Caleb's Christmas Concert 2005...It's Kind Of Old But It's Good

This video was taken the Christmas of 2005, it was the first Christmas that Caleb had a Christmas concert and his first year at BPC Elem. School. When I first took the video we had an old camera and an old computer, and I couldn't seem to upload it to be able to send it to anyone.

This morning I was going through pictures and I found this video on a disc, so I put it into our new computer and it allowed me to upload it to YouTube. I was so excited, it is so cute...although it almost made me cried because it made me realize how much she has grown since then. He is getting to be such a big boy, time sure is flying...I mean this video is almost 3 years old...so hard to believe.

Well I hope you all enjoy it as much as we did. Caleb is the little boy in the khaki pants and blue and khaki striped shirt on the end behind the little girl with the white shirt on. He is the one that really got into the dancing by swinging his hips to the song, it was so cute!

Love to all...

Miss Baya...

Meet Baya, she is the newest member of the Perchalski Family Petting Zoo. She is an 8 week old teacup chihuahua. She came to us compliments of Roberts cousin Jenelle who breeds them. I was not really looking for another dog considering we already have 3, but when they gave us the opportunity to take home this little darling we couldn't say no. And yes I had Paul's permission to bring her home.

When it came to naming her there was a bit of a struggle. I wanted a Bella and Kate wanted a Spanish name, since chihuahuas are a breed of Mexican dog. So we compromised and named her Bella (but we use the Spanish pronunciation which is bay-ya). We decided to spell it Baya, and not Bella so that people would call her by the Spanish pronunciation and not the English pronunciation.

She seems to be doing well adapting to all her new "friends" here at the Perchalski Family Petting Zoo. The other dogs enjoy playing with her, and Roxie is especially fond of her. The cats actually tolerate her very well but Amaretto especially hates her...of course!

Baya is a bit of a diva though. She loves to be held and will whimper and whine until someone picks her up. It seems like from the moment she gets up in the morning until the moment she goes to bed at night her feet never hit the floor...someone is always caring her around.

I was teasing Paul that now I need a Dolce & Gabana carrying bag for her and some big sunglasses for me so that I can be like Paris Hilton. HEHEHE!!! Oh and don't forget the dress up clothes for Baya!

Here is the link for some pics of Miss Baya:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2010050&l=5158a&id=1045219109

Love to all...

Halloween 2008

I just wanted to add the link so that people could view our Halloween Pictures.

The link is:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2009934&l=872c7&id=1045219109

Love to all...

National FFA Convention...

Kate just returned from the National FFA Convention that took place in Indianapolis, Indiana.

At BPC High when you come in as a Freshman that participates in FFA you automatically get to go to National Convention. However the year that Kate was a Freshman she broke her ankle 3 days before they were suppose to leave to go, so needless to say she didn't get to go that year. After your Freshman year in order for someone to attend National Convention they have to either be an FFA Chapter Officer or have be one of the highest point earners from the year before. In order to earn points you have to attend FFA functions, meetings, and competitions.

Since we all know that Kate blew off her Freshman year, and didn't really seem to care about FFA at all, she was not allowed to go as a Sophomore. Well, thank God last year she pulled it together and really participated a lot in FFA (she even got chosen several times to do camps and stuff that very few others got to attend). Last year for FFA she went to a leadership camp, a made for excellence conference, a lots of chapter competitions, and even several district ones as well. She really came into her own last year in FFA.

So when it came time for National FFA Convention this year she was one of only 4 upper class men that was selected to go. She had a blast and is looking forward to getting to go next year. As a matter of fact Paul and I have decided that we will go and meet up with her and her FFA chapter. It looks like a lot of fun, and it is also a good time to be scoping out schools that have agriculture as a major. She is planning on getting to go to National Convention next year by being an officer (YEAH!!!), she wants to run for vice president, but will run for president if she has to.

Here is the links to the pics she took at the convention:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=59919&l=4f349&id=504961760

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=59929&l=c3b9a&id=504961760

Love to all...

Kate's Pics From Our Hike At Argyle Lake State Park...

Here is the link to the pics that Kaitlin took at Argyle:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=60027&l=f6904&id=504961760

She was trying out the new camera that she got as an early Christmas present. She got the camera so early so that she could take it with her to National FFA Convention, considering it was her first time using the camera I think she did a pretty good job learning how to use it.

Love to all...

Hiking At Argyle Lake State Park...

Yesterday we all went together as a family hiking at one of the local parks. The scenery was beautiful with all the leaves starting to change color, and the weather was just a typical crisp fall afternoon. So I just though I would share with you some of the pics that we took while were hiking.

Here is the link:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2009350&l=97e96&id=1045219109

Love to all...

BPC High School Variety Show 2008

This was the opening act, it was comprised of the whole chorus. You have to look behind Morgan (the girl in the front wearing black pants and a bright blue shirt with long brown hair) to be able to see Kate. She is directly behind Morgan in the khaki pants and lime green shirt.

This was the act for the girl's choir, the music is a medley from the movie Sister Act. Kaitlin was all the way at the top so it was really hard to zoom in that far without jiggling the camera, so please bear with it. I will try to be more steady next time...lol.

Love to all...

St Bernard's Youth Mass Oct 2008

This Youth Mass was on Oct 12, 2008. It was the first Youth Mass for this school year. I will try to remember to video more of them as we go through the school year.

Love to all...

Kate & Missy Are Youtube Stars...

These are of Kate working with Missy on Sept. 28th, it was only the second time that Missy had been worked in the round pen. I think Kate is doing a great job working with her filly, and Missy seems to really be gaining trust in Kate. Hopefully, this match will go well!

Love to all...

Homecoming 2008...

These next couple of posts are going to be slightly out of order. There are a few people antsy to see the Homecoming Dance pics, and I am having trouble uploading the powder puff game pics and it happened before the dance. So i am going to post the dance pics now, and hopefully in a few days I will be able to work out what ever is causing the powder puff pics to fail to upload.

The link to the dance pics is:
http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=54582&l=9365a&id=504961760

I hope you enjoy them!

Love to all...

The Squirrel...

Last Saturday (I know I am a bit late posting this!!) my wonderful youngest son brought me home a surprise. (And not a surprise I wanted either!!)

It all started when I left Caleb home to run Kaitlin out to work. It was a cool and rainy morning, and I was just being too lazy to drag him out with me. After dropping Kate off at work, I was on my way back home (by the way this takes me all of about 3 minutes total) when I saw Caleb run across the street with something in his hands. Of course I was too far down the road to see what it was, but I knew it was something by the way her was holding his hands while he was running. To be honest I really didn't think too much about it, I pulled into the driveway and hollered at him for being outside while I was gone. He knows that is a big no-no!!

A few minutes later I hear him tell Matthew to come outside and see the baby squirrel that was in our little pine tree. Again I don't really pay too much attention to that because we have a lot of squirrels in our neighborhood, and quite frankly a baby squirrel was not something I was that interested in. Matthew goes out to see the baby squirrel and comes back in and doesn't really say too much about the baby squirrel he just saw. Again I don't question it.

As I am on my way out the door to go pick Kate up from school Caleb decides that he wants to go with me. Once we got Kate picked up and we are pulling into the driveway I hear Caleb tell Kate about the baby squirrel in the pine tree. Now, I am beginning to question why there is a baby squirrel in a little bitty pine tree, I mean this is not a full size pine tree this is one of those little Christmas trees that people plant for landscaping decor. So we get out of the van walk over to the "pine" tree and Caleb pulls back the branches and sure enough there is a baby squirrel soaking wet and shivering between the limbs of this tree. As I am sure you can imagine Kaitlin goes wild, now I must say it is really cute, but it is a squirrel nonetheless.

