Artistic Interpretation

My mom and dad live in a good spot to view the annual fireworks show here in Bastrop, and they wanted the boys to come and watch it with them this year. Since they don't start until about 9:00 (past bedtime), it was decided that the boys could spend the night at Grammy and Granddad's, then go to church with them this morning.

Ethan and Nicholas stayed in my mom's classroom for Sunday school (she teaches the three and four year-olds). While in the classroom, Ethan completed an art project that was so hilarious and adorable that I just have to share it. It was a stapled-together construction paper book entitled, "My Family." I managed to snag the book and take pictures before it got manhandled.

This first picture is Daddy.

He looks surprised, don't you think?

This is Mommy.

Apparently, I'm leaking something blue.

I should get that checked out.

 His self-portrait.

This is Nick-Nick. 

He has a floating eye.

And he bears a strange resemblance to Mike Wasowski from Monsters, Inc.

 

See?

This is my favorite one. It's Zoe.

Look how much smaller she is! Ha ha!

This is Grammy.

She has more teeth than anyone else.

And this is Granddad.

Either he has really long arms, or he's been stabbed with something.

I love it; it cracks me up. He was so proud of his artwork. We got detailed explanations about each of the drawings and who they were supposed to be, and he showed us at least a dozen times. Then, he wanted me to take the staples out of the book so he could distribute the individual pictures to everyone. They were strewn all over the house.

Anyway, I hope everyone had a marvelous Fourth of July! We haven't really celebrated yet, but we're going to my parents' tomorrow for some BBQ and swimming! I'm sure you'll all be subjected to a photographic presentation, as I am taking my camera. :)

Oh, and I almost forgot. Church this morning was actually really awesome! Three military men came with their families and gave an incredible praise and worship service. The music was outstanding...seriously talented guys! Afterward, we had a lunch fellowship and enjoyed some pretty decent fried chicken with all the fixings. It was a good morning.

Remember why we're celebrating...and Happy Fourth to everyone!

This is going to bore you all. Too bad.

Truly crappy week. Blah.

Zoe has developed a really bad ear infection as a result of all the crud we've been dealing with (for more than a week now). Luckily, she's started some antibiotics, so that should make a massive difference in another 24 hours or so. I'm feeling a little better, but I think I may have an ear infection as well. I can't do anything about it at the moment, so we'll just see how I feel on Monday. The only annoying part is that my ears are so stopped up from the congestion that I can't hear anything. I would like to apologize to anyone I've ignored or yelled at in the last few days...I didn't mean it!

I've had a couple of people comment on our insurance situation ("I hope you have good insurance!"). Well, our insurance is good, when we actually get to the point that we can use it. We currently have two separate insurance policies. One for me, and one for Nathan and the kids. Nathan is, as you know, self-employed. This means that we have to insure ourselves, which costs an obscene fortune. To keep the monthly payments cheap, we have a high deductible. So, for each policy, we have to reach $5000 before the insurance will actually pay for anything. On each policy. Yep, that's $10,000, folks. :) It would be better if we were all on the same policy with one deductible, and we'll probably fix that soon, but none of this insurance covers maternity (unless you want to pay a ton of extra money each month), and I have a slight maternity benefit on my policy. Since I seem to find myself in a "family way" fairly often, we thought we'd hang on to it for a while.

I know, it's boring. But there it is. The truly sad thing: I've actually met my deductible for the year already. After the viral/bacterial stuff earlier this year, the D&C and all the OB appointments for the miscarriages, we've already shelled out that preliminary five grand. Nice, huh? I suppose the positive side to all that is any other appointments this year should be a lot cheaper.

This is why we complain when we have to take someone to the doctor, or when something medically necessary comes along. So, just suck it up. :)

In other news, my kids are misbehaving more this week than they ever have before. I think it might be the weather. I love them more than anything, but I'm thinking about duct tape and rope right now. Too bad they're so darn cute...it just might save them.