Sarah's Sob Story

I was downstairs helping Hannah with something when Sarah came down and stood next to us with a melancholy look on her face. I asked her what was wrong and she broke into tears...big, all-out sobbing tears...and said, "I DID SOMETHING REALLY BAD!"

This statement comes from a girl who for the most part is unfazed by her messes and wrong-doing. A girl who cried, "Why would you do that to me?" when she got her mouth washed out with soap. A girl who drips syrup all over the floor and then just leaves it. A girl who regularly tips things over, creates huge "play" messes, and gets into tussles with her siblings without so much as an "oops". So my mind started going places...

Sarah was so beside herself that she couldn't speak so I just said, "Show me." I cautiously allowed Sarah to lead me upstairs telling myself to stay calm no matter what I saw. Hey, she confessed, that's got to count for something. I brace myself as she points to the dining room. I see nothing but Dudley sunning himself on the floor. She points to the cat who looks just fine to me. The tears start coming even faster and harder (if that were even possible). Realizing this was probably not as big a deal as Sarah thought it was, I relax and start questioning,

"Did you step on him?"
"No!"
"Does it have to do with Dudley?"
"MmHmm."
"What happened?"

Sarah doesn't respond. Then I see it. There's a little bit of hair missing from Dudley's back :o) "Oh, I see. You cut Dudley's hair."
"Yeah."
"Why did you do that?"
"I don't know. I wasn't thinking."
"Were you thinking no one would notice?"
"Yes. I thought you wouldn't be able to tell, but now he looks ugly!" More tears...
"It's OK Sarah. You know you shouldn't cut anyone's hair, even the cat's. But I'm glad you told me instead of trying to hide it."
"But LOOK at him!"

I now realize her main concern is that Dudley will be doomed to live with this imperfection for the rest of his life and that she'll be forced to feel the guilt every time she looks at him knowing she caused this. (Horrible thought to a girl who adores animals more than life itself)

"It'll grow back honey."
Tears immediately slow down, "It will?"
"Yes, it'll grow back and you won't even be able to tell. Now love Dudley up and tell him you're sorry."
A tiny giggle..."Mommy, he doesn't even understand me!"
"He understands that you love him and want to take care of him."
"Don't tell Daddy, OK?"

(OK. Is it all right for me to blog about it though? :o)





As you can see, Dudley is doing just fine...that tiny little spot is what caused all of this.

10 things to do while Slip 'n Slidin'

10. Army crawl through the water tunnel.




9. Try to drink from every hole that has water squirting from it.


8. Run on the slip 'n slide and then fall flat on your bum.




7. Ham it up.




6. Race.



5. Go on your knees.




4. Go on your belly.


3. Wonder if your sister might be crazy.

2. Essential: Keep your tongue out!





1. Have a blast and keep cool on a hot summer afternoon.

Dudley

As many of you already know, one of the two cats we got after Christmas lived a very short life due to an unhealthy liver. Judah met his end a few weeks ago after a vet visit that confirmed the worst... The girls cried their tears. Ethan was relatively unemotional and very matter-of-fact about the whole thing. With very little fanfare, we buried Judah in a box in the backyard with a popsicle stick to mark the grave. The children never even really asked the "Did Judah go to heaven?" question you hear is so typical for children to ask. I know we've talked before about animals being different than humans (not made in the image of God, therefore do not have an eternal spirit) and it seemed like they were all ready to accept that as truth even when faced with the death of a beloved pet. Sarah did wonder about what would happen to Judah when he died. When I said we'd bury his body, that was enough for her. After the burial, there was some discussion about what happens to Judah in the ground (a very nice little biology lesson by the way). The kids excitedly asked how long it would be before we could dig up the grave and see Judah's bones! So as you can tell, the grief passed quite quickly...







Nedra inquired with the Humane Society about whether or not we could get a deal on a new kitty, and as they have been blessed with an over abundance of kittens at this time, they were willing to give us a new one. So in order for Selah to have another playmate (and to keep Mommy happy), call us crazy, but we picked out another kitten last Saturday. It was Nedra's "birthday" present since we picked it out the day before her birthday. They had named him Cheddar at the Humane Society and we were originally going to keep that name, but got sick of it after a couple of hours, so the search for a new name commenced. Nedra came up with a list of 7 names and everyone in the family got to rank their favorites. Alas, Dudley won out over Wally (Mommy was able to sway Sarah's vote to her side:o)





He's a 10-week-old kitten and is everything that goes along with that label - playful, energetic, adorable, curious, funny, frisky. He loves attention. He's into everything (if you've ever had a kitten, you know that they don't do boundaries). He goes in the litter box - hooray! He adds much life and laughter to our household. Rudy thinks Dudley's great, and the feeling is mutual on Dudley's part. Selah wasn't so sure at first. She seemed determined to mother him and boss and hiss him out of his chaotic behavior (she's a much more refined playful at now almost a year old), but today we caught her letting Dudley crawl all over her. She even ended up giving him a bath. The kids love everything about Dudley except the fact that he hasn't been declawed, and they have the scratches to prove it... Mommy and Daddy enjoy all of the fun things we can do with his name - Dudley Do-right, Doodles, Cuddly Dudley...you get the idea.




So here he is! Isn't he cute?!

Lake of the Woods with Grandpa

We made a long overdue trip to Lake of the Woods for some Walleye with Grandpa Patenaude. Ethan, Grandpa Meyer, and myself made the long drive north three years ago (I think). Hannah had been fishing once before that, but no one can remember. However, I know that this was Sarah's first time fishing.


Sarah and Hannah lounging on the front of the boat in Springsteel Marina.

It was a little on the windy side on the lake. It was also cloudy, which kept things on the cool side. Once we got the bait on the hook and wet the lines, the girls retreated under blankets to wait for the fish to bite. Since this was Sarah's first time on the boat, she also enjoyed hanging out in the cabin of the boat. I think she actually took a little nap under there for awhile.

Grandpa decided to anchor between 4 and 5 feet of water right next to a weed bed. Dad had taken the Christensen's up on a previous trip and they had had success there. Fishing was slow but steady. I only took one picture of a fish (between baiting hooks, untangling lines, handing out snacks, and jigging a couple of lines I didn't have photos on the brain). This picture was of the biggest one we caught. It was caught on Hannah's rod. The girls each tried reeling it in, but it was fighting pretty hard and in order for Grandpa to net it, I took over on the rod and brought the fish in.




We ended the day bringing home seven walleyes. Ethan caught the most (three) while using leeches as his bait. He was very patient and make an excellent fisherman.


The girls did very well in their own way. They didn't complain about being bored, but kept themselves busy snuggling in blankets, jigging their fishing poles every once in awhile, and lounging around on the front of the boat. Towards the end of the day, Grandpa decided to pull up anchor and try a few different places before leaving. We didn't catch anymore fish, but the girls enjoyed bouncing up and down on the front of the boat (while eating pudding cups).



Grandpa only had the boat docked at Springsteel for a month and so when we were done fishing, we loaded up the boat and drove it back to the farm. Grandpa treated us all to ice cream in Strathcona on the way home.

Thanks for a great time Grandpa!