Looking Back Through Our Looking Glass...

As I lay here this morning, I wonder what next year will bring, hoping that it will be less "EXCITING" than this past year. Hoping for an "easy" year and the whole time knowing I will never be handed more than I can handle. Our Lord has tested this bear family this year, both physically and emotionally, and we are pulling through with an even bigger love for each other. We have learned to pull together and push through whatever comes our way.

Each of us has faced challenges, each of us have overcome challenges, and each of us has learned the power of prayer to change our lives.

Brother Bear has been a trooper through everybody else's sickness and injuries. He has grown so much and has become a very mature young cub, when he needs to be. He is an excellent student, loves his school (GVE GATORS ROCK!!), enjoys Cub Scouts, plays well with Sister Bear, fiercely protects her, and loves his family so much I can't even describe it. His love is so great! Not long ago, Brother Bear had the opportunity to spend the night with a friend, something he has never done except out of necessity, and was so excited. He had a blast playing that evening and the next morning, but somewhere in the night, Brother Bear came to a conclusion. The next morning when I picked him up, he had these words of wisdom to share, "Momma, I love my family the best and don't really want to sleep in any house that my family isn't sleeping in. I had fun but I don't think I want to sleep away from my family anymore." Of course, with tears in my eyes, I said he didn't have to sleep anywhere he didn't want to sleep and that I had missed him too. WOW! Can words even describe my feelings at that point, no they can't. Brother Bear has grown inside and out, he is a thoughtful, kind cub and we are so proud of him.

Sister Bear has had a rough year healthwise. Last Christmas she had her adnoids taken out in hopes of decreasing the number of infections she was having. It seemed to work pretty good through the spring. Sister still had not reached the 20 pound mark, but she was growing up and was sick half as often. Then an atomic bomb was dropped in June. Sister experienced extremely high temperatures which triggered a febrile seizure which stopped her breathing and sent us to the Emergency Room. This was the beginning of an 8 day stay. Sister ran a fever averaging 104 for 2 more days, her mouth ulcerated and bled, she was lethargic and nobody could tell us what was wrong. The doctors poked and prodded, ran test, ordered x-rays, gave meds and more meds. Poppa Bear and Brother Bear came back and forth to check on us, both of them worried sick. I can't tell you how many hours we spent on the phone with our wonderful friends and family, but couldn't tell them anything. Sister and I cuddled up in the bed amongst the tubes and monitors, she slept and I prayed. Sometimes my prayers were angry, sometimes pleading, but always to heal my baby girl and let us go home to our bear family. Poppa Bear and I cried gallons, we were thankful for the support of our friends who stopped by and offered books or burgers and so many prayers. After 8 days, we still didn't really have a diagnosis other than our pediatrician and our ENT came to the conclusion that it must have been a major case of cox sacci (Foot and Mouth Disease) that ravaged her already weak body. Needless to say, we spent the rest of our summer just getting strong again. Sister stayed well for a few months, hit the 20 pound mark and hasn't looked back!!! Even though she had another little stumble when she earned the notorious title of being the first hospitalized case of Type A influenza in NELA. That was another 3 day jaunt in the wonderful room at GRMC. This time with the BIG YELLOW CAUTION CONTAGIOUS sign on the door and everybody in masks and gloves. Knock on wood, that was Sister's last stay for the year. We've fought a few sinus infections and the stomach bug along the way, but Sister Bear is now 24 pounds of laughing, talking, bossy, beautiful fun. Boys beware, Poppa and Brother are watching you!!!

Now lets talk about Poppa Bear...
He is amazing, I love him more everyday. He is my rock. Poppa started the year off great, he had recovered from his back surgery and was cadillac. He and Brother built zip lines in the yard and worked on all sorts of projects throughout the year. He and his "team" traveled to pistol shooting competitions and had a great time. Poppa is one of the few, the proud, the revolver shooters. He always says he may not be the fastest, but he has more fun than everybody else! Right before school started, we traveled down the bayou to visit. Poppa spent most of his time in the bed, hurting. When we came home, it was to doctor's visits and tests. After a week of this test and that test and  2 ER visits, we finally got an answer. "Your gall bladder is completely dysfunctional and must come out." So August marks the first operation... Recovery is going good and then 3 months later a new excrutiating pain hits... "You have an acute appendicitis and your appendix MUST come out TODAY!" It was the day before Thanksgiving! So again Poppa goes into surgery. Now a month and a bit later, we are preparing for a third surgery to repair the incisional hernia that has occured due to the muscle not being completely healed from the first surgery before the second surgery had to happen. Poppa's belly looks like he lost a knife fight!!! Poppa is tough, he will handle it. Our running joke is that there isn't much more to take out, so we must be about done!!!

