PBJ Update

It's been almost a year since I saw this sweet face, held her in my arms and dreamed of being her mommy forever. Whenever anyone asks how many kids I have, I say five, because she is my daughter. There is something going on in Guatemala with her case. I am not sure what, since we were told it was over, but we have now been told there 'has been some advancement'. I can hardly dare to hope that it might be true. I have learned the hard way that there are way more many 'downs' than bright spots in this process. I just want everyone to know that this sweetie still has a family that loves her very much and wants the best for her. 

Want some cheese with that whine?

  I don't know if it is the heat, the summer blues, or what but all the kids have been super whiny this week. I know for myself I am sick of the heat, being cooped up inside, and being bored. I look forward to going to work because it is at least never boring! This morning was especially whiny and I swear I was about to lose what little is left of my mind. Seriously. Ahren asked me 9007 times if he could play video games. He is restricted to 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the afternoon because he has become addicted to the games. He will sit and play so long that he wets himself, and keeps on playing. Yesterday he was so engrossed in the game he fell off the couch. That is just wrong. How can a 3 year old child be so crazy about games? I just know that I do NOT want a couch potato game-addicted lump on my hands. 

  Levi had a major meltdown over what clothes he was going to wear. He has many, many thing to choose from, but he insists on jeans and a black t-shirt every day. Well, they were dirty. Major meltdown. You know what? Just stay in your underwear. I don't care. We're not going anywhere. Just stop the whinage!!!!

  I have a million things to get done in the next few weeks. I need to get all the school supplies, clothes, shot records, physical forms, etc ready for school. I need to get kaytee's portfolio updated, and her new comp cards done. I need to make a hundred phone calls, send letters and make appointments for so many things. I feel the weight of the world on my shoulders. 

  And I love every minute of the chaos. I want 10 more kids!!!!

Oh My Goodness....

This is what my 6 year old said yesterday.

Hey baby, why don't you slip out of those wet things and into a dry martini.

I'm pretty sure he didn't pick that up on the Disney channel.....

Congratulations

I just want to send a big shout out of congratulations to The Yarn Harlot for making the big time and acquiring her first psycho cyber stalker. You go Stephanie! Go check it out.  I got to see her in person (The Yarn Harlot, not the stalker) last year. She is a kook, funny, witty and has made knitting totally hilarious. With all the real problems in the world, why someone would fixate on her and get all crazy is beyond me. She is just pure clean entertainment. If you don't like her, go away. If you don't like clowns, don't go to the circus...    http://www.yarnharlot.ca/blog/  (Just a funny little bit of irony, her stalker blogs of Galveston Island as her dream home. I don't think we will be inviting her to visit though....)

We saw the fawn with the collar again last night and I wanted to try my plan but something spooked the herd and they all ran away, tails in the air. I promise we will tape it. I love the idea of the 'Texas Mom gets butt whooped by angry doe' YouTube video. Did I ever mention I got dropped on my head as a small child????

Off to work, leaving the newly mended nanny to corral the 6 and under gang. Talk about kicking my butt. Those 4 kiddos (ages 6, 3, 3 and 2) can totally whip me into a pool of drooling exhaustion. 

Saturday

They accepted our offer on the house on the island and we spent the day back at the beach today while they got the inspection done. It's nothing spectacular (and believe me there are some really spectacular homes down there) It's on a canal. This is the view of the back.

This is the kitchen. Very nice. All the furnishings, appliances and kitchenware are staying. 

The view of the bay from the deck. 

The view down the canal from the deck. We close on Friday and plan on spending the weekend there next weekend. I have a list a mile long of things we need to get to take down there.

  I haven't seen the fawn for over a day. I have seen some fawns, but none with a collar and leash. It might mean someone did catch it and get the collar off, or that it is hung up somewhere in the woods. I contacted the local paper but they didn't respond. I am getting the story into our subdivision newsletter, with pictures. Hopefully the guilty party will see it and read that it is illegal to capture a deer! If we see it again, I have a plan to catch it. I am going to sacrifice my garden. I will leave the gate open, lay in wait and when he and his mama slip inside the fence I will slam the gate shut and lock them in. Then, we will have to lasso the fawn, pull it to the fence and reach thru and snip the collar (or unbuckle it?) Chris is at the feed store right now buying extra deer food and treats.....

