Holday wishes & Welcome

Happy Holidays! And Welcome to our new Blog—We will be updating this throughout the year—thought it would be a great way to keep up to date with family and Friends. Several of our friends have one and we just love visiting it throughout the year.

Bob and I have decided to cohabitate and did the big move over Thanksgiving weekend—combining two homes into one with two part-time kids and four Greyhounds has been a small challenge but with our fall remodeling project it is going smoother than expected. Needless to say the normally busy holiday bustle at the house has been put on hold this year until we can be really settled—We will be the hosting fools again next year.

Melissa has done some of her normal volunteer work during the holiday season with Pet Santa photos and gift wrapping at Borders raising money to help those Greyhounds. Bob has become quite the advocate of Greyhound rescue also and has put quite a few hours in.

Matt and Brenden are enjoying their new family room and bedroom at the house— sometimes we don’t see much of them upstairs on the weekends. And the pack—well they are as spoiled as ever.

Well I hope all is well with everyone and look forward to staying in touch a little bit more this year through our blog. Here are our email addresses if you would like to contact Bob (helb42nd@yahoo.com) or Melissa (even5@charter.net).

November 08

Melissa turned the big 4-0 this year and decided to spend it in one of her favorite places—San Antonio. If you ever go I have the best hotel to recommend right on the riverwalk. We enjoyed history, good food, (Rita’s has GOOD margaritas) and relaxing long weekend with each other. It made turning 40 less painful. We did a behind the scene tour at SeaWorld that was the best. We got up close and personal with the animals and got to feed the Dolphins, Sea lions, and Seals. We got to watch one of the younger Killer Whales play with his toys. The whole time Bob and I were thinking Matt would LOVE this—so we are hoping in the next couple years taking him on such an excursion.

October 08

The big remodeling project—finished a bedroom and added a family room. We had contractors do the electric, framing walls, new windows and ceilings— We Repainted the bedroom and put new flooring down. The floors for the family room took MANY hours of hard labor on Bobs part (I helped but he did the hard stuff). For those who had not got the chance to see the rooms before-- the owner of the home before me gave this area of the house to her Teenagers which loved spray paint and graffiti—so simple painting—not so simple—lots of priming, patching holes, and several coats of paint. Now we just need the staircase enclosed and carpeted yet and it will be DONE. It doesn’t even look like the same house. (I will post some before and After soon). It has turned out great—it gives the boys a space to be themselves and it gives my Greys the space upstairs for Calm energy where they are not stressed. Everyone is cohabitating nicely.

Summer 08

The summer, We spent time with friends, going to baseball games, or just hanging out at the neighbor pizza parlor. Matthew and Melissa spent time this summer getting to know each other also. Both have the love and compassion for Animals, so the bridge was made. Brenden and Melissa had the opportunity to get to know each other since last fall and are both Dr. Pepper fanatics.

For Bobs birthday, we went to the first Blues hockey draft party and got to tour the locker rooms and watched the draft on the big screen, went to the hockey game that had hockey players past now and present, and different stars—If you haven’t guessed—Bob and I are huge hockey fans—we try to go to as many games as we can—Thanks to the Emerson raffle we get to go in really nice seats (near the penalty box) occasionally. GO BLUES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bob and I with a group of our friends did something very fun this year, we did a tour of forest park on seqways—if you want to feel like a kid again—this does the trick. The tour was so interesting but most of all the seqway are a blast---I highly recommend this—we are all hooked. Now when visiting other cities we search for seqway tours.

But most the summer Melissa was on the mends from her surgery for gall bladder removal. And the spring had Bob recovering from his hernia surgery. So we both got the opportunity to play nurse maid. I will admit—Bob’s surgery had a much harder recovery. If I didn’t have reactions to the meds and anesthesia, mine would not have been so bad.

Spring 08

We took a road trip for a long weekend to Carollton Ky, because a dear friend of Melissa’s got married. Shelley and Chris were married over Memorial Day weekend. CONGRATS!

Pork N Bean Queens

Melissa has started a new adventure—she has become associated with a group called the Pork N Bean Queens (a chapter of the Sweet Potato Queens of Jackson MS). Two girls Melissa hung around with in High School met up during a reunion in 07 and introduced me to this great group of women. I will be officially crowned as Queen Rae Rae mid December. It is a group of women that just have a good time together and raise money for charities. We participated in the WOW 2009 Calendar (Wild Outstanding Women of Monroe County) The proceeds of the calendar is going to The Violence Prevention Center of Southwestern Illinois and Life-Network of Southern Illinois.

Loss of Johnnie

On a down note—we lost my ex-father in law—he lost his battle against cancer this summer—It was a painful loss for me—he was the closest thing I have ever had to a father. The Doane family had a private ceremony where they laid him to rest in Indiana

The Fuzzy Kids

Are all doing great—Wylie is my 8 year old puppy—He still has the energy and craziness of a two year old. Tina is doing well—Her Pemphigus is under control with the help of her new Vet. We adjusted her meds and she is doing well. Her bad days are fewer and farther between. Adam is still my Casanova and loves to run his laps in the back yard. And Evie has become the biggest sweet pea indoors—she still is a little she-devil outside—she really bosses Wylie around, but she has become Bob’s girl. She is smitten with him—and Bob will admit it is two way, she is his girl. We took both girls to Bark in the Park this year. We participated as a member of the Black Dog Club and Tina is a past Mascot. Doug and Judy joined us with their handsome boxer Brody—he is such a sweetie. Don’t worry the boys got to go to the GCMO Spring Fling and became part of a DVD made to educate about Greyhound adoption. My two new superstars. I have copy of this DVD you really have to see it.