Momma Bear is hanging in there, I've just buckled in and gone for the ride this year. I feel like one of the boppy clowns, you know the one that you punch over and over and he keeps standing back up. That's what I've done this year. I've been punched over and over and the dear Lords stands me back up each time. I've weathered the storm and look forward to the calm of the new year. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers. Our family prays that you and yours have a blessed new year and hope to see all of our friends and family soon.

With love,
Momma Bear

The PPP post... Pumpkin Patch Photos!

Just a quick share of some of our favorite shots from the Townsend House Pumpkin Patch last month... yeah it has taken me a month to get these downloaded and uploaded and sideloaded and diagonalloaded. I've pushed every button but this one Charlie.. Oh wait this isn't the Chocolate Factory, let's get back to the pumpkin eaters!!!

We had some fun that afternoon and got lots of laughs from the antics of the bear cubs! Going to see the pumpkins has become a tradition for us. We have been going since Brother Bear was a wee cub, only 1 year old!

Everybody had fun at the PP, even Daddy! I think that Sister Bear has him wrapped around her little finger!! She has some kind of power over both the "men" in her life.

The sandman has spinkled his magic over me, so I must go now, but I will continue to try to update often!! Until the next time...

Good night!

Mom & Me & Freezing Temperatures

Do you remember the coldest weekend we've had so far this year? Brother Bear and I do for sure. It was spent at a Cub Scout camp-out just for Moms and sons.

We packed up our supplies and headed out with a few more cubs for a frigid weekend of fun!

We quickly figured out the ropes (where to go, how to get there, where the REAL restrooms were...) and headed to our campsite to set up our tents. Yes, I said tents and yes it did get down to 36 degrees that night, just in case you were wondering.

 Once we were set-up, there was a not so rigid schedule we were to follow that included a variety of activities for the cubs to participate in and learn skills. The schedule was awsome in that it provided for lots of mingle and meet time for the cubs. Our first stop was the BB Gun Shoot.

 Look, hold, breathe, squeeze... or something like that!!! Ask that cub, he remembers!

After BB Shooting, We moved over to a special range for Archery practice...

I don't know why Robin Hood keeps flipping sideways... It must be an I D 10 T problem!!!

Following Archery, we had a break and some lunch. We also spent a little time organizing our tent and just goofing off. Next item on our agenda was... Slingshot Shooting! Who knew the perfect slingshot ammo was dry dog food!

 Okay, it must be how I saved these pictures and I can't figure out how to fix this. Any ideas would be welcome...

We also learned about camoflauge. Do you see the two cubs in this picture? Turn your head to the right to see it the correct way!!

Next, we were off to the front of camp to join up on a wagon ride out to the fields for obstacle courses, games, and time spent in the Cub Scout World Treehouses! We all had a blast at this activity.

 Yes, that is Momma Bear racing against Brother Bear. Who won you ask? It was a tie!!! I promise!!!

Cub Scout World is a series of treehouses connected by bridges. The cubs LOVED this place.

 Check out this window on one of the tree houses, it was the object of a hunt for hidden images. There are 2 wolves in this picture. Do you see them?

 Here is one of them. We thought this was pretty cool since Brother Bear is technically a Wolf Scout.

Our last planned activity was canoeing. Since I was Captain of the canoe, we don't really have any good pictures from that part of our day. FYI, I was not the Mom who ended up in the lake that day. I can only imagine the feel of icey lake water covering me on a day that topped out at 42 degrees... BRRRRR!!

Before supper, we had some free time to go exploring.

We took a special hand-drawn map that Poppa Bear had provided us with and headed out to find the natural "waterfall" at camp. And I must say, we were successful! It was pretty cool for us Mommas, can't say the cubs were quite as impressed. I think they thought it would be more like Niagra Falls in Louisiana! Oh well, they had fun exploring and spending time together with friends.

That evening, we had supper at the dining hall and then over to an assembly and bonfire before heading back to our campsite for s'mores making and then bedtime.

We snuggled down deep in our sleeping bags and made the night.

It wasn't long before morning reached us and we got started tearing down campsite. After breakfast, we over to the office to sign-out and Brother Bear and his cub friends were honored to be asked to help Retire the Colors to end the Mom and Me Campout for 2012.

Ok, now I'm embarrassed... These pictures are coming out upside down! Check back with me later to see if I figured it out and posted them... Till later,

Love ya!

Making Memories that Bring Back Memories

Life is about making memories and the best job of a Momma Bear is helping the cubs make memories too. Sometimes it's the cubs who point out how something we've done recently makes them remember some other good time they've had with somebody they miss. When Brother Bear and I were looking for a picture for his Cub Scout popcorn sale email, he commented on how much fun this day was back in the summer and how much it made him miss having Granny here because it was the sort of thing Granny would let those cubs do on a hot afternoon.

