A turtle named Sea Horse

Tonight we pulled in to World Wide Pets and purchased our 5th family member - a tiny turtle who Bright affectionately named, without hesitation, "Sea Horse." The man at the pet store said he could live 20-30 years!

And so this evening, we converted my extra Pyrex dish into Sea Horse's home. While I was whipping up dinner on the stove, Daniel and Bright were out on the railroad tracks collecting rocks. I'm not sure who loves the turtle more, my almost three-year-old...or his 28-year-old dad. I am convinced that little boys never grow up. After Bright went to bed, Daniel took Sea Horse out of his dish and let him run free on the kitchen floor. He petted his little head and played with his tail, and he has spent the last few hours trying to contrive ways to keep him warm.

But who am I to talk. I am sitting by the dish right now because I'm worried that he might crawl out. I guess we all like the little guy. I just hope he starts eating soon. His little dish of dehydrated shrimp is sitting untouched. I sound just like a mom, don't I, wanting him to eat his dinner!

Welcome to the family, Sea Horse Rupp.

Fevers and breast milk

Just when I thought we were well, Bright got a fever (today at noon). He said his knees hurt, and his belly, and he said his feet were cold, and he said he didn't want to eat his hot dog at lunch (that's when I knew something was wrong). His fever soon spiked, leaving his cheeks flush and cute. I bought him a new movie at Wal-Mart and gave him a dose of Children's Tylenol Plus, praying over him that he would NOT end up having the flu. As it turns out, the fever broke some time this evening, and he was running around the house in his Mater underwear saying, "I'm feeling better, Mom."

Zion has managed to stay well, so far. He is cruising on the furniture now, all 15 pounds of him. He still prefers what's under my shirt to what I offer him from a spoon. I think he'll be nursing right up to his first day of school. He'll pull out his lunch box and in it will a be a thermos of breast milk and nothing else. Oh well, I suppose he could be hooked on worse substances.

Homesick

We're home, but not homefree. Our lives are still in hiatus, as we take turns nursing each other back to health. The Flu. The big, fat, ugly flu. Are you all dealing with it, too? Happy February.

As soon as we get healthy, we'll be transitioning into full-time support raising. We're excited to get started. And maybe, we'll start blogging again:)