Lonley night and morning shopping.

Howdy folks.

Can it really be true that it is the day AFTER Thanksgiving? I am not too sure that I am ready. But ready or not here CHRISTMAS comes. Wyatt said to me this morning... "Mom. You know why I am so happy today?" "Because Thanksgiving is over and that means CHRISTMAS is NEXT!!!" Boy oh Boy!!! haha.

Last night was the first night I had to sleep in the house by myself AND without Luke. Seth returned to his regular schedule and I had MAJOR anxiety not having my guard Dog Luke around. I woke up with every little sound and kept checking on the kids over and over again. I miss him so much!

My sister was so sweet and actually did a portrait of Luke. It was very thoughtful of her and mean a lot.

This morning once the kids woke up I drug them out to Walmart and Kohls to do a little shopping. Nothing too exciting, just jammies for the kids and clothes for Wyatt. He needed them sooo bad so I had been holding out for the sales. I did good and got him some nice new things. No toy shopping as I had both of them with me and that would spoil all the surprise for Wyatt haha! Another day...

Well I really really need to do some laundry and pick up the house but I wanted to post a few thoughts before I get on with the madness.

Until next time... Kara

Just some thoughts...

Morning Friends:

It is a chilly, rainy morning here in Arizona. It is fantastic! Anything other than hot and sunny is a nice change for me. It has been pretty lonely around here with out my pal Luke. I really miss him! Every morning when I wake up and he isn't there staring at me to let him out is tough. Then there is getting out of the shower and ot having to give him a few good pushes to move from in front of the door. Man how I miss that Dog!!! Wyatt is still asking me where he is and if I am sure he is really dead. I know he misses him too! We all miss him! We got a card from the vets office... a break on all the bills would have been nicer though! We should be getting Luke's ashes back in about a week. I am not too sure where we are going to put our sweet Luke, but I am sure we will find a place for him.

People have been asking me if we are going to get a new pet. Short answer is yes. Someday we will. Hopefully not too far away. I think we all just need some time to recover before welcoming a new member of our family. Not too mention it is a lot of work helping a new pet adjust. We will just have to see I suppose. Then there is of course the matter of all of Luke's things. I have left everything alone so far. We have a whole bag of food and bags and bags of treats that I am thinking of asking my neighbor if they can use it. Also there are tons and tons of his tennis balls around the yard... his favorite. Breaks my heart!

OK... moving on... on the list today is Pre-School. Wyatt and I have school this afternoon and we are having a mini feast for the kids. Should be fun I hope. We are going to my sisters tomorrow so I do not have much of anything to cook which will be nice. But all Wyatt can talk about is playing Mario Car on the Wii. If I had the money I would LOVE to get a Wii for the family. But those darned things are soooooo expensive!!!

My little Annie is getting pretty good at sitting up! She is so little and cute. I wonder if she will be getting any teeth soon???

I am hoping to find some really good deals on clothes for Wyatt on Friday. All of his pants are like boy capri's hahaha! So if anyone finds any great online deals please send them my way!!! I am NOT dragging my two kids out at the crack of dawn to shop by myself. NO THANKS!!!

Well I think that is about all from me for now.

Until NEXT time...

Until we meet again Luke...

LUKE

April 23 1999-November 23rd 2008

For as long as I can remember I wanted a yellow Lab dog. I have always had a fondness for the breed. 9 1/2 years ago I met Luke for the first time. He was a round, fluffy, yellow fur ball who was living on a family farm and was the last pup in his liter. He didn't pay any attention to me as he was running after the neighborhood kids. I instantly fell in love with Luke and I took him home that day. Luke got his name from the main character of Star Wars, Luke Sky Walker. I named him this because I knew how much Seth liked the movie and I wasn't even supposed to be getting a pet dog.

Later that night when Seth was coming home from work I prepared him for the newest member of our family by saying "You are going to be mad for a minute, but once you see you will get over it." I was right because as soon as Seth saw Luke and was greeted by those big brown eyes, wagging tail, and puppy kisses he too was in love.

