As I imagine, quite a few of you have been able to participate in this latest seasonal phenomenon, rarely before seen in Texas--a little surprise I call "winter." :) Several days ago, the winds picked up, and temperatures began to plummet. Before another three days had passed, the thermometers seemed frozen somewhere around 25 degrees, and ice had effectively entombed every visible surface outdoors. More than a few times, power flickered off and on, and our first night without power found me writing my evening work by candlelight. I can't say it bothered me too greatly...I'm far too much of a romantic at heart. :)
The evening hours spent in quiet solitude would not last long, however. Monday evening found our family in a flurry of activity, despite the silence of the frost forming outside our stone walls. Bryan was to be returning from his Mexico missions, a full day earlier than planned. Torrential rains and fierce storms had driven the group out of the heart of Mexico's interior, and when the group's leaders heard of the impending Texas storms, they all had no choice but to rush homeward, as quickly as possible. It was midnight, Monday night, by the time the weary travelers finally arrived safely back at our church in Boerne. Mother and Daddy had made the treacherous drive to pick him up there and bring him back home to us, but driving conditions slowed them so greatly that the three did not get back to our house until after 1:30 in the morning. We were in the middle of getting Bryan back inside with his things and situating our animals for the most warmth possible, when Mother noticed that one of our Maltese dogs was a little damp. Upon closer inspection, we found the dog was in labor.
The happy little dog had herself in a bit of a fix, you see. First of all, she wasn't even supposed to be "with pup." :) Our chihuahua puppy and she had shared a back porch of our home, and the five month old pup apparently was a little lovestruck by the beautiful Maltese. Long story short, they were caught "red-handed." Mother called up the vet, saying, "Is that Chihuahua pup even old enough to cause any trouble?" The vet replied that we should be perfectly fine..."The pup's really little and quite a bit too young." Well... apparently, the Chihuahua was perfectly mature enough. As if all of this was not already a bit unusual, another factor had to be added to the situation. The labor was coming days ahead of schedule; Mother and I would be walking the dog through premature labor...not fun.
By the grace of God, I've been gifted with a mother who made her living as an RN specializing in Labor and Delivery. Such training comes to be very valuable in many areas of life, one of which is helping a mother dog in distress. :) Many years ago, our family, also, professionally raised Maltese puppies; so this was not "our first time around the block" with such situations. This was, however, the first time we would be experiencing premature labor, and I can honestly now say, it is much more difficult and misleading. A full 18 hours would pass before all three puppies were born, two of which actually survived. They were a beautiful pair: a tiny boy and a strong-hearted little girl.
Another concern quickly greeted us... Due to the early delivery, the mother dog had not one drop of milk. This would not usually be a big deal; I always keep a can of "Mother's Replacement Milk" in the pantry. My carefully-stockpiled supply, however, had been raided for the sake of an orphaned fawn found earlier in the year. We had to get milk for the newborn puppies...and soon. Therefore, Papa somehow found a way to get down the "closed" highway on a mission of mercy to our H-E-B, ten miles away, determined to find some puppy formula, no matter how difficult it would be to attain. Several hours later, he was able to return home, and immediately, Mother and I set to the task of nursing the tiny pups from a small bottle.
It's actually taken me so long to complete the writing here and post the draft...that several days have now passed. It's very late on Friday night, and so much has happened, in the days that have come and gone.
In the midst of all the drama and trauma of the past week, our Creator has still poured forth immense blessing all around us. I found myself greeted each morning by dawn rising over a landscape of unspeakable beauty. (You must remember that this Texan girl has not seen many a winter morn, in her brief 22 years.) :) Even now, I am cherishing the memories of our family's children running across the ice to gain the greatest "sliding momentum"...Bryan loosed his Labrador Retriever for a far-too-humorous game of slippery fetch...Icicle contests were held, the kids holding competitions to see who could knock down the biggest icicle without breaking it in the process...
Life was, quite simply, beautiful because all around us lay yet one more reminder that our Creator's hand was still at work in the world around us...and if our God loved us enough to spread His glory upon the radiant earthen fields and soft winter skies, then surely He also knew the smaller, "less-significant" things filling our days. He saw the midnight hours of toil and exhaustion...He heard the silent pleas for life to be granted the "most humble" of His creatures...He safely guided home a beloved brother from the mission field...His eyes still kept watch, seeing through the dark hours without electricity...His hands continued to warm the hearts of all who call Him "Father."
Thus, a week of my life has drawn to a quiet close. Ice has melted away, and the chilly winds are fleeing to the North, at least for a little while. :) The deer are coming out, at long last, from their hollows of shelter, and my little corner of the world is seeing some sunshine, once again. The most radiant light, however, never forsook us; its faithful glow was found in the constancy of the Savior's presence within our heart of hearts.
