Our Visit with Paw Paw

We had such a good time at Paw Paw's house. He lives in the country and the girls enjoyed all the animals. I decided to take them on a walk down the road. Their cousins had gone earlier in the day and told all about the cool things they saw. Halfway through our walk, I began to pray for God to put some tracks or an animal in our path because Emogene was starting to complain A LOT about the boring walk. Then I remembered, Hattie does not like to sweat. Her big phrase is ,"You know I'm sweating." We are supposed to immediately get her to air conditioning upon this announcement. Well we didn't go back fast enough for her. She also kept fussing at me for going "back forth, back forth." I had no idea what that meant, but I kept apologizing. I later realized she didn't want me to go from one side of the road to the other looking for tracks. My children also have no faith in my ability to navigate. They were convinced we were lost. We had walked down the road 1/4 of a mile and then turned down a road and walked another 1/4 of a mile. Believe me, we were not lost. Emogene was concerned about all the litterers in Mississippi. The road had lots of litter on it. Emogene said, "Don't they know that the God made the world specially!" I had lots of laughs on the journey. Emogene also ran into a spiderweb and completely freaked out. I'm telling you if someone would have seen her from afar, they would have turned the other way. She was positive she felt eight little legs crawling on her arm. I just cracked up laughing. It was fun.

We found deer tracks. We tracked its path across the street and into the woods. Hattie would not allow us to track it a little further into the woods because, "You know I don't like grass touching my feet!" She has issues.
Sweet Paw Paw
Paw Paw had eggplants, tomatoes, squash, bell peppers, and strawberries growing in pots.
We came home with a bell pepper. I ate a yummy tomato sandwich for lunch.

I tried to get a picture of Hattie.

I begged.

I love this one. She looks sad, but she was actually looking at the muscadime vines.

The kids called it "Fairyland." It was beautiful.

Here is her pose inside of the "Fairyland."

I had a hard time taking a picture because of all the vines.

I had to snap a picture of the little rooster hunter.

She was convinced she would be able to catch one.

Someone wanted a nibble.

Her face was even closer to the horse's face before I took this picture. She was very surprised to turn around with a huge nose almost touching her nose.

Emogene is such an animal girl. She loved those horses.

A Visit with Paw Paw

We went to Mississippi today to visit my paw paw. He lives in the country. I'm showing you a few pictures from our visit. I explain more about our visit and my children's adventures later.

Here is my sweet paw paw RJ. He is such a special man and keeps very busy at his church. He has been leaving at 5:30am everyday to cook breakfast for some men at his church this week.

I think he does more than me. No, I know he does more than me.

The girls loved his animals and muscedime (sp?) hideaway. More on that later.

Wow, this is a rare picture from the day.

I will have to show you some of the less cooperative ones later.
You think I could get her whole face in the picture, but I like it that way.
Do you see her freckles? I could kiss them a gazillion times.

This is the kind of road I love. I can't wait to tell you about our walk.

My children are too pampered.

M*ry K*y Consultant?

Have you ever seen the gaudiest makeup in the bird kingdom? It would have to be the guinea or skinny as my cousin called them. These are such funny looking birds. I'm pretty sure they have on bright blue eye shadow as well. I wish I had a better picture of its face, but it didn't want me near it.
Disclaimer: I have nothing against M*ry K*y. I like their products and a good friend sells it. I wanted to compare the bird to an evangelists wife, but I found out she passed away and didn't want to speak ill of the deceased.

Guess Who?

ISABEL!!!!!

My biggest baby girl is back in the States. We were at the airport tonight to say hello. She then went home with her new host family :(. I am going to force her to see us sometimes. Hattie got home and asked where she was and told me in an angry voice that she wanted her to stay at our house tonight.

She looked awesome, but much older. It is amazing how much someone changes in 2 months. We love you Isabel and can't wait to spend more time with you.

Attaaaack of the Worms!!!!

I don't know how they think they are going to overtake us, but they are forming a very large army and approaching the battle line. It is freaking us out.
On our back stoop, worms are gathering in droves. It has to be over 500 out there. They crawl around and then gather on the edge of our house.
I don't know if there are any worm activists out there, but let me tell you, I am not one of them. There is no way for me to go to the backyard without squishing a few. There are going to be casualties. It is unavoidable.

