The Cochrans

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Cheer Camp

Bailey participated in the Sealy Cheerleading Mini Camp again this year. They performed at a basketball game the week after the camp. Bailey is on the back row - second from the left.

Saturday, January 4, 2014

11th Anniversary ~ The Bush Library

For our eleventh anniversary, Judd and I snuck away for a couple of days in Dallas without the kids. We shopped at North Park, ate dinner at Maggiano's, and saw a movie one night. The next day we went to the Bush Library, had Sprinkles cupcakes, saw another movie, and ate dinner at Mi Cocina. It was a great little getaway! We LOVED the library! While we were there, the temporary exhibit was "Home for the Holidays: Christmas at the White House 2001." It was FANTASTIC!

9-11 Exhibit

The Oval Office

White House as House of State

Air Force One

President Bush with the Baylor Lady Bears and Coach Mulkey

Statues of George W. and George H.W.

Monday, December 30, 2013

Ruthie

I don't think I mentioned on the blog that in May we had to put our Gracie down. She was 13 years old, and her health had been declining for quite some time. Judd got her as a puppy before we got married, so she has always been a part of our family. We still miss our Gracie girl.

We enjoyed six months of being pet-free. It was kind of nice not having to worry about the responsibilities that come with having a pet. But, we're dog people, and we knew we would get another dog eventually. I don't think we realized it would be so soon.

Judd and I started talking about what kind of dog we wanted and thought about several breeds. We searched for breeds that were comparable in size to a cocker spaniel, but eventually decided that cockers were perfect for us. Judd had a buff colored cocker spaniel as a child, and Gracie was black, so we decided we wanted a chocolate one. We began looking online...just to look...and found a cocker spaniel rescue in the Austin area. There were lots of cockers available for adoption through the rescue, but one caught our eye and tugged on our heart. Her name was Rolo. This is what we read and saw about her on the website:

Isn't she adorable? We filled out an application to adopt that very night. Here is the timeline of events that followed:

November 5 - Found Rolo's picture and filled out application

November 8 - Application approved, home visit scheduled

November 10 - Home visit (Representatives from the rescue brought their own cocker to our house to visit and make sure we and our home were suitable for adopting a dog.) We were approved the next day and expressed interest in Rolo.

Rolo's foster family informed us of her condition. She had been rescued from a shelter. They believe she was part of a breeding mill and had been dumped. In the process, she had been attacked by something (possibly another dog.) She had been bitten pretty badly on her back, and she had a broken leg that was in a splint. In addition, she had an extra fold of skin on one of her eyes that caused continuous eye infections. She would need surgery to fix her eye, remove scar tissue from her bite, and possibly to fix her leg. We were overwhelmed by the potential cost for her care, but couldn't turn her away. She ended up not needing surgery on her leg, and the rescue paid for the other two surgeries which were scheduled for December 10.

November 19 - Rolo came to visit. Rolo's foster family lives in Austin, and they brought her to visit us on their way to Houston. She spent the afternoon and evening with us. Her leg was in a splint and she was unsure of her surroundings, so she was pretty subdued the whole time she was here. I was a little disappointed and felt like she didn't like us. Judd assured me that she would be better once she came home for good.

She stayed by the door most of the time she was here.

Playing with Bailey

Checking out the backyard

Getting acquainted with both kids

When Rolo left that night, we confirmed our intent to adopt her and told her foster family that we would name her Ruthie. They kept us informed of her vet appointments, surgeries, and progress.

December 18 - Ruthie's "Gotcha Day!"

Ruth Collins Cochran

(She's named after my dorm at Baylor...Ruth Collins Hall.)

Ruthie already has her own stocking!

Ruthie has adjusted well and has fit right in with our family. She loves to play outside, and she loves to sleep! We're already in love with our sweet girl!

Saturday, December 28, 2013

Snowflake

Snowflake is back! He arrived on the Sunday after Thanksgiving with popcorn and a Christmas movie. He has appeared in different places all over the house, sometimes doing some pretty funny stuff! The kids love looking for Snowflake as soon as they wake up every morning.