Being prepared ...

Yesterday, there was a pretty devastating tornado in Joplin, MO. They said on the news that it was the worst deadliest tornado storm in 60 years. And so far this year - we have had 1000 tornadoes as opposed to the average of 500 we typically have by now. Unfortunately, tornado season isn't over and they are predicting more deadly tornadoes this season.

We have more storms tonight and even worse coming tomorrow night. Once I watched the coverage on TV about Joplin and got the stats - I knew I had to prepare the boys. If, there is a way to be prepared. I just didn't want us to have an emergency and have to take cover from a Tornado and everyone be freaking out. After all, we have 5 family members and 3 dogs. And everyone has to be safe!

After dinner, I decided to do a practice run through. I talked to the boys and told them the plan. Ben, of course, acted silly. And was worried about saving his series of "How to Train a Dragon" books. Only Ben : ) Will, was worried, interested and wanted to listen. And as always, Andy followed Will's lead.

After looking in the attic, to verify that the air conditioner wasn't over the boys bathroom (wouldn't want that falling on us) - we determined it was the safest spot. So, the boys and dogs piled in the bathtub. Ralf was freaked out by the storms, he was happy to get close and cuddle. Teddy was in the bathtub, but jumped out. And Kuma was laying on the floor next to the bathtub.

Will, Andy, Ben and Ralf

I don't know what it would be like if (God forbid) an actual tornado did hit (and I pray I never do). But I assume, we would get a mattress to lay on top of us all and protect from the glass mirror in the bathroom. Get the dogs on leashes. And have the boys and dogs get in the bathtub. And then, I'm sure - David and I would be laying on top of the boys and the dogs.

I was in a couple of tornadoes when I was younger. One I remember specifically - ripped the roof off of our mobile home and crumbled it in the neighbors house behind ours. The good thing is that I didn't realize what had happened - I woke up to water leaking on me. (I should ask Misty if she remembers that. She remembers everything : )

David asked me tonight what I would want to save in an emergency (tornado, fire, etc.)? It didn't take me long to know. I love my worldly possessions, but all I would worry about is my husband, my 3 sons, my 3 dogs, my wedding ring and my external hard drive. All of my boys pictures from their entire life is on my external drive and therefore makes it the most important worldly possession that I own. Of course, other important practical things would be purse, wallet, keys to car, shoes, cell phone.

I don't think there's a way to fully be prepared. You can never be prepared for the devastation that the residents of Joplin, MO are living through right now. But if I can enlighten my boys to where they at least know the steps we will take in case of a natural disaster - then I think we have better chances with a good outcome.

Family!

Life has been a little bit crazy for us lately. It just seems we are always running and always going. With 3 kids and 3 dogs, my time is limited. I don't get to accomplish and do as much as I would like and everything is so rush, rush, and hectic most of the time.

I can seldom get my boys to sit still long enough for me to take a photo of them individually - much less all together. But sometimes when all the stars are aligned - I can get the family together for a group picture and half way get them to cooperate. And here's proof of that : )

Teddy, David, Me, Ralf, Ben, Andy, Will & Kuma

Oh, and I am really happy in this photo. Even though I've had my braces on for 2 years now - I'm still a little awkard w/smiling, so sometimes I smile w/o showing them : )

It's official! We've added another member to our family!

A few months ago - we had a sweet, little dog wander up to our house. He's a 3 year old, Shih Tzu/Terrier Mix. He was in pretty bad shape. His hair was really overgrown and completely matted. He had mats on his ankles so bad, it looked like he had 4 ankles. His tail was so matted, it was bent over and sealed w/a mat.

But even with that and being in that condition - he was perfectly sweet and gentle. It's almost like someone took the time to train him and maybe even loved him once and then dumped him.

Here is "Ralf" (affectionately named by my boys)

His hair is so long, he couldn't see : (

I wasn't sure what I was going to do w/him. As I already have Kuma and Teddy (our new 7 month old, Airedale). I sent his photo out to my lifeline (for animals) and a rescue group contacted me. Take Me Home Pet Rescue - who I would soon learn were the greatest people on earth. They offered to take care of "Ralf" if I could foster him.

I also had a groomer offer to groom him and clean him up. She groomed him as much as she could. But the mats were so bad, he tried to bite, and was not happy. She said he would probably have to be sedated to be groomed. Poor lil' guy. But I definitely think he looks better. Don't you?

Take Me Home Pet Rescue then stepped in and has really taken care of him. He was heartworm positive and not neutered. So they have taken care of all of that for him. They micro-chipped him and caught him up on vaccines. They shaved him completely. They weren't able to save any of the Shih Tzu traits b/c the mats were so bad. They have loved him and cared for him. I am so overwhelmed by the heart of this Rescue Group. Elise, Kristi and the people at the rescue are amazing, amazing people.

