Adopting Ahren (& PBJ, too!)

There is a big controversy at my house right now. I signed Levi up to go to day-camp with Ashley. Cheerleading daycamp. Yeah, it's mostly girls, but there are a couple other little boys. They spend 5 days learning chants and cheers, putting on little performances and playing lots of games. Especially for the littlest kids it is just a good fun way to expend some energy. So yeah, my son is in cheer camp this week. Ashley is loving having her little brother with her and showing him off. Katie thinks we are making him into a sissy by letting him go. (I pointed out that she is the one who dressed him up in a tutu and took pictures of him.....) So the arguments rage on. Personally I don't care. He is loving it and the activity is good for him. He is learning to follow directions, work together with other kids, and follow a structured day. These are all things he needs to learn to be successful in school. Plus, he is more timid in new situations than the girls were, and it is very helpful to him to be able to see Ashley across the gym any time he wants. He feels more secure that way. They even eat lunch together. The only problem he had today was he had too much fun and ended up wetting his pants. Ooops! Oh well, nothing a pair of dry drawers can't fix (and at least he was wearing drawers!)

A wonderful woman who I have never met mailed me a box full of donations for the orphanages. Her generosity completely amazed me! I figured I would get responses form the people I work with and my family mostly, but someone I have never met? It left me speechless. Sometimes the world amazes me with the sadness and pain it heaps on people, and then one little angel steps forward and my heart is filled to bursting with the goodness. Stacey, you are the epitome of all that is good in this world. I thank you and the children thank you!

I am thinking of naming our new house The Ark. You see, every day since our moving day it has rained. It has poured, thundered, blown, and poured some more. Our grass-less yard is nothing more than a mud hole. I can deal with that. I walk on the sidewalk, wipe my feet, and ignore the mud. But..... little boys, girls and dogs do not avoid the mud. The mud calls to them like a siren song. There is now a large pile of very muddy shoes by the back door. I have bathed each dog at least twice and I got so sick of it that I shaved off all of Max's hair (He is now a naked Sheltie) It is so wet, the landscaper cannot even think about doing something with our yard (unless he plants rice) Can you Astroturf your lawn? I am seriously starting to consider it. The mud is driving me insane. (But, the pond is full and we had a Crane hunting for fish in it this weekend. So beautiful)

One last word: when your kids spy the gigantic Quick-Set pool at Wally-World, and it is marked down making it appear to be a good deal, and the box says it takes only 30 minutes to set up......DON"T DO IT! I have been wrestling with that stupid pool for a week. The ground is so wet under it and still not settled from recently being graded that as we fill the pool it begins to list to one side and then spills over. We have emptied and re-leveled the ground twice and the stupid pool still lists to the side. I am about to set it up on the driveway since that is the only solid area we have. Dear Quick-Set, I hate you so very very much!!!!