Drei Stränge German Shepherds

11/11/2024

11/07/2024

Remember a few weeks back when I told you that I was so excited about something? Well, it’s time to reveal.

I took a new position at our local high school, and my office is quite large. One of my favorite parts of the job is walking to the office. The art showcase is in the hall on the way, and daily I stop to admire the incredible artwork of our students.

There was a blank walk in my new office with 4 screws. I immediately knew what I wanted to hang there. So I spoke with the art teacher and explained my vision. He tasked 4 students to draw my dogs. Each one is drawn by a senior student and drawn in pencil. Here is the incredible result.

11/01/2024

What a busy couple of weeks!

Here’s an update: Keegan finished his soccer season in the regional semi finals with a loss. A loss is fine, but this one was difficult for a couple reasons. First, there were a few calls (or lack thereof) that had a real impact on the game and the team. One in particular was a goal that was called back and was fair after film review. Second, it’s his senior year and it was tough going out knowing they could have advanced.

Ozzy finished her first cross country season with a strong finish. She ran some tough courses and we are looking forward to her running career in the years to come!

Kiyah is always such a good cheerleader for her siblings. She had her moment with a fun run and won first place for the fourth grade girls! We had donuts with grown ups and enjoyed some cider with it.

In the midst of all this busy, Ferguson is shedding her coat. We are doing a lot of brushing these days!

I’ll try to keep stories more updated now that things have slowed down. For now…because swim season is fast approaching! 🏊🏼‍♂️🏊‍♀️🏊🏼‍♂️🏊‍♀️

10/13/2024

🧡🖤 Senior Sunday 🖤🧡

10/08/2024

These lovebirds are right in the path of Milton.

A few things I am thankful for…

💧They are inland enough that the storm should weaken by the time it gets to them.

💧An aunt and uncle who are seasoned Floridians, and are willing to allow them shelter and power through the storm.

💧Friends who pray for my kids. ❤️

💧Knowing God is in control.

💧Excellent training for Landon as he will be essential to restoring power.

Would you pray with me for Karly and Landon’s safety, and the safety of others through this storm? And especially for Landon as he works as a lineman in this mess. ❤️

10/06/2024

🖤Senior Sunday🖤

Soccer districts start this week so I thought this picture was fitting. 🧡🐾⚽️🐾🖤🐾⚽️🐾🧡

10/05/2024

Happy 2nd Birthday to our B Litter! This litter is super special. We lost Ydanja shortly after these puppies were born. Many of them did not survive, but Daisy and Ekko are sure thriving! They have the best families and are so well loved! We hope they have the best day! 🧡🐾🎈💛🐾🎊

10/02/2024

A little update on Sloane…

She has settled in nicely with her new family! She lives with her owners and two teenage boys! She has a little best friend named Mo who is warming up to her and loves to follow her around.
She is eating well, sleeping well, and settling into her new schedule. Her owners work from home so she is always with her people. She loves going on walks in her neighborhood and meeting the neighbors. She has a beautiful walking trail that she walks every day, which wears her out! She is doing well and it is a great fit! 🩷

09/28/2024

Sloane’s secret is out! She went to her new home this morning! We are so excited that she will be close to us and that we can see her often! She has a new best friend named Mo and they were fast friends! It’s the perfect fit. 🩷

09/22/2024

Senior Sunday 💙

09/21/2024

It’s Homecoming! Go Panthers! 🧡🐾🖤🐾🧡

09/19/2024

I posted this before and I’ll probably post it every year.

One of the things I got from my dad is a love for dogs. My dad could calm any dog, he played with them all and he wasn’t biased. If it was a dog, he loved it. Once a beagle bit him right in the butt and he turned around and petted it. He was just that kind of guy.

I’m not quite as unbiased as he was, but nonetheless I have a fierce love for my dogs and the puppies that we raise.

Today my dad has been gone for 3 years. I find as time goes on, I realize how short our time is here on earth. I also realize the very short time I have with my dogs and I am thankful that I have the deep love for my dogs that I do. I probably love my dogs more than any normal person should, but if that’s a fault then I’ll carry it with pride.

I miss my dad. So today I’ll hang with these guys and find the joy in remembering him.

09/15/2024

Sloane.

Perfection. 🩷

09/14/2024

Sloane…she has personality! 🩷

09/07/2024

I cannot WAIT to show you what I am up to with these four!!

09/03/2024

Happy Anniversary to us! Married 19 years today!

Fun little fact: Did you know that our kennel name, drei Stränge, is German for Three Strands? We have based our marriage on Ecclesiastes 4:12, which says “A cord of three strands is not easily broken.” When we follow God’s design for marriage, we cannot fail! 🩷

08/09/2024

Here’s a fun little story for you…

I have said since she was little that Kiyah is going to do big things and change the world.

Well, she might be little but she’s already at it…

When Kiyah was diagnosed with leukemia, we had the option to put her on a study. The study consisted of her receiving the same treatment plan that all B-Cell ALL patients received, and they would monitor several factors throughout her treatment. One of the elements of the study is that there was a drug available callled Blinatumomab. Each patient on the study would have a 50/50 chance of being drawn for the drug. What they were hoping to find out is whether adding this particular drug to the treatment plan would benefit patients or not. If chosen, we had the option to decline if we didn’t feel comfortable with it.

So, what most people don’t know is that within 28 days of diagnosis, following the laid out treatment plan, the patient should be in remission. Kiyah was not in remission. She was considered a standard risk patient upon diagnosis, which gave her approximately an 87% chance of survival. They repeated the treatment, and after another 28 days she was still not in remission. Her oncology team was getting concerned at this point, and it was about the same time for her lottery drawing. She was now considered a high risk patient, with a survival rate of approximately 75%. Her doctor was very concerned that if she did not get drawn for the drug, that she would need a transplant, or to be quite frank, not survive. The drug would need to be administered for one month as an infusion, visiting the hospital every other day to change the medication bag. She would have a month off, and then repeat for another month. The cost of the drug for both infusions was almost a half million dollars. Our only option if she wasn’t chosen was to pay for it ourselves.

Well, God being who God is, Kiyah was chosen for Blinatumomab. She wore a backpack full of medication for two months, we moved our family to Grand Rapids for a month twice, visited Devos every other day, and prayed for the best.

After the first month of medication, she reached remission. She remained in remission for the rest of her treatment and remains there today.

So why am I sharing this? Because yesterday, Kiyah was notified by her oncologist that the study has concluded and that she contributed to increased survivability odds for new patients diagnosed with
B Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Blinatumomab is now a standard protocol in the treatment plan for new diagnosis, which increases survival odds by more than 10%!

At 6 years old she was making a way for other kids to beat leukemia and she didn’t even know it. ❤️