In Memory Of Beau Dog

Beaucifous Pierre Deel
March 23, 2002-March 30, 2009


Beau as the "Ring Bearer" at our wedding on June 4, 2005

It has been two years to the day (and two years on the date on Wednesday) when we had to put our sweet boy Beau down. Beau was such a good and gentle dog. We loved him so much and I know he knew that. We miss you Beau and I know you are having a great time playing with the other dogs and animals at Rainbow Bridge! One day, we will see you again and take that wonderful walk to Heaven together!!

THE RAINBOW BRIDGE POEM

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....

Author unknown...

Look Ma-I'm Kinda Famous :)

Everyone check out www.spearmintbaby.com Maddie is the Photo of the Day! This website is also great for decorating tips, ideas and is just a fun blog to read. You also can read about other Photos of the Day, Birth Stories, Baby Bumps and other random topics! I love this blog and thank you, Shari for featuring Maddie on your blog! :)

My Trip to WalMart

Oh, how I loathe and love Walmart. It is the devil and an angel all at the same time. You get great prices, but then again, I know that the workers don't get the benefits they should and in turn the workers there are not the friendliest (not all of them, just quite a few). You also have to fight your way through aisles of people looking for the same deals you are. You have to pretty much jump through kids that run from their parents or just aren't watched closely enough. You have to get there on stocking days so you can be sure to get the product you want or it is gone within a day and a half. BUT, you get great deals on a lot of things and I love bargains!

I went to Walmart Monday night because Emma needed some new spring clothes. I think Walmart has a fairly decent selection of kids clothes so I loaded up the girls and headed out. I had packed a smaller diaper bag because I didn't want to have to carry the big one in. I forgot one minor detail though....my wallet with my driver's license and debit card was in it. I finally realized that when I pulled in the parking lot to WM. I did have my checkbook with me though so I thought I would write a check....do you see where this is going?
Well, I walk through the clothes and find some good deals for Emma. I even got her some socks and looked for some shoes, but of course no shoes in size 7 or 8. Surprise, surprise. We found a precious Tinkerbell outfit that Emma was so "cited" to take home and wear.

Once we were finished, I took my treasures up to the cashier and she started ringing me up. I asked her what I needed to write on the check and she said that the machine does it all for you. I handed it to her and it just hit me like a Mack truck--you need you DL# on your checks! The cashier told me that sometimes the computer asks and sometimes it doesn't. Of course....the computer wanted mine. So I tried calling home to Brandon...and tried, and tried, and tried. That boy ALWAYS answers his phone, but now he wasn't. So as I am calling, there is a nice little line standing behind me and the girls aren't being very quiet anymore. It is way past Maddie's bedtime and Emma is complaining because I won't let her hold her new outfit (that is called stealing Emma!).

I finally gave up and told the cashier to keep my bags, I will be back in later to pay for them. I took the girls outside (but not before the person at the door had to check through my diaper bag because I was leaving without buying anything) and loaded them up in the car. While I was loading them up, my new shirt tore and is now ruined. It started raining while all of this was going on and Emma is screaming for her new Tinkerbell outfit, Maddie is screaming because she is tired and Mommy is close to tears because she is so defeated. I pulled out of the parking lot and my phone rings. It is Brandon. AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!! My husband wonders why I was so upset with him and why I am crying....oh, if only he knew.

Friday and Saturday

I had an exciting thing to do after work on Friday that was unexpected....I got to go meet my girls and in-laws at the zoo! They have a membership pass and they took the girls for the day and so I met them when I got off of work. It was rainy and I had packed the complete opposite of clothes that Emma needed, but nonetheless, it was very fun! Emma acts like it is the first time she has gone every time she goes and I think Maddie really enjoyed herself as well!


Here is Emma with her head in the fence watching the elephants. I think those were her favorite that day!


Here is Maddie watching the Meerkats. We could have watched those little silly things all day. They were so entertaining and Maddie would not take her eyes off of them!

