Giggles

Tuggin' at the heart strings...

*SIGH* Where do I begin? It has only been about 4 short months since our dog Luke died. Yesterday we came home from church, once again, to find our other dog, Duke had passed away. A "Old Dan and Little Ann" saga? Not this time. Duke was doing just fine without Luke around. In fact, I think he kinda liked all the attention.

Pugs are super special. Because of their little smashed faces, they have a really hard time cooling down in the heat. Therefore, Duke isn't allowed to be left outside in the afternoon in July and August. It's just plain too hot for him. We put him out in the morning for a couple hours and bring him in at lunch time until it cools back down. In a rush to get everyone ready for church and out the door, Duke was left outside.

*SIGH* What's worse? I had the thought come into my head to have someone let him in while I was doing Mia's hair, but simply thought, "I'll do it in a minute." How many times do I have to learn that lesson? And at such a high cost...especially for my kids. And my husband. Duke was Kirt's dog.

My poor, POOR kids. My sweet, tender-hearted hubby. They're heartbroken. I'm heartbroken. I'm sorry, my babies. I know sorry isn't enough this time, but I'm at a loss for words. I'm truly sorry.

Over the years I've ignored plenty of promptings. On purpose? Never. Why do I do that? "I'll do it in a minute." NO! Do it RIGHT NOW!! What am I supposed to learn from this lesson? I'm not sure yet. Was it to follow promptings right away? Maybe. I'm not sure I'll ever know.

For those of you that know us well, you know that our dogs were members of our family. Kirt and I loved them as our own kids, and the kids loved them as siblings. We'll miss you Duke. We'll miss you a lot.

I guess there's one good thing about this...

they're together again.

Where have I been???

OK, so I haven't been so great at posting the last couple of months. That's obvious. But there are a few things I HAVE done. I've spent A LOT of time holding my new, sweet, cuddly baby girl. I've done tons of puzzles, read books, and colored with Noah and Mia. I've played Avatar and Harry Potter. I've quizzed Noah on his first grade sight words. Jax, Dallin and I have watched numerous episodes of iCarly, SpongeBob and Phineus and Ferb together. AND, I have taken each of my kids on a date this summer. So, you see, I haven't just been a bump on a log. I just haven't worked (I took maternity leave) and I haven't "cleaned" my house. (Just lots of straightening...or sometimes none at all!) Two things that take up a lot of my time on a usual basis. :)

Now back to the grind. School started yesterday and I'm back to work, so getting on a schedule is priority. I'm going to have to actually schedule time to update the blog, as silly as that seems. I'm also scheduling in exercise, meal times for myself (I'm acutally FORGETTING to eat a lot. Great diet, huh?), and time to walk my dog. I hate schedules, but running a household with 7 people requires it. DARN. Stayed tuned for some fun pics. Fridays are posting day!

Lovin' Life!

Well, so-long, May! I know I didn't do so great posting last month, but it was a LITTLE crazy with year-end school activites (for myself, Kirt AND all the kids), baseball (Jaxon), Mia's birthday, being put on bed rest and having a new baby! WHEW. I'm glad May is behind us.:)

You will see posts of all those above mentioned activities in the coming days, but for today I've been bugged to DEATH about more pics of the newest princess in the house. Emmeline is such a little sweetie. I'm trying REALLY hard not to, but a lot of the time I want to just lock myself in my bedroom with her so I can keep her all to myself! (Yes, Kirt especially, fights me on that one.)

The kids have been SO awesome with her so far. I was feeling very run down one day and Kirt had somewhere to be, so I turned Emme over to Dallin for a while. Kirt prepared a bottle for her before he left and Dallin fed and burped her. When I woke up to her screaming after my nap, I flew out of my room, SURE she was being hurt or neglected. Oh no. Dallin was simply changing her diaper all on his own and she was hating it. :) (She always does!) I hadn't taught him how to change her, so I asked him how he knew how to do it. His reply? "It's not rocket science, Mom." Well, alrighty then. 'Nuf said.

OK, I know you're all really just waiting for pics, so enough blabbing...I mean blogging for now.

Isn't she lovely?

Meet the newest member of the Keeler family. Our little Emmeline was born Sunday, May 16th at 11:16 pm. She weighed in at 7 lbs. 4 oz. and was 19.5 inches long. She has stolen the hearts of EVERYONE in our entire family, but most especially her daddy, since he just KNEW she was a girl all along. (Sorry I called you a boy so many times, Emme!)

We love you, Emme!