Adopting Mona

Jake wanted a dog so badly, yet he had been so allergic to Toley, our Weimaraner, when he was born. Sweet Toley went from an indoor king to outdoors overnight. It was so sad, but we had to take care of Jake. His allergies and asthma showed up so early, the doctors were even surprised.

So, when we made the decision to sell our house in The Woodlands and move to Magnolia, we told the boys we could talk about getting a dog because we would have more land. We moved into our house and had barely settled in when John and I were Christmas shopping at The Woodlands Mall and passed a pop-up Dog Adoption spot.  As I walked past, I saw a beautiful black dog that by appearance looked like a lab, but she had such a beautiful shimmer in her coat. I locked eyes with her and bent down to pet her and we went on about our shopping.  

That night John discussed that pretty dog and how he could put hog wire up around our fence as we had a corral fence at our new house that any dog could easily make the squeeze and escape.  I thought he was kidding as we had 3 acres and a VERY long fence.  So, we decided to go back to the mall the next day and if she was still there, we would adopt her. If not, we would move on to preparing our fence for eventually getting a dog. 

We were in luck! The adoption service was back and so was that pretty black dog.  The boys were so excited as we told them about the dog and that we would adopt her if she was still there.  She was a part of a Foster program where she lived in a home while waiting for her home.  In order to adopt her, we had to answer loads of questions and John had to get on the phone with the Foster parent and literally convince her that we were decent people who would take good care of her.  He was on the phone FOREVER.  He said she cried because she loved this particular dog, but also said she was fostering 14 dogs. FOURTEEN! 

After at least an hour and a half of waiting and talking and convincing, we adopted this precious dog they called Mona. Not quite thinking thru the fact that she was a rescue and probably had another name, I told the boys we should keep her name because that is what she was used to answering to.  December 15, 2013, Mona became a Sampler.  We drove straight to Petsmart to get a collar, ID tag and a leash, all in pink.  We were all so excited.  

The plan was that she would be an outdoor dog so Jake didn't have an asthma attack. The first night, we thought we would keep her inside, but in a kennel.  She loved it and did so well.  That kennel never went outside.  Then we left the kennel door open.  Then she slept in Jakes bed.  However, Jake didn't have an asthma attack.  When we talked to his immunologist about Mona sleeping with him he said that we aren't allergic to dogs across the board.  We are actually allergic to specific proteins and clearly, Mona didn't have the protein that caused Jake's asthma to flair. He still had a runny nose, but that's it. The doctor actually said if he wasn't having an asthma response, to let the dog sleep with him. It would be just like getting an allergy shot every day.  The deal was sealed. Mona slept with Jake and became Jake's dog almost instantly.

We were warned by her foster mom that she was highly skilled at escaping and our corral fence had nothing on Mona.  She wasn't kidding.  Mona found every tiny spot to escape that she could. But she never went far and always came home. More than once I came home to Mona curled up on my back porch asleep. She just didn't want to be fenced in. She lived the perfect life on our 3 acres. When we left the house she lived outside and lounged on our front porch. Rain or shine her favorite spot was on the couch on the front porch to watch the passers by.  She could chase the squirrels, keep the racoons at bay, live her best life and then come inside for dinner and crawl in bed with Jake. She was spoiled from the start. 

One of the first nights she was home we heard her barking outside and then her bark changed.  Babe ran to the window and saw that Mona had treed a racoon and yelled with total excitement, "I think we got ourselves a coon dog!"  Babe had never been more proud.   Mona protected us from opossums, racoons, and moles. She delivered dead animals (killed by her) to our back porch regularly.  She LOVED the USPS man because he always brought treats and she HATED the UPS man....he was mean.  And she never liked any lawn crew, even if just driving by.  She went crazy!

Mona was incredibly smart and figured out the boys' schedule pretty quickly.  She knew when the school bus was about to get home because she would bark at front door every day about 10 minutes before its arrival.  Then she would run down the long driveway to go greet the boys as they got off the school bus. She was SO excited when they came home. 

