canada

It's a little bit scary, a little bit crazy, when you get this whole family under one roof - but lots of fun ;)

This weekend I'll work on taking photos - but in the meantime I'll share the crazy quotes of the day....

Gracie, 2 yrs old - "Look, Jesus is riding on a Honkey!"

Rebekah (old enough to know better, but not know the meaning...) "I'm a woman. I know why it's called a woman too.....wooooo man.... because she was taken out of man's womb!"

Pets

My last post left me thinking about all the pets we have owned...I'm sure I left some out too :)
I think it is because of this pattern that I am presently feeling bound and determined to stick it out with Aggie. Every time we get rid of a pet I say, "That's it! No more!" But I have realized I have very little control over it - so if I don't stick it out now, what's next? I really don't want to go back to another snake, personally!

2 parakeets

beta fish

schnauzer

2 bala shark

oscar

2 blood parrot chiclid

2 blue cichlids

plecostomus (2)

turtle

countless brine shrimp

countless guppies

more aggressive fish - can't remember what they all were called

cats -
Gus, chewy, Percy, Esau, many kittens....

garter snake named Nick

lizard named Rick

present time Aggie

(and there is a dwarf hamster under discussion between Rebekah and daddy)

trouble - part 2

So, the next 'trouble' with the police was not face to face. No, because they came to my home when I was not there. But once again, we must back-track...

You may remember this last fall when I posted pictures of our new puppy, Aggie. Well, the story with Aggie and me is this; we have a 'love-hate' relationship. I love her - she is so sweet and fun, and just great to cuddle with and keep me company when Scott is out of town and the kids are gone to bed. The hate part - well, this dog defies all the rules when it comes to training. I won't go into ALL the details, because they won't excite you; but I will share the pros vs. cons of owning a Shih Tzu, according to The Popular Dog Series. With the info. you get here, just use your glorified imagination and then multiply it by 10!

Think twice about getting a Shih Tzu if...

- you hate grooming a dog (or, I would add - you have no time to groom a dog)

- you're an obedience extremist... Shih Tzu can be very stubborn, this is not a breed in which training should be a battle of the wills..it's better to do an end run around the problem...if you meet resistance, just stop for a moment so you can both calm down, and give some love before you go ahead and do what you want

- you're lazy about housetraining...as with all toys, housetraining can be a problem...you must be vigilant...that vigilence should extend to after the Shih Tzu defecates... this breed is more prone to eating its own stool than others (and playing in it, apparently)

- you don't spend much time at home - and no one else does either...(reasons why...)....if the dog owners cannot give the dog attention during the day, that could be provided by a reputable pet sitter or doggie day care

-you're easily conned...the Shih Tzu loves to please her people but also loves to please herself...they will try to get away with murder!

AND BY NOW, IF YOU KNOW US AT ALL, YOU ARE LAUGHING HYSTERICALLY

Okay, I know this is getting long, but I have to add that every time we have boarded our dog with the vet we have been charged daily extra fees for 'special grooming' and not only have they suggested we call Cesar Milan (The dog Whisperer) for help, but they have also given us very friendly suggestions for other places we can board her.

...and the rest of the story goes that my 2 children and husband just fell in love with these dogs, had to have one, and taking care of this dog is, at the moment, my most difficult labor of love for my family - and trust me, I am biting my tongue very hard as I write this! Yes, you can bite your tongue to keep from typing those words that want to come out.

And so, after countless baths (a couple due to the rain), and my prior stop by the police, I come home on Sunday night at 11:00, carrying 2 sleeping children in on my own... and I find a NOTICE OF COMPLAINT on my door.

It is from the Police Department Animal Control Office that says they have received a complaint alleging neglect or mistreatment of my canine....

Apparently, a neighbor had reported that we leave our dog outside with no shelter or water. We have 48 hours to get a dog house and make a bowl of water available for her, or she will be impounded.

I seriously wanted to go somewhere and scream! And yes, I did cry some tears of frustration! I think the next morning as I described the whole ordeal to my loving hubby, that he must've felt some of that (I was trying to hold back!), because he so sweetly said, "Just give me the phone number and I will call and take care of it." [Thanks babe, you are awesome!]

I must say at this point, that we do take good care of Aggie. She does have shelter, food and water! The police have not come back by, at least to my knowledge... They did say, however, that we are supposed to register her with the city - now that's one that neither the breeder nor vet told us.

So, now that I got my license plate on the van tonight, I will drive downtown tomorrow and register her. I was trying to avoid driving to the police station without license plates! I am afraid that after this week they just might decide to detain me permanently!!!

