Home

I am happy to be home!! I had a great time with my bubby... I will add some pictures in a little bit - Hart is growing up so fast and is such a sweetie!! Now back to our home life... busy, busy busy - we will be putting up fencing for the horses this week and taking care of our babies... we are taking all 3 boys in the morning to get 'fixed'. I don't have to go back to work until Jan 5th, so I am looking forward to getting a bunch of stuff done around here this week!

Found It!

I have found my niche... I have started making jewelry & I love it!!! It is so much fun!

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

New Look

U like?? I have to say... I think it is fun!!

Mom and I met in Charleston this past weekend and had the best time!! We stayed Friday & Saturday night and shopped for hours both days! We got some Christmas shopping accomplished, of course there is more to do... darn! My legs hurt so bad on Monday from all of the walking =) We had so much fun... I tried to get her to come home with me, but she had to go the opposite way. I miss her everyday!

New Perspective

Living among nature revives your perspective on the way you see the world! I guess to some degree you have to have it in you somewhere to really be in touch with and appreciate the things around you! You all know of my love of dead trees... well, I like the live ones too... I really enjoy the stars and the moon and the sunsets and the colorful leaves (even if all it really means is that they are suffocating). I have reconnected with my love of nature, and I love it! Since we moved here, I have had this overwhelming desire to find my creative niche! I want to create something, I am still working on what exactly my niche will be... but I have several ideas I plan to experience! I went home this past weekend to surprise Dad for his birthday, it was a short visit, but on my way out of Beaufort I got caught by the bridge, you gotta love it. I sat there with the windows down smelling the ocean and enjoying the serenity of the view, it was perfect! As I crossed the bridge, every car I past had drivers on their phone... I thought to myself - these people are so lucky and they don't even know it! What a beautiful sight, and they don't even know that they should enjoy it... I felt so sorry for them!

I have added a few more pix - our new toys and Mom & Dad's pups - check them out!

Long Awaited & Long Overdue

I have finally taken some pictures on the inside of our home... it has really come together!! We have been working a lot outside, cleaning out weeds and trimming shrubs, it is really looking good! Mom & Dad came up this weekend and were amazed at how much everything had changed! It was so great to see them!! They brought a video that Brandon took with Mom's video recorder when we first moved in and we watched it - it has changed so much!! She is right, you don't realize all of the changes when you are living in it. Hope you enjoy the pix - I put captions on all of the pictures to narrate - check them out at the link to the right of this post...

Where have I been??

I know it has been forever since I have written. We have been so busy lately...

The house is starting to come along - we actually hung some pictures finally... there is still more to do, but we are still progressing.

The pups are getting so big, we have got to decide when we are going to get them fixed... we don't want any 'challenged' pups!

My brother is home and doing better, I don't think I ever wrote about it, but he was in the hospital for 2 weeks with a Mercer Staph infection in his leg. My parents were there taking care of him & trying to help out.

I need a vacation!!!!!!!!!!!

Details..

This week we have been doing a lot of planning... researching life insurance, wills, living wills, etc. Trying to cover all those details that make loosing someone even more stressful! After seeing Brandon's mom go thru all of the un-knowing... we have really starting thinking about having a plan in place.

Tough Times...

Sunday night Brandon got a hysterical call from his sister, Chuck (their step dad) had collapsed and turned purple instantly. His mom heard him hit the floor & rush in. She & his sister both tried to revive him, the ambulance came & did all they could the whole way to the hospital. They didn't think he was going to make it. We put the dogs up, packed a bag and jumped in the car. When we got about 10 minutes away, his sister called and said that they were at the hospital and that Chuck hadn't made it. He had a massive heart attack, the doctors said that even if he had been at the hospital on the table and they had all the equipment in hand, they wouldn't have been able to save him because it was so massive and so quick. This week has been crazy... Brandon was there all week helping his mom deal with her loss and all the paperwork that needed to be handled and I did a lot of driving back and forth to be with them and take care of the pups! Advice I can offer from this experience... get a will, get a big ass insurance policy and put all the important paperwork in one place.

