I'm Not Feeling Very Bloggy Today (And Of Course, More Pictures)

I'm not feeling very bloggy today, and my foot is really bothering me. So today, if you need me, I will be on the sofa. And yes, I am still doing all of my stretches each day; Shannon and I are both praying that they will soon start to alleviate the pain and numbness that is still constantly happening in my foot. Allie is acting like she is feeling better, and her appetite has increased, so the vet told us to wait and bring her back in next Saturday. Shannon and I both feel like this is a very positive sign that her new medicines are working. Thank you all for your prayers for both of us.

Since I don't have a "post" really for today, I thought that I would share a slide show that I put together. I made this for Melissa and me, as a memory of our time together. And since we both feel like our journey would make a great comedy movie one day (mostly due to the string of pitiful events that happened to me on the trip, but that is for another post) , I sent this slide show to Melissa on Myspace yesterday, and I told her that I think this would be great to show at the end of our movie as the credits roll. All we need now is a song to play along with it.

So, today, if you feel like it, take a look at the slide show, and if you know of a good "theme song" to go along with it, please leave the name of it in my comments section.

I pray that you all have a lovely weekend, and hopefully I will be feeling bloggy again very soon. I have so much more to share with all of you about the trip, and all of the nonsense that happened to both Melissa and me.

Until then I hope you enjoy these pictures; it's like a little sneak peek into future posts.

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God gave this verse to me just before leaving on this trip. I carried it with me everywhere that I went. Even on the difficult days, I knew that God was with me.

Isaiah 30:21
Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."

Our Allie Girl

Yesterday, Shannon called me around lunch time to tell me that he had heard from the vet's office.

Long story short, Allie's heart is not strong enough to withstand any kind of surgery procedure, and she has a build up of fluid in her lungs.
The vet wants to put her on some heart medication for the rest of her life. The purpose of the medication is to try to strengthen her heart which will help to get rid of the fluid in her lungs.
If the medication is successful, then they could do the surgery to repair her ACL. If the medication is not successful, all they can offer her is some pain meds to make her more comfortable walking around with the torn ACL.

The vet told Shannon that if he had not brought Allie in with this ACL problem as soon as he did, that she would have been dead within two months due to her weak heart, which is causing the fluid to build up in her lungs.

Needless to say, I am devastated, as is the rest of my family.
Allie is such a big part of our lives, and the thought of her being in pain and/or losing her is heartbreaking.

I know some people in life think, "It's just a dog. Who cares? You can get another one."
But to us, Allie is a part of our family. We all say that she is the favorite person in the house. If we were in school with her, she would be voted "Most Popular," or "Class Favorite."

She is so loving. I say all the time that she is like a toddler forever. You know how toddlers always want to sit on you, kiss you, have you rub their hair, love on you, etc.? Well that's how Allie is. If I go out to get the mail, she is thrilled when I come back inside. She misses me when I am not with her. She cries at the door when we all leave the house to go to church. And every night when Shannon gets home from work, she behaves as if she hasn't seen him in years.:)He is greeted with a full on love fest! (And he loves it!) :)

Yesterday, in my post, I shared about the gift of humor, joy, and laughter that God gives us all.
It is very difficult to find much humor, joy, or laughter in this current situation, but I am trying. I want to focus on the joy and the laughter that she has brought into our home. Allie has been such a blessing to our family.
I just want to enjoy every minute with her. I want to laugh at the funny things she does. I want to pet her until my arms fall asleep. I want her to lick all over my feet while I watch television. I want to love her like she loves me.

Allie has brought so much joy into our lives; she is a gift from God to our family.
And we love her.

Proverbs 3:13
Joyful is the person who finds wisdom,the one who gains understanding.

I don't pretend to understand why God allows so many things to happen to us all at once, but I do know that everything that He allows in our lives is for our good.

Proverbs 3:5
Trust in the Lord with all your heart;do not depend on your own understanding.



Thank you for praying for me, my family, and for "Our Allie Girl."
God Bless,
Amy:)

Distractions And Yardwork

Saturday I decided that I should go outside and help Shannon with some of the yard work that needed to be done.

So, I went into our bedroom to get my shoes and socks, only to find all of this cuteness going on.



Who could think about yard work at a time like this?.........



Once I was able to tear myself away from all of that cuteness, I made my way outside to get the lawnmower started, only to find myself distracted again.





I'm sorry, where was I?.....Oh, yes, the lawnmower.


Yes, it runs as bad as it looks.

You may or may not be wondering, with two teenage boys in the house, why would I need to cut the grass.......I have complained about wondered that myself, but there is a perfectly ridiculous reasonable explanation.

Matthew has severe allergy and sinus problems; so much so that he can get a sinus infection just taking out the trash.
And Daniel is more than willing to cut the grass, but he tends to miss most of the yard a few spots.



So, sometimes it simply looks better is just easier if Shannon and I do it.

After cranking the lawnmower, I got a lot of the yard covered pretty quickly, until I saw this creepy, disgusting little thing staring at me (shudder).



And then I saw its creepy, disgusting little back (shudder again).



Is it just me, or does this creepy, disgusting little thing look like he is making an obscene finger gesture at me?........



Once I was finally able to focus......



I did a pretty nice job on the yard, if I do say so myself.



I will admit though, it was definitely difficult with all of these distractions.

Shhh...

♫ Rock-a-bye baby, in the tree top ♫



♫ When the wind blows, the cradle will rock ♫



♫ When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall ♫



♫ And down will come baby, cradle and all ♫