Kittens and Useless Dogs

Our kittens are almost 2 months old. I'm a sucker for kittens. Katie begged me not to give this batch away, so I told her that if she cleans up after them and trains them to the litter box and makes sure the house never smells like cats, then they can stay. She's been doing a great job. She feeds them and keeps the litter box clean, but she's gone this week and now the house smells like cats. The black one is named Fish Sticks. The white ones are Leo and Spencer. They could be the lap kitties I've been wanting. They will fall asleep in my lap. As long as they are sweet and gentle and sleep in my lap when I'm watching TV, they will fulfill their purpose as cats.

The dogs, on the other hand, are useless. Chico wouldn't come inside this morning when I wanted to go for a walk. He can't go with me because he creates so much trouble on the street and he will not obey anything I tell him to do. He scares all the neighbors and no one likes him except Alan and the kids. Annie won't obey either although she doesn't scare the neighbors. Cindy is the only obedient dog we have, but she is a coward.

This afternoon, I saw this deer eating the bird seed out of the bowl that I put out for the squirrels. I don't mind her eating it, but I thought it was strange for her to be that close to the house.

She ate all the seed and then wandered over to the water bowl and drank all that. She wasn't in a hurry and didn't look concerned for her safety at all.

The deer finally wandered off and I heard some commotion on the back porch. I looked out the window to see Cindy trying to squeeze out from behind the grill and Zach, our freakishly large cat, crawling out from under the bench. They had been hiding from the deer!

I don't want Cindy chasing off deer, but if it's not in her instinct to do that then I can't count on her for any kind of protection. I guess our safety depends on Chico.

Cousins Camp

Today was the beginning of the 9th Runamuka Cousins Camp. I find it hard to believe that it's been 9 years since it first started. That means Tom was 6 and Katie was 5 the first year it started. If I counted right, there are 14 kids from the age of 6 to 15 this year.

They always have so much fun and the memories they make are priceless. I didn't have cousins close to my age so I'm just a little envious of them. They are part of a wonderful and close knit family that they probably don't fully appreciate now, but some day, they will think back on these days at camp and realize they were part of something really special. Not only do they have their Pa and Nana with them, but they also have some very special great-aunts. Kay, Ann, Suzie, and Pam are there now and Alice will be there later in the week.

What do I do while my children are at Cousins Camp? Home remodeling, of course. For the 9th year in a row, I have projects at the house to do. We are getting close to being finished with the whole thing. We need to finish the dining room and redo the kids bathroom, then we will be FINISHED! When I say close, though, that could still mean another year or two of work.

Mini-Vacation

Alan came home from work Friday night and said, "Let's go to the beach." At first, I thought he was joking because we really aren't that spontaneous, but then I realized he was serious. We talked about it for a little while and thought about maybe going on another weekend, but while we were talking about it, Katie was packing. She came in with her bag packed and said, "Aren't you guys ready yet?" There was no turning back at that point. We threw some stuff in a bag and we left.


We were in Galveston 4 hours later. We splurged a little and stayed at the San Luis Resort. We all drooled over that place last year when we stayed at the Holiday Inn which is right next door. We just told the kids to not get used to it. We are not setting a new standard.


We spent all day on the beach Saturday. Everybody got sunburned. The kids got to ride a jet ski. This time they did not hurt their dad. We ate supper at the Rain Forest Cafe. Sunday morning, we came home. A nice mini-vacation.

Mission Trip

We had another great mission trip to Atlanta this summer. Our church took 50 people to work in the International Village. That is an area in Atlanta where over 700 languages and cultures are represented in about a 5 mile radius. When I first heard that I couldn't believe it and then I went to Walmart. I believe it now. The first thing the kids were asked to do was clean up an area between 2 apartment complexes. They had cleaned this same area last year but it had not been maintained. It's an area that is a hang out for people doing drugs or hiding from the law or just about any other crime you can imagine. The missionary who works there has been begging the city to do something about it. So he was told to clean it up again and the city would work with the apartments to maintain it and the police would patrol the area.

It was a nasty area. Not only did the kids pick up trash, they also cleared brush. Many of the kids came home with poison ivy.

We have a new youth pastor. His name is Tim Stary. Here he is praying with the kids before they begin working. Our pastor also came out for a day and worked alongside the kids.

