In Loving Memory

Last week, my sister's dog Jessie passed away. Jessie was a true blessing brought to her family. The very first week that my sister and her husband relocated to Mississippi, to pursue a degree in marriage and family therapy at a small Christian school, a dog appeared on their doorstep. She was weak, hungry, and in dire need of help.

My sister and her husband took her in, and she became an important member of the family. She had a great couple of years with my sister's family, filled with incredible food (my sister cooked her chicken and vegetables in the crock pot), and lots of love. On Saturday, she left this Earth, no longer suffering the long-term effects of her life before finding my sister.

We love you and miss you, Jessie J. You will never be forgotten.

More Gorgeous Dogs

Last week, we headed over to the SPCA to take photos of the new dogs that had arrived. What cuties! I fall in love with each and every one of these sweet animals. It never ceases to amaze me how, regardless of what terrible circumstance they've come from, they have amazing personalities and the ability to love.

Sawyer and Jayla


Pongo


Chowder and Meeko (the fourth brother in the set from my last post). I love his white blaze!

60th Anniversary Party

This past weekend, Kyle's grandparents celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. What an incredible achievement! We celebrated with the whole family on Sunday. It was so neat to see the family they've created over the years all together in one place.

Their 4 children got them this beautiful bowl, hand painted with their names and wedding date on it.


Aunt Jodi and Grandpa looking through an old family photo album. My sister in law, Kim, got them this gorgeous orchid plant as an anniversary gift.


Evan, one of our cousins from Tahoe, giving me a crazy face. :)


And our sister in law, Kim

SPCA Pups

This spring, I began volunteering for the SPCA. Passionate about rescuing dogs, I've always wanted to spend time giving love to dogs in need of homes, but I've never taken the plunge for fear of it depressing me too much. I finally decided I couldn't sit by and not help any longer, so I began spending time taking the dogs out for walks and giving them love.

Wanting to get more time practicing with the camera, I decided to devote some time to taking photos of the dogs for Petfinder. Here are some of the gorgeous dogs from the first shoot. Can you believe these poor guys don't have homes? My brain simply cannot comprehend how people can discard and abandon these sweet animals.

Foxy Lady and Milou

Mohawk

Cricket, and Cricket again

Clyde and Bouncer

Asher ...(can you tell the above 3 are brothers?) :)

Cooper

Yankee

Sundae

Ringo

A Christmas To Remember

December 2008 was the first time Kyle has has the chance to spend Christmas with my family. It was Caroline's first Christmas, so she was of course the center of attention. She got all the camera time since she's the most photogenic family member! We had a wonderful 4 days together in a warm (not white!) Christmas.

Caroline getting some Daddy time.

And some Grandma time.

And some Aunt Laura time.

Mommy stealing her away for some lovin'.

Saying goodbye to the sweet pea... heading back on a plane to Michigan.

Snow Angels

This winter we discovered just how much our dogs love the snow. Time and time again, they came back in the house absolutely covered in it, like they had been out making snow angels. I headed out with them one evening to catch them in all their snow playing glory. These are some of the photos I got. When I see these pictures, I no longer wonder why I can't keep my camera away from my dogs. They are just TOO CUTE!

Freedom At Last

In September 2008, we finally decided to install an electric fence around our yard for the dogs. It took a large amount of convincing for me, as I've always been adamantly opposed to the idea of an electric fence. However, a real fence was not an option for us, and our dogs desperately needed running room. So, after a long and difficult decision process, I caved.

Much to my surprise, the dogs trained rather easily, and 3 months of training later, they were pros at going outside alone. They absolutely LOVE having the yard to play in. These days, I can't believe I was ever against it. I have become a very big believer in the fence (when dogs are trained on it properly) and I know my dogs are thankful for the space.

This is the first time we were out together without leashes. Green grass, lots of space to run, and FREEDOM!

God Bless America

In the summer of 2008, we headed downtown to enjoy the sunshine and grab a few photos. The coolest thing we saw while we were out was this old bike with an American flag standing proudly above it. I was moved by the patriotism as I stood on the corner of the street.

Sweet Caroline

In July 2008, two weeks after we returned from our honeymoon, we hopped a plane to Mississippi to visit our new niece, Caroline. She's the first niece or nephew for us (and currently the only), and she holds a very special place in our hearts.

She was only 7 weeks old at the time of our first visit to see her. Here are the shots we got. What a cutie!