A Typical Sunday Morning

We go to church on Sunday mornings, our attendance had been really regular until this summer. The children make it so difficult; just getting them dressed is a big task. This morning while I was trying to dress Chloe and fix her hair Drew was in the kitchen pouring water all over the floor. I learned long ago to dress Chloe first and leave Drew until almost time to go because he will remove his shoes and socks and possibly his pants and if we're ever running late he'll have the most foul disgusting diaper ever. Anyway, we managed to get ready and almost get there on time, as soon as we were seated I notice the cloth-draped tray and I knew we were observing communion today. Now, before children this was a very solemn thought provoking event where I would really think about what Jesus has done for all of us, but with small children it is a struggle just to hold onto the little cracker and not spill the grape juice. I began explaining to them before the trays were passed around that they would not get the little cracker or juice and that when they were older I would explain it to them and one day they too would participate and that when we get home they can have grape juice and crackers, but of course they don't understand and the juice looks so good in that little clear cup. In the midst of the silence while the trays are being passed Drew notices a cricket on the carpet and he jumps down from the pew and begins stomping and very loudly announcing "Me see bug!! Me stomp it!! Stomp! Stomp! The more I whisper to him to be quiet the more he stomps, so I insert the trusty pacifier in his mouth and the situation is diffused. After communion the kids of course play with the little cups and run their tongues down in them. I can see Allen is mortified, but I guess I'm already worn-down and it barely phases me. Finally, the children are dismissed to go to children's church and I can hurry them back to the nursery.

I've been really upset that the children prevent me from enjoying the sermon; more like prevent me from even comprehending anything about it, but I've decided that the very act of getting up and going, knowing that my patience will be put test, is pleasing to God. After all I go to worship and praise God; it isn't about my getting anything out of the sermon but rather me giving my time to honor Him.

At least Allen is able to listen and learn from the pastor while I have the children in the nursery; I think he needs it more than I do. ha ha hee hee. :)

Happy Birthday my Sweet Chloe

Chloe's birthday was Thursday and she turned four years old. I cannot believe how big and grown-up my sweet little girl has become. She and Drew are my entire world; I love watching both of them grow; this is such a happy special time.

To celebrate her birthday I got her a cake and my dad bought her favorite lunch (Chinese) and we ate and laughed and had a lot of fun. After lunch and cake she opened her presents. She got a doll house with lots of furniture and dolls. She and Drew are really enjoying playing with it. Drew also got a little boy doll and a grandma doll since he is "gandma's" boy. They really play well together to be so young. Last night Drew was a dinosaur attacking the doll house and Chloe fought him off with the mommy doll; it was really cute.

Last night we took Chloe to the Anderson county fair as a last night of celebration. My friend (and neice-in-law), Amy, went with us and brought her daughter Jamey. The girls had so much fun riding the rides. They also loved the tiger show and don't forget the food. Chloe loved the funnel cakes and Drew is now addicted to cotton candy. Drew didn't enjoy the rides as much, but there was one little firetruck ride that he really liked. It was a really fun evening; we look forward to doing it again next year.

Microbiology Progress

My microbiology class is turning out to be easier than I thought. Lab is really fun (of course I may just be weird because not everyone seems to enjoy it as much as I do). We had our first test on Tuesday and I made a 107. There were 103 points possible and then she curved them four points for some reason; I thought it was easy, but maybe the grades weren't that good.



I guess after taking Human Anatomy I'm just conditioned to harder courses and I've gotten used to all the studying again. It had been a long time since I had taken a course, so this year has been a really big change for me.



Now if I can just continue to do this well all quarter and get an A in this class; I'll get into the nursing program for sure (as long as my NLN score is decent; which it should be). You'd be amazed at how many people try to get in; over 300 applicants for 50 spots. I'll know sometime in April, so please pray for me.

Mommy Where does Food Chicken Come From?

