Catching up with Christmas.

Haaaapppyy Holidays, Buzzy. <3

Yes, Christmas left even sooner than it came. Usually I’m so bummed the day after Christmas, because I feel like, “Oh, there’s nothing to look forward to anymore. Christmas is gonnnneee.” But on THIS certain December 26th, I didn’t even have time to think about that.

Oh man. Erika’s Great Dane escaped and disappeared for SEVENTEEN HOURS.

So anyway, Erika let her outside to pee at seven AM Sunday morning. The rest of the day consisted of panic, tears, frustration, and snow.

That’s what made her disappearance so terrible. We had.. I don’t know… Two feet of snow? I’m not good at judging stuff like that. But there was a LOT of snow. Great Danes aren’t supposed to be out in cold weather.

At 2 PM a friend called and said, “I just saw Snowsha running down Bennet Lane.”

WHAT?

Bennet Lane is 2-4 miles away from our house. We have woods below our house, and apparently she went into them and ended up much further away than she wanted to be.

My dad immediately left the house to go and find her (he is sooo crazy about her). He searched in the snow for three hours, tracking her pawprints.. but never saw her.

It was looking pretty hopeless. My mom talked to people who lived out that way and found out that there was another Merle Great Dane that lived in that area. The sick feeling struck us; my dad had probably just spent three hours following the wrong dog. We had no idea where Snowsha was.

I made fliers and my parents took them around in stores to put them up. It was close to ten PM before they got home. My little sissy Erika cried so hard. <3 And it killed me to see her so sad.

Finally, at eleven in the night, my dad’s cell phone rang.

“I just saw Snowsha run down Bennet Lane again.”

“Are you sure it’s really her?”

“I’m positive. I… don’t have a doubt in my mind.”

And so our hearts starting racing. Bennet Lane is just a few feet from Bachi’s house, so I quickly messaged him on Facebook.

“Snowsha was seen at Bennet Lane. Can you go on your porch and see if you see her? Me and my dad will be there in seven minutes.”

“I’m going right now.” he said within a matter of seconds.

My dad and I arrived at the dog scene. 😀 We saw a very cold Bachi walking down the lane. He came up to the truck and told us that he saw her and watched her go back into a part of the woods. He jumped into the truck with us and we drove as far into the woods as we could. My dad got out of the truck and went looking for the lost Dane.

Fifteen minutes passed by. I saw my daddy coming back our way, and was disappointed. “He doesn’t have her,” I said sadly. Then he began to give us “thumbs up” signs and was waving the flashlight around all crazily. Next thing I know, I see Snowsha jump over a big pile of snow and head our way.

The poor dear had ice frozen into her fur. But nearly as soon as she got into the heated truck, she was warmed up again. I cried and hugged her.

So anyway! On the Saturday before Christmas, my family went to a nursing home to visit my great Grandparents and dad’s side of the family. It’s always great seeing everyone. The next morning, we went to my Grandpa’s Cantata. It was the first time all of our family was in church together (with the exception of my cousin who is in the military – he didn’t make it home in time). My Grandpa cried. And that’s a HUGE deal for him, haha.

Christmas Eve our friends came over. Beth actually got married on the 26th but I missed it due to sickness + said dog madness. After we all sang together, my family went to my mom’s mother’s house. That’s where my babeh Leah lives. Well, she lives beside my grandma. We exchanged presents with her, then watched as my other cousins, aunts and uncles opened their gifts. ‘Twas a great day.

Christmas day my fam woke up at 8 AM and opened presents from each other. The rest of the day was pretty miserable because I was feeling so taken down by the flu. I’m a bit better now!

Tonight.. technically last night.. Erika, Bachi, my dad and I went to a Korean party that my pastor’s wife randomly decided to have. We played ridiculous games with balloons.. One was where you had to hold the overly full balloon on a spoon and walk through an obstacle course. I ended up having to do that one.

I think for New Years Eve we’re going to have Leah, Chris, and Bachi over. Those are the main squeezes of Erika and I. 🙂

Tell me about your Christmas!