ONE YEAR AGO TODAY

THEA - June 15, 2007 - one year ago today - the painful decision to not let you suffer was made. That was one of the most painful days of my life and I had many more after that - thinking of you and missing you. You were my "soulmate" - we did so many things together and went through so much together.

But today - instead of being sad - it will be a day of remembering your life and all the good things and fun things you did and we did. We had 14 wonderful years and God blessed me with you and I will always thank Him for you.

The first picture we took of you. We had only had you for less than a week - you were about 8 months old and already I loved you. And even though you were small, you still thought you were tougher than Spirit!!

Then we decided to let you become a momma. But even though you had an adorable baby girl, she didn't live. You were very sad for awhile but we got through that.

Then we decided to torment you and Tiki came into our life. She was very much a "stinker" and always wanted to play and wrestle with you. At first you didn't want anything to do with her but then you became best friends forever.

You always made us laugh when you wanted something - cause even if we put it up high out of your reach, you would show us by jumping very high and taking it from us!! You did love to jump. You could jump from a standstill at my feet and jump into my arms with no effort. And then there was Christmas!!! How you loved Christmas and getting into the presents and the paper. You thought every present was yours!! You were so funny at Christmas.

Then Fancy came along and the three of you were the best of buddies!!! You would all race around the yard, chasing each other and jumping out at each other!! You were so much fun to watch. You were definitely "The Three Amigos"!!

The time then came when the Lord showed me what He wanted us to do. I discovered you were wonderful with the elderly at nursery homes. You loved being with Mom when she was first admitted to the nursing home. You slept with her when she took a nap and sometimes even didn't want to go home with me. I think you would have been content to spend the night with her. After we came home, our therapy dog training began and you spent many hours visiting nursing homes, hospitals, special education classes. You logged in "officially" 250 visits to receive your "Outstanding Therapy Dog" award. But I would guess you had over 500 visits in your career as a therapy dog. You were so patient with everyone and would sit so quietly on their laps to be petted. You were a blessing to them and to me.

As you got older, you became deaf and didn't see very well and you became very white around your muzzle and head. But that didn't stop you from continuing to enjoy your visits and playing with your buddies.

As your time here grew shorter, you still continued to give me your love and I loved you in return. You were pampered and cuddled and loved. Today I won't think about the last few weeks of your life. They were hard and it makes me sad to think of that time. So instead I will remember you in all the silly and wonderful things you did - jumping at my back when it was time to eat, running up and getting in my face and staring into my eyes when I first came home from work as if to say - "Are you really home??"; sitting with Mom on her lap, getting Fancy by the throat and spinning her around on the floor, going to sleep on Jo's lap and waving bye to her, and curling up by my side in bed every night.


I love you Thea and I miss you still a lot - but I will always, always have 14 years of wonderful memories in my heart that will never be lost!!!

THEA
08/06/92 - 06/15/07

WILD, WILD ANIMALS!!!

We made it to our safari ride!! Had a great tour guide - very funny. Saw lots of wild animals - my favorites being the elephants. I love elephants. The momma and baby elephant were so precious. And of course we saw rhinos, alligators, zebras, giraffes, and this wart hog!! Cute, isn't it??!! Of course, I instantly thought - PUMBA!!! It was so much fun riding on the safari with the entire group. We all took some good pictures and had a great time. After the safari, we headed for the "Lion King" show where I got to see PUMBA!!! It was a great show.

Later on, we went to the Dinosaur Ride. Had to wait in line awhile for that one but it was exciting. But the most exciting part was the "Wild and Dangerous" animals we saw while waiting in line!!! There was the T-Rex skeleton - very big and I was glad it was not real!!! Can you imagine coming face to face with that!!

But then, there was the most scary animal of all - and it looked right at me and at my camera - I was soooooo scared but I managed to get a picture of this wild and dangerous animal before it ran away!!!

It was the Bettyasaurus!!! It was touch and go for a minute - but we all came away safe and sound!!! Hahahahahahahaha!!! We all had so much fun - memories we will treasure forever!!

OH NO!!! WHAT IS IT???

Yesterday Terri and I went up to Virginia and that is where Terri had her hair done and I got my hair cut also. While we were there, we took a little drive up to "Hungry Mother State Park" which was about a 10 minute drive from where we were. It was a very pretty drive and we have decided we are going to go back another weekend and spend all day in the park when we have more time. But while we were there - this critter made it into our car and came home with us!!! What is it??? It is a possum (the state animal for Tennessee - just kidding!!). The possum is about the ugliest animal on the earth - it is a giant rat with gray hair and a hairless tail. As I said - UGLY. And we had a LIVE one on our back porch the other night - a baby one but it was still a live one and UGLY!! It is hopefully gone now. But anyway - we went into the visitors center and there was this stuffed possum and somehow (through the magic of money!!) he made it into this bag and into my car and into MY bedroom!!! Hahahahaha! I just couldn't resist him - he has a hoodie on that says - "VA State Parks - "Possumably" the best!!" I ask you - Who Could Resist That???!!!!

WE'RE OFF - TO THE ANIMAL KINGDOM

OK - it is now Sunday and the WHOLE family is going to Disney's Animal Kingdom!!! There are 12 of us going!!! We started out the morning getting our pictures taken. First there were the "Three Mickeys" - Aunt Dixie, ME, and Pat. We had all bought the same t-shirt at Disney and wore them Sunday. And we instantly became the "Three Mickeys". We had fun with that all day. Of course then there were the "non-conformists!!!" - the one of a kind, non-matching threesome!!! - Carole, Betty, and Ann. Oh well, some people just have to be unique!!