Kaitlin begins to pick it up and mess around with it, checking it for injuries and such. Now I am paying very close attention to what Caleb is saying about the baby squirrel. Here is how the conversation goes:

Me: Caleb, where did you find the baby squirrel?

Caleb: I found it under Sharon's (our neighbor) tree.

Me: Why did you pick it up?

Caleb: It looked lonely and it had no mommy.

Me: Well, Okay.

As that convo is going on Kate begins playing this baby squirrel, it appears to be unharmed but is cold and wet. So I tell Caleb to take Kaitlin over to where he found the squirrel and to put it back. They walk over to the neighbor's house and place the baby squirrel under the "tree" it was found in, I am watching all of this transpire from our front yard. I see Kate bend down and put the baby squirrel down, pet it a few times, and turn and walk away. Then to my horror I watch as the baby squirrel runs after Kaitlin and climbs up her leg. Oh God, this baby squirrel now thinks that Kate is its mommy. We do this a few times just to make sure that it wasn't a flewk. Nope, no such luck!!!

So we find a cage for the baby squirrel and much to my displeasure bring it into the house. UGH!!! Just what we need ANOTHER pet!!! The agreement was that we would keep it through the weekend and that on Monday I would contact the local vet for the names of a few wildlife rehabbers in the area. The kids were so excited to be able to keep the squirrel until Monday, Kaitlin researched what to feed so that it wouldn't starve through the weekend. Off we went to buy puppy replacement formula and a bottle. Kate spent a lot of time with that squirrel on Saturday and by Saturday night it was pretty well attached to her, to the point of not taking its bottle from anyone but her.

Since it was so cute I decided to take a few pics of it for the kids to have to remember it by once Monday came and he was off to a wildlife rehabber. Here is the link to the pics:

http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2007546&l=00cf7&id=1045219109

Love to all...

New Old Music...

I grew up listening to the oldies, you know 50's, 60's and etc. My parents (both of them) constantly listened to oldies music, so needless to say I know a lot of oldies songs. I enjoy listening to it because it reminds of some of the better times in my childhood. Paul and the kids are not huge fans of the oldie's music but every once in a while they will suffer through it for me.

While I was out shopping last weekend I decided that I wanted a CD with some oldie's songs on it. Paul gets new music fairly often, Kaitlin is forever buying new songs for her ipod, heck even Matthew and Caleb get new songs and Cd's more often than I do, so I decided that it was my turn for some music I wanted to listen to.

It actually turned into quite an ordeal because I couldn't find just one CD with all the songs I wanted. Plus my attention kept getting diverted because I kept hearing...I want to go home...I'm hungry...I'm tired (oh wait that was me...lol) and all the whines of 3 children (even Kate was chiming in by this point) not wanting to be out shopping on such a gloomy, rainy, and nasty day. Finally I sent the kids to the next aisle over to look at computer games, DS games, and PS2 games, so that I could figure out which CD I wanted. After much deliberation and debate I finally settled on a 4 disk set that was cheaper than some of the single disks.

I walk around the to other aisle and tell the children to come on we are ready to check out, I am so excited about my new music. I was already singing the songs in my head, I turn to Kate and say:

"I am so excited about new music. I can't wait to get to the car to listen to it."

Kate takes one look at my face and says:

"Mom, that is NOT new music. That is old music on a NEW CD."

Well, I couldn't help but laugh, and thank her for ruining my "new" music moment. But I got my real revenge when I played it full blast in the van all the way back to Bushnell!!!

Love to all...

Slipper Doesn't Fit...

Kids say the funniest things, but very rarely do we document them. I have a friend who often blogs the funny things her children say, not that I want to copy her blog but I love the idea. Now she has a younger child (3) and an older child (10) and most of the funny things said are from her younger child, so I am cutting myself some slack because I have all older kids (16-11 almost 12, and 9) so they don't say all the cute funny things that the smaller kids say. But I am going to start sharing with you the funny things they do say. So here goes:

On Saturday last week I took the kids and ran to Wal-Mart to do some shopping, we were there mainly looking for Homecoming shoes for Kate as Homecoming is this weekend. Anyway we didn't find a single suitable pair Homecoming shoes, so we were just browsing in the shoe section when I came upon this really cute pair of white flip-flops. (This is probably the point that I should tell you that my two younger boys hate to shop, especially for shoes. Plus I had told them that as soon as we were done looking at shoes, I wanted to pop by the music section for a CD and then we would go home. So the boys were patiently or shall I say not so patiently waiting for Kate and I to finish looking at the shoes.) OK those of you that know me also know I LOVE flip-flops...love...love...LOVE them. So, I look at the shoe size and thank you God they are a 6 1/2 which is what I wear. I have a very wide foot, and these flip-flops were cut kind of narrow, but hey trying on is free.

I am sitting in the middle of the aisle trying to shove my fat foot into this little (but very cute) flip-flop when Matthew (my comedian and crazed Disney fan) walks over and says:

"Sorry, Cinderella, but the slipper doesn't fit. Now can we catch the coach to go home before it turns back into a pumpkin because it is almost 12?"

I actually dropped the shoe because I was laughing so hard. I pulled out my phone and looked at it and sure enough it was about 2 minutes til noon. He is just too funny sometimes!

Love to all...

Apple Pickin'...

Well we are in the throws of apple season here in not so sunny Bushnell! I have peeled, cored, and sliced almost 21 gallons of apples for my freezer so far this year. And let me tell you that the tree doesn't even look like it has shed an apple at all. For whatever reason this year the apple trees are very heavy with fruit. In addition to the apples that have gone into my freezer I have also made an apple pie, and apple cinnamon bread. We have apples coming out of our ears, it is crazy how many apples that tree has produced this year.

Oh I guess I should tell you that the tree belongs to my Grandma. I am not exactly sure how old the tree is, but it has sat on the corner of her driveway for as long as I can remember. It is probably one of my fondest childhood memories, I USED to love picking the apples. Of course that was when I was young and Grandma would hand me a whole 5 dollars for picking them up for her. Also she would be the one responsible for them after I picked them up. Now my kids get paid for picking them up and guess who gets to be responsible for them once they are picked up?

Anyway, just a few days ago we decided that we wanted some of the smaller apples from Grandma's neighbor's tree (don't ask me why she still has a million on her tree, but anyway...) so after asking the neighbor if we could have some of his apples Paul and the boys set out to pick the apples off the tree. They looked so cute out there picking apples together that I thought I would take a few pics and share them with everyone.

Here is the link: http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2007545&l=2aa05&id=1045219109

They are very sweet pics of them, I hope my children remember this as a fond childhood moment.

Love to all...

Crazy Frog Bros

Kate actually came across this today and we all cracked up over it. What we found so funny is the kid in the red shirt in the background. He reminds us of Matthew when Matthew doesn't take his medicine, he is a total crack up. Plus his body build is a lot like Matthew's all skinny with the long arms. Well anyway we all thought it was very funny and just wanted to share it with all of you.

Love to all...

PS Yes Matthew thinks it is just as funny as we do, and said he would not be offended if I put it on the blog, and said that it reminds us of him.

Pics Of Kaitlin & Robert

I thought maybe I would put some pics of Kaitlin and her boyfriend, Robert, on the blog for those of you that have not met or seen him. They have been dating about a year and a half, and I am somewhat embarrassed to say that i don't really have that many pics of them together.

