Rain & Laughter

What a peachy week. Rained out t-ball games, an emergency trip to the vet, and a very long time spent at the dentist's office. When all 3 kids and Mom have back-to-back teeth cleanings, we just check in for the day! Oh joy! Ginger is okay after getting into something she's not supposed to have. Now we know all about induced vomiting and antidotes. If Thursday's t-ball game is rained out, we will be halfway through our t-ball season without a single game. Kaleb doesn't even have his uniform t-shirt yet, but pictures are supposed to be tomorrow.

When God sends a week like this our way, He also provides humor at the most random times. This morning Kaleb walks through the kitchen and says, "If meatballs were grass, I'd be a lawnmower." Thanks for the smile, Kaleb! Aaron's delighted at all of his new clothes he received from Kaleb's dresser. Kaleb is not delighted. Aaron sees that Kaleb wants his shirt back and answers, "It's in my power now!!!" Then he tears off running as fast as he can. Braylen asks if he can take Ginger for her morning walk--in the rain. YES! Let me stay cozy and dry while you take the puppy out!

Aaron asks when Great-Grandpa used a bullet. I tell him he probably used bullets when he was in WW2.
Aaron: Was he new in WW2? (he means not old)
Me: Yes, he was new.
Aaron: How new?
Me: Oh, maybe 19 or 20?
Aaron: Were you made yet Mommy?
Me: No, not yet.
Aaron: Was Grandma made yet?
Me: No.
Aaron: Oh yeah. . .Is Great Grandpa new in heaven now?
Me: Yes, I think he is.
Aaron: Is he a little tiny baby?
Me: No, I think he's a grown-up, but not an old man.
Aaron: Will he get old in heaven?
Me: Nope! He'll always be new.
Aaron: Always be new? Wow!

Even when things don't go as we planned, I still want to remember how fun it is to be with my kids. They're not sitting in school all day; they're here with me. We're laughing and running and playing. Lately the boys have been laughing so much at the supper table, we've had to tone things down. Even still, one of them chokes on his milk and out it comes on his plate--all because he couldn't hold in his laughter. Tonight we had some good friends over for ice cream sundaes and root beer floats. This week's not all about disappointments. It's all about taking the good with the bad. That's our life!!!

Lake Fun

In spite of the recent cold, rainy weather, our family grabbed a partly sunny day at the lake. Yay! We brought Ginger along for her first trip to the cabin. Derek and I agreed that we will have many memories of her "growing up" at the lake right alongside our boys. While we boated, Ginger hung out at the cabin and explored. My mother-in-law tried to take her for a walk, but she had as much success as I usually have. Ginger will walk for Derek though. She knows who her boss is. :)

Walking Ginger with cousins

Braylen used some of his mowing money to buy himself some new fishing lures. I wish I could say they attracted the fish, but nobody caught even a nibble yesterday. Thankfully we still had fun on the boat, driving fast and even jumping in the water for a swim. I waterskiied a couple times, got a little too crazy with the rope and ended up with too much slack--down I went! Derek said I skiied on my lifevest for a bit. I'm feeling it today--ouch! Not to end the day with a fall, I gave it another shot and played it safe. Much better to just let go of the rope when I'm done and gently sink into the water.

Fishing buddies

Kaleb & Grandpa driving the boat

Ahhh, the first lake swim of the summer

This summer, in addition to all the usual summer activities, I'm carving out one day a week to do something that can only be described as awesome. A friend of mine pointed out a few months ago that soon, if not already, our older children will be taught evolution in the public schools. Because of this, she came up with an idea to form a group of kids who could get together once a week this summer. At these weekly gatherings, the kids will form friendships with other kids who believe the same way they do. They'll also be taught a lesson from Focus on the Family's "The Truth Chronicles," a kids' Odyssey series paralleling the adult study, "The Truth Project." We had our first session last week and I'm pumped to see how God will use this group. Braylen was excited to make a new friend, and both boys participated in the discussions on a Biblical worldview. I, along with the other moms in this group, hope to have some honest talks with our kids about Absolute Truth. We want to open up our kids' eyes to the lies of the world and the Truth of God, and we also want our kids to have friends to stand with. If I've learned anything while raising kids in today's world, it's this: I have to be an intentional parent. My child will get chewed up and spit out if he's not Biblically equipped. I love my kids too much to let that happen. It is icing on the cake to be doing this at a house on a private lake. When the lesson is done, our kids can play to their hearts' content. Water trampolines, paddle boats, swimming, playgrounds, land trampoline, jeeps. . .and God's Truth. Pretty awesome, don't you think? :)

Ginger Girl

We've been a doggie family for 5 days now, and we're all adjusting to what that means. Thankfully Derek takes the 7am shift with Ginger so I don't have to give up my summertime-sleeping-in-sessions! The kids follow her everywhere she goes, and want to take her with us all over town. Tonight I took them to DQ for ice cream while Daddy worked a late-evening shift, and they wanted to bring Ginger. They feel sorry for her at home by herself. I think she's probably relieved! She gets so much attention around here. But maybe all that attention is helping her enjoy her quiet time. She doesn't yelp or whine in her crate at all. We've even taken her on a few car rides in her crate, and she does beautifully.

