Piper's Little Sister

Piper, my seven-year-old daughter, often tells me she wants a sister. She has three younger brothers. I often reply that God only gave her brothers. One day, one of her brothers must have done something to really make her mad that day. She kept on and on about how much she wanted a sister. So, I finally told her that I can't have anymore babies. She asked why I couldn't have anymore babies. I told her that I had a surgery that made my body not able to have anymore babies. I told her four babies is enough for me. I don't know how much she totally understood all that, but I answered her question. She mostly wishes she had a sister when she gets upset with her brothers. She has told me, at times, that her brothers are mean. I told Piper that sisters can be mean, too. 

On another occasion that Seven, Piper's four-year-old brother, happened to make Piper mad, she wrote a letter to her friend's mom. Piper wrote in the letter that she would trade Seven for her friend (who is a girl). And Seven would live with that family now. It might have been a nice thought to Piper, but Piper's friend's mom wasn't falling for it.

Now, I don't want you to think that Piper and her brothers never get along. Alot of the time, they play with each other really well and get along great. But everyone has their days.

In our house, we have some dress-up clothes. We have mostly dresses as dress-up clothes. This doesn't quite make sense since we only have one girl and THREE boys. I'm not sure what's going on with that. Anyway, the boys really don't mind playing dress-up with Piper in "her" dress-up clothes. It is quite comical to see my three boys (ages 6, 4, and 2 1/2) wearing a dress-up dress. 

The past week or so, Piper has really enjoyed dressing up Rilian, her 2 1/2 year old brother. And he just lets her! This is what she came up with the other day. He wouldn't look at the camera at first. Maybe he could read my mind that I was going to put it on my blog and he would be embarrassed about it when he got older...

I at least got him to look up some.

I apologize for the quality of the pictures. They were taken in a darker room and with my phone. But hey, I still got a picture. What would we do without today's awesome technology?


Perhaps, this is Piper's way of getting a "little sister". 


And if you were expecting my post to be about us expecting...well, like I said before, I have been fixed. I cannot have anymore babies. Unless God says we are having another baby, we are not. I should really be careful how many times I say that. I have said it several times. I sure wouldn't want God to get any ideas. He does have quite the sense of humor!

Book Review: Life, In Spite of Me

Life, In Spite of Me, Extraordinary Hope After a Fatal Choice by Kristen Jane Anderson was a book I had a hard time putting down. When I first picked it up to read, I was hooked.

Life, In Spite of Me, is Kristen's story. Everyone has a story to tell. There were alot of things that had happened in Kristen's life, from death of a family member, rape, and a friend's suicide. All these things and thoughts she held inside and did not talk to anyone about them. She started partying and going out with friends and stopped caring about school.  


One night Kristen decided to end her life. When she was seventeen and felt she could not live it anymore, she laid down on the train tracks and was run over by 33 train cars which severed her legs off. After her failed attempt at suicide, she began to realize that God had a plan for keeping her alive. She shouldn't have lived, but she did.


This inspirational story tells about her struggles with that decision she made and how she learns to live again, after that nightmare of a night. From going to rehab and psych wards, Kristen slowly rediscovers a will to live and what she feels is God's plan for her life now. If you or anyone you know is struggling with depression, this would be a good book to read. If you don't know anyone who is struggling with depression, it would still be a good read. I highly recommend this very inspirational story! 


You can read more about Kristen here.


Disclosure: I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

My 1st Grader and My 2nd Grader

Piper and Finn's first day of school was this past Monday. Finn is now in 1st grade and Piper is in 2nd grade. They were both glad to be going back to school to see all their friends again!

Finn is a gamer. He LOVES video games and computer games. So, this is the backpack he picked out for school. It is just perfect for him!

Finn's teacher this year, for 1st grade, is Mrs. Landers. We have a friend who comes and reads to Mrs. Landers' class each week. We are excited for Finn, and our friend. 

Piper posing for her first day of 2nd grade.

She was like Seven and didn't want to take off her backpack either. 

Piper was excited to find out that Mrs. Poorman is her 2nd grade teacher. I think she was a little disappointed when she found out her friend, Gustavo, isn't in her class this year. But her other buddy, Jazz (Jasreal), is in her class. Piper and Gustavo say they are going to date in high school, but they are just friends now. Then after college, they plan to get married. We shall see :)

I managed to hold it together this year. No tears streamed down my face. Not one single tear escaped my tear ducts. I didn't have to fight the tears too hard, just a little. Not even on Seven's first day of preschool. I'll admit I did have to fight the tears a little harder on Seven's first day of preschool, but I still managed to hold them in...I must be growing up...

Seven's First Day of Pre K!

