A couple of Thursdays ago, Judah and I spent the majority of the day at church for a "Sew Day".
For Judah, this meant spending the morning familiarizing himself with several fascinating boxes of sewing notions the ladies had brought in and playing all kinds of invented games with seam rippers, quilting rulers and spools of thread, and at one point chopping at something with a rotary cutter that had been left 'open' and was extremely sharp.
Thankfully no real harm was done to his person. Not sure about the table, though.
For the ladies, the day involved making donated fabric into numerous bags which could be easily tied to walkers or wheelchairs for a couple of local nursing homes and assisted care facilities.
We got the idea when one of the gals at church made one for her mother, and had dozens of requests come in, "Tell your girl I want to buy one of those for my wheelchair."
These bags are perfect for helping these folks to pick up their mail or newspapers each day, and gives them a place to put their cell phones or keys while out and about.
We arrived at 9 am, and promptly got to work, and were thrilled at all the progress we made. It's amazing how hard a group of dieting ladies will work with the prospect of protein-style In & Out cheeseburgers on the menu for lunch.
Shortly after arriving, we learned that one of the gals who organized the event had mentioned it to someone who mentioned it to a newspaper, and not long after we were into the swing of things...a reporter and a photographer from the paper showed up.
Lesson learned: Always dress as though you're going to get your picture taken for the paper.
**blushes** True to form, I showed up looking a tad frumpish.
Oh, I had makeup on and my hair fixed, but if I'd known the newspaper was going to be there, I would have worn a blouse instead of a comfy t-shirt.
And possibly touched up my toenail polish.
And had a hair cut.
And maybe had my teeth whitened.
And an eye lift...
It's said that TV cameras add 10 pounds...but newspaper photographs easily add 10 years. It's no-win!
Live and learn.
They interviewed each of those present, asking how we came to be involved in the project and craftily sneaked in questions involving our full names, ages and the area we happen to live in.
Lesson learned: Never give out your age to a reporter.
It might seem an innocent enough question, but these are the kinds of details that make it into their reporters shorthand.
Oh, and when they say, "Watch for the write-up on Saturday", don't believe them.
Stories like this are 'filler' and subject to being bumped for more important last minute inclusion into the paper.
Instead, you'll completely forget about it until you get an excited call from one of the sewing group ladies telling you that we were finally in the paper!
A non-Saturday printing like you'd been anticipating.
Then you'll have to scramble to obtain a couple of paper copies for the old scrapbook because you usually read the news online to avoid having to deal with piles of paper. And because the online news doesn't include all the photographs in the physical copies of the newspaper.
And after rounding up said copies, you will sigh with relief that your picture wasn't included.
But then cringe that you have, in fact, been quoted...and that your age is put out there in big blaring black and white numbers for the entire desert to see. Ugh!
The only positive to come from the experience was that Judah (for once) was pictured in the background of one of the photographs behaving nicely.
A total fluke. At one point during that day I clearly remember getting after Judah for running down the length of end-to-end table tops to get up enough speed for a good jump, and playing dinos between stacks of fabric.
I'll give him this, however...many of the ladies commented that he'd been a very good boy (for most of the day) which was really something considering we were there for 7 hours, and frankly, I'm glad there is photographic proof of it out there somewhere!
Monday, August 30, 2010
Thursday, August 26, 2010
A New Family Milestone
Sorry...still no photos. Auuuuuuuugh!
I would LOOOOVE to be able to upload all my photos to the blog, as so many blogworthy events have transpired in the last few weeks , but I need a non-Mac computer to do so and I'm still waiting on that.
So bear with me, peeps. Hopefully very, very soon.
Anyway, getting back to the blog at hand, this week we celebrated a brand new family milestone:
4 year old Judah's first cast.
Big surprise there.
Yes, somehow we got through fourteen years as parents without any broken bones, only to have Judah come along and break our streak at age 4-almost-5.
Literally.
And of all places for it to happen? During an Awana meeting after church on Sunday evening.
The boys were supposed to be waiting on the bench for us just outside the classroom. But as time wore on, as brothers do, they got to roughhousing.
Somehow in the process, Judah fell and caught himself wrong, his entire body weight coming down on his wrist bones.
During the meeting, my mom radar detected what sounded like a whimpering sound instead of the distant giggling and talking. I peeked out the door, and saw my baby lying on the sidewalk holding his wrist and whimpering.
Naturally, my heart plummeted to my knees. I swayed a bit. Felt my hairline go cold with dread.
Then, as usually happens with Judah episodes, I experienced that whole feet-stuck-in-buckets-of-cement phenomenon as I rushed to get to his side in what felt like slow-mo.
So I finally get there, and he's doing this little panting-whimpering thing, "It huuu-u-u-urts, mama." Not a cry, per se, but you could tell he was in pain. It would have taken a whole lot worse to make him actually cry, but I noticed that his eyes looked rather glassed over with pain. Clearly, something was not right.
We requested one of the ladies, Mrs. S, (also in the meeting) step outside as she is a nurse with grown children and knew what to do in such situations.
She told us that there was likely nothing that could be done for him that evening, as the immediate swelling sometimes makes x-rays hard to read. Better to make him comfortable and take him to the hospital first thing in the morning when the swelling was minimal.
Sooooo, after immobilizing his injured wrist in an ace bandage and giving him Children's Tylenol we endured the longest. night. ever, waking with his every movement and whimper (with me growing every more delirious and crazy for lack of sleep with each sound), and finally rose and took him to the hospital.
Or as Judah says, "The hos-dib-bow."
Our newly instituted insurance plan sent him to a large hospital far from our house. We'd never been there before. Had no idea how things worked.
I must say that aside from the rather unfortunate name for the hospital, Kaiser Permanente, (permanent not being something one wants to associate with a hospital stay), we were very pleased with their speedy, streamlined and hassle-free service.
Our appointment was for 10:20 am, we were out of there with a cast on by 11:30. We were home sleeping within a couple of hours of that. With our old insurance plan, we would have been stuck in waiting rooms in different parts of town for most of the day. So, as an added bonus, Jeff actually had an afternoon off.
Our whirlwind adventure began at 10:20 when the nice family practice Doctor poked Judah's arms to determine where the injuries were, and had him do a couple hand-motions to determine if it was a fracture or a sprain.
And she totally called it, "Judging by where the pain is located and the fact that he can't do these motions with his hands, my guess is that there are two fractures, one on each bone. However, we're going to send him to upstairs for an x-ray just to be sure."
