Saturday, August 21, 2010

Over and out.

We gave our dog away today.

June 16 1

We have hemmed and hawed about finding her a new home now since before Evan was born, so I guess it's been about a year. It seemed as though one thing led to another that would cause us to delay the decision. We'd then get used to the other situations we came up with to further the delay, which would cyclically lead us to lots of "anothers" until we finally reached a breaking point.

June 16 2

When the breaking point happened, I asked Patrick what he wanted to do. I knew what his answer would be but I wanted him to come up with it. And he did. He said that he didn't want to give her away but he knew it would be the right thing for her and for us if we gave her an opportunity for a new life. Before he blinked, I placed an ad.

Well, I placed 4 ads.

June 16 3

And we got a phone call. "Oh, she looks adorable and I really would love to take her. Tomorrow."

Which is today.

We spent a lot of time reminiscing about Cayman last night, knowing that this morning we would be packing up her personal belongs and favorite treats to give to another owner who would then give them to her.

June 16 4

Since I "seemed" emotionally unphased by her parting, Patrick wanted to know if I had any good memories of her - you know, about her energy, her face, her personality. So, we strolled down memory lane thinking about all the good things we remembered about our dog. Here are some of those memories we both had of her...

June 16 5

"Remember when we first got her and she tore around the house like a mad-dog. She jumped all over the furniture and bed and couch and ran laps and laps until we were dizzy?"

"Remember when I hurt my knee when I chased her after she started jumping over the fence?"

June 16 6

"Remember how I ripped my shirt on the fence when I chased her after she started jumping over the fence?"

"Remember how I laughed so hard watching her walk around in a no-jump harness we got for her when she started jumping over the fence? And a few hours later I went into labor with Mallory?"

June 16 7

"Remember when she peed in your mom's purse?"

"Remember when she used to stare into the vents of our little rental house because she heard the mice scurrying around in the air conditioner ducts?"

"Remember how she used to jump up on top of the grill and sleep there?"

"Remember when she peed in the middle of our bed?"

"Remember when she chewed up the red pen in the middle of our dining room and stained the carpet red? That's when we decided to re-carpet the house."

"Remember the time her face swelled up like a balloon after she got bit by that spider?"

June 16 8

"Remember how she chewed up our door frame in the laundry room and basement because she didn't like it when we left her alone?"

"Remember how she humped our babies every time she sniffed their butts? And she sniffed their butts a lot."

June 16 9

"Remember how we had to DRAG her into her crate before we would leave the house? She'd be hiding under the depths of our king-sized bed and we'd have to sprawl out in an army-crawl position to reach her? And then she'd nip at our hands when we reached in to grab her collar to get her out?"

"Remember the time when she figured out how to jump our 6-foot privacy fence, wander around the neighborhood and look for someone to bother? And that time on Christmas Eve when our neighbors brought her over saying she was rooting around in their trash?"

"Remember the time she escaped at my parents house and was missing for 4 days? Remember how tired she was? Remember how much we missed her and were so relieved she was found? That's when we stopped bringing her to my parents house. Or anyone else's house for that matter."

June 16 10

Wait. Aren't we supposed to be talking about the good memories? I guess these are.

June 16 11

We both have said, though, that Cayman is a dog-lover's dog. People who love animals love Cayman. People who do not love animals do not love Cayman. She needs a pack. She needs a lot and a lot of love. She needs a champion.

I think we found her a good home. And I think the lady who is her new owner is a dog-lover. And I think Cayman will be very happy.

June 16 12

I don't think I'll be second-guess our decision, though there will be times I will miss her.

Monday, August 16, 2010

Just a teensy bit strange

I've been stalking Craigslist for a few days now as I am on the prowl for some bedroom furniture for the kids. I came across this item description and I found it interesting, to say the least.

"Massaging Husband with Cupholder *No Ring Necessary*"

This made me think really strange thoughts.

How could I not?

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Eliminating a case of the Dailys

It seems as though, lately, our weekends get pretty jam full pretty quickly. It's like one day we have nothing to do on a Saturday and then *wham*, there is more that can be done in one day alone. Despite the craziness, we had a Saturday recently that had nothing on the docket and we racked our brains to figure out what to do. When you get so busy it's sometimes hard to figure out what to do with free time, ya know?

Hello?

You know what I mean?

*crickets*

...maybe I'm just the only one who has no idea what to do if it's not scheduled...

I'm crazy like that.

And in a lot of other ways...

So, what should we do with our family free time? Go to the mall? We'd only spend money and fill our eyes and heads with things that we really don't need, but think we do.

Watch TV? We'd only be sitting on our butts, stroking the back of laziness which will only produce discouragement at the end of the day because we didn't do anything.

Invite people over? Now, there's a possibility. A good one. But we haven't had some family time in a long time. We need to be together.

Yard work? Fun. NOT!

Housework? Laundry? Oh, Lord. Not on the weekend.

So, we thought up an adventure we used to do when we lived on the otherside of Johnson City: go to Sycamore Shoals. Hiking, Rivers, Forts...outdoors!


Now THERE's an idea.

We got off our tooshies and headed out the door to a fun-filled adventure before it got even hotter then Hades it already is. We were out the door by 9 and told the kids we were going on an adventure to explore a river. They really didn't know what in heavens name we were going to do, but I'm sure they were just thankful that they were going to see something other than the walls of the inside of our house.

Needless to say, the kids had a BLAST. Daddy and I had a blast watching the kids have a blast.


It's amazing how much fun you can have being together just as a family while...


watching the river


playing in the river



playing on the bars


pretending in the fort



pretending you're a soldier with a heavy load on your back, watching for the enemy and wishing for a musket to defend your beloved countrymen



and being with the family.

I must say, it was a refreshing day. We were home by lunch and then the kids took a nap...a LONG nap. There's nothin' like tuckerin' out the kids 'til they flop into bed.

I feel that sometimes we overlook the abundance of activities that nature can bring because we get so caught up with daily-ness. I forget that some of the "mundanity" (if that even is a word) of the dailys can be eliminated when we get out, have fun, develop our relationships, and see the beautiful creation that God intended for us to enjoy.

Go forth! Get outta the house! Have fun!

Then take a nap.

Friday, August 6, 2010

Evan is 9 months

My sweet baby boy is 9 months.

He's all over the place, crawling and cruising his way into mischief. He eats anything in sight and is seemingly hungry all the time. We're going to grow broke by the time our boys are teenagers. I can only imagine the food we'll be going through...

He's my buddy. He's a little booger. And I love 'im.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

It's been a long time in coming, but I finally...

had a photoshoot recently!

I'm still in the process of editing this shoot and I'm looking forward to shooting this cute little girl's birthday party next Saturday.

If you want to have a photoshoot, let me know. We'll work somethin' out!