Busy Busy

We have been busy, busy around here. I feel that as time goes on the less time we have to just hang out and relax. Our days have been filled with school activities, Dr. appointments, vet appointments, physical therapy for my neck, Thanksgiving dinner at Bryan's work, driving kids around here and there, visitors, a getaway for me and Bryan, and lots of other things. It's been crazy! I haven't taken many pictures lately. Here are the ones I have taken.

This picture reminds me of a paparazzi picture or something. Bennett looks like a celeb with his flat brimmed hat, zip hoodie and his skinny jeans! Niah thinks he looks like Justin Bieber. It makes me laugh. Bryan's mom, dad, and grandma came to see us last weekend. They stayed with the kids while Bryan and I went to Toledo to see Les Misreables. This was my fourth time seeing it and it was one of the best. It was incredible! Can I just tell you how great it was to be able to get away, even for only a night?! I needed that for sure. Thank you Shannon, Ferald, and Grandma-Great for making that possible!

I love having visitors! It gives me something to look forward to. I hate it when they leave though. This is the only picture I got while they were here. Terrible.
Here are the kids today. They were fighting and causing trouble this morning so I gave them a Sunday assignment! They are coloring pictures of family and Niah had questions she had to answer about why she loves her family and how she can make our home a happier place. I'm mean I know. They are happy now though and getting along great! :)
Another thing that we are dealing with right now is the dog. She was diagnosed with advanced hip dysplasia. Wah. We spent another load of money getting x-rays of her to see what was wrong. Our breeder has a two year health guarantee. I called him to see what our options are. He said he's never had anything like this happen before and would be happy to give us another dog. What?! Are you kidding?! I will not go through the puppy phase again and I would have to pay for shots, spaying, etc all over again! We don't want to give Mabel back, of course. She is part of the family now. Another option is a hip replacement. What?! No way. Who knows how much that will cost. For now, we are keeping her on meds to keep her comfortable. I'm sure her life span will shorten a lot and eventually she'll get arthritis and we'll probably have to put her down someday. Sad. We love her. It's so sad to see her limping all the time. She can barely get up after laying down and she has no endurance. She can run and play for about 10 or 15 minutes and then she's done. I guess one perk about this situation is that she is a great dog. She doesn't get into anything and she just kind of lays around all day. What are the chances we pick the one dog out of eleven that had hip dysplasia?! Oh well. We love Mabel and wouldn't trade her for anything.
That's what's been happening around here lately. I am looking forward to this week. Birthday, family, shopping, and lots of fun! Can't wait!