We had to go to the 3rd floor for the x-ray, and were in and out in minutes.
It was here, while looking down to the first floor of the hospital, that we noticed that Judah had managed to climb a railing that hangs out over that 3 story drop using his one good arm.
And where once again I felt that cold dread feeling spread across my hairline and into my stomach before my knees went weak and I grew a tad bit faint.
Did I mention that only days before this incident Judah was playing with our neighbor boy across the street, and when, upon hearing shrieks of delight I peeked out the window to check on them, I see him take a flying leap from their very large tree?
My heart plummeted that time, too, until I saw him bob up and run around to climb it and do it all over. Because naturally he thought it was all great fun.
At times like these, I just have to turn around and walk away. The tension that immediately knots up in my shoulders (not to mention my stomach) at witnessing such things takes weeks and several massage appointments to recover from.
Yeah, heights don't scare him. Or speed.
In fact, I'm quite sure we've got an adrenaline junkie on our hands, and am seriously questioning the wisdom of passing along big brothers too-small motorcycle to him so soon. Perhaps it's just best to wait until he's 18.
Though by that time I fear he may have joined up with Navy Seals, Special Ops or some such.
All of this daredeveil-ish behavior leads me to believe that we might as well put the casting department on speed dial for the duration of Judah's childhood. Lord, have mercy!
After x-rays and peeling him off the 3rd-story railing, went back down to our doctor on the first floor, who immediately pulled up his digital x-ray image on her computer and sure enough, there were two small fractures on the radius and ulna.
"We're going to send you over to the casting department for a long arm cast. For children this young, we need to immobilize more of the arm for proper healing. After you get the cast, you're free to go. Here is your appointment to come back in 10 days so we can see how things look and we'll let you know then how long we'll need to keep the cast on. Oh, and mom and dad, keep him indoors out of the heat as heat makes him swell enough that it could cause discomfort in the cast, and any perspiration could cause it to itch down inside."
"In the meantime, young man, you need to eat lots of good, healthy foods for your bones, okay?"
Within a half hour, he was getting his cast put on and within a few minutes we were out the door.
Easy-peasy!
The big bummer, of course, is that this means no more swimming for Judah for the remainder of the summer.
And, he'll likely have the cast on for his birthday party next month, so the bounce house idea is a no-go.
So far, the only complaint I've had from him is, "I don't look cool when I'm dancing in this thing." Though I still have to wonder how he discovered this fact.
There's also the whole milking-the-system thing that began when I refused his request for MnM's before breakfast this morning.
In a very Fred Savage-like voice (from his early role in the movie The Princess Bride) he looked up at me and said, "Mom, the doctor said I have to eat good food for my bones!"
Ah, yes, but your mama fails to see how MnM's are considered a good bone-mending food.
Had he said ice cream...maybe, just maybe I would have caved.
Now if we could just manage to keep the cast dry.
Do you know how hard that is when boys get so dirty playing during the day and need nightly baths?
Already we've had a freak incident involving Judah on a chair, kitchen faucet on full blast, Judah slipping and catching himself on the edge of the counter, whilst floundering about madly and knocking over the glass soap dispensers trying to gain traction. Again I ran across the house in slow-mo to try and rescue him...but was too late.
He'd already regained his footing, and holding his cast proudly aloft, "I didn't get it wet!"
Which is good, because he doesn't want it to wash off all the autographs his friends have written on it.
And because we didn't have to go back to the hospital for a cast for his other arm.
**sigh**
It's going to be a long few weeks.
I would LOOOOVE to be able to upload all my photos to the blog, as so many blogworthy events have transpired in the last few weeks , but I need a non-Mac computer to do so and I'm still waiting on that.
So bear with me, peeps. Hopefully very, very soon.
Anyway, getting back to the blog at hand, this week we celebrated a brand new family milestone:
4 year old Judah's first cast.
Big surprise there.
Yes, somehow we got through fourteen years as parents without any broken bones, only to have Judah come along and break our streak at age 4-almost-5.
Literally.
And of all places for it to happen? During an Awana meeting after church on Sunday evening.
The boys were supposed to be waiting on the bench for us just outside the classroom. But as time wore on, as brothers do, they got to roughhousing.
Somehow in the process, Judah fell and caught himself wrong, his entire body weight coming down on his wrist bones.
During the meeting, my mom radar detected what sounded like a whimpering sound instead of the distant giggling and talking. I peeked out the door, and saw my baby lying on the sidewalk holding his wrist and whimpering.
Naturally, my heart plummeted to my knees. I swayed a bit. Felt my hairline go cold with dread.
Then, as usually happens with Judah episodes, I experienced that whole feet-stuck-in-buckets-of-cement phenomenon as I rushed to get to his side in what felt like slow-mo.
So I finally get there, and he's doing this little panting-whimpering thing, "It huuu-u-u-urts, mama." Not a cry, per se, but you could tell he was in pain. It would have taken a whole lot worse to make him actually cry, but I noticed that his eyes looked rather glassed over with pain. Clearly, something was not right.
We requested one of the ladies, Mrs. S, (also in the meeting) step outside as she is a nurse with grown children and knew what to do in such situations.
She told us that there was likely nothing that could be done for him that evening, as the immediate swelling sometimes makes x-rays hard to read. Better to make him comfortable and take him to the hospital first thing in the morning when the swelling was minimal.
Sooooo, after immobilizing his injured wrist in an ace bandage and giving him Children's Tylenol we endured the longest. night. ever, waking with his every movement and whimper (with me growing every more delirious and crazy for lack of sleep with each sound), and finally rose and took him to the hospital.
Or as Judah says, "The hos-dib-bow."
Our newly instituted insurance plan sent him to a large hospital far from our house. We'd never been there before. Had no idea how things worked.
I must say that aside from the rather unfortunate name for the hospital, Kaiser Permanente, (permanent not being something one wants to associate with a hospital stay), we were very pleased with their speedy, streamlined and hassle-free service.
Our appointment was for 10:20 am, we were out of there with a cast on by 11:30. We were home sleeping within a couple of hours of that. With our old insurance plan, we would have been stuck in waiting rooms in different parts of town for most of the day. So, as an added bonus, Jeff actually had an afternoon off.
Our whirlwind adventure began at 10:20 when the nice family practice Doctor poked Judah's arms to determine where the injuries were, and had him do a couple hand-motions to determine if it was a fracture or a sprain.
