The Kids...

Yes, Gico is convinced he's a large dog, just like his brother and sister. Here's the proof! :-)

So the above pic is a little blurry. It's hard to get a very large hyper dog and a very small hyper bird to sit still, while playing, so mommy can take their picture. The blurry green blob is Gico and the brown blurry blob is Leila Lu.

I love my babies!!!

Fun with Laser Pointers

Here is the video I promised... Enjoy!

First Outing

Today was a very exciting day in the Marks household. Today was the first day we took Max in the car, with Leila, to go for a fun walk. We took them to my favorite spot, Powell Butte. It was gorgeous, cool, cloudy, but dry, and Max was so excited and happy. He did so well. Today is also the ceremonial removal of the "Doggy Therapy Pool." It served it's purpose well, but Moose dog is officially done with rehab. So now it's trying to get him back to normal. Here are some pics from our momentous day :-)

Max Update...

Hi everyone :-)

First, I want to say thank you so much for your prayers and kind words for Max. It has helped me so much during his surgery and recovery. Now for the news... We had his 4 week checkup today and he got the okay to start running and playing fetch again. This is so exciting because he hasn't played fetch since April. I just got back from our walk, it was 20 mins., which is the longest since April. He's doing so well and I'm so thrilled that my boy is almost back to normal. Thanks everyone :-) God Bless!

Love Lauren

The kids and me last October :-)

Update...

So, Max had his 2 week checkup on Friday morning. It went very well! He's now allowed to go for short walks, get on the furniture, go upstairs, and start swimming in his therapy pool. The main goal now, according to his doctor, is for him to start using his leg. The doctor said if everything goes well he may allow Max to start playing fetch in a couple of weeks. It's quite exciting that he's doing well. Thanks for your prayers everyone.

As for my costumes... I have finished my ball gown and I'm almost finished with my 18th century stays. I will not, however, be posting pictures untill after the ball on Nov. 15th. I don't want to spoil the big reveal at the ball :-) So, you'll have to wait a couple more weeks to see what I've been working on. God Bless!

Love Lauren

P.S. Aaron recieved an email from a local Dentist he had sent a letter to about future employment. The Dentist lives in a rural community near Portland, which is what we want, and is a Christian. It's very exciting and I'm praying that this would work out. We are going to be having dinner with him on November 22nd. Please pray for God's guidance and wisdom. Thanks everyone :-)

Little Stinker

I went to the grocery store today and this is what I came home too....

He isn't supposed to be on the furniture untill we get the okay from his doctor, which isn't untill the 31st. I about flipped! I'm not sure how he even got up there. I piled the couch with pillows to keep him off of the furniture. I guess I will have to put heavier objects, i.e. the coffee table, on there from now on. As you can see, he is feeling better, and is scaring me with his hyperness.

Life at Home

Hi everyone, I hope you are all having a wonderful week. Max is doing extremely well. In fact, we're having a hard time getting him to relax, because he wants to play and run around the house. He started "toe touching", which is putting weight on the toe of the leg in question, which is a great improvement. His bodily functions are working in peak order, to be delicate :-). As for me, I'm very tired. I've spent the last four night downstairs with him on the floor, moving up to the couch last night. It's kind of like having a baby. I think tonight I will be able to sleep upstairs and just have the alarm set for when he takes his meds. We'll see how he's doing by this evening.

On a costuming note, my dress is almost finished. I just need to add the ruffles and make the silk sash. I'm heading to the fabric stores today, Joann's is having a sale on their home deco silks, I'm planning on starting a late 18th ccentury corset. I like my short stays, but they don't quite give the right shape under my chemise a la reine. So that's the next project to hopefully complete by November 15th, the day of the ball.

Thank you all for your prayers. God Bless and have a great week.

Love Lauren

First Night

Hi Everyone,

Max did very, very well last night. He slept most of the night, took his pain pills like a champ, and is having an easier time getting up and down. This morning he had his first bowel movement, which is excellent, and he didn't need much help getting down the ramp to the back yard. It seems that things are looking goo for now. We'll see what the coming weeks bring. I will keep updating as things change.

