Fotos

Josh and I {and Lady and Rose} finally had our family photos taken by Amy Hough a few weeks ago, and not only do we love the ones we've seen so far, but it was so much fun!

She is like a magician with sunlight! {When my mom saw this picture she said that we must be whispering sweet nothings. Actually, we were talking about what we wanted to have for dinner. For reals.}

This is an honest laugh because it took us several tries to get his arm around my neck in a way that didn't look abusive - haha!

Amy's husband, Jeff {a peach of a fellow}, worked with her the whole time. I love good teamwork! He happens to know how to make these wierd noises that got the dogs' attention. Trust me, if he can manage to get Lady and Rose to look straight at the camera at the same time, getting children to pose must be cake.

Josh and I even managed to respond to the noises on occasion ;).

Okay, enough about us. {She took a bagillion pictures, but I just posted a few so it's not too awkward, ok? ;)} Go to Amy's website and see her work for yourself. She loves taking pictures, and she made us feel like we were just hanging out and she happened to have a camera. {We hang out on cool antique couches in the middle of open fields all the time ;)}. In case I haven't made myself clear, I highly recommend her!

Have a great weekend!

Bittersweet

September 11 has been an important day for my family since long before 9-11. It was my grandmother's birthday, which is why yesterday was bittersweet.

I am the youngest child of my mother who is the youngest child of her mother. By normal definitions, I am separated from my mother by two generations and my grandmother by four. The interesting thing about her birthday having the shadow of a tragedy is that she had lived through a whole lot of deep American heartache in her 90+ years {The Great Depression. World War II. Major stuff.}, but her life was anything but tragic. In fact, after she died a few years ago, more people than I can remember told us how fun her funeral was. {Not in a creepy, morbid way. In a funny stories celebration of life kind of way. I can't make that sound normal, just trust me.} I wish I had the stories that were shared that day, but I'm not sure where they are, so instead I'll share a little diddy about her I will never forget. ;)

My grandmother's name was Dorothy {actually it was officially Dorotha, which I never understood}, and she said exactly what she thought every minute of every day {ohhh, genetics ;)}. As Bro Mike reminded us, she had two great loves in life - Joe {my grandfather...obviously} and cooking. Combine her love of butter and cream {Paula Deen had nothin' on my Grandma} and her childhood during the Great Depression, and she was always ready to feed you... a lot. If you didn't clean your plate, you were either ill or serious insulting her. Her love language was food.

Cue embarrassing story. Enjoy.

....

It was the first time I had taken Josh to Mountain Home, so naturally we went to see Grandma. Keep in mind while reading, we had not been dating for that long.

Now, one thing you never ever ever did was show up for a visit without a sweet treat of some sort for her in your hands. So we went to the Dairy Queen, got her a blizzard, and headed her way.

When we arrived, I introduced Josh and held my breath to wait for whatever questions she would have or honest thoughts she would share. My biggest concern at first was please don't call him the wrong name, please please Grandma, don't call him the wrong name.

She didn't. She didn't embarrass him at all.

Him.

Josh gave her the blizzard, she made sure her dentures were fully secure, and then with the sweetest little grin and southern accent said,

Well, I never was one to turn down chocolate.

"Me either, Grandma," I quickly replied.

Yeah, you do look a little thicker than you used to.


Whhhhhaaaaaaat.


Oh, I'm turning red. Annnnd redder. Geminy crickets she did not just tell my relatively new boyfriend I look thicker. Yes, she did, and she meant it as the highest compliment. She followed it with,

I mean you used to just look your stomach was stapled to your backbone. {Let me assure anyone reading this that my stomach has never been in the remote vicinity of my backbone. This is where the Great Depression skewed her view :)}

I sat with Josh, mortified and sweaty, as she moved on to the next topic of conversation as if she had just mentioned the weather. I don't remember another thing she said, but I do remember that she was her usual charming, witty self and that she won Josh over in record time.

