Home From The Holidays

We came home from visiting Brian’s folks. The house was still standing, which I noted with nostalgia (we always said that when my parents and my brother and I came home from a long trip).  Upon entering it, however, we kind of wished it weren’t.

The cat, may she rest in peace, for whatever reasons had neglected to use the litterbox for much of the week. Instead, she used the floors.  In order to put our kids to bed, we had to navigate a hallway and bathroom filled with randomly-placed landmines of poop and vomit. While holdig our dozes and talkig like dis. We skipped the tooth-brushing that night. The less time spent in the bathroom, the better.

Brian and I got rid of the biggest (*GAG*) piles before we went to bed.  Praise God that He had nudged me to close all the bedroom doors before we left.

So then, with the moral support of two friends-in-deed, I began the major cleanup the next day.  UGH. In addition to the cat’s mess, I also got to experience the remnants of one of Gannon’s sleepwalking episodes. One where he thought he’d gone into the bathroom and peed in the potty, when in reality he was still in his room and was standing in front of a toybox.

Oh yeah, I also took the cat to the vet and had it euthanised*. Then I took it home and the kids and I buried it deep under the flowerbed.  After we had a time of sitting on the couch with it, petting it and remembering what sort of a cat she was.  We also took the opportunity to examine the general anatomy of cats without being gouged.  That part was Gannon’s idea.  As we sat on the couch, leaning over the dead cat between us, I felt like perhaps a huge blinking sign was over our livingroom, reading “PSYCHO HOMESCHOOLERS”.  It was a unique experience.  I can only hope.

The next day, as I was grumbling about the mess I was still cleaning out of the upstairs carpets, Acadia brightly and optimistically offered, “At least the cat’s dead now, Mom!”  Ah, a girl after her Dad’s own heart.

So yeah, our Thanksgiving was nice.  Then December started.  I am expecting the stomach bug and/or plague of frogs to be arriving soon.  As psycho homeschooler, we will dissect the frogs.  Maybe find a recipe or two for a healthy meal of them.  And do a lapbook on the Exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt.

*I did not do this without much thought and agonizing emotion. And a check for $88 to the vet.

The ScullyCat is Back

We are cat owners once again.  This particular cat lived with us for a few years before we had kids, then went to live with someone else when Gannon was due to come into the world.  We gave her up for a couple of reasons.  One was that she wasn’t all that tolerant of being pestered, and she’d scratch.  Another was that, compared to how I felt about my first child, I didn’t like her anymore.  Sorry, but it’s true.  So instead of kicking her to the curb, we let her go live in a beautiful house with huge windows and lots of birds in the trees outside of them.  I am sure it was luxury compared to our little apartment, which featured frequent train passings and little else.

The people who owned her after us, their circumstances have changed, and they asked if we would like her back.  I was excited about the idea because, to quote my friend Doris, “Everybody needs a nice kitty.”  So we accepted the offer and last week she arrived!

We still don’t have a nice kitty.  Instead, we have Scully.  I crack myself up.

Yes, she really is this annoyed by our presence. Maybe she is saying, "This IS my good side."

The kids are trying to get her to smile. Is it working?

Burdens

I john 3:19-23

By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.

But how often does my heart condemn me? More than I like to admit.

Four of my friends are really hurting right now because of serious disappointment.  Two sets of parents, a few days and a few thousand miles apart, were expecting to begin parenting their newborns right about now.  They were expecting to be holding them, doing all the things that parents do for their newest babies and introducing them to their older siblings.

But it’s not happened.  One baby lies in the NICU and the other with a birthmother who has had second thoughts.  Someone else is taking care of these babies.

Where is God? we ask.  Why aren’t they in the arms of these parents who love God and love each other and love their children with a ferocious passion?  Is it fair that they’ve had their hopes taken away?  They have kept God’s commandments in loving Him and each other.  Why haven’t they received what they have asked for?  And why should the babies have their lives affected like this?  Haven’t we seen enough suffering?  I can ask this question personally and globally.

