Brodie's First Fishing Trip

"Man's Best Friend"

I have always said that my handsome hunter husband also loves fishing or anything outdoors and since Christmas morning, when he received multiple fishing accessories, you could say he has been dying to go fishing. Brodie was sitting there listening to our conversation and decided that he wanted to go and make his first large body of water experience. So...we packed up and headed to the lake.

Upon arrival he was literally escatic about a new experience in the great outdoors, the wilderness to him. Birds flying above, cats lurking around (which he had never experienced before) one hiss and he was under the truck, large trees, critters to pounce on, room to run and explore, and what looks to be an extremely large dog bowl full of water when he gets thirsty..bark, bark, jump, jump, tongue hanging out in the pure thrill of a boat ride!

Needless to say I killed the moment with putting a life jacket on him. He has never been in a lake before where he can't touch. For all you men reading this, I KNOW, dogs can swim... my sweet husband so eloquently informed me of this, but I didn't care... he is my baby and only 5 months old. Thus the very cute pictures of Brodie in a life jacket on his first boat ride. :)

Brodie liked the wind running through his short, very short strands of hair for most of the time and the other part while we were flying down the lake he had his head tucked under my arm. When we arrived he immediately loved the fishing poles and all he dangly shinny things hanging from the poles! (Short interjection: He is a hunting dog, a retriever to be exact, and Jamie has been training Brodie how to retrieve with a cane pole and a bird wing or something tied to the end of a fishing pole looking contraption. Keep this in mind.)
Of course he immediately sits at Jamie's feet waiting for the pole to be flung into the air and for Jamie to give the command for Brodie to fetch what he threw into air! Which, Jamie was not going to do because all fisherman know that if you jump in the water it will scare all the fish..thus defeating the point of fishing. It took all of 2 throws for Brodie to take a flying leap off the boat and into the lake water. After getting him back into the boat he just sat and whimpered next to Jamie so badly wanting to get the dangly shinny thing on the end of the pole, but not wanting to jump back into the water! Quick learner.

Soon enough he will learn the fishing ways and not only be a hunting dog, but a fishing companion too! It is true when they say that Dogs are Man's Best Friend because Jamie and Brodie are two peas in a pod :)

Family Christmas 2008

"Christmas in a Nutshell"

All the stockings were hung, red pajama pants were worn, The Christmas Story was on tv...Ralphy just got his tongue stuck to the pole...haha, egg nog was being consumed, and I was just content with my life and the blessings that the Lord has bestowed onto me and my family. What a great year!

Jamie and I are both still getting used to making a plan on how to visit both of our families on Christmas, and I think it wound up working well. Christmas Eve we spent the night with Jamie's family because they live just far enough that we didn't want to make that drive so early in the morning. It was absolutely wonderful being able to spend time with such a loving family and to feel so included as a daughter and a sister. We had a Merry Christmas to say the least! Angie we missed you and the family! :)

We headed off to visit with my side of the family Christmas morning and upon arriving at my parents house we realized that just because we weren't there on Christmas morning Santa didn't forget us! It was so exciting... paper flying, smiles, and laughter filled the room. All I really wanted was accessories for my new camera which I had so much fun trying to learn how to use!

These are just some pictures from that eventful day...to view all of them click here. They all speak for themselves.

The red pj's were a must!!

Brodie's First Christmas :)

CHRISTMAS HOME TOUR!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY HOLIDAYS
Come and take a visit through our home...

Yes, I know this is supposed to be outside, but I just loved it inside...who knows!

Directions for a great Christmas Holiday:

Just add family, presents under the tree, lights galore, fire in the fireplace, hot chocolate/apple cider, Christmas movie, fluffy blanket to snuggle under, bunches of love, and a partridge in a pear tree!! :)

A Festive Afternoon with The Higdon's
A normal afternoon goes something like this: Get home from work, change clothes, let my little Brodie inside to play while I get dinner started, let water boil on the stove, throw the toys down the hall for Brodie to fetch and bring them back for a treat, check on the cooking, and continue until he wears down and just wants to lay down and chew on the latest sock he can find laying around the house. (They are no longer wearable after he is done) Tonight was no execption, except we added a little Christmas cheer to the mix.

THEN... Dad comes home!!! My somewhat, I do emphasize somewhat, calm "little man" becomes escatic and leaps around the house in glory and excitement that Dad has come home to do nothing but play with me! So, the two begin to wrestle until one of them wins...that would normally be Jamie. Brodie gives in and then just wants to play with anything and everything in site. Fun times!

