Friday, November 27, 2009

My Emma Rue


As most of you know my sweet Emma Rue wont be with us much longer.  Emma was born on Sept 12 2002. We got her in October of 2002.  Todd caved in on his no dog rule and got her for me as an early Christmas present for our first Christmas together as a married couple.  We actually were supposed to get a different dog.  We found this dog online and he was only supposed to get up to about 6  pounds and I really wanted a small dog.  We went to walmart and bought a bunch of stuff for our little "rebound" that we were going to go to Choctaw and pick up.  We drove and drove and drove and the lady whom I had spoke with earlier had told us to come down decided not to pick up the phone and even eventually took the phone off the hook (I am guessing because she was tired of us calling and she didn't have the guts to tell me the transaction wasn't going to take place).  I cried and cried the entire way home.  I was so upset and didn't understand why this lady would do this to me.  I really wanted to have a dog of my own and not just any dog a miniature dachshund. Todd felt horrible but reassured me we would be getting a dog.  I now know that this was God's way of giving me the perfect dog! One Sunday morning Todd saw an add and took me to Claremore to go look at a few puppies.  There she was this beautiful black and brown baby!!! She was it, she was perfect and everything I wanted.  So home came miss Emma Rue Anderson!!!  we were a bit scared in the beginning because she didn't do much other than sleep (remind you we were newly weds and had no children).  The sleeping didn't last long.  She quickly became very active and soon found her voice! She was so little.  I remember when she would just fit in our hands cupped together.  Todd even though hesitant to admit it became very fond of this baby.  He loved to play "wiener dog" obstacle course with her.  He would set up objects in our living room and make her go around them or jump over them to get her treat.  He even decided that he would try "wiener dog" fishing.  He would tie one of her toys on the end of a fishing pole and cast it out in the living room and watch her chase it as he reeled it in.  She quickly became my little baby as well. She would always lay with me on the couch and always wanted to sit in my lap.  She loved to snuggle with me and always wanted attention from  us.  She has always been such a sweet and wonderful dog.  She has her OU football jersey that she wears come game time!  She has a football that she chases around.  I have a Christmas scarf that she wears every year and she even has a pink little sweater to keep her warm on cold days.  I was very worried when Aiden arrived that she would be very jealous and be mean to him, but she wasnt.  She was very sweet and loving to him.  Even as he has grown and developed a "strong love" for her she has never tried to bite him or anything.  Although when he was little I think she did get just a bit jealous because I remember her going over to his blanket and purposely peeing on it!!!  Aiden loves her so much and is at times very smothering to her, even lately when she has been so sick she has never struck out at him.  I am so very sad that she will be gone before long.  I am very thankful that I got seven years with her but am sad and a little angry that there wont be any more than that.  She is so young and cancer normally doesn't attack small female spayed dogs.  It has been a really long month for us trying to figure out what is wrong with her and finally got her diagnosis on wed.  I am struggling very much with what I need to do for her.  I want to spend as much time with her as possible but I dont want to see her suffering either. We are trying to keep her as comfortable as possible with pain meds and will continue to do so until I feel she just cant take it any more. As I was looking back over pictures of her I found many pictures of when I would be holding Aiden while he napped and she was always right there with us.  She has always been a huge part of our family and she is going to be missed in a way that I cannot begin to explain.  I know to some people this is silly and she is "just a dog" but she is not, she is my first baby and I love her so much.    I cannot begin to imagine life without her.  I am finding little comfort and I know people will probably think I am crazy but the thing that bothers me most is that I know this is it and I will never see her again.  There is no after life for her where I will be reunited with her so I am faced with knowing everything but her memory stops here.  Telling Aiden will be very hard and I have no idea how I am going to do that but I guess as it happens we will figure it out.  The vet has told us we can expect her to be around for four weeks or less.  So please continue to pray for me that I find some sort of comfort and peace in loosing her.

Here a just a few of the pictures I found of her over the last seven years.


Aiden figuring out how to get the treat bag open and Emma being so excited because she has found herself a new best friend!!!