....

As much as I still giggle at thinking back on that day, a whole host of memories flood my mind when I think about her. Her most famous culinary delight was an incredible butter cake {appropriately titled, I assure you}. My grandfather was the love of her earthly life, and she told everyone who would listen {sometimes multiple times in a single conversation} about how wonderful the sixty years and eight months they had together had been. Most of all, she loved Jesus, and I would imagine she's made Him that butter cake by now. No calories in heaven, right? ;)

Corner Office and a Foxy Mama

Am I too young and not yet accomplished enough to have achieved the ultimate corner office? Yes. But titling this post Office in a Corner just didn't have the same ring. ;)

We had a wasted corner in our kitchen for a very long time. It was super clutter-y and cord-y {I know those aren't real words, but they are self-explanatory}, and it drove me nuts. We had also been using one of our spare bedrooms as an office while we were both in school, but we hardly needed that much space for an office after we both graduated. So in my efforts to spruce up our home in the way you would eat an elephant {one bite at a time}, I decided to tackle this little space to make it more functional and enjoyable and pleasant to my picky eyes.

BEFORE:

You see what I mean? A mess. I am ashamed that I let it look like that for so long, but kind of proud for not cleaning it up for the before picture. I'm working on authenticity... keepin' it real. I think it makes my blood pressure go up a little bit, though.

AFTER: {I used a different camera that I clearly have no clue how to work}

This picture is from a different angle, and I took it on food mode to stop the glare. Evidently people like their food to have a yellow tint, because it also added a shade of sunshine to the picture that was not in my kitchen.

Lack of photography skills aside, you get the drift. It displays family photos, adds a place for me to organize mail and pay bills, and hides my computer and what-not in the desk drawer {of the desk that I put together with my own two hands because I am stubborn and inpatient... and handy ;)}

......

And on to Part 2 of this post.

This is a close-up of one of the pictures hanging in the kitchen collage, two baby foxes. I found it on google. It is, in fact, not as random as it may appear. {Although my sweet husband didn't say a word about how crazy he must have thought I was before he realized the reasoning behind the reference.} This little spot is reserved for two baby Foxes that are currently residing below :)

Meet Melanie Fox!

She is my first cousin, and the closest thing I had to a sister growing up. She is precious to me, and so are the TWINS {one boy: Griffin, one girl: Bailey} she is expecting. She is very emotional {even when she isn't with child}, and she has so mastered shedding tears that she does it with a smile and not even the slightest smudge of mascara. I showed her the fox picture I had hung a while back, and I was almost disappointed I didn't get a tear - if that tells you anything ;)

She has been ready for motherhood since ... forever, and she will be a phenomenal one. Take that back. She is a phenomenal one. She is currently on bedrest, has been for a couple of weeks now since an early labor scare, and will be for {hopefully} several more. Please say a prayer for this little Fox family, that she will be able to carry her babies to full term and deliver healthy little ones when it is their time.

......

I stole the picture of her from her blog, and I didn't ask her permission, but I think she looks beautiful, so I'm hoping she won't mind! {Easier to ask for forgiveness in this case :)}

This morning on...

I love The Today Show. Matt, Meredith, Al, and Ann - the whole gang! Yes, they are good journalists, share interesting and useful information, etc. But really I just love their dynamics. I tear up at the end of every year when they show all the funny clips and bloopers. Embarassing. I even like Kathie Lee and Hota on the fourth hour when I get to watch them. Secretly {until now ;)} I really wish they needed a correspondent pharmacist. They haven't called me, though... yet.

Yesterday morning on Today, they did a piece on the new definition of masculinity. I was skeptical of what it might entail, but I have to say that not only were they spot on, they made me super extra appreciate my husband.

Cue the bragging ;)

Do you remember when a whole bunch of people posted their "25 random things about me?" Number 1 on my list was:
I really honestly think that my husband is the best one there is. I know a lot of women think that, but they're all mistaken.

