Hank's New Bed

     Well if you have been reading my blog you probably already know that we have a 90 pound rhodesian ridgeback named Hank. Danson decided a couple of years ago that he HAD to have one of these dogs. He researched them daily. They are very hard to come by so it took him several months to find one. That didn't bother me because we also have a weenie dog named Heidi who is my baby. Heidi started out as Danson's parent's dog, but there is no doubt that she considers herself my dog now. When Danson started talking about this HUGE dog he wanted, my first reaction was... that dog is going to be so mean to Heidi and it might even hurt her. Wrong!! Heidi rules the roost. Hank will bow down to Heidi in a second. As a matter of fact, Heidi is the one who constantly gets in trouble for being mean to Hank. When I look back I can't believe that there was a time when Hank wasn't around. I love him so much and I am so glad that his Daddy decided to get him.
     All that being said, Danson and I encountered a problem when we got married. Up until this point Hank slept in the bed with Danson every single night. Danson had one side and Hank had the other. When we got married we realized that two humans and a 90 lb dog were not going to fit in a queen size bed. Unfortunately, Hank is the one who got kicked out. :-) He was moved to his bed right beside ours but that was not good enough for him. We would scold him to get into his bed and he would stay until we were fast asleep. Then I would find myself being woken up five times a night by a cold nose on my leg. I would look over, and Hank's body would be beside the bed and his head would be under the covers. I finally decided that he needed a nicer bed. I found this bed online and it had great reviews. Needless to say, Hank loves it! From the moment it was taken out of the box he has hardly even gotten out of it. We are all sleeping very well now!!

Caught red handed getting a kiss from Heidi

 

Third Time Must be a Charm

This past weekend I attempted, for the second time, to have a successful sleep over with Daniley. The first time she spent the night with me she was very sick and did not feel good at all. So, this weekend I tried it again and I failed again. When Danica dropped her off she told me she had a little bit of a cold but I wasn't worried because it didn't seem to be bothering her. As soon as her mom left, Daniley asked for a reese cup. Naturally, saying no to this child is very, very hard. Especially when she is asking for candy. Her voice goes up a couple of pitches and she gets a very angelic look on her face. Normally she will cock her head over to one side and say, "May I please have a reese cup Aunt Brookie?" So we went to the "candy drawer" in the kitchen to get a reese cup. I looked and looked and looked but there were no reese cups. Unc loves reese cups too, so they don't stay around for too long. I told Daniley that there were no reese cups and that Unc must have eaten them all. She turned around, marched into Unc's bedroom - where he was still sleeping, and said, "Unc! Did you eat all the reese cups?!?!" He said he did so we had to settle for some num a nums (M&M's). This was the topic of the night. At one point she made up a story about Unc eating all the reese cups. This is how it went. "Once upon a time, there was a Unc and he was very, very bad. He ate all the reese cups. The end."

We then headed off to Mom's to eat ham and black eyed peas. Once again, the ham was delicious!! We came home, got a bubble bath, and watched her new Tinkerbell movie. When the movie went off she said, "That was such a good movie I think we should watch some more." I told her that we couldn't because that was the end. Her reply, "Well, you can just rewind it." Me, "Nope, it's bed time." Now, up until this point we have had a GREAT time. We laughed, played hide and go seek, Acted like Santa Clause and put a bubble beard on our faces, and so much more. This is where the story takes a turn for the worst.

Do you remember in the beginning when I said Daniley had a little cold? Well, we went to bed about 9:15ish. She woke up almost every 45 minutes crying for her Mom. Now, if you know Daniley you know this is not like her. The child does not cry for no reason. I would ask her what was hurting and it would only make her tears fall faster. I would get her and hold her until she fell back asleep. At about 2:30am I called her Mommy. When Danica talked to her on the phone all she would do was cry. So, Danica and I decided she needed her mom and she needed to go home. She cried the whole time I was packing her bags and while I was putting her in the car. Once we got in the car she made several funny comments.
1. I am so glad I don't have to sleep anymore.
2. As we are going through town she says - Let's stop at the barbershop and see what LeLe's doing. I assured her that LeLe was at home asleep.
3. At one point she wanted to know what we were going to eat for breakfast.

Once we got to her house she was much better. I think the fact that she had a cold and couldn't breath kept waking her up. When she would wake up and ask for her Mom and when she wasn't there it was very upsetting to her. Everyone knows that when you're sick all you really want is your mom. So needless to say, we will try again for a successful spend the night -all the way through the night -party. We still had a TON of fun!! I sure do love the Sugar Booger!!