Chicken has always been Chloe's favorite meat. I don't think she realized that the chicken she eats came from a once live chicken. Somehow in her mind there was a food chicken and then the feathered creature that clucks and scratches around the barnyard. Today at lunch she asked me where does food chicken come from and I explained. She looked at the chicken on her plate in disgust and said "I don't want to eat a chicken!" I explained to her that it was okay to eat meat from chicken and other animals such as cows, pigs, fish etc.... I told her that we needed protein in our diet and meat was the easiest source for us to consume. She didn't care about any of that she just hated the idea of eating a dead chicken.

Death is a really hard concept for a small child to grasp. Even though I explained that the chicken was no longer alive and would never be alive again; she still asked if it could fly off her plate.

Drew was not bothered by any of this. He had little to add to the discussion; all he had to say was "Me eat chicken up!! Bite off head first!" Apparently he thought there might be a little life left in his, so to be sure it was dead he would try to find a head and bite it off; it was a little difficult considering we were eating breast strips.

Purrfect Kitty Diva

It has been days since I wrote anything in this little blog. I've been so busy with school and dealing with a little tragedy. I started a little post a few days ago about the joy of raising puppies and seeing their happy new owners with them, but before I finished writing it I experienced the other side of pet ownership, the painful sadness of learning that one of these little creatures that you love so dearly is not healthy. I had both my Persians DNA tested to be sure they didn't carry the dominant gene for Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD); it is a very common problem in all cats of Persian descent. Sweet little Tink tested positive so she will develop it, cysts will grow in her kidneys until they no longer function and she will die. The news was just heartbreaking for me; we so love this beautiful little girl; she is so sweet and brings us so much pleasure and it deeply troubles me to know that she will have to suffer and we'll have to lose her at a young age. Some cats beat the odds and live long lives with it, but many die young or around the ages of five to seven years. I was really angry at first that her breeder had allowed affected cats to be used for breeding. This disease could be eliminated if breeders would just test their cats and only breed clear animals; the test is only $35 to $40 per cat, so it isn't expensive. Tink's breeder was heartbroken to hear that she had it and she is having all her cats tested and she will give me a refund or a new unaffected kitten, so I don't really blame her anymore; she just didn't know about it. She said that she thought she was being a responsible breeder when she started raising them five years ago; she took them to the vet and tested them for everything he suggested. I explained that PKD DNA test were not available back then but they were routinely using ultrasounds to diagnose affected cats. So I guess you can just chalk this one up to human ignorance.

I was so sad the first few days that I couldn't talk about Tink without crying, but I feel better about it now. I'm going to enjoy her and not worry about what the future may hold. I hate that she won't get to experience motherhood and that her life may be interrupted, but she is a beautiful, healthy, active cat and I think she's glad she's alive, so maybe a short life that is filled with a lot of joy is better than never having life at all.

As a way of dealing with the sadness I've started calling her my Purrfect Kitty Diva.

Bye Bye Puppies

Our last two pups went to their new homes this weekend. It makes me sad to see them go; we get really attached to them, but it is so nice to see their happy new owners. One of them (Tilly renamed Maggie) went to Atlanta for a little girl's fifth birthday. The puppy was a surprise present. Her mom emailed me and told me how happy the child is with the puppy and how well the Maggie is adjusting. The other puppy (Copper) was bought by a truck driver that lives near us; Copper will be riding with him everywhere. He'll bring Copper by to see us occasionally, so it will be nice to see him in person. I'll have to keep up with the others by email. I just love seeing people and puppies so happy together; makes me feel really good about our little hobby.

What's the Deal?

I've been in school at Athens Tech for about nine months now and I see something everyday that really gets on my nerves. Every break between classes there are these young women dressed in scrubs standing around smoking. Now, I support anyone's right to smoke; it is a personal choice, as long as your smoke isn't fouling up the air that the rest of us have to breath, but when you are going to school to be a nurse you are choosing to help promote people's health and well-being. Part of that should also be a commitment to your own personal health. How can you do something that you know is very bad for you, more than just very bad, one of the worst things that you can do for your health, and expect anyone to take your health advice seriously? I wonder if any of them are respiratory therapy students? Maybe they want to be able to treat their own smoking induced respiratory problem.