And she totally called it, "Judging by where the pain is located and the fact that he can't do these motions with his hands, my guess is that there are two fractures, one on each bone. However, we're going to send him to upstairs for an x-ray just to be sure."
We had to go to the 3rd floor for the x-ray, and were in and out in minutes.
It was here, while looking down to the first floor of the hospital, that we noticed that Judah had managed to climb a railing that hangs out over that 3 story drop using his one good arm.
And where once again I felt that cold dread feeling spread across my hairline and into my stomach before my knees went weak and I grew a tad bit faint.
Did I mention that only days before this incident Judah was playing with our neighbor boy across the street, and when, upon hearing shrieks of delight I peeked out the window to check on them, I see him take a flying leap from their very large tree?
My heart plummeted that time, too, until I saw him bob up and run around to climb it and do it all over. Because naturally he thought it was all great fun.
At times like these, I just have to turn around and walk away. The tension that immediately knots up in my shoulders (not to mention my stomach) at witnessing such things takes weeks and several massage appointments to recover from.
Yeah, heights don't scare him. Or speed.
In fact, I'm quite sure we've got an adrenaline junkie on our hands, and am seriously questioning the wisdom of passing along big brothers too-small motorcycle to him so soon. Perhaps it's just best to wait until he's 18.
Though by that time I fear he may have joined up with Navy Seals, Special Ops or some such.
All of this daredeveil-ish behavior leads me to believe that we might as well put the casting department on speed dial for the duration of Judah's childhood. Lord, have mercy!
After x-rays and peeling him off the 3rd-story railing, went back down to our doctor on the first floor, who immediately pulled up his digital x-ray image on her computer and sure enough, there were two small fractures on the radius and ulna.
"We're going to send you over to the casting department for a long arm cast. For children this young, we need to immobilize more of the arm for proper healing. After you get the cast, you're free to go. Here is your appointment to come back in 10 days so we can see how things look and we'll let you know then how long we'll need to keep the cast on. Oh, and mom and dad, keep him indoors out of the heat as heat makes him swell enough that it could cause discomfort in the cast, and any perspiration could cause it to itch down inside."
"In the meantime, young man, you need to eat lots of good, healthy foods for your bones, okay?"
Within a half hour, he was getting his cast put on and within a few minutes we were out the door.
Easy-peasy!
The big bummer, of course, is that this means no more swimming for Judah for the remainder of the summer.
And, he'll likely have the cast on for his birthday party next month, so the bounce house idea is a no-go.
So far, the only complaint I've had from him is, "I don't look cool when I'm dancing in this thing." Though I still have to wonder how he discovered this fact.
There's also the whole milking-the-system thing that began when I refused his request for MnM's before breakfast this morning.
In a very Fred Savage-like voice (from his early role in the movie The Princess Bride) he looked up at me and said, "Mom, the doctor said I have to eat good food for my bones!"
Ah, yes, but your mama fails to see how MnM's are considered a good bone-mending food.
Had he said ice cream...maybe, just maybe I would have caved.
Now if we could just manage to keep the cast dry.
Do you know how hard that is when boys get so dirty playing during the day and need nightly baths?
Already we've had a freak incident involving Judah on a chair, kitchen faucet on full blast, Judah slipping and catching himself on the edge of the counter, whilst floundering about madly and knocking over the glass soap dispensers trying to gain traction. Again I ran across the house in slow-mo to try and rescue him...but was too late.
He'd already regained his footing, and holding his cast proudly aloft, "I didn't get it wet!"
Which is good, because he doesn't want it to wash off all the autographs his friends have written on it.
And because we didn't have to go back to the hospital for a cast for his other arm.
**sigh**
It's going to be a long few weeks.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Packing Laughs Into Lunches
Well, it's that time of year again...back to school.
And with my husband and son both back at school all day comes the age-old routine of making lunches.
And because I'm usually making these at the crack of dawn all bleary-eyed with bed-hair (soooo NOT a morning person), I make up for it by using that time to think up practical jokes to play on my guys.
Most of the time, it's writing sappy notes on their lunch bags, but I especially enjoy throwing some oddball item into their lunches just for laughs.
Whether or not they laugh I don't always find out about, but I know I laugh my head off just thinking about their reactions when they find these little surprises, and that makes it all worth it.
The trick is to pack the oddities near the bottom of the sack so that it's not a dead giveaway if they happen to peek in it before lunch.
In the past, I found that I can't very well do this every day or it would lose it's charm. Instead, I have to spread it out just long enough between times that Jericho thinks I've forgotten about my little game.
Being that school has only been in session for a couple of weeks, the only oddball thing he's found so far is a yellow onion. Packed in a plastic bag just like I would pack a sliced apple or pear.
Which I didn't find out about until way after-the-fact because after he'd laughingly told Jeff about it on their way home from school he promptly forgot all about.
A couple of days ago Jericho came home and asked, "Yeah, mom? What was with that gooey junk you put in my lunch today?"
Not having packed anything unusual, it took a few moments to figure out that he was referring to the delicious homemade peach tarts I'd made and packed into a plastic sandwich bag, which due to the tumbler-dryer effect of being in the boys backpack all day long and rendered it unidentifiable.
Naturally, he thought it was another one of my 'jokes' and tossed it.
The joke was on him, however...as he missed out on a delicious dessert! (Totally counts for bonus points in the lunch game, by the way.)
However, my all-time best caper (not counting the small jar of leftover capers, that is) was one I pulled off the last week of school in May.
Though sufficient for even his appetite, the leftover slices of pizza I packed in his lunch just didn't make the lunch sack feel quite as substantial as he seems to expect, and so, to weigh the bag down I tossed in a raw red potato.
On the way home that afternoon, he laughingly used his dad's cell phone to call what he thinks was my cell phone number (apparently punching in the number from memory), and leaves this message:
"Seriously, mom?! What was with the potato in my lunch?"
Unbeknownst to me, later that evening, Jeff receives a strange call from some mom with an unfamiliar area code. "Who IS this?"
Having not recognized the number, Jeff replied, "You've reached Jeff's phone."
"Oh." Pause. "Well, I think it must have been a wrong number or something..." the woman sounded rather puzzled. "The message left from your phone here sounded a lot like my son, but he was asking about his lunch? I dunno...nevermind." and hung up.
Later that evening, I'd long-since-forgotten about the potato, and Jericho said, "Oh, yeah...did you get my message mom?"
"Message?"
"About that potato?" he asks. "What was up with that?!"
"I didn't get a message." I replied, laughing at his facial expressions.
