What has kept me away...

You haven't heard form me since October and that is because we have had our hands full. Meet Piper and Maddie. I have devoted 100% of my time to these two for the sake of my carpet and furniture! :)

My mom flew in the first weekend in November and about 3 minutes later while exiting the airport we saw these babies being led into the Highway by their momma. What a welcome present to my mom...but she couldn't leave them either.  The vet guessed they were 4-5 weeks old when we found them. 

Through social media I was able to find both girls homes.  Maddie went to live with a friend from church after the first week and is doing really well. 

This is Piper.  She also found a home through social media but her home was further away in Ohio! Friends of ours were looking for a pup to give their girls from Santa and we happened to be going that way in a few weeks to visit family.  We agreed to keep Piper for the rest of November and deliver her to Ohio just in time for Santa!

During those 8 weeks we had a long Thanksgiving break and I was out of work sick so we had lots of bonding time on the couch and in the middle of the night for pee breaks! 

She learned how to wear and walk on a leash, sit, lay down, shake, and last but not least sleep through the night while she was with us!

I didn't introduce Lucy to both puppies because that would have been cruel and unusual punishment! But Lucy tolerated Piper well.  Piper would harass her non stop, eat out of her bowl, and take a bone straight from Lucy's mouth with no problems!  I have to say I was so impressed with Lucy's temperament! I can't say they were best friends...but I think Lucy missed her when she was gone!

 I was so sad and maybe even cried a little at the thought and the action of giving her away. But two little girls were so happy when they woke up Christmas morning! I miss her, but I know she very loved!

Thank you to my family and friends for helping babysit and nurse these babies back to health and thank you to Maddie and Piper's new families for being willing to take a Heinz 57 pup with a lot of potential!

Pumpkin Patch 2011

Today was the day that I have been waiting on for weeks! There was a break in Justin's schedule so we quickly put the pumpkin patch on the calendar! I have said this before...I don't require a lot.  But an annual family trip to the pumpkin patch is one of the things that makes me very happy...and it must include photos.  :)

This was Lucy's first trip to the pumpkin patch and she did so well.  She was also a hit with the kids!

 

 

I love him because he does things that make me happy like taking me to the pumpkin patch, lets me ask strangers to take our pictures, and spends money on pumpkins we will only toss out after a few weeks! :)

It was a wonderful day with the family!

Happy Fall from the Haire's!!

Making an effort...

I have been making an effort to be more positive.  I have been letting negative people really get to me and I could see where it was affecting my attitude in all areas of my life!  It seems like when you are trying to be more positive there seems to be more people trying to rain on your parade! 

Well a friend of mine posted something on Facebook this morning that really got my attention. I am not usually one to repost chain messages, but this one really made me put my attitude in check first thing this morning! 

Take a look and see if it helps put some things in perspective for yourself! 

There was a blind girl who hated herself because she was blind. She hated everyone, except her loving boyfriend. He was always there for her. She told her boyfriend, 'If I could only see the world, I will marry you.' One day, someone donated a pair of eyes to her. When the bandages came off, she was able to see everything, including her boyfriend. He asked her,'Now t...hat you can see the world, will.................. ...... you marry me?' The girl looked at her boyfriend and saw that he was blind. The sight of his closed eyelids shocked her. She hadn't expected that. The thought of looking at them the rest of her life led her to refuse to marry him. Her boyfriend left her in tears and days later wrote a note to her saying: 'Take good care of your eyes, my dear, for before they were yours, they were mine.' This is how the human brain often works when our status changes. Only a very few remember what life was like before, and who was always by their side in the most painful situations. Today before you say an unkind word -Think of someone who can't speak. Before you complain about the taste of your food -Think of someone who has nothing to eat. Before you complain about your husband or wife - Think of someone who's crying out to GOD for a companion. Today before you complain about life - Think of someone who went too early to heaven. Before you complain about your children -Think of someone who desires children but they're barren. Before you argue about your dirty house someone didn't clean or sweep -Think of the people who are living in the streets. Before whining about the distance you drive Think of someone who walks the same distance with their feet. And when you are tired and complain about your job -Think of the unemployed , the disabled, and those who wish they had your job. But before you think of pointing the finger or condemning another - Remember that not one of us is without sin and we all answer to one MAKER. And when depressing thoughts seem to get you down - Put a smile on your face and thank God you're alive.

I hope this helps you as much as it helped me!
I hope everyone is having a great week!

