**Okay, I know the title of this blog is "Ribar ADOPTION Adventure", but when all we are doing is waiting, I find myself blogging about the rest of our life. You don't have to read if you don't want to, but this is like my journal. It's therapeutic for me to write this all down, and to look back to see what our life has held for the past year. No one's been complaining, but I figured I'd put that disclaimer out there!**
This week we are dogsitting for a family who we've dogsat for many times in the past 3 years. Marley always came with us when we dogsat, and the dogs got along great. I guess the same doesn't go for Gus - or rather the other dog's opinion of Gus.
On Wednesday morning, the dog bit Gus on his mouth and shook him. Gus had just been sitting on the floor next to Dave hoping for some pets when this happened. I came running down when I heard the yelping. I saw blood drops, and Gus was hiding in their laundry room. I walked over to Gus just as he spit out a chunk of something. We later discovered that this was a baby molar, with the adult molar and part of his upper left jaw attached to it. GROSS, I know - sorry! Just be glad you didn't see it.
We took Gus to the vet right away, and they kept him there all day. When the vet and his vet techs where examining Gus, they weren't sure how bad the injuries were. Once they discovered how extensive the injuries were, the vet said, "This dog should be biting me right now, his injuries are so bad, but here he is wagging his tail at me!" That's our Gus - crazy and happy.
When we came to the vet to pick him up he told us that Gus had lost a small part of his jaw bone, and 4 teeth - 1 of these was a baby molar with the adult tooth attached. That means that tooth will never come in. Right now there is just a large hole where that tooth goes, and they sutured that. The vet is hoping that the small part of the jaw bone that is missing will grow enough marrow, or whatever that is to protect the nerves up there. There are also puncture wounds on his face that go all the way through to the inside of his mouth. Last night the vet called to tell us that the x-rays also show that Gus has a fracture in his upper jaw where the bone was pulled out. OUCH!!
So Gus is not allowed to chew ANYthing for the next 2 weeks. He's on soft food and everything. However, you would never know that this puppy is so hurt by looking at him. The injuries are hard to see (since they are mostly inside his mouth), and he is running around like the happy little Gus he's always been. He barked at his toys when he spotted where I had put them out of his reach yesterday, and even snuck crunchy treats when he thought he could get away with it today.
We're both so sad that this happened. Sad that Gus is hurt, but also really sad about this other dog. We really like this family, and have loved knowing this dog for the past 3 years. We feel like we let them down somehow, or didn't do enough to ensure their dogs were comfortable around us and Gus. I know we can't look back and say "what if?", because it doesn't change anything, but I still find myself doing just that.
So that's our life this week. I hope everyone else is doing well this first week of the new year!!!
Friday, January 4, 2008
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Merry Christmas
Christmas has come and gone once again, and I have to say that this year was a very good Christmas. Some years I get so caught up in the stress of traveling/trying to see everyone/buying gifts/etc, that I forget to stop and enjoy Christmas and reflect on what it's really all about. This year I tried to take it all in stride, and soak up as much of the good stuff as I could.
Gus had lots of fun this Christmas too. Below is a picture of his Christmas haircut (if you look closely, you will see that not all of his black hair was cut off - hee hee), and a video of him opening Dave's Christmas present. I got such a kick out of it that I didn't stop him, and Dave was happy to get his present a day early :)
We hope you all had a Merry Christmas and have a blessed New Year!!
Thursday, December 20, 2007
They always come in 3s...
...I just didn't think it would be 3 days in a row of hearing that people I know and loved have died. Ugh. On my way home from my Uncle Ted's funeral last night, my good friend Emma called. Emma works at Sunrise Assisted Living, where I worked for 6 years (2 of those years were in Minnetonka, where Emma still works). Emma always kept me up to date about one of my favorite residents - Pat. Emma let me know last night that they weren't expecting Pat to live very much longer. I found out today that Emma got a call from Sunrise 4 minutes after she got off of the phone with me that he had passed away.
Pat was a great guy. He was by far one of my favorite people all of the Sunrises that I worked at. He lived in the dementia neighborhood, but I always felt like we clicked right away. The day he moved in, he was not wanting to take his medication. I was getting ready to walk out of the door at the end of my workday, when my co-worker came up to ask me if I could give them a hand in trying to get him to take his meds. I came up to his room where he was acting out and agitated and sat down next to him. He looked over at me and smiled really big - I'm pretty sure he liked my red coat. He calmed down and took his meds for me, and went along his merry way.
