Puppy whipped

Well as most of you know we were blessed with a new addition to our family. Our nest is no longer empty. We are the proud "parents" of a little puppy, a Yorkshire terrier to be exact. We have really fallen in love with this little canine. His personality is much, much bigger than he is. Tevia realized after two weeks that she, after an honest effort, could not deal with a puppy and a three year old who both needed a lot of attention. As I was chatting with her on the computer she was lamenting about what to do, what to do about 'the dog'. I don't even think the thought crossed my mind before I blurted/typed "you want me to take him?" oops! did I type that out loud? Yikes!! She jumped on that like stink of poo! white on rice! however anyone wants to say that. I was commited....
We met at my mom's in Claypool and wow I didn't know Heavenly Father made puppies that small! How does one take care of such a tiny thing? Tevia gave me the low down on his "schedule" but once we got home most of that went out the window because Thad and I have become big push overs...... HENCE the purpose of this post.
Today Thad was getting ready to leave to go cut some trees. Scruffy (the name of our little blessing) knew Thad was leaving some where. OMG! He was yipping and whining and barking and was NOT gonna be left behind with boring old me. It was so dang cute how he went back and forth begging to me please, please make him take me! and then over to Thad please, please take me, I don't care where we go I just want to go! (Yes I can speak puppy dog, I've been walking with them for 18 years with Paula so I've picked it up). We were laughing so hard at him and finally Thad picked him and took him and said I'll go get some gas for the saw etc... and then I'll call John and find out what his schedule is and then bring Scruffy back. (I'm not real sure but I think having grandkids has broken us down to give in so easily).
I think I want to say Thank you Tev for giving him to us, some days not so much but mostly yes...thank you! Scruffy has been such a positive, happy, influence in our lives. He has brought us closer together....weird, but true. I'm not sure how that works but it has. Everything happens for a reason and not neccessarily always for the good but......in this case it was. I have been trying really hard to find the good in EVERYTHING that happens but alas I have to admit that lately I have not been very good at it. I shall strive to do better. Aaaaaand I shall strive to do better about posting....ya, ya, I know I've said that before but hey, you have to admit you have a problem. Hi my name is Monica and I have a 'not posting' problem. TTFN!

The Circle of Life.....a moment of reflection

Well, I thought I better write this while I'm in the mood for writing. Seems like this is the time of year for reflection of the past year and looking to the new year and what it may bring.
Today granny had a doctor's appointment in Claypool so we took her down last night and then this morning she went for her check up. This morning she had to have her cumidin checked and then this afternoon at two she had a check up with her primary care physician. Now to my point.....Thad and I decided to stay behind when she went for the morning thing cuz it wasn't a crucial exam. Thad stayed outside doing various yard work, trimming the trees, raking leaves, stacking wood etc....I stayed inside and cleaned. It made me realize how hard it's been for my mom to keep up with everyday housework (stuff I loathed and detested while growing up and avoided at all cost) but while I was doing those house chores.....dishes, sweeping and mopping, bathrooms, vacuuming etc... I had this feeling of contentment and joy in doing those things for my mom. I felt so happy just cleaning and organizing, washing sheets and towels hanging them out to dry like I used to when I was young at home. I guess I was feeling that I am some how paying my mom back for all she did for me and tried to teach me to do, which was a chore for her I'm sure. I was quite the tomboy and would rather play baseball, hop in and out of the various ponds and catch waterdogs and snakes and frogs, climb trees and all that is wonderful and glorious about the stuff boys get to do.
I kind of thought through the years that my dad would live as long as his parents.....95 and 93 respectively but alas he passed away at the young age of 61 and my mom has been a widow all these years. She's always been in pretty good health until the end of 2008 and had several heart attacks. It's been an up and down thing figuratively and literally with her health. Now... I had always planned to keep her if the time came but it came a little sooner than I had prepared myself for and it's been a joy and a bit of a trial. ( I LOVE my space and alone time) Argh it's not easy overcoming those selfish tendencies but I'm am endeavoring. It is now my turn to take care of her and make sure she has everything she needs and wants so that the rest of her life may be a bit easier and enjoyable. We are trying to make it possible for her to stay in Claypool as long as she can safely, which she loves dearly. Right now she can stay on her own during the spring and summer.
I want to thank Thad for always being so willing and kind and helpful and generous when it comes to taking care of my mom because his parents are struggling with health problems far worse than my mom's but he never complains and does what he can.
I guess I can't believe time has gone by so fast that I'm at this point in my life that I need to look after my mom. I had it in my mind that my mom and dad would still be living together and caring for each other and all of us kids would just check up on them like we did with my grandparents. Such is the circle of life and we get to choose how well we will rise to the occasion when these events are presented to us. I hope some day to hear the words well done thou good and faithful servant, or daughter....going both ways.....daughter of Heavenly Father and of my own earthly parents.

