You can tell by the scream...

whether the kids are playing, fighting or severly injured. Each scream has a distinct sound that mothers pick up on when their kids are very little.

So, I'm sitting at the computer earlier and I hear a scream. It wasn't a normal playing scream, then it got more frantic and it became obvious in milliseconds that someone was injured.

I ran to the back door and couldn't see Michael, Rachel or the neighbor boy. I yelled, "MICHAEL, COME HERE, WHAT'S WRONG!?" He came running and screaming from the woods. Thoughts of sticks puncturing flesh crossed my mind. Awful thoughts of what injury could cause this tribal scream to come from my son.

Then, he yelled, "BEES!!!" I worked frantically to get his clothing off of him when I realized that the bees were on his shorts, his sandals and they were being very persistent. While doing this I was looking for the neighbor and seeing Rachel had not been affected, I brought poor naked Michael into the house. He was able to tell me that the neighbor had run home.

I got Michael into the tub and let him run cool water over the stings while trying to calm him and assess his condition. He was terrified. Rachel was so concerned for him. She stuck right by us. We could find 10 stings from his buttocks to his ankles. I gave him a Benedryl and put Calidryl lotion on them. He was calm enough to sit on the couch with ice packs by this time. I called the neighbors who were going through the same thing with their son.

I can bet that Michael will never go into those woods again. We aren't sure where the bees came from since Chris couldn't find a hive. They could have been in the ground or in a dead tree.

He seems to be fine now. The boys are back together and playing Star Wars Leggos on the Playstation.

Frogger

I'm so grossed out at two times of year when the weather is raining and the frogs are on the move. It's usually in the spring (May ish and then now, Sept ish). The weather is muggy, there's been a little rain, and the frogs are just all over the road at night. Big ones, small ones, frogs of all sizes, jumping in all directions as my headlights pick up there light green bodies. I cringe as the jump toward my tires' path. I yell, "JUMP!" There was one that was jumping like 12 inches off the road. I was coming up behind him thinking I could probably straddle him, but if he jumped, he was sure to hit my van. I swerved a bit, he jumped the wrong way! BLEHCH! Then, the grossed one, this HUGE frog jumped toward me from the left. He made it passed my driver's side tire, but then jumped his last jump as I heard a loud THUD and he hit my bummer. ICK!!!!!

Impatient

God has really shown me that I have an impatient heart. I try to be patient, and always fail in the end, because he puts me in circumstances that bring me to that end. Like in the Dr. office where I waited with a 2-year-old for 1 hour and 45 minutes to be seen for a 10-minute check-up. And trips to Wal-mart with the two of them. Yesterday I told Michael emphatically, "THE GOAL IS TO NOT MAKE YOUR SISTER SCREAM!" after she'd screamed a couple of times. (didn't she do that in church Sunday, too?! when he grabbed her foot?)

So, I've given up on pretending that I'm patient. I'm NOT! The only patience I get is the grace of God and I'm so thankful for it. I just have to keep remembering to ask for it.

Swinging

Rachel talked her daddy into taking her down to the swing set and pushing her after dinner. He pushed her for a very long time. She noticed the moon, which she always announces, "THERE'S THE MOON, I SEE IT RIGHT THERE!" Then she said, "Watch out moon, I'm swinging high in the sky!"

No choice but to clean...

God has his ways of getting me to clean my house.

Generally, I'm not very good at it; I don't care for the real cleaning. I tighty up. I move stuff around. I Swiffer.

Well, I had no choice tonight. Rachel pooped in the tub. That is pretty much a sign that it's time to CLEAN IT! While I was doing the tub, I might as well clean the whole bathroom. Come over to visit soon.

And, then, as I'm fuming and trying to accept that this had to be and I'd better just get over it, Michael skipped into the kitchen with just enough milk in his cup that he didn't notice and it splashed ALL OVER. So, now the kitchen floor has been mopped.

I started apologizing to God for grumbling about his ways. And, then Michael spilled more milk over where I'd just mopped. I GET IT! I mopped the second time very apologetic and trying to see the irony in the whole cleaning the house thing.

Fashion

I doubt, based on Rachel's selection of clothing on this particular day, that she will have a job in high fashion.

by the end of the day...

We were ready to head home. What a great way to end the summer.

...and Rachel slept.

The Condor

Michael and Chris are up there somewhere.

The Boomerang

The bald guy in the third row is Chris. The speck of blond next to him is Michael. They both LOVED it.

Bumper Cars

Michael loved it. Chris is just TOO BIG for these rides. His knee was jammed into the dash when they crashed.

On the way to Great Escape

Here are the kids on the way to Great Escape. You may think that Michael looks a little green. He ended up getting car sick just after Sevey's Corners. Good thing there were extra clothes in the car to change into. From now on, I guess we need to pack barf bags.

so small

I love to watch Rachel run in our yard. She looks so small against the broad green sea of lawn. I wonder if she feels as small in the yard as she looks?

(great, now I'm misting up about the thought of her growing up)

Loves Jewelry

Thank you Aunt Michele, Uncle Jeff, Michaela, Jordon, Zander and Keziah! Rachel loves jewelry!

Very Hungry Catepiller likes doughnuts

Rachel's new favorite book is Eric Carle's Very Hungry Catepiller. However, she thinks all of the fruits with the holes in them are doughnuts.

On Monday he ate one? "Doughnut!"
On Tuesday he ate two? "Doughnuts!"

Dr. Office

What is the point of putting someone in the examining room if the Dr. will not get to exam the patient for over AN HOUR! Do you know what that does to a 2-year-old?! I was a human jungle gym and had sung every Banana Fana fo fanna song posible.

Pike

Michael saw some true story TV show about this pike that sucked off a guys foot. He won't swim in the lake anymore.

Dinner Time Miracle

So after the amusement park (11 am to 6 pm pretty much non-stop in the blazing sun), we were starving for good food. We stopped at the first restaurant we came to. The kids were SO well behaved that it had to be the hand of God after such a long day. They sat in their chairs, used their "restaurant voices," ate in silence, and ATE EVERYTHING! Rachel (let me remind you that she's only 2) didn't drop a single piece of food and sat in a regular chair. Not only that, but the service was quick, the food was great and the bill was very reasonable!

No Fear

We took the kids to an amusement park nearby. Michael, with his sneakers and in bad need of a hair cut, was 48". He went on ALL of the rides and sometimes even twice (because one of us adults needed to stay with Rachel, they discourage babies in strollers unattended). What a trooper!