Maddie Moo and her Hoodie Too!!!!

Yes, I have become one of those silly pet owners that dress up their dogs. But, I thought this was kinda mild and I don't plan on getting her into any other silly costumes and such. It's a hoodie, and it's cute.

What's funny is she looks like Robin Williams wearing a short sleeved tight hoodie - the hair just goes POOF as it comes out of the sleeve. She's sooooo cute though, I think she'll get away with the clothing thing ok, no other dog should give her a hard time. And anyways, the hoodie saved her life last night as Riley (my best friends cute puppy) thought Maddie was a mid night snack and grabbed her violently. All his mouth was able to get was hoodie and fur. It's all good though Riley, you're still a cute puppy in my book. I'll just have to disrtact you with treats when you come to my house. :)

Been kinda down lately. So, I thought I would just tell the world about it....well, the 4 people that read this anyways. I've been battling this inner sadness. It's kinda like a frustration deep within that nothing I do satisfies. Even in my time with the Lord, the life that surrounds me drowns out anything I would hear from him. It's like trying to talk to your friend in the middle of a carnival. You see the lips moving, but can't hear what they are saying. This would be really bad for me cause I can't even read lips.

My friend recently had this burning in her as well. She took off a day and got back on tract where God's calling her (she's writing this amazing book and I can't wait for her to get it out to the world). I love music, at least I think I do...I used to...I still do....SEE! This is the inner frustration coming out. I used to always have a song in my heart. I used to always put stuff to music and lately, I don't have anything. I know...well, I think I remember God calling me to music. I want to glorify Him so much in all that I do and give Him all that I am. He taught me how to play guitar in 2 weeks. Shortly after I started leading worship at my youth group (only knew 5 chords so, songs we sure limited). There was one time I got so frustrated with always breaking my guitar strings I asked the Lord if he truly called me to worship, that he's going to have to provide another guitar. 2 hours later I got a call from a woman at my church stating that a few people had called her and said that they needed to give her money to get her worship leader a new guitar...these people that gave didn't even know me! You would think after these confirmations, I would have no doubt...

Does God change His mind? Has he withdrawn His calling on my life? Have I held back for too long now it's too late? Why is He so silent, I have no song to sing, no song to write. I feel like my life around me is so loud and cluttered, I can't focus on what I once loved to do. But, the things around me are daily things I must do - I'm a mom of 2 boys, a wife and a friend. I love all that I am but somehow, I feel like I'm missing the mark.

I got a puppy, I got a puppy, I got a puppy hey hey hey hey! :)

This last week my husband just happened next door to the animal shelter (he works for the City and the shelter is next door). He noticed this cute little furry thing that had just been dropped off. In fact, it was an owner relinquish and the owner was still there. Turns out they were moving to a place that doesn't allow dogs at all so they had to send this one to the pound. This little 8 month old girl needed a home. My husband put us on the list and we were number 1! YAY!

When we went to get her on Thursday, we found out there were like 12 people on the list. A few were there right at 4:30pm to see if we in fact did come and get her (if we didn't by 4:30pm then it goes to #2 and so on and so on). They were a little saddened when we were there to get her (HAHAHAHAHA! SUCKERS!!!...that's not very nice is it...sorry.) Anyways, we were so happy to get her yet sad cause we couldn't take her that day. She still had to go to the vet and get spayed.

So then Friday roles around and we got her at about 7pm that night. The vet said she did really good and one of the workers there said we got a jem and was so surprised to see a dog like this come from the pound. She was well mannered but didn't like to be tied up too much (they had to hold her down for the shots and all).

We named her Bailey at first. We called her that for the first few days but, it really didn't fit. Christy (my bestest friend) thought up Maddie cause she's all matted up. (we can't bath her til after 10 days cause of her surgery...she's a little smelly but not too bad.) So we officially named her Madison, Maddie for short. :)

The first and second night went well however, the third night was rather rough. She kept us up ALL night barking at nothing. Well, the power went out and it was super dark so maybe, she was just scared. It got better after we closed her up in our room with us and kept her from the living room and the front door (where she likes to bark the most). Last night was a lot better - slept all through the night. She's potty trained pretty good however, she likes one of my bears that I keep on my bed (it's a Pooky bear from Garfield - poor thing got a tongue bath the other day...it was all wet...).