Emma with Grandma and Grandpa!!!


Boomer Sooner!!!

Sitting pretty for a treat
best buddies!
family photo.  These were actually my maternity pics and we thought we needed a pic of us before our baby boy arrived since we knew her world was about to be rocked!

Aiden's three month pictures.  I just knew I had to get one of them together.

You will be deeply missed Emma Rue!

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Back Yard Fun

We decided to camp out in our backyard while the weather still permitted.  We had so much fun.  Shaun made a makeshift fire pit out of a grill.  We had hotdogs and roasted marshmallows for s'mores!!!  We also brought the tv out and mounted it up on the swing set and plopped a big blanket out for the boys to lay on.  It was rough getting Aiden to settle down and go to sleep but he finally gave it up.  Since Hunter decided he would be more comfortable at home in his bed (good call) I got guilted into sleeping in the tent thanks to Katie.  We got up and cooked a big breakfast the next morning which was probably my favorite part!!!!! We had a lot of fun!!!!





Saturday, November 14, 2009

Fellowship Fun

So many reasons to love fall: Football, Chili, Holidays, Festivals, etc.  We have a really great Sunday School class.  I always love getting to do fellowships with our class.   The kids always love being together and there is always plenty of laughter for the adults to share.  We went to Firery Trails last week.  They have a huge fire pit for roasting hot dogs and making smores.  They also have a nice size covered shelter with tables where we could eat.  They had a hayride that the kids loved.  They had a few animals that the kids got to feed and there were plenty of ducks but with a bunch of 2-8 year olds anxiously wanting to feed them they were a little reluctant to come and eat.  They had a great little lit up swing set and a hammock.  The weather was amazing and we couldn't have asked for a greater evening!  


I think this is where Seth was daring Aiden to put rocks in his mouth and spit them down the slide.... awesome- thanks Seth!

The hayride
these four boys are trouble!
wanting to feed the ducks so bad!
Feeding the goats and I am still amazed that he would actually let them eat from his hand
So thankful for such a wonderful Class!!!!!

Thursday, November 12, 2009

How cute is this


I saw this on a blog I read...How About Orange...  It is so cute and really makes me want to buy a coffee maker and start making coffee at home!

You can visit her blog to see the details on how to make the stencils to do this!!!!


Can you name these Corporate Logos? - sporcle

Can you name these Corporate Logos? - sporcle

This is such fun little game. Its interesting to see how many signs are really burned into our memories!

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Happy Belated Birthdays

Happy Birthday post to my mom!  She loves loves loves her grand babies!  She has a beautiful spirit and a huge heart.  She has a heart for celebrate recovery and so many people benefit from her being there time and time again!  She has had some ups and downs over the past few years but I think she has finally hit a really great place in her life.  I love to see her happy.  She has always been a great mom and always been there for me.  I am very blessed to have her as my mom!  So here is my birthday wish to you mom.  Lots of love!
May this year bring you laughter, peace, healing, maybe marriage (I said Maybe Jim), and hopefully more grand babies!!!!  

And then there is my sweet sister.  She is a beautiful person who loves her family.  She is a wonderful mother to my sweet nephew.  She loves children and believes that all children are special and deserve to be loved!  She is an amazing teacher and I wish I had half the patience she does.  She always looks out for people and always wants people to know they have a friend to turn to if in need.  She always reaches out to people who have gone through a rough time to show them love.  I know my Jesus loves her servant heart!  She has a beautiful smile and her smile matches her heart! BIG!
May this year you get and feel back the love you give out, may life be filled with laughter, your heart filled with joy and your belly a baby!!!  May you always know how much you are loved and appreciated.  Thank you for all you have done and continue to do for me.  I love you!

My mom and my sister share the same birthday month.  I always seem to run late on my birthday posts but its better late than never right?!?!?!?


Mommy and Me

Me and my Sweet Baby!

