Justin Bieber Called Me!

My sister had asked my mom & I to come up to Abilene to help out after my 4yr niece Aniyah's dental surgery. We were more than happy to lend a hand or two :) I got Devin and the kids set so that I could make the trip up, only thing that was a bummer, her surgery was set the day of Lulu's 17th birthday. I talked to Lulu and made sure that is was going to be 100% okay, and of coarse she was. I don't leave my crew very often, but I was looking forward to spending time with my mom, sister, Jayson & the kids.

The drive up with my mom was so awesome. We talked about anything & everything and before I knew it, we were in Abilene. We had lunch, then headed on over to the Holcombe's House. We were able to go with E.G. (my sister) to pick the kids up from daycare, and they were so excited when they saw us. For dinner, we went over to Chuck E Cheese so that Aniyah could have a fun last supper before her surgery. Her procedure was set for 11:45am the next day, which was gonna be difficult because I just knew trying to keep her from eating & drinking was going to be impossible! After dinner, we went to Wal-Mart. I bought her some Barbie's and nick knacks for her to have to while recovering.

She LOVES that place!

Checking herself out on CEC TV

Aydan didn't know what to think of this Gigantor rat.

How sweet is that smile?

She was relaxed playing Barbie's with me the night before :)

(Notice the Justin Bieber Doll)

Early Tuesday morning, we were hoping that Aniyah would sleep late, that way she wouldn't complain too much about not being able to eat or drink. Prayer #1 of the day was answered when the hospital called my sister to let her know that there had been a cancellation, and we could take her up there @8:45, whew! We scrambled around, got ourselves together and headed that way. - Now at this time, Aniyah still does NOT know what is going on. We had been telling her that she would be having a pic of her heart taken to explain the hospital setting. Not once did we mention the dentist, or having teeth removed. I truly believe if we would have, we wouldn't have been able to get out of the car. Aniyah was very calm, the entire morning, only complaining that she wanted cereal. All three of us had major butterflies. When a 4yr old is going to be put under- it's scary. They finally called her back, and my sister and I sat with her until they wheeled her back. The dentist came back and talked to her, made her smile, laugh, and just really set our minds at ease about the care that she was under.

She's so young, why was she having dental surgery? Sippy cup. Too much of a sippy cup. Her teeth got so bad, and they needed to come out to preserve the permanent ones. We always felt really bad about the way she smiled because she never showed her teeth. This surgery was going to be a fresh new start for her.

Surgery went good, after about an hour the Dr. came out and talked to us. He removed 13 out of 20 teeth. The remaining teeth were capped. That poor baby. We hadn't done enough mental preparation for "after" the surgery. When my sister & I went back to see her, we were thrown back. Her poor face was swollen and she crying, kicking, & freaking out. My sister sat down and tried to hold her, and Aniyah wasn't having none of that. The nurses kept telling us this was normal, but I'm telling you, there is nothing normal about her superhuman strength, the mass amount of blood, and how swollen she was. It took five grown women to hold her down so they could take the IV out, and to check her BP, which by the way was not successful. It was awful. She couldn't figure out why her mouth felt so weird. All three of us were crying, and I tried hard to keep it together for my sister's sake.

I can't imagine being anywhere but with my sister, mom & Aniyah that day.

She broke my heart.

As a mother of four, I've seen heard, smelled, felt many things, but nothing like this. It was hard. When we got her home, we tried to make her comfortable as possible. She slept on and off, but each time she woke up, she just cried. At one point she was telling us that she just wanted her "ugly" teeth back so that she could feel better and eat again. We tried explaining to her that those teeth were making her sick & her new ones were going to be beautiful, but she didn't want to hear that. She was convinced that people were going to make fun of her because she didn't have teeth & she wasn't going to be able to ever eat again. That made us cry too. Towards the end of the day, I was making her crack a smile and coloring with me.

She was cuddling me :)

She colors really good!

