Happy Labor Day Weekend

Today is the traditional day for house cleaning. People stay home from their regular jobs, so they can clean closets, and get rid of extra "stuff", in preparation for winter. :)
Today is the day for clean sheets and at the end, we get to have a BBQ!
We are having BBQ Brisket and Pulled Pork for dinner tonight. YUM....

I love Labor Day Weekend. It is that feeling of Fall, even though it is still warm.
It reminds me of newly sharpened pencils.... the smell of new text books, fresh paper.
Ahhh. Fall is coming!

Our weekend has been peaceful and restful, but we got a late start. We had some other responsibilities that lasted until Saturday afternoon. So starting on Saturday evening we started to celebrate. We had a special movie, and the girls started playing with Lincoln Logs.
I just love the Lincoln Logs they have. We purchased them from Lehman's Non Electric Catalogue about 3 years ago, and they still bring endless hours of creativity. One great thing about them, is they are flat instead of round, so they don't fall so easily.
Here are a few creations:

A man chopping wood, and his wood pile neatly stacked.


A man coming out of the door of his home.

Children (pawns) lined up to go upstairs to their bedroom

A man training a horse (lego horse)

Very cool dining room furniture and a firplace with a cookstove


The girlies asked to keep their creations up so they could keep playing with them. It is ok, as they were in the area they were supposed to be.
But on Sunday A.M. before church, Sarah added to her area, and it went into the traffic area of the living room, where everybody walks through. She was so into creating and she wasn't noticing that we were having to step over her creations which would be impossible for Erika.

I let her know that it was not ok, (have let her know this before) to place blocks in that area. We are getting ready for church, and it isn't safe.
I was a little surprised when she got upset saying, "But then I'll have to move everything and take it down!"
I said, "Yes, you will, but you know you aren't supposed to have it here!"

Then came the famous, "But I forgot!" LOL

So I asked her, "Sarah, do you want us all to walk out the front door to the back door to get to the kitchen so you can keep your special creation?"
The look on her face said, "Well, that is a possibility!" LOL
She didn't word it, but I could tell she was thinking it.

At that point daddy said, "You need to put your creation away." When your creation becomes more important to you than the safety of your family, and you are willing to be selfish for your own desires, it is wrong."

She tearily put them away. And then we talked with her about her attitude, and what is most important in life.

She was back to her cheery self within a few minutes and said she was very sorry.

On the way to church, I asked, double checking, "did everybody brush their teeth?
Yes, yes and Yes! Sarah said, "I have it on my checklist!"
So I said, "Can you remember to put "happy attitude" on your check list for tomorrow?"
and we all got a good laugh. :)

Greek Warships

Our very pretty Warships are done!

The girlies are thrilled with their ships.

Ancient Greece

This school semester, we are studying Ancient Greece. We are learning a lot!
Today, we worked on making Grecian War Ships known as "Trireme".

I think the girlies loved making the ships. We will be adding the oars in a couple of days.
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Sarah didn't like the smell of the paint, so she solved the problem in her own way. :)

A Storm Named After Her

INTRODUCING TROPICAL STORM ERIKA~!

Its even her favorite color AND they spelled her name right!

Three Plus Two Equals Noise!

Our kids and grandkids moved into a new apartment yesterday! We are so happy for them.
We all had a really great time while they were here, and made the best of living together.

I dropped off a few odds and ends at their new, very cute, apartment last night and I asked my Daughter in Law, "What do you think?" She replied, "Its QUIET!" LOL

I said, "Its quiet at our house too!"

It is funny how things seems rambunctious and noisy and then you add more to it, and when the more leaves, it seems Quiet!

I guess quiet is relative. :)

The girlies miss their nieces already. But the good news is, they are just down the street! :)

Church Stuff Again

We went to our home church last week, and then visited again, the little Baptist Church down the street. I am glad we are taking our time with decisions and praying.
The service yesterday was quite different that the ones we had attended previously.
Instead of a "Bible Study", it was more of a "preaching". The man who spoke was a dear man, but theologically we were not there. :)

AHHHHH!!! This is so HARD! One thing we cannot, WILL NOT compromise on is the Gospel.
I'm not saying this man taught other than the gospel, just saying he added a bit to it. :) That is so common.
This church is in the midst of seeking out a permanent pastor, so we will not make a commitment until after that takes place an we see what direction the church takes.

