Family Update, With Pictures!

We got kittens!  We didn't want kittens.  We didn't go looking for kittens.  But we now have two cute kittens to call our own.

Smokey is the gray one and Quint is the tabby.  Both have very appropriate names because they were rescued off the fire truck.  On the Thursday before Easter, we think the mother put the babies inside the ladder compartment of the ladder truck, Quint 6. 

A quint is not an engine...it's the one with the big ladder on the top.  Both are red, both have sirens, both have different uses.  I do not know what that means exactly, but I do know it to be true. 

Anyways, the momma kitty put those babies way up inside the fire truck and then, sadly, the fire truck went back to the station without the mom.  The babies were rescued, after much effort from all three shifts (crews from A, B, and C shifts), on Saturday morning.  The rescue required dismantling of some compartment using a winch (wench?) and a hazmat suit.  One kitty perished, but these two little girls made it!

We enjoyed bottle feeding them and teaching them how to be cats from the time they were aproximately 2 weeks old.  They are now about 7 weeks old and real rascals. 

Despite being strongly opposed to litter boxes and cat hair, we are keeping the kittens.  Everyone is fairly attached to the sweet little babies.

The kittens are mostly attached to us, too.  I mean, really, they love me because I feed them and mostly leave them alone.  They love Jeff because he does not love them, and that's just what cats do.  For some reason, they love Laura even though it took her 4 weeks to learn not to carry them by the neck or tail.  The jury is still our on Addi and Jackson.  A and J love the kittens, maybe too much, and the kittens have found very few successful hiding spots where those two cannot drag them out for forced snuggling.

J and A are both quite gentle with them and treat them kindly, it's just that the kids seem to think the kittens are toys or babies that must be entertained.  They are quite strange...

The ownership of kittens is indeed big news in our house, but that's not all that has changed.  The kids have been growing up.  This is Pirate Jack.  He already has chest hair.

This kid makes us laugh about 100 times a day.  Sometimes because he is truly funny, and sometimes because he is so exasperating that we must laugh or cry.  I hardly ever cry about it anymore.  I've had 5 great years to grow into parenting this boy!

He is the lovingest kid in the house...always wanting to snuggle and play with someone, never alone.  Alone time is torture for Jackson and he comes out of room time about every 10 minutes just for a hug or kiss.

 This little gal is growing up.  She is 7 now.  Seven.  I don't know how that happened.

She cut off all that lovely hair and now has a cute new bob.  She looks very grown up!  For her birthday, she got roller skates.  I remember learning to skate in my aunt and uncle's basement in Connecticut, strangely enough. 

Sometimes, the girls and I sit down for a morning cup of coffee together.  The males in our house detest coffee with all that is in them, but we gals all love it.  They do each have their own cup: about half coffee and half milk for Laura; 2/3 coffee and 1/3 milk and a dash of sugar for Addi; and I drink mine about like Addi's.  We enjoy the time together.

Please pay no attention to Laura's nudity in the photo. She always has an opinion about what she should and should not be wearing. I do require panties at the very least, but sometimes I don't notice until after I get her down from the table that the panties are missing. We're working on it...

Before I move on to telling a bit about Laura, I want to share two things about Addi.  First, she graduated (again) from kindergarten the other night.  Her teachers selected her to receive the model student award out of both classes.  A boy and a girl were selected based on character, schoolwork, leadership, behavior, etc.  It affirmed our decision to keep her in kindergarten for one more year and to keep Jackson home an extra year as well.  Her character has matured over this year and she has emerged as a leader among her peers.  We are so grateful that God directed us that way! 

The second story is a witness to the character God is developing in her.  Both kids work hard and do chores to earn commission...both enjoy going to the store with their money and choosing a toy or movie.  They are little hoarders and are a bit greedy about money...in their minds, there can never be enough money.  (It starts young).  I've been praying against that specific trait because I don't ever want them to put hope in more money, more things.  On Sunday, Mother's Day, God gave me a little gift and a glimpse of hope with Addi.  Each child received a $5 bill from Grandma and were already plotting how they would spend their riches.  Then Jeff and I headed out on a date while his folks took the kids home for bedtime.  On our date, Jeff found a $5 bill in his pocket.  After phone calls, we knew it was Addi's but didn't know how it ended up in his pocket.  When we got home that night and I went up to kiss the kids goodnight, I asked Addi why she had put her money in Jeff's pocket.  Her sweet reply: "I wanted y'all to have enough money to have dessert."  My heart just swelled and I will always remember that most precious and generous mother's day gift from my oldest child.

My time is running short, but I want to quickly share about Laura.  She is very much 2 1/2.  No doubt that she's the bossiest and most opinionated of the three.  She's loud and she means it.  But she delights us every single day with her sweet and precious heart.

Here, she's looking at pictures on Jeff's iphone...someone's always got the iphone around here.

There is no doubt that she is the most fashion minded of the three as well.  She LOVES a tu-tu or dress, sparkles, tall shoes, changing clothes, having her hair fixed (over and over and over), playing dress up, etc.  Very girly, this one.  Here, she is doing laundry in my boots on our visit to Baton Rouge to visit my brother and his super awesome girlfriend.

That's him, my brother.  Kyle.  Younger than Tim, older than me, the biggest and strongest of us all.  Sweet Laura was all tired out after a day in New Orleans so Kyle just toted her around.

A couple of Laura stories:  the other day, she got my BSF hymnal out and started singing "Holy, Holy, Holy" with her arms raised in praise to God.  Occasionally, she twirled or danced as she sang, but those arms never lowered and her voice never waivered.  She LOVES to sing about God and Jesus.  She sings to strangers and family, makes no difference to her.  She always, always, always wants to know everyone's name...no matter where we are or how many people are present, she makes the rounds greeting every single person.  She loves people and has not met a stranger, which has taken us some getting to use to.  The older kids were so reserved and L is so not.  She is quite the opposite in personality.  Last story about her...one day I had a migraine and was laying on the couch while the kids played.  Jeff was at work that day so I couldn't sleep it off.  As I lay on the couch, L brought me a blanket and covered me up.  Then she rubbed my head and stayed by my side singing for a full hour.  My head was hurting but my heart was bursting with gratitude for the gift that is Laura.

The most exciting news around the Durand house is about Jeff.  He recently promoted to Lieutenant and is now an officer.  He wears a red helmet and is in charge of his crew.  I love calling him Lieutenant!  We miss the 6B crew so, so much and are super happy that they still let us come visit since we are right around the corner. 

That's all for now.  Gotta run.  Hope the pictures are enjoyed by all.