On the road to recovery!

I thought I would give an update on Sam and how he is recovering these days. He is doing better each day... walking better, standing better, etc. There is just one problem. He will not eat. He just has no desire. He is not even drinking much water. Eugene and I are both pretty worried about this because he needs food for energy. I talked to the vet yesterday and he wants us to take him off of his pain medicine and see how that works. He said that some dogs are more effected by a pain killer and it's side effects than others. So, hopefully within the next day or so he will regain his appetite. He just looks so sad every day... and he cries a lot. He pretty much cries all night long if he is awake. Eugene or I have to be near him at all times for him to be pacified. Hopefully when this medicine gets out of his system he will return to his normal happy self. In the meantime, we will just keep loving on him!!

Sunday night we were so worried because he had not eaten. We were grilling steaks for the two of us and decided to treat Sam to a T-Bone of his own!! Tell me he isn't spoiled! Now, before you lecture we would never make a habit of this. Special times call for special measures!


Here Sam sits patiently awaiting his steak to finish on the grill.

Could she be any cuter?!?

Here are some precious pictures of my niece!

Sam I am...

First, thanks to all of those sweet words from Sam's supporters. He woofs back a big thank you! :) He is doing as well as can be expected for someone hit by a car! The good news is, he can walk. He has a crack on both sides of his pelvis, so he can't really favor one side more than another. He walks kind of like a baby calf that has just been born... really wobbly. No, I have never seen a cow at birth... just in the movies. Last night was a long night. He was really restless from lying around all day and night. So, he decided to wake up just about every hour and cry. Eugene and I tried everything to keep him happy. We even let him stretch out in the bed with me and Eugene got on the floor. Tell me we don't love this dog! Anyway, I called the vet this morning and asked for some pain meds to give him just at night that will make him sleepy. His daytime medicine doesn't make him tired. I get to pick up his Valium today. Bring on the doggy la la land!! Hopefully tonight will be better night. :) I am staying home with him today since he is pretty immobile. At least I can nap a little if I need to.

Here are just a few pictures I was able to snap in between some serious TLC that he getting.


Sam getting some snuggles from his Daddy.


Poor little thing... he can't move the lower half of his body. :(

This is how we have to feed him. He is too weak to stand up and eat. So, he gets to live like a king and eat lying down!


He is looking outside wishing he could go play...

Here he is standing up outside. His potty breaks are a little difficult. He cannot go up or down steps for at least a couple of weeks since they had to reset his hip. To get into our house from any door you have to go up steps. So, I have to carry his 70+ pound self down 6 steps to the grass. Can anyone say work out? Thank goodness Eugene will be home early today!

And... meet Leetle Puppy. We haven't called the pound yet. Sam was so excited to see him this morning. He wagged his tail big time and he and Leetle Puppy rubbed noses. What a dilema.

Happy Anniversary

Happy Anniversary to my wonderful parents.

Today marks 32 years since they said I do!! Thank you mom and dad for setting the wonderful example of what a marriage should be! Your example of unconditional love and appreciation for one another gave Adam and I both high standards in finding a mate. I am so fortunate to have had the childhood I did and especially to have such wonderful parents.... here's to you both!


Christmas 2006 at our house.

Say a little prayer

Our sweet baby Sam was hit by a car tonight. Eugene was outside turning off the sprinklers when this stray dog we affectionately refer to as "Leetle Puppy"... not really sure why. Anyway, Leetle Puppy led Sam out into the road and he was hit. Praise the Lord we live close to a stop sign and the driver was only going 20 mph. Eugene rushed inside and told me to come on Sam had been hit. Yes, I freaked out! He is my baby!

We got him to the vet, much to our liking Sam's actual vet was the one on call. Anyway, we got him there and Pierce Xrayed (spelling?) him and sedated him. He has a cracked pelvis! :( He also ripped up his back pad on his paw pretty nasty and where he was gripping the ground when got hit... his little toe nails are ripped up! He also has a skinned elbow. We had to leave him at the vet's office over night. I was more upset about that than anything. What if he wakes up and is scared and alone.

We are just so thankful for no internal bleeding or anything fatal. It missed his backbone and also his hip joint. He is one lucky pup!

Leetle Puppy... we're calling the pound!

Who knew this really happened??

One of the ladies I work with at the bank, Cindy, had her first grandchild yesterday. Her daughter and son in law found out that it was a girl and planned to name her Natalee. Last night I got a call saying that baby was here, healthy, and that mom and baby were doing great... just one thing. It was a BOY!

