Bella, or was it Lady Bird?

Thanks so much to those of you who have asked how I am doing.
The tornados missed us in Georgia, luckily. I ended up staying up late to watch the news. Today, going to show you a little bit of my sweet girl. The only girl that will share the house with me for a while!!



Look at that tongue..hanging in the wind.. :)

This girl has been behaving so well..and so has Buoy, since we got the doggie door. We find her out there late at night, just laying around. She is so sweet!

My mother in law sent me back an email I sent her after we got Bella.  It was in March 2008.  This is what a part of the email said,
"We still haven't figured out a name....we are thinking possibly Lady Bird :) and calling her lady...or Tuck (for Kentucky) or Lexie (for Lexington)...but we're not sure about any of those!
As you can see in the last picture...Brandon is so happy to have a big dog in the house....or 'soon to be' big dog. Sleeping in the bed didn't go so well last  night, so we're going to try to adjust to some floor sleeping :)"

Oh, Bella...you were almost called Lady Bird...sort of funny, because I still call her Lady all the time :)  And, the floor sleeping, we still TRY, but she always climbs up on the bed in the middle of the night!

Check out these pictures I included in the email.  So sweet! 


Buoy wasn't excited, even from the start. He was meant to be an only child :)

So, so sweet.
 She is just twice as big now! :)

Fun to look back on these times. Soon, I'm sure, I will be reflecting on how fast my children grow, so I will give my dogs the attention while I can!

One of my favorite...

things is a package in the mail.
Yesterday, I got TWO.
A maternity swimsuit I ordered, and my new CAMERA!!!
WOO HOO!
I got everything put together last night, but I have not even taken the first photo yet. I am excited to put it to good use!
Last night Brandon and I brainstormed fun photography stuff together. I am so glad I have him to dream with...to support me...he is awesome. You are lucky he doesn't set the photography prices, because he values my time (away from him) A LOT. He would love it if I charged $1000 per shoot. He thinks my time is UBER valuable. I guess I should be thankful he values me SO VERY MUCH :)  If only all of you thought my time was that valuable! hahaha!!!! :)

The other day, I got a more special package.
The best kind are the ones you don't pay for and order yourself.
My friend Jamie recently went over to visit our friend Haley in China. I wish I could have gone with! Instead I sent a little package. Normal, non first trimester me (I sent this many weeks ago) would have sent more creative things...but I did not. IT was very "I went to TARGET and got things that reminded me of you"....but I was thinking of her.
In return she found me some things in an old city nearby and sent it to me!
I felt so special!

I wore the scarf and one of the flowers to church on Sunday. I love the earrings and almost wore them during the Kentucky game. Maybe I should have....Maybe it would have brought them more luck.


(in the original packaging)...it was so fun I almost didn't want to take it out!

I've been having such a fun spring break week....trying to control this girl...and sleeping in and snuggling with her every morning :)
Look at what happens when my hubby decides to bring her (off leash) to photography group...I keep calling her back to me....way too nervous to let her explore.  This is the process of her running back to me :) She gallops..



Oh Bella... :)
She makes me smile.
I am waiting for it to warm up in Columbus so I can soak up some sun today!
WOO HOOO!!

Oh Marley...

If I told you everything my dogs had done lately, I might just get really overwhelmed. So I'll just tell you about a couple incidents.

Buoy REALLY doesn't like thunderstorms. So, this first set of photos will illustrate his day when it was rainy and thundering while we were at work. Brandon even came home at lunch to check on him and try to calm him down. To no avail. Buoy likes to hide under the bed when it is gross outside.

It started with this. It is a little cubby in our kitchen. Since he likes to hide under the bed, but the door to our bedroom was closed, we think he was trying to burrow into here :)

Thanks Buoy, for the present. You are potty trained. I guess it literally scared the crap out of you :)

Thanks also for taking this rug out of the bathroom and eating it. My feet are still cold in the bathroom.

Well, this wasn't nice either. Since we closed the door, you felt like you should share your emotions with us about it. We get it. You wanted to get under the bed. You didn't have to tear up the door buddy.