She really is a little joy. Spastic when we first come home from anywhere but after she calms down, she's a sweetheart. I'll post more as life goes forward with Madison.

Oh YEAH! I'm in the groove. Lot's of stuff being written about DAILY. Oh yeah. :)

Ok, just wanted to share my joy with you today. I was totally down and just sad today. Ever have those days where you're just sad and can't quite put your finger on why? Ok...maybe I'm the only one...any how, that was me for the last few days. I was just sitting here at my desk, asking God to encourage me and to show me how special I am to him and then..... BAM! These show up on my desk. (see picture).

These were from my husband Jeff. He had ordered them a few days ago I guess and they came at just the right moment. I know it was to show how much he cares for me and how special I was and am to him, but I believe God used my husband to show His love to me as well. I felt very loved and pursued both by my husband and my Maker. Couldn't have asked for a better moment today... well, maybe a massage and day and the spa to boot...but the flower will do just perfectly. :) Thanks Jeffrey for thinking of me. Thank you Lord for loving me and creating such beautiful things for my pleasure.

Got my new Mac website up. I pu the video I made from my Ecuador trip up there as well. Check it out. :)

http://web.mac.com/socoolfranny/iWeb/Site/Welcome.html

Totally forgot to tag on my last blog about 10 things I would want to learn to do. TAG! - You're it Christy! :)

Wow, 2 days in a row. What is to become of me! :) Just kidding. Thought I would share a little bit about my move. I have been living in Ramona, CA for over a year now. This was one of the hardest years of my life. God has taken me through some very rough waters and at moments, I thought I was going to drown. God always know right when to pick ya up though.

My husband and I sat down awhile back and after being very frustrated with our landlord, decided there must be a better way to financially get by. I was tired of renting and having strange landlords that don't know boundaries and would help themselves to my back yard when ever they liked. I wanted my own place, one that if I wanted to paint it bright red, I could. If I wanted to take out a wall, I could. If I wanted to put RR ties in my back yard instead of cinder blocks, I COULD! (Another Landlord issue) So, to be able to do this we would need to downsize.

We planned it all out and decided to move into an apartment just around the corner. We will be saving at least $500 a month by making this change. TOTALLY WORTH IT! It was very difficult to pack it all up and downsize a lot of stuff (had to get rid of a lot of clothes, toys, bookcases, all appliances, EVERYTHING just about) but with the help of my best friend Christy, we made it happen.

We moved and totally unpacked within a weekend. It was crazy and I'm still feeling the affects of it all (I catch myself daydreaming from time to time) but it's ok. Small and close, but ok. I want to just give glory to God for opening these doors and giving Jeff and I wisdom regarding this move. I'm excited to see where my family and I will be a few years from now when we're able to hold the keys to our very own place. I want to be a good steward and I feel that in this, God will bless our family. Please as you think of me keep us in prayer as this change was hard on some of us and we did leave a lot behind (my cute puppy Linus wouldn't have been happy in an apartment, he's been free to roam since he was a pup) and missing him has been great at times. Especially for Garret my youngest. Love you all and thanks for stopping by! :)

I'm so sorry it's been forever since I blogged. I will need to change the name of this blog to "A month in the life of the Franster". :) I just recently moved and life has been very crazy (I'll blog about that next month...hehehehhehehe)

I have been tagged by Jennifer to blog about the 10 things I want to learn how to do. So, here ya all go!

10. Learn a new language (I think to learn Arabic would be interesting)
9. Knit or crochet
8. Play some awesome riffs on an electric guitar (Christy you so ROCK!)
7. Fly a plane (so I can travel the world)
6. Scuba Dive
5. Build a house
4. Totally rebuild a VW engine ground up
3. Sew
2. Ride a unicycle
1. Surf - and actually be GOOD at it. (it's been awhile)