The Truth about Cats and Dogs...and My Daughter

When we went to New York last fall, we went to FAO Schwarz and the Toys R Us in Times Square.  They are the best toy stores in the world....a dream for a little girl.  They have every Barbie and Princess you could possibly imagine.  They have dolls you would dream your whole entire childhood life about.  I was so excited for Jesse.  I couldn't wait to see what she chose to take home.

Everything caught her eye.  She started grabbing just about everything in the beginning.  But then, she saw something different.  There was a display.  You could hear him from a distance.  It sounded like barking.  What is that?

We went closer.

And there he was.  He was getting so much attention.  He is battery operated and barks and low and behold...

moves to all four legs and eventually does a flip all on his own.  He's a cute little thing.  She had to have him.

She has said this about every stuffed or toy dog we have ever seen.

She has loved him.  I took these pictures last weekend.  She took him with us last Sunday morning to practice baseball with Jonah.

It's remarkable actually.

And then came Luke.  He was a dream come true for all of us.  He was everything we could ask for.  He's protective and loyal and smart and loving.  He does not do flips...yet.

He has funny ears.  They were floppy at first, but now he is getting better at holding them up.  We do a cheer when we see him point them both towards the sky.

So far, he's been absolutely perfect.

He even gets along really well with our neighbor's pet.

Meet Lucky.

Luke and Lucky have touched noses, and I hope to eventually show you the proof.  I'm amazed at how well they get along.  Jesse loves Lucky too.

So, I think I have covered my bases.

Jesse loves dogs.

We got a dog.

Jesse loves cats too.

There's just this one thing...

After a series of back pricks last week and 12 shots on Monday, we have realized this.

Our sweet (sometimes sweet anyway) Jesse girl is...allergic to dogs, cats, mice, dust, red oak and ragweed.  You heard that right.  Allergic.  Don't faint Grandmommy.

The most surprising being dogs.

I don't know the answers.  It's not severe at all.  It's a concern.  We will take steps to minimize the effects.

I just can't let him go right now.  She loves him.  I have no plans to let him go...right now.  We'll see how it goes.

It's sort of like ice cream for me.  I'm not supposed to eat it.  But...what's life with no ice cream?  I just deal with it and go through Dairy Queen from time to time anyway.  I just think it is worth it.  Oh goodness.  I have a serious, serious weakness for Butterfinger Blizzards.  But anyway, I have a point, I think.

The doc said not to panic.  Not to do anything drastic.  That sounds like good advice that I plan on taking.  (That's about the only smart thing the doc said.)

Oh Jesse girl.  I'm sorry about this.  I hope it is something you grow out of.  You know what is so funny?  After your shots, I went to work and Daddy took you to Target for a prize.  You got two puppies in a purse.  You have just about every pet in a purse that Target sells.

We will have to freeze them to kill the dust mites in them.  That's what the doc said.  She actually told me to freeze your stuffed animals.

I'm going to have to buy footy, flannel pajamas for you and your icy, furry friends.

Good grief.  I love you my sweet allergic, dog loving angel.

Fall Ball

Here we go again.  It's been a full week of scrimmage games and practices.  Jonah's team is the Bulls this season.  They are preparing for the opening game next week.  It's going to be great.

It's hard seeing all the action when Jesse begs for the playground.  So, I make the decision to leave my boy in his coaches' hands and go let her do her thing.

After all, she's pretty dang supportive of him...hanging out at all his games like she does.



It's the least I could do.



Watching her is a great reward after a long day at work.



She sure is making it hard for me not to cry.



So is he.  He's grown so much since that first T-ball game.



It's going to be OK.  It's going to be a great season.

Funny how a crazy week alone with the kids doesn't seem to matter anymore.

Crazy how much I love them.

Crazy how after all these years, I still can't wait to see my love come home tomorrow.

Life is crazy, and it's good.

Self Taught

Photography is a great hobby for a Mom.  I sometimes wonder if I would have picked it up if I didn't have kids.  Maybe not.  Maybe so.  Who knows?

All I know is how much I enjoy it.   The only way I am going to get better is to just keep snapping and playing with my settings and actually start paying attention to what those settings are.

Like this butterfly.  It was so breezy out Sunday evening.  It was almost impossible to capture one of these babies with my butterfly bush flowing so crazy in the wind.  This was the best I could do.

Canon Rebel; f/1.8; ISO 400; 1/1000s; 50mm

And these two nuts.  They were just not going to be serious for me at all.  I didn't care though.  I'm just practicin'.


Canon Rebel; f/2; ISO 400; 1/1000 s; 50mm

The f-stop (f/2) gave me that beautiful blur in the background.  It can burn you if you are not careful though.  See how blurry Jonah is?  But actually, I like this one this way.

I don't care.  Do whatever you want kids.


Canon Rebel; f/2; ISO 400; 1/1000 s; 50mm

The 50 mm is so cheap and so insanely good...which is why I am hooked on it.  You have to be careful with it though.  I'm just learnin'.  It's the tech geek in me...I guess?

And...well...it's an excuse to capture these two nuts.

Someday

It's a joy to find pictures taken by someone else with my camera.  I have no idea who took this one.  Of course, there's only a couple of people it could be.

I'm in love with it.



That's a wild effect ha?  Photoshop.  I'm just scratching the surface.

Anyway, thanks to my secret photographer.  You captured my little Taylor Swift fan in the most perfect light.  Good job.

