Childrens Play

Lila and her cousin Iree had this great idea to make a "beach" in the garage.  They played, had fun, ate lots of snacks, "biked", and apparently took over 100 pictures.  That's right.  Over 100.  Because who doesn't want to remember their day at the "beach"?

They were out there for hours.  Kids and their imagination, too cute.


But they don't have the market cornered on fun.  I loved having my brothers and sisters down to visit.  The best times were after the kids had gone to bed and we could just stay up all night talking like we used to when we all three shared a room growing up.

Too bad we had to wake up bleary eyed to those "cute, imaginative" kids demanding breakfast.

Sweet!

After a few hours of swimming an important decision must be made. Where to go for ice cream?  McDonalds is cheaper, Rite Aid more flavors.  Rite Aid eventually won and my brother Kyle and I loaded up 7 crazy kids.

 My 3, my sister's 3 and my brothers one and only.

My little brother Kyle and his beautiful and extremely sweet daughter Iree Brooklyn.

I didn't get any a ice cream.  My M.O. is to eat a little of all the kids. All 7 of them.  Help them out when their cone is starting to "melt", or is "lopsided".  That way I can feel good about dessert later that night, because I didn't get ice cream like the kids did.


I know, it doesn't make sense to me either.

Some Kids........

...have moms who feel  it's perfectly acceptable to have zero hours of television a week.  Some kids have become pretty darn good at filling all those hours.  For instance.......every grasshopper needs a 3-story home complete with pool, disco room and a hanging from the ceiling bed. 

Juice bar in the back complete with barstools, blender & a  bowl of fruit.  Lounge chairs up front with tiki torches & a diving board of course.

For all those dance parties grasshoppers are famous for.  Notice the D.J. mixing table?  Nice.

Some kids might even make their own T.V. sets so they could defy that horrible mother and watch T.V. any ol' time.  Some kids sure know how to find a loophole.

 Some kids might spend their time making completely inapropriate Barbie clothes.

Or act like munchkins and take a million pictures with their mom's very expensive camera.  Serves her right for not letting them watch T.V.

They might covet all the gameboys they never had and be forced to make their own Ipad. 

They might just join their Dad in some P90X.

Or have fun with cups.  (also about a hundred of these fascinating cup photos)

They might just be inspired by the nerdy books they read and try to recreate some hecka dope penny trick.

They just might get all their nerdiness from their mom.  Who might just have a superfly flatscreen in her room.

These kids can never claim they weren't brought up normally.  They get ice cream from McDonalds for Pete's sake!

 And kids, if your mom is heinous like this remember to give her some slack.  After all some moms have homes covered with glitter, pet shops, markers missing their lids, glue that will never come off  carpet, a constant trail of baking soda and cornstarch from all those cool science experiments,  all contents of the recycle bin brought inside weekly for neverending crafts, and a real home that is usually turned into some sort of playhouse.

Some moms are crazy.

Lost & Found

We had just gotten settled in for the six hour ride back to Temecula a few weeks ago when my sister called to say that Brutus was missing.

Tears.  Prayers.  Frantically trying to work Glenn's iphone to put an ad in Craigslist.  


It was the longest ride ever.


Upon returning home we immediately put up flyers.  We drove and biked our neighborhood all the while calling his name. That July 5th evening we returned home defeated and sick.  I asked my mom who had helped me put up the second round of flyers to read to the children and put them to bed.


As soon as the front door shut I just couldn't hold it in anymore.  I sat in my mom's car and sobbed.  It was gut-wrenching and horrible.  My heart was broken and I knew unless he came home part of it would never heal.

 

I had horrible dreams/nightmares all night long.  I would dream that someone found and returned him and I was elated, only to wake up and realize it wasn't true.  This same scene played in my mind all night long, about a dozen times.  My emotions were completely out of whack when I woke up.


Emry and I set out again that morning putting up huge signs by major intersections.  We went to the animal shelter where Lila broke down in heaving sobs saying she couldn't look at any more dogs, it was too hard.  She said nothing would ever be the same without Brutus and she wanted him home.

That morning my mom had said she received an answer to her prayers and that Brutus was coming home "today"!  My mom is not one to appease anyone or try to make you feel better by saying whatever it takes.  We were all trying to have faith but also do our part in bringing him home.


Upon arriving home from the shelter Glenn said "I found him".


My heart literally skipped a beat but I tried not to get too excited until I saw him with my own eyes.

 Our listing was under "pets", the family who found Brutus put their listing under "lost & found".  A third party (an angel, a good Samaritan, a Saint), emailed Glenn after reading both ads thinking it might be a match.


It was.


4th of July night he had taken off from my sister's house when the fireworks spooked him.  With each explosion he ran farther and faster.  My sister and her kids eventually gave up after chasing him during the whole firework show.  


Brutus had  jumped into someones open car as they were getting in, and he wouldn't get out.


They took him home.

I was sick to my stomach wondering if Brutus was crouched under some shrubs freezing and starving.  I was so relieved to hear this family had loved him and taken such good care of him.


It all could have been avoided if Brutus was wearing tags, which he wasn't.  Once we got him home (and sent the family off with chocolates and $10 to pay for the food they bought, which they wouldn't take until we gave it to their daughter) we bathed him and loved him, got him a new sturdy collar and new tags.


Lesson Learned.

And by lesson I mean pray and have faith.


Later on Emry said we didn't need to spend all our time making and  putting up signs & posters, driving around Temecula asking anyone and everyone if they had seen him and going to the shelter.  Then in her next breath she said "Actually we did, because a few weeks ago in church we learned that faith and works go together.  We needed to do all that work in order to have our prayers answered".


I am  thankful that Brutus is home.  I am beyond thankful that the light of Christ can touch my children.

Must Do

In Ethan's Kindergarten class they had a daily list of must-do's that had to be accomplished before they could start in on the fun stuff like art & puzzles.  Nightly reading is a must do in our home.

                         Myself, Emry and Glenn all snuggled in our bed.  

I am like a kid in a candy store in the library.  I usually get so carried away I end up using 2 or 3 library cards and walk away with over 60 books.  When we get home we sink into the couch and plow through stack by stack.


Even Santa and the Easter Bunny share my love of books as that is what they seem to leave the kids.


The kids can't go to bed without reading, it's just not possible for them. 

On our month long vacation I didn't pack a single book.  I actually had 1 book for myself and a book on tape that we listened to the whole way to San Jose that Emry has to do a report on for school.  Yes!  Homework in the summer, I love it.  I think between feeling like I was packing my whole house, and knowing that we would be doing activities everyday, I just didn't think of it.

Nightly reading is such a part of their life, a cue that it's bedtime, an ambien if you will, that Ethan had to take matters into his own hands.

He searched our hotel and came up with this.

Oh yes he did.  He read aloud from Genesis. 

I am the fun Aunt

If your idea of fun is pulling weeds.  This is what happens when you spend the night at my house.  Oh cousins, if only the kids had warned you about the way things work in the Wallwork home.

Allright, allright, it's not that bad.  They did start out the day with warm whole wheat coffee cake.

And let's take a look at the past few days.

I think they'll live.