Biscuit

I have shared with you about my girl Sparkles and though she will always be my girl she is not the only dog we had or have in our family. Donnie thought I needed to let you know about the others that live with us or should I say that allow us to live with them.

Today I am highlighting Biscuit, she adopted us January of 2004. She was our neighbor's across the street and they had a terrible habit of letting her run all over the neighborhood. When she would meander over to our house we would let her in to play with Sparkles for a while and then take her home. The day we were taking the kids back down to Texas after having a GREAT Christmas vacation, Chelsea happened to be looking out the window and saw Biscuit (that was not her name at the time....we are not sure what they called her) get hit and run off....talk about a bad way to start a long trip. We thought for sure that Sparkles had lost her play mate but were surprised a few days later to see that golden ball of energy show up for some playtime.

One day we noticed that the neighbor's were moving, needless to say when they moved they chose not to take their dog with them. Now we were not looking to get another dog....we had Sparkles and she was perfectly content being an only child (she didn't want to have to share her tushy rubbings). January of 2004 was a cold one and the coldest night was the night Biscuit decided that our front porch was where she wanted to hang out......we put a blanket out there but after a 1/2hr of checking her every 3min we decided that just for that night she could come in and spend the night.......do you see where I am going with this????? We are the biggest suckers when it comes to animals (I blame my Aunt Eileen for some of that.....she is infamous for taking in strays). One night has turned into 4 1/2yrs and we couldn't imagine our family with out her.

I know you are wondering where in the world did you get that name?

Donnie and I decided that since we were going to keep this orphan we needed to give her a name. My grandma always told me that breakfast was the most important meal of the day...that being said there is nothing better then having biscuits and gravy on a cold winter morning. Donnie walks into the kitchen after laboring for days on a name I happen to be getting the biscuits out of the oven and we look at each other and say "Biscuit". I know it is an odd name but it fits her to a T and she took right to it.

Biscuit is our guard dog......she is quick to show that she is in charge of our safety if someone looks suspicious......police officer's included. We have an alarm on our house and there for a while it would just go off for no reason. I had gone to run some errands one day and came home to a police officer checking things out and Biscuit was NOT happy about it. He commented on what a good watch dog she was and then he made a sudden move.....that set her off she was out to get him, she was going for the ankles.......I scream NO BISCUIT....but she got him, thankfully it was not bad and he was very understanding, he praised her for protecting me.

She can be a bully, she likes to herd us around when she wants something and she has a few other bad habits we are trying to break, despite that she is a great dog and her greatest trait is that she is a lover.....she weighs around 85 to 90lbs and thinks that she is a lap dog. She is a big dopey lovable dog and has added many a great memories to our lives.

She looks almost angelic!!!

Angel moment over!!!

For Olivia

My friend Jacquelyn's daughter Olivia has something in common with me and so I have to share this picture and story. For all of you "The Office" fans you will be able to appreciate this.

For the entire time that Donnie and I have been married he is always been out of town or entertaining clients for work during my birthday, my 39Th birthday was no exception. Donnie happened to be off to some exotic location like Dayton, OH or Omaha, NE. I was feeling a little low because even though we don't make big deals about birthdays it is still nice to be recognized and made to feel a little special. As I am getting ready for work I hear the dogs bark (that is the best alarm system one could have) and so I decide to inspect what the ruckus is about. I was surprised to see my friend Sarah had stopped by on her way to work....not only had she come to say Hi and Happy Birthday but she was dropping off a birthday surprise from the Donner.

I need to explain before I proceed, on the show "The Office" there are two characters that are constantly at each other, Dwight Schrute (my soul mate....sorry Donnie) and Jim Halpert (Olivia's soul mate I have learned). In one episode Jim takes Dwight's stapler and encases it in jello....I laughed so hard my stomach hurt. Working in an office setting for several years there have been occasions that I would liked to have encased things or people in jello, so that just added to the humor of the show.

Back to Sarah.....as she comes walking up I notice something in her hands....it is Donnie's old cell phone encased in jello....I laughed so hard that I had to reapply my makeup. I was completely surprised by this little scheme the Donner and Sarah had concocted and it made for a great start to my day.