I figure I would share the most recent ones that I have taken for now. Homecoming is only about 3 weeks away so I will post those pics then. These pics were taken just this past weekend, my absolute favorite one is the one of her and Robert standing in front of the sunset. I love the colors and how pretty the sunset turned out. I was just playing around with the manual settings on my new camera and hit the jackpot with those couple of pics. I LOVE them, hopefully everyone else will too.

So here is the link to the pics:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2006722&l=dc4ac&id=1045219109

Love to all...

Caleb's Chinchilla

Several months ago we decided to get rid of Caleb's birds because he wanted a pocket pet. Once we found a home for the birds we had to decide what kind of pocket pet he wanted. At first he said a hamster, but hamster can be very nippy and we knew Caleb would not like that at all.

So we settled on 2 gerbils, and life was good. Well after about a week of owning the 2 gerbils one died. Back to the pet store we went to acquire another gerbil. The "new" gerbil and the "old" gerbil did not get along. Again back to the pet store went this time carting back the "old" gerbil to trade for another "new" gerbil. Apparently when gerbils make a home some place and you add a new gerbil the old gerbil will fight the new gerbil to the death over it's territory. Our only option was to take the old gerbil back and get a new one. That way both of the gerbils in the cage would be new to the territory.

Again life was good, the two new gerbils got along just fine. Suddenly we went from having gerbils that played all day to having gerbils that wanted to play all night. This began to pose a problem for Matthew who happens to be a very light sleeper. After several nights of Matthew going crazy and ending up on the couch for the night we decided that maybe we needed a different pocket pet.

Once again back to the pet store we went. This time we were looking for a degu, they are a cousin to the chinchilla and suppose to be very social and cuddly pets. Of course when we went to the pet store to get a degu they didn't have any available. Now I didn't know what to do. I began questioning the pet store owner about a pet that would be social and cuddly for Caleb but yet quiet at night for Matthew. She said...How about a chinchilla? I love chinchillas but have always heard that they can be mean. I told her I was a bit worried about it biting all the time, she said...as long as you continue to play with it everyday then it won't bite you. That they are actually very social pets, but require a lot of attention to keep them from becoming feral.

I asked her if she had one for sale, and could Caleb please handle it for a while. She brought out this cute little fuzz ball, and Caleb fell in love with it right away. The owner of the pet store me that she really didn't want to sell it but that she would if Caleb promised to give her a good home. Of course Caleb promised to love her and take really good care of her, within the hour we were on our way home with a pet that would hopefully meet the needs of both boys.

Her name is Honey Bear, she is 3 months old, and just as friendly and sweet as can be. Hopefully Caleb will give her the time and attention that she needs to stay that way. Although I have to say that we all have fallen in love with her, and for now she doesn't want for attention at all. I am hoping we keep it that. Although the cats all think that they would love the opportunity to give her some attention...HEHEHE!!!

Here is the link to the pics of Caleb & Honey Bear:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2006705&l=c936a&id=1045219109


Love to all...

Matthew's Creations...

As all of you know Matthew is our "little engineer", he is constantly building lots of things out of his legos and knex pieces. Since I have always taken pics of his creations I decided that I would begin to share them with our family and friends on our blog.

Here is the link to view his newest creations:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2006704&l=a695a&id=1045219109

I will post more as he creates more, and trust me that will probably be in the very near future. This is how he constantly spends his time, so new pics won't be too far off. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do.

Love to all...

The First Day Of School...

Hip...Hip...Hooray!!!

August 19th was the kids first day of school. It was only for 2 hours, but yes folks the new school year has begun!

This year...Kaitlin is a Junior at Bushnell-Prairie City High School...Matthew is a 6th grader at Bushnell-Prairie City Junior High, and Caleb is a 4th grader at Bushnell-Prairie City Elementary School!!! WOW how quickly they are growing up!!!

I know Kaitlin will do very well this year as a Junior, and Caleb I am not too worried about...he has the same teacher he had in 2ND grade (the same teacher also had Matthew last year! She has only been teaching at BPC Elem for 3 years and each one of those 3 years she has had one of my boys in her class...poor girl!) Matthew I am a bit more concerned about, this is his first year in Jr High. He doesn't cope well with change and as we all know there is A LOT of change that happens at the Jr High level!!

I will keep you all posted on how the kiddies are doing after the first couple of weeks go by, until then I am sure I will be busy catching up on stuff I didn't get done throughout the summer.

Love to all...

Kaitlin's Sweet Sixteen party!!!

I would say that Kaitlin's party was a big success! We had 55 out of 75 people show up, and most of them were her friends. So all in all I would say we had a pretty good turn out.

We went to the VFW at 3:00 set up all the decorations, 3 tables of the "Kaitlin Shrine", and rearranged all the tables to give more room for dancing. We were done around 4:30, then we all ran home to get ready for the party. About 6:30 we met the DJ up at the VFW so that he could set up and do his sound checks and everything prior to the guests arriving.

She looked very pretty, the food was a huge hit, the music & dancing was fun, and the cake was...well..interesting! I will talk about the cake in another post very soon, I promise. That cake was a disaster from beginning to end!!

She got a lot of very nice gifts from people as well as lots of money. For the most part I think she was truly happy with the outcome of her party. In her words...It was everything I wanted it to be, and I had so much fun! Well I am glad she had fun, and most importantly I am glad it went off without a hitch.

Love to all...

Pic Link To Sweet Sixteen Party...

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2006411&l=a78e3&id=1045219109

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2006411&l=a78e3&id=1045219109

Yes there are two albums. You can only put 60 pics in one album...and DUH I had wayyy more than 60 pics. HEHEHE...

Love to all...

The Picture Blog....

OK as of about 3 days ago I permanently deleted the picture blog. I am having a hard enough time keeping up with the 2 I already have, so I am going to put the pics on my Facebook profile. Once they are on Facebook it gives you a public link that people can click on to view the photos. I am going to try this for a while and see if it is any easier. If you have any issues being able to view them on Facebook please let me know and I will try something different.

Love to all...

Hooray...She Found Something To Wear...

Things have been kind of tense between Kaitlin and I since I have asked her to wear a cute sundress for her party!!! We have been all over Peoria in every shop you can think of and there was absolutely nothing she would even consider.

She tried on a gorgeous teal and white dress that she looked stunning in...it was beautiful on her. Plus it really complimented her eye color. Well of course I LOVED it...she HATED it!!!

And so the battle began...

Every dress I liked she didn't, and every dress she liked I didn't. What craziness...my poor husband and sons were forced to endure this grueling battle between the to of us. (Maybe I shpuld mention that my husband and sons are NOT shoppers!) By the time we left Peoria I was in tears and she was p****d off. It was horrible!!!

(We won't even talk about the fiasco with the cake!!!)

So finally Paul took me aside and said...Look it is her party, and honestly you were picking out dresses that weren't even a Kaitlin type of dress. I guess in my heart I knew he was right...I pictured her in this cute fluffy sundress. She pictured herself in ...jeans and a t-shirt...her usual attire. Well for once in her life I wanted her to dress nice, we have put a lot of time, thought, energy, and money into this party...I just wanted her to look nice. Finally I conceded to the fact that if she would at least wear nice carpi's and a nice shirt I would be satisfied.

Yesterday Kaitlin and I took my Grandma to Springfield to a doctors appt and decided that afterwards we would go over to the mall and look around there. Well She found one dress she liked..of course I hated it, but I bit my tongue, asked them to hold it for an hour or so, and that we would maybe be back for it. We looked at a few others at stores, and she didn't really find anything she liked...until she found this one that was black, pink, silver, and white stripes. (horizontal strips) It is a tube top style with the straps that v-tie around the neck, and so very short. I was like...no way, that is too short (it was barely mid-thigh)...your dad will kill me...besides you are hosting a party not a hooking event. So she just settled on the one dress she had already found, besides that dress had all the colors of her party in it.

