"Summertime Blues"

The torrential downpours that plague those of us who choose to call Florida our year round home have begun. For those of you who are wondering what I'm talking about, I'll fill you in. Every afternoon during the summer here in FL we have rain. Not just a little shower, but a thunderstorm that rattles the windows and the nerves of this poor mother. I personally enjoy stormy weather, it makes me want to take a nap. This is made impossible though since I usually have four other people sitting on me "til the storm passes over". The rain also leads to severe depression or ADHD in little boys. The rain started earlier than normal today, leading to complete despondency. As I walked into my living room this morning this is the sight that greeted me. Isn't this pitiful?


Actually, truth be told we are having a good summer. Without having planned any major activities for the beginning of it we have managed to stay on the go. The boys are enrolled in the summer reading program at the public library, so we are trying to dedicate a portion of every day to school work. They actually seem to enjoy it most to the time.

On the 23rd of June we celebrated Collin's 7Th birthday. He invited some friends over to swim, the problem was the afternoon rains that I already mentioned. The friends arrived at the same time as the rain. They only got to swim for about five minutes before I had to haul everyone back in the house. They spent the rest of the afternoon playing together in the house, but I don't think anyone was to distraught over not being able to swim. The parents all came back and we grilled out for supper. Hopefully a good time was had by all in spite of the change of plans. Collin was as happy as he could be, so I guess that's all that matters.




Oops, I just got my timeline out of order. Before the birthday was of course Father's Day. I have truly been blessed with some great Father's in life. I'm so glad that my boys have some "real men" to look up to. They adore both of their Grandpas and are adored in return. Harold's Dad was in KY and mine wasn't feeling well that day, so we only have pictures of Harold. The boys and I sent him fishing the night before so that we could make a surprise for him. If you have never baked with four boys you should do it just for the experience. We decided to make a cake that we found on the Family Fun website. It really was a cute idea, for someone with more talent. I outlined a perfect tie, but when I put the icing on it ran into a rather strange shaped tie. I'm glad that it's the thought that counts. Here's Harold very proudly holding his cake. He's got to be the sweetest most handsome Dad a wife or a boy could ask for.



I choose not to subject you to pictures of our next summer project. Collin has been in need of some dental work for awhile, but we had to negotiate with the insurance company for awhile. Monday was the first of several appointments we have to get his teeth taken care of. It is a bit upsetting when the Pediatric Dentist tells you that he has had to consult with two Orthodontists on your child's case. He said, "there's just not room in his mouth for all his teeth". Hopefully he won't end up with any outside of his mouth. Anyway, on Mon. they pulled the first of two of four and made a mold for spacers. He was so brave, but at the end when they were trying for the third time so fit a mold into his mouth that was too big, he broke down. Nothing can break a Mommy's heart more than to see silent tears flowing down the cheeks of her child. The dentist almost lost an arm. He did fine (Collin) until a few hours later, I was on my way to take him to my parent's house so I could go to work. The voice from the backseat says "Mom, what's this?" I turn around to see that he had pulled the stitches out. I guess it felt funny so he decided to see what it was. We go back in two weeks, so keep us in your prayers.

The afternoon storms caused another disaster in our household. Harold planted a beautiful palm tree outside the boys window. We were so excited to see a little mother bird building her nest in it. Last week after a particularly windy storm I looked out the window to see a little blue egg lodged in one of the lower branches. I decided to have a time of learning. So we call the Wildlife Refuge who told us that we should try to put it back in the nest. I tried to be careful, I really did, but the egg was lodged in too tightly and it cracked. Luckily I took a picture before, so you my dear readers can have the opportunity to view the "unfairness of nature".

The rain has also had a strange effect on the people who work at Goodwill. We have been wanting a computer that the boys can use for awhile, so when Harold's Mom got a new one and offered us her old one, we gladly accepted. The problem was that we did not have a desk to put it on. So yesterday the boys and I hopped in Harold's van (no air conditioner) and headed out on a thrift shop expedition. After several stops we ended up at Goodwill, even though I had drug my poor friend Sonja through there on Sat. night, it just so happened that the perfect piece of furniture had arrived in the meantime. I went to the counter and paid for it not realizing that a thunderhead had developed while I was making up my mind. We ran to the car in the rain, so the receipt got quite wet. I drove around back and handed it to the little man who is back there to load and unload. "I can't even read this" he said to me. So I very kindly described the piece to him, and off he went to get it. Now I didn't time him, but it seemed that he was gone an exorbitant amount of time. He showed back up at my van window and said "You're gonna have to get out and help me". This was something I expected to do, so I hopped out ready to use my muscles. He moaned and groaned while I did most of the lifting. When we were done he turned to me and said "Next time you need come when the weather is better". I wanted to say that next time I'd bring my Doppler Radar, but you'll be glad to know that I bit my tongue. Anyway the computer is now set up and the boys are having fun. The "desk" was actually a kitchen piece, but after the wine rack was taken out it fit perfectly in their room.