Wedensday, she woke up without crying. The swelling had gone down a bit. My sister had to go back to work, so mom & I stayed on her pain meds schedule, but getting her to eat or drink was nearly impossible- and that worried me. Devin came up with a plan to pretend like he was Justin Beiber and call Aniyah to give her some encouragement and some advice on how to feel better, and especially to eat & drink! I changed the picture that appears when he calls to one of JB, and when she saw it, she lit up like a Christmas Tree!! As Devin/Justin was talking to her, she was giggling, laughing, acting like a giddy fan that she is. After the phone call, her mood completely shifted. She told everyone that walked through the door, or called on the phone that "Justin Bieber called me, and said I was pretty and sang to me!!!!!" It was the sweetest most awesome thing EVER!!!! Afterwards, she was nibbling on mac-n-cheese, drank a couple of PediaSure's, talking more, singing, laughing, getting back to her old self. That call was a blessing. She even dressed up for him and posed for a photo to send back to him.

What a difference a day makes. I mean look at this pic above!

So thankful she made this big turn and has begun to eat & drink. I was worried. Thank you Lord so much for being with us, and comforting her and making her recovery smooth.... and thank you so much Uncle Devin/Justin Beiber!!!

Use Your Words & Not Your Hands

Gosh, being a teenager is so much different than it was back in my day. Girls are meaner, boys are more tackier & rude. Jealousy swirls all around, and unless you've really talked to your kids, and prepared them for this behavior from others, they won't stand a chance.

I was told at lunch today, that there was a rumor going around school that my Lulu was pregnant. Hmm. I got details, who said what, when where etc. I'm guilty of being that over protective mom. Don't mess with my kids or else. I stewed for a minute about what to say, or even if I should say anything at all. Now, not for one single second did I believe it. Lulu, Steve (Lulu's BF) & Ricky were here at lunch time, so I calmly mentioned to the kids what I was just told. Of coarse they were angry & mortified. 

Kelsey Kole got the nickname "Lulu" when she was a baby. My mom said she reminded her of Lulu from HeeHaw. It's stuck for 17yrs. She LOVES the name, and would much rather be called Lulu than Kelsey.

Lulu-2yrs, Devin, Kristen Blake-4

I would venture to guess that Lulu is about 10-15lbs shy of what she used to way in the 5th grade. It seemed like overnight, she got taller, lost alot of baby fat & turned into this beautiful young lady that we see today.

She teared up today, I hugged her, held her and looked her right in the eyes, and told her she is in total control of this situation. I've always encouraged my kids to use their words & not their hands to solve problems. Today, I'm more than happy to report that she used that advice. She waited for the right moment, and went up to this person, and confronted her. The girl did admit to saying that it seemed as though Lulu had gained weight and looked "chubbier." I wish that I could have been a fly on the wall for this, but I was told by one of her friends that was there while she was "hashing it out." that Lulu was poised, very direct, and did not cry or tear up. I couldn't be prouder. 

She had a volleyball game tonight, so I was wasn't able to really talk to her until we got home. She hit the high points of the talk she had with this gal. She was still really discouraged about someone saying that about her, and it broke my heart to hear her say that no matter how much she works out, or eats right, that her tummy still has baby fat. I personally think that tummy is cute. When she was a baby, she used to walk right up to her daddy lift up her shirt and ask him to rub it. *sigh* I miss those days :) Unfortunely in today's society, "pooches" in the stomach area are not acceptable. No matter how much I told her she was beautiful, and how far from overweight she was, she was hurt. Like this kid doesn't have enough to worry about with school, sports and now dumb rumors. I have NO DOUBT in mind that this too will pass, she's tough- and I have so much respect & admiration for her because of things she's had to overcome in this past year. I told her tonight that she has an invisible force field around her, (God), that will make sure she's intact & safe. 

I maybe biased, but I think our Lulu is beautiful.

