4 legged update

Oh where do I even start with an update on all the 4 legged children...
(unfortunately not many are good updates)

I guess I will start with Spike.  Spike, was our adopted dog that came with our house when we moved here.  So sweet, but so old & I truly feel like he mourned the loss of Mr. & Mrs. Orr when they moved away & he slowly went down hill from there.  About a week after I came home from the hospital from having Kayla... well I found Spike dead.  I felt absolutely horrible.  I promised Mrs. Orr that I would take care of Spike in their absence & I felt as if I had let her down.  I know that poor Spike was suffering.  He was old & his health had declined greatly since they moved.  He had his good days, but towards the end... more bad then good.  Spike is in his forever home, out back behind the shed where he loved to lay in the warmth of the sun.  Most importantly, he was able to live his last days here at his home & didn't have to go live anywhere else.  RIP Spike, you'll always be loved!

The Charolais Girls.  Well they came along at a much needed time... so we thought.  Fred & his mom had picked them up at the stockyards when Montana II lost her first baby boy.  Then after bringing them home, low & behold up walks a baby & it turned out that Montana II had twins, we just didn't know it at the time she lost the first one!  The sad part was that the Charolais Girls were not needed then.  We kept them anyways at least for awhile, then Fred & I took them to the stockyards several months ago so see them on their way.

I just thought they were the cutest when I first saw them.  I couldn't help it.  Wish we didn't have to part ways, but unfortunately this is the life of cattle ranching I guess.  RIP Charolais Girls, I hope you are in a home with lots of love, plenty of hay, feed & water & not on someones dinner table.

Oh here is the saddest one of all.  I don't wanna go there, but I'm going to anyways.  Bruno & Dusty.  My very first bottle calves.  We bonded.  They were my children.  Oh how I loved them so much!  When it was time to slow down on bottle feeding them, I was so sad.  Then when it came time for them to go out west... I was even more sad.  I didn't want them to go anywhere.  I wanted them to stay close so I could see them anytime that I wanted to.  I was selfish & possibly a little unreasonable at times about them.

When I found out that Fred was taking them to the sale... I lost it.  I was a mess.  Even though I knew the time was coming eventually, I made him promise me time & time again that he would allow me to see them one more time before I never had that opportunity again.  Unfortunately that didn't happen.  He took them to the sale without me getting to see them, so you could say I was very upset.  Even though people might think I'm crazy... I was very hurt by this.  I felt a bond with them & all I wanted was to see them one last time.  Guess that was way to much to ask.  I would love to have had a few last pictures of them, but I don't.

However, this is one of my favorite pictures that I took of them.  They were just the cutest ever!  I have to admit that I was a little more partial towards Bruno, but Dusty definitely has a special place in my heart too.  I would love to think that they are currently living happily ever after at a new home where they are spoiled rotten, but unfortunately I'm pretty sure that's not the case.  This is just one of those things that I will never forget & probably my husband won't as well.  RIP Bruno & Dusty, you will forever be in my heart!

On a much brighter note... Katey Belle.  What a great dog!  Seriously she's so adorable.  I'm glad that she now has her permanent home in our yard & I don't have to worry about her living anywhere else, which is such a relief for me.  It had been 3+ long years that I had to leave her at our former residence because I didn't have the proper accommodations for her to move with me.  She has her own fenced area to herself to play & do as she pleases & she seems so happy not to be cooped up in a kennel anymore (which is how she was before).  She's the sweetest dog ever I swear it.  Very lovable too.  I think she might be affraid of the dark though... at night she likes to bark a lot, ugh.  I'm currently trying to figure out a solution to this.

Eventually we are going to create a bigger fenced area for Katey Belle to roam.  Right now she has a pretty big area that she seems happy with, but I would like to see her have a little more roaming freedom.  She just deserves it!