Our son has requested we visit a local Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod. I have never been to a Lutheran Church before, but I do like Martin Luther, and our good friends are in ministry in the Lutheran Church,Missouri Synod, in Minnesota. The new Lutheran church is down the street from us too. It is a church plant from a larger church in the Plano area. We listened to 2 sermons from them online, and we have also sent an email to them asking some pertinent questions.

Right now, I just feel naked, out in the cold, and want comfort. I want the comfort of our Teaching Elder, our friends, our church family that we have known for so long.
I love them. I miss them. I miss our format. I miss the Lord's table every week and the open service. I wish our home church would plant a new fellowship out here in Wylie! :) Then, we'd really be home . :)

Mike said next week, we can go home.

When A Child Is Different

Today, we all went to the Lake in the late afternoon, to enjoy one of the last times of swimming before summer is over.

Mike jumped in the lake with the girlies, and I sat on a blanket on the shore, soaking up the sun, not wanting to swim.

I was watching all of them swimming and laughing and screaming as Daddy splashed them and threw them and played with them.

However, I noticed also, our Anna. She was away from the group and she was focused on trying to walk on the beam in the water.

The lake has a special barrier in place to square off the swimming area from the boating area. Lots of people hang on, or jump off, but not many try to walk on it.
Today, Anna tried walking on it. It was kind of funny, because it looked from a distance like she was walking on water.

As the others were splashing and screaming, she was off walking on that beam. She was walking and falling, getting back up, walking and falling, getting back up....
I was mesmerized at her determination to make it farther and farther.

Then, I noticed some other kids watching, and before my eyes I saw at least 3 other kids trying to walk that beam.

She made it 15 steps at her best attempt, which was really great. The next best was maybe 3.

What I really noticed was that sometimes kids like to do things that are different. She doesn't enjoy splashing that much. She would much rather walk that beam, and that is OK! It is ok for her to be a little different; to do things a little different.
She was so happy just being herself, and I'm so glad that she was allowed to do that.

She also made a couple of quick friends in the process. All kids trying to walk that beam. :)

A VERY IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

I am totally perplexed about Cat Anatomy..... as Miss Kitty Winkle, has turned into Mr. Kitty Winkler.....

HOW IN THE WORLD COULD I BE SO WRONG! I started to notice something new showing up on Miss Kitty Winkle a couple of weeks ago.... then, Mike came in and said, "Who said that cat was a girl?" Ummm. I did......

Well, its a BOY!
LOL

So, from now on, I know how to check out goats and dogs,or even fish! But for some reason, not cats.

And some more NEWS! A new kitten has shown up. I believe I watched somebody dump it in our driveway last week. Notice that I said, "It". It is only about 7 weeks old.... and I don't dare say what "it" is, yet. Of course the girlies insist it is a girl like every other animal they see.....

Right now its name is "let's find it a new home".
Any takers? It is adorable, and loveable... but we don't need another cat.

Happy Day

We had our Dr. Visits at Scottish Rite Hospital today.

Erika went in first thing for an x ray of her hand and fingers. After going over her x ray, the Doctor came in and asked, "So how is your thumb?"
She looked rather puzzled and said, "My thumb is fine!". He said, "Really? Show me where your hand is hurting..." So she showed him her small finger and just above it.

He started laughing and said, "Well, we need to go back out and look at the x ray again." Apparently, because of Erika's Arthrogryposis,on an x ray, her thumb looks dislocated, but it isn't. LOL So the first thing everybody saw was her thumb and didn't even look at the finger, hand part. :) They all came back in and said, "NOTHING BROKEN!" YEA! She just jammed her fingers when she fell and the swelling will go away in about a week!

That got me to thinking about what would have happened had we taken her into an emergency room. Would they have tried to set her thumb that didn't need setting? Yikes!
Her doctor knows her well, and deals with others who have her type of condition; but it is so rare, most doctors never see it.
If HE made that kind of mistake, what would a typical doctor do? I dunno.... :/

GREAT NEWS was we were able to communicate well with PT and OT today. They were clued in that she working on getting legs on and off by herself. We call it: "Operation Save Mama's Back!"

Today she was given some tools I didn't know existed. Really interesting simple things that we probably could have made at home. One was a stick with a cup hook on the end of it. She grips her sock with the hook and can pull the sock down and off. (because she cannot bend at the waist it is hard for her to reach to remove or put on socks)
She was given a shorter grip and lock tool that is meant to grab her legs from the ground or the window part that locks in, if she were to drop them.
Then, there was this neat contraption. It looks sort of like 1/2 an empty plastic bottle with a hole in the bottom. It is conneected by 2 ropes. She puts the sock on the plastic, lowers it to the bottom of her foot and then pulls the plastic. As it comes up, the sock is put in place perfectly!
She was so excited and so am I!