ladder 209 ...live

A few weeks ago we had a structure fire in our district that both neighboring fire departments (Pinetop and ShowLow ) were summoned to assist us. I was not on duty at the time but since it was toned out as the balance of a first alarm and a working fire on a two story structure, protocol required that I respond to the station.
( a little background here) It was before 8:00 in the morning, there was about half a foot of snow on the ground, and Quentin was returning to his home after a shift of firefighter duty in
whiteriver. Since he is a reserve for Lakeside Fire, he went straight to station 210 and was able to leave with the first out engine.
I went to Lakeside Station Two to fire up engine 221 and drive it to station 210 in order to pick up the five guys who had showed up there to assist. By the time we arrived at the scene, Pinetop and ShowLow had several pieces of fire apparatus engaged in suppression activities, as well as our first due engine and rescue. There was a narrow snow covered driveway some 150 foot long leading to the involved structure. Smoke and flames were coming from the upper west end and a little smoke also showed from the gable at the east end.
Activities on a fire or EMS scene are dictated by training. Everyone seems to go on auto-pilot as soon as it becomes evident that action is needed. A horizontal standpipe was laid up the driveway and to that 3 inch supply line was connected a wye with two 2 3/4 inch attack lines. Quentin and Nik took the interior attack line up the outside stairs, made entry and in perfect textbook fashion fogged the flames from inside the structure toward the entry point. Very little water was used, thereby limiting damage to the contents that were not burning. Salvage and overhaul operations proceeded as practiced by all departments and in short order we were cleaning up and draining hoses to get everyone back in service.
The Chief officers had all personnel meet for an evaluation discussion. We stood in a circle and each officer reported their respective responsibilities and how each assignment was carried out. The purpose of these meetings is to not only to reinforce good decisions and behavior but also to learn from mistakes and to assure that all have a chance to input observations. As we were thus gathered and I was looking at my fire fighting family, I became very emotional...more so than i can remember for a long time. In the past months we have had several incidents that naturally would have been cause for deep emotion. There was a fatality of a citizen in a house fire shortly before christmas. Several firefighters have had various family situations that have been difficult, and one has had to take a leave of absence. The holidays always bring opportunities to serve the community, with our thanksgiving and Christmas dinner programs and our Gifts for Christmas tradition that is so appreciated by the public. But this was something different for me.
You all know how art, music and the movies are created to evoke certain feelings. A really good performance by a really good actor can bring a tear to many an eye. As I looked into the faces of those brothers and sisters in that circle who have pledged to put their lives in danger to preserve the lives and property of their neighbors, tears welled up when I came to the face of my very own flesh and blood son, who probably didn't even notice that I was there. I must admit that I cry easily at a good movie, but this was no production, we were no actors, and the tears were very real. I'm grateful for all those who have gone before us to make this such a noble profession. I'm glad there are yet many who feel the call of adreneline and answer with eagarness. And I very aware of the things my family had to do without during all those years as a volunteer firefighter. And every day I give thanks for the job I currently have that allows me to be counted among some of the area's finest. But above all I am thankful for my family. Monica, our children and grandchildren are what give meaning and value to each day. So a big fat thanks to you all. Yes, that means you who are not in Lakeside, also. I love you all.

Happy day after infamy

Wowzers!!! What a night! T'was the ghost of winters past all night long. It started yesterday with a nice little snow storm that produced some huge fluffy flakes. There was sufficient moisture in the air to make for perfect snowball and snowfort construction material. Since the temperature didn't drop much below freezing, the snow remained very heavy and stuck tenaciously to everything it touched. Therefore, the emergency calls started coming in fast and flurrier. The electricity went out a few times here in Webbville, and we heard of two pretty big outages in ShowLow on the FD radio. Cars were running off the road and all sorts of medical calls were coming in for Pinetop, Lakeside and ShowLow. Then we got a call from Quentin asking if our lights were out. At that time we had electricity here. Then Q explained that the lines had fallen on his car and his whole neighborhood was dark. We invited him to come over but he thought he could tough it out. Which he did till just a little before 6 o'clock. Then we heard Jhade's little squeaky cry and knew that Christmas had arrived early...Poor Yesenia needed to sleep and it was just too cold in ShowLow with no furnace. So mom took care of Jhade and Q and Y got a nap and got to eat some yummy biscuits and gravy upon arising. I shoveled some paths to the woodpile and to Gramp and Gram Webb's place then shoveled some snow off the roof. Brought back some good memories. Lead on, global warming!