When we got Mona, we learned that she was found in Splendora, TX, near Lake Livingston as a nursing mom.  But they couldn't find any puppies near by and no one claimed her.  However, within a week of her rescue, a litter of puppies were rescued after their mom was hit by a car and Mona became their surrogate mom and nursed those puppies as if they were her own.  A friend of mine rescued a dog shortly after us and said she ordered a DNA test off Amazon to see if her blonde lab was really a blonde lab.  Her results were a least a hundred different types of dogs.  It piqued my interest, so I ordered the same test for Mona. 

She was perfectly bred! All the traits of each dog made perfect sense for Mona's personality, especially the treeing walker because we joked that Mona talked with her tail.....just like a Treeing Walker Coonhound. We were so in love!

Luke is 18

18 years ago, 18 years seemed like FOREVER. 15 years ago, this one still wasn't sleeping thru the night. Reflux left us both sleep deprived and every early phase was a challenge for his little body. Then one day, his pain was gone and he became my "angel child." He was independent, strong-willed and determined, but tender, loving, thoughtful and kind. He was/is witty, smart and funny. And now every little recent phase has been a challenge for ME to be needed less, but I simultaneously stand in awe of how he is becoming the man that I always prayed him to be. I also never dreamed the distant future would actually arrive...Yet today he turned 18

I know as much about letting him grow up as I did about what to do with him during the endless & sleepless nights for three years I just loved him, snuggled him, and held him thru it...for three. years. He is a smart kid that has big goals and dreams that no doubt he will achieve.

He couldn't understand that when I look at him I still see a pint-sized giggling tow-head. What I wouldn't give to catch a glimpse of him in his Batman cape, or watch him at 4yo rolling his baseball pants to mimic a celebrity I'd love to comfort his little body when he was so frustrated he couldn't articulate what he needed or watch him play as hard as he could until he collapsed into a nap on the spot. He was such a good big and little brother and how sweetly he took care of me when I struggled with my own health. I miss watching his little self with sheer determination to master a sport, a card trick, a skill or work tirelessly doing a job knowing a reward was on the other end. He has been driven since day one. Yet, he has a very unique quiet humility that demands no praise or accolades. He just loves doing what he loves to do and prefers no public recognition for a job well done. {}

He has probably challenged me most both physically and emotionally, but taught me the most as a mom realizing that although I have 3 boys, they are each uniquely special and fortunately or unfortunately not one of them is like me . With a quiet demeanor and a tough exterior, he is truly a marshmallow inside and I love every piece of those sweet insides that only a special few get to see. He makes me a better person and he makes me oh so proud to be his mom.

Happy Birthday to my Luke. The middle child that never settles for less and always works harder and longer yet in doing so makes everything he does appear so effortless. I pray he always knows how much he is loved and that one day, those giggles and snuggles come back around as he is the child that promised me at such a young age that he would be the one to take care of me in my OLD age. That I will not forget.

#coolhandluke #Eighteen #sogrownup #lovehimsomuch #happybirthday

Antelope Canyon

 Wowza. I just looked at our itinerary and it's hard to believe we are almost done! That said, we have some pretty big hikes ahead of us. Yesterday, we left Grand Canyon a little earlier than I intended.  We were pooped from the hike the day before. I initially planned to hike the rim on our first day there, but we were discouraged from that as the rim gets a lot of lightning hits and there was a chance of rain.  So, we hit the harder trail not knowing what we were getting into. Once we recovered from that, the boys were over hiking in the Grand Canyon. They saw no purpose in hiking the rim after we hiked down into the canyon and back up.

So, we drove to the Lake Powell area.  We tried to find a place to actually see Lake Powell and after a bit of research we discovered there are very few places to see the lake if not in a boat.  It is surrounded by cliffs and there are limited entry points. So, we saw a tributary to Lake Powell and called it good. The next opening was miles away.  John was enamored with the hydro-dam and we learned all about getting energy out of the dam. There were HUGE power lines coming out of it.  We didn't take many pics there.