I know some of you may not understand the humor but that is OK, I did and that is what counted that day. It is the simple things in life that tickle me and jello encased cell phones is one of them.

My Bowling Garb

I was going to post something deep and philosophical and then the FedEx man showed up on my doorstep and changed my whole mood (that is a little scary isn't it?).

The Donner (my husband for those of you who don't know by now) joined a bowling league last year with a couple of co-workers, one married and one not married. 3 weeks into the bowling season (is that like deer season?) the married one decided she didn't want to be married anymore and that left an open spot on the team. I must tell you I am no bowler I just like the shoes and the atmosphere of the bowling lanes (very Laverne & Shirley....for those of you who know what I am talking about). Donnie and the rest of his team mates tried and tried to talk me into joining them last year but I was a big CHICKEN and I just didn't want to make the commitment.

Donnie and I have a complex relationship.....he is very competitive....I am not, he likes to tell me what to do.........I do NOT like to be told what to do.....OK maybe that isn't so complex. I am stubborn (sometimes to a fault) and I could just envision the fights that Coach Don and I would get into. As the summer has progressed and the bowling league season has been looming in the back ground the Donner finally wore me out and I have conceded and agreed to join the team. Part of the black mail....I mean convincing was I would get my own ball and shoes.

Picking a ball and shoes you would think would be an easy task.....I don't do anything easy!!! After searching and searching I had found the ball I wanted......it didn't come in the right weight which really stunk because I had found the perfect shoes to go with it!!! Now I had the perfect shoes what was I going to do....the ball search continued with help from Donnie. He wanted me to get a ball with a manly names like "The Widow Maker", "Reptiles Revenge", "The Pin Buster".......the one I wanted was called "Candy Swirl" as you can see this was a daunting process. After many days of matching balls to the perfect shoes I finally found one that would work and the name wasn't bad either "The Jazz".

My beautiful ball

I ordered my ball on Tuesday and it arrived on Thursday.....WOOHOO, it was like Christmas!!! My shoes were delayed.....the ball came from TX and my shoes and bag came from California....I know crazy. Today as I am doing my weekend chores I hear the dogs start barking and yep you guessed it my shoes and bag arrived!!!

Pretty and Shiny what all good...ummm bowlers need!

I hope as the season starts I can tell you of the great scores I make and awards I will win with my amazing bowling skills but I am a realistic girl so it will probably be stories of how my ball went flying backwards and nearly missed my husbands head or how I didn't release soon enough and went flying down the lane. Wish me LUCK!!!!

The whole ensemble....know I need the perfect shirt!!!

The Car

This is my husband's mistress and she has taken over our garage, she is a 1965 Buick Riviera. I dream of the day when I can open the garage and actually drive in but I do not see that happening anytime soon. Donnie has taken everything completely off and restored the frame know he and the boys (or should I say men) are working on the interior shell. The Donner is quite happy to have his helpers Andrew and Sunday assist him on this ongoing project.

Nothing says fun like power tools!!!

Andrew is such a fun kid and it has been awesome having him here full time. I think he is learning a lot and teaching us a few things. He always enjoys going up to Grandpa G's Farm in IA and hanging out with his homey. It is Andrew's goal to get my dad to rap and I am not talking about presents. I know that it is also a lot of fun for Donnie to have Andrew with us and I think Andrew feels good about being here as well.......he is a bit crazy about his dad and crazy like his dad. Though our world has changed a bit, it is a great change.

Andrew our very serious son being his goofy self

Donnie showing Sunday how it's done (glad I am not the only one being shown!!!!)

Shaun Sunday is a very quiet young man and I hope that we can help him to open up (he is going to have to be louder if he wants to be heard in this loud family!!!). We have lots of projects going around our house and he is getting an opportunity to learn a lot of different things. After spending a week on my dad's farm I don't think he wants to pursue a career dealing with hogs but he sure had a good time seeing things he had never seen before.

Sunday (He lives with us and is still smiling!!!!)

