In homage to our beloved furry children and our love for all creatures of the 4 legged variety. Here we will take a "paws" and share our adventures, large and small, animals and all.
It has been one heck of a Christmas! One for the story books.
One such story goes like this...
It is the night before Christmas and all through the house not a creature was stirring...
oh wait....wrong story.
Really it goes like this...(without the rhyme)
It was the night before Christmas and we all decide to go out for a drive through town to see the Christmas lights and hear Mia go "oooh" and "aaaah"
Then we went to the neighbors house to meet Santa Clause and mingle in Christmas cheer
Then we went home to feast on roast beast and other delights
But alas, no roast beast! where was the roast beast? A broken plate was on the floor oh no.... The plate that held said roast beast awaiting our return to savor in it's delight
We searched and searched high and low And then we found it...
What was left of the roast beast After five dogs and a cat had their way with it All 10 pounds of it... Because we were geniuses and left it on the counter with 5 dogs and a cat running loose
The end.
Post Edit: There were a lot of sick little puppies on Christmas Day!
Post Post Edit: I know what you are thinking: Bumbuses!!
Wow, where did the time go? Is Christmas over already?? We have had a jam packed December with lots of family fun to report so bear with me as I post several blogs over the next week recapping our activity.
I love the way Christmas turned out this year. We were able to celebrate Christmas and spend quality time with each family. As you saw, our first Christmas event was with my mom and John while they were here a few weeks ago. A great primer for Mia going into the weeks ahead.
The second celebration was the Schnelle Family Christmas. Each year, because of jobs, schedules and other family obligations, the Schnelles have Christmas a week early. It works out great because we can make it an all day, all night event.
This year, it was no surprise that Mia stole the spotlight. She lived up every moment too. The pictures tell all:
She opened presents....many presents...
And played with her presents....
She discovered candy canes...
Met a new cousin...
welcoming her with a kiss...
And kept the family entertained.
It was a grand ole time! Thanks Schnelle Fam!
Next up, new traditions and The Great Ham Incident of 2010
Christmas has officially arrived at the Schnelle house. We have been busy with holiday fever almost as soon as we returned from Thanksgiving in Denver. A few days after we were home, my Mom came to stay with us for a couple of weeks. We had a great time gallivanting around, shopping, and decorating. And, in typical Mom fashion, there was lots of cooking. Yummy, yummy cooking. Last weekend, my Step-dad John joined us for a long weekend. As usual, when John is here, he and Gabe get a lot of work done on the basement. While they were here, we celebrated an early Christmas with them. Mia is now old enough to get into the Christmas Spirit. She knows who Santa Clause is and really loves the Christmas tree and all the lights. As you can imagine, she got pretty into the presents too. When she opened one she would exclaim, "Oh my goodness!" So cute! Of course, she wanted to help everyone else open their gifts too. Who wouldn't want to help open this sucker? Mommy got her first official sewing machine! Does that mean I get a Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval? Mia loves to help Grandpa John eat popcorn too. (It wasn't really popcorn. It was Pirates Booty...shhhhh!) Looks like we have started a new Schnelle tradition. Coming down with the dreaded cold/flu right around the holidays. This time, it hit us all. Mia got it first, and we all fell like dominoes after that. I think my poor mother was hit the worst.
As quickly as they came, they had to go home. We miss them already and look forward to our next rendezvous.
In the meantime, we have a lot of activity going on here. We head down south this weekend to celebrate Christmas with the Schnelle family. Then we are hosting Christmas here at home with my Dad and Linda. It is the start of our new tradition of Mia waking up at home on Christmas Morning. Gabe's mom will be coming to join in the fun as well. Mia's first true Christmas experience will be a sight to behold!
Ok, it isn't really a farm. Yet. But one can dream right? Actually, I think 15 acres qualifies me to call it a farm, even though we don't farm anything. Except maybe doggie play time.
Anyway, the other morning I looked out the front room window and was greeted by this beautiful sight... I have never seen these trees so vibrant. The pictures still don't do them justice. This year, we have had an odd year when it comes to fall foliage. Either the leaves dropped before they changed color, or they were really late in changing. Regardless, I cannot recall in recent memory our Bradfords looking this gorgeous. I am so glad I took these pictures, because they dropped half their leaves the very next day. So Mia and I decided to go out and play in the leaves.
