Weekend Antics
I posted pictures to my Mac page, but thought I would blog a bit about the weekend we had. On Friday night I took the kids to
The Magik Theatre for a delightful night of
Schoolhouse Rock. Afterwards we hung out at the Hemisfair Park playground before driving home.
The following day we decided to return to the park because there is so much to see and do there. We explored the
Mexican Cultural Institute and spent some time playing in the fountains. I didn't realise there were so many lovely water features all around San Antonio.
On Monday night we went bowling. The Brunswick Thousand Oaks Bowl offers a Bowl for a Buck Monday and Wednesday nights from 9:30PM to midnight. Boy, was it busy. I am glad I decided to go ahead of time and place our names on a waiting list. But by 9:50 we were on a lane and having loads of fun.
Today the kids and I went to
The Witte Museum. This museum offers free entrance on Tuesday afternoons, and again, is it ever popular! We parked at the zoo because the museum currently only has 75 spaces, and we took the little train over, although we could have walked. A good time was had by all as we explored the habitat of dinos; built a pyramid, and explored the power air has. Teagan and Hayley also got to ride the Skycycle, a weighted bicycle that is propelled on a tightrope. Carson was all ready to do it too but his legs wouldn't reach the pedals (although he made the height restriction).
Labels: bowling, Hemsiphere, Magik Theater, Witte
My Backyard this Morning
The kids wanted to know if they could use their tubes and go swimming!
Labels: flooding, Rain
Can't It Head West?
Can't the rain head out to the west? California is experiencing drought or so I hear, meanwhile we have gone barely a day without precipitation. This has become my new wardrobe staple.
And this is what the sky looks like most of the time!
I know I should not complain seeing that last year we had all sorts of water restrictions and the Edwards Aquifer (where San Antonio pulls its water) was running very low. (This photo is of the San Antonio River downtown, part of the water system.)
I can't even cut my grass at the moment! Well, that is not strictly true - I cut my front lawn and side lawn on Monday, just a scant five days since the last time. But my back yard is flooded. There has been so much rain my grass is waterlogged and there are pools of water everywhere. Of course the grass hasn't stopped growing, and it's amazing that in one week it could grow so fast! I just need two or three days without rain so the yard can dry a bit. Yesterday I hoped against hope that we would not have rain - no luck; and today although the morning was sunny the afternoon brought with it a rip snorter of a thnderstorm that lasted a good two to three hours. Flash flood warnings are now almost commonplace because we hear them pretty much every other day.
My kids are even getting sick of it - mostly because I have told them they can't play in the back right now, so Hayley asked me check the forecast. Doesn't look promising: for the next 10 days there is a 60% chance of rain every day, and the temperatures are low for San Antonio at this time of year. We will not get above 87 for the foreseeable future.
Anyone in California want to come and bottle up some of this rain and take it back with them?
Labels: flooding, Rain
R.I.P.
On Garrick's first birthday we decided we were ready for a new pet. We had been a petless home for a while, and we missed the antics of a kitten. I drove with the 4 kids to the Dearborn Animal Shelter and watched about 20 kittens at eating time to see how a kitten would react to little ones. One kitten was so complacent and placid that when Teagan, who was three at the time picked her up while she was eating, she just placed one cheek on Teagan's and purred. Serena came home with us.
The kids treated her like a baby doll, even going so far as to put a bonnet on her, and place her in a stroller and take her through the house. She suffered these indignities with good grace; and if you were to put your ear to her chest you'd hear a rumbling purr. She knew no strangers and would jump into any lap. Christmas was her favourite season, and as soon as the Christmas tree came out you could not budge her. The tree skirt would have to be fully vacuumed after the season was done! She would pull gifts out of the way in order to lie under the tree.
Serena was not a small cat - her breed, Maine Coons, are known for being large, and she certainly fit the bill. Her paws were massive, and like all Maine Coons she had plenty of thick fur, and two cinnamon stripes of colour running down her back. Her big bright eyes reflected her sunny disposition.
She was born at the shelter on August 12th 1999. In July 2001 she was hit by a car (we think) one day after she escaped from the house. She was missing for almost 14 days and was more than likely hit the day she escaped. We prayed daily she would return. She did - a very injured, and very thin Serena pulled herself to our back door which is where Warrick found her. She had a broken hip, a broken femur, a broken tibia - in short she was a total mess. We could have chosen to put her to sleep then, but instead opted for the very expensive surgery to repair as much of the damage as we could. Terry and I both felt it would be grossly unfair to put her down after she spent 14 days dragging her broken rear end to get home.
