Life Goes On

It's been a few months since I have blogged. So much has changed, most of it has been very hard. My mother passed away May 22nd. I knew it was coming, her health had been very poor. But it doesn't make it any easier. Most people tell me that I am so strong, if only they knew. To lose both parents in 7 months has been horrible. To have to tell your children that their grandparents have passed away and hear their anguished cries, is heart breaking.

I can truly say that I have only functioned each day through God. I have learned more about myself than I thought possible. Yes, at times I appear strong, but if I really let the events overtake my thoughts, I would be in bed all the time.

I take it one day at a time, and focus on my husband and kids. And I am so thankful that I walk with God.

The Smells of Boys

I remember getting excited buying baby lotion. I love the smell of that stuff. I would always rub some on the boys after their bathes when they were babies.

As they got older, they didn't like it so much. Getting a shower was hard enough, let alone adding smelly lotion. They enjoy their stinky selves!

My, how things have changed. I took David shopping yesterday and we bought ... cologne. I have gone from a sweet, smelling baby, to a nice, smelling, young man. I had restrictions on what he could buy - some of those colognes are gross. We settled on Nautica. He is so excited to wear it, and I am watching him become a man before my eyes.

1st Steps

One week from today, my oldest will be scheduling his classes. He will be scheduling them at school without me. It is for his freshmen year of high school - huh? When did this happen? I don't know if I'm ready for his high school years to start. It's like watching him learn to walk all over again. I want to reach out and catch him, but I know he has to learn on his own. I have to learn to let go so that he can grow. Lots of prayer time ahead for us!

Invisible Children

On Sunday evening, our family got to see a glimpse into another world. Invisible Children spoke to our church. This is a non-profit group that works to rescue child soldiers in Northern Uganda. We saw a film on it that made me grab hold of my boys. We were moved to help and committed to sponsoring an education scholarship once a month. Check out their website at www.invisiblechildren.com.

Birthday Time

Happy 8th Birthday to my baby!

The Honeymoon is Over

Ginger has been in our home for almost 2 weeks. She is getting very comfortable and checking out her boundaries. We bought her a pop-up style kennel that has a zip-up flap. Ginger is showing us that she is quite a smart dog.

On Tuesday evening, we put her in the kennel while we went to the older boys' Boy Scout Court of Honor. We came home about 3 hours later, and Ginger greeted us at the door. She wasn't in her kennel - how did that happen? Turns out, she pawed on the zippers until she got them apart and squeezed her little body out of it.

Imagine my surprise when I turned the corner and saw the kitchen. Our darling little pup had overturned the garbage can! It was all over the kitchen floor and she had taken some of it in her bed. Our older dog, Tucker, had some wrappers by him. I actually looked at Tucker and said why didn't you stop her? To his credit, he had a guilty look on his face!

So now there is a clip on the zipper to keep her in. Good thing she's cute!

Our Newest Addition

It's a Girl!

We welcomed Ginger to our family this past Friday. She is approximately one year old and is a Puggle. We adopted her from our local animal shelter. She joins our (almost) 13 year old Golden Retriever, Tucker. She's a great dog, already housebroken. Love that and her!