Doesn't that just gross you out? Now imagine them moving and squirming. How many do you think have gathered for the battle? Remember, they are the super skinnny kind.

My battle strategy is to have two weeks of no rain.

It doesn't look like that will happen. If you don't hear from us, come and check on us.

Maybe it is a worm plague. Uh oh, that's not good. What have I done wrong? That would be too hard to narrow down. I will pray for no rain.

P.S.- Emogene saw me putting the worm pictures on this post and started freaking out.
"Mommy, don't put that on there. They will think we are freaks and won't want to come over anymore."

It would totally make my day if someone reading this would mention to Emogene that they think we are freaks, and they never want to come over to our house again. Be sure to specify that it is because of the worms. Thanks, that would be awesome!

Sheldon's New Challenge

Introducing Sheldon's new sparkly chew toys or as I like to call them, sparkly school shoes.

I will seriously go insane if these shoes are left out for Sheldon to claim as his own.

I have been nice to let the girls start wearing them 2 weeks early, but they are under strict instructions to keep them clean and out of Sheldon's mouth. Hattie is actually the one that has taken these orders quite seriously. She has scolded Emogene for walking through wet grass and immediately runs to her room to take them off and into her closet when we return home. She actually has not problem taking off shoes as soon as she gets home, but putting them up is a huge accomplishment. I also bought 5 pairs of flip flops at the D*llar Tree today. They are safely in the closet.

As we were getting ready to go shopping for shoes, Hattie made an announcement. I told her for somebody that loves to go places, she sure does slow us down. She takes forever to get dressed. She told me, "It's because I like to be nekid." (I know I spelled that wrong.) So I forewarn you to ring the doorbell with closed eyes if you come to visit. She does on occasion run out of her room in her birthday suit. I am working on this. I have compromised with allowing her to wear pajamas when we are not going anywhere. She seems to stay clothed for longer periods of time if she gets to wear those.

In Emogene's Words

"Ahhhhhhhhhh! Mommy, you got me a Jonas Brothers crown! You know how much I like to stare at them. They are sooooo cute. Thank you, thank you, thank you."

"What are you doing Mother?

"ARE YOU INSANE? Did you not want me to be happy? Nooooo!

"What do you want me to do? Decorate the crown because I am a princess? You are right. I am a princess. Do you think I am a pretty princess? I know that God made me His beautiful princess."

Hattie is a pretty princess too!

"I forgive you for covering up the Jonas Brothers. I love God sooooo much more."

Hattie's Words

It has been a while since I have blogged. We have been busy with VBS and a revival at church. It was great. We met a wonderful family from Fresno, California and spent a lot of time visiting, sometimes until 4am. We were sad to say goodbye today. I hope to see them again soon.

During the past week, Hattie has had a couple of moments that made me giggle.

#1 "Hattie, we are having ice cream after church tonight."
"Why?"
" Nannie wanted to have it. She doesn't need it though. She shouldn't eat too many sweets."
"It's not good for kids sometimes too."
"That's true."
"It's not good for Nannies cause it can have germs on the ice cream, and Nannies are old."
Hattie has a knack for helping Nannie feel special.

#2 I was taking a bath with Emogene when I started smelling onions cooking. I jokingly asked Emogene if she was the one that smelled like onions. Hattie was using the restroom, and we heard her chime in from the background, "That was me! I pooted." She is a riot!

Bathroom Giggles

Have you ever gone into a public restroom, started peeing, and then had a terrible feeling that you may have gone into the wrong bathroom? This feeling is intensified by the sound of a man talking on the phone in the stall next to you. You then stop peeing because you are silently laughing so hard and you wait and wait. The man then calls you Dave and asks you a question. You don't answer because you are still not sure if you are in fact the one in the wrong bathroom or if he is in the wrong bathroom. The man leaves, without washing his hands (gross), and you then finish, wash your hands and leave. Have you ever had that feeling? No, uh me either. Forget I asked.

By the way, he was in the wrong bathroom.

