Ethiopian Picnic...

There is such a large Ethiopian Adoption community in our area... and it keeps growing! I have really enjoyed getting to meet people at these gatherings. I have had to miss the last two because of weddings or events on those days. I was so excited when our calendar was open for this day!

Here are some pictures I took while out at the picnic... I wish I would have taken more!



Addie is crazy about Mya and I am pretty sure the feeling is mutual. The two of them stick together when we all get together. It is so cute to watch Addie with Mya. Mya is the daughter of my friend, Julie. Julie and her husband Josh, went through the process the same time we did. Abel and Mya were in the same holding home with AGCI and actually slept just a few cribs apart.











I met this little one when her momma brought her home from ETH. I can not believe how much she has grown... I just was giddy seeing her at the picnic! What an adorable little girl... Her momma would talk to her and she would just respond. WHAT A PRECIOUS BABY GIRL - well, she's almost TWO!





Here is a shoot I did of her when she first came home
http://anceletphotography.wordpress.com/2010/03/12/meet-miss-anna/

How fun seeing these three boys ride in this car... HOW CUTE!


Her parents hosted the get together. They have a beautiful farm... SUCH A FUN FAMILY! How adorable is Miss Ayla?


Ted and a few kids went for a paddle boat ride


and then there is Miss Macy...


Don't you love her pom poms in her hair?


What a great day! I got to meet a lot of kids that have come home recently. I really enjoyed visiting w friends.... I HEART ADOPTION!

Reminded....

Of this post I wrote 3 1/2 years ago.....

http://theanceletfamily.blogspot.com/2007/11/5-years-ago-today.html


I miss my sweet mom so very much!

Heart ache ... and new life...

I have asked Ted for YEARS if we could get a puppy.

"No" was always the answer. He made great points as to why we couldn't have a puppy. "Tracie, we already have 4 humans to take care of, (ok, I added the human part, he said "kids") we don't need another thing to be responsible for." My friends would agree with him. I even would post on Facebook my desires to get a puppy and people would say "DON'T DO IT!" but still that desire was in me.

It wasn't just in me.... It was in my children as well. They asked for a puppy too. "No." Always was the answer we heard. When talking to Ted he assured me that NO wasn't the answer forever (though it seemed that way) but it just wasn't time.

WELL - all that changed last Saturday. We asked again about getting a puppy and this time, he didn't say NO! He didn't say YES either but it was up for discussion! I guess we could all smell his willingness so we HEADED TO THE PUPPY STORE! We arrived at the puppy store in town and fell in love with a Dork. The breed was a Dorkie. Part Daschund, part Yorkie. After much discussion and leaving WITH OUT the dog, Ted and I decided with out the kids knowing, that this little Dork would be a part of our family. We surprised the kids and got the puppy. I brought him home after a photo shoot and the kids were SO EXCITED. I was too. We named him Canon. I came up with the name and loved it! It just seemed fitting to have a puppy with the same name as my camera :-).

We fell HARD for this puppy. He was the cutest puppy I have ever met. We were all smitten. Even Ted.

Well on Sunday morning, Ted left early for church. He brought the puppy to me and I curled up w him on the bed. I noticed that he seemed restless so I picked him up and immediately became aware that he was about to throw up. Poor little guy threw up 4 times that morning. I went to church worried about him. He was at home in his crate and I just couldn't stop wondering if he was ok. I called the owner of the pet store who said he was concerned and asked me several questions about what was going on with Canon. I came home early from church and boiled Canon some chicken. He had not been eating much and I was told by a friend (who is also a vet student) that this would be gentle on his tummy. The Pet store owner told me the same thing. Canon wasn't interested in the food at all.
Later that day, we noticed that his stool looked odd as well.
First thing Monday morning Ted and I took Canon to the vet. She too was concerned about him. We told her all we had experienced and how he just seemed so lethargic.
She ran some tests and we got the news we didn't even know we didn't want to hear. We are new to puppy ownership and after it being 10 years since we've had a dog, we had no idea how SERIOUS his illness was. We thought that they could give him something and he'd be better.
Canon had to stay at the vet. They told us he had a 50/50 chance of survival.
He didn't survive. Canon died on Wednesday. It was SO VERY SAD.

Here are the answers to questions I am SURE that you are wondering ....

Yes, the pet store gave us a refund and paid the vet bill. Yes, the puppy did have parvo. Yes, the pet store closed that Monday to clean because of the illness. Yes, people told me we should not buy a dog from there. Yes, I learned my lesson. Yes, we came home and cleaned every where the dog had been (with bleach) in the 30 hours he lived with us - which was not many places since he just slept in his bed just about the entire time.

AND

YES - we were heart broken over this puppy. He was a part of our family... even if it was for a short time.

I did do some research and we did find a local breeder that was selling puppies from her home. She owns the mom and dad dog and she knew everything there was to know about these puppies. She was SO informative and compassionate as I explained to her what we were going through.
We have had to clean like crazy, pour bleach on some of our grass, throw away the few toys we bought for Canon, not let the new puppy go in the front yard (because Parvo can live for so long).
She has had one round of shots (before we got her) and goes for her second ones tomorrow. She is FULL OF LIFE... I can not believe the difference in our two experiences. This little puppy is EVERY WHERE! I have never been so happy to see a puppy get into things, chew stuff up, have hard stool (I'm just sayin')... I'm THRILLED that she is all puppy!

