Saturday, May 16, 2009

Broken calendars...and a WINNER!

Today's been such an interesting day... It was the one year anniversary of bringing Seth home from the hospital as illustrated here. And really, as far as that goes, it was an okay day.

I have been a LOUSY calendar keeper for the past 7 months or so. I didn't realize how much so until just tonight. I have a brand new 2009 calendar. I JUST tonight broke the seal on it. I am trying to make summer plans for the kids, camp, etc.

As part of my process, I went through the 2008 calendar. It was bittersweet to see all the dates marked for Seth, during pregnancy (non-stress tests twice weekly, fetal echo's, etc) and after he was born. And as I went through the calendar, there were dates marked for his surgery and his heart cath. And there were dates written on by my mom when she was here taking care of the big kids for us. And there's a few things written on the calendar in October. And after that, the calendar is practically blank. Which says sad things about the type of mom I've been for these last 6 months. And telling things about what grief can do to us. ::::: sigh :::::::



Moving on....



Remember this little beauty here:


Uh, not the GIRL, the PUPPY. She has a name!! We (more on that in a moment) picked a winner. Can I just say how much I enjoyed this? Thanks to ALL of you for taking the time to comment and give us options to consider. I see why MckMama does contests. You guys are FUN to read!!

If you haven't already, go back and read the comments on this post. There were so many great choices. Some of our favorites (but NOT the winners, wish we were getting more than one dog!): Molly, Peaches, Sadie. One of my favorite entries was "Sydney" by HolliLynn. We might have even considered it EXCEPT:

That big momma dog with the little puppies? (Including ours!) SHE is already Sydney!!

So without further ado, because we've waited long enough, OUR puppy will be called:

SHEBA

Thanks to JD who wrote:
Sheba! She (she's a girl), and "Baaaaaaa" because she's a sheepdog / shepherd ;) S to honor the first letter in Seth's name. And Sheba is a Biblical name!And, well, puppies, they tend to rule the coop, and you know she'll reign in your house... Queen (of) Sheba?

JD, email me and I"ll get your gift card to you! Starbucks or Amazon? YOU pick!

For the record, I hadn't really thought of the "s" thing until you guys suggested it. A couple of different sources have Sheba as meaning "promise" in Hebrew and "kingdom" in Aramaic. I can live with that.

Oh, and that "we" I mentioned earlier? That would be Leland, I, and SEAN! That sneaky boy read my blog and has already been surprised with the knowledge that we're getting a puppy! He promised not to tell and agreed that Sheba was a good name!

Thanks for your help!!!

6 comments:

Leslie said...

Please don't be so hard on yourself about the type of mom you've been since your little one went home. That's not something any parent should have to face, and you're allowed to grieve. It doesn't seem as if you've let your grief swallow you, so there's something to be said for that! You've realized that you still have 3 other blessings to care for.

Your puppy is adorable! I love Australian Shepherds! Our dog is part border collie and has lots of energy. We watched Hotel for Dogs last night, and I cracked up when they set up these robotic sheep for the border collie to herd! I wish I could do that for Otto!

Praying for you!

The Burgess Family said...

Welcome Sheba!!!

And don't feel bad about having a few blank pages... you went through something most people never have to face.

Unknown said...

Great name! I hope the kids have fun with the puppy. Good luck housebreaking. We've had ours since Dec. and she is STILL not trained! Frustrating!

You are a WONDERFUL mom, calendar or no calendar. :)

Cathey said...

Sheba is happy to have her new name and we have been calling her by that with only the occasional slip - sorry, she was Bailey for four whole weeks!!! She is the most delightful puppy with a love for people and an adorable playfulness along with a pinch of independence and the ability to incite smiling from everyone who meets her. She will adore her new family in 2-3 weeks.

KatScarlett said...

Kathryn, how good of a mom you are has nothing to do with how full your calendar is. The things that kids need most is love, and you have that in abundance for all your children.

I really like the name Sheba and think it's a great choice for your new puppy! Cracks me up that Sean read about it before you got to surprise him. That little imp!!!

JD said...

You know the footprints poem/writing? Perhaps when the calendar pages were empty, it was then that God was filling them for you, and in time, you will fill them yourself again. Be gentle with yourself, you've been through so much. You're a wonderful mom.




Awwww!! I kept wanting to check up on how the puppy naming and the news about the puppy, but I couldn't remember where I had seen the post, but I have been to this blog several times, and have prayed for your family. Just saw your note on BlogFrog :D

I'm so happy that Sheba suited the puppy, and that you're happy with this name. I'm honored to have won! I'll email you :o)