New Addition to the Family

For the past few months my family and I have been involved with a dog rescue organization called K9 Angels.  This shelter saves dogs from another pound called BARC, which is a kill shelter-meaning that if they are not adopted by the 90th day, they are euthanized.  Every weekend, K9 Angels allows adoptions, but during the week, the dogs need a place to go.  Most dogs need to find a home for a week, and this is called fostering.  My family and I have fostered 4 dogs now, and have found each of them homes with great families.
We fell in love with each dog as we took care of them for weeks at a time, but when it was time to say goodbye and pass them off to their new families, we knew that it was the best thing for them.  But just 2 weeks ago, my mother got a call from K9 Angels asking if we could foster one more dog.  Our plan was to take a break from fostering for a few weeks, but when we heard this dog's story, we simply couldn't let her go.  Someone had found a 3 month old, lab mix puppy on the side of the road on Gessner.  Gessner is a very busy and dangerous street in the middle of all the action in Memorial.  She was taken to Bark and was going to be put down because she was sick with a very severe cough and other health issues.  We decided to take her under our wing and nurse her back to a state of health in which she was good enough to find a new home.  However, that plan changed only after a few days of knowing her.  My whole family had instantly fallen in love with this puppy with soft, white fur and chubby cheeks.
I had wanted a new dog for quite some time, and was hoping for a lab or retriever of some sort.  When we got the news that they needed a home for a baby lab, I knew it was a sign.  This little puppy has been an angel sent from Heaven.  We decided to name her Bessie-Bess for short-and only after a few days with her, we realized how smart and sweet she was. We had to nurse her back to health because she had been sneezing and coughing non-stop. It has been two weeks since we first got her, and she has almost completely recovered.  My whole family has decided that this one would be too hard to let go of and that we have all formed a connection with her. I am now a proud owner of two dogs, a cat, a bunny, a hamster, and a fish.  Bessie's life has taken a turn for the better, and she has made an imprint on my family's lives that we will never forget.
And of course, here are some pictures to follow:

Into the Wild

The title says it all pretty much.  The summer after junior year, all those who participate in YoungLife are given the opportunity to sign up for the much heard of trip to Wilderness Ranch.  Now, Wilderness Ranch is just the name of the base camp.  This is where the groups are formed and all who go attempt to shove and squeeze all their necessities and belongings for the week into a heavy-duty hiking backpack.  Here's the thing though; this backpack will be going everywhere with you for the week, so the objective is to take the right amount of clothing and equipment but not to pack too heavy of an amount for your spine to handle.

The "wilderness" part comes into play once one of the workers from the base camp has dropped you and your group off an hour away from base camp at a trail head, and let me tell you, I don't know what I was expecting, but this was definitely harder.  The week consisted of hiking to new campsites daily with a heavy pack on your back (which is carrying everything you will be living off of the rest of the week).  In my pack I carried my clothes, my sleeping bag, my sleeping mat, the tarp for our tents, the heavy fettuccine alfredo dinner, and other necessities like a headlamp and tooth paste.

I went into this week with a positive attitude and hoping for the best.  And although it was probably the most difficult week of my life, it was the most life changing and amazing as well.  I got to know all the girls in my group so well as we all told our life stories throughout the course of the week.  We all cried--some from the difficulty of the trail, and some from emotional pain.  In the end, though, it was so rewarding.  We all decided that the 31-mile hike was painful and grueling, but 100% worth the bond we had all made with each other.  Long story short, I had the best time of my life on that trail.  Those who know me don't exactly pin me as the "earthy" and "camper" type, but I am proud to say and not ashamed to brag that I survived in the wilderness, slept on the ground, and lived off hope for a week in the wilderness.

This saying somehow ended up being our motto for the week, we would always say it when we needed a good laugh to push us up the mountain.

Although sleeping on the ground was a difficulty for all, we were a bit sad to leave our camp site to begin our next day of hiking each morning.

Getting though the week was made a little easier we found out by just putting big smiles on our faces and pretending like we weren't in pain.

This is a picture from the day we woke up at 3 AM to peak a mountain top.  It took us about 5 hours I would say, but it seemed like forever while hiking up in the rain and sleet.

Once we got to the bottom, we were frozen and most of us couldn't feel our fingers.  We decided to make a huge source of body heat by huddling together. It was a success until we were forced to get our packs back on and hit the trail once more.

The beautiful San Juan mountains of Colorado always rewarded us with a gorgeous sun-set at the end of our days of hiking as we sat at dinner and told stories and enjoyed our time to rest.

In the end, I am so glad I went on this amazing trip with such amazing ladies.  Getting on the bus to head back to Houston was such a difficulty as we had to leave our 3 beloved guides behind.  Tears were shed, but we promised to find a way to stay in touch!