Pat always had a hard time being understood when he was trying to express himself. The words he would say would come out strangely, but he would still smile at us like we understood what he was saying. He was one of the few people there with dementia who still knew how to read. One day, he came up to me and my friend Nicole and was reading our name badges. He looked at mine and said, "Rat-chel", and then looked at hers and said, "Nicoloy". So ever since that day some of my friends have called my Ratchel. A few months later I was walking down the hall when I came upon Pat with his shoe untied. I bent down to tie his shoe and he asked me who I was. I told him my name was Rachel, and he said, "Ah, Rainsaw". So that was my other nickname there.
When I was having a bad day, I would often times go up to Pat's room to see his smile. Anyone who knew Pat knew that he smiled with his WHOLE face. He had the biggest grin that would always put me in a better mood. He would talk to me, and while most of his words didn't make sense, every once in a while I'd catch a statement that would make me laugh because it made sense in a roundabout kind of way.
There are so many stories that I have about Pat. But they don't do any justice in written words, they are stories you have to hear to appreciate. I know that I will remember these stories for a long, long time. I hope that when I grow old I can make people smile the way that Pat did.
No more of these phone calls for a while, okay God??
Pat was a great guy. He was by far one of my favorite people all of the Sunrises that I worked at. He lived in the dementia neighborhood, but I always felt like we clicked right away. The day he moved in, he was not wanting to take his medication. I was getting ready to walk out of the door at the end of my workday, when my co-worker came up to ask me if I could give them a hand in trying to get him to take his meds. I came up to his room where he was acting out and agitated and sat down next to him. He looked over at me and smiled really big - I'm pretty sure he liked my red coat. He calmed down and took his meds for me, and went along his merry way.
Pat always had a hard time being understood when he was trying to express himself. The words he would say would come out strangely, but he would still smile at us like we understood what he was saying. He was one of the few people there with dementia who still knew how to read. One day, he came up to me and my friend Nicole and was reading our name badges. He looked at mine and said, "Rat-chel", and then looked at hers and said, "Nicoloy". So ever since that day some of my friends have called my Ratchel. A few months later I was walking down the hall when I came upon Pat with his shoe untied. I bent down to tie his shoe and he asked me who I was. I told him my name was Rachel, and he said, "Ah, Rainsaw". So that was my other nickname there.
When I was having a bad day, I would often times go up to Pat's room to see his smile. Anyone who knew Pat knew that he smiled with his WHOLE face. He had the biggest grin that would always put me in a better mood. He would talk to me, and while most of his words didn't make sense, every once in a while I'd catch a statement that would make me laugh because it made sense in a roundabout kind of way.
There are so many stories that I have about Pat. But they don't do any justice in written words, they are stories you have to hear to appreciate. I know that I will remember these stories for a long, long time. I hope that when I grow old I can make people smile the way that Pat did.
No more of these phone calls for a while, okay God??
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
More sad news
This morning around 1 am, my dad's uncle, Duane passed away. He'd been battling cancer and in the past few days was in a coma. Please be in prayer for his wife, Helen, and their family. One interesting story that came out of this was that shortly before he died, Duane came out of the coma with a big smile on his face. He looked around and asked for his brothers Elmer, Mervin and Glen (my grandpa). Elmer and Mervin have passed away, so his son said, "No Dad, you are still here with us". Duane said, "Oh". Then he went back to sleep and died shortly thereafter. How great that we know he is greeting heaven with a smile knowing that he'll be reunited with his brothers who have gone on before him!! My grandpa wasn't sure why he asked for him. He just said, "He must have forgotten that I haven't died yet!"
So now both of my parents have lost uncles in the past 4 days. I have been very blessed to have not had very much loss or death in my life. My grandpa Don died 12 years ago, but otherwise the rest of my grandparents are living. It starts to hit home when people who are younger than my grandparents are passing away. I'll admit it scares me to think of having to deal with their loss someday, but the bright side to that is that I know where my grandparents are spending eternity.
I have 2 other great uncles (one on my mom's side, and one on my dad's side) who are not doing well health-wise. Please be in prayer for all of these families.
So now both of my parents have lost uncles in the past 4 days. I have been very blessed to have not had very much loss or death in my life. My grandpa Don died 12 years ago, but otherwise the rest of my grandparents are living. It starts to hit home when people who are younger than my grandparents are passing away. I'll admit it scares me to think of having to deal with their loss someday, but the bright side to that is that I know where my grandparents are spending eternity.
I have 2 other great uncles (one on my mom's side, and one on my dad's side) who are not doing well health-wise. Please be in prayer for all of these families.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Uncle Ted
Tonight I received the sad news that my great Uncle Ted passed away - he was married to my grandma Alice's sister, Hope. I am one of the fortunate few who has had a close relationship with some of my great aunts and great uncles. Up until I went off to college, I thought it was completely normal to see all of your great aunts and uncles when you went to visit your grandma and grandpa in Iowa. I've always enjoyed spending time with all of these great people, and my great Uncle Ted was no exception.
