COVID-19 Day 375 - Avery's Spiritual Birthday

One year ago today Avery made her decision to follow the Lord with all her life and asked Jesus into her heart!  We are so proud of her and in her decision.  Tonight we celebrated her Spiritual Birthday by going out to dinner!  Happy Day!  We love you, Baby Girl!

My Habenero Garlic Ramen (omg, yum, so spicy and tasty!)

Michael's Chicken Fried Rice (also very tasty)

The kids both got Chicken Yakisoba, which they usually love.  Unfortunately, at this particular restaurant there was some sort of spice flavor they weren't a huge fan of.  We all ended up sharing all our meals so everyone got enough to eat.

Birthdays call for dessert!!!  Chocolate Lava Cake and Vanilla Ice Cream!

It took them about 2 minutes to devour that dessert!  🤣

Happy Birthday, Baby Girl!  We're so proud!

COVID-19 Day 374 - A New Covid Project

I know a lot of people have had COVID "projects".  At the beginning of lockdown we finished up my garden and I was able to focus on the garden and my plants for the next half a year.  My friend, Bernadette, got a couple chickens, a couple more, a few ducks, and before I knew it, she had a whole backyard flock!  Our friends, Brian and Alli, got pregnant and had a baby, so did Nick and Maggie.  Well, we are about to begin a new project.

A month or two ago I started talking to Michael about the idea of getting another dog or puppy.  I follow Beauties & Beasts on FB, a rescue group that takes in as many pets as they can and save them from death row, no matter the breed or physical condition.  I've seen several pets that they've carefully nursed back to health and found homes for.  They also have a bunch of puppies at the moment.  Many are pit mixes, which doesn't bother or worry me.  And they are cute as a button!  So, after seeing my FB full of dogs and puppies, it's no surprise I started thinking about one for us.  

As most people know, our sweet baby boy, Connor, LOVES pets, animals, and dogs in particular.  For Avery's 8th Birthday, she got Lily, her Hedgehog.  Connor hasn't asked for a pet the way Avery did, but he's so loving and attentive to all animals, we knew he'd love a dog of his own.  With his birthday coming up in May, only a few weeks before the end of the school year, and having a couple months off to focus on the new pet, we thought the timing might be good.

Slowly, I worked Michael around to the idea of a new pet.  I finally got permission to start filling out the application for Beauties & Beasts.  I filled it out and heard back quickly from the organization.  Our application looked good, and they called our vet and found out our dogs were up to date on their shots and fixed.  But they didn't have their Parvo vaccinations.  As many of the pets who come through Beauties & Beasts have had or been exposed to Parvo, it's important that our own dogs are protected before a new pet came to live with us.  So this week, I got Harlee and Gabby their Vaccines.  I emailed Beauties & Beasts the paperwork and waited to hear back from them.  We didn't intend to get another animal until closer to Connor's birthday.  They also said that for the home study part of the application, the whole family would need to be present.  Since we hadn't decided to tell the kids about our idea yet, we wanted to put that part off a bit longer until we decided to tell them.

In the meantime, this weekend, Mama sent me a text, asking if we would like Samson for Connor.  We knew Grandma and Grandpa had decided to get rid of him, but had never considered taking him ourselves.  We, or I, at least, had visions of a female Pit mix puppy, a slightly bigger dog than we'd had yet, with a single short coat that wouldn't shed quite as bad as Harlee and Gabby's.  So wrapping my mind around the idea of a tiny, double coated, male dog took me a minute.  Michael took a minute too.  But the more we thought about it, the more we came around to the idea.  Michael and I had already mentally prepared ourselves for a new pet, and here is a puppy who needs a new home.  Like I said, he wasn't what I had in mind, but I think God had perfect timing.  A couple months ago, the answer would have been a resounding no.  But now, we're ready anyway.  So, in less than a day, after doing some research on the breed and what we were getting into, we agreed.

So we took Connor outside, away from the family and (long story short) asked if he would like the puppy.  He said he would.  He was still quiet.  We didn't tell Avery, and Connor hasn't told her yet.  He said he wanted it to be a surprise.  When Michael and I have got Connor alone in the last 18 hours or so, we've been able to talk to him and found he really is genuinely excited.  He's going to be a great pet owner and will dote on that little puppy constantly.  He's very much looking forward to having him.

So, all that to say, we're getting a new puppy.  ❤  Connor is excited!  We're all (well, 3 of us) looking forward to our new addition.  😊

COVID-19 Day 355 - Thinking back over a year of COVID

I can't believe it's been aost a year since this crazy virus really got going here in our area.  It has been a heck of a year.  I've been watching the numbers and it feels like we're finally on the downhill side of this mess.  

I get my second vaccine tomorrow.  I'm the first in my immediate family to be vaccinated against COVID-19.  Nick and Maggie are also vaccinated (both doses) and Grandma and Grandpa Heorman have their first doses now (or at least have them scheduled).  That's all the extended family that have the vaccine at this point.

We have refrained from going out much.  We got take out a lot in the beginning, then began going to places that offered a patio.  Now we eat indoors, so long as people are well spaced and there are dividers between booths.  We haven't been to the Y in a year.  We haven't been to Exploration Place in a year.  We haven't been to church, in person, for a year.  

We did manage to take a family vacation last summer, I think it was good for all of our souls.  We got to enjoy the beauty of Kentucky, visit family in Tennessee, hike in Illinois, and be tourists in St. Louis.  We wore our masks everywhere, even when no one else around us was wearing them.  We used a lot of hand sanitizer, arguably too much.  We stayed away from people and quarantined ourselves for weeks when we weren't sure if we were healthy or not.

It finally feels like we're getting to the other side of 2020.  We're 2 months into 2021, but it still feels like 2020 is lingering.  What I'm looking forward to, though, is a glimpse of normal again.  Our middle and high schoolers are going back to school, Michael and I are considering letting the kids join swimming lessons again, and we're planning multiple vacations this year.  I'm cautiously optimistic as I look towards 2021.  🤞