New Addition to the Family...

So we have a new addition to our little family.  A friend of ours moved closer to his school after getting out of the military and to his kids, but could only keep on of his dogs.  So there was no decision, he kept his dog Boon, who he has had for almost three years.  Cutest thing you have ever seen, Boon is a well behaved boy.  But he wanted a good home for his little female, who is six months.  Gerry and I agreed we would take her, ensuring that she would go to a loving family, who loves dogs.  She is just a lover!  She cuddles, handles our beastly puppy Legend well when they play, he is a bit of a rough houser!  She is just gorgeous and fits right in!  Legend is a character as well.  Smart and funny, we have had him for three years.  His tricks are numerous: Bow, Sit, Lay Down, Shake (both paw, or hands as we call them), Up, Stand Up, Whisper and Speak.  Baby Girl (her name was Faith, but she didn't answer to it), is learning from him is a character in her own right.  She loves her belly to be rubbed and when meeting you that is the first thing she offers you.  She loves to sleep on her back with her head stretched out, when she wants you to play with her or give her attention she slaps at you with her paws, cute, cute.  She has the biggest doe eyes, beautiful!  Her and Legend both sleep with me when I need to lay down to sleep off a migraine (Legend senses when they are coming on and refuses to leave my side, what a dog!).  They both just love!  Legend is Gerry's dog in his own right and Baby Girl has become mine in her own right, they pick their person.  On another note, Silver had to go, she was doing things in the house that we could not tolerate (like using the bathroom outside of her litter box and in our bed), so we asked a friend to find her a good home.  He has some friends that love cats and need them to control the mouse issues that they have in their barn.  She is healthy and happy.   Here are some pictures of our babies:

Baby Girl: Pretty In Pink

Legend Getting Some Sun

  Legend Waiting for Us to Come Home

Legend and Baby Girl Cuddling

Baby Girl Stretching Out On The Bed

Home Again...

Dean came home last month.  After all his visits outside of the hospital went so well, they released him from the hospital.  He is doing great.  We have had a few problems, but we expect them.  The major problems have been almost one month in between each other, which is much better than it was before.  Since he has come home, he has received the Aaronic Priesthood, his first assignment (which was to pass the sacrament for a small group that cannot make it to church Sunday's and he did this by himself).  He also has gone on his first hike for scouts as a twelve year old.  He was gone for three days, and had a blast, even though his pack was too heavy and he had been sunburned from not listening to mom and put on sunscreen like he was supposed to.  School got out a few weeks ago, and he he did very well for the last few quarters, he pulled his grades up tremendously from what they were in fifth grade and before he left for the hospital.  He will be participating in a summer tutoring program that the school runs every summer for extra help with language arts and math per recommendations of the teacher he had at the hospital (she was an excellent teacher, so we really took this to heart).  He will be doing this for four weeks and will be gone for half days.  I wish I could help him, but I am no good at math.  He also needs the socialization that is offered by public schools with his peers.  We are very proud of how he is doing!
Gerry is working on his retirement and is now seeing a doctor for his back.  Thank goodness, it has gotten to where he is in constant pain and the TMC just wants to put him on pain medication and really do nothing to treat or figure out what is truly going on with it to help relieve the pain.  There needs to be some serious changes to the way soldiers are taken care of by the Army, instead of throw them on pills and say they are fit for duty.  He has turned in his retirement packet and to my relief, people higher up are looking into the mission he helped successfully lead as NCOIC as MSP to help others be successful in theirs who got medals, they deserved one as well, but his then chain of command did nothing to follow through.  I also found out the paperwork will go to his General, who could look into it further.  This has been a major thorn in my side concerning his service here, Gerry is an exemplary soldier but has failed to be recognized for this while we have been here.  He has a clean service record, takes care of his soldiers, is a good NCO, takes the NCO creed, soldiers creed and all that seriously, he is very old school Army.  Almost twenty years in the military will do that, he has seen changes come about  that he is not to thrilled about.  He is ready for retirement, and I think we are, too.  I am ready for a home of my own, and Dean is ready to stop moving around, and for his friends to stop moving around.
I am doing much better as well.  I am finally seeing a neurologist for my migraines.  The medication he has me on is really helping.  Not only that, but the preventative is helping me loose weight, something that has been alluding me here.  Since moving here, my health problems have caused my weight to balloon up.  I have now lost weight enough that I do not have to twist my wedding rights off anymore and my pants are getting loose.  I love it!  Hopefully I can start loosing enough to start feeling well enough to exercise.  My house is starting to come to order again, not that it was bad and horrible, but it was not up to my usual standard of organization.  My kitchen is immaculate once again, all the time, not just when I do not have a migraine and I am baking more frequently once again, something I had stopped doing almost altogether.  As far as the food changes with the medication, I just hate food right now.  If it is cooked in grease or it's own fat, I cannot stand it, it tastes like grease, YUCK!  Sweets are just not that appealing, so if I am craving something sweet, I only get a few bites then I am done, and I only eat about 1/4 of my previous servings which was never that big in the first place, unless I was at a church function, then I indulged myself a bit too much, lol.  I love fruit and vegetables even more and they are about the only things I can really eat right now.  I am loving fruit salads!  Mayonnaise is particularly disgusting to me, as well, so no tuna sandwiches, and I am struggling with finding ways that I can just eat meat period.  I am no longer drinking soda, it tastes like carbonated cough syrup, so gross, so water for me please.  Dairy is yummy as well.  Cheese, milk, eggs, yum!  I think I am getting all my protein from peanut butter and eggs.
That is all for now!  Enjoy!