I think that I'm too young to have Great Nieces, but here they are! Livie and Elie live where it's too cold for me to even imagine (Michigan). They are visiting Patti in Tennessee right now. Melissa needs a new camera (hint hint) so that she can send me some more updated pictures. This is the first time I've seen them all grown up, and they are stunning!
You all know that Susie passed away last Tuesday. This week has been pretty difficult. I'm still not quite over Susie's passing.
Nonee, my most favorite Grandma in the whole wide world, had a stroke this past Tuesday. She's doing better now, but she's had some pretty difficult moments. There seem to be up and down moments. One minute, she'll be able to talk a little bit, and then the next, she may not be able to communicate at all!
Also, she can't walk, so she's been given a wheel chair to help her get around.
Nonee was discharged from the hospital today, and was admitted into a Rehabilitation Nursing Home where the next seven days will be very challenging. She will have to learn to walk again, and she will also go through some intensive speech therapy.
Please keep her and all of our family in your prayers..especially those who will be travelling.
With Susie being gone, the void around the house has been really sad. We decided to go look for a dog yesterday. We went to Petsmart where all of the local humane societies bring some dogs for adoption, and we also went to the local shelter. Joey and Beth came along with us. I had my mind set on getting a medium-sized dog because a big dog, I thought, would just be too much for our small little house.
There were several cute dogs, but none of them really felt like they would fit into The Corley Clan.
Over the last couple of weeks, Joey has been going back and forth on his newest addition, Riley. Joey is not home enough right now to be able to take Riley out as often as needed, so he's been trying to find him a good home. Joey still wanted to be able to see him grow up, so he's been very hesitant to just give Riley to just anyone.
After we had no luck whatsoever at the shelters, Rusty and I decided to take Joey up on his offer and accept Riley into The Corley Clan! He came home with us yesterday.
He is two days older than Emmy, so training him shouldn't be too difficult. He's a German Shepherd / Lab Mix. His eyes are hazel, I think, and he's absolutely adorable. He really likes to cuddle, and he loves playing with the kids. Rachel carries him around like a rag doll, and he licks Sammy's ears when they play.
We are really excited to have Riley in our house. As much as we miss Susie, Riley will make a great addition to the Clan, and we thank you, Joey, for helping us out!
It has been two days since Susie left us, and I am still struggling with our loss. I didn't realize how much she was a part of my every move. Since she was a puppy, she has always followed me around the house from room to room. I would mess with her and walk in a complete circle, and she would follow.
I have caught myself looking for her nearly every 5 minutes to make sure that she wasn't chewing on herself (fleas) or to make sure that she was just there. Every time I get up from the couch, I look down to make sure that I'm not gonna step on her. I don't do too well when I'm at home. I am still extremely emotional about Susie's death. It's so much easier to "type" about this than it will ever be for me to talk about it.
Losing Susie has been a very emotional event for the Corley Clan. Rusty has been amazing in helping me cope with this.
One Day at a Time, right?
My little companion.
You all know what happened to Susie (anemia), but she had a pretty rough afternoon on her last day.
I cannot say any of this yet without crying, but I really feel that if I can share this with you all, it will help me with my grieving. So, here goes.
I got home from work right around 11:30am, and I took Susie out to use the bathroom because she couldn't do it herself. Her urine wasn't completely bloody this time, and I was still waiting on a "prognosis" call from the Doctor, so when I saw that her urine looked better, I was a little relieved. Maybe I was imagining all of this. I went ahead to my Weight Watchers meeting and tried to keep it out of my mind.
I got home from my meeting and running errands at around 2:00pm. As soon as I walked into the house, I could tell that Susie wasn't going to be able to fight her disease. She was lying on the floor in the living room where she waited for me every day, but this time, she didn't get up to greet me. It was all that she could do to wag her tail.
Emmy was asleep, and Riley (Joey's new puppy) was screaming in the bathroom, so I went into the bedroom and started to cry. I knew it. I knew that if Susie didn't die on her own before the night was over that she would have to be put down. She was pathetic.
My faithful friend got up enough energy to follow me into the bedroom where I stood crying.
That was the last time that she would walk.
She plopped down into the middle of the floor and sighed. I went to the bathroom, cleaned up my face a little bit, and then prepared to say good-bye.
My camera hadn't been working for several weeks, but I saw it lying on the nightstand. I grabbed it and started praying. "Please work! Please work!" I had to get one last picture of my best friend. I lay down on the floor and started taking pictures. I kept thinking to myself that when I stopped taking pictures, it would be the last time I took her picture. I couldn't stop. I ended up taking nearly 75 pictures before I gave in to reality. I cried. I cried a lot.
