Doggie Troubles

We have an issue with Kinley (our 1 year old yorkie) that needs to be dealt with. I'm curious if any of you have any ideas. This is the deal:
If we put her in "her bedroom" a.k.a. the laundry room at night, she won't go potty on the floor and she sleeps in her crate with the door open. The problem is that she barks ALL. NIGHT. LONG. off and on. It is beyond FRUSTRATING. I can not sleep while she is barking. I've tried "white noise" such as the radio playing softly, a big box fan blowing loudly, the dryer running...and nothing blocks it out enough for me to sleep. The only solution is to get up out of bed and let her outside for about 5 minutes. The problem is...we have to do this every night...sometimes 5 or 6 times PER night! It is making me EXTREMELY cranky and I'm not getting any good, solid sleep. I keep saying we might as well hve another BABY for crying out loud if I'm gonna have to get up that many times a night!
On the other hand, if we leave her out in the house (to roam freely) throughout the night, she never makes a peep. I sleep wonderfully and all is good until we get up and find pile upon pile of doggie doo-doo and step in puddle after puddle of doggie pee-pee!
She is completely "potty trained" during the day and she NEVER goes potty in the laundry room (where we put here when we're not home) even if we're gone for 8-10 hours. So there is NO REASON she can't hold it while we sleep at night for 6-8 hours.

Last night we put her in her room and she did okay until about 4 am. I got up and let her out and then instead of putting her back in her room, I left her out in the house. When I got up at 6, there were TWELVE poo-poos to clean up. Little teensy tiny ones polka-dotting my dining room floor. How can an 8 pound dog make 12 poo's in 2 hours? And it's not like we feed them late at night. We feed them at 6 pm every night without fail. They always use the bathroom several times before we go to bed.

I am just at the end of my rope. At this point, the only option I can think of is to 1. Put her in her crate somewhere far, far away from my bedroom where I can't hear her bark--which probably means in the COLD garage or maybe even inside the van-inside the garage...??
Or 2. Buy a muzzle...?? That just sounds HORRIBLE-to have your mouth strapped shut...but I really don't know what to do.

I just KNOW I cannot go on like this. I either lose sleep all night letting her out, or else my house smells like a gas-station mens room from all the poo and pee spots on the floor.

Anyone have any ideas? I'm desperate!

What does my future hold?

Today I received an e-mail from my boss (the doctor I transcribe for) telling me that my last day will be Dec. 31. He is going to EMR (electronic medical records) and will no longer need my services.
---insert a 'just-got-punched-in-the-stomach' feeling right here---
Okay, well...that means that in exactly 37 days our income is going to decrease significantly.
A part of me wants to completely freak out at the idea of that. We are hardly making ends meet as it is right now, but this means we will have to live on about $700-$1,000 less than we are used to!
Oh. My. Gosh.

PRAISE THE LORD that my trust and my hope is in HIM and not in my circumstances. He is Jehovah Jirah, my provider! HE is my source and my very present help in time of need.

The question I guess I have right now is: Do I sit back and "have faith" and just see what God does in this situation as I pray and seek His will?? Or...do I start 'taking matters into my own hands' and looking for another job?

As most of you know, I've been pursuing fitness instructing recently and I've been very sure that it is God's way of preparing me for something else. Maybe this is "my time." Oh, I hope so! Anyway, I'm not posting this to get sympathy from anyone. I'm posting it because...well...for one, I'm pretty much an open book and there's not much I "hide"...but also because I would love for you all to agree with me in faith for an even better opportunity to come my way! You are all such wonderful friends! Thanks!

Oh and..HAPPY THANKSGIVING!! in case I don't get to post again before then! Remember how much you have to be thankful for!

silly little boy

Grant just said to me, "I'm having a staring contest with the deer, mom."
I said, "The deer that is hanging on our living room wall??"
"Yep" he said.
"Well, I hope you win!" I said.
"Aw man! I blunk!" he said.

That kid keeps a smile on my face and a giggle in my heart!

Inbox slacker

I have so many e-mails in my "inbox" that I need to respond to that I feel overwhelmed. It's not that I'm "so popular" that everyone sends me e-mails...it's that I don't like to write responses to e-mails unless I can really spend time and give it my undivided attention and since I NEVER hardly EVER have that opportunity...they just keep stacking up. Right now I have an important e-mail to answer from just about every single one of my good friends waiting for me in my inbox.
I feel like such a lousy friend for taking so long to write back.
So which is better? A quick, thoughtless response....or waiting a long time but sending a long, thought-out response?
hmmm......
Obviously (but just to be clear) I am not talking about every day e-mails like "what are you bringing to the luncheon on Friday?" I'm talking about deep-subject e-mails that you can't answer with a quick 'yes' or 'no'.

Anyway, if you're one of my friends who is thinking, "she's NEVER going to write me back"...I am so sorry! I promise I haven't forgotten you...I just am waiting for the right time when I can really give you my undivided attention! I love you all and I thank you SO MUCH for being my friends!!
XOXO!

Lying to your kids...is it really that bad?

So I just lied to my daughter. Right now-this very moment at 4:15 pm on Wednesday afternoon! But I didn't mean to...

She asked me a question that I was TOTALLY not prepared to answer and I said the first thing that came to my mind.

I wonder how bad this is???

It's like this: Matt took the kids to Walmart the other day to get me a card and a little gift. (MAJOR BROWNIE POINTS BABE!!!!) Apparently he picked out the card but he let the kids sign it too.

The front says "I love spooning with you." and then the inside says "And, well, the forking too."

Okay...so it's cute and corny...no big deal. Except Brooklyn wants to understand everything and I guess Matt wouldn't explain the card to her so this is what she wrote in it.

