Urgent Need!

As most of my regular readers know, (all 5 of you), Buie & I volunteer with a local animal rescue organization called C.A.R.E. - Central Arkansas Rescue Effort. We 100% support their efforts to keep dogs and cats off the street, alive, well, spayed and neutered and in a loving forever home. We actually found our second dog Scooter through C.A.R.E. He was our very first foster dog who we ended up keeping. Needless to say, this non profit organization has a special place in our hearts since they brought us one of our beloved animals. Right now they need my help... they need YOUR help! 

C.A.R.E. posted this message on Facebook earlier today: "These eight puppies were abandoned in rural Vilonia by their owner who moved away and left them to fend for themselves. A kind neighbor did her best to provide food and water, but after a few weeks, the 100+ degree heat and thousands of ticks had taken a severe toll. The 'Vilonia 8' are now with CARE and receiving much need veterinary care and nutritious food. These sweet puppies are facing several weeks of recovery and we need your help to make this possible. Whether you can afford $5 or $500, every dollar makes a difference! Will you please make a contribution to the 'Vilonia 8' today? THANK YOU!" 

Would you be willing to make a donation? Now is your chance to help make a difference in the lives of these eight puppies. Please consider donating even just $10. Click here to donate online. 

Restore and After Wrap Up

I had a such a good time at Restore and After I wanted to share all the fabulous details like these amazing dog houses. I'm pretty sure I placed a bid on every one of them. The dog houses were definitely the popular items tonight. I was in a bidding war with several people to win a dog house. I told a few of my friends that I would NOT leave without a dog house. I specifically had my eye on the top two dog digs.

I thought for sure I had lost the bidding war but I dug down deep in my pocket and bid once more, all the while thinking, "it's for a good cause!" And I drove away with this beauty! Here's me and Cara, the lovely artist of the dog house.

Even though I was stressing about my "mini" project, my wonderful husband helped me finish the legs on this little foot stool.... THIS MORNING. The wood glue was drying on the way to the event. :) Nothing like a last minute project to raise $35 bucks for Habitat for Humanity. Maybe next year I'll try to do something a little more challenging.

I also had a mini table set up for Restore attendees to sign up to win a FREE photo shoot compliments of Cara Beth Photography.

Over all this is a fabulous event for a great cause. If you didn't get the chance to attend this year, be sure to come next year to bid on some great items, meet new people and mingle with local artists!

Procrastinator

Why oh why am I a procrastinator? I have always been. In every area of my life. I work better under pressure I think... which is weird because I hate being stressed. But yet here I am the day of an event in which I have to present a restoration piece and half of it is sitting on my front porch. UNFINISHED. Yup, that's right. The event is tonight and my piece is not finished. But that's what makes life exciting right? or better yet, that's what gives me migraines. I have less than 5 hours to complete the project, load up my car, charge my camera and head to the Restore and After event.

And you better believe I'll be bidding on this bad boy that my friend Cara made. She never ceases to amaze me. Secretly, I wish I had her skill... and time management for that matter.

Well, I better stop blogging and get to finishing my project. See you tonight!

Restore & After

I am participating in the second annual Habitat for Humanity Restore & After event in downtown Little Rock. Last year, my good friend Eric who is on the board of Habitat for Humanity asked me to take pictures for the event. Of course I jumped at the opportunity to support such a cause. Also, I was thrilled to be a part of the very first Restore and After event. I know that the second annual will be better than ever! I will be entering a small restore project and I must emphasize just how small it is because my life has been nuts! I will have a table displaying some of my photography and raffling off a photo shoot. Be sure to stop by and put your name in for the drawing.

All of the restore items will be up for bid in a silent auction to benefit Habitat for Humanity including mine. Here's a sneak peek:

Stop by the second annual Restore and After TOMORROW NIGHT Thursday 6 pm at The Lafayette Building, Downtown Little Rock. See you there! I'll be the one with the camera in your face. :)

Check out my Restore and After project from last year.

Harvey's still here

Our foster dog arrived at our home about a month or so ago as Joe Joe from C.A.R.E. We renamed him Harvey because we think that names fits him better. After weighing the pros and cons we decided not to keep little Harvey even though he is just as cute as can be. He is up for adoption through the local organization Central Arkansas Rescue Effort (C.A.R.E.) and we are so surprised that he has not been adopted yet. Harvey is smart, handsome and energetic.

