After a LOT of agonizing, hemming and hawing, I finally decided to just do it. I cut Havens hair into a short bob. OK, so it’s not that short, but you need to realize that her hair was almost to her waist so this is a pretty big difference in length for her, especially since she has had very long hair most of her life(I know she’s only 5, but still…). Haven has been asking for short hair for quite some time now, and I knew it was something she really wanted and since it is her hair and all I went ahead and cut it. She is very pleased with her new do’ and so am I, but Haven is especially tickled that she REALLY looks like Madeline now. So we have graduated from Princess hair to Madeline hair and Haven loves her shorter style, as do we all, which makes for a very happy ending to that story.

   I’m really enjoying being an Auntie right now, especially to my newest nephew, Gray. And what an amazing thing to be able to be there when he was born, it was such a treat! Heidi had an incredibly peaceful labor and delivery, with Gray’s birth being just as peaceful as well as very fast. He is such a beautiful baby, and I was thrilled to have been there for his happy arrival, how awesome is that! I’m really having fun with all of the babies arriving and soon-to-be-arriving, and it’s even more fun to buy baby stuff for them too. And as for all of the great maternity clothes out there, well it’s tons of fun to buy those for the soon-to-be-moms as well. Let’s just hope I get the right size for them. And as for my sister role, well I’ve actually been able to help this time since all of the other times I’ve been pregnant myself or I’ve just delivered a baby.  And for even more added fun as an Auntie we were able to have Livy come and stay with us while Heidi was in the hospital, and we had a great time!

   Tonight I brought dinner in for Heidi and Gary, and we all ended up at the clinic which was a lot of fun since everyone stopped by there too so I got to visit with them all. For dinner I made meatloaf (from the same recipe I had posted awhile back), mashed potatoes, gravy, glazed carrots and a fresh fruit trifle. For a dinner another day I brought 2 lbs. of cooked, seasoned, and frozen ground beef, a jar of Ragu, angel hair pasta and a loaf of French bread sliced and and ready in a freezer bag so Heidi has a really fast meal at hand for a busy night in the near future. We all have crazy times, and it’s nice to have something on hand for those days when you don’t feel like thinking too hard about making dinner especially with a new baby and two other little ones. I have no idea if we’ll have any more babies or not, I’m not there yet, I’m still enjoying the six I already have so I’m making sure to enjoy everyone elses babies, and their pregnancies too. Heidi looked great all the way to the end, and Melly is so cute with her little basketball tummy. And now that Craig’s nieces and nephews are older, they’re having babies too, so the fun doesn’t look like it will be slowing down anytime soon.

(*I posted the pictures and blog entry only because Dylan asked me to, he wanted to make sure the whole thing was documented for him to remember later, so please know this was all done at his request.)

   Today while Dylan was over at one of his friends, he tripped when he was running, apparently it was a full sprint and fell straight onto the pavement with his face, and only his face. There isn’t a scratch anywhere on him except for his poor face. The full force of the blow went to his forehead, nose, and mouth, and he fell so fast he didn’t even have time to put his arms out to soften the hit, or slow his momentum. He hit so hard he was knocked out cold for a few minutes, and he didn’t even wake up when they carried him all the way to the backyard, and only came to when they splashed some water on his face to try and see through the blood.

   As soon as he came home and I saw what had happened I took him to the Dr. to make sure he was OK, especially since he was complaining of nausea and he was really sleepy. The Dr. said he had a broken nose, some loosened teeth, a mild concussion, and that he was lucky that was all since the full force of the blow was to his face/head. So I took him home and got him set up with ice packs, a cold drink and some blankets so he could rest, and we just have to keep an eye on him and ask him what his name is and what day it is every few hours until bedtime. Funny enough, after he came to, he was telling all of his buddies the first aid tecniques they needed to do for him such as cover him for shock, elevate his feet, check his pupils for dialtion etc….Thankyou very much Scouts!

   When we were on our way to the Doctor, Dylan kind of laughed (as much of a laugh as he could muster through his swollen mouth) and said “Of all of the ways I could have been injured, snowboarding, dirtbiking and stuff, I get hurt doing something I’ve done my whole life, running”. I had to laugh at the irony, but I’m so glad he’s OK. His nose, lips and forhead are all still really swollen, but he’s doing a lot better and the Dr. said he shouldn’t even have any scarring. Wow, this has been a hazardous week for our family, what with Hannah, Taft and now Dylan, and Melanie’s terrible burns weren’t that long ago either. So now Heidi’s family are the only ones left that haven’t had a scary event lately and we hope it stays that way!

