A Little Behind...

I am just a little bit behind my goal for posts in 2008. Not by very much though. I am also behind in information. Let's see...Hunter, my nephew, came home from Arkansas Children's Hospital last week. He had a check up on Monday in which they said he was better than when he was discharged. So that is wonderful news. He came to Church on Sunday. That kid needs a haircut. He was cooped up in the hospital for a month. He is looking shaggy. It was a great sight to see him home though. He is still on a special children's renal diet with all kinds of restrictions about what he can and cannot have. No milk, not bacon, no nuts, no salt, no chicken nuggets. I am not sure if the kid can eat anything really. Don't think that he can have his favorite condiment either, ketchup. Poor, poor, Hunter. I think the girls are glad to have him home and their mother of course. I have felt so sorry for all involved. It has been quite an ordeal. Hunter really was spared, THANK YOU JESUS!!!! Although he looks quite ghostly (pale white) he is very lively. It is wonderful.

In other news, since my last post I have continued comping at Wal Mart and coupon clipping. At Kroger the other day, I saved $27. That falls short of the $35 at Walgreens just days prior. I have had other savings in the past couple of weeks in excess of $100 total. It has been very impressive. It is a thrill to go into the store and walk out with free stuff and have done nothing illegal. With double coupon the other day at Kroger that is just what happened. Free stuff!!!! No five finger discount. No dash out the front door. No security chasing me! I think that, too, might produce an initial thrill but guilt would set in later.

Well, I am a post closer to my goal and really must be cutting this off. I have much, much, much to do. Have a great few days!

I Did It...I Did It...

Finally I have found some kind of template out there that I could make work. When everyone else had such cool blogs, I was stuck with Mr. Soto. Now that everyone else has just about quit blogging, I finally figured it out. It seems I am often a day late and a dollar short. Speaking of dollars, I hope, I think it is payday. I had $4 in the bank yesterday. I felt poor. I have been spending a little extra lately in an effort to save money. That sounds crazy so let me see if I can make some reason out of it. I heard somewhere that you don't buy things because you need them right then. you buy because the price is right to buy them. Like for instance, Walgreens had Windex, BOGO at $2.79. I also had a manufacturers coupon for $1 off. So I got 2 bottles of Windex for a little over a dollar bottle. I also bought instant coffee at such a terrific bargain. I saved $35 in there.

I have turned sale watcher, coupon clipper. It really pays. I am not one of these people that are terrified about gas/food prices. I am being wise though and making an effort to reduce spending and store up some things. I found canned goods on sale the other day and filled the pantry back up. I am not going crazy though. I will not have to buy vitamins for a year. I think it is kind of like the thrill of the hunt. I love a bargain. The other day I went to a local thrift store and found 5 student desks for our children's church room. They were $5 each and in great shape. They even had the books of the Bible taped on top on a bookmark. I went to TSC the other day and found dog food for about $4 less per bag than Wal Mart. Good times!!!! It is great. At Wal Mart, I found cereal in the bag for $1. My old way of shopping was crazy!

Well, I gotta go. There are bargains outs there calling my name, if my check hit the bank! I will have to find that out first. I off to find a bargain!

Crossing the Dela"where"...

A Scene From the Wizard of Oz

Watch Where you Put Your Foot...

Seally Kids!

Petting Zoo...

ZOO TOO (I mean 2)

Okay, I had trouble getting the pictures on here, Rather than give a big long narrative play by play I will let what pictures I can get up do the talking.

It's a ZOO Out There...

In our Children's Church we have been studying "fearfully and wonderfully made." We have looked at the diversity of creation and the brilliance of the Creator. So to kind of cap this off we made the hour trek (sounds like we walked it, barefoot and in the snow) to the Memphis Zoo. I have long wanted to go to the Zoo. Do you perhaps see a bit of ulterior motive there? Well, we got there with our children clad in F.R.O.G visors which I stayed up until 2 am finishing. Some people are such procrastinators. PITIFUL!!! The F.R.O.G of course stands for fully rely on God. You may catch a glimpse of them in the photos.