Where is God?

…more to come…

Already, a Discovery!

School hasn’t even started for the year, and my kids already have been learning. Here at the Dellinger household, every day is a school day. After some experimentation, it was discovered that plastic animals can stick to the ceiling if enough blue sticky-tack is used on their feet. This works even with the big dinosaurs.

You’ll have to use your imaginations on this one. Even though it was a great sight, I hesitated to photograph the process at the risk of condoning such behavior.

But it was funny. And creative.

Should I mention it on our report to the state? Hee hee.

p.s. If you want to see other people’s inventive uses of Sticky Tack, you can google the term and look at people’s images. Interesting. I also personally know one person (who shall remain nameless) who tried chewing it like gum. She was disappointed in the result.

A Summer Drama

Noah: "She will love getting splashed! This will be fun!"

Acadia: "NOAH!!!!" Noah: "?"

Acadia: "You are so immature." Noah: "..."

Noah: "I will never understand girls." Acadia: "He is nonexistent to me."

Some liberty has been taken in the dialogue.

Please Pray

Friends of ours are going through a challenging situation right now. One of their kids was diagnosed with leukemia this week and has begun what might be a long treatment plan. I didn’t ask them for permission to share identifying information, but God knows who they are. So if you want to pray for them, God has it all under control.

Thanks.

Return from Camp Spofford

*NOTE: If Courtney S. reads this (you know who you are!), please leave a comment so I know you’ve found the blog. Thanks!)

**ANOTHER NOTE: For some reason I never published this post till now, even though I wrote it days ago. Sorry. Thanks for reminding me, Fran!

I’m just going to toss these photos up here and not bother with captioning them, just because I am tired of sitting at this computer. My kids are tired of me sitting at this computer, too!

We also have lots of pictures of the kids with their friends from camp, old and new, but I didn’t feel right about putting pics of other people’s kids on the internet without their permission. Not everyone is as comfortable with having an internet presence as I am. So yeah.

Give a Kid a Camera…

And look what you get. My apologies to those of you on a slow connection. My blog is image-heavy these days because it hurts to type. And because I like images.

Anthills in the driveway. Important and interesting stuff if you’re a kid. Or me.

Enchiladas. We all need to remember this meal, so we took this picture. Yeah.

The view under Gannon’s bed. Those are his swim trunks. That he couldn’t find. Not sure what the other stuff is. Let’s not think about it.

Breakfast.

Bling.

Here’s Daddy, from an Acadia’s Eye View.

Not to be left out, here’s Mommy. And James, Jared, and Brian. But you really have to look hard to see them.

Metal waiting for the trash guy’s metal day. Glad we have this moment preserved.

We have a sword on the garage roof. What? Don’t you?

This is a radish we are growing. Gannon needed a photo.

Here’s the neighbor kid, Noah. This is usually the first view of him we see each day, when someone from our house bangs on his door, or vice versa. “Can you come out and play?”

I do not know this man. He appears at periodic intervals to mow a neighbor’s lawn. He cheesed for Gannon’s camera. We digitally captured his photons.

And my favorite so far, taken by one or both of the kids, is this picture. They love each other.

Home At Last

I’ve been away for a couple of weeks, the first time without Brian and the kids, the second time without Brian. I’m tired. I missed my family! And I missed sleeping in my own bed (made me think perhaps my bed is a bit of an idol for me…hmm…).

I thought I’d toss up a few pictures of my travels for you.

I Got a New Drug

My Nikon D80 arrived yesterday. As soon as I opened the box, the camera jumped up and snapped this shot.

Then I took a few [hundred] photos, just to get the feel of it. How does it feel?

It feels good.

Except now you can really see how messy I let my kids’ faces get.

And their skinned knees.

My buddy Lisa and I are just giggling over this new toy.