Here he is after all the love from TMHPR and Breckenridge Animal Hospital.

So thankful for them and their love for animals. They saved his life!

Isn't he handsome?

We went back and forth on whether we could handle another dog. Afterall, we just adopted Teddy (our Airedale) 3 months ago. But you know, Teddy is the only dog (animal) that I have picked in my life b/c of a particular breed or characteristic that I wanted. Every other animal has found and picked me. And that's exactly what Ralf has done. He loves me. Seriously ..... he LOVES me! He's the sweetest lap dog with the biggest personality. We feel lucky that Ralf has chosen us. Teddy and Kuma love him - which is a huge bonus. Ralf has really helped w/the chaos in our house. He and Teddy LOVE each other. They play non-stop. Which really helps w/the puppy energy (my friend and director of the Ark, Laurie Wilder, you were totally right). And since Teddy pestered the crap out of Kuma. She is very thankful to have someone take all the attention off of her.

After a few months of vet visits, and keeping him rested and allowing him to recover - we have decided to adopt him. He has made a permanent place in our home and our hearts.

It's been almost 2 months now, and he's doing so great. His hair has grown back in - a little curly. So cute! He's adjusting well and is so happy. He's figured out Teddy and when to avoid him : ) He's not a real big fan of the kids - but tolerates them. I often wonder if he was abused by children :(  He loves David, A LOT! He usually sits underneath his desk while he's working. He's especially under his desk, if there's a storm - b/c he is terrified of storms.

David's feet and Ralf : )

Ralf slept in a crate for about the first month, and then we decided to take him out. He did fine w/the crate, but he's trustworthy, and enjoys sleeping in different places around the house. Sometimes it's under my bed, on a doggie bed in my room, under Ben's bed, and sometimes .....

it's on a doggie bed in Will's room

We are definitely full now w/three dogs, and three kids - but we are complete! We are thankful for Ralf and what he has added to the dynamic of our family.

Thank you to TMHPR and Breckenridge Animal Hospital. You are the true meaning of love and sacrifice. Thank you for saving Ralf and giving him a chance at life with us.

Update: January 1, 2012

Ralf is still doing amazing! He has adapted well to his new home.

• He still favors David. Ralf literally lays on his bed in David's office all day while he works. If he leaves to go to the kitchen, make coffee, go to the bathroom - Ralf is under his feet. He doesn't really like weekends or holidays b/c it throws his routine off.
• He loves LOVES getting a bath. He sits and lets me bathe him, and then as soon as I put him down on the ground - he zooms all over the house. It's like he's so proud and happy to be clean. It's the cutest thing!
• He loves toys. And he thinks if anyone (dogs, kids, humans) has a toy - he should have it. He will chase you down until you give in and give it to him - and everyone usually does.
• He's still terrified of storms. I have never met a dog as sensitive as him. He knows the day before they come. He senses it, and typically gets even closer to David or I.
• He tries to avoid Teddy. Teddy is still a puppy and quite annoying. Sometimes (on his terms) - he will play w/Teddy. But only on his terms : )
• Kuma's an old lady. He loves her ; )
• He loves to go for a walk. He has a lot of energy.
• He also loves to dart out the door if it gets opened. And he RUNS, and RUNS, and RUNS! We have to chase him, and chase him and chase him. Usually he slows down to potty and we grab him. (I would welcome tips on how to get him not to do this? It's not often. Maybe once a month - but I would like to stop him from doing this.)
• He sleeps in a crate at night, which he loves. We leave the door open. And he goes in when he's ready for bed. Usually he's in bed long before everyone else. And he wakes up when we all do. He's like the perfect child : )

We are so thankful for Ralf. He's the greatest dog. I'm just sad we missed the first 3 years of his life. But we can promise that the rest of his life he will be loved and well cared for.

Thank you again TMHPR! You are our angels!

Happy Mother's Day to me!

I had the best day yesterday! David and the boys really took care of me and pampered me all day.

Here's how my day went ....

• I slept in - which was FAB-U-LOUS!
• Then I woke up to this .....

Someone TP'd our house. Luckily there wasn't too much of it, so didn't take long to clean up. David and I were confused. We don't quite understand - as our kids aren't the age for this. My only thought is that the kids think I am the coolest mom on the street (they really do : ) and they wanted to give me a Mother's Day present. Ha!

I've asked some teenagers and they say different things as to why this happens. So I will draw my own conclusion that they wanted to surprise me for Mother's Day!

• After I dealt w/our house being TP'ed - I had some beautiful gifts from my boys. David got me some jewerly from Brighton (w/my help : ) The boys made me cards and Andy made me a plant at school. It was really sweet : )

• I met my mom at Starbucks for Coffee. I wanted to see her and give her her Mother's Day gifts. I got her a cross necklace from Brighton : ) I also got her a pair of sandals for Church, and a gift card to Starbucks (she loves to go on her way to Church sometimes). 

