Grandma and Grandpa Kartchner Surprise Visit

I received one of the biggest surprises of my life on my 32nd birthday! My parents surprised me with a visit! I was expecting them the following month for a solar eclipse happening in San Antonio, so I absolutely had NO idea they were coming until I heard the doorbell ring and I checked the camera. I was super confused, thinking maybe it was showing me a recording from the past, but when I realized who was there, I was so surprised and happy! My parents were taking care of my grandma for so long, they couldn't up and go anywhere without a lot of work on their end to make sure she got the care she needed. Sadly (but not unexpectedly), my Grandma passed away earlier that year. This allowed my parents to do this!

Our first outing was trying La Tropicana and their many goodies that remind me of Mexico.

Noah's birthday is first, of course, on the 1st. Here is the birthday boy! He requested a green birthday, so that's what I did.

Along with his green decorations Noah helped me make a green cake. That's all he asked for! 

Green cake in question:

 

Probably not the most exciting outing for a toddler, but my mom and I took Noah to the river walk to go on a boat ride. The River Walk is always interesting with a stroller. We enjoyed our tour guide, but sadly, it's been long enough that I don't remember all the funny jokes he made. We also stopped by the Alamo because, you know, it's so close.

 

 

We properly celebrated his birthday when all the kids came home from school.

 

Happy Birthday, Noah!!

The next day was my birthday, and I requested we all go to the zoo since it's been years since I've been to the San Antonio Zoo. Overall, it was a pleasant day with fun animals to look at.

Komodo Dragon

King Cobra

Jaguar

Hippo

Gaboon Viper. They are my favorite snakes to watch move.

Gharial

Joseph's favorite exhibit and what got him into cryptids: el chupacabra

I've been eyeing this HEB cake and finally got to try it!

It was just so nice to have my parents over, and I'm incredibly blessed to have parents who take the time, effort (and money) to come see us. I love you guys!! When it was time to say goodbye, it was nice to know we would be seeing them again the next month!

Lucky

Before moving onto the rest of 2024, I should mention Lucky. We had him for a few months and it was a bittersweet time.

One Sunday morning my kids looked out our bedroom window and mentioned a dog was in our yard. I looked too and sure enough there was a dog laying in our lawn, shivering. He had a limp and was very nervous. My poor bleeding heart took him in, bought some dog food, and set him up in our garage while we went to church.

 

I took him to a rescue that could check to see if he had a chip. Of course he didn't. I hoped he had a previous owner since his ears were clipped and was house-trained. Animal control was busy, the city pound didn't allow people to do walk-ins with strays, all the rescues were full, and none of the neighbors knew whose dog he was. What was I supposed to do?? Meanwhile, I took him to the vet to remove ticks and give him a worm treatment. He was shy but slowly warmed up to us. 

 

 

Finally, I saw that if I put that the animal was injured, we would be put on the priority list for animal control to come. Since Lucky had a limp I figured I wasn't totally lying. When animal control came I told him the situation, but how I was afraid if they took Lucky he might not have a shot at the pound and how I was willing to foster. The guy was very happy to hear that and gave me all the information to put Lucky on the adoption list and get all the supplies I need to take care of him. I took some photos to help his case.

 

 

I did not want to keep Lucky. As nice of as a dog he was, there were plenty of reasons I wasn't keen on keeping him. He was a big chewer, he stunk up our yard with his pee and poop, and as nice as pit bulls can be, if there were ever a freak accident, I do not want to be on the other end of his teeth. A few days after Lucky was put on the adoption list someone reached out looking to adopt him! My dad was in town and came with me to meet the potential adopter. Lucky was very nervous but I did my best to sell him. Sadly after I reached out again he was no longer interested, and no one showed interest again.

Something else about Lucky? He was still intact. The animal society neutered him for free so I dropped him off one morning and picked him up cone and all. I was surprised because I thought they would take his whole package, but he still had his sack, though empty. When walking I would refer to them as his jingle jangles as they swayed. 

 

In the time we had Lucky, we took him to Canyon Lake to go camping, went on a few walks, and got lots of hugs in (Lucky probably didn't enjoy that part). In April, Sam wanted to completely redo our balcony and started demo'ing. I wasn't at home, so I placed Lucky in the yard. I guess all the construction spooked Lucky because he completely jumped our 6-foot fence and ran away. We thought maybe that was how he was to leave us (because, again, I was not planning on keeping him, but I had a poor, bleeding heart). I knew Lucky wasn't going to find a home easily due to his breed. 

 

It worked out nicely in that we had company come into town around that time, so we didn't have to worry about him. Two weeks later, we got a call from the animal shelter saying he was brought in. I was a little jealous of the guy who brought him in and didn't have to hold onto him, but I came to get him nonetheless. It was a little heartbreaking. As I walked through the shelter, I saw so many dogs. When we got to Lucky, he didn't recognize me at first. He looked so scared and sad, but as soon as he recognized me, it was so sweet. He crawled into my lap when we got to the car, and I just held him for a while as he was shaking. 

I took him to an adoption event and left him while I went to church. I came back and they asked, "are you Lucky's foster mom?" Oh, boy, what did he do? A sweet lady wanted to take him out and walk him around but he immediately bolted and it took the staff FOREVER to catch him. Needless to say no one adopted him that day.

Something must have happened in those few weeks he was missing because he became super neurotic and excessively chewed everything he found on the floor. He wasn't as patient with the kids and overall seemed off. I was nervous about that since, you know, his breed. I knew we couldn't keep him anymore when one day he snapped at Noah's face. But I also knew that if we no longer fostered him, we would seal his fate. It was a terrible decision to make, but I knew my children would always come first. Coincidentally, the day I made the call to the animal shelter, I was playing with Lucky outside and he missed the toy he was going for and bit my arm. It left a welt that stayed for months. I knew it was an accident, but what would a bite look like if it wasn't?

A few days later, I drove him to the shelter, and I could see the stark fear in his eyes. It was like he knew what I was doing and did everything he could to stay in the van. It felt like a gut punch, but I had to let him go. I was checking the adoption page in hopes that his photo was still there, but alas, it was gone. Lucky's fate was in my hands, and I felt like I failed him. It was the only decision I could make, and it still felt like I made the wrong one. 

It was a learning experience, and, sadly, I learned that no good deed goes unpunished. Every stray dog I see, I purposely stay away! My heart goes out to them, but I'm no dog savior. I even hit a dog outside Lubbock on the freeway and most likely killed that one, too. It took a while for me to not feel like a dog killer. I hope Lucky is in a place where he no longer has to be scared and can chew everything to his heart's content.