HAPPY Double Digits!!

It feels like only yesterday that you were only 10 minutes old and now look at you!

10 YEARS OLD!

Happy 10th Birthday Hallie!

We love you!

Planning......

for Birthday Round II !

Hallie May turns TEN YEARS OLD on Monday!

and

Birthday planning is well under way.....

she even purchased herself a VERY large tiara

(think Toddlers & Tiaras GRAND SUPREME very large)

to wear to school on Monday!

PICS to be posted soon!

"Marley & Me" ...Part II...Our Very Own Sad Ending.

Because it has been almost two years since we lost our Sally girl, and now that we have our sweet Mo, I finally braved it and watched Marley & Me! Big Mistake! Big! My eyes have been red & swollen all day! I had to repost my own Marley & Me...Part II that I wrote in honor of my sweet ole girl, Sally on April 23rd, 2009. I still miss her & Sam so much and this movie brought back so many hysterical memories! I think they would really love Mo!

Posted April 23rd, 2009:
I have yet to bring myself to see "Marley & Me", but after what we went through on Monday with our precious 13 year old Lab, Sally...I should be able to breeze right through it! Our hearts are broken that we lost her. She became very ill over the weekend and by Monday morning she was unable to even lift her head. She was experiencing kidney failure, heart failure, and had lost all movement in her bottom half. Glen was determined to carry her wherever she needed to go and anxiously asked if I had even tried to sit her up after I called him Monday morning to tell him it was painfully obvious what this had come to. We were about to experience our very own sad ending.



Just as Sally was right next to Sam, 2 years ago, as he quietly ran to the "Rainbow Bridge", Glen & I are so happy and honored to have been with our sweet Sally, hugging her face as she trotted off ever so bravely.

We got Sally when she was 6 weeks old, she was the runt of the bunch and was the 1st to jump right out of her bed and leap into my lap. She picked us!! We already had Sam, he was a year old and considerably LARGER than Sally. We attempted to keep them apart the first day, but they had different plans and were ready to meet each other and play immediately. 1st game: Sam rolling Sally around the yard like a small black ball. I called Glen screaming, "He's gonna kill her!" He assured me that they would be fine and they were. Best Friends until the very end and now it comforts me to know that they are together again.

We miss our Sally Girl and forever will.

She was a gorgeous black, enormous chunk of sweetness!

She was the mother of 44 puppies throughout her long life.

She was Sam's partner in crime, escaping with him whenever the opportunity arose to scout the neighborhood. Once getting run over and having to have her right front leg sewn back on!

She loved to eat entire loaves of bread, package and all. While passing through the house she never would miss the chance to pop into the pantry and do a little "smash & grab" with the bread.

She loved to sit in the driveway with us with her head under our arms.

She loved Milkbones.

She HATED thunderstorms.

She loved to howl at sirens passing by, until she lost her hearing and didn't know they were going by.

She loved cookouts and thanks to Glen enjoyed her last grilled hamburger on Sunday night.

She always had gas and wasn't afraid to use it!

She loved to grab Sam from behind and "play piggyback" until the sun went down!

She loved the pool. Not to swim, but only to lie on the tanning ledge to cool off and watch everyone else swim.

She liked to "play" with baby rabbits! (She never meant to hurt them, they were just too small.)

She loved to rub through our landscape plants and throw her head back with her tongue out while doing it.

She loved to walk the fenceline every morning. I am so thankful that I stopped to watch her as she walked last Friday morning, as this was her last time.

She loved for me to keep a light on for her at night.

She loved to sit under the trampoline while the girls jumped on top.

She loved our girls to lay on her, with her, around her, & just be with her.

We loved Sally and we are sick without her.

I hope and pray that she is now the beautiful, happy, and healthy puppy that leaped into our laps and into our hearts so long ago...running, playing, and piggybacking once again with the love of her life, Sam.

We miss & love you both terribly!

14 In A FLASH!

WOW! She turned 14 in a FLASH!!

Seems like only yesterday we were waiting for her to arrive! She celebrated her big day with a small group of friends, eating dinner, and shopping in the local Town Square. These parties are getting easier as they get older!

I stole this idea from another blog I saw. It was so fun going through old pictures to find one from each year of her life! WOW! It DID go by in a FLASH!!

Happy Birthday to my Riley!

14 years ago, you came into our lives and taught me how to love like I had never loved before! We are so proud of the beautiful, smart, young lady that you have become! We are so proud of everything you have accomplished and how you work so hard everyday to be the best that you can be! Happy Birthday to my beautiful Riley!

We love you so much!

Enjoy your special day!!

LOOK who is........

GROWING LIKE A WEED!

My baby MO!

National Champs and Crazy Mamas!!

My daughter's 8th grade cheer team competed in the ACA National Cheerleading Competition this weekend! After months of practicing, sweating, dancing, & cheering they took home first place! First place earns you a National Title to brag about at school, a banner to hang in the school gym, a trophy that is as tall as the cheerleader posed as a scorpion on top of the pyramid, and the COVETED NATIONAL CHAMPION JACKET!! Let me tell you it is allllll---and I do mean ALLL about the jacket. uhhh-huu!! My girl hasn't taken that jacket off since they crowned her with it!

Other cheerleaders not so lucky! The minute they got their "jacket" their crazy mama swiped it and wore it through the streets of downtown like they earned it all on their own, reliving their "glory days" of junior high cheer. (Not me, I couldn't fit in that tiny thing.....yes, guilty, I tried.)

The weekend was exhausting, mixed with lots of fun all balled into one big "GO COLTS!" I enjoyed all the crazy mama watching......I witnessed many "seat saving Nazi mamas", a few "crazed red lipstick yielding mamas", a whole bunch of "seat bouncing, toe-tapping mamas", a whole big group of "aluminum covered cardboard cutout sign holding mamas", a handful of homemade light-up poster-making mamas", and just a few "bored out of their minds, but all-around good sport" daddies (ours included)!

Congratulations to my sweet girl and her team for all of their hard work, dedication, and amazing talent that made this an exciting National Champion weekend for us all!!

GO COLTS!!

The BIG Arctic Storm (fail) of 2011

We woke up this morning READY for some SNOW!

The night before, the weatherman had promised some of the white stuff in the form of a couple of inches, so we were ready when the sun came up!

BUT....when we got up, all there was was rain.

So....we sat by the window and watched and waited..... got bored with waiting, so we napped......
then we baked cookies....
then we watched and waited some more....

and FINALLY! It started falling!
WE HAD SNOW!!!
But as quick as it came......it was outta here even quicker....
and this is the only snowman we got today!

But BABY is it COLD out there!!!

Valentine's Idea.

Need a cute, easy, cheap Valentine's Day idea?

Try this.....

Get in your car and drive to the nearest Hobby Lobby.

Buy a 3 pack of the colorful Chinese Paper Lanterns that they have for $7.99.

Stroll on over to the gift wrap aisle.

Pick up some $3.49 (pink or any other color) cellophane roll.

Then hit the 50% off ribbon rack.

Check-out in the shortest line you can find (this can be sometimes difficult at Hobby Lobby)!

Head home.

Assemble the lanterns.

Wrap in the cellophane wrap.

Tie cute ribbons on the ends.

WA-LAW!

Now you have cute, large Valentine Candy to hang!