And I stand firm in that statement. No offense - I'm sure lots of you have fabulous husbands. ;)

I always tell J that I couldn't have ordered a better husband if I tried - that reads wierd in written word, but you get my drift. I love him like crazy.

The thing is, it is by NO means because either of us is perfect, or because we have a perfect relationship. {Not that you thought that...I just don't want you to think I think that :)}. One of my best friends asked me a few weeks ago if Josh and I ever fight. hahahaha. Yes. I prefer to call them intense discussions, but yes. Don't be expecting a post on those - there's a reason he refers to my red-headed personality as spicy.

I digress.

Josh is my partner. Die hard. And I am his. He is the head of our household, and I will always respect the Biblical responsibility he carries. But he is never a dictator over me, never pushes me too far, never leverages that I am to do as he says. He knows that I will but doesn't take advantage of it.

We share responsiblity outside of the home, and so we share responsibility inside the home. This weekend while I had to work, he did laundry, cleaned the floors, mowed the lawn, and installed a doggy door. I could have cried. {But I didn't, thank you very much.}

In other words, he embodies the new definition of masculine. Every bit as strong, protective, and providing as ever, but so much more secure, thoughtful, patient, and helpful.

Today, he will be at work, and I will do household chores. The more I think about it, though, the less they seem like chores and the more I think of them as thank you gifts.

{Except for getting clothes out of the dryer...it's really hot and makes me sweat, so it still classifies as a chore}

Southern Sweet Tea

I don't drink it. {gasp, I know} I don't like the flavor of tea in general, and I think at times my brothers thought I belonged to the milk man because I didn't share the Ponder love of my mom's sugary sweet caffeine. I prefer my sugary sweet caffeine in the form of Starbucks, and I'm not ashamed. ;)

I also didn't say y'all until I went to college four hours south of my homeland and figured out how much more efficient it is than to say "you guys." I don't cook much, and when I do cook it isn't with real butter or cream {I will most definitely eat food other people make with these ingredients, mind you}.

But I am Southern. I like being Southern. It is my region of choice, and despite a few of the quintessential Southern characteristics I don't exhibit, I will still always and forever be Southern.

Are you wondering yet where this is coming from?

Southern Living, of course {second only to the Bible according to my mom ;)}. I found a nifty new blog, Blue-Eyed Bride, and she posted a fabulous article from this month's issue about Southern stereotypes played in Hollywood. It is written by a woman named Amy Bickers, and I loved it!

Bickers explains how we have air conditioners so we shouldn't always be portrayed so sweaty, and she clears the rumor that we call all our police chiefs Big Daddy {I'm paraphrasing here}. But one of my favorite quotes has to be, "...You'd be shocked if we told you how few of us actually have verandas."

The article also reminded me that I have pictures from a fun little piece of The Ozarks {I'm thinking of The Ozarks as a subregion of The South so that my post flows...ok?} that I still need to share.

Mountain Home Berry Farm!

I've been eating these berries for years and years and have driven by the farm a countless number of times, but until earlier this summer I hadn't ever actually experienced it. It was so quaint and picturesque...better than I even anticipated from the fruits of its labor.

Just a tiny sampling of the some of the produce they grow. They'll even let you walk right up, pick, and taste. Oh, the authenticity.

The berries aren't all looks, either. They are crazy tasty. One time several years ago I was bringing a flat of strawberries to my mother-in-law on my way back from MH, and I made the mistake of keeping them in the front seat within an arm's reach of me the entire time I was driving. I ate so many strawberries that I had an allergic reaction. That wouldn't be any huge deal except that I am not allergic to strawberries. At all. {I do not know what compels me to tell embarassing stories.}

These are jams/jellies/ican'ttellthedifference made from the berries that were for sale at a tiny/delicious restaurant a few miles down the road.

And this is one of the signs that greets you as you enter the restaurant.

