On my mind...

It's been over 4 months since I lost my sweet old man Ali and it still hurts =(  I still cry seeing pic's of him and wish so bad that he was still here enjoying life with us.  He was the perfect example of how sweet pitbulls can be and I'm so happy he was mine.  I sure do miss this sweet doggy though...

Chewing sticks - his FAVORITE thing to do!  He managed to get out and chew one in our backyard just 2 days before he passed =( 

He loved car rides with me.  He usually didn't have his head out the window though - he was usually curled up on the front seat sleeping while I rubbed his head.

This guy never knew a dog bed, to him - this was a "dogs bed"

I swear, he had such expressions!!  You could read his emotions all over his face - he smiled, looked sad, looked bored, excited, worried, confused...I miss those faces! 

Big yawns!  Always loved this pic of him =))

Playing catch-up...again!

Everything has been wonderful lately! Dennis is in his "off cycle" at work which means instead of working his normal 100 hour weeks he's only working til about 1 or 2 everyday. I loooove his off time. My hubby and I are so close and really enjoy our family time...we always hate time apart. I don't know how we ever survived 3 deployments!

We had a little Memorial Day BBQ at our house with a few other neighbors/friends. We wrapped up that night watching our friends 1 yr old while they went to an evening wedding. He was a sweetie and lil man enjoyed the company of another kid! I think he's gonna be a GREAT big brother in a few months! We also watched a special on one of the local channels for Memorial Day. Shew! Talk about a cry fest! It really touched our hearts to hear so many stories of fallen heroes and the families that were left behind. It hits close to home for sure. Dennis had a very difficult deployment this last year. He was a "Marjah Marine". His battalion was part of a "team" that invaded the town of Marjah that was known to have tons of Insurgents. They knew the Marines were coming and they had time to prepare. He was in constant fire fights, his platoon his numerous IED's, some guys were KIA and many, many were injured. My Husband was amoung the injured but he made it home safely. For that we are very grateful. It saddens my heart to think about the lives lost. I know some may never get the true meaning of Memorial Day...and they probably never will. It's ashame, it really is. I know our children will always know what we're celebrating on that day though. We're not only taking time to remember those who lost their lives, but we'll remember those who were wounded, those who played their part in keeping this great countrys freedom and those who are still serving!

[Iraq homecoming, 2007!]

[Iraq homecoming 2008, meeting our son for the 1st time!]

[Afghanistan homecoming, 2011!!]

The day after Memorial Day we beahced it up with some friends for about 6 hours...and we PAID for that! I used SPF 70 and still managed to fry my thighs to a crisp! My face and chest burned a little too. My poor hubby didn't use anything and man oh man! He looks like a lobster! the part that burned the worst is the tops of his feet. They're almost purple! Not good when you have to wear military boots to work =( Little man was okay of course. He had on his little water shirt, a hat and the same spf 70 as me. That night we went to dinner with the same friends and just overall had a great day, despite buring so badly! [Dennis wanted to hold our hands for this picture! He's so darn CUTE!!]









We managed to get to a minor leage baseball game the next night and had an awesome time! My Husband loves sports and it makes him so happy to share his love of sports with his son. Little man enjoys it just as much. He loves when his Daddy plays sports with him, takes him to games and even just watches them on TV with him. A nice lady that got a ball used in the game gave it to him and that made his night. He even got 2 players to sign it for him! I couldn't have thought of a better way to wrap up a nice long weekend with my guys...sitting front row at a bball game, eating peanuts and icecream and seeing that faces of my guys just light up while watching the game =) Those two are my heart and I sure do looove my time with them!!







I'm now just over 19 wks pregnant! We find out in 6 days what we're having and I can NOT WAIT!!! I'm beyond excited to know what I have in my belly. Of course, we're hoping for a GIRL! I've had 3 dreams its a girl and 3 friends who have dreamed I'm having a girl! Either that's a sign OR I'm getting set up for MAJOR disappointment, lol. I'm obviously going to be thrilled with either sex but my heart really wants a little girl. Dennis is such a great Dad and he loves to get little Dennis involved in the things he loves...ya know, GUY STUFF. I just want a daughter...a little girl that I can share my girly interests with. I'm sure other girls know exactly how I feel. I'm ready for cute dresses, bows, doll babies and tea parties! I've been starting to feel little movements in my tummy and I'm loving it. I remember exactly how it feels when the baby really starts to grow and kick and move. It's an amazing feeling!

