Poor Bingo Almost Died!

Last week Bingo ate some slug poison when he went out early in the morning. When Matthew left for work around 5:30 am, he found Bingo out by his car trembling really bad. He thought maybe he was just really cold or scared because he'd been out for a couple hours so he brought him inside, but Bingo could barely walk. His back legs wouldn't work. After a few minutes he wanted to go back out and practically fell down the stairs. I tried giving him water but he wouldn't drink. He was salivating a lot. I found an online vet site where you can ask questions and they will answer you right away, and if you're satisfied with the answer, you pay $5.00. They answered me within 2 minutes! They said it was definitely something toxic that he got into and would need to see a vet immediately! Unfortunately the vet didn't open for another 3 hours! Matthew came home from work to take him. Bingo had wandered down to the beach and was curled up under a tree ready to die! It was so sad!! Matthew had to carry him up from the beach. He took him to the vets a little early and the vet happened to be there. He knew instantly that it was slug bait. They started him on fluids, and sedated him to stop the shaking. He ended up spending 2 nights there ($$!!!), but amazingly recovered! The vet said most dogs don't make it. We prayed for Bingo, so that's why! We think the poison was put there on purpose, because the next day another dog in our neighborhood was poisoned the same way, and there are no slugs in December! Bingo is now fully recovered, but I think it aged him a bit. Poor Bingo.

Meadow's First Birthday!

Saturday, December 10th was Meadow's Birthday! We celebrated at grandma & grandpa Cooke's house. She had lots of people come! Both sets of grandparents, the Wickerts with their 4 kids, Pastor Kevin & Sheila, David & Jenn, and Kristina Hale (soon to be Day!). Grandma made tacos for everyone (except Meadow, she had a Gerber li'l entrees meal instead). Then It was time for cake. I made her a strawberry cake with flowers on it. When we lit the candle and everyone sang, Meadow just looked at us like "what on earth are you doing?!" I ended up blowing out her candle. She livened up though when she got her own HUGE piece of cake! She grabbed it in her fist and shoved it all in! Then She squealed with delight and pointed for more! (Daddy obliged, AND gave her ice cream!) After cleaning up her lovely mess, we moved over to the prezzie pile. Meadow found a book on the floor that she wanted to read instead, so she cried when I took it away and handed her a present! She only did a little tearing, mostly she wanted to play with each new thing and got tired of me constantly handing her something else. She hadn't taken her afternoon nap, (she screamed for 1/2 an hour instead, which is unusual for her) so she was really tired. Afterward we all went to the Singing Christmas Tree. Most of the group was singing in it, but Meadow, mommy & daddy, and grandma & grandpa John went to watch. Meadow quickly fell asleep. It was a fun day. -Caren

"He c me true"

You might be wondering about the title that I chose for this post but please hold that thought for now. Tonight at our young adults meeting we had a special speaker all the way from Jamaica- Pastor Joseph Flemmings. The story in itself of how he came to be here and how he met my Dad is quite amazing. Pastor Joseph is a chef by trade and spent many years onboard cruise ships preparing food like you see in these pictures. He is very talented and also very entertaining when he makes these creations. It was fun to have him teach me how to make a cucumber look like a tulip (treelip). As he made these different things he kept saying, "it has to come from inside you, it's a gift from God, that's the only way I can explain it". Pastor Joseph has somthing else that's inside him, a passion and a zeal to tell people about God and give them the gospel. The message that he brought to our group tonight was one of encouragement to trust God with our youth, to enjoy being young but to remember that we are accountable to God. This brings us back to the title that I chose. "He c me tru" is how Joseph put it, we would say "He saw me through". I added the "e" on the end and it almost gives it a double meaning. He c me true or He saw me true. Pastor Joseph told us how God had been faithful to keep him through his youth, but when he told us this, what came into my mind is that God has seen that Joseph was true to Him. God has blessed Joseph because of his faithfulness to Him. Hence the double meaning, He saw me through and He sees me True. I have had a great time with Pastor Joseph over the last few weeks and I know that he has been a blessing to my Mom and Dad.

The perks of my Job

The work of a ramper(I like to call my self a Bagman) may be tiresome at times but there is one thing that keeps us throwing bags. THE FLIGHT BENEFITS. This is my second year working at Alaska Airlines and we've been able to use these benefits quite a lot this year. Our first major trip was Mexico with the young adults group. The next was a family vacation to Sequoia, and just a few weeks ago we went to San Diego for a few days. I have lost count of all the times we went to Seattle. The only thing we have been counting is how many flights Meadow has been on in the first year of her life. It's 28, we're going to try and make it an even 30 before she turns 1, but we only have 18 days left. Anyway I hope you enjoy some pictures from our travels.

What a smile. This post is for anybody that needs a Meadow fix. It's past her bed time at the moment and I can tell you she is not this happy anymore.