The Puddles

Aunt Debra came over and took family photos today.  Thank you Aunt Debra!

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Ben’s last day of school was Friday.  He had his goodbye party that afternoon.  Pastor Sue made cupcakes for the class.  Ben told everyone that he was going to get an xray and then heart surgery next week.  He asked if anyone had questions.  Chris, Ben and I did our best to answer them.  But most just had to say that they were going to miss Ben and gave him lots of hugs.  I think that Ben did a great job, but Ben is also the type of kid that doesn’t talk about his emotions much.  So instead he just acts out.   He was super hyper when he got home and there was some acting out.  But that is to be expected when facing what he is facing.  Now on to the next step.

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Ainsley had her thanksgiving feast this week at preschool.  It was so adorable to see all of the kids dressed up.  The teachers sent home paper bag vests that they were suppose to decorate.  She was told to decorate it any way she wanted.  So she did.  It was a princess vest she said.  When she told her friend at school, the girl told her that it was not a princess vest it was an alien vest.  An argument ensued,  I finally stepped in and told the little girl that Ainsley made a princess pilgrim vest.  But you should have seen Ainsley . . . hands on hips, the neck was gyrating, her voice level was rising . . . she made it clear that hers was a PRINCESS VEST.  And so it was.

The rest of the meal was fabulous.  The kids had a good time.  The food was delicious.  And I was so glad that I was able to attend.

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Chris posted on his blog a video of Ben.  For those who were worried about our BenBen . . . check out the video and know that everything is going to be ok.

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Ben and his sisters now know that Ben is having surgery next week.  They all seem fine.  The blessing is that Ben has no memory of his surgery the last time.  Ben came up to me later and patted me on the shoulder and said, “I know that you are worried about me, but I’m going to be fine.”  Wow.  I didn’t think that we let it show at all, but apparently we didn’t hide it as well as we thought.  Either way Ben is taking it all in stride.  Go, Ben!

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Ainsley needed to decorate her vest for the Thanksgiving Festival for her school.  We were told that the vest could be decorated any way we wanted to.  So I pulled out all of my craft boxes and let her dig through everything and pick what she wanted to do.  She had a blast.  We stamped stars on the back.  She glued glitter stars all over them (in very neat rows I might add!)  Jewels were placed all over and the final product was flower stickers on the right lapel.  She did awesome!  This vest is her own creation.  Dad tried to get her to glue a 1%er picture onto the vest (from the Hell’s Angels.  The meaning of the picture is not appropriate for a preschool Thanksgiving Festival, Dad!)  Since we had all of the craft supplies out, everyone joined in the fun!  Madie and Ben got creative with the craft boxes and made pictures of their own to hang up in the playroom.  Pastor Sue is here to visit for the week, so she joined in the fun too.  I was so glad that she was here.  She helped convince Ainsley not to put the 1%er picture on her vest.  Thank you, Sue.

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Ainsley and I went to the Children’s Festival in The Woodlands on Friday with her school, St. James Episcopal School.  We had a lot of fun listening to a Japanese Drum Group and Billy Jonas (not to be confused with the Jonas Brothers) Band. Ainsley and I had fun together.  The drums were her favorite.  She could feel them in her belly.  We like the Billy Jonas Band too, but we were pretty tired after 2 hours of sitting at a concert.  We were glad to have  a picnic lunch with her class.  There was a lot of grass to run around and play in.  I am certainly going to miss my Miss A next year when she goes off to Kindergarten ALL DAY!  I’ll have to get my snuggles with her when she gets home.  I am certainly enjoying the time together while we have it.

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Just proof that our girls were successful with the fire building process, and were able to light a fire without chemical help!

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The hospital called today and they are postponing Ben’s surgery for one week.  Someone came into the hospital today who was sicker than Ben.  Of course, we understand but . . . it still stinks!  We have a friend flying in from Washington, D.C. on Saturday who was suppose to care for the girls during Ben’s stay at the hospital.  Thankfully we had several friends and family vying to care for the girls (my sister was the only one who threatened me if I didn’t let her care for the girls).  Everyone has been completely understanding and flexible.  I don’t do well with change.  I fell to the floor in complete disbelief.  I have been working since the day we found out the date.  Chris on the other hand does fabulous when forced to change quickly.  So Ben’s surgery in scheduled for November 25th.

Instead of getting to tell Ben the terrible news that he was going to have open-heart surgery again, the kids and I made a huge pile of leaves to jump in.  It took some convincing to get Ainsley to go in, but even she joined the fun.  You can tell from the picture that she really didn’t want to touch the dirty leaves.  Ben and Madie jumped in, buried themselves, and completely enjoyed themselves.  Of course, the excitement wore off when we had to go inside, take a bath, and do a quick tick check.  Trust me.  It is better to find them quickly before they have become engorged.  It was still a good end to a tough day!!!!

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Chris brought home fish from recent fishing trip to Orange.  He had a great time.  He spent the evening learning how to clean fish.  He did great.  I can’t wait to cook up some of the fish this weekend.

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