Birthday Party with Jesus

Each week on my day off, I go and keep two sweet, very imaginative little girls.  A couple of weeks ago when I was at their house, they were anticipating the upcoming birthday/bday party of the (then) 4 year old.

As I was talking to the 4 year old about her upcoming party, the 3 year old was standing by listening intently.  Finally she interjected herself into the conversation and was interested in knowing if there are birthday parties in "heaben."  Now I must tell you, the girls mom has recently been telling them about her father {their grandaddy} who is in heaven.  They never got to meet him and because of some pictures of him around their house they've become inquisitive.  The 3 year old informed me that her grandaddy sits on the clouds and talks to Jesus.  However, for obvious reasons, I couldn't answer her definitively about birthday parties continuing when we get to heaven so I said, "sure there are absolutely celebrations in heaven."

So...this day is my little Mammaws 87th birthday and I can't help but think that since she is now reunited with my Pappaw and is in the presence of Jesus himself, it must truly be a birthday celebration unlike any other.  I'm sure there is a feast of all her favorite foods and {like at the 4 year olds birthday party} all her friends that are there with her are surely celebrating as well.

Secretly I too think my Mammaw, Pappaw, & Pa also sit on the clouds and watch down over me.  I miss them beyond belief but I see them in my dreams and sometimes can almost reach out and touch them.  So you enjoy this birthday Mammaw, it's gonna be the best you ever had!  All my love forever...

Puppy and Playmates

Over the past few days (4 to be exact) our little Steinway has been very sick.  Last Thursday we noticed him not walking well and just being very lethargic.  It would remind you a lot of a drunk dog (and I know all of you have seen those on occasion).  He was just real wobbly and shaky.  He didn't really want to walk period, he spent all day long Thursday on the couch asleep, we even had to physically pick him up to take him outside to potty.  So, we alerted our very accommodating vet tech friend of Steinways symptoms and ask him to please mention it to his vet on Friday morning.  So...at 7:30 Friday morning Josh calls us and says they think we should bring him in for a check.  Well, by Friday he was pretty much not walking at all.  I had to pull him from his crate and carried him into the kitchen where I sat him on the linoleum to eat and he just collapsed.  His little legs just couldn't hold him up.  I was so grateful that we could get him in to see his doctor.  Once she checked him, she determined he'd had a reaction to a vaccine that he'd had 2 weeks prior.  He had a temp of 104 and was having flu like symptoms so he was super achy (thus not able to stand himself up).  Now, I have never seen a dog act like this and I must tell you, it was the most pitiful thing I have ever seen.  He was completely helpless and could no longer jump on & off the couch and couldn't even manage the one step off the porch to go potty.  But after getting on some meds and acquiring lots of rest, Sunday he began to show signs of his usual self.  Yesterday he even got the nerve to jump on and off the couch again.

Also, this past weekend my sister, her husband, and my nieces were in for a couple of days.  I managed to snap a few pics of them and of "Steinways" (as Elizabeth calls him).  Even though Steinways wasn't up to really playing with the girls, he very peacefully sat while Catherine stuck her finger in his nose, played with his eyes & Elizabeth tried to smother him a few times with his blanket.  He loves them as much as they love him and I'm sure he loved every minute of the poking and proding.

 

Catherine enjoying a yummy cupcake & trying to figure out why I'm holding my phone in her face.

 Elizabeth "holding" Steinways, making him feel better.

 This is him resting at our house one day during his down days.

This is Elizabeth making Grandads hair "beautiful" at my shop after we cut Nana's hair.  No matter what he says, he LOVES this.  I used to do the same thing to him when I was Elizabeth's age.

Macho Man vs iMan

"Women grow up expecting all men to do what they saw their dads do, like chop wood and fix the leaky faucet," says Debra Holland PhD.  After having our daddy's at our beck and call whenever something needed repaired, we assume that's what our husbands are going to do as well.

I would like to pose the question is your 'man' a macho man or an iMan (not insisting that one can't also be the other)?  Mine is definitely an iMan.  He can tell you anything you need to know about LCD's, HD's, HDMI's, USB's, DVI's, or any other technical related wire, cable, device, or hardware of your choice.  He knows all the best TV's and computers to be had and he has ear phones that can project sound into your ear that sends you into the world of whatever you are listening to.  He thinks my Compaq laptop from ages ago (still working fine) is completely ludicrous.  However, his robotic iMac computer is absolutely foreign to me except for searching the web.  I have no idea how to download pics, music, or any of the fun stuff that I so quickly can do on my dilapidated laptop.  I guess I am far behind on learning all the updated technology.  But hey, that's what I have him for right?

Now, on the other hand if we were to have a leaky faucet or say need a floor laid, this is what we do...

we call our daddy's.

We always offer help and even dress the part, but honestly we would have no clue where to start on most household projects.  G's dad was so nice to come over and complete this small enormous feat that we told him was only going to take a couple of days and ended up taking a week.  Oh well, it got done and it looks great!  Although I have no pics, we called my dad when we had leaks in both the kitchen and the bathroom and both dads returned when a minor repair needed to be made to a window in the back of the house.

Don't get me wrong G isn't completely incapable when it comes to home improvement.  Just this morning an electrical outlet loosened in the bathroom and he & his manly dog were on the scene in a flash.

The issue was fixed without hassle and no need to call a dad.







Now, I am absolutely at terms with G not being a 'construction guy' on demand and I'm even ok with the fact that he may never whittle me a new iPhone case. But he does (I hope he doesn't kill me for this) listen when I talk, cuddles with me on the couch, and isn't ashamed to ask someone for help if he isn't quite sure where to start.  I guess it's all in ones opinion what makes a man manly.  I wouldn't trade my manly man for anything and am so happy that he's so technically savvy.  Also, I'm pretty sure our dads love to come running whenever there is a minor repair that needs attention.  Plus, they always come calling us if they have a technical question so it all balances out in the end. :)