Dogs getting to know each other

Griffy is the Chocolate Lab and Lady a Cocker Spaniel.  It's hard to see the size difference, but Lady is so short that she can walk underneath Griffy.

Melany was trying to teach Lady to lay down, using griffy as an example.  Lady didn't get it.

Here is a good picture that shows the size difference.

Lady protecting the money!

It wasn't very sunny, so the picture is darker than you'd expect, but Lady being black stands out nicely.

Here Lady is racing through the house with the girls.  I tried to get Griffy adn Lady together chasing the girls, but the view from behind wasn't pleasant.

Christmas

We had a great Christmas!  It started on Christmas Eve morning.  We opened gifts from Patty who is wonderful woman that Jason works with.  She was so generous and sweet!    We really appreciated the gifts! 

Then we went to Jason's cousin's house for Christmas Eve dinner and family get together.  Ben came along and it was nice to be with the family.  There was also the annual visit from Santa, and I got a picture of each of the kids on Santa's lap.

It's a tradition to sing a song while on santa's lap, you can't get a gift without you song.  All the kids chose songs that were typical, Frosty the snowman, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, and Jingle Bells, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Jingle Bell Rock.  Excpet Madison, who wanted to sing, (to the tune of Jingle Bells) Dashing thru the snow with a pair of broken ski's,

o'er the hills we go smahing into trees,

the snow is turning red, I think I'm almost dead,

I woke up in the hospital with stitches in my head!

No one appreciated it, but J and I thought it was fun!

The Christmas Tree all lit up! It's so beautiful!  TJ and Coe go all out making the Holiday special for everyone!  They decorated the entire house and tree, just to have to take it down in two days!  They are leaving for Florida three days after Christmas, so they have 2 days to get it all cleared up and put away!

There were many smaller gifts this year.  So this picture is a little deceiving.  And some gifts were too large to be put on the floor infront of the tree. 

Here is some of the after math!  Paper packaging and toys everywhere!  And that's after throwing away one entire garbage bag of paper!  And not a small 14 gallon kitchen bag, an outdoor 50 gallon bag!

Taylor and Melany were playing with Bailey's Barbie dolls.  Taylor is 13 1/2 and Melany is 15!  As soon as they saw me Taylor covered her head and Melany threw the doll aside!  I promised them I'd post this image for them. 

Trimming the Tree, and the Dog?

 We went to Meme and Pepe's for Christmas tree trimming and while doing that we ended up trimming the dog as well!  Taylor hates her picture taken, but if I get the dog and a tiny bit of her she doens't mind so much!    Meme and Pepe have two trees, the small one which is fiberoptic, and in the image below.  And the real tree which I didn't get a picture of, because we kinda forgot the tinsel!  So we had to take everything down and start all over again!  That's okay, we had a great time anyway!

Lady with her Bling!











And this last image is a picture of what Ben is always doing to the kids!  He plays with them and usually not too rough.  Today Jordan ended up in a laundry basket.  You can tell by the smile on her face that she isn't bothered by her situation.

We Got A New Puppy

So this is a bit of a story, I'll try to make it short.

My friend was pressured into buying a dog she wan't so sure that she could afford.  But she did it anyway.  And now it's been 10 months and she just can't afford it anymore.  She asked me if I knew someone who'd be willing to watch her for a while until she gets a new apartment.  The apartment she is moving into doesn't allow pets.  So after a long time, a few months, of considering and trying to find someone else to take the dog, we finally decided to take her.  Neither J nor I really wanted her at first.  But I prayed about it and I got the answer that it would be best if we did.  I wasn't as objectionable to getting her as compared to J who didn't want her.  And when he prayed about it his said to Heavenly Father, "I don't want the dog, but if we should taker her let me know."  Well, we know his answer. 

So the dogs name was Lovey.  Because she has a wonky heart shape on her chin.  But according to everything I've read you should change the name when you get a new dog.  So we did, but we kept it close for my friends kids sake.  Her new name is Lady.  Like Lady and the Tramp.  As you can see from the picture she is a cocker spaniel.  She is a sweet little thing and she is very smart.  She sits and stays, fetches and comes on command.  The only issue we have is potty training, but that is because she didn't form good habits with her previous owners.  She was sometimes allowed to potty in the house.  Puppy pads should be out lawed!  LOL 

This is lady the day she got back from the groomer.  She was matted pretty bad, it took the groomer 3 hours to get all the mats off her.  Mostly it was her ears.  They went from these HUGE, HEAVY ears to the typical floppy ears of a cocker.A few days later you can see her face better in this image.

So Cute!

Christmas

It's the most wonderful time of the year!  How true that song is!  I love Christmas.  I love the smell of a fresh cut tree and the joyous songs on the radio.  I love to listen to Christmas music even in July!  How lovely is it to have peace and love around all the time.  Ah, I wish the Christmas Spirit would last all year round.

This year I have noticed a lot more rudeness than usual.  Yes, I went shopping on black friday, but that's not what I meant. ;)  Mostly it is drivers.  People honking because the person in front of them didn't use their blinker when turning.  Though I'm sure they didn't use their's at their last turn.  I'm not letting it get to me.  I am going to put into Christmas what I want to get out of it.  And I think people forget that.  I think they concentrate on the shopping and the bad drivers and the lack of money, instead of the real reason for the season.  Which is living and loving in a Christ like way. 

My Christmas Prayer this year is for peace and joy not just through out the world, but through out my family and through out myself.  I will put very little money into Christmas this year, I want to put memories into it instead.  I want my kids to remember Christmas as a time for family and not gifts.  I want them to cherish the love they have as a family and not worry about how many gifts they are getting. 

We are sending a care package to my brother in Iraq.  We will be sending all sorts of games and treats.  I think the soldiers in his unit will be greatful.  We take for granted that things like candy canes aren't sold in the middle east.  I'm also sending hot chocolate, though, I don't think they will need it the way we do in New England!  But it should bring them the memories of Christmas day.

I don't have any pictures to post.  I'm trying to think of what I could post for an image, and to be honest, we are saving every dime, so we aren't putting up lights or a tree this year.  I have a nice picture of the neighbors yard after the snow.  It's only the 2" we got on Sunday, not the 6" we got on Wednesday.

I took this just before I got into the car to head to church.