And for the Thomas Family....
Monday, August 11, 2008
Been busy digi scrapping...
I have a few more pages to go yet, but I've been busy working on these pages...
And for the Thomas Family....
And for the Thomas Family....
Still around...
Well, Honey is gone to her new home...
I am truly dogless now. Not sure how to take it yet, though I did better than I thought I would. Didn't shed any tears until after the car left and then it was just a bit. She was so happy to see Dan and went bounding to the car and more than happy to get in, knowing where she was headed. I did get some pictures of her though, with the kids and had katie take some of her and I and with Mike and I. After Dan left, I laid down on the couch and fell asleep, for like almost 3 hrs! Mike woke me up before Bible study and we had everyone here for the evening. It was nice to meet with friends and fellowship.
Today, I went to Dad and Sue's tonight to work out since the pool is closed for 2 wks - so water aerobics. So went there and walked on the treadmill. I've been working on more scrapbook pages of Honey today. Alex has been a booger and of course isn't napping. But thats ok, he starts preschool on Monday and I'm excited. I'm ready to see him blossom and see him grow and expand his horizons just as the girls have done.
Dan called this afternoon to see how I was doing. Asked me if I was ok, and I said yeah, asked again, if I was sure. I replied, well as ok as I can be. I'm ok most of the time and then I have my moments. Tonight really SUCKED when I walked to Dad and Sue's. Used my cane and kept catching the cracks in the sidewalk and had to pretty much look down the whole time. Gosh I miss having a dog...
Kids did fine with everything. the girls helped take her stuff out to the car and climbed in to give her a hug and a kiss bye, then came in and went back to playing. Alex, we put down for a nap, so he didnt actually see Dan taking her away. We'd been talking about it all week and he knew it was coming, so when he woke up and found a toy we'd missed, he asked where Honey's toy basket was. I said it was at Grandpa Dan's with Honey and asked if he remembered that Honey was going to Grandpa Dan's that day to stay. He said okay, I'll put it on the island, and didn't ask anymore about her and has been fine.
Dan said when he called, that it was pretty funny at his house yesterday afternoon. The basket of toys we sent with him, he put down behind his chair, against the wall, but next to the big archway going into the next room. (he has a long shotgun style house). Well, Buddy, one of his pups, went over and grabbed the basket and drug it out to the middle of the floor. Then the other puppy came over and they both were pulling all of the toys out of the basket and had them strewn all over the place. Then Honey- upon seeing this, went over to the big basket of toys that Dan had for his dogs and pulled it out and proceeded to pull all of thier toys out and all over the floor. He said you couldnt walk through the room because the floor was covered in dog toys and all three dogs were happily playing. ! He did say though that it was like as if she'd always been there, she got along with the other two and there's not been any problems, that she's doing great.
So I'm glad to hear that. Just wish they'd call me with a match and class date soon...
I am truly dogless now. Not sure how to take it yet, though I did better than I thought I would. Didn't shed any tears until after the car left and then it was just a bit. She was so happy to see Dan and went bounding to the car and more than happy to get in, knowing where she was headed. I did get some pictures of her though, with the kids and had katie take some of her and I and with Mike and I. After Dan left, I laid down on the couch and fell asleep, for like almost 3 hrs! Mike woke me up before Bible study and we had everyone here for the evening. It was nice to meet with friends and fellowship.
Today, I went to Dad and Sue's tonight to work out since the pool is closed for 2 wks - so water aerobics. So went there and walked on the treadmill. I've been working on more scrapbook pages of Honey today. Alex has been a booger and of course isn't napping. But thats ok, he starts preschool on Monday and I'm excited. I'm ready to see him blossom and see him grow and expand his horizons just as the girls have done.
Dan called this afternoon to see how I was doing. Asked me if I was ok, and I said yeah, asked again, if I was sure. I replied, well as ok as I can be. I'm ok most of the time and then I have my moments. Tonight really SUCKED when I walked to Dad and Sue's. Used my cane and kept catching the cracks in the sidewalk and had to pretty much look down the whole time. Gosh I miss having a dog...
Kids did fine with everything. the girls helped take her stuff out to the car and climbed in to give her a hug and a kiss bye, then came in and went back to playing. Alex, we put down for a nap, so he didnt actually see Dan taking her away. We'd been talking about it all week and he knew it was coming, so when he woke up and found a toy we'd missed, he asked where Honey's toy basket was. I said it was at Grandpa Dan's with Honey and asked if he remembered that Honey was going to Grandpa Dan's that day to stay. He said okay, I'll put it on the island, and didn't ask anymore about her and has been fine.