Uncle Ted always had a smile on his face, and was a kind, gentle man. He was always interested in what we were up to, and Dave and I had great opportunities to get to know Uncle Ted in the last few years. My favorite memory of Ted is from this past June. My cousin, Matt, got married, and Hope and Ted came to the wedding. Ted smiled the entire weekend, and even got out on the dance floor with my sisters and me!! We had a great time dancing it up and teasing Ted about how his shiny head was going to get all the ladies to dance with him on the dance floor. I am so grateful that I have these memories of my Uncle Ted.
Dave's favorite memory of Uncle Ted is from Christmas 2004. We had brought my grandma Alice up to spend Christmas with us and Dave's family. When we brought her back down to Iowa, we met my aunt Mary Lee at my great Aunt Helen's house (another of Grandma Alice's sisters). We ate lunch there, along with Hope and Ted. That was the first time Dave got to really sit down and get to know Ted, Howard (Helen's husband), and Mel (Mary Lee's husband). Through getting to know each other, Ted and Dave found out that they both only had one kidney. It was their bond :)
Below is the picture from that Christmas of the men:
Uncle Ted always had a smile on his face, and was a kind, gentle man. He was always interested in what we were up to, and Dave and I had great opportunities to get to know Uncle Ted in the last few years. My favorite memory of Ted is from this past June. My cousin, Matt, got married, and Hope and Ted came to the wedding. Ted smiled the entire weekend, and even got out on the dance floor with my sisters and me!! We had a great time dancing it up and teasing Ted about how his shiny head was going to get all the ladies to dance with him on the dance floor. I am so grateful that I have these memories of my Uncle Ted.
Dave's favorite memory of Uncle Ted is from Christmas 2004. We had brought my grandma Alice up to spend Christmas with us and Dave's family. When we brought her back down to Iowa, we met my aunt Mary Lee at my great Aunt Helen's house (another of Grandma Alice's sisters). We ate lunch there, along with Hope and Ted. That was the first time Dave got to really sit down and get to know Ted, Howard (Helen's husband), and Mel (Mary Lee's husband). Through getting to know each other, Ted and Dave found out that they both only had one kidney. It was their bond :)
Below is the picture from that Christmas of the men:
Dave, Howard (standing), Ted, and Mel.jpg)
The ladies: Great Aunt Hope (Ted's wife), Great Aunt Helen (Howard's wife), Grandma Alice, and Aunt Mary Lee (Mel's wife)
Please keep my Great Aunt Hope in your prayers, along with the rest of their family.
Christmas pageants, sledding and good times
Our weekend was fun. We had a good mix of being busy with friends, finishing shopping, attending Christmasey things and relaxing. Friday night we babysat our former pastor's kids. They are 4 of the funniest and nicest kids I have ever met, and we always have a good time with them. We brought them over to our house, and they helped us finish decorating our house for Christmas and played with Gus. A good time was had by all. They give us lots of good advice on how to discipline our kids, and actually have some good ideas (usually on things they've experienced or been punished for in the past).
My favorite quote of the night was something I heard in passing. Do you know those Staples commercials where someone pushes an "Easy" button, and whatever they are doing is made simple? Well, one of the kids said, "Let's just get one of those Easy buttons that you can put in any room of your house!" And they were serious.
On Saturday we got to go sledding with some friends from my old work. We had a great time, and I have the bruises to prove it! I don't know why, but I bruise very easily, and usually don't know where I got my bruises from. We had fun playing games after it got dark and eating way too many sweets.
Sunday morning was the children's Christmas service at our church. I got SUCH a kick out of the kids up on the stage. There was the obligatory little girls lifting their dresses or shirts over their heads, one little girl laying down on the stage and rolling around, other kids trying to walk into the center of the production to steal the show, etc... But my favorite moment came when the girl who had the wireless mic on was backstage, and suddenly whispered loudly to her friends, "I have GOT to get these boots off, they're..." and she trailed off as she or the sound guys realized that she was being broadcast over the speakers.
Our good friends, Aaron and Nikki were sitting by us and leaned over to say, "We can't wait until next year or the year after when your kids are up there too!! That made me excited to think about :) My favorite part is that our kids have the potential to be the same age as their Sam, so they could be the best of friends!! I can just picture Sam and our kids holding hands up on the stage being as cute as can be. I know that day will come faster than I can imagine.
We also got to meet another couple while we were at Aaron's school concert (he's the band/choir teacher) last night who adopted 4 times from Korea. Nikki wanted to introduce us, and all of a sudden said, "Wait, is this one of those 'what not to say' things... To want you to meet other people who have adopted?" No way, we LOVE meeting other people who have adopted to hear their stories and wisdom. Introduce us to these people ANYtime!! We had so much fun listening to their stories and advice. We are excited to integrate the Philippine culture into our lives, and celebrate our children's "homecoming" (or some people call it "gotcha day") anniversaries!
