Lost and Found

(me and the dogs around thanksgiving at my mom's)

On Dec 28th I let the dogs out side at our place to go potty around 9 pm. They really have only been living with us for about a week.Our private road has only 5 homes on it and is up a hill. Parker likes to go off by himself and twice I found him at the one house below us in their yard. I let them out and Coco came in. Parker did not and I just figured that I'd come get him at the neighbors in a few minutes, but I got busy inside and probably 10 minutes had lapped. I went out and started calling for him. I called and called and called. Then Jason came out to help. We walked on the busy road we live off of, but no Parker. I went out again latter than night and cried asking the Lord that is Parker was alive he'd be returned to us.

But we had a problem- Parker did not have his color and identification on. The jingling of it, wakes Jason up, so we had taken it off. He has been sleeping for 2 days and there was no need to put it back on. We also had seen a coyote go through our yard and 3 coyotes together just 1/2 mile from where we live. There had been so many lost cat signs recently and we had heard stories of people seeing coyotes with dead cats in their mouths walking down the street. I was afraid Parker had been grabbed by one of them and was dead in a cave being eaten by those dog like creatures.
I knew it was that or someone had picked him up and he was nice and warm in a house with a dog lover. The next evening we made signs and I started to post them around our place. We called the Humane Society that is just down the street from us and told them we were looking for a Japanese Chin. We didn't get then all out, but I knew we had to get one to Arrow Wood Animal Hospital. This place had been around for Decades. This place is great because they are open all night for emergencies which I have used once with Coco. We didn't get the flier there till Thursday night. Friday morning we got a call saying that Parker had indeed passed through there and was now in the custody of the County Animal Control. We called, we looked up times to come and get him and there he was in DOG JAIL. We posted bail at $45 and took him home. He has had a few exciting days. I was thinking I was going to have to write a "Ode to Parker" post if he had heard nothing from anyone. All his cute ways and antic's were running through my mind. So here is a few pic's of him. The still photo's don't do his personality justice, but..... Maybe I can explain.

Neice Grace with Parker. When Grace is around Parker is a girl, because he's so cute!
Parker in August with the "cone of shame" after 2 surgeries on his ear! He looked like a pioneer.
At Christmas time with a new teady bear and our matching red snowflake clothes.

Parker loves to hump Coco.
Parker gets so excited when I come home that he stands on his back legs and paws with his front sometimes almost scratching me.
Parker rarely barks, but when he does it's pretty funny sounding.
Parker cansound like a goat.
Parker cries or squeeks.
Parker loves to have his back scratched and his tummy checked out for sores.
Parker has skin issues and almost always has sores on his body.
Parker loves to sleep with me or mom.
Parker just looks up at me when he wants something like food, or outside or attention.
Parker will look, see me on the computer and know I'm not available and so will walk away.
Parker is just a silly dog with 14 teeth missing and an extra long and curved tongue.
Parker will kick your ear if he is really happy with you.
Parker often likes to sleep on his back with his legs up in the air.

Happy New Year!

If you're anything like me, you don't like resolutions. They are dumb and they never work. But there are alternatives to them. Here are a few I've found:

1. Have a scripture or quote for the year that you keep in your head and focus on that during all the good and bad times that will come. Idea from Annette Bowen.

2. Pray for a miracle and then see what happens! Idea from here: http://womeninthescriptures.blogspot.com/2010/12/new-year-miracles.html

3. Pick a word to focus on for the year. Idea from here: http://sherriejohnson.blogspot.com/2010/12/its-word-of-year-time.html

I'm not sure which one I will do. What will you do?

Sept 25th, National Museum Day

Back in September Jason and I went to Tacoma to see the Glass Museum. We got in for free, as it was National Museum Day. To do this every year all you have to do is go to the Smithsonian Web sight and get 2 free tickets that they send to your email and print out. You need to pick what museum you go to. There is a huge list to choose from in any area around the country!

These are some of the pictures outside of the museum.

Across the highway from the museum is this pretty building.

Not sure what this huge thing is!

There is a Very Long walk way outside of these glass creations.
You just can't take enough pictures.

These last pictures of sculptures outside are the coolest. So pretty in the sun!

Inside you can watch glass being made into designs. One of the biggest collections was created by children. They drew pictures from their imaginations and then glass blowers or creators made them. It's all very creative!

Christmas in Seattle

These pictures are from the Seattle Center. Inside one of the buildings, is a large food court and a space for music performances and dancing. It was here, that I danced the polka with friends before I was set apart to be a missionary in 1993. That friend I danced the polka with was my brother-in-law when I came home 18 months latter. At Christmas time they have this darling town up with a a train. I love all the little people doing different things and the buildings that look so authentic. I could of taken so many more pictures.

The picture below I did not take, but I wanted you all to see the tree on top of the Space Needle.

The Christmas Space Needle and the moon. A picture that I did take. It costs 18 dollars for adults to ride up the elevator to see the 360 degree view, unless you areagoing to the rotating restaurant, then the ride is free and you get to go to the observation deck. Jason and I had dinner up there last Saturday night. Our landlord always gives us 100$ each Christmas. This time it was in the form of two 50 dollar gift cards to the restaurant up there. We had see food everything- appetizers, soup and king crab legs. I'd never done this before and it was nice to do this with Jason. On one "side" of the needle they had fake snow outside. We didn't know it was fake at first until the waitress told us. It looked so cool, eating, looking out at the city lit up and seeing snow.

At the restaurant they have a photographer come around the take a complimentary digital photo that you can have emailed to you and/or bought down stairs. We'll I had it mailed to me, but don't think I ever got it.

The carousel at the Seattle Center

Definitely a room with a view!

My Primary Class

My primary kids in the primary nativity. All the other kids got to be angles singing. They too wore costumes. From left to right: Ethan (not one of my kids, but Hunter's brother), Ethan, Hunter, Zeke, Samantha, Ryan and Cameron. We studied the Old Testament this year and we were in the scriptures reading every Sunday. I never got burned out, because they could read!

100 Names of Jesus Christ

on second thought

My last post was about there being 3 paths in religion. I suppose you could add a forth of atheism, but then that's not really a path at all as it goes in so many directions.

I went to the temple today and realized what I'd already known all along, that there are really only 2 paths. The path the Father set out or the path of the philosophies of men/ideas of the world mingled with scripture. It's really either God or Satan that you tie yourself to.

Picture it like this: I circle in the middle- that's you. I line drawn out on either side. One side goes to a circle that says God, the other goes to a circle that says Satan.

This image is not mine, but in one of the institute manuals, but can't seem to find anything like it on Google.