Best Sisters

Very Worried

I'm very worried about my little man, Banana.

This is his sixth day with fever and no explanation. He sees the doctor in about an hour. I had thought for sure the antibiotics would have kicked in by now. Of course my kids have had fever before, but never as high as he's had, and never this many days. He is not sleeping well at night, and when the fever is extreme, he throws up. He's miserable.

Please say a little prayer for my sweetie pie Banana.

Cuddling

I just wish that our camera didn't make all the pictures come out all orangey. I can't wait till Christmas, when we will get a NEW camera! Yay! Orange or not, I thought these were cute:

This Is What A Third-Grader Looks Like:

At least, this is what our third-grader looks like. Only to me, she still doesn't look like a third-grader. For some reason, I'm really feeling like crying this morning! When did she get so big and third-grader-y? I tell her quite often that she used to be a tiny baby. And I'll tell you, it really wasn't that long ago. Eight years may seem like a long time in some respects, but when I look at my little third-grader, it seems like the blink of an eye.

Chicken Nugget appeared in my bedroom doorway this morning and announced: "Get up! It's time to get ready for school!" (Now, I do not expect these early-morning announcements to continue.) She dressed herself and popped out of her room, asking, "Well, how do I look?" with that sweet smile of hers.

I told her that she looked great! But inside my heart was breaking. Just like it is now.

She told me she'd feel a lot better if I walked her over to school and helped her get to her place in the gym. Before third grade, she just went to her classroom. But waiting in the gym is a whole new situation. I was happy to help her out, so we walked over to the school and found her teacher. We scouted out the line in which she was to wait until the bell rang. Chicken Nugget sat down quietly, cross-legged, all third-grader-looking, and she put on that same sweet smile. I could tell she was excited, anxious, a bit uncertain, but also ready. I waved to her, and she waved back, and there wasn't much fanfare; she just sat there, waiting to begin her first day as a third-grader, ready for mom to depart the building.

So I left, and now I'm here at home, working on chores, taking care of the little ones, trying to choke down the fact that the little girl who came into the world, all of 6 pounds and 11 and 3/4 ounces, is now a big ol' third-grader. And I'm afraid time's not going to slow down much from here on out.

Fun Times in Crockett, 6-16-07

My dear friend Marita is moving to Peru and getting married. So myself and my fam, as well as our dear friends J&T (who work at the BSM at the U of H), also friends from seminary, traveled to Crockett, Texas for a day of fun with Marita! Here, Marita and I brave the elements while getting the bbq all ready for some burgers and brats.

Although very cute, Banana got impatient. "Where's my burgers? Where's my brats?"

J&T. Fun times.

It was time for some adventures on the open seas (aka - the pond at Marita's parents' place).

J and Marita bring in the boats.

"Safety first, kids!" After the kids and I were seated in the boats, Marita said, "Lifejackets!" I wish I were a better parent!

I love this pic of Marita. It is as if she is holding us up with her hand out on the pond. It also looks kind of like a brochure picture, advertising the beauty and serenity of the area. "Come visit us," it is as if Marita says here.

Ya'll, for real, this is the first time I have EVER manned a canoe all by myself! Paddle boats, yes. Canoes, no. Never.

But I look like a natural, don't I?

Bringing it in. Our adventure on the open seas comes to an end.

AAARRRRGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! Queen of the Open Seas!

Cute kids on the porch swing.

Noodle! Noodle Crockett! Queen of the wild frontier!

OK - when we got to the farm (Marita's parents' place), the kids immediately ran for the open out-of-doors. There is so much to do there, with ducks, ponds, and free reign of the water hose. Noodle made haste in stripping off her clothes. Marita's mom and stepdad were outside with the kids, and when I went to check on them, there was Noodle in most of her glory. Not a few minutes later, Noodle walked through the front door of the house - my peeps and I were playing a fast-paced round of Apples to Apples - in ALL her glory, holding her underpants. It seemed to bother her to run around in wet clothes (they were playing in the water hose), and when her undies got wet, they had to go, too. So I found a pull-up and that was her attire for the rest of the day. That and the coon-skin cap, which she found right away upon entering the home of Marita and her parents. That's the ONLY thing she didn't take off for the ENTIRE DAY!

Playing in the water.

Soaked!

Watching the kids; visiting on the porch.

The Farm is one of the most wonderful places I know. I love it there. It's a perfect place to pass the day with good friends.

All of us! Marita, T, J holding Banana, Buffalo Wings holding Noodle; Front row: Chicken Nugget and me.

Fun times. Good times.

Another Reason to Come Visit the Tasty Names . . .

We got a great new spray park near our house!

However, you will be so tired after you go, that you will fall asleep eating. Like this:

Banana was wiped out after playing at the spray park. That's because there are so many things to do there. Like this: And pipes that spray water, like these:

And even a palm tree that rains water down on you! Like this one:

Before Banana's exhaustion, he was acting like this:

And Noodle was making some new friends as she splashed around:

So was Chicken Nugget:

Banana enjoyed the arch of water that spouted up directly out of the ground! It made him very happy, as you can see:

The rings that sprayed water seemed to be Chicken Nugget's favorite:And Noodle would take time out every now and then to run over to me and try to be cute:

She didn't have to try too hard.

The girls enjoyed getting rained on by the palm tree:

And sometimes, all three kids would somehow find one another all at one time:

This one of Chicken Nugget running through the spray rings seems kind of artistic to me:

So, you see, there really is no excuse to come visit us. I will take you to the spray park! You will love it! Added perks: It is completely enclosed, so that you don't have to worry about the kids running off (or yourself, if you are inclined to run off and need to be enclosed); the water that runs through the spray park is recycled, so it doesn't waste unused water all day long; AND - - the best part - - it is FREE!!!! Local government using our tax dollars for something fun!!! Yay, local government!

Um . . . WHY are you not coming to visit us now????

Sweet Girl

Today, BW got home early enough to go over to the school and pick up Chicken Nugget (the little ones and I usually walk over). I heard CN crying even before she and her dad walked in the door.

"What's wrong?" I said.

"CN got two marks today," said BW.

Marks are the disciplinary system used at CN's school, and each mark has a letter that indicates what rule was broken.

I asked BW what he had said to CN about the situation, thinking she might be upset by something he said (CN cries if you look at her cross-eyed).

BW said, "I didn't say anything to her. All I said was, 'how was your day, CN?' and she immediately started crying and told me about her marks."

CN was sobbing as she put away her bag and jacket, and I called her over to me. Without a word, she dissolved into my arms. She told me about her marks.

"It's OK, you had a bad day, but you're home now," I said, "it's over now."

"OK," CN said, "I prayed to God to give me a good day and I tried to make it happen but it just didn't happen."

I felt so bad for her!

I said, "Well, sometimes we just don't follow the rules and make mistakes and have bad days, but it's over now. Tomorrow you can tell your teacher you're sorry you didn't follow the rules, but you're home now and everything's OK. You just need to pray to God that He will comfort you now."

She was still crying, but nodded. A little later, she kept coming down on herself.

BW said, "It's OK, CN. We all have bad days sometimes. But I think what we are going to do with you now is take you down to the barber shop and have your hair cut like that guy on TV."

On TV, there was a guy that had a mohawk. She made a face and giggled a little.

CN is by no means perfect. But it's hard to even punish her when things like this happen. She's so hard on herself, I think that's just about punishment enough. She was really in pain over what she had done. I think that BW and I could never be as hard on her as she is on herself, and I pray that she'll ease up on herself and learn not to take herself so seriously as the years go by. That sweet girl.