Meet Reese

Let me start by saying that old phrase my good friend and I used to say in college…

"I never claimed to be sane."

One June morning when my father-in-law was visiting, a neighbor knocked on my door.  Both of us were in our pajamas, although she looked much better than I did, I can tell you that.  She had a puppy in her arms and asked if it was mine.  That particular day I not only had a house guest, but I had my own 2 dogs AND I also had our friend's 2 dogs that I pet-sit monthly.

This little stray pup had been barking at her home all night long and this gal and her husband were desperate to find her owners.  Both adults were late for work and I suggested that the pup could stay with us since I had a kennel just her size, while we both continued to look for her owner.  In my kennel we could at least keep her safe from the streets.

My neighbor holding the stray she found.
We used this picture to plaster photos all over Facebook
and our neighborhood.

We kept her in our garage with a large box fan running to keep her cool and eventually took her to a mobile vet clinic to be checked out and given some initial shots and dewormer.  I couldn't have a potentially sick puppy near my healthy dogs nor my friend's 2 healthy dogs.  The vet said this girl was about 10 weeks old, 12 pounds and was a Catahoula mixed breed.  Everyone loved her.  I am thankful for low cost veterinary services in our city.  Seriously crazy cheap here!  Plus, the rescue where we got Mack has offered their discounts when it comes time to have the pup spayed.  What a gift!

My neighbor kept checking in daily with no luck of finding the pup's original home.  No owner was found and we decided that as long as it worked for us, we would keep her.  Plus, later in July our guinea pig Russell died and my boys were devastated (despite the pig being skin and bones for over a year now and we'd been prepping them for the inevitable).  So, we decided to keep the pup.

Again, I never claimed to be sane.

She's really cute.  She loves the boys and men in general.  She's pretty aloof around me and other women but she's really coming around.  She's a man's dog for sure.  She's her calmest when snuggling with Jay.  She loves to play and wrestle with Mack and he loves it just as much.

We are working on crate training first.  Given a blanket or towel in the crate, she will wet on it.  Remove the towel and she can go all night without wetting in her crate.  We're starting on a "Housebreak Your Dog in 7 Days" program with hopes that she'll learn quickly so she isn't crate-bound all the time.  I can't wait until she gets a little bigger so that I can let her out back freely, but right now I'm afraid she'd get out the gaps in my fence.  Fences are expensive to replace (I've been getting quotes).

A shot of her full body.  Anyone guess what she's mixed with?
Catahoula Hound and……. ??????

The boys are really doing all the work and they complain very little.  Truthfully, Super C is my complainer.  Super E never, ever complains when asked to do something.  He's such a servant.   I, of course, have threatened that the minute they complain about having to walk or feed the puppy, that she is out the door to another family who won't complain about her.

We'll see how she grows up.  At this point, I wouldn't call her "low energy" like Juneau or Mack, but it could just be that puppy energy too.  We'll see.  She's starting to sit with me nicely when Mack isn't around to play.  Catahoulas are hunting dogs and would therefore have high energy.  Who knows how this will fit.

Those ears!  They are ENORMOUS!
Could there be shepherd in her?

And the name?  Well, Jay named her after Reese [Witherspoon] since she is from Louisiana and the Catahoula is the state dog of Louisiana.

She's pretty darn cute.

Welcome, Reese!

And so long to any ounce of sanity I once had!

Four

Yesterday my girl turned four!  We surprised her with a balloon drop in her doorway in the morning.  I put her in a cute lime green dress, pinned a Birthday Girl ribbon to the dress, pulled her hair back, and let her wear the tiara that I wore on my wedding day.

What a princess!

We had a celebratory donut for breakfast before running off to Build A Bear.  My boys got to make bears when they were younger and now it was L's turn.  I had hoped she'd choose the panda bear and I had hoped that the store had the cute red Asian silk dress for the bear that I had seen online.  Strike on both accounts.  My girl did not want the panda bear, but chose a cream colored bear.  It was about half the price of the panda, so I'm not complaining there!  The store didn't have the Asian silk, but my girl chose a red, white and blue shirt and a denim skirt.  She again chose the cheap route without even knowing.  Not complaining.  As a matter of fact, when we checked out for less then $25 I felt I could have let her pick out something else for the bear, like maybe underpants.  Yes, underpants for a teddy bear.  Very cute.  But maybe for another time.

