Our Scary Morning.

This morning, B and I were relaxing and hanging out talking in bed like we do most mornings before he goes to class. Neither one of us are morning people. We might wake up at 8 or even as late as 9 am, but we are most productive in the afternoon, evenings and even into the wee mornings hours. I guess our clocks never reset after college. Sometimes you'll find us awake at 2 and 3 in the morning. That's when I get my best editing done. Anyway, we were waking up very slowly, talking about our dreams that we had the night before and our plans for the upcoming day. We recently started watching Breaking Bad all over again and I had a dream that B and I were hiding a liquified body in a plastic container. Seriously. If you haven't seen Breaking Bad, then you have no clue right now. (Season 1. Episode 2.)

So as we were talking, checking email on our phone, seeing what's happening on Facebook, you know the usual morning routine... we both heard a sad pitiful yelp come from my baby Conner. Any dog mom knows this yelp of helplessness and I pray to God you never have to hear it. EVER. Something horrible was happening to my dog Conner and I had no clue what it was or what to do. The next few minutes were mass chaos, at least in my mind. I'm pretty sure B stayed reasonably calm throughout the entire event. I kept screaming WHAT IS HAPPENING? Conner's jawed was clinched tight. His paws went straight over his face as if he was covering his eyes or something. His entire body tightened in panic and was trembling. I didn't know if he was choking or if he had broken a limb. All I knew was that something was seriously not right. B mentioned a seizure and then it hit us like a ton of bricks. That's exactly what was happening- he was having a seizure right in front of us and there was absolutely nothing I could do to stop it.

Of course, I screamed, cried and yelled for the seizure to stop, but it wouldn't. I tried petting him, talking to him, rubbing him and when all of that failed, I just sat there helpless and watched as the seconds dragged on.

A couple of minutes had gone by and no improvement. We quickly realized that an emergency vet visit was a must. With tears in my eyes and panic in my mind, I threw on the first thing I saw...which I realized later was an Arkansas tshirt B had bought me, dirty jeans, slippers and a camouflage hat. Seriously, I probably looked like some sort of hillbilly. But at the time I didn't even think of it. I just scooped Conner up in my arms and headed for the nearest vehicle in our driveway. He peed on me on the way to the car, but I didn't care. All I cared about at that time was him not dying. I remember yelling "You're not dying on me, Conner, not today!" So dramatic, now I realize that, but that is how I felt.

I thought my baby was seriously dying in my arms.

I know for all you parents out there, this post may sound silly or dramatic but we don't have human children. Conner, Scooter, Hazel, Charlie and now Lannie Cat are our children. We buy them presents. They even have their own stockings. They sleep with us. I talk to them constantly. I work from home so I hang out with my fur children more than any other human being on this planet and to be honest, I wouldn't have it any other way. I honestly like my pets a lot more than most human beings...and that's no joke, y'all.

So you see, to lose one of these guys, is exactly like losing a member of the family because to me, they are 100% family. Our animals are what makes up this family. We spend 90% of our time with our animals and we CHOOSE to everyday. So we may be known as the crazy animal lovers but I'm okay with that. Because until you love an animal, you have not experience the kind of love that is 100% selfless, loyal and devoted.

Conner came out of his seizure about the time we were pulling up at the vets office. He was scared and continued to pee on me and every vet assistant in the office but that's a Cocker Spaniel for ya. :) He is now completely better and is sitting on top of my feet even as I write this. The vet told us that epileptic seizures are common in Cockers and for us not to be shocked if this happens again. If this becomes more common, there is some medication we can get him on to prevent seizures. I might have to get MYSELF on some medication if this starts happening more often! I'm not sure my heart can handle another morning like this morning.

I will definitely be more prepared if this happens again but until then, I will continue to cherish every single day I have with him. Like with any person or animal, I know our days are numbered. Events like today definitely make you stop and appreciate the life we have with our furry friends.

I love our little crazy zoo and right now in life, I wouldn't have it any other way!

Adding Another.

I don't think I have mentioned on our blog that we are going to be an Aunt and an Uncle once again. That's right! My brother Craig and his wife Nicole are having a baby girl in about a month. They already have two of the sweetest nephews anyone could ask for: Landon (almost 3) and Carson (just turned 1). My other brother, Chris, and his wife Amanda, have two girls, Makaylan (2) and Hannah (almost 1). It is pretty insane when we all get together. There is hardly any adult conversing going on...like at all. It's crazy but I love it! So why not add one more to the mix, right?

 Anniston Nicole will be making her arriving sometime in July. My birthday is July 19 so it would be neat if she arrived on my 30th birthday, especially since her older brother Landon arrived in this world on our second wedding anniversary, July 5th. Craig and Nicole's anniversary is in July, as well as my mom's birthday. More reasons to love summer and the month of July, my favorite month! :)

Last weekend I threw a very informal gathering of just family so that we could shower Nicole and Anniston with a few gifts. I was a little busy playing hostess, tour guide, auntie, etc. that I forgot to snap very many pics at all.

Here is one that I love: my cousin Lauren, her baby, Elle, and our grandmother, MeMe hanging out during the shower. Such a precious site. I am trying to cherish these years left with MeMe. She is 83 years old, I believe, and her health is failing her rapidly. I am so happy so was able to attend.

I literally snapped this one of little Carson as they were walking out the door. He's growing so quickly.

 And Nicole and her mother, Sharon. They look like sisters, don't they?

We can't wait to meet you Anniston! 

Our Memorial Day Weekend.

Yes, so this is a tad bit late but I wanted to at least document our Memorial Day because it was such a fabulous day celebrating with family. My sister in law Nicole and my brother Craig had us over to their new home here in Ruston and we hung out, ate and were entertained by the kiddos. Here are just a few of my favorites from the day.

Grilling meat is an American way and nothing says Memorial Day like all the guys hovering over a huge flaming grill looking, talking about and drooling over pounds and pounds of meat. In our family it's something that is passed down from Father to Son. It's a man's right of passage and I am so thankful it is. Love me some bar-b-que! :)

 Another tradition it seems on Memorial Day is to break out the pool, floaties and swimsuit because summer is here! Landon and Makaylan definitely enjoyed a little pool time last weekend.

I'm pretty sure Makaylan (or Kay Kay, as we call her) had enough fun for all of us! These pictures MADE MY WHOLE WEEK! I'm thinking about getting them printed off just to smile at them daily.  

It's these simple Freedoms that we love and enjoy and sometimes forget to say thank you for. 

So to all the men and women who gave their time, service, family, mental and physical health and most of all their lives...we say THANK YOU! 

I do hope you had a great Memorial Day and are enjoying your first week of June! Can you believe it's JUNE already?? So many things I want to get done this summer, our first summer living in Louisiana together. :)