Painting update

Been working on this painting for obed's office ... when he gets one. Next year the church is doing an expansion and he has space to work right now, but after the expansion he will have his own office space ... so I have plenty of time to finish. =)

Balcony time with Doby ...

These were taken while we were still in our apartment in MO. Doby loved his balcony time, he would prop up his front paws on the ledge and watch the people and cars go by. It was so adorable!

Real dogs wear pink! ... lol... he's so cute!

still a painter at heart

This is a painting I'm working on for Obed's office. He likes to play guitar so created this picture in photoshop and am now working on a 20"x40" canvas and oil painting. This is the first photo I took, I have worked on it since this one was taken.

He's a smart dog

So we did take Doby to the beach (a few weeks ago) ... he loved it! But we ended up leaving a little later than we originally intended, so it was pretty dark already by the time we got out there ... it was beautiful with the light from the hotels all along the beach ... just didn't make great photos. Doby loved chasing the waves and seagulls ... we took him on a 30ft. leash so he could run around a bit but we could still reel him in if he took off after one of those seagulls ... his "come" command needs refining ... that is, when we're outside it doesn't work .... It was a great night, we ate What-a-burger under the stars, enjoyed the surf and spray, gave Doby a bath the next day, and still have sand in our car. =) Here's that photo of Doby snuggling in to Obed's warm spot on the bed ... after Obed left to go jogging. We recently started making Doby sleep in his crate ... with a King size bed he didn't seem to take up that much room ... however, he has grown a bit bigger since we first got him and the temporary double bed is considerably smaller. But Doby figured out his own system ... he goes willing to his crate plops down and is snoring before we even get into bed ... but when he hears Obed join him, he sneaks up onto our bed. He usually takes up a quarter of the bed ... then he wriggles around and little by little starts to stretch out ... before you know it, I feel myself being pushed to the edge of the bed ... then I reach down and ... yes, that is Doby's furry little body all curled up in the crook of my knee.

City life

Living in the city is very different than the country ... there are so many things moving all at once–cars, stoplights, people, billboards, etc. There are so many options for everything. Doby loves having access to the backyard. He just runs around like a wild, crazy dog—he's hilarious to watch. Hurrican, one of the dogs who lives here doesn't like Doby too much, we still have to keep an eye on him as he will nip at Doby at any given chance. It will be nice once we get our own home and a backyard for Doby so we don't have to separate the dogs just to put Doby outside to play. We're planning to take Doby to the beach on Saturday. He goes crazy playing with rocks and dirt we think he'll love it. It's been a while since we went to the beach last also .. so long I don't think I have a bathing suit that fits anymore...lol ... that's not really funny. This morning Doby hopped up on our bed after Obed left to go jogging... he stretched out where Obed had been laying and laid his head on my shoulder... it was so cute! When Obed came home he took a picture of us sleeping. Anyhow, thought I'd just leave a little note for today ... I need to get better at this blogging thing.

The trees were starting to turn colors, the air was crisp on early morning walks and the geese were beginning to fly south ... all signs of Fall and the approaching Winter. Fall is definitely my favorite season of the year. I'm glad we were able to enjoy it for a couple of weeks before moving down to the eternal summers of south Texas. For those of you faithful fans who have been checking for updates since ... several months ago, I must say, you are indeed faithful. We had a big move - this week and are getting settled in. We haven't found a house yet, but we have a place to stay until we find one. Obed's father is doing much better. He has his sense of humor, has gained a little weight back, and is much more energetic. We thank God for sparing him and allowing us to spend time with him. I have many more photos of Doby's antics. He's such an adorable face... you can almost tell what he's thinking from his facial expressions. This is one of my favorites.

