Christmas

As I get older, Christmas just isn't what it used to be. The last few years have been quite disappointing, maybe because I am single and have to buy my own gifts or maybe because my kids don't seem to appreciate the presents they receive. It seems there is such anticipation and hype and then a huge let down. Is it because we are missing the point? Are we focusing on material things instead of a baby in a manger? Is it because there truly are people who don't know me and get me gifts that are a waste of their money?

Decorating the tree is a family affair. We all pitch in and get to put our own ornaments on the tree!

This Christmas was my holiday with the kids so I took the week off of work. The weekend before Christmas we went to Tulsa to see my aunt and uncle. It was nice to get away. We saw the Rhema Bible College lights, which are a must see. Went to the dollar theater and saw Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs, which was much enjoyed by both kids and adults. My aunt took the kids shopping for new shoes for Christmas and we got to eat at Zio's!

Wednesday we went to Fun City to play for the afternoon and then went to the Fayetteville square to see the lights. Thursday we saw Chipmunks, The Squeakquel and it was great! We also made a Happy Birthday Jesus cake, which has become a tradition with the kids and I. Josie decorated the cake all by herself this year. She was very creative and talented with the frosting tips!

We had a white Christmas this year, which was truly enjoyable! The only bad thing was that it delayed family, who were not able to come until Saturday. So we had Christmas 2 days in a row.

My kids had quite a few not so good moments throughout the week. They were mean to each other, disobedient and rude so they didn't get to open any presents (that I got them), on either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. And as it turned out (due to weather, already getting shoes from Aunt & Uncle and Papa Bud not getting them anything) they didn't get to open any presents. On top of that the kids went to their dad's and weren't there on Saturday to open presents from my sister, or dad and stepmom.

The kids got to open their presents about a week later and enjoyed them.

I think it was a good lesson for them or at least I hope so!

Thanksgiving 2009

My Grandpa Bud got a fryer and wanted to use it to make the Thanksgiving Turkey. It was quite the experiment and we learned that the less time you cook it the better. It was a little dry and Grandpa was very disappointed. For Christmas dinner he is going to try again!

Here is everyone checking out the fryer and waiting for the oil to reach the perfect temp.

This poor bird has no idea what it is in for!

Into the fryer it goes!

A little crispy!:)

Here is my poor dog, exhausted, after playing with 2 other dogs for many hours!

U of A Homecoming

Work gave me 2 free tickets for club seating to the U of A Homecoming game. I took my Grandpa Bud. We had a great time!

Here is the band during the halftime show.

Here's my Grandpa Bud and I!:)

Halloween 2009

The kids were with BJ for the holiday but the Wednesday before we went to St. Stevens' Fall Festival with our friends the Lunsfords.

Josie was a Rose Witch and Declan was a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.

Struggles

Josie has been struggling with Ezcema for about a year. We had been seeing a dermatologist that wasn't very helpful except to supply us with ointments. The ointments worked but the area around her lips and back of her legs was different then the ezcema spots elsewhere on her body. I took her for a second opinion and was pleased with this doctor. She suggested a patch test to see what Josie is allergic too and what is causing the spots on her mouth and back of her legs.

On Monday Josie's back looked like this....

She had an appointment on Wednesday to remove the patches, however, they wanted to wait a few more days to see if the reaction increased at all or if any other reactions occurred.

At this point she is allergic to Gluteral, which is in quite a few art & clearing products, including embalming fluid!:) She has another appointment on Monday to see if there have been any further reactions.

A Fall Day

Enjoyed a great fall activity. There is a local farm about 30 miles from us that does a corn maze, hayrides and lots of extras! The weather wasn't perfect, a little rain, but we still had a great time!

The Tire Swing

The Tire Swing

On the Hay Ride

The Cow Train

The Corn Maze

Jumping into the hay!

The Roller Slide

The Roller Slide

Inside the Hay Tunnel

At the Pumpkin Patch

Declan's 5th B-day!

Cannot fathom where time has gone! How can my baby boy be 5 years old! We celebrated with a party at Chuck E Cheese. He had a blast!

The Birthday King!

Crazy Crown Head (he much preferred to wear it this way)!

Waiting for Chuck E to make his appearance.

Getting crowned King!

Getting his medallion.

The Cake (all about Transformers these days).

Eeeeewwwww kisses from Mom!:)

Trauma

So the day after we brought Hope home we found her lethargic, unable to stand and her eyes rolling back into her head. The kids and I rushed her to the ER Vet, which is a good 30 minutes from my house (I think we made it in under 20) and they immediately took her back. Started having me sign paperwork and talking about whether I wanted to save her or not. So here I am bawling about this new puppy that I just got and trying to decide what to do. I told them to do what they needed to do. Both kids handled it all really well, much better then myself. I cried through most of the ordeal! After waiting for 2 hours and it being WAY past the kids' bedtime they told us that she was doing much better, had been in hypoglycemic shock but was actually eating some and being playful. They wanted to keep her overnight but we had to be back at 6:30 a.m. to take her to our regular vet (whom we hadn't med yet and had our first scheduled appt for 4 days out). After getting home around midnight and getting the kids up and on the road by 6 a.m. I was exhausted. We picked up Hope and took her to our regular vet. She ended up having 3 different types of parasites and some kind of stomach disease...no wonder she was so sick!

Here she is the day after the regular vet looked at her and gave us 3 different medicines to give her. You can see the pink bandage on her leg where they had the IV hooked up to her. They had to shave the hair on 2 of her legs, while she was at the ER Vet.

Here is Declan loving on her after getting her home from the vet.

Here is Declan cuddling with her. When I first showing him pictures of her online he said "I don't want her I want a different one because she is a girl and her name is Hope". However, now he adores her and can't get enough!

Here she is 2 weeks later, healthy & happy. Weighing in at about 2.5 lbs.

Hope

It is pretty lonely and quiet when the kids are with their dad so for the last few months I have been doing research and praying about getting a dog. I found a few I liked and one I was actually going to go look at and then as I was perusing the internet I came across a little black female Schnauzer named Hope. I instantly knew she was the one for me.

I went to meet Hope on a beautiful fall afternoon. She, her mom & siblings were rescued after their kennel was set on fire. She was terribly skinny, laid back, quiet and just wandered around. She seemed like she needed the most love and maybe we could sit and cuddle, when the kids were away.

The last 2 years I have spent surviving day to day but now I am thriving and hopeful and this sweet puppy was appropriately named just for me.

Hope on the evening of her adoption getting ready for her first bath. She probably only weighed about 2 lbs.

Looking like a drowned rat but very accepting of the bath.

Very glad to have her bath finished!