From Southern sweet tea to smokes. I think we've come full circle...y'all.

Up, Up, and Away...

In our beautiful, our beautiful balloon!

I was going to share this story during Kelly's Korner show us your life, and then I completely forgot. It's the story of our engagement, and it's one I really want to have documented, so I thought today {our anniversary :)} would be a good day to post it. In all fairness, I should warn you that it is a long post, but I wanted to have as many details documented as possible for posterity's sake. So if you're up to it, grab a cup of coffee {I recommend Vanilla Caramel creamer to go along with it}, and enjoy!

BACKGROUND:

It was the first semester of my first year of pharmacy school {an overwhelming shock to my system, to say the least}. Josh and I had recently discussed marriage and how it just didn't seem feasible at the moment {I know you're thinking that is the oldest trick in the book, but it was a serious conversation... or so I thought}.

Thursday marked the last of a string of four tests in seven days, and I was pooped. Josh asked me what I wanted to do that weekend, and I huffed and puffed because I just wanted him to make the plans. I made it very clear that I thought he never planned anything. I generally don't have a problem communicating my feelings ;).

Friday he said that I should stay the night at his parents house because we were going to go to his nephew's soccer game early Saturday morning. Not exactly the sort of plans I was thinking of, but I didn't have to make any decisions so it was all good ... Until he said the soccer tournament started at 7AM, and we needed to be there by 6:30. I mean the nephew is great and all, but 6:30? And I have to look decent enough to be seen by soccer moms? This game better be good.

THE STORY:

We got up and got ready {I wore makeup... at 6AM...for the soccer moms}, and then we were off to the west side of town right on time. The earliest parts of the story are kind of hazy for me... cars can lull me to sleep in 10 min or less, so I might have dozed a bit during our drive. When I re-woke up, we were in a random parking lot. I remember Josh driving around the parking lot saying he was looking for his sister's van.

He lied. ;) He was looking for the balloon man.

Now at this point, you think I have to know, right? Negative, ghost rider. I had told Josh several times how badly I had always wanted to ride in a hot air balloon. Once we finally found the balloon man, and I knew we weren't going to be watching soccer, Josh gave me a sweet {and partially honest} spiel about how he knew I was stressed and could use a surprise, and he wanted to plan something special.

I was elated.

It was, honestly, one of the coolest things I've ever done! I'm quite sure that it was the closest to being a bird I will ever experience.

We floated side by side, and I loved every second of it. I wanted to talk, talk, talk about every little detail - the houses and the horses, the mountains and their Maker, the roads and the rubble. We saw so much! Josh was so quiet.

When we floated over the Arkansas River {that's the reflection of the balloon in the water if you can't tell}, Balloon Man got us so close to the water that we were eye level with people on the shore. It was sooo crazy! {Josh said later that at this point he was so nervous he thought he might barf...}

HERE'S WHERE IT GETS REAL INTERESTING:

Hot air balloons do not have propellers. Balloon Man could control UP and DOWN with that fiery gas business, but any other direction was truly at the mercy of the wind. Our ride was scheduled for an hour, but after nearly two hours, we still hadn't landed.

I started to get nervous because Balloon Man was acting nervous. {Josh was probably numb by now-ha} Something to do with the amount of fuel and the direction of the wind and the area required for landing...

He saw a spot that was definitely a long shot, but for fear of not having another opportunity, he went for it. The execution was actually very impressive. *Whew* We made it... somewhere.

THE SAGA CONTINUES:

A picturesque little lake in the middle of some Arkansas woods - the scenery was fabulous. That's probably why it was private, gated property complete with guard dogs.

The three of us {Josh, me, Balloon Man} breathed a sigh of relief once we were on solid ground, but I remember thinking that Josh and Balloon Man were acting wierd. I didn't understand why we weren't getting out of the balloon. I looked across the lake and saw a man walking rapidly toward us. I squinted to get a better look.

