Another One Bites the Dust!

Yesterday, we have a bit of an 'incident'. And I dare say, a few of my children may be traumatized from it...

The Girls were outside, playing, and the neighbor boy asked if he could come over to play. I said, "Yes!", and over he came....along with his horse dog, Mikey. Mikey is a bullmastif, and probably weighs 200 lbs. He came trotting over, and got a look at Snowball, one of the new kittens. Well, he allegedly went running towards it, grabbed it in his mouth, threw it up in the air, and caught it again. It was about that time when I heard the Girls screaming, "Mikey! Put it down! Put it down, Mikey! MIKEY!" I went outside, thinking that he had a bone of Moses', but no. It was the kitten. By the time I got outside, the kids had gotten him away from the cat, and I walked over and took a look..... Not much to look at.... It was dead. I sent the girls inside, one of them to get Art, and asked the boys to get their grandpa (that's the owner of the dog/house). He came over right away, took a look, and shot out a couple of unrepeatable expletifs. Thankfully, Art came out then, and I left them, and went inside to see how the Girls were doing. They were sobbing on the couch, three of them, while Ellie Mae just walked around, chattering away. It was Abby's kitten (of course!). After they calmed down a bit, I took them outside to talk to our neighbor, who apologized profusely. They all forgave him, which I was very proud of them for.

One thing that I really appreciated about 'the incident', was that right away, our neighbor offered to shoot the dog. Not that I wanted him to, but it was nice to know that he took this seriously! He is currently looking for another kitten for Abby, and actually came over today to see how the Girls were doing. After this all happened, I thought, "Isn't it funny what circumstances the Lord uses to help us build a relationship with our neighbors?" For the almost 9 yrs. we've lived here, we've not been able to form any sort of relationship with them, but over the past few months, slowly, we've been able to cultivate some sort of relationship. Praise the Lord for that!

Any now you have it....the saga continues in our quest to keep a kitten alive...

First Trip of the Summer

This weekend was HOT. Really HOT! We were going to work on the yard all day, but instead, some friends convinced us to be slackers and head out to the river. Man, were we sure glad that we went - the water was low, but so refreshing. We enjoyed a picnic lunch there, played in the water, and got a good sunburn. Ahhh, the joys of summer!

Impressive!

The other day, I received a package in the mail. Under strict instructions, I did not open it until Art was ready, with the camera. Here is what followed....

My friend, Rhonda, who is in Ireland for 6 months, sent me this little ditty. I was fully impressed! Not only do I absolutely LOVE the dress (it has a kinda vintage housewife kinda feel), it fits like a glove. AND it makes me look like I have a waist. AND it's from Ireland. I wore it out last night, and felt like a million bucks! Thanks, friend!

Home

Well, Art made it home on Monday afternoon. We were all very glad to see him....VERY glad! As we've talked more about his trip, I am so glad that he had the opportunity to go. Now that he is home, it seems like things are crazier than ever....trying to get caught up on work, sneaking in time with the girls, baseball... at that good stuff!

Speaking of baseball, I think the Girls are I are (finally) going to be able to make it to see the "Demon Slayers" play on Thursday. We are looking forward to getting back into the routine of watching them play. It's good fun for everyone.

And, lastly, here's an example of how great I was this week: Last summer, you may remember that we did a bunch of landscaping. So, now that my plants have started to come up (finally!!), I've noticed that some plant that did not return....so sad! I lost my honeysuckle, sea thrift, some thyme, 4 of my spirea bushes, as well as some other plants. So, while Art was gone, I loaded up the Girls, along with the receipt and the original pails of the plants that didn't come back (btw, Art LOVED having to keep all of the containers of the plants that we bought, in his shed!...), and the remains, took them to Home Depot, and, Voila! I made $178...well, kinda 'made'. Home Depot has a year 'warranty' on their plants. If they die, you can bring in the receipt and original container, and they'll refund your money. And that's what I did. And now, I get to go and buy more plants! Yippee!

Celebrate!

As we were talking tonight about if we were going to be attending church in the morning, Abby asked, "Can we stay home and celebrate Jesus at home tomorrow?"

I asked, "How do you want to celebrate Jesus at home?"

Abby replied, "I dunno....maybe we could celebrate Him like we do other times....".

"That is a great idea!" I said.

So, tomorrow, we will not attend church. Instead, we will stay home and 'celebrate Jesus'. Perhaps we'll move the living room furniture to the walls, crank up some Jason Upton, dance to our hearts content, and worship that way. Perhaps we'll celebrate Jesus by going for a walk and reveling in his creations. Perhaps we'll be kind and loving towards each other. All I know is, I will celebrate!

All's Quiet on the Western Front

It's been 5 days since Art left. Before he left, I was envisioning quiet evenings, more relaxing days, getting the bed to myself, getting caught up on some things around the house, getting caught up on my books....so far, none of that has happened. Since Art left, we have been running, running, running. Don't get me wrong - it's been great....but busy! We've gotten together with lots of friends, had some girl nights, ran errands, had physio (Hannah's shoulder)...all the stuff we normally do (and more!). It's funny. I must say I was a little bit worried about how the week would go. I know the girls are older, but there still are 4 of them! But they've been (for the most part), great. I was telling Hannah and Abby today how much I have appreciated their help. They've played with their sisters, helped around the house, obeyed.... It's been good! And, we've only actually been home for dinner by ourselves a couple of times...the other days, we've had friends have mercy on us by either meeting us for dinner, coming over, or having us over for dinner. I have felt very taken care of by a few women who also have just checked in with me, everyday, making sure everything is going all right. And so far, All's Quiet on the Western Front!

So, tonight, this is my dilemma: do I catch up on everything that I wanted to do this weekend? Or sit on my butt and eat bonbons..... Somehow, I think that the sitting is going to win out this time!

So long, Farewell...

It's been a little while....I know that we've been busy, but I'm just not sure with what. We had the Farmer Days in Stony Plain this weekend - always good fun! We started the day off with the parade, then had a picnic at the park, and then to the rodeo. I would post pictures, but Art has the camera, and he left for Whistler today. He is gone for a week, and is attending a leadership Summit there. I am looking forward to him having a restful/stimulating/relaxing/connecting time away. At least I say that today.....I may not be saying that on Sunday, when he's still not home! :-)

Seriously, though, it's been a long time since I actually missed my husband. Since we do most things together (eat/sleep/work/play), we don't often have the opportunity to really miss each other. And as much as we love spending time together, and do most things together, there's something really nice about being apart, and then coming together again. You know? I really am excited to hear how his week goes, and seeing what God has for Art during this time away. I am excited to hear how he connects with others, and with the Lord, what divine appointments God has for him, and just for him to have some 'alone' time. Of course, I will be more than ready for him to come home on Monday......!!

After we dropped Art off at the airport this morning, I looked in my rear view mirror, and saw that Abby was under a blanket. I asked her to take her blanket off her head, and she just sobbed. She so desperately didn't want Art to leave. We talked a bit about it, and then we took a couple of moments to pray for him, for safety, and that he would come back to us better than before. After that, I asked the Girls what we should do while Art was away. I listed off a couple of things we definitely need to do: clean up the basement, work in the garden, etc., and then Molly says promptly, "Let's have a party!!" That's my girl! :-) Always up for a party!