A Story...

I wanted to share with you a new venture so to speak..I am writing a short novella about the later years of my life..Fiction but very much based upon truth..If you would like to follow along in my story, here is the link..http://washedawaywithgrace.blogspot.com/I hope you visit and read along with me treasured friends..

It's been far too long..

Knock, Knock...Anyone out there anymore?? Probably not..It's been months since my last post..Life as I know it has ceased and I'm in a new chapter of our lives (and unfortunately so is Suka) Summer was wonderful and busy..We enjoyed lots of outdoor fun and sunshine. September came and the first day back to school marked the first of a nightmare..

1am sept 8th, never slept, up all night watching and waiting...noticed 2 men
pointing in our backyard who were walking past..Looked out the window to see
that the house behind us was completely encircled with a huge pool of water, and
half our yard was already filling...Ran upstairs to grab the family and suitcase
I packed..left 2 dogs with food/water on first floor (stupid) and 2 cats locked
in upstairs bathroom. Flew out of the house and loaded the kids and 1 dog (who
is destructive when left alone) into his kennel and into the van, just as police
was pulling up to have us evac. Were supposed to go 2 Bobs work, but all roads
were impassable (and it wouldn't have done any good because they flooded and
were evacuated as well) went to a shelter I heard about from a friend on
facebook that was just opening up in Owego. On the way we had to cross
floodwaters that were above the bottom hood of the van- Bob's van didn't make
it. Had to be pushed out of the water and up onto a nearby neighbors land..I hit
the gas and prayed we would make it. We did. Bob drove Samanthas car up and over
into the grass so her car was also saved..Stayed in a shelter 3 plus days, with
no electricity, no shower..thankfully the building had a daycare in it, so we
had some food. Found out after our house flooded a foot inside the first fl and
completely filled the basement..Everything we stored in top shelves, and even
some we brought upstairs was ruined..Two days in Bob and the teens went to
rescue our dogs..Found a rowboat, and rescued the dogs by boat. Teens opened the
bathroom door and my cat got out while no one noticed, and thankfully after a
huge search and a day later a very thin Mooch came out of hiding....Sister got a
hold of me and even though bridges were out by her house, a very long way around
was found, so we packed up and inundated her home for I think 4 days but I can't
even remember anymore.. Dogs were on tieouts in yard, cats resided on a side
porch, and we stayed in a warm lit home for the first time in what felt like an
eternity..When we went to inspect the house's damage we found that the back
foundation was completely gone with the exception of a corner stone on one side
and the garage on the other side..Other foundation was separating from the
ground and some was cracked. Our pastor was driving by and set up time and
people from church the next day, rented a uhaul trailer and brought a few pickup
trucks. A few dear friends from our old church came and helped out all morning
(I still don't know what I would have done without you!) clearing out as much
rubbish and salvaging as much on the first fl. as we could.. By the time most of
the first fl was done, the ceiling was separating from the walls in Christiana's
back room, and cracks were coming out in the walls in the dining room, not to
mention, the back of the house was leaning down and it looked really unsafe..Bob
showed up around 5:15PM long enough to kick everyone out of the house because he
said it was too dangerous to work any longer (could say something right now, but
I will choose to hold my tongue) Our pastor and church also graciously offered
up the parsonage house for us to stay in temporarily until we figure out what
will be happening with our house..Our old house on Temple Street we sold on land
contract, we weren't required flood insurance, and we have a sinking feeling the
people who bought it will be walking away from it.. which will leave us with 2
homes that are in really bad shape (temple street f looded 3 ft into the f irst
fl) The good news is, my family was spared, down to the dogs and cats,
God's provided a beautiful home to stay in, A wonderful family who showed what
being family is all about- allowing us the comfort and relief after a very
traumatic and devastating experience..not to mention a wonderful church family
who are willing to roll up their sleeves and help as best they can, and
stability for my children in the midst of chaos..The bad news is, we
lost a vehicle, lost our house, may be stuck with another mess of a house and 2
mortgages, and I lost almost all income into the home because I did daycare out
of my home.. I'm learning to take each day at a time..Each day is a gift, and if
nothing else, this experience is drawing me closer to my Lord, He sure does have
strong arms, and there's nothing better than being encircled by my Heavenly
Father's Hug when the tears won't stop falling...