"Is that my dad?"

The instant those words left my lips, Josh spun me around to face him and dropped to his knees.

He said beautiful words ...

...and I said yes!

Seconds later, I confirmed that the man I saw was my dad {who had been moving so quickly because he was being chased by the guard dogs after he jumped the fence}. Both sets of our parents had been chasing the balloon by car, following Balloon Man's wife.

Thankfully, the private property we used for a landing strip belonged to a very nice, very understanding couple. They were so excited for us, and so sweet to let the rest of our family come to their lake and celebrate with us - sans hounds!

I could not have asked for a more perfectly imperfect proposal {or planned it for that matter}!

Today, we celebrate three years of marriage, and I can honestly say that these have been my favorite three years ever. Ever.

Oh, Danny boy!

I have been a Daddy's girl since the day I was born. No apologies ;)

He is second only to my husband in humanly influence on my life. He has never pretended to be perfect, but I have never seen him waiver in his faith and commitment to Christ. He is the most Godly man I know, and I am beyond thankful that I have been blessed to be his daughter.

Well...now that I've got him choked up, let's get to the good stuff ;)

He's a bit of a pyro {accidentally only, of course} He's started so many pasture fires that as a gift a couple of years ago, one of his presents was a double-barrel backpack fire extinguisher. I don't think he's had to call 9-1-1 since then, but I'm not positive on that one...

I have never seen him in real life without at least a mustache. He grew the mustache when my oldest brother was born and the rest of the beard when I graduated high school.

Almost every morning, he does push-ups and crunches on his bathroom floor, and chin-ups on the pull-up bar he installed over the toilet. My mom might shoot me for posting that they have a pull-up bar in their bathroom...

He always taught me {or tried to teach me} to be self-sufficient. He insisted that I take a self-defense course, so I took tae kwon doe one month during my senior year of high school. If I am attacked from a very specific direction, and I land in a very specific position, and my attacker is wearing a collared shirt, I will have them passed out in under 5 seconds ;).

He never just gives a gift, he always makes it a fun and exciting process. He hides gifts in things, sends you on scavenger hunts, tricks you into thinking you're getting something else, or just straight up surprises you out of nowhere, and it is always so much fun.

He's not judgmental of people unless they do not use there/their/they're, your/you're, etc properly. It gets under his skin for some reason, and it is SO funny.

He is a human disposal. He eats and eats and eats, but you'd never know it to look at him. Whenever I would invite a new friend over, I would always warn them that if they left any food on their plate, he would more than likely finish it for them. After their first visit, they usually came to expect it.

I love following in his professional footsteps. It's fun to compare then and now, and to talk about things we've experienced. If you want to hear a nerdy conversation, you can generally sit in on one of ours and get your fix.

He will do anything he can to help another person. One time I heard our preacher tell my dad, "I am so tired of people saying that Danny Ponder is their little angel..." I loved it! {Don't worry, they're good friends :)}

Not one time in my entire life has he ever told me there was something I wasn't capable of doing.

I love him like crazy, and I hope he has a fabulous Father's Day!


~Check back later this week to hear all about my father-in-law... You won't be sorry you did!

We Share

We share important dates, my eldest brother {Ben Ponder} and I. You see, he shared his birthday for my wedding day almost three years ago, and tomorrow I'll share my birthday with him for his election.

Now, before you turn and run from a post about olitics-pay, please give me five minutes of your time {or like eight minutes if you're a slow reader like me ;)}.

Ben is different. He is not looking for a career in politics or power or money. His inspiration comes from a true calling beyond any earthly desire, it is best described as "progeny politics," and it is defined by the following quote from Thomas Paine {the focus of Ben's 900 page dissertation for his PhD in Early American Political Discourse from Northwestern University - I told you he is different}:

"If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace."

