1 Year With Bo!

So 1 year ago, December 29th, 2009, we adopted little Bo. When we got him, his name was Orville. He was a cute little fat ball of fluff. See for yourself:

One year later, "Orville" is Bo and he is now long and lean. Who knew a dog would bring us so much joy and we are so glad we rescued him from the shelter instead of buying one at a breeder. Little puppy, the current love of our life. Happy New Year! ~Amy

This Christmas

This Christmas was a great one. We had so much fun with our family, friends, and little puppy. Christmas Eve was spent at my husband's parents house with the whole Roof family. We got grandma a Snuggie, and she thought it was a fur coat. It was so cute!

She was so happy... and warm! That night, however, we had an experience that is still staying with us. Z went into the Love's in Watonga to get me a Sprite on the way home, and came back to the car visibly upset. He had been in there for a while and I was beginning to worry. He shut the door and was looking around. I thought there was a robbery, or something because he wasn't even talking. Then, he said, "I just had the saddest experience..." He went on to tell me he was at the register and there was a little boy (6-9 years old) who was filthy, hair matted, coat way too big, trying to buy a toy gun. He had $6 and some change and then gun was $7.95. Sadly, when the cashier told him he didn't have enough money, he went to put it back. That is when my husband told him to keep his money and bought him the gun. He was so excited. Here comes the even sadder part... As we were driving off we saw this little boy crossing the highway to walk home. It was 20 degrees outside and this filthy little boy was walking home across a 4 lane highway, by himself. All of a sudden our Christmas became very, very, sad. Z got his name and I immediately called my mother-in-law to find out if she knew him. We followed him to his apartment where he was living and saw his "parents" (loosely using that word as I can't bring myself to call them parents) walk him into his apartment. I cried the whole way home. First, I cried because I cannot figure out why God allows people like that to be parents, and we have such a struggle. Then, I cried knowing that it is Christmas Eve, and Santa wouldn't be visiting this little boy's house. Next, I cried at how filthy this kid was, knowing he was neglected and that he has no chance in life. It really was a full-circle cry, if you will. Z and I feel like when we have these experiences, that God is trying to tell us something. There are so many kids in this world that need love, and we have a lot of love to give. Something big is in the future for the Bradt's.

Ok - back to the happier times, I made hot cocoa cupcakes. They were darling, but nobody really ate them. What grown adult eats marshmallows? (Besides me...)

Christmas day was spent at my house with my mom. We went and saw The Tourist at the theatre and I guessed the plot within the first 30 minutes; so I almost fell asleep... On the 26th, we had the whole family (mine and his) over for dinner and I cooked. This year's menu was: roasted chicken, pork loin, mushroom stuffing, carrots, green bean casserole, pomegranate stuffed apples, and of course crescent rolls. For dessert I made a caramel pecan pie and white chocolate raspberry cheesecake. Debby went to lunch with Anna Ruth's parents earlier in the day, and was telling them how I cook a lot and always try new recipes. She was bragging on my skills, so I just knew this one was going to be a flop. Luckily for everybody's belly, it was edible and we had a wonderful 3-day Christmas. I hope everyone else had a Christmas as blessed as ours. ~Amy

Festive.

Since I have been talking about my 5 trees, I figured before Christmas comes and goes I need to post them. (We had a Ho-Ho-Holiday Happy Hour at our house the other night with our co-workers, and my friend Javier pointed out in all reality, I have 27 Christmas trees in my house, just 5 with lights.... thanks, Jav)

So here we go:

1. Office - This is our gold tree and the last year it will be making it's appearance. We are getting a black tree for the office next year.

2. Kitchen- This is our red, black and lime green tree. We also have matching garland above our cabinets, not sure if you can see that.

3. Dining- This is my Christopher Radko tree. All the ornaments (started by my Great-Aunt, then Grandmother, and now Debby and Norms) have been given to me (or bought) during a special occasion. For instance, when I turned 21, I got a martini glass, or when we bought the house, we got a house ornament. Also, my husband and I get one every vacation we go on. It's our "memory tree" so it is the most special for me.

4. Hallway - Big Red... I think you know why...

5. Last but not least, Tiny. He is our Living Room tree and the only real tree in the house. I love the smell of a real tree at Christmas.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!

Seriously? Christmas is Passing Me By!

SO busy.... I know everyone is this time of year, but we have been to 2 states in 10 days and I am exhausted. We flew out to Arizona to see my dad on short notice, because we thought he was in a terminal state, but he was not. He seems to be OK; well as OK as you can be to have terminal bone cancer... He is not walking, but still smoking his cigars, eating, and completely cognisant. Z kept wondering why he is still smoking his cigars with his diagnosis, but I told him I am pretty sure that the cigars are not hurting bone cancer. The crappy thing is, he smokes in his house, so we have been home for about 3 days and I can still smell smoke in my hair, our suitcase is still airing out and we have washed our laundry at least 4 times. It is disgusting. Really, we don't care for Arizona in general. This is why Z hates it so much:

No grass. He cannot get used to people raking their rocks. It is bizarre, I admit it, but I am used to it. (Flag for Pearl Harbor Day)

So, it is December 11th, only 4 of the 5 trees are up, we still have tubs in our house full of everyday accessories, we still haven't scheduled our Christmas Open House, no lights out front and no shopping has been done. Ho... Ho.... Ho.... ~ Amy