Growing Exponentially

For those of you with any interest whatsoever in the life and times of Sammy the Puppy...

He now weighs just a few ounces under 30 pounds. He eats a LOT. He is completely house trained (that was never really an issue) and he is doing very well in puppy school. He knows sit, lay down, stand,and leave it (that's the coolest). Leave it means don't touch whatever it is you are looking at and contemplating taking/eating. It really works...most of the time!

Look Who I Saw!!!

She's home! KD! Live and in the flesh! I got to see her and hug her and talk to her...in person. Not on IM, not on the chatbox, not in email...and not in Flat Version...but REAL!!! And LD too...they are both home! LD's nose piercing is really cute! Yea!!!! Welcome home KD...it is so good to have you home. We'll have to do more baseball soon, although the parent student game was pretty fun. And I want to hear more about Israeli baseball! We love you!

Crowded Conditions

Sleeping in the playroom right now (well, not really sleeping yet..) are two girls (Banana and Lou Lou), 2 American Girl Bitty Babies (Kate and Elizabeth), 4 American Girls Dolls (Kit, Kit, Jess, and Kelly), one bear, one bunny, one elephant and about 14 dogs or puppies.

The Journey Continues

This Sunday, Kat will leave for her last trip with bb and Junebug. It doesn't seem possible that it has been so long ago that she went off for the first time. Her first week-long trip was awful (for me, not her). I cried every day. I called Junebug several times a day. Now, it's time for one last trip (stop crying Junebug...it's okay, really it is). I can't possibly be old enough for her to be leaving 6th grade. I truly can't be old enough to have a 7th grader!

Next week, she will go off on her first trip as a "student". She will go off on her own. Even though it is within my rights to go as a member of the student staff, I won't be along on this trip. This one has to be hers. She has to enter into this new world on her own. She has to establish relationships with the older kids as her own person. Mostly she has to establish a relationship with the boss as her pastor, not my boss, or mom and dad's friend. It's not the first time she's gone off without me...but it is the first time she has gone off without either me or Junebug.

So, I find myself wondering...is she ready for all this? I think she is...I think she is secure in who she is, what she believes, how she is to behave. Am I really ready for all this?? I hope I am. I am proud of who she is and who she is becoming. My biggest worry is how others might affect her. Girls her age can be mean. I pray she is secure enough to be who she is, and strong enough to not allow other's opinions affect her, and bold enough to be a leader and not a follower, and discerning enough to see the big picture instead of the little details.

And so here we go, Kearsdad and I...off on another exciting leg of this journey called parenthood. So far, we have survived the trip. I haven't been disappointed yet, and I don't expect to be disappointed now.

Momentary Insanity

That's what it must be. It is the only reasonable explanation for what I have done.

Last week LouLou was supposed to come over and play with Banana, but I had to cancel because we had something else come up. So we rescheduled for today. Then, I decided to be really brave and invited JMatt along too. Junebug and I and all these children met for lunch at McAllisters where Junebug and I attempted to enjoy our sweet tea and a little conversation over the very loud children at the table. Then I loaded up my car with said children and came home. Junebug left in her red hot chili pepper car all alone. She had no sympathy for me. She said I did it to myself.

So here I am, listening to something just shy of chaos. I think they are playing a game. I also think they must all have hearing problems because they insist on shouting at each other even though they are only inches away from each other. And the girls all giggle hysterically at every little thing. JMatt just looks at them like they're nuts, even though I am certain that he had some part in the cause for the laughter.

No matter what Junebug says, I think she owes me. I'll have to think of something she can do to pay me back...

Sammy

Sammy, our ever-growing black puppy, has had a big week. Last Saturday he started school. He is going to puppy class at Petsmart. Suprisingly, he wasn't the biggest puppy in the room. There is a German Shepherd puppy who is around his size and a mix of some sort (shepherd, maybe pyrenese) who is HUGE! But Sammy was definitely one of the best behaved. All the big dogs were, it was the little guys who were brats. There is a miniature dachshund who barked her head off. There was another regular dachshund who was awful. His owner was just as bad. They arrived late to class in a flurry, she in her brightly flowered flowey shirt and huge purse, interrupting class. They walked in through the middle of the class disrupting everything and making a commotion of getting settled. Turns out they are in remedial class...apparently have already been through once but are back because Bad Dog needed additional socialization practice. From what I saw, Bad Dog's mother does too. They were both awful throughout class. Then there was the little poodle who has no manners and is almost as neurotic as our 14 year old pom. And the little pug who pretty much minded his own business. All in all, it was a pretty interesting hour. Sammy impressed the teacher by sitting to greet her when she walked around the circle talking to each puppy.

On Monday, Sammy went to the vet for his last set of shots. He now weighs 26.5 pounds!! He got a clean bill of health. AND he didn't get car sick! Yea! Maybe we are past that now!

Then yesterday, he went to the groomer at Petsmart! When I got up, he had been in the yard (Kearsdad let him out as usual when he left for work). Unfortunately, the yard is WET, and he had been digging and had mud everywhere...nose, paws, legs...He is meeting his grandparents this weekend, and we couldn't have him looking like a dirty stinky dog. So off we went for a bath. He came home all clean and shiney, and is spending most of his time in his "room"-the laundry room with his kennel rigged so that it blocks the door but he can come in and out of the kennel and walk around the laundry room. His time outside is being closely monitored and we are going on lots of walks in order to keep him out of the mud for now.

So, for those who are interested, that's Sammy's update for the week. I will add pictures later.

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Maggie-Smith version

So, here is my Maggie post! I think this little girl ranks more blog exposure than anyone else this week! She deserves it...she is precious!