It was hard for me to believe in April that Seven turned 4 years old. What happens after you turn 4 years old? You get to go to preschool! Seven was SO exited to go to his first day of preschool last Wednesday! We went backpack shopping and he found just the one he wanted. I think that made him even more excited to start school. I marked his first day of preschool on his calendar, to help him know when he would finally go to school. Each night as he marked off that day, he would count down the days until his first day of school! 

Then, the morning FINALLY came when he got to go to his first day of school, last Wednesday! He was beyond excited. He wanted to eat breakfast with his backpack on, but I told him we could put it on after he was done eating. 

Here is Seven right before we walked out the door to leave for preschool.

I wanted to get a picture of him with his backpack, but he didn't want to take it off. So, this is what I got. 

Seven and Mrs. Cook, his preschool teacher. He also has a teacher's aid in his classroom, Mrs. Lassiter. 

Seven found a fire station to play with in his classroom as I was saying goodbye.

For those of you who know Seven, you know what a fun kid he is! He is so full of life. He loves to joke around. He doesn't know a stranger. I would LOVE to be a fly on the wall in his class! He is one funny kid!

A few days before he started school, I jokingly asked him if he was going to have to go see the principal. He said that he was gonna be good so he wouldn't have to. When I picked him up from school on his first day, I asked him how his day was. The first thing he said was, "I didn't have to go see the principal." I guess he remembered our conversation a few days earlier. He doesn't forget anything! The next day when I picked him up he told me the principal came to his room. He said no one was in trouble, she was coming to see the whole class so they would know who she was. I love that kid!

Mohawk Boys

Finn has had a mohawk off and on since the summer that he was 2 years old. Unfortunately, preschool came and he was very sad when we had to cut it off for school. Jeremy had one that year, too, and decided he would cut his off when we cut off Finn's. It made Finn a little happier. Then summer came and Finn got his mohawk again!

About a week and a half ago, Jeremy decided to give Seven and Rilian a mohawk, too. This was their first mohawk. We hadn't given them one before because Rilian's hair was so blonde and fine, we didn't know how it would look. Rilian's hair got a little thicker and Jeremy decided to give it a try. Same with Seven, we didn't know how he would look with a mohawk. However, his hair wasn't as light and is actually pretty thick. Turns out, they look awesome!

What's more fun than a "funny" picture? I like how Finn crossed his eyes. I guess Rilian wasn't sure what to do, so he was looking to Daddy for some ideas. 

The dreaded "cut off your mohawk because school starts the next day" day came. Seven started preschool this past Wednesday. Finn won't start school until Monday. But to make things easier, Jeremy just cut all the mohawks off at the same time. Seven and Rilian have never had shaved heads before. Good thing hair grows back. I just hope Rilian's hair grows back blonde... 

Finn's head looks like a skunk after we shaved his mohawk off. He has a tan line where his mohawk was. Pretty funny. I can only imagine what Seven and Rilian's heads would look like had they had their mohawks all summer, like Finn, because their skin tans very easily. There was a shadow from the camera, but the "skunk line" was even on his forehead a little.

Remember our trip to Marathon, TX? I'm sure you haven't forgotten the lovely picture of the traumatic rock throwing incident. Well, that rock that Rilian threw, left a nice scar on Seven's head. Hopefully when his hair grows back, you will never know it is there. Speaking of not knowing it's there, Seven has a big freckle on his head. He thought it was neat because he didn't know it was there until we gave him a mohawk.

Seven wasn't disappointed at all when we had to shave off his mohawk for school. He was just excited to go to school! We'll see what happens at the end of summer next year. Will he be just as excited to have his mohawk shaved off so he can go to school?

Marathon, Texas

Texas is a huge state with tons of tiny towns scattered throughout. A few weeks ago, we went to Marathon, Texas. Why on earth did we go there? Jeremy's grandma died in June and she wanted to be buried in Marathon, where she was raised. Her sister was also buried there. Grandmother wanted to be buried next to her sister. So, for her birthday in July, the family took her ashes to Marathon and buried her.

My kids were like movie stars. Everyone wanted to take their pictures. Well, they are pretty darn cute, aren't they?

My boys like to play in the dirt. Marathon is pretty much all dirt. They also like to throw stones. What boy doesn't? Seven and Rilian found some rocks to throw. Not stones, but ROCKS! Well, Seven's head just happened to be in the pathway of the rock that Rilian had just thrown and BAM! 

I was watching them and saw it happen. Seven started screaming and then I saw blood running down his face. There was ALOT of blood, so I quickly passed him on to Jeremy for Jeremy to doctor him up. When there is more than a little blood, I would rather Jeremy take care of them. Seven was fine. No concussions or anything. Just blood. A little while later in the day, it must have came back open because I noticed the sweat on Seven's face had a red tint to it. I wiped it up and that was that.

We had lots of wonderful food there to eat. That's usually what people do at funerals, right? Rilian was enjoying this cupcake and telling me he was eating it like certain animals. And he even ate it like Harold and the Purple Crayon.

