Rest in Peace, Cammie.

On Monday, June 4th, I took Cammie to the vet's and had her put down.  Yes, it was incredibly hard.  We've had Cammie for almost 16 years!  She has had a heart condition, which was discovered in January.  My vet thought she might last until March.  But here we were in June and she was still hanging in there.  But, it was clear that it was becoming more and more difficult for her to navigate, so she stayed in her crate most of the time.  She hasn't had it easy.  Her knees would buckle on occasion.  She had cataracts in both eyes and then developed glaucoma.  Her left eye had to be removed (see photo).  She couldn't see out of her remaining eye.  Her hearing slowly deteriorated with time.  But the sweetest dog. Ever.

She was a member of the family.  A Christmas present for Lindsay one year.  She was officially named Camelot.  But then it turned into Cammie. Camararie. The Camster. Cammer. Cam.  And she was loved.

So it is with our pets.  They love us unconditionally and nuzzle themselves into our hearts. There may be an empty spot in her crate.  But she will always be in our hearts.  Forever.

UTAH!

I had the opportunity to spend my birthday weekend with Kristi Hill and her family. I really had a wonderful time. Greg and I flew out together and he was able to visit his siblings and Katy and Mark. The delight of my trip was that it actually snowed while I was there. Snow for my birthday is a rarity.

Kristi

This is the view from Kristi's home. Just love it!

Dusting of snow just for my birthday!

Thanks, Kristi, for spoiling me and making my birthday so special!

Is It Fall Yet???

Can you tell I am excited for Autumn to come with my new blog design? I love this time of year. Never mind that I was born in Autumn. I just love the smells, the sound of crunching leaves, the coolness of the nights, the colors that come alive no other time of year. I realize this day of August 29th that my day-dreaming about the fall is a tad premature, as the weathermen are forecasting temperatures of 103 in a few days. But I am hoping this will be very short lived.

We've had visits from Heidi and Nathan, twice! So I was able to eat up little Landon. He is so sweet and we all love his gorgeous hair.

I have a new calling at church-Nursery Music Leader. I have to admit that I was a tad skeptical at first, but it took only one day with these little darlings to fall in love with them! I think we are all going to have a great time together!

How Sweet It Is...

Sweet Baby James and Carole King

(web shot)

The highlight of my week was seeing these two very special people at the Verizon Center. Greg and I ordered tickets back in March and were thrilled that we were in the second row. We were amazed at how much energy they had and how fantastic they sounded. I actually teared up when they started singing because when I fell in love with them in the 70's their music made such a huge impact on my life. It was then that I developed my deep interest and love for music. I remember using a Carole King song from her Tapestry album (Beautiful) as a topic for a class presentation in Mr. Alvino's 9th grade English class. Funny how you don't forget certain moments in your life...I was so green then, musically. But by the end of senior year I was strumming and singing tunes from the likes of these two. Music still shapes my soul and I am so filled with gratitude for artists who continually inspire me.

Welcome: Landon John Allen

I was going to hold out for a whole year to blog again, just for fun, but couldn't wait when this little boy arrived on May 28th, 2010. Landon John was born to Heidi and Nathan and weighed a whoppin' 5 pounds and 2 ounces. I guess he couldn't wait to get here because Landon came almost a month earlier than expected. Greg and I can't wait to get to the Big Apple to meet the little guy. Isn't he adorable? That's three grandsons for the Allen's.

I admit that I have found it hard to sit down at the computer to blog, as it's been that busy to write. So, since my life has gotten even busier, I figure I'd better just do it.

And, as if my life was not busy enough, I decided to take on a part time job at the Apple store. I am working there part time and other than getting used to standing all the time, I really like it there. The people are great! My co-workers are wonderful and it's so fun sharing my passion for Apple with the customers.

Sweet Luc

We had the privilege of having Matt and Claire's little boy, Luc, stay with us for a few days. What a sweetie! We had a blast celebrating Uncle Chris's birthday yesterday and Luc kept us in stitches with his squinty eye smile and his toe fetish. I think the only thing that Greg and I regretted was that we didn't have enough energy to keep up with him. He sure kept us going, but we loved every minute of it. We hate that we live so far from Luc and his big brother, Theo. Maybe we can convince Matt and Claire to move a little closer to Virginia! ;)

So Ash, what is your opinion of Gainesville's new Chick fil A?