When words are few, pictures will do!

Someday soon I will post something really great. Until then, you get a lot of pictures. And mainly pictures of our little family.

What else would I take pictures of?!!?

*****

A giraffe. And chalk. A good combo, I'd say!

Patrick diligently shaved Piper on Saturday. Piper was so patient {for once!} and there was a lot of hair on this dog. But I'm glad it's gone. Better in the trash than on my floors. The only negative to this is that our dog looks like he has a crazy hair/skin disease.

Playing with a very large stick....I mean sword.

Can you see that face? It's intense and very boy like.

He. melts. my. heart.

There may not be too much room on my lap, but my legs will do just fine :)

I forgot to have Patrick take a picture of me and B on Mother's Day. I just don't like when that happens. BUT I did get these fantastic pictures of my boys!!!

Oh, this week...

You know those weeks. The ones where everything happens at once? Like it's raining and never going to stop? When you just can't seem to catch your breath before something else just topples onto you? Maybe that's a little dramatic (who, me?!). But it's been a long week already.

Benjamin had a fever over the weekend. No big deal. But his fever turned into my RSV (or upper respiratory infection...), which is still lingering and causing so much unwanted grief to my body. I didn't sleep more than three hours on Sunday night or Monday night. My body is just exhausted from coughing and sneezing and blowing my nose. My head is pounding. Ugh. Sickness! But today there has been a bit of relief, and that's more than welcomed around here.

On Saturday, Piper started acting funny. If you know our dog then you know he's insane and crazy active. But after playing in the yard for a bit, he came in and stopped moving. This issue got progressively worse and Piper wouldn't go outside (or anywhere). Patrick would have to carry him outside to go to the bathroom. It was so sad to watch him lay there. We took him to the vet yesterday.

Poor Piper. He had a temperature of 104 and all of this joints were swollen. The doctors had a few ideas as to the problem, but I won't know for sure until we pick him up today. The worst care scenario would be that it's his distemper coming back. He had, and survived, distemper as a puppy. Since it's neurological, well, there's not a whole lot you can do. He's doing better now, though. I called this morning to check on him.

And then last night, I was getting ready for bed and noticed that I was bleeding. When I was pregnant with Benjamin, I had a lot of random bleeding. Beta, though, hasn't caused us much problems (until now). It was enough blood to make us concerned. I called my midwife, who told me to go to the ER. So, off I went.

Patrick stayed home with B, but our friend Tony came over to watch him and Patrick eventually ended up at the hospital with me. We waited for an ultrasound tech to arrive and I thanked her over and over again for coming in so late (it was around 11:15pm). But even in all of this insanity, I wasn't worried. I wasn't scared.

As you know, this pregnancy has been so humbling and has revealed so much of my doubt and sin. I worry and fear and doubt and get upset and then I just cry. I leave God out of the whole equation. But last night, God did something in my heart that seems nothing short of a miracle. He must have healed my heart.

As Patrick and I prayed, as I drove to the ER, as I sat in the room alone...I was at peace. My heart was steadfast on God's Word. I kept thinking of 2 Timothy 1:7, "For God did not give you a spirit of fear, but of power and love and self-control." And of John 14:27, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. I do not give as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, nor let it be fearful."

I kept thinking of how many times the Lord has proved me wrong. I kept thinking of the opportunity He had given me, right then, to walk by faith and not by sight. And friends, walking by sight - tainted with blood and a little life inside of you -is so tempting. I couldn't walk away from God's power, His strength, His plan.

I know that the Lord is the giver of life and that He also takes away life. I know Beta is a gift - and not something I should ever, ever hold too tightly. I couldn't help but rest in the beauty of Who God was and what He's been teaching me over the last six months. I couldn't budge from the Lord's peace. You see, I am a firm believer in Romans 8:28. I believe that "God causes ALL things to work for the GOOD of those who love Him." (emphasis mine) I want more of the Lord more than anything else because He'll always give me what is best and for His glory.

And bleeding and going to the ER...and being sick...and Piper being sick...and being stuck inside for five days...is His best for me. And for His glory.

Beta was fine. He was moving and his little heart beat was strong. It was such a blessing to see our baby boy again! The doctor thinks that, aside from random bleeding in pregnancy, all of my violent coughing could have been the culprit. PLUS, the sweet doctor in the ER came in and said, with serious compassion, "Let me give you something for that cough." So, after a quick stop at the pharmacy I was in codeine heaven all. night. long!!!

