Meet Remy.

Aka: The Wild Child.

Don't let the picture fool you. I had to threaten her within an inch of her life to make her look calm and obedient in this picture.

This is Remy on a normal day. Chasing water out of the water hose as if that's what she was born do to.

But when it gets cold outside she looks at you through your filthy glass door and pleads to come inside.

And her dad lets her sleep inside for a week.

And she turns into the most rotten, spoiled, sleeping on the chair dog you've ever seen.

If this is any clue to how "strict" we are going to be when we have non-fur babies, we are in big trouble!

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Brrrr!!!

We had some serious cold weather (well, serious for Alabama) this past week. I love cold weather, but it was COLD last week. I have a power bill to prove it!

As a result of the insanely cold weather, the cows had some serious ice on their water troughs that had to be broken. Ben was hard at work for several days!

Step 1: Dance around on top of ice like a monkey.

Step 2: Stick your hands in that FREEZING water and try not to yell out like your wife would.

Step 3: Pull with all of your strength, but make it look easy.

Step 4: Break it up on the ground so your wife can take a picture.

It's a tough job, but someone's gotta do it!

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Let it Snow!

We have been fortunate to see snow twice this winter. A little snow goes a long way around these parts since we don't see much of it. Unfortunately, I was still a little under the weather so I didn't do much playing in the snow, but I did put my new camera to use!

It was so pretty, but I don't think these cows are fans of snow. They were not happy campers.


This little pond was frozen over. I really wanted to skate on it... I used to think I was going to be the next Kristi Yamaguchi. However, I think that would require actually knowing how to ice skate.


Ben really wanted to ice skate too, but I yelled at him to come back since I had visions of him crashing through and it was TOO cold to fish him out!


Snow in the South = Mass Chaos. We aren't quite used to dealing with all of this white stuff, so everything pretty much shuts down... roads, schools, businesses, the post office (don't even get me started on our post office).

Ben and I braved the treacherous road conditions to check out our little town.*
(*excuse the yellow pen reflection in the dashboard - I wasn't actually going to get out of the car to take the picture!)


Out little park in town all covered in snow.

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Christmas.... a little late

I am new to this whole blogging world, and I kind of stink at it. So bear with me as I learn! I had one the of the best Christmases I can remember. First, my hubby gave the most awesome gift ever. I have been drooling (in some part due to my Pioneer Woman obsession, and also my desire to be a better photographer) over this puppy for well over a year.

I think Ben got tired of me saying how much I wanted it, so he finally got some peace and quiet by buying it for me. I wish I had taken a picture of the packaging - he knows I HATE knowing what I am getting for Christmas and he "disguises" the boxes so I won't know what's inside. Last year, it was a tube of hydrocortisone cream, and this year it was a single antler, taped to the top of the box so the shape is distorted and I can't guess what is under the wrapping paper. I have been snapping away ever since!

Unfortunately, Ben's mom got sick on Christmas Eve and we had to postpone the celebrations a few days. We were able to surprise my Mom and Dad on Christmas Eve at, of all places, The Waffle House.

Me and Mom preparing Christmas breakfast.


Dad and one of my brothers, Hank.


Blair enjoying her Christmas Kit Kat breakfast.



Hank and John super excited about their new pillows.


My sisters and niece.


Mom and her girls.


Me and Ben.


We also were very fortunate to get to spend Christmas with Ben's family. This was my first Christmas with all of the family and it was so fun! There are multitudes of kids on Ben's side and they were so excited about all of their gifts. It was like Christmas morning all over again.

Ben's mom and dad enjoyed being Santa and Mrs. Clause for the night!


Ben with his Grandmother Mary and Dad


Ben with his Grannie Lillie and Mom.


I had such a great time with both families for Christmas and I can't wait until next year! Lots more pictures to come as I continue to experiment!!!

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STOP THE PRESSES!!!!

A PICTURE OF YOURS TRULY IS ON THE PIONEER WOMAN'S WEBSITE!!!!

Due to my abdominal mishap, I have not been the best Pioneer Woman blog follower and this one slipped up on me. My little sister texted me a picture of the screen and I hobbled to the computer and with a huge smile on my face and told Ben, "I think I am on the Pioneer Woman's website!!!"

You can see the Atlanta post here. Just scroll down to see me! It was such a nice distraction from my surgery and I could not be more excited. Of course, I am the only one not smiling at the camera - I was so excited her sister, Betsy, was taking a picture of me, I couldn't think straight!
P.S. I got the dress at the cutest little store in my hometown!

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Starting the New Year with a BANG!

Happy New Year! Our 2010 has definitely started out with a bang. First, my sweet niece, Blair, has her first cold. This is the first time she has been sick since she was born, and she is just pitiful. It breaks my heart to not see her crawling around at warp speed with a huge grin on her face.

This is Blair pre-cold. Isn't she the cutest? This is what you get for "say cheese!"

January 1. My hubby and I are out checking on cows and we have one in labor. We couldn't get close to her to tell who she was, but it was late and dark when we saw her and we decided to check on her in the morning.

January 2. We hurry out to the pasture to check on our new baby! However, we did not find one. We found our precious "Junior" as I have dubbed her, still in labor. (Junior is the baby of the very first cow we bought, Gyrtle. She had a baby by her side, aptly named Gyrtle Junior.) So, poor Junior is still in labor and it is obvious that she is having some serious difficulties. We knew we were going to have to pull the baby and at this point I am pretty excited to get to see all of this happen. However, sweet Junior had a different plan in mind and she did not want us near her. This resulted in me running around like a crazy person in a mud-frozen pasture chasing this dadgum dear cow.

At this point, I notice a pain in my side. It is now pushing 26 degrees outside and I think it is just because I am cold. Wrong. The pain gets worse and I end up having to go inside while my hubby and the vet tend to dear Junior.

As soon as Ben comes in, we check my temp and it is 100.7. Ben was getting ready to go to the hospital before I could even say I had a temperature. So we packed up and went to Erlanger in Chattanooga and spent several hours in the ER. After x-rays, cat scans, and blood tests, we still didn't know what was wrong and I needed surgery. I felt like I was on Grey's Anatomy when the surgeon and his residents were telling me I needed to have exploratory surgery. I knew at any minute that Christina Yang was going to pop around the corner with a scalpel and cut me then and there. She didn't, but thank goodness we did the surgery because I had a pretty bad infection in my abdomen. They took out my appendix anyway so I won't ever have worry about it. I am feeling much better now and recovering at home!

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