My Sparkles

My Sparkles was the best dog that I have ever known. Some of you may not understand the strong attachment and the love I had for this dog and there are those of you who will know exactly what I am talking about.

Sparkles was my Wal-Mart baby. We lived in Warrenton, MO at the time and I would frequently go to Troy, MO to the Super Wal-mart for groceries. It just so happened that on a particular day I would find my dogie soul-mate.

Donnie was gone with his job the first year we were married more then he was home. I had only lived in Warrenton about nine months and I was horribly homesick. It was our time with the kids for the summer and Donnie had to leave a day or two later and the last thing that he said was "I don't want to come home and find that you have gotten a dog" (know at that time we were living on a 300 acre farm with loads of woods and walking trails ......what was he thinking......dogie heaven!!!).

I arrive at Wal-mart armed for some power shopping but as I was entering the store I noticed a family with a sign that said Puppies for free (that was a common practice) but I could hear Donnie in the back of my head " I don't want to come home and find that you have gotten a dog!" and like a good wife I hurried into the store and did my shopping with out stopping to love on the puppies (which was a VERY hard task......I love PUPPIES!!!).

I had made my purchases and I was headed to the car and as I am leaving I see they have one puppy left but I go to the car and I load my sacks of goodies into it.......at this point I am not sure what made me go back to look at that one puppy, it could have been fate, disobedience or good old need to love on a puppy. As I approached the young girl holding the puppy she sets it down on the concrete and it proceeds to pee all over the sidewalk and I think to my self I have to have that puppy!!!!! So I say the words that I knew would defy my husband.....I will take it!!!! That cute little ball of fur that I carried back to my car was scared out of its gourd!!!! I set her in the passengers seat (which would become her seat for many many trips) and I comforted her the whole way home.

The next big step in taking custody of that beautiful little creature was to come up with a name for her...there were the standards thrown out there like Fluffy, Killer and Fido but none of those fit her. After much laboring, my son Andrew goes how about Sparkles because her eyes sparkle....alas we had found her name. What a fitting name....she was the perkiest little puppy and so loving her whole personality just sparkled.

I know you are all wondering what did Donnie say when he found out....well he wasn't exactly thrilled with it until he came home and met her....all it took was one little puppy kiss and he was hooked. She became daddy's Little Princess, when he would come home from a long trip Sparkles would have nothing to do with me, she would look at him with adoring eyes and be as attentive as she could be but if I called her name she just ignored me (Brat!!!)......did she not remember that I was the one that fed her and loved on her all week while he had deserted us??!!! Needless to say Sparkles was my girl as well, my buddy my pal, she went with me everywhere I went, in the wintertime I would take her shopping (she loved to go!!!) and she would wait patiently as I did my errands but she always knew there would be a treat for her at the end of our tiring day.

Sparkles would love to stick her head out the window and feel the wind blow in her face and she would get so excited when she recognized where she was going. She was very attentive and extra loving on those dark days when life was not exceptionally kind. Sparkles loved to run the trails in the woods and chase squirrels or any other thing that moved (deer were not excluded in this) and after a long chase it was always rewarded with a swim in the pond. She would run in the tall grass and every once in a while she would bounce up like she had landed on a spring....she made us laugh!!!

Our Warrenton oasis was also a deer hunter's dream, our landlord had deer stands strung throughout the property. There was also a shop that had a place for gutting the hunter's prizes. It did not take long for Sparkles to figure that out.......she came home with a prize one fall morning as well. I had let Sparkles out for her morning relief and when I went to the back door to let her in she had brought me a prize........one giant bloody deer heart.....you would have thought she had just won the Dogbone of the year award she was so happy with her find.

Biscuit and Sparkles......now that is love!!!

Like all good things our time with Sparkles was inevitably going to have to come to an end. In the latter part of her 8th year we had to say good bye to our Sparkles, her little body had gotten sick and there was nothing we could do for her but love her enough not to see her suffer, so the decision was made she would be released to go run in that big field in the sky. To this day I still come home and find that something is missing. We have 3 other dogs but they are not the same, she was special. She taught me that life is to be enjoyed, give everyone a smile, always listen, sometimes we need to just stick our heads out the window as we are driving along and feel the wind blow on our face and we need to run and bounce because not only is it good for our bodies it is good for our souls.

