More Mechanic at Work

I'll try once more to upload this clip of our little video camera. Those little eyes and ears don't miss a thing!

Mechanic at Work

(Well, I just proved that I still don't know what I'm doing in the blogworld. I posted the wrong movie clip, but it is still pretty cute. I'm still working on the cutest clip!)

A little one's powers of observation are absolutely amazing. I hope you enjoy this precious little boy in his make-believe world as much as we did!

And the two became one.......

Last night was a very special time as we celebrated Papa & Nina's 58th Anniversary. Theirs is the epitome of a Godly marriage. Each of them always striving to put each other first. Of course in the important things, they each put the other first, but the hilarious part is that whether it is fishing or dominoes, I always know that which ever one I am talking to is going to be complaining loudly that the other one is just beating the socks off of them. If I talk to Papa while they are in Mexico, "Oh, this woman is catching the biggest fish and the most. All I do is get the net to help her catch her big fish!" Of course, when I talk to Nina (even during the same call), "Oh, Papa is just catching all the fish, his are always bigger than mine. He is just always dragging one in!" If I call during their nightly after supper domino game, I can always count on that the other one is just beating their socks off! Now just so you don't get the wrong idea, this is just all in fun, but boy do they enjoy it!

The other day, Papa had quite a smirk on his face. Well, he had busted Nina in trying to surprise him with a gift from BassPro. Nina was so excited that she had found something that she could secretly order for Papa, only problem, the girl had to call and check on something before completing the order. Unfortunately, he answered the phone. Nope he didn't know anything about an order, but he figured the 'little woman' did and gave her the phone. He sure got a kick out of spoiling her surprise!

Now back to our party....... First of all I have to tell you what a wonderful blessing that my new sister-in-law is to, not only Ed, but our whole family. She wanted to have a party at their house for Papa & Nina. She & Ed grilled steak that was delicious. The hospitality was one of the best blessings of the evening. Ed has always loved to invite people over and share his home. Now he has someone who enjoys that as much as he does and makes sure that everything is just right. The house has the feel of home when you walk in the door. All the little things that a loving wife does to make a house a home have been done. It is such a pleasure to see Ed & Jeanette so happy and making a loving home for Jordan and Mikey, and soon for Keiffer,too.

Now back to our party again.......Papa & Nina, Virgil & me, Jason & Candice, Ed & Jeanette, Mikey & Jordan, Joe & Jean Briggs, and Ernie & Eunice & Kathy White all celebrated! It was extra special to have the White's with us. They came to AZ shortly after Papa & Nina came. They also came to farm and were among the early chili producers in Cochise county. Kathy has always been one of my special friends. We actually started first grade together in good ole McNeal and then graduated from Valley Union together. Getting together with friends from long ago is always so special! And to make it even more special, Ernie and Eunice are Candice's grandparents!

All in all, it was a very special celebration and evening! Thank you Ed & Jette for opening your home and making such a special time. Papa & Nina, Thank you for setting the example and showing your love to each other and to us for all these years.

Jerry and Dusty

We have a complete dog family again. Jerry came to us out of the clear blue and very unexpectedly, but what a blessing. Jerry is a Golden Pyrenees, that is half Pyrenees and half Golden Retreiver, truly the best of both breeds. He is our first Pyrenees that will listen and follow directions! As those of you who have experienced Pyrenees know, they are wonderful dogs but have very selective hearing and are going to do what they choose, no matter what! It is just a good thing that their protective qualities are in their nature, because obedience is just not their forte! I don't know much about Golden Retreivers except that they are extreme people pleasers. So little Jerry is protective and loves the sheep, yet also wants to please us and will actually listen and try to do what he is told. So far, he is a 'dream dog!' His only bad habits involve pulling out any and everything that is loose and dragging it up to the back door, including the scoop shovel. Other than that, which I know he will outgrow, he is just unbelievable. At almost 4 months and as big as he is, he can still go through the squares of the panels, but those days are just about over. He spends a lot of time with the sheep, just hanging out, just like he knows caring for them is his main job description. However, he already knows that his second priority is to take care of me. Not only does he bark if anything is out of the ordinary, he keeps Dusty from walking under my feet and tripping me, too. He is just a super sweet, big ole teddy bear of a dog that is always eager to please and take care of me and the sheep. We have this special little guy because our dear friends, Sandy and JC McDonald knew that I needed him. to learn more about their operation and his parents and siblings, check out their website. nvrsheep.com. Thank you JC and Sandy!!!

Now for our newest addition, Dusty. Like Jerry, she just kind of showed up with her owners and all of a sudden she was mine. She is half Australian Shepherd and half BlueHeeler. She is very hard to describe colorwise, but I guess you would say she is a quad-color. She has a lot of the blue merle markings that are light gray with dark spots, quite a lot of white background, a big solid black saddle and brown feet and legs and brown peanuts over her eyes. Now part of the reason, she is hard to describe is that she is so fast, most of the time I just see a blur. I don't have any good pictures yet, because like R, she is so fast that the camera can't focus fast enough!
We have tried a lot of names on her, but until last night none had stuck. Candice said she thought we should call her Texas Tornado-T for short. Then Dad after going out to pen her before we left, said that he thought she should be Dusty-short for Dust Devil. I do believe that is a super good name for her. She seems to like it also! She seems to be really sweet, too, but is a live wire! Just like Cocoa in her younger days, she can bonk you on the nose with a kiss faster than you can even know what was coming! She sure gets aggravated at Jerry for trying to keep her away from me. At one point, she had my jeans leg in her mouth playing tug-of-war, when here comes Jerry and he gets the back of her neck and pulls her off of me! One thing for sure, both Jerry and Dusty make me smile and laugh and help me to not be so sad over Cocoa. If I can ever teach her to stay in the back of the pickup, she will be a really great pickup dog. Thank you to Corky, Cindy, Angel, Quirt, Larimer and Stella for Dusty!!!

Jacie is so happy to have playmates, too, even tho sometimes she reminds them that she is the oldest and still boss!

I can't wait for Christmas to get here so that A & R get to meet Mimi's new dogs and grow to love them, too. I expect R to call Dusty, Cocoa and I am totally okay with that.

I fully expect and trust that both Jerry and Dusty live up to the legacy of all the special dogs that went on before them.