Christmas

MERRY CHRISTMAS

I wanted to post something about Christmas before today but it just didn't happen. So better late than never. This year for Christmas Justin and I went to my parents in Winona MS. We had a house full the whole time. On Christmas day Justin's sister ( Adri) brother-in-law (Justin) and Mom came to my parents along with one of my grandmothers and Aunts and her family. It was a great day. Santa was very good to both of us.
This year Abe was not able to come home the day of Christmas but he and Lindsay did come the week before so we were able to celebrate with them. On Sunday we went to my grandparents and took the only other picture of the holiday.

We all had crowns from a prize popper. Notice that Jack has his own cone!!

These are the only pictures that was taken during the whole Christmas break. I know that its sad.
I did take a few pictures of our house, I hope you enjoy!! Last year we moved into our house a month before Christmas we did some decorating but this year I was able to do a little more.

I didn't have a card holder so I made one. I just used ribbons and attached the cards to the ribbons.

We are very excited about having another week off of work and are planning to rest, reorganize and get ready for the new year. We hope you had a great Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!

Jack's Recovery

Just wanted to let everyone know that Jack is doing great. We picked him up on Saturday December 19th. He has a very long incision on his tummy. He has to wear a cone around his neck so he will not bite at or scratch his tummy. You can't tell in the picture but he has a shaved tummy, shaved neck and three shaved legs. He is still cute!!! He will get the staples removed on Tuesday the 29th. Jack is running around and wanting to play but we are trying to keep him as calm as possible.

There were no real complications during the surgery so that was great. We are very grateful that everything went as planned and his recovery is going well.

Happy Birthday Justin!!!!!!

Today 27 years ago Justin Michael Garcia was born. I just wanted to post something to celebrate Justin on this day. Justin, I hope you have a very special day!!!!!! Happy Birthday!!!!!!

Jack is getting better!!!!!!!

This is Jack playing in our front yard.

After months of trying to find a food that would not cause our little puppy to get sick we found out that Jack has a portosystemic shunt, which is also known as a liver shunt. What we thought was a sensitive stomach issue turned out to be something much more complicated. After multiple visits to our local vet and one visits to the Mississippi State Veterinary School it was confirmed that Jack did have a portosystemic shunt. Miniature Schnauzers are one of a few breeds that are more likely to have a liver shunt. Approximately 1% of all Miniature Schnauzers have this condition.

So, what exactly is a portosystemic shunt? A portosystemic shunt is an abnormal vascular connection between the hepatic portal vein (the blood vessel that connects the gastrointestinal tract with the liver) and the systemic circulation Such anomalies cause blood in the gastrointestinal track to be diverted past the liver, thereby limiting the liver's vital functions in metabolism and detoxification of compounds and the body's defenses against intestinally derived pathogens. This effectively exposes the body to toxic by-products of digestion (toxins and bacteria) and mimics the effects of liver failure. http://www.vetsurgerycentral.com/pss.htm
The picture give a clear image as to what the shut looks like.

This morning my dad took Jack to the Mississippi State University Veterinary School to start the process of correct his liver shunt. He will have a CT scan today. This will help the surgeons know exactly where the shunt is. It will also give them a better look as to how the surgery will go. Tomorrow Tuesday December 15th at 9:00am the surgery will take place to close off the shunt. Justin and I are glad to know that we found the cause of Jack sickness and that there is a solution.

Up Dates !!!

Well, I am hoping that this coming year I will be better and up dating our blog. With that said, here is one big up date from the Garcia family. Well Hodges/Garcia family.

At the end of September Abe proposed to Lindsay Holmes on the campus of Mississippipi College in Clinton. Abe and Lindsay came from KY for Abe's Ordination. Lindsay had no idea what was about to happen while Abe gave her a tour of his college Ala-mater. At the end of the tour Lindsay found a dozen roses setting next to a statue with the ring hidden behind the flowers. At first she did not see the flowers nor the ring. She was very surprised!!! They will be getting married in May 22nd 2010 in Franklin TN. We are very excited to welcome Lindsay into our Hodges family.

