A very sad day

Yesterday we lost our sweet kitty cat, Serafina. She was hit by a car up on the big road. The older kids saw her remains on the way to school but hoped all day that it was some other cat. I cried all day missing my buddy around the house, worrying about the kids and stressing out about telling them the sad news.

Serafina is and will continue to be sorely missed. She was a member of our family, and it is our hope that when we are in heaven she will be with us too.

Here are some of our favorite pictures of her.

Update

1. My class is going great so far. There is a lot to learn about the program itself. That is what we are focusing on right now. I feel like I am making it okay so far. I have been assigned to a Learning Team, and one of my peers lives in Japan! How cool is that!

2. Eliza had a bike accident today. She got scraped up a little, and she hit her head on the pavement. She had a massive headache at first. It got better throughout the day, but she went to bed with it still aching. No, I don't think she had a concussion. Her stomach never felt sick, and she didn't get dizzy or anything.

3. Luke told me yesterday, "Mom . . . I LOVE SCHOOL! Today we had Cheetos for snack." This week Luke learned to identify cylinders, spheres, cubes, cones and rectangular prisms. A couple of his older sisters couldn't identify the shapes as such, but Luke could. Watch out sisters!

4. Leah remembered which way to write her letter P on her spelling test, and she made a 100!

5. Friday the kids dressed up for spirit day at school. Since the school is small, even the elementary kids participate in school spirit stuff and pep rallies. This week the theme was "Accident Prone." My girls got really into it. They borrowed crutches, a sling and a wrist brace from my mother-in-law. The mother of one of Sarah's friends said that Sarah's fake bruises were pretty convincing. Sarah's grade won the spirit stick at the pep rally.

6. Paul continues to work hard. His employer has increased production! This is wonderful considering that in the last year half of the employees were laid off. They have also begun hiring people back. Paul also continues to play guitar everyday.

Summer 2009

The frequency of my posts has been pathetic this summer. With school beginning again in a week, (I know crazy how time flies, right?) I thought I ought to share something from our busy summer months. Here it is:

Check this out. Blueberries. These are from a plant in my own backyard. I originally planted 3 blueberry bushes, but the last several summers have been very dry and this is the only one that survived. These are the first berries we've eaten. Yum!

Eliza and Ezra, my nephew. So cute! He loved Eliza.

Sarah had fun climbing trees after a hike with the family in NC. We had so much fun hanging out with family this summer!

Leah and Luke were modeling this day for me. I love the hat especially.

Paul is jamming out at the Alabama Music Hall of Fame in this picture. He and a bunch of friends played for the company picnic. I will try to upload the video so you can hear him singing and playing. He did amazing! My husband ROCKS!

While I went to Girl's Camp, my mom and sister took care of my children for me. When I got home, we spent a day having fun together. Here we are in the house we built at the hands on museum.

Leah has had a very fruitful summer. She started the summer with one missing tooth and has lost 2 more. Cha-ching! That totals three missing on the top. She another loose on the top and two more loose on the bottom. You'd think she was having a difficult time eating, but she isn't. Where there is a will. There is a way.

This photo is of the climbing wall at Girl's Camp. I very nervously climbed to the first platform. No big deal for those of you with no fear of heights, but a big accomplishment for me!

My siblings and I at a lake in NC. Don't ask me which lake. My memory isn't that great anymore. I'm so glad we didn't kill each other as children. I love you all so much!

Lastly, my sweetheart and I at the Mint Museum. We went on a double date with my brother Mike and his wife, Erin. How cool to have a picture of my husband and I together. It is a very rare thing to find. Thanks Mike!

Drive-in

I finally talked Paul into going to a drive-in movie. We saw Monster vs. Aliens. Paul and I sat outside for a little while, but then it got too chilly even with a blanket. We sat squished behind the children in very awkward positions for the rest of the movie. Paul kept asking, "It's about making memories, right?" 

The movie was really funny by the way. I give it two thumbs up! 

(The pictures posted backwards again. Sorry. Just view them from the bottom up.)

Fun times!

Eliza and Sarah recently came home from their piano lessons with a paper that said, "Piano Musicale." I dutifully made the girls practice, and then the day arrived. I forced Eliza to change out of her boy shorts into something a little nicer, not a dress mind you, and then the entire family went to the "Musicale." At the beginning the teacher announced that there would be a recital at the end of May. "If there will be a recital in May, what are we attending now?" I thought to myself.  

