16 Puppies

Kaleb and Aaron each latched on to a specific puppy. Both are white with brown markings, both are female, and both are adorable! Kaleb's reaching for his favorite one while the black one reaches for his shoelaces.

What does one family do when "blessed" with two litters of puppies? Invite people to come over and play with the little cuties! These little darlings need good homes. Unfortunately, we are a "one dog family," so we will not be taking any of these puppies home with us. Ginger already helps herself to more than her share of our money, so it's impossible to even think about owning another dog. Still, Kaleb, Aaron, and I had lots of fun playing with these puppies last week. One litter is from a black lab, and the other litter is a Great Pyrenees/Bernese mix.

This is Aaron's favorite. Mine too! Doesn't he look so proud holding her?


But who can resist this face? (Aaron took this picture by the way!)

While we played with puppies, Derek took Braylen target shooting. Turkey season is upon us, and deer season is not that far behind. All 5 of us went to the range earlier in the month, but this trip was just for Braylen. I like this picture of him shooting his shotgun because he's wearing Silly Bandz on his arm. For the record, my favorite (and only) gun that I shoot at the range is the bb gun. It's quiet and easy to handle. Derek has a long way to go if he wants me to be the next Annie Oakley. :)

The days are getting cooler and I'm ready for jeans and sweatshirts. My kids are another story. They still wear shorts every day and will do so as long as they can get away with it. Switching their bedrooms over the summer forced me to sort out everyone's clothes, making it much easier to pull out some pants for them when the time comes. We've already had our first round of parent-teacher conferences. All 3 boys are doing well in school and their teachers do a great job challenging them. They each have their strengths and weaknesses, but overall we are very proud of them.

The other day after school Aaron said, "I have good news and bad news." I honestly can't remember what his bad news was, but his good news lit up his face. "Hermit crabs Mommy, we got our hermit crabs today!" So now Kaleb's feeding minnows to crawdads and Aaron's learning all about hermit crabs. Not as cute as puppies, but still fun! :)

Kaleb & Daddy

Kaleb and Derek had the most beautiful weather for their camp-out last Friday. I find that ironic, since this was their first time to camp in a CAMPER!!! If you know my husband at all, you know his biggest wish is for his very own camper. And while any camper would be fine with him, any camper is not fine with me. If I'm ever going to camp with him, my camper must have a bathroom and a/c. Since these amenities jack up the cost of a camper, we remain camper-less. Sorry Derek! But as is commonly the case in life, it matters not what you have, but who you know. Thank you Mike and Julie for letting my husband and son use your camper. For one night, Derek got to pretend he was the proud owner of a camper. :)





Derek talked to Kaleb about his friends, and about what's going on in 3rd grade these days. They rode their bikes for over 6 miles, and Kaleb snuck in a few scooter rides as well. They went fishing and caught a nice bass. With Dad all to himself and pancakes for breakfast, Kaleb was one happy camper. I'm so thankful my son and my husband can enjoy these times together. Two happy campers camping in a camper. :)

At home last night, we had one of those moments I will laugh at someday. Derek walked out the door for a meeting while the rest of us finished up supper. We had 30 minutes until Kaleb's soccer game began. Braylen poured himself a glass of cranberry juice (in a breakable glass) and...dropped it on his wooden chair. Juice and broken glass flew all over the kitchen. It even splashed 6 feet up the wall, dripping all the way down the staircase to our basement. I sat there speechless. How does one clean up juice that is literally everywhere, when there are shards of broken glass everywhere? I put Braylen in charge of getting out the small drops of juice in our living room carpet. I took care of the rest, piece by piece and drop by drop. Worst of all, we had to leave the job half-done to get to the soccer field in time.

