What a Day!

Today started last night.  It was date night for our home group, so while the girls played with all their friends we got some much-needed adult conversation.  But we got home really late.

Jerome headed into town early for a men's breakfast at our church and work, so the girls and I slept in till 8:30.  Hate me all you want, but the simple fact that my human rooster (Madi) slept past 6:30 had me giddy all day. 


I hadn't had a chance to do my normal Friday-lunch-hour grocery shopping since we had an office meeting, so the girls and I packed up and headed into town.  We took coffee to Daddy at the office and did our grocery shopping.  While we were there, I picked up a photo of our kitty Toby. 

He had been missing since Tuesday.  And while he has spent the night outside before, he had never been gone this long.  And, with everything that happened this week, I feared the worst. 

After getting our groceries, we headed to the Humane Society.  The girls made cards for the vet and the Animal Control officers who took such wonderful care of Ranger.  The girls told the sweet lady all about Toby, and they promised to put his photo up and keep an eye out for him.  Madison had been weepy all day, and talking about her Toby put her over the edge.  We all left in tears.

While the girls were napping, I made lemonade cheesecakes for our neighbors who helped so much that night.  I stole the recipe from Beth, but substituted presweetened lemonade mix for the Homemade Gourmet mix.  FYI Beth - it tastes fabulous!

Since the girls were still napping, I took another hour or so and searched our property for Toby.  I looked everywhere.  I even climbed the fence and searched the property behind us.  No luck.  No sign of our kitty.

Jerome got home right after the girls woke up, so we decided to eat a quick dinner and head into town to do something fun with the girls.  It had been a really rough week, and we needed to get the stink off!  Our original plan of swimming got axed when we got there and realized someone had blessed the pool.  No swimming tonight. 

Plan B became heading to the movie theatre for Toy Story.  Now, I am too cheap to fork out the extra $3 per ticket for 3D, but we had a blast anyways.  The girls giggled, squealed, and talked back to the movie the entire time, and Jerome and I cracked up at our kids. 

When we got home, Jerome started getting the girls ready for bed.  I walked out onto our back porch for a minute, just to think.  And, guess who decided to pick that moment to come home?   Yup, our wanderer is home!

He is really skinny (for him) and has a fairly large wound on one paw, but is otherwise ok.  Needless to say, tonight there have been tears of joy in our house.  Those who do not have pets cannot understand the way an animal becomes a member of the family.  Our cats have been with us literally since the day we got home from our honeymoon. 

The only scenario I can imagine is this.  Tuesday morning he must have gotten out while we were getting ready to go.  Tuesday afternoon, our neighbor Bob told us he heard a commotion coming from the neighbors dogs, the same sounds they were making when they attacked Ranger.  My best guess is that Toby was in the field behind our house hunting when the dogs got loose and attacked.  They got his paw, but he was able to get away and hide.  He must have been so scared that he waited until tonight to try to come home. 

I have a feeling my wanderer wont be sneaking out anytime soon.  And, if he does, he has three little prison wardens watching his every move!

Letters of Intent: I hate this

To our new neighbors,

Our relationship is officially over.  You knowingly moved next door to three small children with two vicious dogs.  Your dogs entered our property, without welcome, on the very day you moved in.  They seemed friendly enough, but when I brought them back you didn't seem in the least concerned that your potentially dangerous dogs were roaming free. 

The events of the last 24 hours have been horrific for our family.  Have you ever come home to find that the sweet dog you were dog-sitting, the dog with absolutely no enemies in the world, had been attacked?  I doubt it.  I think the more appropriate question is how many other animals have your dogs killed?  Because our friends sweet Ranger is now dead.   Because of your negligence.  You have stolen years of memories from six young children who loved this dog.  Right now, I want nothing to do with you.

Waiting for court next Wednesday

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To our neighbors,

I still don't know how you did it.  It was only God that both of you were outside during the attack and recognized what was happening.  You thought nothing of your own safety, but instead rushed in to try to save a sweet dog.  A 75 year old grandpa with a cane and a 45 year old daycare owner with a rake.  And, somehow, you succeeded.  You kept Ranger safe until the Animal Control officers were able to respond.  You are my heros.

Love,
Baking cheesecakes this weekend in gratitude

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Sweet Jaime, Kim, & Dr. Goddard,

You have earned my respect as Animal Control employees.  Your first concern was for Ranger, and the safety of our family.  You made sure the dogs were removed so that our children could be safe.  You cried with us when Ranger died - it is obvious your love for animals runs deep.  I know you will do everything in your power to make sure those dogs never return. 

