Eli

Here are some newer photos of Eli- I haven't sent any out in awhile. I may be biased, but I think he's horribly handsome :D

Eli and Mommy at the Zoo!

Eli and I went to the zoo on Valentine's Day. There weren't many animals out, but we had a good time walking around :) He really liked the ducks and squirrels hahahah! We could've found those around home ;)

Tripp takes a trip!

Our only male dog works for his biscuits. He is a "donation" dog for Animal Protective League and he makes trips to schools to visit students in classrooms. Most recently he went to be with about 50 students during two periods of history.

Although he's not up to speed on world or even local history, Tripp helps demonstrate the importance of pet care. Together we talk with students about pets' needs. It turns out we can conclude pets and people need a lot of the same things - food, water, shelter, warmth (clothing for us), and love.

The basics give us all a better sense of worth, of well-being. When we have these we can provide them for others. We can pass it forward or return a favor. We can become ambassadors for better living right in our own neighborhoods.

The students we visit come from very broken homes. If they have pets often they are treated as things not living beings. Already that creates a similarity for them; as children in these homes they are not much different from the other "things" there. Respect, gratitude, kindness, gentleness, love - those characteristics, those human skills are not learned at home. The children rarely know these qualities exist let alone that they can be recipients and givers of them.

Sometimes it takes a dumb animal to teach what we need to know most.

Yet Another Good Book

Assuming you already know the BIBLE is the good book and you have already read that MERLE'S DOOR is an excellent choice if you value good writing, I have another suggestion.

Try THREE CUPS OF TEA. You'll learn how one man is doing the work of hundreds, building schools in mountain villages in Pakistan. It matters not whether these children are Muslim or Christian. What makes a difference is that they are learning. And, the "they" is everyone who has a piece of the action - all ages, all nationalities. In being taught they find there is less room for misunderstanding and more room for all humanity. The world hasn't changed in size, just in how it is seen. Perhaps we all need to put down guns and bombs and pick up books.

Could it be our wars are fought on the wrong battlefields?

Maggie's Legacy

Maggie, 1999-2008

Maggie ruling the roost. Maggie and her two best friends. Maggie and her latest student, another neglected and abused dog.
She went by Maggie Switter Hein or Maggie-Pie or a hundred other nicknames we had for her. She walked along side of me without her leash after years of being on it, just happy to be a part of a stroll. She loved sunning on the deck. But she also led the others in the ways and rules of the house. She was fiercely loyal and protective and in this end those qualities turned on her.
Someone let a dog run loose. Maggie and our other dogs, equally as proud and driven to know their territory is secured, did not like that. They revolted. The trouble is they were not out in our fenced in yard where they could bark but inside where they could not run the fence line and be done with it. She got hurt, badly. I feel we sacrificed her because someone carelessly let their dog run wild and our dog paid for it with her life.
Yesterday Maggie went "over the rainbow" as some pet lovers say. I know she now waits in Heaven with our other critters. I believe they go there; what would Heaven be if we could not be with the purest loves of our lives? They give all without expectations. We learn so much from them, choosing to apply it is up to us.
We parted with Maggie sadly but temporarily. We love her forever. She was stalwart, soft-hearted, and stubborn. Her early pre-us years of being mis-treated had been traded for a loving home, companions, and good living. We know she appreciated every moment. And, as is so often the case when we provide for others, we got more than we could ever give.
Goodbye for now, Sweet Poocheroo. We will walk together again someday.

I love this guy!

It's maybe a little known fact that I am a big fat American Idol lover. Yes I'm a nerd. Deep down really. I normally just like to watch the show and haven't actually liked an artist so much that I would buy their album at a later date. The tides may be changing!!! Jason Castro is a shy dreadlocked boy with a guitar- Who doesn't love that? I didn't even know I liked this song until now ; )

Ready? Set? GO!

It's a little early but then, is it, really? Can't every day be Valentine's Day? This is a German postcard that was in a collection my mother has had. It was one sent to an older sister or brother from relatives in Germany. I've scanned many of them and they are even more stunning as preserved images than they are in person.
Start early - tell someone you love them right now.Splurge! Get a flower for someone. Smile BIG at a stranger and wish him/her a GRAND and MEMORABLE day. Surprise a neighbor with a supersized cookie or a treat. Thank your pastor(s) and church staff for being there. Call the librarian(s) and tell them you appreciate them. Send thank you valentines to your favorite local charity staff. You know - make it up, get creative!