Aaaaawwwww.....

I got home the other day and was going out into the back yard and saw the most horrible sight! A bird was caught in the shepherd's hook that was holding a plant and a bird feeder. Poor thing was flapping and flopping around...for I don't know how long. His little leg was stuck and he couldn't get out. I ran over there and immediately got a hold of his foot with one hand and his body with the other, then gently lifted him out of there. I was so afraid that little leg would just break in half but it stayed together. I put him down, but he just laid there. I knew his wings were okay, but he still wouldn't try to fly.



This is the trap that his little leg fell into:



CLOSE UP WARNING: Please don't let your children look at this picture and if you are the least bit squeamish, you look away as well.



Well, I went inside and called the Conservation Department. She said the bird was probably still in shock and the leg would likely eventually heal. If I could put him up on a branch to protect him from animals, he would be okay. Well, I can't reach any of the branches on our trees, so I just kept an eye on him until Gary got home and told him the story. He went out with me to put birdie up in a tree, but when I picked birdie up, he flew up into a tree! Yeaaahhhh!! We clapped and praised him (actually, I clapped and praised him). What a relief! He had come out of his shocked state. I really believe he will be alright.

Why do the boys come to mema and pappy's house????? To find frogs, of course!

Gavin's frog


Jadon's frog


Jude and Cael at Haven's birthday party


Haven and Cael at Haven's birthday party


Have a lovely week,

Donna, bird rescuer

Here kitty, kitty, kitty

I stopped by my sister's house yesterday and got to see the kittens. I hadn't seen them since they were just a few days old and just barely had their eyes open. Now they are running around, playing, just being so adorable.

Here's Tippy:



Here's Mousey:



Here's Harry:



Here's Georgie:



Here's Mama:












Karla has such a soft spot for cats, especially when they are this age. I think it's because when she was little, a friend of our parents nicknamed her "spittin' kitty". He got a real kick out of her "spitfire" personality.

She fully intended to give all these babies away....until they got so CUTE! Will she? Won't she?....I guess we'll see.

Love 'ya sis,

Donna

Well, new week....new month. June....unbelievable!

Yesterday at church was the Commissioning service for our mission teams that are going out this summer. Romania, China, Uganda, Denver. God, please anoint each of these missionaries with Your love for the people in these places and your power to accomplish things they couldn't do on their own. Let them see You at work, changing hearts and lives.

Today is a beautiful sunny day. I'm sure the temp is in the upper 80's or low 90's. Jadon and Haven brought a new sprinkler that Nana had bought them. It's really cute, it waves around and around...you never know where it's going to spray.





I took a plastic pool outside and filled it and they played and played. But not Jude. He didn't like the sprinkler, he didn't like the pool..no way, no how. So he just played in his own little world...in the car...in the gravel...wherever.



I finally remembered a little blow-up pool I bought at the end of last summer on clearance that I thought Jude would like this year. But noooooo. The others sure did like it, though.







Notice, I didn't get too close when the sprinkler was on. I was pretty content to catch some rays on these chicken-white legs.

Summer's here!!

Landscaping Project

We built this house in 1987. Moved in on Thanksgiving day. It's been a good house, but 22 years later, we are finding several things that need our attention. Actually in the last 3 years we have added a new roof, new master bathroom, sunroom and the latest addition..new landscaping. When we built, landscape timbers were popular and since our house is built on a slope, we needed retaining walls in the front. So we used those timbers. Well, they rotted and started falling apart, so we pulled them all out and had to do something else. A man and his sons who do this for a business and who go to our church built these retaining walls for us, and my friend/neighbor, Tracy, designed the layout for the plants (because I had no idea what to put where). Gary and I have been working hard filling in with gravel and mulch and are very please with the outcome. Gary's pleased he doesn't have to mow up there anymore.











Thanks Darrell Biggers and sons and Tracy Jewell!

Yummy for Cael's Tummy

Cael has started eating cereal so I thought I would post a few pictures of his noon meal. He still prefers the bottle, but he's getting used to this new stuff that's going into his mouth.







It's kinda hard to feed him with one hand and take a picture with the other, especially when he grabbed my finger. He looks pretty frightened here. I don't know whether he was pushing the food in or the spoon out.



What a cutie!

By the way, it is a gorgous day outside. Sunshine, 70's.....love it!

Donna

Birthday/Mother's Day Visit in Houston

Gary and I got back from Houston last night. We had a wonderful time, as usual! We usually go around the middle of May because Lucas's birthday is May 3 and Micah's is May 20. Usually we don't go on Mother's Day weekend, but this year I wanted to spend Mother's Day with my daughter because it's been four years since we've been together on Mother's Day and we enjoyed such a sweet time on Sunday.

We left about 3 am Friday morning, May 8th. As we were about 6 hours out of Houston, Heather called to tell us about the tornadoes that had been in our area that morning....about 5 hours after we left Springfield. Everyone's power was out, so she didn't know the extent of damage around our homes. We continued to Doug and Wendy's but kept in contact with family and neighbors throughout the next couple of days.

We arrived at Doug and Wendy's at around 3 pm. Wendy had gone to pick up the kids at school, but Doug was home and showed Gary the house (he hadn't been to their new house yet). When Wendy and the kids got home we got in the pool.









Micah had a baseball game Saturday morning, so we all went to watch. Micah did so great. One inning that he was pitcher, he caught a line drive then threw it to first to get the runner who had left for 2nd. Double play!! He got another out by throwing to the 1st baseman and getting the batter out. He got a hit, but unfortunately it went straight for Doug (who was the coach pitcher) and knocked him over. After the game Micah said "I got three outs and hit my dad".









Then Saturday afternoon we swam, and that night we ate pizza and let the boys open the gifts we brought for them, from us and their uncles, aunts and cousins. Lucas had some friends over for his birthday party the first weekend in May. Micah will have his party and cake next weekend. This is the birthday cake Wendy made for Lucas.





Lucas wanted Wii games for his 10th birthday:



Micah wanted a suit for his 7th birthday:



Mother's Day was a great day at church, then we took KFC home for lunch, then we swam, then we went out for supper at Texadelphia. (Great cheesesteaks!)
My grandkids, my daughter, and myself on Mother's Day:



The Bischoff family says HI!



Good to be home.....not good to have to leave this family we love so much.

Lizard Time!

Okay, it's time for the kids to play outside and time for them to find frogs. We got to go out for the second day in a row today and we looked for frogs for the second day in a row. No frogs.....but...we did find a lizard. A five-lined skink to be exact. You know, one of those little ones that has a blue tail that pops off if you grab it. They passed that little thing back and forth so many time, his tongue was hanging out.



Haven has a tear because she just couldn't wait for her turn to hold it.





Cael got to "play" outside today, as well. He seemed to enjoy himself.









Jude loves driving this car...problem is he can only go in reverse. His little legs are too short to make it go forward, so he just pushes himself backwards.



Well, Gary and I will head out for Houston today around 5 pm. We'll stop in McAlister, Oklahoma and spend the night, then drive the rest of the way on Friday. We'll celebrate Lucas and Micah's birthday's this weekend, watch Micah's baseball game on Saturday, and swim with them. Wish I could just blink my eyes or wiggle my nose and we'd be there.

Love to all,

Donna