Custom made PINK bedding, $300

Letters spelling her name, $ 100

Armoire full of PINK clothes , $ 200

Finding out SHE is a HE.... priceless!!

Wow... this is something that would happen to me! :)

Carter's Update

I posted last week about our friends Holly and Mark and their precious little boy Carter coming a little early. He is making improvements and hopefully well on his way to coming home! There were a few set backs last week, more tubes, feeding tubes, etc. But, Eugene talked to Mark last night, and he said that Carter was doing great. He took a bottle yesterday! Maybe that is one less tube he will not have to worry about now! The main concern continues to be his underdeveloped lungs. Apparently not only was not born with this surfactant stuff, but his lungs just weren't quite ready for the world. Please continue to pray for a speedy development process so Mark and Holly can have their little one home and healthy!





Here are few pictures of the sweet little guy that Holly's dad took right after he was born. I feel so honored to share my birthday with this little guy!!

It's a tough life...

But someone has to do it!


Here I am looking adorable while waiting for a treat. Sometimes my mom forgets to give me one in ther afternoon so I have to sit here and wait until she remembers!


Now, I am napping with my blankie. Mom is cooking supper and I like to just sit and watch. I love my blankie... I really like to hold it in my mouth and walk around with it when I am sleepy.


Jackpot... she left the lid off again! I love to stick my head in the food container when Mom's not looking.


Whew... all that eating wore me out. I think I will nap some more.


This is my favorite part. I like to wait for any crumb of food to hit the floor while Dad washes dishes.

Thank You!

This is a couple of days late, but oh well. Thank you to everyone for my birthday well wishes... calls, emails, texts, posts, you name it! I had a wonderful birthday on Tuesday! Eugene suprised me by cooking one of my favorite things... shish kabobs. (I have no idea if that is spelled right!) Then, he proved he is a good listener. He heard me say the other day that I wanted some more NailTek nail polish. He marched his little self into Walgreens the other day and found it! He gave me the cutest card about a dog drinking from the toilet (Sam's new favorite hobby), my favorite nail polish, and some Burts Beeswax! Happy Birthday to me!

Here is my real birthday present!! Sam was my gift to Eugene and his gift to me for both of our birthdays this year!! I don't think I could have asked for anything better. I love this little guy... ok not so little anymore!

Birthday Kisses from my sweet Sam.

We tried to take lots of shots and he just wouldn't cooperate. Sorry for the closed eyes... I know you are all disappointed! Also, please notice how darn big he is compared to me!! Where is that little 6 lb puppy we had not too long ago? They grow up too fast! :)

Prayer Request

Please keep our friends Holly and Mark Korn and their newest addition to their family, Carter, in your prayers. Carter was born 6 weeks premature. Holly's water broke in the wee hours of Tuesday morning and she and Mark welcomed Carter last night around 8:30. The doctor warned that he may have some trouble breathing, and at first he was breathing on his own but needed a little help from oxygen. Then, as time went by he began to have more trouble breathing. They ended up having to put him on a ventilator and take him the hospital in Jackson, TN. (This is about 35 minutes away). Mark went with Carter and they are discharging Holly this morning to go be with them. He will probably have to stay in the Neonatal unit for a week or so until something called surfactant develops fully in his lungs.

I know that many premature births can be much worse than this, but I can only imagine how scary this must be for Mark and Holly. She hasn't even had the chance to hold her baby yet! Please add them all to your prayer list, especially Carter!


Holly and I at her shower we gave her the first of June.

Holy Crap!

That really is the only title I can come up with for this one. Here's the story. Eugene and I were just sitting watching television, relaxing... you know the drill. All of the sudden a I see something run through the hallway into the laundry room. I sat straight up and said, what in the hell was that?! Eugene dies out laughing and says, a mouse. He then proceeds to tell me that he saw him a little while ago. WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!! Why did you not get him then? Focus Katie, must kill the mouse now... nag and bitch at husband later. Eugene tells me to get the sticky traps that bug man gave us that we use to catch the brown recluse spiders that love our house so much. I know, don't you all want to visit... spiders and mice! I get some cheese, only natural right. Eugene rigs up a line of sticky traps that span the laundry room doorway and then proceeds to tell me that we may hear the mouse dragging the trap around all night if he gets stuck. Then he says, no it will just chew it's own feet off it that happens! OH MY GOD! Chew it's feet! This is too much. I think the look on my face with that comment was one of, Get the F'ing mouse out of my laundry room or there will be HELL to pay.