Then what can I say... there's Abigail.  The spoiled rotten dog of all times.  She has her own domain at our house, which is the office/former garage/laundry area.  Which Is blocked off from the rest of the house.  I haven't let Kayla & Abigail meet just yet.  I'm still a little nervous about that one.  I keep hoping & praying in the back of my mind that Abigail will settle down, maybe calm down a lot & wake up to be a relaxed, non-barking dog one day... so far that just hasn't happened though.  She's never really been to fond of children or anyone for that matter, so I'm kinda at a loss as to what to do.  Everyone has their opinions on this, but no matter what... I love her & I can't just get rid of her.  I will figure something out, I'm determined!

Well there we have it... three sad updates & two happy ones.  Wish I could give ya more right now, but my eyes feel like they should be bleeding because I'm so tired.  Wait... do you hear that?  It's my bed, calling out my name.  Guess I better go investigate.

Spike

Now introducing Spike!  He is our newly adopted four legged child.  He comes with the house we are in the process of buying.

What a deal huh?  Buy a house... get a guard dog too.  Awesome!  He's more like an over sized teddy bear, but hey for anyone driving by he has a deep bark & his size is intimidating, so it works.

We are in the process of buying my bff Kat's grandparents house, which happens to be right down the street from my parents.  Hence the reason why Kat & I are bff's... because we grew up down the street from each other.

Anyways... the house is in great condition.  A total perfect situation in so many ways.  Mr. & Mrs. O had to move to Houston to be closer to their daughter & to receive some much needed daily attention.  They've been able to live by themselves all this time, but it was time for them to move.  Of course they were hesitant about moving, but who could blame them for that, I know when that time comes in my life I'll be the same way too.  They really hated to leave Spike behind, but they just couldn't take him with them where they were moving to.  Before they moved, I promised Mrs. O that I would take good care of Spike & he would have a home.  The good thing is, Spike doesn't have to go anywhere.  We're buying the house, so Spike is staying at the home he's always known & doesn't have to be up-rooted & go anywhere else.

I have to admit though, it's kind of a bitter sweet for me.  It seems like everything is falling in to place like it's suppose to, but the sad part for me is that Mr. & Mrs. O don't live there anymore.  They've always lived there.  That house has always been like a 2nd home to me growing up.  Being pregnant, I'm way more emotional about things & saying my goodbye's the day before they left was hard to do.  We are family & the thought of not knowing when I would see these dear sweet people again, was just emotional & still is at times.  I try not to think about it in that way very often & I catch myself & try to re-direct my thoughts to something else.

My sweetheart & I getting married, baby Kayla will be arriving in just 3 short months & us not having real house plans up until the point that Mr. & Mrs. O decided to make the move to Houston... I just have to believe that it all happened for a reason.

On a different note, my bff Kat, her husband & kids have been making trips up here to help make some needed changes & updates to the house.  My brother & sister-n-law have came up to help as well.  Fred & I are very thankful for everyone whose willing to help & we can't wait to move in & finally have room to raise our family.  We are going to fill like we're living in a mansion compared to our 487 sq ft apartment that we've been occupying for the past almost 2 years now.  I wish I could help more with painting, cleaning & different things with the house, but in my current condition some things are just challenging these days.  Bending over makes me want to puke & to much of anything completely wears me out.  I feel like the biggest wimp right now, it's a very helpless feeling for me.

Today we moved the last of the furniture & things that needed to be donated & removed from the house.  Tomorrow we will finish painting the bedrooms & inside kitchen cabinets.  Our next project after that will be bathroom & kitchen flooring.  After that I think we will be ready to roll with moving in.  It's exciting to think that in less than a month we will be moving in & getting settled.  Then we can start getting baby Kayla's bedroom decorated & ready for her to arrive & we're both excited about that too.  Having things in place will make me a little more at ease with day to day life.  Right now I'm just stressed most of the time thinking of the time frame we're looking at before Kayla gets here.

It will also be nice to have room to have guests over for dinner or just to have guests over in general.

So all in all, everything's going up hill right now.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it continues.

