"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!!!

PUPPY POWER!!

Ok... so this morning I definitely had to bow my head in prayer. Jamie and I are recent puppy parents. 3 weeks to be exact. Brodie, our German Shorthair puppy, is so incredibly cute and such a joy to come home to in the afternoons. We go for walks around the neighborhood, fall asleep together watching tv, and he also keeps me company when I get ready in the morning for work.

I want an inside dog, but have a huge fear of having an inside dog because I am a real estate agent and have those listings that when you go in you take one whiff and let out that huge sigh...seriously, do the sellers just not smell the awful pet odor! Oh My Gosh, what if I now become one of those people!! I am stressing out. I really try hard to to keep a clean and neat house for me and Jamie. That may be a quickly fading concept. Brodie has his particular "spots" that he likes to lay in and if you come in our house you will see blankets everywhere. I put them down so I can just pick them up and wash them like everyday and vacuum everyday! Paranoid, maybe...

Brodie, being only 10 weeks old, has not quite learned that we do not TT inside, only outside. I think the Lord brought this puppy into our lives to teach me patience. I have now learned that that is an area in my life that may be lacking. I am pretty paranoid already about the smell, so you will find me on my hands and knees with a toothbrush and cleaner scrubbing every spot that I find he tted in--Having to breathe in and breathe out while I am doing it. I know it is not a big deal and I am working on it and when you see his cute little face you just want to love on him and I know he doesn't do it on purpose. Relaxing is a virtue I am working on... "it is not a big deal" I tell myself.

Well.. this morning at 2:30 am he wakes up whimpering and needing to go out, so I get up and take him out thinking this will be great, surely he will sleep until at least 8. At 6:30 am he wakes up again needing to go out only we find it was raining. He goes and tts outside, but immediately wants to come back in. After he puts two paws inside, he starts tting on the floor! I pick him up and put him back outside and he precedes to tt outside again, I let him back in b/c he was barking up a storm and I didn't want to wake up the neighbors, and about 5 paws inside he tts again on the carpet. "Breathe in, Breathe out!" I tell myself. Again, I take him outside and scared half to death of the rain and barking so loud he is starting to wake everyone up in the neighborhood not just my neighbors, I let him in again after scrubbing the carpet with a toothbrush. Immediately he goes to the hardwood floor and makes a HUGE puddle! For the Love! He thought it was great and very fun and jumps in the middle of the puddle, onto me and then tracks it all over the floor and carpet! My blood pressure is up just thinking about it. Now I just have to laugh, because poor thing he just didn't know what to do in the rain. The bad thing about a garden home community is the houses are so close together it is not like you can just leave him outside and bark as loud as possible. I just can't do that to my sweet neighbors.

Needless to say I cried, so wanting to be a good puppy parent and at my whits end with knowing what to do. I love Brodie and love him being apart of our family. My sweet husband just laughs a little and hugs me telling me that I am a great puppy parent. What would I do without my handsome husband. It has been an adventure for sure at my house these past couple of weeks. Children may be on hold for a while...I have to get the puppy parenting down first! :)

FAMILY PICTURES

Brodie is about 10 weeks old now, and not until Mrs. Gina pointed it out the other day did I realize that Brodie has a perfect heart on his side! It just makes him more interesting and cuter by the day. He is now sleeping through the night until about 6:30 a.m., which is better than the every couple of hours he was waking up during the night. That did get old and fast. With him in this puppy stage I feel like I have a child at home because he is so reliant on us for everything. Jamie and I have certainly enjoyed having him as part of the family now. These are a couple of pictures that we took this past weekend

Isn't Brodie just so photogenic!

Newest Addition to our Family!

We are welcoming Brodie and Sam to our Family

They were born August 1, 2008 and about 7 weeks old now!

They are German Shorthair Pointers, with Liver and Roan coloring. Long story made short, Jamie and I were talking one night and we decided that we wanted to get a puppy. After some discussion Jamie has been eyeing this particualr breed of dog for a while. So, jokingly I said to him on Monday night that I wanted to have a puppy by the weekend. Well... Tuesday Jamie calls and says he found some puppies and they were the color that we wanted! So, needless to say our family expanded by Tuesday night.

The story continues...on the way to pick up the puppy, Jamie told me that our best friend Zac always wanted a German Shorthair puppy also..that was news to me, but I thought he would really love ours and maybe get one at some point...well...Zac called while we were meeting with the Breeder and was ecstatic that we were getting that particular breed of puppy so he told us to pick one up for him also!!

Now we have brothers!! How exciting!

Sam, Zac's puppy, is on the left, and Brodie, our puppy is on the right.

Brodie Higdon, 5.5 pounds, hazel/blue eyes, about 13 inches long!

The two boys were like little kids on Christmas Day getting their first Red Rider BB Gun! Excitement filled the air.

