Chilblains

What is chilblains you might ask? Well, I'd say its just a fancy way to say "cold feet"! We got Madison's biopsy results today and I'm so relieved! She has what is called chilblains syndrome which from what I understand is a circulatory problem when cold feet warm up too fast. The doctor described it as sort of opposite frostbite but one that could possibly result in the loss of a toe if not taken care of. The treatment? Warm feet all the time!! It is time for the Smith family to invest in warm socks, boots, shoes, and tights for little Louella! I guess an electric blanket wouldn't be a bad idea either. I feel so relieved that it isn't something worse and that her toes didn't get worse than they are. I feel so excited that it is not contagious and I can venture out around my friends again without worrying what we would be passing on. So, from now on I will be an advocate of indoor exercise and warm shoes and socks! (By the way, I HATE SHOES AND SOCKS!! I have very claustrophobic feet myself!!) Why are we in Indiana? Oh, that's right, its an awesome place with wonderful people!!

Our Baby

Okay, so I don't want to be some crazy pet owner but I do want to share some pictures because we want to show everyone what Dexter looks like and what fun we are having. I also realize that he won't be little for very long and want to remember just what an adorable puppy he was. Thanks for bearing with me!!
Sweet Dexter falls asleep in any warm snuggly spot!

Madison wanted to check out the cage and Dexter followed her in there. I'm telling you, they are inseparable.This is the picture of the start of a walk around the house with Kalia.

This is the after picture of a walk around the house with Kalia.

These are the sweet buddies!

This next one is Dexter's first nap on Miss Jayne!

Kaden is actually excited even though you can't tell. I think it took some practice holding Dexter to get his confidence up. Kaden is just so tenderhearted that he never wants to hurt anyone (including puppies).

Little Dexter

This is 7 week old Dexter with 2 of his brothers (Puppy 2 and Puppy 3). We decided that Dexter was a better name than Puppy 1 even though he was first born in a litter of 7. Dexter is the cute one on the far left, or the first one in the picture. He has the sweetest disposition and only had one accident inside today! He and Madison are extremely attached already and he whines when she is not around. They took a nap together and his snoring didn't even bother her. Kaden is starting to learn that he is stronger than Dexter and therefore not let Dexter be the boss. Every time Kaden lays down to play with Dex he gets to wrestling and Dexter goes for the ears. I think it is so funny that he thinks Kadens ears are toys but it wasn't as funny once Dexter actually got one. Poor Kaden didn't know what to do but he knew it hurt. Little Dexter just kept biting and pulling. Kalia likes to push Dexter around the house in her baby doll stroller. I think Dexter likes it too because he always falls asleep. We are having so much fun with our baby. He loves to snuggle and he loves to play but he hates going outside when its cold. This afternoon he had fun playing in the backyard when it was warmer but as soon as it started cooling off he hated his little potty breaks. Dexter also had his first puppy play date today with Maxx. It started off all good and fun, smelling butts and chasing tails. After a short while of wrestling Dex actually started bullying Maxx so we had to separate them. Hopefully next time goes better. Maybe we can do it at Maxx's house so that Dexter isn't as territorial. More pics to come of the kids with him but again I am toooooo tired to do it tonight.

Goodbye Boo

A week and a half ago our little family had a terrible loss. Our sweet hamster Boo passed away and we were devastated. I know that this might sound funny because she was "just a hamster" but I felt extremely sad about it. When the kids and I got home after the bus route I went over to see Boo just like I do everyday when I get home and was surprised to see the cage door open. I started looking for Boo in her shavings (her favorite place to be) but had no luck. Starting to feel desperate to find her quickly I called the kids in (BIG MISTAKE) to help me start looking everywhere for our tiny little hamster. Before we even left the cage we had found her. Boo got out of her cage and fell behind it between the stand and the wall. It was a tragic death to say the least. I most definitely wasn't prepared for it.

I have never been a big pet person which is surprising considering how many pet loving people are in my family. When I was a kid I had a wonderful hamster named Stormy. I loved Stormy. I had saved up my own money and done quite a bit of convincing with my parents to get this sweet little one. I loved this hamster so much that when my sisters hamster took several chunks out of him and it looked like the end my parents actually paid a bit of money for the vet to do surgery on him. He lived a while longer but as all hamsters do, he passed away. Don't get me wrong. I have liked family pet since then, I even have a sentimental attachment to my moms dog, but I have never LOVED a pet that much until Boo. Boo was the very best pet ever. She didn't stink, she never bit, and she was practically trained. She would hear us standing near her (even from the kitchen) and she would climb up the side of the cage and hang there until we would get her out. She also knew when we were feeding her and was ready, same time every day. She would run around in her ball and follow me around the kitchen while I was making dinner. She would fall asleep in my hands. She was my baby! I was not ready for her to go.