Well I guess it's about time to crawl in bed & catch a few z's before the long day tomorrow.  Kayla forces me to sleep more than I typically would.  In fact, somedays I could easily stay in bed all day long I think.  Not really but it does feel that way.

So for now, good night.

lazy day

This has been an extremely lazy day for all 3 of us.  After getting home from the rodeo at 2am this morning... we ended up sleeping through church this morning by accident.  We were just absolutely exhausted.

We literally slept until almost 11am, then after rolling out of bed, we merged to the living room where we watched tv, ate lunch then about half way through the day we ended up taking a whoppin 3 hour nap.  Yeah... lazy I think is the word for it.

Abigail is known for her naps off & on throughout the day... every day.  She's the laziest dog I've ever known.  Today, both of us joined right in with her routine.  This is a picture of her at 8pm tonight, curled up in my leopard print snuggie on the couch right next to me.  To top it off, she was snoring.  Loudly.  Looks like she's had a rough day but in fact this is what she did all day, just like us.

I know, it's sad.

What can I say.  We never left the house today.  Well except to get something to eat at 9pm at Sonic which is only a few miles up the street.

Then around 1am Kev called to say bulls were out & we actually emerged from the house to find & return the bulls home again.  That was about the extent of our excitement for the day.  We were actually out of the house & did something half way productive.

Taking a 3 hour nap that late in the day, doesn't help with being able to get to sleep at a decent hour.  So here we are approaching 3am, watching tv & not ready to pass out just yet.  Go figure.

Shannon II aka Cletus

Saturday, February 20th.

Here's Shannon II aka Cletus... cute as a button.

(Fred's 5 year old nephew Andrew re-named him Cletus)

Don'tcha just want to pick him up & hold him?  I do.

He's just a little bitty thing, but oh so full of energy.  He was buckin' around in the hay & havin' a grand ole' time.  Not even a week old & already full of it.

Oh he's gonna be a mess.
You just can't help but fall in love.

new un-named baby boy

Saturday, February 20th

Talk about a wonderful but exhausting weekend.  We got up at the crack a** of morning Saturday, loaded up & headed to western Oklahoma.  The outside air was moist, cold & it was foggy.  A great combination for a drive.  ha ha

I was excited to make the trip with my sweetheart & see all the new babies out west.  I can't even tell ya how much I absolutely love this life.  Getting to see new 4-legged babies born & grow up.  And it's also baby season... how exciting is that!  Oh I love it, I love every minute of it.  Ok I will quit jumping up & down now.

I also love road trips.  No matter where we're going, I just love road trips.  I guess since I don't get to venture very far beyond my usual surrounding territory, I get really excited when I get to travel anywhere else.

We spent most of the day out west & headed back home around 3ish.  We got home & to our surprise we had a new baby boy who had arrived just a few hours earlier.  Oh just look how adorable he is!

New little baby boy doesn't have a name just yet... but we'll get that figured out in the next few days hopefully.

I took a million pictures while we were out west & I will slowly but surely get those posted sometime.

The Charolais girls

This is the adorable Charolais girls that Fred & his mom got from the stockyards last Wednesday when Montana II lost her first baby boy... before we found out she had twins.

I've been wanting a baby girl for awhile so getting two at the same time made me want to jump up & do a cheer!  We spent a few days trying to decide on what their names would be & the results are... Chateau & Cheyenne.  We'll refer to them as the Charolais girls too.

Of course they bought the Charolais girls for Montana II, but then after discovering the twin, little Shannon II also know as "Cletus" (Fred's 5 yr old nephew Andrew re-named him)... the Charolais girls weren't necessarily needed anymore.  My hopes immediately went towards thinking I would then have 2 new baby girls to bottle feed, but so far Montana II has let all 3 of them nurse.  So unfortunately it doesn't look like I will be the Charolais girls new mommy after all.  I am disapointed but I still have my fingers & toes crossed that I will get at least one bottle baby sometime soon.