We had a good time together. I am so blessed with the greatest role model for a mother. I love her dearly and am truly thankful everyday for such an incredible woman. I love you mom!

• After coffee, I came home and hung out w/my boys a bit
• Then, I left and had a little me time. I went to Stonebriar Mall and walked around. It was great. Hadn't been there in forever.
• Left the mall and went to Sam's to get food for the evening.
• Came home and had dinner w/the family.
• Put the boys to bed and watched a movie w/my guy.
• Then caught up on some of my shows and went to bed late.

It was a great, great Mother's Day! I am one lucky girl! Thank you boys for making this day so special for me. I love you to the moon and back : )

Oh .... and it really helped that the weather was awesome ....

Happy Mother's Day to my sweet, sweet mother-n-law, whom I am thankful everyday for and whom I love dearly; to my mother and all my mom friends! I hope your day was as great as mine!

Happy Mutti Day!

Photo taken June 2009

Mutti,

Thank you for being the greatest mommy! Thank you for always loving and supporting me. I am lucky to have you!

Happy Mutti Day, Mommy!

I love you!
David

A victory for the USA!

Tonight - Osama bin Laden was killed. This is a great day for the US and the families of the victims of 9/11. I know they must feel peace and a sense of justice.

Great job to our military and President Obama! God Bless you!

The Royal Wedding

How many of you (like me), have been waiting for this? I think I set my DVR a month ago to see The Royal Wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton. I guess all of the talk about it and the excitement has really gotten me into it. It's a fairytale. I set my DVR to record it, because it aired from 3am-9am. And although I wanted to see it, I didn't want to see it at 3am. I do love my sleep :)

The important part of this wedding is that it's a part of our history. This probably won't happen for another 30 years. Prince William is in line to be King of England, and then after him would be his heir - if he & Kate should have a boy.

I watched the entire thing - all 6 hours. Not all at once - but all in one day. I loved the coverage of all the pre-wedding stuff. It was great.

I thought the wedding was really beautiful and classy. I couldn't believe how calm Kate looked. It was like she was so happy to be marrying the man of her dreams and nothing else mattered. And as if she was getting married in front of 50 people instead of the entire world - such as it was. She seemed really, really happy.

We know for us girls, it's about the dress, right?. Didn't you love Kate's? I thought it was beautiful and fit her perfectly. It was timeless.

I loved when Prince Harry and Prince William were driving in the processional. The cars were really awesome with the clear glass all the way around so you could see them clearly. They were saluting, what seemed to be randomly. I still haven't figured out what they were saluting at? Maybe Flags? It was super cool and humbling.

Kate and Prince William looked so happy. She was smiling the whole time.

This is after the wedding, going to Buckingham Palace for their balcony viewing and their kiss : ) As they are along their journey - Prince William salutes and Kate bowed her head. This happened several times. I wish I knew what they were saluting at. It was very humbling.

 And the first and second kiss. It was pretty cute to watch them b/c they would nod and each other like "Okay, now?" It was really sweet.

I thought it was a great wedding and a great part of history. So happy I was able to watch it.

Congratulations to The Royal Family!

Teddy's baby pictures : )

When we adopted Teddy he was 4 months old (he's now 6 1/2 months). We rescued him from a rescue that we found online. We couldn't resist his adorable baby pictures. I think these were taken when he was about 2-3 months old.

Isn't he handsome? Look at our sweet boy : )

It's funny looking at these photos b/c now his legs are double that in length. He's really gotten tall and grown over the last few months : )

He's super sweet and thinks he weighs 10 pounds instead of the 40 or so (not sure of the exact) that he does : )

Happy Easter!

I typically take the boys to Church on Easter, but we didn't make it today. I have had a really crazy week - so things have been a little off. My other surprise for the kids is usually Easter baskets that the Easter Bunny leaves out on the table as well as eggs hidden in the house. I was a total slacker this year and actually do feel bad about it. The Easter Bunny left the boys a note that said "I left you baskets in a special place. I couldn't hide your eggs in the backyard b/c of rain (it did rain). Your parents will hide them." I left the note and not the baskets, b/c I didn't want the boys to wake me up at the crack of dawn. Selfishly, I wanted to sleep in b/c I am tired. With my crazy week and Andy's birthday party yesterday - I wanted some rest : ) Ben and Will ended up waking me up at 6:45 am, and David and Andy slept in (boo!). They had to wait for Andy to get up and then when he did - I brought out their baskets/buckets.

Ben and Will were very excited about the Nerf water guns and Andy was excited about his new toothbrush and toohpaste : )

Will ALL chocolatey :)

We waited until the afternoon and then hid the eggs. LAME - I know : (  The boys had fun : )

Like our fence? Wind blew it down so it's barely hangin on. Gotta fix that soon : )

Ben looking for eggs on top of the swingset : ) Silly boy!

