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Friday, July 31, 2009

Find Me Friday


Find the kitty =)


If you are new this week, all you have to do is post a photo of whatever you want (within reason of course, keep it clean people! ;-) ) and it has to have some element of "peekaboo," "hiding" or "camouflage" in it. Think of one of those hidden pictures where you have to find the hidden images. Or a green frog blending into the green leaf he is sitting on. There are tons of options! Have fun with it!

If you would like to join in, please make sure to link back to my blog and use my button if you like. If I decide your image(s) is/are inappropriate, I have the right to delete your link. Other than that, have fun and I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with! Oh, and I plan on having weekly themes in the future, but if you don't have a photo that falls into the category, you can still participate. And I don't mind if you add this into another Friday blog carnival. As long as you remember to link to me, that is great! Ok, that's all for now, lets see those photos!

Here is a button for you to use if you would like to participate. Thanks!



<a href="http://www.theblessedcountrymom.blogspot.com"><img src="http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f208/nuttzi/findme.jpg"/></a>


Thursday, July 30, 2009

Thankful Thursday - 200th Post!

This is my 200th post, wooohooo!! =)

I am Thankful for:

Good friends
Our animal friends
Family
The food on our table
Our home
Our barn and land
Our vehicles
A nice bed to sleep on

Even though life is not always the way we want it to be, we still must look around us and see that we are truly blessed. Then we will realize just how much we DO have, instead of focusing what we don't have. Thank you Lord for providing for my family!

Do you have something to be Thankful for? Let everyone know about it! Just enter your name or name of your blog and add the link to your specific Thankful Thursday post (not your blog's homepage please!) Also, please add the Thankful Thursday logo or link to my blog in your post. Have fun and thanks for joining me!

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

You are such a blessing

Just a quick post to say a very heartfelt thank you to everyone. Thank you all for your kind, warm and comforting comments when Duke passed away last week. I am so blessed to have friends like you offering their words of comfort and even their own experiences with the loss of a beloved pet during this hard time. I know we are not the first ones to lose a dear pet unexpectedly and it helps to know we are not alone in our pain. After being away from blogging for a few days, I learned of the sudden loss of a lovely mare named Grace. Please check out Paint Girl's blog to read about her if you haven't already and put the family in your thoughts and prayers.

Also, please pray for sweet Stellan and his family as he is having a very rough time of it again.

I am trying to get it together to finish out the week with my two posts, Thankful Thursday and Find Me Friday, so hopefully I will catch up with everyone in the next couple days.

Have a blessed day!

Friday, July 24, 2009

Find Me Friday - Honoring Duke

Well, due to the passing of Duke this week, I have decided to change the name of Peekaboo Friday to Find Me Friday, in honor of our sweet pup. We used to play "Find Me" (our version of hide and seek) all the time and it was one of Duke's favorite games. So I think Find Me Friday is a more fitting name since Duke was the inspiration for this idea in the first place. Here are a couple of pics with Duke in them. And of course I am reposting the two pics of Duke in the creek. =)





If you are new this week, all you have to do is post a photo of whatever you want (within reason of course, keep it clean people! ;-) ) and it has to have some element of "peekaboo," "hiding" or "camouflage" in it. Think of one of those hidden pictures where you have to find the hidden images. Or a green frog blending into the green leaf he is sitting on. There are tons of options! Have fun with it!

If you would like to join in, please make sure to link back to my blog and use my button if you like. If I decide your image is inappropriate, I have the right to delete your link. Other than that, have fun and I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with! Oh, and I plan on having weekly themes in the future, but if you don't have a photo that falls into the category, you can still participate. And I don't mind if you add this into another Friday blog carnival. As long as you remember to link to me, that is great! Ok, that's all for now, lets see those photos!

Here is a new button for you to use if you would like to participate. Thanks!



<a href="http://www.theblessedcountrymom.blogspot.com"><img src="http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f208/nuttzi/findme.jpg"/></a>


Thursday, July 23, 2009

Thankful Thursday - Duke

I am so very Thankful for the time we got to spend with our sweet precious Aussie, Duke who died suddenly yesterday. I am super Thankful for the photos I took the day before he was hit by the car, they will forever be cherished! We miss you so much Bubs, you were such a good boy! One thing I forgot to mention yesterday about our boy is that he could also carry a balloon without popping it, I taught him to hold the knotted end in his mouth. He could also give high fives and wave. Ohhh Duke, how we miss you!

