The love of a child is a priceless gem. No diamond or pearl has ever been worth more.

Because she can.

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!!!)

Just Thoughts

"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.

Love Bear

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!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUESUE!!!

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!!!

Brief sneezy hiatus

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!

Fun at the Zoo

The neighborhood pool is closed for repairs, we didn't feel like paying the prices at Rapids, and Poodle is sort of working thru a little upper respiratory virus (although it's not stopping her) so we didn't want to take her riding on her bike.

And, it's hot.

So, out comes the baby pool! Put it at the end of the slide on the swing set, and you have mucho fun. Just add water! ::grin::

Flowers!!!

Our lily pads in the goldfish pond are blooming! The lily pads were placed in there as a result of Robert's suggestion of more plant coverage in order to control algae growth. And this morning, Jmk saw some beautiful blooms!

This one shows the location of both blooms.

Here a close up of the pink bloom.

And, here's the white one!

Follow the Fidget

When I saw this picture of Fidget, besides wanting to eat up her darling little face, I remember thinking "Wow! Neither one of my kids could ever sit still long enough to do that! Or, even if they could, neither one of them would be able to be that tired and NOT be crying his or her head off".

Yep. As is usual with parenting, beware of absolute statements.

For the Cat Lovers

This is a really neat story - something you would normally see written about a dog. But it's about a furry feline instead! Hat tip to MooMoo for this one.

And, an update on Tooter's sleeping: Not nearly as great of a night last night. He woke up very itchy several times last night, and I finally had to just scoop him up and bring him to bed so that we could all sleep. And now, today, Poodle is making noises about her tummy not feeling well. So, I'm not entirely sure that the kids aren't fighting off something or other.

In case you're wondering, I'm not about to start posting a daily update on my children's sleeping habits. Worry not! The above update was only for those mommies or daddies who might read the previous post, think "oh, why doesn't my child sleep all night", and think they should be doing something different. Every child is different, and every night is different with each child!

Go Tooter!

He did it! He slept all the way thru the night last night! He was asleep by 8'ish (later than normal, but he was wound up last night) and I didn't hear from him again until 6!

The biggest deal isn't that he slept all night without assistance getting back to sleep. The BIGGEST deal is that his skin isn't even in top notch shape right now. He is one day started on healing from an eczema breakout, and is still a little itchy.

But he managed to get himself back to sleep every time he woke up last night! Which is a huge, huge thing. Now, I do realize we won't have perfect sleepy nights from here on out. In the worst of a breakout, he needs to know that we will come help him when he needs it. BUT, for him to work thru the little bit of itching that he had last night without any support from Daddy or Mommy is a HUGE step!!!

We still don't do the cry-it-out thing, because it just doesn't suit my personality. So, I realize that getting to this step has taken a longer time than maybe it would have otherwise. But I like for everything related to bedtime to be gentle and pleasant. (or at least as pleasant as possible!)

We're so proud of him!!! (And we're not crying about being able to sleep all night, either!)

Baby Pigtails

This is from August of 2005 - Tooter hadn't even been born yet. sigh..... Amy had put her hair up in pigtails for the first time that day.

Jmk happened to see this picture in the past week, so I thought I'd post it here so we could see it from time to time. I can't quite believe how grown up her face is becoming now, especially when I compare it to this picture. There are times that Poodle still has her baby face, but those times are slowly being outnumbered.

It is hard to see these old pictures without a pang of sadness.... which, of course, is crazy because I should be feeling joy that she is with us, and is growing and is changing and learning. But, I fall in line with about a squillion parents before me. We all see our babies and yearn for just one more moment to hold their warm little bodies and kiss their big squishy cheeks.

I didn't deserve to be given these children - I did nothing to merit the blessing of these never-stopping bundles of precious joy. But, by grace and mercy, He gave them to me anyway.

Now, check with me on a random evening at 5:30, when the kids are driving me crazy and I'm mentally beat from the day, and my retrospection might not be quite so weepy and sigh-filled. But, in the quiet of naptime, my sighs walk hand in hand with my smiles.

The boy who eats.....

Tooter comes up to me and gives me a big ole sloppy kiss, while I'm working thru some emails this morning. The kiss, however, is particularly greasy. As though he had been eating lotion.

Oh horrors.

So, I go on a search. Nope - no offending lotion anywhere. Most importantly, he hasn't gotten into any of his prescription creams that might hurt him if they were ingested.

I know he's gotten into something, but I see no evidence of anything immediately harmful. I figure I'll find it eventually.

I did.

Just opened the pantry door to find a stick of Crisco suspiciously open and smeared on the floor.