The heat nearly melted us as we hiked back to the car and we headed home for lunch and playtime.

We had dinner without Jay because he forgot he had a dinner meeting.  Quiet Tiger chose spaghetti over Chinese food, so spaghetti it was on her special day.  We held off on opening any family gifts since Jay wasn't home.

We were gone the week before to Jackson Hole, WY (blog post forthcoming), so I wasn't planning a party for my girl at all.  But I received an email while we were gone from a friend requesting a playmate with our China girls.  I asked if Tuesday night would work for swimming and cake at my house.  They were excited to come.  We invited 2 other families (1 was able to make it) who we are quite close with and it turned into a very impromptu but fun, low-key party.

I hope my girl felt celebrated.  We are looking forward to the Fabulous Fours!

The reality of today is…

The day was not void of sadness.  Indeed, this day is heartbreaking and tearful and sorrowful.

Why?

You see, a woman on the other side of the globe is desperately missing her daughter.  She is wondering where her daughter is, if she is safe, if she is healthy, if she is loved.

This woman was my daughter's birth mom.  

I think of her often.  On this celebratory day for us, we mourn with this China mom, a woman I will never ever know in this life.  I wish she could somehow know today that her daughter…

...is safe

...that she is healthy

…that she is growing

...that she is smart

...that she is funny

...that she is a little stinker

...that she loves dogs

...that she loves noodles

...that she loves Hello Kitty

…that she loves to play

…that she loves to swim

…that she loves to color

…that she loves stickers, temporary tattoos and face paint

…that her favorite color is yellow and calls it "lellow"

…that she is a nature girl

…that she picks up rocks wherever she goes

…that she is NOT disabled

…that her one-handedness does not hold her back

…that she is determined

…that she is stubborn

…that she is talkative

…that she smiles, laughs and dances

…that she is gorgeous

…that she has beautiful long hair, perfect silky skin and gorgeous dark eyes

…that she has friends

…that she has three dogs

…that she has 2 big brothers

…that she has a mom and a dad

…that she is LOVED

Oh, China mom, if only you knew.  

I am sad for your loss.  I am thankful for bravery.  I salute your decision to choose life.  I thank you for those 2 months where you kept her by your side, safe in your arms.  I am honored to be raising your daughter.

I pray for your salvation so we can meet in Heaven.  What a joyous celebration that will be.

Oh, China mom.  If only you knew.

Yes, birthdays are a mix of very real, very raw emotions.

Happy 4th Birthday, Quiet Tiger!

School Girl!

Thanks to the June Photo Challenge, I didn't get a chance to update you on some BIG NEWS for our Quiet Tiger.

This fall she will be going to school!!!!!

We have noticed issues with our girl since day one.  Thanks to friends in the adoption community, I quickly began wondering if our daughter could have Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD).  

I noticed it in China, the rocking back and forth when stressed.  I thought it a self soothing behavior and thought it would subside.

We witnessed it quickly when we came home, the head banging in her crib at night.  It only escalated from there:

Spinning

Constantly moving

Putting things in mouth like a baby

Repeating sounds over and over and over again

Dislike of certain foods due to texture

Hair pulling

Etc.

Yet more than the SPD, are some of her daily behaviors that just aren't quite up to par with kids her age.  These things are beyond a difference in personality.  My list of "off" behaviors is long for sure!  Friends urged me to have her evaluated at the school district to see if she'd qualify for services.  I called, she endured a 2-hour evaluation and……she qualified!  We're getting help this fall!  

You'll never guess what happened at our post-evaluation ARD meeting.  While for the most part, my girl is smart as a whip, her behaviors certainly did show through.  At the end of the meeting, one gentleman approached me and I was told he would be L's teacher.  And get this….  He told me that he is an adoptive dad of 7 children!  He looked me in the eye and said words that I will never forget, words that gave me such relief to know that…

 I am not crazy.  

He stepped forward and said to me, 

"I see what you see.  And we can help!"

He gets me!  He understands where I'm coming from as an adoptive parent!  He sees the behaviors that I see.  AND he can help my daughter!!!!!

The program runs 5 days a week at a school near my home, although not the school closest to my house.  It is a full day program, but I can and will elect to send her for only half days.  I can get schoolwork done with my boys in the morning while she's gone, we can pick her up and have lunch together and have our afternoons free.  Admittedly, it is a little weird to be a homeschooling mom sending one child to public school, but this is a good thing!  I am very excited for her and for what this can do for our family!