Fred says that ya just never know though... there's still a chance I could get at least one of the girls to be my bottle baby.  I'm trying not to get my hopes up to high just yet.

Shannon II

Now introducing Shannon II

This is Montana II's new baby.  Unfortunately she lost her first baby boy (Shannon I) but to our surprise she had twins!  We had no clue.  Fred & his mom went Wednesday morning & bought 2 baby Charolais girls for Montana II.  So of course after I got off work at 5pm I had to head over to Fred's parents house to take pictures of the new baby girls because I get really excited when we have new babies!

But then while I was taking pics of the girls around 5:30pm, a baby boy came strolling up to find his mamma... who we are now calling little Shannon II.  Let's say it was quite a shock that she had twins, but it's a very happy ending for Montana II considering she lost Shannon I.  I can't imagine how she felt losing a baby.

Oh Montana II was so happy to see her baby boy!  Not quite sure where or how he had gotten out of the fence & wandered away from mamma but what a surprise!  He's so adorable too... but honestly aren't they all just adorable?

Don't worry I will be writing about the Charolais girls next!  They are cutie pies too.
We've gotta pick some names out for them though.  :-)

Valentino

This is "Valentino", he was born on Valentine's day last year, 2009.  This was one of my first pictures with my new camera & only a few moments directly after Valentino's first peep of light.

Fred had to help in Valentino's arrival into the world... mamma was having a hard time by herself so Fred lended a helping hand & got Valentino here safely.

Isn't he just a cutie!  I need to get some updated pictures of Valentino, so everyone can see how big he is now.  So precious.

Abi-Lazy

Abigail is the laziest four legged child in the world I will swear it.  Yesterday, while I was busy multi-tasking... doing laundry, cleaning house, watching tv & blogging... the entire time Abigail was holding down the couch making sure it wasn't going anywhere.

She always burys her head in the covers, I think the lights are to bright for her to enjoy a beauty rest or something, who knows.  Ears are up though to listen for anything she might need to check out.

When Abigail is in one of her lazy moods, you just can't disturb her.  She will refuse to go outside & even growl at you if you try to make her get up & get motivated.  Yeah... I know it's sad... she's so flippin' spoiled it's not even funny.

She's just so daggum cute though.  Just looking at her all stretched out on the couch snoring... makes you want to take a nap yourself.

katey belle

This is my precious Katey Belle.  She's the sweetest girl in the world!

January 23rd, ex-David was going to be out of town hunting, so I went by to feed & take care of her.  I miss getting to see her every day since I've moved & hopefully one day in the future I'll get to move her out where I'm at so we can be re-united once again.

Katey Belle came into my life around 2003.  She was living with a farmer/hunter & he had decided he no longer wanted her.  The poor thing was in horrible shape.  She had infections in both eyes, both ears & her hair was so matted the only option was to shave her bald & start over.  My ex-David was the one who found her & he happened to bring her home around my birthday that year... so I've always considered her my birthday present.

She was so timid, shy & very nervous about everything at first.  I suspected that she may have been abused, hit or beaten by the way she responded to certain things.  It took some time & allot of money to get her well & back on her feet again, but to me it was worth every dollar that was spent.  The original reason ex-David had inquired about her was because he was looking for another bird dog to go hunting with, when he received the phone call about Katey Belle.  After seeing her, there was just no way possible I could have left her in the care of the farmer/hunter.  You could just see the need for love in her eyes & it looked like she was just begging for warmth & attention.  I knew she had to come home with me from that moment.

I truly believe some people just don't deserve to have animals in their lives.  If they aren't going to love & care for them like they deserve... then those people don't deserve to have them.  Period.

Katey Belle became my precious baby from the get-go.  I think she could feel how much I loved her from the very start & that I would give her the home she deserved.

Even after all this time, she still has one ear that has flare ups every now & again.  It's just so sad, but she's a model patient to treat.  Flushing, cleaning & medicating her ear... she'll just lay there very still & let you do whatever you have to.

