Joy, Joy

I won! I won! Amidst all the excitement of the wedding, I received a note from Cindy last night. She's just celebrated her 100th post and had a book giveaway as part of her celebration. Sort of like bringing treats to first grade ~ remember?

Please head on over to her blog Consider It All Joy and raise a glass of Sweet Tea to her today!

Thanks Cindy!

Lucy

JJ and Honey's wedding is just days away now. We've got tables full of boxes, gifts, bows, candles, programs and all the other wedding necessities. It's quite the busy place here. And in the midst of it all, I received this photo from our dear friends who captured this in the puppy pen.

O my goodness! Here she is, "Miss Lucy."

No, we don't have plans to adopt any of them. Yet.

Photo by R.B. Anthony

Lovin' Life in Sunny (again)

It's another beautiful day here in Sunny. I honestly hate to rub it in, but God wanted us to live here, so if you live in the cold, dreary Northwest...well, talk to God about it. (Yes, comments will be posted, Beloved Mama.)

Max has some new adventures these days. He's off chasing bunnies that have recently appeared in our yard. Of course, he's always on guard for the coyotes, but we haven't seen too many yet this spring. We've heard them though and that is always a bit unsettling.

Max has also taken up the cause of protecting some baby birds in our pepper tree. He tries his best to jump up and scare away the crows when they come in pursuit. It seems he scares them away, but then they return after they figure out that our brave soldier cannot actually climb the tree to get them.

It's very hard when you're the mama bird and your baby is leaving the nest. However, when Mama Birds see a room full of laundry, actually piles and piles of laundry, it tends to get a bit brighter through those tears...

Almost Grown-Up

JJ is frequently reminding me that these are not our puppies...But still. How can you resist falling in love with each and every one of these little angels?

From left to right:
Lucy, Sam, Frodo, Rhino, Mr. French, Bruce, Amber, Honey, Buffy, Tinkerbell and Pongo

Next time I'll try to share their faces with you. But on this day, their faces were smooshed into their respective bowls on a very important mission.

Happy Memorial Week-end!

Such Fun

We recently had a bridal shower for our dear Honey. Doesn't she look amazing?!? But then, who wouldn't look amazing when they're as incredibly happy as Honey...

Now, about the other "brides." If you have any information as to the origin of this oh-so-classic shower game, please pass that along. I'm sure we'd like to know the history. It really is fun and looks so completely ridiculous. Laughter is the only appropriate response. And laughter is just about the best possible thing two weeks before a wedding.

Things are a bit of a flutter here in Sunny and up north in Honey's house. We've got boxes full of love and cards full of wonderful wishes all about the place. Please keep JJ and Honey in your prayers as the job searches continue and thoughts of apartments, budgets, pots-n-pans, linens and all the wedding fun mix with all the thoughts of grown-up responsibilities.

What a special season!

Hard at Work

His name is Rhino. I don't know if I've ever seen a little Golden Retriever puppy so cute! Yet again, he has ten siblings so it's a close call.

Today is far too busy around here to be ooh-ing and aaah-ing over such sweetness, but we may have to take another trip over to see these little ones this afternoon.

Sometimes a little bit of puppy-cuddling inspires you to greatness.

Snug as Bugs in a Rug

They're growing up! They're starting to walk now and are just as cute as you could imagine. Mama is fine. She was outside getting some sunshine when I snapped this photo. I think she knew it was Mother's Day weekend and wanted to do a little "I'm so happy I'm a mama now" dance.

~

Fridays are the best days for spending time with puppies. I suppose if we are blessed with grandchildren one day that will far outshine time with puppies. But for now ~ a few hours with these little angels is the best therapy one could have!

~

Happy Week-end!

Next Year...

I've made my selection for next year's Mother's Day. It's going to be lunch on the Zephyr , not too far away from Sunny. We will be whisked away to another time, and imagine the train jostling, chug-a-lugging and zooming through the mountains of Colorado at top speed. We'll ignore the people outside on the sidewalk. They will be mirages in our mind. We'll be absorbed in the music of the 1940's and it will be just a bit like time travel.

For dessert, I plan on having a funnel cake somewhere across the park ~ perhaps in Tomorrowland...

With Tender Paws...

My dear friend, Ruby Dee, took me over to visit with her grand-puppies yesterday. They are just about a week old now. They're not quite able to stand yet, their eyes are still closed and they are the cutest puppies ever!

Mama Roxy is very protective. That is, unless she takes a break for a tummy rub. I was honored to rub her tummy a few minutes.

We'd put Mama Roxy outside for a bit of fresh air while Ruby Dee showed me the babies. They all have names, of course, and each have their distinctive markings. They're very good at stretching, squeaking and are attempting to stand on all four legs now.

When Mama Roxy came back into the garage, she immediately counted the puppies and made sure we didn't have one in our pockets. With 11 little ones, that is most likely a full-time job.

As Mother's Day approaches, let's all raise our glasses of Sweet Tea to this incredible new mom. Did I mention she's caring for eleven bundles of joy???

Fireworks

JJ and Honey arrived on Monday night! We're having a lovely celebration around here. We're not sure what the primary celebrating is about ~ the choices are graduation, home from the university, engagement or the very soon-to-be wedding. Regardless, we're doing a lot of smiling.

Last night the festivities did take a different turn, however. JJ brought home a few small firecrackers (we can't purchase these in Sunny, but you can in LA north of here). He set off a small one in the middle of the afternoon. Max was not happy. After dinner, JJ set off a couple of crazy (very safe, thank you) sparkly-shiny-shoot-all-over-the-patio ones. Max became hysterical. A few hours later, after the puppy-sized-dose of Benadryl took affect, he was starting to calm down.

I suppose we'll make sure Max stays home when we all go to the lake on the fourth of July. Maybe he can watch the celebration on PBS, although we'll turn off the surround sound...

We're So Very Proud

Finally! They've written all the necessary essays, studied all the proper textbooks, scored exceptionally well on the exams, and here they are...

JJ, Honey and Lovely ~ our favorite graduates.

We pray for God's guidance, protection and richest blessings as He leads them on the next part of his path.

In the words of our beloved Dr. Seuss, "Oh the places you'll go!"


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