"Snow Day!! - January 20, 2008"

It sure was fun to see all the snow today - especially watching the dogs in it. A.J. was so funny - it was his first time in the snow and he was a hoot!

 At first he was so unsure of it - he'd touch it then jump back like it had bitten him! Then he decided to lick it and after he buried his nose in it, I guess he decided that he didn't really like it. But, having to go to the bathroom finally made him venture out into it - it was so funny - I've never seen him go to the bathroom that fast! Then for some reason - he ran the wrong way to get out of it and ended up running around in circles for about 5 minutes. He's so funny when he runs - his ears fly up and he looks like a rabbit - hopping all over the place.

Lucky just looked boored and in a hurry to get back in where it was warm.

Sweet Pea had been in the house last night and when I let her out it had already sleeted and poor thing - she ran out like she always does and slipped and fell. I felt so bad - it didn't take her long to come back to the door to be let back in. When she went out into the snow the next time she went out - she took these little bitty baby steps and it was too cute!

 Yancey only ventured onto the deck once today and the rest of the time, she stayed under the laundry room where it was warm - Smart Dog!!

Hope you all had a fun day in the snow! Remember I love you and have a great week!

"Whew!!! - January 10, 2008"

Wow! Where did the last few months go to??? They just seemed to fly by. I had a wonderful Christmas season and most things worked out well as far as scheduling went. Did have to miss the Christmas Eve Candlelight Service at Church though and that made me really sad - it was the first one I've missed in the last 12 years. Oh well, I was where I was needed most thanks to the wonderful citizens of Douglas County who keep on doing crazy stuff even though it is Christmas (I just keep reminding myself that it's job security! ).

I'm starting to get that wanderlust again and can't wait for the races to start back . . .

There's a new puppy in the house and he's really cute, but driving us all crazy - especially our inside dog, Lucky. Lucky is almost 8 now and doesn't want to play all the time - he's old and playing chase for several hours at a time at high rates of speed just doesn't seem to appeal to him anymore - he'd rather sit on his sofa and watch the world go by outside the window. A.J. (the puppy) on the other hand thinks that wearing a new rut into my carpet by running at top speed from one end of the house to the other is what he was put here on earth for and he's trying to prove to all of us that he is the absolute best dog for the job. So A.J. (the young and stupid puppy) runs like mad and drives Lucky (the older and wiser dog) crazy, making him bark - so all you hear is running, barking, running, barking, running, barking (well, I'm sure you get the picture of how my days go).

Well, have a great weekend and remember that I love you all - you make my life the joy that it is!

Happy New Year and Merry Christmas (it's never too early to say that because the Lord is so good to us all)!

Buds - A.J. & Sweet Pea

Sweet Pea and her mother, Yancey were our outside dogs and never socialized too much with our other dogs. After the death of Yancey, I was so afraid that Sweet Pea would be poisoned too, that I let her stay inside the house, thinking that I would eventually start leaving her outside all the time.

Sweet Pea has always been skittish of the other dogs and of anyone visiting the house and it really got worse after Yancey died. She’s probably the sweetest of all the dogs we have, but just had not been exposed to other animals much.

A.J. is our miniature long-haired daschund who is 10’ tall and invincible. He is a couple of years old but has the heart of a 6 month old puppy and loves to play. He seemed to sense that Sweet Pea needed someone to give her some attention, so he started trying to play with her. She snapped at him a few times, letting him know that she did NOT want a playmate. A.J. being the persistent little cuss that he is would not let her say no. Being older, I guess Sweet Pea finally decided it was easier to just let A.J. play with her than to get into trouble for nipping at him.

As time went by, Sweet Pea began to warm up to A.J. and they are now the best of buds. They play tag and wrestle. When you tell Sweet Pea to “pin” A.J. she will put her leg on top of him and pin him to the floor. And every so often we even catch them sleeping beside each other.

Just goes to show that when don't think you like someone - be careful, they just might turn out to be one of your best "buds"!

Unconditional Love

We were always on the go so much when the kids were growing up that we didn't have time to have a pet. The kids never seemed to mind, because they knew that we could not take care of an animal if we were going to travel, play sports, etc. and that seemed to be more important at the time. As the kids got older the need for that "unconditional love" that comes along with having a dog (cats expect unconditional love whereas dogs just give it willingly) seemed to grow stronger than the need to be gone all the time.


On my youngest daughter's 11th birthday, we had a spend the night birthday party at our house. The next morning one of the neighborhood girls that was staying over realized she had left her medicine at home and off the group of girls went to retrieve it. Well.... to make a really long story short, not only did they come home with the medicine, but they brought along this tiny little brown and white ball that was covered in fleas. Having been a dog person all my life, of course my heart immediately melted and he has held it ever since. He was named Lucky by vote of all the girls at the party (mine was the only other vote and I wanted "E.B." which would be short for Ed Beagle - as in Ed Beagley. Since none of the girls had a clue who Ed Beagley was, I of course lost by a landslide). From then on Lucky ruled the house.

My husband had always insisted that we did not need a dog, but our daughter had a way of getting what she wanted no matter what. . . . after picking fleas off of the poor little puppy for over an hour, both the puppy and I were exhausted. We made a little pallet on the living room floor for the now clean dog and when my husband (who had been in the bedroom watching a race and had no idea what was going on in the rest of the house) came through, he looked down and in a not so happy voice said, "What is that?". Well baby girl in all her wisdom immediately said, "Well, duh, Daddy - it's a dog!" - at which point I figured that hubby dear would kill her, but he didn't. Sooooo, the rest is history. Lucky stayed and won over all the hearts in the family.

As time went by, our little household grew to include four dogs - Lucky, Yancey (who has since gone to doggie heaven), her puppy - Sweet Pea, and A.J. (which stands for Adam, Jr. but don't ask...). It is amazing to me everyday just how much they love this family. And it is indeed an unconditional love - there are never any strings, except maybe wanting to be petted all the time, but that just goes with being a dog. I know they love me, because when I leave the room, there is the pitter patter of small, medium and large feet coming right along behind me, even if I leave for just a moment.

Their joy in life seems to be in pleasing and being with their "family". And you know what - to me that is a great philosophy. . . . find joy by pleasing, taking pleasure in being with, and unconditionally loving your family and friends.