Oh, my friends, is not the Lord a kind God? Is He not worthy of all praise and honor and glory? Are all these lessons He teaches us, even time and time again, not the most humbling and beautiful thing you could ever imagine? The Lord pursued me until I broke. He caught me when I fell. He carried me in my sin. And then, He showed me how to walk again - like He wants me to walk. In Him.

It's been a long week, indeed. But not without abundant blessing and joy overflowing.

Backyard fun

Benjamin loooooves going outside. In fact, if I even mention the word it's over. He will even repeat "ou-sa" outside until we go. The weather is pretty great here, for now, so I don't mind. Plus, we get to play with Piper.

Piper likes to lick and run over Benjamin. Benjamin hasn't quite got the hang of playing with Piper yet. B just likes to hold out sticks for him and tries to get into his mouth. Yuck.

Benjamin loves to eat sticks. I think this is gross. He does not, obviously, because he'll always find one and starting chewing.

He doesn't hold still for a picture very well anymore.
So most of them are of him not looking at the camera.


Sometimes he tries to grab the camera and I have to squeeze him in my legs to keep him at distance. Then I get cute shots like this:
Another stick.

He doesn't look happy at all about this picture. That is because he was not. But, I like it :)

One down...

Every year, Patrick and I celebrate Christmas a little early together. Since we're always traveling (hopefully this is our last year!!!!), we never get time just to ourselves to share presents and such. So since our first Christmas together, we spend an evening watching Christmas movies, opening presents, eating dinner and just enjoying one another.

Last night was "our Christmas night" and we had a lot of fun. We watched the movie, The Polar Express which was pretty good. I loved the book, so it was very fun to see the movie. We gave Piper a large bone (as is tradition, in hopes that he'll chew it for a long time and stay away as we open presents) and opened our presents. I love that we can laugh a lot and that we know each other well enough to buy things for each other without too much stress. (note the words "too much")

Here are some pictures from our evening...

SO excited about the fleece socks from LL Bean!
Thrilled to get a gift certificate for a pedicure and manicure! I was confused at first because Patrick stuck the envelope in a Cabela's catalog and wrapped the catalog. Tricky!
Finally, he gets to play with the GPS forever. If he had not found out about this gift, it would have been a little more fun to see his reaction. But I know he loves it!
Piper and the bone
Rain pants. I'm supporting Patrick's love of hunting. Thanks for the idea, Jason.
Piper was not amused with us...

At the end of present time...
Until the next celebration....

Just a few things to whine about...

*Yesterday, my jeans stopped being wonderfully comfortable. I could button them, but I couldn't do anything except lay flat on my bed if I wanted to be comfortable. They still fit great in my legs and butt, but my waist - not so much. I'm still working through this today and I'm trying to be excited about maternity clothes.

*I think that protesters are ignorant. If you don't like the Democrats or if you don't like the Republicans, blog about it. Seriously, some people in this country are so disrespectful. Just let the candidates give their speeches and let the people who support them have a good time. Please don't ruin it because you disagree.

*My dog cornered a baby squirrel today on a tree in our backyard. I was happily going about my morning with a loud squeaky noise outside. I thought Piper was trying to attack bird, because he does that sometimes, but when I looked outside the baby squirrel was paralyzed with fear and they were starring at each other. Despite great attempts at getting Piper to come inside (well, maybe not great, I wasn't about to go onto the porch or in the yard and get any closer), I gave up and squealed around the kitchen. I then sat on the stairs with my ears plugged so I couldn't hear the noise. Patrick was sleeping (because he was on the rig until 4 am...ugh!) and was not happy with any of us. Finally, he came down stairs and pulled Piper away from the baby, which was now on the ground because apparently Piper thought it was a toy or playmate. Piper barked and barked at it, hoping it would jump up and chase him and play fetch with him - I think. Patrick, my hero, put the baby in our tree (it was still alive) and Piper stayed inside the rest of the morning. And to update you on the status of the baby squirrel - it's gone. Hopefully in a recovery area for small animals attacked by stupid dogs.

*I don't think I should be consuming the amount of food that I am. I mean, I eat a lot. Eating for two consists of 200- 300 extra calories a day. Maybe I think I'm eating for four. We'll see how the weight gain thing works out.

