Jack has been a bad boy today!

by Cora

It was nice having both Mom and Dad home today. Hasn't happened too often lately. Jack and I were able to go outside for a while this morning and we usually sit on the front porch and watch our neighbors mess with their yards, wash their cars, and we see maniacs drive by our house like mad men. They go so fast sometimes that I get scared to go as far as the ditch, but Jack is a little more curious and daring than I am.

Mom says it is Easter weekend, and we see more cars at neighbors houses. Must be families getting together, but one neighbor had more dogs too. We always see the yellow lab, but she doesn't roam in their yard much. They had a chocolate lab, a weimeriner, and a Yorkie. I know my dogs, because Mom talks about them a lot and I met so many different breeds back in Texas at the Bark Park.

Anyway, Jack is really sociable and he's not scared of crosing the road. I told him not to do it, because Mom and Dad will be mad, but he never listens to his older and WISER sister. As soon as he left, I went to the back door to find Mom or Dad, and Mom happened to be there puting something into the oven. She went to the front, but the neighbor had Jack on a leash and was bringing him home to us. I over heard a little bit, and I guess he got into a fight with one of the guys over there. Jack does that too. I think he needs anger management sometimes. Of course he was sent to his room, and I just went and layed in there, because I didn't know if I was in trouble too. Mom always taught me about guilty by association. I knew I hadn't gone over there, but she didn't even see Jack over there. The neighbor had told her.

After that we had to stay in the house for a while. Dad had decided to go for a ride on Big Red ( his 4 wheeler) and let us out while he was out there. Where did Jack go? Back to the neighbors. You would have thought he had learned, but Jack is a little hard headed. The neighbor came a knocking again and Jack was sent to his kennel again. I sat with Mom while Dad was gone, and then they let us out again after Dad arrived home. Mom snuck out the front to watch, and Jack saw here right away, so he didn't try anything. I kept telling him that he was pushing Mom's patience, and she went back inside. She must have been sitting at the door, because he got just to the ditch by the time she opened the door and scared the POOP out of the both of us. We both ran as fast as we could to the door, and into our room.

Jack had to stay there, but I was rewarded for being a good girl and I got my favorite.... a GREENIE! Dad made me work for it, but it was soooooo good, and Jack hopefully knows now that if he does what he is supposed to, he can have a greenie too!

In honor of my Great Grandma Arvilla!

by Cora - the lab

Every morning Mom goes out the back and says, "good morning Gorgeous!" I couldn't understand who she was talking to until she told me some stories of her.

Gorgeous is my great grandmother, who passed away last April. Mom told me stories of how she grew up with Gorgeous right across the driveway and how they were really close. When Mom was a little girl, they would look out Gorgeous windows and bird watch. They would look each bird up in her bird book, and Mom said that they would always see cardinals and Great Grandmother would tell her how beautiful they were. Mom came to realize that Gorgeous favorite bird was the cardinal, because she had figurines, plates, clocks, and clothing with cardinals on them.

During Gorgeous rough times in the hospital and nursing home, Mom would see this beautiful bright red cardinal out the back door, right in perfect view. And if you didn't see it right away, you definitely heard it. I think it gave my mom the peace of mind that Gorgeous was going to be okay and that she would always be here for her. Mom laughed on her 29th birthday when she went outside and all she could hear was Gorgeous singing as loud as could be. I even think you could hear it in the house that day.

She had also had a special moment with the cardinals after Mom and Dad had lost my little brother at 17 weeks of her pregnancy. Mom, Jack and I were the only ones home that day and it had been a week since Drew had passed. Mom went to the cemetery and talked to Jesus and Gorgeous. She came home and we all cried the rest of the day. The following day, mom went outside like normal with her morning cup of coffee and spotted 3 cardinals on a tree in plain view. They didn't sing that morning, they just all turned to mom and let her see that they were okay and then they flew off. I believe it was Great Grandma letting Mom know that she was taking very good care of him.

We all miss her and I know I'll run over to the house to see if she is home when we go to the north country to visit. She always gave us scraps from the table. Mom and Dad don't allow us to eat them, but she always seemed to sneak them to us. We love you Gorgeous and I'll make sure Mom says hi to you from me tomorrow!!!!