I'll share more details as we get closer to August.  In the meantime, please pray for our Quiet Tiger, that this next year is absolutely tremendous for her in pre-school!

So stay tuned for those First Day of Pre-School photos!

JPC - June 26-30

The last week of June found us busy with Jay's Summer Regional Event for work.  It's much like a company's annual sales meeting.  Jay has classes during the day that he has to attend.  There's even one or two for me.  There is a family event one night with good food, dancing and drawings for door prizes.    The last night is the more formal awards dinner when the kids go off to provided childcare (pizza party and movie night) and the adults get dressed up and enjoy 5-star food and spirits.  Employees are then awarded for their efforts during the past year.

If you're a fan of The Office, I do liken it to the Dundies, just a much more formal version.  I do find myself wanting to chant, "Dundies!  Dundies!  Dundies!" during the awards.

Jay didn't think he was up for any awards this year.
Last year he won the very prestigious Ted Jones Prospecting Award.
This year, he was surprised to win not just 1 award, but 2!
The plaque is magnetized and the medallions can be moved and added as he earns more.
He received the plaque and the smaller medallion first - the Edward Jones Eagle Award.
He then received the Spirit of Partnership Award, the larger medallion.
Awesome job, Jaybird!

A close-up of his awards.
This will hang on the wall in his office.
He's good at what he does, folks.
You can't have your hard earned money in better hands.
Let me know if he can help you.  He's licensed in many states!

And now back to the photo challenge.  Since we were gone, I didn't get these specific pictures on the actual dates, but these were all taken when we got home.

June 26 - Hose

This is my kitchen faucet.  I picked it out for my Mother's Day gift.
Before I had the side by side knobs that you have to turn to get water flowing.
Not exactly smart when you have hands full of raw meats or something harmful.
I wanted something that I could flick on with my wrist and something that had a pull-down hose,
since my first faucet has no hose at all.
I love my new faucet.
The only problem is that my husband likes to spray me with the hose when he rinses his dishes after dinner, which he just did before I wrote this, so found it fitting for the June Photo Challenge "Hose" picture.
I live with a practical joker.

June 27 - Patio

On the back of our house we have the large, 2-level deck that wraps half way around the above ground pool.
But we also have this patio.
We don't use it.
It's home to our grill and a fire pit and that's about it.
Sometimes the kids play basketball out here but in the summer, we pull their Fisher Price b-ball hoop to the pool so we can play in the water.
We don't use the fire pit because…. well, this is Texas and a fire isn't necessary.
So, we have a patio that we don't use.  I wish I had some creative ideas for this space.
Anyone?

June 28 - Asia 

Having to take this picture of our globe really reminded me that I seriously need to start shopping for 6th grade curriculum for Super C.  We are sticking with Sonlight and this year will be the unit on Asia, which I hear is phenomenal!  Ebay, here I come.  Time to start shopping!

June 29 - Hot

Texas is H-O-T.
I liken Texas summers to Chicago winters.
HOW ON EARTH can I say that?
Well, in Chicago winter, if you don't have to go out, you don't.  Too cold, too much snow, etc., etc.
Same here.
In Texas summer, if you don't have to go out, you don't.  
Too hot.  Car can't cool down.  Children (and adults) melt before your eyes.  You sweat buckets just going to the mailbox,  etc., etc.
Not a fan of Texas summers.  Bring on WINTER!!!!

June 30 - Garden

I don't have a garden.  Remember, I'm Miss Black Thumb.
Thankfully, my flowers out front are still alive!
This tree is about a year old.  It's a Key Lime.
During our "cold" winter when we dipped into the 30's, I accidentally forgot to bring this inside one night.
The leaves turned brown immediately.
I clipped them all off, thinking I had killed my tree and began cutting it back so I could throw it in the trash.
Once I clipped all the dead stuff back, it began growing again.
Not sure it will ever produce fruit again, but we'll see.  

And that's a wrap for the June Photo Challenge.  Thanks for sticking with me.  I had fun completing this project.  Perhaps I'll have Super C do one for our upcoming trip to Jackson Hole later this summer. Would be a good summer writing project for him, don't you think?

Try a photo challenge of your own.  I'd love to follow along!