Women are like lionesses at the gate of the home. . . . She guards that gate, and things matter to that family if they matter to her. . . . Sisters, you are each like the lioness at the gate. This means that there has to be some prioritizing. I was taught years ago that when our priorities are out of order, we lose power. If we need power and influence to carry out our mission, then our priorities have to be straight.

Wednesday, May 9, 2007

Old Dog, New Trick

We have had a lot of visitors over the past month or so. It's been so much fun to see our family who has come to visit! In the month of April, our visitors were:

Grammy (Shelley's mom)

Annette (Michael's sister)

Jeanine (Michael's sister)
Her husband, Wade, was also here, but we didn't get a picture of him!

Michael's sister's husband, Peter, also visited on business and brought Shaelyn lots of clothes and toys from her cousin Autumn.

At the end of the month, my parents came out together to visit their grandbaby. My mom had just been here at the beginning of the month, but my dad hadn't seen her since her blessing, and she is like a different baby now! Since they were going to be away from home for so long, they brought the dog with them, too. Her name is Cuddles (my sister and I named her when I was 12), but we never call her that. We usually call her "puppy" or "dog" and occasionally "stog snark" (see me for details on that name...). Shaelyn was fascinated by Cuddles. She makes much more noise than Maggie and goes outside. Since my parents have a "rock yard" in Arizona, I wanted puppy to enjoy our backyard grass as much as possible while she was here, so we spent a lot of time outside. This was Shaelyn's first time ever just sitting outdoors playing. It was a blast!


Since we've had Cuddles since I was 12, she's getting up there in age. As far as the "new trick" is concerned, Cuddles is a very vocal dog - always barking and growling. Shaelyn decided that this was something she should be doing, too (the growling, that is). Ever since her visit from her furry friend, Shaelyn has been growling like a dog when she's mad! Hilarious!


Shaelyn with her Grammy and Paw Paw, enjoying some shade

Shaelyn's mountain of toys


Shaelyn making Paw Paw laugh

We had a blast with my parents, and Shaelyn really enjoyed all the extra attention. There really wasn't a minute that went by that she wasn't being held or played with or engaged in some way. Michael and I even got to go out two separate evenings without the baby! Now that my parents are gone, it's back to just me and the baby at home all day, and she is wondering what happened to all that extra attention. Now when I put her down, she is NOT happy! And then comes the growling... followed very shortly by screaming. Shaelyn wishes her grandparents lived closer, and so do I! :)

Cleverly written by shelley