Da da da na... Never fear... Farney is here!
(for those of you who don't know, Eugene's first name is Farnsworth and I affectionately refer to him as Farney.)




Please Lord, don't let any of his friends come back!

Queen of the Carney

Well, my brother is doing better sending me pictures of Ava. I guess my fussing on the blog worked. :) He sent me these pictures last night. He agrees that she may have a calling from the circus soon...


I know I shouldn't... It will just go straight to my thighs.


What the heck... I'm supposed to have rolls!


Guess what... I want to be just like Lindsey Lohan.


Ha, ha, ha... just kidding. Man you guys are gullible.


It has been an eventful night... can't a girl just take a nap?

The Poodle in the Pink Dress Pooped

Ok, so it’s official… I have the bad kid in town.



I am not sure but somehow this sweet innocent beautiful puppy turned really defiant today! I have read where many of you mom’s out there have discussed “strong willed moments.” Well, Sam had one today.

He had his usual visit to the vet’s office this morning to get a bath and have his nails clipped. (I am not brave enough to do this chore at home since Elizabeth {Calhoon} Quinn told me that I needed to purchase coagulate because Sam could bleed to death if I cut his nail too short). Anyway, so I take Sam in and he was most feisty this morning. He was literally dragging me with the leash. When I got him inside he spies a dog that he really needs to sniff and lurched across toward him, when all of the sudden the poodle appeared. In trotted a mild mannered 3 lb toy poodle wearing a pink dress nonetheless. Sam must have thought she was breakfast. He lunged at her and pulled me over almost. The poodle was so scared she pooped on the floor! OH MY GOD MY DOG SCARED THE SH** OUT OF SOMEONE…literally! I grabbed him by the collar and was pulling him back while the vet techs were running around the counter to help me. In the meantime Sam’s eagle talon toe nails were piercing my feet to death! I just kept saying stop Sam, sit, Sit… SIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I had his collar so tight that he was gasping for air, but he still wanted that poodle! A vet tech finally picked up the poodle and another grabbed Sam. Wow… after it was all said and done 3 of my toes were bleeding from Sam's talons, a poodle had pooped, and the entire staff of the vet’s office had to help me contain my dog. I was very embarrassed.

Sam, I will gladly chase you down the road in my robe and rollers into graduation if you will not draw blood and try to eat small dogs anymore!

Lake Livin'

In addition to Holly's baby shower on Saturday, my sister in law, Leigh, turned 40. So, we all went to Pickwick for the weekend. My inlaws and Leigh and her husband have houses at Pickwick Pines. It was a lot fun! There was a big group of people from Ripley and Halls that went to help celebrate the big event! I got to Pickwick Saturday just in time for a down pour! So, no lake for me until Sunday. We had Leigh's birthday party on Saturday night. Thanks goodness for pretty weather Sunday. We stayed out all day! I love summer!




I had to take this picture of my mother in law. My father in law wanted her to learn to drive the boat. She did, but the entire time she would say "I don't want to drive, I don't want to drive." It was so funny!


Eugene enjoying the life aboard the "Big Maple." What you can't see is that he was being attacked by 5 year olds with water guns!


Myself and Eugene's two sisters... Leigh (the birthday girl), and Elizabeth.

Holly's Baby Shower

Our weekend was great... we were busy to say the least. On Saturday I helped give one of my great friends Holly a baby shower. She is due on July 22 with her little boy, Carter. I can't wait to meet him!! She looks amazing and had a wonderful turnout at the shower. Here are just a few highlights from the morning.








Someone made Carter a diaper bag that says "Future Farmer on the Move." Too cute! :)

Happy Early Birthday to Me!

With my birthday just right around the corner I decided it was time to furnish the front porch. Since we moved into this house in Oct. I have wanted some kind of patio set for this area. I feel like I have looked all over!! It couldn't be too big or too small, and I really wanted some kind of table so I could put flowers out. The other day I happened to come across this adorable bistro set at Wal Mart. So, I decided that my brother and Eugene's sisters needed to give this to me for my b-day. Thanks guys!!! I promise this wonderful addition to the home decor is very much appreciated!

In other news... Sam is growing up too fast! He just had his 5 month birthday on the 29th. He is just getting to be such a big boy. We went over to my sweet friend Mary Kathryne's house last night to cook out and brought Sam. He and Barkley (MK's boxer) played and played! It seems like yesterday that we first got Sam and Barkley towered over him. Now, they are the same size almost! Where has the time gone? :)


Sam waiting anxiously to go play with Barkley... we had to make a wine stop on the way!