I picked Susie up from the floor and put her in the bed with me. Before Rusty, before Rachel, before anyone but my Mom, there was Susie. Susie used to sleep with me every night. She snored really bad, but her snoring comforted me. It made me fall asleep. When I put her in the bed with me, I knew that it was over. My little girl was going. I felt her breathing. I felt her ribs. I listened to her and waited for her to stop breathing. It was just like when Dad died. I remember listening to him breathe, and then not breathe. At that moment, I prayed that she just go. I fell asleep listening to her snoring, just the way I loved it! I couldn't have asked for a better nap.
When Rusty and the kids got home, I got out of bed, but Susie stayed. She couldn't go anywhere. She was done. She started whining, so I picked her up to take her to use the bathroom again. I made it to the kitchen, and that was as far as we got. Susie threw up. She hadn't digested or eaten in two days. I was holding her in my arms, crying like I have never cried before, and the kids just watched on. I know that they were worried, but I think that they were more worried for me than for Susie. I hate it that they had to see this.
I lay Susie down on the floor as I started an emotional meltdown. I was crying uncontrollably. If you can remember when you were a kid, and you cried so hard that you couldn't get a word out without inhaling really deep for a breath, that is where I started, and it only got worse. Rusty came into the kitchen after sending the kids to Sam's room. He put a white towel with burgundy stripes on the floor beside Susie. I was a mess. Susie was dying right in front of me, and I wanted nothing more than to take it from her as a Mother would want to take an illness from her child. Susie's internal system stopped working at that moment. Anything that was in her, came out, and I knew at that moment, that she had to go. She whined and cried as I stood there grieving my best friend.
Rusty sent me away, gently slid Susie onto the white towel with burgundy stripes, and started to clean up the mess that had spread itself onto our kitchen floor. I went to the bathroom to blow my nose, rinse off, and gain my composure.
I came back into the kitchen, and saw my baby lying on the floor. It was time to say good-bye for good. We had our time earlier to prepare, but as I lie on the floor looking into Susie's deep black eyes, we both knew that it was over.
I don't know how long I was on the floor with her, nor do I care, but in those minutes, it was just me and her, like it had been 10 years ago.
Beth came over as any usual Tuesday night in time to catch me saying good-bye. I remember rubbing Susie's ear ever so gently, crying inconsolably, only to have Beth come in to console me. She has pretty good timing. I cried more, but I had let go, and Beth was there to help me.
I was done. I got up off of the floor. I stood in the kitchen looking down on my dog. My heart hurting in a way that it had never hurt before. The intensity is amazing. Losing Susie has always been something that I have dreaded, but I never in my life expected it to be this hard. Rusty picked her up in the towel, and took her to the vet. I looked at her one last time as he carried her away. I will never get that image out of my head. Rusty said that she went peacefully as he too teared up.
I am not yet to the point that I realize that Susie is completely gone. I think that I am in a fog that has been rolling over me for the last two days, and it has not yet lifted. I know that Susie is gone, but my heart tells me otherwise.
Susie was loved by more than just me and the Corley Clan. Everyone that met Susie loved her. She was such a happy and sweet dog. She chased the laser light (the mouse), she played hide and seek, and she loved it when you came in the front door, no matter who you were.
I Miss My Dog!
I know that no matter what I do, I will never have her back. It kills me. It breaks my heart, and I can barely stand it.
I have been told that I need to get another dog pretty soon. I agree with most that a new dog will help me through the grief, but I will never forget you, Susie. You are a part of my heart that will never be forgotten.
I was able to take a video of her last "pleasant" moments. I didn't realize it then, but toward the end of the video, appropriately, it goes dark. I think the sun went behind some clouds. I tried to get her to respond, but it was too late, she didn't have very much if anything left.
I am glad that I can have an outlet like this to express my sorrow. I know that I am not the only person to have ever lost a beloved pet, but in the long run, the time that I had with Susie is well worth the sorrow that I have experienced in her death.
Two days ago she was playing with her new stuffy with the kids, and now, as I write this, she is gone. Her disease (a form of Anemia) that we didn't even know about 2 days ago, got the better of her. Rusty took her to the vet tonight to put her down. She was a pretty sick puppy. I knew it. I prayed for God to take her quickly, and He did.
