Some more cute pictures of our puppy!

Meeting Cookie Dough!

We decided it was time to let our rabbit, Cookie Dough, meet Hercules. Overall, it went pretty good. Of course, miniature daschunds were bred to hunt rabbits, so things could get interesting later on! We thought if we introduced them while Hercules is a puppy, then he might want to be her friend! We weren't sure who was scared of who some of the time. Here are a few pictures I could get while they were not moving!

A Tribute to the Easter Chicken!!!

Since tomorrow is my Dad's birthday, I thought I would post a little tribute to him.....
We finally got several rolls developed so I thought I would share our Easter tradition. Every year we have an Easter Egg Hunt for all my cousins and my Grandparents house. My Dad would help the kids find the eggs, and it evolved into the Easter Chicken. Now as he finds a egg that has been hidden, he stands over it clucking like he's a chicken laying an egg!! Its really humerous, but the kids love it! Every year they ask if the Easter Chicken is coming! Of course the adults sit back and laugh!! Here are some pictures from this year's egg hunt!

Hannah and Madison looking for an egg.

I caught him in mid "cluck".

On the run with Josh!

Found another one!!

I doubt many other families have an Easter Chicken visit them on Easter!! It is such a fun tradition. Even though he may look hilarious, I'm so proud to call the Easter Chicken my Dad!!!

More Hercules Pics...

This Weekend...

This weekend we were in Nashville for an open house for Blake's Mom and Tracy. We were supposed to be taking pictures of everyone, but kept getting sidetracked taking pictures of Savannah and Hercules! The cutest moment of the day was when Savannah tried to climb into the ice bucket that had water bottles in it. I think I took about 50 pictures of her climbing in! Here are some of our favorites from the weekend.

Paula and Tracy standing by the food table.
Checking out the cold water.

Starting to climb in.

Cold!!!!


Eating Strawberries.

Looking for Hercules.



This one was too cute!

Reading with Nana.

Random Pictures With Our New Camera

We have finally entered the world of digital cameras!! We saved our money for about six months and purchased the new Canon digital rebel xti, and we are loving it! Here are some of the 200 pictures we have taken in the first day of having our camera!

Birthday Thoughts

I celebrated my 27th birthday yesterday. I am always amazed at what other people do to make you feel special on your birthday. I had a wonderful day and was so blessed by what everyone did for me! I do not think it is uncommon to reflect on the day you were born, and I had a little down time to do that yesterday. I recently read an article about paying it forward that talked about what a family did for their child on his birthday. Instead of buying him presents, they took him to an ice cream shop for two or three hours. At this point I'm thinking that is a wonderful gift, but the story took a different twist. Instead of buy ice cream and having a party for the child, they sat there and bought everyone's ice cream that came in the store. What a concept! I think we get too caught up in what we deserve sometimes that we forget about doing something for others. What a difference we could make in the lives of others if we did something unexpected for someone else on our birthday! It just really hit home with me to be aware of opportunities to bless others every day, and I hope I can try to incorporate that thought process into my life!

12 Weeks Old...

Its amazing to look at this picture after two weeks! This is the first day we had Hercules, and he has grown so much since then. He has been sick the last few days which has had me worried, but we took him to the vet and got some medicine for him and he is doing much better! We actually take him tonight for his 12 week check-up and vaccinations. (I'm dreading that) When we took him in Thursday, he had gained a little over a pound since we got him, so I'm anxious to see if he has gained any more. He weighed 3.6 pounds, so he's on his way to being huge! :) Hopefully, I will be able to write an update about his check-up tomorrow.

Blake Passed!!!

As most of you know, Blake began working on his master's degree last summer in special education. In order to become certified to teach after you pass your classes, you have to take Praxis tests. Blake had to take four of these tests. He took two in April and two in June. We found out in May that he passed the first two, and have been anxiously awaiting the results of the last two. Well, they arrived in the mail Friday and he passed them both!!! We are so excited because he was offered a teaching position for the fall, but had to pass the tests to be able to officially accept it! He has also been taking 9 hours of class in two and a half weeks to finish the class portion of his certification. The first week and a half was pretty intense, and I believe this week will be about the same if not worse. He has done such an awesome job in school and with his tests! I'm so proud of him!!

Camping Trip

I'm trying to throw it right!

Blake looking determined!

The camper

Our campsite

Me, Blake, My Dad, and My Mom

My Dad and Blake

The squirrel trying to get in the cookies (he finally succeeded)

Tired from all the food

A few weeks ago we went camping with my Mom and Dad to Cedars of Lebanon. My parents recently bought a pop-up camper, so we were helping them break it in. We had a wonderful time of relaxing, talking, eating, bike riding, and disc golf playing. The first night was a little loud because a youth group was at the campsite across from us, and they stayed up most of the night laughing and singing. Their campsite ended up providing some entertainment when they left to go hiking. They left all their food out, and the squirrels decided to make a meal of it! We go some funny pictures of them rummaging! We can't wait to go camping again!

Savannah Meets Hercules

Our niece Savannah met Hercules last weekend. She wasn't quite sure what to think about such a small dog since she is used to Golden Retrievers. They both seemed to like each other and gave each other kisses before the day was over! Here are some of the pictures from their introduction!