Sami, Sammy, & Buck

Yesterday I brought home my parents old cat Buck. He had been living feral for the last few years, and I thought that he would like living with us. And he's fine with it...he has made his home on the corner of the couch. The other cats, Lucy, Susan, and Keiki don't really like it, but they were getting used to him. But then came today...

Diane called me and told me to come home. She had a surprise for the family. When I came downstairs, I was greeted by a little wiggle of energy in the form of a 8lb female Shitzu named Sami. Lucy and Susan were hiding under beds upstairs. Keiki was hiding on Michaela's bed. Buck just lay on the couch unless Sami came too close. Then he simply swatted at her. Buck knows how to handle dogs. The funny thing to me is that my grandmother has a 15 year old Shitzu named Sammy. So we took Sami to meet Sammy. Energy meets sleepy dog. Sami was happy, but Sammy didn't seem to keen on making a new friend. But they're cute together.

Susan finally found a way to cope. TV. She loves watching World's Funniest Pets & People; especially the pets part.

Valentine's Day & A Birthday

So Valentine's came and went, and it included an incredible night out for Diane and I. We went to the Charthouse for dinner and stayed for a couple of hours. Dinner was good (mine was dry), but it was so nice to just relax and enjoy the time together. Lucy got heart balloons, Michaela took Mickey Mouse waffles and coffee to Peaslee in the morning. How cute.



Hannah's Birthday is today (the 15th) and she woke up with the sun to open presents from her Grammy in Arkansas. After she went to school, I brought in her new bike from hiding, and Diane was at home to take the first picture of Hannah seeing her new wheels. Cool. We went to Sushi Hana for dinner (Hannah's pick) and had full belly's as we came home to get ready for the roller skate party tomorrow at Oak's Park. Will post more after that.

I Can See Clearly Now...

It finally happened! They were ordered, were made, and we installed! We have new windows in the house! Woo Hoo! Goodbye old dryrotted wooden frames, and single pane drafty windows! West Coast Vinyl came out today and in a matter of hours, gave us new glass! I know that this sounds like a commercial, but unless you've lived here in the winter, you have no idea how bad the old ones were. You could actually feel the wind and cold coming through them. But not now. And we have screens, so that the cats can't escape when we're airing out the house! Woo Hoo!

The Kids

I was over at my folks' house and my mom had found some cool photos of Hannah and her cousin Julia. Julia is my sister Kathy's first born, who actually lives in Salem with her adopted parents. But we get to hang with her sometimes, and the girls are quite close in age, so it's fun for them.

Hannah and I also went over to the folk' place for a birthday dessert and Hannah and by brother's kids played for a while. Cole is getting so big. The last time I saw him he was just starting to walk, and now he's all over the place! Roan and I played in a fort that Grandma (my mom) made for him, and then Hannah and I went home for a late night viewing of Monster House, which was actually a little scary. But a cool flic none-the-less.

Jesus Is A Ninja

So I work with a group of Jr Highers for their worship band for youth group. We meet each week to pick songs and practice, and then lead singing at youth group later in the week. This week we were having a special practice to start planning for a conference in April that they have been asked to lead music for. They were sneaking around doing something just outside of the room before we started. It turned out that they were all signing a Birthday card for me! My birthday is the 9th, and I wasn't even thinking about it! They full on surprised me. Brittney had designed a logo, I thought for their band (Gsus and the Holy Ninjas), and had it put on a shirt for me! Woo Hoo! It's so cool. Keenan made me a guitar pick necklace, and Mike gave me a "Made To Worship The Rock" shirt. Greg and Paige also helped out. It was really cool, and made me feel really special, which I suppose is what birthdays should do. Rock on kids!