Saturday, November 26, 2011

Lucy - Our Firstborn


As many of you know, we lost our dog of 11 years earlier this week. I am not one to get all crazy about pets, but I did think that Lucy deserved more than just a facebook post and so I thought I would write a little tribute here to help me remember some of the more memorable moments. We adopted Lucy in July of 2000 from the Memphis animal shelter. Ben picked her out. Our intent was to save the several hundred dollars that we would have spent on an English bulldog and rescue a dog in need. Little did we know that Lucy was sick and scheduled to be put down the next day. We quickly discovered this after we brought her home, took her to the vet and she was diagnosed with distemper. About half the dogs with this don't make it, but we were already emotionally attached to her so we spent the money ($1000 total) to nurse her back to health. Maybe her name should have been Lucky instead. So from that day on, she was living on borrowed time. I think we did the right thing. She was the best dog we have ever known. Very well behaved, not yappy, house trained, obedient, SMART, good climber (the day she scaled 2 stacked baby gates was the day we knew we couldn't keep her locked in the bathroom) and loving. We taught her to sit, stay, turn around, crawl, roll over, speak and sing (she loved who let the dogs out). She hated baths and always went nuts running around and rubbing her hears on the carpet when they were over. I will never forget the time she was sleeping on top of the covers and I flung her off the bed in the middle of the night when I pulled the covers up closer. Probably scared the mess out of her. She got me back though. One morning I got out of bed and stepped right in a pile of dog doo. Not the best wake up call.... I will also never forget the time she paid my brother back for all the markings left in our new house by Harry. She never pottied in the house except the one time he kept her in his. I told you she was smart! She loved to be with her people and took change well. She adapted with the addition of each child, another psycho dog that briefly graced our house and most recently Cali-co. Those 2 animals loved each other and it really made the last few months of Lucy's life more enjoyable. I have never seen a dog and cat chase each other and tussle like they did.

I am constantly reminded of her absence when she isn't following me into every room just to be there, chasing and biting the vacuum and scrounging for table scraps that may happen to fall during meals. She loved to bite fish when we caught some and to chase and bite waves. She was a constant companion to the children and helped a few of them make it through the scared of the dark phases in life. We will always remember her fondly. We love you Lucy. Thanks for choosing us.

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Outdoor fun, Haloween and a quick visit.

Our first official camp out in the back yard. The weather finally cooperated even though Ben sneaked a heater in during the night. The kids were super excited. We all actually got a little sleep out of it. Definitely something we will be doing more often. Such great memories!



Styling while working, that's how we roll


Linlee's class took a field trip to Mitchell Farms that I got to attend as well. I just love that place and watching the kids have fun is part of the fun for me. We have a great group of kids and for the most part, were well behaved. The highlights for me were the funniest chicken I have ever seen and the huge pipe swing.






I also went the the Laurel fair grounds with Conner's class. He said this was one of his favorite things to do ever, even though the rides weren't open. I was amused by the animal feeding area (especially the long tounge of that calf!!). My most favorite part was by far the dog show!!






We attended the Pumpkin Party at church for Halloween. We have never really done trick or treating so I am trhilled that these options are out there so the kids can still have fun. they loved the pony rides and all the little games. I thought it was very well done. We even got to bring a few inflatables so good for our business as well! The kids all looked great in there costumes. My favorite was the Jedi though, I thought he looked pretty authentic!






We love suprises and so when the Fish family told us they were planning a stop in Petal on their way back from Disney, we were thrilled. If only for 1 night, it was soo good to see our friends. I think they fit a weeks worth of fun into 24 hrs! (we skipped school that day, it was worth it!)




Thursday, November 3, 2011

Fall catch up.

We had the Marlars come down for a weekend visit around Ben and Alecia's birthdays, thus the birthday cake picture. We took the girls fishing and just kind of hung out. It was so good to see them again. I really hope we can make the effort to keep up with our close friends. Distance and life gets in the way but I intend to make the effort.

On our way to the first home PCS game. They all had to make their best bobcat face. All I see is braces in the future...

This little guy really seemed to like us. I mean he just wouldn't fly away. after a while the kids got over the coolness of carrying around a butterfly and he just wouldn't leave. We finally got him to get on a flower. Really strange.