Meet Sierra

We got Sierra after Cameron's brother, Andre passed away. We got her from the Humane Society. We were walking along looking at the cats when she swatted at Alan when he walked by. He fell in love with her and got her. Her and Cameron fell in love immediately. They love laying together, playing and fighting! The have become best friends and lovers! :)

She's very neurotic. She doesn't like to be looked at or touched. Sometimes she gets in rare moods and she wants to snuggle, but only for a second.

Madison thinks it's hilarious to go "Psst" at her and try to scare her. She likes chasing Sierra from room to room. Sierra loves playing with toys and running from one house to the other and up and down the stairs.

Meet Cameron

Cameron was Alan's cat before we started dating. He got him and his brother Andre as a kitten in 2000. He loves to lay around and sleeps most of the day.

He loves to find any inch of sun and lay in it

He had to have PU surgery to widen his urethra because he kept getting UTIs (very common in male cats).
He is currently dealing with Thyroid issues which cause him to have a raging appetite. He is on daily medicine that controls it. Though he still loves to eat, we can tell a big difference when he's on the meds and when he isn't.

He is a Daddy's boy and anytime Alan is sitting or laying down, you can almost bet that Cameron is on his lap or chest.

Meet Wilma

Wilma was originally our neighbor's dog and her and their other dog free roamed the neighborhood. Anytime we were outside, they were over here. Sadly, their other dog was very territorial and kept attacking Wilma. We witnessed 2 fights and I don't wish that on anyone. One day they had enough and was going to get rid of Wilma. We weren't looking to get another dog but we had grown so attached to her that we decided to make her ours. We didn't want to mess Micki and Toby's relationship up by throwing Wilma in the mix and putting her in the fence, so we decided to make her a house dog.

That's Wilma smiling. It's so funny. You can leave the room for a few minutes and return and she smiles like she hasn't seen you all day. Wilma has had a pretty rough life too. She was outside in August 2011 and a truck pulling a trailer went down the road. Something struck and she decided to chase it, clipping the trailer and breaking her leg. You can read the whole story here, with updates here and here. We are happy to say that she's fully healed and you'd never know she had a rod in her leg for 14 weeks!

She loves Alan. I mean, if she was a human, she'd want to marry him. She follows him around and if he's in the house and she can't find him, she goes nuts running from room to room. This dog loves to play and swim. She loves to ride and loves hiking! She is a nature dog and loves rolling around and wandering around sniffing every blade of grass.

She's had to get some battle wounds from fighting removed and she has this stupid eye allergy that she gets every year(which we just treated again). Here lately, she's wore her E-collar more than not and her hair is falling out of her leg-hopefully due to the medicine for her eye. 

Meet Toby

We got Toby from the Humane Society when we moved to where we currently live in 2008. We wanted Micki to have a friend and he seemed to be a perfect match for her. He is a lab/shephard mix and is now about 6 or 7 years old. 

 

 

He is a very loving dog. He loves to be petted and to just sit there and let you pet him. However, he hates Madison. I can't take her on the porch or within his line of sight because he barks his head off! A vicious bark, not a curious bark. I'm not sure why he doesn't care for her but he makes it known that he doesn't!

He never sits down and constantly goes back and forth. He's a very busy dog.

You can tell that he loves Micki. She loves to just flop down on him and chew his ears and he just lets her. The love to lay together in the sun. I love those freckles on his nose :)

Toby had to have a couple of teeth pulled last summer and he was a trooper! He has the worst teeth! He's the only dog I've known that won't chew on bones. 

Meet Micki

(I was requested to do a blog post on each of our animals. I will space them out with one animal per week)

I got Micki when she was 9 months old. She is now 10. She is an AKC registered black lab. She has had a rough life and let me tell you about it..

At a year old, she was in my fence at home. She decided to climb the fence(we had one piece that was about 3ft tall and I'd seen her climb the fence once before) and she got out. The day before, her ID tags had come off of her collar and since there were no places to get a replacement in the small town I lived it, she didn't have her ID on her. Freaking out, I called the pound to see if they'd picked her up and sure enough, they picked up 'a dog that had been hit' and took her to the one vet in the small town. A vet that wasn't her vet and doesn't have a good reputation for treating animals. I called the vet and they had her and I went to visit her the next morning since it was too late to go that day.

I was so sad to see her sedated on the table. The vet said that she'd broken her front right shoulder and he needed to wrap it up for 3 months to heal. She needed to stay inside and keep it clean, so I did. At the end of 3 months, I took the wrapping off and her leg dangled there. No life whatsoever. I knew it wasn't good and took her to her vet for a closer look. After a quick x-ray, the vet said it was not her shoulder, but her elbow that was broken and that the leg needed to come off. The vet kept her and amputated her leg. She even said that once the leg was off, she tried to realign it and it wouldn't realign. She said since the vet improperly diagnosed it and wrapped it wrong, it healed wrong. I feel terrible that she's dealt with this and I know she has slowed down so much. Sometimes I just cry when I look at her and I'm crying as I type this out.

Her journey doesn't end there! A few years ago, she went for her annual and her heart worm test came back positive. I've had her on preventative since I got her but obviously something happened. She had to go through the treatment which can be deadly. They want you to keep the dog as calm as possible and well Micki doesn't know what calm means. She's as hyper and hyper gets. She made it through that with no issues!

