"And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in
the knowledge of God." ~Colossians 1:10
Yesterday was my first born's 5th birthday! It sounds silly to say this about a dog, but I really can't believe Cameron is 5 years old. It seems like just yesterday that I brought him home. I actually got him in February of 2007, just after Matthew and I started dating. I told him I wanted a dog for Valentine's Day, but my Dad quickly nixed that idea, since I was living at home at the time. The weekend after Valentine's Day I went down to Fort Myers to visit Matthew and guess what I cam back with.....Yep, a little 3 pound ball of white fur! =) Matthew wasn't brave enough to go against my Dad's wishes, but I was. I knew that once he saw Cam he would be in love. And I was right.
Cam has seen me through some pretty dark days. Right after I got him is when I got sick and was diagnosed with all of my health problems. Even on my worst days when I was laying on the bathroom floor, too sick to even stand up, he was right there beside me. I really think he senses my pain and when I hurt, so does he. He's a Mama's boy in every sense of the word and where I go, he goes. If I leave the room, Cam leaves the room. He's always right under my heels. He even sleeps in the bed with me, and his favorite place to curl up is right behind my knees. Life has gotten a little more hectic since adding a baby to the mix, and I constantly sometimes get annoyed with him, but I still love him just the same. (Yes, even when he barks and wakes the baby, chews up her toys, etc.) No matter what, he will always be my first "baby".
Maybe we're crazy, but we always recognize our dogs' birthdays and we celebrate with a special treat. It's usually vanilla ice cream or a cupcake. We celebrated Cam's 5th birthday with carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese icing.
Of course, Huckabee didn't want to be left out either......
Even Kyndall got to enjoy a cupcake
Here are some of my favorite pictures of Cam over the past 5 years...............
The day I got him (February of 2007)
First Halloween
Cam's 1st Birthday
First Christmas
4th of July
The week we moved to Charleston, checking out our new town
He loves his doggy stroller!
With his "cousin", Luke
Meeting his brother Huckabee for the first time
Meeting his new sister for the first time
"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened." ~ Anatole France
Last Wednesday afternoon, we headed south to Tallahassee for our Thanksgiving "vacation". We spent Thanksgiving Day the same way I've spent it the past 28 years, which is at my Grandparents' house in Two Egg. I look forward to this day almost as much as I look forward to Christmas Day. When my extended family gets together, we're guaranteed to have a good time! Matthew's parents even joined us this year, which made the day even more special. As always, there was a gi-normous spread of yummy food, lots of laughs and unforgettable memories made. We have so much to be thankful for. Just take a look.......
I'm especially thankful to still have 3 of my 4 Grandparents in my life, and also in Kyndall's life
After lunch, the guys enjoyed a game of horse shoes, followed by their traditional basketball game.
On Friday, I was excited to get together with my friend Meg and her baby, Lawson, who I've been dying to meet. In 14 months Kyndall has never been sick, but wouldn't you know the weekend that I make big exciting plans, she comes down with her first cold. So, we had to cancel our visit with Meg and Lawson and instead we stayed home and rested. We ventured out Friday afternoon for a few quick Black Friday deals, but other than that we pretty much took it easy. Matthew and my Dad went hunting early that morning, and when they returned Friday night, we left Tallahassee and went to Thomasville to stay with Matthew's parents for the rest of our trip. We arrived just in time for Kyndall to help put the finishing touches on Nonie's Christmas tree...........
She also got her first taste of a candy cane. It's safe to say she loved it.........
Saturday afternoon, my parents drove up to Thomasville so that my Mom could take Christmas card pictures for Matthew's parents. I can't show you the pictures yet, but I can show you the adorable dress that Nonie bought for Kyndall to wear in the pictures!
After the pictures, everyone surprised me with an early birthday dinner at Longhorn. I wasn't expecting it, since my birthday has completely snuck up on me this year. Or maybe I just don't want to think about the fact that I'm about to turn 29!!! Either way, it was a nice surprise and I enjoyed it very much. I also received birthday money (to be put towards my new fancy-dancy camera!!) and a new charm for my silver charm bracelet.
After dinner we all went back to Matthew's parents' house to watch the FSU vs. UF game. Mostly, everyone just watched this little ham, since she is more entertaining than any football game could ever be.
Any guesses as to what's going on in this picture?? Um, yeah.....you really don't wanna know.
Last but not least, we wrapped up our trip with lunch on Sunday with Matthew's side of the family. Since we didn't get to spend Thanksgiving day with them, they came to Thomasville for a quick visit before we headed home. We had a great time, and Kyndall loved all of the attention she got from her cousins.
Matthew's Aunt Libby made this plate for Kyndall and I love it!!!
Nonie's "thing" to do with all of the kids is go to the top of the driveway and ride the wagon all the way down to the end. All the kids love it and they look forward to doing it when they come over. I was nervous about letting Kyndall try it for the first time, but it's no surprise that my little dare devil loved it!
And, because you know how much I love comparison pictures, here's a look back at our Thanksgiving trip this time last year. Like I always say, what a difference a year makes!
We had a wonderful four days at home with our families and we are looking forward to going back in just a couple of weeks for Christmas!!!