Rain and Mud and Horses and Dogs

That is the extent of our afternoon! Our sweet friends who own "Hickory and friends" had a family crisis today and called for our help. They are in Meridian with B's dad who is in critical condition (pray for Mr. S's recovery). Jo drove over last night to be with her mom and dad, not knowing if her grandpa would make it through the day. B and Jo called early this morning with a great need. The horses needed to be checked on, and probably fed. And 3 of the 6 dogs were in the house and, obviously, needed to go "out".

We were happy to help. But we had to wait until Kat finished her meeting at church (preteens preparing to help with pre-school camp next week). Kat had to go with us, because she knows the most about the horses and the dogs...where stuff is, how to feed, which dogs need what, which horses need what, etc.

Now, it has not rained in our part of Mississippi in something like 8 months...well, maybe not that long, but it has been very dry. Not today. It has rained a little almost every afternoon this last week. But today was REAL rain. Steady rain. Wet rain. Our friends have recently moved to their new home, further in the country than they were. Real country. Gravel road country. The new house has no grass. It has red mud. Today it was WET red mud.

Kearsdad, Kat and Banana wore their boots. I just planned to stay out of the mud.

So our adventure...Kearsdad got out and made his way around to the back of the house to let the bulldogs out of their downstairs lair. Great guard dogs they are. They woke up after he was all the way in and looked up at him as if to say, "Oh, hey! How are you?" Then they remembered they needed to go out so they got up. Kat and Banana and I (and Kat's friend who is spending the night with us) stayed in the truck to stay dry for as long as possible. We could see the bulldogs make their way out in the rain to take care of business, but when they trotted up to the driveway to see us, Kat got out in the rain to help direct them back to their door. Just as they were starting back in, Missy remembered she forgot to do something, and ran back out to finish. This whole time, Kearsdad is standing in the rain with mud up to his ankles.

Then Kearsdad went in and made his way upstairs to the kitchen. The BIG dog (remember Luthie, the doberman?) was in the kitchen. Upon hearing Kearsdad coming up the stairs, she let out a loud "You are in my house" bark. Kearsdad approached carefully, all the while reminding Luthie that she knew him. Pretty quickly she remembered that he was a friend, and let him in the kitchen. He let her out of the garage, where she stood in the rain looking up at him with a look that said, "You gotta be kidding. You went through all that to bring me out in the RAIN??" Then she spotted Banana, whom she loves, and after greeting her, went on to begrudgingly do her thing in the rain. Then she followed Banana into the house and didn't leave her side for the next hour.

Banana and I stayed in the house with Luthie, feeding her and checking on the house, while Kearsdad and Kat proceded to the barn to fill the truck with hay and began feeding. Kat and friend got a HUGE kick out of getting to ride in the BACK of the truck with the hay. By now, the rain had slowed to a drizzle, but it didn't really matter since they were already soaked. Off they went, to each pasture, feeding horses. Hickory and his buddy are in one pasture, the "girls" (aka mares- minis, Shetland, - and Tootie the big horse) were in their pasture, and Nick (Tootie's son, who is even bigger than Tootie) has his own pasture. Oh, and Samford (a shetland mix of some kind) is in a 4th pasture. Hay had to be delivered to all the pastures. And for the girls, the hay had to be divided into seperate piles because apparently Tootie doesn't share well.

Kearsdad's truck is now FILTHY. Red sticky mud and hay everywhere, inside and out. But in spite of it all, it was actually pretty fun. Of course, the fun is tempered by our concern for B's dad and our hopes and prayers that he recovers. But it was quite an adventure, and something to add to the list of fun and new things our family has now done together! We came home and all the wet nasty people got a shower. The truck will get washed tomorrow.

Here are a few pictures of the truck, the mud, and the dogs...

But Mom, They're Just People

I have already shared about our fun-filled, work-filled week last week. But there was something more I wanted to add. On Monday and Tuesday evening, I took groups to Gateway, where we helped serve meals to homeless people. Kat had fun behind the counter seving. She and her group of 5 others had fun racing to see how quickly they could fill the plates. Banana helped me and a couple of college kids fill and distribute cups of water. Banana is my unusually shy child. She only talks to people she knows REALLY well. And she almost NEVER speaks in a crowd. To her, 4 is a crowd.

But Monday night, I watched her with new eyes. Time after time, she took a cup of water, walked to the serving line, and said loudly and clearly, "Here Sir (or Ma'am). Would you like some water?" This went on for all 90+ people we served. It was amazing. She treated these people with such honor and respect. I wonder when the last time was (if ever) that some of those people were referred to as Sir or Ma'am?

Later that night, I told her how proud I was of her. I told her that many people would have been intimidated in that situation. Her response? "But Mom, why should I be intimidated? They're just people. They just don't have a place to live." Oh my...

Kat was also very affected by the experience. She said she had no idea there were that many homeless people here. All last week, my heart was blessed to here them pray each night. Not the usual "Thank you for today and help us sleep good and bless Grandmama and Granddaddy." They prayed earnestly for the homeless people and for the children in the neighborhood who "only have one parent and whose parents work and they have to come home by themselves after school everyday and no one is at home." It was a blessed week and one filled with precious memories for this Mama.

What a Week!

Kat and Banana and I are home! We just spent a week at Mission First on the Jr. High Mission Trip. Kearsdad joined us as often as possible. It was a great week, we got a lot accomplished, had a lot of fun, and lost a lot of sleep. But we are glad to be home. Kat and Banana did everything the teenagers did...sanded, painted, and planted. All the work was mixed in with a lot of playtime...dodgeball, murder (yes, it's a game), and invisible football, all student ministry classics.

Good times with old friends...welcome home Teddy!

Painting the ceiling!

The whole crew! You Rock!!

Almost done!

Smile Kat! It's almost done!

Making it beautiful.

Girls Rock! (and T-Weir too!)

Gamemaster, I must confess...