Dangerous Toy

Hattie picked an adorable toy for her birthday. She loves animals and plays with her stuffed animals everyday. I was not surprised when she picked out a meerkat as one of her gifts. But, we have a problem.

Here is the cute meerkat. Hattie has slept with it, brought to stores and eaten with it. We have seen Meerkat Manor a few times and loved it.

Here is our problem. The warning on the back frowns upon giving this meerkat to a human (Click on the picture to enlarge it.). It was strictly created for a dog. Does this concern me? Not really. I'm I endangering my child. I don't think so. Hattie can be destructive, but I don't think she will tear it open and choke on the squeaker. I don't think she even knows it squeaks.

Emogene on the other hand read the "Warning!!!" She thinks differently. She thinks the animal should be taken away and destroyed. She is very concerned for Hattie's safety. I do know I will need to interrogate Emogene if the meerkat disappears.

Hattie Announcement

"Tomorrow there is going to be a scientist dancing, and I have to practice."

I think that means she can't take a bath right now.

"I'm not with him," ....

is what I have to announce many times when I go out in public with my husband. He has no concern whatsoever about his actions and the stares, snickers, and concern from passersby. He tries his best to embarrass me. He succeeded last night during our movie night. First of all, we were running a little late. We parked two minutes after the movie was scheduled to start. I warned Eric that I was going to walk quickly. I am naturally a fast walker. This aggravates Eric because I occasionally leave him behind. I hate taking a slow stroll. I like to get to my destination quickly.
Well, Eric took this announcement of my need for speed as his chance to do some speed/power walking. His rear end was bopping back and forth. He had his arms bent to help propel him forward. I at this moment slowed down. I wanted some distance between me and the crazy power walker. He then decided to make it a semi-race. I wasn't interested. When we needed to cross the street, I chose the crosswalk. Attention craving Eric chose the middle of the intersection where he takes off in a "Pheobe" run. He had on a huge smile and flailed his arms uncontrollably while looking at me. I was a good twenty feet away from him and continued to try and keep my distance. He wouldn't let that continue. He came up to me and grabbed my hand and began to skip up to the ticket booth. I told him to get away from me. We then got our tickets and went into the theatre. The rest of the evening was quite calm and embarrassment free. Just wanted to let you know, we have friends beating down our door trying to go on a double date with us. We tend to not have a dull night.

The Joys of Wifey

Wow the last two days have been glooooorious! Yesterday included a one hour massage for which I had a gift card. It was great, but I do need to be more honest when it is too rough. I also took the "take all the time you need" literally and fell asleep after it was over. The lady had to come looking for me to see if I was okay. I then got dressed, got a free bath ball (99 cent value), and went to get the girls. I just want to point out, teachers love pampering gift cards. Coffee and food gift cards are pretty sweet too. Do I have any of my future second grade parents reading this? Did you get the hint? I hope I wasn't too subtle.
Well lets return to our subject. My sister-in-law and brother-in-law graciously, after a good bit of begging, agreed to keep my joys all night. We dropped them off at 5:45 and then Eric and I went out for a night of movie watching. We went to two movies. It was great. I was a little tired this morning after a late night, but I became refreshed thanks to 11:00 appointment with a holistic medicine lady (I'm sorry I forgot what she was called).
One of my students gave me a gift certificate to go see her. I had a foot detox, sauna moment, rolling pin type massage, and body shaking activity. Let's delve deeper into my appointment so you understand my joy.
My appointment began with a trip into the sauna. Now I had two options before entering it, I could wrap up in a towel or a sheet. I chose the sheet for maximum concealment. Did I mention it was flannel? Yeah, I didn't notice that at first either. While being steamed in a 130 degree sauna, I began to inspect the sheet. Yep, it is of the type of material you wear in the winter to avoid frost bite. I don't think that was necessarily the best choice of clothing to wear in a sauna. I think the sheet added to my glistening, sweat covered, burning hot body. I appeared to be MELTING! The magazine I was reading was almost see through at the end of my 22 minutes, and I began to daydream. I wasn't daydreaming of cooler places to keep my mind off of the heat that felt as though it was suffocating me, instead I found it impossible to not daydream about nightmarish roofing, lawnmowing, and laying asphalt. I think this sauna thing could really encourage high school students to attend college to find a profession inside of an air conditioned building, unless they of course like to profusely sweat. I did however step out feeling 600 calories lighter and healthier.
I then got into a tube thing that was warm, but not sauna warm, and laid there for a while. It felt as though I was laying on moving rolling pins. It felt good and painful all at the same time. I think the hour massage the day before made this hurt more that it should. I liked it though.
My third activity involved soaking my feet in hot water while the toxins in my body poured out of my feet pores. It was interesting. It looked like I'm a little rusty from the color of the water when I was done. I think I will return for this treatment. I am full of yuck.
Remember in The Dukes of Hazard when Boss Hogg got in the shaking machine to help loose weight? Well today, I got to do something similar. It was attached to my ankles and as I rested on a massage table, my body jiggled. It was cool! I'm definitely doing that again.
All in all, I think I will torture myself again in a couple of weeks. It takes a little pain and discomfort to be healthy and beautiful. I am willing to take the pain.

