Mice-ellaneous

I wish I had more time right now to post about the past few weeks, especially our fun trip to Island Park and Montana! We had a wonderful time at the Hogge Reunion this year. I'll get pictures and details up as soon as I can.

This week has been so crazy--trying to adjust to being home again. It was full of laundry and errands. And the kids had to see good ole Dr Moody to fix some cavities. And Evan lost his very first (and 2nd) teeth! (Pictures to come soon.)

Rachel went to the pediatrician for her 2 month check-up. She now weighs in at a whopping 11 lbs 4 oz! What a heifer! She really is darling. Fat looks so much better on babies than on adults! She's got the rolls under her chin and on her thighs. And she's got the dimples in her knees and hands. She lights up and coos and grins whenever we enter the room! She's just delightful.

But, sadly, the worst part of the week was coming home from our 10-day trip only to discover our home had been invaded while we were away, by a family of MICE! Ugh. I HATE mice! (And I've said that sentence at least 5 dozen times this past week.)

I stupidly left out some chocolate on the counter tops while we were gone. Somehow (I'm guessing they climbed up our broom) the mice had gotten up and eaten the chocolates. Fortunately that was the only thing we could see that they had eaten. But we found evidence (meaning poop) that they had been all over the house. We found evidence on our counter tops, next to the fridge, under the stove, behind the stove, under the burners on our stove, all over the cupboards under our sink and where I keep my pots and pans (this especially totally grossed me out!), in our laundry room, and even in the bathtub! YUCK! I am completely horrified, and am now paranoid. Every time I walk into a room, I'm always searching. Every time I hear a rustle I'm wondering. I hate not feeling safe in my own home. And especially, I worry about my baby. I can't put her down anywhere. I'm always worried about where I put ANYTHING down! (Can't put it on the floor, the mice might get it.)

The few good things are:
1. We never found evidence of the mice in any other food, even in the food storage room, which is a huge blessing. (Though, I did mourn the loss of our chocolate!)
2. We've already caught 4 of them--2 adults (I think) and 2 babies.
3. My house is now REALLY clean! (Though I do still feel like everything is dirty and contaminated. That's just my little OCD, I guess.)
4. We are so much better off than so many other people in the world.

That last part especially struck me last night. It's been such an awful week for me--harder emotionally than I've had in a long time. I broke down a few times, just feeling so overwhelmed by it all and not safe, somehow, in my own home. But during family prayers I thanked the Lord for this home we have to live in, and it struck me how much I really SHOULD be grateful for this wonderful home. There are so many people who deal with much worse than a family of mice. I just need to keep things in perspective.

(But if you don't mind, please say a little prayer that we'll catch all the little varmints!)