Overdue Updates

Well, it’s been over three weeks since our last post (gasp!), so we figured we need to update some of what’s been going on in our little world…

Katy has begun pushing herself up with her feet when you pick her off the floor. I know, it might not seem like a lot to many, but for us, this is a big, big step.

Hope has begun her training classes. Slowly but surely, she’s learning how to behave. She is most definitely still a puppy. We have discovered that she loves to run and is actually better behaved during jogs than she is during walks. We may actually really get in shape with this little addition to our family.

For some quick hits from the rest of the family, Bryan and Maggie just got back yesterday from a week at camp – Bryan at a true “roughing it” camp at Camp Ondessonk in Southern Illinois and Maggie at a resort-like lodging in Potosi’s Camp Lakewood (part of the YMCA’s Trout Lodge). Timmy earned his driver’s license on his 16th birthday (6/18) and promptly put 100 miles on the car during the first day. And Sean just threw four innings of two-hit baseball during a St. Louis-area all-star game.

For those of you not in and around St. Louis, we’re not in danger from any of the flooding. At it’s closest point, we are about six miles away from the Missouri River to the Northwest. The Mississippi flooding has affected areas that we normally are involved in, though. The recent levee breaks of late last week have flooded Sean’s main soccer competition fields. Also, the route we took to pick Hope up less than a month ago is completely underwater for miles.

Talk to you soon!

Finding a New Hope

Here are the first shots of Katy and her new puppy, “Hope.” Hope is five and a half months old and is just about the sweetest dog you’ve ever met (with maybe the exception being her old dog, Sammy).

She loves to play (sometimes too much) and we’re still in the process of getting her house trained. More than anything, that’s just meant we’ve had to get off our butts and get walking with her and that’s not a bad thing.

She had her first vet appointment yesterday, and besides being terrified by the prospect of getting in the car, she passed the tests with flying colors. Dr. Gilge mentioned to us she just may have to take Hope home with her for three weeks for “observation.” We declined the offer…

Since we got the puppy, Katy’s “depression” from being without her brothers and sisters for the last week has seemed to disappear. Her appetite’s back and she’s back on her normal sleep schedule (for the most part)!

Looking for Help…

Well, we’ve begun to make contacts throughout the St. Louis area and the nation to people or companies that might be able to help us defray the cost of putting the handicap accessible addition on to our house.

This is actually the second go around for this. Our original plans went out the window when the price tag came in at around $150,000. So we went to option 2 which was supposed to be a LOT cheaper. Well, our first bid came in last week at $138,000. Cheaper, yes, but not a LOT cheaper. And still WAY too expensive.

So, if you know of anyone who might be able to help, please let us know. Any little piece of help is a huge blessing.

Happy Mother’s Day (2008)

Happy Mother’s Day to everyone!

Katy helped her Mommy celebrate Mother’s Day at the bowling alley by constantly calling out “MaMA! MaMA!” And believe me when I say it was constantly…

On Friday, we got to hear Katy participate in singing “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” for the first time. If you sing “E-I-E-I” she’ll add the “O” on at the end for you. It’s a nice long, drawn out “O” that is too cute.

If you’d like to see and hear what this looks like, check out the video we added from a later on in 2009 at: https://hope4katy.com/media/news-reports/

Horse Therapy Happiness

Katy’s horse therapy lessons have become one of her – and of our – favorite activities of the week. She hated everything about these sessions for the first two weeks; but absolutely loves every minute of them now.

It’s amazing for me to see her balancing on the horse nearly by herself. Honestly, it almost brings you to tears to see her so happy.