We Have a New Addition to the Family

Our main goals for our road trip north were to deliver Denisa's Mom and her car home, and to help with our oldest son's move to a new house. But while we're making that long drive, we also got to have other family fun! That included getting to meet our family's newest addition.

Our youngest son and his wife picked up George, the Golden Retriever puppy, from a breeder in Indiana. Because Golden Retrievers often have problems with their joints, it was important to them to find a mother and father dog whose joints had been certified as healthy. They plan to do lots of walking and playing with this little guy, and they want him to live a long and joint-pain-free life.

When they found out that George had a brother that wasn't sold yet, suddenly they were picking up both puppies. Our daughter-in-law's parents had been without a golden retriever for over a year now, and they decided they wanted to start the journey of puppy-hood again. We just happened to be there the evening that both couples got their new puppies and took this new family portrait.

In the course of our trips through Oklahoma City, we got to see these puppies more than once. A week after their first arrival, they were already sitting on command. Just like they have been all of their young lives, these brothers were side-by-side and very attentive.

These brothers will be "forever friends" since they will be raised by relatives. While we celebrated our son's birthday, the puppies were frolicking outside together. They spent hours wrestling and tussling together that evening.

Because a tired puppy is a good puppy, we also enjoyed a subdued George. He was glad to sit and look adorable because he had already gotten out all of his puppy-chewing on his brother.

Besides playing with puppies in Oklahoma City, we also got to see both of Denisa's sisters and some of our nieces and nephews that live in the area. We played games and visited, and ate two traditional meals together. Years ago, we enjoyed home-cooked German food at Grandma's house when we were children. During this visit, we had a meal of German pancakes at one sister's house, and German veranicas at the other sister's. What a great family tradition that we continue to make our Grandmother's recipes!

But our family time wasn't over, as we spent three days in the panhandle of Oklahoma visiting with our Mothers and siblings that live there. Denisa also made the trip to visit an aunt who turned 100 years old last week. We missed the big birthday party, but we did see some of the gifts. Who knew that for your 100th birthday, your senator will send you a flag that was flown over the nation's capitol?

Aunt Virginia also got a letter from the President and First Lady wishing her "a beautiful and glorious day. We hope your heart is filled with joy knowing you have experienced this country's greatest blessing, the freedom and affection of family and friends over a long, well-lived life."

We had three days at the ranch, where other new additions were being made to the family. This sorrel mare is new this week, and Denisa was getting to know her.

Every family has its share of turkeys, and we're glad to say that "most" of our family turkeys have wings. This flock comes to pick up the scraps of bird seed some mornings just as the sun rises. 

The thirty-mile-per-hour winds were making it hard for the Toms to fan those majestic tail feathers this morning.

So we had a great two-week break from resort life and motor home traveling to spend time with the very old and the very new members of our family. But we're ready to get back to traveling again, as we return to our motor home waiting for us in sunny south Texas.