Funny dog

I was cleaning up the kitchen and checking my email after breakfast this morning. The rainy morning has been wonderful! I decided to take a break and read for a minute. I walked into the living room and saw Piper laying on his bed like this:

I'm not sure if his nose was cold or if he was trying to snuggle with his favorite toy. He has chewed and attacked and snuggled the life out of this "teddy bear", but always come back to it.

Isn't our dog so precious? Well, at least while he's sleeping and snuggling...

And to top it off...

Piper got hurt on Monday. He was at the farm and we're not really sure what happened, but Piper has a huge gash in the pad of his paw. The cut is about a half inch long and you could see all the stuff inside that you're not suppose to ever see.

We called the vet and they said they can't do anything since a dog's paw pad won't hold stitches. So we were on our own. He wouldn't let us touch it for a bit, so I had to follow him around with a wet cloth and clean up his blood trail. I was really proud of myself for staying strong and not throwing up when I saw the cut (or the blood).

The first night was the worst and it took Patrick laying on him and me holding his leg and applying nepsporin and a bandage and a sock. We taped the sock on so he wouldn't lick his foot or try to eat the bandage. Therefore, he ate the tape. Dogs.

The next morning I was on my own and it was so frustrating and so hard to put a sock on this dog! You can't rationalize with a dog. You can't console a dog. You can't encourage a dog with your words. That's so difficult, especially in a situation where apply a (stupid!) sock is necessary. I think he was a little traumatized and he laid around most of the day with little to say or do (which was a pretty nice break).

Fast forward to that night. He did great, I think he was feeling better. With some apple slices for enticing and his head in Patrick's lap (he much prefers Patrick, so I get the shaft and the dirty work with the dog), we were done in a snap. Whew. All that to say that now, four days later, Piper is on the mend and isn't in need of sock replacement every four hours! He still has a limp, but is getting more adventurous and is starting to chase rabbits again.

This is the first sock. He wanted to be in the kitchen with us as we were destroying it. He is so patient with my picture taking. How sad. You can barely see the blue sock. He was laying his head on it.

Injured, but still able to protect. He would limp to the front door and then bark and limp back to his bed. A few times he was feeling brave and just laid down in front of the door.Oh, what a rough life. While we were moving the kitchen into the dining room, this is what Piper did...in the dining room. Conveniently, right in the way.

Piper...

Oh, my dog... He is hyper, he is Piper.

Today, I came home from the eye doctor (I have to wear glasses now...poop) and found that Piper, happily, got into some chocolate that was on the table. This dog loves sweets. As you may recall, he loves pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, butter, Hersey kisses and now, I find that he loves truffles and Hersey's miniature candy bars. Just another dog that has fallen into the "I don't get enough exercise in the winter" trap.

How is my dog not dead? I'm not sure. I think it's time Piper spends some time running around at the farm. I know my dog does a lot of stupid things, but I can't help but love him. He may get on my nerves or frustrate me, but he is such a good protector and always knows when I need a doggy kiss.

Piper is a good dog (despite his love for chocolate, but can you blame him?) and I love having him around. I love that he will bark and bark when we're home alone. Any noise is a threat to me and he's prepared to bark his head off at it. I love that if someone is at the door, he'll sit between me and the door - just in case :) Also, I love that he gets so excited to play with the laser...even though he chases it every night. So simple...

Here are some recent pictures of this cute little dog of ours:

Piper sleeping. My favorite way to spend time with him... :)
Piper and his friend Jocie. Piper had to come over and stand with me because he couldn't stand the fact that Jocie was sitting beside me and I was petting her.
This is how Piper reacts when we get to the farm. He knows exactly when we turn onto the gravel road and jumps up and whines and then tries to climb in between the seats, I guess for a better look.

My husband is a hunter...

That's how all of this began, really. Patrick really loves to hunt. I've not experienced much of "hunter Pat" until this year (for obvious reasons), but I've been prepared by my mom in law and Patrick of what to expect.

It wasn't the early mornings that got me. It wasn't the late hunting nights. It's not even been too bad washing all of the hunting clothes. There is one thing that I'm not too fond of : cutting up the meat.

Yes, Patrick shot a deer last weekend. He called me so excited and I, being a good and sincere wife, was very excited for him. It wasn't until I came home that I realized that this involved me more than I thought. Oh, you wonder what made me realize that? Right. I'm certain that it was the two huge garbage bags full of raw meat laying in my refrigerator. Patrick assured me, frequently, that I had the easier job. Uh-huh.

