Our family is sad, very, very sad...We love you, Gracie!

On Sunday night, our family lost one of our beloved pets...our dog, Gracie.

Sunday night was an ugly night. It was cold and rainy and really dark. BJ went out to feed Gracie and our other puppy, Termite and Gracie around 6 pm at their pen. Usually when it's raining, Gracie does not go very far, but she suddenly disappeared and was nowhere in sight. BJ searched for her frantically and called her while Lily and myself stayed in out of the rain hoping Gracie would return.

My mom and dad arrived at my house while BJ was riding through the neighborhood looking for Gracie. We had cooked chili and a birthday cake for my mom's birthday on Monday. As I looked at our glass doors, I saw BJ pull over and stop by the road right down from our house and then he sped back to the house..Surely not, I thought..., but our precious Gracie had been hit by a vehicle and was barely alive. I ran out to meet BJ and he told me the news. He had found Gracie but she was not well. I ran to her side and she was so pitiful..our so full of life weimeraner was weak and in so much pain..This hurt me so terrible to see her in pain.

Gracie didn't make it. There was nothing that could be done but to put her as quickly as possible out of her pain..

My heart still hurts today like it hasn't in a long, long time. Even though our dogs were outside, they were our babies, especially before we had Lily. It was just me and BJ with our dogs for 2 1/2 years. Gracie would have been 6 in March. She was so full of life such a healthy, kind, fun-loving animal. The perfect pet..She loved to run and play. Oh how she loved to swim in the ponds behind our house and chase lizards and frogs, but most of all, how she loved Termie. She and Termie were the best of friends. Gracie always thought she was as small as Termie despite her 75 pound weight difference. We would laugh at them many times as they would play chase and Gracie would roll Termie through the yard.

Gracie was BJ's pet before we got married and she came to live with us after we were married. We have so many great memories of them. My toes still curl up when I think about how it would hurt when Gracie would step on them when she was trying to get close to us to get lots of loving..She was so precious. Lily loved her so much, too. Gracie was one of her first words, and she loved to chase her..Our world will never be the same and we are so sad right now..Termie stayed in the house with us on Sunday night, and right now, she is staying at BJ's parents with their dogs. As bad as I miss her, I don't want her to mourn Gracie and want her to be healthy and happy.

I believe there is a heaven for pets, and I know that Gracie is running up there and having the best time! We love you, Gracie and will cherish all of your memories and never ever forget how you loved us! You showed us what true love and friendship is all about!

I took this picture of Gracie when she was maybe two months old. It won several awards and was even on the big Kodak sign in New York City for a day.

Our Christmas card in 2004.

Playing with Lily

One of the last pics of Gracie and one of the best I have got of her. She was beautiful.

What a fun Christmas morning!

Christmas with Lily is so much fun! This was our 3rd Christmas since Lily has been born and each one gets better and better!

We left Santa chocolate milk and cookies on Christmas Eve and read the Christmas Story before bed. On Christmas morning, after Lily finally decided to wake up at 7:30 am, (The child never sleeps this late. On the weekends, she is up begging me to play with her at 6 am.) we took her to the living room to show her what all Santa had left behind for her. She was speechless, which is rare! She first jumped in her ball pit, then she ran from toy to toy inspecting each one and quickly moving to the next. She got incredibly more that she ever needed. I got just what I asked for..an embroidery machine..more to come on this as soon as I get time to learn to use it...and hopefully BJ got just what he wanted.

We had a busy day with BJ's family for lunch and mine for supper, but all in all, it was a great Christmas day!

Here are pics from Christmas Eve and morning..

leaving cookies for Santa

look what Santa left behind..

Christmas Time is here! and almost gone :(

We had a great weekend full of Christmas festivities! I love this time of year and am already sad that it's almost over!
Lily has had the best time this year from the lights to singing her favorite Christmas carols..
Here are pics from the past week:


We went back to Christmas in the Hollow this weekend with BJ's side of the family. Lily loves it every time we go!

This pic was cute of Lily and her cousins, Hunter and erin.

We took our picture before church last night.

lily at her dance recital last monday night. She did really well. We were proud of her.

During the recital, they danced to Frosty the Snowman.