Goodbye Summer

I remember when all of my kids were still in grade school, and as summer was coming to an end, a new school year was coming up- I was excited to send them off! If only I had a quarter for every time one them would utter the words of "I'm bored."

Now that Summer of '11 is done, I don't want my kids to go back to school. I really did enjoy them. We were able to enjoy many nights of staying up late, sleeping in, no schedules to follow and just sitting back & relaxing. I'm so guilty of being so high strung and a worry wort, and finding ways to NOT be that way is a lil' hard. Much to my surprise, my kids who were one of my biggest stresses, now are my calmness. Who would have thought??

I actually get a little panicked at the thought of having no kids at home. Stephen's been gone from the nest for several years now. Kristen Blake has been gone from home for over a year now. She's now a married woman, and Brandon sure does make her happy. I actually love when they come to see us on the weekends :) Lulu will be a Jr this year. She has big plans of going to A&M when she graduates, and I know she'll follow through. Since he was 5yrs old, Ricky Devin, has wanted to be a Marine. There's no talking him out of it, so that day will soon come. This year he's a sophomore.

I have NO CHOICE but to let them grow up & leave the nest, in hopes that they keep coming back to see mama.

Lulu & Ricky D.. I send you many blessings on your new school year. I love you!!!

Good Try Devil- but Not This Time.

July 18, 2011- The day started off really good. I was able to get my errands run, caught up on laundry, and I had decided to take a nap. 10 mins after I laid down, the doorbell rang. Ricky D answered the door, and he quickly came to me and said "Mom, there's a man at the door that wants to talk to you." *sigh* Gosh, all I wanted was a nap.

 I go to the door, and the gentleman had a paper in his hand and he asks me to step outside so he could talk to me. I knew at that instant that this was not going to be good news. 

"Ma'm do you live here?"

-Yes....

"Do you rent this house or make the mortgage payments?"

- I've been renting this house for almost 2yrs from a woman by the name of Kristina Sena. Why all the questions, your starting to scare me, what's going on?

"Well Ma'm, the woman you are renting from hasn't been making her payments on the house in over 9 months. Steve Holifield sent me over here to tell you that eviction papers will filed at the courthouse tomorrow, and he will be foreclosing on this house."

-Are you kidding me?

"I wish I was, and are you Becky Beardslee married to Devin?"

-Yes (at this point I was so shocked and mad that tears were welling up in my eyes, and I couldn't stop them.

"Gosh I've known Devin for years, good man. Please don't get upset. I'm Mike Eaton, do you remember me?

Turns out Mike had been asking Steve if he had a house available to rent/buy for his nephew that would soon be moving to town. Mr. Holifield told him about the house we were in and asked him to come look at it and tell whoever was in it to hit the road. Nice huh? Coarse after Mike told him that he knew us, and Mr. Holifield knows Ricky & Donna very well, they weren't going to do that.

I then talked to Devin, Donna & Ricky. Devin called and spoke to Mr. Holifield who told him that he tried many times to get in touch with our landlord, and she never returned his calls and never would sign for her registered mail. He told Dev that he would call him in the next couple of days after he talked to Kristina. (Devin gave him ALL of her contact #'s)

Next, I called her and asked what the heck is going on. Explained that a gentleman came to the door and told us the house payments weren't being made and now the house is going to be foreclosed, and we were going to be left out in the street. She started stuttering, and said she always pays the house note and that Mr. Holifield is a liar. I asked her if she kept reciepts, copies of checks so that she could give to him, and she said "No, I don't keep that kind of stuff." Seriously? Seriously? I go back and forth with her, and it's pretty obvious shes lying, nothing she is saying is making sense at all. I asked how she could do this, knowing that a family lives here, and we could have been homeless if we didn't know them. 