In 2003 we moved to San Antonio and she made the long 4-day trip in the van with us. She went camping with us, stayed at a hotel with us (we smuggled her in) and as ever, was calm, placid and accepting of her new quarters.
Through the years other cats have come and gone in the Smelker household, we have moved numerous times, but Serena has been very secure in her place in the house - she was the matriarch and she knew she wasn’t going anywhere. She kept the other cats in line, and was always quietly in charge.
However in the last 18 months we had seen signs of deterioration in Serena. She lost two upper canine teeth, she was gaining weight (something she already had enough of), was no longer able to jump on the back of the couch, or jump up to get water from the sink (for a long time she would ONLY drink fresh running water!) The vet put her on a restricted diet, and we had surgery done on her teeth, but there was no appreciable improvement.
Then this last week for no apparent reason she really seemed to struggle to get around, and it was obvious to Terry and I that although she wanted to walk the pain was almost too much for her. We made the very hard, almost unbearable decision to take Serena in this morning to be put to sleep.
We will miss our big girl so much – we had almost 8 years with her; 8 good years, 8 years of appreciating her unique personality and love. Serena loved people, and her solid presence was a comfort to us all in rough times.
Rest in Peace Serena
Born: August 12th 1999
Died: July 18th 2007
This photo was taken this morning as I brushed her for the last time.
Labels: Christmas, Garrick, RIP, Serena
Happy News??
For the last two years I have had my home page set to
Fox News because out of all the main news channels it is the most balanced and fair. However in the last two weeks or so, I have become disturbed at the stories they have chosen to place on their front page. Now, it's not their fault, the information they disseminate is important, timely and often gruesome; they are just doing their job. But I am disturbed at what makes headlines.
Today for example this story made headlines:
Girl on X? Houston Police found a video posted online that shows a young girl (maybe 4 or 5) apparently high on Ecstasy, and HER MOTHER GAVE IT TO HER!!
How about this one?
Mom Blames Great Sale... A parent ran into a grocery store to 'grab some meat' but got caught up in the sales and left her 11-month old in the car - in Florida - in the middle of summer!
During the weekend, this one was posted:
Girl Buried Alive. India has long had a problem with families disposing of their girls, but this really highlights the depravity of humankind that an infant would be buried alive. Thank God for the farmer!
Where is the sanity? Where has common sense gone? When did running into the store to grab some meat beat out the welfare of your child? When is it ever all right to dispose of a child because she is the wrong gender? When is it ever OK to deliberately place your child's life in danger by giving her a controlled (and illegal) substance, and to then laugh at her when she loses control of her body?
There are two tragedies at play here. One is that these children are being harmed. The other is that thousands of couples all over the world are childless and would do just about anything to have a child. I personally have met several of them and helped two of them. Can you imagine the outrage they feel when they read stories like the ones posted? Of course we all feel (or should) feel outrage, but for those people desperate to have children this must be a real slap in the face.
And where are we, the body of Christ? I find it terribly ironic that as Christians we are so quick to point fingers at the world and say, "Look at that! It's disgusting." Of course it is, it's the world remember? How else are they going to behave? They are "under the sway of the evil one" according to the Word of God. But what influence can we exert to stop this kind of behaviour? A friend of ours, Bob Mitton posted this on his blog a short while back:
Bloom Where You Planted, a very good reminder that when the church moves out of a neighborhood, there are major repercussions.
But seeing I cannot change the entire world by myself, I am going to work where I am. I am going to continue to try and bless childless couples for as long as I can.
Oh, and by the way, I decided to change my home page to something a little more upbeat -
Happy News!Labels: Fox News, Happy News
Two Events Today
Teagan's braces came off today! She has had them on since April 2006 and it is amazing to see the difference in her teeth. She got her retainer, and has to wear it except when eating. She was so excited to get them removed. Of course she is not done yet - this was just Phase 1 of what will likely be a staple in her life for the next few years. She will have to start Phase 2 in about 12-18 months (once all her baby teeth fall out).
The other event was the swim banquet that heralded the end of the official swim season for the team. It was a good season for our team - as mentioned earlier in the blog, we won Divisionals - first time in 20 years. Then several of the kids went on to swim at All Stars where our team shone. Here are the girls displaying their trophies. Teagan is also displaying brace-free teeth!
And just so that the boys don't get forgotten I pulled this photo of the 4 kids from our time spent at Disney World in May. From left to right it is Hayley, Carson, Garrick and Teagan.
Labels: braces, swim, Teagan
Tag! I'm It!