He would be great in a household with children who have time to play fetch with him. Harvey will do well in a home with other dogs too. He loves to play and wrestle with our Scooter. He doesn't particularly care for our cat Hazel but he doesn't chase her. He mainly ignores her so if he were to go to a home with a cat it wouldn't be horrible. His perfect home would be a home with a big back yard to run and play...or even a home in the country with a pond. He loves playing in the water when I am watering the yard and our flowerbeds. :)

Do you need a new puppy in your life or know someone who does? Please contact C.A.R.E. and apply to adopt Harvey. But remember, his "official" name is Joe Joe. He won't be listed as Harvey on the C.A.R.E. website. That is only his name here at the Buie household. Hopefully he won't be too confused when he does get adopted.

Go check out his page and spread the word that Harvey needs a forever home.

Our new foster dog:: Joe Joe

This past week has FLOWN by and this little guy is the main reason! Meet our new foster dog, Joe Joe... or JoJo (really not sure how you spell it). I got a call about a week ago from Melanie, who works with C.A.R.E. She is the rescue coordinator at the Central Arkansas Rescue Effort Melanie pulled three pups last week from the Conway shelter. I told her we were ready to foster again so when she told me that Joe Joe was waiting for us a local vet, I said SURE and picked him up that day! :)

Look how cute he is.

I knew immediately that this guy was special. He is obedient, sharp, well groomed and BEAUTIFUL! What more could you ask for? I can't imagine anyone giving up this pup but that is his story: he was surrendered to the Conway shelter. Oh, I want him as my own so badly!

My husband and I immediately started trying to come up with a name for him IF he were to be ours. We didn't think "Joe Joe" fit him very well. Charlie, Henry, Harvey were just a few of the names we through around... Of course we aren't sure at all if we are going to keep him. Right now we are just assuming we AREN'T keeping him. I mean, after all, we have three animals already:: 2 dogs and 1 cat. Three dogs might be a little much. If we don't adopt this dog, my only wish is that he gets the BEST forever home possible (besides us, of course). ;)

Here's a video of the little guy. Check out the little cutie pie!

Domino- Pet of the Week.

Our little foster dog, Domino, was Arkansas Democrat Gazette's Pet of the week. I'm like a proud mom... or I guess I should say AUNT since we aren't keeping Domino. But I WOULD if we could keep her. She is precious! Domino is so friendly to everyone she meets! She wants to play with everyone and everything! She loves dogs, cats, bones, balls, treats, basically anything you give her she is happy with... but especially if you give you attention. That is all she really wants.

Domino came to me through the program C.A.R.E. that my husband and I work with. C.A.R.E. found Domino as a stray in Cabot. She was wandering the streets after (we suspect) that someone dumped her when they found out she would have to have surgery on her little head. She did have a tumor on her head a few months ago but it has been removed and it was benign! Thank the Lord! There is a scar on her head but her soft hair is covering it nicely. :)

Domino is full of energy and would love a house with a playmate or several or just a faithful owner who shows her lots of love and exercises her plenty. We call her "wiggle butt" because she is ALWAYS wagging her tail and it literally shakes her whole backside. We love her so much and hope and pray she will go to the perfect family.

If you have any questions about Domino, please don't hesitate to ask. To apply for Domino you must go through the application process with C.A.R.E. Please visit their website to apply.

Giving back

Over the past year, I have been able to witness a group of beautiful people grow into a body of Christ, a church. One day I will tell you more about this church but for now I will just tell you about the people of which this church is made. They have challenged me, confused me, pushed me but most of all, loved me. They are some of the most giving people I have ever met. Just when I think I have given plenty, they show me how much more I can give.