The house is really old. Kitchen is so small, and things were breaking, leaking, and getting her to fix things was like pulling teeth. It's NOT my dream home by no means at all. At the time we were moving to Crane, it was the only thing available in town so we had to take it. She was a horrible landlord. Devin HATED dealing with her. Every other month she would ask for the rent early, cause she was either going to be out of town, or something was going on. A day after I had spoke to her on the phone, she called and asked me if were interested in buying the house, and if so, how many money can we come up with as a down payment? Now, any smart person could clearly see that she was trying to get more money out of us to pay off her debt with Steve. Isn't that great? She also told me that she was giving us a 30 days notice to either buy the house, or leave because she needs to sell it. Really now? Sell a house that does not belong to her.

I immediatley began looking around town for a house to rent or lease. Buying wasn't an option because our plan is as soon as Ricky graduates we are going to move back to the College Station area. With school around the corner, new teachers moving in, nothing was available except the new apartments on the south end of town. A friend of mine (Jerwyn)that I went to school with, is the property manager there. As soon as I walked in to see them, I loved them. It's actually bigger than the house we were in. Kitchen was big & open to the living room. The kids loved it too. 

I filled out an application, gathered all the necessary paperwork she needed. Everything was a go for us on our end, all the property manager needed was an email, fax, or something from Kristina saying that we did indeed live in her house & that we paid rent on time without any hassles. Jerwyn did talk to her, and explained her that she was made aware of our living situation and relayed her that this was the ONLY place in Crane to move to. Kristina proceeded to tell her that we were horribe tenants, she never knew from month to month if we were going to pay our rent, and she would not recommend us to live anywhere. Now I was floored. Sick to my stomach & shocked that this woman would EVER say that about my family. Jerwyn was very professional with her, and said again, she needed something from her about out payment history for the last 24monts. Kristina said maybe she could get her something in the next two weeks. Seriously? Jerwyn told her that she had a unit available the following week that we could get into, but she really needed the document for our file. Her response "I don't care if they don't have any other place to go, it's not my problem." I was able to go to the bank, and get copies of checks, front & back, made out to her along with a copy of our lease to show that we were never late. EVER. 

For the next 3 days Jerwyn called her a total of 6x, and I called and texted her as well. She never answered. 

On July 25th, Pyscho woman called and left me a voicemail asking me when I was going to be making my rent payment for August. I'm pretty sure I saw Devin actually breathe fire. Who possibly has big enough balls to call and ask for that? I composed myself, took some deep breaths and called her back. I told that we were not going to give her another dime. Explained to her again, that being caught in the middle of someone's mess is not where my family needs to be. She was very ticked off and said that she didn't care if we believed her or not, she doesn't owe Mr. Holifield a dime. All I could say was "really?"

After that she was just nasty. I told her that her comment that we were horrible tenats was ludacris and comes back and says well everything I told her was true. I wanted to cuss her out so bad, but I didn't. Nothing at all was going to come out of doing that. My come back to that was "You go and ask anyone in town about us and I bet my family name has a heck of alot more plus's than yours ever will." I then asked her to please give me her husband's number so that I could have Devin talk to him, for a week straight Kristina bugged me to have Devin call her, and she called him over and over. He just wasn't going to do that. He had nothing good to say to her, and thought that maybe he could talk man to man with her husband. She wasn't about to give his number up. She kept saying that his number was a work number and not for personal use. *sigh* That only told us he didn't know. Before we ended our conversation, she asked me once again if we were going to be paying the rent for Aug cause she needed to get bills paid. I ended by telling her that I refuse to pay her another dime, and this house will be left spotless, and we expect our deposit back.

In one of Dev's conversation's with Steve, he explained to D that the woman who had been keeping his books had a baby and had been gone. He was operating off an honors system with his tentants. Last payment he recieved from her was in Jan 11', which caught her up though April 09'. That's not a mis-type. We moved in August 09'. Our rent at that house was $750, her payment to Mr. Holifield was $376.  Ouch for us, but we paid it every month. What the heck she was doing with that money is beyond me. I did find out that she went to Hawaii last month...isn't that nice? Couldn't pay her mortage, but she could certainly go on trips. No regard at all for anyone at all but herself. 