So, I did what any good wife-y would do... I called upon my experienced and gracious mom in law. :) She agreed to come over and help me out on Tuesday. So after some errands and lunch together, we got to it.

A few things about this ordeal:

1. It took 3 hours for both of us to cut up, clean and package all of this meat.

2. We figured we had at least $100 worth of meat.

3. Deer meat is not nearly as fatty as I thought it would be.

4. Sharp knives are really much better than dull ones.

Piper smelled the meat when we got started and tried desperately to include himself in the festivities. We had to toss him outside and listened to him bark and whine and bark and whine the entire time we were cutting. I took a few pieces of fat out to him (I do love him...this is proof.) hoping to calm him down. That didn't work (did I seriously think it would?). He barked louder and insisted on jumping up and clinging to the screen door so he could see us. He was so angry.

With all of that said, we got 4 london broil roasts, 2 dove roasts and 13 tenderloins. Not bad for one deer (and I should know from all of my deer cutting experiences). And certainly I didn't forget to take pictures...beware, there is raw meat in the following pictures :) Enjoy!

Carol and I cutting deer meat....

This stuff is rather sticky and my knife wasn't the best tool to remove it, I know, but it was dull...

Carol showing me how to start....

Do I look happy, or what?!

Piper was so angry. He sat right in front of the door (just like this) and barked. Well he sat there when he wasn't jumping, of course.

Ah, just another day in paradise...wouldn't you agree? I really do love the life the Lord has given me. Deer meat and barking dog included. What would this life be without some kind of daily adventure?

Autumn glory...

I am rich today with autumn's gold,

All that my covetous hands can hold...

Oh, who could find a dearth of bliss

With autumn glory such as this!

-Gladys Harp

On the farm...

Piper HATED the rake...I mean, seriously tried to eat it and barked incessantly at it the entire time I was raking...geeeeessshhh! But the leaves needed to be raked, so I made some fun of it with pictures galore!

Me in my pile of leaves (that Piper soon destroyed)...

My pile of leaves...

Piper playing in the leaves and happily carrying a stick, because sticks are one of his favorite things (from my perspective!)...

Mow, mow, mow the lawn

I really do not like, at all, mowing the lawn. Pacing back and forth with a dangerous, potentially hazardous toe cutter is not my idea of fun. But once I'm out there, I don't mind it too much. It's a good time to think and listen to music (if you remember to bring your iPod along) and it's also a good time to watch your dog bark insanely at the lawn mower.

Piper HATES the lawn mower. It's as if it's a vicious intruder. I suppose from his perspective, it may seem that way. He is fine and happy on the deck when I'm mowing the back portion of the yard. He may even let me stroll by once or twice on my way to the front yard, if I'm lucky. Once I get too close, too often he brings out his "I hate the lawn mower" attitude and tries to attack it. Seriously, he bites at the thing that the grass clippings come out of. I have to yell "HEY!" to get him to back off, only to watch him jump at the lawn mower after assessing the situation.

Bark, Bark, bite, growl, bark, growl, pounce.

Today, I turned off the lawn mower and let him bark at it for a bit without the loud noise. Didn't help. He only became more confident that he could take it down. I tried to pet him and let him know it was okay, but he could not be consoled. Finally, I blocked him onto the deck and told him it was better this way.

I was able to finish mowing the lawn without any doggie/mower incidents and was happy to be done so the dog would stop barking. Just another reason I'm looking forward to fall.

The end.

Getting ready

Patrick is leaving tomorrow for Houston and I leave on Monday for Chicago. I feel like there is so much to do before we leave. I'm pretty OCD about having a clean house when I leave (who loves coming home to a dirty home?!) and there are a few errands that need to be taken care of. Not to mention, we're buying a house.

This morning, at breakfast, Patrick said, "You know, this is really a bad time to buy a house." I laughed and told him that this was out of our hands and securely in God's. Although, I have the same feelings! So many people to call, inspections to be done, papers to sign. I'm glad we've done this before, so it's not all new.

I took Piper out to the farm yesterday. Frank and Carol are going to "watch" him while we're away. He really loves it out there. When he realizes where he is as we're driving out there, he'll start whining and barking. He loves running around and being with other dogs. I love when he's out there too! But today, I wanted him with me. I wanted to take him for a walk and play with him. I wanted him to follow me around while I was cleaning and packing. I wanted him to lay on the floor while I made lunch and then sneak beside me and look longingly at the food I made. I do love Piper. He makes my days much more fun and a lot less lonely.

