We were at dinner at Mom and Dad's when our nephew Robert - Dave and Sara's son - found Grandma's snow globes. It was fun to watch him study them.
Viewing entries in
Personal
My Mom and Dad, Bob and Betsy Nelson, are celebrating their fiftieth anniversary today!!
Dad and Mom, Oscar and Felix, Photos by Liz
Happy anniversary Mom and Dad!!
Thank you for loving Dave and Bill and me and teaching us and modeling for us relationships and families. Your love has reached our spouses and shaped the next generation - your beautiful grandchildren - and will shape generations to come.
We all love you so much.
Here is to many more years together!
My friend at Gentle Doctor Animal Hospitals, Dr. Belfiore (Megan Belfiore-DiGiacomo), recently had a beautiful baby girl.
Guilia Marin DiGiacomo
Family friends are sponsoring a Go Fund Me page for Giulia and her family. Here is their story as told on their page...
On December 29th, Megan and Dominic DiGiacomo welcomed beautiful Giulia Marin DiGiacomo to their family. Early on in the pregnancy, Giulia was diagnosed with arthrogryposis. It's a condition that prevents a child's joints from moving normally. Often, the muscles around the joints are thin, weak, stiff or missing.
After Giulia was born, it was learned the condition is primarily affecting her hands, feet and legs. She spent her first month in the NICU unit at Methodist Women's Hospital. Giulia has already been fitted with a cast on one of her legs, and will undergo numerous surgeries in her first years of life. To further complicate things, a G-tube was placed in Giulia's stomach to allow her to get proper nurishment because she was having problems feeding normally.
Some of the DiGiacomo's "Italian friends" have put this page together to help them with mounting medical bills. Megan spent the last half of her pregnancy on bed rest and has been unable to work since, to care for Giulia. They are down to a single family income, and more medical bills are coming in. They have a high deductible insurance, and their out of pocket expenses will be significant.
As you can imagine, it's been a stressful time for the family, and we just want to do whatever we can to help make things a little easier, especially for their two other daughters, Gianna and Gabriella.
We hope you'll make a donation to help them get through this challenging time. Any amount, no matter how large or small, will go a long way in helping them pay their bills and letting them know that we are all thinking about them.
Help spread the word!
...
Post from one year ago today...
March 12, 2016
Read Donna Kay's sweet story about her dog Bo here, and remember, YOU know your best friend best <3 Do you want to read more from Donna Kay??
Guest Post from Donna Kay...
I graduated from college and moved away from home in 2013. Naturally, my 6 year old shepherd mix moved with me. It was just going to be the two of us on this big adventure. Life was grand; two walks a day, coming home over lunch to hang out, and weekends on the couch cuddling.
About 6 months into adulthood/debt, I noticed my walking buddy wasn't walking the best. I took him to a vet in town, who told me he had bad arthritis, and that it would be "best" to put him down.
Never one to take advice, I was put in touch with a different vet. She put him on a high dose of Rimadyl, with the agreement we'd do blood tests every year to check organ damage.
Wow, what a change! Monday the suggestion is euthanasia, and Tuesday I'm agreeing to a 3, 4, 5 year drug plan!
I'm happy to report my best friend is still with me, he even has big responsibilities now. He keeps the couch from blowing away, he makes sure his little brother Duke behaves, and he barks like crazy at rabbits on our twice a day walks.
Sorry Bo, but it's going to take a little more than arthritis to take you away from me.
When I was pregnant with our first daughter Amanda, one of my favorite clients, Mrs. Cranfield, made me this quilt. I love it so much. As I was struggling with the ideas of being a Mom and a vet and going from being a couple to a family and far, far from our own families, it was a sweet sign of love and comfort. It still brings back all those feelings and I will always be grateful.
I did as I was told by Mrs. Cranfield and used the quilt for our girls. She did not want it hung up or folded carefully and never used. Amanda and Abby played on it and wrapped their stuffed animals in it and now use it as a blanket.
