1 year ago today....

Paul was escorting the UVA football team from UVA to the Charlottesville, VA Airport. Due to some unforeseen circumstances, he hit a median on the corner of Barracks Rd and Emmett Street in C'ville. He broke his leg in several places. His leg was operated on and he now has a metal rod from his ankle to his knee. He was 100% out of work until March 24th. At that time he went back to light duty. As soon as the doctors cleared him, he jumped back on his police motorcycle. I am sure his mom was very nervous for him to get back to work. After seeing what he went through the day of his accident, you cannot blame her.

I see the brighter side to his accident. Paul works A LOT!!!! And I am positive that we would never have had the chance to meet in person if he was not forced to sit on his couch for several months. It was during his recovery time that we started talking on the phone, met in person and got engaged. I know he has aches on an almost daily basis from his accident.... but I am eternally thankful that the Lord gave us that time to meet and get to know each other. I am not a believer that everything happens for a reason... but I do believe that God has the ability to put His hands in all things. Maybe... just maybe... this was him putting His hands directly into our lives.

I am so proud of my husband. He is an amazing police officer! He may not see it or feel it, but he does make a difference. He helps to keep our small city safe.

I hope that the next year brings another 12 months of safety. I pray every morning when he backs out of the driveway that the Lord will bring him home safe, and every night I am thankful that he is home again!

November is 1/2 over....

And yet I feel like it just started! Where are the days going? It does not help that I work until 6 pm most evenings of the week, I get home around 7, and am in bed by 9. We feel like it's a relaxing night when we have time to watch an entire episode of Psych. Psych is our newly found addiction :) It's amazing and we love it!

Puppy News:
Harley is now 11 months old. I'm thinking he was born sometime around Christmas b/c the vet guessed he was probably a little over 8 months old when we took him in for his 1st checkup.

He's still as excited about life as ever. I often wonder what I did to entertain myself when I was home alone without him. I honestly believe every couple should have a puppy before they EVER have a baby. What great practice it is..... with a little less responsibility :)

He's had quite the exciting past several days. The other night I got into our cabinet and grabbed my multi-vitamin and a fiber supplement. Before I had a chance to take my fiber, it fell onto the floor and I thought it rolled under the stove. Paul told me I should pick it up but my response was "He won't be able to get it, it's under the stove". Moments later, I observed a small item stuck to Harley's mouth area.... it was the clear coating from the fiber supplement. Yes, that's right. He found the pill and consumed it. Lucky for us, the effects of so much fiber did not hit him until the next morning.... but it sure did clean him out. Poor little guy. The same night he consumed the fiber, my mom gave us some great advice.... let Harley sleep in his crate (He's been sleeping in our room), put a blanket over his crate so he can't see out into the living room during the night, and leave him be. So, we did just that. WELL.... we don't sleep with heat on in our house at night (not yet at least), so the next morning Paul got up and turned the heat on so the house would be warm when I had to get up for work. Not 30 minutes after Paul left, I hear a horrible yelping sound coming from the living room. I jumped out of bed, ran to see what was going on. Apparently, where his crate was sitting was directly next to the floor vent. ALL of the heat coming from that vent was getting trapped by the blanket and was pouring into his cage! Poor thing was cooking!!!!!!!!!! Between heat stroke and over amounts of fiber, he was probably wishing he was back at the SPCA. The best thing about a dog thought is how forgiving they can be. He panted for a while, cooled down and snuggled with me for the rest of the morning. I love him!

Several nights ago, Paul found this nice big pillow in our storage room and thought Harley would like it. He's been sleeping on it for several nights now and has seemed to enjoy it very much. Well, today he had to be crated while we were both at work. Typically Paul's home by 2:30 but tonight was UVA Basketball so he was crated until I got home at 7. He must have gotten bored b/c I came home and the feathers from the pillow were EVERYWHERE. All over our kitchen/ dining room area and all over him. It looked like it has snowed! There are the moments when I wish my camera worked on a regular basis. It was quite the mess to clean up!

Family News:
Nothing too much is going on with our little family. Paul's been kinda sick the past week. He went to the doctor last Thursday and they said he had bronchitis (sp?). He seems to finally be feeling better.

UVA Football is finally over, and UVA Basketball has officially started. There are pro's and con's to Basketball. Pro's: games are sooooo much shorter.... Con's: There are soooooo many more of them! At least I know that when UVA has a 7 pm game, Paul should be home by 9 ish. Therefore, I won't complain!

My work is.... going. I've been going in really early the past couple weeks and closing just about every night. This Thursday is my day off and Paul's taking a comp day so we can spend the day together. Days when we both have off the entire day are very few and far between. I am so thankful for Thanksgiving because we get 4 days off together. I could not ask for more!

Married life is wonderful. We celebrated our 4 monthiversary on the 9th. Hard to believe we have been married for 4 months. Even harder to believe we have been together for almost a year (in January). I often look back on the past nearly 10 months of our relationship and I could not have asked for a better life. The Lord has truly blessed me in ways that I feel so unworthy of.

I am very much looking forward to spending Thanksgiving with Paul's family this year. My goal is to be able to spend Thanksgiving next year in South Dakota with my oldest brother and his family (with Paul of course). I have so much to be thankful for this year!

I think that pretty much wraps it up for now. I hope this entry finds everyone well and happy!

Liz

Officially a Virginian

That's right Virginia... look out :) I'm officially a resident of your Common Wealth (I'd say State.... but you are not a State). It only took me 3 attempts at the DMV but in the end I WON! It did cost $32.00 though. OUCH! That will suck your pocket book dry if you are not ready for it. Good thing Paul was home to make a last second stop at the back before he headed to work. I realized today that if you need to go to the DMV, go at the beginning of the month... and around lunch time. No one was there! It was beautiful :) I'm anxious to get my license in the mail in 5-7 business days! I think all I have to do now is get my name on Paul's bank account, get a debit card and finally change my license plates from Missouri to Virginia. All in due time!

It's been raining all day here. I love walking the puppy, but not when it's raining. Paul and I joke (in a very serious way) about getting Harley a yellow slicker! How cute would he be with a little yellow rain coat/ hat on?!?!?! I think he's be adorable! Hopefully the rain will stop by the time I have to take him out in the morning. But, weather.com is predicting more rain tomorrow. Bummer!

I wen to Target (I could not figure out where Richmond Camera was) today to get some prints made of the pictures Anna took a couple weekends ago. It's nice having new pictures up to look at. It makes me excited for pictures this spring/summer. Hopefully Harley will be relaxed enough by then to sit still long enough to be in the pictures.

My fish tank has been sitting empty for the past several months now and it's kinda sad to look at. Not long before my move to Virginia, I lost my entire tank of African Cichlids. We are thinking that we purchased a bad batch of food from Walmart. It was horribly sad to see the fish I had spent several years raising die one by one. I have been very hesitant to fill the tank full of fish again. Too many memories with my other Cichlids... THEN... when I was in Missouri this past weekend, my mom and I went to a local fish store in St. Louis and I found the ONE fish I want. It's a fresh water puffer. You buy them when they are about 2-3 inches long and they can grow up to 18 inches. They enjoy living alone and will eat everything in the tank that is living. I immediately sent Paul a text letting him know what I wanted. He's excited about the fish too. Now I have to find a store that sells them. They are not easy to find and I don't want to have it shipped to me. I'll let everyone knwo when I find one and we get my tank set up again!

Well, that's all I know for now!

Liz