Bella is a true Miracle

I wish you could have seen Bella today when we went to see her. After she got outside, she walked all around smelling the tree, the fence ,any place other than her cage.  She was coming to all of us to pet her and a few times she kept grabbing her leash to play.  It was the greatest thing to see! Then some other dogs came out and she even let them sniff her and be with them. This is such a good sign as it show she is not aggressive.  Bella is a miracle every day and to think where she was a little over a week ago and where she is now, just wants to make you cry.   It is so true- Miracles do happen especially when we are looking for them!

Now go give your dog a big hug from Bella!

Until tomorrow,

dianne

Update On Bella the abandoned dog

Bella is coming along well. This week the doctor spayed her so there will be no more puppies happening. After the horrible experience she had with her last litter,  she is probable very happy. The son of the woman who got Bella on a leash is going to Texas next month to be a worship leader at a church.  This past Sunday, he used Bella’s story in his sermon. Here is what he said:   I told Bella’s story last night in a sermon to 700 people. I used her story as an example of the horrible things humans are capable of doing, and how I would have a hard time forgiving the man that did this. As people, we put boundaries on our love, forgiveness, and commitment to other people (with the exception of children and some other family members). But, God has no boundaries. Psalm 103:12 says, “as far as the east is from the west,so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” God’s love cannot be comprehended. It has no boundaries.
At least 20 people caught me after church wanting to know how she’s doing.

Thanks Andrew for the illustration!

More info tomorrow on Bella,

Di

Dog whose puppies were thrown into creek.

Last week was a week of realizing how cruel people can be. There was a dog that had her puppies thrown into a  creek. The precious little dog sat by the creek for 2 days looking for her babies. It is one of the saddest things I have ever seen.  Fox 17 here in Nashville TN covered the story. Here is the link.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=11560589&id=869190334#!/foxnashville?ref=mf.

Please check it out or go to  www.Fox17news.com.

The Old Faithful has Died!

This is a sad day in our home.   Our old faithful Whirlpool washer has died. I have had this washer for at least 17 years. It has had to have some minor repairs done here and there, but has always been there for me. With the raising of 3 children and the loads of clothes it has seen, I truly understand it wanting to just lay down and quit. I love Whirlpool products and have used them for many years never being disappointed! Now to find a new one as there are loads of clothes waiting to welcome to the new washer.  I hope it feels the love!

Sharing the Message of Christmas is Going Great!

Sharing the message of Christmas is going Great!!

I have passed out over 12 Christmas cards to strangers. The expressions have been different from smiles to who is this stranger giving me card that says Merry Christmas on it.  I was telling someone yesterday that I feel like an angel even though I am far from it! Doing this has put me in the Christmas mood as I truly believe this is the true meaning of Christmas- Blessing others and bringing Joy whenever possible to anyone I can.

Another thing to think of doing – take some dog food or bones to your local animal shelter. Go in with a few people and call the shelter and see how many dogs they have and give each dog their own treat for Christmas Day. Yes, I even believe in blessing animals!

Sharing the message of Christmas!

This past week in church or youth pastor spoke about the importance of sharing Christ and not being afraid to say Merry Christmas to people. As I sat there thinking how can I say Merry Christmas to people that they will see and hear the importance of Christ at Christmas. I came up with an idea that I actually put in action yesterday.

For this Christmas season, I am giving up going out for a meal and blessing others by giving them a small token of joy. I am handing out Christmas cards with Merry Christmas written in them with the word Christ underlined. I  am also putting a dollar bill in them with a note saying have a warm cup of coffee.

Yesterday I was at Costco and the checker was having a bad experience with a customer. When she was done checking me out I handed her the card and said “Merry Christmas”. I would have loved to seen her face when she opened it and realized some one cared.

Think about what special thing you can do this Christmas season to put a little joy in someone. There is so much sadness all around right now and if for a few minutes I can take someone’s mind off of the problems, then I have succeeded!

They fought like a Cat and a Dog

Last Saturday our friends Susan and Margaret went over to help our friend Carol in her new home. Margaret and Susan have a beautiful dog Lilly and Carol has  a precious 9 month old puppy, Moshe. These 2 dogs were strays but have found wonderful homes and owners. As Lilly visited Moshe’s home and his mom Carol was showing them around, Lilly noticed that Moshe has a few other 4 legged friends in the house in the form of cats.  Lilly took off and got a hold of one of the cat’s neck and was shaking it until the cat took her mouth and bit Lilly’s ear. Blood was everywhere!

