They grow up so fast... *tear

Oh little Mauvey.

You arent so little anymore...

One of your first baths. You were so easy to get clean, and you actually smelled good for at least a few hours afterward. I could scoop you up in a towel and carry you around the house.

Not so much now.
Bathtime is a chore. You are patient and never try to hop out of the tub or shake everywhere, but regardless, bathtime is exhausting. By the time i'm done scrubbing, my back is aching and i'm a sweaty mess. You no longer fit in a towel, but instead are much more interested in eating the towel. Oh, and I dont even try to sniff for a pleasant odor, because it is never there.

Our first picture of sweet Mauve. You couldnt have been 10lbs in this picture- a little peanut furball.

I attempted another picture holding Mauve, but 50lbs of squirmy, licking dog doesnt make things easy. You're 22 and a half weeks old, and you love long walks (not on the beach- you're not allowed to go on the beach), digging up the backyard, your "baby"- a stuffed squeaker mouse, and getting in the middle of things when Jordan and I are trying to tie our shoes. You still havent quite gotten the hang of how to behave when visitors come by. Despite your issues with diarrhea and allergies, you're a pretty great doggy.

I cant think of a title.

While I was in Fort Worth this past weekend, Jordan took a day to visit his Dad.

Doesnt he look great!??

Mr Mims will go this coming week (Thanksgiving week) to his first evaluation for the TEAR challenge therapy program. This is the outpatient program Jordan and I were hoping he would get into, and the jury's still out as to whether or not insurance will cover it. It will begin as 4 hour days, 5 days per week, and then I think as progress is made, they back down to less time and less days per week. It focuses on physical, occupational, and cognitive therapy. Ms. Aretha, George's day time caretaker will drive him back & forth to therapy each day. He will officially start the program (if he is approved) the week after Thanksgiving. We are super thankful that he is being evaluated for this program and has reliable transportation to get there each day! Our God is faithful to provide all our needs!!

Operation Christmas Card Photo was revisited yesterday. We received copies of our first photos in the mail (PS- I LOVE Winkflash.com. They have the cheapest cheapest cheapest rates of any photo website I know of- and have all sorts of interesting sizes. I've only ever used them and I will continue to! Winkflash did not pay me for this. Just so you know.) and they were oriented the wrong way. I figured I could work with this, but I'd end up having to crop off half of Jordan's head or half of the dog. This = no bueno. The orientation thing was definitely my bad, and because all of the great pictures we got during photo shoot #1 were vertically oriented, I called our buddy Blaire up again for photo shoot #2. I havent seen official copies of #2, but I think they're doubly cuter than our first pic! After all was said & done yesterday, Jordan turns to me and goes, "I'm glad we retook pictures. I hated the first picture. I looked like a troll and Mauve looked possessed."

Maybe he didnt say "troll" exactly.

PS. I went for a run yesterday after taking nearly 3ish months off. It turned into more of a jog/walk and I'm pretty sore today. It's apparent: I'm painfully out of shape once again.

I spent last weekend in lovely DFW. It's been 3 months since my last visit, so I was long overdue for a haircut & color job! I just cant seem to bring myself to try out someone new- I just love my girl Jessica! I even had to track her down, because since my last visit she moved to a new salon. After shedding a good pound of hair, I feel like a new woman!

What else did I do last weekend? A lot of this... (thank you Curtis for the lovely snooze shot...)

...a lot of shopping (but never enough!)

...visits with old friends

...eating out - but not at Chili's!!!!!

It was a great weekend. I wish I'd been more proactive and took more pictures with my sweet sweet friends. I'm so glad they put up with me and all the running around I did. It made me sad going around to our old apartment and remembering all the great times we had with friends there. I miss our impromptu dinners and communal cook outs and borrowing eggs & sugar on a moment's notice. By no means do I miss our literal apartment! I L.O.V.E. our house (heck, only a cardboard box could be worse than our old bear cave!). Our friends who are still in seminary are set to graduate this year and soon I will have no reason to return to our old apartments. Please lift up our seminary friends in your prayers today: Greg, Kelli & Eli, who are settling into life in Tulsa, OK; Josh, Mendy & Jeshua, who are also settling into life in Madison/Harvest AL; and Joel, Stacy & Noah as well as Shannon, Amber & little baby Dylen (who has yet to make her grand entrance into the world) who are almost finished with the seminary chapter of their lives.

PS. I have some competition now! See the world through the hub's eyes!

FTGH

Meet Mauve, the Golden Dog

This stupid diarrhea has GOT to stop. Lets backtrack a bit, shall we?

Jordan's dad had a stroke on Tuesday, September 15. Mauve and the squirts started the subsequent weekend. That means we've been battling diarrhea on & off for almost 2 months now. We go to the vet. We get some meds. The squirts subside temporarily. The squirts come back. We go back to the vet. We get different meds. The squirts subside temporarily. Do you see the pattern here?

So just prior to our trip back to Augusta, we made a trip to the vet, got some meds and took it upon ourselves to start Mauvey on dog food made for sensitive systems. I dont know if it technically qualifies as hypoallergenic food, but we figured it was worth a shot.

