Playing catch up

A little late on this one.....

Happy 9th Birthday to my little man!

9 things I love about this sweet boy:

1. He give the best hugs.

2. He's a sweet brother to his 2 sisters (most of the time!)

3. He was a short labor & delivery.

4. He's a great baseball player....basketball play....soccer player....

5. He LOVES pizza. And his mom's chicken pot pie.

6. When he smiles, you can't help but smile back

7. He likes his John Deere tractors

8. He can scrub a toilet like a pro

9. He has such a gentle heart that can melt mine :)

Someone else who celebrated a birthday on the same day......

His Dad!

Here are my guys sporting their birthday gifts.

My son said this year he didn't want a party for his birthday. He just wanted to go huntin' with his dad. He would even invite his big sister along. So dad set up the hunt.....it would be himself, my son, his sister, his uncle and 2 cousins. They were going hog huntin'. And a huntin' party it was.

But he didn't shoot a hog.

You wouldn't guess in a million years what he shot.

Go ahead.

Try to guess.

A deer?


Nope.



A bear?

No way.



A skunk!

I wish it would of been a little skunk.

He shot this:

Can you tell what it is?

You're not looking at it wrong.

It's a KANGAROO.

I'm not exactly sure yet, but I'm sure there's something biblical against shooting kangaroos.

Something.

"Though shalt not shoot anything that uses a pouch to carry it's young"

I'm not completely against hunting.

I just don't understand it.

He was so excited. He says "Mom, he jumped up in the air and I shot 'em in the neck!"

I hid my true feelings and said "Man, what a good aim!"

And, well, all things aside....it was a good shot.


But seriously....

A kangaroo.



Poor Joey.


Just hopping along minding his own buisness...and


BANG!


What's he going to do with a dead kangaroo you ask?


Well, honor his life by having him stuffed....


So he can go on forever...(this is in my oldest child's words)


She's been hanging around those hunters too long.


I know one thing that will last forever...

This little boy will never forget his 9th birthday.

Note: In case you're wondering like I did where they shot this kangaroo without going to Australia.....there's a game ranch outisde of town that apparently has them roaming around, along with other types of "exotic" game.

Count your blessings

If you're reading this, you have a lot to be thankful for. It means you still have electricity. It means you're probably in the comfort of your home with water, food...and somthing else important...internet!

We are currently housing 18 members of our family and their extended families. One of them has a 3 week old baby and a 1 year old. Another has 2 month old twins. Can you imagine being forced out of your home 3 weeks after having a baby?

After watching 2 month old twins I have a whole new respect for mothers of twins. It was like a circus act. A very organized & flowing one though. This mom juggled bottles and diapers and clothes and laundry and babies. While one slept, the other ate. While one cried the other cooed. And then they switched. All their needs were met without missing a beat. All while in a home that wasn't her home. Amazing...

Know what else is amazing? Just how many people you can actually fit into your house if you had to.

Count them....18 people plus my family of 5......that's 23 total.....

That's 1 queen bed, 2 twin beds, a toddler bed, 1 fold out cot, 4 queen air mattresses, 1 twin air mattress, 2 sleeping bags, 1 bassinett, a play pen.....and a partridge in a pear tree.

We are very blessed also in how we were able to house so many people. When we bought this home it came with a small garage apartment size little house in the corner of our acre lot. It wasn't in good shape. A year ago we decided to work on making it look like a home. Paint, carpet, new wood. We even put in a tv, refrigerator, and stove. Looks like a cute little house on the prarie type house.

Who knew a child would actually need to use it as their home?

God knew.

This summer we bought a small house off Holleman. A foreclosure that we remodeled quickly to get it sold quickly. We expected it to sell within the first 2 weeks. Nothing. It's been 5 weeks. We didn't want to worry. But I must confess........I did worry.

O, ye of little faith.

Who knew a hurricane would come? That there would be no power for days, and no hotel rooms in sight? Who knew a family of 10 would be needing a home?

God knew.

I'm tearing up as I write this. I'm always in awe of how God works in our lives to glorify Him. Even during the times that I question what's going on.

I'm surprised, and thankful, that God hasn't decided that I'm not faithful enough to use.

Even with all that is happening around us....God is in control.

I'm counting my blessings. One by one.

I feel blessed to be able to glorify my Lord with all that is in me...and with all that is His.


"I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever".
Psalm 86:11-13

Experiencing grief

This summer we lost a precious little pup member of our family. Our beloved little Gus (or Gusy Gus as Annaliese called him) passed away. I didn't blog about it when it happened. It was too hard. Too tragic.

It was the first time my kids experienced grief. It took me a little time to realize it. It hurt my son especially. There's something about a boy and his dog. He cried and it broke my heart. The next day he told me"I don't know what this feeling is. Every time I think about Gus I cry, and it hurts here". (pointing to his chest) I had to explain to him that he was greiving. Such a difficult concept to grasp.

Annaliese has finally stopped going outside calling for him.

The really crazy part.....he dreamed it before it ever happened. About 1 week before it happened. He woke up telling me Gus had died in his dream. I told him his dog was fine, and it was only a dream. Now how can I tell him his dreams are just dreams now?

The day it happened I called a neighbor where Gus frequently visited. He had just spent several days on their property and I wanted to let her know. We discussed what the possibilities where of why he may have died, and then she mentioned to me her cute english bulldog had been gone the same day Gus was gone. We were sure the friends went off on a rendevous. She told me there could be the possibility that her dog was pregnant.

She called me last week to let me know.....her dog is expecting...due in a week or two....and most likely our Gus is the daddy!! She's going to allow us to have first pick of the pups. The kids are so excited. While it won't replace our Gusy Gus, we're happy to be able to bond with another puppy that is a part of him.

There was a part of this experience that made me not want to have another pet....ever....

It was hard to watch the kids go through the grief.

But I realized what a teachable moment it had become.

We talked about death. About heaven. And the joy of heaven.

And who before us is in heaven.

And how Gus is playing with all of them right now...chasing his tail....

They were able to experience the grieving process and come to understand what loss was......

Before they ever had to experience it through losing a family member.

I know they will someday. It's a fact of life.

So I'm thankful for our sweet Gus.

And the joy he gave to our family.

And the joy he left behind :)