Sad News :(

I'm so sorry that I have been absent from blogging.  I have had a crazy couple of months and haven't really felt like blogging to be completely honest! 

Unfortunately one reason for not blogging are because my beloved pup Lily has been sick.  It started in March...  She didn't want to eat anything and lost weight.  This went on for about a month.  Obviously we have been to the vet's office many times.  Our vet, Dr. Richter is an amazing vet.  He took me through what all they wanted to do... obviously start by looking into the most reasonable possibility that something was maybe blocking.  After doing XRays of her tummy, the results showed that nothing was blocking.  After doing this, we did bloodwork to make sure that all of her organs were functioning properly... all ok there.  The next step was to do a Barium Test which showed that there could possibly be something in there that wasn't completely obstructing, but wasn't letting things pass very quickly.  Dr. Richter thought that it was time to open up our baby and take a look around to see if possibly something cloth-like was blocking.  So, last Friday Lily went into surgery.  It was such a hard day.  Right after Scott and I dropped her off, we went to Petco and bought her a new orthopedic bed and a new squeaky toy.  Then we played the waiting game.  Around 2:30, Dr. Richter called and said that nothing was blocking, but that he thought her liver didn't look right.  He took some biopsies of her liver and sent them off to a lab.  That was last Friday.  We got to bring Lily home on Saturday and she was very groggy and out of it due to a pain patch that she had on her side.

We've taken it day by day making her comfortable, trying to feed her etc.  On Tuesday she did start to eat only if we hand fed her and we were still having to give her water by syringe.  Late Tuesday afternoon we got the results from the biopsy.  Our Lily has Hepatic Sarcoma, cancer of the liver.  It's hard to know how long she has, but we are going to hope its for several more months (I'm praying for years!).  Until it is her time, we will love and spoil her to no end.  She is such an awesome dog and these last 5 years with her have been so rewarding. 

To many, a dog is just a dog.  But to us, Lily is our child, our best friend.  For all you animal lovers, please go home and give your pet a big hug today and every day.  Never take them for granted.  You never know how long they will be with you.  Lily is only 7 years old.  She still has so much life in her and so much love to give.  There isn't a person that has met her that doesn't like her.  Everyone is brought in by her contagious happiness.  Lily is always smiling and wagging her tail.  We love her and will continue loving her forever.  I have shared some pictures of our baby for y'all to enjoy.  I will definitely be taking many more pictures of her:)

Lily on left, Dixie in middle, Richie on right

Holy Cow! 7 Inches of snow in Mansfield!

So my last post I said that I had spring fever...  Well yesterday we got just the opposite... a complete winter storm.  In a period of less than 24 hours, we got more snow than has ever been recorded in history.  It started snowing yesterday at 3 am and didn't stop at all until sometime after midnight last night.  I have NEVER been in snow before (unless you count the tiny amount that we've gotten that melts by the afternoon.)  I went to work, and it was coming down pretty hard.  I had no trouble getting to work... getting home was a different story though.  I walked out to my car and saw this...

 

  

My car was completely covered!  On top of that... I didn't have anything to get it off the top so I had to just use my jacket sleeve and hands.  Well, so I thought that would be the all of my problems.  WRONG.  I have never driven in snow so I didn't know what to expect.  I drove to work, but the roads were cleared so no problems.  So I go to back out and my  car moves about 3 inches and then it just sat there while my tires spun.  I tried everything... my car wasn't going anywhere.  So people started trying to help... it took 3 people to push my car and finally it was loose.  Well then I tried to pull out of the parking lot and my car almost made it and then it started spinning and sliding backwards again.  UGH!  I was kind of freaking out.  Scott was out of town and I had no idea what to do.  So the same people came back and helped again:)  Finally I was out.  Since noone drove through the parking lot all day, that's why it was so hard to get out of.  Once I was out of the parking lot, the drive was easy.  I just had to go slow, but there really wasn't any ice.  Only when I came to a complete stop would my car spin out a little no matter how little I pushed on the accelerator, the tires would spin just enough to get me going.  I was so glad I made it home.  Noone was really on the road... just a few people.  I did get a picture when I was almost home.... it's below...

