Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Valentines Felties

I'm still working on hand made toys for my Etsy Shop (our adoption fund-raiser) and I thought I'd share a few of my new creations.
 

 
They are all made from a combination of acrylic and wool blend felt and are completely hand sewn and designed by me.
 
 
 
They all have heart detailing. 
 
I'm also working on baby tag blankets and kid's fabric tool belts, but I'm using my sewing machine for them...I'll share pics soon.
 

Monday, January 21, 2013

Daddy Day

 
 
 
 
 
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John has been working a lot lately and this Sat. we decided to just go to him to get some "Daddy Time". We had lunch together at the hangar and the boys played on their scooters and we even took some fun pictures.
 
 

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Luke Turns Nine

 
Our precious Luke turned nine recently and had friends over for a gingerbread house decorating party/B day party.
 
 
 
 
I love to see what the kids come up with! So cute!
 
 

Monday, January 14, 2013

Puppy!

 
 
We have had a really tough year of losing beloved dogs.
We've recently committed to adopting a puppy and are looking forward to all the silly cuteness he will bring to our home, because you know, you can never have enough cuteness & silliness! Of course!
 
The above picture is the Mama.
Puppies due Feb. 1.
 

 
This is the Papa.
 
Both parent dogs are healthy, with good temperaments and OFA cert. hips. The Daddy dog is actually OFA excellent, which is a big deal in large breed dogs.
 
I am hoping this pup will be suitable to work with me towards a CGC (Canine Good Citizen) and TDI (Therapy Dog Intl.) so we can do therapy work together - something I am passionate about and have done before. So, we will be busy - we like our pups to meet 100 people and experience all kinds of social settings in the first year, to learn that the world and people are wonderful. That way (we hope!) we end up with a dog that is comfortable accompanying us everywhere we want to go.
 
 

Saturday, January 12, 2013

A Little Behind...

Lots has been happening lately but I am way behind with my blogging due to a lot of computer problems. Right now I can post everything but pics. so I'm just going to attempt a brief, point by point update.
 
 
*We welcomed in the New Year just us five. 2012 was a tough year for us and we are hoping for better things to come. We are continuing to try to move towards doing another adoption and continue to hit road blocks. We keep moving forward anyway...just a bit more slowly than we'd prefer.
 
*Our beloved senior Boxer, Jake, continued to fail health-wise. We said our tearful last good-byes to him in early January. Even our wonderful vet cried. We knew it was the right thing for our sweet old fellow but we have all missed him so much! We are down to one dog now & the house feels empty!
 
*I decided to take on a long-term, pet-sitting contract. We will have two large, older dogs staying with us for 6 months while their Mama works in Africa. Hello, full house again!
 
*We got back to home schooling after a good Christmas break.
Co-op, group classes, new zoo membership, PE class, kid's science museums and Luke's soccer practice keep us hopping.
 
*I am still getting 4 allergy shots each week. Hoping for healing!
 
*I am back on the treadmill 3-4 times/week and feel good about that.
 
*John and the boys are taking down an old barn and have cool plans to re-build part of it into a really, really neat club house for our back yard.
 
*God has been good, is good and we know He will be here in the future too. We look forward to what happens next...

Friday, January 4, 2013

Christmas


We kept Christmas low key again this year. It really seems to help keep the boys from becoming over-excited (and cranky!) and allows us all to enjoy our time together. 


 
 
Mark's favorite gift this year was an aquarium kit.
 I love the expression John captured here.


 
We all went to a kid's science museum on another day.


 
 
Hikes are always a fave for us.



 
Juneau came too, carrying her pack. It helps give her a better mental and physical work out and I recommend it for dogs with excess energy/problems focusing.