Part 1 - trying to stay out of trouble...

with the police, that is...

Yes, in some ways, it has been a crazy week Let me tell you about our little adventures... you may have seen our photos from our outing at the ballet - we had a great time together - even at the part about getting pulled over. Let's start at the beginning, shall we?

It's actually a great story! The Lord has answered our prayers concerning a new vehicle that can handle our many road trips this spring and summer. And once again, He has done more than we would have asked and provided a much nicer vehicle than the ones we were looking at. But the short of it is that right now we are without a license plate on it as we wait for our old one back, which means that the police are very interested in us as we drive by.

So, back to Sunday! After the ballet as we are driving home, sure enough, behind us appears the dreaded flashing lights. My daughter, in the back, is immediately concerned that I am going to jail. I assure her that I have all the necessary papers, and that it will not be a problem. My guess is that it was out of concern for a stolen vehicle that the officer was approaching us slowly, glancing over the contents of the van as he neared. I had a hard time not laughing as I thought through the whole situation...imagining myself in his shoes...

[Hmm... I wonder if this is a stolen vehicle...I'd better be careful, because people who steal a van might be carrying a gun and be prone to rash and careless acts. I think I'll just take it slow and check everything out, and I'd better keep my hand on my holster, just in case! Oh, but look at this - there are three little girls in the back, and it looks like a couple of moms and a grandma, and a wheelchair too! Not your typical car-theiving bunch! Ha! I don't really think they could be much of a threat if they tried!!!]

All it took was the necessary paperwork and off he went, bidding us good day He just said, "Keep your papers handy for the next time you get pulled over!"

After we got going again, the imaginations of 2 seven years olds were running wild.
So mom, you don't have to go to jail? No.
Did you get a ticket? No.
Have you ever gotten one? Just once. ( a good story too! )
Would kids ever have to go to jail? Maybe.
Is there a jail for kids? Yes, a juvenile facility.
Why would a kid go to jail? ... and this is where the friend, whose father is a police officer, chimes in. "Oh, well, you know, like if a kid grabs a gun and accidentally..." "Um, girls, let's save this conversation for another time, shall we?" (while the 3 yr. old is listening intently with wide eyes)

So, I have been intentionally turning at places I don't need to turn whenever I see a police car in the distance. Yes, I'd rather try to avoid having my children be able to say, "My mom was pulled over 5 times this week."

Stay tuned for the continuing saga of trying to stay out of trouble with the police.
Yes, there's more...

Sunday at the Ballet

The girls had a day out to see Cinderella at the ballet. Along with R and I was our neighbor friend, grandma, and Auntie Anne and Abby.
Abby stayed awake long enough to see Cinderella appear in her beautiful ball gown, then she fell asleep for her afternoon nap!

And, here is what the older girls did during the long wait for the show to start!

Giving it up!

A man's heart plans his way: but the Lord directs his steps. Proverbs 16:9

This, out of necessity and also some encouragement from a dear sister, has become my theme verse for the past few weeks. Without giving all the gory details, the basic idea is; things are just not going as planned!!! Stuff is breaking down, I find myself constantly rearranging my schedule out of necessity, and I am falling behind in pretty much all of life...but (here's the big but)... the Lord has shown Himself to me through all of it. Shown me without a doubt that He knows what He's doing, He's got a plan, and I NEED TO STOP TRYING TO CONTROL IT ALL!!! Why is it so stinkin' hard to let go of my plans even when He is making it so obvious that He is directing my steps in another way? I just keep thinking, 'How on earth is that going to get done, or that fixed? Or, if I can't deliver, who is going to take care of it?' Oh, but every time He's got a plan - and I have to confess that really, He does a WAY better job than I could've!!!

I still have some questions about some things, but, I'm finally learning to give it to Him before I know the answer. (at least I think... there is that one thing that I keep wanting to take back and I can barely stand to not know when it's going to get caught up with - but okay Lord, You can have it)

So, yeah, if you see me mumbling that verse under my breath over and over, I'm just reminding myself to let it go! Of course, God is SO good in the fact that every time I say it to myself, He brings to mind all the ways He's already taken care of so many things for me! He makes it easy, doesn't He - because that's His nature - and His plans are ALWAYS better than ours!!!

So, the moral of this story is....

if there is something that you are holding on to, just give it to Him

A MAN'S HEART PLANS HIS WAY: BUT THE LORD DIRECTS HIS STEPS