It was a very sad evening and we even went to 2 pet stores looking at hamsters to see if we wanted another one right away. The kids warmed right up to the idea but I had a hard time. At the second store they had the same kind of winter white hamster as Boo was and I felt excited until I saw one in the corner that was almost identical to Boo. Then I felt like throwing up.

I want a baby. I always want babies. I have for my whole life, but especially since Kalia was born. I think I spoiled Boo all the time because she was my baby. My deepest want is of course an actual baby to join our family but I guess having a pet helped ease that pain just a little. This brings me to the next big event in our family. We got a baby today! No, its not exactly the kind that I dreamt all my life I would be having dozens of but instead it is a 7 week old beagle. Don't get me wrong. This new puppy in no way cures my need to have more children but he is really cute.

Silas and I got the puppy without telling the kids. We left early this morning to go on a "date" and were back a couple hours later. I had told the kids last night that if they helped me get the downstairs all vacuumed and swept and the toys picked up that mom and dad would bring back a surprise for everyone to play with. They immediately assumed it would be a wii game as that's something we all do together. The downstairs was cleaned and that's what I needed to be ready for the big day. When Silas and I got home we opened the door and let the puppy in to surprise them but nobody was even there. We found Kaden playing his computer game and just walked in talking to him. As he was talking the puppy climbed under his chair and right in between Kadens legs. Kaden looked down and had the initial jump reaction and then just had the most perfect look on his face when he realized exactly what was moving down there and an even better face when he realized it must be ours. Hugs went to both Mom and Dad and then he ran up to tell the girls that we were back with their surprise. As they walked in the both stopped on the stairs with questioning and excited looks on their faces and then the ran down to play! We are in love. This sweet little puppy is so cuddly and fun! His ears are so darling! and he has the cutest paws. We babied him all day and he went to bed in the crate really easily tonight. I wonder how much sleep we will get tonight? I'm gonna start trying now though. We took lots of cute picture of our new puppy but I am far to sleepy to put them on tonight. I will put some up after church tomorrow so check back!

Update

Today was a big day! We got our heat back and I am soooooooo happy that I got to come home this afternoon to a warm house! I guess it was another teaching opportunity for our family. Heavenly Father reminded us again how grateful we are for jobs (so we could pay to fix the furnace), a home ( that sheltered us from the frigid cold last night) and for that big ugly space heater Silas uses to heat "the workshop" (I have always hated when he brought it in the house, stretching its cord across the living room to save on the gas bill, but I didn't hate it last night!!!)

On another note, Madison had a biopsy done on one of her bumps today. She came home proudly sporting stitches on her toe and a bloody band aid. We now have to wait 2 weeks for them to decide what they are. 2 weeks????? My baby is in pain and we have to wait 2 more weeks. I feel bad for both of us! She is in physical pain and I have to baby her while she milks it for everything!!

Its been snowing all day and we are supposed to continue to get dumped on through the night. We are (I am) hoping for a snow day tomorrow! We could have some rocking sledding!

Chilly Night

Not a long post tonight but wanted to share the fun. Tonight we are having a family camp out in the living room. I know its a school night but that just goes to show what fun parents we are!! Actually, our furnace is broken. Shot, Kaput!! Silas has been working on it since he got home. The part we need is not in stock anywhere except one company who wants to charge us $750 for it. We can buy the part online for $100 so we are toughing it out tonight. It's gonna get cold. Right now at 8:30 its already 19 degrees. Lucky for us we have Silas' space heater and we are all camping out in the living room. Good times!

Maddy's feet

My poor sweet Maddy has been in pain for weeks. She started around New Years Day getting bumps on the top of her toes that looked like bug bites at first. They have continued to spread and are more painful. Last week I finally took her to the doctor who was slightly baffled. Its not very reassuring to hear the doctor say "I don't know for sure, but it could be....." I mean come on! I am paying a ton of money to find out what is wrong and I didn't even get an answer!! He said he thinks it might be just a viral infection but it has been going on for a long time for it to be that. He's getting us into a dermatologist this week to see if they can figure it out. The strange bumps on her toes have started to be a little less swollen this weekend but now they look more blistery. Hopefully we will get a diagnosis soon and her little monkey feet will be comfortable in shoes again.