The pups are GREAT! They're such little lovebugs! They're so well behaved for just 5 1/2 months old. They've definitely found a spot in my heart already and I've definitely formed that bond with them. They're already almost 50 lbs and the vet expects them to DOUBLE that size by the time they're ONE! WOW-zers! They're gonna be HUGE!

Coco & Samantha @ 5 months old. Coco is laid back and sweet and Sammy is a little companion...needing constant love and attention! Sweet little girls =)

Baby on board!

So, despite losing my sweet pitbull Ali in February we also had some pretty good news. After trying to have a 2nd baby since Dennis got home from deployment in August, we found out we were expecting! After moping around the house crying for 2 weeks, this was the good news I needed to lift my spirits. This may sound silly to some, but I'm a HUGE dog person. Shoot, sometimes I feel like I can relate to a dog better than humans. They're non-judgemental, lovable, always happy to see you, loyal and pretty much just perfect in every way! They have a way of getting to know you in and out and you learn to have a rountine with them and you love them as if they're family. Ali was my baby for 9 years and I still miss him tremendously =( I'll always miss him. Back to the baby though. I woke up one Saturday morning and laid there in bed thinking of how much I still missed Ali laying next to me under the covers...I counted in my head how many days he had been gone...2 weeks...and then I realized "Hey, I think I'm a few days late!". Dennis and I hadn't been thinking of being pregnant for a while and we certainly weren't thinking of it at that time. So, while my hubby was out of bed already I decided to take a test. Positive popped up right away!!! I went out to show him immediately with my heart pounding out of my chest!!! He was pretty darn SHOCKED and HAPPY!! I'm 11 weeks today and feeling GREAT! Just like with Dennis, I've got no morning sickness and my belly is growing quickly!

Coco & Samantha

We also got 2 new puppies a couple weeks after we lost Ali. I probably wasn't ready for them. It was completely unplanned and we thought with our hearts and not our brains when we came home with 2 pups one Saturday! We got 2 females labs...a chocolate & black lab, they're sisters. We've had them for about a month now I suppose (maybe longer) and they've been great. It was rocky at first with using the bathroom in the house and waking up all night long but they're on track now! Now if we can just keep them from digging through to the neighbors yard everyday to visit with their Golden Retriever puppy! They don't take the place of my Ali...and in my heart I'm still a "Pitbull person" and honestly when someone asks me what kinds of dogs I have I'm probably gonna have to explain that I'm a pitbull person that just happens to have 2 labs...lol. I know I'm going to learn to love these dogs and I'll become attached to them one day too. Dogs have a way of doing that for sure.

Other news...my big boy is gonna be THREE years old in just 3 months. I can't believe it. He's so darn sweet. He talks so much now, sleeps in a toddler bed, eats everything and everything, has great manners and is such a fast learner. I love that little man SO much! Here's a pic of him from today!

Sad.

It's been a while since I posted. I've been in a funk for the past month and just haven't had much happiness in my heart to post anything. It's a sad story and I'm not emotionally ready to post what happened yet, but the short version - my sweet pitbull, Ali (Ah-Lee) of 9 years passed away a month ago. I've been a wreck without him. He was more than a pet to me and I'm taking his loss hard. He was my partner, my furry soul-mate...so my heart is hurting without him. When I'm ready I want to post some really great stories of him, of us and just express how much he meant to me. For now though, I'm just not ready. Animals leave paw prints on our hearts and when they leave they can leave such an empty space in our hearts..

"Until one has loved an animal, a part of ones soul remains unawakened"

I hope to get back into some posts soon...in spite of the sad news in our household we've also had some good news lately =)