That was when Jeff, putting 2 and 2 together, mentioned his strange phone call and we all erupted into a fit of laughter realizing the confusion Jericho's mis-dialed message must have caused for some random mom out there, lol.
Ahhh, yes, but we just love when the hilarity keeps going, practically taking on a life of it's own.
Next up on the oddball items list...bittersweet baking chocolate.
Won't he be surprised, lol?
And with my husband and son both back at school all day comes the age-old routine of making lunches.
And because I'm usually making these at the crack of dawn all bleary-eyed with bed-hair (soooo NOT a morning person), I make up for it by using that time to think up practical jokes to play on my guys.
Most of the time, it's writing sappy notes on their lunch bags, but I especially enjoy throwing some oddball item into their lunches just for laughs.
Whether or not they laugh I don't always find out about, but I know I laugh my head off just thinking about their reactions when they find these little surprises, and that makes it all worth it.
The trick is to pack the oddities near the bottom of the sack so that it's not a dead giveaway if they happen to peek in it before lunch.
In the past, I found that I can't very well do this every day or it would lose it's charm. Instead, I have to spread it out just long enough between times that Jericho thinks I've forgotten about my little game.
Being that school has only been in session for a couple of weeks, the only oddball thing he's found so far is a yellow onion. Packed in a plastic bag just like I would pack a sliced apple or pear.
Which I didn't find out about until way after-the-fact because after he'd laughingly told Jeff about it on their way home from school he promptly forgot all about.
A couple of days ago Jericho came home and asked, "Yeah, mom? What was with that gooey junk you put in my lunch today?"
Not having packed anything unusual, it took a few moments to figure out that he was referring to the delicious homemade peach tarts I'd made and packed into a plastic sandwich bag, which due to the tumbler-dryer effect of being in the boys backpack all day long and rendered it unidentifiable.
Naturally, he thought it was another one of my 'jokes' and tossed it.
The joke was on him, however...as he missed out on a delicious dessert! (Totally counts for bonus points in the lunch game, by the way.)
However, my all-time best caper (not counting the small jar of leftover capers, that is) was one I pulled off the last week of school in May.
Though sufficient for even his appetite, the leftover slices of pizza I packed in his lunch just didn't make the lunch sack feel quite as substantial as he seems to expect, and so, to weigh the bag down I tossed in a raw red potato.
On the way home that afternoon, he laughingly used his dad's cell phone to call what he thinks was my cell phone number (apparently punching in the number from memory), and leaves this message:
"Seriously, mom?! What was with the potato in my lunch?"
Unbeknownst to me, later that evening, Jeff receives a strange call from some mom with an unfamiliar area code. "Who IS this?"
Having not recognized the number, Jeff replied, "You've reached Jeff's phone."
"Oh." Pause. "Well, I think it must have been a wrong number or something..." the woman sounded rather puzzled. "The message left from your phone here sounded a lot like my son, but he was asking about his lunch? I dunno...nevermind." and hung up.
Later that evening, I'd long-since-forgotten about the potato, and Jericho said, "Oh, yeah...did you get my message mom?"
"Message?"
"About that potato?" he asks. "What was up with that?!"
"I didn't get a message." I replied, laughing at his facial expressions.
That was when Jeff, putting 2 and 2 together, mentioned his strange phone call and we all erupted into a fit of laughter realizing the confusion Jericho's mis-dialed message must have caused for some random mom out there, lol.
Ahhh, yes, but we just love when the hilarity keeps going, practically taking on a life of it's own.
Next up on the oddball items list...bittersweet baking chocolate.
Won't he be surprised, lol?
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Said in a Boston Accent: "I'm Dyin' Here!"
I know I have my dramatic tendencies, but this not-having-my-own-computer business is really wearing thin.
Jeff has taken his work computer with him (to work!) the past couple of days, and I am having serious withdrawls.
It's pitiful, really, as I think I may actually be grieving, lol.
Which is why I still am unable to post photos in case the three of you are wondering why things have been so picture-less and dull around this here blog lately.
I hadn't realized how dependent I'd gotten on having instant access to information at my fingertips.
These past couple of weeks I'd be thinking about what to make for dinner, and then remember I have a coconut on hand and think, "I need to find that Thai recipe..." and go to my art studio to look it up only to see the blank space on my desktop where old faithful used to sit.
Or I'd go get started on a furniture refinishing project and go to look up the blog which showed a foolproof 'technique' for perfectly painted furniture, and remember...ugh! No computer access in the house. Auuuugh!
I'm dyin' here!
But I refuse to go spend money on something brand new. I have prayed about this matter and know that the Lord will somehow provide this need for us in time.
This summer, I have learned some very important lessons in this regard.
In the past, I have been rather impulsive in my spending. If I found need of something around the house I would just go buy it. Most of the time, these purchases were small and reasonable here and easily absorbed into the budgeet, but occasionally, a bigger purchase would pinch us enough that we'd have to tighten the belt for the remainder of the month. Not good.
With the economy being what it is, and the fact that my husband is a teacher (with thousands of teachers jobs in tenuous positions due to State budgets being broke), the future does not feel quite so secure as it did a couple of years ago, and we've had to reassess our usual M.O. budget-wise.
Enter lessons learned. I'm not sure when I ever got away from the whole trusting the Lord to provide my needs thing, but I've had a major refresher course over the past few months.
This past year, I had a great desire for a camper (I hate to admit to it, but I think we're getting a bit too old for tent camping. This old gray mare's back just can't hack sleeping on the ground anymore, lol.). It seemed a worthy investment as we love to camp, and as far as vacations are concerned, it's a pretty economical way to see the sights on a one-income budget.
We chose to wait on purchasing one, however...and as I've mentioned here before, the Lord provided us a wonderful camper for free.
I'm so thankful that we didn't go impulsively buy a more expensive used one, when this perfectly suitable camper of just the perfect size, with everything still in great working condition including the fridge and A/C, low mileage, needing only minor cosmetic improvements to the decor inside and is really everything we wanted in a camper was waiting just around the bend! It makes my heart sing that it didn't cost us a thing.
(On a side note, the camper reno project has temporarily been placed on hold, as we've had company and that inevitably means that other home renovation projects got bumped up our priorities list, But have no fear, I will post pics as soon as possible!)
Another instance of God's provision was when we began our garden this past spring. I happened to be talking with friends and mentioned our need of a roll of sturdy chicken wire type stuff for our beans and squash to climb up, and our friends said, "Hey, we have a roll of that we were just going to take to the dump". Again, free! And there is more than enough to finish off future raised garden beds! (You should see the hubbard squash hanging four feet off the ground!)
