Old Dog Update

Some of you were wondering what happened to Cooper, our yippy, white dog. We didn't actually give him to an unsuspecting family member. It turns out they asked for him. We were planning on driving him all the way to his original home sometime in June but since someone wanted him for their daughter, we (actually Carl) willingly gave him up. The only problem is this particular family came to visit while Katie, Jordan and I were running errands. They asked for Cooper out of the blue and Carl sent him home with them. He thought it would be fun to see how long it took the kids to notice he was gone. Big mistake. At bedtime Katie asked with terror in her eyes, "where's Cooper? I've looked all over for him and can't find him anywhere. His kennel is gone too." I started looking around with her, not knowing what in the world went on a few hours before. Finally Carl (who at first acted like he didn't know either) tells us what happened. Katie was in tears (Cooper used to sleep in her bed). Alex, who was there when Cooper was given to the cousins, also remembered the entire bad experience and cried for the second time that day (so Carl told me). Of course they were sad-to have their favorite furry guy taken away from them so suddenly. It was shocking. They needed more preparation. Carl is neither sentimental nor emotional so he had no idea that giving away the dog would be such a problem (still doesn't probably). Though I felt bad for the kids and totally understood their sadness I can't tell you how happy I was that Cooper was gone. Is it okay to smile and feel bad at the same time that one of my favorite family members is listening to endless howling, yipping and dealing with chewed up underwear. So happy it isn't me.

Happy Mother's Day

What do you get when you cross Mimi (her grandma name) with a bunch of grandkids?

patience with grandkids jumping on her bed early in the morning (she loves it)

lots of hugs

love-she's great about letting the kids know she cares about them

How did we get so lucky!

P.S. Thanks for the sweater mom. Its just what I always wanted.

Thinking WAY ahead

Let me explain. Alex has this fascination with tarantulas. He has probably read 20 books about them and can spout out all kinds of information about spinnerets, the difference between different types and where they are located. He has even held one and experienced their stinging hairs (you should wash your hands before touching your skin). When he asked me if he could get one I replied, "absolutely not" which was followed by tears that didn't soften me a bit. When he asked his dad (out of my hearing) Carl said that yes he could get one when we is 12 if he learns all about them. I think Carl was sure that Alex would forget about it in a few months. That was last November. Alex explained to me after writing to Santa that if Santa brought one in place of a stocking (which is all that Santa brings to our house) then he wouldn't have to pay for one. Funny huh! Alex isn't one to leave details to the last minute.

Santa's letter back:

Dear Alex,

So nice to hear from you! I'm still on vacation in Hawaii. I don't ordinarily take requests years in advance. I'll think about it. In the meantime keep being a good boy. Make sure you're really nice to your excellent mother.

Love,

Santa

P.S. Are you sure you want a Tarantula? How about a nice stuffed animal?

Carl gets his dog

(Here Carl and Foxy are playing soccer. She can actually dribble the ball with those short legs.)

After a few years of saving, Carl finally got the Welsh Corgi he always wanted. She's 6 years old and probably one of the best behaved dogs in the world. She doesn't bark (unless Grant is sitting on her head), chew underwear, poop in other people's yards, etc. We love Foxy.

We've been saving for a dog since our MA days. There, the price of a Corgi was $1100. We didn't pay that much for Foxy.

If you're considering buying a dog, here are a few tips:

1) get rid of your underwear eating, whiny, bark when trucks go by dog. Hopefully you'll be able to find an unsuspecting relative to give him to.

2) research and pick a good breed of dog. Its true the small dogs are pretty yippy, want to play all the time and commonly follow you around the house always two inches or less away from your heals. If you want to hold a dog all day, a small dog would be a good kind to get. On the other hand, Corgi's are commonly mature, calm, want to be in charge (at least of other dogs) and smart, a better match for our family, especially if they can outsmart Grant, the great annoyer of dogs.

3) buy an older dog--much less work

4) Change her name. It only takes a few days for the dog to catch on. Foxy came with the name Keyna, which is Welsh for jewel. I told the kids we'd need to come up with something else. "Why not jewel?" they asked. "Are you kidding me?" is all I could respond. Anyway, since nobody would agree to Wonder Woman or Goldilocks we agreed to Foxy, after one of Carl's Corgi's from his farming days. Foxy the first was Carl's best friend. So it fits. We love her.

Happy

Its amazing the small things that bring me joy. Here are a few recent ones.

• Katie giving me and Carl a kiss goodnight every single night and before she goes to school. She initiates this
• Jordan reading to me while I cook dinner
• Alex spending all his free time writing
• all the kids sitting around the coffee table drawing or doing puzzles while humming the theme song to Little House on the Prairie (still makes me laugh thinking about it.)
• Alex: "I'm Mr. Spacely. Grant, you're George." (name that 80s cartoon)
• Hearing the kids practice the piano
• Seeing the kids sing in Sacrament Meeting at church
• Watching Katie and Carl read Fablehaven together
• Grant letting me hold him in my lap (doesn't happen much anymore)
• Alex, getting up at 6am to get all his work done. Some days he's so motivated

I wonder if there anything in the world that brings more happiness than family...and more misery, but that's a topic for another day.

A pretty lucky girl

I don't know how I got so lucky. Not only is Carl handsome and fun to be around, he also finds coaching baseball a stress reliever. I wonder if going from bedroom to bedroom reading to the kids at night (even using different voices) also relieves his stress. Right now he's reading Hank the Cowdog to Grant and Alex, Harry Potter to Jordan and Fablehaven with Katie. I usually fall asleep before he's done. Besides reading, Carl also does the dishes, makes the bed, corrals Grant to bed etc. He works crazy hours, usually no less than 12 a day plus a lot of Saturdays but he never seems to lose all his energy. He's amazingly positive and inspires me to work harder.

LOOK

I was reading a childrens book to Grant a few months ago called How Big is the World. I didn't really find the book interesting until I read "the more you look, the more you will see." For some reason that one line really got my wheels turning. I thought of how sometimes my thought process is pretty negative. When I look for the bad I always find it. There is always something to be anxious about, mad about or annoyed about if I'm looking for it. I think I naturally look for the negative. The other option and the higher brain path would be to look for the good. Its really not hard to see the beauty around me, the good that goes on in this home, the good qualities of others if I just LOOK for them. "Seek and ye shall find" comes to mind.