Parker's party and my soapbox

My little boy is now 2 years old! It's hard to believe. Time has gone by so fast. He turned 2 last Saturday. When he woke up he wanted to open his presents and open presents we did. He enjoyed them all but his favorite was his chain saw. (No worries, it isn't a real one.) He's been helping his daddy in our woods, cut up some trees that have fallen over. He thought he was big stuff getting his own chain saw. Afterwards, we went to eat breakfast. Came back home to play and pack to leave for LIttle Rock. Only to find out that one of his birthday presents didn't work. It was a weed eater. I had to explain to my now 2 year old that he couldn't play with his weed eater because it was broke and we had to take it back. He was not happy. He was happy to get a new one that worked though.

We had his birthday party in Bryant. All of Parker's friends live in the Little Rock area. It was a beautiful day for a birthday party. I loved seeing Parker play with his sweet friends. I really enjoyed catching up to my friends too. My dad even came to the party, and he doesn't leave the house for anything!




Instead of his party guests bringing gifts to the party we asked that they bring food donations to help a food pantry here in Batesville. We got a lot of donations and Parker didn't miss the presents. He had too much fun enjoying the company of his friends and playing on the playground. What better way to show little Parker the importance of helping people in need? One of life's greatest lessons.

After the party we went to my parents and played. He stayed up a little past his bed time and easily went to sleep. He is a great sleeper but that night he woke up at 1:00 am and whined for about 10 minutes. I laid in bed wondering what he was doing up. It was quiet for the next 45 minutes. At 1:45 am, he woke up again. This time I walked to the room he was sleeping in and listened. He was saying, "ain aw." (chain saw). Yes, he had gone to sleep with his chain saw. Being that it is not soft, cuddly, and very clunky, I snuck it out of his bed after he had fallen asleep. Apparently he woke up and realized he did not have it and wanted it. So, i handed him his chain saw and told him to go back to sleep. DIdn't hear from him until 7:15 that next morning. Little Stinker.

Here is is trying to cut his birthday cake with his chain saw


Saying prayers with pawpaw.

Bradley had to be out of town for work so it was just little Parker and I this past week. We had so much fun. I love spending time with little Parker and cherish all of the things we do.

Something that's been on my heart the last couple of days is the story of the sweet pit bull who was nearly starved to death and then thrown down a garbage shoot. I'll spare the extra details and pictures because it is completely heart breaking. Oh so heart breaking. I encourage all of you to pray for this dog. His name is Patrick. He has a facebook page. The doctor's believe that he will make it and he will find a fabulous home due to the publicity he has received. I'm sure there is even a waiting list for him. What hurts my heart even more, is that there are thousands of "patricks" that will die unnoticed and will not be saved. THere are SO many dogs who don't have homes. So many dogs live in shelters or are euthanized because no one wants them. How sad. Please, if you are considering getting a dog, adopt from a shelter. Spay and neuter your animals. Pray for these sweet souls who are waiting for someone to pick them and for the ones who are being abused.

A little of this and a little of that

I've been so busy this week! Parker's 2nd birthday is Saturday and so is his birthday party. We are having it in Bryant (where my parents live). So i've been trying to get everything together for that.

It's really hard to believe that Parker will be 2. This time two years ago I was making sure everything was packed to go to the hospital and enjoying my last day of being child-free! I was scheduled to be induced on the 18th. Parker has made my life complete. I love being his mom and am so thankful I am able to stay home with him. There isn't anything I would rather be doing!

This little stinker has just made me googly eyed over him. He is really a good boy and he has made it easy on me. He is definately developing his own personality. He is Mr. Independent, Mr. Fix it, and Mr. Funny. It often takes two of us to change a diaper or change his clothes. If I'm by myself, it usually takes some heavy convincing on my part to change his clothes.

Some things that Parker really loves:
Pizza, his puppy dogs ("E", "Ma", and "Ax"...(which totally sounds like another word for your bottom)), Elmo, Olivia, helping daddy with anything, tools, cooking, slides, football, baseball, razorbacks, cats, big trucks, tractors, saying "no", playing hide and seek, drinking "good juice" (apple juice), hot dogs, chocolate, gum.

Some things Parker doesn't really like:
Riding in the car, changing his diaper, and time out.

