holy things. If, instinctually, people realize that if God's love can be lost, then He is no better than we are. And, if THAT is true, why in the world would we make sacrifices to worship Him?
God's love IS eternal and unchangeable and those for whom Christ died will NOT be lost. Our worship of Him IS warranted and merited. And necessary. Not for our eternal salvation, but it will help us to avoid the apathy that we will feel if we don't.
Tooter has acquired a pseudo lovey - I call him "love bear" because he'll love and squeeze on the bear before laying down with him. This picture was taken after he had gone to sleep a couple of nights ago. (Thus, the blurriness of the picture. I took it sans flash, and had to brighten it up a little in photoshop so's it could be seen).
Anyway, Toot doesn't carry the bear around or anything. Right now, love bear is just something he snuggles with for a little bit when he first goes to sleep. Doesn't really HAVE to have it. It's more of a "okay, this is nice. whatever." kind of thing.
In other medical matters, this crud is making its rounds. Poodle is feeling a bit better, with some minor lingering symptoms. (coughing, runny nose). Tooter is a few days behind her on the process, and I'm a few days behind him. (i.e. I'm on day two of feeling like junk). Like I told Jmk this morning, this is the day that, back in my regular j.o.b. days, I would make myself go to work, but would probably give up around 4:00 and go home. I fully expect Jmk to come down with this, but maybe it will be a weakened strain by the time he does.
Hey, I realize that's not logical, but it's my dream world. Indulge me.
There are times that I sort of wish we would come down with an actual infection for which we could take antibiotics and just get the heck over it. BUT, then, I realize that while the virus-type illnesses linger longer (that's fun to say! linger longer!), OTC meds are cheaper, and we don't have to worry about it being one of those antibiotic resistant strains of things.
Give and take. Find the silver lining. Glass half full. And all that.
Jmk and I have a meeting thingy late this pm, and MooMoo and GaGa are going to play with the kids for a few hours. We were supposed to have a date night after our meeting thingy, but my current state of affairs is going to seriously limit all of that, I'm a'feared. A couple of hours away from the kids will still be nice, even if it is for business'y stuff. Especially since I have zero energy. And the kids need extra mommyness right now. ugh.
More info about us than most of you need or care about!
Anyhoosier, back to the couch for now. Just gotta hang in there till naptime!
We love you so much, and wish for you much love, much prayer, and all the big sloppy grandbaby kisses that we can send your way!
God stands fast as your rock,
steadfast as your safeguard,
sleepless as your watcher,
valiant as your champion.
~~Charles Spurgeon
P.S. - And a happy birthday shout out to Uncle Chuck also!!!
There is a rotten cold making its way around the Zoo. Poodle Monkey caught it first, around Thursday'ish. Tooter Monkey started showing symptoms late Saturday night. And, now, Zookeeper Mommy has a tickle in my throat this morning. And that general "thar's a cold a'comin, get out the Zicam" feeling. No word on Zookeeper Daddy yet this morning. Tooter's medicine wore off at 5:00 this morning, and he wouldn't go back to sleep. So, he and I are sitting on the couch playing with legos at the moment, waiting on everyone else to wake up.
Blugh.
I'm not sure what we're going to do about swimming today. Poodle isn't running fever any more, but is still coughing and feeling generally yucky after playing for a bit. And, Tooter IS still running a tad of fever, so he doesn't need to go infect people. I hate to make her miss her favorite Wednesday thing, but I can't figure out another way around it.
Maybe some coffee will unlock some Mommy-creativity. Bring on the joe!
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