Dan said when he called, that it was pretty funny at his house yesterday afternoon. The basket of toys we sent with him, he put down behind his chair, against the wall, but next to the big archway going into the next room. (he has a long shotgun style house). Well, Buddy, one of his pups, went over and grabbed the basket and drug it out to the middle of the floor. Then the other puppy came over and they both were pulling all of the toys out of the basket and had them strewn all over the place. Then Honey- upon seeing this, went over to the big basket of toys that Dan had for his dogs and pulled it out and proceeded to pull all of thier toys out and all over the floor. He said you couldnt walk through the room because the floor was covered in dog toys and all three dogs were happily playing. ! He did say though that it was like as if she'd always been there, she got along with the other two and there's not been any problems, that she's doing great.
So I'm glad to hear that. Just wish they'd call me with a match and class date soon...
Friday, August 8, 2008
This week...
This week- hmm, in a nutshell just flat out stunk...
There were the good things though, so will try to talk about those. :)
For starters- Monday, Katie, Alex, and I hitched a ride with Stacie and Dylan, and we went to the Nature Valley Ranch and we all got to go Horseback riding. It's worked out well, as the group of moms goes together and "rents" so many horses for an hour. We brought all of our bicycle helmets to share, so it was quicking to move kids on and off the horses. The kids had a blast and a couple even got to go at it w/o being led! Katie being one of them. :) Alex loved Chewy the pony! LOL!
Here's some of the fun:
Then on Wednesday was the soccer practice, which I posted on already. Yesterday I worked on Great Banquet bags most of the day. It's about that time again. :) They'll be here before we know it. Mike is going to the Promise Keepers conference over in Peoria, IL this afternoon and will be home late tomorrow night. So last night he pulled the seats out of the back of the van and for the first time in a LONG time did a deep clean on the van. It was really needing it! LOL! But anyway, he cleaned out the van as Meaghan and Alex played outside. They were playing as though they were driving, and while neither of us was aware it'd happened, but Meaghan told us later that she'd opened the door and Alex accidently fell off of Daddy's seat, thus skinning his nose. Last night it looked like he had dirt on his nose, today it's entirely different...
but he seems fine, so we aren't to worried about it. LOL!
Katie was at Grandma and Grandpa's for the evening. My she's growing up so fast. She'll be in 2nd grade this year and is getting so big and mature! We let her ride her bike to grandma and grandpa's on her own last night, I saw her off on our end and then they were waiting for her at thier house. Boy she thought she was big stuff. Here she is today, with that big grin:
Mike took off this morning and I'm a "single mom" until he gets back tomorrow night. It's supposed to be a really nice weekend, trying to figure out what to do with the kids tomorrow. :)
There were the good things though, so will try to talk about those. :)
For starters- Monday, Katie, Alex, and I hitched a ride with Stacie and Dylan, and we went to the Nature Valley Ranch and we all got to go Horseback riding. It's worked out well, as the group of moms goes together and "rents" so many horses for an hour. We brought all of our bicycle helmets to share, so it was quicking to move kids on and off the horses. The kids had a blast and a couple even got to go at it w/o being led! Katie being one of them. :) Alex loved Chewy the pony! LOL!
Here's some of the fun:
Then on Wednesday was the soccer practice, which I posted on already. Yesterday I worked on Great Banquet bags most of the day. It's about that time again. :) They'll be here before we know it. Mike is going to the Promise Keepers conference over in Peoria, IL this afternoon and will be home late tomorrow night. So last night he pulled the seats out of the back of the van and for the first time in a LONG time did a deep clean on the van. It was really needing it! LOL! But anyway, he cleaned out the van as Meaghan and Alex played outside. They were playing as though they were driving, and while neither of us was aware it'd happened, but Meaghan told us later that she'd opened the door and Alex accidently fell off of Daddy's seat, thus skinning his nose. Last night it looked like he had dirt on his nose, today it's entirely different...
but he seems fine, so we aren't to worried about it. LOL!