Let me now talk about the party favors and decorations. We looked everywhere for Sweet 16 stuff...and could not find anything at all. So she very unwillingly settled on a balloon pattern that had all the colors she wanted in it. Again that was a shopping disaster from hell. (Still not mentioning the cake) Even though she did not love the pattern she was okay with it, just as long as we accented it with all the bright colors. Well we had found the bright colors of her pattern except for the purple.

Since we were in Springfield I figured we would hit the party store for the purple stuff we need and then we were on our way home. (Keep in mind Springfield is a 2 hour drive, and we had left at 10 in the morning...and it was getting to be about 5) I was standing in the party store 2 aisles...count them 1, 2 aisles away from her when I heard....MOM, COME HERE QUICK!!! So I mosey on over to where she is...she is hopping with excitement!! They not only have a Sweet 16 pattern, but she loves the pattern they have. It is very cute...the colors are black, pink, silver, and white...but it is very cute (but in a big girl kind of way!) I told her fine she could get it but that the other stuff had to go back! She was very okay with that...so she got all the Sweet 16 decorations, and then got black, silver, and pink plates...table clothes, and etc to match. She was on cloud 9.

She is now a very happy girl, and we are on our way home, so I am a very happy mommy. As we pass the mall to head home I hear from the backseat...Mom, my dress isn't going to look right with my party stuff. She asks if we can please stop back by the mall and exchange the dress for something else. Are you freaking kidding me? (Did I mention that it took 2 shopping trips, lots of tears, and angry words to find that dress? Now she doesn't want it!!!) I look at my Grandma who simply states...Well she is right. GRRR!!! I am out numbered and in Grandma's car! So back to the mall we go...we return the original dress and exchange it for one just like it only in the "new" party colors.

Yippee...we are going home! (Have I mentioned yet how very patient Paul was being at home with the boys?) We start to walk out of the mall and Grandma turns around takes one look at Kaitlin and says...She does not like that dress either. We are not leaving until she finds something she is happy with. OMG!!! I WANT TO GO HOME!!! Kaitlin asks if she can please try on the pink, black, silver, and white dress one more time. (you mean the hooker dress?) I was so worn out by then I just said...yes. When we got back to the store and started looking around we realized...it is not a dress...it is a top!!! (my here's your sign moment, I guess) And when you put that top with a pair of black leggings it is just as cute as can be! Guess what she ended up getting for her party. The ironic thing is...it isn't a Kaitlin outfit either! But she loves it, it matches her party colors, and she is HAPPY!!! I will post pics after her party, you guys are going to shocked!

I am just happy that she finally found something that we could agree on, because she would have looked awfully funny going to her Sweet 16 party in the same outfit she wore the minute she came into this world. I was absolutely not going to let her wear jeans and a t-shirt...

No I am still not going to talk about the meltdown over the cake...but suffice it to say...Wal-Mart is now doing her cake instead of me!!

Love to all...

We All Loved This...

My family seems to be you tube junkies...and I am not kidding. Paul and the kids can sit and watch youtube.com videos for what seems like hours and hours. I how ever hardly ever get the chance to watch them, usually I am busy doing other things or they are watching things that just don't interest me. Well this morning I actually got on youtube.com to look up a song I wanted Paul to hear and I came across this video. I thing this is the best thing ever!!! This is 1588 prison inmates in a Philippines prison that have been taught these choreographed routines that they perform for their families and friends during visitation day.

We all thought it was so cool to watch these inmates doing a routine that requires them to have a sense of teamwork with each other. I have no idea what crimes they committed to be sent to this prison, but I do think the warden has the right idea. Just think how much smoother this prison runs when they know that they are dependent on each other to make the dance run accordingly. maybe our prison should consider something like this...it just might cut down on the violence in our prisons. However, I'm sure someone would find a way to consider it cruel and unusual punishment. For now we will just continue to enjoy these videos.

Love to all...

Kaitlin's FFA Leadership Camp...

Kaitlin returned on Saturday from a 4 day FFA Leadership Camp. It is funny because on the evening that she was packing she was basically begging us not to make her go. But we told her that she could not back out at the last minute like that. The FFA sponsor could only send 2 people and out of her whole FFA club he chose her and one other person.

In March when the FFA sponsor asked her to go, she really did want to go. She filled out all the paper work, and wrote an essay to get a scholarship from the FFA Alumni Assoc. so that we wouldn't have to pay for it. In April we found out that the Alumni Assoc had granted her the scholarship to go, and all the paperwork was filled out and sent it.

As she began packing to go I think reality set in that she was going to be gone from home for another 4 days. I truly think that because our vacation was so long, and that she had only been home for less than 3 weeks added to her anxiety of not wanting to go. So in the end we pretty much forced her to go. I kind of felt bad because I understood her desire not to be gone from home again, but at the same time she was one of only two people that were picked from her club to go. We felt it was important for her to go and make the Alumni Assoc proud to send her.

Well, when I went to pick her up on Saturday the first thing out of her mouth was...Mom, I cried so hard because I did not want to leave camp. I started laughing...she cried because she didn't want to go, then when she was made to go she had so much fun she cried because she didn't want to leave. Oh, the irony of it all!!!

Anyway...she had a great time, she made lots of new friends, and most of all she learned what it takes to be a quality leader. She is trying really hard to keep in touch with her new "camp" friends. Kaitlin has talked endlessly about her camp experience...the fun...the drama...and the trauma. I am so glad that her FFA sponsor gave her the opportunity to go to this leadership camp. So I am sending out a big THANK YOU to the FFA sponsor for choosing her to go, and to the FFA Alumni Assoc. for making it all happen. She had a blast, and she has developed a confidence in herself that wasn't there before she went to this camp. Thank you all so very much!!

Love to all...

Party Craziness...

We are now in the final throws of party craziness!!! Kaitlin's Sweet 16 Party is right around the corner, and we have planned a big bash to help her celebrate this huge mile marker birthday!!!


It has been kind of crazy though...

First - we had to find a place to have it. She wanted it at the pool, but this years weather has been so unpredictable so that isn't such a good plan. Then we tossed around a few other places until finally we chose the VFW here in town.

Second - she wanted a theme party. A luau to be exact, but could we find anything that was luau themed at this point in the summer? OF COURSE NOT!!! She was pretty disappointed, so then we threw out some other themes. None of them were to her liking, so we just decided to bag the theme. We will have lots of decorations, just not themed ones.

Third - what color decorations did she want? Well that was a loaded question...she is very artistic. So can we say every color in the rainbow was her choice!! She calls it a modified rainbow though because she wants all the really bright colors, not the pastel ones that you think of when you picture a rainbow.

Fourth - we are going to have to feed them. Last year I did all the stuff for nachos, and it went over really well. So guess what we are doing again this year? NACHOS!! Thank goodness, they are easy, and the kids seem to love them. She begged me to make her cake so I guess I will be the cake decorator for this shindig.

I think we have it all under control now, at least I hope so anyway. We will be making up the invites to get them sent out some time this week. I am going to make a collage of her baby pics, and possibly drag out a few items of her childhood memorabilia. It is so hard for me to believe that she is going to be 16 and a Junior in high school. Before I know it she will be gone to college, and I will have to face the grim reality that my baby girl is now a big girl. But until then I will keep pretending that she will be with me forever! After all a little dreaming never hurt anyone!! :)

Love to all...

