The space shuttle was a success!

For those of you that don't live in Florida, here's a shot of the shuttle as it took off last night. Such an awesome view! It wasn't that dark outside, the exposure is just a little off. I don't know if I've ever seen a launch so clearly. You could see the bright fire trail, and then when the rocket boosters separated, you could see both of them clearly, and finally just the shuttle as it continued out into the atmosphere! Awesome! The picture is courtesy of a friend's photo off of Facebook. Thanks Amy!

Yesterday afternoon, late in the day, Daniel was being himself, standing on a chair on the back porch, when he tipped off the edge of the chair. I'm not sure how is arm hit, if he braced himself, or if he hit the chair, or hit the cement floor on the back porch, but he managed to hurt himself pretty good. I immediately grabbed him and was ready to head to the emergency room, but John wanted to look at it, and evaluate it. Being that John has had more broken bones than he can count, I trusted his judgement that it wasn't obviously broken. We iced Daniel's arm, and gave him some Tylenol for the pain. This morning, when he woke up, he complained immediately that his arm hurt, so I knew we had to make an appointment with the doctor. When I asked him where it hurt, he told me.. "Where my Pain is!" Oh, okay, that clears it up, thanks Daniel! The good news, after an office visit and x-rays at the imaging center, no break! So our orders are to ice it a few times a day, and give him Motrin for the pain. (Motrin is a better anti-inflammatory.)

Our newest family addition, Annie is doing well. She's very busy! This morning, while I conducted a live meeting, I looked down under my desk to see pieces of the cord from the back of my PC to the Keyboard. Yes, I said pieces. Puppies are so much fun! When Callie was a puppy she chewed through a mouse cord. Now I have a wireless mouse! This is my personal PC, not my work laptop, so I'm not as worried as I would be if it were my employer's equipment! The PC doesn't seem to be wireless compatible, or I'd get a wireless keyboard/mouse combo. I tried a mouse once before on it, and it didn't work. By the end of my meeting, I had two pairs of shoes and a pair of socks, and lots of other small things on the top of my desk out of harms way! Guess it's time to put stuff away!

We have found Annie to be a quick learner. Her previous owners allowed her and all her pack to sit with them on the furniture. That is not acceptable in our house. She's learned in a day and half, when I say "Annie get down", she gets down! She seems to have grasped the idea of going outside to potty, rather than in the house. Again, previous owners didn't seem to be too bothered with animals using the bathroom in their home. The smell made that quite clear as I stepped in their house. I'm sure we'll have a few accidents here and there, but I'm not too worried about her. She's a quick study! I took her to the vet's this afternoon to get her shots, and checked out. Besides the car-sickness on the way, she did well. The vet warned me, yes, they're quick learners, but they're also a stubborn breed, she said that with a bit of a wicked grin on her face! I'm glad I like our vet!

The newest little Chappell seems to be adapting well. Callie loves running around with her, although being a Jack Russell, she can run circles around Callie! John kicked Callie's soccer ball around for her this evening, and as Callie ran, caught and retrieved, Annie was happy to run with Callie, and run she did! Belle doesn't seem to care much either way, but as the puppy explored our male cat, Mater, Annie sniffed and ran once, went back for a second sniff, and the cat chased her through the yard. She didn't mind, it was a fun chase!

I was wondering this afternoon, if whomever said little girls were quiet, ever had a pack of 6 little girls in their home at once. Hanna's friends came down to the house this afternoon, and the noise was unbelievable. I finally laid down the law that inside voices were to be used, or they were going outside. I also stated that if I saw anymore closed or locked doors, OR had to remind them about the noise leve again, everyone was going home! The played outside for awhile, then the pack moved on to another's home, my children tagging along. I had about 30 minutes of a quiet home before John came home from work.

My friend Tarren jokingly questioned my judgement about adding yet another animal, let alone a puppy! I will say this to all that wonder, a happy home is a noisy home. It is the sound of laughter and imagination of children. I love watching my children with our animals. They love them just as much as I do. I love the belly laugh of Daniel as he sits on the floor with a puppy licking his ears. I love to sit and watch my daughter half asleep on the couch, with the cat laying there beside her, as she strokes the cats tail. (yes, the cats are allowed on the furniture. Like a cat would ever listen to a human!) My life is chaotic, and loud, and very eventful! I wouldn't have it any other way!