Mud Puddle Puppies...

In our family we have not only Mud Puddle Girls, but we also have Mud Puddle Puppies too! Mud Puddle Puppies make a splash just being themselves; just like our girlies!

If you have followed my "Life on Fishing Creek" blog- then you already know we have several rescue dogs. With the holiday approaching I thought I would share their story~ three dogs~ three rescues~ three different stories...

MEET SAM (male, sheltie mix, 11-14 years old). We had just lost a 4 year old Sheltie to cancer when someone sent me an email from a Sheltie rescue with a picture of Sam. Sam had been rescued from the second shelter in less than two weeks and his future was bleak. The rescue family said he was a fine dog, loved his belly rubbed AND loved her grandchildren. Well that's all it took- if this dog was good with grandchildren~ that's all I needed to know.

We have had Sam since 2001.

Sam

Sam is different- Sam doesn't play with the other dogs- Sam doesn't play with dog toys- Sam loves to sleep- Sam also LOVES to grab your food if you're not looking, AND Sam does love my grandgirlies.

Last month I took Sam to the ocean for the first time. You see-Sam is getting old-fast- and I wanted special time just with him. I wanted him to run free along the waves, see the birds flying above, and feel the sand between his toes- Just Sam & me.

MEET BELLA~ CINDERELLA (female, yellow lab, 3 years old) My daughter-in-law's mother emailed me that a yellow lab would be going to the dog pound over the weekend because the young family was not able to take care of her anymore.

Bella is such a good sport
The young family had a handful of small children, one with autism- and it was getting cold- and the dog wouldn't be able to come into the house.

When we picked up Bella~ she had a thick black mark around her entire neck. This marking was from the collar she had worn~ outside on a rope for the 1st year of her life. Sad.

It took Bella a week to learn how to climb up & down stairs. She army crawled very gingerly up and down, up and down. Also- I thought we had a miracle lab because she didn't shed a hair for weeks! But it ended up this was natures way of protecting her from the elements of weather- keeping her fur as long as she could. Well, that ended and she a true hair shedding"lab"!

And best of all Bella LOVES LOVES LOVES everyone and especially children. My grandgirlies have learned alot from Bella and vice versa...

Bella is my shadow, my friend, one of the kindest animals I have ever known. I am blessed that she found us.

MEET CHARLIE: (male, mix Shepard?, 1-2 years old) Sadly Charlie was also a victim of the foreclosures in the USA. His family thought they had NO choice but to leave him outside their home when they left for good. He managed on his own for a week with neighbors feeding him, BUT then he got real sick and the Animal Control picked him up and took him to a pet hospital.

Charlie

Since Charlie snapped at the Animal Control man- he was going to be put to sleep- BUT the wonderful wonderful smart people who cared for him at the Kingsview Animal Hospital knew that Charlie was a wonderful dog- that was just very very sick!

An email went out- I saw his picture and fell in love- another rescue dog found us!
I can't say enough about the goodness of Charlie- he gentle, kind, Bella's best friend, loves being a dog, loves chasing rabbits, loyal, loves to eat, play- he's just about perfect!

Bella & Charlie

Grandgirlie & Bella

My dear Sam at the beach...
Well that's their story~ and I think our family is pretty luck to have each of them find us! If you are looking for a new pet- you may want to consider a "rescue". Animal rescues are people that home an animal for a time until they find a forever home.

The Art of being a flower girl...

Three flower girls...Ashley, Grace, & January...

At my son Kirk & Lindsay's wedding last month- niece's Ashley, Gracie, & dear friend's daughter January (Isn't that a beautiful name?) were the angelic flower girls... White chiffon flowing gowns, little caps sleeves, hair brushed---and I must tell you- they each had shorts underneath because after all being a flower girl on the water---there's a lot to do after the ceremony!

January & Gracie (the little one)

You get ready to take pictures with the beautiful bride...