On Saturday, we went with my parents and dropped a friend off at the airport. We then went to Sam's Club and spent WAY too much money. We then had supper at a place called The Journey. I love it. It is a fancier buffet of sushi, Chinese food, Mexican food, salad, steak and for dessert...a chocolate fountain!! Yummmmyyyy! We had fun, but were worn out that evening....do you need proof? Look below.....



Happy Monday everyone! :)

Puppy Love

My girls just love animals (just like their mommy). So, it is no suprise that they both have taken well to the concept of having a pet, especially dog. They love cats too, but there is nothing like a dog :) Here are some pictures of my girls loving on their doggies.


Here is a picture of the family when Emma was about 3 months old. Beau was our "first" dog that Brandon and I had (besides what our parents had). He was our first child and we just loved him so much. He looks fierce and tough, but he was a Gentle Giant.


Here is Emma when she was about 5-6 months old with Beau. Everyone was shocked that I let my big dog get that close to my baby, but he was so good with her. I tell you, big dogs are so calm. In my book, they are they way to go! Not that I have a problem with little dogs, they just aren't my cup of tea :)


This is one of the last pictures I had taken of Emma and Beau. Emma was 7 months. The week we took this picture, we found out Beau had cancer and he passed away the day after Emma turned 8 months old; it was only 6 days before that we found out about his cancer. You can tell how sick he is just by looking at him. We miss him so much :(


Here's the next dog we got--Walter. Walter is a "Bug"-Boston Terrier and Pug mix. He is cute, but a little too hyper for my taste. However, Emma loves him and he is very good with her so I tolerate him! ;)


My husband then surprised me with Gertie. She is the red dog and the exact same breed as what Beau was. Let me tell you, even though she is as sweet as Beau was, she is not near as calm! That dog chews up everything in sight!! We got her a month before I had Maddie, so things were a little chaotic during my maternity leave!


Here is Emma and Gertie during naptime. Aren't they sweet?


Here is Maddie with Walter. Right before I grabbed my camera, they were nose to nose and I missed getting it. All well, this picture is pretty cute too!









Last but not least, here is Maddie and Gertie becoming good friends. I just love Maddie's face in these pictures :)

Fun in the SUN!!!

Yea!! I think spring is finally here! It is going to be consistently warmer this entire next week. Even though rain is in the forecast, it is still supposed to be in the 60's. I am so, so, so happy. It is like spring is my "new boyfriend" and I get rumblies in my tumbly when I think of it!! haha! We took advantage of the nice weather and took Emma on a bike ride and Maddie on a walk. Emma was such a trooper-she pedaled for probably 1/2 mile! She LOVES her bike. I think she feels like such a big girl on it because she knows she is being independant.
I also got some new hats for the girls. I am putting some pictures of them on here; I think they look so cute in them! I love these flowers on hats/bands. Emma is finally keeping her hats on because Maddie wears them. If one does something, the other has to do it too (according to Emma).
With today being St. Patrick's Day, the atmosphere here is always very fun. I guess the bars in Indy open up at 7AM! That is crazy! One of the secretaries I work with wore a bright green wig in--I will have to get her picture and put it on here tomorrow. That is so her personality. I know some people think it is crazy/stupid, but I love that she can have fun with life and not care what people think!


My beautiful Emma in her new hat that she LOVES!!


Little Miss Maddie looking all chunky :)


One more of my Squishy Bug :)


Daddy trying to show Emma how to ride between myself and him. That was a task!!


I finally got Emma to smile for me--she would not stop for anything!


I absolutely love this look on Emma's face. Daddy was talking to her about how to do something and she is just like, come on Daddy, just let me ride!! :)

Mommy's Happy Monday

I know there are more pictures of Emma than Maddie, but I was so impressed with how smart my Emma is with her alphabet, I had to post a few pictures of that :) I just love my girls....they are what make Mommy happy on Mondays!!

