Happy 6th Birthday, Ryder!

My Baby Girl is 6 years old today!

Ryder has had a great birthday… toys and treats from Grandma and Grandpa and Auntie Audrey and her family.

And a birthday cake…

And a trip to the toy store with Mama, Daddy and Seth…

So many toys to choose from, Mama!

Little Baby Rydie, you bring more love, joy, happiness and laughter to our lives than you can even imagine.

We love you soooooooo very much! Here’s to MANY, MANY more birthdays together!

Love, Mama and Daddy

 

Happy, Happy to… myself? Us?

One year ago today I started this blog.

Wow. I cannot believe this year has flown by so quickly.

I’m not sure about the protocol of celebrating one’s… blogiversary? Blogoversary? Blirthday?

Should I jump out of a cake? Bake one? Buy myself some more bandwidth? I really don’t know… so, I guess I’ll just look back on what has happened in the past 365 days.

Actually, a whole lot has gone on in my life this past year. And now it is documented for posterity.

Of course, there are some things that I didn’t share, either on this blog or my Pinks & Blues Girls blog - a girl has to keep some things private - but for most of the big things that were happening in my life or on my mind, I am glad I had this outlet in which to vent, discuss, cry, scream, yell, wonder and laugh.

This has been a defining year for me. To paraphrase Charles Dickens, it has been the best of times - for instance, the birth of my beautiful nephew, Benjamin; and it has been the worst of times - dealing with the illness of, and the devastating loss of my beloved dog Bismarck.

I also had to confront my fear of the dentist and get my wisdom teeth removed.

I started a business, an online review site for moms called Pinks & Blues, with my mom and sister.

I talked about the horror that was my senior year of high school.

I went to Dog Mountain in Vermont with Steve and Ryder to honor Bismarck’s memory.

I invited you to my house to see my Christmas decorations.

And, of course, we welcomed Seth into our family, first as a foster dog, and then as a permanent addition. He wins you over like that. We love him, Ryder loves him, and we know Bismarck loves him… that’s why he sent Seth to us.

So thank you to all my friends who have been here for me this past year… reading, encouraging, helping, lending an ear. I am grateful to have all of you.

With love,

Jane

 

Games vs. Sweaters

The best line from Christmas came from my 3-year-old nephew William, who upon my sister opening a rectangle-shaped box, exclaimed, “Mommy, maybe it’s your favorite game!”

She opened the box, and it was a beautiful cashmere sweater.

William’s priceless reaction? A disappointed, “Oh, man!”

Kids!!

 

Wordless Wednesday - Santa Dogs

If they were human children, they would be giving us the silent treatment for making them wear these outfits…

But look how cute they are…

Besides, they know that everything we do for them is out of pure love…

 

Wordless Wednesday - My Babes

OK, I know I’m a bit biased… but don’t these pictures of Ryder and Seth just make you smile?

Of course, Bismarck is in our hearts and on our minds every moment of every day. We are surrounded by pictures of him - even on Christmas ornaments! - and memories of him bring smiles to our faces every day.

 

Welcome to my Christmas Tour!

BooMama has started the tradition of a Christmas Tour of Homes for bloggers to share their favorite Christmas decorations.

My home is not nearly as elegantly decorated as my Mom’s house, but I still love having all my decorations up and enjoying the beauty of the season.

I began decorating a little late this year, so I didn’t put up as many decorations as I have. But I hope you enjoy my little tour anyway! (Some of the pictures may take a while to load… sorry! They’re big files and I just don’t have time to make them smaller right now!)

We’ll start with my family room mantle. I kept it kind of simple this year, but it still makes me happy to sit and enjoy its holiday cheer.

Here’s our tree. It’s fake, but it works for us because, well… Steve and I are lazy, and we’re fairly sure that we’d forget to water a real tree and therefore be tree-less by Christmas. A fake tree assures that this won’t happen.

One of my favorite Christmas ornaments is the wedding favor we gave to all our guests at our wedding three years ago… it’s a silver bell (we gave silver and red bells) that has a tag reading, “Thanks for ‘hanging’ with Jane & Steve! December 4, 2004.” When we buried Bismarck in our backyard this summer, we placed one of the red bell ornaments in with him.

This is a little Christmas tree I got at Target last year right after Christmas - half off! It came with red ball ornaments and white lights, and I love how it looks all lit up in my dining room window when I pull up to my house at night.

This was the view from outside our house last Thursday night, during our first snowstorm of the season.

This slate was painted last year by my hairdresser’s incredibly talented son, who is in high school. My parents gave him a picture of my house, as well as each of my siblings’ houses, and he hand painted Christmas scenes for us, depicting our homes. This is one of my favorite Christmas decorations. Check out Santa and his reindeer on my roof… I guess I’ve been “nice” this year!

