What happens when you give a doggie a bath?

First you will have to catch him.


When you catch him, hold on real tight cause if you don't, you will have to go catch him all over again!


Now that you have him, spray him down completely.


Next, you will have to use lots & lots of doggie soap, preferably the flea killin kind with a nice citrus scent.

Then you will need to rub-a-dub-srub and make lots of suds!

Okay, now repeat the the rub-a-dub-scrub part again so as to make sure you didn't miss any spots.

Oh yes, very important step here, always to keep a happy attitude.

Oh, another important thing, don't forget to keep eyes tightly closed, so as not to get soap-in-the-eye-stings-like-heck syndrome!




And in case of a run-away attempt, run, capture and escort escapee back to the old blue washin tub!

While giving a scolding lecture on the way back!

Once the scolding lecture is said & done don't forget to love & reassure the little rascal.

Okay, now resume bath again.

Next, comes the step that brings us literally right down to the end!

Of course no one looks forward to this part, so to make things go a little bit smoother, someone needs to offer a few words of encouragement, "it's okay Sam, it is almost over".

Now comes the final rinse!





Now we are ready to move to the drying station. Hang on tight, you don't want another run away attempt!

Make sure to soak & sop up as much water as possible.

Don't stop squeezing until the last hair is sopped!

And finally comes the last & best part, the warm & toasty part, Sam's favorite!

Gently brush with a doggie brush instead of a mommy brush until nice & fluffy

so as not to wake the happy bathee!

Now after all that has been said & done,

you should now have a clear understanding of what happens


when you give a doggie named Samson, a bath =)!

From 3 Wheels to 2 Wheels!

Attention friends & newcomers! I am very pleased to inform you that our Noah is officially a 2-wheel bike rider as of this week! He has wanted to learn for quite a while now, but had a bad fall and became totally convinced that his 3 wheeler was far better than his two wheeler.





So you can imagine how thrilled we were when he decided to give his 2 wheeler another try. To tell you the truth I was secretly beginning to worry a bit when I saw our 4 year old neighbor riding his little heart out on his 2 wheels.




Here he goes with his 7 year old determination and with many cheerleaders on the sidelines, he took his little elbow & knee pads and set out to conquer his fears and set another precious milestone!




Praise the good Lord he did beautifully, and never once ran over my flip-flopped feet, thank the Lord, for that would have hurt like the dickens.




I think the one who is having a bit of a struggle here is mom, I can't let go!!!!



Just look at that fearless smile, Noah is having a blast.



Here we have one of the sideline cheerleaders, Sam is totally devoted to encouraging his little Noahman!!




"Let go mom!!" Okay, I am letting go already.........




And there he goes like for 1-2-3-4-5-1/2 feet!!!





And then.......



CRASH!




Oh, but it was such a cool crash!! The best fall, not even one single tear snuck out.




"Let's do that again Mom!!!"



After a few more crash & burn runs he is flying like a pro! We are too proud!!



This kid was made for biking! Another milestone that will go down in the Great Halls of Maynard History!

And one would think that with such a momentous moment to celebrate, my heart would totally be bursting with happiness but a wee part of it is breaking because it knows that our little boy is growing up too quickly.

Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him.

Ps. 127:3

And last but never, ever least, our John-Luke, once again does a wonderful job with the photography part of this grand moment! This story couldn't have been made possible without the keen eye of this fine-in-the-making-11-year-old photographer! Let's hear it for JL!

......for God loves a cheerful giver!

Hi friends & newcomers!
The Christmas season is just around the corner! Another wonderful time of giving and receiving blessings from which we have been so richly blessed by our Father!

The Manuelito Navajo Children's Home and Gallup Christian School are in need of bibles for their kiddos. What an amazing gift of love this would be, to place His living word in the hands of one of His precious little lambs. If you are able & willing please go to

http://jeffreyrfoster.blogspot.com/2008/11/can-you-donate-bible.html and see how you can make this happen.

May God continue to richly bless you!

The Geese and the Snowstorm

There was once a man who did not believe in either the virgin birth of Christ nor the spiritual meaning behind it, and was skeptical even about God. He and his family lived in a farm community. His wife was a devout believer and diligently raised her children in the faith. He sometimes gave her a hard time about her belief and mocked her religious observances.

"It's all nonsense -- why would God lower himself and become a human like us? It's such a ridiculous story," he said.One snowy day, she and the children left for church while he stayed home. After they had departed, the winds grew stronger and the snow turned into a blinding snowstorm. He sat down to relax before the fire for the evening.

Then he heard a loud thump, something hitting against the window... And, still another thump. He looked outside but could not see anything. So he ventured outside for a better view. In the field near his house he saw, of all the strangest things, a flock of geese. They were apparently flying to look for a warmer area down south, but they had been caught in the snowstorm. The storm had become too blinding and violent for the geese to fly or see their way. They were stranded on his farm, with no food or shelter, unable to do more than flutter their wings and fly in aimless circles. He had compassion for them and wanted to help them. He thought to himself, the barn would be a great place for them to stay. It is warm and safe; surely they could spend the night and wait out the storm. So he opened the barn doors for them.

He waited, watching them, hoping they would notice the open barn and go inside. Nevertheless, they did not notice the barn or realize what it could mean for them. He moved closer toward them to get their attention, but they just moved away from him out of fear.

He went into the house and came back with some bread, broke it up, and made a bread trail to the barn. They still did not catch on.

Starting to get frustrated, he went over and tried to shoo them toward the barn. They panicked and scattered into every direction except toward the barn. Nothing he did could get them to go into the barn where there was warmth, safety, and shelter. Feeling totally frustrated, he exclaimed, "Why don't they follow me? Can't they see this is the only place where they can survive the storm? How can I possibly get them into the one place to save them?"

He thought for a moment and realized that they just would not follow a human. He said to himself, "How can I possibly save them? The only way would be for me to become like those geese. If only I could become like one of them. Then I could save them. They would follow me and I would lead them to safety."

At that moment, he stopped and considered what he had said. The words reverberated in his mind: If only I could become like one of them, then I could save them. Then, at last, he understood God's heart towards mankind... and he fell on his knees in the snow.

~Author Unknown~

John 3:16-17 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

Feeding 'The Dump" People

My heart was touched and broken today to know that many of His little sheep are struggling in such a terrible way. Being so hungry that one would not only consider but go ahead and look for for food in the dump, in piles of refuse. If you can't imagine this, please go to http://www.treymorgan.net/2008/11/feeding-dump-people.html and see for yourself. May the Lord enable you to help in anyway you can.

Remembering our Heroes!

Today we had a special gathering in Balmorhea, to remember, honor & salute our dear veterans, our true heroes. The love & devotion these individuals express as they serve our country can only be described as selflessness in the highest sense of the word. Thank you Lord for enabling so many brave & courageous souls to live out John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”

Our veterans make me proud to be an American!

"God bless America!"

by Noah Maynard

Welcome everyone!

John-Luke reciting, Eulogy for a Veteran

A few of our hometown heroes

Proud to be an American!

Mrs. Lewis, our Mayor

Another true patriot

11th month, 11th day, 11th hour moment

Pat Brijalba, Vietnam hero!

Mr. Fuentes, another hero

Remembering fallen loved ones

Manuel Mendoza, father of a fallen hero,

Jerry Ray

A visiting hero

You can't get more American than this!

"Because of you, I am able to stand here and speak freely"

Singing the National Anthem

To all our veterans, this sounds so inadequate, but all I can say is Thank you.

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."

— Edmund Burke