This Past Weekend

I just love the weekend. You never know what will happen-even if you have plans made.
Friday night we started the weekend off right by going and having supper with Brandon's grandparents. The menu consisted of spaghetti, brown bread with butter, broccoli and warm strawberry pie with ice cream--that was scrumptuous!! She sure did not help me with my weight loss goal....
Speaking of weight loss goals....for Lent I gave up candy! Every kind of candy. Kind of makes me sad :( But I think this will be a good boost to the weight loss help.
Okay, back on track. After supper we hung out with the great-grandparents. It is so much fun to just sit and talk with them. Brandon's grandpa always has stories to tell. He was in the Army and has told some doozies about that--especially when they had to eat whatever they could find at times. I tell you what, I would NEVER make it having to do that!! I guess I am a wuss when it comes to stuff like that. Brandon's grandma is such a sweet lady. She has always been like another grandma to me; always so attentive and concerned about me not getting enough to eat, or making sure I am warm enough, etc. Just a typical grandma :) However, I felt bad because we were a little late getting to their house and by then Maddie was ready to go to bed. She was pretty fussy the whole night. Emma made up for it though. She took grandma's hand and made her play with bracelets and dolls all evening long! We sat and watched them and some basketball with grandpa and finally had to go home. A nice, relaxing Friday.
Saturday was a busy day. We got up very early so we could get the girls ready for pictures. We had them taken at JCPennys. They did a wonderful job. The guy that did them was so wonderful with the girls. Emma wanted nothing to do with him at first, but he worked and worked with her and he eventually had her laughing so hard! I hope he does our pictures every time we are there, I may have to request him. We had the girls wear IU outfits. I know IU is not the best team right now, but we like the school and so we show our pride (even though I did attend Purdue). However, I like both schools...there are people in Indiana that do like both (though they are few and far between!!!) After pictures, we went home to have lunch and rest for a few hours. We then headed out to Western Bowl for our niece, Chelsea's eighth birthday party! We did this last year as well. I was about 8 weeks pregnant with Maddie and I remember we had pizza. That made me so sick, I still couldn't eat it this year!! Emma had a blast bowling and playing with the games. She also loves to see Chelsea and her other cousin, Maxine. She just looks up to them so much. Chelsea is such a cutie. She got so embaressed as we sang "Happy Birthday" to her. She is so girly too. I love it-she wanted little make-up stuff and I can't wait for Emma (and Maddie) to be more into that stuff too!
After we got done there, Brandon had to go back into work so I took the girls home and we went to bed. Sunday we went to church and had lunch there. It was so good. There is a man there that makes vegetable pizza and it is the best thing! I HATE broccoli and cauliflower, but I eat it on that pizza! That is how I justify eating my veggies; I just need to make a pizza! :) After church, we just went home and hung out. It was a low key day--we needed it!
I finished out my Sunday with a trip to Dollar General. I love going to our Dollar General. I could walk around it in forever. They have a really good selection and we now have one only about 4 minutes away from our house! I love a good deal!

Some pics from our weekend.....








Chelsea with her frog birthday cake!

5 Months!

Maddie, you are 5 months old today! My, how the time has flown by! What are you up to these days??

-You wear a size 2 diaper
-You wear some 3 months clothes still, but mostly 3-6 months
-You talk all the time!
-You can sit up in a Boppy
-You still nurse 1-2 times at night
-You love to watch us eat--your baby-sitter even told me you smacked your lips last week as they were eating lunch!!
-You stick your tongue out when we kiss you
-You can hold your bottle up while you eat
-You grab our faces when we stick our face close to yours
-You pull Mommy's hair all the time!
-EVERY time you see your sister you smile so big!
-I call you "Squishy" because of your squishy smiley face
-Your face reminds me so much of my Grandpa....he would be so proud :)

Here you are with Daddy! You love to be with us all the time and we love having you with us! You are loved so much!!