End of Summer!!

Wow has it been a busy end of the summer. Sorry we have not updated our blog we have been running around like crazy. I just want to give a brief update on our lives and when I have more time give more details. Since the last blog I have started a new job at Mississippi College, had a great weekend with friends, and went on a mission trip to Vancouver Canada. More detail will follow!!
Jack is getting bigger and bigger. He has learned his name and comes most of the time when we call him. He is almost completely house broken, which we are very excited about. He is now a true puppy and is getting into everything.
Like I said, I will blog about all we have been doing over the past month when I have more free time.

Our lives after Jack

These days the only things we do are go to work and and play with Jack. He is getting bigger and starting to pounce around all over the place. Justin and I were sitting on the couch watching TV and all of the sudden Jack started going crazy. I hope you enjoy our cute puppy.

You can't really see inside his crate but you can hear a thumping sound. That is Jack jumping around and hitting the side of his crate.

Jack playing

Jack

Justin and I are the new proud owners of the cutest Miniature Schnauzer.

Jack is 6 weeks old and weights only 3 and a half pounds. He had his first vet visit today and he has a clean bill of health. Justin and I are working very hard to get him crate trained but it's off to a slow start. We have only had him for two days and the first night he woke up three times during the night but last night he slept through the night. So we are very happy about that. He spends most of the day sleeping but we are trying to keep him awake so he will sleep at night. He is to little that he can only run around for just a little while before he just falls onto the ground, exhausted.

Right after his first bath

All Justin and I want to do is play with him. I brought Jack to Justin office so everyone could see him and all he wanted to do was sleep in Justin's bosses arms. It was so cute. He was so scared because of all the people. I tried to put him on the floor so he could walk but he just laid down and went to sleep. He does not have good traction on our floors at home so when he walks he is always slipping and I wanted to show Justin's office how cute it is but Jack did not want to have any part in it. It is the cutest thing!!

His favorite place to be is snuggled up close to your arms with his head hanging over.I know I have said is over and over but he is the cutest thing ever.

French Open

About a year ago Justin and I fell in love with the wonderful game of tennis. When a major tennis tournament is going on something comes over us and we put everything aside a focus on that major tournament. Like all sports we have our favorites. Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer are by far our top two favs. After the two greats, I am partial to Andy Murray, Robby Ginepri ( for the record, I have meet Robby), Andy Roddick, and of course the Williams sister.

I took this picture in New York!!

For the past few days Justin and I have been glued to either the TV or the computer watching the French Open. We were both very sad to see Nadal lose in the fourth round. However, this makes it very easy for us to get behind Federer and cheer him on to his 14th major title. Justin and I love to play tennis any chance we get. I have even beaten Justin a few times. I am getting better and better. Justin and I have a new life goal to go to all four major tennis tournaments. We are going to start with the US Open next year or maybe the French Open I am not sure yet. I hope everyone will be cheering for Roger Federer as he goes for his 14th major title.

Memorial Weekend

This Memorial weekend Justin and I traveled to Spring TX to spend time with Justin's Dad. We had a great time meeting all the family, eating, shopping, and swimming. The house was full of family and animals, seven dogs and three birds to be exact. I held one of the large parrots. I was very nervous and needed everyone to watch the bird just in case it wanted to attack!!! Thank goodness there are not attacks to report. Enough about the birds. We spent most of the time hanging out by the pool and eating lots of good food. For the first time in my life I had "breakfast tacos." I only eat the cheese and bean tacos, but they had many other kinds. I had to play it safe:)
We had a great time and are looking forward to our next trip to Spring.

Introductions

Justin and I have been married for two and a half years. We started out married life living in Marietta Ga. I was finishing school and working part time while Justin was working for a web development company. During my last semester of school Justin applied for a job at Mississippi College and got it. He moved and two months later I followed. Justin loves his new job as the Web Master of Mississippi College. We now live in a cute home in Clinton MS. Even though we have lived here for six months I am still trying to get to use living in Clinton.