You can see the snow coming down.   That's not fog!

So when I got home I took Lily out.  She was so funny!  She hasn't been in this much snow ever!  She got to the bottom of the stairs and just stopped.  She didn't know what to do.  She circled around and went under the stairs to a tiny patch of grass and peed there.  So I walked out in the snow and called her and she came running.  She didn't realize how deep it was so she face planted in the snow.  It was SOOOO funny!  After that it was a game.  She ran all over the place and just had so much fun:)

 

Here's a picture of the creek and trees behind our building.  It's so pretty!

 

  

This morning I took Lily out to play with her pup friends.  Since she has long hair, the snow stuck to it and made balls of snow.  They were stuck... if you pulled them off, the hair it was attached to came with it.  She even got some snow boobs out of it... Check it out!

 

It was so funny!

Unfortunately, Scott was out of town for this event.  He was supposed to be back last night, but his flight got cancelled.  He'll get home tonight and we might try to build a snowman if the snow is still there... 

Have a great weekend!

Spring Fever

I know it's only January 20th, but this beautiful weather we have had the last few days makes me want spring to hurry up and get here.  I have had our patio door open for the past 2 days... Lily loves that because she can go out and hang out outside whenever she wants.  I felt so bad for her when it was cold because she didn't get a lot of outside time in.  I can't wait for everything to start blooming!  Unfortunately, it's supposed to get cold again next week, so that probably won't happen.

This past weekend we went to my parent's lakehouse.  It was rainy and nasty outside Friday and Saturday.  My parent's had some foundation work on the house so we can do some minor remodeling.  Scott and I went down after he got off of work.  Saturday we watched A LOT of football.  It was hard to be stuck in the house all day, but it was nice to just relax too.  Sunday the rain had stopped and we had a TON of raking to do.  There were leaves everywhere.  So we all chipped in with the work and got it done for the most part in about 3 hours.  Lily loved running around and getting dirty... she was so funny when Scott or I would try to chase her.  So nothing too eventful over the weekend.  

Mom and dad are coming up here for the weekend on Friday.  No big plans yet.  There is an antique mall in downtown Mansfield that I have wanted to check out so we might go there.

Hope everyone is having a good week!  No big updates from me so far!

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a very Happy New Year!  Scott and I had a very low key evening... we went over to his mom's and had dinner and played Wii.  It was perfect for us.

So I know I was supposed to update last week about Christmas, but I'm just now getting to it.

We had a very busy holiday.  The weekend before Christmas we went to his dad's.  We had a great time... Lily jumped in the pool when she wasn't supposed to... always fun right?  We got to see his sister's and his dad and stepmom, KK.  There was a ton of great food, and a nice relaxing start to the holiday.  Our present opening was a blast.  Every year, we get Christmas Money and we had to go on a scavenger hunt to find it.  What a blast!

That Sunday afternoon, Scott took me to Mom's and he had to go back home to work for 2 days.  I enjoyed spending some time with mom and helped with some baking in the kitchen some.  Our Christmas was a nice quiet one... we didn't have to travel anywhere else which was nice.  Here are some pictures from Christmas:

Scott and I and out pup Lily Ann

Scott and Jennifer and their pup Richie

Us Children :)

Mom and Dad with Dixie

Those pictures were taken after church on Christmas Eve.  After that we watched "It's A Wonderful Life."  What a classic!

Christmas morning was great!  Santa was very good to us this year!  Scott got me a Garmin :)  And I got him a BluRay player and 4 blurays.  Mom and Dad got me our Food Processor, and Wii Sports Resort:)  We got several other things, but those were the biggest.  Pictures below:

Stockings with Richie and Lily's help... Scott won $30 in Scratch offs!!!  We get them every year, and that's the most anyone has ever gotten!!!  Something is wrong with this picture... He hasn't been around nearly long enough to win that!!

