Meet our newest family member!

The Stringer Zoo has grown again. This past weekend I flew from Baltimore Washington International airport to Seattle-Tacoma airport to pick up a small bundle of fur and kisses. "Ali" was born on July 19, 2008 along with two sisters.


It has been a whirlwind of emotions and a blur of sleeplessness all viewed from the top of Cloud Nine. It is just like having a newborn baby, except no one is making meals for us or helping out with the girls. :) Needless to say, we did not get any school done on Monday or Tuesday, but we are almost back on track today.

It took a while to figure out a name for this fabulous little man. So after a bit of deliberation, little Ali is now known as Trygve. (Pronounced Trig-vuh.) It means trustworthy in Norwegian - or so I've heard. We've been calling him Tryg, and he is quickly catching on to his name.


He is extremely smart, and is already sitting on command, almost mastered down and is quickly learning how to crawl across the floor on his belly. I can hardly believe how fast he has realized that I won't let him out of his crate or X-pen unless he is sitting down! It is so amazing to see this little wiggly puppy quickly plant his rear on the ground even as his tail is still wagging uncontrollably. I never thought that I'd ever encounter a young dog that has the self restraint and brain power to override his desires. So far Trygve has far exceeded any expectations I have had. I think I'm being spoiled!


By the way, the foot in the last picture is for size comparison. Tryg is a little boy - weighing in at 6.2 pounds today at the vet. But I'm also hoping that you'll admire the fabulous hand-knit sock on my foot. :)

More pictures and narrative to come, I just wanted to give a quick update!

12:05 AM and no signs of slowing.

I really wish the 2008 Summer Olympics would be shown in real time. I'm up way too late (again) watching women flip, tumble, spin and fly through the air. Why? Does this really have any bearing on my life? Will it really matter tomorrow morning if the USA gets a medal in women's gymnastics? No.

However, I am an American. A fairly proud one at that. I disagree with the direction our country is headed sometimes, I am really frustrated with the choices facing me this election year, yet I am an AMERICAN. I can disagree. I can worship the Almighty God with no fear of being arrested. I have the privilege of teaching my children at home with minimal government interference.

Having God's blessing to be born into this beautiful country is all it took, but over my short lifetime the realization of what it means has taken hold. I love my country, its good and its bad.

So this is why I sit here in the middle of the night watching sports that I could never do, nor even understand. I'm cheering on women and men who are doing amazing things, representing the country we share.

Because I am an AMERICAN!

Precious Pups

I'm really not in a writing mood right now, but as I sit here watching the Olympics I realize that I am surrounded by 3 beautiful, devoted dogs.

Ever since I used to cry into the long fur on Mojave's chest (my very first dog), the idea that the Lord has placed dogs here to give us a glimpse of his unconditional love has grown in my heart and mind. Having Eli and Abbey share my life has only cemented this maybe unorthodox view in my mind.

No matter what I may have on my plate during the day, my "Golden Shadows" are right there eager to help in any way I will let them. Just yesterday I felt like a movie star because Abbey and her son, Cooper, would watch me trekking to and from the trailer, then be ecstatic every time I entered the house with a handful of items. It didn't matter that I had no toys for them, they didn't care that I was covered in sweat due to the humidity, they were just so glad to be with me.

Even Eli with his aging body will climb stairs to make sure that he is near me as I work. He usually is right underfoot when I'm cooking a meal, or warming up my feet as the girls and I do school.

All 3 dogs are sacked out within spitting distance right now. Abbey is right at my feet so I can't get up without stepping on her, Eli is holding up the couch next to Scott's feet, and Cooper (visiting for a while) is keeping my left side safe and secure. Dogs are such a boost for my self esteem. All they want in life is my companionship, a little love, food and tennis balls.

Ahh, life wouldn't be complete without a little dog fur in my knitting!

Almost over the Hill

Today, I break the blog silence to pay tribute to my precious husband...

Scott turned 35 today. Where does the time go? I remember our first summer together, he turned 17 just before we began our senior year in High School. Is it possible that we've been together over half of our lives?

What a journey life with Scott has been! We've been together, separated by deployments, on this coast or that, dogs, cats, kids... WOW! I can not imagine life without this incredibly fabulous man to share all of the adventures with.

Scott is a caring, devoted father to our girls and a sensitive, attentive husband to me. I think I'm going to have to break out the thesaurus to figure out all of the adjectives that I should use to describe this gift from God.

For now, I'll just smile, extremely thankful that the Lord saw fit to grant me my hearts desire and give Scott to be my husband.

Happy Birthday Darling!!!

Are we there yet?

Didn't blog last night because we pulled over at Exit 170 on the Ohio Turnpike around 1230 in the morning to finally get some rest at the Travel Plaza after about 12 hours on the road (only about 8 of which were actually spent making progress driving). Seven hours of driving today, and we're finally "there". We set up camp at Solomons Island Navy Recreation Center, across the river from the base. Dinner at Chick Fil-A around 9:30 tonight. We considered crashing the Gough's, but thought better of it. We'd like to keep them as friends!

We'll spend the next several days looking for a house and cleaning out cars and trailer after a LONG time on the road. We're looking forward to having LOTS of neighbors over the upcoming holiday weekend, as well.

Praise God for safety on the road and we continue to pray that we'll soon find the house He's prepared for us. Thanks for joining with us.

Making progress again

We were able to hit the road around 1pm today and made it across Iowa to Rock Island, IL, just across the Mississippi River. Hoping to make it to the Cleaveland area tomorrow, and Pax River by Monday evening. Trailer looks great. 4 new tires. Abbey's tummy is doing better, but she gets more and more neurotic with every day in the car. We finally had to buy a restraining bar to keep her from crawling over or around the back seat of the Suburban into Emily's lap. We also found some homeopathic sedatives for her (Chamomile, Triptophane, and such). The drive went smoother after we "calmed" her down.

The "sudden" climate change has been a bit of a shock. Just a couple days ago, we were bundled up in 4 ft of snow in Montanna. Now we're sweating amongst mosquitos. Bizarre. Two more days on the road. We can do it.

Almost ready

Quick status update. Today was actually a very pleasant and relaxing day. The trailer damage repair estimate was less than $1000 (not including replacing 4 tires... we have no confidence in the original tires now). Repairs should be done by mid-morning tomorrow, and we'll be on our way again. We enjoyed a picnic in the park today, found some geocaches, and Janell bought some yarn at a local shop. Dinner at IHOP was a horrid experience, but we'll just try to forget that. Well, maybe not "horrid", but this was hopefully either our waitress' first day on the job or her last.

We're hoping to hit MD late on Monday (with 3 aggressive days of driving) or early on Tuesday. We're not going to commit at this point and just make it as far as our nerves and kids will allow each day. Sorry, Kailtin. I'm getting her there as fast as we can! Either way, we should be there before school lets out on Tuesday.

Thanks for your prayers. We definitely were aware of God's provision and comfort today.