A Bad Habit

This tall, dark, and handsome boy was mine. I needed a huge drink because of little sleep and an early morning. It was yummy.
Hattie enjoyed her Minisippi inside and outside. She at first chose to sit by herself, by the window, inside while we sat outside in the shade. She didn't want to be hot.

This is Emogene, and I am concerned she has a problem. I think Nicorette or a Nicoderm patch may be needed.

Let me explain. There were ash trays sitting outside. I took this opportunity to talk to the girls about the dangers of smoking and that I never wanted them to start smoking. We talked about how hard it was to stop and that it hurts the lungs. Hattie chimed into my lecture.

Hattie: "Mom, we didn't do it."

Me: "Hattie I didn't say you did. I was just telling you not to and that it is bad."

Hattie: "It wasn't me. Emma did it."

Me (curious): "What did Emma do?"

Hattie: "Emma was the one smoking."

Emma looked very confused and promised she has never smoked before.

I do believe Hattie panics under pressure and accuses the closest person. I don't think she would do well in an interrogation. Well, she might fair well, but someone else will be implicated.

Too Much Tortoise?

Did we get a tortoise overload today? Maybe. We took Sweetheart with us on our day out. This was not a short outing. We were gone from 7:15am to 3:00pm.
I started Sweetheart's day with a surprising and unwelcome wake up call at 7:00am. I gave him a short bath and toothbrush scrub before putting him in the van.

We snuck him into the dentist's office. He was in a clothes hamper, and I put him in the corner.
A trip to the soccer park was next on the list. It was hoped to be a poop inducing stroll across a soccer field, but only resulted in a dirty Sweetheart and a very whiny Hattie. That child cannot take the heat or wet grass or cut grass remnants. She was strolled around in the wagon to keep her feet from touching the wet grass. I then had to clean her feet with the gallon of water I brought for Sweetheart's cleanups.
We then had an unscheduled stop. Sweetheart chose to poop. He gave me a lot to clean. I pulled over immediately. It was an office building. I borrowed a trash bag from them. I usually bring these with us, but left them today. I also washed my hands in their bathroom and filled up my gallon jug from their water hose. Emogene kept track of Sweetheart in the vacant grassy lot.

We then went to a coffee shop and refused to give Sweetheart any coffee. I think he was okay with it that decision.
Next Sweetheart enjoyed a roll in his wagon through the library. He also impressed the librarian so much that she wants him to become a regular in the fall.
He got to sit outside of a restaurant while we ate. Every member of the wait staff came out to say hello. He happily munched on some hibiscus flowers and leaves while we ate. He also enjoyed a walk in the grass in the very nice mini garden.
Then to end his very eventful day, 30+ preschoolers excitedly petted his shell and one screaming crying little boy hid in the corner. I don't think he was a tortoise lover. Sweetheart had a tiring day. He slept all the way home.
I think I'm going to give him a more thorough bath next time. My van had this certain tortoise smell to it. I hope my guest passengers knew it wasn't me.

Here is Sweetheart enjoying the very nice mini garden area in the middle of the expensive shops (J.Crew, Lucky Jeans, etc) that I don't even shop in.

