The Pup

It's now been a month and a half since Tucker came home with us. I've had plenty to say about him, but very little time to do it. So here's the update!

-Our little pup isn't so little anymore. He has more than doubled his weight since we got him.


-House breaking is going great. His accidents are rare.


-He has had 6 puppy classes (with 2 left to complete) and they are going great. We have seen remarkable progress in him with our family, at home. Now we just need to work on him not being psycho with visitors and other dogs.


-He was neutered yesterday and came home a very pathetic creature. He whined and cried all evening and then proceeded to wake me up a good 5 times during the night. This morning he is over the whining and is being rather crazy . . . sprinting laps around the couches.

-The kids are doing great with him. Ironically, Julie probably handles him the best. She has no problems being stern and bossy with him : ) and isn't afraid of him at all.

So, that's life with Tucker in a nutshell. There have been times when I thought that I would kill him, but those have been few. In fact having Tucker makes me wonder if we should get another dog. After my adamant "no more animals" stance in my last Tucker post, this is quite a turn around. I just figured that he wouldn't need a friend: he has the cats and we have 4 kids! Well the cats HATE him!! Kelsey is a little more curious and playful, but Polly would kill him if she could. He LOVES playing with Lexie (The Alligood's dog) and I love how worn out he is when they're done playing! : ) We'll see . . .

The End of an Era

As a mom, every now and then, things just hit me. Usually they're silly little things. Little memories, etc . . . The other day I had one of those moments. I was going through the hat and glove box, getting things sorted for winter, when Julie put on a hat and said "I'm Bob the Tomato!" I laughed. The hat is actually supposed to be a strawberry, but that's beside the point. She had to pull with all of her might to squeeze the thing onto her head. And then I had my moment. Julie was just the last of my kids to wear that hat. It was a shower gift to us when Ali was born. It was knitted by Katie Brooks . . . and Aaron and I LOVED it! We just thought it was SO cute. Here's our picture of Ali "wearing" it as a newborn. It was massively large on her head . . . but, of course, we thought she was a riot.

And then, here's my little Jules, squeezing the thing onto her head!

I know it's just me being a silly mommy . . . but it was kind of sad.

Another Megan-ism

The other night we were all in the van, driving home from the mall, when Megan busted out with this one:

"Mommy, will I see you in hell?"

What question from a 4 year old.

I calmly told her "no, because I won't be in hell." That carried into the normal conversation of how I know that I won't be in hell, etc . . . A good conversation to have, a frequently repeated conversation in the Patton home, though it's never begun in that way.

Leave it to Meg.

A Worthwhile Read . . .

I don't usually use my blog to talk politics. I'm sick of the election, and admittedly, disappointed with it's outcome. I definitely would have chosen different results, but I KNOW that my God is sovereign. "The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases." Proverbs 21:1

On the other hand, I am saddened as I listen to believers bashing and showing blatant disrespect for the man that God has put into this position of a authority. This blog post by Al Mohler is excellent:

From http://www.almohler.org/blog_read.php?id=2715

"The election of Sen. Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States came as a bang, not a whimper. The tremors had been perceptible for days, maybe even weeks. On Tuesday, America experienced nothing less than a political and cultural earthquake.

The margin of victory for the Democratic ticket was clear. Americans voted in record numbers and with tangible enthusiasm. By the end of the day, it was clear that Barack Obama would be elected with a majority of the popular vote and a near landslide in the Electoral College. When President-Elect Obama greeted the throngs of his supporters in Chicago's Grant Park, he basked in the glory of electoral energy.

For many of us, the end of the night brought disappointment. In this case, the disappointment is compounded by the sense that the issues that did not allow us to support Sen. Obama are matters of life and death -- not just political issues of heated debate. Furthermore, the margin of victory and sense of a shift in the political landscape point to greater disappointments ahead. We all knew that so much was at stake.

For others, the night was magical and momentous. Young and old cried tears of amazement and victory as America elected its first African-American President -- and elected him overwhelmingly. Just forty years after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, an African-American stood to claim victory as President-Elect of the nation. As Sen. Obama assured the crowd in Chicago and the watching nation, "We will get there. We will get there." No one hearing those words could fail to hear the refrain of plaintive words spoken in Memphis four decades ago. President-Elect Obama would stand upon the mountaintop that Dr. King had foreseen.