Houston, I Think We Have a Problem

Maddie has started watching us like a hawk while we eat. I think that could be a bad sign...my baby will like food--A LOT!! Maybe too much. That is not good when you have the genes that Mommy gives you ;) All well, we will just have to play outside more! That is fine with me.
Tomorrow I will post pictures of Maddie sitting up in the Boppy...such a big girl!!

One Year Ago Today.....

One year ago today, I was as anxious as a mother could be. It was my first ultrasound of my precious rainbow baby that I was carrying in my stomach. I was exactly 7 weeks pregnant. I didn't know what to expect. I had found out the Friday before that my progesterone was very low. I had to go and get supplements made at a different hospital then the one I worked at because the hospital I worked at did not even make the kind I needed. I was scared beyond belief.
I immediately called my mom that Friday afternoon while I was at work. I was in tears. She immediately stopped what she was doing and said a prayer on the phone with me. I felt so much better after that; God really put a calmness over me that I can still remember exactly how it felt to this day.
That weekend, my fears took back over. Satan really had fun with me that weekend. I kept thinking, 'well, I have already lost two babies because of this, I am sure I will lose this one as well'. How wrong I was-God had other things in store for me!!
That Monday morning, I stopped into work to drop my things off before I made the ride over to my ultrasound. I can ride in a "train" transit from my hospital to the one where my doctor was at so my journey to and from was very easy. Everyone at work kept asking me, 'well, what are you going to do if something is wrong with the baby, are you going to work all day or go home?' I just kept telling myself that God is in control and whatever happens, happens.
When I got to the ultrasound room, they first did an external ultrasound and then they were going to do an internal one after I used the bathroom(those fun ultrasounds where you have to balloon your bladder up!!). The external one went great, she said my uterus was measuring on target for being 7 weeks pregnant and my ovaries looked nice and healthy. Of course we couldn't see the baby from an external ultrasound yet. That was killing me and of course my fears took over again.
Once that ultrasound was over, I went to the bathroom and came back into the ultrasound room. The tech was gone and it took forever for her to come back. I am not exaggerating-it was about 10 minutes! I was like, I want to see if my baby is alive or not--why would you keep me waiting in suspense like this???? Once the tech finally came back, she prepped me and the ultrasound wand and I held my breath. She asked me if I was okay and I told her I would be in a few seconds....
In those few seconds, my world changed forever. As soon as that baby came on the screen, I saw that heart beating so fast. My eyes welled up with tears and I threw myself back on the bed and just yelled "Thank you God!" I sat back up and saw the tech smiling at me. She then said, "I never get tired of my job when it goes like this". We continued on and the baby measured so perfectly. The baby was moving all around and I could just barely make out some arm and leg "nubins" :) So many thoughts ran through my mind...is it a boy or girl, what are they going to look like, how long will they stay in my belly-will they be full term?....I was so happy I just kept thinking thought after thought.
Once the ultrasound was over, the tech was getting ready to leave. I asked her if I could have a picture of the baby. She said they normally don't give pictures out of babies that early(I am not sure why, maybe because there is still a high chance for miscarriage?), and I said okay. All of a sudden, she looked me and said, well I don't see the harm in giving you one. She printed off a great picture of the baby and said "Happy Baby Ultrasound Day". How sweet she was :)

Once that was over, I saw my doctor. She was very pleased with how things were going and we were even more pleased that I was on the progesterone supplements. I ended up staying on those all through my first trimester. We think that low progesterone is the reason why Emma came early and I lost my other two babies. I cannot tell you how grateful I am to that doctor for helping save my baby!! God definitely put me in that lady's care for a reason.

One year ago today, I had no idea how the rest of my year would go. However, today it goes like this.....


My days are filled with love and laughter from my two favorite girls! I could not be happier with what God has given me here on earth. I also cannot wait to meet my other two children in Heaven one day!

How much difference one year makes....