We had a very good time. I did notice that children are not like they used to be. I am still a child, pretty much. I wanted to see everything, bounding around like an escaped ape. I am mystified by the awesomeness of creation. I think all of the kids took at least a little turn riding in the rented stroller. These are not all small children. Hmmm! Lazy bums!

Treasure Hunter...

I was trying to come up with a phrase that had Hunter in it. At first the title was "Great White Hunter." That seemed a bit racist or something. Anyway it was not the right fit. However that kid is ghostly white. I heard that he was even more pale in his illness but that his color had returned and swelling reduced but he still has a way to go. His other grandmother, Brenda (that could be confusing because my mom is a Brenda as well) asked a nurse if he was out of danger. The answer was a stern, "No."

He is making progress though. His kidneys are producing minuscule amounts of urine. There was a set back on Wednesday as his dialysis catheter clogged and a new one had to be inserted. That typically is an almost surgery like procedure performed in the xray department. He returned to dialysis on Thursday and had 700 ml filtered from his blood. That was the most successful dialysis session he has had. That is really a lot of fluids to be floating around excess in a small child's body. He has lost 5 more pounds, leaving him somewhere around 28 pounds.

The poor kid has not been able to eat or drink due to vomiting and fluid control. Last night everyone that entered his room was quickly informed by a near 2 year old that he wanted his cup and he was hungry. They finally decided to allow a Popsicle which he was so grateful for. If he did well with that he might get something else.

He has been playful the last couple of days. He has had his oxygen line wrapped all around him. He even knocked it off during the night and his saturation level remained high. That means that although he has very rapid, labored breathing that it is for the most part effective.

Jeremy has said that this experience puts a lot of things into perspective. they normally only allow one parent to sleep in the room with him. Jeremy will not even leave the floor to rest in the family area. He just camps out on benches or whatever he can find just outside of the unit. He really does not want to be that far away. they have discovered what a treasure they have in Hunter and all of the others. I am sure they knew that all along but this experience has really changed the way they look at things.

Last night Momma came over with the girls to pick up some cards and things from people at Church. they were on their way to Wal-Mart from our house. Low and behold...if Cameron would not go with them. She stayed with me and Tabithia and Scooter while they shopped. She would say "Scooter Pooter." She said she was our little girl and that Scooter was her brother. that kid is such a mess. Due to her eye condition, she really does not open her eyes fully outside that often. When she does it is very quick. I tried and tried to get a wide-eyed picture to no avail. I really believe she would have stayed the night. She was well behaved much unlike her behavior I heard over the telephone earlier. She just played in the rocks around the pond and the sand between the cracks of the brick patio. I guess I should say the sand that was between the bricks. They miss their little brother and I was glad to give them an excursion. Cameron had said the other day that she was going to come to my house and get in the pool. When I asked her about it she said it was not the big one. On Memorial Day I placed a small pool out just in case the big pool proved too much. She was willing to drive 20 miles to get in a little $8 kiddie pool. Well, she doesn't drive but whatever.

I am on the eve of going to work with very much to accomplish. I will try to update this information with what I know over the weekend. I don't know how busy I will be, but I will try. Please keep praying. The results are those prayers are seen and felt already!

All About Hunter...

It turned out to be a very rough weekend for those in the house of Mullins. Hunter Ray Mullins, 23 months, had been sick since Memorial Day with nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. He was unable to hold down much of anything for that whole week. On Friday evening his parents, Jeremy (my youngest brother) and Crystal, noticing a continuous decline in his condition, decided to take him to the emergency room. They arrived and checked in at around 8 pm. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 11 pm after a slight protest they received the next available room in the ER. As his lab tests began to come back it was clear that Hunter was a sick little boy. His creatinine was very elevated at over 3 times the normal demonstrating that his kidneys were not functioning as they should. As the ER staff waited on a urine specimen, it was determined they were not functioning at all.

