Nothing Much

Nothing much or at least nothing exciting has been going on around here.  Our days are full of school work, tending to the too many animals we have accumulated and trying to keep sane. 

Speaking of animals, our rabbits (well, at least the boys) have become yard bunnies. Long story short, we'll leave it at that.  It is kinda neat seeing them run around the yard, and we don't have to feed them because we have plenty of grass for them to eat!  Don't know how long we'll have them as a friend said she could take them when they move in October.  They are becoming just another thing to take care of on my to do list.   The cats have taken to them.  Patches doesn't really bother them.  The just co-exist in the yard.  Toothless likes to run around and chase them.  Did I ever tell you all that we changed the kitty's name from Licorice to Toothless??  Maybe not.  He wasn't quite a Licorice.  If you've ever seen the movie "How to Train Your Dragon" and you've ever met Toothless (our cat, that is), you'll know why we changed his name.

(Pictured:  Patches and Buzz) 

This child of mine amazes me.  She is a creature-loving child!  There isn't a newt, toad, frog, cat, dog, horse, SNAKE this girl wouldn't love to hold or explore!  One of her favorite subjects is Science.  She informed us ignorant folk that there is a difference between bugs and insects.  Did you know that?

Last week before some friends of ours went back to school, we met them at the park for the afternoon.

 Nothin' like being entertained with a plastic cup . . .

and some Red Light, Green Light! 

And now I introduce you to the newest member of the two-wheeled bike riding club . . . Madison!

Two weekends ago now, she learned how to ride her bike without help.  So far she's only ridden in the front yard on grass.  It's probably a good thing since she's already flipped over the handle bars!

Last weekend, I came home after being out most of the day.  Daddy had the two younger kids with him while he worked outside.  For some reason I had the camera out and all three kids were together.  Always looking for an opportunity to get a picture of the three of them together -- as you can tell, it didn't work out well this time either. 
 

Attempted a picture of just the girls since the "sister" frame in their room has a picture from when Madi was about a year old!

Zaya didn't want his picture taken and thought if he closed his eyes I couldn't take his picture!

Well, I guess that bike riding part was a bit exciting, but other than that we are just trying to get a hang of this homeschooling thing!

Toothless x 2

Madi has had her first loose tooth for a little while now.  Daddy told her she'd get extra money if it was out by Friday.  Before bed tonight, I suggested she spend a couple minutes wiggling it -- last chance, you know.  She wanted me to help her, but I passed her off to Dad.  Wasn't setting well with me.  Kinda runs in the family.

It only took a couple pulls and it was out -- toothless!

There was much excitement and phone calls to be made.

Then the inevitable "I'm not going to smile" phase.

But overall she was thrilled, and we are so proud of her!

The last week or so we've been mulling over a name change for the kitty.  No one (but the girls) really liked the name Licorice, but we stuck with it because that's the name that was picked.

After seeing his personality and his manurisms, we noticed something similar with a movie character.

 His ears bend back when he "fights." His eyes are the same color as Toothless from the movie.  He's playful and has such a good personality.  Don't think we've made it official, but we're trying the name out.  Once we get the ok from our oldest, it will be a done deal -- there's just something about those stubborn first-borns. Not that I would know.

So I leave you with this . . .

Toothless & Toothless

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was honestly very difficult to write this post.  Believe it or not, it took a couple hours.  It was through tears I enjoyed my little girl and the excitement that was her evening as I kept thinking of my friend, Beth, and the fact that she'll never experience a "first loose tooth" and alot of other experiences with her daughter, Kalei.  Please just continue to pray for them in the days, months and years ahead as they deal with their loss.  Actually, just pray for the Lord's quick return, so we'll all be reunited in Heaven and experience no loss or sorrow.  Wouldn't that be wonderful?

Our Yiddle Kitty (Part II)

After four days, we still could not agree on a name for the kitty.  So to end the insanity, we decided to draw a name from a cup. 

This was after a long discussion with our oldest who, unfortunately, has a hard time not getting her way.  She did, however, understand the fairness in picking a name.  We had narrowed it down to Inky, Jet and Licorice.  She was quite excited about the 33.3% chance of picking the name she liked -- Licorice.  I made her pick the name so she wouldn't despise her sister or brother OR ME for picking a name other than her favorite. 

Drum roll, please . . . . . . . . . . . . .

So there you have it.  Meet Licorice, our yiddle kitty.

Our Yiddle Kitty

The header shows the newest edition to our family . . . a yiddle (little) kitty.  As of yet, he has no name.  We can't seem to agree.  The girls like Licorice.  Isaiah likes Inky.  Rick likes Jet and I'm stuck between Inky and Jet.

He was found on the side of the road.  The kids (& we) love him.  He's adorable, fun-loving and funny.  I see big personality in his future!

Kinda reminds me of the kitty on the movie, Bolt . . . Mittens.  Although, that (as well as Licorice in my opinion) are a little non-masculine.  Hopefully for his sake, we name him soon!

See the resemblance?