Making himself at home.....

As you can see from the photos, Zoro is making himself quite at home. My favorite is the first picture, of him peeking out to see where I went when I left the bathroom. Priceless! I have kept him confined to our upstairs bathroom since he came home last week, as he's supposed to not be jumping and running stairs, etc., until his incision heals. I've let him out into the two adjoining rooms for some freedom the last two days, and he's enjoyed every bit of it. I hope to give him free reign of the house by early next week......

Holy Bling Batman!

OK, no offense to the Pens, because I am a huge fan and all. But can anyone say GAWDY? What were they thinking when they had this ring designed? It's entirely too large for their hands, period. It looks ridiculous, in my humble opinion. And quite frankly, it looks painful to wear. I'm sure it's not exactly comfortable rubbing against their other fingers. And can anyone say prime target for theft? You can see them coming with those things on their hands a mile away. Although, I'm not sure I'd want to try to take one from them since those things make brass knuckles look like sissy gear.


Anyone else with me on this? I'd love to hear some thoughts about it.

What a week!

Last week, my mother and father in law came for a visit. They haven't been here since Connor was born, so it was a real treat to have them come stay with us. They live in Alberta, Canada.

Connor just loved having Grandma and Grandpa Berg here for a week. He's a little upset they went home yesterday, and even tried to take their luggage back upstairs when they were trying to get it loaded in the car.

We had a great week and are glad for the time we had with them. I have a ton more pictures from our week and will be posting them throughout this week, so stay tuned!

GOT HIM!

This time tomorrow, Zoro will be well on his way to getting neutered, cleaned up and taken care of at the vet.

It is nothing short of a miracle that I caught him. He isn't easy to get your hands on. He lets me pet him, but that's about it. Isaak tried to grab him first, which only served to scare him away. This was yesterday. So this morning, when he came for food, it took me 20 minutes to get him to even come near me. Once I could touch him, I put both hands on him and petted awhile. Then BAM! I grabbed him and put him in the oversize dog crate. He's really mad at me (as you can see from the photo), but he'll get over it. Eventually. Maybe.

I have a feeling the real fun will happen once I move him inside. Pray for me, people. I'm going to need it!

So you had a bad day?

See this guy over here? That's how I feel right about now. To say today hasn't been particularly swell would be the understatement of the year. By lunchtime, I was wondering whose Cheerios I peed on to be having such a bad day. Apparently, half the free world was irritated with me due to reasons I have yet to figure out. But it seems like I just couldn't suit anyone no matter what I did, so about 10 minutes ago, I just quit trying. In retrospect, had I known what a crappy day I was going to have, I never would have gotten out of bed. I am seriously thinking about crawling under my bed now and staying there for at least 3 days. So if you don't see me for awhile, you won't have to wonder what happened.

Achoo....the flu

In honor of flu season, I am including links to the CDC's website, where they offer wonderful tips on how to prevent yourself from getting the swine flu (or really any other flu, cold or illness). Here it is: http://www.cdc.gov/H1N1FLU/

Let me just say that if you are sick, STAY HOME! That has got to be my biggest irritation during cold and flu season is when people are clearly sick come out in public anyway. Let me assure you that God will not be mad if you miss church because you're sick, and your coworkers will thank you for keeping your germs to yourself by STAYING HOME.

Repeat it now with me.....STAY HOME.

Remember that bit of cold and flu prevention advice, and we'll all be OK. :)

Connor had his first practice with Pittsburgh Special Hockey this afternoon. He was too timid to get out on the ice without daddy, so he didn't do a whole lot today. Hopefully, he'll be more brave next week.

All of the hockey equipment for these kids was donated by the Pittsburgh Penguins, which was really cool. Not only are they champs, but they care about their community, too. Thanks Pens!

If you're interested in learning more about the Pittsburgh Special Hockey Association, go to www.pittsburghspecialhockey.org

Remembering those who have fallen.....

On this day, the eight year anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Psalm 91:1 has been discussed greatly as a source of strength. I have found the entire psalm to be one relevent to this event. Please join me in reading it today in remembrance of those who lost their lives and those who have been left behind.


PSALM 91

1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. [a]
2 I will say [b] of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."
3 Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.
8 You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.
9 If you make the Most High your dwelling— even the LORD, who is my refuge-
10 then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread upon the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
14 "Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation."
@Copyright: www.Biblegateway.com

R.I.P. Gerald Giraffe.....

Most kids become obsessed with putting things in the toilet shortly after they are able to walk and explore. Not my kid. He's big into it right now, at age 4. And it's not just the toilet....it's anywhere there's standing water (or any liquid for that matter). I've had cars dropped into my tea, the cat has had various things put into his water dish and just last week, Gerald the Giraffe (pictured above) became a victim of the toilet. Usually when Connor does this, the toy can be removed and washed off. Not so with Gerald. Unfortunately, he chose to toss Gerald into the toilet just as Isaak was flushing it. Before Isaak could react, Gerald was gone down the tubes. Now, Gerald was one of the miniature beenie babies handed out by McDonald's in their Happy Meals, so he wasn't as large as Connor's other stuff toys. Otherwise, he would surely have clogged the toilet, which would have caused another issue. Could you imagine calling a plumber and telling him a giraffe clogged your toilet? That would require a lot of explanation!

Connor has asked about Gerald a lot, and doesn't seem to get that we can't retrieve him. It's made for a rough couple of days. Hopefully this will put an end to his tossing stuff into the toilet and other liquid containers.......but I'm not holding my breath. :)

Might as well dance.....

WHY?

Sometimes we wonder, 'What did I do to deserve this?' or 'Why did God have to do this to me?' Here is a wonderful explanation! A daughter is telling her Mother how everything is going wrong, she's failing algebra, her boyfriend broke up with her and her best friend is moving away. Meanwhile, her Mother is baking a cake and asks her daughter if she would like a snack, and the daughter says, 'Absolutely Mom, I love your cake.' 'Here, have some cooking oil,' her Mother offers. 'Yuck' says her daughter. 'How about a couple raw eggs?' 'Gross, Mom!' 'Would you like some flour then? Or maybe baking soda?' 'Mom, those are all yucky!' To which the mother replies: 'Yes, all those things seem bad all by themselves. But when they are put together in the right way, they make a wonderfully delicious cake!' God works the same way. Many times we wonder why He would let us go through such bad and difficult times But God knows that when He puts these things all in His order, they always work for good! We just have to trust Him and, eventually, they will all make something wonderful! God is crazy about you. He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning. Whenever you want to talk, He'll listen. He can live anywhere in the universe, and He chose your heart. If you like this, send this on to the people you really care about. Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance.

***A very dear friend sent me this today (thanks Bob!). I thought I'd share it with you all.

Still alive.....and fun at the zoo!

Yes, I'm still alive. I know it's been awhile, but hey---I'm working three part-time jobs. I'm a little busy. :)

Anyway, we went to the zoo today (me, Connor, my sister and my niece). It was a beautiful day for it and we all had fun. The polar bears were really active. The photo above looks ominous, but the bear was actually just smiling at us. Whichever of the two brothers this one is, he likes to "ham it up" with the people. He swam by over and over again, putting his face up against the glass and then "smiling" before he'd dive again. He was quite a performer. The other photo is of Connor and Melina coming out of the stingray tunnel. If you haven't been to the zoo for awhile, take some time and go. It's great fun.