That victory is a hallmark moment in history for all Americans -- not just for those who voted for Sen. Obama. As a nation, we will never think of ourselves the same way again. Americans rich and poor, black and white, old and young, will look to an African-American man and know him as President of the United States. The President. The only President. The elected President. Our President.

Every American should be moved by the sight of young African-Americans who -- for the first time -- now believe that they have a purchase in American democracy. Old men and old women, grandsons and granddaughters of slaves and slaveholders, will look to an African-American as President.

Regardless of politics, could anyone remain unmoved by the sight of Jesse Jackson crying alone amidst the crowd in Chicago? This dimension of Election Day transcends politics and touches the heart of the American people.

Yet, the issues and the politics remain. Given the scale of the Democratic victory, the political landscape will be completely reshaped. The fight for the dignity and sanctity of unborn human beings has been set back by a great loss, and by the election of a President who has announced his intention to sign the Freedom of Choice Act into law. The struggle to protect marriage against its destruction by redefinition is now complicated by the election of a President who has declared his aim to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act. On issue after issue, we face a longer, harder, and more protracted struggle than ever before.

Still, we must press on as advocates for the unborn, for the elderly, for the infirm, and for the vulnerable. We must redouble our efforts to defend marriage and the integrity of the family. We must be vigilant to protect religious liberty and the freedom of the pulpit. We face awesome battles ahead.

At the same time, we must be honest and recognize that the political maps are being redrawn before our eyes. Will the Republican Party decide that conservative Christians are just too troublesome for the party and see the pro-life movement as a liability? There is the real danger that the Republicans, stung by this defeat, will adopt a libertarian approach to divisive moral issues and show conservative Christians the door.

Others will declare these struggles over, arguing that the election of Sen. Obama means that Americans in general -- and many younger Evangelicals in particular -- are ready to "move on" to other issues. This is no time for surrender or the abandonment of our core principles. We face a much harder struggle ahead, but we have no right to abandon the struggle.
We should look for opportunities to work with the new President and his administration where we can. We must hope that he will lead and govern as the bridge-builder he claimed to be in his campaign. We must confront and oppose the Obama administration where conscience demands, but work together where conscience allows.

Evangelical Christians face another challenge with the election of Sen. Obama, and a failure to rise to this challenge will bring disrepute upon the Gospel, as well as upon ourselves. There must be absolutely no denial of the legitimacy of President-Elect Obama's election and no failure to accord this new President the respect and honor due to anyone elected to that high office. Failure in this responsibility is disobedience to a clear biblical command.

Beyond this, we must commit ourselves to pray for this new President, for his wife and family, for his administration, and for the nation. We are commanded to pray for rulers, and this new President faces challenges that are not only daunting but potentially disastrous. May God grant him wisdom. He and his family will face new challenges and the pressures of this office. May God protect them, give them joy in their family life, and hold them close together.

We must pray that God will protect this nation even as the new President settles into his role as Commander in Chief, and that God will grant peace as he leads the nation through times of trial and international conflict and tension.

We must pray that God would change President-Elect Obama's mind and heart on issues of our crucial concern. May God change his heart and open his eyes to see abortion as the murder of the innocent unborn, to see marriage as an institution to be defended, and to see a host of issues in a new light. We must pray this from this day until the day he leaves office. God is sovereign, after all.

Without doubt, we face hard days ahead. Realistically, we must expect to be frustrated and disappointed. We may find ourselves to be defeated and discouraged. We must keep ever in mind that it is God who raises up nations and pulls them down, and who judges both nations and rulers. We must not act or think as unbelievers, or as those who do not trust God.

America has chosen a President. President-Elect Barack Obama is that choice, and he faces a breathtaking array of challenges and choices in days ahead. This is the time for Christians to begin praying in earnest for our new President. There is no time to lose."

She's No Mia Hamm

Emma had her first soccer game this weekend. They won 5-0, and that is only b/c they stopped adding to the score after it reached 5. It probably would have been 10-0.

