Goodies

I believe Sarah is becoming reconciled to the fact that someday we are going to eat the chickens. She named one of them Goodies. She even said that it might be OK the eat Goodies or even Watermelon. She cried the first time I told her that we were going to eat Watermelon. So, the named chickens are: Watermelon, Sunflower and Goodies. I still can't tell them apart, but Sarah seems to know who is who.

Sunshine (one of the cats) caught a mouse last night.

"Ew! Ew! Sunshine caught a mouse!" squealed Hannah. Sure enough, a very pleased kitty cat was batting around a small, expired mouse.

"Is she going to eat it?" Hannah asked.

"Probably." I reply. And she did. Mostly. There was half a mouse on the porch this morning. It seemed to be the right size.

Ahoy There Mateys

Step. Thunk. Step. Thunk. Step. Thunk. This is the sound Jacob makes as he walks in his bright orange straight leg walking cast. Stepthunkstepthunkstepthunk. This is the sound he makes when he tries to run in his bright orange straight leg walking cast. Yesterday, when I was listening to the slow walk across the kitchen floor, I kept wondering if this is what a pirate with a wooden leg sounds like. Thinking of pirates, I next remembered meeting my future brother-in-law for the first time.

Kermit took me to meet his sister, Tara, and her husband, Cash. We had a nice dinner. We were engaged in conversation, when out of the blue Cash says, "So, I hear you're a pirate."

We were all a little surprised. I wondered if there was some family joke that I didn't know yet. The looks on Kermit's and Tara's faces told me that they didn't know what was going on either. I stammered some sort of reply.

What we had failed to appreciate was Cash's inner conversation. The comment made perfect sense to him. He had noticed that I had a tattoo. He started pondering tattoos and who would typically have a tattoo. I'm glad he passed over biker babe and sailor before he landed on pirate.

Today, I am listening to Jacob step-thunk his way across the kitchen floor. Maybe we are part pirate.

One Little Monkey Jumpin on the Bed...

Jacob and the little girls were jumping on the bed Friday. The girls leapt off the bed into a pile of pillows. Jacob tried to follow. He didn't quite make it. His little leg got caught in between the mattress and the foot of the bed. His leg broke. Nice clean fracture of the tibia. We were at Children's Hospital ER until 4 am. Seven hours with a little boy who was tired and hurt. It was not an episode that I'd like to repeat.

He was quite grumpy yesterday. I'm sure the leg was hurting more. And his entire right leg is in a cast. He can't move around like he wants. We had a devil of a time keeping him happy and still. Nineteen month old boys do NOT want to be still.

Today he is in better spirits. I'm glad of it. I'm slightly worried about how he will cope. However, little children seem to adapt so well to a variety of circumstance. I probably shouldn't worry too much. This will be a bit of a burden on the other kids. We had to miss the library summer reading swim party. I suspect swimming is over for the summer. I'll have to find some way to make it up to them.

I am grateful that it wasn't worse. If the fracture had been higher up or in his knee, he would've had to have had surgery. As it is, he only needs a cast for 4-6 weeks. Toddler in a cast for 6 weeks. awesome.

Joseph's Birthday Water Slide

Happy Birthday Joseph

Today was not Joseph's birthday. That occurred the 28th of July. But today is the day we celebrated. Since Joseph turned 8, we had a big, and I mean BIG, birthday party.

I rented an inflatable water slide. We invited friends and neighbors. Oh. Can't forget the monster eyeball cake. Red velvet. So, that when you slice the cake, it somewhat resembles monster innards. Most important of all, the baptism.

There were a few storms predicted for that day. And it the rain was pouring and the wind blowing when the party began. But it was a very short storm. The waterslide was a hit. The kids loved it. I loved it. I went down a few times with Jacob. Once with Sarah. Once was all Sarah wanted. I think it was a bit scary for her. The platform was about 14 feet high. You climb up the back and then go careening down into a small pool. It is not a slow, easy slide. You pick up more speed than you expect at the end. There is no control. It was fabulous.

About the time they were ready for a break, we had a treasure hunt. Daniel helped me set up two paths to the treasure. We took close-ups of different things on the property and used those as clues. Things like a big planter that was on the front porch, a stack of wood, a balloon, a chicken. The treasure was a rather generous amount of candy.

Then it was time for presents and monster eyeball cake. We made it through presents and blowing the candles out when the kids decided that it was time to slide again. I'm thinking that I need to rent another water slide for our 4th of July bash next year.

I'm so thankful for everyone that came. Especially, our friends in Forney. It is not a real quick drive. I know that it meant a lot to Joseph to have his friends.

The baptism was very nice. Catie White and Joseph were both baptized. There is something extra special about having more than one baptism take place. My sister and I were baptized at the same time. I don't remember every detail, but remember how I felt. Soaking, dripping wet in heavy wet baptism clothes, but feeling light as a feather. So, happy. So, joyful. I think about that feeling everytime I'm at a baptism. I think Joseph was happy. He was a little bit giggly in the font. But Joe has always been amused with life.

We came home in another rain shower. By the time it cleared up, there was a rainbow. Two rainbows. The inside one was brilliant. It was a lovely close to a lovely day.

Watermelon

Food should not have names. Since our first chick, I have avoided naming the chickens. Yes, they are primarily for eggs, but that doesn't disqualify them from becoming dumplings. We didn't allow the kids to name the chickens. Try telling that (or anything) to Sarah. She has dubbed one of the chickens "Watermelon". Watermelon distinguishes herself from the rest of the flock by her liking of dry cat food. Sarah does not approve of this habit. I overheard her telling Hannah that "Watermelon came on her teeny tiny toes to eat the kitty food. I told her no, no, no, but she just said bawk, bawk, bawk all around and then she went to play with her chicky friends."

Good-bye Hank the Chicken Dog

Hank, our not-so-little puppy, was hit by a car yesterday. We aren't even sure when it happened. He often crawls under my bed to nap with Annie. It wasn't until evening that I realized that he was missing. I found him on the other side of the road. He had been dead for some time. Hannah and Joe were particularly upset over the news. I felt especially bad that he died alone. Annie was outside looking for him last night. I could hear her barking for him.

Hank came to us when he was seven weeks old. Little Anne was in need of dog company and so we embarked on a great puppy hunt. Friends of mine had a German Shepherd that had puppies. He was so timid and as all puppies are, extremely cute. When we brought him home, he wanted Anne. She wasn't too impressed with him. The kids loved Hank. Hank wasn't too sure about the kids.

Hank did not stay small or timid. He got used to us and Anne decided that he was OK. He learned quickly. It didn't take long at all to house-break him. That didn't stop the occasional accident. After all, he was still a puppy. On my birthday, he left a "present" in my closet. We think he ate something that didn't agree with him. And then last Friday he took a nice long drink out of the toilet and peed in the floor.

He was on his way to being a good dog. He dug up just about everything I planted, whether in the ground or in a pot. He ate out of the trash can. And he chased the chickens. But he did leave me a few flowers. He learned to get things out of the trash without knocking the whole can over. And he never made a serious attempt to catch the chickens, he just liked to see them scatter.

Today our house is a little quieter.