Sensitive types beware, I'm fixing to go on a little tirade. The little lady that I work for watches CNN 24/7, so I am constantly bombarded with the idiocy of the media. What has me upset now though is a commercial. Some of you have probably seen it, it starts out, "this is my first son".

Basically it shows a very proud first time mom tell how wonderful her little toddler is. It ends with, "so John McCain when you said we'd stay in Iraq for a hundred years, were you counting on Alex? Cause if you were, you can't have him". Being the mother of four boys I know well the fear of losing one. I shamefully admit to having watched "Saving Private Ryan" many years ago. The scene at the beginning where they tell the Mom that she only has one son left still huants me. Maybe it's because it's almost Independence Day and I'm feeling extra patriotic, but something rises up in me and me and says "how selfish can you get". Do we really take our freedom so for granted? What if all the mother's throughout history would have had the same attitude as the one in the commercial. I guarantee that we wouldn't be enjoying the liberties that we do today. It scares me to think of all the mothers that are training their little boys with the same attitude. My number one desire is for my boys to have a real relationship with Jesus Christ, to be soldiers in his army. After that's taken care of I know that they are safe whatever they do. So if in a few years my sons choose to serve their country, don't be surprised to see me shed some tears of fear and dread, but also know that my heart is swelling with pride.

Next week are taking a little family vacation. Someone donated MFI a timeshare for the staff to take advantage of, so we are heading to Orlando for a few days. I'm sure that I will have plenty of pictures to post upon my return. Yes, we are doing the "Disney thing". We have been wanting to go since we moved back ,five years ago, just never seemed to be able to make it happen. FYI to all of you who live in FL, they're having great FL resident discounts this summer. Most of the time we travel we are on deputation or going to Haiti, so we are looking forward to some quality time together.
The week after that is VBS. It is a time I always look forward to since my boys hit the altar every night. Harold and I really appreciate this annual onset of conviction. Seriously, I am thankful that their hearts are tender and pray that they will stay that way.

In the words of General McArthur, "I'll be back". (Yes, Tara that was just to annoy you)

Collin's Graduates From Kindergarten

Friday morning marked the first major milestone in Collin's "Quest for Education". Yes, the completion of Kindergarten is never to be taken lightly. For Collin it truly is a great achievement. Most of you know the problems he had with his hearing and speech. If not, I'll give the short version. When he was around three we took him to the pediatrician because we were concerned that he wasn't talking yet, and if he did it was impossible to understand him. This of course ended up in great frustration for him and for us. They referred us to an audiologist who after a doing several intense tests told us that he was only hearing about 20% and needed to have hearing aids. As a last resort they sent us to an ENT, who said that there was a small amount of fluid in his ears, not enough to affect his hearing, but they wanted to put tubes in anyway. After surgery the doctor told us that he had never seen so much fluid on a child's ear. It was packed in so tightly that they couldn't detect the movement when they did the tests. This almost completely corrected his hearing, there are still a few decibels that he can't hear, but within normal range. This whole hearing thing affected him in so many ways. He started out in the Early Intervention Program where he was diagnosed with several different disorders, put in Occupational Therapy and Speech Therapy. When he turned four he started Speech Therapy through the public school system in our area, we took him three days a week. After that he attended a special pre-school where he had very intense therapy five days a week for a year an a half. The therapist described it to me like this. "Imagine learning a new language by cassette tape, only with lots of static and other background noise". This very much explained why he sounded like he was speaking a different language that us. We are so pleased with his progress, he stills struggles with phonics some, but is doing wonderful in every other area. His therapist told me that she thinks after next school year we will be able to discontinue his therapy. So here are a few pictures of the big day, along with a video of his solo. Sorry that I didn't get the whole song. I was so intrigued that I forgot to start videoing.