Thank you Mrs. Cranfield. That was so very thoughtful of you. I loved your Shepherds, and I hope you still are surrounded by beautiful dogs and are doing well.
The heart says "Rockabye Baby" with love, The Cranfield Family 2000
Abby walked into the kitchen the other night and said to Russ, "Do you have any wire I can bend into glasses to put on a marshmallow?"
Then this happened...
This is a marshmallow representation of Dwight Schrute of the show The Office made for and in honor of Abby's friend who has been watching reruns of The Office and was sad Michael was leaving the show.
Abby told her friend that if she persisted and watched the show past that sad part, she would make her a Marshmallow Dwight. And she did.
I can't make this stuff up.
But Abby can.
It is one of the infinite things I love about her.
Here is another marshmallow Abby made for the same friend for her birthday. Joy is a little sad she had to share her pillows.
This also works with other plants.
We named the new kid Luna Lovegood. It is the first name we all four agreed on, and I love her as much as I would love the original Luna Lovegood.
My friend Dan was not a cat person. In fact, I don't think he ever had any pets growing up. I couldn't picture him having a cat, or knowing what to do with one. Until General.
Not General, but he looked like this.
Dan was looking for Camaro parts at the junkyard and found a very tiny abandoned kitten stuck under the pedals of an old junk car. This was a very long time ago, so I do not have pictures of the exact car or cat.
The car that General was born in looked something like this.
Dan took this little kitten home and named him after General Motors. General hid under the dryer for the first month, reluctantly coming out for food and learning to trust Dan. After that, they were inseparable best friends.
Also not General, but he looked this gorgeous. Not bad for a junkyard cat.
Friday was a snow day.
We decided to go to the Zoo. It was one of our favorite zoo trips.
I left the pictures in full color because of the red flower and blue frog and Macaws and peacock.
Pink Fairy Duster - In the Desert Dome
Tawny Frogmouths
These birds are so unique looking! I stared at them a while and then had to go back to watch them some more. I tried not to be rude, but it seems that in general, birds do not mind being stared at as much as dogs and cats do.
Roadrunner
This roadrunner showed us the stick he had found, then put it down to pick up a piece of grass. He pranced the grass blade back and forth in front of us, then set that down too. I love his personality!
Baby Map Turtle!
Courtyard Outside the Jungle
Blue Dart Frog
Macaws
In the Aquarium
Sometimes we don't even go into the Aquarium because it tends to be pretty crowded. This day was perfect! Maybe a half dozen other people besides the Zoo Team were in the entire Aquarium during the time we were there.
Penguins! This picture is for Dave Nelson and Evan Choi :)
Our favorite part of the Aquarium, the tunnel, had no other people in it. We have never gotten to go through it alone! We stayed to make friends with the turtles and rays.
This. This is what got us to the Zoo on such a snowy morning. How precious is he?? Mama was not too impressed with us being close, so we only stayed to take a couple pictures and congratulate her <3
This was a very fun day! Next time, we should go together!
...
Post from one year ago today...
February 26, 2016
Another earring and a nose ring. No, not for me! I am at my work handbook-approved maximum. And I am a chicken.
My daughters are brave. Also, Abby kept her room clean for thirty days and was allowed to have her nose pierced as agreed.
Amanda...doesn't tend to absentmindedly throw papers over her shoulder. Much to Abby's dismay, Amanda got day one approval on her requested earring.
When Abby finished her clean room chart (YES they work even better for teenagers than little kids!) and Amanda had summoned all the courage she required, we headed to Authentic Ink Tattoo and Body Piercing with ID's and birth certificates.
The front desk person was very kind. She made Amanda less nervous.
Colin Nichols gave the girls the new holes in their heads. He could see Amanda was getting nervous again after Abby had her nose pierced and had Amanda in the chair and her ear pierced before she could really panic. Thank you Colin!
The little loop in the top of Amanda's ear is the new one.
A trick I learned with recent dental work - if you have a Tsum in your pocket, things are less scary.
