Driving them Crazy

I was going to title this Driving the Boys Crazy, because that IS the real truth...I am NOT feeling the love around here from the boys as far as support for blogging!  Mom and the human Sis agree...dogs can blog if they want to!  

So....feel free to let the Scrapster know...what kind of blogging love do you get at home? 

Mom always said to the human kids when you get teased it usually means the ones doing the teasing are actually just jealous. So my boys must wish they were cute and photogenic?  They must want undivided attention?  They secretly want to write all about their adventures?  They want more time on the computer?  They want people to follow them?

This is all so silly.  I just blog for fun...most of you know it happened one day by accident...all because of a joke I heard.  I wrote about it once awhile ago. 

Truthfully, I never know where the next post is going to come from.  They just happen.  Some are good, some are not.  I think I just blog because I  CAN! 

It's freedom of expression.  It's me be able to go off leash...

So for now, I will just  run  with it and see where it takes me.  Mostly because it's just fun to go somewhere new. 

                                                           I   LOVE  driving (the boys) Crazy!

Hunting for the Perfect Tree

It's tradition.  Almost.  On the Friday after giving thanks, we head out into the woods to find the perfect Christmas tree.  Over the years, through trail and error, we have the hunt almost down to a science.  Everyone knows exactly the kind of tree we need to find.  It has to be a Douglas Fir.  It has to be at least twelve feet tall, full throughout (with only one scarce spot that will not show against the back) and JUST skinny enough at the bottom to fit just right in the space behind the couch in the living room.  The goal is to out do last year's tree EVERYTIME.

Yesterday, we set out once again on that quest....the hunt for the perfect tree.  I knew something was up at breakfast.  They were all talking about who was going to be the one to spot THE tree this year.  It's a competition... an honor to have YOUR tree end up at home in the coveted spot.  Mom just purchased a new winter coat for me.   When she brought that out, I knew it was time.  We all loaded into the car and headed up the road to our secret spot.  (First rule of hunting is never tell WHERE you find the best ones!) 

The anticipation of the hunt is building for all of us as we make our way up the road.  I can hardly stand it...

It's a beautiful, sunny day...and I am certain that I, the Scrapster, will be the ONE to spot the perfect tree!




C'mon guys, it's this way!  Follow me~

 Right off, we head down a steep embankment.  The youngest one has to pick me up.  The snow is deep. 

Once down the hill, he sets me back down and I am on a mission!

It isn't long.  Dad spots the first one, shakes the snow off the specimen and asks "How about this one?"
"Mmmmm....no, there's too big a hole on the right side of that one!",  Mom says.  I am still in hunting mode.  Those trees ALL look huge from my prospective!  We keep trodding through the snow.  My paws are starting to numb and the snow is starting to ball up in my fur.  Still, it is worth it as I am with my people, in search of the perfect tree. 

Then it happens.  The youngest gets the honor.  He spots the tree from across the field and we trudge through the snow to check it out.  As we close in around the tree, it's obvious to everyone...(including me)...THIS is the one.  The tree that tops them all.  The youngest picks me up in celebration! 

                                                             Down comes the tree!

                                                          It is truly a magical moment. 

                                              I PROMISE... it looks amazing standing up!

                                                    We tag the tree...(it has to be legal)

                    Load it on to the suburban...(this is Montana...have to HAVE four wheel drive!) 

Whoa!  It's as LONG as the car!

Dad turns up the heat.  Mom takes my coat off and I start biting off the snow balls!  They taste pretty good!

Another successful hunt for the perfect tree.

Perhaps when we get it all decked out, I'll post a picture.  Unless you are in competition, I think you might just agree...we brought home the best ever tree!

Let's get decorating!

Being Thankful

It's easy to be thankful when you are loved beyond measure.  I know I have everything I could ever need or want right here with my family...That is the greatest gift ...

I had a warm (and cuddly) place to rest last night.  I will be graciously fed two warm meals today and maybe get a little snack of a warm roll!  I will be surrounded by people who love and adore me.  They will pat me on the head,  throw toys for me to fetch, rub my belly, scratch my back and ears...they will know exactly what I need.  That is love. 

May you give thanks for the love you have in your life today.  May your plate be full of goodness and blessings.  May you get lots of hugs and kisses.  May your time together be fun and memorable.  May you feel loved and adored by your family, friends and best of all, by God...who knows exactly what you need every single day and leads you exactly where you NEED to be going. 

THAT is love. 

Wordless Wednesday - Be the Light

Magnetic Forces



Dad says I am drawn to  Mom's magnetic forces. 



Image Source Page: http://www.clipartguide.com/_pages/0511-1009-2817-2325.html

                                         I say it's more like Follow the Leader.

She doesn't think she deserves such admiration, but I beg to differ. Sometimes it's almost as if she can read my mind.  Mom knows just how to make me feel loved.  If I am hungry, she feeds me. When I am sick, she helps me.  When necessary, she even drives me to see Dr. Scott.  We go on long walks together. 

 Her lap fits me just right.  The body massages she gives are the BEST!  She is HOME almost all the time, which makes following her EVERYWHERE a whole lot easier. 