The evening hours spent in quiet solitude would not last long, however. Monday evening found our family in a flurry of activity, despite the silence of the frost forming outside our stone walls. Bryan was to be returning from his Mexico missions, a full day earlier than planned. Torrential rains and fierce storms had driven the group out of the heart of Mexico's interior, and when the group's leaders heard of the impending Texas storms, they all had no choice but to rush homeward, as quickly as possible. It was midnight, Monday night, by the time the weary travelers finally arrived safely back at our church in Boerne. Mother and Daddy had made the treacherous drive to pick him up there and bring him back home to us, but driving conditions slowed them so greatly that the three did not get back to our house until after 1:30 in the morning. We were in the middle of getting Bryan back inside with his things and situating our animals for the most warmth possible, when Mother noticed that one of our Maltese dogs was a little damp. Upon closer inspection, we found the dog was in labor.
The happy little dog had herself in a bit of a fix, you see. First of all, she wasn't even supposed to be "with pup." :) Our chihuahua puppy and she had shared a back porch of our home, and the five month old pup apparently was a little lovestruck by the beautiful Maltese. Long story short, they were caught "red-handed." Mother called up the vet, saying, "Is that Chihuahua pup even old enough to cause any trouble?" The vet replied that we should be perfectly fine..."The pup's really little and quite a bit too young." Well... apparently, the Chihuahua was perfectly mature enough. As if all of this was not already a bit unusual, another factor had to be added to the situation. The labor was coming days ahead of schedule; Mother and I would be walking the dog through premature labor...not fun.
By the grace of God, I've been gifted with a mother who made her living as an RN specializing in Labor and Delivery. Such training comes to be very valuable in many areas of life, one of which is helping a mother dog in distress. :) Many years ago, our family, also, professionally raised Maltese puppies; so this was not "our first time around the block" with such situations. This was, however, the first time we would be experiencing premature labor, and I can honestly now say, it is much more difficult and misleading. A full 18 hours would pass before all three puppies were born, two of which actually survived. They were a beautiful pair: a tiny boy and a strong-hearted little girl.
Another concern quickly greeted us... Due to the early delivery, the mother dog had not one drop of milk. This would not usually be a big deal; I always keep a can of "Mother's Replacement Milk" in the pantry. My carefully-stockpiled supply, however, had been raided for the sake of an orphaned fawn found earlier in the year. We had to get milk for the newborn puppies...and soon. Therefore, Papa somehow found a way to get down the "closed" highway on a mission of mercy to our H-E-B, ten miles away, determined to find some puppy formula, no matter how difficult it would be to attain. Several hours later, he was able to return home, and immediately, Mother and I set to the task of nursing the tiny pups from a small bottle.
It's actually taken me so long to complete the writing here and post the draft...that several days have now passed. It's very late on Friday night, and so much has happened, in the days that have come and gone.The storm worsened until we were iced in "till Kingdom come." :) Unfortunately, being badly homebound, we had no means of getting the mother dog to the vet when she was greatly in need of such help. Part of the afterbirth was never delivered, following the traumatic births, and she developed a deadly uterine infection, "slipping downhill" long before we could finally get through to the veterinarian office, a couple of days later. The small amount of milk the mother eventually produced was essentially "poisoned" by the severity of her unseen infection, and her darling male puppy was lost to it, just yesterday. The mother's "hanging on by a thread," but God has been very gracious, and she's somehow still with us, though she and the remaining girl puppy now require "round the clock" nursing care. Needless to say, neither Mother or I have slept more than two hours a night, this entire week... Oh, well; God's using it all to make us stronger in heart. :)
In the midst of all the drama and trauma of the past week, our Creator has still poured forth immense blessing all around us. I found myself greeted each morning by dawn rising over a landscape of unspeakable beauty. (You must remember that this Texan girl has not seen many a winter morn, in her brief 22 years.) :) Even now, I am cherishing the memories of our family's children running across the ice to gain the greatest "sliding momentum"...Bryan loosed his Labrador Retriever for a far-too-humorous game of slippery fetch...Icicle contests were held, the kids holding competitions to see who could knock down the biggest icicle without breaking it in the process...Life was, quite simply, beautiful because all around us lay yet one more reminder that our Creator's hand was still at work in the world around us...and if our God loved us enough to spread His glory upon the radiant earthen fields and soft winter skies, then surely He also knew the smaller, "less-significant" things filling our days. He saw the midnight hours of toil and exhaustion...He heard the silent pleas for life to be granted the "most humble" of His creatures...He safely guided home a beloved brother from the mission field...His eyes still kept watch, seeing through the dark hours without electricity...His hands continued to warm the hearts of all who call Him "Father."
Thus, a week of my life has drawn to a quiet close. Ice has melted away, and the chilly winds are fleeing to the North, at least for a little while. :) The deer are coming out, at long last, from their hollows of shelter, and my little corner of the world is seeing some sunshine, once again. The most radiant light, however, never forsook us; its faithful glow was found in the constancy of the Savior's presence within our heart of hearts.
Much love, my dear ones, and many blessings to you all!
*******
P.S. I'm getting a harlequin Great Dane puppy. I just had to share the good news with all my friends here. :)
posted by Amy | 2:56 PM
2 Comments:
I like the pictures, Amy. Thanks for the comment.
I'm so glad you enjoyed the pictures! You're the best brother in the world, by the way... :)
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