I want to add that I am also so Thankful for my wonderful friend Angie, she was there in a heartbeat yesterday when I called and told her what happened. Thanks for watching Jimmy for that short time, it gave me a chance to reflect on Duke by myself for a little while as I drove to the vet. Love you!!

And thanks for everyone's very kind and sweet, comforting comments. I am so blessed that you take the time to share these experiences with me.

This is Duke as a puppy, he was sooo cute and just a sweet little furball! This image was on my old geocities website, I am so thankful I found it!


Here are a couple more pics I found from when he was a puppy.




Do you have something to be Thankful for? Let everyone know about it! Just enter your name or name of your blog and add the link to your specific Thankful Thursday post (not your blog's homepage please!) Also, please add the Thankful Thursday logo or link to my blog in your post. Have fun and thanks for joining me!

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Goodbye Slick Silver Duke

This is the hardest post I have ever had to write, yes, even harder than the one about my mom passing. It sounds odd, but I was at least prepared (for years really) for my mom's passing. This was just so unexpected. Jim and I are absolutely heart broken. At about 10:30 this morning, our sweet, loving, beautiful Australian Shepherd, Duke, registered name Slick Silver Duke, got hit by a car right in front of our house. I was out in the rain attempting to move the car seat from my car to our truck. I don't know why I didn't let Duke in the car with me as I was unbuckling the seat, or why I didn't just leave him in the house for a few minutes. I ALWAYS know where he is and NEVER let him anywhere near the road! All I know is that I let my guard down, turned my back for what seemed like 2 seconds, then I heard him barking as a car was slowly driving by. It was this old man that ALWAYS drives slowly. The speed limit on our road is 55 mph, but he always drives really slow. Duke usually never paid attention to the cars driving by but he did to this one because I am sure he thought he was coming to "visit" so Duke must have gone to "greet" him. I didn't see what happened, but I did see immediately after he got hit, actually it took me a minute to realize he HAD been hit. He was jumping around, barking deeper than normal and I thought he was just excited about the car, but I was too late. He had already gotten too close. He ran up to me and then just collapsed by the sidewalk.

I immediately called Jim at work and he was on his way home. Then I called the vet and told them they were coming. Jim got home, put Duke in the truck and took off as I waited for my friend Angie to come and get Jimmy so I could then follow Jim. After Angie left with the baby I took off to the vet, which is about 20 minutes away. I was about halfway there when Jim called and said Duke was gone. He was about the leave the vet to bring him home to bury him so I went on home myself. I got home, Angie brought Jimmy back from their errands, and finally Jim returned with our sweet, forever sleeping pup. We cried (I probably shouldn't say that Jim cried, but he did, he will be so embarrassed if he reads this, Love you honey!) for a long time.

You see, we picked up Duke together when he was a puppy, brought him home to my house and he was like our kid. When I had to move out of my dad's into an apartment not allowing dogs, Duke went to live on Jim's grandpa's farm where Jim was living after college. They did everything together, he was pretty much Jim's dog after that. Once we got married and moved into our house, we were a family and I got my doggie back but he and Jim still had this awesome unbreakable bond. Jim always looked forward to cuddling with Duke when we went to bed. Sometimes Duke would even be under the covers with his little head sticking out at the top, too cute! I admit I was a bit jealous, but it was very sweet (again, he will prolly be embarrassed I am telling you this, he is quite the manly man!).

Duke was an amazing Aussie, he was so smart! He could turn the light off, shut the door, bring you stuff, put laundry in the dryer, throw trash away, he never chewed anything that wasn't his, he never dug up the yard or my flower beds, he would lay down and go to sleep when you told him it was bedtime, if he was licking himself he would stop if you told him to, he knew all kinds of tricks, he loved to catch the frisbee and fetch the ball and the big rubber horse ball, he loved chasing the 4-wheeler and playing in the creek, he stood still when it was time for his heartworm & flea medicine, he jumped in the bathtub when it was time for a bath, he stood still when hosed off, he shook his fur to dry off on command, he was the BEST watchdog and he loved all the farm animals. He was great with the cats and they all loved him. He was wonderful with Jimmy, letting him pull on him, brush him, pet him and even sit on him occasionally.