This afternoon, I got to spend some time with her before things got really bad. I have cried a lot today. My camera that hasn't been working for weeks now started working today so I could get some last pictures of her before she died. This is the last picture that I took of Susie. I regret not taking more pictures of her throughout her life, but anyone that knew Susie knows, that she will NEVER be forgotten.
I could never begin to explain how I feel right now. Susie has been in my life for 10 years now. She's been there through thick and thin, and I don't know what I will do without her.
The kids saw my meltdown today. I think that they are more worried about me than they are Susie. Rachel understands what has happened. I imagine Sammy will ask me in a few days where Susie is. I don't even know what to tell him.
Rusty says that it was painless when the vet put her down. He said that she seemed peaceful.
A lot of people may doubt me on this one, but she knew. She knew that today was her last day. When I put her in the bed with me this afternoon to take one last nap, I could tell that she knew.
I could see it in her eyes.
Susie was such a wonderful friend to me. As I type this, I cry nearly uncontrollably.
I just got a call from the vet. It's not looking too good. Susie's immune system is basically killing her. Her red blood cells are attacking themselves. She has one of those diseases that have initials. You can read more about her disease here.
The vet will have a prognosis for me tomorrow, but I know that when the word "prognosis" comes into play, it's not good.
Joey brought his new addition (Riley) over this morning for me to puppy sit. His neighbors aren't happy with a screaming puppy all day, so he's leaving him over here during the days until Riley gets used to his crate. My neighbors already don't like me, so I'm not worried about them having to hear a screaming puppy.
Normally, when Joey comes over, Susie can't wait to see him, but this morning was different. I had to make her get up to go outside to see Joey. Riley was walking around on the front porch, and Susie didn't even care.
All of a sudden, Joey says, "Rebekah" and points to Susie. She was peeing on the front porch (which she has never done before) and her urine was complete blood. After she was finished, she just lay down on the porch and didn't move. She was VERY lethargic.
I immediately took her to the vet. Their initial diagnosis before any tests were run indicated that she had some sort of bladder stone.
I got a call from the doctor around 3 hours ago telling me that she was "pale". She's anemic! They don't suspect a stone anymore. They told me that she may have an enlarged spleen or an enlarged liver.
Can you say...IMMEDIATE FREAK OUT!?
Susie has been my little dog for 10 years now. I still don't have any idea what's going to happen today or tomorrow or even the next day with this, but what I do know is that I don't know what I will do with myself if something were to happen to her. Not only am I attached to her, but the kids are extremely attached to her. For cryin' out loud, she's an extremely important member of the Corley Clan.
I googled her symptoms this morning, and the diagnosis could vary from a "disease" to tumors. It's such a broad range of potential problems that I don't even want to think about it.
Ive' been tagged by my cousin, Amy. She's the oldest of my Virginia cousins, but by far, one of the coolest despite her age (tee hee)! Here's how it works.
1. Go to the 4th picture folder on your computer.
2.Post the 4th picture in that folder.
3. Explain the picture.
4. Tag 4 more bloggers.
This is Cody, my 15 year old. We are on our way to see Uncle Sam and Aunt Corny at Smith Mountain Lake this past Christmas. I was sitting in the middle row of the mini-van, and Cody was sitting in the front seat, so taking this picture was quite the acrobatic feat, I must say!
I have been playing around on Facebook for a couple of years now. Facebook (if you don't know) is somewhere that you can reconnect with long lost friends on the Internet. It's pretty fun, and it has kept me in touch with a lot of people that I would have may never seen or heard from again.
About 3 weeks ago, a friend of mine from high school found me on Facebook. We started talking, and we finally saw each other this past weekend for the first time in nearly 12 years! We took the kids to the park to play, and they had an absolute blast.
I can't believe that I did this, but I completely forgot to get a picture of me and Heather together. We'll just save that for next time when we have both lost weight and are as cute as we were 12 years ago! In the meantime, RJ (her 4 year old) and Sam had a blast playing together. Cody even jumped into the mix. Rachel was there too, but she left early to go to a softball game with another friend of mine.
It was so nice to see Heather again. I've forgotten a lot of things over time, but I've never forgot how infectious her laugh was. It was almost like I could still hear it when I saw her again. She's a wonderful person, and I'm so happy that she found me! I hope that we can continue on as if no time has passed, but somehow, adding 5 kids and two husbands into the mix makes it a little different than high school.
We won't be able to fit both of our husbands, us, and our 5 kids into her maroon Broncho to jam out to Shania Twain any time soon, but we'd laugh the entire time that we tried, I'm sure.