Katie was at Grandma and Grandpa's for the evening. My she's growing up so fast. She'll be in 2nd grade this year and is getting so big and mature! We let her ride her bike to grandma and grandpa's on her own last night, I saw her off on our end and then they were waiting for her at thier house. Boy she thought she was big stuff. Here she is today, with that big grin:
Mike took off this morning and I'm a "single mom" until he gets back tomorrow night. It's supposed to be a really nice weekend, trying to figure out what to do with the kids tomorrow. :)
Neighborhood Block Party
The last weekend of July- also known as "the other Race Weekend" around here, being in Central IN and the Brickyard crowd is around, we went to the 2nd annual neighborhood Block Party. :)
One of the neighbors is a former Fire Dept official, so he has the connections to the different departments, where he can get them to come out for the party and he was able to have the police dept, the fire dept, as well as a motorcyle officer, a squad car, and a bicycle officer to come and let the kids look at thier stuff and so forth. The police dept sets up a tent and does id kits for the kids and hands out coloring books and such for all. But I think the favorite for all the kids, especially mine who were in from the time it started to the time they turned the hose off, was the fire truck! They brought the truck with the ladder and put it up in the air and turned on the hose for the kids to play in the water. The dogs of the neighborhood got in on the action too! :) Of course there was grilled hot dogs and hamburgers and everyone brought a side dish. It was all in all just a lot of fun! :)
Katie had a pool party, so she ate and went over to that, but Meaghan was in the red swim suit and Alex had the super long Cars swim trunks on
Alex to the right, Meaghan and Honey in the background
Alex telling Bruce all about it!
Alex in mid air:
The truck and the guys, wrapping things up:
"LOOK MOM! Popsicle!!!!"
One of the neighbors is a former Fire Dept official, so he has the connections to the different departments, where he can get them to come out for the party and he was able to have the police dept, the fire dept, as well as a motorcyle officer, a squad car, and a bicycle officer to come and let the kids look at thier stuff and so forth. The police dept sets up a tent and does id kits for the kids and hands out coloring books and such for all. But I think the favorite for all the kids, especially mine who were in from the time it started to the time they turned the hose off, was the fire truck! They brought the truck with the ladder and put it up in the air and turned on the hose for the kids to play in the water. The dogs of the neighborhood got in on the action too! :) Of course there was grilled hot dogs and hamburgers and everyone brought a side dish. It was all in all just a lot of fun! :)
Katie had a pool party, so she ate and went over to that, but Meaghan was in the red swim suit and Alex had the super long Cars swim trunks on
Alex to the right, Meaghan and Honey in the background
Alex telling Bruce all about it!
Alex in mid air:
The truck and the guys, wrapping things up:
"LOOK MOM! Popsicle!!!!"
Hanging in there...
Well, I'm here, seems like barely these days though. The last few days have been busy, hard, and weird and all at the same time.
Soccer started on Wednesday for the kids, ALL 3 of them. LOL! Mike is coaching Meaghan and Alex on one team - U4's and Katie on her team - U8's. With Katie's birthday being so late and this being her 8th season to play, she's going to be really tearing the fields up this season. I'm really excited to see the games, as she's one of the oldest in the division, and Mike said she was just on fire at practice, as well as meshing well with the other kids that were there.
He had his first practice Wednesday night, which is also water aerobics night for Sue and I. So I was able to watch the u4's practice, but left with Sue at the end of that and didn't get to see how great the U8's practiced as Mike had said.
I left Honey at home, since Mike wouldn't be able to watch her at practice and didn't want to take her to the pool with me, as I hadn't in the past and wasn't a good spot to put her down where I knew she'd be safe and left alone. So I put her blanket down by her basket of toys and put her tie down on the TV cabinet where I knew it'd hold her if she did fight it. Took her outside to go potty before we left and when I gave her the command for inside she looked at me so confused. She didn't understand why I told her to go inside, when everyone else had loaded up in the van. But she was a good girl and did as I told her. I put her on the tie down and told her to stay, and she just looked at me with those eyes and I could just see the confusion in them. Though when I got home, I thought she was going to knock me down in happiness of seeing me though and all was fine, so she'd been a good girl. :)
To make things easier on Honey, we are going to go ahead and have Dan take her on Sunday afternoon. She doesn't understand why I'm not taking her with and such and every time I go to the door to go out the garage, she comes flying to my side wanting to go with. And now more than ever, she's coming to me to tell me she needs to go out instead of going out the doggie door we've been leaving open for her. I have been going out in the back yard with her though and not having her on leash and telling her to go busy, busy. She looks at me quizzical at first and then is like well OK, if you say so and then she'll wander on and go do her business.
