Wednesday, July 30, 2008

More about Mittens!


Look at Mittens in the baby carriage!


Every picture of Cade with Mittens is blury
due to the constant motion when they are
together!



Aaron has come to love Mittens too!




Looking at his cute white paws it is easy to see
where his name came from!

Well Mittens has been in our family for 10 days now. We have found out that he is a boy and he loves to be cuddled. Mittens has an extremley high tolerance for kids! Mittens allows the kids to play baby with him. They dress him up and put him in the high chair (made for dolls) and the stroller. He actually seems to like this. On the other hand when the kids go to bed Mittens is ALL OVER Aaron and me.
We have been to the vet and all is well with his health. Mittens weighs a whopping 1.14 lbs! We are aiming for 2 lbs this week.

Enjoy our new family photos!

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Welcome Home Mittens!



Today we brought a new kitten into our family. Mittens was found with her/his 3 other brothers and sisters abandoned in a field. A woman took them in and bottle fed them. They are manx kittens and so adorable. We have been waiting for just the right cat to join our family and we believe Mittens is a good fit. Mittens is very sweet and loves to be held, cuddled, loved! There is plenty of love around here! Madison hasn't put him/her down yet. We do not know if it is a boy or girl yet.....it is harder to figure out than you may think!


By the way...Manx kittens are like bobcats in that they have stubby little tails!

Here's a funny....I told the kids that Madison would be responsible for feeding Mittens because she has been wanting a cat for so long and is dying to care for it in all capacities. Cade was quiet for a minute then asked me "Is Maddy going to breastfeed it?".

Friday, July 18, 2008

Hmmm....

Why is it our $38 swimming pool from Target is still in great condition? We have had the pool for 2 months it has been used almost daily, we have consistently exceeded the water level, weight limit, and human capacity. It has been in multiple rain, wind, and thunder storms. That pool has been thrown all over the back yard and up against the fence and brick yet it keeps on trucking.
Why is it that our Air conditioner in our brand new house has not lasted 2 years? I am sure it is worth thousands of dollars, much more than the pool. We take very good care of it, I never let the kids touch it, I don't even touch it. We have not thrown it around or exceeded any limits or special rules set by the manufacturer. Why doesn't the warranty cover all labor? Why, why, why couldn't the air conditioner have cost $38 like our trusty pool?
Just my thought for today.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Good Things

Okay so I am already feeling a little guilty about complaining in my last post. I wanted to share a few things in my home that bring me a great deal of joy. Note: these are things and not people, I hope you know that Aaron, Madison, Cade and my ever growing spiritual relationship with Jesus Christ compose the foundation of who I am. But God gave us other "things" to enjoy while we are here on this earth and these are a few of mine.
Folders for 1 cent at Office Depot.
I went there and they actually had them in stock!

I bought these lamps at Kirklands for $12 each.
They look so good and give of just the right
amount of light. I especially like them when
it is dark outside and they are the only lamps on.

This is a fountain that lights up. They look like
candles but they really aren't ahhh.....
This is going on 2 years old and it has not failed
me yet. Good things....

This is the stone on the front of our house.
I love this stone and I am happy every time I
look at it (which is frequently because as a result
we can't afford to leave the house! ha ha!).
This is our Texas star door. One more "thing"
that brings me a great deal of joy!
What things in your surroundings bring you joy?

Life Happens


This is our dead (and only) tree. nice


This is our broken dryer. (sigh)



This is the mass destruction by chinch bugs.
Imagine this all over our huge back yard.
You'd think we would have caught this sooner......

Is this when I should say something about how everyone is healthy and we should count our blessings? Could you fill in that part for me? Thanks.

Kathy goes to Kansas!










I took my first trip away from home without Aaron or the kids. The elementary school that I work for invited the teachers to attend a Love and Logic conference presented by Jim and Charles Fey. The conference was in Witchita, Kansas. Love and Logic is a behavior management system for teachers and parents. It is a truly wonderful program that all parents should use with their children from toddlers to teens. There is even a Love and Logic program for marriage (don't tell Aaron...ha ha!!).

23 teachers and administrators from our campus attended this conference. We decided to drive the 10 hour trip. It was so much fun! We filled our evenings with movies, dinner theatre and games. It was nice to be away and recharge my battery.


I have been home just 3 days now and I already feel like a better parent. I am not sure if it was the new Love and Logic lessons or if it was just the break. Either way, it sure is good to be home.

4th of July Fun! (with Flat Stanley)


Madison and Flat Stanley on the 4th of July.


I am a bit behind in my posting because of all the excitement and travels in my life.
Well here we go....

On the 4th of July we went to the zoo. It was a free admission day at the zoo (we try to take advantage of any freebie that we can while we strive to become debt free!). We usually go to the zoo the day after Thanksgiving because that is also a free day and the weather is just perfect here in Houston, Texas. But this year we thought July would be a better time to go, big mistake. The zoo was packed! We also brought Flat Stanley with us. In case you don't know, Flat Stanley is a character from a children's book. Madison read this book in first grade and her teacher sent a copy of him home the last day of school. Madison was supposed to take Flat Stanley with her on all her summer adventures, write about her adventures on the back of Flat Stanley and then mail him to Mrs. Ford at the school. Well, I accidentally misplaced the original Flat Stanley.....uh oh! Madison does not handle this type of thing well. The morning we were going to the zoo I had to find another Flat Stanley on line and color him in the car on the way to the zoo. To ease my guilty conscience I told Maddy that we would photograph her with Flat Stanley and then mail Mrs. Ford all the pictures of the two of them together.

Unfortunatley, my camera battery died after the second or third animal exhibit at the zoo. At this time Madison made me hold flat Stanley for the rest of the day without wrinkling him!!!!

After a long, hot, rainy day at the zoo....we watched fireworks at Katy Mills Mall (Flat Stanley went too!). All in all we had a very nice family day!