Nine Lives?

Meet Rosy

And Bree

Our neighbor gave the kids some baby kittens last week. We have become obsessed with them. They are the most loved kitties ever.

Yesterday I killed Rosy.
I had taken my hanging baskets down to water them. I hung them back up and then was standing outside watching Henry chase Bree around her little kennel making sure he didn't catch her and pull her tail. Rosy was playing over in my flower bed. She saw the fun and came over to play. Just as she got close to us, the craziest thing ever happened. My basket, that had been hanging for the last 10 minutes, fell! It landed right on top of Rosy. I screamed. I grabbed the basket off of her as fast as I could, praying that it had missed her. I lifted it off of her and her body went into convulsions. Her head was on the ground and she was laying in a pool of blood while her body kept convulsing. I ran in screaming for Ken to come out and help me. By the time he got there, she was no longer moving. Her body was stiff and she was dead. Ken got the shovel and scooped her up and threw her in the garbage. Then he hosed off the blood off the sidewalk. The kids were all sobbing, I was in shock. I think I'll have nightmares for the rest of my life.

The kids headed over to the mother cat's house to tell our neighbor what had happened. I stepped outside to make sure everything was all cleaned up. I heard a meow. I was surprised and confused but then Zach came walking around the side of the house holding Bree. I asked him if she had just meowed. He said that she had. I walked over towards the garage to put some stuff away and heard a meow again only it was very close and very loud. I turned to Zach and he was as surprised as I was. I asked if that one was Bree. He said no. Then we heard scratching coming from the garbage can. We both froze. Once again, I ran in the house screaming to Ken. Rosy was still alive. I was scared to look in the garbage can. Ken looked in and told Zach and I to come and get her out. He is allergic to cats so he wouldn't touch her. I couldn't reach her and Zach was freaked out by the whole situation. Justyn came up and Ken dumped him inside the garbage to get her out. Justyn set her on the ground and she started turning circles. Her face was still covered in blood and her eyes were clouded and weepy. It was so sad. Ken said she had to be shot and he loaded her up into his truck to take her out into the country to kill her. We all stood in the yard crying and sobbing. It was awful.

I hung the basket back up on the hook. As I looked up at the bottom of the basket, right in the center was a big hole where it had landed on her head. Seriously, that was the craziest thing I had ever seen in my life. I was standing right there. The basket had been hanging for 10 minutes, at least. The hook didn't break, the basket didn't break, I have no idea why or how it fell. Also, the kitty wasn't even playing there. Talk about a freak accident. I took the basket down. How can I hang up the basket with the big hole in it from Rosy's head?

A few minutes later, Ken pulled back into the driveway. The kids were all still crying but we hadn't heard a shot. Zach climbed out of the truck, carrying Rosy and she was still alive. Ken said that they had stopped by Matt's, his cousin, and Matt said to give the kitty a chance. It was obviously a fighter. Wait out the night and see what happened.
We took her down to the mother's house. The mother cat cleaned her up and snuggled with her for a little while. Rosy couldn't walk and she kept falling asleep. Zach stayed right with her. The neighbors offered to let her stay with the mommy for the night but Zach wasn't letting her stay without him. The neighbor had some pain medicine from when one of her cats had gotten hurt so she gave Rosy some. That seemed to help her. She stopped shaking and her eyes stopped tearing. We took her home and Zach held her the rest of the night. He got a little syringe and fed her milk and water throughout the evening. Justyn made a little sign with her name on it from his wood burning kit in case she didn't make it. He named her middle name Faith since if she was going to live, it would take a lot of faith and a miracle.

Everyone prayed really hard all night long. The boys put both kittens in a basket in their bedroom for the night. Bree snuggled up next to Rosy and cleaned her and stayed right with her all night. We all headed off to bed to wait out the night and see what morning brought us.

Ken and I skipped our workout this morning. We were wiped out from the day before. It's not every day we kill a cat and then watch it come back to life. I was sure we would be burying a kitten this morning and I didn't want the kids to wake up and not have us here.

Bright and early, Justyn came running into our room. He was holding Rosy. He said that he was woken up by her licking his face. He showed me his bookmark in his scriptures. It has a little mustard seed taped onto it and it says, "And Jesus said unto them, 'If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall remove mountains.....And nothing shall be impossible unto you...' Matthew 17:20" He said that if that tiny amount of faith could move a mountain, then he knew God could definitely heal Rosy and that it was by our faith, all of us together, that we had experienced our own little miracle.

Rosy still isn't 100% yet but she is doing remarkably well. She is walking with a little limp but she has been up eating and drinking all by herself and she is alert. Other than the scratches on her face, she is looking great!