After dinner, I put on a pot of apple cider to simmer and make the house smell incredible, turned on the tv to the FaLaLaLa Lifetime channel for the lastest Christmas movie and I become the mom wanting to take pictures of my "little man". I then attempt to pose him in front of the Christmas tree, then the fireplace, then the presents, all the while I get this look of excitement from Brodie.. haha The one pictures he actually looks at me his ear is flipped backwards.. oh well. That is my puppy for you.

We did try to take pictures for a Christmas card, but it just never happened, so here is to all of you that may want to see our Christmas tree with our puppy. I know it would be a sleepless night until you did. What a night. After all...It is Brodie's first Christmas. :)

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM JAMIE, COURTNEY & BRODIE

Family time in the Mountains

"Gatlinburg, Tennessee at a Glance"

This blog is extremely late, but I guess better late than never! For a while I had been saying that I would love for us to go on vacation to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and soon came to find out that Jamie had never been except when he was very very small, and didn't actually remember it. So, for our 2 year anniversary we were able to take a trip to the Smokey Mountains!! Charlie and Gina had been talking about taking a trip also, so we all packed up the car and off we went! We had a great time and experienced many wonderful things, but did make a few mistakes along the way.

Mistake #1, check the weather before you go to another state.

Alabama, sunny and 50's, Gatlinburg, cloudy and 19 degrees!! High of 32 degrees! Needless to say my suitcase consisted of thin, silk long john shirt, no long john pants, no ear muffs, 1 pair of gloves, blue jeans, several thin sweaters, and a couple of thick sweaters, a pea coat, a north face jacket, no tennis shoes, one pair of wallabies, and 3 pairs of high heal boots. Are you serious.. my mother taught me better than that! My theory of sacrifice for the sake of fashion went right out the window!

Mistake#2 When you go out to Cades Cove in the mountains, remember to actually BRING your gloves, pea coat, and every pair of clothing you own!!

I thought to myself, how cold can it really be... I will be warm enough. NOT! I wore a sweater with a turtle neck, thank goodness, no gloves, light jacket, nothing but blue jeans, and one dose of hypothermia!!! Not really, but at one point I couldn't feel my extremities.

After we all got over the shock of not having enough clothing on, we had an incredible time at Cades Cove. It was truly breathtaking! My husband and father-in-law, who are both hunters, saw more deer to last them a life time! The amount

of beautiful wildlife we were able to encounter was amazing.

Charlie and Gina :) How sweet

Freezing was not the word! No gloves, and nothing to cover his ears... what were we thinking!Poor thing!

We encountered this deer eating pods off the side of the road... thinking I was going to scare her I was being very quiet. After a while I realized I am not going to scare her, and I got out of the car and walked up to the fence 3 feet from this deer to take some pictures. WOW! Quite an amazing site to be that close to a deer.

I stayed in the car for this coyote to pass, but again... amazing!

All we wanted to see was a big buck while we were there. As we were driving around we saw a crowd gathering and soon realized why. This buck was about10 feet from the fence we were standing beside. He never wanted to look up or get his picture taken, but just once he looked up so I could get a good picture of his beautiful horns. Jamie and Charlie were just in awe.

We then went up to Ober Gatlinburg just before sunset to get this picture of the Mountains.

While we were on top of the Mountains, we simply had to go ice skating. Needless to say, we are not 10 anymore and our bodies just do not hold up to the pain caused by trying to balance on a single blade on ice! Jamie appeased me and we had a great time anyway.

It's Christmas in Galtinburg with Blue lights!!! How fun!

Overall we had a wonderful time and would love to go back with some warmer weather, green grass, and leaves on the trees. Although it was cold, Christmas was in full swing- lights were everywhere, Santa was sited, trees decorated every way imaginable, warm hot chocolate to sip, and Christmas music to fill the air! We ate at the Apple Barn, (a must eat.), drove downtown at night with lights as far as the eyes could see. Loving a brisk cold walk all the while imagining a warm fire when we got back to the house. Great Memories, few mistakes we now laugh about, and time with family well spent! To view more pictures of our trip click here

The Beauty of God's Creation...

I caught this breathtaking site when leaving one of the communities that I work in and literally just sat there and took in the wide aray of beauty in the sky. I could not believe that so many different elements of color just swirled together to make a perfect masterpiece. It reminded me of God's soverignty and how at times it is difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel right now in our nation, but that the Lord has his hand in everything and is molding and creating His perfect masterpiece. For me it was a moment of reflection and reasurrance that the Lord has an amazing plan and to be patient to see what He has in store!

Today is our TWO year anniversary!
What a true joy and an unexplainable honor it is to be married to Jamie. No other words today that really come to mind except blessed...

I have always called Jamie my Mr. Steady, because in all things he is steady and unwavering, and never ceasing to continue to amaze me in how he loves and respects me and our lives together. I love that and find incredible comfort in that attribute about my handsome husband.