Another Pandora's Box is Opened...

"If you bring forth what is within you, what is within you will save you. If you don't bring forth what is within you, what is within you will destroy you." - Jodie Picoult, Change of Heart

Again I find myself at a loss of words or even a starting point for this new twist of fate that has happened in my life. I guess the beginning is always a good place to start...

When my dad was married to his second wife they had a daughter, Kaylani, together. I am 6 years older than Kaylani. Well, at the age of 9 (Kaylani would have been 3) my dad's marriage to Kaylani's mom fell apart and ended in divorce. I am not really sure of the events that transpired but when I was 13 or 14 (I can't really remember for sure and Kaylani would have been like 7 or 8) my dad made the difficult choice to terminate his rights and allow Kaylani to be adopted by the man that had been raising her. We hadn't really seen Kaylani at all since she was 4, maybe 5. (Again I'm not exactly sure)

I have always thought about and wondered about Kaylani as I grew up, and especially once I started my own family. In 1994 (Kaylani was 16) when Kaitlin was going to be in a national pageant in Las Vegas (where Kaylani lived, well still does) I looked Kaylani up and asked her if she would be willing to meet with us. She seemed pretty excited at the idea of meeting us, and so when we arrived in Vega we called to let her know we were there. The first time I met with her was before my dad & Beth had gotten there and it was wonderful to see what she looked liked and to spend time with her. Once my dad & Beth arrived we called her again so that she could meet with our dad for the first time. That visit too was wonderful, I often wondered how my dad felt that night when he saw his daughter again for the time in such a long time. (I now have a very good idea of what he was thinking and feeling...lol) After Kaylani (and her mom) left I had great hopes of us keeping in touch with each other. Unfortunately, it just didn't happen. It really wasn't my fault or hers life just kind of happened.

About 4 years ago my brother (he is my dad and my step-mom's son) went to Las Vegas and looked Kaylani up. From what I understand they had an amazing time together, and ever since have kept in touch with each other. Kaylani then went into reunion with our dad as well, but for some reason her and I never did. There were a couple times I would try to call her, but to no avail. Again life was just happening for her, and I decided that I should just let her be. That when she was ready she would contact me.

April last year Kaylani had her first baby. A beautiful baby girl, Seneca Nevaeh, I was excited for her and my dad. I was even more excited when she sent pics of the baby to my dad. Again, I tried to make contact with her, but she was busy with her baby...and life just kept on happening.

In June last year our brother and his family was getting ready to be moved to Hawaii with the Us Army, during his going away party Kaylani called. My dad asked her if she wanted to talk to me and you can only imagine how thrilled I was when she said yes. (I hadn't seen her or heard her voice in almost 14 years) I got on the phone and had no idea of what to say. (it must have been God giving me a trial run for my call that would come almost a year later.) But we started with Hello, and then it just flowed from there. I was ecstatic that she wanted to talk to me. I WAS going to do everything in my power to keep in touch with her, I made up my mind. Well...AGAIN...life happened...and I didn't do it.

So imagine my surprise when my phone rang last night at about 10:00 PM and kaylani's number showed up in the caller id. I couldn't answer it fast enough. Basically she was answering a SOS text I had sent out to her. I had sent her text asking her for some...any...advice that she would be willing to give me about the mind of an adoptee. I chose to contact Kaylani because she was only 16 when she met our dad for the first time. Although I am a member of an on-line support group for all 3 sides of the adoption triad, most of the adoptees on that support site are all older and went into reunion much later in life. So I wanted someone that could really understand the mind of a young adoptee. We talked for almost 3 hours about my adoption journey, her emotional roller coaster ride of a reunion, my reunion roller coaster, her baby, my children, and just life in general. It was so wonderful, she sounds so happy and fulfilled...and that gives me hope for Jenna. I have made a commitment to myself to do everything in my power to keep in touch with Kaylani, , to let her know that she is loved and wanted by myself and my family. And I hope that she will accept us into her life as an extended family (not as a replacement for her family).

I have slowly come to realize that I have a whole bunch of Pandora's boxes in my past that I haven't dealt with. I guess God is telling me that it is time, it is time to stop hurting, and really know what it means to live. I have no idea where my reunion with Kaylani will lead, and I am not getting ahead of myself this time. I now can truly understand the mind frame and space that the adoptee needs to be able to process this thing we call "reunion".

Kaylani, thank you for being there when I needed you. It may not seem like you did much to help, but believe me when I say...you really did help. When you returned that frantic text with your phone call last night you made me feel like you care about me...and it meant more than you will ever know. Thank you for your words of wisdom...thank you for the hope you gave me...but most of all thank you for the time you spent with me last night. I know you probably had a million other things you could have been doing, but you chose to give that time to me...Thank you, Kay. I love you!!!

Some Info About The Picture Blog...

Because I have so many new pictures I want to post on the picture blog, I had to delete all the old posts. This site unfortunately doesn't allow you to archive too many pictures. Just wanted everyone to know where the older picture post went. Love to all...

Ok I'm Going To Update This...

I know...I know...I have been saying for a while now that I am going to get this brought up to date and I haven't as of yet. So here I go in one big long post:

May:

This was a crazy month for us between a visit from from Rob & Tressa, the boy's First Communion, and school getting out for the summer. As you already know we had a great visit with Rob and Tressa. The boy's had their First Communion on Mother's Day. It was a very nice service, but the weather that day was very cold and rainy. Caleb is done with his sacraments until he gets to high school. Matthew however will begin preparing for his Confirmation in the fall as will Kaitlin. They will go through their confirmation together in October of 2009. Hopefully they will have a better day weather wise for that. Their last day of school was May 23rd, which is kind of late for us...but hey I'm not complaining. I am pleased to say that the kids all got excellent report cards, Kaitlin even made top honors on the honor roll. So I would say that this school year was a huge success for all the kids. This means that in the fall...Kaitlin will be a junior (YIKES)...Matthew will be in 6Th grade (EEK)...and Caleb will be in 4Th grade (OMG). It is so hard for me to believe that my babies really aren't babies anymore. For crying out loud Kaitlin will be 16 in August, my how time flies when your watching your babies grow. Oh also more towards the end of May we had Caleb in and out of the hospital for some stomach problems, but they seem to have worked themselves out. There is no denying that my family had been through a lot in the last few months, and I think most of it for him was just stress. I think that is about it for May.

June:

The kids and I left June 13Th for vacation, it was a nice long 4 week vacation to visit with family and friends in the DC area. We had a lot of fun, but 4 weeks away from home and living out of suitcases got to be a bit too much. It was so wonderful to see everyone though. Usually our vacation is only 1 week and we can never fit everyone we want to see into that 1 week, so this year we decided that the kids and I would go and see all our friends first and then Paul would fly out for a week and we would spend that time with the family. Even though it was a long time to be away from home it did give us the chance to see everyone. While we were there the kids and Paul got to meet Jenna for the first time, things went very well at first...more towards the end of the trip things began to fall apart. I don't really want to go into it but as of now the reunion is over for many different reasons. You can read more about that on: www.abirthmomsthoughts.blogspot.com While we were on vacation we went to the zoo, the beach, a water park, a couple different parks, NJ, to Philly, the new air and space museum, DC, and we spent countless hours in Rob & Tressa's pool. Even though it was tiring, and a long time to be away from home we all had a great time, and are now missing everyone we spent time with.

