I guess I owe you all a post.  I'm feeling very odd today.  I feel motivated to get things accomplished but also very tired and worn out. I had a great weekend in Texas. Two of my friends who live in Texas, met me about halfway in another part of Texas. We talked and talked and talked, the we went to a restaurant for supper and talked while we ate, and then we came back to the cabin and talked until we were starting to fall asleep while sitting up. Then we went to bed, talked in bed a little and then woke up and talked until it was time to go home. And do you know what? I kept thinking of things that I had wanted to talk about but forgot to mention. I guess that just means that we need to plan another mom-cation.
Jason's grandpa was diagnosed with stomach and liver cancer. We went up weekend before last to visit with the family. It was a sweet time of visiting but also a sad time because cancer is such a scary, unknown thing.
Mom just called and said Grandpa is in the hospital. He was showing signs of having a stroke but they haven't been able to confirm that that's what happened.
So this day is very strange, and bumming, and odd. And I'm ready for tomorrow.

Happy (late) 3rd Birthday, Nora James!

Well, I dropped the ball and didn't get Nora's birthday video finished on time. My usual video-creating site is disbanding so I'm on the search for another one. 

For Nora's birthday, we gave her a mouse and a puppy. Don't scream, the mouse is a fake and comes with a matchbox bed. The puppy, though, is very, very real and Nora is once again in dog heaven. He looks an awful lot like Samson but that wasn't planned. So far, Nora has named him Kronk, Oliver, and Mutty. The rest of us are still referring to him as The Puppy. I guess we really should settle on a name pretty soon. 

Samson

We had to put Samson down this morning. It's been a long exhausting day, more for Elaina than anyone else. We loved Samson. We'll miss Samson. Jason buried him behind his studio so the girls will have a place to visit and place flowers (once the sun comes out again).

Quick Update

Just a few pictures to show what has been going on in these parts. Samson disappeared Sunday afternoon and I was broken hearted but also not giving-up on his return. Then, this morning while I was exercising, I noticed a flash of white go across the living room window. It was Samson! He had returned from his own Incredible Journey. And he looked it. My heart was rejoicing that he had returned but it was also breaking because he looked so pitiful. He was barely able to walk and I could see the pain in his eyes. Nora and I wrapped him up in a towel and took him to the vet. They gave him a couple of shots of something and confirmed that he had probably been hit by a car or hurt by a larger animal. They said if he wasn't better by the morning that we need to bring him back in to be seen.  He's perked up a teeny, tiny bit but mostly, he's still pretty lethargic. He did venture outside for about ten minutes this evening and Nora got so excited. "He's walking, Mama! He can walk again! He's not sick anymore!"
I didn't tell her about the blood I found under his tail area on the laundry room floor. :(

While we were outside watching Samson, the girls and I walked around the property and picked some wildflowers for the hearth. They make the living room smell glorious!

Night y'all.