Then, not long after the garden was in full swing, I expressed my desire to fence off a final section of our back yard with a gate to create an area for the pygmy goats we hope to get in time for Jericho to join up with 4-H.
The very next Sunday our pastor announced that the church would be tearing down the chain link fence at church and putting up a block wall, and that the chain link was available to whoever wanted it. And guess what? It's exactly the same height as our existing fencing, and once again...free! Plus it came with posts and cross bars!
Oh, and did I ever tell you the story about the never-ending bolt of white eyelet fabric we also received for free last fall?
I'm not talking the little fabric store size bolts, either, but a tree-trunk thick roll of fabric that is 61 inches wide!
So far, I've sewn curtain panels for the entire home of the friends who gave me the fabric, and made valances for our entire church fellowship hall, plus have plans to make bedskirts and a couple of valances around my own house...and that will still have barely made a dent it it! It's like the loaves and fishes of fabric!
I'm telling you, the Lord gives good gifts to his people! We have only to ask, trust and wait. In His good time, He will provide.
So now, I've asked and am just trusting and waiting that somehow or another a really good used desktop will turn up.
Along with the Vitamix blender I've also been longing for.
And you know what? I'm excited to see just how He does it! You can be sure I'll post about it when it happens, too!
Does this mean I'm waiting patiently?
Mmmm...not so much.
In fact, I would say I'm bordering on impatient (hence the "dyin' here"), though I do have a quiet sense of peace in knowing that the Lord has always provided for our needs and will, in His perfect time, once again provide for our needs.
I'm also getting the very clear sense that perhaps the Lord was also trying to teach me a lesson that I was spending waaaay too much time on the computer before the crash. Particularly during the long, hot days of early summer.
Not having regular access to a computer lately, I've been getting a whole lot more accomplished on my to-do lists and have actually been volunteering to read way more books to Judah (instead of being begged to) lately. How pathetic is that...my poor kid has to come to me with big puppy-dog eyes and plead with me to read to him? Yes, yet another lesson learned. He is my priority...not my social networking.
So, having learned this lesson and having new time management goals in place, I continue to wait. In the meantime, I have the biggest possible memory card available for my camera, and have about 800 photos from all the stuff that has been going on these past few weeks. Vacation, Sister & Cousins visits, Trip to Hollywood, California, furniture redos, first day of school and our nephews wedding.
Lots of posts to come!
:: :: :: ::
Oh, and before I go, I simply had to post a Judah funny.
My cousin Tiff's family was visiting this past week, and her daughter E is a little older than Judah and has recently lost her first 3 teeth.
Somehow, being the small fry in a pool of older kids long past the tooth-losing stages in life, Judah had missed out on the fact that younger kids eventually lose their baby teeth, and as a result was absolutely fascinated by this news.
Of course Cousin E was more than happy to show off the gaps in her smile whenever he asked, which I gather from him was more than once. I chuckle at the mental picture I get of that one.
The only problem is, Judah appears to have forgotten her name. Instead of referring to her as Cousin E, he now refers to her as, "You know, my friend wif the three missing teeth?"! Bwahahaha!
Jeff has taken his work computer with him (to work!) the past couple of days, and I am having serious withdrawls.
It's pitiful, really, as I think I may actually be grieving, lol.
Which is why I still am unable to post photos in case the three of you are wondering why things have been so picture-less and dull around this here blog lately.
I hadn't realized how dependent I'd gotten on having instant access to information at my fingertips.
These past couple of weeks I'd be thinking about what to make for dinner, and then remember I have a coconut on hand and think, "I need to find that Thai recipe..." and go to my art studio to look it up only to see the blank space on my desktop where old faithful used to sit.
Or I'd go get started on a furniture refinishing project and go to look up the blog which showed a foolproof 'technique' for perfectly painted furniture, and remember...ugh! No computer access in the house. Auuuugh!
I'm dyin' here!
But I refuse to go spend money on something brand new. I have prayed about this matter and know that the Lord will somehow provide this need for us in time.
This summer, I have learned some very important lessons in this regard.
In the past, I have been rather impulsive in my spending. If I found need of something around the house I would just go buy it. Most of the time, these purchases were small and reasonable here and easily absorbed into the budgeet, but occasionally, a bigger purchase would pinch us enough that we'd have to tighten the belt for the remainder of the month. Not good.
With the economy being what it is, and the fact that my husband is a teacher (with thousands of teachers jobs in tenuous positions due to State budgets being broke), the future does not feel quite so secure as it did a couple of years ago, and we've had to reassess our usual M.O. budget-wise.
Enter lessons learned. I'm not sure when I ever got away from the whole trusting the Lord to provide my needs thing, but I've had a major refresher course over the past few months.
This past year, I had a great desire for a camper (I hate to admit to it, but I think we're getting a bit too old for tent camping. This old gray mare's back just can't hack sleeping on the ground anymore, lol.). It seemed a worthy investment as we love to camp, and as far as vacations are concerned, it's a pretty economical way to see the sights on a one-income budget.
We chose to wait on purchasing one, however...and as I've mentioned here before, the Lord provided us a wonderful camper for free.
I'm so thankful that we didn't go impulsively buy a more expensive used one, when this perfectly suitable camper of just the perfect size, with everything still in great working condition including the fridge and A/C, low mileage, needing only minor cosmetic improvements to the decor inside and is really everything we wanted in a camper was waiting just around the bend! It makes my heart sing that it didn't cost us a thing.
(On a side note, the camper reno project has temporarily been placed on hold, as we've had company and that inevitably means that other home renovation projects got bumped up our priorities list, But have no fear, I will post pics as soon as possible!)
Another instance of God's provision was when we began our garden this past spring. I happened to be talking with friends and mentioned our need of a roll of sturdy chicken wire type stuff for our beans and squash to climb up, and our friends said, "Hey, we have a roll of that we were just going to take to the dump". Again, free! And there is more than enough to finish off future raised garden beds! (You should see the hubbard squash hanging four feet off the ground!)
Then, not long after the garden was in full swing, I expressed my desire to fence off a final section of our back yard with a gate to create an area for the pygmy goats we hope to get in time for Jericho to join up with 4-H.
The very next Sunday our pastor announced that the church would be tearing down the chain link fence at church and putting up a block wall, and that the chain link was available to whoever wanted it. And guess what? It's exactly the same height as our existing fencing, and once again...free! Plus it came with posts and cross bars!
