Pray for this little boy now!!

Stephen has been battling brain cancer for quite some time - my, how much we take for granted.

www.caringbridge.org/visit/stephenwhitlow

We Have Butterflies!!!

Two down, three to go.  I was starting to wonder if maybe we had some dud caterpillars - they hadn't changed hardly at all in the last 6 days since we transferred them from the cup to the habitat.  We came in from soccer games this afternoon to find two of the butterflies had 'hatched' from their chrysalis!  We put some flowers with sugar water in the habitat so that they will have something to eat.  We will observe them for a couple of days and wait for the others to hatch before we set them free. 

We all know how butterflies were once caterpillars, but it amazes me to think about how God came up with this one!

My conversation with Gloria after school today...

Gloria:  Mom, can we go to Starbucks?

Me: No.

Gloria: Why?

Me: Because we're saving money.

Gloria: I wish there wasn't such a thing as money.

Me:  Oh really?  How would that work?

Gloria:  When I'm president, I'm going to get rid of money. 

Me:  How are you going to do that?

Gloria:  Well, nevermind.  I'll be rich when I'm president.

Me:  How are you going to get rich?

Gloria:  Everyone will give me their money because they adore me for being the first lady president!

My Day With Bailey...

It was a beautiful day.  We played ball outside and went for a walk.




Watching Dora... aren't those the cutest little pink Crocs?  Aunt Amy had to take her shopping today.  I couldn't resist :)

Living Museum

Gloria is going to participate in a 'Living Museum' at school.  The kids received a list of individuals who are historically famous and are supposed to choose who they would like to represent in the Living Museum.  In a few weeks the kids will be able to dress up as their chosen historical figure and talk about their life while the parents go around and interview them.  Gloria had a list with several women, including Pocahontas, Martha Washington, Sally Ride, Helen Keller and several others.  Gloria asked who Helen Keller was - I told her that she was a blind and deaf woman who was able to persevere and overcome many challenges - she circled Helen Keller and said, 'I want to be her - I'm not very good at listening!'

Moving Right Along...

The caterpillars have officially turned into chrysalises - 4 of them attached to the top of the container - the fifth little guy must be a rebel - he stayed in the bottom of the container to begin his metamorphosis.  We moved them to the netted container today and should have butterflies by this time next week.  

Not much else to do while waiting for Ike to arrive...

Well, soccer has been cancelled in anticipation of Ike's tropical storm force winds and 2-6 inches of rain, so we're watching caterpillars.  It's rare that we find ourselves sitting around on a Saturday with nothing to do.  Lonnie is already needing to get out, so he went to stroll the aisles at Home Depot before the storm hits.  The kids are still in their pj's and probably will be for most of the day.  Gee, I love days like this!

Lonnie called me from work yesterday and asked me to go get cash, water, batteries and some non-perishables.  He is the worrier in our family.  Me, I just kind of fly by the seat of my pants assuming everything will go my way.  That's why we're a good match.  So here, we are, batteries in flashlights, 3 loaves of bread, 3 cases of water and 10 cans of tuna fish just hangin' out.  

Looks like the caterpillars are hunkerin' down, too.

Caterpillar Update...

I was gone for a couple of days this week and boy, did they fatten up!  They've probably tripled in size in the last three days and seem to be pretty mobile.  The little brown specs are 'food' from the bottom of the container that the seem to be dragging around with them.  They are spinning more silk - can't really see it too well in the photo.  All five seem to be thriving - we'll probably have chrysalides by next week.

Happy Birthday Dad!!!

Philip Louis Rickel

Born september 8, 1945

We Love You!!!!

'Butterfly Bugville'

Gloria is a sucker for infomercials.  She has begged me several times to order 'Butterfly Bugville' among other things.    She has even called the toll free numbers herself, but once they figure out she's not 'over the age of 18', the conversations cease.  

Well, Gloria was successful in convincing her Gran to purchase Butterfly Bugville on their recent birthday shopping spree.  Gloria couldn't wait to open the box when she got home.  She was really disappointed when their were not any caterpillars in the box - she just didn't understand why she had to send a card in to order the caterpillars.  Well, one we sent in the card, she was checking the mail every day - several times. 

 Her box of 'live caterpillars' finally arrived on Saturday.  She has been so excited about her new 'pets'.  She is in the process of naming each of the five caterpillars.  They were actually about half the size shown in the photos when we first opened them.   They have become quite mobile and have plumped up quite a bit.   

I'll post updates as the little guys continue to transform into beautiful Painted Lady butterflies.

Happy Birthday Dad!

We spent the afternoon celebrating Dad's birthday, which is actually on Monday.  Dad cooked his own birthday dinner, chicken fried steak with green beans and mashed potatoes.  Boy, was it good.  When we got in the car, Lonnie said, 'I sure wish I would have taken some leftovers!'  We had a great cake from Babycakes by Angie, of course.  I look for reasons to order goodies from her.

Here's the proud Papa with his three girls.

What the soccer players' siblings do at tournaments...

The Greatest Shooting Coach in the World!

This is Teodoro Santana - we were blessed enough to get to know Teo over the last few months. Teo was a professional soccer player in Brazil, then played with the Dallas Tornados in the 80's.  He has an infectious smile and has a wonderful gift of relating to kids in a way that effectively  teaches them to love the game.   Teo was offered a job in Houston with a soccer club and has already moved to fulfill his position.  Emily was soooooo excited to run into him this past weekend at the Plano Labor Day Soccer Tournament.  

Teo defending against Pele in Brazil - early 70's