Lights everywhere, "Oh my gosh!"

We had a very busy weekend. We started out by going to a local Christmas light display with my parents that happens to be at Lily's Nana's house, which is actually where she goes to daycare Wednesday through Friday. They have Santa and cute displays and we go every year as a tradition. So far, every year Lily has had her picture with Santa. This year, BJ and I had to pose in the picture with her, and she wasn't happy at all being near Santa.
Below are pictures:

Lily's nana and her husband make stockings with the kids name on them that she keeps. They also have these for their family and friends.

I loved this pic.

On Saturday, we went to Mobile to shop and visit with BJ's mom's side of the family leaving at 7:30 am. We had a good time shopping, visited with two aunts, and a pawpaw. That night we all went out to eat, then ventured to Bellingrath Gardens to view the Christmas lights there. Despite the long lines of traffic and of people, we finally made it in there. We had a good time, and Lily kept saying "Oh my gosh" when she would see lights that she liked. Needless to say, we made it home right at 11 pm and were so tired!!

Here are pictures from Bellingrath:

Christmas Time!

We have been enjoying Christmas so much already.

Lily has seen Santa twice, once just in the mall and he gave her a candy cane. The second time wasn't so good. She was horrified..she wasn't scared last year. She loves everything about Christmas and carries stuffed Santas around loving on them. She is supposed to see again this Friday, so we will see how she responds.

She is so funny singing "Frosty the Snowman" and "Jingle Bells" and she has told everyone "You better watch out."

Last week when we asked her what she wanted for Christmas, she said a bicycle and tootsie rolls.

We are going to Bellingrath Gardens to see the Lights this weekend, and are excited because Lily loves all of the lights. She is just in awe of them!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

I decorated our house for Christmas the week of Thanksgiving.

Here is Lily with her "boots." She insists on wearing our Christmas stockings as her shoes.

It's so cute.!

Our Tree, I'm quite proud of it.

Our banister in the living room.

The doorway into our dining room

Fireplace mantle



I have got to take some pics of our outside decorations. I will post these soon.

Lily's 2nd Birthday already...

Lily had her 2nd Birthday Party on November 15th and we celebrated her 2nd birthday on November 28th. I cannot believe she is already two. She has grown incredibly fast, but every day gets better and better.

Here are pictures from her "Abby Cadabby" birthday party. It was such a cold, windy day but she had a great time and got lots of presents. She indulged herself in the whole "birthday" business and took full advantage of singing Happy Birthday to herself throughout the entire month, especially on the day of her birthday.

She can now proudly tell you that she is "two."

Already November?!?

We had a great trip to Tennessee. We spent two nights in Chattanooga and did lots of things. We went to the Aquarium, which Lily loved and also took her to the Creative Discovery Museum, which was so great for kids. BJ and I liked it quite well ourselves.
We also went to Rock City, rode the Tennessee Valley Railroad, and the Chattanooga Ducks. We really had a wonderful time and Lily was so good!
We also spent one night in Gatlinburg. The fall leaves were wonderful and we really enjoyed taking a nice break from our busy lives at home.
We had trick or treating last week, and Lily was a Princess or Sleeping Beauty, I guess you could say. She had a really good time getting lots of candy.
I am suffering from a yucky cold this week, so I am not feeling too good at all..
Here are some pics from the last two weeks:

New look...new outlook...

Thought it was time to move to a new fall look! I also have a new goal to at least write something on here once or twice a week.

I have so much going during the next 3 months, but I love to blog and it's a way of taking a break for myself..

I want to say first of all, that I love fall! I love all of the things associated with it from the leaves changing to decorating with pumpkins, scarecrows, hay, and all of the above..

I also love the hay rides, the costume parties, and the pumpkin patches.

We have really been trying to take advantage of the wonderful weather. I built my annual fall displays at my house. We have already been on three hayrides and Lily has been to one costume party. We also had a great time at the Pumpkin Patch. Lily absolutely loved it. She loved hugging all of the pumpkins and touching each one to find the perfect one. I am adding new pics of my decorations in my yard and also Lily at the pumpkin patch below.

We are looking forward to this weekend. We are going to Chattanooga and Gatlinburg. I am excited about seeing the leaves changing and also all of the great "Kodak" moments. I hope to take lots and lots of pics.