My mom and I got these candy cane decorations last year at a bargain store near my house. I hung them along my stair railing, along with some festive garland.

 

Let’s send our best wishes to Stephen Huneck

You might remember that Steve, Ryder and I took a trip to Dog Mountain in August for artist Stephen Huneck’s annual August Dog Party, where we put a note and a picture of our Bismarck in the Dog Chapel, among the other loved and deeply missed dogs.

I have been an admirer of Stephen Huneck’s artwork for about 10 years now, and I was so very moved by the Dog Chapel, as well as the entire spectacular setting on Dog Mountain. It was an honor to meet Stephen and have him sign one of his paintings for me.

I remember first hearing about him by watching a segment on television about how he created the Dog Chapel after a near-death experience from Adult Respiratory Distress Syndrome twelve years ago.

And today, through my weekly Dog Mountain newsletter, I have learned that he is now recovering from his second bout with this affliction:

“Stephen Huneck, recently left the hospital upon recovery from Adult Respiratory Distress Syndrome.

Stephen received excellent care for several weeks at Fletcher Allen Health Care in Burlington Vermont. His doctors had asked him to stay a bit longer, just to make sure he had fully recovered, but Stephen knew he had to be in a special healing environment to truly restore and rejuvenate himself.”

And he took the time to write, in his own words:

To my dear friends,

I am now in residence at the Healing House on Dog Mountain, where I can meditate, cleanse and purify myself, my body and my soul. I need to be surrounded by nature, my art, my dogs, and with my wife.

I built the Healing House on Dog Mountain as a place where people could renew their spirits. Little did I know I would be it’s first occupant.

On my birthday, October 8th, one day after our Fall Dog Fest, I collapsed. I was rushed to the hospital and again diagnosed with Adult Respiratory Distress Syndrome. In critical condition, I spent 2 weeks in the ICU and several more weeks in recovery. I am so sorry that my wife was again told to be prepared for my death.

But the Doctors didn’t know my determination. I felt like a warrior fighting off the disease in my lungs.

Now I am recovering and restoring my spirit at the Healing House. I feel my wellspring of creativity has been replenished and reborn. Things I didn’t understand before are clear to me now.

With your best wishes, I feel I will be healthier, happier, and more creative than ever and I look forward to sharing my art with the world.

It would mean the world to me if you could drop me a note wishing me strength and healing. Please send me an e-mail, a card, or a prayer, what ever you believe will send positive energy my way.

I am grateful I am still here to share my experiences with you.

Life Is a Ball.

Thankfully, Stephen Huneck

So, friends, let’s do our part in Stephen’s recovery! He is really an incredibly special man who has touched the lives of so many - humans and animals alike.

You can email Stephen at stephen [at] dogmt [dot] com

or write him at

Stephen Huneck
143 Parks Road
St. Johnsbury, VT 05819

*Stephen Huneck’s giclees are also featured in our 2007 Pinks & Blues Holiday Gift Guide… and if you’d like to purchase a piece of artwork from this incredibly talented man, we even have a coupon code for you to use and receive 15% off*

 

Treat Time for Ryder and Seth - a video!

Just ignore the extreme close-up on my face at the end. Thank you!

The rest of the video is super cute!

 

Wordless Wednesday - Baby and Doggy Sleep

Seth (the doggy) just loves to protect his baby cousin Ben (the baby)!

 

Seth!

Our friend Seth is adjusting well to his new environment. He is a very affectionate and sweet guy who definitely does not know his own size. We got him shaved on Saturday so now he just looks like a bigger Ryder with brown paws, a fluffier tail and fluffier ears!

Ryder is ambivalent about Seth. When he gets too close to her, she’ll let out a little growl, which is very uncharacteristic, so it’s kind of funny. Ryder is so not tough. And she would never, in a million years, have EVER growled at Bismarck! She knew her place as the little sister. So when Seth went over to Ryder’s pillow and took it over as his own, I had to get a picture. Ryder was staring at him like, “Oh no you di’int!”

I still haven’t let him go off-leash when we go to the school down the street to play ball.  He doesn’t seem all that interested in chasing the ball anyway, and kind of looks at Ryder like, “That seems like a lot of running.  I’ll just lay down over here.”

Steve and I still aren’t sure about our long-term plans.  We are still fostering Seth, and haven’t decided if we’re ready for a full-on adoption.  We have really taken to Seth, and yet we are still feeling very lost without Bismarck.  It’s a strange feeling to describe.

Time will tell.