Yes, you guessed it, the person we miss is Granny. It didn't matter what time of day, Granny always had time for the cubs and the cubs always loved that time spent with Granny. I don't know if it was the "illegal" snacks, you know that candy or cookie 10 minutes before dinner, or the super relaxed, well they're just having fun rules. Or could it have been the unconditional love that was dished out every minute? Yeah, that's it, it was definately the unconditional love that every cub received at Granny's house, it didn't even matter if you were from our Bear family or not, you still felt the love.

I will share with you the pictures that stirred up the memories of "lawless" afternoons at Granny's house, but you need to know how it started first...

Sister Bear wasn't feeling too good, so our day had been pretty uneventful. Brother Bear was feeling the walls closing in on him and needed to get out and stretch his legs a bit, so I suggested playing in the tree house. It wasn't long and the Cousin Bears showed up ready to play, which was perfect timing for Brother. Nap time came quickly for Sister and then it was just the three older cubs left to explore the great outdoors.

It was only about 100 degrees that day which meant that those cubs didn't take too long before they were looking for a cooler activity, my suggestion... the SPRINKLER!!!! Now I can't think of a cub who doesn't love a summer afternoon in the sprinkler. Nevertheless this sprinkler episode soon got real dirty, you'd have thought an outlaw posse had come through town it was sooo dirty, but on the other hand it was sooooo much fun!!

Just check out these photos and see if you think the bear cubs will forget this anytime soon...

 Who knew a sprinkler, a slide, and a few bear cubs could have this much fun!!!!

And the GRAND Finale...

Now this afternoon might have made me a favorite with the cubs, even when the first layer of mud removal was at the end of the water hose, but I don't know if I was still the favorite with the OTHER Daddy Bear!!! He said it took three shampooings to get all that sand and mud out of that hair!

Oh well, we only get to make young memories once, might as well be DIRTY ones, right?!?!?

We love you Granny!!!

Goin Down the Bayou

Our last fling of the summer was a trip down the bayou. We went down to help Mamere with a few repairs and turned our visit into a mini-vacation. We all experienced a few firsts as we hit some of the tourist attractions. What was the best part of the adventure? Definately having other people notice the love and adoration that Brother and Sister share. We see it, but as parents sometimes we think we are a bit biased, but when total strangers and long lost family members say to you, "Wow, what a great big brother he is" or "They really love each other, huh" then you know it is truely a gift from God. HE saw it fit to help us teach them to love and appreciate one another. And let me tell you, Brother Bear was missed each time he went on an adventure without Sister.

Okay, back to our tourist attractions...

1st stop...

Neither Brother or Sister Bear had been to the big aquarium and it had been years since Momma or Poppa Bear had been, so we took a drive up to New Orleans for the afternoon. The aquarium had everybody smiling,

even the stingray!

Brother Bear's favorite animals right now are sharks and jellyfish, so this trip was right up his alley. Now, getting to pet the stingray was pretty awsome too. I don't think there was a part of the aquarium that either cub didn't like. Here are a few pics from the aquarium...

The aquarium was amazing. I can not even imagine the amount of time it takes to wipe off all those fingerprints and nose smudges, but if the folks whose job that is ever get a chance to see the pure enjoyment of coming face to face with the creatures of the sea, it must make every minute of the job worth it.

After the aquarium, we stepped out to get a look at the Mighty Mississippi and watched the ferry come in...

Once we left the aquarium, we traveled down Canal Street to point out a few of the sights to Brother Bear. Traffic was pretty thick so we were moving about a hair past a snail's pace when low and behold we got caught at the light on the corner of Bourbon Street. I rolled down the windows so Brother Bear could hear the little jazzy, street band on the corner. Not only did he enjoy it, but he and Sister were dancing in their seats. We told him that Bourbon Street is known for its parties and nightlife. When the light turned green and we started to roll, Brother Bear informed us that when he was 18, he was gonna love coming to Bourbon Street! It was gonna be sooo much fun! - Dear Lord, Please hear my prayers now, Guide Brother AWAY from Bourbon Street! Amen

The visit to the Aquarium was amazing and exhausting. The trip back down the bayou went something like this...

"Momma, iinna pap-pap!!"

"Momma, I go nite-nite"

"Zzzzzzzzz" all the way home!

That was a successful trip to the Big City. We had fun and learned a bit along the way. Now, right now, the Sandman is calling my name, playing his beat with raindrops on the roof. I'll just have to fill you in on our other Bayou Adventures another time.

Livin a Lovin Life - Kristi