We loved our dog so very much and wish so so much that we had finally put up the fence across the front yard so we didn't have to worry about this very thing. We just hadn't gotten to it yet. The whole rest of the yard is fenced so it would not have taken much to do the front and install a gate at the driveway. I am so sorry I let my guard down this one time and let my sweet bubba doo (this pet name came from "puppy dog" I know, we are weird, but we loved our boy!) get hit. It only takes one time. I wish with all my heart he had just gotten hurt and we had time to "learn our lesson" and put the fence up. Please, if you have something you have been putting off that could save your sweet pet's (or child's even) life, please put it off no longer! I read a very sad story about a horse that had to be put down at Laughing Orca Ranch, the neighbor had a very short fence the horses could pretty much just step right over and they got out, one got hurt and had to be put down. You would think that after reading that and crying over that horse, I would have insisted that Jim put our fence up NOW, but I didn't. Ohhh how I wish I had! Our Duke would be right here with us, wandering around, panting, wanting to play ball, just wanting to be loved on. We miss you so much bubbas! That'll do bubs, that'll do!


Here is a video I took of Duke when he first learned how to close a door. I think this is from 2005, maybe early 2006. Please excuse my dirty room lol =)

Dukers

In Loving Memory of Slick Silver Duke. January 27th 2003 - July 22, 2009.
These 2 photos were taken the day before he got hit, I wanted a couple good pics of him
so I could draw him. Now I will be doing a painting of our sweet boy.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

I ♥ Faces #28 - Feet




This is a photo of Jimmy's little newborn foot I took for his birth announcement.

Make sure you head on over to I ♥ Faces to check out all the great pics!

Monday, July 20, 2009

A Year and a Half!

Our sweet little man is 18 months old today! I just can't believe it, the time has flown by! We are so very thankful for such a sweet little guy, he is just something else. He knows most of his body parts and can point to them. He runs around like a wild child, climbs on the furniture, takes daddy's hat off and puts it on his own head. Rides around on his little Power Wheels (not currently "powered") front loader that "Uncle" Frank gave him. He loves the barn kitties, horses and dogs. He knows his animal sounds and makes truck noises when they drive by. He knows some sign language, like please, thank you, more, eat, milk, bird, up, and probably more I can't think of right now...

Jimmy with Daddy's safety glasses on and 2 pacifiers in his mouth, he has such a great sense of humor!

He doesn't say many words but sure knows what they mean. If you tell him something, he usually knows what you are saying. The words he does say are momma, dadda, yeah, no, "da" for dog and "kee" or "ca" for kitty. I am sure there are more, but I can't decipher them lol. He loves to be outside and just explore, finding rocks or flowers and carrying around one in each fist until you pry it out. He loves to go down the slide and play in his sandbox.

"I been watching you, dad ain't that cool, I'm your buckaroo, I wanna be like you..."

He loves to play ball and play with his tool bench on the porch. He even takes time out of his "busy schedule" to come sit by mommy on the couch and read his books. He loves his books! Our little Jimmy is growing up right before our eyes. Before we know it he will be going off to kindergarten and then graduating from high school! We love our sweet little man SO very much and we thank God for our precious gift every day!

Friday, July 17, 2009

Peekaboo Friday #2


Welcome to week #2 of Peekaboo Friday! Thanks for joining me. Please scroll down for more info and to link up. Here are my shots for the week (not all taken this week).

Oh and I have a quick question: Do you like the name Peekaboo Friday? Or do you like Find Me Friday (that was the first title I picked, inspired by playing "find me" - hide & seek - with Duke ever since he was a pup)? Or something else? Tell me what ya think as I am always unsure & second guessing myself lol! Ok, on to the pics!

Here is another shot of Duke in the creek from a couple days ago. That dog LOVES his creek!

You might have to click on this pic to enlarge it so you can better see the butterfly on the thistle.
Jimmy prisoner in his crib
Jimmy playing in the sandbox

If you are new this week, all you have to do is post a photo of whatever you want (within reason of course, keep it clean people! ;-) ) and it has to have some element of "peekaboo," "hiding" or "camouflage" in it. Think of one of those hidden pictures where you have to find the hidden images. Or a green frog blending into the green leaf he is sitting on. There are tons of options! Have fun with it!