I waited and waited knowing Jamie was Heaven sent to me and knew the Lord spoke to me and gave a reassurance in my heart to trust Him...I am preparing Jamie's heart, the Lord said as I prayed for wisdom and discernment.. just be patient and trust that I know best...That was soooo incredibly hard for me because I am goal oriented and need a plan, but MY Mr. Steady did have that unwavering faith and was continually praying for the Lord guidance on our lives and our future marriage. What a blessing it has been.

It is nothing short of amazing to see how The Lord puts two people together that are so comparable in so many ways...We just fit! I woke up this morning before I got my day started looking at this amazing man beside me feeling so complete in what the Lord has done.
Jamie:
The one who still melts my heart
My confidant
My handsome hunter
The fearless leader of our home
The one who still puts butterflies in my stomach
My bow hunting teacher
The spiritual leader of our home
My best friend
My reassurer of life
My protector
My Mr. Steady
My love...

I am going to interject here with an news bulletin update------

I posted the below blog earlier today, and my sweet, yet rowdy, puppy that is ever increasing in size does have my heart, but perhaps it grows horns sometimes! Tonight Jamie and I came home from a lovely meal that my sweet, handsome, and just down right wonderful husband treated me to tonight. Seeing that we have not played with Brodie all day today our excitement grew as we came in the door. Brodie has gotten to where he LOVES playing in the trash when we are not looking. You will find the normal stance of 2 paws up on the trash can with his nose plummeting into the fresh throw aways from the days meals. He totally knows it is wrong, and will stand and bark at the trash can when we are looking demanding we know his disapproval of us not letting him eat out of the trash can.

I could tell by the look in his eye and when I turned my back to unload the dishwasher I heard the noise....crinkle, crinkle, boom...I look up and over the counter to find a full coffee filter with coffee grinds spilling out of his mouth. Brodie, filled with excitement that he has just gotten away with what he knows is wrong is jumping up and down wanting me to chase him to see if I can catch him. As he makes his normal figure 8 around my living room couch, under the coffee table, around the leather chair, through the kitchen, down the hall, and into the dining room just to start the process all over again if I have not caught him by now....he is faster than you all may think! Now, mind you that he had a full coffee filter with black coffee grounds that have now spilled out of his mouth with every step of his paws and are now mashed into my tanish colored carpet!! Let me tell you that I have a fresh aroma of morning coffee filling my house.

All of you know that I have been working on my patience, and I felt like I did a very good job of holding it in when I had to get out a toothbrush and scrub my carpet after I vacuumed all I could get up and was still a tanish chocolate color after he threw his tantrum! Life goes on...I just thought it was very amusing, actually I laughed out loud when I looked at my earlier blog of my sweet Brodie looking like a perfect angel... :)

JUST BECAUSE HE HAS MY HEART!

"IMPORTANT PARENTING QUESTIONS...???"

Yes, as Jamie and I were discussing Brodie's future the other night the common questions arose: "How are we doing to train him?", "Will he ever have a girlfriend?", "What if he tries to sneak out during the day?", "I wonder how we are all going to snuggle on the couch when he gets older and bigger?", then the question came: If Brodie is going to be the #1 hunting pointer dog, well then by all means he has to have a #1 Camouflage Doggie Bed! So, the journey began to try and find the perfect, cute, camo doggie bed. Our search quickly ended when the only camo beds we were finding were $100.00 and up... for a dog bed I asked myself!?

My ingenuous husband, being as smart as he is, decided that I could make one; and that is what I did! Just call me a one woman show... real estate agent during the day, and camo doggie bed maker at night. We went and bought a normal dog bed, and I took it home and started tearing it apart, or better known in the sewing world as, ripping! Once I had everything taken apart, I cut out my camo pattern, and had it all ready to go sew.

For my mom and brothers birthday we all went over to my parents house for a cookout and to watch the Alabama game... Roll Tide Roll! I decided that it was the perfect time to start sewing my camo doggie bed. (I did not have a sewing machine, and my mom did...hey, I still need help being a one woman show!)


I was sorely mistaken thinking that I could just "sew it together!" I mean how hard could it be? 4.5 hours later I finished Brodie's masterpiece of a camo doggie bed! If Brodie could talk I know he would say that he loved it. I didn't just get a top and bottom and sew them together, it had sides and tan piping around the top. What did I get myself into I thought to myself, but I was so proud when I was done. My grandmother, my mom and Mrs. Darlene all pitched in to help. The following pictures I will cherish, because this is the night it all began and that I knew I became...A Camo Doggie Bed Professional Sewer!

Brodie's Final Masterpiece

He is still trying to figure out what I am doing...I get this look often!

Seriously, I am over the picture taking!

Brodie's new dog house, bed, and cute doggie bowls

SPOILED....NAH!!!