Little Miss "Thang" turned two months old today! It's hard to believe that it's already been that long, but I can tell you, it's been such a BLAST! She is such a wonderful addition to the Corley Clan!
Emmy has started to smile for reasons other than gas, and she has been sleeping through the night for several weeks! I know, I know. Knock on wood, right?
I can't believe how much she has changed over the last two months. She's still a red head!!
This is Carmen and Dennis. I didn't know either of them personally, but Rusty, Beth, and Joey did. Joey has worked with them for a long time. Dennis is part owner of the company that Joey works for, and Carmen is one of the other owner's (Mac) wife. Like I said, I didn't know them personally, but I feel like I have lost two very close friends today. For the last 6 years, we have always talked about our lives, and these people were very close to Joey, so I feel as though I knew them even though I didn't.
There is no easy way of telling this story because of it's tragic ending, but I know that their families and friends REALLY need your prayers.
Carmen and Dennis died yesterday. They were in a tragic car accident. Dennis died on impact, and Carmen stayed alive long enough for her son, Cody, to say good-bye. What started out as a regular Super Bowl Sunday turned into a nightmare for their friends and families. It goes to show that we never know what our future holds.
John 3:16 - For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life (KJV).
The Leon County Sheriff's Office has released the names of two people killed Sunday when the Jeep they were riding in was struck by a small airplane.Dennis Boyle, 56, president and CEO of Phipps Ventures, Inc., and Carmen Langston, also 56, former director of development for the Children's Home Society in Tallahassee, died in the crash.
The Sheriff's Office said that the preliminary investigation shows that a small, single-engine aircraft piloted by Paul "Mac" Langston, 54, was taking off from a private runway when the left wing hit the Jeep. The Jeep, which had been traveling alongside the plane, then struck a tree. Langston and a passenger in the plane, Marissa Walton, 27, weren't hurt.
Paul "Mac" Langston and Carmen Langston were husband and wife.
Autopsies are being conducted today by the State Medical Examiner's Office.
The FAA and NTSB are investigating, along with the Sheriff's Office.
Rachel got her first pedicure yesterday. I have never seen her be still and quiet when she is awake. She had such a good time. We will definitely have to do this again.
This past Friday was not a good day for me. I can't explain it, but a lot of things came down on me like a ton of bricks...or three! I spent the majority of the day crying because of everything that is happening, and I felt near wits end. Don't worry, no one is sick or anything. Our family is going through a lot of changes right now, and the changes are all for the better, but the journey that will get us there is going to be rough (as most journeys are). Friday night, I went to bed feeling so lousy. All day yesterday, I tried to hold it in, but I kept thinking about it all, I became extremely discouraged about everything.
This morning, Rusty had an extremely bad headache which usually gives me a good excuse to skip church. (This is horrible, but as busy as we are, I'm always looking for an opportunity to relax). I resisted. I got all three kids up and ready to go, and we were at Church on time! I have to sit in the front row of church, otherwise, I get distracted. Today, I am so glad that I went...even if I did sit in the front row alone. Usually, Angelyn sits with me, but she sat with another friend today. I'm so glad she did. I am so glad Rusty had a headache. I had ZERO distractions. It was just me and Pastor Kent up there as far as I was concerned.
I learned so much this morning. The sermon was from a passage in Acts 27: 30-31. Basically, it spoke of how Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, "Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved". Even though it seemed that they would surely die if they stayed in the ship, they were told to stay anyway. God told Paul to tell them to stick with it even if it had reservations. Adversity is a painful teacher. "Bailing out" would be the quick fix to their problems just as it would be the quick fix to mine.
Pastor Kent's "4 Reasons to Bail Out"
1. It's Over My Head - David & Goliath. Everyone knows this story...or should know this story. David, a little man, stands up to the feared, Goliath, a giant. He didn't let Goliath's size overwhelm him. David's "Rock" was the key to his victory (God being the Rock here). He killed Goliath with the rock physically, but it was the "Rock" that gave him his strength to overcome. His heart was in it. He may have been physically scared, but he had his heart with God, and God protected him and pulled him through. (I Samuel 15)
2. It's Not What I Thought It Would Be - Getting a new job can be scary. It could turn out to be more difficult than you initially expected. There are three things that you could do. You could quit, you could decrease your work quality, or you could be convinced that you can make it work how ever hard it seems. If your heart is in the right place, and you trust in God to get you through it, you'll be fine. Just don't quit!
