Nasty bug!

Well I wish the bug I've had was as lovely to look at as these, but it ISN'T. Wednesday while Mike and Sari were here, my stomach started hurting. I thought it was the Motrin I took. Then Thursday after putting Bianca down I had the big D. I thought, " Well, stress can cause the big D." Then I kept having it- and it was getting worse- I started seeing blood and I got so weak I could not stand except for going to the bathroom- over and over. Finally on Friday, I told Jon, " I have got to get this cultured and see a doctor- I have NEVER been sick like this before. So we went to the Urgent Care Center (with my cup of bugs), I laid down the whole time, and he gave me Flagyl (antibiotic for nasty stomach bugs) and some Donnatal for the horrible pain in my stomach and cramping. 24 hours later, I could stand. 48 hours later I can help out around here a little. For those first two days, I honestly felt like I was in hell. I was sweating, freezing, sweating, soaking wet, and too weak to change clothes, so I just put more covers on. I was so weak that the only way I could get Jon or the girls to bring me food or meds was to dial the house phone from my cell phone. (I was upstairs away from the general population and common bathroom so noone else would get it.) Thank God Jon was off and my kids can fend for themselves as everyone was somewhere else doing fun things. I also forgot to take my antidepressants for three days which added to the depression I always get while being sick made me a raving LUNATIC. I wanted to die, I wanted all the animals to die, I wanted someone to kill me. I lay in bed and wished for Bianca's fate. ( I am serious- I wanted someone to put me to sleep- I thought about calling my vet, but I was pretty sure they wouldn't do it, even if I paid them. It was really really bad. Any little thing that someone said to me made me cry- I was a mess. But the good news is that I am feeling better- almost want to eat real food and haven't visited the bathroom in six hours. Jon and the kids did a great job taking care of the zoo. Thank you guys. Note to self- if you are going to be sick, make sure Jon crams the Lexapro down your throat!!!

Bianca- 1998?-2008

Today was a sad first for us. Even sadder, it will be taking place over and over as we take care of senior citizens. It is part of a job that we love,(taking care of seniors) but it is the part of the job that we dread. I took Bianca to be euthanized. Bianca came to us three years ago from Animal Care and Control with her sister, Tigger. She was a quiet, calm, peaceful dog who loved to be held like a baby and loved to lick me behind my ear. A year ago she was diagnosed with Pemphigus which is an auto immune disorder where the body attacks itself- her skin would break open with sores and the pads of her feet would seperate from the muscle of the pads. It was awful. My wonderful vet, Dr. Bouchelle diagnosed her and told me that it wasn't a war we would ever win but we could give her time with steroids. So she has been on Prednisone and Azothiaprine for almost a year which caused her to gain a tremendous amount of weight, take on fluid, and be voraciously hungry 24 hours a day. She has been uncomfortable and stays sleeping when she is not eating. So I decided today after praying about it for two weeks- it was the day. I cried so hard I thought I was going to throw up but when it was over, I felt such a weight off my shoulders. I held her and stroked her and told her to tell God hi for me. She went peacefully under the loving care of Dr. Rockefeller while I stroked her and told her what a wonderful dog she had been. She will be cremated. I usually bring our animals home but I didn't want to bury this dog. I wanted her to be returned to dust so her sad overweight body can be shed and she will have her new body in heaven. (Don't even start with me about animals, their souls, and whether they go to heaven.) The kids are sad but understand that euthanasia is the final act of love an owner can give an old or sick dog. Pray for Tigger- that her grief will be not too hard to bear and that she will eat. We love you, Bonki- Boogers. We love you so very much, Bonk Bonk. I will post her picture as soon as I can find a good one that shows her before she became so swollen and tired. :)

Thank you to some really special people, Mike and Sari!