Sorry I have no pictures to post today. Dave thinks I have an unnatural addiction to posting pictures on our blog.
My favorite quote of the night was something I heard in passing. Do you know those Staples commercials where someone pushes an "Easy" button, and whatever they are doing is made simple? Well, one of the kids said, "Let's just get one of those Easy buttons that you can put in any room of your house!" And they were serious.
On Saturday we got to go sledding with some friends from my old work. We had a great time, and I have the bruises to prove it! I don't know why, but I bruise very easily, and usually don't know where I got my bruises from. We had fun playing games after it got dark and eating way too many sweets.
Sunday morning was the children's Christmas service at our church. I got SUCH a kick out of the kids up on the stage. There was the obligatory little girls lifting their dresses or shirts over their heads, one little girl laying down on the stage and rolling around, other kids trying to walk into the center of the production to steal the show, etc... But my favorite moment came when the girl who had the wireless mic on was backstage, and suddenly whispered loudly to her friends, "I have GOT to get these boots off, they're..." and she trailed off as she or the sound guys realized that she was being broadcast over the speakers.
Our good friends, Aaron and Nikki were sitting by us and leaned over to say, "We can't wait until next year or the year after when your kids are up there too!! That made me excited to think about :) My favorite part is that our kids have the potential to be the same age as their Sam, so they could be the best of friends!! I can just picture Sam and our kids holding hands up on the stage being as cute as can be. I know that day will come faster than I can imagine.
We also got to meet another couple while we were at Aaron's school concert (he's the band/choir teacher) last night who adopted 4 times from Korea. Nikki wanted to introduce us, and all of a sudden said, "Wait, is this one of those 'what not to say' things... To want you to meet other people who have adopted?" No way, we LOVE meeting other people who have adopted to hear their stories and wisdom. Introduce us to these people ANYtime!! We had so much fun listening to their stories and advice. We are excited to integrate the Philippine culture into our lives, and celebrate our children's "homecoming" (or some people call it "gotcha day") anniversaries!
Sorry I have no pictures to post today. Dave thinks I have an unnatural addiction to posting pictures on our blog.
Friday, December 14, 2007
Petition
So a gal at work and I decided today that we are going to start a petition to send to Mother Nature. We've decided that maybe if we get enough signatures, we can get spring here by January. What do you think?? Who's in?
Okay, so maybe that won't work. But I'm already tired of cold weather, static-y hair, electric shocks when I enter or exit any room, vehicle or chair. I have to agree with Maddie, our 4-year old niece, when she told my sister this morning that she's "tired of having to put this jacket on every time I go outside". I second that, Maddie!! I wish I could just do what Grace (her little sister) does when she has to go outside - throw a temper tantrum until some grown up picks me up and keeps me warm. If anyone has an inkling to send us on a warm weather destination vacation this winter, we wouldn't say no to that kind of generosity :)
So how is Christmas shopping going for everyone? We are nearly done, and hoping to finish up a little more over our lunch break today. After last week's Christmas drama at church, I'm finding myself focusing on what Christmas is really about. The simplicity of the Jesus' birth is something that blows my mind, when you imagine the different ways He could have been introduced to the world. I wish you all could have seen the play last weekend. It did a great job of portraying this.
Darn Christmas cookies, though. I am feeling gross today because people at work have too many goodies that jump out at me whenever I turn a corner. So tonight I HAVE to work out after we get home - no ifs, ands or buts about it!! Someone lock me in a glass case with no goodies for a while, okay?
Okay, so maybe that won't work. But I'm already tired of cold weather, static-y hair, electric shocks when I enter or exit any room, vehicle or chair. I have to agree with Maddie, our 4-year old niece, when she told my sister this morning that she's "tired of having to put this jacket on every time I go outside". I second that, Maddie!! I wish I could just do what Grace (her little sister) does when she has to go outside - throw a temper tantrum until some grown up picks me up and keeps me warm. If anyone has an inkling to send us on a warm weather destination vacation this winter, we wouldn't say no to that kind of generosity :)
So how is Christmas shopping going for everyone? We are nearly done, and hoping to finish up a little more over our lunch break today. After last week's Christmas drama at church, I'm finding myself focusing on what Christmas is really about. The simplicity of the Jesus' birth is something that blows my mind, when you imagine the different ways He could have been introduced to the world. I wish you all could have seen the play last weekend. It did a great job of portraying this.
Darn Christmas cookies, though. I am feeling gross today because people at work have too many goodies that jump out at me whenever I turn a corner. So tonight I HAVE to work out after we get home - no ifs, ands or buts about it!! Someone lock me in a glass case with no goodies for a while, okay?
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