They are some days out and very happy with their decisions!
Thank you Authentic Ink team. I know kids are not your normal client demographic, and you were super patient and kind to them. They love their new piercings!
...
Post from one year ago today...
February 15, 2016
I needed one happy thing to attach to this beautiful color.
Guest Post, Russell Finch
Tonight at dinner I played peek-a-boo with my nephew Arthur. I wanted to say something profound about how that game relates to the uncertainty in our world, or fear and joy, or something.
Instead I will smile and laugh remembering how Arthur smiled and laughed at his weirdo uncle behind the cloth napkin. Never forget to smile and laugh at what's important.
...
Post from one year ago today...
January 26, 2016
The Women's March on Omaha was January 21, 2017.
Abby was at a friend's house, so Russ, Amanda and I headed downtown to march with other Omaha folks. We met up with Dave and the kids. Sara was in DC :) I wore my Sara Jean t-shirt in her honor. We saw lots of friends. Everyone was friendly and so supportive of each other.
It was SUCH an encouraging evening.
Amanda's sign says "Keep your tiny hands off my rights."
The Mounted Police brought up the rear and kept everyone at the end of the March safe. The police were so kind all evening. They directed traffic and kept people clear of the cars. The last officer we saw closed an intersection for a few minutes so people could safely get to the parking lot to head home.
I love this picture. Amanda was in her element!
On Friday September 9, 2016, Sapphire our orange goldfish jumped out of the fish tank.
We had the tank completely set up except for a top. Of course now I would never put fish into a tank with an open top, but then...I had.
I walked into the main room where Sapphire and Ruby's tank is and saw Sapphire on the wooden floor about two feet away from the tank wide-eyed (well, they are always wide-eyed, but this time it was in a bad way...) and not breathing.
I started crying. We had had them days and were already really attached. I picked her up with a paper towel and wrapped her gently. Russ and Amanda and Abby were out shopping together, and I did not know how I would tell them. I decided to call and tell Russ, but asked him not to tell the girls yet.
I opened the paper towel to look at Sapphire - she really is a beautiful fish. I could not believe I had let this happen. On a whim, I filled a small bowl with dechlorinated water and placed Sapphire into it. I knew she had been out of the water too long to survive, but even if she had a slim chance, I wanted to try. I gently brushed off the debris from the floor and let her float to the top.
Sapphire flipped her tail, dove under the water and started swimming slowly around the bowl.
I screamed. Then cried again. Then called Russ and yelled that Sapphire was alive.
I gently tipped her back into the tank. She and Ruby swam in circles together, and I stared at them until the family came back with a tank lid.
Apparently my children are very astute. When I had called their Dad once crying then again yelling, they knew something was up. Now with both fish swimming happily together again, I felt like I could tell them - Sapphire had died, but she had also survived it. All was well again, just as it was when they had left.
...
Post from one year ago today...
January 15, 2016
Every January, a wonderful group of pet bloggers gathers and answers a set of blog-related questions together. This is a fun project I did yearly with Riley and James.
Our dogs, Joy the (8 year old) Puppy and Luna Lovegood
Here is this year's set of questions and my answers for FinchDVM...
When did you start your blog and, for anyone who is just seeing it for first time, please provide a description of your site. Would you say your blog focuses more on sharing stories with your readers, or providing a resource for your audience?
I started this daily blog, FinchDVM in September 2015 after blogging since 2006 on my veterinary site, Riley and James. My brother Dave created both sites for me.
This blog was meant to be a continuation of stories from Riley and James, but ended up with a much different feel. I still love it though. Now I post once a day where there it was very random, sometimes only every three months or so.
One fun thing about FinchDVM is that most of the pictures are processed with a red-green color blindness filter to make them similar to how a dog or cat would see them.
Here is a picture in full color.
Here is the same picture in dog and cat vision. The reds are washed out, and the greens would be too. The yellows and blues are about the same. I've noticed that the colors OF dogs and cats (blacks, browns, tans and whites) are unchanged which I found interesting. Do you like the subtle message of the picture? haha!
