Pluto

Our dear Pluto
{Thank you Braylen for these recent pictures of Pluto.}

Today we lost our first pet. (I'm not counting the fish from years past.) Pluto the parakeet was Kaleb's Christmas gift 5 years ago. He picked him out at the store the day after Christmas. We brought him home and 2 days later he started to sing. I admit, sometimes his singing was a bit loud. And he was really good at making messes! But now that he's gone, I miss his chatter and singing. I miss watching him play with his mirrors. I miss watching him climb all over the cage. I miss watching him splash in his water.

After school I picked up the boys and brought them home. But I didn't let them go inside the house. We sat on the front porch and I told them what happened. What time I found Pluto. What position he was in. What I did with his cage. And we remembered some of the happier times with him. Like when we brought him home--he escaped before we could put him in his cage. My dad finally caught him and then Pluto bit Dad's finger! And how we knew spring had arrived by how loud he screeched. Kaleb liked to remember Pluto climbing all around his cage using his claws and his beak.

It broke my heart to see them cry, and I cried right along with them. Especially with my sweet, sensitive Kaleb. Pluto belonged to him, and half of Kaleb's life has been spent with Pluto. He may be just a bird to everyone else, but to us he was OUR bird. And he was special.

I called him Pretty Bird, and I used a whistle pattern to "talk" to him.
Today I whistled it to him as I packed up his cage.
 

This is Kaleb with Pluto on the day we brought him home. What a happy day that was! Tonight Kaleb told me he was saying goodbye to Pluto while looking at a hole in the clouds, when suddenly a flock of birds flew through the hole. Fly free, dear Pluto! You will live in our hearts forever.

"Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God." Luke 12:6

One Month Done

I can hardly believe the boys have been back in school for a month already; 7th grade for Braylen, 5th grade for Kaleb, and 2nd grade for Aaron. The switch from summer to school went as it usually does--shocking to our systems at first, then becoming routine fairly quickly. I let myself mourn the end of our summer for one day before embracing this new school year. I needed that time to transition my feelings and responsibilities from summer mode to school mode. The years keep moving on and the boys keep stepping up to new grade levels, so I guess I'd better step up to my new year as well.

This year I am still staying at home, keeping plenty busy during the day with all the "busy work" of running a home while my family is out of the house. Once 3:00 comes we live our lives in fast forward, running from one soccer field to another, one youth group to another, one meeting to another, one homework assignment to another... I am blessed to get our house in order during the day so we can run everywhere BUT our house during the evening. Hmm. That seems kind of backwards, but then I remind myself that September is like this for us every year. Once October comes we settle down and live in our home a bit more. And most of these busy activites are fun--I often remind myself of that, too. :)

Aaron continues to do very well on his Depakote medication. What didn't work last spring is working this fall, and I am VERY grateful for that. I am also at peace with leaving the Lamictal behind. Derek and I think Aaron is still having seizures here and there, but they are so quick--like one second or two--that we are never sure if he's had one or not. What an improvement from last spring! The prayers offered up on his behalf are priceless to us...thank you to each and every one who prays for him. Our God is our Jehovah Rapha--"God who heals."

So, here are the boys at the beginning of their new school year. So far it's a good one! :)

Braylen needed a bigger and stronger backpack this year.
The best way to describe 7th grade in one word--fun!

The last time I have two sons in elementary school.
The next time Aaron has his brother in school with him will be his freshman year in high school.
Wow! That makes this one very special year for Aaron and Kaleb.

Walking away

One new thing about this year? Their cousins joined them at their school!

North Carolina

Derek spent a week in Charlotte with his brother, and I was really happy for him to have this opportunity. Even though it meant he would be gone for my birthday and the first day of school. Derek makes so many sacrifices for me, I could hardly deny him the chance to take this trip...although I still struggled with it, I'll admit! Looking back, I'm SO glad we said yes to North Carolina! Nobody makes him laugh more than his brother. His brother is his best friend--his forever friend--and I can only hope and pray my sons grow up to be like their dad and their uncle.