She's never once been agressive in any shape or form what-so-ever.  She's a lover not a fighter through & through.

It breaks my heart that she doesn't live with me right now.  I miss her so much.

Even though it's hard to say, she is in good hands with ex-David for now.  I know he takes care of her & she has 3 other dogs to play with at his house.  When he goes out of town he calls to ask me to come take care of her, which allows me to spend quality time with her.  I wish I had a big enough area fenced off so that she would have somewhere to run & play.  Then she could come live with me again.

I have no idea what Katey Belle's name was before I brought her home.

Since I named my first baby Abigail Elizabeth after my best friend (Kathryn Elizabeth aka Kat)... I decided to name her Katey Belle & just spell her first name different.  So both of my children are named after my bestest friend... awe!

CG About Time

Finally introducing CG About Time... the little baby boy who was born around 12:30am Monday, February 1st... weighing a whoppin' 86lbs.

The baby we lost sleep over this weekend awaiting his arrival.  He's finally here & he's adorable of course!

His mommy is taking good care of him, so unfortunately no baby bottle calf for me to take care of just yet.  I'm still keeping my fingers crossed though, I'm not giving up.

Fred is going to try to get some better pictures of About Time tomorrow.  He's just so cute I wish I could cuddle him... but well I highly doubt Big Montana would allow me to do so.  Just like any good mamma she's protective over her baby, so I understand.

More pictures of baby About Time to come in the future.

my 4 legged princess

My first 4-legged born child... Abigail Elizabeth. I got her when she was merely 6 weeks old & just the most adorable baby in the world. Just like children though, they grow up so fast before you turn around. Even though she's not really a baby anymore, she's still and always will be my baby, no matter how old she gets.

I named her Abigail Elizabeth... I've always loved the name Abigail & well my best friend's middle name is Elizabeth.  Growing up we always told each other we would name our children after each other & so her first child was a girl & she holds my middle name.  And to me, Abigail is my first child, so I named her after my best friend.

I will be the first to admit she is spoiled completely rotten & that's putting it lightly. My dad always says & I quote "she doesn't even know she's a dog". Yeah... he's probably right. Wait no... I know he's right. It's my fault, I made her this way. I have to say I've learned allot of do's & don'ts with her that's for sure. First & biggest mistake was not socializing her when she was little & during her growing up days. She doesn't get along with any other animals, people, nothing... period. She barks non-stop when visitors show up & when it comes to other animals, well she becomes a little agressive & immediately attemps to be the dominate one.

Once she sees the same person a few times, she warms up to them & everythings all good. Some people she takes to right away & others it takes her awhile. Don't ask me why or how, she has her own personality that's for sure.

I think the #1 thing that bothers me the most is that she's not good with kids. I can't trust her alone with any small child. She attempts to "mount" them the minute she has the chance to. As long as I'm there to supervise she does ok. All in all though she's just not real tolerable of children & them trying to play with her. It just really sucks & I wish I could somehow change that.

Having another dog in the house with her, is not even an option. I've tried that & well let's just say that was way to much stress & just flat didn't work out. This is yet another regret I have in raising her... wishing she got along with other dogs/animals.

Abigail requires a fence! If she sees the opportunity to bolt & run faster then the wind... she takes it. It's quite a task to catch her too. Shaking the cookie box or squeaking her toy works most of the time - but sometimes it's not good enough. My biggest fear & worry is that she'll get out somehow & get ran over or something. OMG I would totally freak out if that happened. Ok, let's not talk about that. Moving on...

Honestly, for the most part, she's a well behaved child. Sometimes she thinks she needs to test the waters a little, but I guess that's to be expected.

When it's time to go nite-nite... Abigail knows exactly what that means & as soon as you ask her if she's ready to go nite-nite... she rushes to jump on the bed & plop herself down. She pretty much takes up the entire bed when she stretches out & gets comfortable. Yes I know, it's sad but it's the truth. She's a total bed hog & she insists on sleeping underneath the covers.