This is more of a story sharing site, but I try to include some pet care tips as well.
What was your proudest blogging moment of 2016?
I realized I really had posted every day and that this is sustainable.
Which of your blog posts was your favorite this year and why? (Please include a link.)
TOFU'S FIRST STEPS is one of my favorite blog posts from 2016, because it is such a happy one. Tofu is the baby Husky from Taysia Blue Rescue with me in my profile picture that my friend Becky took of us. He is now full-grown and completely healthy and in a wonderful loving home. I love him so much.
Tofu and me
Year after year, one goal that we all seem to share is that we want to reach more people. What one tool did you use or action did you take this year that had the most impact on increasing traffic to your blog?
Daily blogging has helped the most in reaching more people.
Which of your blog posts got the most traffic this year? (Please include a link.) Have you noticed any themes across your most popular posts?
I can track traffic patterns over the past year, but only see popular posts from the past month or so. The most popular recent post is JOJO'S STORY about a sweet Chihuahua mix we treated.
It seems happy posts about individual pets are the most popular stories. They are also fun to write.
What blog do you find most inspirational and how has it influenced your blog? (Please include a link.)
These are wonderful blogs written by wonderful veterinarians. Through the years, these vets and their teams have shown me that this can be done and done well. I admire them both so much.
Critical Care DVM is a blog by a friend here in Omaha, Dr. Chris Byers, who is double boarded in internal medicine and emergency and critical care. His website is very well done and easy to read. It is tailored to pet parents, but I learn so much from him.
Others I love - YOURS :) and Dr. Grumpy who is a human neurologist (I mean...a human who sees humans).
What is one thing your readers don’t know about you or your pets that would surprise them?
I don't know! I am kind of an open book, super private in real life, but I will write anything!
My human family, Amanda, me, Abby and Russ
What is something you’ve learned this year that could help other bloggers?
Remember this is for fun, this is for you and your readers. Details beyond that are counter-productive if they add stress to your life.
What would you like to accomplish on your blog in 2017?
I would like to reach more people, post content that encourages and uplifts and heals (even if it seems like it's about random things like mostly dead plants). I would like to keep enjoying this outlet and share that joy with all of you.
Now it’s your turn! You have the attention of the pet blogging community – is there a question you’d like answered, or an aspect of your blog that you’d like input on?
It is just good to reconnect with all of you :) Here's to a great 2017.
I asked Joy the Puppy if she wanted to explain all of the Barbie doll hands I found behind the couch.
For Christmas 2015 I received a Passion Planner from Russ’s Mom Karen. I knew as soon as I opened it that I loved it!
My most recent read was The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson.
I hope you are having a wonderful holiday season!
We spent Christmas morning at home.
We got Joy and Luna their own new beds and their own new toys knowing this would happen...
Instead of playing together with the monkey toy (The tag said, "two dog toy!), they kept stealing it from each other and sulking when they did not have it. Also, there were new dog toys everywhere.
We went to Mom and Dad's for Christmas Day. Best Christmas yet! Mom, Dad, Oscar Puppy, Felix Puppy, Aunt Becky, Uncle Bill, Dave, Sara, Olive, Robert, Arthur, Karen and Phill and were there. THAT is a fun group!
Look at those baby polar bear paws! I love them so much!
Abby taught the puppies how to play the piano. I think they made some progress. Dawn would be proud!
We heard you had ham? And beer?
I told Aunt Becky if she didn't want pictures of her taken, she should stop being beautiful. She could not do it.
Arthur!
I love this picture of Robert showing Abby his fire truck!
Ernie Dog ornament that my tech friend painted for Mom several years ago
Do you ever remember rain storms in Omaha on Christmas? I don't, and I am very, very old.
Thank you for this puppy chow Aunt Penny! It was almost too pretty to eat! Also...it is mostly gone :)
I love these pictures!
Are you tired Oscar?
We are a little tired.
Merry Christmas!