Bride Lindsay & her flower girls

When picture taking is over~ you head straight to the dock to do what you love to do...find crabs, fish, etc... Oh those beautiful white dresses!

The girls had so much fun! It was so special to be part of this wonderful & blessed event.

Soon they will be flower girls again...

Like sweet little fairies~ my granddaughters ran up our family property to the ceremony just before the bride made her entrance~ last May-08

Last May our granddaughters were honored to be flower girls for our oldest son's "Uncle Joey's" wedding ... This year they were asked to be flower girls for our youngest son's "Kirk" wedding, along with a dear family friend's daugther... My granddaughters have grown by leaps & bounds~ and are looking forward to make this exciting trip to the next wedding ceremony... I'll post pics of this year's wedding in September.... Stay tuned!

Girlies~ with beautiful bride Jodi

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I'll admit I haven't blogged much lately... I have been crazy busy~ with an upcoming wedding, and lots more. So when I'm at my busiest...nothing is more relaxing then creating something that is not only fun, but something that warms my heart...something for children & animals.



To find out more- you can visit my UNCONDITIONAL LOVIES here.
No two LOVIES are exactly alike & are posted for sale when they are made.

Broken Arm...

Oldest granddaughter with a boo-boo...

It's the call we all hate... we were away taking our granddog to the vet~ when our daughter called. Our oldest granddaughter fell out of a tree and broke her arm. Did I mention she is always climbing trees? And as we know what goes up---must come down--and down she did. She will be alright- 5 weeks in a cast. And did I mention this is the SECOND time she has broken her arm climbing...ummmm I think she needs wings- all tomboy.

I couldn't wait to have a "girls" weekend...

We made soap in my soap kitchen...the fan is to allow the soap to "cool" faster....clever.

My youngest granddaughter looking quite sassy & happy at her creations...

The final project. My oldest granddaughter decided to label and package the soap all by herself. She named the soap "Mystery Soap." I thought this was genius because she can make soap of any color, any batter, any fragrance and they all can be called "Mystery Soap." Now why didn't I think of that? And she's selling them to family for three dollars each.

Settling down for bed. This was the first time we all slept in the Carriage house on our property... It was fun- the girls had fun and so did our dogs.... I told the girls they could stay up all night... I think I heard snoring by 9:30 (smile)....

Also if you have a minute... Ginger from Enchanting Cottage had a beautiful post for Spiritual Sunday about "A pray for Grandchildren."

Let it Snow!

Youngest granddaughter with sweet Sam~ Charlie & Bella in the background

The girls...at the top of our driveway...

I had an unexpected visit from my granddaughters last nite. It snowed and both their mommy and daddy had to work through the nite. My daughter works at a hospital emergency room; while their daddy was out clearing streets... SO the little ones got to play a bit in the snow. It was fun, and cold and our dogs bee-lined all over having some fun too!

Hey what a one-two inch bit of snow will do for a lot of fun!

Homemade Biscuits...

Start with wholesome ingredients...flour, egg, peanut butter, water

(don't worry it's an older jar used many many times!)

Weekends are great~ especially when we have visitors...it can make life so fun! Tonight~ to give mommy & daddy some quiet time- we grabbed the granddaughters and made Dog biscuits.

Don't worry about getting messy! It's always okay at Gigi's house... In fact the messier the better the batter will taste! Hey they worked real

hard so they should sleep real good tonite (smile)...

The spectators were hit by flying flour!

Charlie & Bella~ Cinderella wait for "anything" to fly off the counter....

Here are the final biscuits~ let's just say they are super floured! That's my girls!

The house smelled like warm bread baking---yum!

POST SCRIPT~ I used recipes from the THREE DOG BAKERY

book by Dan Dye & Mark Beckloff (thanks Teresa I meant to add this...) and one more thing that was fun for the girls to clean up with Twin Birch foaming hand wash! See pics below.

Whaaaa--almost gone! This was one terrific and

long lasting foaming hand wash

from Heather at Twin Birch Bath & Body...