So now Suka lives in an outdoor kennel with an insulated doggloo house, and a tarp over the top, with one of his brothers (the other brother is staying with my parents right now because he just couldn't tolerate being outside due to his age/arthritis) It's been almost 3 months with no answers from flood insurance, and albeit I have a lot to be thankful for, I have to struggle this thanksgiving not focusing on the troubles..

Thru all of this, I haven't forgetten you, just my spirit has been a little crushed and it's hard to motivate yourself for good when you are swimming in feeling sorry for yourself.

I hope all of you are well and have a BLESSED and WONDERFUL Thanksgiving!!! Very Sincerely, Elizabeth

Summer Lovin'

Harroou :) How's your summer going?? Ours is going swimmingly :) We are enjoying the cool of a baby pool, and there's nothing like being loved on with wet hands in the heat..The surprizing thing is that Sir Suka didn't get in the pool with them! :) He truly is enjoying his summer lovin' and hopes you are getting some too!!! :)

Having a Swimmingly Good Summer :)

Summer Sorry.

This beginning of Summer has been very busy for the humans in the family especially. Us dogs are just enjoying being outside, and trying to stay cool. We are sorry we've been really neglecting our blog. When warm weather hits, we spend ALOT of time outside, rather than indoors..We wanted you to know we think about you all alot, and are sorry for not being around the computer as much as before. We will try to be better about it! We hope you are well :) Licks and Romps, Suka

Simply Irrisistable..

Do you know what's difficult about living in a family with 5 children, plus daycare children running around??? Being good and not eating snack left sitting out during playtime...It's doggone difficult!!! ;)

The Good Life

A warm lap, Strokes on the fur, bones to gnaw on, a yard to romp in, shelter in the pouring rain, other dogs to roughhouse with, cats to chase when mom's not looking, little kids who are great pillows, bumblebees to chase, walks to go on, this is the good life, and hoping you have a little good life today too! :)

Happy Belated Easter :)

I have no new pictures of "da pup" so instead, I am posting some of "da pup's" kid brother and sisters from Easter..I hope your holiday was wonderful and blessed :)

NewsFlash from Suka..."I'm finally feeling better but SHE took me to the vet last week, and before I knew it THEY did things to places that I cannot even discuss on here..It wasn't just my PRIDE that hurt. Thank Goodness they left SOME of me!" ;)

We had flash flood warnings, tornado warning, and severe thunderstorms since the wee hours..It was perty scary and I (Suka's mom) have been up since 3:30 am stewing..Our basement flooded once before, and I've heard that once it floods, it has a greater potential to flood again. I was a nervous wreck..The rain has finally subsided to light rain, no flood catastrophe's and the tornado watch is almost over..We are safe, we are dry, we are happy.

Have a great day! :)

Family Resemblances

The last few days (up until now since it's been raining since early yesterday evening) we've had milder temperatures and either sunny or cloudy and dry skies. We've been going to the playground for the littles but Suka can't resist a good playtime either :) He even climbed the rock wall and went down the slide :) Here he is at the playground with his big human bro..Can you see the family resemblance?? I can ;)

Thanks so much for the advice (in particular Ra Husky) :) We replaced the loose and chewed on boards and then added some to the bottom area. as well. So far it seems to be working. I am still keeping an eye on Sir Suka though because he's a smart cookie, knows he got out of that area before and continues to scope it out..Hopefully after time goes by and he cannot get out he will lose interest. Meanwhile his brother Ruger got out of the gate this am (the bottom was loose) and went after a jogger. He didn't bite her (THANK GOODNESS but scared her.. The worst part was she was a local neighbor (and unfortunately we don't have much of a relationship with many of our neighbors, and this one was always nice to us) My teen son and I went all around the yard, and fixed anything remotely close to being loose, including bunji cording the bottom of the gate for now until we can replace it the right way. It seems to be dogproof, but one never knows (but I will be praying we have no more occurances by any of our dogs any time soon. Our fence is low, Suka could clear it easily if he tried, I just hope he never tries because it would complicate things TREMENDOUSLY! Thanks again for the suggestions and concern, I Really Appreciate it ALOT!!! :)

Please Help! We have a Wood Picket fence that goes the diameter of our almost an acre yard..Suka found an escape spot and has gotten out of the fence 3 times in the last 12 hrs..We fixed it, and he managed to pray it loose and get out again. Does anyone have any suggestions on what to do?? Are there any sprays that we could put on the wood when we fix it again that would deter him from that spot? I can't even let him out in the yard till this afternoon unless he is on a leash because he goes DIRECTLY over there and gets out. This morning he pried it open and next thing I knew he and his buddy Ruger were next door, thankfully they both came when I called them, but he may start thinking it's a game and run away from me- and he will either get hit, or someone will take him for sure.. Please help with any advice or suggestions you might have- Thanks from a distraught Suka mama!