Here's the part I will laugh at someday. While on my hands and knees beneath the table, sticky up to my eyeballs in juice, surrounded by broken glass, Kaleb says, "Well Mom, at least you have something to do now." AAGGHH!!! As I continued my feverish cleaning spree, Aaron, always the chatterbox, tried to tell me about his experience checking a book out at the school library. "Mom, they have real books and make-believe books." Huh? My brain faintly registered, "You mean fiction and non-fiction?" Yes, someday I will laugh along with you at these things. Just imagine what kind of messes we'd be in if we had a camper? I can barely hold a house together!! :)

Cold

Today I have a bad cold. The worst one in recent memory. You know it's bad when I go to the store for a kleenex run and ask the cashier to leave one box out for me to use. Funny how when I feel sick like this the simplest thing can lift my spirits. Like a new package of hairbands to go along with all my boxes of kleenex. :)

So what else is going on here besides my bad cold? One thing Derek and I are noticing is our boys' inability to follow simple instructions. "Wash your hands" turns into a race to the sink, fights over who uses the soap first, and then more fights over the hand towel. Nobody remembers to flush the toilet. Bath towels scatter their bedroom floors. Last night I told one of my sons that I refuse to raise a boy who will grow up and leave his bath towel on the floor for his wife to pick up! So we have a few new rules: only one boy in the bathroom at a time, and those waiting in line must wait in the living room. The hallway was too close. Every missed flush costs them a quarter. And if nobody owns up to it, everyone pays me a quarter. Same with every bath towel on the floor. Really, our boys are 11, 8, and 6. Yet I have to come up with silly rules to maintain my sanity. And to hopefully teach some responsibility.

Braylen had his first flag football game on Saturday. He LOVES football, and has the speed for it. His coach learned if the players could get the ball to Braylen, he will score. Which he did--twice. He also caught an interception and sacked the qb. On the way home from his game we cranked up the radio to listen to the college game. How fun it was to hear one of the players mentioned is a player we remember watching at the high school games! The sky was blue, the temps were cool, and there was hardly any wind. I just love football Saturdays.

Kaleb and Daddy enjoyed their annual camping trip this past weekend. Stories from that to follow in another post. But speaking of Kaleb...

While reading the Bible out loud, Kaleb said, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the ruining of your mind..." (It should've been "renewal of your mind.)

Describing how a pill is absorbed into your system, Kaleb said to Aaron, "It divaporates." I guess he combined dissolve with evaporate. :)

And finally, he told his aunt, "Sometimes I wish I had long hair, so when my teacher's talking I have something to play with at my desk." :)

Kaleb with his early birthday gift--a red scooter he's named "Fireball." He even took it camping.

10 Days

What have I done for 10 days? Where have I been? Life keeps happening all around me, and it can be pretty exhausting. I thought I'd have long days at home--wrong. I don't know where my time goes, but it sure flies!

Kaleb started piano lessons on September 3rd and he likes it. When I remind him to write down his practice time for his teacher, Braylen tells Kaleb to write it on his page. That way Braylen would get the credit. The little sneak.

Aaron's such a big kindergartner these days. Tonight while I cut his hair he told me all about his reading time at the computer. That's my favorite part of cutting my boys' hair. They talk to me! And I get to touch them.

Derek's sister is getting married later this fall, and this past Saturday we gave her a bridal shower. It must have been more of a stressor than I thought, because as soon as it was over I was hit with a sore throat and body aches. Like my body wouldn't let me get sick until my jobs were complete. Thank goodness for Labor Day and a husband with the day off. I took my very own sick day and dozed in the recliner with a book all afternoon. Today I'm restored to good health and thankful for that! And the shower was a fun time too. :)

I've been taking Kaleb and Aaron to our chiropractor for several weeks now, and I'm hoping this helps Kaleb's digestion woes and Aaron's nighttime issues. We seem to be making progress. This morning I attended my ladies Bible study kick-off. It felt good and right to be back with this group of women. And there are lots of new faces too! We're studying "Faithful, Abundant, and True" by Kay Arthur, Priscilla Shirer, and Beth Moore.

So that's about it. We're all figuring out our new roles. Braylen has more homework this year. Kaleb has to do more reading and math facts than ever before. And Aaron gets pretty tired by the end of the week. But instead of getting cranky or worn down, this boy gets HYPER when he gets tired! Crazy, isn't it? I'm trying to balance my time and make the most of it. A never-ending job it seems. I've discovered my new best friend is my purse calendar. Our lives are written on that thing. :) Derek's having a good year in his job...thank you LORD. Kaleb's playing soccer and Braylen's playing flag football. We're going to high school football games. As busy as it is, I love the fall, don't you?