Enough though the devil was working so hard to keep us from moving into something nicer & bigger, the good Lord paved a path for us to win this battle. Even though we could have worked a deal out with Steve to stay in that house, we as a family decided we wanted to leave & wash our hands of that place. I look around here each day & thank God so much for this blessing. Moving in the harsh heat of July/Aug is not an easy thing to do, but we did it. The kids were so helping and actually did 98% of it. I have the best kids ever. We also got help from our good friends Ronnie & Marina, and other babies Kristen & Brandon. Thank you guys so very much.

I've been away for much too long.

I apologize for my long pause in blogging.

Softball, Golf, One Act Play, Devin, and softball again are such MAJOR time consumers for me. It's that time of year though. I have barely enough time to make sure I'm bathed. I literally go to bed @1-2am and wake back up @7. Vicious sleeping cycle for me. I'm not complaining too much about it though. Nothing beats being at the ball park- or at the golf coarse with the kids.

Ricky Devin has impressed us with his golfing skills.....he finished his District round today by shooting a 96 :) Next year, he'll be Varsity bound.... and impressing even more. He also participated in OAP, and did such a fantasic job!!! He was funny and has a true gift of acting!!!

This is a tough year for Ladybird softball. They lost a phenomenal pitcher last year by the name of Kriste n Blake Beardslee. She left some pretty big cleats to fill. Who better than to take on this task other than her baby sister. It's been tough for Lulu. Devin has had to really push her to be better. She has a lot of learning to do, and I'm hoping that she'll grow and improve even more as the season progresses.

I promise I'll write more soon. I have so much stuff going on :)

Happy Valentine's Day

I started the day earlier than usual, I had pancakes to make! I wish I would have taken pics of them because they were heart-shaped ❤ 


Devin loved the card,  & pancakes were beyond yummy.

I sent them all out the door with full bellies :)

For Valentines Day, I asked Devin for a heartfelt letter or a sweet poem. Preferably not in a text or an email. Cost of writing a letter, pennies at most!

So, I thought sometime in the evening I would see the finished masterpiece. I'm soooo glad I got it early. I was having a rough morning/ early afternoon. There were tears and some heartaches, and frankly - that shouldn't happen on a day dedicated to LOVE.

I was working on some photos when I heard the front door open. Prior to him coming in, I had settled down and gotten rid of the tears. In walks Dev, with these beautiful flowers...... and my poem.

I love you so very much babe.

Are we friends or are we not?

O yes we are, I've not forgot.

I tell you this and say it true,

I will always be here for you.

If I die before you do,

I'll go to heaven & wait for you.

I'll give the angels back their wings

and risk the loss of everything

Just to prove our friendship true..

Just to have a love like you.

You are the there though thick & thin.

You are MY TRUE soulmate.

I love & cherish you with all my heart.

Love, Devin

How adorable that? He walked throught that door today, when I needed him the most. He wiped away my tears, and warmed up my heart. 

I Blew a Gasket!

Well I did it and I'm not proud of it.

I threw a fit....... on FB. I went there.

I got so worked up, that I vented via the world wide web.

At the time, it felt right. I NEEDED someone to agree with me, and I got it. This outburst was so out of character, and even tho at the time of that post it felt good- now it's not the case. I let a couple of  people get the best of me.

See these kids?

No matter how old they are, they're always going to be my babies. I have good respectful kids, and I'm so proud of that. Each are so different. I have the "yes ma'am"/ "no sir" kids, and I LOVE that. They've been raised to participate 100% or not at all. We NEVER quit,  God is the answer, family comes 1st, and think before you react.

Lulu. Anyone that knows this child, can tell you that she goes hard in all that she does. She prides herself on being the best. As I've blogged a couple of weeks ago, she hurt her finger. After our visit this morning with Dr. Winton, it's almost set in stone that she is going to have surgery in order to fix her injury. It's so crushing. Last season in softball, she earned All-District Honors and made a name for herself. Softball season has now begun here @ CHS Needless to say, this injury couldn't have come at a worse time, but she's gonna work through it. It won't keep her down.

