Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Unwrapping Christmas

Life moves so quickly these days!

I took the time thankfully to read a wonderful novella written by Lori Copeland titled "Unwrapping Christmas."  I could have been Rose in this book a few years ago.

 I've been warned not to fall back into the trap of doing too much and being too busy by my own very wise 14 year old son.

I think the older we get the more we want to recapture the meaning of the season and the beauty of Christmas in our homes and our hearts. This is the book that helps us realize the importance of first serving our own families before we serve others. This is what God intended for us to do. I bought this book on sale for $3.99 at the Naples bookstore and it is worth so much more than that!

We are waiting to find out when we'll be moving back North where we will all have the opportunity to become involved in activities that we enjoy. I hope we don't lose the closeness we've found living with "just us" here in Italy, when we get reimmersed in life in a wonderful American community in the Tri-Border region.

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Abandoned doggies in Italy

On December 1st, a poor injured bedraggled dog came to rest at the end of the day at the cemetery. He hobbled along on three legs because the one hind leg was injured. Mike came home and told me about him and we went back down to the office to see if he was still there. With biscuits in hand, I met this dear soul and we were off to Dr. Gandolfo's to see what he could do to help him. Buddy, as he was first known, was so sweet even though he was very hurt and probably in shock. Dr. G was able to position his leg back together with a plate and screws. We brought him home and he's been happily snuggling in his big bed in our kitchen.

Moving forward to today, Tiberius has joined our family but Butch isn't thrilled about this at all. Two males (especially one who is not neutered) makes for a difficult combination. We will start the new year by enrolling in a dog obedience program to see if we can bring peace and calm back to our home. An additional trip to the vet clinic will need to be scheduled for the big "snip" for Tibee as we have nicknamed him. All of this needs to happen before we make our big move to Belgium. Imagine three dogs and a cat and three or four humans in our van driving and staying overnight on our way there. Perhaps doggie valium will have to come into play? We can't take it since we need to stay alert so we arrive alive!