Meet Luke

We did it.  We've entered a world of squeaky toys and doggie bowls and poop bags and sharp baby teeth and...a giant box of frozen raw sardines?  Now that last point I didn't expect, but I'll tell you about that another time.  We have entered the world of puppy.

Meet Luke.



He's a German Shepherd.



He was the "lime" collar puppy out of the "O" litter.



A rather handsome fellow I think.



He's pretty awesome.



And really, he's cute and all, but what I have fallen in love with is his personality.  He's easy going.



He's loving.



He's going to love her.



And protect her.



And him too.  Well, after a few scratches here and there.

He's one of us now.  He'll go with us everywhere.

He eats raw meat.

He's Luke.

Actually, he's Copper "Luke" Orion.

Copper...because Jonah wanted Copper after the famous hound dog in The Fox in the Hound.

Luke...because we thought it fit him.

Orion....because he's from the "O" litter and needed an "O" name for his paperwork.  Orion is the famous constellation.  He hunted for us, and we longed for him.  It has a lot of meanings that are important to me.



"Whoever said you can't buy happiness forgot about puppies." - Gene Hill



Thank you in advance Luke.  Thank you.

And thank you Kennels Von Lotta.  You guys are amazing!

A Conversation with the Sun

It was morning.

We had a visitor.  He was large and warm and loving.

"Well, hello there beautiful Sun.  Nice to see ya.  Why don't you shine some light on that sweet face over there now would ya?  My camera is charged, and I'm staring at her anyway.  I might as well use it, and you sure could help me out.  OK?" I asked.

"Well sure.  I'd love to," replied the Sun.

"There's nothing better than the sweet cheeks and sparkling eyes of a child.  I prefer to shine on them over anything else," the Sun continued.

"I agree Mr. Sun.  I do not emit rays, but I'm sure there is some sort of chemical that pours out of me when I look at her.  Whatever it is, it feels so good to me too."

"Yeah, it does come out of you, and I can see it.  I have an eye for these things," agreed the Sun.

"Wow, that's amazing.  I wish I could be you sometimes," I replied.

"It's hot up here honey," the Sun said matter of factly.

"I know, but you shine on the world," I said.



"Good point my dear," remarked the Sun.



"But you get to touch those beautiful cheeks and hold her hand as she drifts to sleep," the Sun continued.



"Oh yes, and tickle her and make her laugh and hold her when she cries," I agreed.



"Exactly my dear.  I will do my part, you will do yours, and we will make this a beautiful place," said the Sun.

"I like how you think.  We're a team...you and me.  Thank you for shining on my angel and making my morning so great," I cheerfully replied.

"I'm always here.  Even when you can't see me.  I'm always here."

"Thanks.  Oh, and please introduce yourself to her one day when she is all grown up.  She is going to love talking to you," I said.

"I know.  The Moon told me all about her already.  I'm secretly in competition with him for her affection," the Sun acknowledged.

"Oh.  Good luck with that," I stated.

"I know.  I got my work cut out for me ha?" asked the Sun.

"Maybe not.  She's me, and I sure do like you just the same," I ended with a smile.

Imagination is a wonderful thing.  And Jesse, you have always been my Sunshine.

Down River

Once upon a time there was a girl named Heather (that's me).  She had a friend with the same name.  Her friend recognized how much she enjoyed kayaking with her before, so she invited her and her son (that's Jonah) to tag along on another nice trip with her and her son (that's Grant).

Forgive me.  I don't know what has gotten in to me.  I'm pretending to be an author.  I don't think I'm doing a very good job.

Anyway...

It took a few seconds and the boys were best buddies...throwing fun punches and screams in the back seat of Heather's (not me) Toyota.

"Hey guys, keep your hands to yourself!" screamed both Heathers.

They were pumped.  And their Moms were pumped as well.  Yeah, pumped full of muscle because the two of them loaded and unloaded two kayaks off the top of that Toyota all by themselves.  Actually, it was a combination of determination and muscle.

Anyway...again forgive me, but this is fun.

The boys got a feel for the river before we went up to put the kayaks in.  No way Heather (that's me...this is confusing isn't it?) wasn't going to capture some of this.

The boys jumped around and threw rocks and loved it.



Again, playing and talking like they have known each other forever.



It was a wonderful thing to watch.



And this is a wonderful child.



They looked so angelic like standing there, but their Mom's remembered how they sounded just moments before in that Toyota.

Heather (that's me) said, "Ok boys.  We just lugged those kayaks to the river.  We are all set.  Come on!  Run to me!"  Something like that anyway.

Heather (doesn't matter which one) has looked at these one hundred times because she loves them so much.

She (that's me) talks about spirit a lot and capturing it in her blogs.  This right here is a prime example.

Typical boys happy and excited to make a new friend and go on an adventure.

Full of life.

Full of energy.

And they fill their mother's hearts with joy every single day.

And the river was perfect and high and not crowded and we had a picnic and stopped and played with dogs and watched kids jump off a high rock and when we got to the end, none of us wanted it to be over.  And just today Jonah asked me when we could do it again.  What a wonderful experience.

Wait a minute, that was in the wrong tense.

Anyway...

And they all lived happily ever after.

Down river...down yonder on the Chatahoochee to be exact.

Thank you Heather.  I love your love of the outdoors and how you have brought that love and appreciation out in me as well.  You're a good Mama, and a good friend to all.