U.G.H.

lol... I expect some interesting diapers later today or tomorrow. But, thankfully, the cause of the grease was a benign one.

Yep. He's now the boy who eats Crisco.

Fred. And Bob.

Poodle was "reading" one of her Nutcracker books to me after her nap today, and she informs me of two very important things that, even after all my years of dancing this ballet, I never knew.

#1. The Nutcracker's name is actually Fred.

#2. After the Nutcracker turns into a prince, his name becomes Bob.

I kid you not.

Today's Joke

Installing a Home Security System (Southern Style)


1. Go to a second-hand store and buy a pair of men's used size 16 work boots.

2. Place them on your front porch, along with copies of the Guns & Ammo magazine and some back-issues of NRA magazine. An American Hunter (from the NRA) won't hurt either.

3. Put several giant dog dishes next to the boots and magazines (Include a deer thigh-bone or two).

4. Leave a note on your door that reads:

Hey Duke,
Big Jim, Bosco, Red, and I went for more hollow-point ammo. (We're in a shootin' mood today). Back in an hour. Don't mess with the pit bulls -- they attacked the mailman this morning and they messed him up real bad. I don't think Killer took part in it, thank goodness. It was hard to tell, though, from all the blood. Took Lorreene hours to clean up the sidewalk. Anyways, I locked all four of 'em dogs up in the house. You better wait outside. They're kinda spooked.

Be right back, Bubba

Since we were dressed up...

Jmk and I donned some wedding finery and stepped out last Saturday night, and so, we got MooMoo to snap a picture of us. There usually isn't anyone at the house but one of us to take pictures. BUT, because the kids weren't coming with us, we had someone else there behind the camera.

Anyway, we had the pleasure of going to see Miss Kelli Schutz wed Mr. Brodie Croyle. America's Junior Miss weds the Alabama turned NFL boy. They make such a handsome couple, and both come from beautiful families. Brodie's parents run this camp in Alabama. And Kelli's parents are just precious - I've gotten to know her mom thru Junior Miss stuff, since Kelli started her JM journey at our local program!

The wedding was so sweet, and the reception was fantastic! Unfortunately, the families had a devastating development - Mrs. Schutz's father had a heart attack at the rehearsal dinner the night before and died the morning of the wedding. Kelli wanted to postpone everything, but her mom and her grandmother told her to go on ahead and that they would all enjoy her wedding day. Their composure was unbelievable - and they were able to feel joy for Kelli and Brodie in spite of the pain and shock of losing their loved one.

Please keep that family in your prayers - the emotional rollercoaster has been quite extreme over the past week, and I dare say they can hardly believe what has happened themselves.

As for "celebrity" sightings, I only saw Mike Shula and his teeny, tiny beautiful wife. (And that was only because Jmk pointed him out. I wouldn't have known him. His name, but not him). There were undoubtedly U of A folks there, but I really don't know those players. And, I suspect that the Kansas City folks will be having or have had a separate celebration for Kelli and Brodie. I can only assume that the Chiefs are getting geared up for the pre-season, right?

Despite the fact that I kept thinking about how YOUNG they both were, (they're not that young, but I got married SO much later in life than they did!), they are so much in love with each other. And watching that made the evening so much fun!

Welcome to America. Now, please, shush.

I would like to offer my gracious Southern welcome to Mr. and Mrs. Beckham. They are here legally, with a legitimate reason for being here. Hoorah.

And, now, please, won't you just shush. Despite what you are lead to believe, you are NOT royalty. You are NOT, quite frankly, all that interesting. And, while, I suppose I have to accept Mr. Beckham's being on the cover of SI, since he does kick a mean soccer ball, I really, really don't want to start seeing pictures of both of you every where.

I realize that my desire to not see updates of your life on a daily basis is not likely to be fulfilled. So, I hope you understand that I will be ignoring you and your pictures. I really don't care about where you live, who your friends are, and what you think about Los Angeles. I'm not terribly concerned about what clothes you're wearing, where you eat your dinner, or where your initials are on your Bentley. (rolling eyes).
I do have some concern about how your children are handling this monumental change in their life, but I'm sure their multiple nannies will be there for them as you peacock for the cameras.

Good luck with the whole "trying to energize the sport of soccer" thing. I used to enjoy watching my brother play soccer. Soccer is a great game!

Um. You do realize we aren't too far from the NFL pre-season, shortly followed by the commencement of college football, right? Just making sure.

Monkey Pics for today

Poodle working on letters.

Tooter after a "slide into the pool" session.

Monkey pics fix has been handled!