I think it's funny how easy it is to pack for Patrick. A pair of jeans, a few shirts, socks, boxers and he's set. Not I. I must know what we'll be doing, what the weather will be like and what I should wear on the plane. Should I take jeans? Skirts? Will I need a long sleeve shirt? I didn't realize how high maintenance I was until I got married :)

Ah...well off to continue packing and clean the bathroom. I'm really, REALLY looking forward to the next few weeks of get-a-ways!

Piper turns 1!

That's right, my sweet little (or not so little) puppy turned one! Yesterday was Piper's birthday. We didn't do anything crazy, but I did buy him a few bones to munch on! It's so hard to believe that we've had him for 10 months. We got Piper when he was two months old and he was SO tiny!

He is now seven in dog years and weighs about 65 pounds! He is definitely a homebody and loves to be with Patrick and I. He probably won't get much bigger and that's okay. He protects me very well and I don't need a bigger dog! When Patrick is on the farm and Piper doesn't want to run with him anymore, Piper will go back to Patrick's truck and sit in the bed of his truck until Patrick comes back. Isn't that funny?

Looking back, it's been worth all the tears I cried because Piper completely threw off my schedule or the frustration of him barking and wanting to play when I had other things to do (how selfish am I?!). He really has been a great dog and honestly, I don't know what I would do without him.

I know you're not suppose to treat dogs like their part of your family, but Piper is part of our family. He has been my most consistent friend and playmate for the last several months. He is great at listening and loves to go for walks. I do love this puppy of ours!

Bath time

Last night, Patrick and I gave Piper a bath. He was in desperate need of one since he was on the farm all weekend. Somehow Piper can see a mud puddle from miles away and it's like a magnet. He always goes for the mud.

With Carol and Frank's dogs up on the farm too, Piper get even more muddy as they jump and play around. Not to mention, they stink. It's gross and I don't like the smell of muddy, dirty dog. So, we decided that last night would be a good time to make Piper clean.

Piper loves water. He loves lakes and ponds and even an empty bathtub. If I'm upstairs, he'll come and sit in the bathtub until I go downstairs. He likes it even more when I turn on the water and he can sit in the tub AND drink water. Could his life get any better? However, Piper does not like to be wet in the bathtub. He hates the shower and isn't fond of us holding him down to bathe him. How could he not like it? We're scratching him and petting him the whole time!

It was quite an event. Patrick standing over Piper in the tub, I'm on the floor scrubbing him and helping Patrick. Why didn't we take pictures? We were both soaked before we got half of Piper wet and it was quite traumatic (or Piper made it seem) that we were pouring water on him. There was dog hair EVERYWHERE. I was pulling it out of the tub by the handfuls. We then remembered that now is the time for Piper to shed his winter coat. I would like a non-shedding dog, please.

Finally we finished and let Piper shake around in the bathroom for a bit, until we let him free to run through the house. I must say, he is so shiny and soft. Sometimes I think, why don't we give Piper a bath more often...then I remember times like last night.

(PS- this is a fairly recent picture of Piper. Isn't he cute?)

A pillow for my puppy

I have been wanting to make Piper a pillow cover for a pillow I bought to put in his crate. So today, while Patrick was watching "Band of Brothers, disc 2", I happily made my way to my sewing machine! I figured that now was a great time to do my girly thing, so Patrick could get some man time in. War movies just don't excite me...but sewing does!

I bought this crazy striped fleece fabric several weeks ago (I figured Piper wouldn't mind that the sale section didn't have much of a variety!). I finally remembered to take it to the laundry mat with me yesterday. I over measured a bit, but that's ok. At least the pillow fits into the cover I made! I sewed the sides together and left the top open. Eventually, it will have buttons to hold it closed. Since I couldn't find my jar of buttons, safety pins are doing the job. The pillow is a bit small for Piper outside of his crate, but it fits perfectly inside his crate. He is getting so big and will probably outgrow his crate soon. He does look a little cramped in it! Especially with the pillow in there with him :)

When I finished it and introduced Piper to his new bedding, he attacked it and chewed it until I swatted him away. I got a few pictures of my new creation and Piper's first meeting with his pillow.

Over all, I would say it was a hit. If it doesn't work as a comfy pillow for my puppy...it will be a great chew toy (because that's what he thinks it is).