I love my brother

My little brother Nic finally got the black lab he's been wanting for Christmas. Yesterday he had to put him down because he had Parvovirus. It's deadly in puppys & Harley was in the last stage of it. I know it was very hard on my brother and it was a very unselfish decision, I am proud of him. My brother loved Harley enough to let him go instead of keeping him alive for selfish reasons. He knew that even if the puppy pulled through this, his quality of life wouldn't be good. There was a good chance he would have intestinal and cardiac problems & it was possible the virus would affect him again. There isn't a cure, they just treat the symptoms. Nic didn't want to see him sick and in pain anymore. I wish I could take my brother's pain away but I also know my brother is strong. He's willing to wait 6 months before getting another puppy to make sure the virus is cleared from the grass. I am honored to have such a strong, loving young man for a brother.

In Loving Memory of Harley

I'm going to miss the little guy

Movie Date

Last night Maddie & I went to see "The Tale of Desperaux" because she had filled her chart with stickers. We have found the best thing that motivates Madison is to give her a sticker to put on a chart when she is good or does something she is asked. I let her pick the movie & she wanted to see 'the mouse with the big ears'. Boring movie - cute lead character, good story moral, some weird parts but it wasn't enough to keep Madison's attention let alone mine. Needless to say - I'm sure we won't be buying it when its out on DVD.

We went to dinner first at Chic-fil-a so she could get her wiggles out on the playground. Then we got popcorn, drinks & icecream to enjoy with the movie. And we only had to take 1 pottybreak! I don't sit at the top of theaters anymore because usually it's 3-4 potty breaks. Maddie's hard at work filling up her next chart - she wants Daddy to take her next time!

Maddie's Birthday

HOLY COW! I SURVIVED!! Maddie's birthday is December 23rd, yes just 2 days before Christmas - so it becomes a 3 day marathon. JJ had the 'brilliant' idea to kick off the marathon with a huge birthday party and invite more kids than our house can hold. Mental Note: book next year's party at Bounce U. Maddie was more excited for her birthday than Christmas. For 3 months she has talked about these pink cowboy boots we saw at IFA picking up dog food. She has been so patient for them, so when she asked to open them up at 7:00 before school, I couldn't say no. Look how excited she is:

She immediately put them on and said "I look like Tim McGraw!" I also got her a pink cowgirl hat that she opened at the party - then she really felt like Tim. We also celebrated Mariah's birthday while she was here since it's on Jan. 5th. I'm glad Mariah was ok with a Little Mermaid Cake!

Even with all the chaos the party was fun, so Thank You to everyone that came!

A Good Investment?

I had my wedding bouquet professionally preserved and framed. I should have done more homework on it because the final bill was a lot more than I was expecting. That's ok though, you only get one shot to preserve your wedding bouquet and I think it turned out really beautiful.

I had JJ's boutonniere and our vows included. The silver plaque reads: "Today, Tomorrow & Forever" JJ & SARAH, Sept. 12th, 2008. I think it was worth it, I just keep praying it doesn't fall off the wall and break!

In Loving Memory of a Little Angel

Adrianna Opal Read

Oct 30th, 2008 - Dec 12th, 2008

I'd like the memory of me

to be a happy one,
I'd like to leave an afterglow

of smiles when life is done.

I'd like to leave an echo

whispering softly down the ways,

Of happy times & lauging times

& bright & sunny days.

I'd like the tears of those who grieve,

to dry before the sun

Of happy memories that I leave

When my life is done.

http://www.adriannaread.com/

All I want for Christmas is my 2 front Teeth

Madison has lost her 1st tooth up top. She has an adorable gap now. The other front tooth is loose, so I am sure she will have both gone at the same time and an even bigger gap and maybe even a lisp. Here is her cute smile now:

Maddie is also in love with anything cowboy: cowboy hats, boots and especially cowboys. She told me the other day she wants to kiss Tim McGraw on the cheek. (who doesn't?!) For her birthday she wants pink cowboy boots. This is her favorite hat right now, Aunt Susie gave it to her:

As I was trying to post this, Maddie wanted to practice tying her shoe again. She is working really hard to learn how to do it, of course she does get her moments of frustration.