Zac and Sam

I came home after work and found the boys crashed on the couch!! I laughed and laughed and ran for my camera. Brodie was worn slap out from playing allll day long. Great memories...

Beach Trip

Wonderful Rest and Relaxation!! Jamie and I had this trip planned for about a month when a hurricane thought it would make its way through, but lucky for us it missed us completely! It was sunny and beautiful the whole time. The waves were absolutely huge when we got there, and the police were out making sure no one even stuck their toe in the water! So...we enjoyed the chairs and umbrellas at the pool.

We stayed at Emerald Beach Resort and it was wonderful!! The living room looks out over the water and most of the time we just sat outside on the balcony and watched the waves crashing in onto the beach. It was beautiful. We really just stayed around the condo during the day and went out to dinner at night. This was the pool on the beach that we swam in, but they had two new pools that just opened with an abundance of childrens water features in them. Great for people watching...interesting to see children play.

(the two new pools)

Jamie and I definitely just relaxed and enjoyed seafood, went walking and ate at the new Pier Park, and went looking at the boats coming in at the docks. I feel relaxed and rejuvinated! Time was to short...

Recruitment 08'

PHI MU RUSH 2008!!
This year I have the privilege of being the new PHI MU Chapter Adviser at the University of Montevallo, and what an honor it is. To me this is a ministry and an opportunity to build relationships with young women. I have been praying for a way to minister to young women, and I truly believe the Lord has opened this door for me for a reason. It was an exhausting, yet rewarding 5 days! I had no idea what went on to make sure RUSH and Phi Mu as a chapter runs smoothly through this process. I took good notes, so hopefully next year I will have it down pat. The adviser who did hold this position has been doing it for the past 25 years! I just remember going through my years with Phi Mu and having such a respect for Theresa, so I am honored that I have this opportunity to walk along side her. (She is still helping me, thank goodness!)
This is the current chapter president and I on open house night; she did a fantastic job!

Each night there were different parties the new girls would attend and this night during recruitment we do a Grease skit and it is so incredibly cute! This is a picture of the Pink Ladies and the T Birds...

After a long, long week and several 2-4 a.m. nights, Bid Day finally arrived! I was very proud of all the girls for the hard work they put into this week.

New PHI MU 2008 Chapter!!

GRILL MASTER

Master Chef at work again...

For Labor Day my family had a cookout at my parents house. The menu was vast, weather was just perfect, and the company was great.

Menu included: Hamburgers, wings, hotdogs, porkchops, sausage, potatoes, casseroles, and chocolate pies! WOW! These are incredible wings...seasoned to perfection! My dad taught me the secret!

Mia took a liking to dad when he brought out the food to feed the Koi fish... That kept her entertained for a while.

David took all of us for a ride around the property on the 4 wheeler. My grandmother actually really enjoyed the ride!

Friendship is a truly special thing when you find someone to share all of life's little adventures with. Kathryn and Michael were married 6 months before Jamie and I and have now live down the street in our neighborhood. We love having them around all the time.

What better than a photo op before the Alabama vs. Clemson game

Don't worry barbecue sandwiches soon followed.

GOOD OL' SOUTHERN HOME COOKIN'
The yearly fish fry at Lay Lake
Fried fish, chicken, mac and cheese, fries, dips, casseroles, and fresh watermelon

It was the perfect summer afternoon...

food, games, cool watermelon and...

a full stomach...

it just gave us a great excuse to relax.

The day was just to short...

but that didn't keep us from making the most of it... Cornhole was the favorite game of the day by far.

You can never discount a good dip in the lake to cool off... (No, we didn't call each other and plan on wearing the same thing!)

or a jump off the rope swing (Are you kidding me!!)
(I did not do this...scardie cat..it is possible...)

Overall is was an exciting way to start off a relaxing Labor Day weekend.

RELAXATION

Nothing much intriguing happening around these parts besides just work and more work at the moment. Jamie has been working himself to the bone doing change overs for the new crew of college students moving into the apartments, ie: repainting, replacing carpet, cleaning, and just fixing anything needing to be fixed. All this happens between the hours of: early in the morning until the weeee hours of the night. Not to much longer and he will be finished and can take a breather for a little bit. (Vacation to the beach would be nice.. wink, wink.)

I started selling homes as one of the exclusive agents in a new community a couple of weeks called StoneCreek. It is the 1900's bungalow style home with real leaded glass windows, hand tappered columns, coffered ceilings, antique fixtures, 1x4 molding, and stone fronts...just a unique style of a home. It is selling very well even in this market we are currently in. There is a glimmer of hope on the horizon!!

A much deserved moment of relaxation!

After a week full of work, Jamie and Zac headed to the lake on Saturday for a little bit of relaxation. After I finished up working I headed to the lake for pizza and a little rejuvenation myself. There was a slight breeze and just the right weather to sit outside and bask in the beauty of God's creation. The sun was setting, the boys were swimming, and I was able to just sit and relax.