Changes, Changes, Changes!

Cassie didn't like her crate, but Gracie sure did!

Grace and Cassie like to keep an eye on the neighborhood

Cassie was tired from her walk, so Gracie thought she'd keep her company.

Cassie!


What a week we've had! On Saturday, Drew, Gracie, Rod, Roxy, and I all went to Lake Forest to meet Gracie the dog. =) She is the boxer dog that Boxer Rescue LA found for us. We went to meet her in the hopes that she would be a match to our family. Lucky for us, she was! Our family now consists of two adults, a child, and three dogs. We renamed her (obviously) Cassie, and she has been living with us for almost one full week.

Cassie has had at least 4 homes in her 6-year-long life. We know that she was a breeder due to her physical shape (some friends and family thought we should change her name to "Missiles." I'll let you figure out why...), and that she ended up in a shelter by age 3. BRLA took her in and eventually adopted her to a man and his son. They are the ones who named her Gracie. Recently, the man lost his house and decided to move to Michigan. The poor dog did not fit into those plans, so he contacted BRLA hoping that they could find her a new family right away. Enter the Lorenger clan! We are all adjusting to having Cassie in our lives, and us in hers. She is good with Gracie, Rod is indifferent, and Roxy doesn't trust her. We are hoping that everyone will settle in within the next few weeks. We want to be Cassie's last home. She deserves to have true stability in her life!

The same day we brought Cassie home was my friend's college graduation party...or so I thought! Bringing Cassie home was pretty hectic, so when it came time to go to the party, I threw on whatever was clean (there wasn't much from which to choose!) and headed off to the party by myself. I thought it would be better if Drew stayed with Gracie and the dogs. On my way to the party, Sue Mandala, the hostess, called and asked me to pick up some last minute items. Since the Mandala family is an extension of my own, I happily obliged. When I got to the Mandala's I was greeted by both Jim and Sue at the door. They ushered me into the family room with the rest of the guests. I couldn't understand why all of their guests were staring at me when I walked into the room. Then, I saw my cousin, Amy. This puzzled me even more! Why was my cousin at David Mandala's graduation party?!? Slowly (at least it seemed slow), I started to see other faces - Drew, Jim Coombs, Kelly. I'm not sure if everyone said, "Surprise" or "Happy Birthday," I just remember starting to cry. The icing on the cake? - when my nieces walked into the room. I completely lost it! We so rarely get to see them that I would never have expected them to be a part of that crowd. I owe a lot to my brother-in-law, Tom. He brought them all the way from Vegas to be there. I had everyone from work friends, to college friends, to high school friends, and family there. Needless to say, Saturday was wonderful! That party made turning 30 much easier!

Another event this week was my mom's knee replacement surgery. She had the procedure on Wednesday and is still at Queen of the Valley recovering. They are hoping to move her to a rehab center tomorrow, then home on Monday or Tuesday. She got through the surgery nicely and is working through her pain to get back on her feet as quickly as possible. Pray for a quick recovery!

Drew and I are teaching summer school in the midst of all this. We teach until July 17th, then we get a good month off. I'll be back at work full-time in the fall, so we are going to make the best of our four week break. Once the next baby Lorenger comes along (no, I'm not making an announcement) I'll go part-time again.

I hope that everyone's summer is going well! Take care!