The Cutest Trick or Treaters

You can't have a princess without her frog prince. Ramzi & Trax Adams are too cute!


Hunter Dutton...the cutest little monkey in town.

Retreat Weekend

What an awesome weekend! We stayed at a really neat place, had fabulous speakers, and a lot of fun together. It was a great time of fun, fellowship and spiritual growth with your spouse! I am truly blessed with an amazing husband and a wonderful group of friends in Class M.E.D.

Maternity Pictures

This is my beautiful pregenant sister, Lindsay. She is 7 months pregnant and glowing, as you can see! We had a lot of fun taking these pictures, even though she was exhausted after a busy weekend! I love ya' Lins!

My Sister's Coming Today!!!

I am so excited that my little sister is flying in today. I love it when all 3 of us are together...it reminds me of growing up! Lindsay is 7 months pregnant, and I am sure cute as can be. I cannot wait to hug her and to talk to Britten in her tummy. I will tell Britten that she is special, that she will be beautiful, and that her Aunt Ally loves her SO MUCH!! We have a fun-filled weekend ahead of us...Maternity Pictures, my cousins wedding, and Lindsay's baby shower. It's going to be great!!

Just Plain Cute

This is Cassie. She is by far the cutest puppy on the block! She loves her new neighbor and boyfriend, Titan. Titan is a full grown Great Dane and they like to kiss eachother through the missing fence picket. She teases him by prancing laps around the yard, then runs up to him with kisses. She is full of personality and is her "Mommy and Daddy's" pride and joy. If you ever come to visit, be ready for sloppy kisses and a game of fetch! She loves to play.

Lingerie Shower

We had a lot of fun at Amanda's Lingerie Shower this weekend. We ate at Ruby Tequila's, then went back to Amanda's cousins house for gifts, game, and fun!

Bridal Pictures

This is my cousin, Amanda. She is getting married this weekend to Chad. He is in the navy and is stationed in Hawaii, where they will be living. We had a blast taking her bridal portraits a couple of weeks ago!! Isn't she beautiful?! I have so many great memories with Amanda, including playing house, Barbies, dress up, and of course, learning how to eat ice cream "like a teenager." Thanks, Amanda, for all the great memories! I wish you the best as you begin this new chapter of your life!

Sleepy Puppy

As Dustin and I were watching Jay Leno last night, I looked down on the carpet to find our puppy, Cassie, sleeping with all four paws straight up in the air. She normally sleeps all curled up with her front paws underneath her face, but not last night. I guess she was REALLY tired! Dustin went to get the camera, and he could not resist getting in on all of the fun! After I took the pictures, he was going to wake her up. He picked up her back paw and she did not move. He shook her a little bit and she finally woke up. It scared me so bad...I thought something was wrong. I guess she was really sleeping hard.

WHY????

I must begin this post with a disclaimer: WARNING...this post could be a "downer." If you are looking for a bright start to your day, you may want to read this later.

With that said, I left my ladies bible study last night feeling pretty good! My fellow sisters in Christ are so fun, and they can make a bad day turn into a great one. So, generally, after leaving the study, I am on a high. But last night, I got home and was just in a terrible mood! I was short with Dustin, even though I had barely seen him all day. As I laid down last night, I could not stop thinking about why bad things happen to good people. This fact confuses me and frustrates the hound out of me. I also don't understand grief!! How can one hour earlier I feel great and one hour later I am crying my eyes out?! I had trouble sleeping last night. My mind would not settle. I'm mad, confused, depressed, frustrated, and on and on. Then, this morning, I received a very heartfelt and comforting email from a dear friend that I use to work with. She is probably the strongest woman I know. She found her 8 year old son, Carey, after he was shot accidentally. Then only a few short years later, they received a call that her step son had been killed in a car accident after falling asleep at the wheel. Once again, I want to scream, "Why God???" Although I know He does not cause these things to happen, I wonder why he allows them to happen. I'm just going through a really confusing time, but this email helped so much. Here is the email from my dear friend...her words are so powerful!! Sorry for the length of this post!

