HAPPY BIRTHDAY TROY!

Happy Birthday to a very wonderful man, husband, father, son, uncle, nephew, cousin, friend, etc. (This almost sounds like an obituary). Oops. We love you Troy and hope that you have a great birthday!

NO MORE BRACES!

Cameron is a very happy now. He got his braces off last Tuesday. He said it was weird and that his teeth feel a little slimey. He has had those dang braces on for a little over 3 years. He would have had them off sooner but he wasn't very good about wearing his elastics. Neither were Michael and Mallory. Let's hope that he will wear his retainer. Unlike his older siblings who didn't and therefore their teeth shifted a little. Anyway, Cameron has a beautiful smile and beautiful teeth and is ready for high school. (Well, not really ready for High School, but you know what I mean.) So, we are done with our Orthodontist forever! We don't have to pay for braces ever again! Yahoo! I'll add pictures of his cute smile later. I am at the mercy of Mallory's camera since I lost mine. (Guess what I am going to ask for for my birthday....A Camera!) But I have to wait until October for that. :(

ABBY

Okay, since Lucky is gone, we have decided to let Abby be in the house more. Well, it is looking like it is not such a good idea. She is getting into all the garbage cans and shredding the garbage in them along with the garbage bag. I know that she is 13 years old and has been an outdoor dog mostly all her life and that we can't expect her to just change her ways over night but, I don't think I can do this. She also found a bag of m&m's somewhere and was found eating them on Mallory's bed. She also threw up on a blanket in the living room (probably because of the m&m's) WHAT DO I DO? Oh, and did I mention that we recently realized that Abby is deaf? Yep, we are such great dog owners that we didn't even realize she was deaf. Whenever we called the dogs for one reason or another she always followed Lucky so we had no reason to think she was deaf. It's sad! But I'm thinking I need to let Abby outside a little more than we have been. But we will still let her sleep inside (with Mallory). She has both Abby and Kobe sleeping in her bed now.

SAD DAY! WE WILL MISS HER!

Today is a sad day because we had to put our sweet dog, Lucky, down. She went to sleep today about 3:15 p.m. this afternoon. Lucky has had a really bad week. Her hind legs gave out on her completely a couple of days ago. It was like she was completely paralyzed in her lower back yet she was still in a lot of pain. Lucky was keeping herself under our deck where it was cooler and yesterday Troy had to crawl under the deck and practically drag her out and then he put her on my wheelchair and we got her into the house and laid her on her little bed. That is where she stayed until we took her to the animal hospital today at 3:00. Lucky was an awesome dog with a very distinct smile. A lot of people weren't sure if she was growling or smiling. But it didn't take long for people to realize that Lucky was extremely friendly and she smiled to let you know she would be your friend. She smiled the most for Troy. She loved Troy. She will be missed. Especially by her pal Abby. Abby is our little Britney Retriever (Britney Spaniel/Golden Retriever). I am going to make a slide show of Lucky but for now, here are a few pictures of our sweet Lucky girl. WE WILL MISS HER!

SMILING LUCKY

HAPPIER TIMES FOR LUCKY

LUCKY AND ABBY

FOR MICHAEL

Mallory sent me an email that was called smile. It was really cute and it did make me smile. I scrolled down to a quote that is so funny because it is something we tell Michael often to help him with his self confidence. (He needs it sometimes.) So here it is. (Sorry it's a little blurry, it came that way.)

A MAN OF EXAMPLE

I was reading on Laura's blog and she wrote a wonderful post about life and not taking it for granted. To start living for today. She is related to the Cardall family who recently lost a son/brother. They also have a son Paul who is waiting for a heart transplant. If you want to read a truly inspiring blog, go to his. (I'll list it below) It shows his incredible faith and endurance. There is also a beautiful tribute to his brother Brian. This is the family of Duane Cardall who is a Sr. Executive with KSL. Anyway, I will leave you with this quote that was on Laura's, that was on Paul's. I hope it is okay that I am borrowing it. Anyway, here it is.

"Stop waiting for life to come tomorrow, begin living today. Don’t miss what’s NOW because you are looking for what’s NEXT!" Paul Cardall

Go to LIVINGFOREDEN.COM to learn more about Paul and his battle for a heart transplant. Go to http://mytricuspidatresia.blogspot.com/ for his inspiring words and tributes. You won't regret it.