Friday, May 06, 2011

Is it real or is it Memorex?

For those of us that are old enough to remember that tag line.....are you seeing double? Are these photos of the same dog? Perhaps.

Actually, no.

In reality, we got another rescue dog (what the hey was I thinking? -and it was totally my fault by the way).

To hear me tell it, in early March, we went to the Adoption Fair to simply "check things out". With poor long suffering Marzie trailing behind us, we walked by the Aussie rescue after have been spurned by the Golden Retriever Rescue group, only to hear "hey, we have your dog's twin". Turns out, they were right. In looks anyway. Not so much in terms of temperament. Hold on, that's not totally true. Both dogs are great with kids. But Marz is sooooo mellow, whereas, Sully is, to put it pure and simple, a spaz. With the help of our great dog trainer, he is steadily improving, so hopefully we will move more in the Marz realm of being.

What the hey was I thinking? Apparently I was thinking that complicating our life was a fantastic idea! Of course, this was all before March 11th, so I think that I should be given a pass on this particular brainstorm.

So which one is which?

Hint, only Marz has a tail.




Pretty in Pink

Colin's sister gave Sophia this beautiful dress quite some time ago. The dress finally fits her and Easter was the perfect place to debut said dress. Sophia loves flowers so she has been diligent about helping us look after our new plants.

Splash Park Fun

When the kids were sick, I saw temperatures reaching as high as 106. By comparison, 102 in Phoenix should be child's play. Oh wait, it was child's play, in the splash park that is.

Cool fun to be had by everyone.

Concert in the Park

Many years have passed since we took Sophia and Keenan to the Beatles tribute band concert in the park in Michigan. They were thrilled that warm summer evening.

Tonight, we were able to attend a concert in the park but the absence of Colin and the Beatles music left the pint sized audience less than enthused.





Kind of a rough month......

One of my friends posted a message on my Facebook Wall to the effect of......post some new photos for heaven's sake!

I could make a lot of excuses for my latest prolonged absence....OK, so I'm going to make a few excuses. So there!

Long story short. Since my last post, Keenan had pneumonia again......twice. Yes, you read that correctly, TWICE! (For those keeping track, that is pneumonia number 7 or 8-heck, even I've lost count). To make it worse, Colin has been in Japan.

Keenan's Dr. (quite rightly) told us that he should be tested for Cystic Fibrosis (que: minor meltdown on my part though I had suspected the suggestion was imminent). In the meantime, Sophia picked up Strep (oh, the good times are really rolling now). Thankfully the Children's Hospital here in Phoenix wasted no time scheduling Keenan's test and we were able to get it taken care of this past Monday.

I am ecstatic to report that Keenan's test results were negative. We don't really have an explanation for his repeated lung infections but, at least, we now know what's not causing them. Next month, he has an appointment with a pediatric pulmonologist and we hope it could eventually shed light into his respiratory ailments.

The week prior to all this, his teacher and the director of his school had been telling me what a remarkable kid he was. Bright, compassionate and beyond his years (it was nice to hear but we already knew it). But as we awaited his test results, all I could think of was how much Keenan has already been through, how far he has come and how grateful we would be if this was one less thing he had to face. So we are incredibly grateful and yet I know we never know what the future holds. So my feelings of joy are somewhat tempered with a sense of caution and continued concern.

So there are my excuses, such as they are.

I will say this...as corny as it may sound, this experience has made me realize how fragile it all is. Health really can be everything. Like most people, I tend to take it for granted but I absolutely shouldn't and that's really all I have to say on the subject.

p.s. The photos will be forthcoming