Saturday, December 31, 2011

A new family member...

We have a void. A rather large void, that will never completely heal or be filled. But, this little gal is sure off to a great start of filling that void. About 9 weeks ago, october 27th, Maestro went to heaven to fill a guardian-dog angel position. I miss him. A ton. Randy has respectfully allowed me to heal and has not pushed his desire for another dog onto me. Recently I have had a strong pressing desire to look fir another companion and guardian. I was unsure, but thought...looking never hurt anyone. I came across two female German Shepherd pups (mixes) who were rescued from a high kill shelter by A Puppy's Voice in Fort Collins,CO.

Randy was out running a few errans and called to check-in to see if I needed anything. I casually said no and that I found a few pups that were "calling my name". Later, when he got home, I showed him the photos.they were going to be at an adoption fair the next morning, 3 hours away! We immediately contacted Ashley, the lady in charge. She informed us that one of the pups was just adopted but she still had "Confetti"--the one Randy liked. She promised to hold her until we could see her the next morning. Randy switched work days so he could drive up with me and the next morning we were on our way to meet "Confetti".

Ashley wasn't around when we arrived at the adoption fair. I had just enough information for the volunteers to direct us to Little Miss Confetti. As soon as our eyes locked we knew she was going home with us.

Flashback Moment: Maestro and his brother were rescued by my mom and I back in Indiana. Maestro's mom (a pure bred German Shepherd) had a one night stand with a Chow. The breeder didn't want the pups so turned him (and his brother) in to the shelter--a high kill shelter at that time. I clicked with Maestro and he became Randy's and mine--we started dating right around the time I adopted Maestro. (His brother went to live on an Ostrich farm--lol--another story.)
Maestro was the BEST dog. Dark faced, two G.S. moles on his cheeks, a white spot on his bottom lip, a darker tail, tucked his paws up under himself and a NEED to please.

Okay--back to our visit with "Confetti". Randy fell in love instantly. As he picked her up she was shaking all over the place. Poor thing barely knew her mother.
You see, "Confetti's" mom was turned into the shelter--knocked-up--:). After her mom gave birth she was adopted by a new family. All we know was that she was a German Shepherd, possibly a mix and about 60-65 lbs.
"Confetti" and her siblings were rescued by "A Puppy's Voice" and immediately placed in foster homes. They were placed on a parvo-pill and dewormer. "Confetti" was also placed on a kennel cough medication. When we met her she was the last of the liter and obviously quite shaken. After a Few minutes we were butter in her paws and she was snuggling in my lap. We also noticed a few other things about her: she has a dark faced, two G.S. moles on her cheeks, a white spot on her bottom lip, a darker tail, tucks her paws under her and a NEED to please. If I didn't know better I would say Maestro found us again.

Today, we chose a name. It was a close call between Zelda and Zoe, but in the end, Zoe stuck. (Randy wants to spell it with two "e"s--we'll see).

We spent the day loving on her, potty training and researching her mix. We thought she was perhaps an English Mastiff mix, but the more we research and look at photos, the more she looks like a German Shepherd and Saint Bernard Mix! Boy oh boy!

*Note: We chose to stick with a German Shepherd Mix because we LOVE the breed and because mixes often avoid genetic disorders that run in Purebreds. Plus we really wanted to rescue a dog. :)


Mmmm thank you BudgetBytes

I LOVE Budget Bytes . Quick painless inexpensive delicious recipes. We enjoyed her quick chocolate pudding the other night-yum!

Friday, December 30, 2011

Dinner with family

I love that we can make a phone call and have dinner with people we love. Good company!

Homemade Donuts

My bestie invited us over for playtime. Her daughter, H, was kind enough to share her donut maker! Beth whipped up a quick batter: flour, sugar, oil, vanilla and baking power, then pored them into the counter top maker. We were delighted to taste a lite fluffy cake-like donut! We lay them out for the children to ice and eat. See our photos below!

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

A boy after my own heart...

Life is Good

Randy and I have really been enjoying the simpler things in life. A cute smile in the morning, watching our children absorb the events around themselves and just each others company. Life is good. Very good.

Funny quote of the day...

Randy (referring to Mario game): Well, how do I get him up there?!?

Keira: I don't know...take flying lessons?

Monday, December 26, 2011

Christmas Pictures

Just a few photos of our Christmas. What a fantastic day we had. 7 am we found Santa foot prints and presents...afterwards...we enjoyed each other and our new toys....evening we had company for a roast and a good ol' puzzle. The day was perfect. Thank you Jesus for making it all possible..

Friday, December 23, 2011

Liam...

I love these photos of Liam. He was intrigued with my phone, but then the flash came on--God forbid...then he resumed "reading his book. :)

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Good Memories

The past two days have been wonderful. Yesterday I had some one-on-one time with Tyler. He thoroughly enjoyed the penny-horse-ride.
Today was a family drive in the snow to Garden of the Gods, sledding and a small family gift exchange. Good times!

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Snowmen Crafts

We practiced cutting out our circles today! (Keira helped Miles.) Then we worked on fine motor skills with those pesky black dots and pulling apart cotton balls. Everyone did a fantastic job. Yeah!

Snow Day = Tent Day!

With the snow outside and the cold cold temps we are having a Tent Day. My poor poor Family Room!