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Monday, March 26, 2012

now that's a happy dog!



figured i'd start the work week off with a positive post about baby, whom i haven't spoken about in a while. as most know from previous posts, baby has severe immune system depression that has led to an overgrowth of demodex mites on her body, resulting in a seemingly incurable case of demodex mange. i have tried everything for this dog and spent thousands of dollars on her in an attempt to help her heal and lead a physically healthy and comfortable life. in more recent times, loss of income has made this feat akin to trying to find a needle in a haystack, and eventually things got so bad that i contemplated putting her to sleep. she was always in pain, always scratching, always suffering from secondary infection and always one step away from misery. her only saving grace was that with a sweet heart and ever optimistic attitude, baby never let her condition get the best of her, until...

i was no longer able to keep her. she had to move in with my mother, who then, due to financial reasons, decided to sell her house here in the north and move south. when she left, she could not bring baby. and since i couldn't bring baby home, that left her living with my sister. it was ok for a while, but as the months went on, baby started to become stressed from lonliness (my sister works about 60 hours a week) and her condition began to get worse. i tried to alleviate things by bringing baby over for weekend visits and keeping up with her diet and medical regimine, but having a new baby drowned that out quickly, and eventually i found myself desperate to get my dog and myself out of this no win situation.

it was only by the grace of God that this dog has gotten a new lease on life. no one would adopt her with such severe health problems (she also has allergies) and i had no financial recourse to help her. i was praying for my pooch regularly, for her help, for my help...for some way out of this mess!

and then it came, an answer to my prayers. in december 2011, my mother called me up and said, "i'm going to come and get my granddog baby, bring her down here with me (in north carolina) and let her see a vet down here. we'll see how she does." well, it's been a month that baby has been in her new home with grandma, and from the picture i was sent, it looks like she's getting along just fine in her new home. other than an aversion to walking on dewy grass in the morning, she is taking to country life just fine. for 200.00, my mother was able to get her care that would cost well over 1000.00 here. she has also been cleared to receive a mitoban dip by her new vet, who is watching her progress on the medication. my mother reports that baby has reacted wonderfully to the first treatment, and already doesn't scratch anymore! she has a slight infection in one eye, but it is being treated too. as is visible in the picture, her fur is even growing back in! all of this in less than a month is amazing! baby's favorite place is the huge yard my mother has, and despite the house being placed just off a very busy county road (which i call a 2 lane super highway), baby is safe and knows how to stay away from it. that was a concern of mine...

but goodness! i am so relieved that baby has a new lease on life, in a new place that she loves, with family! now THAT'S a blessing!

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

spring is here!



so, spring is here, and i couldn't wait to get back to blogging for some odd reason. maybe it's because everything is so new and it's a time to start over, or maybe it's because the longer and sunnier days have my disposition feeling cheery, or maybe it's just because i've missed my blog. at any rate, it's spring and i am happy to be blogging lol.

this year has been a blessing as always, and even through the struggles ive been having with my family and individually, we are still immensely blessed. ecobaby is growing taller every day and now sports a headfull of soft, curly locks! she has fully benefitted from mommy's breastmilk--my only regret is that i stopped her at 1 year instead of continuing on. however, it was becoming extremely difficult for me to produce milk even with fenugreek supplements, so i'm just thankful to have been able to give her nearly a year's worth of milk. with 6 pearly whites to show with every smile, she is now beyond walking to running and getting into everything, and keeping mommy, daddy and siblings diligently on our toes.

our oldest daughter is struggling in school. she is a very social creature, and has allowed her social life override her education, which has resulted in her grades slipping and her mouth getting her in trouble more often than not. as of a few weeks ago, she was actually in danger of repeating 6th grade. due to behavioral issues that have been professionally addressed, her struggles are a bit more intense than they would be under normal circumstances, so it is pretty much a critical situation with her. i am revamping the way that i approach this situation with her, because not only was my previous way of dealing with these difficulties counterproductive to her, they were also counterproductive to my family and i. we are now in a very delicate and very difficult to navigate position, but i am learning patience and to watch what i say and do with her, and it has been helping out. step by step, day by day, and some days seem slower than others, but looking back, i do see changes happening. i am continuing to pray over the situation, and i am continuing to look for Jesus' hand to guide us through.

our ten year old daughter has also been struggling a bit in school, but that's mainly due to laziness on her behalf, and a penchant for drawing and artwork that is overtaking a penchant for listening to the teacher. she absolutely loves her drawing and artwork, and lately her masterpeices have been not only taking over her world, but they've taken over ours as well! artwork all over the bedroom, all over my kitchen table, stuffed in every pocket of her bookbag. this is a passion gone awry, one that we have spoken about, and that she has promised to reign in just a bit. but by no means am i stopping her...we have the next picasso on our hands, believe me as i type it!

our 6 year old is progressing along very well. now more than halfway through kindergarten, she is finally taking to school, and got all a's and b's this marking period, an improvement from all b's and 1 c last marking period. because this is her first full year of school, her teacher is very pleased with her progress. she was struggling with letter recognition, but with the help of outside resources and learning books gifted to us from my mother, a retired teacher, she is coming along beautifully. i am especially pleased because she had such a difficult time adjusting to prek that i not only took her out of prek, but i was dreading kindergarten. but she's taking to it like a fish to water. this serves as a lesson for me never to underestimate my parenting skills. i went against my better judgement by sending her to school before i felt she was ready; now i am relieved to see that taking her out and keeping her home was a good move on my behalf. mornings are still a struggle for her, as she's not too thrilled with waking up so early, but once we get the ball rolling, everything is all good!

my husband is also doing well. although he has not gotten a permanent position anywhere as of yet, that is something for our prayer life, something that we are trusting God about. i would be afraid for us, but fear is not of God. so i have no place for it in my life or heart. i am happy to say that my husband has completed a 21 day fast (not perfectly, but he kept getting back up and going right back on the fast, and i can say his slip ups were unintentional. one meal he ate had bread in it and he didnt know)! i am so proud of him--and i do believe we were mightily blessed by his endeavor. he was saved in may of 2011, so that was a huge step for him. we are doing better than ever on our marital journey, keeping God first and allowing everything to fall into place. i'll be blogging more about this journey as time goes on.

now for me! whew. where to begin? i am teeter tottering on everything it seems. my weight, my thyroid, my studies, everything...even my blogging. i dont want to turn this into a pity party where i kick my own back in...but i am not happy with my progress on anything. another reason for blogging. to help me keep myself on track with the goals that i have in life. my life is so packed and so busy, that i deserve this to not only share myself and what i have to offer, but to help me keep myself on track, and get encouragement. which makes me even more fully welcome the spring and be happy it's here! a new season, a new beginning, and a new attitude!