if we do this often enough, it just may stick. Here's another pic

Jhadecita with wigs

Here's what Jhade looks like with hair. Elvis hair and then Cher hair. We thought it was pretty funny and cute of course. She didn't much like it maybe that's why she was born without any, she needs to get used to it gradually.....just a thought.

pictures to snow blog

Note to world...it's only easy after you figure out what the heck you're doing. I was trying to follow Tev's instructions on importing a picture to a blog and i screwed it up. Thought I had lost mom's info to the dark netherlands, but she found what she had typed so now i will try to get the fotos to the site. May the force be with me.

Winter Wonderland

Well Tev here's some pics for you. It's been snowing all day....beautiful! (That's if we can get the pics uploaded you know that techtarted thing that rears it's ugly head.)
I'm really glad you guys plan on coming up in January to go tubing, hopefully there will be enough snow to do so.
Well it finally feels like a real winter here. It's been a long time since it has snowed like this. We did get a fair amount last year as you might remember. When I was a kid we got a lot of the white stuff and we were even able to ice skate on the ponds and very brave and stupid people used to drive their cars on the lakes. Maybe that global warming thing is a done deal and now we will get our normal weather back. Hawley lake used to get 35 feet of snow and you couldn't drive to the lake until June. Ca...Razy! I have such fond memories as a kid of all the tubing and fox and geese and igloos and snow ball fights, missing lots of school.....man those were the days.
I'm so jazzed about the "holidays" this year, not the actual Christmas day but everything that preceeds it. Quentin has a family that he wants to do something for cuz the dad lost his job and they have a new baby and a couple of little ones, so we're gonna go in together and help them out. I just love doing stuff like that. I haven't got the book the Christmas Jar yet but I think it's about saving your change and giving it anonomosly to a family in need. I have been saving my change all year just for a 'snowy day' soooo.......
Welp can't think of much else to say but "MERRY CHRISTMAS"!!!!!!! and LOVE to ALL.

A new addition to our family

Haha......bet you thought I'm expecting.
Granny is our new addition. She's going to stay with us for the winter. She had been in the hospital last week so I went down to help her and when she was in the hospital I offered for her to stay with us and she readily agreed. Whew! It will be a lot easier on all of us if she isn't home by herself. I took her to her home on Wednesday and planned on staying til Friday because we had arrangements made for someone to stay til Sunday until I could come back down to get her and move her stuff, but they fell through so she ended up coming with me on that day. On Thursday, Tevia, her boys, Risa and Brandt came down and helped her with house work and a lot of yard work. The boys were such good hard workers and kept at it and did a great job. We gave Enok a watering can and just kept filling it so it kept him busy and out of trouble. Her yard looks so nice, she was sooooo happy, not just because of all the work but for the "eeexxxcellent" company. We had a picnic on the floor in her front room and all had a good visit. Wished I had some pictures to post but I didn't take any...... so there ya go. Enok finally got to see a real train up close and personal.......I mean an actual moving on tracks horn blowing train. He was blown away! "pun intended" He stood there just shaking, scared, it was actually pretty funny. I'm sure the loud sound and immense size of the train was more than he had bargained for. He finally got over it and waved at the engineer and got an extra toot, toot! That was one of those memory building days. Thanks Tev for taking an opportunity to teach your boys about service and work. Jarek was so cute when he came into the house and announced that he just loved to do work because it was for both of his "grannies". MUWAH to all!