After a series of exams, xrays, lab tests and consults it was determined that Hunter would be better served by a pediatric hospital. He and her mother were transported by ambulance to Little Rock's Arkansas Children's Hospital, a nationally acclaimed hospital. Upon arrival it was determined that he was in desperate need of dialysis as his blood pressure skyrocketed to 186/133, a critical level for an adult much less a tiny, less than 30 pound infant. As he was prepared for treatment, his lung collapsed, dealing yet another set back and postponing the needed dialysis. Central lines, dialysis catheters, epigastric tube and intubation were all employed and Hunter was placed on a ventilator. Saturday was a horrendous day of waiting for news to surface from Little Rock. It was a day of great fear not knowing what God had in store for this family.

At sunrise Sunday, there was nervous anticipation as to what the outcome might be. Finally the call was made and there was peace. Hunter was waking up wanting his mother and his shoes. He is a child that must have his shoes at all times. When he gets out of the bath, when he goes to bed, the boy wants his shoes. It was the first sign of an improvement and it was very welcome. But little Hunter is still not out of the woods. He remains in the unit at children's undergoing dialysis. All of the intubation has at the time of this writing been removed but he has begun to have labored breathing and is extremely anxious.

It is uncertain at this time what brought all of this on. It was originally suspected that it was E coli and consequential Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome. Doctors are now questioning that diagnosis and cultures are pending. His sisters are still here wanting their baby brother to come home. They were in quarantine while their own lab test were out. They came back negative for any bacteria and once again can be around other children.

It has been a rough weekend and start of a week. There have been small improvements in his condition. Those rays of hope are shining and getting brighter at the same time. Please be in earnest prayer for Hunter and the family. Jeremy and Crystal both need the Lord in their lives. This situation may be just the opportunity.

Way Past Due...

Well, I did so well for so long and then***raspberry***NOTHING! I know that must have left my blog fans hanging and I do apologize for that. I was just trying to post a picture, but somehow it did not work! We have yet another duck in our home. I went out to feed the squawkers Sunday afternoon and to my delight there was a tiny black hatchling still in part of its egg. I rushed to the scene and took it into my arms. Not only is it a black duck with little black feet but it also has a yellow belly, hence the name Chicken (coward). We tend to call it Chickie. It is very cute. Meanwhile, Scooter is nearly fully grown and, yes, still inside. He will follow you around in the yard like a puppy. I don't know about that. We have some puppies that came down from the farm the other day and they did not follow us one bit. They did manage to wallow out the flower bed though.

Let me talk about something unrelated to animals. The Lord laid on my heart a CPMA program to decorate the graves of our deceased members. I arranged R/W/B/P flowers with a tag. I have yet to get them placed. It is a shame that some of these resting places may have even been forgotten and uncared for all of these years. The tags proclaim the Biblical bursting forth. Though absent from the body, these members who left behind such rich heritage are present with the Lord. Placing these flowers shows that these Christian soldiers have not been forgotten, nor has their sacrifice and testimony. We had a very moving CPMA service the other night. We may not have some of the great properties that these funds (CPMA) once went for but we do have all of these others where great men and women were laid to rest. It would be great to have some permanent markers for this endeavor.

The pictures above are Maggie (Magnificent) Roloff. She is a "little dog." She is a third the size of her siblings. What she lacks in size, she makes up for in attitude. The other picture is the table I designed for our back porch. We wanted something bigger that would not break the budget. A ready made table was not available that fit those criteria. It has been pretty uneventful around here. Just working and cleaning...I guess I should get back to it.

Weeds In The Garden...

Well, I will start by stating that after 4 weeks, Scooter is still in the house. He seems to be half grown and we still have no intentions of returning him to the others at this point. In fact there have been rumored successful house-breaking's of ducks. I will research that a little once I get off here. I finally named the other new duck that lives with his momma, Goose. Out there is Duck, Duck, Duck, Duck, Duck...GOOSE! I love it!

