A Fresh Start

Well, as a lot of you know, we're overwhelmed with our "brood" of pets. I like animals, but never thought I'd own 4 dogs and (now) 2 cats. For years we've had Dante' and Tika, and have tried everything to find a "Forever Home" for Tika. Well, one of the families that I babysit for, who was also in our ward when we lived in our own house, saw her and decided to give her a try with their 2 Shih Tzu's.
Last Wednesday, we took her and her crate up to their house when we played games, and jokingly I told them that we'd bring her Kennel in and just leave her there. Stephanie, the mother, said that she thought that was the plan, so just before we left, we brought in the Kennel and told them to call us if there were any problems or if they got tired of her. Expecting to bring her home the following day, I asked Stephanie when she picked the kids up, but she said they'll still keep her there, and are enjoying her being there. I told her that we'd drop off some food and her bowl, that they could feed her how they liked.
On Friday, we took her leash to them, and were told that they absolutely love her, but haven't decided for sure if she was gonna have a permanent home there. Then came today, Stephanie showed up as usual to get the kids, then looked at me and said " So, looks like we're going to keep Tika." I just about jumped out of my skin with joy. The first time I saw the family with her, I felt that it was just a right fit for them, and was even evil enough to get her out while the kids were here so they could quickly get attached to her. The 3yr old that I watch, Grant, fell in love with her instantly, and followed her around the yard whenever she was out.
When we took her up to see how she did with their dogs for an hour, I wanted to leave her there because it felt so right. When we left her there last Wednesday, I didn't really look back, my heart leaped for joy, I had a very good feeling that she'd found her "Forever Home" and just let things ride. It took her a while but she warmed up to Steve, and that's when it became official. As the agreement goes, since they decided to welcome her into their family, we've agreed to pay to get her bathed and brushed, and to wash and sanitize her kennel.
The last attempts to re-home her, I cried like a baby, didn't feel comfortable leaving her at the houses, and really worried about her. I didn't shed a tear when we left her with the Wozniak family, I know she's in good hands, a loving home, and will be well taken care of. I also know that I will see her often, and that if they have any problems, they will talk to us about them. This is a blessing for Dave and I because it'll be a little easier to get into a place now, it's just a matter of finding one within our budget.

My Boys

Since I live in the house with Heather and "Monroe", I get the privelage of watching Troy when they need to go somewhere. Right now Troy is going through the "I'm really tired but don't want to sleep" stage. The only way I can get him to go to sleep, or even settle down, is to sit at the computer and play Bejeweled Blitz on Facebook, with the volume up loud. I was doing this while waiting for Dave's cake to cool down enough to frost, when Tucker came in and poked me in the rear. I turned to look at him, and as to be expected, I hear "Up".
Well, you know the results of his sweet little request, as seen here in the picture. My siblings have some pretty awesome boys, and I can't wait to meet Josie, and watch her wrap me around her little fingers as well. Tucker is my little man. He hunts me down in the house every time he comes over. I can't take 2 steps without him being right there, hugging my leg and wanting me to hold him. The other day I was combing out Duster's matts, and Tucker walked up to my back, put his arms around me and hugged and kissed on me for about 20 minutes.
Troy is my little man as well. Heather gets so frustrated at times because he can scream and cry, but the second he sees me or I hold him, it's all smiles. It always makes me smile when my boys are around. I can't help but smile when I hear Tucker's giggle of delight, or Troy's hugenormous smile when he sees me. They're such sweet little ones, and I just love when they're around. Heather often tells me she doesn't want me to feel like I have to watch Troy, I tell her that it feeds my baby hunger and that I'll let her know when I'm being run down or burdened by it. Anyway, I just thought I'd share one of the special and fun moments I have with my nephews. Hope you all have a good day.

Only in Idaho

Last month, I was sitting on the couch just doing nothing more than looking out the window when I saw this picture. The neighbor had taken his car onto the lawn, up to a gopher hole, and stuck his irrigation hose down the hole, then duct taped it to his exhaust pipe. This was their 2nd attempt at "exterminating" the gopher that had decided to take up residency in their yard. Their first attempt: Glue traps down the hole. At the time I took this picture, between chuckles, I had heard the woman on the phone, suddenly tell her husband "Honey, they say that Road Flares work real well too!". At that time, I had to put the camera down and walk away. I had begun to laugh so hard, it just killed me. Half their day was spent with an irrigation hose hooked up to their car, tryin to gas out a gopher, and entertaining me and the other people in the house at the time. I guess it worked though, because NOW we've got the Gophers in our back yard, and it seems like a new one pops up each day.