Fall Fun

As sad as I am to see summer come to an end there is so much fun fall activities to do with Aiden that I absolutely love to do!  Every year we go to the pumpkin patch.  We always have a good time.  I beg Aiden to let me take pictures and he begs me to just let him play.  This year I made a deal with him.  If he would pose for me a few pictures when we first got there he could play for a really long time!  He agreed and posed rather well for his pictures. (You will see what I mean below) Hunter and Aiden really enjoyed the hay maze and ran not only through the maze but on top of the hay bales as well!  Aiden and Hunter also climbed the hay stacks they had stacked for decorations and proclaimed to be "kings of the world"  It was a bit scary for me, I was fearful he was going to fall and break a leg or arm, and with Aiden's recent luck with accidents and a trip to the ER, to me it wasn't too far of a stretch to see it happening!  We also were pleasantly surprised and ran into the Austins while we were there.  Aiden, Eli, and Hunter got to play for a while and of course they gravitated to the hay bales!  There isn't a better sound than three boys laughing and having so much fun!  

We also got to make a trip to the Tulsa Corn Maze.  The Smiths invited us to go with them.  We loaded up and off we went to East Broken Arrow (and I do mean EAST BROKEN ARROW)  After we drove and drove and drove some more to find this place which is waaaaay out on 61st st and 331st st, we were excited to try out this new experience!  We had a great time as we always do with the Smiths but I think this place way over charges. Yes this place charges $8 per adult and $6 per child ages 5 and up.  CRAZY!  It is a great way to make money and get good use out our your land in the off season of the corn crops but didn't offer the wow factor we thought we would experience.  The boys had lots of fun and we did get to do a few things that Aiden has never done before.  They had a corn pit instead of a sand pit.  It was pretty neat.  The corn was cold and you pretty much just sank in it like quick sand.  We also did a maze through the corn fields and Todd and Shaun periodically hid in the stalks and scared the boys!  They also had this little cow ride pulled through the corn fields by a four wheeler.  The little cows were made out of old trash bins.  It was a pretty cute homemade ride!  Then we got to go on a short Hay ride.  The boys enjoyed the first part of it but it didn't go fast enough and stopped a little too much for their liking.  Aiden also got to feed a goat.  I am surprised  that he even put his hand out for the goat to eat from but he did and it was pretty cute!  Overall we had a lot of fun!

This week is going to be filled with more fall fun so stay tuned! 

Owasso Pumpkin Patch


This one says it all!
They were "king of the world"


Tulsa Corn Maize
so sweet!




Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Telling Tuesday

Last Wednesday we went to the fair.  We had a wonderful time.  Every year I have to drag Todd with me and he generally doesn't like it but I think I have found the one thing that will get him back to the fair every year now (more on that later).  It was a bit cold and we thought we might get rained out but it only sprinkled on us for about 20 minutes.  We went with the Howell's and Brandi and I had only one mission, to eat as much food as we possibly could.  I think we exceeded our goal!  I look forward to the fair every year and pretty much its all for the food.  The boys did have a great time.  In the kids building there was a huge sand box that they enjoyed very much.  They also have a little space for cozy coupes and tricycles that Aiden has played in every year except for his first year when he was 4 months old.  He was in heaven when he saw they had a fire truck cozy coupe and a police car cozy coupe!  He cried when we told him it was time to leave.  We went by the petting zoo but this year the animals were a tad bit full so they weren't very active.  Aiden and Hunter got to enjoy riding the carousel (twice for Hunter) and not much else because Hunter was half a smidge too short.  I felt so bad for poor HJ, he was so upset but even the boys know that fair food is way better than any silly ride the fair has to offer, So that is what we did - EAT!  So now for my list of food we ate in a matter of 4 hours or less.  (please no judgement needed!)
1 Indian Taco
2 Chicken Gyro
3 Cheese on a Stick - Aiden thought it tasted like a grilled cheese!
4 Hamburger and Fries
5 Fried Snickers
6 Carmel Apple
7 Chocolate Dipped Cheesecake - and this was what got Todd.  It was absolutely amazing and it may have been my favorite thing I ate that night.
8 Cinnamon Roll

and now I am sad because I will have to wait another year to enjoy all this all over again : (  But it was a lot of fun!