Wedding Pictures

We finally got our wedding pictures! I loved how they turned out!! There were almost 500 pictures - so here are a few of my favorite!! As soon as I get a slideshow done, I will post it on here also.....

Time Flys When You're Having Fun

Holy Cow! Where has November gone? I have been meaning to post Halloween pictures and now here we are on December 1st. Ok - so lets do a quick recap of the last month:

Madison wanted to be Tinkerbell for Halloween. Sadly all the "Disney" tinkerbell's only went up to a 6x and she wears a 10. Luckily I found a beautiful bronze fairy costume and Maddie LOVED IT!! Aunt Mindy got her a Tinkerbell floral headwreath & wand while they were in Disneyland - it completed the costume! SHE WAS ADORABLE!!

We also decided to get ambitious and use a pattern to carve our pumpkin. Maddie picked the ghost and despite my lack of tools & talent, it turned out really cute.

Here it is lit up! It was heartbreaking to come out the next morning and find it smashed on the road. Oh well.....

Let's see..... we celebrated Little Grandma's 89th birthday at THE PIE (pictures later) and also Big Grandma's birthday. Thankgiving was alot of fun - we had dinner at Aunt Mindy's on Thanksgiving and then dinner the following Saturday at Papa Neil's family. We are turkey'd out.

Quick Kitty Update: they have doubled in size and little Chai loves to carry around a fuzzy ball. I don't know what it is with my animals, both Mocha & Chai love to play ball. Yes, I have a kitty that will play fetch when she feels like it. Oreo likes to sleep anywhere you're trying to do stuff.

(That is him asleep in the laundry basket while I was trying to fold clothes)

I'm sure there was more, I will post when I think of it. Now it's time to focus on Christmas! I love this holiday & can't wait to get my decorations up!!

An Explosion in the House

With Madison being off track and home all day, it is near impossible to keep the house clean - especially her room. Some how her room looks like a bomb went off in it, I was afraid we'd lose a kitten in there! So today we spent a good part of the day getting it cleaned up and in order. Ok - yes I had to provide a reward (A.K.A. a bribe) to get this accomplished. But hey, I wanted a Jamba Juice too!

Madison putting her clothes away.
After: Nice & Clean!

HMMM - now if i get this ambition to tackle my closet.........

Sleeping on the Job

My co-workers were sleeping on the job today. I'm considering turning them into Upper Management.......

After church sunday we went to IHOP because we were starving. Madison & I loved the pumpkin pancakes so much, we made our own for breakfast today! YUMMY!!!

Daddy Date Night!

Madison is so excited about her Daddy Date tonight that she started getting ready for it at 9 o'clock this morning. We put her hair in curlers and painted her nails.

She's already picked out what she is going to wear.

Since she is off track and home from school - she asked me to make her favorite breakfast - French Toast! She says I make "the best french toast ever!" But Nana's is almost as good. She loves French toast so much, that by the time I ran up to grab the camera for a pic - she had eaten everything on her plate!

Is this a good idea?

Ok - what has possessed me to start blogging? Not sure - I love reading my sisters blog, she is very creative and funny on it. I have been able to connect and catch up with old friends by reading their blogs and then finding other people from their "Friends List". Another friend documented her pregnancy, I thought it was very inspiring - but I'm not pregnant. Maybe I consider this a journal - since I've never been big on 'journaling', this could be interesting.

Now to get past my fears. What do I write? Is my life even interesting enough? Who knows - guess time will tell. Will an energetic 5 year old diagnosed on the Autism Spectrum, 2 dogs and 2 new baby kitties be enough material? I sure hope so. LOL!

Well here's a start - as I try to type this, little Chai (one of the new kitties) is swatting at the cursor making it very hard for me see and write.......