A New "Sister"

Well, we did it. What we thought we'd never do. We researched, we read, we searched websites and talked to people. We agonized for a while, then saw a little face online and fell in love. So last Friday, we went to PetSmart and spent way more money than I ever thought would be necessary, then drove on a Sunday morning through the beginnings of an ice storm to a gas station 1 1/2 hrs east of KC on I-70 to get our new baby (paying even more money!). Yes, it's true.

We got a dog.

Her name is Ellie and she is a Morkie (Maltese + Yorkshire Terrier). For the longest time, I couldn't imagine taking care of one more living thing beyond the three little ones I had. And now my little ones are not so little anymore, but happy elementary aged kids, ones who could really use the lessons learned when caring for a pet. And a Morkie, with that sweet little Ewok face, is much more interactive than Mr. Crabs, whom I came to resent because he was surly and pinchy. So we took the plunge.

She's been great so far. She slept all night and didn't even cry until 6:15 this morning. She still hasn't quite figured out what "Do your business!" means when I take her to the papers. But she'll get there. One day in, she's starting to feel like part of the family. And the kids are besotted. Blane loves to stay by her crate and pet her, which she loves.

I'm sure we'll have our share of chewed socks, accidents and other mishaps. But for now, I'm excited to have a new little girl in our house!

Love in the Time of Preschool

Blane is very popular with the ladies. Long time readers of my blog (I know there are SO many!) know that "Laurenmasters" was once the queen of Blane's heart. She has since been deposed by a petite blonde firecracker named Audrey.

Audrey is the third daughter of some good friends of ours, Steve and Michelle. She's feisty and fearless, which serves her well. When Michelle was pregnant with Audrey, she found through testing that Audrey had Turner's syndrome, a chromosomal disorder similar in nature to the way Down's syndrome comes about. It does not result in retardation, but causes growth issues and other problems. Doctors told Michelle to abort Audrey, but she refused. Steve and Michelle never regretted their decision. God must have known Audrey needed to be tough to face her difficulties, and so far, she's a beautiful testament to life lived with gusto.

And Blane loves her. The two are inseparable in class and at Life Group. Blane will do whatever she wants him to just to play with her. In fact, Michelle told me that last August, when shopping for Blane's birthday present, Audrey wanted to buy him a baby doll. Michelle steered her towards the cars, but Audrey was puzzled, because that was the ONLY thing she ever played with him. Must be true love if he'll give up cars for a girl.

Anyway, Blane wanted to get her a Valentine today. We were at Walmart and Blane ran over to the Valentine aisle and found a little heart box of chocolate for Audrey. It was a buck, so I thought, "Why not?" Five years old, and he's already buying presents for girls.

What really cracked me up was that later, he found a pack of heart stickers. "Mom," he said with all seriousness, "Can I buy this for my other girlfriend, Lauren Masters?"

Oh boy...

Prayer Vigil

Tonight we took the boys up to church as OP was hosting a 36 hour prayer vigil. They had set up praying stations around the auditorium with different subjects or focal points. One station was dedicated to praying for Haiti. They had a slideshow going of images from the earthquake disaster (some of the bodies as well). Our children were moved at the sights. Poor little Seth said he felt like crying. When we went to the Gratitude station, Blane wrote, "Hade" and drew a heart around it (I correct the spelling afterwards lest anyone get the wrong impression. He wasn't happy about that). Zac spent time on his knees praying and Seth and Blane said they both felt sad about the people hurting in Haiti. Fortunately, I got them to bed and they seem to be resting well.

It's hard to know how to explain things like this--I can't comprehend it at 38, so how can I make sense of it to a 10, 8 and 5 year old? I pretty much told them so on the way home after we dropped Scott off at the gym. But I told them that no matter what, God holds on to them, even in the worst of conditions. It's all I know to say. It's surely all that matters in the end, even if it doesn't feel like it now.

Questions I have no answer for

"Mom, is God fatter than a driveway?"

Quote, quote

The other night in the car, Seth was chatting with Zac about a situation at school:

"Zac, there's a new boy at school. I told Mackayla that she better not fall in love with him."

Me: "Do you like Mackayla?"

Seth: "Mom, I'm talking to Zac!"

Me: "Well, you can tell me too. Do you like Mackayla?"

Seth: "No. She was is love with me for a long time but then she 'quote, quote' broke up with me and now we're just friends."

Me: "Did she ask you to be her boyfriend?"

Seth: "No, she didn't."

Me: "So she just decided this on her own."

Seth: "Yes."

That was an easy breakup!

No Musical Instruments until You're Married!

Seth was snuggled up in a chair with Papa on Saturday evening. Papa recounted the following conversation to us. I've added some dramatic effect for fun:

"Papa.."

"Yes, Seth?"

"I know something that evun most 6th grade kids don't know."

"What's that?"

"Well...it's about the "S-word"."

I'm sure at this point, Papa is sweating a little bit. But my child proceeds in his confidence.

"You know...the 'S-word'--S...A...X! My mom and dad and Zac told me about it."

Now you know how to prevent teen pregnancy...keep your kids out of band!



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Thanksgiving in Hot Springs

We had a great Thanksgiving down in Hot Springs with the McGregor family. As usual, it was a food and laugh fest. We had a smashing Thanksgiving dinner with salsa verde chicken enchiladas, tortilla soup, Spanish rice, refried beans, Mexican salad and out of this world sweet potato chips, followed by a sopapilla cheesecake. Mmm-mmm! It was even gluten-free (except for the cheesecake--the boys had GF chocolate cupcakes). On Friday, my parents took the boys to Mid America Museum. Dan and I went for a while, then we joined Scott at Hot Springs National Park and toured a bathhouse. Dan and I climbed Hot Springs Mountain (save your impressive points--it was only half a mile to the summit) and Scott studied up for his class in an Adirondack chair on the porch of the bathhouse.

Friday night was our annual Telephone Pictionary tournament, and this year did not fail to disappoint...Mom ended up having to run to the bathroom because she was laughing so hard. Zac was a full participant this year and Seth assisted me in the drawing. It doesn't take much for baser, bodily function humor to take over when Dan and Scott are involved, and this year's howler was an illustration by Zac--let's just say that it involved a prostate exam and a 10 year old boy's interpretation of that. Let your imagination run wild. After we recovered from laughing for about 10 minutes straight, we decided to call it a night...I don't think anything could have topped that.

It was a great, memory-making time with our family, and we were able to end the weekend with a great (but short) visit to Searcy, HU basketball game and more family love. We are very blessed!