The big 25

 Well a few weeks ago I turned 25.  Mother Nature brought me a hurricane so we didn't plan a lot just in case the weather got bad.  Thankfully we were spared and it turned out to be a great birthday! Thursday I got a sweet card and gift in the mail from my in-laws.  It was an awesome way to kick off the celebration! Friday before I left work I got this little treat!

It was from my family back in Arkansas.  Don't get me wrong I love flowers.  But I LOVE ones you can eat!

Friday night my sister Jill and my sister out of law Vicki came over to eat "yellow foods" with us. 

If you haven't heard me talk about yellow foods before here is your definition-my fondest childhood memories all on one plate.  The perfect Birthday dinner! 

Fish sticks, creamed corn, Jiffy cornbread, and mac and cheese....Don't forget the yellow cake with chocolate icing. :)

Justin planned a great night out for sushi!  It was fabulous!

 

Funny story..while at dinner I was reflecting on turning 25.  I asked Justin, "Do you think mid life crisis are real? Do they really happen?"  He said, "Well....I turned 25 and I started dating an 18 year old!"

That 18 year old was me and at 25 that made me chuckle!

Family Photos at the beach

Our family is spread between two states and we are rarely all together.  There are times when we get together and a husband can't come or a sibling can't come or some situation that keeps us from all being together.  Thankfully the past two years because of mine and my brothers wedding, we have all been together.

This year we thought we would seize the moment and capture a few family photos at the beach while we were all together!  I had seen a family photo that I just loved.  Each family unit had their own color so that you could tell who went with who within the large family.  A young man named Isaac Pitman took our pictures and we were so happy with the few that he has sent us.

 By the way it was so hard to find outfits that matched!

 Such a good looking family!

Maybe we aren't the most athletic looking...but we have a good time! ;)

Anniversary Traditions

We had such a great anniversary week!  We had to be in Destin, FL for my brother's wedding so we went down a week before the wedding, spent some time on the beach, relaxed, and hung out with my family. 

 Once the wedding was over we decided to drive half way back and stopped in one of our favorite places, Savannah, GA and have some alone time to celebrate our anniversary! 
We had such a fun night!  We went to a fabulous dinner and ended our evening at a roof top bar overlooking the City Market and just spend time talking!  It was fabulous!

After getting back home we had to dig into our year old cake!  I had no idea my mom even had it!  But she put it in an ice chest and brought it to Florida and
we put it in an ice chest and brought it back to North Carolina! 
I was so happy to have it! 
We also thought we would add a tradition to our Anniversary fun....We decided each year we will open a bottle of wine from the year we were married, 2010.
I hope we can search for the perfect bottle each year through our travels and such.
This year we enjoyed a bottle from a winery we visited in Destin!
I like to think in 30 years we will be enjoying some fine wine. ;)
Like wine, love get's better with age!

 I

I even broke out our wedding cake cutters! HA

 And this...is the last tradition! 
A little background......my sister, Dr. Jill officiated our wedding.  When she began the service she told a little snip-it from the book, The Velveteen Rabbit.  Well for our anniversary Jill and Vicki gave us a copy of The Velveteen Rabbit and The Velveteen Principles. 
It was very thoughtful of them to think of us and give us such a meaningful gift. 
So we thought each year we would read it!  After our 2010 wine, our old cake, and a wonderful vacation...we settled into bed and read about being REAL!

"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get all loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."   -The Velveteen Rabbit

This is a Blogger MUST READ!!!

I am writing this to hopefully help you and keep you from making the same mistake that I did.

Last week I noticed all of my pictures were gone. I went back to the very beginning of my blog and where all of my pictures had been there was a placeholder with an "!".  I had been using a new video tool and thought maybe I was out of memory, space, whatever.  I had heard of this before but couldn't understand why I could still create a new post and all my videos were showing up.

I contacted a few friends with blogs running this issue past them and brought it up to a coworker that I like to say is full of "useless knowledge."  He helped me make the connection  between Google+, Picasa, and Blogger.

This is where you want to listen closely...

I recently signed up for Google+.  I noticed that every picture that I had ever posted on my Blogger account had been placed in a Picasa album labeled with my blog name.  I thought...."Well I don't want to start my new profile with all of those pictures....so I'll DELETE them and start fresh."  This was all from my Google+ account. I didn't make the connection that my Blogger was connected.

I have done research and the consensus is that my pictures cannot be recovered.  I don't seem to be alone.  There are other bloggers who did the same thing and are now picture-less on their blog.  Thankfully I do have my pictures saved and can upload them again.  I was/am heart broken.  When  I originally made the connections, I was sick.  But I immediately knew I had to share this so that none of you had the same experience.