The girls performed well and then we all enjoyed some refreshments. As we were finishing up, the mother of one of the other girls poked her head in the door and said, "Oh, I'm sorry. Was I supposed to stay? Jenny said that parents weren't invited." The teacher avoided answering the question directly, but after being asked a second time, she answered, "Actually . . . no." NO!? I was a little embarrassed as I watched my husband and children wolf down cookies, chips and candy. Luckily for me, there was another family of six who also misunderstood, and they were wolfing down the goodies too. 

This photo is from our family party. Do you ever feel like your tired of the same old, same old, and you just don't want to prepare a meal. Well it hit me one Friday night. I decided that we would have finger foods for dinner and turn the night into a party. The kids really got into it. They helped wash and peel veggies, make Rotel & Velveeta cheese dip, and bake pizza bites. After we ate our finger foods we danced around the house and then had a Mario Cart tournament. Sweet! 

Paul's birthday/family day

Happy Birthday Paul!

Yes, my dear husband is another year older. We celebrated his birthday on Saturday. First, we took advantage of the beautiful weather and went to Spring Park in Tuscumbia. Paul rode the train with the kids, and then the kids played a while. We ate at a Chinese Buffet. Yum! The kids loved it! Their favorites are sweet and sour chicken, shrimp and rice. Of course there is the dessert bar as well. 

If you look at the third picture, you will understand why we later went clothes shopping for Eliza. She is so tall! Then we went on to Sam's Club and the mall. We never go to the mall, but this was a special day. We even gave each child $10 in spending money, and we let them use it in the candy store. Thankfully they chose not to spend all their money in the one store.

The day was awesome! We actually spent the entire day together! We haven't really done that a lot lately. Enjoy the pictures.

Fever and babysitting

Our week was good, but poor Eliza has suffered since Tuesday night with a fever. It ranged from 101-103.8. Yesterday she was on Tylenol and Ibuprophen when it peaked at 103.8. Today, finally, it came down to 99.8. She was even giggling as she watched Tom and Jerry cartoons today. You may be wondering what the cause of the fever is. We're guessing a virus. Her throat has been terribly sore, but a strep test came back negative. Poor kid. She will have 3 days of catch up work to do next week.

By the way, how old were you when you first babysat your siblings or someone else's kids? I was 11 when a neighbor called and asked me to babysit for her two kids. Her oldest daughter was a year younger than me, so I thought it was strange that she wanted me to babysit. I found out later that the mother thought I was 12. Please vote on the sidebar about babysitting wages. I don't use an actual babysitter, but I am beginning to consider it. I have no idea what I would pay one.

New Year's Day

Here are some pictures from our play day. The kids had fun down at the playground while several of us adults took turns hitting a bucket of baseballs. There are few things more fun than playing ball for me. I love it! We followed it up with grilling some hotdogs and playing a game of kickball with the entire crew. We had a lot of fun even if it was 40* outside. For those of you who aren't family, I have put names and some ages to the faces.

Liam-5, son of Mike & Erin

Garrett-13, son of Laura & Bryant

Erin-s-i-l, super seamstress & mom; Sutton-3, daugther of Erin & Mike; Leah-6

Ezra-2.5 months?, son of Mike & Erin

Jen-s-i-l, married to Jon; Dad-wicked old

Paul-he's eating a hot dog, not smoking a cigar.

Kate-sister, the one attending that school in Idaho

Laura-sister, otherwise known as Aunt La La or super mom

Mike-brother, the computer guy

Jon-brother, the builder guy; Andy-brother, the musician

This isn't the entire crew. If you check out other posts and see boys you don't recognize, they would be Laura and Bryant's sons. The girls of course are mine.

Grandma's Birthday!

Grandma Hazel celebrated her 86th birthday last week. Yes the other two kids in the picture are the twins. They don't favor a bit!

Family Home Evening

Last night Paul suggested we have some fun for Family Home Evening. After a difficult dinner and a contentious ride to the ball field, we finally had some fun. On the way home we reflect upon the fact that when we work together as a family we have fun, and we are happy. When we argue and disobey, we don't have fun, and we are sad. Good lesson. I'm glad I didn't make Paul turn the van around when things continued to go badly. 

We're number 1!

Leah and Luke looked so cute running the bases. Unfortunately, Luke tripped just as I was taking the "cute picture." It made a nice action shot though!

That would be a strike Luke.

I'm not sure what look Leah was going for. Tennis player, cheerleader, gardner (that is a garden glove she is wearing). She was also wear flip flops, but quickly ditched those and went barefooted.