And Ken has been awesome through all of this. He is NOT into animals at all but he has tolerated these little kittens. He has even let them relocate their home from the flowerbed to the boys bedroom, temporarily, until Zach is ready let Rosy move back outside. It's funny that Justyn is the one who loves the animals but Zach is the one who is very very protective and nurturing to them. When we got the kittens, Bree had a hurt foot. She wouldn't walk on it and she refused to eat for about 24 hours. I thought she would starve to death. Zach nursed her back to health also.

I'm so thankful for the faith of my little children. They continue to amaze me. I don't have any idea why such a freaky accident would happen to us but there is an amazing spirit of reverence and thanksgiving in our home today. We definitely have felt how fragile life is and how very close death can be to us and we know who's hand has been in control the whole time. My children know that God is real and that his spirit has been here, with them and with this small little kitten. My children taught the little kids across the street, who have no religion in their life, how to pray and then they went to bed praying for our kitten and they got to see the miracle of their prayers. The children down the street also went to bed praying for their kitten that they gave to us and they also witnessed the miracle of our little Rosy. I know, it's just a little insignificant kitten. Most people hate cats and they are free on every corner but at our house, Rosy and Bree are our first experience with pets outside of a fish and my children love them so much.

I am thankful that Heavenly Father hears and answers our prayers, no matter what we pray for. In our case, our kitty lived, at least for now. We know that the answers don't always come so quickly or the way we hope that they will but you can bet that they next time my children need an answer, they will not hesitate to pray and ask because they know that their Heavenly Father is listening and that he knows each of them and he cares about the things in their hearts and that he will answer their pleas no matter how big or small they may be.

So, do you believe cats have 9 lives? When we were down at the neighbors last night, Sasha, my neighbor, told me that this is actually Rosy's second brush with death. When the kittens were born, they waited about an hour before they went out to check on them and count them so that the mother could clean them and be with them. As they moved the mother cat out of the way, they noticed one kitten that the mother had missed. It was still in the sack and it was cold and not moving. They opened it up and gave it to the mother but she didn't want it. They rubbed it and got it warmed up and breathing and they bottle fed it and kept trying to get the mother to take it. It was almost a day later before the mother would have anything to do with it. Once it was healthy, it actually turned out to be one of the most outgoing of the whole litter. I think our cat has just lived through two lives already in it's short little life.

I also have two hanging baskets I'm trying to get rid of. One is slightly damaged but they are both healthy and pretty. Let me know if you want them.

Getting to Know Your Friends Questionnaire

I received this in an email from Amy. Since all of my family and friends read this, I decided to respond here instead of email.

1. What time you got up this morning? 4:45am

2. Diamonds or Pearls? Diamonds

3. The last film you saw at a cinema? Flicka

4. What did you eat for breakfast? Grape Nuts and Blueberries

5. Your middle name? Irene

6. Your favorite TV show? American Idol is the only show I actually make time to watch. Everything else I fall asleep when I sit down and stop moving-I get that from my mom:)!

7. What foods do you dislike? steak

8. Favorite CD at the moment? the last General Conference talks

9. What kind of car do you drive? 2007 Suburban

10. Favorite sandwich? a "good" melt-in-my-mouth hamburger with homemade French Fries

11. What characteristics do you despise in people? dishonesty, cruelty, double standards, fake

12. Favorite item of clothing? t-shirts

13. Where would you rather be right now? getting ready to go camping

14. Favorite brand of clothing? I'm not picky. Anything that fits

15. Where are you going to retire to? Probably here in Twin Falls

16. What is your most recent memorable birthday? I really like my kids birthday's more than my own. So I would say, bowling for Justyn's birthday and picnic in mountains for Ali's.

17. Favorite sport to watch? Umm... the only time I watch sports is the Olympics and I like pretty much everything except boxing

18. Furthest Place you are sending this? the whole World Wide Web-I think Tanya and Kristin in Australia

19. Person you expect to send this back first? All of you!

20. When is your birthday? September 19

21. Morning or night person? Night

22. Shoe size? 6

23. Pets? NONE!

24. Any news you want to share with us? Umm...Henry slept in his own bed last night, Ali lost another tooth, Zach just finished reading the Twilight books, Shaelynne just got a giant end-of-the-world sliver from her dresser drawers, Kate just discovered that it is more comfortable to NOT wear underwear under her swim suit, Justyn pushed a little boy in the girls bathroom at the park and is grounded for the rest of his life, Ken is working all weekend so I'm on my own again, and I am 2000 miles over on an oil change in my car which means I am in big, BIG trouble!