One area of frustration has to do with woodchips. She chews on them CONSTANTLY. Should I let her chew on them, or keep following her around to dig them out of her mouth? She also doesn't like her leash at all. I put it on to take a walk and she refuses to come. She plants her feet in the grass and will not walk! If she does walk, she carries her leash in her mouth and I'm forever prying it out to hold it above her head to walk her. Is this just a puppy thing or what? I know it's not good to tug on her leash, so I try to avoid doing that. I've tried leash-training her around the yard and that is a joke. Any suggestions anyone? Also, she's hyper in the evenings. That means nippy. She nips at our ankles, sleeves, legs, shoes--you name it, she's all over it. For the most part she leaves our hands alone. I've worked with her and worked with her on that. But the rest of the body? When she's hyper, it all looks like fair play to her. Tonight she was so hyper and crazy I had to put her in the 10'X10' kennel for some isolation!

Our daily activites this week have been squashed by cold, rainy weather. While I'm always up for a good rain or thunderstorm, I've had enough of these dreary days! I switched the boys' winter clothes out for summer clothes on Tuesday, and ended up digging out the pants and sweatshirts this morning. Sheesh!

One particularly bright spot in my week came from a surprise visit from a friend. She stopped by to give me a cute little scrapbook for Ginger. It even has girly doggie stickers and embellishments. That meant the world to me! She knows I don't scrapbook, but I love to take pictures. Thank you Dusty!!! You made my day. :)

Remembering that this is "fun with our SONS," I will allow them some time in this post. Kaleb and Aaron have been addicted to their big wheels this week. They've ridden for hours and hours on those things. They've also resurrected their love for the Jeep, tying the big wheels and little tykes cars behind it and pulling each other all over the place. They're noisy and crazy, but they're having fun. :) And Ginger isn't afraid of all the commotion one bit. She sits on my feet and snuggles in to watch the show. Braylen joins in at times; other times he plays with his buddy or mows Grandma's yard. Aaron rode a good stretch of the street on his bike without training wheels, but still likes to have Daddy run with him. He did our monkey bars all by himself today and learned how to pump a swing on 5/27. He'll be on his own with his bike in no time. I'm not sure how I feel about that. . .

Aaronisms:

"I like guinea pigs, but I like dogs better." (Where did he learn about guinea pigs??)

"Can I ride my scooter to Dairy Queen?" (2 miles away?)

When seeing the sun rays shine down through the clouds before sunset, he says, "Aww look--someone's going up to heaven!"

"Everything's fun, but home might be the best."

Puppy Love

Cement pad, dog kennel, fenced in yard, dog crate, food bowls, chew toys, dog food, dog treats, collar, leash, brush, cable, pooper-scooper, nail clippers, tick collar, dog house, dog bed, PUPPY=more money than I'd like to admit.

3 boys and their dog=priceless

Ginger came home to us 2 days ago, and our lives will never be the same! We are cuddling her, running around with her, teaching her, and loving her to pieces. She's soooo cute! I'm so glad we have this new puppy at the beginning of summer. I'm learning how helpful the boys really are! In fact, when Braylen goes to camp in a couple of weeks, I will really miss his help with Ginger. He takes her to her "potty spot." He plays with her. He walks her. He keeps an eye on her. Kaleb, bless his heart, comes in the house and asks where Ginger is. Nevermind the fact that she's asleep on the garage step and he had to walk OVER her when he came in the door. :) Aaron's an easy target for a playful puppy, so he spends most of his time running away from her while I teach her not to nip at him or jump on him. I tried a new technique to correct that problem today, and feel really good about it. Success is such a great thing for this novice puppy mommy!

Raising an outdoor dog is new to me, so I'm reading all that I can while getting creative with how we do things. At night we put Ginger in her crate in the garage, and I turn my baby monitor on so I can hear her if she yelps. It took me a while to find my baby monitor, but I'm so glad I still have it! So far I've only needed to take her outside to do her business once during the night. Yay! And she loves her crate. Another big plus. I've realized that raising this puppy really is similar to raising a baby. (I think having 3 babies of my own gives me the right to say that.) :) She needs constant supervision, consistentcy, attention, love, vaccinations, potty training, etc. I call her my canine baby.

Ginger had her first jeep ride today!

On a different note, Braylen ran in another track meet this past Saturday. He did so well, and it's fun to see him improve his times. I just love watching him run. Kaleb started t-ball last week. This is Aaron's last summer as a spectator, since he'll be old enough for t-ball next summer. That's hard to believe! But for now, Braylen and Aaron and I will enjoy watching Kaleb play. I'm sure we'll bring Ginger along as well. Summer may not be here on the calendar yet, but it's here in our family!