Monday, May 21, 2012

Kaia's Furry Find

Kaia found an amazing discovery this past week... under the slide lay four baby kitties all curled up.  I immediately thought about finding the perfect little bed for their new nest as we mothered them into successful kittenhood.  I called the Humane Society to grab a few tricks for kitten rearing.  Feed every two hours, keep warm, keep safe... done that four times with my own crew and according to my baby delivery schedule I'd be due for another baby about now anyhow. 

But where could the real mama be??   I was certain it couldn't be the skinny little feral kitten that we had been feeding, she was only a few months old herself, there was no room in her itty bitty body to hold babies.  Hmmm, maybe the mouse we saw skinny kitty carrying a few days prior wasn't actually a mouse.  What if skinny kitty was the mama... I couldn't imagine taking her babies away.  Yet I knew if the baby kittens were left alone and didn't have a mama they were sure to be a midnight kitty cookie for the crazy raccoons.

The kids wanted to bring them in, they too feared they wouldn't make it through the night.  So we prayed, prayed to feel guided on how to best handle our new furry friends.  We came to the conclusion that we needed to leave them, after all they had made it without intervention the first few days of their little lives.  And we had to trust nature to do what nature does.  Soon after our group decision I saw skinny kitty laying down with her babies.  We all felt better. 

So each day we check on the kittens, I'm solo on the night watch.  I take the flash light out a couple times in the wee hours and make sure mama is with the babies.  It's been four days since Kaia's find and they seem to be doing great.  Along with skinny kitty, we co-parent Cub, Midnight, Shadow and Kailana {of course we had to name them}, and help her where we can.  Once they are ready to leave mama's side we'll find them homes.  Until then we are enjoying this sneak peek into nature.








Monday, March 19, 2012

Sleepover!


And he's never frozen my bra or put marshmallows in my nose while I was sleeping. 
LOVE H.I.M.



 

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

8 is GREAT!

HAPPY birthday M.E.K.E.N.A!!!

And you actually get to celebrate your birthday on your birthday!  Happy Leap Year Birthday!!!










Oh, you have grown so quickly!! 
You are magnificent and brilliant!! 
I love to just sit and talk with you, your depth of understanding has always been amazing to me.
You are a deep soul with so many capabilities. 
I'm excited for you to be a young lady!

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Give me a c... C Give me a h...H Give me an e... E Give me another e... E Give me a r... R

What's that spell??  Yup, CHEER.  And that's our new favorite activity, I should say sport.  Here's the story - two years ago Mekena and Kirra went to a cheer camp for a week during summer.  I figured it would be fun, give them a little outing and that would be it.  They LOVED it, learned more in a few days than they had after taking two years of dance and begged to join the competitive team.  I was about to have a baby and the commitment was just not something I was willing to sign up for.  They continued to talk about it over the year following.  So last June I decided that if the idea of competitive cheerleading was still on their mind almost an entire year later than we should check it out.  Fast forward 9 months and you will not see a day go by without stunts and tumbling and dancing - if the girls aren't at practice they are cheerin' it up at home.  Who knew you would hand a kid a burrito and up it would go in a stunt, that you couldn't go anywhere without asking them to not do cartwheels and back walkovers, that you'd look outside to see they've rounded up the neighbors to help toss them up and that every piece of furniture would turn into a trampoline - even though there's one in the backyard.  The baby has caught the spirit and does somersaults wherever she can and there is so much counting going on around here that little Reef has forgotten that after you count to 8 you should say 9, 10 but instead starts over and counts to 8 again (dance counts end at 8 and start over and over and over again).  It's really quite cute and fun to see their passion, not to mention they are buffed and can do some serious push ups.  Competitive cheer is not for the meek and fragile.  These kids don't mess around. 

Three competitions down, two to go!  Kirra's team is truly unbelievable, these tiny tiny little things getting on stage in front of thousands and they perform almost perfectly - huge smiles and incredible execution of a complicated routine.  They've taken first twice and second once (lost first by .34 of a point).  Mekena's team is young in experience for her category but they are improving quickly.  They've taken second, fourth and then second again with their best performance ever last weekend... against some pretty tough competition I should add.

Most important they really like it!  It took Mekena some time, I don't think she expected it to be so hard but she plans to do it again next season.  Took me some time too... getting use to the short tops and make up, oh my! 








Thursday, February 2, 2012

A quote I love...

"Everyday of our lives we make deposits in the memory banks of our children"

I do think of this quote often, I have it up in my home, a daily reminder that I have four little sets of eyes watching me, learning all of the good and all of the not so good that I put out there without even knowing.  And then like an unfond mirror image I see myself acted out by a 5 year old and think "oops".  Children watch everything!  I guess I've made a few "withdrawals" instead of deposits.   

Sometimes I envision my life without children, itty bitty young children at that... I see a very clean house, incredible organization, serious muscle tone, pressed clothes... maybe even a quiet moment reading.  Sounds very nice.  Truth of it is I wouldn't be complete.  I wouldn't be me.  I am a wife and I am a mom.  And there is nothing more important than those two incredible opportunities.  I can't imagine a more magnificent responsibility and reward.  Every day is not easy, but every day is worth it!!

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Sweetest Thing

Reef and Kaia - soul mates... no question. 
Never seen siblings interact quite like them.
Convinced they are thrilled to be back together again after having a blast in heaven.
Tender, genuine...truly connected.
They speak a language all their own.
Watching them is a testimony of how pure and deep love can be.


Oh, and don't mind the tattooed faces,
all the kids decided that they would do some face painting... with sharpies.  

Friday, December 2, 2011

Oh SANTA...

Mekena has been busy making lists for YOU on my computer... although I think she plans on mailing them or leaving them for you or for one of your elves on the doorstep, this is what I found {make sure to read the second list too, looks like there have been a few revisions}:
Mekenas  Christmas list

1* fijit (willa  the purple one)
2* raccoon stuffed animal
3*standing up microphone
4*friendship braclet maker
5*a globe
6*polly pockets
ccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc
dear santa ,
I love you I know you are nice.if I could get one thing for Christmas I would get a fijit the purple one named willa.bye santa
                          Love,
                                          Mekena packer


Mekenas  Christmas List
1* FIJIT (WILLA the PURPLE ONE)
2*RACCOON STUFFED ANIMAL       
3*POLLY POCKETS              
4*FRIENDSHIP BRACELET MAKER 
5*TEACHERS GUIDE BOOK    

6* KAIAS CUTE DRESS BOOTS (ENY COLOR)                                                    

7*ALL DIFFERENT COLORS OF THE PAPER MATE PENS
8*STANDING MICERFONE      
9*COOK BOOKS OF MY FAVERET FOODS 
10*LOVE                         

ccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

DEAR SANTA,            
I DO BELIEVE IN YOU WHY DO YOU ONLY DELIVER PRESSENTS AT NIGHT? IS IT BECAUSE THE NIGHT IS LONGER? OR IS IT BECAUSE YOU WANT IT TO BE A SURPRISE? I DON’T CARE I LOVE YOU A LOT
                                                             LOVE
                                                                    MEKENA PACKER