Christmas 2010

Christmas was great this year. It was relaxing and low key for the most part, which is just the way I like it. On Christmas Eve we went to Danica's for supper and celebrated it with the Sugar Booger. She got a ton of stuff but her favorite present was the trunk full of dress up clothes from Pawpaw and Debbie. Then on Christmas Day I went over to Mom and Dad's house for lunch. We ate a delicious ham that Mom made. It was better than any honey baked ham I have ever eaten. As a matter of fact, I could eat some right now! I loved watching Brayden open up his presents. After the second one, he was tired of pulling the paper so I helped him out. He is such a pleasant, happy baby. He jumped around in his johnny jumper while we ate and never complained. Christmas night I went over to Meemaw and Pawpaw's house. I always enjoy going over there because I get to see all my cousins from Mississippi. We had a lot of fun catching up. I also get to see my wedding video that my cousin Tiffany recorded for me. It was so neat getting to watch it. I hadn't realized how much I didn't remember until I watched it. This was another Christmas that Danson spent working. I only have to make it one more year and we will be able to spend Christmas together.... well, if he stays on the same shift.

Some other highlights from the Holidays were: Going to the outlet malls with Mom, Bethany, and Brayden. Taking Hank and Heidi to PetSmart to pick out some goodies. Going out to eat at Outback with Danson. And many more that I just can't remember right now.



Attempt 1 of taking a picture of us




Final attempt of trying to take a picture of us



I refuse to take any more pictures





Such a happy boy



Happy Holidays

First, let me just say that I love Christmas. It is my most favorite holiday. When I was little I couldn't wait for Christmas morning. I can remember riding home on Christmas Eve and looking out the window the whole time hoping to catch a peek of Santa's sleigh. I can remember one Christmas morning that Mom was videoing. We had to get up and brush our hair  and put on a cute outfit before we could go in the living room. I threw on the first thing I grabbed and made Mom brush my hair as fast as she could. Then, while Mom was busy brushing Bethany's hair, I ran into the living room and looked around. Then I ran back into the bathroom and told Bethany that Santa had brought her "Molly doll" that she had been wanting. BOY did I get in trouble. However, I got in trouble every single day... so why should Christmas be any different?

Over the past couple of years, Christmas has changed a little in my eyes. What used to be a holiday spent with family and opening gifts has now shifted to a holiday spent with a very special little girl that has stolen my heart and getting to see Christmas through her eyes. I have been around Danson's family - which I considered my own way before I said my vows - for over five years now. I have been to family reunions, been on family vacations, and sometimes was mistaken as a daughter rather than a Son's girlfriend. But, the best event (so far) that I was able to be apart of was the day Daniley Connell entered the world. I guess because it is the holiday's it has made me realize how precious time is and how fast it flies. To think of how much She has changed in two and a half years leaves me speechless. I have loved every minute that I have spent with her and I can't wait until Danslen Jane arrives! I have learned with Daniley to cherish every minute. I can remember when she was 4 months old and thinking, won't it be great when she can crawl. While it was a huge milestone, I never realized that as soon as she started crawling the days of holding her for an endless amount of time was over!! The time that I used to be able to love on her all the time quickly turned into the only hug I got was a very fast, one armed hug around the neck and then endless squirming until her feet hit the floor. Then I would hear a faint, "I love you too" as I watched her little head disappear around a corner. To sum it up, in two and a half years she went from pretty much sleeping through Christmas to this year telling Santa that she has been good at everything she has done.

I can't wait until Daniley, Danslen, and one day in the future, my kids will all be piled in Santa's lap at the same time! :-)


**Danica, I stole all of these off the blog. I hope you don't mind. ;-)

I also can't wait to experience Brayden's first Christmas this year. I am cherishing every second I have with him.

Our First Christmas

Well, Danson and I are celebrating our first Christmas together. We have had a lot of fun getting the tree up and decorated. Danson's Mom has always given him two or three ornaments each year that have something to do with his hobbies, job, love interest, etc. that he has had the past year. For example, last year she gave him 1) a big yellow dog with a Santa hat on = Hank. 2) an ornament that said "LOVE" and has a diamond ring hanging from it = engagement. 3) I know there was a third but my mind has gone blank. So each year Danson loves to go through his ornaments and look at all of them. Last year, while boxing them up, I accidentally dropped one and broke it. It was a boat with a frog fishing in it. I thought, "I'll just hide this one." WRONG!! As I am putting all of the paper back into the empty box I notice that he is pulling the paper out of the box I just closed. I told him that I had just packed that box up. He said, "Well we are missing a box then. Me, "No we're not." Him, "Yes we are, my boat with the frog in it is missing!!" So I explained to him that this was our "first Christmas" together and that we didn't want to get bent out of shape over ONE ornament and ruin the Christmas spirit.... and he agreed. Later that night I did tell him that I had broken that ornament and that it was in the bottom of one of the boxes. The next day I walk in the kitchen only to find the ornament rubber banded together and gorilla glue sitting beside it. It is now hanging on our tree. :-)

Wedding Pictures

I am finally going to upload some wedding pictures. All of these pictures were taken by Maurice and Leigh Ann Langley. They do amazing work. Go to www.photoshootusa.com to check out more of their pictures.