Sweetheart was watching us drink coffee.

Hattie found a worm in the garden. She tried to save it by sending it back to the dirt. She also enjoyed the fountain by precariously leaning into it while standing on the ledge. I'm sure many people were talking about me and my unruly child. I was convinced I was bringing home a drenched Hattie, but she had good balance.

Locks of Love

What is that? Is that some new animal we got?


Nope, that is Emogene's donation to Locks of Love.

Mrs. Brandi cut her hair today while Emogene looked at a magazine. She was also quick to tell Mrs. Brandi that one side was longer than the other. Mrs. Brandi and I talked about pets, children, and Thirty-One. I'm trying to convince her that Slade, Lazlo, Brody, and Keelie need to come and see Sweetheart. (Sorry if I butchered the spelling of the kids' names.) By the way the new Thirty One fall line is coming out on August 1st. It is awesome. Go shopping at www.mythirtyone.com/tricia .
Here is my grown up girl. She loves her short hair. We will grow it out for a year and a half, donate it, and start all over again. This is Emogene's second time to donate her hair.

I sure hope she will have fewer tangles now. Man that child is tender headed.

Lunch with a Needsawhoopinsaurus

Last week we had the pleasure of being invited to eat lunch with one of my dear friends, I thought dearest friends, Amanda. The girls were so excited. Hattie was actually excited because she thought we were going to Mrs. Amanda's house which has two kittens living in it. Hattie was disappointed but improved when she heard we were going out to eat with Jake and Isabella. I thought I would include a picture of our lunch partners.

What is that? You don't see them? Oh that is right, she totally stood us up. I had called her many times to find out where she wanted to eat. I got in the car and drove MANY miles towards the big city so we would be close to many eating possibilities. I texted her two or three times. I left a voice message eventhough I knew she doesn't listen to them, because I was actually worried about her. Do you know what she said when she finally called me back? She said her "phone" was messed up and didn't let her know that I was texting her or calling her. I really don't know how long she can continue this excuse. She has used it before.
Well, we didn't get to eat with her that day. The kids were bummed. I was too, especially when I remembered my post about phone calls a while back. I posted that I tend to call people too often and it would be okay if they just ignored me instead of answering the phone. Now that it has happened from a dear friend, not dearest friend, it hurts more than I thought it would. I guess I'm just a little sensitive, but I will survive.

I did have the pleasure of eating with Princess. She is a dinosaur called a needsawhoopinsaurus. Her mom is a meat-eater, but Princess does not want to eat meat because her teeth aren't sharp yet. Princess doesn't like to walk since she is a baby, and she doesn't talk. Instead, she makes high pitched noises and curls her little arms up making it hard to eat anything. I think a needsawhoopinsaurus resembles a T-Rex. Princess has been out to eat with us twice so far and I think Eric is hoping Hattie returns.

Grayson Went Home

Little Grayson went home to be with his sister Kinsey last night. Please continue to pray for his family as their second baby is laid to rest.

http://kinseygracethompson.blogspot.com/

Please Keep Praying

I wanted to share the blog of the family I asked you to pray for a few days ago. I have since learned the little boy's name. He is Grayson. He is five days old now and he gets a day birthday party everyday. The theme is always monkeys, and he wants to get a lot of them. Please stop by and leave a comment for the Thompsons.

http://kinseygracethompson.blogspot.com

Hattie's Birthday Party

We invited some family over today for a birthday party for Hattie. I tried my hardest to make a tortoise cupcake cake. I'm not sure everyone could tell what it was, but I had a vision and it came out kind of like my vision. Just use your imagination.

We had just finished eating and were about to light the candle.

Hattie had been waiting for this moment all day.
Here is the tortoise cake. I can be hired, just shoot me an email.
I have a strong feeling, my inbox is going to be overflowing with clients.

She made a wish.

Now Hattie just one month ago was begging for a tortoise for her birthday. She suddenly changed her mind when her birthday arrived. She wanted something else. I guess she couldn't open the tortoise at her party, so she needed something to open.