Answers to questions: Candy is doing well. Nothing can keep her down for very long. She has a naturally bubbly personality that cannot be contained!

I don't know if I can use my home-made detergent in the front loading washer. I have been too chicken to try it, with visions of a bubbling catastrophe in my head.

Yes, Katie models professionally. She has a fitting and photo shoot next week for a formal wear ad. She doesn't make much money but she has fun and that's what counts. 

Today's theme is 'Morons'

Someone, who undoubtably fits the title Moron with a capital M, decided it would be a great idea to put a collar and a leash on a fawn and try and make them a pet. I don't know how they managed it, but the fawn is now loose and it's life is in grave danger. The dangling leash can get caught in the underbrush causing the fawn to die of thirst/starve to death. Or, inevitably, the fawn will grow and the collar is going to strangle it. We got these pictures and then called the local game warden to report. Unfortunately, they can't really do anything. If they try and tranquilize dart it, it might die. They suggested we try and trap it, or wait until it got hung up or so weak we could catch it, then cut the collar off. We are watching it closely, keeping track of it so we can try and save it. 

Seriously, how stupid can someone be to do this? 

The other story I have for you is actually more comedy than moron-icity. I was checking out of the grocery store earlier today when the girl bagging looked at me and mentioned she had the same shirt. But in a smaller size. Doh! I seriously almost laughed out loud. How many times have I said something without thinking? Only about a million!!!

Trip to Galveston

It's a 2 hour trip from our house to Galveston. That seems a long way when you are driving it with kids, but a really short distance when a hurricane is bearing down on you. We loaded up, gave the boys handheld gaming devices, grabbed the portable DVD players and away we went. 

The trip went fast and we arrived on the island. Drove around a little to see all the rebuilding. Saw a lot of houses that are now abandoned due to the damage done by Ike.

We got caught in a thunderstorm, and were amazed to see blue tarps still on many roofs. The gov't supplied the tarps and they were all supposed to be repaired a long time ago with gov't funds. No idea why they are still there.

This little fishing pier is on the back side of the island and yet it looks like twisted tinker toys. 

This is The Flagship Hotel, built on a pier over the water. It has been around for about as long as the seawall. Unfortunately, it is slated to be torn down now. So sad. Even sadder is the thousands of Oak trees destroyed by the salt water. They are busy cutting them down all over the island.

Thunderstorms can pop up out of nowhere and disappear just as quickly. This delayed our beach time a little, but not too much. We grabbed some lunch and waited it out.

My boys at the beach. Notice the man off to the right in the picture. He is way out there and the water is only up to his thighs. It stays shallow for a very long way. 

Those black dots in the sky above the kids are Pelicans. 

Although the beaches by the seawall were crowded, we were at the west end of the island and the beaches were really empty.

Ahren took to the water right away, but wasn't too happy when he kept getting sand in his water shoes.

Ahren spent most of the time running back and forth from the sand toys to the water. 

Sun protection was high on my list.

Best buds.

More running up and down the beach. This is a most excellent way to wear out small boys.

Splashing in the surf. Nice little waves.

And one last shot of Levi and his freaky eye thing he does.  Attack of the Zombie Albino Boy.

We had a wonderful time. In fact, we had so much fun we will be placing an offer on a house down there today. A nice little beach house, located on a canal with a boat dock. It's only a few years old, in brand-new condition and comes fully furnished. Three bedrooms, two baths, and just 5 minutes by golf cart from the beach in the above pictures. It's on the high end of the island and they only got 3 feet of water under the house during Ike. No damage. Chris's company is buying it for investment reasons, but it will be our weekend get-away spot. Cowabunga, Dude!!

Nothing new going on here

Still hotter than hades and dry as a bone. We are heading down to the beach tomorrow. This will be the first time I have seen Galveston since hurricane Ike. I am worried. They are recovering but they just recently began the job of cutting down the massive oak trees all along the main boulevard that died after Ike. Several of the piers are gone. Many, many shops are gone. And a lot of the beach is gone. Washed out to sea. It's so sad, but also encouraging. The resiliency of the human race is amazing. 

