Successful feeding!

Well, First HAPPY 33rd Birthday to my sweet, hunky husband! I LOVE EM! and...
I MUST STAND CORRECTED,,, THE WILD ANIMALS ARE STILL ALIVE AND SO FAR SO GOOD!!! So, maybe mommy just needed a lesson on how to take feeding a lil animal seriously!

The cricket adventure was worth it! The salamander ate 3 crickets and the frogs all ate one too! It was really fun to watch them eat! What good little pets! They will even eat right out of Jett's hand! So, we will feed them another cricket today. Boy, at this rate we are going to have to make another trip to Rapid just for crickets!

surgery, reptiles and amphibians

I'm over due for a new update! darn Facebook is consuming me!
okay, well, lets see...



Jett's surgery (putting his boy parts into place on July27th) went very well! His heart was slow (around 40bpm) but he did just fine! Jett goes back the Dr. Wed (9 days post-op) to get the bandages off and see if he gets some restrictions lifted! Oh and he is now just complaining about the itching,,, so it must be healing!

The horses are fine. Tell, the borrowed, brown horse, who didn't actually go home, is okay. His leg doesn't look great but he isn't limping on it and so we have been able to ride him again. Peco's the black kids horse is feeling his green grass and seems to have a little too much "get-up-and-go" for me to trust him. Therefore, when Oakley and I went riding last week I kept Pecos on a lead rope! We had fun and Oakley even stayed on while we trotted for a ways! However, due to his surgery Jett's a little behind on the horse riding lessons!

We just got back from Burke, SD for the weekend. It was Cory's 15 year HS reunion, town party, parade and seeing family! We stayed with Cory's mom, Sharon. We had a great time. Grandma Sharon, bless her heart, watched the boys both nights so we could go to the class of 94 suppers and street dance. Grandma did a great job watching them except she let them catch and "keep" a gardner snake! YIKES! luckily it got out of the box they put it in! Everyone commented on how our boys are "ALL BOY!"
So, this morning, to further the "All boy" title they caught a baby salamander under my water tank and some little frogs. All morning they have been busy trying to make a "habitat" for their new "pets!" (Which sad for them, but we know these new pets will be dead soon!) The boys collected all kinds of bugs and worms and made a neat hide-a-way with rocks and mud! So, lots of summer fun and even some lessons on wild animals in captivity never live! AGH! I am thinking we will make a stop by the pet store for real crickets on Wed, when we go to town, that is if anything is still alive!

Bummed---

Well, long story short. The horse Stacey brought over for me to ride is headed home tomorrow because he hurt his leg. I have NO CLUE what he did but he started limping Tuesday and by yesterday he was not wanting to put any weight on it. I got bute (horsie pain killer/anti-inflam) and wrapped it. So, four days after the first signs of his lame leg he started swelling up today and looking like something more serious could be wrong. Therefore, the Thars are coming to get him tomorrow! I know I didn't do anything to cause this and it isn't my fault but nonetheless I feel awful!!! I think I should have taken him to the Vet yesterday but Stacey's husband said to wait and see if he gets better. I just need prayer that he will be okay and so will my sad heart!

Next, I am bummed about my old Sadie, I know the time is getting close! I was going to put her down this week but I just couldn't do it! I've cried while petting her a lot the last few days! I think I will be okay if she goes naturally but I just can't "kill" my dog!

NEED Pray for my heart for my animals!

Who loves horses? how 'bout free horses!?

THANKS to Stacey Thar (and her family) for bringing us horses to borrow/try out for the rest of the summer!


Stacey and Oakley on Tell!




The boys on Pecos!

Reminders...

Jett's, Blakeman Cousin, Stephanie left me a response that reminded me how many things poor Donnie had going on... Donnie really had a lot health stuff... it seemed like one thing after another. I just hope Jett isn't trying to follow in his father's footsteps, when it comes to health issues! I still keep thinking it could be worse so we are OKAY! So, Jett had to get glasses (so what, lots of kids have glasses) he has to get a little surgery on his testicles,,, (so what! this Dr has done over 1000 of those surgeries on young men) and to what extent he may have inherited his father's heart condition,,, we don't know yet. So now,,, I pray Jett doesn't inherit anymore of Donnie's issues: Poor Donnie had gout in his left foot (really bad!), he had a deviated septum in his nose which required a "nose job." Donnie had AWFUL wisdom teeth that required him to have a 2 hour surgery and then lots of complications after the teeth were removed! Donnie had minor spinal bifida which resulted in a back injury and MAJOR back pain from age 22 on... It's no wonder poor Buzz had a little addiction problem to cover up all the pain!
My prayer is that, all the boys will inherit from Donnie will be his fun loving attitude, his ability to LOVE more than any body I know and his love for Jesus! (I miss him but after reading this I am glad he is in heaven,,, pain FREE!)

poor Jett gets some more,,,

Another Dr. appt and not great news (again). Jett went to Dr. Butz (urologist) today and the good news was,,, it is NOT life threatening!!
Jett has a surgery scheduled for Monday July 27th in Rapid to get his left testicle to drop down. It is important to do this, or it might not be viable. We will have to consult with the cardiologist prior to the surgery! Poor little boy is pretty nervous about the surgery. He is also "feeling more" arrhythmia's lately but that might be because we have been talking about his heart stuff after going to the heart Dr. just two days ago!
We prayed tonight for God to put all our minds at ease that He will take care of little Jett in every way! GOD IS GOOD, and GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME!!!!

Dr. Spangler visit

Dr. Spangler is our new Ped-cardiologist in Rapid. Our last one, Dr Washington, from Denver retired and as luck would have it, Dr. Spangler is working towards retirement as well! AGH! anyway, he seemed to take Jett's Arrhythmia a little more seriously probably because he KNOWS the Blakeman family heart history and seems to be a little more cautious. Anyway, after the echo and EKG Dr. Spangler has a few little findings to discuss with me. He said the arrhythmia is probably a "sick SA node" just like his dad had... and is nothing to worry about at this time. He found: low heart rate (down to 50-60bpm), low blood pressure in the left lung and a hole (and I forgot where he said it was) somewhere in the heart that was slightly larger than it should be. Anyway, he said with all of these little findings and Jett's 50/50 chance of genetically having IHSS,,, he probably does. IHSS is a thickening of a muscle in the heart and can be very fatal, but doesn't start showing up until the teen years. Anyway, Dr Spangler said, treat him like a normal little kid who can run and play with the wild bunch but NO weightlifting, wrestling or football! SO, I think we can handle that.
Worse case, is later in life he will need a pacemaker-defibrillator (which can be a total pain and very uncomfortable when they shock your heart on accident!) So,,, I will pray everyday, that God will just take care of his little heart as it grows and keep that worse case senario from happening! But, as we know, from other's who have little heart babies, it is all God's Will and we will all be okay with the strength of the Lord, no matter what happens!

OH and if you were wondering, Oakley was not seen by Dr. Spangler this year, but will need a heart check next summer. So far Oakley doesn't have any arrhythmias or concerns. Praise God!