                                          
Piper found this window at the place we were staying and wanted her picture taken by it. She said it was like the window in Rapunzel's tower, from the movie Tangled.

The kids had fun with their cousin, Benjamin, as they always do. They LOVE him! I think it's funny how Finn is looking at Piper in this picture.

Marathon is so small, that I guess they don't care if you dig your own hole in the family plot in the cemetery and bury your own relative. So, that is exactly what happened. Uncle Matt and Uncle Danny went earlier in the day and dug the hole for Grandmother. Then in the evening, when it was cooler, the family went to put Grandmother to rest beside her sister. Piper, Finn, Seven, and Rilian all got a turn at putting dirt on her. At one point, Finn had to get his flip flop out of the hole...it fell off and fell down into the hole. 

This is what you will see if you go to visit Grandmother now. She was a loving, Christian, patient, and wonderful lady that loved desserts and scrabble. I didn't get to know her as well as some of the other family members, but I loved hearing their memories of her.

Grandmother had five children. From left to right: Matt Enright, Joyce Voss, Bonnie Roggendorff, and Danny Enright. Glen Enright wasn't able to make it to the funeral.

My family had packed everything up into our vehicle and were saying the last goodbyes to the family, when the Sheriff drove into the place we were staying. His siren came on and he rolled down his window. He said this dog was his wife's dog and he causes more trouble! He said his wife went out of town and left the dog with him. The dog likes to turn on the lights and siren in the sheriff truck. He said he can't leave the dog at home because he will tear things up. The sheriff said one day, he left the dog in the truck and walked across the street to get some pizza. When he came back, all the lights were on and the siren was going. The dog had turned it all on. We just laughed as the sheriff told us about his wife's dog.

So, if you happen to make your way down to Marathon, Texas, and you think the sheriff is pulling you over, it may just be his wife's dog having a little fun!

Book Review: Thunder Dog

Wow! Talk about a great book! I had a really hard time putting it down when I picked it up to read. Thunder Dog: The True Story of A Blind Man, His Guide Dog & the Triumph of Trust at Ground Zero, by Michael Hingson, with Suzy Flory is a book that I highly recommend! 


I have not read any other books about what happened on 9/11, so I found it really interesting to read about the events through someone's "eyes" that was actually in one of the Twin Towers when it was hit by the plane on that fateful day. Michael worked in Tower 1 and went to work that day not knowing what life changing events were about to happen shortly after he arrived for work. Roselle was his guide dog at the time. She did an amazing job helping him get out of the tower alive. Don't freak out that I spoiled the book now, how else would he be able to write it, if he didn't make it out alive? I loved how Michael and Roselle worked as a team. I loved hearing Michael tell how he and Roselle were able to encourage each other as well as being concerned for each other. What a wonderful relationship they have! 


Not only does Michael share what he and Roselle went through on September 11, but he also shares other stories about himself in this book. He was born blind. He has overcome many "obstacles" in his life. I think his parents played a major part in what a wonderful and amazing person he is today. I won't tell you how they played a role, I can't give away the whole book.


So, rush to the place you buy books and pick up your copy of Thunder Dog right now. What are you waiting for? You will not regret it!


Disclosure: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze book reviewer program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. 

Ouch!

For those of you who follow me on Twitter or are friends with me on Facebook, you most likely have already seen this picture...a few weeks ago. (Because I pretty much stay behind on my blogging).

This is Piper's hand. Do you see all those little specks on it? Do you know what they are? Splinters! Yes, they are ALL splinters! I roughly guessed there are about 30 in her hand, but you can count them if you really feel like it. You have to look real close to see some of them.

Piper is very creative. Her mind does not think like most of our minds think. I am not exactly sure how she got all these splinters in her hand. But her creative mind seems to have gotten her in alot of pain this time. From what she told me, she was trying to get out of the pool. How did she get all of these splinters when trying to get out of the pool? I bet you are wondering what kind of pool we have. It is a normal swimming pool with a normal ladder. But it is really close to part of our WOODEN fence. Hmmm....Your guess is as good as mine...


Apparently, she chose not to use the ladder and it wasn't such a bright idea. Have you ever had a good idea go wrong?

Tree Branch House

Jeremy's dad (Dadabe) has a pecan tree that needed some of the branches trimmed so they wouldn't rub on the roof anymore. Jeremy got the honor of cutting off the branches. Dadabe then threw them off the roof and into the backyard. The kids thought it was cool and decided it was their house. Seven's in there too, but his face is hidden behind some leaves. You can see his swimsuit though. I'm not sure what Finn was doing, but Rilian was saying "cheese."

More branches added...

Rilian in the house...

Seven, with more branches added.

Rilian peeking out, with even more branches added.

Here is what their tree branch house looked like when they decided there were enough branches on it.

Seven decided he was going to climb it.