Enough about the ducks though. It seems that I have to pull weeds every time I turn around. Places where I just pulled weeds the next day will have more. It is kind of like a gray hair. They say don't pull them or ten will take its place. Some people should really have listened. No, I am just kidding. I do not believe the superstition. I do not pull my gray hairs because I am follicularly challenged and no matter what color, every hair counts. Where was I? Yes, weeds! No, not weed, but weeds. The way my mind jumps around I wonder about the first. I will be the first to say I never smoked marijuana. My uncles did in front of me though while they were supposed to be the responsible ones babysitting me! No wonder I am so warped. One of those uncles has really turned his life around. The other...not so much. Let's see...follicularly challenged...pot...WEEDS!

I thought it best to start a new paragraph (if blogger really breaks it up. For some reason my paragraphs never split ????) I pull weeds and pull weeds (THANKS A LOT ADAM!) . There are some I do not. Those that would risk uprooting a valuable plant I leave. I don't want to damage the good by removing the bad. In some cases I could probably get the weed out with some minor damage to the roots. I don't want to stress that plant or cause undue pain. Some things may be considered weeds but I like them and tend them tenderly as my little green children (I am crazy today). It has been said one is nearest to God when in a garden. I don't know all about that, there have been many times I have felt him closer. But there are some deep lessons that can be learned. We grow here in the Garden of God and He tends us to be the very best plant. Some perform different tasks. One thing is sure, the grass whithereth and the flower fadeth. There is but a short time, a short growing season to catch the eye of someone. Just as plants don't so much draw attention to themselves, we reflect back the mastery of the Gardener. Some plants are fussy and require much toiling and care. Others just need the right conditions. He knows our perfect placement, care instructions. He knows just where to place us on the path to be awe inspiring. Plants are at the whim of the gardener to do as he pleases. May we find ourselves in the same position of the Master Gardener.

Haunted...

Don't be fooled by my title. It is not an apparition that plagues me, it is the constant sound, "Cheep, cheep..." It is everywhere. I hear it when I am in the yard. I am at the hospital now and met an older man walking down the hall. Something about him made that screaking sound very similar to the call, cry if you will, of my precious child, Scooter. I hear that sound so much at home, it seems to be universal. A moment ago I even heard the elevator make the same sound. Cheep! Some people must be quackers (you know who you are). I guess I am just cheap! Well, this has to be a brief post. The kiosk I am at has timed out on me before when I had a wealth of wisdom typed and prepared to be an immense blessing. Did any of you ever feel that way about your real children (don't tell me Scooter is not real)? Did it seem like you always heard them whether they were really making noise or not?

Strange Night...

A few weeks ago we had the strangest night. I immediately ran for my camera knowing that this moment could not be duplicated. A storm had just passed through at sunset. That was the only sun we saw that day...right at the end. It was such a glorious sunset. It was dark and light all at the same time. The trees seemed golden. I just wanted to leave you all with this and the following two posts before the weekend. If you have not read in a while we have gone to the ducks. In that case there are several inspiring posts you should read (Is this a commercial for my blog or what?) I have much to do today. We have a mission auction at our Church tonight. See there, I do attend some functions. I have to do a little cooking and cleaning and sleeping today. It sounds like the weather will not permit much else. The rumble of thunder can be heard in the distance. What a good day for a nap! I don't say that lazily. For those who might not know, I go to work tonight as 10:30 and work until 11 am in the morning, then basically repeat it the following night. It is time for another crazy weekend of work. It really does get crazy. I had a girl tell me last week, "You would look cute with earrings." My thought was, "Girl, What is your problem, I look cute without them." Isn't that like the world? They think you have to have some bling to shine. I would rather shine with the Light and Love of Christ. I had another lady tell me she knew she had a tumor because it moved around just like a baby. I was like, "Woh! Get this woman a psych eval." While tumors do have their own blood supply and show up enhanced on contrasted CT's and are able to metastasize, they are not living breathing creatures that move around of their own will. They have no wills, brains or intelligence. It sounds like she had an alien to me. There is also the case of the shrunken head. A woman repeated exclaimed during her test, "You are shrink my head!" Sigh! The overnight hours on the weekend either produces those who are genuinely ill or those who are genuinely mentally ill. There is never a dull moment, I assure you.

