Life with an Elderly Dog

Our Sasha is an old girl who came to us via our son Chris who got her from a lady who could not keep her who got her from someone else and the list goes on.  As far as we know, we are either her 5th or 6th owner.  From what we understand and can see by her behavior, she was abused pretty badly at some point in her life and has the emotional and physical scars to prove it.  Sasha has been with us for about 4 years now and according to her previous owner, this would make her about 10 or 11 years old.  That is old for a purebred White German Shepard. 

Sasha is showing her age and has come to a point in her life where she is having major digestive issues.  We have taken her to the vet and were told that she most likely has a digestive disorder that even to test for runs in the hundreds of dollars and then she would have to be on a special diet and possibly meds.  Most people just put their dogs down when they hear this because it is so expensive to do all of this.  Our vet told us to just treat her as if she does have the disease and we changed her diet to one of those expensive grain free high quality dog foods.  That worked for a bit but then she got bad again and her body would not tolerate it.  We thought we were going to lose her and I switched her to a diet of cooked chicken, homemade chicken broth, brown and white rice and pumpkin along with multivitamins for senior dogs, digestive enzymes and glucoensure to help balance out her blood sugar levels.  She has 3 meals a day, just like we do, to keep food in her system so that she gets her nutritional needs met.  She has started to gain some weight back.  A few days ago she ate a pencil, a pen and some crayons...this is a new bad behavior for her.  It really threw her system into a tizzy and we are now dealing with that.  Poor girl is not feeling well.  Any little thing that she eats can throw her system off, let alone the above.  Her eyesight is also not the best anymore and I find her bumping into me more often.

We know her time with us is limited and each day is a blessing.  She has been the most loving dog and companion to us and brings us such great joy.  She has more personality than most of our previous dogs and is smart too.  Most days she is still energetic for at least part of the day and loves to play, go for walks and cuddle with us, but she is slowing down.  My husband and I have discussed it and as long as she is happy, not in pain and has many more good days than bad, we will keep her with us but we know the day is approaching where we will have to make the decision to say goodbye to our beloved old girl...I dread that day.  I have had to say goodbye to other fur babies and it breaks my heart but I know she will be the hardest one to let go.  I love this old girl and when she is gone it will leave a huge whole in our lives and hearts.

Bradley and G-pa!

 When Bradley first met G-pa, G-pa had a cold and was wearing a mask when he held him. "Hey everybody, G-pa has a nose!" "Mommy, what is that thing under his nose that keeps tickling me when he gives me a kiss?".

 G-pa is thrilled to have some time with his grandson since everyone else was "hogging" him, especially Tutu who could not get enough of her great grandson. ;)

 G-pa is toast...this kid could have asked for anything at that moment and G-pa would have made sure he got it. :D  Good thing he can't talk yet or we would all be in trouble. ;)

I'm convinced that G-pa is telling Bradley all about the cool things they are going to build together including a tree house!  I'm sure G-pa is already on the look out for little child sized tools for him.

Storms in our Lives

Sometimes our lives feel like those violent storms that hit at night.  We are enjoying the soothing and quiet darkness and slowly drifting off and relaxing when lightening rips through the sky quickly followed by deafening thunder and howling winds.

Things finally start to settle down a bit and you think the storm is moving off and away....

And then suddenly, the next round hits and you are momentarily blinded the lightening and feel the roar of the thunder rattle you to your core. You wonder why the storms keep coming, one on top of another.

It can throw you  into a panic and tire you out as you try to get some rest while the flashing of the lightening and the booming of the thunder keep interrupting your sleep and you fear the damage is being done.

The constant storms can wear you down and make everything appear hazy, so much so that you question your own judgement at times.

It is then you remember to Praise HIM in the Storm, bringing some peace into your life and into your soul once more.

And although the storm may rage on, you can feel secure in knowing that He is with you, every step of the way.

No matter how bad the storm gets, He is there, surrounding you with His peace and His comfort.

And we can safely rest in knowing that everything seems the darkest right before the dawn.  Thank you Lord for always being there for us and being our shelter and strong tower in the storms of life.