Gratefuly,
Proud of our officers

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Sweet Ranger,

It is so quiet tonight at our house.  There are three little girls who dearly miss you, who cried in my arms.  You were not technically their dog, but you might as well have been.  We loved you like our own.  Last night we could hardly sleep, any of us.  It just seemed so different without you there.  This morning we were so sure you were going to be OK, that you would be home with us tonight. 

Instead, I had to come home alone and explain to three little girls that you were gone.  I picked up your toys, your bowl, your bones.  I don't have the heart to fill in the holes you dug in my flowers.  When you dug them, I was frustrated with you.  Now, I just wish you could be here to dig more.  I would let you tear apart my entire yard if I could.  I would give anything to have you back.

I am so sorry, sweet boy.   I should have taken you with us last night.  You would have loved the river, the kids.  But I had a migraine, and didn't want to deal with another kid to keep control over.  I was so selfish.  I could have protected you from those evil beasts.  Maybe you would still be here if I had. 

I am so sorry we weren't here.  I cannot imagine how scared you were.  You have never had an enemy - the world was your friend.  You didn't even snap at the officer who carried you to her truck and took you to the hospital.  You tried to look up and see me when I came to see you this morning.  If I would have known your poor body was going to give out, I wouldn't have left.  I would have stayed with you.  I didn't want you to die without anyone who loved you. 

You were one of Gods sweetest creatures.  Obnoxious, attention-deprived, crazy, yes.  But sweet.  I have no doubt that, had my children been home, you would have given your life to protect my family.  I love you, sweet boy.  I will never forget you.

Love,
Missing you

Dear and Deer

KMama is giving away a copy of Alternative ABCs on her blog today.  Go check it out and enter to win the "alternative ABC book for hipster, urban moms and their cool little youngsters". 




Katrina is getting old enough to really enjoy arts and crafts.  She loves making bead jewelry, drawing, and creating collages.  And since I am quickly running out of room in our home to store her artwork, I thought we would do a little feature of my budding artist.  Below is a letter she wrote me for Mother's Day:

It says:

"Love Katrina

Dear Mommy, I like you

very much.  I like your

earrings.  I like the way you

smile.  I love the way you

wear your necklaces.  I

love all your things.  I love

you so so so so so so so

so so so so so so so so

so so so so much.  I like

you both so much.

Happy Mother's Day.

I love you.

Personally, I love her backwards letter As.  She tried to convince me that she had to write her As like that, since she was a lefty.  Yeah, that excuse didn't fly.

And here is a picture of a deer in our backyard, with a red robin and a squirrel in a tree.

And a self-portrait, complete with heels.

This picture she actually did at school for Christmas.

And here is her collage self-portrait.

I enjoyed her tongue the best.  And that is either trees or broccoli in the background.  I'm not sure which.

I love my big kid.  Even when I have to buy more art supplies every week to keep her entertained.

True Story Tuesday - Hit the Deck!

C'mon people!  You know you have those family legends just dying to get out!  Go on over to Rachel & Mr. Daddy's Once Upon A Miracle for more unbelievably true stories.


I know - I have a whole backload of promised TST posts for y'all (that's my OK roots shinin' through).  Like the one with the homeless guy I talked about last week.  Or when I made a comment on Rachel's Letter of Intent about how cool the Blue Angels are, and how I got to hang out with the pilots a couple of times in the planes.  I had no idea the email firestorm that comment would create!  I promise, Rachel, I will tell that story.  And I found the photos of me in front of the plane.  But the photo of me in the plane is somewhere in the depths of my mom's photo albums.  I will find it and post all about it, I promise.  I plan on going to her house, maybe, this weekend to look for it.  If you don't hear from me by next Tuesday, please call someone.  There are a lot of albums to look through.


Anyways, Rachel's story made me remember a great one about my dad.  Daddy is a Vietnam vet, although he very rarely talks about it.  He drove a tank and was a sniper, amongst other duties.  I always knew he had fought, but the memories/nightmares were still too raw for him when I was little, so I didn't ever hear the stories. 


Our little tiny airport was lucky enough to host an air show for a few years.  It was really, really cool.  Especially for the airplane-junkie child I was.  Dad took me every year, and made sure we were there early so I could talk to the pilots and get close to the planes. 


One year, they had a huge gathering of WWII-era aircraft.  German, Japanese, American, and European aircraft were all on display.  Then, the pilots of these awesome aircraft took to the skies for a demonstration of WWII air battle tactics and capabilities. 