July:

Well Paul flew to meet us on July 1st. Then we finished up our vacation and headed home July 10Th. Since then we really haven't done much of anything at all. Just been getting back into the swing of things. Kaitlin is getting ready to leave on Wednesday July 30Th for a FFA Leadership Camp. She will be gone 4 days to that, then once she comes home we will be kicking in to high gear planning for her Sweet 16th birthday party. And soon I will be going crazy getting ready to send the kids back to school. The boys are enjoying the lazy days of summer, and dreading going back to school. Kaitlin is not excited about the fact that school starts on her birthday this year...yep, they go back August 19Th (the day of her 16th birthday). I have been teasing her about making cupcakes so she can take them to school for her birthday. When she was little she used to cry because she was never in school on her birthday so she never got to take cupcakes to share with her class. So I asked her if she would like me to make some cupcakes for her class this year since she will be in school on her birthday. Needless to say it was a definite NO!!! Too bad their first day of school is only a half day otherwise I would surprise her with cupcakes at lunchtime...HeHeHe

Okay I have now brought this blog current. Now all I have to do is post the pictures of theses events in our life on the picture blog, but that won't be today. I will put a post on here as I get them posted over there. Love to all...

Good Thing I'm Not Being Paid To Do This...

Well, as you can see it has been forever since I have posted on here...UGH!!! So much has happened that I don't even know where to start. I will come back later because I can't decide if I should do individual posts for everything that has gone on since my last post or if I should just do one big post and catch it all up to date at once. HMMM...I'm not sure!! I will be back soon to do one or the other...

Cas is behind (please be patient)

We'll needless to say Rob & Tressa made it out here OK. We enjoyed their company and everyone had a good time. Can we say Rib eye's anyone??? I think after all we ate it'll be a while before we have them again. They have made it home safely and as soon a Cas gets some time, she'll update this blog for you guys. OK, Paul out.

It's Gonna Be A Crazy Week...

So here is all the craziness going this week for our family...

Tues. Matthew has 6th grade orientation

Wed. Well I better get some cleaning done

Thurs Caleb has a class field trip, Got to get Rob & Tressa from the airport, and Kaitlin has her spring chorus concert

Sat. The boys have their first reconciliation, and my cousing is having a cook out at her house for her birthday

Sun. Mother's Day, and the boys First Communion

Needless to say this is going to be a very busy week. Just wanted to let everyone know what is going for the week. I will post on here when we have picked Rob & tressa up and delivered them safely to our house. Love to all, keep us in your thoughts and prayers, and hope our sanity stays intact...

Well It's Official...Matthew Is A Junior Higher Now

On Monday this week BPC Elementary had their graduation for the 5th grade class. It was really neat to watch, as they also had the DARE graduation at the same time. It is so amazing how quickly these little babies grow up and become young adults. It is very hard for me to comprehend that Matthew, my first born son, will be off to the Junior High School next year. It is so sad and exciting all at the same time. Any new stage in growth and development brings a lot of sadness and joy, as you know in your heart that with each milestone they will soon be learning to spread their wings and fly. I have enjoyed watching my children grow over the years, but watching Matthew grow into the young adolescent he is has been incredible. He is such an kind and compassionate child, but so incredibly intelligent. We are so looking forward to seeing him develop into the young adult that he strives to be. I will post some graduation pictures on the pic blog in a few days. love to all...

Breezey Had Her Baby...

On Sunday April 20th at 4:20 AM Breezey gave birth to a beautiful palomino filly. I think Kate was a bit disappointed that we were not there to see the birth, but honestly she went so fast we wouldn't have made it anyway. We were out to check on her Saturday night and she wasn't even showing signs of laboring or even being ready to begin laboring. So we really were surprised when we went out yesterday afternoon to check on her to find out that she had delivered already. Breeze seems to be taking to motherhood much better this year than she did last year, so we have great hopes for this little girl. We are not sure if we will keep her or allow the breeder to keep her in lieu of breeding Breeze again for a baby next year. The problem that we are running into is that this baby will be too old for Kaitlin to take to college with her. Which we didn't know when we chose to breed her last year for a baby this year. Anyway, I think that the plan is to let the breeder keep this baby in lieu of a stud fee Breeze for a baby next year. But of course this baby is only a day old so who knows what is going to happen. Kaitlin is very excited, but I do have to say even she knows that this years baby will be too old for the purpose in which she was looking to breed Breeze. At any rate this little girl is a really cutie...check her out at http://perchalskifamilypics.blogspot.com

The New Yearling Gets A Name...

Finally a name has been chosen for kate's new yearling. The barn name is Missy (I call her Little Miss though). With the registered names you usually take the dam's name and the sire's name and you combine them as a registered name. The reason behind doing that is because there are a lot of very well know names in the AQHA (American Quarter Horse Association), so when you have a baby that you are going to show you want to give him/her names that will be recongnized byt the judges. With all the being said Missy's dam's name is CL Bonnie Blue, her sire's name is Dudes Roman Pistol...so her registered name will be...Dudes Miss Pistol.

Waiting For Breeze To Have Her Baby...

Well here it is the 18th of April and Breeze still has not had her baby. She is driving us all crazy wondering when that little munchkin is going to arrive. By our guess she is about 3 weeks overdue, but of course breeding horses is not an exact science either. Kate is kind of hoping that she will wait until Jena's birthday, which is May 1st, but I am hoping not. That would put her almost 5 weeks overdue, and that is just too long. With each day that she does not have this foal it increases the chances of losing the mare or the foal or maybe even both. We know that her last breed date was April 24, 2007 and they only carry for 11 months so as you can see she is getting pretty far overdue. I am hoping to go out tonight and get some pics of her big fat belly, but usually when I try she won't stand still long enough for me to get any. But I figure at least it is worth a try. I will keep you updated and will most definitely let everyone know once the little stinker has arrived.

FFA Awards Banquet...

Tonight was the FFA awards banquet. It always begins with dinner and then they do the awards ceremony. I am proud to say that in addition to the awards that Kaitlin won at the sectional and district levels for her proficiency interviews, she also won the coveted sophomore award of "Star Chapter Agribusniessman". Basically that award is given to the Sophomore that creates a business plan, puts that plan into action, and makes a profit doing it. She won this award for her business venture as a barn manager for Beverly Steinburgh. We are very proud of her because we know she worked extra hard to achieve that goal that she set for herself. She also won the equine science record book for her chapter, and last but not least she earned all the credits needed to achieve the highest level of chapter recognition. Kaitlin also won a scholarship to a FFA Leadership Camp this summer, each school can only send one student to this camp and Kaitlin was the chosen student for this year. Kaitlin has a lot to be proud of these days as those are all big accomplishments. I know we are very proud of her and hope that she keeps up the good work next year. I have posted the pics of the banquet on http://perchalskifamilypics.blogspot.com

Our First Tornado Warning Of The Season...

Thursday this week was a very strange weather day. Every time we have one of those strange weather days, you had better watch out.

It started off pretty cold, very rainy, and terribly blustery. By mid morning the rain had tapered off and the wind had died down. Around 3:00 the sun came out and it really began to heat up. The sky stayed pretty clear for the remainder of the late afternoon. Probably at about 6:15 Kate's boyfriend, Robert, called and told her that we were suppose to be getting some tornado activity.

We turned off the DVR recording of American Idol Gives Back to see the weather report, and found that yes were under a tornado watch. For us, the Perchalski's, that is a big deal because once we go into a watch that is the time we begin taking all the animals to the basement of the big house. We have made that our plan since we moved here because our tornado whistle only gives a 2 minute warning. Which literally means you only have 2 minutes to take cover before the tornado is here. Since we have 5 cats, 3 dogs, 2 gerbils, 1 turtle, and the goat it is better for us to already have them in the basement if we end up in a warning. Both Paul & I know that if we went into a warning the kids would panic over the animals, so this plan makes it easier to get the kids to cooperate when/if that tornado whistle goes off.