(and as a side note: the sensitive systems dog food is made with salmon as the primary source of protein. Salmon. Which makes the kibble smell like meow mix. And makes my house and my dog's breath smell like dead fish. What smell is only marginally worse than dead fish? Doggy Diarrhea.)

So she finishes off the meds and the bag of sensitive dog food and not knowing whether it was the food or medicine that caused her blowouts, we switched her back to the old food. Within hours, the diarrhea was back. We figured immediately that it had been the food all along! All the while we were complaining, it was the food that she wasnt tolerating! We were so relieved and went out immediately and bought a new bag of sensitive systems food. The next day her diarrhea had dried up.

(here's another side note: it just so happens, we had to open a new bag of her old food when we switched back. One serving later, the bag was rolled closed for good. So if anyone nearby has a dog that eats Purina One, we have the 44lb Sam's size bag in our garage. FTGH.)

So then comes Wednesday morning. Once again, Mauve has had diarrhea in her kennel. No new foods, no table scraps, nothing crazy or out of the ordinary. She proceeds to have diarrhea at least 3 times Wednesday and then poops all night long too. So it's back to the vet we go. It's determined that she has a very sensitive stomach and Dr. Harrell thinks she's formed an intolerance to her doggy treats. So it's no more treats for Mauvey. Dr. Harrell says if the diarrhea doesnt clear up after eliminating the treats, she will change Mauve to a very restricted diet. I'm thinking... the dog eats sensitive dog food, no treats, and no table scraps-- how much more restricted does it get? Also, while being seen, Dr. Harrell notices she's been biting at several small places on her legs & belly. After doing some skin testing, it is determined that she doesnt have mites or fleas or something icky, but rather she is allergic to something in her environment. Perfect.

So, Jordan heads home from the vet with a bottle of medicated dog shampoo, a prescription for Flagyl (for the diarrhea), an antihistamine, and a much lighter wallet. She is to be shampooed twice a week and be fed yogurt with each meal. She is to have no treats, but only dog food, yogurt and water.

I've had human patients that aren't this needy.

PS. Mauvey's not really for sale. She's too cute to stay mad at.

The world needs commercialized Thanksgiving songs.

So here we are a week into November and I have barely scratched the surface of our 2009 Christmas cards. Thankfully our friend Blaire came by today and got some pictures -one of which we hope to use for our card! The pic above is just a little teaser!

So Mr. Mims is now home. He was denied anymore coverage in the rehab hospital by his insurance company because they were unable to prove he was making progress (I think that's what happened...). I was misinformed and had some wrong information in the last post. If he were to come home (which he is now), insurance will pay for home therapy but will not pay for a skilled person to stay with him during the day. They also have the option of putting him in an outpatient rehab facility, where he will go for a few hours each day and then go home. The only problem with outpatient therapy is finding a way to get him back & forth everyday to downtown Houston and home. As I said in the previous post, he is not ready to transfer to Mentis and according to one of his therapists, could need another 3-4 weeks of therapy before he is able to complete the tasks necessary to qualify. Nobody knows how easy it will be to approve a transfer to Mentis after he has already spent some time at home, so I dont know if this is even an option anymore. We still need lots of prayers for healing as Mr. Mims still has a very long recovery ahead.

I deleted Google Analytics.

5 days later and it still said I had no traffic on my blog? Dummies.

I hate you Google Analytics (and a George Update!)

I've had good ol google analytics hooked up to the blog for several months now, checking to see what kind of traffic I'm getting. It's been helpful -and interesting- to know where folks are looking in from and whatnot. Until this morning. For the first time ever since getting analytics, my visitor total read 0. Zero. Zilch. None. Nothing. Nada. Zip-o. I contemplated axing the analytics just to keep from seeing that again!

Apparently, Jordan and I (and Cas!) are the only ones who appreciate the youth Ministars!

I chose some fabulous fabric for the bathroom and the curtains are now d-o-n-e! I've shown them to one other person besides my hubby and she said they were very Donna Reed (hint!). Once I get towels and some fab matching accessories I'll take loads of pics, so check back soon!!!

I also have an update and prayer request from Mr. Mims. His stay at SLRH may be ending soon- but not because he's fully rehab'd. Insurance has only agreed to pay up to TODAY. This means, that unless his rehab doc can convince the insurance company that he needs more time (which is true!!!), he will be forced to go home sometime in the next couple of days. They would then only be left with the option of home rehab, which would have to be paid for out of pocket. Mr Mims still isnt at the point where Mentis (the neuroskills center) is an option. We need a lot of prayer that he will be able to stay in the rehab hospital!! He is able to transfer to and from a wheelchair (to the bed, to the toilet, etc.) but not without assistance. He can also move and squeeze his left hand!! He is making great great progress every week but is nowhere near ready to come home and care for himself! Both Mr. & Mrs. Mims are stressed about what will happen next. I will post again when I hear anything! Your prayers are appreciated!!!