She tried all of her new tools out with the girls in OT and PT and they worked great. Of course, she is a fast learner! Did I say she was amazingly smart? She is. :)

Sarah, was loaded up today with new socks. She is one rough and tumble kid and must have acid in her leg as fast as she goes through socks! She had a great appointment too, and Dr. Herring showed her off to the Southwestern Med Students he is training.
She got to walk and run for them, and show of her latest surgery scar. :)

Anna, came along today, as Daddy was volunteering in Radiology. We all went together and came home together. We had breakfast AND lunch in the New Cafeteria! It is amazing.... The hospital built a new state of the art cafeteria, and conference center. They have the best salad bar! They even have a Chinese food station and Pizza Station! The prices are also very reasonable.

After such a stressful day yesterday, today was great. :)

Arthrogryposis and Falling

Erika had another fall. She is falling way too often for comfort. :( Every time she falls, because her joints don't bend, she is like a tree falling and it is scary.

Well, she fell; typically there is no injury. It is hard to tell sometimes because her joints don't look normal, and she doesn't hold her hands normally. This time, she fell and tried to catch herself with her arm, but it jammed her fingers.
We put ice on it, and put her to bed with some tylenol, and then this a.m. it was a little more swollen. She can move her fingers, but they hurt. I am suspecting she may have a fracture in her hand because of swelling.
So we put more ice on it, and I called Care Now, to see about an X ray. I did the web check in , and so far haven't heard back!
So I called our personal doctor's office, and he has left practice. His replacement isn't there yet, and the nurse was unsure of where we should go to get an x ray. She said, "you can come in and see the PA, but she'll need to send for an x ray, but I don't know who we are going to use now, everything is different. " That makes me feel nervous, as this is our doctors office we all use!

So I called our Orthopedist's Nurse and PA, at Scottish Rite Hospital because Erika has an appointment with the Orthopedist at 8:30 tomorrow a.m. She asked some questions, and then said, "if you go and get x rays, chances are, they won't do anything but splint it until tomorrow anyway; do you have a splint? I said YES! She said, elevate, use ice I'll set up an x ray for you first thing here, and then we'll see the doctor.

OH MY GOODNESSS! Thank you so much GWEN! She set my heart at ease and told me not to worry. But I do worry. I feel like crying. I hate it when the kids get hurt. I hate it worse when I don' know what to do.
An emergency room visit would have been silly; as by the time we got out of the one we would have gone to, it would be time to see the doctor in a few more hours.

If she hadn't had an appointment already, I probably would be at the emergency room with her. And then, they'd say , "What does she have?" "What is that?" I've never seen anything like that before.... etc. etc. and then they'd say, "She needs to see an Orthopedist. LOL do ya think???

Can you tell we've been through this before. :)

Here she is "Elevating". :)

This last incident is making me think over having a doctor more locally, that we can interview AND educate ahead of time. I do know of a great pediatrician who knows us well because of Out on a Limb Camp, but he is almost 2 hours away. I have seriously thought about using him though, because he understands what Arthrogryposis is.
But, we also need a new doctor for the whole family. I have heard there is a D.O. doc not far from us that is into both nutrition, alternative and traditional medicine. That might be the person we need to investigate to see if he is a good fit.

Happy Anniversary Part 2

Here we are 20 years after our wedding day. :)


We had a really nice day today. Right before we left for dinner, Erika fell down and bent her finger. She has it on ice right now. Glad we are going to the Doctor on Friday morning. If it is still sore, I'll ask him to look at it too. :)

We went to a Mexican Restaurant called Cristina's. It was quite tasty. The girlies had a good time. We asked them what they would be doing when they were 20, considering it is our 20th anniversary.

Anna says she is going to be training alligators. Sarah said she is going to be a ballerina, and Erika says she will be a teacher.

What will we be doing in 20 years? I don't know, but I sure do hope we honor the Lord with our lives in all we say and do.

Thank you Lord for a precious 20 years together.



Our girlies:


Dad and Mom Kissing again!

Erika doesn't seem to mind, but after all, she is the Oldest!

Happy Anniversary

Today is our 20th Anniversary.....