25. What did you want to be when you were little? Interior Designer

26. How are you today? trying to figure out why in the world John Travolta would want to play the role of the overweight mother in the movie Hairspray. WEIRD!!!

27. Favorite flower? wild flowers, cosmo's and daisy's

28. The day you look most forward to on the calendar? Pay Day!

29. Full name? Laurie Irene Mencl

30. What are you listening to right now? Henry's stuffy nose from allergies and kids squeals and laughter in the other room

31. Last thing you ate? yogurt

32. Wish on stars? No, but I like to look at the stars and wonder at the beauty of the universe and my tiny place in God's whole eternal plan

33. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? yellow

34. Weather right now? Sunny, clear, going to be HOT!

35. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Ken

36. Favorite soft drink? Root Beer

37. Favorite restaurant? Olive Garden

38. Real hair color? Dark brown

39. Favorite toy as a child? anything we could find on the farm to play house with or in

40. Summer or winter? Summer

41. Hugs or Kisses? hugs

42. Chocolate or Vanilla? Vanilla

43. Coffee or Tea? sometimes herbal tea

44. Want your friends to email this back? no, do it on your blog!

45. The last time you cried? today

46. What is under your bed? police stuff and winter clothes

47. What did you do last night? washed car, made cookies for neighbors, had FHE and scripture study with my kids and husband

48. What are you afraid of? myself!

49. Salty or sweet? sweet

50. The number of keys on your key chain? 3 (car, house, mail)

51. Years at current job? almost 13 years as MOM! wife is a close second at almost 14 years.

52. Favorite day of the week? Thursday

53. How many towns have you lived in? 8

54. Do you make friends easily? Yes, but I'm not so good at having close friends. I get way to caught up in my own world and taking care of my kids that friends have taken a second seat for now. Maybe someday. That's why I blog. It's the best way I've found to balance both worlds.

55. How many people will you send this to? none, I'm posting it on my blog instead

56. How many will respond back? I don't know

57. How did you get your name? My dad's grandmother was Laura Emma and my mom's grandmother was Maggie Irene and they came up with Laurie Irene

58. If you are married, how long? Almost 14 years

59. Favorite childhood TV show? Little House on the Prairie

60. Favorite Alcoholic Beverage? None for me

61. Plans for the Weekend? not sure, hopefully something patriotic

62. Travel plans for 2008? A couple trips to Utah and home to the farm

63. If you had only one wish and you could wish for anything ... what would it be? Lower gas prices!!!

64. What's your idea of a perfect day off? going anywhere with Ken and playing with my kids

65. Name a celebrity your partner is attracted to? Umm...I honestly don't know.

66. Do you still keep in touch with childhood friends? Not too many

67. What is one of your regrets in life? Not finishing my college degree

68. What is your favorite hobby? playing piano, sewing, decorating my house, working in my yard

69. What has been your greatest joy? my children

70. Who is someone you admire? I can't think of only one person. I admire so many people for many different things. Anyone who inspires me or others to do more. Today I totally admire my friend Angie. She has just adopted her 3rd baby. She now has 8 children. She is amazing to me.

71. How does one endure to the end being positive? Personal Testimony

72. If you had no responsibilities...none whatsoever what would you do with all your free time? travel with my husband and play with my kids

Now it's your turn. Copy the questions and then replace my answers with yours.

Deep spinning class thoughts...

After wrestling with Henry all night and watching the clock tick on all night long, Ken and I rolled our very tired tushy's out of bed this morning at 4:45 to hit the gym for another very early workout. After taking 2 days off and eating a big bowl of ice cream last night for dinner (I know, but it was kind of a rough day) I jumped up on my bike ready to ride, ride, ride. The first 5 minutes of warm up were a little slow as I was trying to wake my sleepy self up. Then we headed into the workout and the instructor said "hand position two and up" (which means stand up and pedal) and my legs suddenly yelled out loud and strong in total protest. I knew right then, this workout was going to suck!!

The next 10 minutes were painful. Every turn on the pedals was mind over body.
Push! Pull!
Push! Pull!

Finally the clock said 5:30 and I thought, "Okay, I survived!"

The next 10 minutes my muscles relaxed and stopped fighting me and I actually got in a really good rhythm, my breathing relaxed and I figured out how to just maintain.

Finally, the clock said 5:40 and I knew I was going to make it to the end and that I would still be alive when it was all over. I stood up on that bike, turned up the resistance and pedaled hard, determined to cross the finish line strong but also get as much as I could out of what was left of the class.

A short cool down, stretching, 6:00, and I was done. It was over and I had conquered!

