January 2012

January was a fun month.  We took loads of pictures of the kids (have to make sure second child Owen has as many photos growing up as our first child Ava did.)

Jessie had been acting out with bad behavior since bringing Owen home.  She was peeing on our bed almost daily, taking food off the table, counters and straight out of Ava's hands (once leaving tooth marks.)  Since things weren't getting any better we made the tough decision to give her to a new family.  Dave had her up on a online sale site as "free to good home" Long story shortened, the couple who took Jessie lied to us by saying they loved her and took her out to run and play every day. . . when really they had her up for sale the very next morning trying to make a few hundred pounds. Miraculously the mother of a friend from church ended up buying Jessie for 100 pounds and contacted us right away.  I was  in shock and called the family who originally took Jessie. They denied selling her to make money and claimed everything we had been told was lies.  We bought Jessie back for 100 pounds and decided that we couldn't trust anyone else to take care of her.  She is ours forever.  We now have a gate to close off Jessie from the dinner table and she has since accepted Owen and is no longer peeing on our bed.

This is a picture of me visiting Jessie at the "lier's" home, 4 days after giving her away.

Most of us needed our immunizations updated so we all went in together.  Owen had his 2 month shots, I got 2 needles, and poor Ava had 4!  I wasn't expecting for her to get so many.  She knew that she was going to get a needle and prepared herself by bringing Tiger and giving him a few hundred shots of his own.

We originally put a holding fee down for a new mini van back in October, but due to unforeseen contract rules (can't own 3 vehicles at the same time without paying expensive UK tax) couldn't pick it up until we sold the old van.  It took forever to sell and get all the paperwork transferred over to the new owners name and off of our gas ration card.  Finally in January we could pick up our new van (we had been driving the truck for over 2 months.) This was an exciting day! We have never owned something as new or expensive as this before, but the pleasure I get of having automatic doors, a DVD player, cruise control and recline stow and go seating with trunk space. . . is priceless. 

First gas fill up!