Cooper

Our little puppy is no so little anymore. Weighing in at over 45 pounds at just 6 months of age, he is certainly a giant. He looks Aubri in the eyes and he weighs more than each of the kids. He is a beast....but a beautiful beast. He is graceful when he runs. He is playful (especially when you have a baseball or a tug-of-war rope). And the dude thinks he is a lap dog....especially when the lap that is available is mine. Lots of people comment that he has a very "cartoonish" quality. And I would have to agree. He is a Golden Doodle (mom is a poodle and dad is a golden retriever)...or as they are more affectionately referred to, the teddy bear breed. He is simply that....a big ole teddy bear.

Halloween

Well....I officially stink at updating the blog. I blame it on a few things really....

1. homeschooling

2. I am mostly online on my iPad now and I can't upload from my camera to the blog on that

3. Pinterest. That website is at the top of the list of things I am loving right now, things that are occupying my time, and things that I am totally addicted too.

I will do my best to catch up and to do better. (you can't see it, but I have my right hand held high promising to improve.) So, without further ado....here are the Halloween pictures...

The little comedian

We went to eat at chili's tonight before doing some shopping at target and Nathan and I had a funny conversation. I will break it down for you:

N: hey mom, I have a really hard question for you.

Me: ok. What is it? (knowing full well that he's about to ask me something like which kid is my favorite)

N: who, in our family, has the prettiest eyes?

Me: daddy (ha! Take that!)

N: who is second?

Me: no one else even compares!

N: ok, but who's second?

Me: I don't like to answer things like that because it can make people feel bad, and I don't want people to feel bad.

(Long pause)

N: I'll take that as a Nathan.

That little stinker. He sure does keep us laughing!

Update on my momma

So very much has happened in the last 2 months that it would be hard to tell everything. So instead I will give you the highlights:

Mom was taken to the hospital because of some sexually promiscuous and dangerous behavior. It turned out to be a side effect of some of her medications, but she was needing to be admitted to figure out what sort of mess would be more appropriate.

I wouldn't let her be admitted to cmh because I felt as though they were the ones who had originally jacked up her meds. The next nearest hospital with a bed in a psych unit was in Joplin. And because BoMo is just so wonderful.....I had to drive her there myself. The ambulances won't drive more than 100 miles after midnight. Yeah....we were there at 12:03 and the Joplin hospital was 101 miles away. Can you say RE.DIC.U.LOUS?

She was in Joplin for two weeks. Then, she was released. Oh wait. My bad....we have to back up. About 3 days after she was taken to the ER her nursing home called to let me know that she was not allowed to come back and I needed to come and pack up her things. I went round and round with those people....needless to say I still have a bad taste in my mouth about that.

God totally provided. He got us in contact with a home in humansville (about 20 minutes from me). They have a true dementia unit. S they aren't put off by her behavior....they know just how to deal with it.

Her behavior has leveled out, but her biggest issue now is her speech. We have narrowed down the problem. Through daily speech therapy we have discovered that the issue is a disconnect between her brain and her mouth. She has no trouble reading words off a page, but when she is trying to tell you how she feels or what she needs she can't get it out. She stutters, stammers, and her tongue literally twists up in her mouth.

But bless my sweet wonderful mother. She has always been strong....and terribly stubborn. She does not give up. She worked with her therapist and I for 20 minutes and the result.....I found out that she missed her mother. So we called my grandma and it made her day. What a joy it was for me to hear her tell me what was in her heart. And her request was all too familiar to me. I miss my mom too.

I am learning, however, that it is a joy to serve her in this way. Most daughters love their mothers, but don't know how to show them. How wonderful that I can show her each and every day just how much I love her. Prayerfully we will keep chaos free for quite sometime. And I am also praying for continued successes in the speech department. I so desperatly want to know what happening inside her.

Hard to keep up

It's been hard to keep up with the blog here lately, but I am hoping to take some time next week to update, I should have time to make some posts while sitting on the beach...toes in the sand...diet mt. Dew in hand. It's okay....take a moment...compose yourself. I know you are jealous. Rayden and I are headed to west palm beach on Sunday to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary. I am so very excited. I am nervous about leaving the kids ( we have never been on vacation without them) and I am TERRIFIED of flying ( so please pray for me...and Rayden!).

I hope to get all caught up with my posting because there is so much to tell you about...
- moms trip to the er and then the hospital in Joplin and then to a new nursing home
- my aunts death and my decision to not tell my mom
- kaleb's 7th birthday and the superhero party
- the end of the school year
- my new crafting adventure
- a difficult, yet fabulous mothers day (I am typing this post on my mothers day gift!!!)
- our homeschool curriculum purchase
- discovery toys!
- the church's big vote

So stay tuned.....you can get all informed about our lives and maybe catch some pictures of the sand and surf. Ahh....I can almost hear the waves now....if only I could skip the airport...gulp!

True love

Farmer Jones

"Howdy ya'll and how'dya do? I'm Farmer Jones and I welcome all of you."At the Kindergarten program my baby was the star of the show. The play was about a farmer and how he grows crops, finds worms, and works hard. And Nathan James got his 15 minutes of fame when he was given the role of Farmer Jones.
The whole family came out to support our little superstar and then we had an ice cream party at our house afterwards.
He was certainly the handsomest little farmer this world has ever seen....with his boots, hat, flannel shirt, and overalls (which by the way, do you know how insanely hard it is to find overalls for kids his size? If you are 12 months old or 50 years and over it'd be no problem whatsoever. But those inbetween are hard pressed to find them.) he was as handsome as can be.
With a whopping 3 lines he stole the hearts of all in attendance. He did them perfectly!
Have you ever seen such a cute farmer in all your days? I reckon not!