We worked on the ear for a few hours. Lilly was understandably stressed so we gave her the wonder drug for dogs, Benadryl. Lilly is use to Benadryl as as she does not do well when there are storms and this helps to calm her. I put ice  on the ear and it would stop bleeding until she would shake her ear and then it would start up again. We called the emergency vet and the fee just to see Lilly was $95.00. Seeing that the ear would stop bleeding and from all my years of health care, I knew if we could get the ear taped in an up position to stop the blood flow and calm Lilly down she would be ok until she could see her vet on Monday, which is exactly what we did.

Lilly’s mom has been doing this house cleaning project and a lot of organizing.  One thing she did have is a medical box with bandages, tape, hydrogen peroxide and many other things that would be needed if a accident happened. This is something I would encourage everyone to have with easy access. Even though it took  hours before we were done, if we had not been able attend to this severe cut, the expense would have been at 3 times more and  very hard on Lilly.

I am happy to day to say  that Lilly went to her doctor on Monday to be checked out, the cut cleaned and medicine given to ward off any infection.  The cost was less than what the initial emergency cost was going to be and so much easier on Lilly.

This week I plan on getting a medical box made up just in  case. It is always better to be prepared and hopefully never use it!

Until next time, Di

Over $500 in Free Groceries

This past week my sweet daughter in law Erika  and I had the most fun using coupons, buying the Buy One get One Free items and price matching at the grocery store. People think you have to spend a lot of time trying to get the bargains but there really is a  system that works. Erika showed me months ago web sites to go to and how to come out of the grocery store ahead. This past week I spent $143 and got over $673 worth of items. The variety I got was amazing- paul newman pasta sauce, pasta, ziploc bags, green giant vegetables, campbells soup, planter’s trail mix, dog food, milk, cereal and too many others to remember.

Of course I was very happy that I was able to bless some people with some food, will be able to bless others that are financially struggling and preparing for my family as the Proverbs 31 woman does. The Publix here by us in TN is amazing to work with and always goes the extra miles for it’s customers.  My daughter in law Erika is going to start a class on teaching women to learn to save money at the grocery store.  Many husbands are saying they are going to send their wives.

I can’t wait to see what the savings will be next week!  Happy Shopping!

Di

Healthy Food for our 4 legged family members

This past week I have been doing a lot of cooking but a few of the meals have been for our 3 family pets- Kewtie, Jabez and Guchi Bear. Kewtie is my little long haired black, white and tan Chihuahua. Kewtie came to me at a very special time when our other little dog, Daisy ran out and got hit by a car. We carried her into an emergency hospital late one Sunday night to be told she was dead.  The next day my husband made me go look at puppies and I found my Kewtie. She was only 3 weeks old and immediately stole my heart. That was almost 5 years ago and we have been best buds ever since.

When the dog food recall happened, I really began checking dog food labels and seeing what was in them. I also began cooking dog food for my special family members, the four legged ones. Something that I love to do and they really enjoy is after I take all the meat I want off the chicken bone, I put the carcass in a pot and put enough water in it just to cover it. After it boils for about 20 minutes, I take the bones out and add a box of whole wheat pasta and some carrots or other vegetable. I had recently read that the oldest dog on record is 21 years old and eats boiled chicken and whole wheat pasta every day. After the bone cools, I pull all the extra chick off and place it is the pot with the pasta and vegetables. This makes a nice pot of home made food that I serve over the dry dog food. It is cheaper than can food and the dogs love having the extra home cooked food mixed in. Our Chow, Guchi Bear, can’t eat it fast enough and our other little  Chihuahua, Jabez, Kewtie’s half brother who is 5 months younger(yes we loved Kewtie so much we wanted another one)actually ate his and another half bowl full tonight.

I pray our little friends live  long healthy lives and for me I can’t imagine every night eating the same old dry food, so this helps give them a little variety.

Until next time, give all your pets a hug from me!  di

Free Chicken at Whole Foods

Whole Foods is doing a special until Sept. 15.  With this coupon you will get a free already roasted chicken! That is an amazing deal as there chickens are without hormones, antibiotics, and cage confinement. Whole Foods chickens and beef are the only meats I will eat.  Yes, I know that there meat can be a little more costly which is why I eat more meatless meals and stock up when there are offers like this.

To print your free coupon from Whole Foods visit- http://communications.wholefoodsmarket.com/servlet/website/ResponseForm?PohsLE.40kpLgK_9hNihg.

Next time I will tell you a meal for your dog that will save you money on pet food and is more healthier.  We want to make sure we take care of our 4 legged family members.

Enjoy that chicken, Di