She was very pleased to find this sitting in the driveway after blowing out her candle. Shhhhhh! Don't tell her it is a hand-me-down from her cousin. Have I told you I love hand-me-downs? Thank you sooooo much Sondra!
Nannie and Paw Paw picked it up and cleaned it up for her. It looks great and will be used a lot!

Her cousin Talan enjoyed sitting in it. It wouldn't go very far due to a near dead battery, but it will get lots of riding time tomorrow.

She also got this little kitchen. This was another hand-me-down from her cousin. It is super fancy. It is called a Smart Kitchen and talks and knows what food she is cooking. A shopping cart came along with her "new" things as well. She was super excited about it. I had recently gotten rid of Hattie's kitchen, and she was very sad. I felt terrible. Now she is as happy as a clam. Thanks again Sondra!

We had fun visiting with our family tonight. Hattie deemed it the best birthday ever. She loved all of her clothes, fishing pole, money, Burg*r King gift card, B*rbie Jeep, makeup (extra thanks from me on that one), little pets, dress up shoes, shopping cart and kitchen. Thank you again to Ms. Karen for Sweetheart. He had fun meeting his Paw Paw, Nana, aunts, uncles, and cousins before the party started.

Tortoise Days

Have you ever let your tortoise out to wander around the W*ndy's patch of grass while you cleaned out a laundry hamper full of poop? Have you ever sent your 7 year old into the fast food restaurant to get a cup with a lid for poop collecting? Well if your answer is no, then you must not be Tricia. She had quite an eventful day with the pooptile today. That's another word for reptile. Look it up, but Webster has never heard of the word.
Sweetheart went to visit his Nannie today. I do believe she fell in love with him. Shhh, don't tell her I said that. Here he is grazing and wandering through Nannie's front yard. His cousins, Keagan, Hudson, and Enersyn also came by with Aunt Risti. They fed him many flowers, thanks to my mother's unaware neighbor. His Althea tree is minus about 15 flowers now. Aunt Risti noticed that he was the most active tortoise she has ever seen. He is a mover and a shaker. He was tuckered out when we left. I think he would totally win the race against the hare.

Sweetheart then got to ride in his wagon to go see his new doctor. Sparkle the kitty took a ride on his back. Sweetheart was the perfect patient and received a gold star for being such a healthy tortoise. By the way, we handed over the W*ndy's cup at this destination. No parasites found, thanks for asking.

I was so thankful I did not have to call him a peetile today. Hattie rode in the wagon with him for a little while. Whew! I did not want to have to clean up Hattie. I could have told her that was Sweetheart's gift to her on her birthday, but thankfully he just bit her when her finger got in the way of a flower. I think it was a birthday nibble.

This was the vet's assistant. She was very sweet to Sweetheart and enjoyed our visit. He weighed in at 8.8 kg. That is 19 pounds for you non-math geniuses.

Sweetheart took a ride through two pet stores. Did you know that people bring fake tortoises in the pet store? Well, they must, because people kept asking me if he was real. They said it was because he was so clean. Duh, I gave him a bath this morning. He enjoyed his toothbrush scrub down. He also enjoyed the cherry tomatoes he had during his bath.

He was allowed to get out of the wagon at one store to show the workers his skills. You know, his nun chuck skills, computer hacking skills, and walking skills. He wowed them with that last one.

We then headed home where he was served lunch/dinner. He dined on Orchard Grass, sprinkled with garden fresh tomatoes, and a splash of hibiscus leaves. He will sleep well tonight.

Tomorrow will be far less adventuresome, maybe.

5 years old

I can't believe five years ago I had this little darling. It just doesn't seem possible for her to be five. She doesn't look five or act five, but I guess she is five.