Since that day we have enjoyed 9 great years with Luke. He moved with us and lived in 6 different houses, 4 different states, and two different coasts. He swam in the pacific and the Atlantic oceans, a few lakes, streams, and swimming pools as well. There has been many a bush sniffed and tree marked by our pal Luke.

He welcomed and loved our two sweet children into the family. He greeted friends and strangers alike and always had a smile on his face.

Luke loved to chase balls and could run like the wind. He was a great swimmer as well and loved to swim any chance he could get. I will always be grateful to him for being such a great sport with Wyatt. Wyatt absolutely loved his friend Luke. Wyatt would always drag Luke into the backyard to "keep an eye" on him. Luke was such a good sport and would diligently sit outside while Wyatt played and would even let Wyatt drag him all around and boss him around too!

Luke was also very protective of our family. He would bark like a mad man anytime the door bell would ring. He would shove past you and be in front of you when you opened the door. Although it drive me insane most times there were instances where I was grateful when someone frightening would come to my door. In his old age his barking got to be a bit much. It seemed he barked at every little sound. But now I miss that sound!

Luke also loved to eat! Some of his favorites were peanut butter, cheese, and bread. You had to really be careful what you left lying around or it may not be there once you got back. One time when we ran out for a quick errand Luke somehow got into the Pantry and ate 5 boxes of Fiber One Granola bars!!! There was also the time when he ate threw my bag to get at a granola bar I had zipped inside. He also ate threw Wyatt's back pack to get at something inside. Yep Luke loved to eat anything he could get his his paws on.

One of his favorite places to be at in the house was lying in our closet and in front of the shower door. Most mornings I would have to give him a few good pushes with the shower door in order to get him to move so I could get out of the shower. He loved to hang out in the bathroom!

Luke had the softest ears you've ever felt!!! But his favorite place to be pet was on his belly! He would sneeze several times when you would rub his belly. Anytime you would go to pet him he would instantly roll onto his back for a belly rub. Luke also was determined to get everyone to like him. If he sensed you didn't care for him or for dogs he would try that much harder. He aimed to please and would follow guests in our home wherever they went even waiting outside the bathroom door!!!

It breaks my heart to have to say goodbye to my dear friend Luke. The illness he was fighting took his life quickly. It seemed to me that he was sad to see us so sad! Almost as if he was worrying about US during his final hours. He fought the illness as long as he could and we had to let him go. As much as I would have like to spend even a few more hours with my sweet dog Luke I could not be so selfish to ask him to continue on in pain and sickness.

I can only hope that we did the right thing in having Luke put to sleep when we did. The doctor reassured us that we were making the right decision. He reassured me that it was the most humane and peaceful way for Luke to pass. We got to hold him and pet him and tell him how much we love him and how much we would miss him. Although it was so hard I am glad he went how he did and that he seemed at peace and not in pain. I am glad I got to hold him and pet him as he made his final journey to return to his Maker.

Seeing my son cry and ask me over and over again if his dog is really dead is heartbreaking. Although I had been talking to him before this all happened you can never really prepare a 4 year old for the death of his first pet. I can only hope the memories and good times he had with Luke will help.

My home doesn't feel the same. Something is missing and every where I turn I am looking and listening for Luke. Every room and corner of my home reminds me of my friend. I know in time it will get easier and my life will return to normal. But for now words can not express how much I miss him.

Luke thank you! Thank you for being a part of my life and my family. Thank you for being my loyal and loving companion for 9 wonderful years. You are a joy and a light in my life and my heart than can never be replaced. I will forever remember you and your sweet smiling face.


Until we meet again my friend...

Evening all...

Today was my long day at work. Teaching pre-school from 12-2:30 and then Kids Center from 3-7. Annie refused to take a nap all day so she wanted to be held and was quite fussy. Wyatt managed to keep it together but did have a few minor melt downs haha! I am feeling a bit under the weather today. I hope it passes soon and does not turn into something nasty.