Our New Look

We thought we would change things up a bit around here- what do you think of our new look?? :) We hope woo are having a great day! :)

If you guessed this..Then you were right! :)

Take a guess what we are doing today??

I bet you can't figure it out!!! ;)

Anyone out there want to play a game?

I'm pretty good at memory, I'd love a partner- No Cheating though!! :) Bet I'll find the most things to chew on (I mean matches!) :)

Is Anyone Still There??

I can hardly believe it's been a month since we last posted. We've been inundated with snow, snow days, lots of crazy kids running around the house, sickness, trying to get a yrs worth of receipts done so we can get our taxes done (I run a business out of my home so it's not the quick form by any means....did I mention snow? Just yesterday morning it was mild but old man winter was up to his tricks again and it's been snowing all day and we are expecting 7 plus inches by tomorrow. This isn't so great for the humans in the family,but for snow dogs- well it's sheer heaven. Suka stands at the door, begging to be let out so he can romp and frolic around in the white stuff- then when he comes in, well, he brings it in with him too :) I hope you haven't given up on us, we are here, we've just been super busy is all. Hope you are having a good winter and beginning of Spring :)

Lotsa Snow..

The quality of these pics are terrible, BUT I wanted you to know that we are thinking about you especially when we're romping about the yard, wishing you could come play with us :) We are enjoying the weekly snow we've been getting here, and hope you are enjoying some too! :)

Pre-Football Huddle :)

My hubby is a Steeler's Fan. He's always been since I've known him, and I'm sure way before that!!! :) All I could think about when the dogs were lying together on the floor is that it reminded me of a Football Huddle. I'm not really a football fan, but I'm a diehard's wife. This is interpreted as during football season that's about all that can be found on TV..I thought it only fitting to post a pic of our pre-superbowl huddle :) I think you can guess who my hubby is rooting for!! ;)

The weather outside is frightful, but the warmth is so delightful...

Suka's been spending a lot of time romping in the now these days.. Living in New York, we get ALOT of it. I've yet to get any pics of him in the snow though- Seems like I'm always doing daycare and can't just pick up the camera to hang out in the snow with my pup. We've gone on evening walks in it, but it's so dark that it's very difficult to get pictures (and I don't really want to ruin my camera taking out in the snow on a long walk) My goal is to get some snow play pics really Soon! He loves the snow, as any true blooded husky does, but he likes coming in, warming up and chewing on a treat too! :)

Suka's a great dog, he only has a few things he has to work on. He's gone into pull me on walks mode. He used to walk so well, but I guess now he gets so excited that I have to use alot of force to keep from being pulled along and off my feet (good thing I'm not wearing skates or skis- I'd be in PA before I could think straight!) He also has to be kennelled ANYTIME I go away, even if it's briefly. I've tried giving him a treat when I took the kids to school, and he pulled down the curtain and curtain rod, knocked over the piano bench, and added some scratches the leather loveseat with his claws because he was jumping up watching us in the window and frustrated he couldn't go (that was Before we even LEFT, and don't tell my hubby, He would be pretty mad!) I feel bad kenneling him, but I think that it's the only way I can keep my house from being ripped apart when I'm not home. The other thing I have to watch him over- He's a shredder. He LOVES to shred paper products so I try to keep those away from him as much as possible..

Suka is a lover..He is not aggressive towards other dogs or strangers (which is great, because his brother is another story) BUT, I believe that if it was a matter of protection he would step up (we've gone on nightly walks, and if someone is walking towards us, he is very alert and watches that person like a hawk) He will lay by you forever if you rub his belly or scratch his nose/neck. If he wants some lovin' he will jump up in your lap till you give him some :) And he is finally completely House Trained which is a complete blessing and I'm So thankful for (he took the longest to housetrain of all the dogs I've trained) Suka's also Great with kids..The only thing I have to watch him with, is when they are outside, he wants to rough play like he does with his doggy brother, so I have to intervene often, not out of viciousness, but it's scary to little one to be knocked down and chewed on by a big dog that wants to PLAY! :)

Happy New Year!!!

Here's to a Great 2011! May your walks be longer, your bones be meatier, and your belly/ear scratches be extra enjoyable :)