When you couldn't get in the bedroom, you turned to the backdoor, looking for us.
When we weren't there, you thought eating the blinds might make you feel better, huh?
Well...it didn't make me feel very good.


And then there was this......


 Wednesday, we got home and had to immediately go back out to a function at the Commanding General's home. We got home to a SEA of feathers. Not just a couple. A SEA. It was about two inches thich through our whole family room. I wasn't even mad. I was amazed.  How could so many feathers be inside ONE MEASLY pillow? I just don't get it!





WOW. What a day.
I conveniently fell asleep at 7:45pm after we got back from the function at the General's.  I woke up at 11pm and asked Brandon how long it took him to clean.  He said two hours.  I felt HORRIBLE.  :)

Then, yesterday, we took sweet Bella to the vet and she has a urinary tract infection. Poor girl.

So we got home today and she had sprayed pee everywhere on the hardwoods, which she NEVER EVER does! (If anyone does any accidents, it is BUOY, and he usually does it when he is mad or nervous...) Poor girl...you could tell she just couldn't control it!

How am I ever gonna deal with kids along with these wild dogs?
I'm sure it will all work out :)

Happy FRIDAY!!!

In my mind, I update my blog every day...

Too bad for you, you're not in there too :)

Yesterday (is Sunday, so just pretend like I published this when I was supposed to..okay?) was fun. Kentucky clinched the SEC tournament championship. Now we are ready to take on the big time NCAA championship. I am filling out my bracket now, trying to give love to all the teams....UNC for the KREBS...(well, and they deserve it..), Ohio State for my dad...(and they are #1 ranked..), a couple wins for DUKE, although they are not my favorite team in the nation...I enjoy college basketball season. March MADNESS! I tried to ask my class if they knew anything about college basketball and they all looked at me with blank stares. Poor Southern People...all they know is FOOTBALL. I wish they knew the merits of a good basketball team :)

On another note.. Yesterday, Brandon and I went to see high school musical live in theater in the big old Columbus GA. It wasn't too bad...it wasn't the most incredible show...but it was well done, and our sweet friend that was in it was very good! I love some live theater. The last thing we went to was called, "Reefer Madness"...and based on the title alone, you can probably guess how good it was. It was a parody of the myth that pot used to make kids sex crazed, etc...considering two non-drug-trying...straight laced dorks walked in there...we didn't fit in well :) I swear at one point the place filled up with smoke, and it smelled like the real deal.

I would say the best part of yesterday was taking the dogs to the park. We took them to park we love, called Flat Rock. It is a beautiful park, full of natural rock formations and trails and pseudo hiking opportunities. We let the dogs off the leash, as we sometimes do (ignoring the fact that it's illegal..) so that they could run. I don't feel comfortable with it, but Brandon has always insisted. So anyway...Bella is running up to picnic tables and we keep calling her away. She begins to run down to us, but then turns back to the tables. She spends a long time up at one table and I ask Brandon to go check it out. He walks up there, and a guy is standing there, with his arms crossed, watching BELLA EAT HIS DINNER. He said, "Your dog just ate our picnic". Umm...awkward...what do we say to that? All we could say is SORRY! We had no money to compensate.

I love this little gal, but she is so bad sometimes!
And then there is Buoy, who growls at everyone who makes him frustrated, but acts like a cuddly angel to everyone else.

If the job I am doing with my dogs will reflect the job I will do with my children, I might be in big trouble :)

Saturday morning, I proctored the SAT at a local high school. Or, I stared at high schoolers for 3 hours and 45 minutes while not eating or drinking anything :) It was quite boring, but an easy way to make money. I felt the stress of these poor kids. While I waited, I looked through an extra test book, and that test is not easy. Maybe it was easier for me back then, when I remembered all those formulas..?! haha! I am not a math whiz, but all of the english language portions made me happy to go back and look at. Dorky, I know.

