How Can It BE??

It's been almost a year since I've posted and for some strange reason, I found a few extra minutes in my day( crazy, huh?) and thought I would catch-up the TWO WHOLE people who might still be checking in now and then.

On May 11, 2014 our world was changed in the sweetest way with the birth of our granddaughter. And GUESS WHAT?!? All those stupid, ahem, quippy things said by grandparents everywhere, are, in fact, TRUE! She is the sweetest, smartest little treasure EVER and I would definitely have been a grandma first if I knew how amazing this is. (Sorry, kids.)

And we have the privilege of having her 1-2 days per week, which makes this MiMi blissfully happy but also a tad busy.

She is now 10 months old, and can tell you what an elephant and a lion says. She is determined to grow up as quickly as she possibly can, and plans to start walking yesterday. She is a GO-GETTER and is on the move. Having her weekly is such a precious gift. I love it that my grown kiddos allow me that privilege.



Then in other random news, my brother came for a wonderful visit last Thanksgiving, and while he made a quick store run, we made a crazy WHAT ARE WE THINKING!?!? kind of decision and quickly executed it.

So he comes back from the store, and it goes something like this:

"Hey, bro, GUESS WHAT??"

"We bought a Doberman puppy!
Yeah, just now.
Like, as in, the 15 minutes you were gone.
No, seriously. We did."

Let me just say, for the record….

We need a puppy like we need a hole in the head.

There. I said it.

HOWEVER….. we are big dog people, and we really wanted a doberman. They are highly intelligent, naturally protective (NOT AGGRESSIVE-There is a difference) and great with kids. No really, they are.

And we have this 12 year plan which goes something like this:

In 12 years, the two yorkies will have crossed the rainbow bridge and we will be DONE with animals. And our dobe fits right into that plan. Kids and dogs growing up together and then we will retire without such constraints. Amen and Amen.

So, without further adieu, meet Zara. She likes 75 walks per day, chasing the Yorkies mercilessly and eating her weight in chew toys on a weekly basis. She is 6 months old now and weighs 55 Lbs. She should be about 90 lbs full grown, so it's kinda important that we train her all day every day.

So, in my spare (insert loud laughter) time, I walk, and walk, and walk again and train a doberman puppy. And homeschool 4 kids. And keep my GRANDgirl. And deal with various medical appointments and surgical procedures. And try to keep the house from falling down around us.

But that's it.

Also,

Sweet Gianna had her 13th surgery in January. We thought it was going to be a BIG one, and in a very unexpected surprise, the Dr. was able to get one more small surgery in and the BIG one will be this July. She gets to have almost a whole summer without a recovery period. She has not had a summer free of surgery since she was 3 years old. Suffice it to say, we are going to "Party like it's 1999" until the end of July.

Our sweet Aria will be 11 this year, and well, we are heading into uncharted territory called HORMONES. We have tears for no apparent reason. LOTS, and LOTS of tears. She is just the sweetest, mommy loving girl ever so we have had no sass, but tears. And did I mention tears? Lord, help us!

In less tearful news, she loves playing the violin (3rd year student) and has added sewing classes. They made these adorable PJ bottoms in their class.

Our Sofia has had some testing lately for some help with learning disabilities. Great news is, she has a normal brain and normal intelligence. Bad news is, she doesn't learn easily using traditional methods. We have added speech therapy and lots and lots of new techniques to help her learn in her special way. The sky is the limit for this sweet girl- she just needs a little extra hard work to get there!

Lastly, our baby girl Celia…. She continues to remain fairly stable. We are BEYOND GRATEFUL. We have 8 hours of nursing care most days of the week, which helps me be able to do the 8,354 other things I need to do each day. These are wonderful ladies who compliment our care for her beautifully and we are so grateful to them. The blessing is, they can focus on doing therapy with her, and keeping her from germs, and I just get to be her mom. They are the extra set of hands needed for art projects, or baking that is needed to Celia can participate with the other girls. We are blessed to call them friends, not just nurses.

Well, that's the latest and greatest from our Clan. Here's hoping that I remember to update our blog a little more frequently this year.