The ending of 2016

The year 2015 was a rough year with losing Daddy.  The whole year feels like a blur to me and I am not sure what good I was able to leave on that time period.  So, I was happy to ring in 2016 last year with a fresh start.  Although this past year brought its own challenges, I could finally start to see some of God's promises and happiness shine again.  We had so many happy moments of 2016, but we did lose another member of the family which devastated us all.  Baylor was the best dog we could have ever imagined for our family and it was quite the shock to lose him on September 30th.  He was a loyal friend and family member for 12.5 years.  He saw our house when it was still bare without furniture, watched us get our first "newer" cars, snuggled with us through tears of loss, and watched our family grow with each kid.  I will never forget how patient he was with me and the kids when they were born.  A few times he was even a better parent than us and watched over them.  God must have known I needed him while saying goodbye to Daddy and Baylor was there every step of the way. He would lay with me, let me cover him in tears, and even get in bed with me.  He was just a perfect family member that will be forever missed.  I know he would be happy that we are holding onto his legacy and preparing our hearts to love another fur baby...but I still wish for one last snuggle.  Today we celebrated by geocaching and getting snocones.  Tonight we stayed home and enjoyed taco salad with Gamee/Grampee before heading out to do fireworks with the neighbors.  The kids enjoyed playing with friends and staying up the entire time.  The helped us ring in the new year and after a brief celebration we hurried off to bed for another day of celebrating the new year of 2017 tomorrow.  Thank you God for the blessings throughout this past year and we look forward to what 2017 holds.

The puppies are here!

We got the best news this morning!!  Sarah let us know that Daisy had started having her babies late last night just before 8pm.  We stayed up till 1am getting texts and pictures as the babies were all born.  Mama Daisy had her hands full as she finished with 11 puppies in all!  In the litter, 7 were girls (6 white/cream and 1 tan) and 4 were boys (3 white/cream and 1 tan).  The last pup was born just before 1am this morning (New Year’s Eve baby!) and was a tan male.  We could not be more excited and since we get the pick of the litter, we instantly chose the tan male.  He is perfect in every way and we cannot wait to hold him!  The kids joined in on the excitement and are already asking when we can bring him home.  Cade kept saying “he’s so cute” and Caelin just kisses the phone.  We cannot wait to hold him in a few weeks when we go to visit.  Here are some newborn pics…what a way to end 2016 and make life a little brighter!

Happy BD Aunt Mendy!

Thank you for being the world's best sister EVER! You have ALWAYS been there to give me a hug, listen through tears, slap some sense into me when needed, encourage me, and make me smile. You are my best friend as I know we have shared the best and worst memories of our lives. We did all those things TOGETHER and I would not be on the path I am now without you. I am flooded with memories, but here are my Top 10 to cheers you for. Happy birthday sis...remember, "no matter how hard you try..." (wink wink)

10- You still hug me even if I am doing the ugly cry.
9- You have to be best friends with someone who knows your secrets.
8- That time we were swinging punches and Dad threw us in the pool in 30 degree weather with our clothes on.
7- The days you let me tag along and drove my friends and I to school in HS.
 6- You laugh at my jokes when no one else does. Lets face it...I am hysterical.
5- You take me on Starbucks dates and don't judge when I say Venti really loud.
4- We dress like twinkies often without even knowing.
3- We can still songs with dance moves from records...cue The Judd's..." Well I went up to the bank with my little checkbook, the cashier he gave me the strangest look"
2- You saved my Goldfish one summer while I was on mission trip. You were in charge and rushed it to the vet when it was choking on a rock.
And the #1 reason to cheers you on your 39th birthday... I WILL ALWAYS BE TALLER AND YOUNGER THAN YOU!

Random December delights...

Merry CHRISTmas to all!

Christmas morning could not have been more special.  Gamee and Grampee arrived to watch the kids see Santa around 7:30am.  The kids had JUST woken up so the timing was perfect!  Both kids got exactly what they asked Santa for.  Cade got his "Fungus Amungus" truck and 5 guys and Caelin got her "Puppy Surprise".  We were all excited to see that Caelin's puppy delivered 4 babies.  Guess we will have a busy day ahead with all those babies, ha!  We enjoyed watching the kids yell and smile over the little gifts from Santa.  We then enjoyed breakfast and coffee while the kids played.  Soon, it was time to get ready to head over to Gamee and Grampee's house for more fun.  Uncle Corey was in town and waiting at the house while Christopher, Heather, Andrew and Jacob joined us as well.  It is not often that we get to enjoy all 11 of us in the same place at one time!  We continued the fun with opening gifts galore.  The only comment I can say is that we are one BLESSED family!  After gifts, we relaxed and enjoyed watching the kids play with their toys for a bit before lunch.  Lunch was fantastic with brisket, cheese grits, grilled asparagus, rolls, and Gamee's fruit salad (made mainly by Grampee this year...although I am sure that was supervised).  Once we were all stuffed, we went back to relaxing before dessert was served.  Dessert featured a birthday cake for Jesus with ice cream, yum.  Today was such a nice day with no plans but relaxing and enjoying the family.  The hustle and bustle of life often takes away from this type of time with family.  Slowing down, laughing, playing games, and being together is what makes this time of year magical.  We are thankful that we celebrate all that Christ has done for us and that our family truly knows the reason for the season!