Waiting just outside the door for Mom

She actually notices when I am NOT following.  One time Dad went out the front door to take the flag down or something and I went out there with him.  It's fun to get to go out there because there's a pond where all the birds take baths and every once in a while I see a chipmunk out there.  Anyway....I was busy watching for one of those and before I knew it, Dad had gone back in the house and closed the door.  "Hey!   Ahhhh...you forgot me!"

Mom figured it out fairly quickly.  She noticed right away I wasn't at her feet.  "Scrappy!  Where are you?"  

Mom asks Dad.  Have you seen Scrappy?  Dad thinks for a minute...."Oh oh...I might know where she is!"  He proceeds to open the front door and THERE I am....sitting there JUST waiting for them to let me back in!  (Mom never lets me leave the deck unless she's outside with me)  BECAUSE she's the boss..the leader of the pack! 

I go where she goes.  She gets no privacy.  If she's up to her nose in the bubble bath, I am there curled up on the rug by the tub.  If she is doing laundry, I am there with her...supervising or jumping in the pile of hot dryer clothes she is about to fold.   If she is in her office working, I am there ON my bed at her feet. 

 If she is preparing food in the kitchen, again my place is at her feet or on my bed.  (I have several of those beds...because she SPOILS me)

Wherever she goes, I go.  If she leaves, I get nervous.  The rest of my people tell Mom I whine a little and act crazy until she finally arrives back home.  I  watch for her car out the window.  I bark and run to the door to meet her, greet her and jump up and down.

She is my world.  She is my everything.  She is MINE~

The best place in the world is under the covers curled up by her tummy. 

So maybe it's true.  That might just be where the magnet is! 

Drawing me in...

Mom's Magnetic Forces

More Time

Just a little more time.  Because time flies.



Image Source Page: http://www.bookcorneronline.com/timemanagement.html

 It's what we all want...it's what she talked about ALOT on that Snow Globe Drive.  More time..because there never seems to be enough.  Not only for (you) people and certainly not enough for us..the pets!  Our days here on earth go by rather quickly (from the human prospective).  It's one of the first questions she has for God when she (finally) arrives in Heaven.  Last week she read that a little boy already thought he might just have the answer.  When his beloved dog crossed over the rainbow bridge, his parents told him dogs don't get to stay as long on earth as people and WE don't know why.  He thought about it for a few moments and then proceeded to tell his parents it was because the reason we are all on earth is to learn to love and dogs already know how to do that!

                                            * talk about pulling on Mom's heartstrings* 

She loves little ones..she thinks they are just the right mix of innocence and curiosity ...  truly passionate, thrilled to be here and not afraid to say what they really think.  "Out of the mouths of babes!",  I've heard her exclaim..and rightfully so. 

Her babes are almost all grown.  She says it happened one day when she blinked.  I'm not sure about that, but she seems to believe time with them slipped away alarmingly fast.  She compares it to being stuck out on a piece of ice in a glacier lake....and slowly as time goes by, the ice starts to crack.. just alittle at first...then the cracks widen over time and suddenly... all at once it seems, the piece you are standing on just breaks off and slowly just floats away.  What a helpless feeling it is... It makes you sad, but at the same time it is life changing because once again it's all about you having to focus on getting yourself back to shore.  Once you get back, you realize you were never really all that far away or alone anyway.  The shoreline just looks different and you suddenly see things that weren't there before. 



Image Source Page: http://10000birds.com/papscanee-island-excursion.htm

She says 24 hours are not enough to get it all done..whatever IT is!?   I have to sometimes remind her that we need to sleep some of that.  Work. Work. Work.  In every corner of her world, she says.  Never ending,.  Overwhelming.  Can't seem to catch up Work.  Thankfully, she has come to realize that it all just can't happen at once.  Some just has to be let-go.   Until another day.  Til, then..she needs to feel free to go off leash every now and again.  That freedom can be just EXACTLY what she needs!
 
It's the little moments that make life big!  Enjoying a morning walk.  Sitting along the banks of the river.  Feeling the warmth of  a fire.   Listening.  Paying attention . Enjoying.  Taking it all in...just one experience at a time.

More of those kinds of moments.  The ones that just happen along the way.  The ones that open us up to being truly thankful.  The ones that change who we are and make us better.  The moments that show us how to love...

We all just want more time for that. 


http://www.bev-powis-calligrapher.co.uk/html/time_is_eternity.html



Snow Day!



"Photo courtesy photos-public-domain.com".



The sun is out after a late night's snow.













Lots fell up high and only a skiff fell in the valley.

When you live in a mountain town, all the PEOPLE get a little crazy when BIG snow happens. 

                                                          

For me, the Scrapster, I like it too (at first)  It's fun. 

Wakes you up if you're sleepy! ...The paws get what I like to call an awakening!  Ice on the pads and snow between the toes!


                                     This is a Snow Day, Scrappy-style

Puts a wag in your tail , a chill in your whiskers, a leap in your jump, an all out sprint in your run.