Indy's Adventure

If you get a chance today, please pray for Indy.  She is going on a little adventure at the animal clinic today.  Surgery.

Indy's got a condition called Bilateral Luxating Patellas.  That's a fancy way of saying that the kneecaps in her hind legs can become or are disjointed.  It's a condition that is common in smaller dogs and correctable through surgery.

Indy's not in too much pain but they did give her a Fentanyl patch for the pain.  You can see it on her leg.  That's why she's sporting that cool head cone; to keep her from nipping at the patch and administering the medication orally.

Julie's a bit anxious about the procedure.  It's always a little risky to put smaller animals under anesthesia but Indy is in really good hands and we pray she will be just fine.

After the surgery she's not going to be able to sleep with her friend Gina for awhile.  She'll be immobile for a few days so we'll be keeping her in a kennel with lots of warm and soft blankets where she can recuperate in peace.  Gina will miss her.

Jack Bauer is gonna miss having a play friend.  Indy and Jack are constantly teasing and chasing each other around the house and yard.  It's going to be rough for Jack to not have that companionship.  Hopefully, in a few days things will be back to normal.   (BTW... did you notice how Jack has one droopy ear?  That's why I call him 1Up!).

We all wish Indy a safe surgery and fast recovery!

Happy Birthday Indy!

Happy 1st Birthday to Indy Anna Henderson! Whoo hoo!!

It seems like only yesterday that you were that 1.8 lb bouncing puppy that Hannah found and fell in love with at the flea market.

We have come to love all 5 lbs of you over the last year.  We eagerly look forward to ending our day, plopping down on the couch and having you lay with us in our laps.  I still remember your first, failed, attempts at jumping up onto the couch.  You were so cute and wanted to be with us so badly.  And how excited you were when you finally were able to make that leap!  You're such a big dog now!

Shhh... don't tell Indy.. but she is going to work with Julie this morning where they are planning a birthday party in her honor.  Julie even made some 'bone' sugar cookies for the special occasion.

And, of course, I stole a couple of them before leaving for work this morning... so I will be having a private celebration for you here!   Happy Birthday!  I can't wait to have you laying in my lap again soon.

Meet Katie

We've had an extra member at our house for the last week or so.  Meet Katie; she's a basset hound that we are taking care of for a couple weeks.  Her parents are on a trip to China where they are adopting a two-year old named Noah.  It has been a very challenging experience for them - which you can read about, if interested,  at their blog The Adventures of Noah.  Their initial posts will break your heart... but things have been getting steadily better.

Our minor part in the adventure has been hosting Katie.  She is definitely fitting in here.  As you can see in the picture above - she thinks she owns Indy's bed now ;)  Of course, that also means that we've completely given up on controlling where the dogs go in the house!

Katie is quite a playful dog and it's been fun to watch her playing with Gina and Indy.  Here's a typical afternoon game of tug of war!

She's also fitting well into the walk regiment here at Team Henderson.  She does wonderfully on the leash with the other dogs and they make quite a sight as they walk around town.

Of course, Indy has not relinquished her spot at the front of the pack!  Welcome Katie.  We can't wait to see your new family member - Noah!

Didn't Know!

If it's the last weekend of January - it's the Golden Gate Kennel Club dog show.  This year we had the good fortune to be able to bring Hannah, Maggie and Corbett along with us to the festivities!  Here they all are in from the our venue - the Cow Palace!

It's interesting to see the relationships that occur before dogs and their owners.  Here's a woman that hasn't quite figure out yet that her 80 lb bull dog really isn't a child.  Shhhhhh.  Don't tell her.

I just thought this bad boy looked good.  Very royal.. with the purple and all.

Here's two really cute Norwich terriers (we think!).  We are really getting into smaller dogs lately - since we love Indy (the perfect dog) so much!

It was a fun afternoon and my favorite quote of the day was from Maggie - who actually doesn't really even like dogs all that much.  "Wow, I didn't know there were so many KINDS of dogs!"

Our Newest Neighbor

Today we got to witness an auspicious occasion. Our newest neighbor went for her first walk.

You see, our newest neighbor is a very cute Chihuahua named 'Mochie'. And she's a very active young lady. In fact, these are about the best pictures I could get of her since she was in constant motion. Lee, our next door neighbor, got Mochie recently and has been enjoying her so much.

Perhaps we'll have to set up a play date for Mochie and Indy! She really is incredibly cute.

Fam...

Miscellaneous family pictures I found while looking for other pictures....

Sisters..



















More sisters...





























Sibs... at the beach.

2009 Wiener Nationals

Last Sunday our church, the Highway Community, hosted its 6th Annual Wiener Nationals. This year we had 54 entrants.

Meet Abby - the Smith's elder dachshund and a past Wiener National Champion. She did well this year... but finished out of the money. That's Dean, the proud owner encouraging her at the finish.

This is the newest addition in the Smith household. Meet Hazel. She's a cutie. However, as Matt says 'she was pretty slow' in her first official year of competition.