Our weekday morning routine goes a little something like this... I wake up, get out of bed, head to the bathroom for a shower... in the process there is no movement from Abigail what-so-ever. As soon as I emerge from the bathroom & reach the bedroom door, she comes out from under the covers & lays her head on my pillow & I cover her up & tuck her in like a burito. This is where she falls back to sleep & catches a few more shut-eyes while I'm putting on make-up & getting ready for work. As soon as I'm ready she knows it & rushes off to the kitchen & into her kennel & waits for me to come give her two cookies. As soon as she's done with her cookies, it's time to go outside to pee then it's time for me to leave for work.

Sadly enough, this routine is the exact same every single day of the week. Now, when it comes to the weekends... well that's a totally different story. If there's ever a chance to sleep in, then Abigail sleeps in too.

Abigail is definitely the "Princess" of the house - for sure!

Gray's Anchor Man

This baby is approximately 2 weeks old & he's such a cutie!  First time I saw him I didn't have my camera with me... go figure.  We went to feed hay today & I made sure I didn't forget my camera at home.  He's pretty quick on his feet, so it's hard to get close because he takes off.

I fall in love with all the new born babies, I just can't help it.  And if I could make a living off bottle feeding baby calves full time, I would do it in a heart beat!  Of course the ideal situation is not have to bottle feed the babies, but I'm still keeping my fingers crossed that I'll at least have one.  Bottle feeding babies means that something has happened to their moms & that's not good... but that just means that I become their new mommy.  This new baby is doing great with his mommy though, so my mommy instincts aren't needed unfortunately.

We haven't really named this new baby boy yet... but more than likely it would be somewhere around the lines of "Gray's Anchor Man", but just look at these precious eyes.  White face, brown eyes... just adorable if you ask me.

If only I could get close enough just for a quick hug.  That is... without his mommy trying to run me over, knock me down & stomp me into a mud puddle.  I think I'll just keep my distance & enjoy him from a far.

stomach bug? food poisoning?

Today did not start out good at all.  My stomach decided to start doing flips at around 3am'ish this morning & it's still feeling a little queezy at times.  I thought taking a shower would make me feel better... but nope.

I managed to put on sweats, turn on the tv & park my butt on the couch.  Other than that, my productivity today has been zilch.

We ate at Denny's last night... maybe the food wasn't good, I have no idea what happened.  Talking with friends today, apparently there's some stomach bug going around that lasts about 24 hours that I wasn't aware of.  A great way to start off the week, geez.  Hopefully this doesn't last long though, I can get really grumpy when I feel like crap & I can't stand being tied down at the house... although even getting up from the couch right now makes my stomach feel a little off center.  I want my mommy!  Yeah... I'm a weenie sometimes, I'll admit it.  No matter how old you get it's always nice to have someone take care of you when your sick.  Unfortunately I haven't had that luxury today though.  My honey did go to the gas station this morning & get me some pepto... which I'm not convinced actually did a whole lotta good, but it was sweet of him to go get it for me.  Then he left & headed to western Oklahoma... so it's just been me & Abigail to fin for ourselves today, which sucked.

My precious Abigail is feeling my pain today.  She literally hasn't left my side the entire day.  I just had to take a picture of her... she's currently laying at my feet on the couch... with her head burried in the blanket.  Most of the day she's been cuddled up in my arms napping right along with me.

It would've been a nice thought if Fred would've maybe gotten me some soup before he headed out of town... considering I was feeling queezy & just wanted to lay on the couch & die.  But nope!  I even said... "honey I was hoping you would bring me some soup or something on your way home from your parents house"... his response... "I'm sorry".  What?  What?  I'm sorry?  Not the response I was looking for, not even close.  I was hoping more along the lines of... I'll run & get you some soup or something from the store because I know your feeling queezy & probably shouldn't drive anywhere.  The gas station is within walking distance from our house... literally.  Oh well.

