Cosette
What a change a couple of weeks make! Cosette is now a playful, cooperative puppy, learning new things every day. She is doing really well on a leash, going almost everywhere I do...with very few exceptions. She is getting along well with house training and navigating the stairs in our home. She enjoys playing a puppy version of fetch with a little stuffed toy that contains a rattle. The difference in her personality is amazing. Her first vet visit went well, and she is getting all squared away with her shots. One of the biggest events in her leash training occurred last week when Faith and her family came to visit. They always bring their dog, Brutus, a beagle bulldog mix; he is 2 1/2 and very well trained. When Faith took him out in the yard on his leash, I did the same with Cosette. It was as if a light bulb went off in her little doggie brain, and she began to scamper along with him. Positive peer pressure works, I guess, even in dogs.
This week we will be heading to Indy to attend a Christian conference and visit with Hannah and family. It will be Cosette's first long car trip, and I expect it to go well. So looking forward to being with Hannah, Chad, and Cash. They finished up their new fence, and we are planning on helping them with some landscaping.
Chardon's fireworks display this year was amazing; it seemed to go on and on. We went with Jon-David, Jennifer, and their boys; all enjoyed it immensely. Speaking of Jon-David...he and Jennifer have "bought" a house in Middlefield...the offer was accepted, and the inspections are scheduled to occur soon. If all goes well, they will be moving the end of August or first of September. They have been living in our barn for 6 1/2 years, since Solomon was a newborn. It will be an adjustment for all of us as they leave.
My running continues to go well. On Saturday I ran in a 5K in Chardon, and it was my toughest so far. The course wound through the neighborhood surrounding the high school, and there were some pretty daunting hills scattered throughout it. At the top of one such hill I passed the 2 mile marker and saw a beautiful sight...a young woman stood by the street with her garden hose, spraying a gentle mist into the air...available to any runners who needed a quick "shower". It was the boost I needed to crank out that last mile.
I just got an email from David's dad, Bill. He reports that his wife, Twilah, continues to be ravaged by Alzheimer's, unaware of who anyone is, including her children and now her husband. She is not wanting to eat anymore. She was such a beautiful role model for me as a young wife and mother, it is hard to lose her this way. She was the epitome of the worthy woman of Proverbs, modeling kindness, service, and busyness for me at an impressionable time in my life. When David and I married, she would have been about 45 years old, and she had just finished up her bachelor's degree and was teaching school. At that time she still had 6 "children" at home, with 2 being married and gone. When we visited them there were always others visiting as well, whether it was other relatives or neighbors or Christian friends...always entertaining on a big scale. She was a great cook, skilled seamstress, and tireless homemaker, including working in her garden. She always took an interest in our children, reading to them and teaching them new things. Over the years our relationship became somewhat distant, but that does not change the positive impact she had on my life. Furthermore, Bill's example of service to her in these last years is a beautiful picture of commitment and honor.
Should I rename this post?? For the record, I think I will rename it "Two sweethearts: Cosette and Twilah".
This week we will be heading to Indy to attend a Christian conference and visit with Hannah and family. It will be Cosette's first long car trip, and I expect it to go well. So looking forward to being with Hannah, Chad, and Cash. They finished up their new fence, and we are planning on helping them with some landscaping.
Chardon's fireworks display this year was amazing; it seemed to go on and on. We went with Jon-David, Jennifer, and their boys; all enjoyed it immensely. Speaking of Jon-David...he and Jennifer have "bought" a house in Middlefield...the offer was accepted, and the inspections are scheduled to occur soon. If all goes well, they will be moving the end of August or first of September. They have been living in our barn for 6 1/2 years, since Solomon was a newborn. It will be an adjustment for all of us as they leave.
My running continues to go well. On Saturday I ran in a 5K in Chardon, and it was my toughest so far. The course wound through the neighborhood surrounding the high school, and there were some pretty daunting hills scattered throughout it. At the top of one such hill I passed the 2 mile marker and saw a beautiful sight...a young woman stood by the street with her garden hose, spraying a gentle mist into the air...available to any runners who needed a quick "shower". It was the boost I needed to crank out that last mile.
I just got an email from David's dad, Bill. He reports that his wife, Twilah, continues to be ravaged by Alzheimer's, unaware of who anyone is, including her children and now her husband. She is not wanting to eat anymore. She was such a beautiful role model for me as a young wife and mother, it is hard to lose her this way. She was the epitome of the worthy woman of Proverbs, modeling kindness, service, and busyness for me at an impressionable time in my life. When David and I married, she would have been about 45 years old, and she had just finished up her bachelor's degree and was teaching school. At that time she still had 6 "children" at home, with 2 being married and gone. When we visited them there were always others visiting as well, whether it was other relatives or neighbors or Christian friends...always entertaining on a big scale. She was a great cook, skilled seamstress, and tireless homemaker, including working in her garden. She always took an interest in our children, reading to them and teaching them new things. Over the years our relationship became somewhat distant, but that does not change the positive impact she had on my life. Furthermore, Bill's example of service to her in these last years is a beautiful picture of commitment and honor.
Should I rename this post?? For the record, I think I will rename it "Two sweethearts: Cosette and Twilah".
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I'm so sorry to hear about Twilah. Jacque's mother is in a middle stage of Alzheimer's, and it's very frustrating for her, and scary, too, because she knows what's coming. Jacque and I still have our parents, and it seems that most people of our generation have been able to have their parents in good health and mind for longer than previous generations. -
I'm sorry to hear about uncle David's mother. Jeremy's grandmother is having some problems remembering things. It's hard seeing people you love go through that. -
Happy b-day!