The whole class

With his favorite gal, Janessa

Everyone who new Harold when he was little always tells me that Collin is his replica. After looking back at old pictures I discovered that it is really true. Here is Harold at the same age.

Collin's picture from this year


Together


The whole family, not sure what Ethan's doing.

"God's Little People"

Landon's Wild Ride

I sit here writing with Landon on my knee. You see this is a rather difficult week for him, it's the last week of school for his big brothers. They are beside themselves with excitement over all the activities that are taking place, and Landon is feeling a little left out. So I decided to give his self-esteem a little boost by doing a post for him. On Sat. we went out boating for awhile, when we left he adamantly proclaimed that he was not going to ride in the tube. After watching his big brothers bounce along behind the boat for awhile he decided that he was brave enough to try it. I made the mistake of videoing his ride and therefore have had to watch the video with him over and over. He was very excited about the prospect of it going on my blog for all the world to see, or at least all those relatives and friends who are interested in seeing such a thing.

So without further ado here is the world's bravest four year old (if only in his own opinion).

The Perfect Day

This was filmed in honor of Kimberly and Tara.

Our State of the Union

On May 25, 1996 Harold and I "tied the knot". Yes, for those of you who are doing the math, we will have been married for twelve years on Sunday. It never ceases to amaze me, that time can pass so quickly without us even realizing it. Harold, always says, "Times fun when you're having flies". Well we haven't exactly had flies, but we have been busy. I've posted a little pictorial journey of the past twelve years. It is a little view of how our family has grown. No, not weight, kids.
Here we are in 1993, our senior year of high school.

In 1997, Harold graduated from HS Bible College and we moved to TN. Harold attendend Moody Aviation. I worked as a CNA in a local nursing home and went to nursing school

In 2000, after having three miscarriages, God blessed us with our first son, Ethan.

Then just fourteen months later along came Collin.

In 2002 we moved back to Fl and began our ministry with Missionary Flights International. A year after that Landon, boy #3, was born.

Last, but certainly not least, came our fourth and final son, Dylan.

I've posted the video to the song "Holding Hands" by Steve Green. The longer we are married I find that the romance isn't so much in the warm, gushy feelings as it is in the commitment. I still remember the first time Harold held my hand. It took him awhile to get up the nerve to finally reach over and take mine. Oh boy, I don't think my heart could have pounded any harder. Now it just come natural. If we are walking along our hands just naturally come together without giving it any thought. I still love the romance of it, but I love the trust and commitment even more. Several years ago we were having an intense disagreement about something. I was very righteously indignant with my dear husband. He said to me, "Kayla we are going to talk about this holding hands". Since then we've made this our policy for any major discussions. So I can truthfully tell you today that the state of our union is strong, and we're still "holding hands".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdX15209s6A

The Dolls In My Past

Yesterday was a day of stunning revelation for me. We cleaned out what remained in our shed at our old house. This included the bassinet that all four boys slept in as infants and a box of my dolls from childhood. I very carefully set up the bassinet and decided to lay my dolls in it for safekeeping. Suddenly it struck me! My dolls were very decidedly male, or at least the ones that survived up to the present day. I made sure that my Mom was aware of this new information, since she was primarily responsible for my doll collection. I just have to wonder if this was some kind of foretelling of my future. The picture that you see here is of my two favorites. Does anyone else remember when every little girl had to have a Cabbage Patch doll or life just wasn't worth living. My parents did their Christmas shopping a little late that year so all that was left were boy Cabbage Patch dolls. His name was Xavier, at least that's what the box said. I named him Jaylen. The other dolls name is Joey. My Aunt Barbara gave him to me one year when she came to visit. My parents convinced me that I must take good care of him since he came from Belgium. I don't know if that is true or not, but he did survive quite well. There was also the doll that was supposed to be the same size as a one year old. He actually started off as a girl. The problem was that he/she had a long red ponytail that grew when you pulled a string on his/her back. We had lots of fun with her until the neighbor girl stuffed the ponytail into the hole it originated from. After that I just dressed him like a boy. Now the fact that the first doll I remember had red hair and was rather stocky must have some significance.

