Assorted Updates

Jack the hamster left our lives in a very unexciting way...via the garbage truck this morning. My husband thought we should have a ceremony, but it was garbage day, and well, opportunity knocked and I answered. The kids are sad, but not overly so, so I know your prayers worked. They knew hamsters have a short shelf live, and they are petitioning hard for a cat...especially now that they have a void to fill.

Speaking of voids, I've created one, and I am asking you all to hold me accountable NOT to fill it! We have officially left 4-H. I do believe it can be excellent for some families, but it wasn't for us. The leader tried so hard to make it easy for me, but it just never was a passion for the kids or for me, and the marathon 2 hour meetings were killing me as I had to sit in a small room with Sari during that time while they met in a bigger room just outside our door. I was constantly having to keep her quiet and constantly out of the loop because I wasn't in on their meetings. But beyond that, it just comes down to the fact that it just wasn't the most excellent thing for us. I told the leader last Tuesday, but today it became really official as the 4-H office called to be sure of our decision since Scott had won the Share-The-Fun and was meant to represent our county in 2 months at the district level. I feel likes it's dishonest to stay in 4-H just so he can compete when my heart is totally not in it for any other reason, so I thanked them for following up with us, but assured them we were happy with our decision, and excited for the person who would get "bumped" up to compete in his place. (sigh of relief) One less "rock" to carry to the top of the mountain (ask Aunt Fanny about that reference, but it has REALLY helped me prioritize) and one huge weight lifted off my shoulders.

On another positive note, we've distributed (and collected money for) over half of the girl scout cookies already, so that's a big blessing. A good 1/2 of what is left will be gone tomorrow. YEAH! And, I got to officially meet one of the newer moms in our homeschooling group, which was nice because I really like her.

Here's what 300 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies look like. They promptly moved off the table, but now ring the dining area, and fill the "new" bookshelf I just bought from a friend who was moving.

As for TJ, he slept great last night, and woke up to find all 5 fingers on his right hand really got burned (that's the thing about burns...they keep burning). He suffered through basketball practice tonight though, learning to dribble left handed. He only has 5 kids on his team, so it's pretty important that they all play if possible, so please pray for continued fast healing. His fingers really look so much better than I expected given the severity of the burn. Here are some pictures, but it isn't easy to see.

The metal roasting fork was very thin, so the burns are bad and brown in color, but narrow and long, making them hard to photograph. God has been so faithful though, really healing him far faster than I expected, so he had a pretty good day today.

Here's TJ at his game on Saturday. He's the blondie in gold whose feet aren't touching the floor :-).
And not to be left out, here's Mimi, who is trying her hand at Cheerleading. I love Upwards. It's such a positive environment. They cheer for both teams (Blue and Gold) all the time. Mimi is enjoying it, and Sari has even picked up a cheer or two, so she walks around going, "dibble it, pass it, dibble it, pass it...we wah a basket". Too funny, especially with the hand motions.

Finally, I still suddenly have no spell check feature on the blog (I'm sure you've noticed, LOL). The button is there, but nothing happens when I press it...any suggestions?

obm