days in the life of a
Previous POSTS
June 2010
click here to read older June 2010 posts....
June 26, 2010
INBORN
It all started as Gramaw's well-meaning, innocent plan to photograph her two adorable grandsons together...
...but it quickly turned into a wrestling match!
Now I realize I'm treading on politically-incorrect ground here, but I truly believe boys have an inborn insatiable desire to wrestle.
What starts out as a brotherly smooch...
...quickly becomes a takedown!
I've seen it myself countless times, raising 3 sons who were always wrestling around with each other.
It's an inborn male trait, I'm convinced.
Girls squeal and cry and pull hair.
Boys wrestle.
Right now, 2-year-old Karter has a distinct size, weight, and mobility advantage over his 4 1/2-month-old brother Kaden.
Not that Kaden isn't trying his best to wrestle Karter back...
"Some day, big brother, you will pay!"
You'd think Kaden would be fussing in frustration and protest over Karter's attacks...
...but instead he's squealing with delight and loving the rough-and-tumble stuff!
Maybe this innate desire to wrestle harkens back to the caveman days when jousting between boys helped make them strong and turn them into warrior men.
Whatever the reason, it's the way boys roll.
It's inborn.
June 27, 2010
RANDOM BIRD STUFF
A vulture circling in the sky just down the road from us.
Ugly, ugly, nasty, gross birds they are up close, but they sure do look beautiful circling silhouetted against the sky.
Some birds (like some people!) just look a whole lot better from a distance...
Somehow or other, this little sparrow ended up inside the birdfeeder and couldn't get out.
He was flapping his wings against the sides, trying to escape. I have no idea how long he'd been in there, but he had the birdfeeder swinging with his frantic flailing.
As I walked outside to release him, he burst into a frenzy of flapping and squeezed his way out before I got there.
Birdbrain!
Speaking of getting in and not being able to get out...
Kyler's owl adventure last weekend was one of the more bizarre things that have happened recently. Of course, we all know (don't we?!) that owls are primarily nocturnal hunters and apparently Mr. Hoot got into the peacock pen last Friday night, feasted on peacock meat (hence the headless peacock Kyler found...), and found his way back out of the pen by morning.
Having found a great place to dine in (sorry...), Mr. Hoot returned on Saturday night. This time it was the infidel rooster that fell victim. But somehow or other, the owl wasn't able to make his getaway in time before Kyler found him looking guilty as all get-out Sunday morning.
I've never seen an owl in the wild close up and personal, so I was so proud of my son for documenting it with photographs and videos (yes...he even shot a short video!) for posterity.
Very cool...and a little creepy...look at those piercing yellow eyes...
Not only are the storms hard on us people and the gardens and fields, they also take their toll on the birds. Even the birds can't escape the fury of the recent storms...this young robin drowned in the temporary "lake" of our backyard early this week.
"Ding, dong! The rooster's dead!
Which old bird? The wicked bird!
Ding, dong! The evil rooster's dead!"
While I hated for the peacock to lose his life so viciously, I'd be totally lying if I didn't say that old Mr. Hoot made me a happy soul when he killed the infidel rooster. He and I had had our share of run-ins and, if you ask me, the evil one got what he deserved for terrorizing his human caretakers.
No more will I have to look into his devilish eyes...the owl took care of him!
Now in his post, Kyler didn't want to scar innocent eyes with the brutality of the rooster's death, but if you REALLY WANT to see what the owl did to him before Kyler interrupted his meal, just hover your mouse over the photo above...but beware, it's not a pretty sight!
Gives me a new appreciation for the sharp talons and beak Mr. Hoot has to tear into him like that and peck his scrawny neck.
"Ding, dong! The merri-o,
Sing it high, sing it low.
Let them know the evil rooster's dead!!!"
June 28, 2010
"BROKEN EGG" SILLINESS
At 2 years old, Karter has discovered the art of silliness.
He's figured out that when he acts goofy, people laugh and think he's cute (which he definitely is!), which spurs him on to further silliness.
And once he decides something is funny, he repeats it over and over and over and over and...well, you get the idea. He becomes a little, giggly, tickled broken record.
That's what happened when Karter was shooting the basketball at his indoor hoop one day when we were up there.
Papaw, trying to give him shooting advice, told him to shoot it softly, like the basketball was an egg.
After making a couple of soft shots, he threw up a hard shot that missed badly and we joked that it was a "broken egg."
Karter's silly bone got tickled, and he was off on a giggly "broken egg" tangent.
When he gets giggly, other silliness is bound to ensue...
There is no sound more joyful than a 2-year-old giggle!
June 29, 2010
DAISY CRAZY
No other flower screams "SUMMERTIME!" like daisies do.
I mean, just look at the blossom itself...it's like God's floral duplication of the sun itself, with a bright yellow center and bright white sunbeams radiating all around.
Simple, yet oh so beautiful!
You can't help the happy, carefree summer feeling when you look at a patch of daisies.
Daisies have always been one of my very favorite flowers.
Thirty years ago, I used daisies to decorate my homemade wedding veil and as the centerpiece flowers in my bouquet for our August wedding.
A LOT (oh my goodness...A LOT!!!) has changed in 30 years, but not my love for this bright, sturdy, sunshiny flower.
I guess you could say I'm DAISY CRAZY!
June 30, 2010
MEANT TO BE
Kyler and Kara surprised and thrilled us Saturday night when they bopped into our kitchen and announced they are engaged to be married!
We couldn't be happier!
If I believed in chance circumstances, I'd think what a coincidence it was that Kara's parents, Jeff and Peggy, just happened to be at our house that evening playing a rousing game of euchre when Kyler and Kara walked in.
But then again, I don't believe in chance circumstances and coincidental happenings.
That evening, like the kids' upcoming marriage, was orchestrated by God. He's been working behind the scenes of our lives all along to bring these two together forever.
Meant to be.
These two literally grew up together, going to school from kindergarten through college together, attending church and mission trips together, always good friends in our small community.
These 6-year-olds had no idea what God had in store for them years later, that their childhood friendship would slowly, very gradually evolve into a lifelong love for each other.
Meant to be.
In my memory, they began to realize they had something special when they danced
together at Kristoffer and Dana's wedding in 2005 when they were both finishing their sophomore years. Then that fall they began dating and eventually "going out." Like all couples, they have had a few bumps along the road, but they always came back together, all the stronger for it.
Over the years, Kara has been a constant at Kyler's side...
Shenandoah Homecoming games...
...high school dances,...
...their first Valentine's Day as a couple...
...Prom...
...college visit to IU...
...celebrating an amazing baseball sectional championship...
...high school graduation....
...then moving off to IU to study business together...
...Gray family vacations...
...Christmas 2009 when Kyler bought Kara a diamond necklace...
...Kyler's 21st birthday, when Kara made him a huge personalized card chronicling their history together.
So many cherished memories... and so many more to make together in the years to come!!!
Some things are just meant to be!
Congratulations, Kyler and Kara!!!
We are so excited to add another daughter to our family!
We adore you both and can't wait to see what awesome things God has in store for your future together!