God Bless!

Love Lauren

We're Home

Hi everyone, thank you for your prayers. First of all, the surgery, as I explained earlier, went very, very well. Also, our total cost was on the very low end of the estimate we were given, Prais God.

We are now home and Max is finally resting. It was a long day for my boy. The day started at 7 am with me dropping him off at the vet's office. The hardest thing I had to do was help him get into the kennel in the clinic and say goodbye. I have never seen such a pitiful look and I cried when I got to the car.

We had another nice surprise towards the end of the day. Originally, Aaron had a patient scheduled and he wasn't going to be able to go with me to the vet to pick our boy up. So, a friend from our small group volunteered to help. I am very thankful for her offer, but I was so nervous about two women trying to get a lame 90lb dog in the car and out of the car. Praise God, Aaron ended up getting done early so he was able to help get our baby.

He, Max, was so happy to see us, but still very, very pitiful. We carefully loaded him into the car and headed home. He was very tense the whole way home and kept wanting to get more comfortable. I was sooooo glad Aaron was there when it came time to unload him. He had to lift him out of the car and carry him into the house. There was no way Anna and I could have handled that on our own. I would have broke down crying.

Max had some food, water, and a round of meds, including pain pills. He also went potty, which is excellent after the surgery. He's now, finally, resting comfortably on a comfy bed on the floor. We have a cold pack on his leg, per doctor's orders, and he's holding his new nylabone that we saved for him for the occasion.

Also, Miss Leila Lu is soooo happy to have her brother home. She worries when they are seperated. We did have some problems containing her excitement at first, but she has now calmed down as well. She also got her own special bone for the ocassion. Although she's not as interested as Max is with his. He's curled up on his bed holding his bone in his paws, it's very sweet.

Thank you all so very much for your support, prayers, and thoughts. God Bless you dear friends and readers.

~Love Lauren~

Here is a picture of our patient.

Quick Update

The vet just called and Max is just out of surgery. They said everything went extremely well. I will be picking him up around 5:30. He's only been gone for seven hours and I miss him so much. I will update you with more, as soon as I learn more. God Bless and thanks for your prayers everyone.

My Maximus :-)

Enchanted Stroll

The fall is officially here in Oregon, and the rain has finally started. Yesterday was a beautiful October day complete with mist and light rain. I decided it was a perfect day to have a little adventure with Leila Lu. So we put on our walking gear and headed to Powell Butte. It was glorious! We had the park almost to ourselves, with the exception of a few who also enjoy hiking in the rain. We walked down the Hawthorne trail into a small forest, complete with mist and moss, and back up the hill to the car. It was so refreshing and the scenery was so romantic. I wish I could do it everyday. Sigh... Here are a few pictures of our amazing litte adventure. They are a bit blurry because I took them with my phone. God Bless~

The Entrance to Our Trail

A Hollowed Out Tree Complete with "Nature Dog"

A Beautiful Clearing

More of Nature Dog (Leila Lu's alias)

Powell Butte

It reminds me of Yorkshire.

Another Picture From Mr. Frieze

Because enough is just never enough. Here is another pic of little Mr. Frieze. I can't wait to meet him. :-) He'll definately fit right in, he's already learning his products :-)

The Newest Memember of The Carpet Place

Meet Mr. Frieze, isn't he a doll :-) He lives at the Tigard store, so I haven't met him in person yet. I hope to soon, though. Enjoy :-)

Update

Well, Rosco seems to be doing well, according to my mom. He's feeling better and the hard thing now is to keep him down, because he wants to play. As for Max, we are scheduled for his pre-surgery appointment on Oct. 4th. We're shooting for Oct 17th for his surgery. We'll know more later and I will be sure to keep you all updated. God Bless!