Slowly but surely...

There are still boxes... it is a slow process but it is coming along! We have been so busy replacing light fixtures, fans, curtains, and still unpacking boxes. Mom came up this past weekend, she said we have done a lot since the last time she was here... she said it is really starting to become our own! I guess when you are here everyday and see all the things that still need to be done you don't realize all that has already been done! We are still loving it!!! I promise I will send pictures soon...

The House

*I have gotten several questions about the house... thought this would be the best way to update everyone. Elgin is a small town outside of Columbia in Kershaw County - for those of you who know about Columbia taxes - we don't have to pay those anymore!! I went to pay Brandon's truck taxes that we had already gotten the bill from Richland County on and they were half the price we would have paid if we still lived in Richland County. THAT was nice!!

*Living here is very much like living at a resort, it is so perfect! We love it!! I am 15 minutes from work, Brandon is 10 minutes from work and it feels like we are in another world when we are here!!! It feels so secluded, but we are just minutes from shopping & the interstate!

*Yes, the dogs are loving the yard!! They are so much sweeter and calmer now that they have a way to get all of their energy out!!

*I have seen two of our neighbors on my drive home, but once we are here, we can't see anyone - it is perfect!! We haven't talked with any of them yet... still trying to get all of our stuff together so there hasn't been much time for chit chat! We did have 2 of our neighbors (I have no idea where they live exactly) come over on horses the other day - the dogs were not happy about that at all!!!

*Come over any time and play in the pool - we would love to have company!!

Little Bubby

Mom and Dad went to Birmingham this past weekend for Hart's 2nd Birthday. I decided on Wednesday that I was going to surprise them and show up at Jason's. I took a half day on Friday and drove up to spend the weekend! They were all so surprised!! Hart is getting so big and is soo cute - he is so Jason! He is talking up a storm! It was so much fun! I have added some more pictures to our link!

Miss me??

I am finally back on-line!! It took forever to get the technical stuff set up... I guess it is par for the course! Everything during this process has taken longer than it should!! We finally closed today after so many delays with the comps on the appraisals - I guess that is the aggravation you get when you buy a house in the country!! Today couldn't have gone any smoother and made it all worth it!! We are still moving things into the house from the garage. The first mobile attic has already been emptied and removed from our driveway - the second mobile attic has one item left in it and will be emptied tonight and hopefully gone tomorrow! There are still boxes everywhere, so no pictures of the inside, but check out OUR PIX link on the right side of this page to see the outside! It is 9+ acres, the house is 2700 sq ft, 3 car garage, and a 40X50 metal shop, a pool, 2 Japanese Koi ponds in the front yard and 2 fish ponds on the property! I am not sure, but think we have found heaven on earth!

Still Moving...

Will it ever be over?!?!? Been spending every evening and weekends packing and loading! We got another Mobile Attic and it is almost full (this is our 2nd) - we should be done filling it tomorrow. They are coming to pick it up on Monday... we are scheduled to close on both houses on Thursday, God willing. There is still soo much to do here at the house... it seems like it will never end! There is still so much stuff here and so little time to get it all out... not to mention getting everything cleaned and doing some touch up painting. Like any closing, there is drama with the closing on the new house... I knew it wouldn't be a smooth ride (closings never are... I have heard a lot of closing horror stories) but this has been one extreme event after another... still working through all the kinks and still shooting for Thursday!! I have faith that this is the home for us and feel strongly that everything will work out... at this point FAITH is all we have and I am holding on tight!!

Anniversary

Today is our 3 year wedding anniversary! Time has really flown... we have been together for 7 years!! What an amazing time we have had!!!!!!!!!! I can still remember the first time we met, meeting at gas stations just to say 'hey' as Brandon was coming through town, all those late night phone calls, Brandon surprising me at my apartment, the first time I went to Brandon's family's home, the first time Brandon came to my family's home, the first time I realized I was in love with him, every time we have danced, the day he moved to Columbia, the day we snuck off and got married after attending Peyton's 2 year old birthday party, the day we got Zoe, the day we thought she was ill, the day we got Zander, the day Zoe had the babies, the day she lost the babies - we have shared so many things and have grown closer because of every one of them!! It is crazy how things work out!