Anyway, what was really strange was that on this particular day we literally went from watch to warning in about 15 minutes. That usually doesn't happen, what is a lot more common to happen is that the counties surrounding us will go into there warnings first and then it will hit us. Thursday that tornado was spotted so close that there was no almost no watch at all. The ironic thing was when we went into the warning the sky was still pretty light, it really did not look like much. It just goes to show that looks really can be deceiving. Well, needless to say the tornado did not hit Bushnell or anyplace else as far as we could tell...but it was our first tornado warning of the season. The only thing really scary about that is usually when we get them this early, it is a good sign that our tornado season is going to be terrible. I hope not, but only time will tell on this one.

Lots Of Pictures Of Memphis...

Just wanted to let everyone know that I have posted a bunch more of the pictures I took in Memphis on: http://perchalskifamilypics.blogspot.com/

ENJOY!!!

Traveling To See Steve, Keri, & The Kiddies...

On March 18th we set out on a very dark nasty stormy drive to Millington, TN (it is right outside of Memphis) to see Paul's brother Steven for the last time before he leaves for Iraq the 20th of April. The weather was so horrible when we left we actually contemplated waiting until the next day, but Rob & Tressa (Paul's parents) were there visiting as well and we wanted to have some time with them. They were going to be leaving the 19th to fly back to Gaithersburg. So needless to say the weather was yucky nasty, rainy, and a bit foggy...but nothing we hadn't traveled in before and besides it is only a 7 hour drive. Well we got to Blythesville, Arkansas and the sky lit by lighting and we knew we were in trouble. The lighting revealed that we were heading towards a ledge that certainly had the possiblity of producing a tornado. Paul & I both thought Oh Dear God, but didn't say a word. The tension was definitely there though, we pulled under a bypass and turned on the radio. Well, not being from that area we had no idea that the counties they were reporting about were several miles away. We thought it was for us and that we were only in a watch when in fact we were actually in an area that was under a tornado warning. Right about that time we decided that maybe we should find somewhere to stop for the night. But of course there is absolutely nothing between Blythesville, AK and Millington, TN so we finally stopped when we got the chance. We checked in, got all the sleeping children in the room, and finally fell asleep. We awoke very early the next morning to finish our drive, and as we were checking out I asked how far we were from Memphis. 12 miles she replied, well what a waste of $80.00 when we could have saved it and been there the night before. But oh well we got there early and safe, we had a wonderful visit with Rob & Tressa before they had to leave for the airport and enjoyed the rest of our day with Steve, Keri, Laurel, and Reagan. Getting there sure was nerve wracking though...

Still Trying To Get Caught Up...

My goodness just about the time I think everything has settled down and I can catch up on life something else happens. But for now I think I can finish getting this blog caught up. Love to all...

A Sad Good-bye to Dustin, Heather, Trinity, and Tristian...

On March 15th we bid a sad good-bye to Dustin, Heather, & the kids. It was so wonderful to see them and spend time with. I have missed them all so very much. they were here for 21 days, but my goodness did those 21 days fly by. It was incredible at how fast they went. However I am very pleased that we were able to spend time with them. Trinity wasn't real keen on the idea of leaving all the family, but Tristian, well he couldn't get home fast enough. But in Tristian's defense at 2 years old I am sure that 21 days seemed like a lifetime to him. Once Dustin is back home in sunny warm Hawaii (it is only 32 degrees here) he will be there for about 2 1/2 weeks and then he will leave for Thailand for 45 days. Then he will be home (in Hawaii) for about 6 months and will then leave to go to Iraq for 18 months. So, needless to say I have no idea when we will see him again. We will miss him and pray for him to be stay safe while he is gone. I have posted the pictures that I took of them while they were here on http://perchalskifamilypics.blogspot.com/

Trying To Catch Up...

Ok, as all of you can probably imagine my life has been a little crazy the last few days...no I take that back it has been VERY crazy. Anyway, I just wanted to take a few minutes and sit down to try to catch up on this blog. There are so many things happening in our lives right now and it is all happening so fast!! So the next few post will be somewhat out of order, but my plan is to catch up so that everything will be current. Love to all...

The New Filly...

Okay, this has the potential to be a very long post, so bear with me and I will try to keep it short. I am not sure if everyone knows yet, but no so long ago we sold all of Kaitlin's horses. Well, that is not entirely true we still technically own Breeze, but we have leased out for breeding. Anyway, selling the horse was really not a good thing for Kate. Shortly after we sold them she became very depressed started doing some pretty rebellious things. Suddenly she became a child we did not know, just grumpy and sad all the time. So finally after months and months of this I took her out to dinner just the two of us and had a real heart to heart talk with her. Well come to find out her passion for horses runs much deeper than either Paul or I ever gave credit to. She was just missing her "babies" very much, and just wishing we hadn't sold them. I asked her if she would consider looking for a new "baby", that we couldn't just go and get the other ones back. Of course the idea of a new "baby" perked her up, however the idea of her "babies" being gone forever was a bit unsettling to her. About a year ago she began mucking stalls and working horses for a woman, named Beverly, on the outskirts of town. I guess we thought her work and Beverly's horses would be enough for her, but we couldn't have been any more wrong on that. So about 3 weeks ago we began looking for a new "baby", and found a beautiful little filly. She is not quite a year old, as she is a May baby. Kaitlin has not yet chosen a name for her. She wants to work with her for a bit and see if a name will come to her that will fit the filly. Anyway, to make a long story short Kate is a very happy camper, and she is looking forward to working with the filly. Hooray, the old Kate is back. Thank you God, Dave Clark, and Beverly we couldn't have done it without all of you. To view more pics of the filly & Kate you can go to: http://perchalskifamilypics.blogspot.com

Miss Francine...

This is Francine aka Franny the Nanny Goat, she is currently living with us while Kaitlin does an FFA record book on her. She is just now about a year old, was originally adopted by my Dad & Beth, then Kaitlin asked if she could use her as her FFA project. So she came to stay with us. I do have to say that I was not sure about the idea of having a goat live in my house (yes, people she is housebroken) but she has been a lot of fun. It is true that a goat will eat just about anything, I meanly really who needs a paper shredder when you can have a pygmy goat. She will eat your personal documents and dispose of them in nice little pellets that no one could ever put back together. She is a really funny girl, she loves Caleb...Caleb will get down on his hands and knees and play the head butt game with her. Even though she is small she can head butt pretty hard, but Caleb has learned to lean back so that she doesn't hit him so hard. Of course since it has been winter Franny has not had any green to graze on, all she has had all winter long is hay. When we put her in the other pen (usually the dogs are in this pen) she got so excited b/c there were just a few leaves (dead of course) hanging from branch that she just had to have. So she decided to climb the tree to get to those few dead leaves. Up she went and there she was munching on her leaves when I went to check on her...I thought she just looked too cute standing in the tree like that so I took a few pics to share.

Cas's Book Club's #3 pick

I loved...loved...LOVED this book. I have recently read "The Kite Runner" by this same author and liked the book. So I thought I would give this one a page turn or two or 234. I enjoyed this book more than The Kite Runner, but I must tip my hat to this author b/c both books have been very compelling. This is the 2nd book and it was a best seller within days of hitting the stands. Once you read it you will completely understand why. I can't wait for him to publish another book.

