Anya got her first real bicycle Friday night. Travis put it together Saturday morning and she took it out for a spin finally on Saturday night after it cooled off a bit. She really likes it.
Its a 16″ that we found at Toys R Us, so she should be able to ride it next summer as well. She finished swimming lessons last week and did really well with them. We also signed her up for soccer which starts August 3rd. I found her the cutest Nike Soccer cleats as well!
Arwen’s doing great. Except she’s growing up too fast! She’s such a sweet, happy baby. She’s able to sit in a high chair now unsupported and very close to crawling. She scoots pretty much everywhere she wants to go…
Let me know if you guys like the last photo…I’m thinking of entering it in a contest…
442…that’s the number of animals that were put down in the month of May at the Animal Shelter…
Four hundred and forty two! We did have 79 adoptions and about 15 reclaims as well. But, 442 is the sad number of the day…Please read the following stories and say a prayer or go adopt or foster or rescue an animal today…anything will help, just please don’t buy while shelter pets die!
Little Piece of My Heart
by Grace Saalsaa
Melissa sat on the floor, unable to sit straight and tall like her mother had always admonished her to do when she was a child. Today, it would be impossible. And tomorrow… it probably wouldn’t be possible then either. Her mind was too busy thinking about the dog that lay across her lap.
When he came to be with her, he had no name. She remembered that day very well. The first sight of him was enough to break her heart into little pieces.The woman, who had taken this dog from the rough streets where he had lived, had tried to save him because she was unable to watch this young dog find his own food in a dumpster outside the crack house where he lived. Nobody cared that he was gone.His fur was very thick; so thick that she had to wiggle her fingers down to feel his bony body. And as she pulled her fingers away again, they were coated in old dirt. Black and white, he was supposed to be. But on that day he was beige and dust.He sat in the back of her car panting continuously, ears laid outward for he had lost his courage and couldn’t keep them proud and tall. He sat motionless, waiting and limp.But the thing that was the most disturbing was the look in his eyes. They were quiet eyes, sunken into his head – and they watched her. They were alive with thought. He was waiting for her to do something “to” him.Little did he know at the time that, instead, she would “give” something to him. She gave him one of the little broken pieces of her heart.She reached out to stroke his head and he instinctively squinched his eyes shut and dropped his head, waiting for the heavy hand. With that little bit of movement she gave him another one of the broken pieces of her heart. She took him home and gave him a bath. She toweled him dry and brushed
some order back into his coat. For that, he was grateful and even though his own heart was loaded with worms, he accepted yet another piece of her heart, for it would help to heal his own.”Would you like some water, big boy?” She whispered to him as she set down a large bowl of cold well water. He drank it up happily. He had been dehydrated for a long time and she knew it would take him most of the week to re-hydrate. He wanted more water – but it was gone. Ah… that’s how it is, he thought to himself. But he was grateful for what he had been able to get. “Would you like some more?” and she gave him another bowl along with another little piece of her heart. “I know that you are hungry. You don’t have to find your own food anymore. Here’s a big bowl of good food for you. I’ve added some warm water and a little piece of my heart.” Over the four months that he stayed with her, his health improved. The heart full of worms was replaced piece by piece with little bits of her loving heart. And each little piece worked a very special kind of magic. When the warmth of love and gentle caresses are added, the little broken pieces knit together again and heal the container it resides in. That container becomes whole again. She watched each little broken piece fill a gap in the gentle dog until his quiet eyes radiated the light from the little pieces. You see, kind words gently spoken turn the little pieces into illumination for the spirit that resides within. He rested beside her, happy to be with her always. Never had he known such kindness, such gentle caresses; such love. His health had returned, his spirit was playful as a young dog’s should be and he had learned about love. Now his heart was full. The healing was complete. It was time to go. There was another person who had another heart that was meant to be shared with him. So she sat shapeless on the floor because all the broken pieces of her heart were with the dog. It is difficult to sit tall when your heart is not with you. She wrapped her arms around the dog that sat with tall, proud ears for her. Lean on me, he said.