3. Life is unfair - Read the book of Job. Job's life is the best example of "unfair". He was in a great position to bail out. His wife even encouraged him to turn away from God saying that God could fix all of Job's problems if he wanted to, but He didn't. People have unrealistic expectations of what God should do for us, but what are WE doing for God? God died for the church, but yet we still expect Him to fix all of our problems. What are WE doing? (Job I)
4. I've Been Tricked - Jacob fell in love with Rachel. Her father told him that if he worked for him for seven years, he could marry his daughter. After the seven years were up, Rachel's father gave him her sister, Leah. He told Jacob that if he wanted Rachel, he had to work another seven years. Jacob stayed for another seven years and married Rachel as well (Acceptable in Bible times). He had children with Leah, but none with Rachel. When Jacob was buried, he was buried next to Leah rather than Rachel. I read through Genesis 29 today, and it seems that Jacob was a pretty busy man when it came to the women. Rachel and Leah both "gave" Jacob their maids in the Biblical sense, and both of them also had children with Jacob. Nonetheless, had Leah's father not tricked Jacob into marrying Leah, the 12 Tribes of Israel would have never existed. God has a plan. Jacob could have quit once he was first tricked, but he kept on track.
Today's sermon was enlightening. You can listen or watch it for yourself here, if you would like (1/25/09). Pastor Kent is much better at this than I am, but I wanted to share with you what I learned today.
God is doing something with me and with the Corley Clan, and I realized this morning that even though it's getting hard to deal with, this is the right path for us. It's going to be difficult, and there are going to be "things" that get in our way and try to discourage us, but we can't "bail out". We can't quit.
We're gonna hang in there. We're not gonna quit or bail out. We're gonna hold on.
It is official. It has been one month since the Corleys have seen Kitty. I'd say that she's gone to a better place now, and one day, I hope to get another "kitty", but not any time soon.
Kitty was a good cat. She was rescued from the shelter a little over 6 years ago. Rusty didn't know what kind of cat he wanted (Rusty's a cat person whereas I am a dog person), but he knew that he wanted an older one. There is a weird phenomenon called "a kitten" that drives you mad, so we opted for the older cat.
When we brought Kitty home to meet Susie, it was some wonderful entertainment. They both made a lot of strange noises. Over the next two or three nights, Kitty made her mark "literally" with Susie, and she officially became the BOSS, even if Susie didn't like the idea. After quite some time, they became the best of friends, but neither of them would ever admit it.
Kitty shed. A LOT. I couldn't even pet her without getting a piece of fur in my nose. And then, I would sneeze. And sneeze. And my nose would itch, and it would be all over. Every time I walked up the stairs, she would be there to greet me on the banister, but I could only ever pat her head for fear of me getting the sneezes.
If I did branch out and pet her, it was only a matter of time before she drooled on me. Yes, she was a drooler. She drooled on everyone that pet her for more than a minute. She loved the attention. She loved it so much, that if you pulled your hand away, she would reach out and grab it to bring it back to her head to resume scratching.
I think that Beth was Kitty's favorite Corley. Beth would pet her no matter what. She loves cats so much. She would sit out there on the porch and talk to Kitty like they knew each other from college. It was pretty funny. Kitty's "voice" was rather unusual and scratchy.
We will definitely miss our Catalina Kitty, but we will always remember that Kitty made her mark in the Corley Clan. Maybe one day, she will come back and surprise us all...until then,
Miss Emmy changes so fast! Here are some pictures of her at 6 weeks old. She is generally sleeping through the night. We put her down at around 10:30 and she wakes up around 6:30. She started daycare last week, and brought a cold home, but overall, she is a wonderful baby and is in good health! She has definitely shown that she has the temper of a red head.
My cousin, Allison (from Florida), got the kids this tee pee / tent thingy for them to play in. Michael came over for dinner this past weekend, and he and Rusty decided to tackle it head on. The first thing they did was to throw the instructions to the side. Naturally. Who needs directions?
I started back to work on Thursday, and it was very hard. I dropped Emmy off at daycare, and Sam's teacher saw that I was flushed.
I don't know if anyone else has ever experienced this, but when you cry uncontrollably for so long, and then you finally get control, you lose it ever so quickly when someone asks you if you've been crying. Well, Sam's teacher noticed that I was flushed when I dropped Emmy off, and she did it. She asked me if I had been crying. Yes. I lost it!