Oh, and did I ever tell you the story about the never-ending bolt of white eyelet fabric we also received for free last fall?
I'm not talking the little fabric store size bolts, either, but a tree-trunk thick roll of fabric that is 61 inches wide!
So far, I've sewn curtain panels for the entire home of the friends who gave me the fabric, and made valances for our entire church fellowship hall, plus have plans to make bedskirts and a couple of valances around my own house...and that will still have barely made a dent it it! It's like the loaves and fishes of fabric!
I'm telling you, the Lord gives good gifts to his people! We have only to ask, trust and wait. In His good time, He will provide.
So now, I've asked and am just trusting and waiting that somehow or another a really good used desktop will turn up.
Along with the Vitamix blender I've also been longing for.
And you know what? I'm excited to see just how He does it! You can be sure I'll post about it when it happens, too!
Does this mean I'm waiting patiently?
Mmmm...not so much.
In fact, I would say I'm bordering on impatient (hence the "dyin' here"), though I do have a quiet sense of peace in knowing that the Lord has always provided for our needs and will, in His perfect time, once again provide for our needs.
I'm also getting the very clear sense that perhaps the Lord was also trying to teach me a lesson that I was spending waaaay too much time on the computer before the crash. Particularly during the long, hot days of early summer.
Not having regular access to a computer lately, I've been getting a whole lot more accomplished on my to-do lists and have actually been volunteering to read way more books to Judah (instead of being begged to) lately. How pathetic is that...my poor kid has to come to me with big puppy-dog eyes and plead with me to read to him? Yes, yet another lesson learned. He is my priority...not my social networking.
So, having learned this lesson and having new time management goals in place, I continue to wait. In the meantime, I have the biggest possible memory card available for my camera, and have about 800 photos from all the stuff that has been going on these past few weeks. Vacation, Sister & Cousins visits, Trip to Hollywood, California, furniture redos, first day of school and our nephews wedding.
Lots of posts to come!
:: :: :: ::
Oh, and before I go, I simply had to post a Judah funny.
My cousin Tiff's family was visiting this past week, and her daughter E is a little older than Judah and has recently lost her first 3 teeth.
Somehow, being the small fry in a pool of older kids long past the tooth-losing stages in life, Judah had missed out on the fact that younger kids eventually lose their baby teeth, and as a result was absolutely fascinated by this news.
Of course Cousin E was more than happy to show off the gaps in her smile whenever he asked, which I gather from him was more than once. I chuckle at the mental picture I get of that one.
The only problem is, Judah appears to have forgotten her name. Instead of referring to her as Cousin E, he now refers to her as, "You know, my friend wif the three missing teeth?"! Bwahahaha!
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Ahhhh...Summer!
Today was one of those wonderful, idyllic summer days that I will ponder in my heart for years to come.
My sister Jo & her family, and my cousin Tiff & her family were both scheduled to visit us this month. Something I'd been looking forward to for ages.
In an absolutely wonderful Godincidence, they both ended up being in town at the same time, and it worked out that we could all get together at our home for a somewhat impromptu family reunion.
It was a cousin' playin', Nerf dart shootin', water slidin', motorcycle ridin', squirt gunnin', art-workin', reminiscin', laughin' and guffawin', kids conkin' out exhausted kind of day.
And I wouldn't have it any other way!
As Jericho put it, "I wish we could rewind this day and live it all over again." Judah said he wanted to see his 'friends' everyday.
As we waved goodbye to all our guests this evening and sat out on the porch swing for a while in the cool evening breeze, my kids sensed a bit of the same bittersweet melancholy that I remember feeling as a kid when our cousins would head home after a wonderfully awesome visit to the old homestead.
While kind of sad, the good thing is that we still get to meet up with each family again one more time before they head back to their respective homes! WooHOO!
Fun times in the Frump house!
Now if we could just get our computer situation straightened out, we'd be in business with some fantabulous photos.
My sister Jo & her family, and my cousin Tiff & her family were both scheduled to visit us this month. Something I'd been looking forward to for ages.
In an absolutely wonderful Godincidence, they both ended up being in town at the same time, and it worked out that we could all get together at our home for a somewhat impromptu family reunion.
It was a cousin' playin', Nerf dart shootin', water slidin', motorcycle ridin', squirt gunnin', art-workin', reminiscin', laughin' and guffawin', kids conkin' out exhausted kind of day.
And I wouldn't have it any other way!
As Jericho put it, "I wish we could rewind this day and live it all over again." Judah said he wanted to see his 'friends' everyday.
As we waved goodbye to all our guests this evening and sat out on the porch swing for a while in the cool evening breeze, my kids sensed a bit of the same bittersweet melancholy that I remember feeling as a kid when our cousins would head home after a wonderfully awesome visit to the old homestead.
While kind of sad, the good thing is that we still get to meet up with each family again one more time before they head back to their respective homes! WooHOO!
Fun times in the Frump house!
Now if we could just get our computer situation straightened out, we'd be in business with some fantabulous photos.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
We Just Had To Laugh
This has been a horrible year for ants.
Beneath our plum tree is a very active anthill with tiny little sugar ants. They looove plums, apparently. That one we can't do too much about, as any chemicals used to eradicate them would eventually wind up in the fruit. So, while harvesting the fruit we must stomp our feet to keep the little buggers from crawling all over us.
We also have a red ant hill which the boys know to stay away from, as bites from those ants will make you miserable for hours.
But this was our first year to have large black ants in our yard.
Judah, boy that he is, has a 'pet' black widow which lives on a web on the fence in our front yard. He routinely catches bugs which he then goes and 'feeds' to the black widow, by sticking them carefully in the web so that the black widow will come out and wrap 'em up for later.
One day he came running in the house, shaking his hand wildly and saying, "Ow! Ow! It hurts so bad!"
"What hurts?" I asked, thinking it was probably a splinter or thorn from something out back.
"Da black ant bit my thumb!"
I examined his thumb, and sure enough, it looked as though two small rows of teeth had clamped on the pad of his thumb pretty good, though for his sake I was glad there was no blood.
"Well, how did the ant get on your thumb?" I asked, wondering.
"I picked it up to put it in my jeep (to take around to the black widow, I'm guessing), and he bit me!"
Well what did he expect, lol?
:: :: :: ::
The other day, Jeff took the boys into a local fast food restaurant that had an attached playground.
As they walked inside, the place was packed and there was the usual hum of chatter, particularly from a table filled with young teen girls near the door.