In the afternoons, the kids were divided into teams and each team was assigned 2 apartment complexes to hold backyard Bible Schools. The kids did everything. They planned the lessons, organized crafts and games and prepared snacks. I just love to watch them do this. These are the same kids who at home can't find their own shoes or remember to brush their teeth, but in this situation they are so responsible and will do whatever they need to do.

They don't have much down time, but when they do, they have fun together. I will not venture into the boys area. I learned that form my first mission trip. Something really weird happens when you put a bunch of boys together for a few days. There is a smell that forms that is indescrible. They don't seem to mind it much, but girls just can't take it.

They are reminded daily why we are there. We are there to do God's work. We could stay in Salado. There is plenty of work to do in our own community, but I think it is such a great experience for the kids to see other cultures, to be right in the middle of something so different from our own way of life. It opens their eyes to how needy the world really is. They tell the story of Jesus and how much He loves every child. I know our kids planted many seeds that week. Only God knows about the harvest. The kids were willing servants and I know God will bless them for that.

Tom Can Ride a Bike!

First of all, your eyes are not playing tricks on you. The picture is very blurry.

Tom learned how to ride a bike today! I really didn't think I would ever see him on a bike. We got one for him when he was little and Alan and I both tried to teach him. I remember running down the road holding on to the back of the bike and he would be yelling, "Don't let go! Don't let go!" And then I would let go and he would fall over. He was always so mad at me for letting go. He was getting very close to learning how when he broke his arm.

He didn't break his arm on a bike. He broke it riding his scooter. It was the week before Thanksgiving when it happened. I was getting ready for our church's Thanksgiving Feast and he was wanting me to do something. I don't remember what but I do remember that I was getting very aggravated with him because I was trying to cook something and he wouldn't leave me alone. I told him to go outside and he began aggravating his dad who told him to go ride the scooter until it was time to go to church. That's when he hit a rock, went flying off the scooter and broke his arm. We spent the rest of that evening in the ER.

To make it even worse, we were planning a Christmas trip to Colorado to take the kids skiing. We went to Colorado but Tom couldn't ski. He also never rode a scooter again and he swore he would never ride a bike. Bike riding lessons were over. He was 7 years old.

So you can see why I'm so excited about my 15 year old son learning how to ride a bike. I will never again have to run behind that bike holding on to the seat yelling, "Pedal, pedal faster!" He can do it all by himself.

Summer Vacation

It felt so good to not have to go anywhere this morning. I love my job, but I always look forward to having a break. It's going to be a busy summer for the kids especially Tom. He leaves on Monday to go to Disney World with the high school band. He'll get back on Saturday and then leave the next day for Scout Camp in Arkansas with Alan. When he gets back from camp, he'll have 2 days before we go to Atlanta for the church mission trip. Katie and I go on that trip, too.

Hopefully, we'll get a family vacation in July but we haven't made any plans yet.

I found ripe tomatoes on my vine this morning. Very exciting!

My Amaryllis is in full bloom.

So is the bush on the corner of the house that I forget about.

And we have new babies. They were born June 1. The kids have boy and girl names picked out for them and have told me to not give this batch away. This is going to have to be the last litter. Mese will be having an operation soon. She lives at our house all the time now so I feel responsible for her. She's a sweet cat though, so I don't mind having her around. It looks like we may have a few more join our family unless I find someone who just really, really wants a kitten.

2 Birthday Parties

Katie turned 14 on the 23rd and we celebrated for a week. We had family come over on her birthday for a meal and cake. Pa and Nana came and Kim brought Jake and Emma.

I made her a cake that I thought sounded like one my Grandmother Fariss used to make. It was the best cake ever and I guess she was the only one in the family that knew how to make it. As far as I know, she never wrote down a recipe. Katie is named after Grandmother Fariss so we decided this cake should be called the "Katie Lee". It has 12 thin layers and a chocolate glaze between each. As I was putting it together and it was getting taller and taller, the layers started sliding. That's why it's a little crooked. It tasted pretty good but it wasn't my grandmother's cake. It's as close as I'll ever get though, so maybe we'll start a new tradition.

14 candles is a lot to blow out.

The next weekend we celebrated her birthday again with her friends. I didn't make the cake this time. It came from Brookshire Brothers.

The girls spent the night in the bunkhouse and then we got up early Saturday morning and spent the whole day at Schlitterbauhn. We all had a great time. Tom took a friend. The kids took off and did their own thing and Alan and I spent the day in the lazy river. It's a pretty good way to spend a Saturday.

Happy Birthday, Katie!