This trip was why Derek arranged for a floral delivery on my birthday. :) And why I opened my gifts early this year. And the rest of my crazy busy life is why it took me a month to put it on the blog!

On the airplane

At the Nascar Hall of Fame

The Looking Glass Waterfall in Pisgah National Forest

Funny Things Kids Do

A photo collage of my silly kids, and some funny things they say...

 

Kaleb and Aaron like to hide. Usually we don't even know they are hiding from us! Eventually I notice they are missing--but Derek is the best finder. I peeked in their closet but not in their hampers. Look what Derek saw when he took a look in the hampers!

 

Sneaky!

Aaron and Braylen like to catch critters. Notice which son of mine is not pictured? (The one who doesn't like to catch critters!) :)



Toad and Snake...I mean, Aaron and Braylen

At the beginning of summer (you know, mid-May) Aaron found a book with several science experiments he wanted to try. I meant to try more than one, but I think we only did one. It's hard to remember way back to May, but this is the only one I have a picture of! We filled a measuring cup with water and lots of salt, dangled a paperclip from a pencil, and watched crystals form on the glass, paperclip, string, and pencil. Eventually the water evaporated and the crystals spread to the outside of the glass. Aaron was fascinated, and I am happy he is still easy to please. :)

Here's the experiment 3 months after we began!

And a close-up view, including Aaron's "Do not touch" sign. Along with his foot, I see.

While fishing in the rowboat, Aaron reeled in a nice large mouth bass. This must be how Braylen felt about his little brother catching a big fish.

Celebrating our birthdays at the lake this year, Braylen chose to bring his friend Hunter along. Who says bobbing for apples is a fall activity? The kids picked all these apples and more.

We opened our gifts at the cabin, and Derek kept Aaron entertained by taking pictures with his phone. Remember, Aaron thinks my birthday presents are boring! :)

I think they look a lot alike in this picture.

Speaking of Aaron, I have a few funnies:
While describing his most recent soccer game, he says, "Mommy, we were neck-in-head the whole game!" (He meant neck-in-neck)

"What does butter turn into when it melts?" (Another one of his questions he likes to constantly ask and ask and ask me!)

My kids have 3 names for their great grandmas: GG, great grandma Muriel, and the chip grandma. Many times Aaron gets them confused. While praying for his great grandma GG who passed away yesterday, Aaron remembered to pray for his daddy and uncle and aunt and grandma also--that they wouldn't be too sad and would know that great grandma is in heaven now. While sorting all the grandmas out in his prayer, he says, "I pray for grandma--plain grandma--my plain grandma..." I bet my mother-in-law just loves being called plain! :)

And not to forget about Kaleb...
He wanted to order a guava snow cone this summer but couldn't remember what to call it. So he said, "I'll have a Q'Doba snow cone!"

A Life Well Lived

Today we celebrate with Derek's grandma as she passed into her eternity with Christ this morning. Her 30+ years of battling Parkinson's disease have come to an end. I can only imagine how she must feel right now. We love you Grandma!

"GG" with six of her great-grandkids :)

An August Visit

Because of the baptisms this summer, Mom and Dad spent the first week of August with us. And since 3 of us have August birthdays, we decided to have a party! :) We did other fun things too. Like go for a bike ride, swim in the pool, put up corn for winter, and have a grandparents' day without the parents along. Like always, time flew by. But we have our memories...and our pictures.

Floating in the pool. What a life!

Supper after swimming!

We had help shucking the corn.

Just some of the corn waiting to be blanched.

It was hot work, but worth it.

Believe it or not, we are making ice cream in this picture!

The birthday crew, with Derek in the background scooping our homemade ice cream.

Mom made this beautiful scarf for me. I can't wait for this heat to go away so I can wear it!

Mom has a pool now too, so we got her a skimmer. :)

Silly Grammy!

Playing at the children's museum.
Dad also took Braylen to a car museum--just the two of them.

Almost even!

LOVE!

My big boy

Grampy and Kaleb have a special bond.
Come back soon Grammy and Grampy!

I liked our August visit. And now that it's September, we are one month closer to seeing them again. :)