I managed to get out of the house & drive myself to the grocery store to get some soup & I survived.  I took back roads & drove slow just in case I needed to pull over.  I wouldn't recommend driving while you feel queezy... I was ok for about the first few miles then I started to regret ever leaving the house.

All in all, I'm feeling a little better this evening.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I will wake up tomorrow & feel 100% again!

Samba

About a month ago, Fred's oldest brother Carl lost his dog Brandy, she passed away & everyone was very very sad.  Brandy was Carl's side kick & he had her since she was just a little baby.  Her passing came quicker than what was expected & happening right before the holidays was the worst part.

Brandy was such a sweetheart too.  She had been having some health problems the past year & recently seemed to be going down hill a little.  Seriously just look at that precious look on her face... how could you not just fall in love with her.  I honestly don't know how I will react if I lost my Abigail, so I can only imagine the pain that Carl felt losing Brandy.  My heart went out to him.

For Carl's Christmas present, his parents decided to get him a new baby to take care of.  It's hard losing an animal that you've raised, loved & been so close to & we all know he's been missing a piece of him since Brandy's been gone.

So today the new baby arrived, her name is Samba.  She's a 5 month old English Bull Terrier.  Oh and she's a cutie too!  For her size, it's hard to believe she's only 5 months old, but well she is.  I guess she's not supposed to get much bigger than what she is now... which is good because wow she weighs around 46 lbs I think.  She's definitely not fat by any means, just pure muscle.

There's no question that Brandy will forever be missed & always loved.

I just hope that Samba & Carl develop a close bond like him & Brandy had so he'll have a new side kick & not have that void anymore.

Samba welcome to the family!

abigail's xmas pics

I can't help it... every chance I get I have to take pics of Abigail especially at Christmas time.  She's just the cutest in her Christmas outfits.  I know she dreads every minute of it, but seriously just look how adorable she is.  Her wonderful behavior only lasts for so long before I have to break out the cookies to encourage her to hang in there a little longer so we can switch a few outfits & capture several poses.

I know if she could talk, she would probably be cussin' me for putting her thru this torture.  Abigail should be used to it by now though, she knows how I am about taking pictures.  I probably have over a million pictures of her that started when I brought her home at 6 weeks old.  Some people might think I'm crazy... but to me... she's my baby!  I treat her as if she was my child.  My dad's exact words are "Abigail doesn't even know she's a dog because you treat her more like a human".  Well I can't argue with him, he's 100% right.

She can be pretty onry at times, but unfortunately I'm at fault for most of her bad behavior.  I've learned allot of lessons raising her & I won't make those mistakes again raising another four legged baby that's for sure.

I love animals in general... cats not so much... #1 because I'm highly allergic to them.  If I was rich & could afford to rescue dogs, I probably would.

It kills me to see so many dogs in kennels or adoption places with no loving homes to live in.  Abigail is spoiled absolutely rotten without a doubt.  She's very much loved & is treated like a princess to put it lightly.

I have many more pics to post of her with stories to go along.  This will come at a later date when I have time to sit down & write more.  But I just had to share her Christmas pics for this year, for now.

Merry Christmas to everyone from Abigail Elizabeth

introducing dusty & bruno

Dusty was born on or around March 26, 2009. His mommy didn't claim him so he became my first bottle calf & I became his new mommy! Oh how cute he was & I was so excited when Fred called to say he was bringing him home. I could barely wait until they got home that night so I could meet my new son!

Everyone I talked to, kept telling me how much hard work it would be & how after a few weeks I would be ready to give up on bottle feeding & throw in the towel basically. So I have to say at first I was nervous since I had never done this before & I wasn't quite sure about the experience.

Lets just say my #1 problem was... my muscles. Oh wow, I had no idea I would be using muscles that I didn't even know I had. After the first full day of 4 bottle feedings... that next morning I could barely get out of bed, my legs & back hurt so badly. Instead of dwelling on the fact I wanted to amputate my legs at that point, I focused on the fact that sore muscles was in fact a good thing. This only meant that I was getting a complete workout in the process of being a new mommy. After about a week my muscles got used to the workout & I enjoyed every minute of bottle feeding Dusty.

