Some Angels don't have wings...

...they have fur...

...and multiple toes...

...and a phone number on a name tag, just in case they get lucky
in the never ending quest to sneak out of the garage door.
(while on a break from duties, such as door greeting, purring, being a loyal friend and playmate, bed warming, shower and bathtub clean-up, etc....seriously, this cat is a gift from above; she's helped us all get adjusted to the recent major life changes.)

Oh, My!

Gabe came home one Wednesday afternoon and told us that he was running in the schoolyard for recess, landed wrong on his ankle and heard a small "pop!". The school nurse checked him out, and said that he should be okay. He was able to walk on it that afternoon, and so we went on ahead with a planned ice-skating trip. By the time we got to the arena, we learned that we couldn't skate because the local semi-pro hockey team was holding practice and try-outs (turned out to be a good thing!). Later on that night, Gabe started to complain about pain in his ankle, and so we looked at it, looked at each other and said "Hmmmph! Not good.".

By the next morning, it was really swollen, hot to the touch, and red. To the E.R. we went, he and I. And a few hours later, we left the hospital with a splint covering a small evulsion fracture.

The good news is that he only had to be splinted for a week. He really hated those crutches! The Ortho doc told us that had he been an adult, she would have casted him, but since kids are so resilient, she was confident that his fracture was small enough to heal nicely on it's own, and actually wanted him to exercise that ankle.

Poor Baby!

Moments that make my heart turn to absolute Goo...

This was taken the night that we thought he was heading out to Pakistan, but asked me to pick him up because of problems with the aircraft that he was to go out on. We picked him up, and then returned home to a tea party.

In time, he'll get over my posting such a moment. Because it's so darn sweet. And I'm pretty sure he knows that we love him so very much for the man that he is!

Chena Hot Springs

Just a short post...

Phillip left last week to go to Pakistan to help with relief efforts out there. We dropped him off on Sunday, and 8 hours later, he texted me to ask if I'd go pick him up (Did I mention this before? I think I did...). His flight finally left at 1 a.m. on Wednesday morning.

The kids and I are getting along much better than we thought we would. We miss him, it's true. But, we have a routine and that helps.

This past Sunday, I took the kids on a small road trip to visit Chena Hot Springs Resort. The pictures are included in the Alaska album for your viewing pleasure.

It really is a nice place to visit. The ride to and from is really beautiful (especially with the fall colors coming out). And the resort itself, is really peaceful. I hope to go back once it snows to go dog sledding!

Kids! Gotta love em'!

The setup -

Phillip was supposed to leave to go on his mission. We drop him off at the appointed time. 7.5 hours later, I get a text message from him asking if I can go pick him up at the same location that we dropped him off at 7.5 hours earlier. (the outgoing aircraft was having issues and so we are not quite sure when he'll be leaving)

The conversation goes like this -

Me: "I told Gabe that we were going out for chocolate chip cookies." (to surprise the kids)
Phillip: (looking at Gabe with disbelief) "And you fell for that?"
Gabe: "Well, I know that when a woman is depressed, she wants chocolate!"

As it turns out...

Sarah did have a small Urinary Tract Infection for my birthday (and I think she had something else, virus-wise, working on her system too). The doctor who examined her that night, called on the following Sunday to tell us that Sarah's test results/cultures came in positive for a UTI, so we started her on antibiotics.

She was also teething...4 molars were trying to work themselves out of her gums. As I write this post, I think it's safe to say that those few weeks of torture are over with.

It's amazing how a child's character can change when they start to feel better!

Choo! Choo!

Phillip will be leaving soon to go on his humanitarian mission, so he's spending a lot of time at home with us (just waiting on the word "Go"). This past Friday, he, Sarah, and I were running errands when we came up with the idea of going down to Denali National Park on a train for a fun Saturday trip.

We'd planned to surprise Gabe (since he loves trains), and were gonna tell him that we were going to drag him out shopping for truck tires, but ended up telling him anyway about the trip when he came home wanting to make plans for a sleepover with a new school friend.

He kept telling us on Saturday that he was glad that he didn't press the sleepover issue.

Enjoy the video above of little sister helping herself to big brother's ice cream. Don't forget to watch for the little dance of attitude at the end. And, I've posted pics in the Alaska album too.

By the way, please keep us in your thoughts and prayers. We are not sure how long Phillip will be gone for, but we do know that when he's not here, time can really drag on. Loneliness can really get to you, if ya let it...and it's a constant fight, I tell you. Most importantly, we want Phil and his friends to be safe until the mission is complete.

This week's news and media.

Gabe started the 3rd grade this week. He says that his teacher is strict, and he does things the correct way in her class because he's too afraid not too. We met her; and Phillip and I like her. I sent him to school with $10 on the first day to pay for his lunch (just in case his lunch account was not updated in time); he didn't have to use it, so he kept it in his backpack..."Mom, I still have the money you gave me. I'm gonna use it to buy a recorder for music class okay?" he says.

(He's growing up way too fast)

Though he's the new kid at school, he's making playground friends slowly but surely and with no doubt, he'll have fun this year.

My 35th birthday was yesterday. Here I am, modeling part of the gifts that I got from the kids. Gabe said he picked this one out, because the others were "too dull".

Yum! Chocolate cake with Bavarian creme filling!!!

Pichou jumped into the tub with Sarah twice this week. I'm not sure, but I think she is part puppy; she didn't really mind that she got wet. She's so playful and so sweet, and she's getting quite spoiled too. Wherever we are, she is. I'm so glad that she joined our family!

To get an idea of how tiny she is, compare the size of Sarah's pacifier to her.
(she's only about 11 weeks old right now)

The two video's above are of Felinas Deathicus, a.k.a. Pichou, putting the hurt on one of Sarah's dolls, and of Sarah talking to her Ya-Ya earlier today.

Instead of having an early birthday dinner last night, we were at a First Care clinic with Sarah. She has been a little sick for the past couple of weeks; first with a small cold and head congestion, and some mystery fever that she spiked yesterday afternoon (about 104 degrees). The docs seem to think that she has a virus that is trying to work it's way through her system, because her ears, throat, and chest all looked and sounded good to them. We even hooked up a small "urine catcher" bag to her to get a small sample to check for a urinary tract infection (she told me yesterday that she hurt...pointing down below). She got sick again in the middle of the night last night, and still is a little feverish now; though you can't really tell by the video. If she's not better by Monday, I'll bring her back in to see the pediatrician. Thankfully, her fever goes down when she has Motrin or Tylenol "on board".

But after the clinic, we had dinner, came home, and cut into that awesome cake you see above.

Oh, and a funny thing Gabe did last night:

Phil and I were trying to explain what the old show "The Fresh Prince of Belair" was, because Jaden Smith (from the recent "Karate Kid") is the son of Will Smith, the main character on TFPoB. In explaining rich and snooty (the Belair type) to Gabe, Phil says "You know...people who don't have to cut their own grass". A moment of silence follows, and then Gabe pipes up with "But...YOU don't cut your own grass.".

Ohhh, you would've had to have been there to appreciate the humor! (We've been having someone else cut our grass for the past few years due to deployments, MTP school, and moving)