Angel had fun too! We had our first snow flakes today which means fall is quickly coming to a close. We were lucky enough to have great weather to be able to enjoy it this year.
Sunday, we are off to Denver to spend Thanksgiving with my family. So come back here after the holiday for a recap!
It is funny how change works. Some change seems to take forever, but more often than not, change comes fast and furious.
In the last couple of weeks that is exactly what happened.
As you know, I have been going to school to receive my Masters degree in Teaching. I am very close to the end and it was time to take the next step into actual classroom experience. So this summer, I went through the motions to obtain my Substituting Certificate. And, two weeks ago, I got my first Sub job.
To say I was nervous was an understatement. However, as luck would have it, a friend of mine from school needed a sub for her fourth grade class and asked that I be offered the gig. Because we are friends, I was able to prepare much more than normal. She gave me explicit instructions, their daily routine, and a heads up about any issues I might encounter. I couldn't ask for a better first day. It went without a hitch and the kids were great.
After that first day, the calls kept coming. So far, I have been asked to sub for third grade, Special Ed and PE. It feels really good to finally get over that hump and officially start my new career.
In addition to subbing, my freelancing gig has been pretty steady. So things have been really busy.
As a result, Mia is going to daycare at least three days a week. It has been harder on me than her. She is thriving in a more social environment while I am a little bummed that my time with her is changing. However, what was originally going to be 6 months as home has turned into 2 years. I am so blessed and lucky to have had the time with her.
Everything happened so quickly. Two weeks ago, I was mostly stay at home mom. Now, I suddenly have two steady part time jobs. It will be a challenge to get used to working again and getting into a new daily routine. But I am really excited to embarking on this new journey in life and seeing where it leads.
This weekend seemed the perfect time to introduce you to our own little ghost here at the Schnelle house. Well, he's not really a ghost.
This is Ghost Dog. See him? The big white one.
Yep, that's his name. Ghost Dog.
Ghost dog got his name because of his eerie presence. But I must back-up and tell this story from the beginning.
About a year ago, a family moved into the property behind us and brought with them two Great Pyrenees dogs that served as herders and protectors for the livestock there. They would wander into our yard once in a while with a herd of goats tagging along. The goats were pretty destructive, so we would often have to chase them back home. Back then, both the dogs were thin, lanky and skittish which made them a little bit creepy.
It was on one such occasion that our friend Cindy, who was staying with us at the time, helped us chase them out of the yard. She made the comment that the dogs were like ghost dogs.
A few months later, one of the dogs was left behind when our not-so-nice neighbors moved out suddenly (we found out later that they didn't treat their animals very well at all). He was left to run wild. Of course, the poor thing was pretty traumatized from being abandoned and he became very skittish and shy. The woman who owns the property placed food out for him in hopes to lure him in and develop trust, but he has yet to let any humans near him. Regardless, he sticks around the area, eats the food and still looks pretty healthy. Amazingly, healthier than before he was left.
Yet, he remains extremely elusive. You will catch a glimpse of him here and there, but only a glimpse, then he quickly disappears. Like a wild animal. Once in a while we will surprise each other, but he only stops to look at me for a second before loping back into the woods.
Hence, Ghost Dog. It stuck. The woman trying to catch him now calls him Ghost Dog too. It's his name, and it is perfect. Who knew?
While he is skittish with humans, he has made good friends with all our dogs. Recently, he began showing up early every morning to partake in the canine romp in our yard. I was never able to get a really good look at him until now. Still, if he sees any sign of human movement he takes off. But, I was lucky to sneak out on the porch the other morning and snap a few fuzzy pictures.
And yes, this is what our yard looks like every morning. Two of the dogs are ours, but the others belong to neighbors. Heaven.
He is so beautiful and majestic and huge! He towers over all the other dogs. I was even able to get a couple of seconds of video.
It warms my heart to see him have so much fun. Our hope is that he someday trusts us enough that we can get him the proper care and love he needs. In the meantime, I am happy just to watch him from afar.
So if you think you see a white streak from the corner of your eye, or see something in the shadows, or an eerie movement in the dark, it is probably Ghost Dog lurking about.