Last night we had our quarterly Enrichment night for the ladies at church. I think it went well and that everyone had a nice time. It took many hands and help to pull it off but I for one had a nice time. But I also am glad it is over haha!

Tomorrow I get to go to a baby shower for a friend of mine so I need to still pick up a gift. I have been so busy this week and had to put it off. Other than that I really have no specific plans. I am just hoping to rest and get caught up on some house work. OK so I don't really want to do the housework but it needs to be done haha!

Until next time... Kara

Spook-tacular Day!

Hi folks:

I hope you all had a fun and safe Halloween. It was a 2 day event here at our house. Thursday night we had a chili and cornbread dinner at the church followed by trunk or treat for the kids. My chili turned out pretty darned good if I do say so myself ha! Wyatt had a great time visiting all the trunks for some treats and little Miss Annalee was just glad to be along for the ride. Seth was also able to attend before work which made it even better! Funny thing is I had 16 bags of candy I was able to get for 1.00 a bag... the good stuff too like snickers and skittles etc. so I split the bags up bringing half to the trunk or treat and saving the other 8 for Halloween in the neighborhood .Well I should have brought more to the church event as we ran out so fast only giving 1 piece a child and had tons left over at home giving several pieces per child. Oh well hindsight is 20/20.

Friday morning Wyatt had a little Halloween party at his preschool and he had a blast!!!! It was so cute to watch him walk into the class room with his little costume on and to hear all his little friends compliment him haha! So by Friday night we all ready had so much candy at our house I wasn't looking forward to having tons more haha!

Come 6:00 we headed out the door to take the kids trick or treating. Wyatt was soooooo excited to go but as soon as we hit the neighbors house he hid behind me and cried and would not go to the door!!! It was so bizarre! He did this for the next few houses until we met up with some of his friend from the neighborhood and as soon as he saw them run up to the doors and trick or treat he was no longer afraid and joined right in. It was nice to have a group of friends to join us as well. Seth went back to our place to hand out candy before heading off to work and I finished taking Wyatt and Annie around the neighborhood. It was really fun. We have several cute Grandmas and Grandpas in our neighborhood and they just oohed and aahed over my kidos and gave them extras haha! They were really sweet. It was a fun night.

Needless to say we have candy out the waazoo at our house and I have had WAY too much myself hehehe.

Well thats about all for now. Enjoy some pictures..... Until next time...

What can $5 buy at the Grocery store?????

How about all this?????

16 boxes of cereal including: Life, Quaker Oat Squares, and Captain Crunch.

4 Boxes of Puffs tissues w/ Lotion

6 packs of Chicken Nuggets

and my grand total was $5.07 SCORE!!!!!

HOW???

All the cereal was on sale for 1.00 a box. Great deal alone but I had 1.00/2 boxes and some .50/1 that my store doubled making the cereal either .50 a box or free.

The tissues were 1.00 a box and I had .25 coupons which my store tripled making them .25 a box

And the chicken nuggets??? On sale for 1.00 a pack and I had 1.00 off coupons making them FREE. WAAHOOO!!!

Wana learn coupons???

Use this awesome site: http://thegrocerygame.com

I LOVE it and it saves me a TON!!!!!!

Be sure and put me down as a referral:

HELLOIMKARA@aol.com

Man I LOVE getting stuff for free and cheap!!!!

TAGGED

OK Connie tagged me..

Here are 7 random/strange things about me:

1) I am BORING!!! hahaha

2) I have to check my email FIRST thing when I wake up.

3) I LOVE asparagus

4) I think my husband is super HOT.

5) I HATE to drive and sometimes have panic attacks while driving.

6) I've never had a sip of alcohol or smoked a ciggy in my life (and proud of it!)

7) I'm addicted to COUPONS!!!