I will just concentrate on that photo above and think of the beauty that God has made. We are, after all, fearfully and wonderfully made. That does not mean God was scared of us although some people scare me witless. He took great thought and care in creating us. The very design and complexity of our bodies clearly demonstrates that. So even those who seem a bit off...still deserve the same care from me. The Master potter is able to remove even the deepest marring from these vessels. I am not that potter, I just simply get them to His hands.

I Let the Cat Out of the "Box"...

This is what your children look like the next morning when they stay up all night. He has decided to sleep in my box of pool supplies way up high on top of a desk on top of another desk. It was placed in such a precarious spot of altitude to avoid having the cat in the box. I have not made any attempts to evict him yet. It is kind of cute. I am sure I can get cat hair off of everything (I think). Don't the poor baby look tired. He has been with us over a year now. Other than laying out all night at times he has really calmed down. He does not attack me anymore. He's been really good or just really tired. I'm not sure.

Nintendo D(uck)S...

It seems that Scooter has developed the same mind rotting habit of his mother (Tabithia). He is addicted to video games. Tabithia can break this out in the car or at a restaurant and you never hear a peep out of her. It seems that our little duckie is no different. Really though, this game is not suck an intelligence deteriorating activity. It causes one to think and react quickly. I personally stink at it. Scooter really caught on quickly. You can see the motion of his wings. he is really getting after it. If he keeps this up, we will have to at least find him a blue game. I don't want to give him a complex. The next morning he read the mail with me. I was unable to successfully get his picture as he skimmed over the Arkansas Vacation Package. I have to get this duck a job. AFLAC's got nothing on him. I am quite sure he could peck that little GEICO gecko's eyes out, too. I don't promote violence or anything but if it should come to it my child is tougher. I know, I am just another one of those competitive parents, one of those sick people trying to make their child a star. Just ask yourself this, "Have you ever seen a duck play a video game?"

Ducky See...Ducky Doo...Lots of Ducky Doo...

Having Scooter in the house has been quite the adventure. Really it has not been bad. He has only started to make messes. Yes, piles of messes. Last night, though, I put him down on the floor. He never had one "accident" as we call it. Why we call something that comes naturally to an animal an accident I will never know. Anyway, that is all pretty easily cleaned. A little disinfectant and paper towel and we are as good as new. The floor is clean enough to eat off of again (GROSS!!). Scooter does not scoot now. It is quite a run that he does. The funny thing is when he is down, he takes every step you do. If you sit he sits. It is like a game of Simon Says (not American Idol, the old school game).

I had a really small water bowl for him and that was always getting overturned, etc. So I thought I would put in a larger one. I have heard that baby ducks not raised with their mama's should not get wet. They get the oils they need for waterproofing from her. So no baths for Scooter...or so I thought. The bigger bowl apparently screamed swimming pool. He can hop in and out like it was nothing. He splashed water everywhere. Hmmm...(rethinking this whole keeping the duck inside thing).

The first pic was still his first night of life. I just could not help but think of the M&M logo, "Melts in mouth not in your hands." That is sick. I could never eat an animal with a name, certainly not with a face. Last night we got in from the barn really late. We nuked some frozen chicken patties and made instant potatoes. Dinner in a flash. We topped it off with the left over jello mold from the other night. Anyway, in the process of preparing (you see how random my thoughts are and how quickly they can go in any direction...imagine what it must be like to be me) this wonderful meal, I dropped the chicken patties. I was just thankful it did not hit Scooter. Could you imagine the headlines...Duckling Killed By Falling Frozen Chicken? It was no where close to him and no where close to where he walks to my delight. It quickly became a place that he goes because the crumbs on the floor looked very appetizing (chicken patties removed). He really liked the crumbs though. He is one sick bird. He does not even know that was a cousin.