I just need to gather up her toys, sleeping bag, blanket, and meds to send with her, as well as make up a list of the commands she knows so he can use them should he need to. Dan will be here Sunday afternoon, and hopefully while Alex is down for a nap. While we've been talking to him and saying that she's going to go stay with Grandpa Dan, he's not been all that receptive of the idea. I'm just hoping that if he hears it enough, he'll understand what's happening, so that when it does happen, it'll help him be OK with it. I don't think I can take what we went through when we had to give Chase, a dog we had when Katie was a little tyke, back to the rescue org we'd gotten him from. She screamed and cried as the lady put Chase in the car and it absolutely tore me apart, as if I'm not going to have a hard enough time with this turnover as it is. So please say some prayers for us to help us through this difficult day.
Moving to a more positive thing though, here are a few pictures from soccer practice:
Mike and Alex:
The kids kept picking up their balls with their hands, so Mike had them put their hands behind their backs. It was so cute, they looked like little ducks wadding along trying to follow him around the field. LOL! (Meaghan in the white shirt, blue shorts, red soccer socks and hair up)
Meaghan telling everyone which way to go:
Katie, talking to Jake- who was on her team last season, but is in the u10's this season.
Water break!!!
I also finally got the rest of the girls American Girl Doll dresses done after we got home from Disney...
And Katie FINALLY got her certificate from Children with Hair loss for donating her hair! She was ecstatic! We need to get it framed with the before and after photos, so she can hang in in her room. :)
And here's a couple of pictures of Honey being a silly puppy:
Okay, more to come....
Soccer started on Wednesday for the kids, ALL 3 of them. LOL! Mike is coaching Meaghan and Alex on one team - U4's and Katie on her team - U8's. With Katie's birthday being so late and this being her 8th season to play, she's going to be really tearing the fields up this season. I'm really excited to see the games, as she's one of the oldest in the division, and Mike said she was just on fire at practice, as well as meshing well with the other kids that were there.
He had his first practice Wednesday night, which is also water aerobics night for Sue and I. So I was able to watch the u4's practice, but left with Sue at the end of that and didn't get to see how great the U8's practiced as Mike had said.
I left Honey at home, since Mike wouldn't be able to watch her at practice and didn't want to take her to the pool with me, as I hadn't in the past and wasn't a good spot to put her down where I knew she'd be safe and left alone. So I put her blanket down by her basket of toys and put her tie down on the TV cabinet where I knew it'd hold her if she did fight it. Took her outside to go potty before we left and when I gave her the command for inside she looked at me so confused. She didn't understand why I told her to go inside, when everyone else had loaded up in the van. But she was a good girl and did as I told her. I put her on the tie down and told her to stay, and she just looked at me with those eyes and I could just see the confusion in them. Though when I got home, I thought she was going to knock me down in happiness of seeing me though and all was fine, so she'd been a good girl. :)
To make things easier on Honey, we are going to go ahead and have Dan take her on Sunday afternoon. She doesn't understand why I'm not taking her with and such and every time I go to the door to go out the garage, she comes flying to my side wanting to go with. And now more than ever, she's coming to me to tell me she needs to go out instead of going out the doggie door we've been leaving open for her. I have been going out in the back yard with her though and not having her on leash and telling her to go busy, busy. She looks at me quizzical at first and then is like well OK, if you say so and then she'll wander on and go do her business.
I just need to gather up her toys, sleeping bag, blanket, and meds to send with her, as well as make up a list of the commands she knows so he can use them should he need to. Dan will be here Sunday afternoon, and hopefully while Alex is down for a nap. While we've been talking to him and saying that she's going to go stay with Grandpa Dan, he's not been all that receptive of the idea. I'm just hoping that if he hears it enough, he'll understand what's happening, so that when it does happen, it'll help him be OK with it. I don't think I can take what we went through when we had to give Chase, a dog we had when Katie was a little tyke, back to the rescue org we'd gotten him from. She screamed and cried as the lady put Chase in the car and it absolutely tore me apart, as if I'm not going to have a hard enough time with this turnover as it is. So please say some prayers for us to help us through this difficult day.
Moving to a more positive thing though, here are a few pictures from soccer practice:
Mike and Alex:
The kids kept picking up their balls with their hands, so Mike had them put their hands behind their backs. It was so cute, they looked like little ducks wadding along trying to follow him around the field. LOL! (Meaghan in the white shirt, blue shorts, red soccer socks and hair up)
Meaghan telling everyone which way to go:
Katie, talking to Jake- who was on her team last season, but is in the u10's this season.
Water break!!!
I also finally got the rest of the girls American Girl Doll dresses done after we got home from Disney...
And Katie FINALLY got her certificate from Children with Hair loss for donating her hair! She was ecstatic! We need to get it framed with the before and after photos, so she can hang in in her room. :)
And here's a couple of pictures of Honey being a silly puppy:
Okay, more to come....