If you would like to join in, please make sure to link back to my blog and use my button if you like. If I decide your image is inappropriate, I have the right to delete your link. Other than that, have fun and I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with! Oh, and I plan on having weekly themes in the future, but if you don't have a photo that falls into the category, you can still participate. And I don't mind if you add this into another Friday blog carnival. As long as you remember to link to me, that is great! Ok, that's all for now, lets see those photos!

Here is the code for the button if you want it:


<a href="http://www.theblessedcountrymom.blogspot.com"><img src="http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f208/nuttzi/peekaboo.jpg"/></a>


Thursday, July 16, 2009

Thankful Thursday

I am SO Thankful that Jenny and Isabella are stable and doing better, even though they have a long road to recovery. And I am so thankful for everyone's thoughts and prayers for them. I know their accident hits very close to home for some of you and I am grateful for your prayers. I am Thankful for my family's health and well being. I know we all can take it for granted sometimes.


Do you have something to be Thankful for? Let everyone know about it! Just enter your name or name of your blog and add the link to your specific Thankful Thursday post (not your blog's homepage please!) Also, please add the Thankful Thursday logo or link to my blog in your post. Have fun and thanks for joining me!

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Updates on the Laird Family

Hey everyone, I have just found out that there is a blog about the Laird family and the recovery of Jenny and Isabella. Please head over and check it out if you would like to learn more about what is going on, see pics of the family, etc. They need our prayers, Jenny is in a lot of pain as is Isabella. Thank you everyone for all of your love and thoughts & prayers!

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

A New Turtle, a Drawing and a Stargazer

Where HAS Ali been? Well, I have been a busy little bee! Here is a little of what I have been up to.

Remember this post? Remember the part about the turtle sandbox? Well....I FINALLY found one with eyes (lol, I am pathetic I know)! A friend of mine told me about one last week, her friend was selling it for $5 and she didn't think it had eyes anymore, but at this point I didn't care. Just wanted to get one so Jimmy could finally play in the sand with his toys his grandparent's got him for EASTER! So we went to pick it up and it turned out it was in great shape and DID have eyes AND the lady selling it even threw in some of her son's sand toys & hotwheels cars he didn't want anymore. What a great $5 deal! Here are some pics of the little man enjoying his "new" sandbox:

Awww, yay! It has eyes! ;-)

Not sure he likes the feel of the sand:
Thinking the sand is alright, but still not willing to get too into it...he sat like this pretty much the whole time. I love how his little toes are all curled up!

Oh, cool, Daddy built a racetrack!

Ok, now remember THIS post? A LOT of you won't because it is from FEBRUARY! But anyway, I started this drawing back then...and am still working on it. Now you probably think, geez is she slow...but in all honesty, I have probably only worked on it for about 20 minutes MAX. I just haven't sat down and FOCUSED long enough to get it done. Another 20 minutes or so would probably be enough, so now I just need to git 'er dun! Oh yeah, here it is.

Not bad for not having drawn in I don't know how many years. I will have to do a post of some of my old stuff, I found a bunch of pics from my old geocities website, so I already have them on my computer. Maybe I will show them to you next week....


And finally, there was this post. And now there are these:

GORGEOUS! My beautiful Stargazer Lilies are blooming, ahhhh I just LOVE them! My very favorite flowers, they just make me smile =)

Besides all that, we went to a garage sale of a friend's on Saturday and got soaked in the rain, major downpour! Sunday we went to church and a chicken roast afterwards and then today a friend came over and brought her 2 kids and we had a nice playdate. It was great to be able to talk to another ADULT for once ;-)

Ok everyone, thanks for stopping by and I will hopefully be catching up on my visits to y'all's blogs in the next couple days, I am so behind and miss knowing what is going on with everyone! Have a great (rest of the) week!

Friday, July 10, 2009

VGNO - Happy Birthday Ann!

Photobucket

Who's ready for a Virtual Girls Night Out? I am! All set in my PJ's, ready to visit some blogs. Want to join in? Head over to Ann's at Ann Again...and Again to link up and join the fun! And make sure you tell her happy birthday because tomorrow is her day!

