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| In the book of Isaiah (61:1-3), God promises to comfort all who mourn and give them beauty for their ashes. Well, I am here to tell you, God is faithful to his promises! For those of you who know the story of Ike the duck, you know that Landry was definitely in mourning. But God has traded her ashes for beauty . . . a LOT of beauty. Since the loss of Ike, she has become the proud owner of: - 6 baby chicks
- a parakeet (named "Birdie") - complete with fancy cage and toys
- 13 baby ducks - that arrived this morning, just in time for her birthday
I will post pictures of our aviary soon! In other news, here are the latest updates: LANDRY: Landry is 5 today! These birthdays are coming sooner and sooner! I can't believe she's already 5 and getting ready to start kindergarten. I'm not sure where that time went but it has gone WAY TOO FAST! AUBREY: The princess contest was Saturday and Aubrey did a fabulous job. Even though she didn't come away with the title, she had a great time and is already looking forward to competing next year. As for Bobby (the horse), we're sure he's wondering what he did wrong to be demoted from head ranch horse to glitter-coated princess horse. Look for pictures in the next few days. LUCAS: Things in Lucas's world are pretty much the same. Get up, eat, get dressed, eat, undress (completely), play outside, eat . . . you get the picture! He's a happy boy! | | |
| I guess our efforts to capture memories of "Ike" in a book has inspired me. I have already begun work on a second book - this one aptly titled: Things You Should NEVER Have To Say To Your Children 
I have listed a few of the highlights below: - No, Lucas, you may not ride your horse while you are NAKED!
- Lucas - I promise you that a leapord seal will NOT come up out of the toilet and eat you . . . no matter what your sisters say!
- Landry - DO NOT feed your boogers to your brother!
In other news: Aubrey has been practicing for the last couple of weeks in preparation for the rodeo princess contest and the big day is almost here! She will compete against 5 other little girls on Saturday morning and is very excited. More updates to follow. 
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| As I was about to say before the lemonade episode, the previous week has been full of some sadness at the Layton household. On Wednesday night, we laid to rest "Ike" the duck . . . a funeral complete with burial (Ike now rests in one of our good bathroom towels), prayers, and flowers. Now, I realize that in light of all the really tough things happening with people everywhere, this is not a grand-scale tragedy. But for those of you who know Landry and her love for birds of any kind, this death was akin to losing a close friend. To make matters worse, Ike's death came at the hands, or should I say teeth, of our weenie dog, Annie. . . who has since gone on to a home where there are no feathered friends. 
Long story, short - to watch your baby be so sad, whether it be over a duck or anything else, and know that there is nothing you can do to fix it is heart breaking. She and I have shed many tears since Wednesday, her over the loss of Ike, me over her sadness. In experiencing all of this, it's made me think about how God feels about each of us. Every time we have a heart break, God sees the tears we shed and He wants, so much, to put the pieces of our heart back together. The thing is - He can and He will. If we will give our broken hearts to Him, He will put the pieces back together perfectly and bring us to a place of complete joy and peace. To end on a happier note, Landry and I are currently working on her first book, entitled "A Duck Named Ike", which will be all about the happy side of life with Ike - watch for it on the New York Times Bestseller list! And . . . 12 of Ike's cousins will be arriving next week (hopefully, on July 23 . . . Landry's birthday) to begin the next generation of ducks at Layton Ranch! | | |
| Okay, I'm really going to have to do better about posting these than once every 2 weeks! This week, a certain amount of . . . Oh, no! Aubrey has just spilled an ENTIRE pitcher of lemonade on the table (where my computer is (WAS). Maybe this is why I haven't posted more often. I'm constantly cleaning up messes! More about the duck later. | | |
| For the past year or so, I have loved checking out the blog of a good friend. It's always fun to catch up on her stories and see some great pics. . . so much so that I've decided to enter into the world of blogging. So, Gayla - this is for you! (By the way - I have no idea what I'm doing so any helpful hints are great!) By starting this, I hope to be able to share many things with you all . . .funny stories, updates on life with the Laytons, pictures (mostly of my kids, I'm sure), and thoughts on all of the great things God is doing in our lives. 
We've had many great adventures this summer . . . picnics at the creek, swimming - in the sand box turned swimming pool, trail rides, rodeos, a trip to the water park, 2 family weddings, 2 family reunions (where Landry claimed the title of Reserve Champion Turtle Racer) and - the biggest adventure thus far - learning to ride bikes with no training wheels. 
The girls started practicing this "look mom, no training wheels" thing a couple of weeks ago and we've had many ups and downs. . . literally. Landry picked up very quickly on being able to ride FAST but somehow overlooked the fact that there would be times she would need to stop - as evidenced by the beautiful black eye she is now sporting. Aubrey was a little more cautious in getting started and had a little more frustration but has now got it down to an art. I even borrowed Tara's bike so I could go with them. They were really impressed that mom knew how to ride a bike! So, tonight, we went on the biggest bike ride thus far. Five little girls (Aubrey, Landry, and our 3 neighbor girls) all set out on their bicycles. The girls couldn't understand why Lucas couldn't ride on my bike with me since he rides the horses with us. After showing them that there was NO place for him to sit, they agreed that the wagon might be a better choice for him. We made it as far as Grammy's house (where they had to stop and have a huge water fight with Dah). | | |
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