   After stressing 24/7 about Mathes escaping, we have begun putting up a fence, and by “we” I mean Craig. It’s going to go across half of the driveway and will open in the middle to swing to the sides so we can access any of the garages when needed. It will also give the kids a large paved area to play on as well as keeping them safe. Then it will go from the south side of the house all the way to the neighbors fence which will give the kids a way to run out the back door into a fully fenced yard to play in, and I can feel a little more at ease about Mathes. I’m thrilled about it to say the least!

   We went to the park again for a picnic supper tonight, and took the new stroller along for some fun. This particular place has a paved sidewalk all the way around the entire park like a track, so everyone was taking turns walking and jogging with the stroller, alternating passengers between G, M, H and N, and just having fun. Craig finally got a chance to test it out and really liked how it handled while jogging. For our picnic I brought along a cold baked chicken supper with carrots sticks and baked chips, and then chocolate cookies for dessert. The day had been hot but it cooled off nicely as evening came around, so we all had a great time. I love being outside, and so do the kids so it was a nice way to end the day.

   Craig will be leaving again for D.C. next month and then again in September and he wanted to make sure I had an “extra set of hands” if you will, to make it a little easier while he’s gone, so he decided to surprise me with a fabulous new double jogger stroller! When it arrived and he brought the box into the house I was shocked, but thrilled mind you that he had done this for me as I had no idea it was even in the works. I immediately pulled it out and put it all together in just a few short minutes (Craig knows I love assembling things, so he left me to it), and put each one of the 4 little kids in to test it out. All of them each fit easily in the seats with no squishing, only two at a time I know but I like that I can wheel any of them around in any combination if I need to.

   Craig got me the “Schwinn Deluxe Free Wheeler Double Jogging Stroller” in red and black. It has an aluminum frame, swiveling front wheel that locks, reclining seats, adjustable handle for any height, storage basket, and the new and improved shade for better sun protection. Plus it turns on a dime, is all-terrain, and handles like a dream with even Haven and Noah in it. And for those of you out there wondering when I took up jogging, I didn’t. I still love walking and I also wanted a stroller that I can take on the trails, all over the park, on the road, through the dirt, across the grass and gravel, in the store, or on the sidewalks with no troubles and now I can. Even though there was a rainstorm rolling in I immediately took it out for a test run, and I am so in love! It’s really my dream stroller, and I can’t thank my sweet husband enough for his thoughtful gift!

   Happy Birthday Rob, we hope you have a fantastic day! Have fun with your cute kids and your beautiful wife, and we hope you get to have some time off of work for a much deserved break! Have a great birthday, we love and miss you!

   After a lot of prayer and consideration, we have decided we are not going to put our house up for sale this year. We feel this isn’t the time for us to move, and so we’re going to stay put for maybe another year. So far that’s the plan now, and we feel good about it. Although the reality of still only having one bathroom is not a happy thought, but you know what, it’s not impossible and we can deal with it. I know there’s a reason for all of this, and I do love this house so we will just get a little bit more creative in some of the room arrangements with the kids. And Craig has done a phenomenal job in updating the bathroom, and I am loving the way it all turned out. It feels so bright, light and clean in there with the crisp cool color, and yes I must give Korby credit for that one. She has awesome taste! We also plan on fencing off some portions of the yard, and finishing the small details in the kitchen and hallway so we can get the tools and stuff out of the house and put away. So, we’ll be here for a little while longer and I’m feeling very content with it all. Suddenly I feel so much less stress. Gee, I wonder why?

3 eggs, slightly beaten

1/3 cup sugar

2 cups milk

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/4 tsp. salt

about 3 cups of dry bread or day old bread, cubed

cinnamon if desired

   Combine eggs, sugar and salt. Stir in milk and vanilla. Place cubed bread into a baking dish and ppour the egg mixture over top. Let the egg mixture soak in for a few minutes. If desired sprinkle the top with ground cinnamon. Then place dish into a shallow pan and pour hot water into pan, 1-inch up the sides of the outside of baking dish. Bake @ 300 degrees F for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Sereve warm or cold. Enjoy!

   I have always loved Granny’s bread pudding and I was thrilled when she shared her recipe with me so that I could make it too. Although it never tastes as good as when Granny makes it, I still try. Granny really does it best though.

   Heidi and I were talking last night and we got onto the subject of Blues Clues, and we both wondered what happened to Steve? Where did he go? Yeah, I know it’s been keeping you up at night too, so to save you some time I went looking on the internet and actually found out more than I thought I would, and more than I actually even wanted. Amid many rumors of his death, he is very much alive and happily doing his own thing in the music industry, and even finished an album. But to make a long story short, he has his own web page @ www.steveswebpage.com and it was definitely all his own, to say the least. I’m very curious to hear his music, especially with so much influence from Radiohead and Flaming Lips, it looks like it might be really good and I will tell you what I think if I can get a chance to give it a listen. Well, mystery solved I now know where Steve is, and now so do you!