Earlier on this week a friend of ours,
Bob 'tagged' me. Generally the 'taggee' has to answer a series of questions (in this case there was just one) and then tag someone else. Thanks Bob! Actually I enjoyed the experience as the question did make me think about my answers and why I truly feel the way I do.
So here are my answers to "Five Things I Dig About Jesus".
1. I dig that Jesus always keeps His Word. Psalm 138:2 in the NKJV says, “You have magnified your Word above all your name.” I dig that He will ALWAYS keep His Word – both written and spoken. That fact alone brings the Word of God into a new perspective for me – His Word is alive. There truly is power in the Word.
2. I dig that Jesus is ever-faithful. Even though my world may collapse around me; even though I face challenges that seem too much to bear; even though I cannot rely on the love of those around me, I know He is there. I am comforted in knowing that if and when I face those times and I react in a less than stellar fashion and allow doubts to creep in that He will remain faithful to me according to 2 Timothy 2:13.
3. I dig that Jesus left the Holy Spirit. Because of the Holy Spirit I have the power to overcome sin, to witness, to preach, to intercede for others and myself. I dig that He leads me into all truth, and that He will tell me what is yet to come (John 16:13). I dig how the Holy Spirit is there to bring glory to Jesus, and therefore is my example in all things.
4. I dig that Jesus treated all earnest seekers with love, compassion and respect. In a time when women were not well regarded, Jesus treated women better than anyone else. Jesus spoke to people who were considered unclean. He talked to a foreign woman and gave her the ‘crumbs’ she asked for. It is comforting to this woman to know that in Christ there is neither “male nor female, for you are all one in Christ.” Gal 3:28.
5. I dig that in Jesus I am a child of God. Because I am a child of the Most High I have His favour, His Blessings, and everything that Jesus has. I am most grateful for the absolute sacrifice He made to give me that. I know I will probably never know the full extent of that sacrifice with my finite human comprehension. It’s like falling in love on a daily basis – always something new to learn and appreciate about my redemption.
So, now I have to pass this favour onto other people. Well,
Jen and
Sue consider yourselves tagged!
Labels: Bible, Bob Mitton, Holy Spirit, Jesus
'Unplugged' Week
Last year we started a new 'tradition' in the Smelker household, but towards the end of the school year it went by the wayside, but is now back in force. Once a month, for 7 days the TV does not go on, video games and computer games are not played, and even Terry and I are only allowed on the computers to work.
The first three or four times we had these weeks Carson asked why they were being punished! We explained to all the kids that this was not a punishment. We wanted them to realise there is more to life than the electronic eye and the games that can be played on it.
And then we discovered something - even though there are 3 TV's in the house (although one is in our bedroom and the kids don't have access to it), the kids fought over who was watching what when; or fight over who won a game, or who 'cheated' (how can you cheat at a video game?) and I was constantly running interference between them. But the week the TV and everything else is off, there is peace in the home! So much for TV being the great 'electronic babysitter'! Now that doesn't mean I don't like TV - I appreciate some of the shows on TV, some of them are funny, and educational, however when the kids fight about which channel to watch all perks fly out of the window as far as I am concerned.
Right now the boys are playing on the piano and the girls are upstairs colouring, and drawing. Board games are out and being played and not one angry word has crossed a lip this morning.
Labels: games, TV
Divisionals last Saturday
Our little swimming team received this email from the secretary of the swimming club last night:
"For those of you who haven't heard, the Nadadores won the divisonal meet yesterday. Girls finished in 1st place and boys in 4th for an overall 1st place finish. Mr. Dewlen tells us that he thinks it's been 20 years since the Nadadores took divisionals. Way to go!"
I am so proud of our team. We only lost to one team during the regular season and that was mostly due to the size of the other team - they had over 130 swimmers to our 80, which makes a difference when 1st through 6th places are scored for points.
Neither of my girls placed first in their races, although Hayley did take third in her freestyle and fourth in breast stroke, so I am very proud of her. I was a timer for the races, and was in the lane next to her when she was swimming her freestlye - I even had her timer cheering for her, although the timer was from another team! We swam at the brand-new facility and the best part of it is the walls come up and allow for great cross breezes, so even though it was a hot day, the heat was never unbearable inside.
Now for the rest of the summer we will sleep in (something we haven't been able to do with the swim practices) and hang out at the pool and the park. A friend of mine is moving at the end of the month and she very kindly gave me her season pass to the Majik Theater - a children's theater here in town, so we will be able to watch two different plays before the season ends. I am looking forward to that as well.
Labels: divisionals, Hayley, swim, Teagan