This past Friday, B & I met these people under the Broadway bridge to give back to the community. Society is harsh in so many ways, including how it treats its homeless. These people have committed to dedicate one Friday a month to prepare a good home-cooked meal for the homeless of Little Rock. I was blessed this past Friday to be a part of this. Together with these people, we brought ham, dressing, green beans, mashed potatoes, black-eyed peas, cornbread and enough desserts to feed an army. I don't know who was more blessed, the homeless or us. Either way it was a beautiful thing to experience. (to protect their privacy, I did not include any pictures of those that we were serving). Enjoy these pictures of some of the wonderful people of Eikon Church, including my lovely husband below. ;)

Canton, Domino, Doctor

Canton:

There is so much for fill you in on it might just take all week but I wanted to share a little bit of my busy weekend. If you follow me on twitter, then you know that my mom and I had a full weekend in Canton, Tx at the largest trade show event in the country. We actually ran into the former mayor of the city (who proceeded who hit on my mother- no joke!) - he told us that there was 1 MILLION people there last weekend at Canton. ONE MILLION! That's just insane! In the next post or two, I want to write about our time in Canton and even tell about some of my favorite booths. This was my first time there but it definitely won't be my last!

Domino:

The Buies are back in the game...the fostering game, that is. We took a little break from fostering if you'll remember. We had Scooter, then quickly joined the Foster Failure Club when we decided to adopt him, then we had Huckleberry, Anabel, and Maggie. We also were substitute fosters for a while. We've even done some dog-sitting. But we are big believers in C.A.R.E. and couldn't stay away for long so we welcomed little Domino into our house last night. She is a precious Cocker Spaniel mix (same as Conner). We already love her and know Conner and Scooter will too.

Doctor:

While I was in the great state of Texas this past weekend I saw my doctor. I see a specialist in the Dallas area for Fibromyalgia and have now for about four years now. He's the one who diagnosed me with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Celiac Diease. In 2007 I began eating gluten free and life changed for the better for the most part but I still have issues. Yesterday my doctor suggested I start a yeast free diet to combat the many infections and viruses in my body. You see, I have several autoimmune diseases and it is hard for me to overcome illnesses like the normal person. This will be a lifelong struggle but I am grateful to have family to be supportive throughout this process. I am thinking about using this blog as I try new yeast free, dairy free and gluten free recipes (oh yeah, I have to be dairy free, too, did I mention that?) I'll get into more of the diet thing more later, though. Thanks for listening. :)

Hope ya'll had a great weekend! Love ya'll!

One Big Present

Christmas is fast approaching and that means family, food and gifts! Our family (mainly my mother) has always been big on presents. She kinda goes nutts, to say the least. My theory is she doesn't realize how much she has bought until Christmas Eve when she finally finishes up her wrapping and puts everything under the tree. I'm certain she steps back and looks at the enormous display of gifts and Brittney Spears's "Oopps I did it again" song starts playing in her head. It's true. I get my love of gift giving honestly from my mother. I LOVE giving gifts, not only at Christmas, but year round. I guess you could say, it is my love language.

conner in front of the tree

This year our family has decided to do something a little different. We have decided to pull our resources (in this case, our FINANCIAL resources) and purchase one big gift from a family (ies) in need. I remember doing this exact same thing when I was little. My parents made sure to teach us the importance of giving by tithing year round but also by giving to those less fortunate. Each year we would buy Christmas presents for a family in town and wrapped them all up and brought them to their front door and left them annonymously (whoops I guess it's not annonymous if you blog about it years later... hmmm..) Anyway, my point is, my parents did well by teaching the importance of giving. I still enjoy picking a name or two off the angel tree and going to buy presents for a child who may not get anything otherwise.

So last year, we told mom she was out of control and the gift giving needed to stop. haha. Who would have ever thought children would tell their parents to stop giving them presents!? My brothers and I (along with our spouses) had discussed the fact that we are literally searching for things for our parents to buy for us just so they could wrap it up and put it under the tree. Ridiculous if you ask me when their are so many people who don't even have one single Christmas gift.

my brothers & my husband, overwhelmed with way too many presents!

My mom proposed the idea of giving to this organization in Nicaragua that my home church supports. My mom goes to Nicaragua every year, sometimes twice a year, to hand out gifts, food and other resources to the people in this village. It is incredible to hear the stories of these orphans who literally live in a dump and survive off other people's trash. Think about THAT next time you throw things away! In the past few years, I haven't been healthy enough to travel to Nicaragua with my mother but this coming year I hope to go with her to see first hand how these families and espcially how these children live.

these children actually live at this dump. here my mom is handing out toys, clothes, food, etc. They live off other people giving to them!

These children are in line to receive toys, clothes, etc. Notice the housing in the background. Just pitiful.