Rest assured that my little girl had very little to do with the excellent outcome of her game. When the game started, one of her teammates passed the ball to her and she just stood there. She didn't know what to do. It was funny, b/c everyone else just stood there as well. Eventually she passed it back to the girl who had passed it to her, and the game started. As the game went on, she got the hang of it a little more. She was better at staying in her position, and even touched the ball a time or two. Mostly she was interested in visiting with the other girls, flipping her hair back and forth and sitting on the bench. Her coach told the girls that if they got hurt or were tired, they could raise their hand and he would take them out. Well, that was a mistake! She raised her hand over and over again. Granted, this is indoor soccer, and therefore the girls are constantly running. Emma just didn't get it. In the end Aaron told her that she should only raise her hand if her leg is broken! : )

Aaron talked to her coach after the game, and he was upbeat about it. It was her first game. It's just important that she's having fun. She just needs to work on not raising her hand so much. Next week I'll be happy if she doesn't raise her hand at all, stays in position, and keeps her eye on the ball. I think that now that she knows what to expect, that shouldn't be too difficult.

I only had my cell phone with me, so this was the best I could do for pictures. In attendance were Mom, Dad, Ali, Meg, Julie and Grandma & Grandpa Klarner. Grandma and Grandpa were nice enough to treat the girls to ice cream after the game. That was their favorite part!



Emma is the one in the darker blue shirt (she doesn't have her matching jersey yet)

The Big Day

After a year of anticipation, Halloween finally came. It was a fun night, and my girls are already talking about next year!

Ali & Emma
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Meg & Julie
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The 4 big kids (waiting for the Littles to be ready)
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Finally ready! All 7 rug rats!
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For Trick-or-treating we went to our old neighborhood in Eureka. Miss Sherry and her Mom always look forward to seeing the kids, and they do a little party in their garage. It's a great neighborhood for trick-or-treating.

Our annual picture with Maw-Maw (Miss Sherry's mom) She was SO excited to see all of the kids. She misses us so much!

Our weather this year was unseasonably warm. That's been kind of disappointing (I'm ready for fall weather) but it was excellent for Halloween festivities. The past several years it has been cold and rainy, so we LOVED this!

After taking one trick-or-treating picture, I got sick of carrying the camera. So, here it is! : )

Time to Carve the Pumpkin!

This is a day-before-Halloween tradition for us! Always a blast!

The girls pick out the pumpkin seeds while Daddy cleans out the pumpkin.

The finished product. I think they names him Baxter.

Party!

Part of the fun of being a home school family is the fun parties! I get together with Jessica (with Graci and Maddux) and Amber (with Jonah, Karis and Aubrey) on Wednesdays and we do Art, Music and Spanish. It's a fun time for the kids to learn from someone who has talents that I don't have and a nice visiting time for the moms. This week, we had a party instead!


Jess was the cool mom who did all of the planning. We started our festivities by making Oreo spider cookies. What fun!
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Julie especially enjoyed her cookies!
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The party table. What a crew!
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Next we did Caramel apples. We had this "great" idea that we would dip the apples, then let the kids sprinkle toppings on them. Well, the caramel hardened way too fast, so we had to go with plan B. We gave them a plate of candy that they pressed into the caramel, and they thought that was awesome!
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Aubrey and Maddux decorating their apples (and enjoying a little snack here and there!)
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We did our little parade around the neighborhood - 9 kids in all!

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We stopped along the way for group pictures:
Back row: (L-R) Karis (piratess), Jonah (pirate), Ali (cheerleader), Emma (black cat - specifically "Licorice" the American Girl cat), Graci (gardener), Meg (pumpkin).
Front row: (L-R) Aubrey (mouse), Maddux (dragon), Julie (pumpkin)
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The Patton girls.

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All 9 of them sitting outside waiting for "The donut game" It was a big hit! Mrs. Younce tied the donuts to a string in the tree, and the kids were supposed to catch them in their mouths without using their hands. They all did it (though the littles did manage to get those hands in there!)
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Aubrey
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Ali
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Emma

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Meg
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Maddux
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Karis
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Jonah
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Graci

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Julie

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It sure was a fun party!

Julie and Grady

I just happened to have my camera at Amber's house recently while Julie was loving on Grady. She was cracking me up, so I had to snap a few.

Julie has never really snuggled out cats. She was really young when we got both of them, and they were never as tolerant as Grady is. The people at the Humane Society said that he was rescued as a teeny baby and bottle fed, etc . . . So I guess he's used to the handling. He wasn't even trying to get away, he was just purring like crazy.

Contrary to how it looks in some of these pictures, she was trying to be gentle. We were trying to instruct her to pick him up under his legs, but that confused her. Oh well . . . it didn't seem to bother Grady.

Here's the slide show . . .

I love the look on Grady's face here!