A Suprise visit, Sort of...

Growing up, i didnt see my Grandpa too much- my family lived in Oregon and he lived in the Midwest. Once We moved to Georgia, things changed ;) He drives down to Florida every winter, and makes a little stop to see us. Last year was his first time here, but this year was his FIRST stop at our new house. We never really know when he'll come due to weather and roads. Last sunday,i got a call that he was 250 miles away- He stayed the night, was able to meet some of our neighbors and friends and we ate a yummy dinner together. We cant wait to see him again and treasure EVERY moment with him. I LOVE that the girls are able to see their great - grandpa.. and WISH they could see their other grandparents more often ( yes.. that's a guilt trip. You need to plan anther trip out, Mom and Dad!!)
Dinner with Great Grandpa - doesnt he look FANTASTIC for 80?!

Mini Me with her Great- Grandpa

Hurry up and come back, Great Grandpa!! XOXO

A new Year.. A BAD blogger !!

First off.. i'm here, i'm alive.. and i am VERY well!! January brought a new twist on life for all of us, so i havent been a faithful blogger.. not because i didnt WANT to, but because i seriously have NO time! I started school again-- lemme tell you, taking even a CLASS.. ONE CLASS has been hard for me with having a 2 yr old at home. My goal is to be an RN- something i started YEARS ago.. But.. not being focused and then getting married and starting a family put all the school to the back burner. I feel now its time to get it started again- so i promise-- i miss each and every one of you and will try and update as much as possible!

Here's some fun pictures of our Christmas events ---

Went and Saw Alvin and the Chipmunks- of course perfect photo op with our lil chipmunks!!

Christmas Eve Service with Ryan and Stacey- the girls just LOVE them!

TWINS! Stacey loved mini me's jacket so much she went to the GAP kids and bought one for herself- bahahah.

THIS reaction is what EVERY parent hopes for on Christmas from their child! Princess shoes for the princess herself!

LIL muffin's hair @ its finest- right after waking up!

Even Cocoa helped in on the festivities- sitting in mama's lap ;) ( her eyes light up in every picture!! My dad wants to know what batteries they take! )

only MY child would get this excited about jeans!!! She's a fashionista, and says she cant wait for the day i have a "JOB" again to buy lots and lots of clothes - ( she misses the days of the coffee shop and boutique job i had where she could have anything)

She loves her new bunny slippers and even sneaks sissies on too!@


I'll keep updating.. like i said... schools the TOP priority in my life right now taking 4-5 hrs a day away from me so bear with me!!!

Its Beginning to look alot like Christmas!

Ok--- here's the Christmas pictures i've promised so many of you- there will be another post on things as well.. We'll start with the front porch!!! We're the first house on the street, so we need to represent it well ;) I think, GO BIG OR GO HOME!

If someone stole these, i'd laugh.. they'd get lots of boxes of ROCKS! - thanks to the construction workers and their LARGE pile of rocks next to our house, they helped make this porch possible, HA!

My husband LOVES this white bench ( KIDDING! he hates it) so he was happy when it was put on the side of our entrance and covered. HE thinks its junk- he cant appreciate Shabby Chic, i guess.

Last year we came up with the candy cane idea- we went to NewSpring church, one of our FAVE to visit in SC and in the childrens area, there was a white tree with candy canes and that's how our tree this year came about!

One of my fave blogs, 320 Sycamore had the idea to put her childrens Christmas books under the tree and wrap each one and each night a child can unwrap it and read it every night leading up to christmas . Great idea, however, i didnt wrap them, in all honesty due to NO TIME-

Candy canes- Target

All things glittery- hobby lobby ( seriously, my FAVE store)

green and red ball picks and green flower picks- Wally world

Sled- clearance @ marshalls last year

Sleigh- 1 buck @ goodwill, and found the same one @ Carolina Pottery this year for 20 bucks!

Boxes- burlington coat factory after christmas.. had them seriously for like 5-6 yrs and redo the ribbon every year

Bottle brush trees- Target last year in the dolla spot

jingle bells- dolla tree

Glisten above mantel---Corky's daughter, along with my elf on the shelf, my 'we still believe' sign and my 'Believe in the magic' sign on my tree, and my BIG lime green ball ornaments.

MARIE- OPEN A STORE HERE, I MISS YOU LIKE CRAZY! Every season, there are touches of your store everywhere to remind me of all of my fun talks and visits. XO!!!

Oh my goodness do you not LOVE this cake plate?! only 15 @ Target and i'm SO glad i snatched it.. it was sold out everywhere and online. - y ou can use it for so many holidays!