In life there are friends, and then there are FRIENDS. I am so grateful for two of our friends, Mike and Sari- Mike works at Walgreens with Jon as a pharmacy tech, and Sari is his girlfriend/gonna get married to girl who studies psychology at college. Where do I start with these two? First of all, they are family to us. They come here often to hang out and eat with us and our kids consider them like an aunt and uncle. They are a joy to be with. I could hang out with Sari ALL DAY LONG. She is super bright, intuitive, compassionate, honest, loving, and a real friend to me and I thank God for her. Jon and Mike have a great friendship and often kill people on tv or the computer together. That's real friendship between men, you know.

Yesterday Sari called me with a semi- desperate sound to her voice- "Hey Annie, what are you doing today?" I replied, " Cleaning, organizing, cleaning, organizing, cleaning puppy poop and helping Jon get the house ready to shampoo the carpets, why?" "I HAVE GOT TO GET OUT OF THIS APARTMENT, CAN I PLEASE COME OVER?" "ABSOLUTELY- I'll be happy to see you!". So in about an hour, Sari and Mike walk in our house and I thought, " Oh, thank God, I need some help!" So they LITERALLY SPENT 12 HOURS with us- they folded clothes, they vacuumed carpets, they adored puppies and new mommas, Sari helped me go through my jewelry box (nightmare) and get my bedroom into shape. They let dogs out, they walked dogs, they let dogs in, they cleaned up after dogs, swam with my kids, they did it ALL. Now, that is a real friend. And I cannot tell you without crying how much it meant to me. We hadn't been able to get on top of things since the last five dogs came in- our children are first, the animals come second, and then the house comes last. So guess what was falling apart? Not my kids and not my animals. THE HOUSE. And Sari is a pro at organizing things- it's HER GOD given gift. So today I thank God again for Sari and Mike and tell them, " WE LOVE YOU!" "THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF OUR HEARTS!" They know that if they call us at four in the am with flooded carpet they have a place to stay- for as long as they need to. I would post pictures of them, but we were ENTIRELY TOO BUSY yesterday to take pictures. I will get some from Sari and add them later.

Em's new middle school look!!!

Hey everyone- we wanted you to see Emily's new haircut for middle school. She got it layered all over and today is day 2 so it doesn't look EXACTLY like it will but you can get a general idea- very polished and styled- we love it and so does Em. It was my gift to her for middle school- she's not a fru fru girl, so nails or clothes weren't needed- but a new haircut was a big ego boost for her. WE LOVE YOU EMILY BEMILY BOO!!!!!

Pharaoh's Haven two step- don't ya wanna join in???

There's a new dance craze sweeping our house, called the Pharaoh's Haven two step. I know you will want to join in after you read how much fun it is. It is neccesary to have puppies to do this dance so if you don't, you'll have to come here to do it. You need bare feet or tennishoes- either will work-
Step one- step in poop
Step two- lift foot in air and scream or moan (depends on your age and tolerance for poop)
Step three- Hop to bathroom, sink, or outside hose
Step four- mumble or scream about how much puppies poop
Step five- clean up feet or tennishoes
Step six- look at pup's faces and think, "Gosh it's good that they're so dang cute or I would kill them." SEE ABOVE PICS FOR PROOF OF CUTENESS. :)
Alternate two step- we do this dance more often than dance #1
Step one- watch pup poop or pee on floor
Step two- moan or scream as above
Step three- clean it up
Step four- ask yourself and God, " Now why am I doing this again, Lord?"
Now, we thought that by limiting the pups and their mom to the master bathroom we could avoid the Haven Two Step, but it hasn't worked out in theory. For instance, when Jules decides to take the pups out front with their mother, one will stop and do their business FAST on the wood floor- thank God they haven't hit the carpet yet- everyone else has. In fact, today is shampoo the carpets day. Honestly we need to rip it all up forever, but we can't afford more wood floors. So, we will do our best to clean filth (that's an oxymoron) and keep looking to God for guidance. The good news is I am setting up my own Petfinder site to get these guys homes SOON, and then life will be back to some sort of quasi- normal. Today I wrote the mom of the house we got the pups and Willow from a long heart felt letter about God, hope, and the way God can help her get order and loving discipline in her home- Pray that it goes over well.