Parker loves his puppy dogs. I am thankful he is growing up with them. Teaching him to love animals is such a precious thing. (Especially, homeless animals!!!!) He loves sneaking them food, feeding them, brushing them, walking them, and picking up their stinky presents in the backyard. Nothing more precious than a little boy and his dogs.

I am really excited about being in Little Rock this weekend. I love being with my mom and dad and Parker does too. He just goes crazy over "Ana" and "pawpaw". It's really sweet to watch.

"Happy tails!"

I have had a couple of pretty gloomy/depressing days so I thought I would write about something I really love and something I love to talk about.

If you know me well enough, you would know that I love dogs. But, not just any dogs (although I love dogs in general), rescue dogs and shelter dogs. LOVE them.

I haven't always loved dogs. In fact, there was a time in my life, a very long time, that I didn't like dogs and thought they were gross. It wasn't until college that my love of dogs began to blossom.

I worked for an animal hospital while in college. All too often, there would be a humane society dog or cat that would come through who needed medical care and sometimes who needed immediate medical care. Every Wednesday our clinic would do a couple of free spay/neuters for the Humane Society. I loved checking these animals into the hospital but I also didn't like it. I desperately wanted to find out if they had a home to go to when they finally got fixed, but all too often, I was told by the nice volunteer, "no, this one doesn't have a home. he/she's so sweet. he/she's been there for a year; two years." My heart would sink every time I heard that. Every humane society dog that came in I would spend a little time with. Scratch them behind the ears, rub their belly, and sneak them an extra treat. I'd tell them that while I know they don't have a home that I will pray for them to find a home and that I love them.

My first birthday that I had, as a married lady, I asked for no presents. I wanted to go buy things for these homeless dogs. I had never been to the shelter or looked at the dogs living in cages. So I was really anxious and fearful of how I would feel when I went to donate these items. I really wanted to go but then again, I didn't want too. I just decided to put my big girl undies on and do it. And off we went.

Words cant describe all of the emotions I had when I was dropping it off. It was great because these dogs were safe, fed, and out of bad weather. It was bad because ALL these dogs loved people and they were stuck in cages. It was as if they were all saying to me, "if you just take me outside, i'll show you how good I am. Then maybe you'll get me out of here."

I walked out of the humane society sobbing like a little baby. I had never experienced anything like that before. It was completely heart breaking to me and totally depressing in every sense of the word. I kept thinking of the looks on their precious faces, their tails wagging, and their barks. I kept thinking that I hurt their feelings when I walked past their cage and didn't let them out to play. I decided that I had to go back. I could help these dogs. I could at least go spend a few hours each week with him...maybe make some difference in their life.

And we went back, and back some more. I was completely hooked and almost addicted to helping these dogs. We started off walking one dog at a time. Then we put two dogs in a play pen together. Then we were a part of a training. We spend every weekend out there and developed some really great friends, all of whom I love dearly.

It is mind boggling to me that someone would choose to buy a dog rather than adopt a dog. (But, I'll save this for another posting.) I just would encourage you to volunteer. Put your big girl or boy undies on and GO. These dogs need people to help them. Donate your money. A lot of shelters run on donations only and receive no state or gov funding. Donate food or treats. Donate toys. Donate your newspaper. Most of all, Donate your time and take a dog for a walk...scratch a dog's belly and tell him/her that he is loved in this world.

I shudder at the thought that there are dogs being euthanized who think that they are alone in this world and that no one loves them.

If you are considering getting a dog, I urge you to look at your local shelters, look on petfinder.com or ask me! I love to help people find the perfect rescue dog. I love happy endings...or rather, "happy tails!"

Below are 3 pictures that I love. My 3 rescue dogs and my little boy.

A sick boy, A night away, and A charred husband?