Here is what the book is about:

A Thousand Splendid Suns is a breathtaking story set against the volatile events of Afghanistan’s last thirty years—from the Soviet invasion to the reign of the Taliban to the post-Taliban rebuilding—that puts the violence, fear, hope, and faith of this country in intimate, human terms. It is a tale of two generations of characters brought jarringly together by the tragic sweep of war, where personal lives—the struggle to survive, raise a family, find happiness—are inextricable from the history playing out around them.Propelled by the same storytelling instinct that made The Kite Runner a beloved classic, A Thousand Splendid Suns is at once a remarkable chronicle of three decades of Afghan history and a deeply moving account of family and friendship. It is a striking, heart-wrenching novel of an unforgiving time, an unlikely friendship, and an indestructible love—a stunning accomplishment
-Khaled Hosseini A Thousand Splendid Suns

A Beautiful Sunset...

After dinner tonight we had sent Matthew outside for a bit to get some fresh air, he was only outside for about 10 minutes when he came running back in saying "Come outside and see the sunset!"
So we all went outside to see the sunset. It was a beautiful sunset, the sky looked like it was on fire and the colors were amazing. Matthew asked me to please take a few pictures for him. They came out a lot better than I thought they would. However, I can tell you that as nice as these pictures turned out they really did not do this gorgeous sunset justice. That is one thing I can say about this area...The sunsets are stunning and since it is so flat here it seems like it just goes on for miles and miles.

Keystone Light...

Let me start out by saying that these are not Mr. Keystone's best picture. Okay, he is a Blue Point Siamese, and he is 7 months old. He was brought home to me in Dec b/c Paul thought I had taken one of my older cats to be put down earlier in the day. One of the older cats, Kahlua, has stomach cancer and really does need to be put done, I am just really having a hard time doing it. So imagine the surprise when it was realized that I did not put the older cat down, but to be honest I think Paul actually fell in love with this kitten. Let me explain his name...All of our cats are named after alcohol. We have Amaretto, Kahlua, Tequila, and Bailey. So needles to say we could not break the trend with this little guy, however we were really having a hard time deciding which one to call him. We would call him Captain Morgan for a few days, then it was Bacardi, and then it was Smirnoff for a few days. Well, I guess he was sick of not having a name b/c one night we had some friends over for a couple of beers, Keystone Light beers to be exact. My friend Mary accidentally spilled a little bit of her beer on the end table. That kitten jumped right up and started licking the beer up. And so he became Keystone. The other reason we stayed with that name is b/c his eyes are as blue as the blue on the can of beer. His name doesn't really match the others, but at least it is in the alcohol family. Keystone was brought home for me, but I must say he has become more Paul's cat than mine. He sleeps right next to Paul (under the covers no less), he waits for Paul to get out of the shower in the am, and he sits with Paul while he eats his breakfast. He even goes crazy at Paul's feet when he come home from work every night. This is the first and only cat that we have had that Paul actually likes. Paul will actually pick Keystone up and carry him around the house, it is kind of cute. For being a Siamese, Keystone, has a very sweet disposition. I was a little bit worried about it b/c I have heard horror stories about this breed of cat, but I must say our little Keystone has been wonderful.

Roxie Girl...

Well, here she is...we call her Roxie Girl, but Roxie for short. She is a 9 month old Golden Retriever. The story behind her basically goes like this...In Oct. I went to visit my cousin in Tennessee, and she has a Golden Retriever that had had a litter of pups back in June. They were going to keep this particular pup, nut after having her for about 4 months changed their minds. So the weekend that I was there visiting we were all sitting around talking about what they were going to do with her. Well they were just going to take her to the pound, well she was so adorable and very good mannered that I just couldn't let that happen. So I called Paul and discussed it with him, he said just bring her home and we will hope for the best. Well, I must say I am not much of a dog person, but even I have fallen in love with her. She has the cutest sweetest personality, sometimes she is almost human like. For instance when she has to go out she will go in the bathroom get a roll of toilet paper and sit by the door with it, or like the time Kate had a headache and somehow Roxie managed to get a hold of the bottle of Motrin and came bringing to Kate. She loves to dance with you, all you have to do is start singing and she will come in and jump up on you so you can dance with her. Roxie is just such a good girl, she has only had a few potty accidents in the house. She house broke so easy, and no she did not come house broken, my cousin kept her outside at all times. She has taken Kate on as her person. Roxie sleeps with Kate and only Kate and she whines during the day when Kate is at school. I think she has been an excellent addition to our family. And I am sure Paul, Kate, Matthew, and Caleb would all agree.

Posted on Thursday, March 13, 2008 at 05:34PM by Perchalski Family

Kaitlin's FFA District Record Book Interview...

On Wed. March 5th Kaitlin went to Jacksonville, IL to give her record book interview at the District level. As you know from early blog posting she won 1st place at the Chapter level. She needed to win at District as well to progress on to the State level. Unfortunately, she came in 2nd at the District level. She was kind of bummed, she knows her stuff, but they judge you interview and book on what you have done over this year with your project. And as many of you know right now we are horseless, we are looking though to acquire a baby in the very near future. So Kaitlin was a bit upset when one of the judges made mention that seems all she ever does around horses is muck stalls. Needless to say she found that very insulting. I mean after she has been riding since she was 8, but again they only base it off of what you are currently doing. One of the judges told he wanted to ask her how to saddle a horse but decided not to b/c it has been sooo long since she last rode (what like about 8 months?) and he wasn't sure she would remember how. Kaitlin said she wanted to ask him if he ever forgot how to ride a bike, b/c saddling is like riding a bike you never really forget. I told her she should have asked...you like to know English or Western? That would have floored him since out here very few people ride English let alone do both styles. But anyway, she did get 2nd out of 6...and she was the only sophomore in the equine studies section, so all in all we are very proud of her and feel like she did an excellent job. To better view the plaque you can click on it, when it pops up it will probably be too big to view, so you will have to zoom out on it once it is loaded.

Posted on Sunday, March 9, 2008 at 07:39PM by Perchalski Family

2 Special Surprises Last Week...

Surprise #1
I think all of you must know by now that my brother, who is in the Army, was assigned to a duty station in Hawaii for 3 years. He and his family left in June of 2007, I have missed them all quite a bit. Well, I talked to Dustin back in early Feb. to see if he knew when they might be able to come home for a visit. His response was "Since I am getting ready to leave for duty in Thailand I just don't think a visit home is workable." Although I was a bit depressed to hear that I figure oh well so goes the life of a military family. So imagine my surprise when I walked out of the bathroom on Tues last week and there stood my brother, sister-in-law, niece, and nephew. I was so happy to see them. The children have grown so very much, and all 4 of them look wonderful. I picked up little Tristian and he said "Aunt Cas did you miss me?"
I said "Yes, baby, Aunt Cas has missed you very much!"
His reply was "But did you really miss me?"
He is so cute, I can't believe how much him and Trinity have grown. My goodness Trinity will start school in the fall, it so hard to believe how fast they are growing. Needless to say I am very excited to have them home for a visit and can't wait to spend some time with them.
Surprise #2
On Friday as I was walking out of Wal-Mart after filling a prescription, I thought I saw Monique at the check out counter. So I turned back around to say Hi to her and again imagine my surprise to see my sister, Maigan, standing there. For those of you that don't know Maigan moved to Maryland about 4 1/2 years ago, so it was a shock to see her there. I guess she decided to fly in so that she could see Dustin, Heather, and the babies since she hasn't seen them in over a year. It was a fun weekend to have everyone together once again. Too bad Maigan has to leave tomorrow, I would wish she could stay longer. But I am happy that she was able to be home at least for a few days to be with us all.

Posted on Monday, March 3, 2008 at 04:28PM by Perchalski Family Post a Comment