Jeff said he knew the moment Jericho had finally made it through the doors, because the conversation from the girls table stopped suddenly as they turned to watch the cute teenage boy walk past their table.
Totally oblivious to and unaffected by such things still, Jericho called out, "Hey, Dad...can I take Judah to the playground?"
Uh huh. Yeah, sure, Jericho...Judah wants to go to the playground, lol.
:: :: :: ::
While in a bookstore the other evening, we picked up a cute Little Golden Book for Judah called, Doctor Dan The Bandage Man.
It's a cute little story originally put out in the 1950's and has darling vintage illustrations to go with the story of a boy who hurts his finger and runs home, and whose mom puts a band-aid on his 'injury' which (as we moms know) makes him feel all better.
As a result, whenever anyone he knows gets a boo boo, Dan doctors them up with band-aids. Even the family dog. As a result, his dad gives him the nickname, "Dr. Dan the Bandage Man".
In a stroke of pure brilliance, the publishers include a couple of brand new band-aids affixed inside the front cover of the book so that any little kids reading the story and needing to fix their own real or imagined boo boos have their very own band-aids at their disposal.
Judah spotted those immediately, and like Ralphie dreaming of his Red Rider BB Gun, he, too looked off into space, eyes aglow with all the possibilities of where he could use them.
I just looove those moments where you can totally see the wheels turning in their little minds.
But why is it that I can practically guarantee I'll find them stuck to a wall, or a fridge or grandma's bathroom door?
:: :: :: ::
For Jeff's birthday yesterday, I baked a really decadent birthday cake.
First, I baked a dark chocolate fudge layer cake. The filling was a homemade ganache or hot-fudge type mixture loaded with macadamia nuts, and the the cake was frosted with homemade chocolate caramel icing and garnished with even more macadamia nuts. Yummo.
It sat under the glass of our cake platter all afternoon, taunting us as we waited for the family dinner and dessert later that evening.
When I went to put candles in it later that evening, however, I noticed two very narrow prints on the outer edge of the cake...where one very little finger had gouged out a couple of samples of icing.
Hmmm...wonder who that was?
Beneath our plum tree is a very active anthill with tiny little sugar ants. They looove plums, apparently. That one we can't do too much about, as any chemicals used to eradicate them would eventually wind up in the fruit. So, while harvesting the fruit we must stomp our feet to keep the little buggers from crawling all over us.
We also have a red ant hill which the boys know to stay away from, as bites from those ants will make you miserable for hours.
But this was our first year to have large black ants in our yard.
Judah, boy that he is, has a 'pet' black widow which lives on a web on the fence in our front yard. He routinely catches bugs which he then goes and 'feeds' to the black widow, by sticking them carefully in the web so that the black widow will come out and wrap 'em up for later.
One day he came running in the house, shaking his hand wildly and saying, "Ow! Ow! It hurts so bad!"
"What hurts?" I asked, thinking it was probably a splinter or thorn from something out back.
"Da black ant bit my thumb!"
I examined his thumb, and sure enough, it looked as though two small rows of teeth had clamped on the pad of his thumb pretty good, though for his sake I was glad there was no blood.
"Well, how did the ant get on your thumb?" I asked, wondering.
"I picked it up to put it in my jeep (to take around to the black widow, I'm guessing), and he bit me!"
Well what did he expect, lol?
:: :: :: ::
The other day, Jeff took the boys into a local fast food restaurant that had an attached playground.
As they walked inside, the place was packed and there was the usual hum of chatter, particularly from a table filled with young teen girls near the door.
Jeff said he knew the moment Jericho had finally made it through the doors, because the conversation from the girls table stopped suddenly as they turned to watch the cute teenage boy walk past their table.
Totally oblivious to and unaffected by such things still, Jericho called out, "Hey, Dad...can I take Judah to the playground?"
Uh huh. Yeah, sure, Jericho...Judah wants to go to the playground, lol.
:: :: :: ::
While in a bookstore the other evening, we picked up a cute Little Golden Book for Judah called, Doctor Dan The Bandage Man.
It's a cute little story originally put out in the 1950's and has darling vintage illustrations to go with the story of a boy who hurts his finger and runs home, and whose mom puts a band-aid on his 'injury' which (as we moms know) makes him feel all better.
As a result, whenever anyone he knows gets a boo boo, Dan doctors them up with band-aids. Even the family dog. As a result, his dad gives him the nickname, "Dr. Dan the Bandage Man".
In a stroke of pure brilliance, the publishers include a couple of brand new band-aids affixed inside the front cover of the book so that any little kids reading the story and needing to fix their own real or imagined boo boos have their very own band-aids at their disposal.
Judah spotted those immediately, and like Ralphie dreaming of his Red Rider BB Gun, he, too looked off into space, eyes aglow with all the possibilities of where he could use them.
I just looove those moments where you can totally see the wheels turning in their little minds.
But why is it that I can practically guarantee I'll find them stuck to a wall, or a fridge or grandma's bathroom door?
:: :: :: ::
For Jeff's birthday yesterday, I baked a really decadent birthday cake.
First, I baked a dark chocolate fudge layer cake. The filling was a homemade ganache or hot-fudge type mixture loaded with macadamia nuts, and the the cake was frosted with homemade chocolate caramel icing and garnished with even more macadamia nuts. Yummo.
It sat under the glass of our cake platter all afternoon, taunting us as we waited for the family dinner and dessert later that evening.
When I went to put candles in it later that evening, however, I noticed two very narrow prints on the outer edge of the cake...where one very little finger had gouged out a couple of samples of icing.
Hmmm...wonder who that was?
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Here We Go Again!
Our family loves dogs. Loves them.
Were it up to our boys, we'd probably have our very own pack of dogs running around out back wreaking havoc and digging up the garden.
Every person peddling pups outside of WalMart or the grocery store probably thinks when we stop to croon over their puppies that we'lltake one off their hands cave and adopt one of their (usually) pit-bull mix or Chihuahua mix puppies.
Not so. We've stuck to our guns.
Which, when Judah looks up with big pleading brown eyes and says, "When do I get my own puppy?" is a very hard thing to do.
Wewere suckered into fell for a cute puppy once, and found that (with that litter in particular, anyway) it just wasn't a good fit for our family.
The cute little puppy we enjoyed so much grew big and ornery and began to hurt our beloved Sharpei, Raisin. Literally nipping patches out of her fur. He'd also grown ungainly and routinely knocked Judah off his feet.
