Our New Puppy

This is Ace! He was born March 3rd which makes him about six and half weeks old. Isn't he a cutie? Friday afternoon we went to see a litter of german shepherd puppies. There were 6 of them; 4 females and 2 males. Jeff really wanted a boy. We ended up picking this one over his brother because Ace was more tan and the other one looked more white. Jeff really wanted the classic german shepherd look. We went straight to Petsmart after we left the breeder's house to get him a bed, bowls, and such. Everyone in there wanted to hold him! Poor baby didn't know what was going on...he had just left his mommy and he looked so sad. I think he was really upset and stressed out because he ending up throwing up in the jeep. Once we got him home, we introduced him to Pennie out in the backyard. Pennie was so excited she couldn't control herself. She kept barreling into him, trying to get him to play. I don't think she realizes how little he is, LOL. The first night Jeff wanted to try to keep him in our room with some puppy pads on the floor. I was hesitant and wanted to pen him up in the bathroom or laundry room where there is no carpet. Well, sure enough, sleeping in our room didn't work! He missed the puppy pads twice even though Jeff and I had taken him outside throughout the night. At around 4 in the morning I convinced Jeff to put him in the laundry room and that is where he will stay until he can get the hang of this potty training thing. Also, he is a complete crybaby...I'm sure he will grow out of that though. He always wants to be near you and would prefer to be held. He hates his collar and he doesn't know how to go up and down the stairs yet. He doesn't use his bed we bought him so Pennie has decided it is hers and he chews on everything. I am trying to talk Jeff into letting me take him to puppy classes when he is a little older, but he isn't so keen on the idea. But it's only day 2 and he's such a cutie pie, how can I be mad at him? 

Homecoming, New Car & New House!

So just about everybody knows by now, but in case you are out of the loop...JEFF IS HOME!!! He got to Ft. Carson between 11:00pm and midnight on February 9, 2010. That was the longest day of my life. We were told to be at the SEC (Special Events Center) by 6:00pm but it turns out he was delayed FOUR hours. It was excruciating: it was so crowded you could barely move up and down the bleachers, kids were running around everywhere, they were blaring obnoxious music, and it was straight through dinner time so I was starving (especially since I hadn't eaten since breakfast because I was so nervous). I was grumpy, irritated and tired. Not exactly how I pictured this event going. But all that went away once I saw them all marching in (to another obnoxious patriotic song). My heart starting beating uncontrollably and I was in a frantic search for his face...which was incredibly difficult because they all look the same! Good thing he was in the very front row, almost smack dab in the middle. So by then I'm all teary eyed but I have to sit through all these speeches (I can't even tell you what they were talking about because I wasn't listening). Then FINALLY...the greatest words ever..."Soldiers, you are dismissed!" And it was immediate chaos..but Jeff knew exactly where we were because he insisted that someone hold up his Texas flag during the ceremony (Tim got that job). So he was already waiting for me by the time I made it through the throng of people down the bleachers. That moment: PRICELESS. Below are some pictures from the homecoming ceremony. I don't have a lot of good ones because my hands were shaking.










The very next day Jeff took me to the car dealership. We had been saving up for a nice down payment on a car for me all year with his deployment money. Orginally we thought we would go new, but we ended getting a great deal on a used 2007 Ford Focus. I'm so happy with it! Below is a few pictures of my car: disregard all the dirt on it...it needs to be washed :)



And then by the end of week, we had a house! This wasn't the orginial one I wanted (someone else got to that one before we could), but I've started to really like this house....mainly because it's OURS! It has 3 bedrooms, 2 & 1/2 bathrooms, a basement, a huge backyard, and a 3 car garage. Yes I know...WAY WAY too big for just us, but Jeff fell in love with it so this is what we have. These are some pics of the front of the house and the backyard. All the grass is dead right now in the backyard but it will look better when it gets warmer. Plus check out our view!




Anyway, that's what's going on in my life right now. I will keep everyone updated!