Birthday Cake

I would like to get back to sharing more about Squirt and Gus's lives with you, the reader who may not even exist anymore.

In May, we had a joint birthday party for the boys.  A joint party means a joint cake.

I love Playmobil.  :)

A Blustery Windsday

We could have moved to the Hundred Acre Wood this past week, for we had a blustery Windsday like Winnie-the-Pooh.  We only lost a tree limb from wind gusts in excess of 100 mph.  Others around town were not so fortunate.

We were without power for 36 hours.  Some homes in the area still don't have it back. 

Recent heavy rains, trees laden with sap and leaves (think sailboat), and shallow root systems resulted in many trees going right over.  Others snapped in two, either at the top or at the base. 

Wednesday afternoon, the boys and I walked to see the carnage in the area. These photos were taken across the street from our house, in the park adjacent to us, and on the way to my sister's house. I don't think I got a photo of the telephone pole that was roped off so it, too, wouldn't blow over.

Our neighbors' house across the street.  He usually parks his car right where the trees fell.  Tuesday night, he chose not to.

This is the way to climb a 60 foot tree!

One of the baseball fields near our home.



You can't see the truck that the tree is covering in the driveway.  Poor truck.



Another tree in another baseball field.  My tree climber's paradise.

Spring!

Today, I am thankful for the return of the ever elusive SPRING to the Great White North.

Out of Practice

It really doesn't take long for me to crawl back into my self-destructive hole of self-pity, self-loating and despair. Amazing what a little thankfulness does to make me see OUTSIDE of me!

This past month, I'm thankful for:

421. Glorious fall leaves over the lake

422. Undeserved flowers from a gracious husband

423. TWO little boys, running, playing, cuddling me

424. Sandhill cranes calling as they wing their way south\

425. Five or six eggs each day from the Girls

426. The WORK that is homeschooling

427. Facing fears

428. Wendy's Berry Almond Chicken Salad

429. A new writing group

430. My sister moving here

431. The sweet crunch of snap peas in the garden

432. The mirror that counseling provides

433. A Hole in Our Gospel by Richard Stearns

434. Picnics in the backyard

435. A chicken that loves me

Treasuring My Children

The Winner Creek Hand Tram near Girdwood, AK

Summer 2010

I had asked my Bible study to pray a few weeks ago that I would delight in my children. Last week, God answered in a very unexpected way. We hiked to the hand tram with some dear friends and their family, and had to ferry across in various groups. Gus was waiting for Squirt Boy, Fuzzy, myself and some other kids on the far side, and stepped forward to help pull the rope. Study the photo above, taken last year. There is not a guardrail. To my horror, Gus slipped off the platform and fell down that cliff face, 45 to 50 feet. God put all the trees and bushes in all the right places, breaking his downward descent, and He cradled Gus in the V-notch of 6 inch logs laying on the ground. Gus was conscious and crying. I monkeyed down the cliffside after him, following my friend's teenage nephew, and found Gus, wild-eyed with fear, sitting, crying, complaining of leg pain, tummy pain, and dirty hands. 911 was called immediately, my main concern being internal injuries, as no broken bones were apparent. Within an hour, Gus and I were in a helicopter bound for the hospital.

Today, Gus is sitting next to me, asking to play with his neighbors, smiling, laughing, walking with a slight limp from a bruised/slightly fractured leg. The way he's acting, you'd never know.

Am I thankful? Beyond belief.

Is this a poignant opportunity to treasure every moment with my boys? Absolutely.

I'm sure I could max out my thousand gifts with just this post, but I will just list a few.
I am thankful:

398. That Gus is alive and well

399. That trees and bushes were growing in all the right places

400. That I didn't fall on the way down

401. For peace and presence of mind through it all

402. For cell phone reception at the bottom of Winner Creek Gorge

403. For an EMT and WFR who happened to be on-site at the time

404. For the kindness, care and efficiency of the Girdwood Fire Department

405. For my friend's nephew and his calm, cool assessment of the situation

406. That my friends were there to take Squirt Boy, Fuzzy, and my car home

407. That Papa wasn't out of town, as he was schedule to be

408. For Tim, Brian and Mark on the beautifully smooth and scenic LifeMed flight

409. For the looks of wonder on the ER staff's face as they examined Gus and found nothing immediately life threatening

410. For the immediate, effective, powerful prayers of God's people

411. For Phil's support and bringing us dinner

412. That I didn't need to leave Gus alone in the hospital

413. That Granny flew back from vacation to help

414. For the kind and competent care we received in the ER, the PICU, and the Children's Hospital

415. For health insurance

416. For friends who've fed us

417. That Squirt Boy didn't see his brother fall

418. That the boys recognize God's protection of Gus

419. For the gift of more time with my little boys

420. That Gus fell in the first place, so God could show how awesome He is

Summer Thankfulness

Where in the world did summer go? I've misplaced my thankfulness journal, but that's a lame reason to stop being thankful.

Off the top of my head, I'm thankful for:

374. Hugging old teacher friends
375. Seward in the sunshine
376. The Cousins and Aunties and Uncle who visited
377. Gus getting charged by a moose
378. EGGS from our chickens!
379. Red tomatoes in the garden
380. A sick dog and library books
381. The money to pay for said library books
382. Sweet friends in Valdez, moving to Montana
383. Papa being gone so much
384. Papa being HOME for three weeks
385. The nip of fall in the morning
386. Starting kindergarten and preschool at home with the boys next week
387. A well trimmed dog curled up in my bed
388. Shorter hair
389. Little boys in the dirt pile
390. Walking our canoe to Cheney Lake
391. Baby grebes, baby ducks and baby geese on the lake
392. A huge blue dragonfly perched on a post
393. Precious neighbors that enjoy my children
394. Little House books and a boy that begs for them
395. Many do-overs!
396. Letterboxing
397. Charlotte Mason

Igloos, Chicks and Birthday Cakes

Grandaddy, Papa and Squirt Boy ventured into our mountains and built an igloo earlier this spring. Not only did they build it, but Papa and Squirt Boy slept (or tried to) in it!




Fuzzy Butt wasn't so sure about the new two-week-old chicks. This was the day they came home, Gus' birthday.


Speaking of birthdays, here is Gus' construction cake.


And, a few week's later, Squirt Boy's dragon cake: