Christmas 2025

Race track up and running

 Another Christmas has come and gone!  Seems like it will take forever to get here and then poof!  It's done!  I didn't get Christmas decorations up until a week before Christmas.  Bob took down his race track and it was a shock how much room we had after it was gone!  HA  We have always enjoyed our family room with the fireplace, pool table, etc. but we don't spend a lot of time there...other than I am going up and down the stairs to let the dogs out in the fenced in yard.  HA

Race track all gone!  Decorations in boxes ready to hang!

Red & Green this year!  

The deer is from  Kris' mom.  He's so cute

Upstairs fireplace - we put the tree and other
decorations downstairs in family room.  

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Centerpiece Kris, Darrin & kids got me

I got Kris another Gnome for her collection
which made my son happy!  NOT!

I gave Jeff some Flamingo's for his yard!  

Jeff is a fanatic about his lawn...the poor guy has been struggling this past summer to get rid of some 'bad grass' so I got him a T-shirt that says 'Grass Master' along with some Flamingo's to put on his lawn where the bare patches are.  It brought a lot of laughs and Jeff is such a good sport to go along with the joke. 

 All the kids got gift cards to favorite restaurants and my son also got a 'travel snack pouch' I filled with treats, hand wipes.  Darrin's job consists of driving to Ohio, Indiana and traveling to Mexico from time to time.  This way he'll have snacks for those long trips!  HA

I didn't get individual pics of family.  I have to admit we/I are really bad about taking family pics.  No one wants them taken so it's almost a chore to say "let me get a picture"...ugh 

Braylon & Nick.  Dawn got both them and Amber a gift of enjoying each of their respective date nights upcoming!  

Amber is a Red Wing fan so she'll be using her 'gift' for that.  On another note, it was too bad but Amber's friend, Carson, had the flu and didn't attend...and to make it worse, his father was taken to the hospital with Cardiac Heart Failure!  Made for some sad times for Amber.

Nick & Braylon are going snowboarding for New Year's so that's where they'll use their 'gift' from Auntie.  Dawn wrote each of the kids the sweetest note to go with their present.  You can hear Braylon reading her card below!

I thought I had Amber reading her gift but can't locate the video...hmmmmm  All in all it was a great holiday with kids..

Dawn's famous desserts she makes each year. 
These were leftovers for us!  

And Dawn's famous scones~!

Bob loves Dawn's spicy nuts!!!  They are so good!

Dawn was so sweet  making Bob his favorite spicy nuts!  AND she put together our favorite overnight French Toast for me to just pop in the oven Christmas morning for our breakfast.  She also gave us some blueberry scones to munch on!  We love both of these!!!  Of course we had a ton of desserts...didn't get many individual pics but I did post of FB here: Christmas treats

Another wonderful Christmas....and now to start 2026...hopefully, it will be a great year for us all!!

More Totes

 In between volunteering at our friends group at the library, I have been back making upcycled totes for friend's birthday's.  I have the last one ready to be sent out tomorrow...that is if the snow doesn't accumulate anymore than it has today!!   So I have done some sewing...not much knitting but hope to get back to that after the Holiday's!  I still have a few last minute gifts to pick up and need to get kids gifts in the mail that live in Ohio & Indiana.  Until then...still worried about the girls and trying to be a nutritionist! 

This was a quilt I sketched on quilted fabric.

It was from a drawing class by Hilary.

Inside lining

Life lately and my babies.....

I guess I really don’t need an excuse for not updating my blog… after all, it is my blog! HA. Between normal life chores, volunteer work at the library, and the biggest issue of all — our dogs — things have been a little overwhelming.

Kalee has had health issues for the past 10 years due to pancreatitis. She recently went in for her yearly wellness visit (yes, dogs get wellness exams too! 😂) and lab work. Unfortunately, her results came back with elevated kidney values (BUN, creatinine, etc.). UGH. On top of that, she’s been having a few different episodes than her “normal” pancreatitis symptoms, vet thinks this could be the beginning of kidney disease.

I picked up some new kibble and started mixing it in slowly with her regular food and ground turkey, but it hasn’t gone well. She seems nauseous and uncomfortable within a day of eating it, so I’ve stopped it for now. I’ll have to figure out a better diet plan for her.

I started researching the nutritional value of the ground turkey and veggie mix I cook for her. It’s helped her pancreatitis tremendously, but now I have to watch protein, phosphorus, and other levels because of her kidneys. OMG… I even used AI to research nutrition info for different kidney kibbles and compare them to my homemade mix. I still don’t know what the right answer is.

Then, on Thanksgiving morning, Gigi stopped eating. Completely. She has never done that — and even Kalee has never stopped eating or drinking, even when sick. I was a wreck. I managed to get her to nibble on some turkey mix before we went to the kids’ house, which helped me breathe a little easier. But the next morning, she still didn’t want to eat.

I got her into the vet, and her bloodwork showed very high liver enzymes. The recommendation was an abdominal ultrasound, which we did yesterday. I probably won’t get those results until tomorrow.  In addition, we discovered a heart murmur in September at a Grade 3, last exam it's closer to a Grade 4.  

Honestly, I’ve been sick to my stomach with worry over both of these girls and trying to figure out diets that will work for them. But thankfully, for reasons I don’t understand, Gigi started eating her four small meals again as of Sunday. I’m so grateful… and cautiously hopeful. 

So prayers for my girls, please....they are seniors (Kalee 14 & Gigi 12-13) so I know we'll have health issues..just want them to have a good life....