Other than that, it's the same old, same old. Laundry, cleaning, work, kids, and many many messes. The girls are with their dad, heading out on vacation soon. School starts in just over a month. 

I promise beach pix and a better update soon!

Awwwww

The view out of my back windows this morning.

Oh my Queen

The other day Levi and Mina decided to play dress up.  Levi put on a knights costume complete with a long sword, and Mina was his Princess. Levi declared he was the Dark Knight and was protecting his Princess from the evil people. 

Ahren was following along with  he game but not wearing a costume. I wasn't sure what his role was, so I asked. He told me, "Weevi is the knight, Mina is the Pwincess and I am the Queen!"

Well, it was a Fairy Tale.........

Extreme heat causes insanity

Well, it was another 100+ degree week with the addition of some humidity that made things even more unbearable. The garden withered up, I picked the last tomatoes today. Even with daily watering it was just too hot. Only the watermelons are still going. Poor garden, I had such high hopes this year. 

So what is a group of the 6 and under set to do to keep entertained while cooped up?

For one thing, you can wear your new motocross helmet to watch TV! 

You can play endless games of 'weed'. (Mina calls it the Weed, not Wii!)

Even Holly can play the Weed!

And then, when the heat has completely fried your brain and you are desperate....you buy cheap make-up at the dollar store and play Beauty Parlor. (This kept them entertained for an hour at a time on several different days. Who'd have thought....) And yes, I am keeping these photos for future blackmail purposes. Bwah hah hah hahhahhhahhh. Snort.

I miss this girl

Man I miss this girl, every day. She has sure turned into quite the beauty, inside and out.

It's HOT HOT HOT

July in southern Texas is normally pretty hot but this year we have been experiencing 100 plus degrees every day and no rain. That has made it really hard for Levi to enjoy his big birthday present. A new 4-wheeler! 

This is battery operated, goes up to 10 miles per hour and is bigger than the regular little kids 4-wheeler. It's called a Razor Quad. Levi should be able to enjoy it for a couple of years before he outgrows it, and then it will be Ahren's turn. 

This 4-wheeler goes fast enough that we require levi to wear a helmet. Here he is in his bike helmet but Chris is getting him a real motocross helmet soon.

Ahren rides his tractor with Levi. It doesn't go nearly as fast which is a good thing. He never looks where he is driving and keeps running into things. 

Mr. Tough Guy showing off his gnarly tat. 

It rained yesterday for the first time in weeks and weeks. The kids got so excited that they made a break for it to play in the rain. I added baby soap and they all got a good shower.

Rain drops are falling on my head.... 

Here is the gang after the rain play. All wrapped up and drying off. Their hair was sooo soft!

I'm in love

with a little girl named Rachel. She lives in Sarah's Covenant Home in Ongole, India. Go here to see the amazing work Sarah is doing. http://sarahscovenanthomes.blogspot.com.

Sarah was led by the Lord to open homes in India for children with disabilities who were neglected in the regular state run facilities. Earlier this year she gained custody of Rachel. Rachel was born with a deformity of her lower left leg, which had been operated on in an attempt to repair it. When Sarah got Rachel, the cast on her leg was in bad shape, but what they found inside the cast was way, way worse. Warning: the photo is very graphic. When I saw this, I broke down in tears. This beautiful, beautiful child must have been in agony. The tissue was necrotic, the skin infected, the leg mangled.

Poor Rachel was so scared of doctors and all things medical, but who could blame her? She had the sad, vacant eyes of a wounded animal.

But soon, very soon, the spirit of this small girl began to shine through. My husband and I sent money to pay for school for her. Real school. With 'normal' kids. Rachel was thrilled and had her very first day of school last week. 

Isn't she beautiful? 

The human spirit is amazing, and the power of God's love even more so. The light in this child's eyes brings me to tears, but this time it's tears of joy.

Sarah can always use all the support she can get. Go read her blog and you can see what miracles she is working. Her work will move you in ways you won't believe!