A Tragic Situation

Back in August, my friend died of an apparent heart attack, a few weeks after his funeral, his wife posted on Facebook that they got the toxicology reports back. It was not a heart attack after all that took his life. It was a mistake by the VA doctors and Pharmasists. What took his life, was an overdose of the medication he was on. One of them was too high of a dose, the other, shouldn't have even been mixed with the first one.

That's all I know, but seriously, somebody should have caught it before it got as far as it did. Mike was a excellent man, and had a big heart. He loved everyone he came into contact with and was like another brother to me. I didn't really get a chance to get to know his widow, but we both have agreed that Mike would have liked for us to become friends, so we're gonna give it a try. I pray for her and the kids every day, and know that she'll see him again.

It's tragic that his life ended so abruptly, and though there is rage for how he went, I keep reminding myself that the Lord wanted him for something much greater and he's watching over us. I'm sad that I didn't get to talk to him before he went, but I will one day.

Sunday Stroll

Sunday, Dave and I decided to conserve what little gas we have in the sonoma and walk to church. We put Troy in the stroller, made it down for Sacrament, and as we were sitting there, listening to the talks, Troy decided to fill his britches.
By the time I was done changing his diaper, we had used all the wipes I brought, and so when Sacrament was over, we decided to get him home in case he decided to do it again as he was notorious at it.
As we were almost home, I stepped down onto a part of the gutter where the asphalt from the road didn't quite meet the gutter, and rolled my foot. I thought that I'd rolled my ankle, and immediately went into the house, elevated and iced it, and decided to wait and see how it went. It got so bad that I couldn't put any pressure on my foot or even move my toes, so I dug the crutches out and began to use them. After an AGONIZING stroll through COSTCO, I realized that it took a LOT to use crutches, something I'd forgotten since I used them 5yrs ago. That Monday morning, though the swelling had gone down a little, I decided to get it checked out.
After an hour and a half in the doctor's office, and the doctor poking and prodding, taking X-rays, he came back and said that my foot wasn't broken, ankle wasn't sprained, but my foot was. I couldn't wrap my mind around spraining my foot instead of my ankle, but have been following doctor's orders for the most part. There are times when I don't ice it, it swells up and the toes barely move so I stop what I'm doing and elevate and ice the foot. As soon as it's comfortable for me to wear it, I'm back to the boot brace for a while.....YAY ME!

Quality Time

Lately Merlyn has been looking pretty shabby. Since the lady I take him to is usually pretty busy, I decided to bathe and groom him myself. It still takes me a few hours to shave him completely, but now he's beginning to deal with me shaving all the hair off of him, and enjoys it in some parts.
I use to just jump right in with the clippers when he's dry, this time, I "scissor" him as much as I can, then just go over it with the clippers. It works a lot better that way, but the tiny hairs are unbearable when they work their way into your undies. Because it takes so long when I let his hair grow, I've decided to groom him every 2 weeks. He loves being naked, and it's so fun watching people when they see him. I took him to the park with the kids for Lunch, and all the looks everyone gave him, it was just a ball. Lately, with how hot it's getting here, we've been having the AC on , his kennel is next to our vent, and when he gets really cold, he climbs up in bed with me and sleeps under my blanket.
I have a lot of fun with Merlyn, and look forward to many more years of torturing him. I'm thinking of dying his hair again the next time I groom him. He's also doing really good with the kids, lets them crawl on him and pull his hair. He doesn't run much from people anymore, lately he lunges at them, but that's a habit we're going to work on fixing.

Troy Parker

The other day when I got lunch, I got these sun glasses in the kid's meal. Sitting at home, watching him in his swing, I got this brilliant idea to put the sun glasses on Troy. He didn't seem too fussy, but he really wouldn't cooperate with taking the picture, I got lucky on this shot.
I have decided to hang on to them for when he's a little older, let him grow into them and what not. I have a lot of fun with him and Tucker.