I have also been busy planning Lily's 2nd birthday party. It is in less than a month. Her birthday is on November 28. It is so hard to believe that she will be two. She is so amazing though. It amazes me how smart she is and how quick she catches on to things.

Here is my fall display in my front yard.

At our driveway, I have one of these flower beds on each side. This is the one on the left.

I'm back again...

I had some extra time today at work, which is very rare lately, so I thought I would write a little something.

The biggest news in our family is that Lily no longer has a pacifier. This feels like such an accomplishment for us! We actually weren't planning on taking it away from her because she was very, very attached to it, but last Tuesday, she had lost all of them but one which was worn out and should have been thrown away, but she just kind of forgot about it. I'm not sure if she decided it wasn't doing her any good or what exactly, but she took her naps on Tuesday without it and at bedtime, she asked for it once or twice, but went to sleep without it. We almost had a setback on Thursday and Friday nights. I think she is getting some two year old teeth, so she was really whiney and asking for it some, but we made it through without it, and so far this week, she may have asked once.

I am so proud of her, and really surprised at how easily we were able to get her off of it! Since she hasn't been getting it, we have found "pacies" throughout the house hidden under beds, out in the yard, etc.. It's been funny when we would find them and trying to hide them from her.

In other news, I know I am ready for fall. Our yard really needs some spunk, and I cannot wait to plant pansies, mums, and all of that fun stuff. I love buildin fall displays.

I will try to post more often. Hope everyone is doing good.

As always, here's a pic of Lily!

Just busy

I will try to update more often. We have been really busy at work lately, and I am never online when I am at home, so I haven't took the time to write anything in almost a month.

We have had a fun month from going to the beach to just hanging around the house. Here are a couple pics of Lily from the month!

Lily with her new princess rug! She loves it!

Eating oreos with her cousin Erin. They were having fun!

Lily amazes us everyday...

I don't really have anything exciting going on this week, so I thought I would write about my most exciting person in my life.

Lily just amazes us more and more every day. She is so bossy, but so sweet and loving. She is mostly spoiled, too, but it's impossible not to spoil her..

She talks and can say anything as I have already told you about before. She loves to look at animals and learn their names. I can tell her what something is one time, and two days later if i ask her what that is, she will remember. I am thinking at the same time that I am not sure I would have even remembered what someone tells me two days later..

Here's a funny story...

We recently have been trying to teach her to say the blessing at meals..the "God is great, god is good" blessing. Well, she knows to bow her head and say amen at the end. The past two nights we have had to say the blessing at least 10 times because she will bow her head and fix her hands to pray and wait on me to start up again. How can we not pray when she wants us to, lol? It's so funny but we keep blessing our food..Our supper is probably the most blessed food in our neighborhood that's for sure...

Hope everyone has a safe and wonderful weekend! We are supposed to with my parents to a nature park about an hour from our house. I hope to take lots and lots of pics!!

Below is a pic from this past weekend of Lily after a swim in the pool having a popsicle.

Been such a bad blogger lately...

I want to apologize for being forever since I posted. I always post something while I am at work, and things have been wild at work lately..just really busy all day. Things are finally slowing down here and I made a point to find time to write something new.

We haven't had a lot of exciting news. We do have a new member to our extended family..a new cousin for Lily. My sister-in-law, Amy, had her 3rd child last Friday, July 11th. Her name is Jayla Breanne and she joins Hunter, 4, and Erin, 2. This baby was somewhat of an accident, but many prayers are needed for Amy because she and her husband have their hands more than full now.

I will post a pic of Lily with her below. Lily absolutely loves baby J-lo as she calls her. She loves to kiss on her and just stare in amazement. Everyone has been saying this means she would love a younger sibling...however, I am not ready to share my time with another child right now. I would love for Lily to be a little bit older and more independent before she gets a sibling.

In other news, I got a new camera for my birthday. BJ suprised me this week with a new Sony Digital SLR A200 camera. I am really excited. I had a nice Sony camera but this one is even better. My birthday is not until July 31st but I managed to get it early. :)

I guess that's it for now. Hope you are having a good week!

Happy 4th of July from our family to yours..