Soccer Updates and Other Things

Well, first off, Happy Veteran's Day! My hubby served in Desert Storm, so I thank him for his service. Thank you to everyone who is currently serving or who has served at some point - your selflessness is more appreciated than you will ever know.

Things are still just as crazy as ever around here. I don't think work is ever going to slow down, and with the economy like it is, I should not complain. I love my job...I love my job...I love my job!

Halloween was a lot of fun...the kids picked out their costumes. D was a cowboy, B was a Clone Trooper, and A decided she had to be "Batman Girl" rather than the black cat she originally wanted to be...Boy, she is quite the tomboy! (Please don't laugh too hard at the photos! :) The guy that blends in with the fire place is D's best friend.

Filly is now back at my parents' house...and already rubbing her tail. UGH! I think she is bored and has too many places to rub. It may be time to make her a paddock out of electric tape...I know that sounds awful, but anything to keep her from self mutilation! It is too cold for bugs now, so that is no excuse.

The puppies are still doing great. The little boy, Max, is lined up to get "tutored" soon; right around Thanksgiving. Then the girls will get "fixed" in December. They are so fun to be around. They especially love to play in the leaves...it is so funny to hear 12 little feet running through the dry leaves. It makes a great spook excuse for the horses.

And great news - D played in the District Tournament last Saturday. After a really long, grueling day, and two incredibly difficult games, D and his team are headed to State Finals! They won the U-14 division! Those kids played their hearts out. He plays on a co-ed team, and let me tell you, those girls are TOUGH.

Below is D's All Star Team. Notice the blue hair...you should have seen the kids with the green jerseys! They looked like martians with their green hair!

This is the next up and coming soccer player - she can't wait to turn 4 so she can play on a team!

D with his hard earned championship soccer trophy.

So, a lot going on here - hey I saw that our gas prices are down to $1.99 a gallon!!!!! I haven't seen prices like that since I was in high school! Sure would be nice if they would stay down, but I seriously doubt it. I shall enjoy it while it lasts though...maybe make a few extra trips out to my folks place to play with the horses and puppies!

Hope all is well with you guys.

A Few Updates....

Hello! It's been awhile again - things just don't seem to want to slow down! We just finished up the regular season of soccer, then my oldest was asked to be on the All Stars team....so we have a few more weeks before D's season ends. We were ecstatic! He always works so hard, but this year he finally made it! He was one of 18 picked out of 50! Districts are on November 8th...wish us luck!

D with some of his winning moves.

B with his team trophy

The puppies are doing great - gaining weight and playing like puppies should. They are the sweetest things! I believe my folks want to keep all three, but if they can find the perfect home for any of them, they might let one or two go...Mom finally decided on names. Max is the grey boy, Salley is the black one iwth the least amount of white, and Boots is the girl with the most white. She should be named Sassy or Fiesty or Ferocious or something like that. She is the smallest, but the toughest of the three! We are all enjoying them so much!

They love meal time!

Fun in the tent! The puppies loved it as much as A and B!

A with Boots - this is A's favorite one...

Papa and A enjoying a laugh...

Mom and her puppy, Salley...

Salley is loving the attention, too. :) She looks pretty content, huh?

D and Max

Boots enjoying a nap in the sun...

Well, nothing much is going on with the horses right now. I made it out to brush Filly the weekend before last, but didn't work her or anything. She'll head back to Pike Road after the first freeze. May not be too far off since this morning it was 36 degrees! I don't remember it being this cold so early in the season! We are normally sweating our hineys off in our Halloween costumes! Fall is my favorite time of year, so I really wish it would last a good while longer.

Maggie enjoying some grass in the yard...

I've been digging up some old photos of the horses. I came across one of Maggie from 1987 that I'll have to post.

I took some photos of Filly the last time I saw her...she looks super! She has not rubbed at all, so she has a mane and tail again! No bare spots at all. It is such a relief. L was sweet enough to let Filly go back to her place next spring, so that's the plan for now. My hubby mentioned something about working on the barn again, so just maybe we can get that done before next spring...at least I am keeping my fingers crossed. I didn't have anyone to hold her, so I had her rope looped on the fence...it got long when she reahed back to scratch an itchy spot...

