Lefty Cat

We've had kitty drama at our house this week... Monday night when we got home, we found Lefty the cat outside and he was in BAD SHAPE. We thought he had probably been caught by a coyote, as his chest seemed to be punctured badly in about 4 places. He was bleeding slightly, and not breathing normally. He couldn't move and would just cry out when you touched him. I just knew he was dying. The girls came out and told him good bye, and many, MANY tears were shed. (Here's an old picture of Lefty when he was a kitten with his brother, Poncho. Is that not just pure sweetness?? Love it.)After the kids went to bed, I went out into the back yard and sat with Lefty so he wouldn't be alone when he died. I know, I know... I'm a sap. Luke came out and checked on him, too, but neither one of us could "put him out of his misery". We covered him with a towel and gave him some water, which he lapped up. We would pet him, and he would lean into our hands and try to purr. It was very sad. Finally, we decided we needed to go to bed, but Lefty was still hanging in there. We couldn't leave him alone and defenseless in the yard, so we finally decided to move him to the laundry room. We thought that way he could pass away quietly. It was sad, but we thought it was best. Luke had some liquid antibiotics, which he gave to Lefty. He drank a bit more water, and we left him for the night.

When we woke up in the morning, we went to check on Lefty, who was still alive. He had used the little litter box, and, even though he still looked really bad, Luke felt like maybe he had a chance. Luke loaded him up in the car and took him to the vet.

After the vet looked at him and shaved down his chest, he discovered that Lefty had in fact been bit by a SNAKE. Scary, since those fang puncture marks were HUGE. Anyway, the vet called and said Lefty was still alive, but he only gave him a 50/50 shot at survival. He put Lefty on IV antibiotics, IV fluids, and IV steroids.

Lefty held on for another day, but today, he died. The girls were sad all over again, but Luke promised them he would bring the body back home, and we would have a feline funeral. (In case you didn't know, Luke is an EXCELLENT pet preacher... I am so thankful, as I LITERALLY can't get through these pet funerals without bursting into inappropriate giggling fits.)

SO tomorrow, we'll be burying and saying good bye to a very good cat. RIP, Lefty. We will miss you!

Softball

Kate's softball team has had a ROUGH year this year. They've been playing since April, and they're still playing. They have gotten beat EVERY SINGLE GAME, and often, they have been beaten BADLY.

When the season started, none of the girls knew how to pitch, and this is a "kid-pitch" league. Like I said, it has been rough.
UNTIL TONIGHT!!!

Tonight, they WON, and WON BIG!! I was so proud of them. They all played extremely well, and never acted or played like they were anything other than champions. Kate even pitched a couple of innings, and she did well. I was so very, very proud of her! What I was MOST proud of, however, is that at the end of the game, they ran over to the opposing team's dug out and cheered and clapped for the other team, and told them they were proud of them. It was a fabulous display of good sportsmanship.

Our season ends Friday night. I hope these girls can pull out another great game to end their season on a high note!

All about Hubby

This weekend should have been all about THIS guy......because his 39th birthday was on Saturday...
... and today was Father's Day. (And he is a FANTASTIC father...).
But, instead, he had to work ALL weekend. It really STINKS being a grown up sometimes!
But, sometimes you HAVE to be a grown up and just suck it up and do what you have to do. There are sick people who still have to be cared for, whether it's your birthday or not.
SO... being the fantastic man that he is, he did what he had to do this weekend. He worked.

Happy Birthday, honey. And, Happy Father's Day, too. We love you VERY much, and are so thankful for you EACH AND EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR!!

Oh, Gracie...

I'm so proud, because Miss Gracie showed me yesterday that she is REALLY GOOD at writing her name! She even spelled her last name correctly, and had most of the capital letters in the correct places. So smart!

However, I was a little sad because she chose to show me by WRITING IT ON THE WALL.
*SIGH*

I got out the Magic Eraser, and, while it removed most of the ink, it also removed a fair amount of paint.

I'll be finding that old touch up paint very soon.

I KNOW that I should be distraught and VERY upset with her. I KNOW that I would have absolutely killed Kate or Abby for doing this very same thing. I KNOW that she is old enough to know better. Oh, how far I have fallen...

I did speak to her very sternly about it. And I didn't even laugh once (in front of her.) She said she just wanted to show me how pretty she could write. (And, if you look at the picture, it is very nice penmanship for a 5 year old...) She has promised to never do it again. If she does, THEN I will kill her... But for now, I'm just going to repaint it.

Just as soon as I find that paint...

My Make-Over

My good friend, Shelley, has given me a new bloggy-look!

Isn't it cute?!?!?!

She's thinking it might inspire me to be better about updating my blog.

I'm doubting it, but maybe... stranger things have happened...

Thanks, Shelley! Love it!! :-)

Triathlon 2010

Today Kate and Abby participated in the 2nd annual Hamilton Kid's Triathlon. Grace was a spectator, and spent the most of her morning holding this cute little kitten...The bigger girls did a GREAT job. Abby thought it was HARD, but still finished strong. We were so proud of her for completing her very first tri. This is Kate's 3rd triathlon, and she did well, finishing 2nd in her age group.


Happy sisters after the race.
Kate on the bike...
Abby on the bike.
Abby warming up before the swim...
Kate before the swim.
A good time was had by all. I'm so proud of my little triathletes!

Camp Champions

I dropped Miss Kate off on Sunday for her first experience at a "sleep away" camp... Here she is after we got all the girls all checked in, and all the moms were about to leave... As you can see, she was READY TO GO!The camp is a multi-sport camp. She's called home every night, and all reports are positive. She is having a GREAT time with a GREAT group of girls. I'm so proud of her!

Well, Hello.

Since I last posted, school has let out and we've celebrated an anniversary (which was FANTASTIC, by the way). We've also had a wonderful holiday weekend with two of Luke's siblings and their families (including my newest sister-in-law). We then loaded ourselves up and went on a wonderful, relaxing, "kid-dream" of a vacation... Not exactly what Luke and I would have chosen, but the kids thought it was AWESOME. We went swimming, to the movies, ice-skating, to a "jumpy-castle" place, to Six Flags, to the zoo, to Medieval Times, to see a Ranger baseball game (complete with fireworks at the end of a victorious game), and to the mall. It was a WHOLE LOT of kid-o-palooza, but now Luke and I are pretty high on our kids' lists...

Yes, I have pictures. No, I am not taking time to upload them now.

Because tomorrow, Kate leaves for her very first "sleep-away" camp. I have the usual "mommy worries", but I really think she's ready, and I really think she's going to have a GREAT time.

But I must finish packing her up now, or she won't be leaving!

Good to be home, internets...