His four precious children {and your children and grandchildren and nieces and nephews and my future children and the kids down the street, the ones in diapers and the ones learning their ABC's and the ones reading To Kill a Mockingbird ...the children without a current voice} are the reason that Ben has given up so much to run for US Congress in Arkansas District 1.

If you want to know more about Ben, I encourage you to read his announcement speech and his biography. I promise if nothing else you will learn about an incredibly interesting person today, and I would even venture to say you will be inspired.

If you live in Arkansas' First District, please request a democratic ballot during the primary election tomorrow and cast a vote for Ben Ponder. Anyone who is willing, please contact as many people in the district as you possibly can to ask them to do the same. And if you don't know a soul in Arkansas, please pray for Ben.

I will leave you with one final thought. Will you look back on this day and time, and wish that you had done something to affect the direction of our collective futures? Now is your chance.

DJD

**Update: my mama {a former teacher, mind you} politely pointed out that the correct plural is motherS-in-law, and not mother-in-lawS. It is now corrected :)**

I have to be completely honest. I know I am lucky {blessed}. I've met other people's mothers-in-law, and some of them aren't so great... Mine is.

{this picture is from a shower a couple of years ago...
please excuse the distracting corsages}

She's a social worker, and she loves to practice on anybody and everybody. Never doubt that she is analyzing the meaning behind the words you're saying.

Her favorite phrases:

Now, how does that make you feel?

&

Everybody has to pull their own happy wagon.

I always wish I could have met her mother. {I know she was fabulous!}

She has a CRAZY shoe fettish. I can't even keep up with her shoe shopping - she's a pro ;)

She did an incredible job preparing her son for marriage. {She really did, except for grocery shopping - the first time we took Josh to stock his apartment, he was amazed at the invention of the turntable holding the grocery bags at checkout. age 23, folks}

Her testimony, her life, is nothing short of miraculous.

She has an uncanny ability to bake a bunch of cookies and not eat even one. Not one. I can't even fathom...

She calls the cute boys on American Idol "eye candy" haha

She went back to school in her 40s and got both her bachelor's and master's degrees. I'm impressed.

With both of us, what you see is what you get...every time. {I am so thankful that we truly enjoy spending time together because neither of us could fake it :) }

Happy Mother's Day {week} to Debbie D - I am so thankful for you!

"Bebbie Dell"

That's "Beverly LaNell" as she referred to herself as a toddler. And in honor of Mother's Day, I would like to take the opportunity to share about mine!

Here's your introduction: {I can't count how many times I've heard this!}
"Beth Ann, there are children all over the world with BORING mothers...aren't you glad you aren't one of them?" That's MY mama.

I inherited my sass from her. Every ounce of it. It makes me giddy when people call me "little Nell" because I know exactly what that means.

See those glasses she's wearing? She has 87 pairs last I counted. I'm not exaggerating - you pick an outfit, and she's got at least three pairs that will coordinate, and most of them sparkle. It's like she's an angel when she sings in the choir ;)

She refuses to text without the appropriate punctuation. Abbreviated words? Not. A. Chance. An uncapitalized proper noun - heavens no.

She loves Jesus, Danny Ponder, Josh Davenport, and the rest of us {in that order ;) }

She can scratch backs like no other.

When she was in grade school, some cursed little kid stuck a piece of gum in her hair. To this day, the sight of chewed gum makes her gag. {It's kind of funny, though}

Somehow she manages to turn "Beth Ann" into three syllables. {Beth Ay-en}

She drove to EVERY game I cheered for in highschool. That's like 20 trips to Little Rock each year, and a million and a half miles on her car. Not to mention she was the proudest fan in the stands, and you could hear it!

No one can make chocolate-in-between cookies like she can.

She loves Red Bull. Loves. Red Bull. Sometimes when I talk to her shortly after a red bull, it sounds a little something like this:
HeyBethAnnwhatareyoudoingtodayIjusthadaRedBullandI'm kindabusybutIwantedtocallandseewhatyouwereupto welpI'vegotalotIneedtogetdonebecauseIamjustbusybusybusy todaysoI'lltalktoyoulaterOK?Loveya.

