The Dennison boys: May 2011

Thursday, May 19, 2011

The rest of the pics!

Kids with fur...and also without fur!

After a lengthy period of time attempting to get the three human kids to nicely sit with the three fur kids and all smile at the camera, I sorta gave up. It turns out that the two littlest ones in the middle were the best behaved. The middle ones on the right there were just plan naughty. Funny how people are like their pets, huh? Little Murray is pretty photogenic in the rest of the pics.

After I reviewed the pictures tonight I found the least perfect was my favorite. Why you ask? Because Sadie is cleaning lunch off of Isaac's face, Will has his pant legs rolled up like there is a flood coming, and Murray is trying to flee from Benji- most likely with plans to go eat a shoe. It's a messy picture....and it's pretty symbolic of our lives.

Anyways, all canines and humans under the age of 12 had their summer haircuts this week. In two more weeks they'll be back to being shaggy with added sunburns on top so this is the best we're gonna get!

Here's our family story of how we constantly "make lemonade" while raising our three boys.

Will (age 10) is our wise-beyond-his-years child. He has experienced years of chaos including late night hospital trips for his little brother, long seperations from mom and dad, and the rich experiences of loving (and somethime losing) the great friends he meets along the way. Not too suprising that he is a bit of a control freak. His goal in life is to join the military. Or drive tractors. Or be a firefighter. Whatever it is it will involve adrenaline. He is a lover, not a fighter though and weighing in at 100 pounds he sometimes needs a bit of his reminder to not fling himself onto mom's lap.

Isaac (age 8) is our creative genius. He copes by, well, not coping. Always the artist he frequents the hospital play rooms and art rooms. His own medical issues over the years have caused him to not handle his brother's medical drama well. He is a very sentimental child and is always quick to remind us that briefly our family was more than just boys. He will never let us forget the spirit of his baby sister, Natalie. Forever the middle child, he craves attention and recognition. He's a fighter, not a lover and is known for bopping his big brother in the nose. Drama, much? And he's so stinkin cute too! Check out those freckles.

Benji (age 3) is our baby. He has medical diagnoses that we can't even pronounce but are forced to repeat to medical providers on a routine basis. With over 50 hospital stays by the age of 3, he has lived a life we never imagined a child should experience. And through it all he is a survivor. He is also spoiled, has no stranger anxiety, and is a constant source of turmoil in our family. Because of him we fly to other states at the drop of a hat and spend most special days at the hospital. He started PreK this year....suckers.....

To complete our family, there are the children with fur. Yep. Sadie the Schitzu/Pug/Who-knows-what-the-heck-else was found outside of a Sioux City bar of shady reputation. Petey, the consitpated Minature Schnauzer, is of pure puppy mill descent. To add to the group, there is Eddie, the Standard Schnauzer, our all around awesome dog. These three round out our family, heal broken spirits, and pee on the floor. Constantly underfoot, known for eating slippers, socks, feeding tubes, legos, and dustbunnies, they are our comic relief! Did I mention Brittany the Ragdoll? She's just around to dust off the hardwood floors!

We are a family in a constant pursuit of normalacy on an ever-winding and very abnormal path.