Day 482

      There are lots of ups and downs each week with Katie, depending on her medications.  Sometimes Katie is weak, sometimes she is strong, sometimes her tummy hurts, and sometimes she is nauseous, and other times she feels fine. Sometimes she gets really thirsty at night time...she gets night sweats, cold and clammy...hot...etc... Sometimes she is very pale and shaky in the mornings... We just take each day as it comes.  Lately she has been saying she is having "hard days."  Mostly, I think it is because she still has a yucky nose and cough, and because of it she can't go out much.
     Katie loves to play hide-and-go-seek.  She loves to play tag, jump on the trampoline (which she doesn't really jump because she isn't supposed too, but she runs around the trampoline and plays ring-around-the-rosie).  Katie loves to swing on the swings and slide on the slide.  When her immune system is up, she loves to dig in the dirt (she can't dig in the dirt when her immune system is down because she might get a fungus or mold).  Katie loves to "play" the piano, to dance, and dress up, and play make believe.  She loves playing with her Barbies and her baby dolls.  Katie loves to color, cut, tape, paint, and glue.  She especially loves to make pictures for her friends and to put it in their mailboxes - and to make pictures for Daddy, or Grandma, Conner, Mommy, etc...  Katie loves to cook and clean in her little play kitchen.
      Speaking of her little kitchen set, that brings me to the funny story of the week.  Last Sunday, our little puppy, Peaches, went missing (mid-afternoon).  I searched the house and yard for her, and then I had Scott search the house and yard.  No Peaches.  I asked Katie and Conner if they had seen her...locked her up somewhere...or let her out front.  The answers were all no.  We then had Nathan search the house, as Scott went door to door in our neighborhood asking if anyone had seen our dog.  I spent a couple of hours driving around looking for her.  As it was getting dusk, I came home and made missing puppy posters.  We drove around for another hour putting posters up on every stop sign, on every street, all around us - and looking, looking, looking.  Still no Peaches.  Peaches doesn't bark at all, and she rarely whines, so all we could do was look.  It was now dark.  I tried calling the Pound, Animal Rescue, etc... but none were open.  So we said another prayer (one of many) and then I set about making us a late dinner.  After dinner, I called my mom and told her our dog was missing.  As I was talking with her, I looked down and there Peaches was at my feet!!!  I said, "She is here, she is here!  Where did she come from!?"  I picked her up and she wasn't cold at all, so I knew she hadn't been outside.  I said again, "Where was she?  Where did she come from!?"  Scott, Conner, and Nathan all looked dumbfounded...and then Katie came into the room with a sheepish look on her face.  I asked her if she knew where Peaches had come from.  Katie replied, "Upstairs."  I couldn't believe it!  Scott, Nathan and I had all searched upstairs (and everywhere in the house and yard several times - closets, under beds, behind chairs...everywhere - we thought).  I asked Katie how she found her and she said, "I was putting on my pajamas and Peaches was crying."  I asked Katie to show me where she had found her.  Katie took me up to her bedroom, and pointed to the microwave on her play kitchen set!!!  Peaches had been inside the play microwave!  Apparently, Katie had put Peaches in there and had forgotten! 
     I know some animal lovers will not find any humor in that, but the microwave is about the same size as Peaches' kennel, and she wasn't in there overnight or anything - AND we have had several long talks with Katie about how she can't do things like that to Peaches.... But it is funny...We looked for hours for that dog!  We even had kind neighbors who went out looking for her.  Scott went door to door!  And the next morning, I had to spend another hour driving around, taking down all of the missing puppy posters!  Probably the funniest thing though, was the next day when Conner went around telling people that "We thought our puppy was missing, but she wasn't...she was in the microwave!"  - That raised a few eyebrows!!! =)  We are glad Peaches was found safe and sound.  She has brought much joy, love and laughter into our home and family.  We love our silly Peaches. 
     I liked this quote that my niece, Tebbanie, sent me by Victor Frankl: "What is to give light must endure burning."  Tebbanie said: "Through adversity we are being refined so that someday, someway, our "light" may shine on in a more fantastic way."  (I get it now too Tebb...)  It does take some burning in order for our lights to grow.