Chrissy girl ....

Christmas eve 1999 with a soft little snow coming down

Johnny and Jacquelyn brought home a tiny little peek-a-poo that 

was only 8 weeks old.

We named her Chrissy for Christmas and for 

all of the kisses she was giving us

She was one of the best gifts he has ever given me!

we all loved her so much

and for the past 15 1/2 years she has been "my girl"

Chrissy loved chasing tennis balls more than anything

and I would come home from work and we would throw the balls

down one end of the yard and then back to the other end

Because she loved chasing the balls but she never would bring them back

she would just run half way and then wait for you

to throw the next one

She always stayed very slim. Even as a puppy she never would over eat

Once she was full, she just walked away from whatever was left

But she always had room for her treats

As Chrissy aged, she started having back issues. More than

likely it was from her high jumps. She could jump straight up 

almost as tall as me! This took a toll on her lumbar disk

And because our bed is pretty high, the vet recommended her

not jump from there. So we purchased steps.....but she was afraid of them

So we removed the rug on the floor next to the bed and then she was

afraid to jump!! She learned to use the steps!

Her only other issue was a back knee. We opted for her to have weekly

injections for 6 weeks versus surgery and it sure did the trick

for her. 

She never went to bed until I was ready

She loved when you brought home new toys for her

She never liked children

She loved to go on walks and ride in the car

She loved having bacon and eggs on Sunday morning

She loved playing in the snow and was acting like a puppy

in the last snow we had...she ran, hopped and rolled all in it!

She had the same groomer her entire life and a couple of months ago her groomer passed away from cancer. No one has ever been able to groom her but Bess. Bess just had a magical touch with her and Chrissy loved her.

Because of her age we were not able to find another groomer so I trimmed her up when I could but she wasn't very happy about that. And given her age, we just let her be shaggy.

Chrissy girl had many names....Mickey Sue, Smoochie, Smoothie, 

CreCre, MeMe and just from me, my little angel

And on April 9th our precious Chrissy passed away

It's so hard losing a pet....she was part of our family and loved so much

here she is on Christmas morning with her new tennis balls.....making sure the other dogs didn't get them!

In the last snow and not acting like a 15 year old dog....she was running around and putting her face down in the snow, she rolled on her back and was just having so much fun

and here's out old girl all shaggy....

RIP peace our little angel girl....we love you

later........

Den makeover....

Last year we started our den makeover by

having new cabinets and

bookshelves made and covering up the old red brick

of the fireplace. 

And now we have finished by having the carpet removed

and wood floors installed.

First the fun of removing everything from the den

we were able to stack and cram all of the furniture in to the living

room and foyer.

they sealed up the doorways which kept the dust to a minimum

but didn't keep the smell out ... haha!

below with just the stain

and now with the first coat of poly.

they put 3 coats on

and here it is with the furniture back in

we can't put a rug down for 30 days but that's fine,

I haven't been able to find what I want anyway :)

later.....

Little Feets Meet ....

Today I had the honor of watching

my grandson participate in our county's event which is

a part of the Special Olympics in Virginia.

These events are for special needs children who are enrolled

in our county's special education programs.

Our grandson Maddox has been in this program through our school

system since he was 3 years old. And it's one of the best parts

of his life, he loves it and thrives in school.

Today's program was so sweet to attend. Your heart explodes with 

love, happiness and joy for these children. Your heart also breaks

for the challenges these children have.

Maddox loves to people watch.....

Our daughter Nicole

Maddox receiving his first ribbon

love this guy just so much

the races are his favorite....

Our son participates in the Polar Plunge, jumping in to 

the ocean in February to raise money that supports this event. He does

it to honor Maddox

If you ever have the opportunity to attend one of these you should do it. It doesn't matter whether you know someone there or not, you should go. It's humbling....it's heartwarming and you've just never seen so many children so happy that they are given the opportunity to do things
other children do.

later.....

Grandson's.....

Grandsons.....oh man I love these little guys

I just cannot get a good picture of all of them looking at me

like below, great pic of Maddox and Declan but Gabe is hiding his

face and John is looking away with some weird eyes! haha

Then Gabe is looking but Maddox is no longer smiling and

John is looking down!

still trying to get a picture.....haha

 Then this happened....Declan leaned in to Maddox and smiled so big

Then I just kept snapping and Declan look to John and smiled

then he leaned back to smile at Gabe

these pictures were taken just seconds apart

So maybe I didn't get them all looking at me and smiling but I believe

I captured love.....I captured the cousin love that Declan

was feeling for Maddox, Gabe and John

So then I tried again....and Maddox decided it was time for

funny faces....haha

I also love this picture below....2 little cousins

just imagine, next Easter we will have a little girl, Avery Grace 

in the middle of all of these boys!

later.....

More Easter....

The boys had an Easter egg hunt in the front yard

(because grandma did not poop scoop the backyard)

they all love the egg hunts!!

below are their small little baskets of candy

I just didn't do much because they all get big baskets

from the Easter Bunny

Just had to include a picture of the beautiful front yard

yay Johnny!!

here they are all waiting for the eggs to be hidden

later......