Quick update on VBS...Doug did BEAUTIFULLY at VBS--or, maybe, to be more accurate, I should say that the volunteer staff managed Doug beautifully. The first night he went, I was planning on shadowing him to keep him reigned in. But, when we arrived, I found that his teacher was an old friend of ours, Mike W., who has a grand-daughter that has brain injury (a lot more severe than Doug's). Needless to say, I felt no need to shadow Doug, afterall that night. I knew Mike wouldn't be overwhelmed having Doug in his class. So, I went over to my dear friend Lisa's house to pick up Rotten Ellie (our baby box turtle). Lisa and Iran had graciously agreed to care for Ellie in our absence. It was a bit traumatic for them, I think! Lisa has a very delicate stomach and blanched when she realized that caring for Ellie would involve handling live mealy worms (which she declared were nothing more than glorified maggots!). I tried to make it easy for her...not even bringing over Ellie's vitamins or UV lamp (Lisa had a place next to the window for Ellie's aquarium). Still, Lisa had to bathe Ellie daily (she won't drink, otherwise) AFTER digging her up...then feed her the squirmy meal worms. Ellie, being a typical baby box turtle LOVES to bury herself. The day before I brought her over to Lisa's I changed her aquarium significantly.... Always before, her aquarium had had soil in it ten inches deep (to accomodate Ellie's live plants). The problem with that is that Ellie has no objection to burying herself ten inches deep, anywhere in the aquarium...so it could be quite frustrating trying to find her every day or two in order to bathe and feed her. To make it easier for Lisa, I took out all but the bottom two inches of soil in her aquarium just before bringing her to Lisa's...but that meant that I had to uproot the plants and replant them in just two inches. I forgot to mention to Lisa that I had uprooted the plants...so, three days later when they all died, she was stricken with guilt (and Lisa is VERY PRONE to extreme guilt) that SHE had failed us...causing the demise of Ellie's plants! Even BEFORE that, Lisa was already being struck with angst over her new responsibility... The day before we left for Canada (we had taken her the turtle a couple of days in advance) I had a frantic message on my answering machine. Lisa could not find the turtle. She and her husband had dug up the entire aquarium three different times....and no Ellie. They were in a panic. That message was followed by a second message from them saying they had found the turtle the fourth time they sifted through the entire soil content of the aquaurium. (Ellie is a TINY little turtle.)

Anyway, a few days before we were to return home from Canada, I had received an e-mail from Lisa informing me that "Rotten Ellie is doing fine and AWAITING your RETURN." So, it is, that ever since reading that rather brief e-note, whenever I think of Ellie, the pre-fix "Rotten"(!) just jumps right into my head, too!

Anyway, I went to pick Rotten Ellie up, since I was in town and had three hours to kill. Lisa and I had a delightful visit...and Lisa was glad to be relieved of her responsibility... (She had been terrified that Rotten Ellie would die on her or something!) Doug had mourned Ellie's absence since the moment we took the turtle to Lisa's. He worried aloud about his turtle multiple times in Canada (afraid that we had GIVEN Ellie away forever) and then he asked about her over and over again every day after we got back, not understanding why we couldn't make the forty minute trip over to get Ellie, the moment we hit Missouri soil.

The next day of VBS (Wednesday evening), Grant and I, both, took the three kids in to the church and then WE HAD A TWO HOUR AND FORTY-FIVE MINUTE DATE ALONE TOGETHER! (You have to understand, Grant works Monday through Friday and I work twelve and a half hour shifts EVERY Saturday and Sunday)...so, we don't have much overlap time. And time ALONE....well, we have gone somewhere alone together exactly TWO times in the last three years. So, Wednesday night was quite an event for us! We went to Longhorn Steakhouse and had a really long suppper together. (We had gotten McDonald's for the kids on the way to VBS.) We had so much fun, that we decided to take advantage of VBS Thursday night, as well. After dropping the kids off Thursday night, we grabbed a bite at Sonic, ourselves, and then spent the evening browsing through Border's Bookstore. I found a really neat book teaching Chinese characters...enough to be fairly literate in Chinese. And Grant found a new Lonesome River Band CD. (I also found a Beverly Cleary book and three Agatha Christy books for Darcy.) It was just so deliciously decadent to be able to browse slowly through the store without three children climbing up my leg! (Those of you who have NORMAL children, cannot possibly understand. Actually, Darcy is old enough now that she isn't a head-ache to shop with (by herself, anyway)...but, those two younger children of ours are just SO ACTIVE. Doug is in hyperdrive all the time and forever in 'repeat loop' and Rayna is drama queen of the world. And, put together, the two of them EXCELLERATE each other. Apart they are each a hand-ful. Together they are THREE handfuls! Add Darcy to the mix, and it is even worse. Her self-appointed task it to make SURE the younger two stay stirred up!) So, shopping without children was quite an indulgence for Grant and I!

Friday was the parent's night program...so we had to go to VBS with the kids. It was nice, but, I was secretly mourning that it signaled the end of our freedom for another entire year! Oh well! Those three evenings were bliss! (I did feel guilty once...I mean, this is the first VBS in the life of my children that I haven't HELPED all through VBS (even the two times our children have attended VBS at a church that wasn't ours, I still stayed and helped every day).) I guess Darcy has gone to her grandparents' church's VBS a few years and I haven't gone or helped then (but her grandparents were helping). But, this year, I sent the kids and I didn't do any of the work. So, I did feel momentarily guilty...but, not enough to dampen the enjoyment of that wonderous freedom! ....an evening alone with my good friend Lisa and two nights in a row dating my husband! (Grant was at his weekly band practice the night I went over to Lisa's to pick up Rotten Ellie.)  ¶ 8/07/2006 07:32:00 AM