Our love of dogs prevented us from heartlessly dropping him off in the desert or taking him to the pound, so we found him another better home. One where he was spoiled rotten and actually grew to learn to do things like retrieve balls and obey commands, and lived the high life indoors on sofas and everything. What more could a dog ask for in life, right?
To help our boys adjust, they were granted visitation rights.
And when his new owner was away, Jericho even got to go take care of D.O.G. again.
It was really win-win for everyone involved.
The boys gradually grew to accept things and moved on.
When D.O.G. and his new owner moved out-of-State a couple of months ago, we thought that would be the last we'd ever see of him.
Perhaps I should clarify that I hoped it would be the last we would ever see of that dog. (I'm still suffering from a combination of mom-guilt and dog-guilt, for having found him a new home after the boys got so attached).
**sigh**
Well, tomy dismay the kids delight...he's baaaaaack!
Temporarily.
Supposedly.
Need I say, hopefully?
It was a long sad story, but suffice it to say, one of their new roommates was mean to D.O.G. when the owner wasn't around. Abusive, actually.
To the point where the poor dog now cowers around males.
Even I, who was so happy to see D.O.G. go, can't abide cruelty to animals.
Though it was probably mostly due to the fact that the new owner, who regards her dogs more as children than pets, was so grief-stricken (teary eyes will get me every time, I'm afraid) at having to find a safe-house for her beloved dog.
She made the long drive back here to farm out her two dogs to those who she knew she could trust to care for them while she finishes her lease and finds a suitable place of her own.
And so, for now, D.O.G. is back with us once again.
Aside from the fact that he sneaks indoors every chance he gets and has to be put back outside each time...things are going pretty well so far.
Raisin is enjoying the change of scenery in the front yard, where she reigns as queen of the soon-to-be grass-covered (it's newly planted and growing in quite nicely) yard, which she gets all to herself, only occasionally working herself into a lather barking at her nemesis through the dividing fences, and usually then only when one of us gets too close to 'the enemy'.
Sharpei's are fiercely loyal and protective of their people.
The boys, of course, are thrilled with our yard guest. They are no doubt already getting attached to the cur all over again, because in spite of D.O.G.'s fear of men, he still still trots happily around behind his old buddy Jericho. Just like the old days.
(Oh, the guilt!)
When Judah exclaimed to D.O.G.'s owner, "Thanks for giveen him back to us!", she replied rather defensively, "not forever...just for a little while!"
And those words are what I'm clinging to. That all this is just for a little while.
:: :: :: ::
Edited to add that D.O.G. only ended up staying with us a few days.
His owner found them a new home right away, and he is now ensconced on his sofa once again.
However, not even a week later, we found this little guy taking refuge under our truck.
He shied away from us, and in the 104 degree hot summer sun that day, I decided to just let him be, as he needed the shade and a cool spot to rest his paws.
After he'd had some food and drink, he moved along of his own accord to another lady down the block, who managed to reunite him with his owners.
All's well that ends well, as Ma Ingalls used to say.
Were it up to our boys, we'd probably have our very own pack of dogs running around out back wreaking havoc and digging up the garden.
Every person peddling pups outside of WalMart or the grocery store probably thinks when we stop to croon over their puppies that we'll
Not so. We've stuck to our guns.
Which, when Judah looks up with big pleading brown eyes and says, "When do I get my own puppy?" is a very hard thing to do.
We
The cute little puppy we enjoyed so much grew big and ornery and began to hurt our beloved Sharpei, Raisin. Literally nipping patches out of her fur. He'd also grown ungainly and routinely knocked Judah off his feet.
Our love of dogs prevented us from heartlessly dropping him off in the desert or taking him to the pound, so we found him another better home. One where he was spoiled rotten and actually grew to learn to do things like retrieve balls and obey commands, and lived the high life indoors on sofas and everything. What more could a dog ask for in life, right?
To help our boys adjust, they were granted visitation rights.
And when his new owner was away, Jericho even got to go take care of D.O.G. again.
It was really win-win for everyone involved.
The boys gradually grew to accept things and moved on.
When D.O.G. and his new owner moved out-of-State a couple of months ago, we thought that would be the last we'd ever see of him.
Perhaps I should clarify that I hoped it would be the last we would ever see of that dog. (I'm still suffering from a combination of mom-guilt and dog-guilt, for having found him a new home after the boys got so attached).
**sigh**
Well, to
Temporarily.
Supposedly.
Need I say, hopefully?
It was a long sad story, but suffice it to say, one of their new roommates was mean to D.O.G. when the owner wasn't around. Abusive, actually.
To the point where the poor dog now cowers around males.
Even I, who was so happy to see D.O.G. go, can't abide cruelty to animals.
Though it was probably mostly due to the fact that the new owner, who regards her dogs more as children than pets, was so grief-stricken (teary eyes will get me every time, I'm afraid) at having to find a safe-house for her beloved dog.
She made the long drive back here to farm out her two dogs to those who she knew she could trust to care for them while she finishes her lease and finds a suitable place of her own.
And so, for now, D.O.G. is back with us once again.
Aside from the fact that he sneaks indoors every chance he gets and has to be put back outside each time...things are going pretty well so far.
Raisin is enjoying the change of scenery in the front yard, where she reigns as queen of the soon-to-be grass-covered (it's newly planted and growing in quite nicely) yard, which she gets all to herself, only occasionally working herself into a lather barking at her nemesis through the dividing fences, and usually then only when one of us gets too close to 'the enemy'.
Sharpei's are fiercely loyal and protective of their people.
The boys, of course, are thrilled with our yard guest. They are no doubt already getting attached to the cur all over again, because in spite of D.O.G.'s fear of men, he still still trots happily around behind his old buddy Jericho. Just like the old days.
(Oh, the guilt!)
When Judah exclaimed to D.O.G.'s owner, "Thanks for giveen him back to us!", she replied rather defensively, "not forever...just for a little while!"
And those words are what I'm clinging to. That all this is just for a little while.
:: :: :: ::
Edited to add that D.O.G. only ended up staying with us a few days.
His owner found them a new home right away, and he is now ensconced on his sofa once again.
However, not even a week later, we found this little guy taking refuge under our truck.
He shied away from us, and in the 104 degree hot summer sun that day, I decided to just let him be, as he needed the shade and a cool spot to rest his paws.
After he'd had some food and drink, he moved along of his own accord to another lady down the block, who managed to reunite him with his owners.
All's well that ends well, as Ma Ingalls used to say.
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