Now I must clarify that I did have some girl dolls, but I also had cousins. Since they are some of my fellow bloggers and can defend themselves, I will tell of the destruction that they heaped upon my dolls. First there was Kimberly, she never really played with her dolls much. They were used more for decoration and she always informed me that she didn't want them to get messed up. Well you should see what she did to the ankles of my Barbie Dolls by making them dance so wildly that their hair would swoosh around. I don't have a picture, but you can imagine how those poor rubber legs looked after being bent so violently in every direction. Next came Liz, whose Mom was working for a surgeon at the time. She took a black marker and made a nice little mid-line incision, complete with staples, down the belly of my little cloth doll. I have found it in my heart to forgive them, but now you understand why the only survivors are boys. The only conclusion that I can come to is that I was just made to nurture boys whether they be plastic and cloth or flesh and blood.

Note of Concern

Landon has taken quite an interest in the dolls that are now in our home. As you can imagine this is stressing Harold to immeasurable limits. His reaction when Landon tried to take the doll on a ride in the van was to be remembered. Last night Landon walked out of the guest room and informed us that he was "putting music on so the babies could sleep", I think Harold's eyes might still be rolling. Do you think that the fact that the dolls are boys makes any difference, or will I have to box them up and store them away again?

Still Alive?

Yes, I am still alive despite the fact that my last post had people writing epitaphs for my tombstone. (They were both older than me) I haven't succumbed to the evils of Facebook either, although I have had fun reconnecting with people I haven't heard from in years. My absence is due to the fact that my life is incredibly busy these days.

I started a new case a month ago that was supposed to only last for two nights. Well a month later it has ended. I ended up working almost everyday. I will say that it was the most fun case I have ever worked. The people were from GA so their Southern Hospitality extended to even the hired help. I got fed things such as fish and grits, and was called "kiddo" on a daily basis. You can only imagine what this did for my self esteem.


Then last week when I thought things were getting back to normal Dylan started coughing again for the fifth time this season. It kept getting tighter and tighter until on Monday after being up most of the night before I took him to the doctor. He was diagnosed with severe bronchitis that was most likely due to Asthma. Now after a week of steroids, antibiotics, and nebulizer treatments he is doing fine. Here you can see just how fine he is.




So with working, keeping up with four little boys, trying to keep my house somewhat presentable, along with doing my best to be a good daughter to my aging parents and a devoted wife to my hard working husband, time at the computer came to a screeching halt. I should probably be doing something more productive right now. Oh well, it feels good to sit for awhile.


This is for those of you who long for the ocean breezes of South Florida. It will also help you understand why I am not a beach bum. A few weeks ago someone told Harold that this had washed up on the beach, so of course we had to load the boys up in the van and go see it.



Yes, it is a 12ft Hammerhead. Someone had already broken the teeth out, so the boys didn't get that thrill. Makes you feel comfy, huh?



I had a whole Mother's Day post planned in my head, but never had time to get my thoughts together. When I have had time to clear my head I plan to be a little controversial and write a tribute to "working Moms". Until then you'll have to be satisfied with a picture of me and my crew on that special day. As usual Landon was having a moment of crisis and Dylan was concerned. Maybe one day we'll actually get a picture of everyone smiling.

As Alumni President Harold has to give a little induction speech every year at graduation. He just emailed me his speech for tonight to read over. He included the quote by Robert Louis Stevenson, "Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds that you plant". This is not only a good reminder for those who are heading out into their fields of service, but for those of us who are Mothers. It is very easy to climb into bed every night exhausted and feel like you've accomplished absolutely nothing, like the people in the next room are still heathens. You'll sleep a lot better if you determine to plant as many seeds as possible during the day and count them before drifting off. It will make waking up the next morning a little easier too, as you look forward to the day when the harvest is ready.
I'll leave you with a few pictures of what life is like around our house. Enjoy!

I bought the boys butterfly nets with visions of little children running through fields of wild flowers with butterflies fluttering in the cool breeze. I should have know better.



These are my handsome and highly intelligent sons. They make me so proud, sob, sob. Okay, they were dressed up for Mix-Up Day. Don't ask about the facial expressions, they just thought they looked cool.



The goal here was to get a sweet picture of Harold reading to Dylan, but as soon as he saw the camera he started saying "sheese".



This is Landon in the helmet that he and his Pawpaw bought at the Thrift Store. He insists that it is NOT too big for him.



Ethan is smelling the coffee he just ground on his field trip yesterday. From the look on his face we may have another addict.