The Big Crash

I have a history of migraines going way back to when I was a child.  Over the years they have gotten to be less often and not last as long but they still happen.  I can almost always count on having one after a period of high stress.  As soon as my body begins to relax, IT hits.  Today was they day.  It started out with the optical problems that make my vision go wonky and then progressed to that horrible pain that makes you want to lock yourself in a cool dark room and you seriously consider hurting anyone who disturbs you.  


Today it took 2 cups of coffee, 2 extra strength Bayer aspirin, hot tubbing and 3 hours to get it to the point where I only have a slight headache and can finally see straight again.  I am thankful that it has lessened and I expect I have more of these to look forward to since we still have some more stressful times ahead of us.

Introducing the newest Mr. and Mrs.! Joshua and Jessica!

Jessica and Josh saying their vows with Judge Judge (yes, Judge is his last name :) )

Exchanging of the rings

First kiss as a married couple :)

Mr. and Mrs. !

Nana (witness) Jessica, Judge Judge, Josh and Jaysn (witness)

Our happily growing family, Grandpa (Fred), Heather, Chris, Jessica, Josh, Jeff, myself, Tutu (Lynn) in front: Bradley and Jaysn

Bradly slept through it all, the ceremony and the dinner afterwards :)

We are so happy to have another wonderful daughter in our family and want to wish the happy couple all the very best that life has to offer.  We love you Josh and Jess!

They had Me at Hello!

Years ago, I fell in love with a wallet.  It was a beautiful leather wallet that I saw in a boutique in Bigfork, Montana but the price tag was way out of my reach (we are talking in the low $130 range).  I looked really closely at the wallet and made a mental note of the brand Brighton and hoped that one day I would be able to get one at a great price.  

I had also dreamed one day of being able to have a big hand woven basket with leather handles to take to the Farmer's Market during the Summer and load it up with great fresh produce.  Upon pricing those, again, sad to say, out of my price range.

Today, on a whim, I stopped in at the Goodwill.  I thought I would look for a special swaddling blanket that Chris and Heather had asked me to keep an eye out for.  I looked through the baby stuff but could not find one.  I thought I'd skim through the sweaters and see if I could find a certain gray sweater that I was looking for and there, on the top of the rack, was a pile of wallets.  Most of them were cheaply made and there was even a fake Prada there but buried under them was a jewel!  Could it be?  A Brighton leather wallet that was just the size that I was looking for to replace my wallet?

My heart skipped a beat as I examined her and determined that she was the real deal!  She is amazingly well made with quality leather that holds up over time.  Dare I look at the price?  $2.99 !!!  SOLD!!!!  Oh happy day! :)

As I was tightly clutching my treasured find I thought I would check out another area of the store and ran across some huge bins they had just brought out with merchandise to shelve.  Peaking out of one of the big bins were some leather handles.  That got my curiosity just stirring like mad and I had to investigate.  Oh my...before anyone else could get near that item, I snatched it up!  A big hand woven market type basket with leather handles, exactly what I had been wanting for at least 10 years now.  She is a beauty with lots and lots of room to load with great fruit, veggies and flowers  from the Farmer's Market or take to the beach and put all my "stuff" in. :)  This beauty cost me a whopping $3.99!  Woohoo!!!

Patience and prayer paid off in big way for me.  I am so thankful I waited and did not pay full price for either of these items.  Yep, they had me at Hello!

The Humblest of Ingredients = Deliciousness!

I am always amazed that the humblest of ingredients: plain yogurt, lemon juice, water, butter, sugar, salt, yeast and flour, when mixed together, left to rise and then baked produce-------------->

a perfectly delicious loaf of sourdough bread to be enjoyed with butter or made into mouthwatering sandwiches.



 Recipe:
 Combine:
1/2 c. plain yogurt
2 T. butter
3/4 c. water
1T. lemon juice
1T. yeast
1T. sugar
1 1/2 t. salt
3 1/4 c. flour

Set your breadmaker setting for French bread. You may have to add a bit more flour or water during the kneading process depending on how "dry" your flour is.

Easy recipe and so good!