I'm better now. I must admit that as much as I did not want to go back to work on Thursday, it has been nice to have some sort of schedule back and to have adult conversations. I was welcomed back with open arms. Apparently, I am valued at FedEx which is a nice feeling. One of the Region Staff members called the office, and when I answered the phone, she screamed in excitement that I was back. That was nice.
I'm glad to be back at work, but I would never had gone back if I didn't absolutely have to. The 6 weeks that I spent with Emmy was the best 6 weeks of my life. She is amazing! I remember holding her in front of me wondering what she and the other kids would grow up to be. I wonder which one is going to be the one that takes care of me and Rusty in our old age. I wonder which one will have the most kids.
Family has ALWAYS been very important to me, but looking into Emmy's eyes for 6 weeks has made me think of what the future holds for the Corley Clan.
I would never trade the past 6 weeks for anything in the world. It was such a special time, and I am thankful that I was able to experience it.
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We are officially "treasure hunters" thanks to Angel. She told me about this thing called Geocaching. Apparently, if you have a GPS device, you can participate in this really cool, world-wide treasure hunt. You simply punch in the coordinates (Latitude / Longitude) of the location, and go!
We started this adventure last weekend. I am always looking for ways to get out of the house, but it seems like every time we go anywhere, we spend money. Now, we just go.
We have officially found two and have not found two others. The first one that we went on was right near our house. We strapped on the Snugli and hiked through Indian Mounds State Park. The GPS took us right to the treasure. I bought the kids each a compass, and they were thrilled. They moved the camouflage (sticks and moss) off of the box and opened it up. Inside were several different items to look at. Typically, there is a journal that you can log your GeoCaching Username in, the story of GeoCaching, and some items to trade. The kids brought along a toy that they could trade. Sam traded a piece of his play money for a beach ball, and Rachel traded a necklace charm for a key chain. They were so excited! Of course, I forgot my camera for this trip.
This past weekend, we took Beth and Joey along with us (and the camera) on our treasure hunt! I'd told Joey about our last adventure, and he wanted to come along this time. The more the merrier!
We set out for three locations. We had the GPS and walkie talkies in hand and we were off!
The first stop was a find that we looked all over for last weekend, but couldn't find. I emailed the hiders, and asked them if it was a joke because we couldn't find it ANYWHERE! I guess that's gonna happen from time to time. We looked everywhere, and we still didn't find that one!
The second stop on our treasure hunt was called "McGinnis Landing Micro" (micro means that the container is a 35mm film container). McGinnis Landing was a boat launch to Lake Jackson back before the sink hole got to Lake Jackson and took all of the water out of it. Lake Jackson is getting better, but it's not back to where it was before the sinkhole formed. We looked EVERYWHERE, but didn't find this one either. We found an animal skull on the information board that I thought was the hiding place, and Rusty found a pretty clever hiding place, but we didn't find any treasure. It looked like it had been moved. We did, however, find a few weird things. I found an animal bone, and Joey found a minnow skeleton.
The third stop was really cool. This one was called "2nd Verse, Same as the 1st". The location was right on the edge of the other side of Lake Jackson (the Richy rich side). This one was a small Tupperware container with a green lid that was hidden in a tree that was right off of the edge of the park. These were just any ole' set of trees though. It was a place that I know I would have played in when I was a kid. The trees were smooth, big, and well separated, but was still extremely well hidden from the "outside" world. This container had a small frog, a dragonfly hair clip, and a guitar pick along with the journal log. One of the local churches had hidden this one! We didn't trade anything because the container was so small.
Hopefully, there are several more treasure hunts to come! When I go on the website, there are 700 locations that come up for my zip code alone! I think we're gonna have a blast with this!
I think that I'm too young to have Great Nieces, but here they are! Livie and Elie live where it's too cold for me to even imagine (Michigan). They are visiting Patti in Tennessee right now. Melissa needs a new camera (hint hint) so that she can send me some more updated pictures. This is the first time I've seen them all grown up, and they are stunning!
You all know that Susie passed away last Tuesday. This week has been pretty difficult. I'm still not quite over Susie's passing. 
This is Carmen and Dennis. I didn't know either of them personally, but Rusty, Beth, and Joey did. Joey has worked with them for a long time. Dennis is part owner of the company that Joey works for, and Carmen is one of the other owner's (Mac) wife. Like I said, I didn't know them personally, but I feel like I have lost two very close friends today. For the last 6 years, we have always talked about our lives, and these people were very close to Joey, so I feel as though I knew them even though I didn't.
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