Visiting in Utah

I've been meaning to blog about our visit to Utah to see Jacob, Millie and Ellery but just didn't get around to it until now. We left on Thursday the 13th of August and came back on the 18th. WOW! "I tell ya what, wow", we had sooooo much fun. Jacob and Millie were great hostesses and Ellery was the icing on our little vacation cake. She is so dang cute and such a happy little girl. (Well Thad I now have a pretty good idea how you feel about Enok and his attachment to you, it's great!) Ellery warmed up to me pretty darn quick and I loved every minute of it, well except for the few times she wanted to be with her boyfriend 'Uncle Bent'. She talks almost non stop and I even got to where I could understand the majority of what she was saying.
Not sure if this is right but I think on Thursday we played the card game Rage that evening which was a lot of fun.
Anyways on Friday we went to Mona Resevoir and the kids and Thad all swung out on a rope and dropped, flipped and flopped into the water. I wish I had the pictures downloaded to post but I don't.
Millie's sister and her husband came and they were a lot of fun. Brandon was so determined to do a back flip and by darn he did it and of course Jacob and Brandt couldn't be outdone so they accomplished that little talent too. We had a picnic there and Brandon had brought an inflateable boat and we all took turns and paddled around. Lovely, lovely day. Millie had to work that night so she left around six. I could tell she really didn't want to go and she wasn't feeling to great either. Thank goodness she was able to come home at midnight. Jake ordered pizza and we just hung out.
Saturday we got up late got ready for the day ate breakfast and chilled for awhile then lunch time came around and we decided to go eat soup at Zupas cuz it was overcast and rainy that morning so soup sounded good. It was reeeeally good. Ellery liked the soup I got so I shared with her and she pretty much ate what ever anyone else would share. That girl loves her cheese. The sun came out so we decided to go on a hike to Stewart's Cascade (another word for waterfalls) What an exhilerating hike! Jacob walks pretty fast even with Ellery on his shoulders but we kept up. It was a mile and a half to the falls and the vegetation and scenery was breathtaking. Loved that part of our trip. Brandt didn't go with us, he missed out but he got to hang out with some missionary companions and played soccer and it was his birthday so I think he had a good time too. That evening we played the game Apples to Apples, I had never played before....what a kick! We got pretty silly and laughed and laughed and just had a lot of fun playing. Yes I did buy the game. We also had bought an ice cream cake from DQ for Toasty's birthday, yummmy!
Sunday was church and just a resting, nappy kind of day. We were invited to Millie's parent's house for dinner so we went and as always had a very nice time with them. They are so hospitable and we have always appreciated it. The dinner was yummy of course and the company was just as good. All her family was there and we played a sort of "gambling game" which was interesting, no money of course. Later when we got back to Jacob's place he was all hiped up about the hike he was going on so he met with Jacob Wall and they were getting things together.
Monday Jake left for his hike and we had Millie all to ourselves. She's hilarious, she has such a great sense of humor, lucky for Jacob. We went to Costco and then took her to lunch or it may have been the other way around, doesn't matter. Ellery kept wanting to either go to the 'big park' or the 'purple slide' at 7 peaks. It just wasn't warm enough. Thad and I went to go visit my cousin Lois for a few hours and had a nice time with her. Risa stayed with Millie not sure what Brandt did. We had a cookout with Karen, Kathy, Carrie and Hazel Wall out by the pool. Carrie had grilled some chicken breasts that were fabulously limey. (I love lime), we brought a potato salad and I'm not sure who made the fruit salad but it was good too. Carrie and Millie swam with the babies and the rest of us just sat and visited. It was such a balmy pleasant evening with good company. Brandt later drove to Salt Lake City to meet up with some friends. I told him not to get in too late since we were gonna leave early the next day. Good kid he obeyed. We went back to visit Lois again so we could see Jim. After that we (I) had to go to sconecutters and have a scone, by darn. Yes it was yummy of course. Then we went to Macey's and bought some Grandma Sycamore's bread which was really cheap. They don't sell it in Az any more so I bought 8 loaves and gave some to Tev cuz Bret loves that bread. We bought some snacky things for the trip back home. Ellery was already in bed when we got back so we didn't get to see her before we left the next morning. She was still asleep when we left so 'boohoo' for us. Thad had an abscessed tooth so it was pretty crummy for him on the way home. Thank goodness Brandt was willing to drive and he pretty much drove most of the way home. Risa and I watched the Mentalist on her compy and we did crossword puzzles and just did the best we could to entertain ourselves. Even though the ride was long we did have an enjoyable trip back. I'm so grateful for being able to visit with Jake and his family and get to spend time getting to know them better. Thanks again Jake and Millie we can hardly wait to see ya'll again.