Food Processor

Wii Sports Resort

Garmin

BluRay Player:)

My sister and Brother Scott came over that evening to do presents.  They got me a very cute Apron to wear while cooking!

The best gift of the night was my parents giving him a Red Ryder BB Gun like the one from his favorite movie... "A Christmas Story."  There was even a note in it that said "Don't shoot your eye out!"

So a little late yes, sorry.  But that's our Christmas!

This weekend we will be going to the lake with my family.  I'm looking forward to seeing everyone again.

I'm also asking for a prayer request.  My sister's dog, Richie, had surgery today after tearing his "ACL".  I know many of you think he's just a dog, but he is a member of our family and Jen and Scott think of him as their child much like Lily is ours.  He did great in surgery and we expect a full recovery.  He has a long road ahead... 8-12 weeks of very limited activity... the first 2 probably crate rest.  BUT, we are looking forward to Richie being back to his sweet, playful self in no time!  Here's an adorable picture of this 2 1/2 year old pup.

Hope everyone is having a great week!  Take Care!

Holiday Update - Thanksgiving First... Next Post Christmas!

 I know, I know, it's been a while since I updated... I feel like I've been going going going and finally have a chance to breathe!  I'll start with Thanksgiving...

We went down to Sugar Land the Tuesday of Thanksgiving after Scott got off of work.  We took our Wii so that entertained us some:)

Wednesday we were lazy and played Wii and relaxed.  That night we went over to my dad's parents to see the extended family. 

Scott Playing Wii... he was Boxing

Here's the game...

Jen played our newest game, Super Mario Brother's Wii

Scott and I were entertained while watching her:)

Thursday of course was Turkey day.  We had lots of food and enjoyed spending time together.  After dinner, we watched the Aggies put up an awesome fight against TU and then decorated the Christmas Tree.

Mom's table decorated for Thanksgiving

Us ready to dig in to a wonderful meal

Everyone Decorating the Christmas Tree

 

Friday I helped mom put up the indoor decorations for Christmas while Scott helped my dad outside with the Christmas lights.  That night we went over to my sister's and helped them decorate their tree and celebrate her birthday.  It was fun and the pups enjoyed helping too:)

Lily got in the storage bin and let us put garland on her:)

Jen opening gifts

 

Us cuddling with Jen's foster pup, Bella who now has a wonderful home (she was a Christmas present with her brother for 3 wonderful children... what a gift to open!)

Saturday we went over to Scott's dad's.  Unfortunately we didn't take pictures, but had a great time!  Lily got to swim, we played wii and had a TON of wonderful food that KK baked/cooked. 

What a great holiday and we have so much to be Thankful for.  I am so thankful for this past year.  I finished my first year of teaching, I married the love of my life, and am now part of 2 wonderful families:)

Next post will be Christmas... Not sure if I will get to it today or tomorrow, but it's coming:)

We are the Aggies, The Aggies are we... Bonfire Memorial 11-18-99

I know this is the 2nd post in a day, but it is a very important one to me.  Today marks the 10 year anniversary of the Bonfire collapse at Texas A&M.  This was a terrible tragedy that will never be forgotten.  12 Aggies lost their lives on this day, and their lives are remembered everyday at Texas A&M.  For those who don't know, the Aggie family is a very special family.  You don't understand it until you live it.  Scott and I are both a part of that Aggie Family, and even though we didn't know the 12 Aggies who died, they have impacted our lives.

I remember I was in the 9th grade when the bonfire collapsed.  My dad got a phone call from the TV Station to go fly the Ch. 11 helicopter up to College Station in the middle of the night.  It was awful.  That weekend, I went with my sister to to the site and it was one of the most emotional moments of my life.  The bonfire collapsed at  2:42 a.m. on November 18, 1999.  The Bonfire was 40 feet tall with about 5000 logs and was a long lasting tradition at Texas A&M University.  It was the symbol for the rivalry with the University of Texas and had been for 90 years.  This yearly event symbolized the Aggies "burning" desire to beat the hell outta TU.