Short post tonight as I got started a bit late so everyone have a wonderful VGNO and a fantastic weekend!

Introducing...

I am starting something new this week. While out and about taking pics around our property the other day, I came upon some inspiration. Duke had, once again, decided to go for a plunge in the creek. So instead of yelling at him to get out, I started taking some pics. I he kept disappearing behind the tall grass growing along the creek so it was hard to take a photo. Then I thought, hey, it would be cool to get a pic of him "peeking" from behind the grass, so I took a couple like that. Of course, before I could get the shot I wanted, he decided to come out of the creek.

So anyway, I decided to start Peekaboo Friday for all you photography buffs out there. I thought it would be something fun to do. All you have to do is post a photo of whatever you want (within reason of course, keep it clean people! ;-) ) and it has to have some element of "peekaboo" or "hiding" in it. Think of one of those hidden pictures where you have to find the hidden images. Kind of like that. Here is my pic for the week and another example. Have fun!


Here is Duke in the grass. It would have been perfect if I could have gotten his eye visible, and maybe even less of him showing!

Here is another example:


If you would like to join in, please make sure to link back to my blog and use my button if you like. If I decide your image is inappropriate, I have the right to delete your link. Other than that, have fun and I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with! Oh, and I plan on having weekly themes in the future, but if you don't have a photo that falls into the category, you can still participate. And I don't mind if you add this into another Friday blog carnival. As long as you remember to link to me, that is great! Ok, that's all for now, lets see those photos!

Here is the code for the button if you want it:


<a href="http://www.theblessedcountrymom.blogspot.com"><img src="http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f208/nuttzi/peekaboo.jpg"/></a>


Urgent Prayer Request (Updated!)

Hi everyone, I have another prayer request. Yesterday a family I know was involved in a horrible head on collision. Angie goes into more detail on her blog, please go check out her post. Please pray for this family. I am really just at a loss for words. My heart is just hurting so much right now. Jenny's daughter that is in critical condition is a twin. Oh and one more thing, the person that Jenny hit was her best friend, for whom she was just matron of honor in her wedding. I don't know what else to say, please just pray!


Update!!


I got an email from church (thanks Angie and Doug for alerting me to it!)
Here it is:

Bobbie,

God is so Good. Jenny and her girls are all going to be ok. Isabella came
through emergency surgery last night about 10:00 and the Dr. said it was the
best outcome possible. Her skull was badly fractured but did not puncture the
brain and they were able to stop the bleeding. Aleacea and Sophia both had
concussions, Sophia had a bad gash on her head, a small skull fracture, and
two cracked bones around her eye. They expect all the girls to be fine. They
are at Children's Hospital in Dayton and are watching them carefully. Jenny
has many broken bones and will need surgery on her leg, but they are waiting
until they are sure she is remaining stable -- may be a day or two before they
fix the leg. She broke her left femur, right tibia, two ribs, several bones
in her face (which will require plastic surgery later), her jawbone, her
elbow, and possibly a couple more. Her liver and spleen were punctured and
bleeding -- but they were able to stop the bleeding. She is in ICU at Miami
Valley and is on a ventilator, but she is stable. She knew we were there and
could respond to us. Praise the Lord that she and the girls are alive and
will be ok. I know his hand saved them and I thank you all so much for your
prayers.

Love,
Suzie


Oh praise Jesus! I do not even know if anyone had read my post yet, but if you did and prayed, thank you! God is so good, I am crying tears of relief!

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Thankful Thursday

I am Thankful for the hay hubby got yesterday - 75 bales for about 3 bucks a bale. Yeehaw!! And then I got to help stack them in a stall in the barn (we have yet to put in a hayloft, maybe next year). THAT was fun, I have to admit I have never done that before. I like doing stuff like that though, I actually did enjoy it. What a great way to work out! Though this morning my throat is a bit sore from the hay dust...Ah well ;-)


Do you have something to be Thankful for? Let everyone know about it! Just enter your name or name of your blog and add the link to your specific Thankful Thursday post (not your blog's homepage please!) Also, please add the Thankful Thursday logo or link to my blog in your post. Have fun and thanks for joining me!
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