When we arrived at the Animal Kingdom, we each had to have a "buddy" and each twosome was responsible for each other. That didn't always work. But we basically did pretty well. We started out heading for the Safari as we had "fast passes" and had to be there at a certain time to get right on the ride. So we were "booking it" to that. But I did get to stop and take a picture of one of the "main points" of the park - this tree!! Very unique and a lovely picture. (I also got to stop for a moment and catch my breath! Ha!) We arrived at the safari and went right on - no waiting!!!

Next up - WILD ANIMALS!!!

SHE DID IT!!!

Finally!!! After nudging and pushing and trying to gently persuade her (has taken a year or two) - Terri finally got her hair colored today!!! And it looks great!!! The lady who did it did a terrific job. It is not a blaringly jolting change - just a subtle change. Terri really likes it also. So - tell me what you all think!!! The first picture by the lake was taken in March of this year and the other one was taken today.

"THE BABY"

A little break from the "birthday celebration" blogging. Today was a little stressful for both myself and "the baby" - Fancy. Fancy is our youngest Italian Greyhound and even though she is almost 12, she will always be "the baby". Of course now we have Fannie Mae and she is the youngest dog but Fancy is and always will be "the baby". Today Fancy had to have a liver biopsy. I always get a little stressed when one of the greyhounds has to be put under anesthesia. But she is a little trooper, and she came through the procedure just fine. Last week we did some routine yearly bloodwork on Fancy (who has just about every problem a dog could have!!!) and now her liver values were GREATLY elevated. So we did a test called a "bile acid test" which tests the function of the liver. It also was GREATLY elevated which means her liver is not functioning properly. In order to know what is going on - a liver biopsy has to be performed. So today she had one done. Dr. Baird did an ultrasound-guided biopsy and got a good sample. He did say her liver was pretty small (which is not a good thing) and the sample was kind of pale (also not a good thing). We sent it off to a lab for the biopsy and should get the results next week. It could be anything from cancer to hepatitis to cirrhosis to just liver failure. She has so many problems - this is just one more organ to develop something wrong. She has days where she eats like a trooper and feels good, then she will have days where she won't eat at all and then days when she eats but throws it all back up. I tell myself not to worry or borrow trouble but it is difficult when you look into the eyes of one of your little "babies" and you know they don't feel well. But I will keep putting her in God's hands and pray that He will keep her with us for a long while. He has kept her with us through so many problems (which are still continuing but are being managed). I pray He will do the same thing again and help us to know how to manage this problem. And as always we will continue to love on her and spoil her rotten (as we do all three of our "little girls"!!).

MORE SURPRISES!

THE NEXT SURPRISE!! The surprise birthday party with all their friends held at the clubhouse on Saturday. And yes - she was definitely surprised again!! She was told we were going to have family pictures taken. Had no idea a party was in process. And again - Vince and Michele did a fantastic job. There was a catered meal of barbeque ribs, chicken, beans, salad, and much much more. It was delicious. Plus they had a drink bar and then the birthday cake!! There was another surprise for Marilyn that happened on Friday - Mike and Bev showed up at the house!! Mike had talked to Marilyn earlier in the day and told her he would talk to her later that evening. He just neglected to tell her it would be IN PERSON!!

The party was great and I know Marilyn felt very loved by all the people who showed up to wish her a Happy Birthday. Vince introduced us all to her friends before we ate and his introduction and his heartfelt thanks and love for us all touched my heart (as I am sure it touched the other siblings).

I was so happy to be a part of this wonderful birthday celebration. The love I FELT from Vince and Marilyn meant so much to me and I know they felt the LOVE we all have for them.

This party was the last of the surprises and Vince was very relieved. It was very hard on him to keep all those surprises a secret!!!! But he did a great job!

Next up - The Animal Kingdom

RELATIONSHIPS

When I saw this statue at Disney World, I thought - that is how ALL THIS (Disney World, Epcot, Disneyland, Animal Kingdom, movies, etc.) was started. A man named Walt Disney created a little mouse named Mickey Mouse. And they became "Partners"! And that was some relationship. Many many years later - one cannot think of Mickey without thinking Disney.

When I was thinking of that relationship - I began thinking of other relationships that in my life mean alot to me (and even more to the people involved). They are my sisters and brother - Marilyn AND Vince; Larry AND Betty; Pat AND Sully; Carole AND Dave; Ann AND Al. Those relationships say a lot to me. I thank God for each and every one. And I love each and every one. Each of those have a very wonderful relationship - marriage, partners, friends. Then there is the relationship we all have to each other - family - siblings - friends. And then our relationship to the rest of the family - Aunt Dixie, my nieces and nephews - my siblings' children and grandchildren. All those relationships all meld together in a loving, wonderful way - called FAMILY. And I thank God for my family and for blessing our family in so many ways.

But the most important relationship of all for ME and I hope for the rest of my family - is the loving, most personal relationship I have with God the Father and Jesus, His Son. There is not a day goes by that I do not give thanks to God for His Son Jesus who died for me so I can forever be with HIM. What love - love we cannot even begin to imagine. Divine Love - Amazing Love. I love Jesus and I love God the Father and I know when I get to Heaven I will know even greater love than I have now!!

"Thank You Father for loving ME - for loving me with a love I cannot even begin to fathom. I love you Father and I pray I will always show my love for You in everything I do!!"