^{My sophomore year at A&M, the Bonfire Memorial opened in November 2004.  It was amazing.   The story of the bonfire is told without words as you walk through the memorial.  Each of the 12 aggies have portals that face their home town.  Inside the portals is their picture with a written reflection and their signature.  The portals make up a circle, or Spirit Ring...  the circumference of the perimeter fence set up each year the bonfire was built.  If you walk to the center of the circle, you will see a black granite marker.  This marker is 18 inches in diameter and represent the center pole of the bonfire.  This marker is in the exact spot of the center pole and is engraved 11-18-99 2:24am.  Walking through this memorial is such an emotional experience.  Every time I have been, tears come to my eyes, and the emotions from that night 10 years ago come back as if it just happened.} 

^{Please say a prayer and remember these Aggies who lost their lives on that terrible night:}

• Miranda Denise Adams ‘02
• Christopher D. Breen ‘96
• Michael Stephen Ebanks ‘03
• Jeremy Richard Frampton ‘99
• Jamie Lynn Hand ‘03
• Christopher Lee Heard ‘03
• Timothy Doran Kerlee, Jr ‘03
• Lucas John Kimmel ‘03
• Bryan A. McClain ‘02
• Chad A. Powell ‘03
• Jerry Don Self ‘01
• Nathan Scott West ‘02

Here are the 27 Aggies who were injured.   We celebrate their lives and are thankful that they are with us today:

• Braus, Dominic
• Calaway, Jennifer
• Comstock, John
• Davis, William " Bill"
• Frady, Clayton
• Graham, Leslie
• Hayes, Lanny Joe
• Harlan, Will
• Henley, Britt
• Hill, Caleb
• Hutchinson, Chad
• Jacobs, Jody
• Jones, Paul "Alex"
• Jozwiak, Brandon Allen
• Kramer, John
• Lyckman, William
• McLeod, Amy
• Nakai, Mandy
• Robbins, Matthew
• Roberts, Brandy
• Rotenberry, Holly
• Scanlan, Lauren
• Thiel, Milton "Chip"
• Unger, Bruce
• Washam, J.J.
• Worley, Jeremy
• Woodley, Derek
  

Please take a moment to watch this video:

Today, Bonfire is not taking place on A&M's Campus.  Every year, Aggies get together and build one off campus.  Bonfire needs to be on campus.  While changes need to be made, it can be a completely safe and fun tradition.  Let's bring Bonfire back!  Please support this and sign the petition to Bring Bonfire Back!!!  http://www.bringbonfireback.com/

As I close this post, I just want to say that being a part of the Aggie Family has truly been one of the most rewarding things in my life.  As a student I spent 4 years at an amazing school with amazing people.  I miss walking by a stranger and saying "Howdy."  I miss the Aggie Football Games, where no matter how bad the team is losing, we support them.  I miss Yell Practice, and going to Aggie Muster.  And I leave you with the Spirit of Aggieland (lyrics below it)...

The Spirit of Aggieland

Some may boast of prowess bold
Of the school they think so grand
But there's a spirit can ne'er be told
It's the Spirit of Aggieland.

(Chorus)
We are the Aggies - the Aggies are we
True to each other as Aggies can be
We've got to FIGHT boys
We've got to fight!
We've got to fight for Maroon and White
After they've boosted all the rest
They will come and join the best
For we are the Aggies - the Aggies are we
We're from Texas A.M.C.

Hump It Ags (Yell sequence that follows; traditionally deleted at Muster)
T-E-X-A-S A-G-G-I-E
Fight! Fight! Fight-fight-fight!
Fight! Maroon! White-White-White!
A-G-G-I-E
Texas! Texas! A-M-C!
Gig 'em, Aggies, 1-2-3
Farmers fight! Farmers fight!
Fight! Fight!
Farmers, farmers fight!
A! Whoop!

Thanks and Gig'em!