A few pictures to show why we medicate our dog:

I forgot to give Trax his "Yummy!" this morning. I shake the pills and tell him it's time for his yummy and he comes and sits right down in front of me. He also takes his pills like a champ. He is naturally wild so the pills help keep him on an even normal-hyper dog level. Right now, he's lying on the floor behind me and can only lie still for so long. Every minute or so he'll stretch, itch or yawn! Silly, sweet puppy!

heartache

My heart has been pretty broken lately and I have been hesitant to write anything since this is the main way my dad, who's many states away, makes sure all is well with us and I know he gets nervous if I seem sad. But, I'm going to share now.
Since loosing Micah, my level of compassion and sorrow for others has increased. In the past few weeks, I have learned of two sweet friends both having miscarriages. One has been struggling with infertility for over a year and she was heartbroken, to say the least. Many in China lost their lives because of an earthquake. Parents are greiving the loss of their children and children are grieving the loss of their parents. When I see the news stories, I weep. I love these people. They are so beautiful to me and it hurts my heart to know the devestation and heart ache that these people are enduring. On a brighter note, there was a news report that Eric and I caught the end of last night. This organization in China is not only helping the victims of this tragedy, but bringing smiles to their faces by juggling and playing games. To see these people laughing hysterically as we saw the make-shift housing of tents in the background made my heart hurt and hopeful for them at the same time. Today Eric told me that Steven Curtis Chapman , a musician in the Christian community who has adopted 3 children from China and helped set up grants to help thousands of families adopt, lost his daughter who was hit by a car driven by a family member.
I share this because my heart is aching for these people. I have to remember that God didn't tell us that this world would be easy, just that he'd be with us. And as I cry and my heart aches, I pray that the Lord is with these people ~ that He holds them and comforts them in ways they've never experienced. That they will find hope in the midst of the darkness.

the mystery has been solved

My beautiful Jazz cat had the dirtiest paws this morning.
I now know why.

Did you notice that you can't see any parts of her legs? they're both straight down the hole~ probably reaching for a mole or something!

And this is the look I get when I caught her... and her paws are still in the hole!

Next year, I'm picking the balloon.

Eric bought me this balloon for my birthday. That was on April 3rd~ 47 days ago! I've never seen anything like this!
We have this rule in our house that it's your birthday (which means you get all vetoing power on movies, restaurants) until your cake runs out... next year, I'm changing the rules. It's my birthday until the hellium runs out!

summer, summer, summer time. ah, summertime

Summers in Florida are so hot. You don't see very many people outside other than walking from their air conditioned car to their air conditioned house. But I remember loving summers in Michigan. Partly, because it was a few months where I wasn't forced to wear snowpants and moon boots. You southerners may not know what moon boots are, but I bet Sarah and Vicki and maybe even Carrie are remembering their favorite pair right now! Summers were awesome! I lived in the same house from the time I was 4 till I was 25 (I did live with my dad and step mom for 4 years in the middle and visited the house I am currently speaking of every other weekend)... ((okay... another side note... I didn't realize why Eric was always telling me to get to the point when telling a story and now that I blog, I now know! Rabbit trails! All the time! Just be glad I proof read and use the delete button frequently, or you'd never come back and visit.)) I remember playing pickle on the sidewalk. This was our version of Monkey in the middle involving baseball diamonds and a baseball. Basketball and baseball in the street~ which probably wasn't the smartest thing we did since we did it at the end of a semi-blind curve. oh, well. we all made it out alive. We spent 4th of July together with sparklers and the grown kids would light the cool firecrackers. I remeber picnics, staying out till the street lights came on, swimming in the kiddie pool, riding my bike, picking raspberries at the neighbors, writing on the sidewalk (and getting in trouble) with crab apples.
ah, memories.
And to think this post started because I saw a kid playing basketball in the street~ rabbit trail like no other, my friend!
:)

Kind of a part II and other adventures

I made a New Orleans Part I blog, thinking I had a bunch of pictures to post but I don't... so, um, yeah.
Anyways. When we were in New Orleans, we went to the preservation hall and heard the Jazz band. The thing that stuck out to me is the love these men have for their music, their instrument. They don't just play it. They have a gift and they use it to the fullest. It was so cool to watch their faces when they played and when their band partners played. It was like they were hearing it for the first time!
We went to the zoo too. It's a really nice zoo with great exhibits. I tried to add pictures but blogger's taking forever to upload them. Sorry to disappoint!
I also ate a fried pastry with powdered sugar on it. I know how to say it but not spell it, so it will remain nameless. I think fried things are great. I also love powdered sugar. I used to love licking the bowls after frosting sugar cookies with powdered sugar icing at Christmas. Oh my, I am starving now. starving.
I digress.

Today, Eric and I went to Lowes to buy dirt to fill in areas in our yard. As eric was loading it on the cart, an older man started talking to us. He then took me by the arm and took me to his cart to explain how to get a good bargain on miracle grow. He told us how to make our plants big and healthy. I didn't have the heart to tell him that we just wanted to cover up the pipe from our sprinklers where the dirt's been washed away! I think my shirt with flowers on it made him think I gardened. My dad is the gardener in the family. He even has a gazebo! and a fountain! I have only seen it in person twice so I don't have more things to list with exclaimations.
Other than that, we've just laid low all weekend. Have a great week.

My new names

I stole this ~with permission~ from someone elses blog. I don't feel like a serious or even another post about life in general at this time.
So, here's a little bit of sillyness.

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car) FeFe Civic
2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (favorite ice cream flavor, favorite cookie) Everything But the Snicker Doodle
(I would totally get beat down...)
3. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal) Purple Dog
4. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born) Joy West Chester
(I don't have a middle name... Joy was the middle name my babysitter gave me when I was little~because I've always been such a joy !)
5. SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink) The Red Dr. Pepper
6. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers) Peter Williams or William Peters... sounds like I'd be a good lawyer.
7.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names ) Ferne Peters
8. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter)
Tuttle Tallehasee
9. SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower). Autumn Daisy
10. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”) Pineapple Panties
(I'm wearing PANTS! I had to add the ie!!!)
11. HIPPY NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree) Donut Oak
Our milk was spoiled (4 days early!) so I had to get coffee and picking up a donut at the same time just made sense at the time!)
12. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather + “Tour”) The Creative Rain Tour
I would totally go...