My sister-in-law puts these really cute slide shows on her blog that I can't seem to figure out. I will get some tips from her and try to put more pictures on here. I have lots more, but these are some of my favorites.

Wedding, Honeymooning, Married life!

So, apparently I am not such a good blogger. :-) I have been asked four times in the past two days when was I going to update my blog. I have an excuse though, I have been waiting on pictures. So I guess I will post pictures later.

The Wedding:

Danson and I got married on Saturday, October 23, 2010. The wedding was perfect... Well, all except the Pastor forgetting to tell Danson he could kiss his bride. So, we got half way down the aisle and that's when Danson's Mom grabbed him by the coat tail (those of you who know her aren't surprised.) We then walked back up to the altar and sealed the deal with a kiss!!



This is the only picture I have so far.





The reception was wonderful thanks to my Mom and my Mother-in-law. The food was great from what I hear. For Danson and Me this is how the reception went. 1) Greet everyone as they walk in  2) Cut my cake, eat a piece, take a picture. 3) Cut Danson's cake, eat a piece, take a picture. 4) Drink a glass of coke, take a picture. 4) Throw the bouquet, toss the garter, take a picture. 5) leave! Needless to say, that part of the wedding day is a bit blurry.

My whole wedding would not have happened without My Mom, Sister, Sister-in-laws, or Mother-in-law. If you like the decorations it is all due to Leigh Ann Langley. She made this day so special for Danson and Me!

The Honeymoon

We spent our first night at a Bed & Breakfast in Vincent, AL called "Blue Springs Manor" and it was unbelievable. I think everyone should have a chance to stay there at least for a night. The room was so nice. They also have a heated pool and hot tub. But hands down, they have the best food I have ever put in my mouth. It truly is gourmet cooking. I'll do you a favor and just skip to the next morning now! ;-) The next morning we got up, had a wonderful breakfast, and headed to Gatlinburg.

We had a great time in Gatlinburg. The only thing that we planned on doing was the Dixie Stampede, so the rest of the time we did whatever we wanted when we wanted to do it. I have decided this is the best way to vacation. It is much better than having a schedule for every minute of every day. The best thing about this trip was that Danson didn't complain about the money we were spending a single time. For those of you who know Danson know he is quite the tight wad, so this was a big accomplishment for him. Some of the highlights of Gatlinburg were:

• Eating! We ate like it was going out of style! One of the best places we went was called, The Peddler. It is a steakhouse with an amazing salad bar. I bet the salad bar was 20 feet long with every kind of topping you could think of. They also bring the meat cart to your table and cut your steak right there in front of you. It was a very cool experience.
• We walked up and down the streets of Gatlinburg about everyday, but we didn't buy any of that crap! I really don't see how most of those stores stay in business. I compare buying stuff in Gatlinburg to getting a prize out of the treasure chest at school. The only reason you wanted it was because it came out of the treasure chest. By the time you get home, you could care less about it. Crap at Gatlinburg = the same thing.
• Cades Cove was great! We spent a whole afternoon there.

Those are just some highlights, but the whole trip was great!

Married Life

Married life has been an adjustment but I have loved every minute of it. I think for the first four nights after we got back from the honeymoon I cried right before bed because I missed my mom. What can I say, I love my mom! The night we got back My Mom, Sister, and Brayden came out to see us. It hadn't really hit me until they started to leave that I wasn't going back home anymore. I kissed her bye and told her goodnight, and as she was driving down the driveway I was standing at the window with tears rolling down my cheeks. Danson looked at me, put his arms around me and said, "You can go spend the night with your Mom if you want to." This is one of the many reasons I love this man! The beginning was bittersweet, but I have adjusted now and wouldn't trade it for the world. The hardest thing so far has been sharing the bed with Danson. It was hard to get used to someone invading your space, and before, my "space" was the whole bed. We still share the bed with Hank, or Heidi, or both of them about every night. Danson is still on night shift until January (then he goes back to days...YAY!!!!) So three or four nights a week it's just me and the dogs. I get a lot done on those nights. I really like those nights because I don't have to cook! :-) I will wrap this up. I have to say, Marriage is Bliss!!! More pictures coming soon.