It says, "Hey mom, I don't get this at all but I love you. Love Brook."

Well today she decided she wants to know what spooning and forking is.

Here was my explanation:

Spooning is where you lay on your side with your knees bent and the other person lays in front of you the same way and you cuddle.

I was hoping that would be good enough...but no...then she wanted to know what forking was.

I said, "well, forking is the opposite. Where you lay on your side with your knees bent and the other person lays on their side facing the opposite direction with their back to you looking at the opposite wall as you are."

She bought it. I feel kinda bad....but golly...what was I supposed to say?

Also in that first picture is a GORGEOUS card that my good friend Amy sent me! She made it. She is such a sweetheart and it came on a day when I really needed a pick-me-up! Thanks Amy!

Age: It's only a number, right?

My dad turned 60 on Thursday. That's been about as hard for me to swallow as me turning 30. Sixty just seems so....elderly. My dad is NOT elderly. I'm not sure if I'm in denial about the fact that he is getting older, or if age truely is "JUST" a number and that he's as young and healthy and active as when he was 40 (when I was just a kid). To me, he's the same old dad....nothing has changed other than the color of his hair a little. But then sometimes, when I see him resting more in his recliner or when he's down with an injury (like right now) or when I look at these pictures from his party, I think...maybe I'm being naive? Maybe he is really as old as all the other 60-year-olds out there...!?! I just can't bear to think my years with him are numbered...

Nevertheless, a birthday deserves a party, especially the big "decade" years...so I threw him a party this past weekend and invited all our family and some friends. I had reserved a room for the party so we wouldn't have to cram everyone into my house-which was a great idea-except for the a/c went out that day in the place and it was about 85 degrees! It was HOT in there...and of all things...I had prepared a big chili dinner for everyone! (who'd have thought we'd be having temperatures near 90 in November!?!)

Anyway, the party actually went VERY great regardless of all the sweating we all did! Here are some pics:

This first one is of my mom and dad. Aren't they cute? I am blessed far beyond what words can explain to have had these 2 people as my parents! They (and God) have made me what I am today! I love you sooooo much mom and dad!Dad blowing out his "60" candles! I'm so proud that he wore the silly hat even though I'm sure he didn't want to mess his hair up! Thank you daddy!Me playing Uno with the kids. I never want to "graduate" from the kids table! It's where all the fun is!Me and my hunky hubby! My dad was first....but he holds the key to my heart now-and forever!

The infamous mens "Spades" game: Matt, dad, my brother Doug and my nephew Bobby.Me and my OLDER sister! I'm mad at her for this picture though...she looks younger than I do...and she's ten years older than me! ha ha...just kiddin' Stef!This is my brother Paul, my dad and my brother Doug. See what knuckle-heads I had to deal with all growing up? hee hee

The Gathering

I don't think I've ever talked about my Sunday School class on here...but we are one fun group of God-lovin' people! This past Friday night we got together at the youth building for some food & fellowship. They have pool tables and air hockey and ping pong and basketball courts, etc. It was so much fun! Here are a few pics:

Our Amazing Teachers: Geoff & Lisa

Me playing air hockey and getting beat baaaaad.

Matt and Josh playing pool, I think.

Me playing ping-pong and making good competition for the little kids!

Me and a friend chatting.

Me posing for the camera--had NO idea Matt was behind me until I saw the pic!

Brooklyn with her buddies Asia & Emily.

The most fun we had was during a mean game of basketball: guys vs. girls. There was only 1 of us girls in the whole group that knew ANYTHING about basketball...thanks Rachel for schooling the rest of us girls! We women may not have won...but we definitely gave the guys a good game and we certainly got some great exercise out of it! Plus, it was a BLAST!

The joys??? of country living...

WARNING!!!! If you have a weak stomach right now (Kate) DON'T scroll down and look at the 2nd picture!!!

So...the other day I was outside pitching baseballs to Grant so he could practice his hitting and I couldn't resist taking a picture of my front yard with all it's beautiful trees and leaves everywhere. This truely is a JOY of country living!

On the flip side, my sweet little tiny soft cuddly yorkie brought me another suprise this morning! One of the NOT-joy's of country living! (it's headless again, nonetheless!) UGH! GAG ME!

But....being the country girl that I am, I just picked the little (stiff) fella up and threw him over the fence. :o)

Lastly, so I don't leave you with that pukey-feeling in your stomach...here is a cute pic of my pups laying beside my computer while I work. This is where they camp out most of the time when I'm here at my desk. They are so loyal (to the one who feeds them lots of tablescraps!)

It seems a little late for this...

I couldn't believe my eyes when I peeked out the back door today and saw bright red "balls" in our garden! WHAT? I guess from all the sunshine we've been having lately, my tomato and pepper plants perked back up. I really thought they were dead and its been on my to-do list to go out there and yank'em all out and mow over it. Good thing I didn't! Look at what all I picked this morning...on the 4th of November! Crazy weather!

My handsome scholar...

I came into the dining room the other day to find Matt pouring over all these books, study guides and a concordance preparing for his "lesson" for Bible study later that day. He looked so scholarly, I had to snap a pic. How appropriate that his shirt says "Disciple". I am so blessed to be married to this handsome, thoughtful, witty, sweet man of God!!!

Halloween Pics

Happy Halloween!

Here's a couple of pics of the kids from Halloween. We went to the Hallelujah Party at our church.

My little pirate and my hula girl!

Brooklyn's friend Fallon posed for a pic with Brooklyn...and Grant just had to jump in. (Boys!)

Fallon & Brooklyn, buddies!