Hall of Us

 Full disclosure that this post is going to come with a lot of feelings. It’s not meant to point fingers, but it is, instead, meant to educate people on the very real struggles we face in animal rescue. I firmly believe that when people know better, they can do better, and many people just don’t know the gravity of the problems we face so I feel an obligation to share. In the past three months we have rescued two strays and with that comes the ever-glamorous need for potty training (and a touch up on my grays). Thank goodness for concrete floors and fancy things like belly bands and the amazing “PeeKeeper” outfits that I had special made for rescue pups of the past. However, pulling these items out reminded me of my beloved babies that they were made for who are no longer with me. The pain of their absence hit me straight in the gut this morning. So many memories of them are sparked with joy and appreciation for the time I had with them, but then there are the other times. The...

 Everyone I know is pregnant or having babies and I am officially the "mom" that they come to asking for advice on what products I found to be the best. Since my brain doesn't quite work well on the spot, and given the fact that I live by lists, I figured a blog would be the best resource that I could easily share. I'll update as I remember other things too! Diapering Essentials Desitin - just buy it. I wanted to be that mom that did all organic and use the Beaudreaux's Butt Paste, but I just did not find it to work well. Also, I would recommend the tubes and not the tub as it's quite messy. Another new product that has come out is the same ingredients as the Desitin is called Boogie Bottoms. We use it in the hospital for incontinent patients and it is a super convenient spray on! I haven't used it personally, but I already have a bottle purchased for our next baby so I'll update when I've tried it (or leave me a comment if you've use...

  January 14, 2019. It's the day I saw Aubrey. There was a news video from KWTX's Foster Care Project that my friend posted. I saw the video and my only comment was " 😍 😍 😍". I didn't share it because I didn't want anyone else to see it. Something was telling me she belonged with us and I didn't want anyone else trying to adopt her. After calling the phone number multiple times and getting no answer, I told my friend about my frustration. She told me that she knew Aubrey's former foster mom and said she would try to contact her to see if she could get a good number for the social worker on her case. Ten minutes later she texted me back with a phone number. Not for the case worker, but for Aubrey's former foster momma. I texted her immediately and anxiously awaited a response. She replied and told me all about Aubrey and how wonderful she is. She told me about her challenges as well, and she also sent me a couple of photos of her. There is one ph...

  There's no better way to start every new year than with my sweet bagel's birthday! Granted this is his adoption day and we have no clue exactly how old he is, but when I started fostering him in October of 2005 they told me he was at least 4 or 5 so I made his adoption day his "5th" birthday! His journey home started in 2005 with Hurricane Katrina. He was rescued from flood waters and shipped to a shelter in Houston, TX. Once those shelters were full, the dogs that hadn't had an owner come forward were dispersed to other shelters throughout the state. Louie wound up at the shelter in Bryan, TX which is where I first laid eyes on him. I was volunteering at the shelter and they brought me this small beagle to bathe. He had just been returned by two girls who had adopted him because they said he was "too scared and didn't want to play." I looked into his sad eyes and loved on him while I gave him his bath- he shook uncontrollably during the entire thi...

  December 15.... your due date. The day I was supposed to be able to hold you, my baby girl, in my arms. Instead it came and went without even a mention of you. I knew what day it was, but no one else did. I missed you all day and I didn't get much sleep that night- though I don't suspect that would have been different had you been here for me to rock to sleep. I can't believe it's been 9 months- sometimes it feels like years ago and other times it feels like yesterday. I know there is a reason you weren't supposed to stay in our life, but I haven't figured it out yet and I know it's likely I never will. While I have healed a lot, I'll always have scars on my heart from where it broke for you and your sisters. Do you know that your daddy still gets his toenails painted pink with me? We are long overdue for pedicures, but I know he will be right there with me the next time I go. I'm not sure how I can have so much love for someone I never met, but I ...

 It's been a while since I've updated on our adoption process and people keep asking so here it goes: We decided we wanted to adopt and I spoke with a few different agencies before landing on the one we chose. After speaking with the wonderful woman who mans the show at this agency we decided it would be best to wait to get everything completed until we get back from our cruise this summer. We got moved into our house May 9 and it's better than I ever dreamed it would be. We still have some little things to do here and there, but overall I'm feeling pretty proud of the functionality of my home design. I can't take all the credit though because Carter picked out so many things that gave the house it's unique look. I have zero visualization abilities so until it's done, I can't even begin to see what something is going to look like. We've got all of our furniture with the exception of a coffee table which I'm having a heck of a time trying to fin...