And she gave him one last thing that would keep him strong; that would keep the pieces of her heart together long after he had gone on to live his new life. She gave him her tears and bound them to the pieces with a simple statement made from the ribbons of her heart.
“I love you, Joe.”
And Joe lived happily ever after.
Melissa sat on the floor, straight and tall like her mother had always admonished her to do when she was a child. Today, it would be possible. And tomorrow… it probably would be possible too. Because her mind was busy thinking about this, the next dog that lay across her lap.
Where did she get the heart to help yet another dog, you ask?
Ahhh… it came with the dog. They always bring a little bit of heart with them. And when the rescuer breathes in that little bit of heart, it quickly grows and fills the void left by the last dog.
A Dog Sits Waiting…
A Dog Sits Waiting
Unknown
A dog sits waiting in the cold autumn sun,
Too faithful to leave, too frightened to run.
He’s been here for days now, with nothing to do,
But sit by the road, waiting for you.
He can’t understand why you left him that day.
He thought you and he were stopping to play.
He’s sure you’ll be back, and that’s why he stays.
How long will he suffer? How many more days?
His legs have grown weak, his throat’s parched and dry,
He’s sick now from hunger and falls, with a sigh.
He lays down his head and closes his eyes,
I wish you could see how a waiting dog dies.
A Shelter Dog’s Poem
unknown author
Once upon a time, you see,
There was this little pup
For reasons unbeknownst to me,
His family gave him up
Maybe it was chewing
Everything that he could find
Maybe they were busy and
Just didn’t have the time
They took him to the shelter
And they just left him there
Outside, alone, in the cage
Shivering and scared
Even though they knew inside
If he went through those doors
He may never have the chance
To find a home like yours
He sat there crying silently
Wondering what he did
That was so bad that they just
Had to leave him like they did
However fate was smiling
On that little pup that day
Because a lady saw him
And she whisked him right away
He got a second chance at life
That others may have not
And now he’s in a loving home
With everything he wants
Every day he gets that love
That he was looking for
And silently is thankful for when
She walked through that door
Others may not have this chance
So open up your heart
And adopt a shelter dog to take
And give a brand new start
Arwen had her 6 month well visit today and she weighs in right on the nose of 15lbs and is 27 1/4 inches long. She’s in the 40th percentile for weight but the 90th percent for height and head size. Her head measures 17 1/2 inches. So, she’s still a little below average in weight, but the doctor is not concerned at all. He said she’s extremely healthy. Still breastfeeding which is still going well, but he did say we can start working with her more on sleeping through the night. He said to try giving her some more cereal right before bed and to mix it with apple juice instead of milk or water or to give her the jarred rice cereal with apples. She has had the jars of cereal and likes it so maybe we will try giving her another bit of food now before bedtime.
Travis had a nice Father’s Day. His first with 2 little girls! We took him to lunch and Saturday night we went to Hooters in Huntsville, which was interesting at they had the TVs on the Miss Hooters Competition live from Miami. Two girls from Huntsville competed in it so the place was a buzz about them. Of course the girls got more attention than Travis did at our table but he had a good time. We wanted to get Arwen a Hooters onesie, but they were sold out. Anya had a Hooters tank top when she was a baby from the one in Vegas, so it only seems fair that we get Arwen one too. We also went to Target to get some family portraits done. They came out nice but I wasn’t really happy with the ones of the girls by themselves. So, I will take them to Portrait Innnovations to get those done.
Happy Father’s Day to my wonderful husband! He’s truly a great Daddy and he loves his girls! They are totally wrapped around his finger, whether he admits it or not! 
Almand Photography is open and ready for business! I’ve got 2 pet photography jobs booked now!
Check out the beautiful site Travis created for me! I love it!
Also, anyone who adopts a pet from a shelter gets a free session, pay for only the CD or prints you want!
www.almandphotography.com