She's right-handed. Her index finger is in a splint, and her arm now in a sling to help with the swelling. Writing is next to impossible. She attempts to do it, and if she is able to get something down on paper, you won't be able to read it.

For a week now, she's had one particular teacher that nags and complains about her penmanship. When she offered to help her, it's comes with eye-rolling, deep sighing and a short tone. Childish isn't it?

This child is handicapped for the time being, and she can't help it. So, today after our Dr's visit, we went to the HS and talked to principal about this lil' problem. He was very helpful, and together we were sure that we could come up with a solution. Less than an hour of being at school, I get a text from Lulu telling me that a completely different teacher accused her of cheating because she had someone writing things down on her paper. Seriously? Such a sick feeling to know your child is upset, over something that shouldn't be a big issue. Teachers are suppose to be there to teach, mentor and help our children.

Unfortunately, there are some that have NO business working with kids.

That's why I lost it. My child was made felt like she was a burden, a slacker & a cheat. She's NONE of those things.

This pic was taken this past weekend. She left the sling off because it just didn't go with her dress. Notice that her BF has a case on his hand too. Hang in there sweet Lulu, you are gonna make it through this. God has his arms wrapped around you really tight :))

Brr Freeze Folks!

Whew, what a busy- interesting week!

Beginning of the week Temp was 70°, it was so wonderful.

Monday evening you could smell something different in the air, and you just got the sense that something was stirring about.

Lulu and I went over to Uncle Ernie & Aunt Teresa's Tues night so that I could take their 50th Anniversary pics. (that was so sweet and fun to do!) We walked into their house and it was a lil' chilly outside. When we walked out, it was COLD. Later on that night, it rained, and it got even colder.

We awoke Wed morning to snow flurries and temp of 13 degrees. The kids were disappointed because school was not cancelled. Most of the surrounding schools did close. Icy roads, power outages, snow, rain, sleet are a recipe for disaster for West Texans. 

I did ventured out with my besties on to pick up meds for Dev in Odessa. Cynthia was NOT going to let a little snow get in our way of having girl time. Cynthia- I freakin' love you. 

I tried to snap a pic of the snow falling but you can't see em. 

Brr.

As the day went on, it just kept getting colder, and snow continued to fall, but it didn't stick. The electric companies were doing rolling blackouts. Thank the Lord that we didn't have to go through that, and lots of people had frozen pipes, or pipes that burst. Again, thank GOD that didn't happen to us. What is there to do when it's cold? 

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Cook warm yummy food, stay home and cuddle up underneath the warm blankets and watch movies! I didn't get to do stay at home cuddle up stuff :( I had to go work up at the shop for a couple of days. 

My "guys" at work.

Seriously??

We live in West Texas, and these temps cause us to go in a Tilly! 

Read it and weep. 

Just Google It.

Gosh this past week has been different. I'm out of my comfort zone at times, and I kinda like to be in control of some stuff... ya know?

Our family is dealing with a certain issue and I'm not allowed to blog about in detail at all, and I won't. I guess since I don't have a play by play manual on this particular issue, it drags me way out of my comfort zone. I have surrendered my worries over to God. I pray. Pray some more, and more and even more. My family is being embraced by God, and I know the outcome of this, will be His will.

 I'm human though, and I'm a wee bit impatient from time to time. I like instant answers to questions, which is why I LOVE google. It gives me instant answers to sometimes meaningless questions that I often have. For those questions that I have for real life issues, I shall wait until He wants me to know the answers.

Enough of that issue. Let's move on shall we?

