Let's get in the mood, shall we?...

This was sent to me in an e-mail and I just had to share. Enjoy!

A Nativity scene was built in a church yard.

During the night the people came across this scene.

The abandoned dog was looking for a comfortable, protected place to sleep. He chose baby Jesus cradle as his comfort. No one had the heart to send him away so he stayed there all night.

We should all have the good sense of this dog and curl up in Jesus' lap for comfort in this weary world.

Okay, that was the e-mail. Nice, warm fuzzy thoughts. I wouldn't have left the dog out all night but that's probably why we have six!! In my imagination, someone took him home and he's living happily ever after. I hope that in this month you will relax and not let the busyness of the time distract you from the really important things. As always, blessings to you all from the holler.

Thankful here in the holler...

I'm thankful for my wonderful husband. JP has put up with me for 25+ years. He is a wonderful father and provider, he loves me. You know, he doesn't even mind when the house is messy! Plus, you all know he's a great cook.

I'm thankful for my family. We all get along great, I even am blessed with wonderful in-laws. I like to call them in-loves because that is what they are to me :O)

Thankful for our church family--they're just great!

The grace and mercy of God towards me is astounding. He has protected me from serious harm and, to be honest, from myself. The lesson I'm learning (it's hard to learn lessons) is that I can trust Him for the outcome of my and my family's life. He cares about each detail!

Also, I find it amazing that I can be thankful for people that I've never met but we share our lives here in blogland. So, Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours and, as always, blessings from the holler

We don't need words...

It's true, we don't need words today, the picture says it all...BUT
Yippee!
We are cone free!
Scrappy is healthy and happy!
Mom's legs can finally heal from those bruises from when Scrappy would run into her!
All is well and balanced in the pack.
We are thankful and blessed in the holler.

Great day in the holler...

We had a glorious day today. The weather was warm so I walked all six dogs (not at once) and then they played in the back yard. Of course, the game is "stick game." Charlie grabbed this little stick and he and Daisy went at it.

Then he brought out his latest toy.....the monster stick! I have no idea how he got such a big stick but he loves it and so does Daisy. He must be trimming the tree line for us.

Scrappy is doing so much better and is a menace with that cone. She uses it like a weapon and I have bruises on the back of my legs from her running into me! She runs like nothing is wrong.

In this picture I'm holding up a dead mouse that I took away from her! She thinks she's getting it back,,,,she's wrong.
Dogs adjust so well to whatever circumstances they happen to be in (most anyway.) I could learn a lesson there for sure.
Here's the rest of the gang, just chillin'.

Charlie didn't want to go inside, he was just starting to have fun with his new stick. Doesn't he look like he's saying...."Five more minutes,,,PLEASE!!!!

Have a blessed weekend from all of us in the holler.

Poor Little Thing...

Last Friday, Corrie was out sunning in the yard by herself as she loves to do. THEN something caused all the other dogs to want to be outside at once - they saw a deer or something had their interest. Scrappy is ALWAYS the first out of the door. Corrie met her and attacked her. Corrie is stocky and outweighs Scrappy by at least 20 lbs. I was yelling at the top of my lungs and had a small shovel that I was trying to use to separate them. It seemed like it took forever but it was probably only a minute or two. Never the less, the damage was done and Scrappy was bleeding. She had one very small puncture wound on her chest so I gave her a bath to make double sure that there were no lacerations. Corrie was fine except for a nip on top of her nose and, needless to say, has been under extra-close supervision. She simply can't be allowed to be in the yard alone because she claims it as hers and will fight for it. We can not allow this behavior!!

I was sure that Scrappy was sore so I started her on an anti-inflammatory and was sure she'd just need a few days to recover since she never bled after I brought her inside. On Saturday she started licking her wound occasionally and then we noticed she was obsessing. At least that's what I thought she was doing. By Sunday she had licked a raw spot all around the wound so I got Charlie's cone from when he was neutered and cut it down to fit her. Problem solved, right? NOT! This foul odor was coming from her. I didn't know where but it was definitely her.

So we decided that on Monday morning she would be the first to the vet since it's about time for their annual check ups anyway. He shaved the area and oh my, it was disgusting. That smell was coming from her wound!!! They put her on antibiotics and an anti-inflammatory and has to wear that cone until she heals. We decided to leave her with the vet for a couple of days so that they could keep a close watch on the wound and take care of her. Poor little thing...

Now she's home and in good spirits. We are thankful that God made warning signs like foul odors because if it hadn't been for that the infection would have gone much longer undetected. So, for a while, we will hand feed her and baby her until she's back to her scrappy self. We are still so very blessed and thankful in the holler. Blessings to you all.