The last hugely significant thing this weekend, that made me want to lay in bed all day Sunday...was the 6 month anniversary of Briar's birth. My six month bday, and his too :) If I weren't fasting sweets, I would have had a birthday cake for both of us. I miss him. And Brandon does too. All the time, at random times, one of us will say, "I miss Briar."...and there we sit. There is nothing to say, except, "me too". It hurts. And I wish he were here to hold. Sometimes I have to truly hold my tongue when I hear people complaining about bedtimes, etc. Because I would give anything to be dealing with that stuff with little BA. But it was not the journey the Lord had for him on this earth. And we know that. But sometimes it still aches in my heart and it feels almost unbearable. Good thing that i have a hope beyond that here and now. Beyond that in this moment.
"For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all."
2 Corinthians 4:17

BUt still...

I'm glad the weekend is done.

I'm excited to hear from another great photographer tonight at our photography group.

I am so thankful for our church. The people there who push one another to reach out, to LIVE OUT their faith. I am so thankful not to be lost in a church. To NOT just be a number. But to know that I am PERSONALLY being challenged and CALLED OUT to live in my faith. TO surrender to God. And know that he will provide. And he does. I am so thankful for that. I am so excited to see what the Lord continues to do through Mychurch.

Goodbye sad weekend...hello wonderful week!

A little snuggle...

from my sweet little Bella.

I missed her so much when we were on the cruise.
When I got home I just wanted to snuggle with her, and she always loves a good snuggle, so she immediately climbed into my lap when invited...and didn't leave for the whole night.

My sweet child will be in trouble...because this dog is 85lbs...and I wanted her on my lap all night long. I guess that means when I have a teenager, I will still be trying to snuggle.. :)

If you notice the graininess in this picture, I took my camera in today to be cleaned and he said it was filthy (I knew that already, because I noticed my grainy pictures...)

My momma and Buoy

This week we think we figured out that Bella is not a lab/pointer mix. She is just a German Shorthair Pointer.  

We found this website that told us all about her. Along with several others.  It is confirmed. She is not a lab.

One of the most energetic breeds, the German Shorthaired Pointer is a hunting dog by nature. Protective, clever, eager and willing to please, they are very fond of their human families. Happy-go-lucky, they love nothing more than to engage in some type of constructive activity with their owners such as a long walk, jog, hike, hunt, or a game of Frisbee. This breed is not suited to life in a kennel. Faithful, spirited and friendly, they like and mix well with children. Best suited for an active family. 

Our vet told us pointers never calm down.  Seems right on about Bella!

These are pictures of other Germain Shorthairs...looks way more like  Bella than any lab I have met...

Controlling Bella..

This sweet girl.
We have sent her to obedience school.
We have tried to train her with a gentle leader.
We have tried a prong collar.
We try to love her, spanke her, shock her (I am not a supporter of this), and coddle her into behaving.
We ask her nicely and we yell.
We do everything in our right minds to not allow her to jump on people.


Let me tell you a quick story.
Way back when, I just had BUOY, the BEAGLE. My friend Summer had a sweet, beautiful chocolate lab named Tahoe. Tahoe loved to climb in my lap and jump on me when I came in the door. I would sometimes feel like, "Oh man, why can't Tahoe just behave?"...


Then I got Bella. I should have known when someone gave her to us at PetSmart. I should have known.
She is a whole different breed.
She is my baby girl. :)
And I think I have found a solution for her jumping.


Put a very large jingle wreath on her!!
I was going to give this wreath to our Bachelor friend John, who desperately needs decorations in his very barren Christmas home. So I had it sitting out, ready to go. And I just put it on Bella for fun.
She FROZE.
I showed Brandon.
She stayed still.
Buoy ran and played fetch with us.
She didn't move.
WHAT?!?!
That is unheard of!!!
She saw Buoy eating food, she didn't move. She was paralyzed. With fear? I'm not sure...
But I am happy!
I found a solution!
Sorry, John...you're not getting this wreath...

John and our friend Adam came over to study last night and I put the wreath on her. And it worked. She didn't jump on them (as much)....she just came close to them...which is appropriate. She didn't lick them and climb in their laps, as is normal.  It was AMAZING.  So, if you have a naughty child...maybe try the jingle wreath on them?!?! ;)