So what is our present this year? We are buying a house in Nicaragua. What? Yes. It may sound strange but for Christmas this year our family is pooling our money and are putting it toward the construction of a home for a family without a home in Nicaragua. For about $1800, the mission team from my home church can construct a basic one room house complete with a concrete slab and a metal roof. That might not sound like much of a house to you but that is more house than most of these people have ever seen before. It might just be the best $1800 that our family has ever spent.

this is what a typical home looks like in their villiage.

Here is a family standing in front of a newly constructed home that my home church built.

See how different the homes are. You can clearly see how the one on the right is more solid and sturdy. It actually is made out of concrete and is on a solid concrete foundation, unlike their homes constructed out of scraps of metal they find in the dump.

Why am I telling you this? Not to gain any sort of recognition or to sound super holy, but to challenge you to do the same. Do you find yourself thinking WAY to hard to come up with a decent Christmas list from your parents or in-laws? Or perhaps you LOVE making out your Christmas list - you may already have made one out but it is full of things you don't *really* NEED. Think twice about the money you spend this Christmas and spend it on someone in NEED. Just give up ONE Christmas gift on your list and ask for a donation instead to your favorite charity. There are countless way to give this Christmas, I challenge you to give from your heart.

I love this picture of my mother. She is happiest when she is giving to someone in need. Love you, mom! Can't wait to go to Nicaragua with you!

A Busy Week & a Makeover

The Buies have had a BUSY week! We have been preparing for today's event::Habitat for Humanity's "Restore & After." I won't go into all the details again, but if you would like to read about it simply go to my photography blog and see what we've been up to this week to prepare for this event! It involves a fabulous DIY stool makeover! Stay tuned for step by step details of how to rehabilitate your OWN stool!

Buie's Zoo

These past two weeks it has been a literal zoo at the Buie's house! I received an email from a friend of mine over at C.A.R.E. She asked if we would mind helping out fostering these two little beagle pups for a couple of weeks while their regular foster went on a vacation. Of course we didn't mind! How could I say no to these faces!

Meet Pepper: Pepper, a beagle mix, is very shy at first. It took her a few days to warm up to me and even longer to warm up to Buie, but once she finally did warm up she totally fits her name Pepper because she is full of spice! :) She is laid back, happy and always wants to play! She still tends to be a bit jumpy but it's probably because she's had a rough life - possibly even been abused. :( I know, sooo sad! But she is house trained and would be a great dog as long as she stays in the same house with her best friend Maggie May.

Meet Maggie May (not to be confused with Maggie, another beagle we fostered). Maggie is laid back, well manered, house trained, and loves to be pampered! It is so cute how well these too dogs get along. They seriously love each other. I would hate to see them split up!

Remember Maggie? We fostered her for a few months, then she found a home, then we dog sat her while her parents went on vacation? Well, now she came back for yet another visit while her parents got in one last trip before school started back. It was fun to pick Maggie up and see that she instantly recognized us. :)

It was also so fun to see THREE beagles running around in our yard: Maggie, Maggie May and Pepper. Welcome to Buie's Zoo!

So if you're keeping track that's Conner, Scooter, Maggie, Maggie May, Pepper on the dogs team and George and Hazel for the cat's team - a total of SEVEN animals! Thank goodness that only lasted a couple of weeks - I was quickly running out of dog food! But the truth is...I miss them already. Maggie went back to her home and Pepper and Maggie May are back with her foster parents. If you are interested in adopting Maggie May and Pepper, please contact Central Arkansas Rescue Effort (C.A.R.E.)

Maggie needs a home!

Hi fellow dog lovers! I am writing to you about our foster dog, Maggie! She has been with us for two weeks now and I am quickly growing to love her! She is so full of joy at all times! She runs, jumps and plays like any normal happy dog! We love having her in our home, but it is only fair that she get to enjoy the perks of a REAL and PERMANENT home! We are only keeping her temporarily as a foster dog until someone adopts her. I thought I would share a few more pictures of Mags in hopes of you falling in love with her, too. Please feel free to pass this blog link on to a friend or family member if you think they might be interested in adopting Maggie.

Anyone who is interested in adopting Maggie, must fill out an application online through the organization Central Arkansas Rescue Effort or C.A.R.E.

Click here to view her profile.

Click here to fill out an adoption application.

Click here if you are interested in becoming a foster parent to an incredible rescued animal in Central Arkansas.