Darlin, there is grief in your loss. Many don't understand that, but it is just as painful as my loss. You and I have both lost a child, end of statement. That child was made from love, between you and Dustin, and there will always be a spot in your heart for this child. Fond memories...think about that just a minute.....remember how excited you were when you knew that you were pregnant? Remember how proud you were to tell your family and friends. I'm glad that you did, if you hadn't they would not be able to support you now, when you need them the most. Friends and family are always more than glad to be joyous with and for you in your happiness and cry with and for you in your times of loss. Remember what it felt like to know that your body was holding a gift from God. Yes, this child was and is a gift from God and this child is with God today, probably looking down on you, knowing your pain, your grief, and smiling upon you because this child knows that you loved and still love him. You may have never met this beautiful child but you did love it, with all of your heart, all of your soul, all of your being. You wanted nothing but the best for him. I believe with all of my heart that Carey and Fletcher met him as he went "home" and they are teaching him the ropes of Heaven as we speak, your baby is not alone up there. :-)

Yes, each day is a new day. Each day is a day to love and live and grow and give all to the Glory of God. I don't know if you have heard the song, "Who you would be today"......God, that rips at my heart as it rips at yours I'm sure. Honey, we are in the same boat here and we are in a very special club that I never want another woman to ever have to join. In this boat, everyone takes their turn at rowing to carry the other mother's to the other side of this river...without each other all of us would simply be dog peddling, getting nowhere fast, but together we make many miles some days and other days we just float, then on other days we "allow" the current to carry us, where ever God wants us to be, totally faithfull that we are ok as long as He is carrying us.

I truly don't understand how anyone can survive without faith....look at the difference in me and Mike. I know that Dustin grieves, in his own way, but I pray that you two can share you feelings with each other. I pray that you two won't be "strong" for each other and let it go, let the tears, the screams to God rip. God does understand. He is your parent. As you will forgive your children when they don't trust your judgement, God forgives you instantly if you get mad at Him. He's a big God and He can handle it because He knows your heart.

Try to take care of yourself and allow your body, your mind and your spirit heal. It will take some time. Know that both of you have been in my prayers and will continue to stay there. In nine days I get to celebrate Carey's 17th birthday in Heaven. I hope they celebrate there. Whenever you get to where you think you can't take it any more look at the fact that only God got me through 17 years and He will get you through as many years as you have left in this life. He will send you exactly what you need, exactly when you need it. Trust.

This is the tile that Dustin and my uncle, Mike, laid this weekend. The grout (sp?) has not been put on yet, but it's looking pretty good...

Close up of the new floors Dustin and I laid. The green spacers will eventually be replaced with cauking and a border.

This is our front living room...new floors and curtains.

Dustin's cousin, her husband, and 3 children were here this weekend from New Mexico. We did not get to spend much time with them because we were tiling our countertops, but they did come by to check out the house. I am so glad that I got to see their cute kiddos!! I know that they had a blast playing with their cousin Mikaela. I'm sure Mikaela enjoyed their company, also. From left to right...Mikaela (2 1/2), Katie (I think 6), Becca (will be 5 next month), and Jake (15 months). If only sound could come with pictures, then you could hear them all yelling "CHEEEEESE" at the top of their lungs.

T.V. is Addicting!

I have SO MUCH to get done on the house, seeing that I am having my sisters baby shower there in 2 1/2 weeks. We are saving the big projects for the 2 weekends that we have left, but I could be organizing, going through stuff, hanging pictures, etc. on the weeknights. And what did I find myself doing last night??? Watching t.v. for 3 solid hours. Well, of course I watched the Biggest Loser...that is a given. Gosh, that show motivates me. Then, as I cooked and visited with a friend, I watched part of My Name is Earl and The Office (probably the two dumbest shows out right now). Then, I was glued to Law and Order SVU. Did anyone else see this? These are suppose to be based on real cases. If so, I want to know how true to the real case they are. Last nights was really freaky. I was on the edge of my seat and biting my nails until the very end.

Needless to say, I accomplished almost nothing with the house. Then, I lay in bed at night, with my mind racing of all the things I should've done and need to do. I can't sleep and it's driving me crazy. I've either got to throw the t.v. out or find some willpower to turn it off and get off the couch!!!

HOME IMPROVEMENT PROJECT!!

This weekend, Dustin and I accomplished our first home improvement project together! We laid hardwood laminate flooring in our front room. After frustration, too much thinking, and sore knees, we finished in around 6 hours. And let me tell you, the sore knees were worth it. It looks great!!! This coming weekend, we are tiling our kitchen countertops. According to our Home Depot book, laying hardwood laminate is an easy job, but tiling is classified as a hard job. I'm sure I'll be giving an update after that...let's just hope it goes as well as the flooring!