Hattie had a pretty good birthday. Well, I think she did. Don't ask her. We didn't have a party today, so someone was in denial that today was her birthday. We are having family over on Saturday for a party. Her day consisted of climbing in bed with me. Getting a kiss and a happy birthday from mommy. She got dressed and went to Nannie's to say goodbye to her cousins and Aunt Risti. Aunt Risti moved to an unknown destination today. Hattie then went to W*ndy's for lunch. The tortoise then had a vet appointment. Hattie went too. Hattie brought along her cat. That cat was a lot noisier than I had anticipated. The birthday girl then went to Pet Sm*rt, Pet C* and L*wes (Don't you hate those *?). Hattie begged for a stuffed doggy toy on the clearance rack. I think it was a ferret. I told her is was her present. She is sleeping with it. I hope it doesn't squeak and wake her up. She then chose Japanese food for supper and went to see the new Ice Age movie. It was great in 3D. We went to see the late movie. Eric said he was okay with staying out if I was okay with keeping the girls out that late (10ish). I don't know what kind of mother he thinks I am, but he has it all wrong. My motto is "Late to bed, late to rise." I just have a hard time getting Emogene and Hattie to live by my motto.
Hattie had a busy day for her birthday. Emogene has impressed upon her that she had better act her age now. Good luck with that demand!
What does Hattie wish for this year? Mastering kindergarten, no wait that is my wish for her. She wishes that she had every cat in the world. I hope one of those comes true.

Happy birthday my Hattie! You have made me laugh and love for five years. Keep it coming.

Please Pray

There is a little baby and a mommy and daddy that need everyone's prayers. I don't know his name, but his mom's name is Kristi and his dad's name is Taylor. Kristi was raised in Mississippi where my paw paw lives. I grew up knowing Kristi and saw her at my paw paw's church. A precious son was born to Kristi and Taylor yesterday. Due to many birth defects, he was sent home today on Hospice. This family needs your prayers and the little boy needs a miracle that we know is possible. I don't know all of his medical problems, but I know God knows his needs and can take care of him.
Let me tell you Kristi and Taylor's story. Last year, Kristi gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. For an unknown reason, Kristi's little girl never took her first breath. Kristi and Taylor held their little girl all night, memorized every detail of their precious little one, and gave her the love of a mommy and daddy. This was very unexpected. Nothing in her prenatal care showed signs of trouble. When the doctor gave his blessing, Kristi and her husband decided to try again and got pregnant quickly. An ultrasound revealed many birth defects with her little baby boy. We have been praying for him and some of his needs were corrected in utero. He is still struggling. Kristi is a nurse and is going to take care of him at home. Please pray for his complete healing or if God call's him home, please pray for comfort. The family is Taylor and Kristi Thompson.

Road Trip Joys

I remember those long car trips as a child. I remember my siblings, not me, driving my parents to the brink of insanity with "Are we there yet?" and "Stop touching me!" With the invention of the tv and dvd player for the car, this was to end, right? WRONG!
My joys were less than joyful during our 12- 14 hour rides. They had enough of the car, and we quite frankly had about had enough of the whining. One of the problems was during a traffic slowdown in Alabama. Emogene had slept through some of it, but Hattie was awake for the whole thing. This is what made our drive seem even longer. We heard "Hairy up!" and "Why are you taking?" over and over again. That is not a typo by the way. She said "hairy" every time. This made the adults laugh and continue hollering "Hairy up!" out of the windows. Hattie thinks we can just plow through the cars in front. She firmly believed that we did not want to "hairy" and were doing it just to make her mad. It didn't help that she had to potty. Emogene woke up and was thoroughly confused. She kept asking who "Harry" was, which made us laugh more. She would holler, "Is it hurry or hairy?" We let Hattie answer every time. She always said, "It's hairy!" Oh the joys of the road trip.
Here are a few snippets from our trip.
-Eric contemplated strapping Emogene to the top of the car on the way to Savannah. She asked every five minutes, "Where are we?" The answer was Florida almost every time. He almost lost it.
-Hattie announced that she had a "shrise" for me. I turned around to see my "shrise."
It went like this. "Mommy, I have a shrise for you."
"What is it baby (with a smile)?" "I need to go potty." "Thanks Hattie. I really needed that shrise." (sarcasm and no smile)
-Emogene decided that she was going to go into hyper OCD mode on the trip and wanted to keep the G*rmX with her at all times. I had to retrieve it after she slathered it on her legs and Hattie's legs. The sand from our quick beach trip drove her to the brink of insanity. The Lysol disinfecting wipes couldn't get off all the sand and that wasn't good enough for her. We were unable to find the outside shower thing by the beach. Her freak outs weren't helped by Hattie. "MOOOOM, Hattie is licking her hand and wiping it on my leg!" No help from Hattie at all.
- Bathroom time with Hattie is laughter inducing and a treat to the recipient, other than the wiping part of course. Hattie announced that her stomach hurt. I sympathized with her and told her I hoped it would stop. Well five minutes later Emogene announced, "It STINKS back here." Hattie announced, "IT'S ME. I told you I don't feel well." We got to a bathroom in time and I was treated with a Hattie conversation. I have many interesting potty time talks with her and she did not disappoint me this time. Where is a tape recorder when you need one?
"When my tummy growls and it has been like an owl, my tummy doesn't smell good." I had to hold in the laughter.
Hattie also has the knack or she thinks she has the knack for knowing how many poos she has left. I ask her many times if she was finished or almost finished. We are usually in the stall for close to 15 minutes with people waiting and giggling outside. Hattie holds up her fingers and says, "I have two more." She adds different numbers in her statement, but you get the point. Well, this time she had one more. I waited and then I heard a small splash. I said, "Good Hattie. Now let me wipe." She said, " That was just a tiny one, this one is HUGE." She held up her hands to show me how huge the next one was going to be. Apparently the tiny one had just broken off from the mother ship so we were still waiting. Ohhhh, the joys of a road trip.
Other Hattie bathroom moments.
"Ohhh! I smell it. It stinks." (huge smile on her face)
"Is it diarrhea?"
"My poos are hiding." She usually says this when she really only pee peed, but she doesn't want to wipe herself.