Today, we toured Antelope Canyon. Yes to more red rocks, but these were like none others we have seen.  The canyon was discovered many years ago when a rancher lost his cattle and traced them to the canyon. I would say they were smart cows. I was actually quite surprised this was open to the general public to visit as there were lots of ladders and steep stairs and tiny spots to step thru. 

The canyon was created completely by water. They still have flash floods and Monsoon Season July thru September. People have died not taking heed to flash flood warnings.  

 

There are steel ladders and stairs in several places. One rule they kept repeating was no picture taking from any of the metal platforms. Apparently, tourists get to the top and try to take a picture and fall. Our tour guide said one lady fell and broke a hip and they had to get a helicopter to drop down a basket to air lift her out. It is really not for the wobbly down there. 

JBS took many pics for me with his phone. I had my big camera, but the phones have just as good, if not better images, especially using filters.  He wants some photo cred for his work. :)

Antelope Canyon was just spectacular. I have seen these pictures for years and wanted to see it. Apple, LG and Window use Antelope Canyon for their screen savers, so perhaps you have seen these pictures before!  It was a one hour tour and the only way in is with a guide.  It was worth paying for the tour in order to see yet another amazing creation by God.

The best part was at the end of the tour and our guide said to look behind us.  I caught a pic of the man behind me coming out of the canyon. It is completely camouflaged in to the surrounding. You would have no idea what was below you! 

Fantastic day. Every day gets better and better!

Grand Canyon

 Today we drove to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. I have flown over it, but never seen it in person. Just amazing. We have seen a lot of rock formations, cliffs and mesas.  I feel like we might be getting "used" to the dramatic landscapes, but the Grand Canyon was still breathtaking.

I really hate taking landscape pics without people in them, but the Grand Canyon is the exception to my rule. 

We hiked HARD. We really didn't know what we were getting in to.  When we spoke to the Ranger she said that there was a chance of storms and the Rim, where we wanted to hike, is one of the highest hit places with lightening and advised against it. So, we headed to Bright Angel because she said it had several spots to stop for water, bathroom and rest that was covered. Going down the mountain was easy and fast because it was steep.  Typicaly you climb UP first and get the hard part over. Not us, going down was easy and happy.  Going UP was a different story. It was a 2000 ft drop over 3 miles. We were heading for the 3 mile marker, but JBS started to have signs of asthma attack, so we turned around at 2.5 miles.  JBS and JLS got tired of waiting, so they sailed on up while we sucked air. :) I don't mind a challenge, but this was hard.

This is Lulu. We hit a mule blockade on our way down. While talking to the cowboy, I asked if any mules had ever gone over the edge and he said 1 or 2.  Just being stubborn! Bless them. No one was on them, but still!  Even funnier, while we were waiting a couple kids ran up behind us and said, "Look it's Joe Biden's 2000 Mules!"  I got a good laugh out of that.

Our favorite part of our travels is seeing wildlife. We first saw this guy on a ledge on our way down. And when we came up, hours later ;), he was on the trail munching with no worries in the world for people walking by. I think he took one for the team and took tourist duty for the day. He got lots of attention.

This is JLS' lizard. He loved him. Named him Ollie. I named him JLS.

This was the ram from below. We really have no idea how he got to that ledge. He literally climbed straight up the cliff to get there.

Just munching away from a beautiful spot with a beautiful view. 

We passed a herd of elk on our way to dinner.  Wish we saw more animals!

One thing I will say....people are kind and generous and caring when you are hiking. Everywhere we have gone, we have met people from all over the US and many international visitors on our trails. {Lots!} So much kindness, words of encouragement, offers for water, wonderful conversations during rest breaks. The world may be in chaos, but these people are truly good. It's been so refreshing!