It has been a fast 20 years! Where did the time go? It is like we have lived 3 lifetimes since our Wedding Day. I don't know why it seems that way, but it does. :)

Tonight, we are taking the girlies out to celebrate, and they can take pictures of mommy and daddy at dinner time. They might even be able to get a kissing picture.:)

We are so thankful for each other. We are thankful to the Lord that God brought us together and molded us into one.

May we continue to bring Glory to Him.

Happy Anniversary Dear.

After School Fun

Katie and Lillian spent time swinging on the porch swing.

Erika spent her precious time washing her hair. :)

Anna enjoyed spending time with Miss Kittie Winkle:

We had a little friend come and visit this afternoon. Sarah loves to play with Joy.

The goats love visiting with Joy too. :)

Cat Fishing

Here is the fishing pole with a stuffed mouse tied to the end.


Miss Kitty Winkle went for the first bite!

The Grand Girls Made It To School

After all those shots; Lillian claims she was really "stabbed"; the grand girls are off to school. :)

Why is it, that it seems quiet here? It is always noisy with 3 girls, but somehow, today it is quiet....

Or at least, quieter....

Katie came home with her new Oboe! She is 1st Chair for Orchestra and is happily playing in the other room.

All Dressed Up and NOWHERE to Go!

Our grand girls are supposed to start Public School tomorrow. My daughter in law received an email TONIGHT, the night before school starts, that they need shots updated and will not be allowed to attend school tomorrow.
They were registered over a week ago! I'm not sure why the school waited until the night before school to let them know! There are apparently new requirements for shots for kids to enter Kindergarten, and new shots required for Jr. High.

So tomorrow EARLY, they plan to be in line at the health department, so they can get the children into school before 10:00.

I looked online trying to see what was required, and I couldn't make heads nor tails of it. The wording was difficult to understand.

I was just at the health department 2 weeks ago with our girls to get shots updated. I wish we would have known and we could have taken care of the grand girls at the same time. :(

What is it with the shot-nazis?

Sunday

We went back to our church for the first time in 3 weeks today. It was nice to see all our church family we have fellowshipped for the last 13 or so years.
After our teaching elder finished his sermon, Mike said, "I am really going to miss that teaching." The good news is, we don't have to miss it, as it is online and we can listen to it at home. :)

We do plan to keep going to our Ministry Group that is in our area. We love our Generations Family.

Moving on is a very difficult decision. But we know it is the right decision.

When we attended Cornerstone for 2 weeks, we felt totally at home there, and already know many of the people there. It is a great little fellowship, and being less than 5 minutes from the house, it is amazing how "at home" we felt.

There were a few people I needed to let know that we are transitioning to a new phase in our lives, and they were so kind and understanding. There are many more we need to let know, and over the next month we will do that. I think we will plan to attend both churches over the next month to make the transition easier....

It is exciting being a part of the Body of Christ. We are looking forward to what the Lord has for us, here in our community.

Our Week

Was BUSY!

Erika and Anna are so grown up!



Lillian wanted me to take a picture of her reading. Here she is reading a blank book.
Then next picture: She was SUPPOSED to color her star blue, because the stars were "yellow, blue, yellow, blue, yellow.... and she was supposed to pick blue. She said,"no gramma... I want it to be yellow." So I got her to say the pattern. When she finished she said, "no, I want it to be yellow, she then crossed out all the blue stars so they could all be yellow! LOL She is just like her dad. :)



Katie has been a good sport doing school with us this week. She starts 8th grade in Public School on Monday.



Erika and Sarah are great students and have remembered all they learned from last year. They are just blossoming. :)



Anna said that Lillian was making too much noise for her to study her math, so she asked if she could go in my room to study. I gave her permission and went in about 20 minutes later to see if she needed any help. I found her like this. LOL

Poetry Books

This year we are going to be working on creative writing and poetry. So, I decided with would be great fun to buy blank books and decorate them with all sorts of fun things to make our books special.

Lillian LOVED doing this and she was quite creative! She designed her cover all by herself.

The other girls did too; but it seems that Anna's design fell on the floor before the glue gun was available for use. :)

Mud Cakes

Today Lillian and Anna made a wonderful mud cake. They decorated it with leaves and flowers. Lilly was thrilled with it until she got mud all over her elbow AGAIN after washing her hands. LOL She doesn't like her hands dirty, and especially not her arm!
But she sure enjoyed the distraction of making a beautiful cake. But it came with a "poison warning". "Don't eat this cake gramma! It tastes like Poison!" Ok Lillian, I won't. :)