Wow, it's been a while. We have been very busy lately. A week and a half ago Brad went on a fishing/camping trip for his birthday. I was excited about a weekend with just Parker and I. That Friday I noticed that he wasn't quite himself but he definately wasn't sick enough to take to the dr. I thought it was just sinus stuff. That Saturday he was a little worse and Sunday he was really sick. This was his first time being really sick. (He's had a couple colds/runny nose and one ear infection last summer). He wasn't eating and drinking just a little bit. He had a fever on Saturday and had one most of the day on Sunday. Sunday he started to fall asleep at about 6:15 in the evening. We keep Parker on a strict schedule of sleep so we know that this wasn't a good sign. I kept noticing he was feeling hotter and hotter and he had ibuprofen in him. Took his temp and it was 102.0. We finally decided to lay him down at about 7:15 p.m. We kept taking his temp and it was slowly going up. I was crying and just completely beside myself.

My oldest brother died when he was 4 from meningitis. Being that this was Parker's first time being really sick all I could think of was if something was seriously wrong with Parker and he wasn't going to make it. Generally speaking, I always seem to think the worse thing could happen in any situation. So then my mind began going and going and I was thinking of what life would be like without Parker and if I could even continue living. I called my mom and talked to her for a while, which helped a lot.

Took Parker to the DR a week ago Monday, (which was a terrible experience). My child was sick, very sick. Our appointment was at 10 am. We arrived just a few minutes before 10. The lady behind the desk wasn't helpful and was doing other work while I stood waiting at the window. There is no germ-x in the waiting room. And I kept thinking we were all going to catch the flu/strep because I touched a door knob that other people have touched. gross. We finally got called back to an exam room at 10:30. We waited...and waited. Around 11, I finally open the exam room door ...thinking someone would walk by. Again, my child is very sick and we are sitting in a small exam room and all he wants to do is sleep. We try to keep him awake so the Dr. can examine him. At 11:15, the dr. rushes in and says, "well we have strep. Here's an antibiotic. It may turn his poop pink." I say to her, "He is about to fall asleep so if you are going to examine him you need to do so now." She listens to his heart and checks his ears and that's it. She was in there maybe a minute...and that may be exaggerating. Really? YOu don't offer any suggestions on what to do with a sick child or if we can alternate tylenol/ibuprofen? you don't offer anything...and we've waited an hour and a half to see you? Ugh. I was totally disgusted. I kept thinking to myself...your clinic opens up at 8 our appt was at 10..you are really that far behind? really? you are making sick kids wait that long? It was a terrible experience. (This was our 2nd time at this clinic. Our first time we had to wait an hour.) I miss our LR pediatrician.

Anyway, Parker had strep. My poor baby. He is feeling better. Praise God.

Last week I had a continuing education class in Little ROck. Bradley took off work to watch Parker. I spent my first night away from my baby boy. And, I did not like it...not one bit. All I could do was think about Parker and wondered what he was doing. I missed him like crazy. His daddy took good care of him. I wouldn't leave him with anyone else overnight. I hated being away from Parker overnight and don't plan on doing it again.

This past Sunday morning (after early church), we were playing in the front yard. Bradley wanted to make a burn pile and burn some leaves. I tell him, "Are you sure you know what you're doing? How do you know it's not going to catch the grass on fire, or the trees?" Bradley reassured me, "I've done this hundreds of times. This is what we did growing up. It's not going to catch the grass on fire." I still doubt him and say, "Should I call the fire dept and alert them what you are about to do?" I am totally not convinced that this is going to go right. (See, I do think of the worse case scenerio!) I had a feeling that something wasn't going to go right. I have never burned leaves in my life nor been around a burn pile. Brad seemed pretty confident in what he was about to do. He asked me to go get the camping fluid out of the garage. I ask, "What's camping fluid?" He told me and I went and got it. Again, I say to him, "Bradley, Isn't this going to catch the house on fire? Are you sure it's not going to catch the grass on fire? How do you know?" I was totally concerned but Bradley seemed not to be. So, I took Parker and we stood very far away. Bradley put some camping fluid on the pile of leaves. (Which on the container of the fluid it says, "highly flammable.") He got down by the leaves to light it. I hear a BOOM and Bradley screams. I totally see his life flash before my eyes and run over to him. He looks a little stunned and confused about what just happened. He is not on fire, his still has his hair and his eye brows. "How are you not on fire," I asked, "because that fire came towards you and it looked like you were on fire." I called my husband an inappropriate name and told him not to do that again. it scared me. We laugh about it now and I enjoy telling the story. So thankful he is ok and not burned...because he could have easily been burned. Praise God.

Have a good day everyone!