She will do just about anything for anybody {within legal limits, of course}. She is so incredibly generous in a myriad of ways, but especially with her time. If you need help - she'll be there.

She has a huge laugh and a tiny sneeze.

Her philosphy on reading: If it's not in The Bible or Southern Living, I don't need to know it.

She is dramatic. Drama drama drama. And funny. Man, is she funny. She's always the life of the party, but if you ask her she'll tell you she's shy. Ha! She makes even the most mundane task entertaining and joyful.

I love her so much I could just pinch her little cheeks off :)

Happy Mother's Day to the best one a girl could ask for!




-------
P.S. - I will be dragging out the celebration of Mother's Day this whole week, because I cannot go without celebrating my mother-in-law and my grandmothers {No lack of characters around here}. Mother's Day DAY, however, is designated for the one who birthed me and endured my teenage years...she deserves it!

Introducing... Rose!

Isn't she just the cutest!?!


I mean...equally as cute as Lady :)
{we're working very hard to make sure somebody doesn't get jealous}.

We went up to Mountain Home last weekend to spend some time with my side of the family, watch my little brothers-from-another-mother play soccer, and get a puppy. Check, check, and check!

Last week we had called the people who sold {I know that sounds so impersonal, but there's just really no other way to say it} Lady to us, and they agreed to drive their puppies over from Harrison and let us find the perfect puppy #2. We already had a name picked out for her {courtesy of my new friend, Sarah}, so we just needed to find little Rose. And darn it- if they didn't have that itsy bitsy pink bow in her hair...

Tricky McTrickerson, the breeder, totally failed to mention that his price had gone up significantly {"since the economy has picked up a bit"} until after he had already let us cuddle and coo and goo over the puppy he and his wife thought would be just perfect {with the bow} for us... Then he gave us some sort of backwards discount for being repeat customers to make us think we were getting a deal even though she was still more expensive.

Hey mister, you may think we're dummies. We're not. We would have paid the whole price, but we did not. Ha. Who's the dummy, now? ;)

Celebrating Forty Years

Last month, my parents celebrated their FORTIETH wedding anniversary! Isn't that so crazy? They must have gotten married at age five, right? ;)

We tend to drag out celebrations in our family- makes it so much better! We're having a BIG family photo session... soon {it's hard to get all thirteen of us together and photo ready} as their present from all of us, BUT we try to turn every little thing into a special anniversary little thing.


coffee in the morning - special happy anniversary coffee

ham sandwich for lunch? fortieth annivary edition ham sandwich

going to buy flowers for the front porch... you guessed it!

...

AND, we had a small family dinner to celebrate a few weekends ago in Mountain Home, so we made it a "40" theme...

"40" salad

"40" hashbrown casserole -

let it melt a wee bit too long, but it was a good thought

"40" peach cobbler -I made this! pick your jaw up off the floor - mama Nell instructed every move ;)

Delicious and sentimental.

And in all seriousness - they are the best parents / in-laws / grandparents in the whole world, and everyday should be a celebration of them!

Who's that Lady...

She's a precious little/big Yorkie puppy who seriously rocked this Davenport world about six months ago. She's also the best impulse buy E.V.E.R.

See, Josh and I are not planners. We're talkers and we're doers, but we skip the in between part that makes everything flow seemlessly. We talked about getting a dog pretty much every Sunday for a long time. Especially sunny Sundays. Doesn't a sunny Sunday make everyone want a dog?

Turns out, sunny Saturdays will do the trick as well. We were in Mountain Home for the weekend. It was oddly warm for November...around 70 degrees. The sun was shining, and the birds were chirping, and Arby's sounded really good to me.