The starting gate is where much of the action takes place!

The competition committee did not allow this racer to compete.

Here's a picture of the eventual winner in action.

My sister is in California and was anxious to see this prestigious event. Thanks Lurinda for sharing some of your pictures for this blog entry! It's fun to take pictures with you.

And this in one of the many competitors that hailed from outside our church. This event certainly is a memorable outreach to our immediate community.

Finally, here's Dean crowning the 2009 Champion!

Date Night

Saturday was date night and Julie and I chose to take in a Giants game. We had a great time. AT&T Park is beautiful and features picturesque views; the team is doing much better lately and we had the opportunity to see Tim Lincecum pitch. Tim is the reigning NL Cy Young award winner and a fun young pitcher to watch. He is the league leader in strikeouts and didn't disappoint; striking out 8 and giving up no runs.


























































The only bad thing about the date was realizing we totally BIFFED. Yes, we biffed big time - because Saturday night was also 'take your dog to the game night'. As soon as we got there we started seeing all sorts of dogs in Giants regalia. Arrrgggg... we have three dogs! It would have been so fun to bring one of the them to the game. In addition to being able to sit out in the bleachers with your dog.. there was the opportunity to participate in a dog parade around the perimeter of the ball field itself. Bums!


































































































However, the game was fantastic and the company was delightful. The Giants won 2-0. And we ate some great food. All it all.. it was a great date night! I'm looking forward to the next one!

Julie Month Kickoff

It's May and that means it's Julie Month! We're off to a fun start.

Friday we went on a date to 'the Gig'. The Gig is a musical talent competition promoted and sponsored by our church, The Highway Community, in support of local high school independent music. This year's Gig (the 5th annual) featured 5 high school bands from around the Bay Area competing for the grand prize: a 3 song demo recording at a professional recording studio.

Kids are fun and these kids were no different. There were 5 quite different bands!

Giacomo: this band was a brother/sister combo. The brother played guitar and sang. The sister was sweet and accompanied her brother on the keyboard. They did pretty good... especially under the pressure of having to go first.

New Year, New Love: this band featured one of Highway's own - Kyle S. He's an awesome musician who regularly plays keyboard during our Sunday morning services. New Year, New Love is a three man band featuring Kyle on the drums. They sang three songs and were quite good. I'm partial - but Kyle was the star of this band in my eyes (and ears).

Reptile Explosion: these folks were a heavy metal band from Lynbrook High School (San Jose). Let's see.. just how do I explain Reptile Explosion? Well, first off they were loud. Very loud. Which, actually we liked. It's exciting to see these young kids having a chance to play in front of a relatively big crowd. You can tell they love what they do. So, what do they do? Hmm... the plan seemed to be a) play some really loud music, b) bend your knees and lean over, c) swing your head in circles making the crowd think your head is going to pop off.. and d) have the lead singer bend over and scream un-intelligently into the mike. This went on for 3 songs. The funniest thing would be that these folks would just crank out this mind numbing loud noise... then the song would end and the lead singer would say, in a slightly high voice .. 'thank you'. It was just surreal and a lot of fun.

Alex and Kimiya: so, we've now heard two fairly loud rock bands and up come these two kids. Alex played accoustic guitar and Kimiya just sang. And sang they did. You could understand every word of every song.. and they played some beautiful original music as well as some well done covers. They were by far and away the best vocalists that night. A real pleasure.

Varada Niktu: The final band was a wonderful instrumental band. The lead guitarist did an amazing job - clearly the best musician of the evening. Very different from all the others. That's what made this such a fun evening.

And the winner was .... drum roll..... Alex and Kimiya... followed closely by Reptile Explosion!

We celebrated for Alex and Kimiya by having a Frozos! And we brought one home for our little invalid Hannah.


Saturday we both had to work.. but spent a few hours together in the afternoon taking a nice walk with Tim. We went over to Santa Clara University and walked through Mission Santa Clara. Oh.. and there was a side trip to Frozos thrown in! Saturday evening I got a nice chance to work with Hannah on some of her homework. She was feeling a lot better and it was great to have a chance to hang out with her.


Today: Julie stayed home from church to assist our little invalid in getting back to Berkeley. She's doing a lot better. Steroids really DO work. She was up and had energy and an appetite! She is doing so much better. I hope she hangs in there through finals. Please be in prayer for her. Later this afternoon (after naps).. we took the dogs and Tim out for a nice walk.. and then.. you guessed it.. headed to Frozos. I'm thinking Julie is thinking about going 31 for 31 at Frozos this month!


We hope you all had a great weekend. Enjoy your week!

Turning Green Part II

Now I'm turning green because Julie has been off this afternoon to Fort Funston with the dogs!

Fort Funston is in San Francisco and is unique in that it allows dogs off leash! Yes, the quadpedals (4 legged) are allowed to frolic on the beaches and in the ocean to their hearts content.

I am totally jealous!