I think I can wait until our next road trip.

Introducing Sweetheart

Here is our newest addition to the family. He is a 5 year old, twenty pound sulcata tortoise. He has so far been a good boy and is entertaining to feed. He lunges for the food in your hand without knowing exactly where it is. It is funny to watch him continue to try to eat food that is no longer in your hand. He is very sweet and enjoys our company, but will sometimes completely ignore us and try to walk through our legs to get to where he is going. He steps on our feet often.
This is the reason we went to Savannah. A lady named Ms. Karen will forever be special to our family. She read an email I sent to a sulcata yahoo group telling everyone that I was looking for a large sulcata tortoise for Emogene and Hattie to love and care for. She tried very hard to find one. When that didn't work, she offered to give her special Sweetheart to us. She still has two tortoises at home (Butch and Laura Logan), and she chose her Sweetheart to be in our family. Sweetheart is tame and friendly. We will have more fun with him when the rain and mud decrease a little.
We met Ms. Karen on Saturday in Savannah and were immediately put in charge of Sweetheart. We then went to a concert to hear Equinox Jazz Orchestra. They were incredible. After the first couple of songs, one of the vocalists talked about a family that traveled all the way to Savannah for a turtle. We enjoyed getting a shout out. When we arrived back at our hotel room, Sweetheart had gone to sleep in between the beds and had hooked his leg around the alarm clock cord. Eric tried unsuccessfully to get his leg loose. He was unsuccessful because Sweetheart did not want to be disturbed and kept grunting at him. Eric was actually a little scared of Sweetheart at this point. I knew he would not hurt anyone, so I took over and unhooked his leg and carried him to his box. He slept all night without a peep. Man I love this pet.
Ms. Karen made Sweetheart shiny clean for us. He doesn't look so pretty right now because of the mud. He is due for a bath/soak on Thursday before his doctor's appointment. We haven't put any dolls on his back yet, but that is just because of the rain. He will be giving piggy back rides to many things soon. We have very muddy shoes, because we spend a good part of our day outside with him.
He also received a middle name. His name is Sweetheart Wugui. Wugui means tortoise in Mandarin, I think. It was the name of the kung fu master in Kung Fu Panda. I also checked a translation website and it gave me the pinyin for it.
I will take pictures of his first PetCo outing on Thursday. We will actually buy something this time. I think the PetCo workers are getting tired of us using them for entertainment and not purchasing a thing. I do hope he doesn't feel the need to releave himself at PetCo. You would be shocked at the amount of pee this tortoise releases. It sounds very similar to a pregnant woman's water breaking and not a slow leak, think gushing sound.