Returning to "normal"...whatever that is!

It's been a better day for the family all around. Thanks for the love and support, everyone. Thanks especially to Bill & Cynthia for an awesome meal. Seriously awesome!! We're blessed :-)

The silver linings in our day...

Brian's silver lining...even though he has bronchial pneumonia, he only has to teach a couple of hours a day from home this week instead of infecting everyone in a classroom.
Laura's silver lining...well, she knows what it is!
Amy's silver lining...even with a kidney infection, she can do most of her prep for meals sitting down instead of standing while her back hurts so much. (Yeah, she still wants to cook.)
Bethany's silver lining...even though it's 90+ degrees outside, she's volunteering at Summer Heat Firecamp this week and loving every minute of it.
Annie's silver lining...she only threw up once today!
And mine...well, I'm blessed that I'm able to be home to take care of my family. I don't know how in the world women who work outside the home have time to keep up with everything. And my other silver lining...our very good friends delivered a meal that we can have tomorrow night, and it looks wonderful!!!!

Thanks to all of you who care about my family. Thanks for offering your support in so many ways (here's to you, Seniors!) And thanks for the prayers. We're blessed!

I think I can...I think I can...

Annie, the wonder beagle, has been having more bad days lately than good days. We're just never sure which dog is going to get up each morning...the playful pup or the senior citizen. When she's playful, she bounces all over the place and is frisky as can be. But on the days the "senior beagle" wakes up she's rather pitiful. She has a hard time making it up the stairs and we can tell it hurts just to stand up after a deep sleep. Her eyes are listless, and many days she has an upset stomach and isn't too interested in eating...highly unusual for her. (Actually, those days are more common anymore.) In an effort to keep her going, I've been taking her to the vet once a week for vitamin B-12 injections. They seem to keep her going and until we can tell she's in a lot of pain, we'd really like to love on her awhile longer. Last week our vet told me I really ought to learn to give her the shots at home. I've certainly watched him give them enough times! So today I was determined I would do it without hesitation. Seems easy enough, right? I guess I should explain something, though. A few months ago we tried to give these at home and we just couldn't do it. Bethany refused to even try since Annie is "her baby." And I was too squeamish. Brian was the only one brave enough to attempt it, and Annie screamed at him. Wrong technique, I guess. But this time I was determined, and I did it on the first attempt!!! Those of you who are in the medical profession or who give yourself insulin shots or even give shots to your pet are probably rolling on the floor laughing. It really isn't that big of a deal. But I'm feeling rather accomplished at the moment. And Annie is a playful pup today and gave me kisses after I stuck her. Now that's love!

A compassionate heart...

Yesterday Amy and I met our new neighbor and her two young daughters at Chick-fil-A for breakfast. After eating, the 5-year old asked Amy to go with her to the play area. Janis and I decided to sit and chat with Katie, her 15-month old. Soon afterward a woman stopped by our table to ask if my daughter was the one with long brown hair sitting in the play area. Evidently, Amy had befriended her special needs daughter, a 10-year old who was too handicapped to actually play. She was content to sit on the floor next to her wheelchair and watch the little ones play. Not only had Amy befriended this girl...they were singing and laughing and talking like old friends. The little girl's mom said, "That's so amazing! Most kids just ignore my daughter completely! You have one special girl." It really was sweet to see and I was so proud of my Amy. Our girls have always been compassionate toward others...they gravitate toward the "underdog," senior citizens, and the less fortunate. I love that about them. They manage to see with "Christ-like" eyes/hearts when many of us don't. I need to learn from our girls. They set a good example, and no matter how I try, I often fall short. When I grow up, I want to be like them!

Laura's summer internship blog

For anyone who's interested, Laura is keeping a summer blog about her internship. It's been rather humorous and a lot of fun...check it out!

http://waywelearn.blogspot.com/

My Dreamer...

...and speaking of old dogs...

Annie, the wonder beagle (a.k.a. "queen of the cul-de-sac") has a pretty predictable morning routine. She gets up with Bethany who takes her outside to do her business and then feeds her. Afterward, she races thru the house either chasing a toy or looking for a safe place to hide a toy. And then she runs upstairs, jumps into our bed, and crashes for the rest of the morning. She's 10 1/2 years old and this has been her routine for many years. This morning she finished breakfast, grabbed a squeaky toy ball, and raced across the hardwood in the kitchen and into the living room where she promptly yelped twice. And then, nothing. I called her, but (as usual) she didn't come to me. When I went downstairs to check on her, she was standing in the living room with her front left paw in the air, motionless. I scooped her up, took her upstairs, and set her down to see if she could walk. She walked, but she was clearly in pain and limped badly. Off to the vet once again...her home away from home...where we found out she'd wrenched her shoulder. The vet gave her an anti-inflammatory injection and some pain pills and asked us to keep her fairly quiet for about 5 or 6 days...even after she feels better. So for the next few days she'll be on "puppy prozac" and pain pills. She has a port-a-crib to sleep in at night (no laughing!) and we'll do our best to keep her sedated during the day. Amy and I had a few errands to run this morning, so she spent a few hours at "doggie day care" with my mom & dad. When we got there to pick her up the medication had kicked in and she was quite wasted...could barely pick her head up to say hi. I could get used to this! And did I mention the vet's office said they'd name a wing after Annie when they remodel the next time?

Teaching an old dog new tricks...

Awhile back Laura talked me into having a Facebook page. I resisted, yet Laura set one up anyway so I could see pictures as she posted new ones and we could chat once in awhile. I still resisted (thinking Facebook was just for the younger generation), but eventually curiosity got the best of me and I sneaked a peek at my profile. I eased into it slowly. It is, after all, hard to teach an "old dog" new tricks. But in not much time at all I was checking things each time I walked by the computer. Yeah, I'm a geek and I'm hooked. The really unexpected, yet wonderful thing about Facebook has been reconnecting with friends I've known most of my life. Some I've known since kindergarten! Many were friends from church youth group, and many are high school friends. I've been away from Indiana since 1985 and many of these friends I haven't seen since I graduated from high school in 1977. It's been awesome to discover that time/distance kind of melt away. Many times when I've posted a message asking for prayer or emotional support, it's been friends from my childhood who have responded with positive words of encouragement. So yeah, even though I still kind of feel that Facebook is for the younger generation, I enjoy it, too. Don't laugh! You really CAN teach an old dog new tricks!

We have a dress!

It's stunning, and that's all I'm allowed to say on the subject for now. Bride's orders!

wedding dress shopping...

Yesterday we headed out to look for a wedding dress for Laura, and what an experience it was! Our consultant for the first part of the appt was the asst manager, Richard. He was hilarious! He clearly loved his job and was wonderful at helping Laura. His demonstration for her on how she should get into the dresses was hysterical, and he was quite shocked that she's going to be an engineer...his mouth dropped on that one. And when he asked why she had a farmer tan and she told him she works on a construction site this summer, I thought he just might fall over! Finally she came out in her first dress...one that she had seen online. It truly was beautiful and yes, I got a bit teary. About 6 dresses later the novelty had worn off. She looked stunning in each and every one, but it was a bit hard to visualize how they would really look since everything she tried on was a size 4 and she's a "sub-o" in size. Clips are wonderful things, but even they couldn't make the dresses small enough for our bride. Still, she now has a better idea of what she hopes to find and we have plenty of time to try again. The 3 bridesmaids know what they're supposed to look for now, too. If only we could take Richard with us wherever we go to try dresses on, it would be a blast!