Tonight is a big night after Church. It is 31 cent scoop night at Baskin Robbins. You can purchase up t o 10 per customer. We are taking the youth to the mall and pigging out (I guess I am all about the animals these days). This is a nationwide thing. So if you read this (as if anyone does) and have a BR store nearby, 5-10 is discounted scoops. It goes to a good cause as well. I am supposed to getting Tabithia something for breakfast. We are grocery-less at home. Gotta go before I am sleeping in the duck box.

Update...

Okay, I have been doing some serious posting here lately. I just wanted to bring everyone up to date on the previous posts. No name duck is thriving like a weed. She fits right in with the others. Scooter's condition is much improved and he has been upgraded for critical condition. He is really doing fine. Does anyone know a trick for removing duck excrement from carpeting. I had (or shall I say Scooter had) one tiny accident while I was making arrangements to care for him. The bunny sadly wen to sleep forever. Poor thing. I tried though. It is after 3 am at the time of this post and it is time for me to eat while the rest of you sleep on. A little folding of the hands...Anyway, I gots to go!

Mission of Mercy...

I know the title sounds like the evangelistic work that I am supposed to be doing. I am. Okay, anyway. This refers to my day yesterday. I rose early to beat the rain and get my garden planted. I pretty much succeeded in that. I got a little wet but not bad. There are now some 51 tomato plants of 5 different varieties in addition to peppers, green beans, peas, radishes, okra, pumpkins, eggplants, squash, zucchini and cucumbers. I might just be quite the farmer this year if I can avoid cultivating grass, which is what I tend to grow best in the garden. Once I finished I went to see the baby duck which is after this post. I looked and saw a tiny near lifeless baby duck in the nesting house. I rushed in braving the protective feathered assassin and quickly clutched the tiny, freshly cracked infant barley cling to life. We rushed to the pet emergency care clinic (or our bathroom) and began to bring the baby's body temperature up (with a hair dryer). After a couple of hours of toiling with the weak animal, finally it began to come out of it. It may not be 100% yet. It does not really act right. I may have interrupted nature's way of preserving the strongest. Nonetheless I rescued Scooter (he is quiet). I think he may have been pecked a little. So it might take a little bit to nurse him back to health. He is on his way though. He does eat and drink on his own. If he makes it through the next couple of days, he should be able to come out of ICU (our kitchen) and return to the duck pen. He is not the least bit afraid of us.

That was not the only act of mercy performed to the animal kingdom by yours truly. I was preparing dinner last night. I wanted to attend the revival at Harrisburg with our General Overseer but I had heard a rumor that Bro Smith might not be able to attend. Since I was not sure I decided to cook the turkey that has been perched in my freezer. No, that was not the charitable act. I had to run to Pocahontas (where I learned that Bro and Sis Smith were in fact here) and then home for a whirlwind of preparation. I did not have all the ingredients for dinner. I rushed to Wal-Mart and back. Around 4:30 everything was well underway for a 7 pm meeting. I barley made it. I think I might have been a few minutes over. During all of this chaos, I heard what sounded like a puppy crying in my half open garage. I went to look a little excited at what I might find. I looked and there was the cat, Mushu. He was eyeballing something large. I looked and it was a baby rabbit of about 6-8 inches long. Not teeny tiny. I took it away from him and placed it on the front porch to monitor it. I was unsure if it would make it or not. I think I interfered again because it seems to have a back injury. I am just not a knock-it-in-the-head kind of guy. I think it will get better. I have place the bunny in with the ducks. He does seem to be on the mend. I just don't know how much mending is possible. I am monitoring it closely. As long as he stays away from the eggs and babies he should be fine. Dinner was served shortly after seven, deep fried turkey, deviled potatoes, asparagus, rasberry applesauce jello mold, pineapple cream layered angel food cake, mashed potatoes, tomato/cucumber salad and rolls. I think that was it. I am big on list in this post. It was a busy, productive day. I have another list I am working on for tomorrow after work. But for today-- nothing. I hope to be able to attend the revival tonight. I have babies to tend! What am I doing on here!