As I was on that bike pedaling and pedaling and pedaling, I started to entertain (or distract) myself with a few deep thoughts. I wanted to figure out how in the world this spinning class related life. If I could figure out something really good, it might make the class worth it. If not, at least I would have passed some time and I would be a few more minutes closer to the end of another really, great workout.

The first part of my life I lived at home with my parents. It was a pretty carefree time. I learned things but most of the time it was easy.

Then I hit those teenage years and things became rough. It was tough and I hurt alot. I even did my share of screaming out in protest. I had to work through those tight, sore muscles and I didn't like it at all. I wanted to quit. This was way harder than I thought it would be. But I survived.

Then I got married and moved on to motherhood and it didn't take long to get into a comfortable routine of babies, diapers, bottles, naps, laundry, cleaning, cooking, etc. While there were definitely hard ups and downs, for the most part, the rhythm was the same and I learned to maintain.

Now that my babies are all here and most of my kids are not so needy anymore and I feel like I am headed into a new phase. This part of the workout is proving to be harder than the first, but my attitude has changed. I am determined to finish hard and strong and with a smile on my face. I have somehow managed to stick with it and make it this far. There's no way I'm quitting now! I am concentrating on my breathing being deep and controlled so that I remain focused and make it through each challenge the best that I can.

As I stand up again and face those hard climbs, I definitely feel the burn and I am hoping the current song ends soon so that I can sit down for a little break. There are still more songs to play and more pedaling to do but the sit down times are when I can relax and regroup, knowing another climb is up ahead. I know that my determination and commitment can overpower the pain of my physical muscles. And I've learned that even during the sitting times, if the resistance is still high, the burn is still there. It just gives you a second to catch your breath before you jump back up with renewed determination to pedal harder and faster and make it to the end.

And as fast as the work out has gone so far, I know the rest will fly by even faster and suddenly I'll be cooling down and then stretching. And I hope can I look back on my ride, and know that I gave it everything I had. I hope to not only have survived and maintained, but to have conquered and enjoyed!

To me, it's not only about crossing the finish line, but also about making the most out of my ride. In the end, it's the kind of person that I have been shaped into along the way that will matter the most. The only ones who will really know and care about how hard I worked and how it all turned out are me and my Maker. Everyone else will probably be worried about the results of their own workout.

Looking back, I can see how far I've come. I am much stronger now than I ever have been and I am more confident and determined to make it through to the end. I am trying to pedal harder and smile more. There really is an end to all of this, it won't last forever, and I have got to push harder now to get as much as I can out of what is left. I know I can do this because I have been doing it for a long time now. The ride isn't over yet, in fact, I hope it still has a long ways to go, but I am warmed up now and my muscles don't hurt. So, who's coming with me to the gym tomorrow?

This Week....

Ken and I started exercising 5 days a week at 5:00 in the morning. I do spinning 3 days a week with upper body weights afterwards and then lower body weights and running the other 2 days. Ken hates spinning so he has his own schedule (I don't see him so I have no idea what he does but he is always soaked from sweat and he's losing weight so he has a good thing going also) but it's fun to ride together and support each other in our efforts to get healthy. This means though that I am alot more strict about bedtime being early. I am NOT a morning person but I should be. I get alot more done and I'm happier (believe it or not) when I get up and start my day out the way I always plan that I should.

I'm still working on the evening routine but the morning is coming together good. The kids have chores and summer homework that they work on in the morning. If they get it all done, without making me crazy, then we do something fun in the afternoons.

We have been going to the park every day for the summer lunch program. I love this because I get to visit with so many neighbors and friends and the kids get to run and play in the park for an hour everyday so it's our social hour.

For our afternoon activities we choose from bowling, swimming, movie theater, library, or Dierkes Lake. Because they did so well this week, we went to the Drive-in Theater on Friday night. That was fun. Ken had to work, so I had to put on my "big girl pants" and do it alone. I have never been to a drive-in before in my whole life and I was taking all 6 of my kids alone. I was nervous how it would all come together and how the little ones would do but we went with some friends and it was a blast. We saw Kung Fu Panda and Indiana Jones. The younger 4 fell asleep in the back of the suburban so it was just me and the older boys for most of the night. I don't know if Indiana Jones was worth staying out until 2am but Kung Fu Panda is really, really cute. It was fun to be with my kids and watch them enjoy the whole experience. We will definately be doing that many more times this summer.

This morning I got up bright and early and went out with a friend to pick strawberries. I got 12 gallons. Then I spent the rest of the day washing them and freezing them so that I can make jam on a later date. We also hit a couple of garage sales and found some great deals.

