Mollie's New Toy

Mollie has found a toy that she loves just as much as Mieke loves her sticks. Michael threw a frisbee for her and she went wild! Mieke has never much liked frisbees - we tried, but I guess she didn't like the feel of the plastic in her mouth. (Yeah - splinters are so much better...) But Mollie is craaaazzzy for the frisbee. We have to throw it upside down for her so she can pick it up, but I'm sure as she gets bigger, we'll be able to throw it and she'll catch it before it hits the ground. Don't get me wrong, she'll still chase Mieke and her stick, but throw a frisbee and she will forget all about the stick and Mieke. At least this was a fun diversion from all the problems with the house!

Pollyanna Syndrome (Otherwise known as The Glad Game)

I was so excited today because Navopache Electric was FINALLY coming to hook up the meter box to our electric pole. FINALLY electricity throughout the house. FINALLY being able to use more than one appliance at a time. FINALLY a porch light and hall light and electricity to the back bedrooms. FINALLY no more extension cords. The meter box was FINALLY installed and Michael was FINALLY able to throw the main breaker. Luckily I was in the house when he was outside throwing the breaker...because our two TVs inside the house blew up and started smoking. I pulled the plug on both of them and yelled for Michael to get in the house to get the TVs outside because I was afraid they would start a fire. All the power had been off all day, so the food in my fridge and freezer was beginning to thaw or come to room temperature and now it looked like we might have to get everything out and take to neighbors so we wouldn't lose all our food. Every light bulb throughout the house was blown and had to be replaced and the circuit board on my relatively new dishwasher is fried. The electrician did admit to hooking a wire up incorrectly - the ground wire.

OK - now for the Glad Game. I'm so glad my computer (which was plugged in and turned on) didn't fry like the TVs, the dishwasher and all the lightbulbs. I'm glad the electrician was able to come out and trouble shoot and get all the electricity on throughout the house. I'm glad I was in the house when Michael threw the breaker switch. I'm glad I have a porch light, entry light, hall light and lights in all the bedrooms. I'm glad my house didn't burn down. I'm glad I had the presence of mind to unplug the TVs immediately. And we plugged in both of the TVs and I'm glad one actually still works - the other is definitely fried and won't power on. The one that works is the smallest and newest one and has some lines through the picture, but I'm glad we can still watch a DVD if we want to. I'm glad I didn't have to take all the food out of the fridge and freezer - everything is ok all the way down to the Schwann's Rocky Road Ice Cream. If you look hard enough, you can find a lot of reasons to be glad and count your blessings!! And now for a gigantic bowl of Rocky Road ice cream...

The Four "M's"

That would be Mom, Michael, Mieke, and Mollie! Everyone has been asking for pictures of our puppies, Mieke and Mollie. (We affectionately call them Princess Mieke and Miss Mollie.) Mieke will be a year old on Sept. 6th - it's hard to believe we have had her for almost a year (we got her when she was 7 weeks old). I think she is finally full-grown! She has stopped growing tall and has really filled out and has so much muscle strength. Mollie is almost 4 months old and really has a fun personality. This weekend we had Tara's dogs, Shadow and Ritz and Jared's dog, Kanal here. Whenever Michael would throw the stick for Mieke (her most favorite thing in the world, besides Michael), Mollie would herd the other dogs away from Mieke so she could get her stick without interference. Mieke and Mollie play well together - sometimes it's like having a 4 yr. old and 2 yr. old in the house again. If Mollie gets a ball or toy, Mieke takes it away from her. They fight over bones, toys, and get jealous if one gets more attention than the other. They chase each other around the chairs, down the hall and into the bedroom to jump on the bed and start all over again. They absolutely love being outside and even play "King of the Hill" on the dirt piles. We believe they will protect each other from the coyotes that seem so close sometimes here. And, of course, we hope they will protect us. Most of all, we appreciate their company and unconditional love.