To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring - it was peace. ~Milan Kundera

Dogs have given us their absolute all. We are the center of their universe. We are the focus of their love and faith and trust. They serve us in return for scraps. It is without a doubt the best deal man has ever made. ~Roger Caras

I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love. For me they are the role model for being alive. ~Gilda Radner

The Reason

The reason I started this blog was a way to keep people up to date on the happenings in The Edwards World, it is not the most exciting life but it entertains us. I am blessed with an amazing family. My husband Donnie, son Andrew and I live in Kansas City with 3 dogs and Andrew's buddy Sunday. Chelsea our daughter lives in Texas around the Dallas area.

Andrew has graduated High School and has decided to start a new life up here in KC......we are very excited!!!! It is an adjustment because it has been Donnie and I for as long as we have been married. The kids were just a whirlwind that happend 2 times a year. Andrew's buddy Sunday wanted to start a new life so he asked if he could join the insanity of our world......poor guy didn't know what he was getting into. Andrew wants to become a Police Officer (because they get to carry guns) but in the mean time is looking for a job and drinking the milk as fast as I can bring it in the house. That is OK a bigger food bill is a small thing compared to having Andrew with us.

Chelsea will graduate from High School this year and wants to persue a career as a 2nd grade teacher. She is our active little butterfly and that being said our time with her is very limited. What time we do get together we make the most of.....trips to Sheridans for yummy Ice Cream...trips to Joann's (she tolerates it for me).....karaoke nights.....game nights and sitting on the swing eating ice cream and talking about life (as you can tell ice cream tends to be a constant theme in our lives).

The Edwards Gang 2007

Andrew and Chelsea Summer of 2008

A True Treasure

What fun this blogging page is and the positive feed back just adds to the fun. My friend Missy has decided to join the blogging world and I love her blog already.....once I get it figured out I will attached her blog to mine.

Missy is a dear friend and her claim to fame is that she is the first non related friend I ever spent the night with. We had to be in either 2nd or 3rd grade (please do not ask me to remember......it would take a lot of hypnosis and I would probably fall asleep instead of fall into a trance). I remember they had mules and her mom warmed the taco shells right on the stove burner (I know.....of all the things to remember you think it would be something more climactic than that).

That would make Missy my oldest friend!!! We have had parts of our lives where we have lost contact but we always seem to circle back around and for that I am truly grateful. It is the kind of friendship that is unconditional and that is a true treasure.

Missy is the friend that puts it like it is she doesn't sugar coat things just to tell me what I want to hear. I can be honest with her and know that she is not going to judge me one way or another....but she will tell me if she thinks I am CRAZY or cheer me on when my confidence is low. I can share my heart with her and she listens, that is not a quality to be taken lightly.

I have had others in my life that I have trusted with my heart and when they didn't like what I had to say they changed the dynamic of the relationship. I still love those people and wish them well but to I do not trust them as I once did and that makes me sad. I guess we all serve a purpose on our relationships with others, sometimes we are in others lives for purposes that serve us and then there are those friendships where you are to help your friend. Each one is special and hopefully there is a lesson learned by both parties. The biggest lesson is to never hold a grudge to understand that though two parties might not agree and maybe there was a betrayal by one party intentionally or unintentionally (certain points in our lives we are in self preservation mode and do not understand the full scope of our actions) it is the one holding the grudge that suffers the most. The person that chooses to be mad at the world and spend their life playing the martyr will never fully experience what life has to give, until they let loose of their convoluted thinking.

We have an obligation by being part of the human race to forgive and to show love especially when it is not that easy to show. There is no sermon that can teach as well as a life well lived and I am not talking about the things one accumulates, I am talking about the respect and compassion we give to others. Things are expendable people are not.


A good friend is a connection to life - a tie to the past, a road to the future, the key to sanity in a totally insane world. ~Lois Wyse