Actually, I was wrong!

So just when I thought Sunday, January 11, 2009, couldn't have gotten any worse, it did. I found out on Tuesday that a friend of mine from high school (she graduated 2 years behind me) died on Sunday morning (around the same time as Kim) of pancreatic cancer. What the heck??!!! They say bad things happen in threes. I got done with my three (and they were DOOZIES) all in one day. I guess ultimately that can be a good thing. 2009 has nowhere to go but up, right?? I say that a little cautiously.

Update on Freckles, the Wonderdog and the husband that will be in the dog house for a very long time: Mark and Mark (Brue and Klanderman, not necessarily in that order...lol) found Freckles 2 hours after he had been hit by the car. As is normal for a dog that has been injured, he ran off to hide. He was in the neighbor's yard. I'm so glad that I saw him get hit or we wouldn't have had any idea what had happened and he very well could have frozen to death over night. Anyway...they found him and I immediately got into the Honda with Freckles and drove to the ER vet in Oakdale, MN (about 30 minutes from River Falls). As it turns out, the vet that we saw that night used to be at the vet office where we normally take Freckles, so it was nice to see a somewhat familiar face. Let me just say that Freckles is the most amazing dog on the face of the earth. He once again hurdled death and serious injury. After being hit by the car the only injuries that he sustained were three fractured ribs (and the fractures were so small that the vet had to look at the xrays more than once just to see if they actually were fractures) and some fluid build up in his chest cavity which has pretty much been taken care of through his coughing. He's still a little sore, but he's doing amazingly well. So, after 4 trips to the vet and over $500 later, he really is a wonder dog. Even our incredible vet (Dr. Bloom) called him a survivor. A few things you should know about Freckles so that you understand why I'm saying he's a wonder dog. 1) He has epilepsy and has to take seizure meds twice a day. That's been going on since I got him and that's over 10 years now. 2) About 5 years ago the vet found a tumor on his back end. The vet told me that almost always when a tumor is found in that particular location, it's cancer. So he removed the tumor...and it WASN'T cancer!! YEAH!!! 3) About 4 years ago Freckles got viciously mauled by the neighbor's husky. I wasn't home at the time, but Mark saw it happen. He said the dog had Freckles by the neck and was dragging him around like a rag doll. He was in complete shock by the time I got home from church that morning and had suffered several puncture wounds. The police came by and ended up putting the other dog down per the owner's request. The vet said that Freckles recovered amazingly well for those kinds of injuries. 4) Getting hit by a car on Sunday night. Again, the vet is amazed at his recovery. The bottom line is that Freckles is cursed and has to spend a few more years by my side. lol

So, that situation ended up turning out better than expected. PRAISE GOD!!!!! As for Mark being in the dog house for not putting Freckles on his leash: he'll be there a while longer. I do think he's learned his lesson though and will FINALLY do what I ask in this case.

Now, on a good note...Hope and I ventured out in this blankety-blank-blank-blank weather this morning. Yep...it was actually -45 degrees (wind chill temp) this morning when I woke up. LOTS of schools in the area were closed because of the temps. Smart!!!!!!!! But we bundled up and headed to the Target Center in Minneapolis to see Elmo Live! It was so much fun! We met Hope's friend Kahea and Kahea's family there. Hope likes Elmo, but she LOVES Abby Cadabby. She was thrilled to see her today. I do think I have a performer on my hands though because Hope got VERY upset when she couldn't go on stage and sing and dance with Elmo and his friends. lol After the show was over we all met at the Oliver Garden (as Hope calls it) for lunch. It was really nice hanging out with the Sloan family today. It's just weird to think that I'm so much older than the rest of the parents of the kids in Hope's class. I don't know if they know that or not though. Maybe I can keep it a secret. hehehe

I did take some pics at the Target Center today so I'll post those later. I'll also get a picture or two of the Wonder Dog so those of you who have never seen him can put a face with a name.

So that's it for now. Time to do some more laundry (does that ever end?) and some organizing. It's going to be a VERY early night for all of us tonight. Thank you for all your prayers.