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Well it is now official... Honey is retired and I am dogless...
My trainer called and talking with with the head trainer, they think it's best to go ahead and retire her. They've asked me to send in the harness and my id card, and I'm on the list for a new match.
He asked if I'd be open to a combo or home placement and told him I was open to the combo training, so I'd have the uninterrupted time to truly bond with the dog. He said they had a big staff meeting today and as almost all the trainers know me from when I was there in January, they all know to be on the lookout for a dog for me. He did say though that he was really busy and it might take a while to find a match and get things scheduled. Hoping that it wont though.
So I'm dogless in the meantime. *sigh* Gosh the finality of things really hit me hard tonight, as I ran to our bedroom and cried and cried for a good while, until I cried myself to sleep for about an hour and a half.
We'll probably keep her here through the weekend, as Mike is gone for a Promise Keepers conference on Friday and Saturday over in IL, and then take her to Dan's on Sunday and she'll begin her newlife with him then. We'll see what we work out with everyone...
I did get some good news from Barbara and Libby last night though, seems to be the one positive of most of this week....
The little pup that is being sponsored by the Thomas', was whelped last week! :) So very soon, she (my understanding is it's a she) will be heading to Libby to begin her training!
He asked if I'd be open to a combo or home placement and told him I was open to the combo training, so I'd have the uninterrupted time to truly bond with the dog. He said they had a big staff meeting today and as almost all the trainers know me from when I was there in January, they all know to be on the lookout for a dog for me. He did say though that he was really busy and it might take a while to find a match and get things scheduled. Hoping that it wont though.
So I'm dogless in the meantime. *sigh* Gosh the finality of things really hit me hard tonight, as I ran to our bedroom and cried and cried for a good while, until I cried myself to sleep for about an hour and a half.
We'll probably keep her here through the weekend, as Mike is gone for a Promise Keepers conference on Friday and Saturday over in IL, and then take her to Dan's on Sunday and she'll begin her newlife with him then. We'll see what we work out with everyone...
I did get some good news from Barbara and Libby last night though, seems to be the one positive of most of this week....
The little pup that is being sponsored by the Thomas', was whelped last week! :) So very soon, she (my understanding is it's a she) will be heading to Libby to begin her training!
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Heartbreak....
With the trip to Disney, it's been pretty obvious that Honey is thoroughly stressed and fearful of Thunderstorms. Here in IN, we get LOTS of them unfortunately. Now while she's is such a awesome dog, her fears of T storms have come to a point that they are possibly becoming dangerous. *sigh*
Moreso, I'm seeing the signs of the stress on her as she's trying to do her job and keep herself together. It's just not good for her or for me, nor is it safe for either of us. So with some discussions with a trainer at GDF, we are seriously considering retiring Honey and seeing about being matched up to a new guide. It is not set in stone yet, but GDF will be getting back to me next week to come to a decision of where we go from here.
I'll be honest, I'm glad we don't have any real plans for the weekend. I really look aweful right now. My eyes are puffy, I have a migraine, and my vision even seems a little funky from all the crying I've done this afternoon. Gosh, you talk about pulling the heart strings like I've never known. Mike and I have talked about it this evening and we think we have a plan of action, but need to wait until the school gets back with us on this.
So until then, I'm going to try to keep myself busy and love on her, as the trainer told me to do. :)
I did take these pictures this afternoon, right before the trainer called. I'd planned on sending out a fun email, asking friends and family if they were ready for Colts/Pre-Season football to start up?
Honey is!
Moreso, I'm seeing the signs of the stress on her as she's trying to do her job and keep herself together. It's just not good for her or for me, nor is it safe for either of us. So with some discussions with a trainer at GDF, we are seriously considering retiring Honey and seeing about being matched up to a new guide. It is not set in stone yet, but GDF will be getting back to me next week to come to a decision of where we go from here.
I'll be honest, I'm glad we don't have any real plans for the weekend. I really look aweful right now. My eyes are puffy, I have a migraine, and my vision even seems a little funky from all the crying I've done this afternoon. Gosh, you talk about pulling the heart strings like I've never known. Mike and I have talked about it this evening and we think we have a plan of action, but need to wait until the school gets back with us on this.
So until then, I'm going to try to keep myself busy and love on her, as the trainer told me to do. :)
I did take these pictures this afternoon, right before the trainer called. I'd planned on sending out a fun email, asking friends and family if they were ready for Colts/Pre-Season football to start up?
Honey is!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