Josh and I were riding with my mom {she's fabulous, we'll talk more about her later}. As we were pulling into Arby's, she noticed puppies for sale in the adjacent parking lot. We were just going to go see them for fun...

I picked up a little female with a tiny pink bow in her hair. She immediately climbed onto my shoulders and nuzzled. Ohhhh shoot.

"Can we keep her, Joshie?" {The term "Joshie" can be very strategically placed when necessary.}

I handed her to Josh, and she nibbled on his ear.

"Sure."

"Really - like really, seriously?!?" I wasn't expecting him to just give in like that. I freaked out for a second. Are we really gonna be responsible for another living creature? I mean this is a big step. What if we can't handle it? What if she pees everywhere? {Ha! She totally did.} What if we hurt her? I think dogs might be expensive {right again...}. Holy smokes!

By now she was curled up on his shoulders {shoulders are her thing, I guess} as if she knew exactly she was doing. Not more than 30 seconds later, another man asked the seller if he could see the little girl puppy.

"I... think she's taken." Josh was hooked. She was ours.

Now that tiny little 2 pound furball is a whopping 8 pounds and counting. Her parents were 4 and 5 pounds. Sometimes I wonder if its God's way of preparing us to have an abnormally tall child since we are both...shorties. I'm 5'1'' {and a quarter if we're gonna get particular}, and Josh is 5'7," so one would assume our children probably won't play post for the NBA, but you never know!

I digress...

Lady, or "LuLu" as we often call her, is now pretty much like a child to us. I can't believe I'm saying that. I am admitting publicly my hypocrisy about dogs. I never thought I'd plan my weekend around a pet, let alone CRY the first time I had to leave her! Sheesh. I'm a convert.

I'm not sure if she supports my blogging, though ;)

Here's exciting news - We've decided that it's time for her to have a friend! While we walk her everyday AND play with her in the mornings and evenings and all weekend long AND let her sleep with us, Josh and I both work full time. {Sort of...I don't get paid...but regardless, I am gone 40 hours/week.} Anyways, I didn't know this, but my neighbor explained that because dogs are pack animals, spending all day alone can lead to less full and even shorter lives. Well, none of that for our puppy... She'll have a sibling by this weekend, and we are super excited!!

Show us your life - How you met your husband

You know that phrase, "You never get a second chance at a first impression?" Unfortunately, it's true. BUT you can make up for bad ones. Trust me...I am, shall we say, naturally sarcastic. I've needed a lot of do-overs in my day, and there was no exception with my husband.

We were both at Ouachita for a solid year before we ever spoke, but it wasn't on purpose {or at least not on my end}. I knew who he was because a) it is Ouachita, and b) his roommates were good friends of mine. I had no idea that those friends were trying to set us up, even though several of them asked me what I thought about him.

I thought he was a really cute guy who seemed nice. I loved his smile. And I had heard that he was really funny. That's important.

One night we were both at a "function," and one of those friends asked me to take a picture of several people, including Josh. I said sure {because I'm nice and not hideous}. They scrunched together to pose for the picture, and Josh said something that I couldn't hear. So, knowing that he's a funny guy because I had heard that from everybody and their dog, I said,

"I don't know what you said, but I'm sure it was really funny."

I meant exactly what I said, and I thought it was a valid statement. He didn't take it quite so literally. Rather, he inferred a hefty portion of sarcasm that kept him from asking me out for another month after that.

Our first date {that I refuse to call a real date because he just asked me to "grab a bite to eat"} was at The Hamburger Barn. He wore socks and sandals.

He also opened every door, still does. He told me I was pretty. He had elaborate stories about his highschool friends dragging port-a-potties onto the interstate -- he really was as funny as I had heard. He ignored how odd it was that I ordered a side salad with very specific requests and then didn't touch it. He made a mental note when I said 100 Grand Bars were my favorite candy and brought them to me the next week when I was studying. He smiled that smile I'd liked before I knew him...

He quickly became my favorite person in the world.