LET ME INTRODUCE YOU TO......

ANDI ANCELET

We are all still tender about the loss of Canon but we are thankful to have this playful little girl in our lives. She is a Shorkie mix. Half Shitzu and Half Yorkie.



We are thankful to have sweet Andi in our lives... You can see pictures of Canon in the post below. What a WEEK! Thanks for reading!

Meet Canon... WE HAVE A DOG!

We got a new addition to our family today. YES... WE GOT A DOG.
I have been asking Ted for a LONG time and he said "NO WAY!" Well, today... he just felt different about it. He would always say "No for now... it won't be no forever... but I want to know that our kids are going to take responsibility". We had a big talk w them about it and they are up for the challenge. They are BEYOND excited - but SO AM I (and so is Ted!) :-)

DRUM ROLL PLEASE.... MEET..... CANON!!!


Here's how the story goes...
We had lunch today at Dead End BBQ here in town - 5 stars from the A-Team!!! We talked about getting a dog at lunch but I didn't really think it would happen. We headed down to a puppy place in town and Ted - who normally stands w his arms crossed and shakes his head NO when I show him a dog, walked up to this dog and pet his head. This was NEW BODY LANGUAGE for Ted. I went over and saw the dog that he was paying attention to. I picked him up.... the kids came running up to see him. He seemed so chill. I thought maybe he was drugged (There are a lot of dogs in this store and they all seem a little too chilled out). The lady said it was his temperament. We took him to a little area to put him down and play w him. He was so responsive to the kids. He played w them and they just loved playing w him.

I asked the lady if she would go down in price on the dog. They did go down in price.... BUT we left WITH OUT the dog. We all struggled to leave him there but we knew we needed to think about it more.

Ted and I made a plan for me to go get the dog and surprise the kids. I had a few photoshoots today and so when I finished I went and picked him up. I took him to the store to meet a few of his "doggy needs" (and my dear friend, Christy came w me) and then I came home w him.

Can you tell how excited they are???


When the kids saw him... THEY GIGGLED. Then they hugged me and then hugged Ted thanking us for letting them have a dog. We had a few visitors to come and meet Canon. The kids loved taking him outside. We all cheered when he tinkled and they kids watched him eat every bit of dog food.


(Charlotte and Critter came to see the puppy... they brought along their friends. They were having a cook out and just had to come and see the kid's reaction to a puppy dog).


I was trying to think of a name for him and thought... CANON - PERFECT! With my photography business it just seems fitting to name the dog after my camera :-) The kids and Ted agreed. Abel wanted to name him Buzz or Woody... So glad Canon won the vote.

Ted and I both have been so surprised by how excited Aidan has been about Canon. He came into my room after 11pm and said "mom, I just can't sleep I am so excited!!!" I agree!

I knew Addie needed a little puppy when a stray dog ran through our house once - YES, YOU HEARD ME RIGHT... THROUGH OUR HOUSE. Addie took care of him. She gave him water. Sat outside w him (he was just about as big as she was at the time). She LOVES animals. I can't wait to see her interact w him and be the nurturer that she is.


Canon is a Dorkie dog. His is daschund/yorkie mix. He will be about 8 to 10 pounds. His birthday is Jan 24th (I think).

WE ARE THRILLED W OUR NEW ADDITION. Many more pics to come...

ABEL IS 3 - catch up blog #9

Here is our little crazy 3 year old. He LOVED getting presents. What kids doesn't. He was so excited when people walked in the door w a present. He opened each one right away. We let him :-)

Becky Crenshaw made this INCREDIBLE CAKE. AND people could just not stop talking about how good it was. THANK YOU BECKY!

Two of my sweet friends. LOVE THEM BOTH SO MUCH! Becky and Christy!

Everyone gathering around to sing happy birthday to Abel.

Aidan... OF COURSE boys will be boys and crowd around a video game.

Abel and his buddy Jet playing JUST DANCE on the Wii.

Our Trip to Louisiana.. Catch up Blog #8

We went to see Ted's parents the day after Christmas. It is a very long drive... but it is very worth it. The kids were so excited to see Mawmaw and Pawpaw. We drove most of the day and got there in the middle of the night. They were all so excited that it was hard for them to go to sleep once we got there.

This was Abel's first trip to Mawmaw and Pawpaw's house. We went to see them the January before Abel came home. SO - it's been almost three years since we made this trip. It was LONG over due. They make it out to see us once or twice a year.

I was so glad that the kids got to go and be with them. They had a great time.

OUR FAMILY PICTURES - Catch up blog #7

This shoot was done in November... so we could get that perfect pic for our Christmas Card. We had such a good time doing these ... and then we celebrated when it was over... because having pictures done is STRESSFUL. My friend Mandy took them w my camera and I edited them :-)

Catch up BLOG #6 - BIBLE STUDY GIRLS

This Fall I started a Bible study in my home on Sunday nights with some girls that are out of college and just in that new season of life... One is married, one engaged, a few dating, a few single. It is such a sweet spot of my week EVERY WEEK. We decided to make journals one night. It was so much fun. I love hanging out... but hanging out and doing a craft - EVEN BETTER!