Friday, May 22, 2009

Joey's Anniversary Present

I knew this would be a good anniversary present for Joey because it had to do with a massive truck and boat. It was called a Chattaooga Duck, and it was an old WWII DUCW that was used in D-Day. It was a huge truck that could turn into a boat and go in the water. Evidently that's where the term "sitting duck" came from because the boat was so heavy and slow that none of the soldiers wanted to ride on them and be "sitting ducks" for the Germans. It took us on a tour of Chattanooga by way of the river, and we learned some very neat things about the city. My sister and bro-in-law were in town for their anniversary, so they went with us.




Of course, Joey would be talking "mechanical stuff" with the captain.

Going down the ramp into the river.


HGTV Dream Home

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Day at the Creek

Today we spent the day at Suck Creek with the dogs. Unfortunately, Tyson still can't swim very well, or at least it doesn't look pretty. And I think the mountain water temperature was too cold for Rocky because he didn't really care to swim, which is unlike how he was at the lake last weekend.


We did find out, though, that even though Ty still can't swim on TOP of the water...


amazingly, he can swim UNDER the water...

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Movin' on Up

Well, it's official...I'm now have my M.A.M.F.T. - Master's of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy (not exactly though because I have to finish my intern hours) But I at least got to walk in graduation and feel like I'm finished! The ceremony was wonderful. Before it though, we spent time as a class with the faculty sharing our testimonies about our journey through this program and how much God has blessed us. I truly could have never imagined a program that equips you clinically, scientifically, and technically for counseling but also focuses on growing you spiritually so that you can live out the "transcendent life" with your clients. The speaker at graduation spoke on the transcendent life and how it is the power to heal. They also prayed over us like a commissioning service as we go out and "minister to the Kingdom." Again, I say I would have never imagined that a graduation service could be so meaningful.

As far as moving up in the world, I mentioned in the previous post that I have a job lined up. Well, since it's actually official that I will start with them as soon as possible (maybe even get to finish my intern hours with them), I can tell you that the name of place is New Discoveries Counseling Center and I will soon be pictured on their website!! It truly has been a blessing and such a learning experience to walk with these clients through their pain and healing that I am so excited that I get to continue on with them and others in a private practice. Why do we ever doubt that God will provide us with a better plan than we can ever imagine?

On another positive note, Rocky had his 5th chemo treatment and has been able to start moving up to the stronger, more effective drugs as his white counts have continued to rise. He is now on the Vincristine with the L asparaginase and should be able to start the best one, the Doxorubicin, maybe next week. The vet said she considers him in full remission because he no longer has the spinal symptoms or the enlarged lymphnodes!! He is still feeling so amazing. We feel so blessed every day to have him just that one day longer. We took him and Ty up to ride in the Wildlife Management Area this weekend where they got to bark at two turkies and a rabbit. So he's enjoying every minute of life. We'll continue to keep you updated.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

NO MORE SCHOOL!!!

So I finally finished my academic career last Thursday! Everyone says, "what about your Ph.D?" and I say, "Nope." You know, I feel like I've been in school forever and will still have hoops to jump through just to counsel people, so why continue just to have some more letters behind my name to do the exact same thing? Joey and I would like to start a family some time in our lives! I'm still finishing up my internship hours, but I will basically just be continuing seeing those clients and others when I start my NEW JOB! That's right...the Lord really provided with this job. I had been looking and looking trying to find a place where I could jump through all the hoops necessary to get licensed in both TN and AL. I will be working with another Christian couple, one of which is an alum from my school. I'll get to see my clients that I've been seeing in Chattanooga a couple of days a week and then also get to use their office here in Whitwell a couple of days a week too. Thank you Lord for reaffirming my calling by providing this job for me!

On another note...
Rocky had another treatment yesterday. His white counts were up to be able to do the vincristine which is an IV treatment (he was only able to do l asparaginase injections which are not as strong). If his counts continue to climb, next time he'll be able to do the doxorubicin which has been shown in lots of research to knock out lymphoma. It's crazy because these are all the same chemos they use in humans but without the side effects in dogs. He's feeling great and continuing to run around and play with his brother. So I went to pick him up yesterday, and poor guy - they had to shave both front legs because they couldn't get one of his veins to take.



He wasn't too pleased about having two shaved legs or about the vet's color choice for his gauze.

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Caiden's First Birthday

I can't believe it...my nephew's 1!!! I can barely remember going to see him when he was born, but yet it feels like he's growing so much everyday because he knows something new every time I see him. His new thing now is shaking his head and his finger while saying "no, no, no" if he does something he's not supposed to. He also every now and then when he wants to will hold up his pointer finger when you ask, "how old is Caiden?"

He had a great time at his Hot Wheels 1st birthday party....





This was his big present that his dad and Uncle Joey slaved over to get finished before the party, but they didn't get to use it because of the flood in the back yard....


Anyway, thanks to Leah and Mike's church, we still got to have the party, and Caiden had a blast!