Off the Specified (or preferred) Route

I so needed to read this today:

http://www.mycharmingkids.net/2009/05/life-lessons-learned-from-navigation.html

This DM route is definitely not my preferred route, but God sees the highway through the field . . . .

A Break in the Rain

This one would look better if we had actual grass instead of weeds.

This one happened by accident but I thought it was pretty cool!

Salty & Sweet

Love this:

http://stufffchristianslike.blogspot.com/2009/04/532-arguing-about-why-bad-things-happen.html

And for a refreshing laugh:

http://stufffchristianslike.blogspot.com/2009/05/535-communion-tray-etiquette.html

Spring has sprung!

Finally, the perfect springy/summery background for the blog! I loved this one as soon as I saw it!

Happy Easter!!!

The Bailey Ears

At 13 years old, Bailey looks pretty much the same as he has for a while. (We won't talk about the graying chin!) He looks nothing like he did when he was a puppy though, and one reason for that (besides about 45 pounds) is the change in his ears. I think it's funny to compare pictures from the three different stages of The Bailey Ears.

Here's baby Bailey, at six weeks old, with floppy ears . . .

And here's adolescent Bailey, at 3 months old, with ears standing up but looking as if they're attached! (And look how much he grew in only 6 weeks!)

And here's a mature Bailey, probably around a year old, with his ears in their permanent position.

That rug he is standing on in the last picture may (or may not) have been placed there to cover a hole in the carpet that may (or may not) have been chewed by a strange dog who may (or may not) have broken into the house one night without anyone knowing. I'm sure it was not caused by Bailey, because he never chewed anything. Ever.

I guess that same strange dog must have also chewed the 7 individual shoes (never the same pair twice!), my bedroom furniture, Bailey's beds, the carpet in my room . . .

DM Links

Here's a link to a petition to the University of Florida to continue Dr. Clemmons' DM research in German shepherds:

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/SupportCriticalGSDMResearch

And Dr. Coates, who studies DM in corgis and boxers, has linked that version of DM with Lou Gehrig's disease:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090121174124.htm

******Oops! I had the petition link twice. I've corrected the link for the Lou Gehrig's article.

Praying for Baby Stellan

Spring At Last!

Bailey and I enjoyed the warm weather we had recently and spent lots of time outside. He could stay outside all day, watching and listening and sniffing!

And it was finally warm enough during a visit to accompany this little girl to the playground!

Her first picnic

And here are some cute pics of Bailey all snuggled up on his bed.

When I first bought him that 7-inch thick orthopedic foam bed from Foster & Smith several years ago, he would have nothing to do with it. He had always had the polyfill beds that are a lot flatter and did not know what to think about this one. It probably took two weeks before he would lie on it, and now, as you can see, he loves it!

Barking at the Rain

This week seems to have had a theme: Trial by Water. It started last Sunday, when I was getting ready to leave the house, walked into my bedroom, and water bubbled up from the carpet around my toes. After some searching, I discovered the water heater was leaking. The plumber could not come until Tuesday morning and, in the meantime, I used almost every towel in the house to try to contain the water, as it seeped through the wood flooring in the hall, leaving the slats to darken, buckle and separate. And the water spread further and further into my room. In the midst of dealing with all of that, I also had to clean up after a toilet overflowed!

On Friday, I helped with a retirement party for a lady at work. It poured rain all morning while I loaded and unloaded my car and ran back and forth between buildings. My well-worn, favorite brown shoes, that I continued to wear even after the soles on both shoes split all the way through, finally let me down. Each time I stepped out in the rain, water seeped into my shoes, wetting the insides of the shoes and my socks. All day long I had wet feet! Add that to a cold and a backache and Friday was rough.

Saturday morning we awoke to more rain that lasted most of the day. Bailey was so disappointed that we could not play outside that he literally sat at the French doors, barking at the rain. It took lots of love and attention from me to quiet and distract him.

And today, water in its frozen form almost kept me from seeing my sister and my adorable niece, who can always make me smile. Thankfully, I did not believe the weather forecast and trekked northward for a short visit and lots of laughter.

Overall, this was a very rough week. Of everything that happened, though, the scene that has stuck in my mind most is that of Bailey, sitting at the window, barking at the rain and wishing it would go away. How many times have I done that? Throughout this journey with degenerative myelopathy, how many times have I "barked at the rain"? How often have I asked God why we have to go through this, and could He please take the disease away? Instead, I should have been sitting at the feet of my Master, allowing Him to love on me, to soothe my weary spirit, to assure me that this rain will end and the sun will shine again.

Because just like the rain, this journey has a purpose. Without the rain, flowers, trees, and plants would never grow; without trials, neither would my faith or my reliance on Him grow.

When you go through deep waters, I will be with you.
When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown.
Isaiah 43:2 (New Living Translation)