My willow branch nativity i wanted to make a statement since Christ's birth IS the reason for Christmas!I put it on my Kitchen countertop so everyone can see it when they walk in.. See the red nail ornament in the back behind Joseph? That's the nail to remind us of Jesus dying on the cross for us. Another one i love that i've saved for years and never used because i could never find the right place. And the Noel- the first Noel!!! Tinsel tree-- in love, Another Corky's daughter!

And the star in this pic.. i love how it all turned out. So classy-

There is MUCH more to be seen, so i will be doing another post on our house-

Diaper Cake can Now be added to the list

I recently feel like a chicken with my head cut off.. My girlfriend and i have started a new business called Sassy Seasons and specialize in seasonal home decor including wreaths.. we have been busy beyond all get out just in the last 4 wks WITHOUT major advertising which is both a blessing and beyond scary at the same time. !!!! Scary , but in a good way. We have already booked a party for NEXT JUNE... i know, right?! NUTS!

I get a text today from my business partner who asks if we could make a lady a diaper cake.. DUE TOMORROW.. uhm.. excuse me, WHAT?! Not only have i NEVER made a diaper cake, BUT that's less than 24 hours notice! Seriously, i spent over 60 bucks JUST on supplies.. and were talking dollar stuff and the diapers... lord have mercy, at 2 am we have finally finished it, after both us us working all day and i'm doing mom duties going to a girl scouting event, then dinner. i'm beat- 3 am has come WAYYYY too fast..

Come check out our blog :

Http://sassyseasons.blogspot.com/ and see the work we have done. We ship!!! This is what her and i LOVE doing.. we're actually neurotic about the whole thing ;)

Picture worth a thousand words

Mini me took Cocoa potty and i looked out back.. what i saw made me speechless. She was standing over Jewel's grave and talking to her.

..... It not only choked me up, but broke my heart!

In LOVING memory...

It is with such a sad, heavy heart that i write this post.. So heavy that as i write this, i'm so choked up, I can no longer fight back tears. My little shadow has finally gone to be with her Jesus.

Many of you don't know how our journey with our little Jewel began. Its a sweet story- I never grew up with a pet. EVER. I didnt ever want one because i didnt understand the concept of owning a pet and loving them SO much.

My sweet husband started looking for a dog, and i must admit i was VERY skeptical. He did hours of research online about what dog would be good with kids and hypo- allergenic. My skepticism turned to eagerness for a dog. For Valentines day, 2003, i received my little Jewel. She came to me Via plane, where we picked her up in the cargo area at the airport. She was the size of a dollar bill, no lie.

All black with rust colored hair around her face. As we opened the hard plastic carrier for the first time, i fell IN LOVE! her little body was shaking she was so scared. So little, i just couldnt get enough of her.

IT WAS THAT DAY MY LOVE WITH HER GREW DEEPER. She was my first dog, my best friend who went thru surgeries with me, took naps with me, stood at my feet to "shark" for food, welcoming home a new baby, a move across the country and a move to a new house.

From the first week we had her, she suffered from TERRIBLE health problems-

*we took her to a neurologist her first week at our house

* She choked on apple and Chicken nugget, both times ending up at the vet

*She had heart disease

*Liver shunt

She took medicine every 12 hours- she would vomit and become disoriented from her shunt. We spent countless dollars and hours in the Vet and she would pop back to her spunky self, earning the name "lazzy" because she reminded us so much of Lazarus from the Bible, coming back from the dead.

My heart hurt for her and yet she always had the BEST attitude and would snuggle all day long. From the first week we had her, i knew Jewels time was all borrowed and that it wouldnt be long that she shared her life with us.

This summer we talked about getting another dog in knowing that Jewel not only needed a companion, but I needed another dog to bond with for when the inevitable would come. And that's when cocoa became part of our family. She and Jewel were best of buddies and yet, Jewel was always boss ;) If she wanted her own space in her crate, she would growl at cocoa to tell her to stay away.

This past week, her time came. She suffered from what i now found out was mild seizures for the last few months and then Wednesday night suffered from 2 MAJOR seizures. i would sit with her, and rub her gently while reassuring her she'd be ok.

Thanksgiving came and so did her third Major and final seizure. i took her to the vet and talked with the Vet. she assured me that her time had neared and her health was not only getting worse, but she was in pain and disoriented. It was then in my heart i knew, NOW is her time.

I made the toughest decision of my life, knowing it was the best for her. I said goodbye--- It hurt.. SO bad.. it still hurts and probably will forever hurt. I miss her touch, her shadow, i miss her snuggling on my bed with me all curled up. Gosh.. its painful.

Thanksgiving is a time for us all to give thanks- and it was that day i will NEVER forget and will always be thankful for the 5, almost 6 years she spent with us. Jewel will always be special to me, being my First dog.

It is with a heavy heart that i say, "Jewel, YOU WILL BE MISSED!"