We were in awe, watching these ancient (in my mind) aircraft performing stunning displays.  One American bomber lined up to make a low pass over the runway & concourse area, to demonstrate how the bombing runs were done.  We watched him circle far above and south of the airport, line himself up, then drop in a beeline towards the ground.  We knew (from being there way in advance & talking to the pilot) that the guns were functional, and loaded with blanks for the display.  Dad and I watched the plane drop closer to us and the earth, eagerly anticipating the rat-a-tat-tat of the guns.


And then the runway exploded.


We had no idea they had rigged a pyrotechnics display to coordinate with the bombing run, so that when the guns blasted, a corresponding explosion would occur on the ground.  I jumped about a mile high, then quickly looked over at my dad for reassurance.


He was face-first, belly flat on the ground.


At the first explosion, all those years of war training kicked in, and his instincts told him to "Hit the deck!"  So he did. 


Surrounded by hundreds of spectators.


At first Mom and I thought he had hurt himself, so we quickly got down to see if we could help.  The only thing hurt on that man was his pride.


As he rose to his feet, he wiped himself off with a laugh.  We still like to tease him about his instincts. 

This Weekend I...

• found a great new blog carnival that allows you to summarize your weekend in bullet points.  However, I cannot figure out for the life of me how to get her little linky button to copy into my post, so y'all just need to go to Becky's blog and read what everyone else did this weekend.
• got to hang out with our home group at the park.
• watched Katrina perform her cheerleader moves she learned at Sports Camp this week.

• slept in until 7:30 on Saturday (that's late for Madi)
• watched our good friend Mandy finish her half-marathon in 2 hrs 5 minutes! 
• painted the girls hand prints on an apron for Jerome's dad.

• let the two biggest girls have their own sleepover in the top bunk.

• let the girls paint a birdhouse for my dad.  My table is now a beautiful rainbow.

• went to church and had great conversations with amazing people.
• ate lunch with the amazing Mark & Shelly and their beautiful daughter Nora in their gorgeous house.
• played a hot, tiring game of softball, and lost.
• tried to keep the cats from killing the dog, and the dog from giving the cats a heart attack.
• helped Violet try to potty on the toilet about a million times.
• discovered Pandora radio on my new phone while weed-whacking.
• drained the battery on my new phone listening to Pandora.
• discovered the Bible app for my new phone ( I now know why they call it a crackberry).
• remembered to water our vegetables.
• spent time with my family.

So, what did you do this weekend?

For Love of a Frenchie

What a blessing it is to have a husband,

who is not afraid to dream,

can handle these wild monkeys,

can live with all this estrogen and not go insane,

is always ready for kisses,

and share all those little jokes.

A true dad will be the strong tower every little girl needs,

and carry her when the road is rough.

Happy Fathers Day to the best man God could have given to our little girls. 

He knew they would need someone stronger than them, to teach them about godly submission. 

He knew they would need someone fun, to teach them about joy and laughter.

He knew they would need someone sensitive, to be an example of rejoicing with those who rejoice, and weeping with those who weep. 

He knew they would need someone strong, to teach them how to pick themselves back up when they fall. 

He knew they would need someone humble, so they would learn to count their blessings, admit their faults, and ask for the help of others.

He knew they would need you.

I love you babe!

LOI: The animal edition

Dear Mom & Dad,

Why, oh why did you have to let this thing come back to our house?

You know how we feel about the furry beast of doom.  It chases us, and licks us, and makes the most horrendous noises you have ever heard.  It is stinky and loud (and it eats our poop - disgusting!), and won't let us lay peacefully on the couch.  We feel like prisoners in our own home. 

And, about this morning.  You know we would never intentionally break one of your pretties.  Well, we have tipped over a few vases, but you know how pretty that water looks!  Anyways, that dumb monster wanted kisses, and in our haste to escape its evil ways, we did this

We didn't mean to.  It was an accident.  Seriously.  And it was all that dog's fault.  Please make him go away soon.  We like our quiet, peaceful house.  And we don't like that our girls play with that beast.  We are protesting his appearance, and will remain in hiding until he goes back to his home. 

Love,

The one in the cupboard

And the one behind the laundry basket making the sounds like a cell phone on vibrate.

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Dear Self,

The next time the cats and the dog are causing a riot and your first thought is "blog post", remember to grab the big camera.  The camera on the new phone, although handy, just doesn't make the blog photo quality cut.  On second thought, keep taking photos with whatever camera is handy, and remember to put some more $$$ into the Canon/Nixon fund. 

Sincerely,

Quickly turning into a blog pic snob

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Dear Summer,

Seriously.  Slow down already.  What happened to lazy afternoons?  I have barely seen my home in daylight this week, and my beautiful new garden is only surviving by the grace of God and  a six-year-old obsessed with the hose. 

Let's take a few things off the calendar and just relax, shall we?

Thanks,

One worn out mama

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