Babies

I have added some new pictures of the babies - check out our link on the bottom right of this page. We weighed them last night... even Zoe & Zander. The bigger they are the harder they are to weigh - Brandon has to hold them and stand on the scale and I have to look at the scale and write down the weights all the while keeping all the other babies from jumping on him... so their weights may not be accurate, but they are close enough... I have listed their weights below - they are growing so fast!!

Zander: 82-85

Zoe: 65

Xavier: 59

Crazy: 57.8

Gypsy: 56

Ginger: 47.8

Delay...

Well, the closing has been delayed, but seems to still be in motion. We are planning to close on July 31st; I pray everyday that everything will go as planned. Closing sucks, it is emotionally draining! Everyday it is something and my nerves are shot! Please continue to send us good thoughts!! I know I haven't mentioned the new house... I don't want to jinx it - as soon as we close I promise I will give the full scoop on the new place!!

Moving Right Along

Everything still seems to be on schedule... we should know more by the end of the week! Keep your fingers crossed!!

HAPPY DAY!

Things are coming together... we have a contract on our house! We are so excited!!!! Please continue to send good & positive thoughts our way... hoping & praying everyday that everything will go as planned & nothing will fall through!!!

Another day...

Showed the house again today... the people who came today didn't have a realtor and my realtor was on the other side of town so I showed the house. "They" say that the homeowner shouldn't be at the house when it is shown because people are weird and may not want to buy it because of who or what you are, but it sure was a lot easier to show it than leave with all the babies! I just kept them in the backyard. It was so nice to not have clean and load everyone up and get out of here in an hour!

Saturday

The saga continues!! We have shown the house twice today... I wish someone would put in an offer and actually follow thru with it!! I am so tired of cleaning, packing up the dogs and leaving so that people can see our house.

Last night we had fireworks all around us - the dogs did not like it at all! This was the first time the babies had experienced fireworks and they were scared just like their mommy... Speaking of Zoe, today is her birthday - she is 3 years old!

Some Realtors

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...
I received a call today from a realtor that wanted to show my house... I told her that the security system was activated and that the earliest we could show it was 6pm. She said that her client lived out of town and had to go back home this afternoon, but she would ask them if they could stay and let me know. I flew out of work to rush home to clean clean clean, on the way home I called the realtor and left a message asking if her client was able to stay to see my home and to please let me know. It is now 6:30 and no show & no call!!!!!!!!!!!! I cleaned like the road runner and they couldn't even give me a heads up that they weren't coming!!!!!!!!!!! Oh yea, and while I was cleaning the sink I saw this brown flash go by the front door and thought 'shit, they (our babies) are out again' - I walked out front whistling and it was Rocky aka Boyfriend, our neighbor's dog who lives behind us... I took him home. About 10 minutes later, here comes Rocky again... I tried to get him to come in the house - not happening! I tried to get him in the garage - not happening either, so I took him home again and checked his yard; I couldn't find anywhere that he could have been getting out and his owners weren't home. I left him, but keep checking to make he is still over there. What a day!!

Blogging

It is so weird to be talking to no one & everyone all at the same time... I am sure I will really get into this, but right now I am a newby and this is weird! I love the idea of it and I am really enjoying creating it!!! I know I am bad about keeping in touch, hopefully this will help!

Crazy Life

Our babies keep us so busy... haven't been home in FOREVER! It is just so hard to go anywhere with 6 babies!

INTRO

My husband & I were married on 7-23-05 on the Isle of Palms in Charleston, SC. Our parents were the only people invited and they only got 2 days notice. We didn't tell anyone else that we were getting married... it was perfect! We have been married for almost 3 years and we have 6 babies (boxers). .. they are our lives!