David taking pictures of Will, Kuma and Andy. They are all looking for eggs : )

We found all the eggs and then we played in the backyard. Andy loves to play w/Teddy. He LOVES Teddy and Teddy LOVES him. He's such a great dog! We are so lucky to have him. He's such a gentle, sweet, smart dog : )

Our foster/adopted dog, Ralf. We haven't officially adopted Ralf - but we do plan too. We love him so much. He's sooooooooooo super sweet : )

After our egg hunt, playing in the backyard and a little resting - we dyed Easter Eggs. The kids really loved this part of the day : ) Don't have a lot of photos of this - but I do have 25 minutes of video : )

David and Andy : )

Andy, David, Will and Ben

Andy and Ben : )

A few of the finished eggs :)

We had a fun day - consdering I was a slacker. I promise to be better prepared next year :)

Happy Easter to all my friends and family! We love you guys and hope your day was special!

Happy 4th Birthday Andy!

Today our baby turns 4. I can hardly believe it. I know everyone says that and feels it. But it's so true. Where does the time go?  Andy is the sweetest, coolest kid ever. And we love him to the moon and back.

We were fortunate since his birthday fell on a Saturday that we were able to have his party on his actual birthday. So fun! Our theme for the party is Toy Story, but mostly Buzz Lightyear - and a costume party. Andy LOVES Buzz. It's all things Buzz for him.

Our babysitter and friend, Jamie, was in town so she came by to help and wish Andy a Happy Birthday! So Thankful for Jamie. Love, love her!

Jenna (Jamie's sister) came also to help and hang out. Andy LOVES her! Their family lives down the street, so if Jenna is outside in the afternoon - then Andy is down there w/her. She's helping Will & Andy w/their sunscreen. Thanks Jenna : )

My great friend, Eric and his son, Eli came by for a visit. We missed Erica - she was w/a friend and couldn't make it. We always love a visit from Uncle Bubba : )

I armed Eli w/a squirt bottle b/c Teddy (our 6 month old Airedale) kept jumping on him. He pretty much stayed clear of him. Giving him the squirt bottle was a bonus b/c he watered the plants, the grass, the porch : ) Thanks Eli : )

More helping shots from Jamie (in the fort) and Jenna. I love this photo because Andy is helping Will w/his sunscreen. Those two truly are bestfriends. Will and Andy love each other so much. It's so great to see the bond between them. Will woke up and immediately started taking care of Andy. He told him Happy Birthday and that he was 4, and he loved him. He was really doting over him. It was the greatest thing to see. Took him outside to teach him how to ride a bike (in the back). It was soooooooo special. Love these boys : )

Ben w/the squirt bottle threatening Teddy away from Eli : ) and Uncle Bubba

We had the party in the backyard - so I left the gate open and put a cute little sign on it. I also made this photo banner of Andy that has photos from birth - age four. It was really great to see the progression of how much he's grown.

Andy and his AWESOME cake by our cake lady (and friend), Terri.

More decorating. Jenna and Jamie helped out so much. So thankful for them and their family. They have been the biggest blessing to us. 

We, of course, had a tattoo station w/Buzz, Woody, Alien, and Woody tattoos.
Here's David, Aunt Claudia, Ben, Uncle Ray and Andy .... getting some tattoos : )

Three Buzz's (Andy, Edison, and Zach). Our friends loaned us this bounce house for the party. It was the perfect addition. The kids loved it. Thank you Shauna and Dwayne : )

Party guests. Everyone had a great time.

Andy and Zach (one of his BFF's from his class). He's trying to get a drink - I think : )

Andy and his AWESOME cake again : ) You ROCK Terri : )

Andy actually saw a photo of this cake while we were searching through some online sites and he said "that's what I want." So I sent it to Terri and she made it better, of course :)

We decided to come inside for cake. Got a bit warm in the afternoon.

David caught the boys playing w/balloons. It's a blittle blurry - but so cute : )

Aunt Claudia (as Buzz : ) and Jay (he's another BFF of Andy's in his class) playing w/balloons

After the party was over, we got a visit from Ben VanMaanen (Uncle Ben) and his daughter Peyton. We always love a visit from them. And of course, Uncle Ben spoils the boys : ) He brought Andy and Ben and Will special nerf guns. We ordered pizza, and then they all had a little Nerf war in the backyard. Total fun! Thank you Uncle Ben!

(Will, Peyton, Uncle Ben, Ben, Andy and David)

Ben and Peyton : )

David holding his weapon

The party was fun and I think everyone enjoyed themselves.

Happy Birthday to you Andy! We are so proud of you and so thankful to be your parents.