Then on April 2nd, just 7 days after I became Dusty's new mommy... I once again became a bottle calf mommy to Bruno also! Bruno was a rather large baby & his mom ended up partially paralyzed & Bruno needed new mommy to step in & take care of him. Unfortunately Bruno's mom didn't make it, but she went to a better place & not suffering anymore.

Bruno & Dusty are close to the same age but Bruno was way bigger than Dusty. At first bottle feeding both of them at the same time wasn't a big deal... but the bigger & older they got... it was impossible for me to hold both bottles at the same time. This is when bottle racks came in handy. Thank God for who ever came up with that idea.

Now the babies are 8 months old & wow how much they've grown! Dusty & Bruno weigh about 400lbs, they are huge!

I have to say I was sad when the day came that I had to slow down on bottle feeding & merging them to feed & hay instead. I enjoyed bottle feeding my babies & taking care of them everyday. I didn't mind the responsibility or all the work it took. In fact... I miss it. I think I'm having withdraws. ha ha

I'm patiently waiting & hoping for another bottle baby soon!

the weekend

Well yet another weekend came & gone. The weekends are just never long enough in my opinion, but I'm sure others share my opinion too.

Friday night the plan originally was to make it out to the World Show to walk thru the buildings & hang out... but we ended up not making it off the couch. I did however successfully engineer something to fix the feeder down spout on the feed truck. Here let me clarify... After watching Fred attempt to figure out some way to fill the gaps on the sides of the spout so the feed wouldn't pour out the sides instead of down like it needs to... I asked if I could have a shot at coming up with a solution. First plan of action didn't work out, but in the process of that plan I had a brilliant idea spark in my brain. It's called DUCT TAPE! Everyone has to love that stuff & everyone needs to have at least 3 rolls just hanging around the house. To top it off they even make it in tons of different colors now, so depending on what you need to use it for... you have color options! Anyways, needless to say after some serious engineering (not really to serious), it ended up working out perfectly & I ended up feeling like I was a genius. Ok, maybe not really a genius but ya know what I mean, I was proud that my plan of action worked out.

Saturday we got up & around, stopped by my parents house for a few minutes to say hi. My brother, great-niece & great-nephew were there helping with some stuff around the house & yard, so since I rarely get to see the kids these days, we decided to stop for a few minutes. After that we headed to the city to check out houses or aka manufactured homes.

Let me just say WOW... some of these houses are truly amazing to say the least. It's hard to decide on anything. Some of them look like mansions on the inside, it's just crazy what they can do these days. I remember like a million years ago when all manufactured homes pretty much came standard & looked the exact same for the most part. There weren't many options back then, but nowdays... everything is an option & it's almost unbelievable.

We spent most of the afternoon looking at homes, then we headed towards Edmond, so we could stop by & feed my 4-legged child Katey Belle, since David was out of town. Oh how I miss my Katey Belle. I love it when I get to see her & spend time with her. I hate that I haven't been able to move her out to where I'm living yet. Leaving her breaks my heart everytime. She's just the sweetest baby ever I swear!

Last time I visited her, my batteries on my camera weren't charged & I didn't get any pictures of her, but this time I made sure the batteries were charged.

After taking care of Katey Belle we headed home to take care of Abigail aka my other 4-legged child & then after we got cleaned up, we decided to head out to a place called Friends to do some dancing. We actually didn't end up dancing, my cousin met us there for a few drinks then we left & went to Hudsons.

Sunday we were a little lazy & slept in, then we hung around the house til around 4pm then went to Outback Steakhouse for some dinner, then on to the World Show to watch a friend of ours show. We had a good time but by the time we got to the World Show we didn't have much time to walk around & see everything we wanted to before they started shutting down. So we are hoping to get to be able to make it back there before it's over.

All in all we had a good weekend, of course it just wasn't long enough as I said before.