Lulu comes home from a basketball game complaining that her finger was hurting her real bad. Now, this child is notorious for having tons of injuries and ailments, so when we heard about this finger thing, we laughed. The way her finger looked the next morning was surprising to me. It was swollen, and it hurt her to even touch it. At that point, I was concerned. Fast forward to later that afternoon, I took her to the Dr.

I was trying to take a pic to show you just how swollen her hand is. See how her index finger was bent up? The Dr explained to us that she had to make that finger straight so that it's not permanently bent. It's a tendon issue that as of this sec, isn't resolved yet. Poor Lulu, it look pretty painful.

After being at the hospital & Dr's office for 3 office, we finally left. Hairline fracture on her index finger, severe bruise to the wrist, & a possible torn tendon. We have to wait to have an MRI to give us that answer. BTW, I did google possible signs of torn tendon in a fingers, I wasn't given clear answers. LOL

Later that night, the door bell rings, it's Alex & Marina! As they walked in we could tell something was really wrong with Alex. She had ice on her right hand, and she was upset. She got hurt at practice. Poor baby! Broke my heart to see Alex crying. She was laughing and smiling by the time she left though :))
Hope my girls get well soon. We got softball & golf season already upon us....we don't have time for injuries!!

Meet Jojo

Back in Nov. of 10', our good friend Dewaine lost his mother. Mary Cooley was so unique, had a such a big heart and we all adored her. Last time I had saw her, was back in July of 10'. I went over to her house to get her Internet up and running. She always had her faithful dog by her side. I remember trying to pet him, but he was very guarded, and wouldn't really let me. He would jump up on Mary's lap and watch my every move.

Mary's hubby Gerald explained to me the relationship that Mary and this dog had. She had been confined to a wheel-chair for quite some time, so she wasn't exactly able to just go anywhere at anytime. So getting her this dog was perfect for so many reasons. They were a match made in heaven. She gave him all the love and attention that a dog could EVER want and he was her faithful companion. One day this poor dog's owner is there, and the next she's gone. 

I remember going to visit Gerald, Dewaine & Denise (Dewaine's wife) a couple of days after Mary had passed, and the dog was nowhere in site. I asked Denise about him, and she told me to walk down the hallway and look on Mary's bed. There lying at the foot of the bed, was this poor dog waiting for Mary. It broke our hearts. He was lost, and staying where he knew she would come, and where he felt safe. During the week of her passing, Dewaine had asked Devin if he would take the dog if Gerald couldn't take care of him. There was NO WAY in the world we would ever say no. 

Meet JoJo Cooley.

2-1/2wks after Mary died, Gerald gave Devin a call and asked if we would take Jojo. Gerald had returned back to work, and Jojo was left alone, he wasn't used to that. When he left to work, Jojo was on Mary's bed, and when he returned hours later, he was in the same spot.

 Early one Sat. morning, Gerald brought Jojo over along with all of his belongings. He handed him to me and cried. Jojo locked eyes with him, and he tilted his head. Gerald looked right at him and told him to please not look at him and that he would be very loved here. He hugged me and kissed me on the cheek and said thank you. I'll never forget that. Lil' Ricky followed him outside and just hugged him while he cried. 

Jojo didn't eat for two days after he got here. He would just shiver and stay in the same spot. Lil' Ricky was so concerned about him, that he called up his Uncle Ricky and asked him to pls help him save this dog. Together, they were able to get him to eat and he was drinking water out of the lid of a water bottle cap. His demeanor would changed a little every day. Finally one day, he just snapped out of it, we were all sitting in the living room and he started playing with his toys and wagging his tail :)

Meet Jojo Cooley Beardslee

Two months later, Jojo is a very happy spoiled dog. He spends most of his time with me since I'm a SAHM. He's my shadow and a good protector. I recently took a video of Devin talking to Aydan & cooing him, in the background of this video, you can hear Jojo crying and going crazy because we weren't paying attention to him. lol

He's pitiful, a mess, & at times a weirdo. I get annoyed with his "clingyness", but he's happy and a nice blessing & addition to our family.