Fast forward to the next summer. We took Micki and Toby for a walk down the road. While walking, Micki yelped and started limping. I noticed her foot was flopping around and we lay her down and her foot is sliced! Alan carries her to the car and goes back to find what she stepped on-a broken coffee mug thrown out on the side of the road. She has surgery to repair and she gets put in a cast. The cast actually rubbed a hole in the pad of her foot so she was put on a metal splint. Her foot healed up but is still not back to normal. Sigh.

Micki loves to be petted and will just lean against your leg all day for you to pet her. She's very sweet and loving. She loves to go on walks and swim(yes she can swim!)

Thirty Days of Thanksgiving-Part 2

This is a continuation of my Thirty Days of Thanksgiving post.
These are in random order as well as the first part

Day 15-Heat and a/c
Something we take for granted and complain about the bill but lots of people aren't as fortunate to have power, much less heat and a/c to stay comfortable.

Day 16-Food
Other than the obvious, I also enjoy it :) (and so does M)

Day 17

Thankful for our home. If we hadn't moved here, we wouldn't have Madison, Wilma, Toby or Sierra. Our house is big enough for our family and we've made good friends and feel safe here.

Day 18

Thankful that Micki has been alive for 10 years today! I got her when she was 9 months and she's been through more than a dog should. She's been there through my happy and sad times and I can't imagine her not being around. Happy Birthday Micki!!

 Day 19

Thankful for our other 4 crazy animals, Wilma, Toby, Sierra and Cameron. Given the chance Toby would eat Madison but he is Micki's best friend and I'm so glad they loved each other from the second they saw each other. He's so loving and sweet, except to Madison :) . Sierra runs when M gets within 10 feet but she is Cameron's girlfriend. Wilma and Cameron have also been through a lot more than any animal should, right along with Micki. Madison still loves all of these animals regardless and laughs at them constantly!

 

Day 20

 Thankful my Dad isn't in pain on his 62nd birthday today. Also that we had a relationship for a few years after not speaking for 10 years. His death last year was the hardest thing I've ever went through. 

Day 21

 Thankful for medicine, Allergy eye drops, a Pedi that worked us in and an understanding photographer who rescheduled our pictures for the second time :/ Hopefully Madison feels better very soon! 

Day 22

 Thankful I stood in line over an hour to get most of Madison's Christmas! I saved as much as I spent so it was well worth it! It also gave me a chance to talk to my BFF on the phone for a bit while standing in line

 

Day 23

 Thankful for a best friend like no other. We've been best friends for years and every year it seems like we get closer and closer. She's trusted me with her son if anything ever happened. We don't see each other or talk often enough but when we do, we talk until Amanda's phone gives her the "battery too hot" warning. Ha! I know more about her than I probably should and no conversation is complete with a "tmi" or "What did Dr Google say?" Involved. I wouldn't know what to do without her!

 

Day 24 

 Thankful we found a cabin to go to the mountains. Thankful we are able to go.

Day 25

 thankful that M loves music as much as I do! 

Day 26

 Thankful for gorgeous mountains and that we live close enough to go see them

 Day 27

My phone and the internet

Day 28

 Thankful the cashier gave me a $4 off coupon today. I needed it :/ 

Day 29

 Thankful for Mommy time which means I can finally get decorated!

Day 30

Thankful for good smelling stuff

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today I am thankful for (in no specific order)

- Madison. She has been such a blessing to us and our families. She's such a sweet, funny, silly, beautiful little girl and I am so blessed to be her mommy! Having a baby changes your life in many ways and we couldn't imagine life without her! We love her so much!

- Alan. I knew I married the best guy possible and I knew he would be a great father without a doubt, and he has really proven this to be true! He is so attentive with Madison! I love watching them play and seeing her laugh at how silly he is! He's very hands on with her, always wanting to hold, feed or rock her. He "takes" over the night shift on the weekend so I can catch up on some sleep. The more I see him with her, the more I love him! He has also allowed me to stay home, which is the best thing ever! I can't thank him enough for allowing me to do this! I love you so much!

- Being married to my very best friend for 5 years! I can't imagine a day without Alan and aren't sure how I went 26 years without him. He's the best husband a girl could want! He's the most kind hearted, generous, loving person I have ever known. I love you babe!

- The ability to be able to stay at home with Madison. I do not take this for granted for a second! I love spending my days with her and being able to see her "firsts" firsthand!

- Wilma. We are so thankful to have Wilma alive, much less walking after her accident back in August. It has been a long 15 weeks but we couldn't have asked for a better outcome! We can't wait to let her swim and take her to the mountains and are upset we can't take her on our Christmas tree trip this year but she isn't healed enough to run around the tree farm, though we know she would love to!

-Friends and family. Madi is so lucky to have people that love her so much. Thanks to all of you that helped us with food after we brought her home(I didn't have to cook for 2 weeks!), babysitting, buying her things, doing things for us, being my therapist/counselor/advice giver(during pregnancy and after she was born) and just being there and loving our little girl! We love y'all so much!

-Micki, Toby, Wilma, Cameron and Sierra(and Dakota too) - Our animals have really taken a hit in the attention department. We love our animals so much and can't wait for Madi to be able to interact with them! She's going to have a good time with all our crazy pets!

-Our health, home, and job. We are so thankful for all three things!

Happy Thanksgiving everybody! We love you!