Christmas

Oh my!

So I got back Thursday after being gone for 10 days. I finally did it... I left and I didn't call the office at all, I didn't email anyone for work, I didn't even get any church calls.... this is amazing! I am going to try it more often I think!

So I got in at about 2 on Christmas Eve. This is my 3rd Christmas since I have lived here and the first time I have been home on Christmas eve and for Christmas morning since. We went out to Aunt Linda and Uncle Dan's right away. Now this is the night we have been waiting for, for a LONG time! We decided a while back that Grandma Viv needed another dog. After Grandpa died she got a Shitzu, Bud. He died a few months ago and Gma lost a very special companion. Back in November when I was home, I asked if we should get her another one... mom thought about it and decided yes. We went searching. I searched online at the humane societies back home and mom and dad went out hunting on foot/truck... God just blessed everything in ways we couldn't imagine and brought mom to an amazing little 13 lb shitzu. (i think it is spelt different than that... but keep reading the story.. there is a reason it is being spelt like that). Gma had no idea what mom had been up to.

Christmas eve it was all happening. My parents took the dog named "new dog" or "gus" or "hey you" out to Aunt Linda's early. Then we went from youngest to oldest on gifts. The last thing gma opened was a scrapbook that mom and carole made. It was a scrapbook of "Bud" The last two pictures in it though, were pictures of the new dog. My mom put captions on them that said "aren't I sooooo cute?" and "Would you please take me home" Gma still thought that they were pictures of bud. She said oh sweetie I would if I could.... (which I thought at that point... we would have been really mean children and grandchildren if we would have put that caption of a picture of her dead dog)... anyway.... At that point I walked out from the kitchen with the dog in a basket and a big red and green thing around its neck and said "really grandma, would you really take him home?" She looked up and just started bawling. Tears were a flying in the house that night. She was soooo happy. This was one of the best Christmas' to see my grandma so filled with joy and suprise and like a little piece of her heart was reattached!

Everything was so exciting! We suggested the name "Gus" because everyone at Grace Chapel thought it was appropriate... but grandma turned up her nose in a way I have never seen a nose turned up so we took that as a NO! Instead, she ended up naming him "Gizmo" after we talked her out of "Fluffy" and "Sweetie Pie" Simply not acceptable in my books.

So let's fast forward to January 3rd. I am sitting at the Mill's Mall having a lovely lunch with myself after a pretty good shopping trip. I was talking to Rachel on the phone about "very important issues" when I heard my phone beeping. Call Waiting. Mom's Cell. Mom is teaching right now. Mom should not being calling. Hang on Rach. "Where are you?" "Gizmo's gone" "Go check the animal Shelter" And I was off. I wrapped my egg roll in my napkin, the rest of the rice and chicken away (morris wouldn't approve anyway) and walked swiftly to the car. Gizmo is no where to be found. Mom and I circled Grandma's huge neighborhood so many times. We stopped everyone we saw. The dog got out of the backyard... it was fenced, the gate was closed... that must be one skinny dog. I went to The shelter, a police station, people's yards, the dog groomer across the street... everyone.... Gizmo was gone, we knew not what to do. We went to the shelter one more time... not there. Got home and had 7 messages. One of them from over an hour before was the Riverview Police Station. "We have your dog, get it now or its going to the pound" And thats when we picked Gizmo up and thought... you are such a little Shitzu minus the zu.

I boarded my grandma's deck up like you wouldn't believe, wood, kid gates, heavy coolers full of water, muahahaha... mel will win, not Gizmo.

And with that.. here is a picture of the little runt... with a face like only a mother and close relatives could love.