My house is clean, my kids are all bathed and asleep, clothes are all ironed for tomorrow, Ken is still working and I'm way too tired to wait up any later so I'm off to bed now. This week is now officially over!

Have a great Sabbath!

It's time to PARTY!

Summer is one of my friends that I met online and she is having her one year blog anniversary party today. Summer is a wonderful writer, she is very talented and she has become a great friend to me. I missed out on promoting her party earlier this month but I want to give her party a plug today and send you all over there to play. She is having lots of games and giveaways. If this all sounds a little weird, go over and see what a blog party is like. And enter to win some of her prizes while you are there. And if you want to read some good stuff, go through her archives. She's got some great posts! Now, go on over to Summer's Nook and have some blog party fun!

Chores

In an attempt to regain some order around here, I have started giving the kids a list of chores each morning that must be done before they can play with friends or do fun activities for the day. Their personalities blare out loud and strong when they are asked to work.

Zach: He does his jobs immediately, as quickly as possible. He does a good, thorough job, I never have to check his work, but he will only do exactly what his list says. Nothing more. I have to list details and steps with him and if I forget something, oh well, it's not going to get done. Then he's off to do his own thing, usually read, and that's all I get out of him for the day.

Justyn: He will put his chores off as long as possible. Today he is about to puke so it really doesn't make sense to have him do his chores (rolling my eyes!). I have to keep an eye on him because he will do as little as possible and say the chore is complete. I usually have to check his work, tell him to do it again, and again, and then I usually have to redo it later anyways. If it's something outside, I can get more out of him but most of the time it's just exhausting to have him help out.

Shaelynne: She is my overachiever! I give her a list of 4 chores to do and she will do those 4 chores, plus everyone else's and then anything else she can find that needs to be done. She loves to clean! She is crazy! I have to tell her to stop and let someone else do something also. She does a really good job. My only complaint is that she is a surface cleaner. She makes things look clean on the surface but hidden in the cupboards, closets or under the beds is total chaos.

Alexys and Kate: These two usually work together--I don't know why because they fight and make each other cry all morning long. It's miserable for all of us. The reason is that neither of them like to do chores and they definitely don't want to do them alone. There is no way they are going to let the other one get away with not doing their share of the work. In the end, basically nothing gets done on their list. They are good at folding towels and washing windows. They get all the extra little jobs that don't really need done and they usually get sent outside long before they complete anything just because I need a break from all their whining and fighting. I have hope that they will someday grow out of it.

Henry: He just follows everyone around and helps out where ever he can. He usually gets the job of babysitting Justyn so that Justyn doesn't disappear during chore time. His favorite job is emptying the dishwasher, clean or dirty. He has recently figured out how to open the dishwasher so now the dishes are never finished washing and always all over the floor. He's a very good helper.

In my attempt to be a good mom, I'm finding myself exhausted. I keep telling myself, "they'll thank me for this someday" but honestly, I don't believe they ever will. I never have. I do like my clean house though, and they do too. And I find myself feeling very happy when I see my children working. Warped? Maybe.... Will they have chores again tomorrow? You betcha!

One year older.....

Alexys' birthday was on Sunday. She is 7. We went to church and then we went up into the mountains for a picnic and then home to have cupcakes and ice cream cones with some neighbor friends. It was a fun day.

Here's 7 things about my little Al:
1. She is very motherly to her younger sister and brother. She is very small though so they can pretty much take her down if she tries to force them to do something but she still tries to love them and take good care of them.

2. She is very happy! All the time. She is giggly and smiley and just very easy going. When she is around, she keeps things light and fun. She loves her family and friends. She is definitely my most social child.

3. She likes to read and write. She learned to read and went straight for chapter books. She is currently reading, A Little Princess. She has a journal/notebook that she carries with her everywhere and she writes and draws in it all the time. She is always leaving me little notes and pictures.

4. She wants to be and artist when she grows up. She also wants to be a teacher so maybe she will do both and be an art teacher. She is still thinking about that one.

5. She is very practical. She isn't into too much frill or fluff, just what's necessary. Shaelynne tries to doll her up but she isn't into the work or pain. She does like to wear dresses or skirts every day though.

6. She likes to try new things. She is naturally a little shy at first but that just turns the task into more of a challenge and she loves a challenge. She will work hard to accomplish her goals and then she is done. She doesn't need to do things over and over, just until perfect and then she is ready for a new challenge. She does this alot with sports and games.

7. She is a finisher. Any job or task she begins, she will stay with it until it is finished. Every coloring page, workbook page, art project always gets finished, clear down to the very smallest detail.

And that's a few things about Alexys. We're so glad she is part of our family!