Poor Houdini

Our fine feathered friend was losing his feathers from the stress of the heat, so I made an executive decision to bring him inside. We clipped his wing last night, so if the kids decide to release him, he will be easier to catch. With the exception of a few spine tingling "cock a doodle do's" he has been very quiet. Fortunately, we only have one chicken, if we had a whole flock, I don't know what we'd do. It is just too hot outside, has been for days. I hope that spending some time in Little Dog's old crate won't stress him out more than the heat. Problem is: He is in our one working bathroom and Momma and the babies need a bath, we spent part of the day in a pool. I don't think it will be very relaxing to have a bath with Rooster eyes peering at me!

First Kiss

Today while splashing in the pool, Little Red Haired Girl's Mom told me that she saw Little Red Haired Girl kiss Number One Son at a park day. I asked him about it and very innocently he said, "I didn't know." I guess it doesn't count as a first kiss if he didn't even know it happened.

103

Come on really, it is not even August yet!

my ankle

When I was about 2, my Mom, older sister and I were in an old grocery store shopping. The sodas used to be in glass bottles, in wooden crates, stacked up with plastic that rolled up when you picked up a crate. My sister pulled on the tolled up plastic, the hot sodas came tumbling down and exploded. My mom was pregnant with my little sister and they were very worried about her, but I think she just had little cuts on her legs. I needed five stitches in the area around my ankle. Well, I found out while I was in graduate school that the accident was th reason my feet looked so different from each other. A muscle was cut and not sewn back together properly, so I have one flat foot. It was no a big deal, but some shoes didn't fit well and I always got blisters on the bottom of my foot with certain shoes. I could deal with all of that, but about a year after Number One Son was born, my ankle started hurting. After a month or so of hobbling around, I went to the doctor and the x-ray was normal. I continued to grin and bear it, gain all the weight back that I lost after Number One Son was born and remain ever-so-hopeful that it would get better. It did feel better when I wore my Birkenstocks (I have several pairs) or when I was pregnant. When Number One Daughter was about 2, I went back to the doctor, he thought it was a cyst on my ankle, so I went to an orthopedic surgeon. He said it was from the accident from when I was a baby and gave me a prescription for insoles. They helped, but I was hoping for no-pain. I am allergic to the OTC pain relievers that would help, so I just hobble along, some days are better than others. I went back last week to see if there was anything else to do. He changed to prescription so I need to make an appointment to have my insoles adjusted. Smart Puppy chewed up my sandals, so my Mom gave me a pair of new ones that she had recently bought (my new, post 3 babies size). I am praying to be more optimistic and hopeful. Surgery is not an option at this point (and may never be). I would like to remember what it was like to walk and every step not hurt. I've gained over 20 pounds and my kids are not as active as I wish we could be because, honestly, I can't keep up.

no figurative language

Nuber One Son has always been advanced in his language, but I guess we just can't rush brain development. Last night while I was putting beans on Number One Son's plate, I told him, "Just tell me when." and he responded, "Now." Of course, what was I thinking? Hubby and I chuckled about this all night.

My 6"4" beam of light

Yesterday as Hubby and I were talking about how we were going to pay the mortgage, bills, neuter Smart Puppy and buy a few more birthday and Father's days gift, he lit up like Monica on "Touched by an Angel." He told me that most families need two incomes and we essentially have one and we were making it. So true, I will just savor this positive thought.

Thank You Jesus!

I've been meaning to write about Hubby's work ordeal for a while. The kids and I sprinkled blessed salt over the classroom threshold and in the corners of his room and we blessed his classroom with holy water the night before classes started last Fall. He has a new principal this year and sadly, she doesn't seem to see the beautiful, caring, selfless teacher that he is. It was a huge leap of faith, but we decided that I should give up a day of work (it cut my paycheck in half, ouch!) so he could spend more time securing his job. We have been praying for her and his students and, as always Hubby too. Hubby has been praying to trust Jesus, and the kids and I pray a Divine Mercy Chaplet for him. The week before TAKS testing, I woke up early to say an extra Chaplet for his Principal (a major feat for this late sleeper). Several of his colleagues are retiring or transferring. Many teachers have been forced to resign or quit. It has been a tough year to be a teacher at his school. He had begun to doubt himself as a teacher. We put it all in God's hands. The transfer fair came and Hubby had been home sick for a week with a respiratory bug (during the H1N1 virus scare), so he couldn't go. TAKS scores came back and 90% of his students passed! He was assigned the task of tracking his students gains from last year to this year and he not only had the highest percentage of passage in the school, but also the most gains from last year to this year for his students. He got his first smile and "Kudos" from his principal this week. Thank You God, Thank You Jesus and Thank You St. Faustina.

computer ball and chain

For the past 13 years, I have been able to get on the computer pretty much any time I wanted to. About a month ago our computer died, again, so I am only getting to check e-mail before Hubby goes to work or after he gets home. It is amazing how much I can get done without the computer. I spent 2 hours cleaning the kitchen today. We will need to replace me cell phone and update the plan. I'm spending way to long to check e-mails each morning. I am not a very good text-er and trying to write an entire e-mail with my thumbs is really hard (not to mention very time consuming). I refuse to write in non-standard English. I just can't do it. I guess I'm an old fuddy-duddy.

Cancer

For every day for almost 2 years we have been praying for my friend's husband. Kim and I met in graduate school and thanks to e-mail we have kept in touch. Her husband was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer almost 2 years ago. He died on May 24, 2009. He was young, close to my age and they have a daughter Number One Daughter's age. I can not imagine the pain that they have been and will go through. A person who we pray for every day has died in the past and the kids are sad, but understand that once someone dies, it is not the end. I haven't told them yet. It has been a crazy week and the last thing I need is for them to be up worrying about my friend and her daughter. Number One Son was looking through a garden catalog and we saw Almond Trees, it said you could grow almonds if you can grow peaches. We CAN grow peaches. We have a spot in the front yard that has not had the best luck for trees. The first tree died after about 5 years and the replacement tree died in one year after a spring wind storm. There has been much debate at our house about what tree to plant. What ever it is it will be in memory of Mark Geyer and hopefully it will give fruit that we will lovingly pack up and send from Texas to Utah. It is nice to have a purpose for all things in life.