Zach and Nathana

This week has been looooong.  My days have been fast at work and even faster at home, but the week dragged.  We've been getting ready all week for our friends, Jacob and Jenna, to visit.  They are 2 minutes away as I type!  I'll be back next week to recap and get the hiz-happenings caught up! Can't let those go undocumented!

Once Zach got home, we let Nellie dig into her cake!  It was adorable and she loved it! Now our birthday girl is out for the count.  I think she had a pretty good day! ; )

I just discovered picmonkey and am going crazy making collages! Nellie at 4: Weighs: 24ish lbs.  I say that because she is too hard to weigh, but has lost weight since on her new diet! Her likes are listed above, but Nellie dislikes: Baths, being told no, dogs that are bigger than her, dogs that are smaller than her, dogs other than her cousins!  ; )  Not being able to get the rabbits that sit outside the fence, being scolded, running out of breakfast or sup-sup.  Just being real, our girl loves to eat! Nicknames: Nook, Nooker-roonies, Schnucks, Sweetness, Boog-a-noog, Boog, Nellie Wellie.  The crazy thing is that she actually comes to all of these.  Never did I think I'd call her so many things! Favorite toy: Her Kong when it's filled with fruit or peanut butter. She just isn't really into her stuffed animals much.  She doesn't know how to play with them as well as she knows how to tear them up. Haha! Thing Nellie did this year: Stayed...

My sweet, dearest, Nellie Girl, Today is your fourth birthday, and I couldn't be happier to say that we're celebrating it together.  I hate to think back, but in May I couldn't have told anyone if you'd be here to celebrate it or not.  That thought terrified me at the time, because after all, how could my world keep spinning if you weren't in it?  I am not ashamed to admit I begged and pleaded God to heal you, no matter what we had to do.  The fear of  knowing we may not be able to afford "fixing" you nearly drove me insane.  The night before taking you to Louisville I barely slept an hour due to imagining every possible scenario that might unfold the next day and again begging God to let whatever treatment you needed to be within our reach.  I thanked him and continue to thank him for making it possible to heal your little body.  I know you are a dog, but God even cares for you, and somehow in this life, I have done something right to have your...

For our 4th anniversary we went to Little Italy to celebrate. We didn't exchange gifts because we both agreed that our Nellie girl alive and well was the best gift we could have!  This past year has been one that I have mixed feelings about. There are honestly many times that I would give anything to forget, but thankfully the good outweighed the bad.  Still, I am so glad to see this year over and start a new one.   I've run into people I went to school with who find out I'm married and seem so surprised it's been 4 years, and sometimes it even surprised me it's been that long. Sometimes it feels like much longer. ; )  It's even a little hard to remember what life was like before we were married. I know that I love us, though.  God has been faithful to us these 4 years and I know will contribute to bless us.  I say it every year, but I love Zach more now than I ever have!  Thank you sweetheart for loving me when I am unlovable, cranky, and stubborn. Yo...

After a quick stop by the hotel to drop off some of our things and meet Zach's parents, we headed off to the game.  We found a parking garage about 5 blocks away, but it was pretty cheap, so we gladly walked down to Busch stadium.  Once inside we located our seats (which were mercifully in the shade! Can I get an Amen?)  I was so excited we wouldn't have to sit in the sun.  There was virtually no wind, which made things pretty hot!  We got some delicious Philly Cheesesteaks and sat back to wait for the game to start.  It was a slow game until the 7th inning, but the Cards won against the Phillies!  4-1!  I told Zach we were their good luck charms! ; )  I'm not going to lie, though, I was very happy to get back into his parents' air conditioned car!! It took what seemed like forever and a day to get out of downtown because they had construction going on, but we finally arrived back to the hotel around 7:00.  We took a desperately needed s...

Last weekend, (June 21-22) we went for a quick weekend trip to good ol' St. Louis.  Zach's family had gotten tickets to a Cardinals' game for his Grandpa for father's day, and his parents graciously bought us tickets, too.  We headed out early Saturday morning so we could go to Grant's Farm before the game.  It's perfect that we did, because it ended up only being 3 miles from our hotel. It was so fun, and it was special because it was both of our first time there! The house President Grant built! An elk just chilling in the pond... not a bad idea considering the heat! One of the two eagles they had.  Both had permanent injuries that make it impossible to fly, so they are in an open area with a fence.  So sad to see such majestic birds hurt, but neat to see them up close and not in a cage! Best attempt at a very quick selfie.  We were walking thorough the stables and looking at all the old Budweiser stagecoaches and horses.  I w...