Filly has a mane and tail!!! Yeah!!!!!!!!!!

You can see where she rubbed out the middle part of her tail, just under the white part. It looks funny, but I'm just letting it grow!

Drew hasn't even had a chance to ride Tonto lately, so that little fellow is getting really fat. He's still living in the fat pen...poor guy.

Other than that, things are ticking along. Sam is still here and seems to be happy. Hope all is well with you!

Another Dog Story

Well, since I haven't had any time with the horses in the last few weeks, here is another dog story for you....

We attended our annual Harper Family Reunion in South Carolina during the weekend of Oct. 10. We all meet at an old farmstead that my Great-grandfather purchased ages ago for $1,000. The original farm house burned down after being struck by lightening, so they rebuilt another rustic cabin that is large enough to accommodate a couple of families. It's way out in the woods and overlooks a huge lake. If you didn't know it was there, you'd never find it! It is the greatest place in the world to go "get away!"

So, imagine our surprise when 4 starving puppies showed up out of no where just minutes before the family gathering!

They just came out of the woods! But they were the friendliest, sweetest, hungriest little things you have ever seen! They were so skinny, they had no meat on their TOES! I kept thinking their feet looked strange, but I didn't know if it was due to their strange, unknown breeding, or the fact that they were walking skeletons.

We fed them the only dog food my parents had....my folks travel everywhere with Gertie, their dog child...so luckily we were able to give them dog food along with the other food scraps they received...

They got lots of love....and gave some love, too...

There were 3 girls and one little boy...



They were the hit of the reunion. Everyone felt so sorry for them, but no one wanted one. It was kind of sad. But luckily, my dear sweet cousin's husband decided not to attend the reunion, so my cousin decided to let her middle son take one home. P and his puppy bonded very quickly.

P named his puppy Daisy. They are doing great together - and this is one LUCKY puppy! She sleeps with P at night!

And of course I wanted to take the other 3 home with me, but we just adopted Sam and now have 3 dogs of our own!

So, Sunday came and it was time to leave. What in the world were we going to do with these puppies?? The pound was closed on Sunday and we couldn't just leave them in the mountains to die.

My dear parents decided the puppies would go home with them and they would take them to the pound. My oldest son convinced them to keep one of the puppies....(even my Dad is enjoying them!)

So how do you pick just one?

B loves this one....

We call this little fellow "Possum"...and everyone loves Possum!

A loves this one...

Gertie dog doesn't really want any of them...

D loves this one...

It is too hard to decide, so my folks are thinking about keeping the 2 little girls and finding the perfect, loving home for the little boy, Possum...

Here is one of the girls... D calls this one "Bootsie." (My parents call her "Ears.")

Below is my Mom's favorite that D calls Alex...

She looks like one happy puppy. :)

I'll let you know what happens.

What Do You Do?

What do you do when a dejected, half starved, skittish doggie shows up at your house and you have a big heart that has a soft spot for lost, abused, or abandoned animals?

You start feeding them, talking to them, and becoming their friend. Then you open your home to them.

Meet Sam.

Sam showed up in early July and just kind of hung around the house. He walked with his head and tail down, jumping at the slightest noise. He wouldn't let anyone get close enough to touch him and everyone/everything made him so nervous.

Finally he allowed my middle child to pet him. They became friends and Sam followed B around the house. Then Sam let A pet him, then finally my oldest, D. After a while, Sam decided that since I was the food lady, he might let me pet him as well. Soon Sam began relaxing around us and hanging out in the driveway.

Over the last couple of weeks he has made an amazing transformation into the sweetest, friendliest, loving-est, most appreciative dog ever!

Last Thursday, A and I took Sam and our other two doggies to the vet for shots. Now Sam has his own set of tags - a rabies tag and an ID tag with my name on it, complete with a brand new collar.

I hope he decides to stay for a long, long time.