April was a busy month ... obviously as there were no blogs posted all month! Obed flew with some friends to Egypt to film a speaker ... he was gone almost 2weeks. But while he was over there we found out his father was not doing too well physically. He had an enlarged heart and liver, which was cutting off his esophagus ... so he'd lost a lot of weight. He was also accumulating fluid in his lungs from pneumonia. Obed and I were able to email back and forth for the first few days since he had a laptop with him ... so he found out what was going on with his dad and had weighed the possibility of coming home early so we could go be with his family ... He decided to come back early from the trip when we got a call from his sister saying that his dad had just gone in for a heart surgery (a Perry Cardio Window) to remove the water from his heart. We finally flew down to TX and were still in the airport getting out luggage. I called Obed's sister to let her know we'd arrived safely and were about to get on the road for the hour drive to his house. She said, "Oh good, you'll probably get here about the same time as dad. The hospital just called and he's been released." We spent the next two and half weeks taking his mom and dad to his check up appointments and fixing all the little jobs that needed doing around the house ... including building a bathroom! His dad had started the project but had gotten tired, and kept feeling more and more tired. The bathroom was a fun project, I felt like I was on HGTV ... my favorite shows! We did the insulation, dry wall, painting, and plumbing. We built a wall to separate the bathroom from the bedroom and put in a pocket door. The most fun part for me was going shopping to buy the pedestal sink, toilet, and all the fixtures. Obed and I picked out matching silver and white ceramic fixtures and painted the walls a nice apple green shade. Obed's dad seemed to be recovering fairly well. He had lost a lot of weigh and looked so frail sitting between the couch pillows and he still tired easily the first week. By the end of the second week he was much more alert and perked up when his 6month old granddaughter was coo-ing at him. That was cute watching him making faces with her! I enjoyed the time we spent with Obed's family. I didn't know them as well as I do now - we had never had the opportunity to spend time together before. I think the family is closer after this experience. The day before we flew home all the family came over and we did family pictures. It was a beautiful day ...

Doby as "Crazy Dog"

Potty Times with Doby

I heard my mommy had a blog and I decided to watch her working on the computer while she thought I was sleeping to find out her blog site and password. Well, as you can see, I got her password and I'm making my own blog entry! Ha! So, I didn't know what to write about....since I've only lived with my new parents for a week, but I have learned to do new things and I've had new experiences. I decided I'd write about one of those things I've learned to do....and the experiences I've had: My Potty Times Here are a few pictures... and make sure to read the captions so you understand what I do during my potty times. I PLAY WITH LEAVES... I RUN ON GRASS... I USE THE MAT... TO WIPE MY PAWS.... AAAHHH......POTTY TIMES...I LOVE THEM.

Our New Puppy ... Doby!

We finally got a puppy ... he's healthy, happy, and having fun! We found another breeder much closer to our area through a recommendation from our vet visit with Diego. So close in fact, we drove over to pick him up during our lunch break!

Business Expo

Every year there is this business expo in a nearby town and this year we went to help out. My boss had a booth so we got to go in and look around. There was a booth there that had these huge snakes. The yellow one in the picture was 100lbs! There was a second yellow snake that weighed 75lbs. After we held the snake for the picture, my boss told me that one of them bit a lady 2years ago at the expo ... and they're still there, so I don't what happened but they say they're perfectly tame and have been around people since they were really small.

Goodbye Diego ...

So we had Diego for a day and half ... he got terribly sick and the vet said he had parvo. This is a really bad dog sickness, it shocks their whole system. As young as he is this could have after effects later on in his life, etc. The vet recommended we return him and find another breeder. I cried, I was already attached ... Obed was not so emotional about the whole ordeal. The Vet recommended another breeder to us, one that was closer whom he had worked with and said he could guarantee the puppies health. We just had to wait till the puppies at the new breeder were at least 6weeks old - since the last puppy had tested positive for parvo, the breeder just wanted to make sure her pups had their immunization shots before we came to visit. We totally understand ...

Diego!

Picking a Puppy ... which one?

The breeder met us halfway and brought a couple of puppies that we had picked out from her website so we could meet them in person. It was a tough decision just choosing one - they were all so cute!

Goofing around at Starbucks!

We stayed the night a cool hotel - Starbucks was just downstairs ... great breakfast coffee. Yes, you can tell I'm more of the morning person here.

Disposing of the Tree

Obed threw the tree off the balcony then dragged it out to the dumpster ... less mess that way. =) Go OBED! Whoo hoo!

Christmas Luch at the church

For lunch on Christmas Day a couple of families (including us) volunteered to prep and serve the food for a Christmas church family luncheon. We had fun working together and it is a blessing to bless others.

Christmas Morning ...

Christmas morning we all gathered together at mum and dad's house. In the living room under the Christmas tree the gifts were piling high! Last year we didn't get to be together and that was a strange Christmas ... this year we had two in-laws added to the party. The presents from grandparents were opened Christmas Eve ... plenty of chocolates and cookies for everyone!