Louie's Turn

Yesterday was my day to drive the 'work carpool'; it takes nearly 2.5 hours from start to finish, mostly drive time. I left the house wearing a jacket, it was amazing weather for late January

So it was a shock to my system as I arrived home to 19 degrees and snow blowing furiously, the wind so strong that it was a challenge staying on the road. That's the Missouri I've grown over my lifetime to love. Windows open one day, furnace and fire burning the next.

By popular demand, I have some Louie photos to share. Will this make Misty happy? I think yes. Even though Jack Jack the cat is every bit the love dovey wovey baby Louie is. Don't get me wrong, I ADORE the Lou. I'll tell the story of Louie very soon, it's actually a funny little adoption story.

Louie! He's a good boy. Even if he is now deaf, digs under the muddy deck every single time he goes out, forcing me to dip his giant bear-sized paws in water before letting him in, needs out four times an hour, gets snot all over the dining room window he camps out at, and makes a louder-than-life barfing sound and nothing comes out.
He's getting old. Not too old to to chase the cats. Two nights ago we woke up and flung our bedroom door open, having heard some very noisy intruders (we were brave). No intruders, but we did find Louie. Lying at the foot of the stairs in Jack's nylon cube house thing, one short stubby leg and giant horse head through one hole, body in the middle and three legs through the other hole. See diagram below:

He'd creeped upstairs, likely to eat the cats' food (he does that) and torment poor Jack, who sleeps with Alex most nights. So when he found himself stuck, he was heading downstairs to get us and slipped and slid down the stairs. The nylon made his run quite smooth and very fast. He slid all the way down, taking out a basket of Lego's on the way, landing at the bottom of the stairs next to our bedroom door with a thud. And not a yelp from him; he didn't even look afraid. He knew the drill, we've pulled his giant head from many things over the four years we've been blessed with Louie's big giant slobbery stinky lovable self.

Alright enough Louie stories, here is where I found the older boys yesterday afternoon, both drooling oblivious to the whipping wind and snow outside (I am aware on days like this that God has blessed me greatly with shelter and warmth and I worry for the people and animals alike who are out there without):

*I'm not going to have any JenGi, Aunt Bea, Cat & Gidget photos next week. I'm afraid I had to cancel (I'm calling you today Cat, but sorry if you get this through my post). John and I feel with the ever-changing drama going on with our daughter, it's not a good time for me to leave town.