Love Lauren

Fur Babies Aches and Pains

Hello dear friends, I hope all is well in internet land. Those of you who are frequent readers know that our dog, Max, tore his ACL and is awaiting surgery in October. On Monday I called our Vet to schedule his pre surgery work, which will happen Oct. 4h. We're shooting for his surgery on Oct. 17th. Anyway, I got home Monday night and my mom called me with some ironicly awful news. I was expecting to hear that my childhood dog, Rudy, who will be 17 had passed. That, thankfully was not the case, and he is alive and well. Unfortunately, the news pertained to Rosco, my parent's 8 year old German Shepherd. He tore his ACL that morning and needs the same surgery as Max. It's crazy, something that we have never experienced has now doubled. Luckily for Rossi, he's scheduled for his surgery this Friday. So please keep our pups in your prayers. Love Lauren

Max

Rosco

DIY Doggy Therapy

So, many of you know that our dog, Max, is due to have ACL surgery this fall. We, including Max, been having a hard time being able to exercise him without over exerting his injured knee. The absolute best thing for him is to take him swimming. There are a few problems with that activity... 1) the nearest swimming area that allows dogs is about 30+ miles from our house 2) he originally injured himself while riding in the car 3) he always has a rough couple of days following his swimming excursions, due to the car ride and walk to the water 4) he does not do well with other dogs. So, what's a couple who adores their pups to do?

I was praying over the weekend, asking God for wisdom on what to do with Max. How do we get him swimming, without paying a special vet therapy clinic thousands of dollars? God in His amazing, awesome love gave me a wonderful idea... build him a pool. I thought it was one of my crazy schemes that would never work, but God had a plan. Low and behold, Aaron, with the guidance of his dad, was able to build an above ground pool for Max to swim in. Here are the pictures of Moose Dog's first doggy therapy session. It was quite successful, praise God!!!

Little Stinkers :-)

So our dogs, Max and Leila, are on a strict diet, because they just eat too much. So we have a large plastic bin, with a snapping lid where we store their food. They get fed twice a day and that's all. Well, I discovered that the kiddos have figured out how to open said bin and treated themselves to a gorging feast while I was at work. They are smart, sometimes too smart. I came in the door, looked at the opened food bin, the lid cast aside, and looked at the dogs. I didn't even have to say anything. Both dogs belly crawled to me and all I could do was laugh. I know that they know better, but it was pretty funny and quite clever of them. Now I need to find a new spot for said bin :-)

Leila and Max on "their couch" :-)

All the Kids :-)

So here are some recent pics of the fur and feather babies. I just love 'em to pieces.

Gico Birdy :-)

Leila Lu, during a long hike at Powell Butte :-)

Max, aka Moose Dog, aka Maximus, aka Maxipup on a lovely evening walk. Poor boy can't go on long walks, but we do what we can until his surgery :-)

Moose Dog :-( aka Maximus

So, some of you know that my moose dog hurt his leg last summer. We had it checked out, only to be told there was nothing we could do for him. Well, he reinjured it on Sunday afternoon and I took him to see the vet today. Turns out, and this is a new vet, that he has an ACL tear. Basically it's only repaireable with surgery, quite exspensive surgery. So, we have decided we will go ahead and get it done, however, due to finances, we need to wait until September. I'm asking everyone in internet land to pray for my moose dog, and that he will hold out until September. We did have some good news, his diet is working. Big boy lost 8lbs!!!! Also, because of the type of injury, it can wait to be fixed for a little while. In the meantime, we will be restricting his activity and feeding him anti inflamatory drugs :-) So that is the story as of now. I'm pretty bummed, but I'm also glad to finally know what is wrong with him and that it can be fixed. I hope to have my boy back to his old self by next year. God Bless!

My Boys!!!

Gico, my sweet parrot, decided that Maximus, his doggy brother, looked like the perfect warm, fluffy, napping spot. So, he did what any other bird would do and climbed on Max's back to nap. Aaron took these darling pictures of my boys cuddling. It's quite cute!