52 Pix - Week 39

Mulligan is one happy pup!

Whether he's at the dog park, jumping in the lake, or hanging his head out the window - I love Mully's energy and enthusiasm in everything he does. 

We used to take him to doggie daycare once a week, but the place closed down at the end of last year.  It was a sad day for the Scott family when he could no longer play with his pals at Ruff & Tumble.  The owner loved Mulligan like she loved all her pups, and she always had the funniest things to say about him.  They would do activities throughout the day and she said he would run from activity to activity as if every one was his favorite! 

Some of my favorites comments from her when I would pick him up:

"His face always looks like he's smiling."  (And it does!)

"I just love the days when Mul is here.  He lives life with such verve!"  (FYI I had to look up the word verve when I got home - for anyone else who was wondering, it is a spirit of energy or enthusiasm)

"Mully is a part of the wild pack - always playing hard." 

We do love our little guy so much.  His verve gets him into trouble from time to time, but we wouldn't have him any other way....

Happy Happy Birthday

 I love birthdays.  :)  To be clear, I don't mean just my own, but birthdays in general.  These milestones provide a reason for celebration, fellowship, food (read: cake), reflection and anticipation. 

In addition to the usual birthday routine (family meal, time with friends, and dinner with JNS) we can add celebrating Mulligan to the list.  We share the same day of birth - just 25 years apart.  :)

In our house, birthdays include lots of treats....Mully got doggy ice cream and LOVED it.

JNS and I had a birthday date night to Empire State South in Midtown.  It was delicious - I had chicken & dumplings and John Neal had duck.  Both were really good!  One of the main chef's at this restaurant is from Athens (known from his restaurant, Five and Ten) so it made trying this new place extra special!  Oh how we love Athens.... 

We got coffee at the end of our meal...this is a classic "little thing" for me in life.  After-dinner coffee...yuummmm.

We had brunch at Murphy's on Saturday with our parents.  The meal did not disappoint and neither did the weather or the company.   

As we left the restaurant, there were some little kids behind a lemonade stand and I couldn't resist.  They were selling Blackberry Lemonade and Ginger Peach Lemonade (pretty fancy selections) - I gave the kid a $10 bill for the $1.50 lemonade and he counted out my change to $7.50.  Clearly that doesn't equal $10 but I wasn't about to tell the 8-year-old he still owed me a dollar.  He then says "can you check it?" - I think to myself, am I supposed to say that he actually owes me $8.50 or am I supposed to verify that he gave me $7.50?  How cute is that that he wants me to check his work?  I didn't know what to say and I figured I would rather him think I'm stupid than mean, so I counted it and said  "$7.50 - this is exactly right."  Maybe the cute kid's incorrect math was a ploy for making an extra dollar off the stupid customers...if so, I totally fell for it. 

We finished the day with friends in Decatur.  Back on July 4th, we had some pretty heavy rain and a lot of the fireworks shows were cancelled.  Many of them rescheduled for the following weekend, but for whatever reason, the city of Decatur decided to reschedule for September 24th.  Fine by me - I love fireworks!  So we met up with the Stanfill's, Lonergan's, Guntor's and Smith's for some dinner and stuck around for the show.  Thanks guys for a fun night!

I know they wouldn't hold as much value if we had them more often - but it sure is special to spend your birthday with those you love.  It makes you truly appreciate those dear friends and family, and look forward to all that this next year will bring.  I thought about how often you tell people "Happy Birthday" without thinking a thing of it....it's nice to look back over the whole weekend and see it was happy indeed. 

52 Pix - Week 38

With fall officially here, we've been enjoying all the little things that make this season so wonderful.  In addition to the incredible weather, delicious pumpkin flavored bread and coffees, football, and jeans, we can add preparing for Baby Krissel's arrival to the list of fall happenings.

Recently we had a shower for my sister, Heather, and it was so fun to see all the precious little outfits & toys she received for their little boy.  Since we grew up in a house full of girls (and with Holly having two little girls of her own) it is going to be an adventure with a little guy in our family. 

We can't wait to meet him....two more months!

Unwritten

I've officially been "blogging" for a year now.  I feel like I say all the time that I cannot believe how fast time is flying, but it's crazy how the last year has blown by!  As I flipped back through some old posts, I was amazed to see how much has happened and all that has changed.  Some of the biggies...

A year ago...

• JNS was applying to schools (what a journey!)
• The only little ones in my life were my two nieces (Hadley & Reese....often the subjects of my blogging)
• I felt apprehensive about turning 26  (some get this feeling when they turn 30, but for some reason grasping 26 was a weird hurdle for me)
• Mully was a mess!  Chewing and gnawing on everything in our house.  :)

Today....

• JNS is in school at Emory!
• More little ones have arrived and more are on the way (Sweet Daye back in April, Baby Krissel due in November, Avery Ruthven due in January...) and we started volunteering in the Nursery/Pre-school at church each Sunday (oh, how I have grown to love all the little 2's)
• I have actually enjoyed this age and am excited to turn 27 :)
• So, Mulligan is still a mess ;) but he certainly has grown out of many of his puppy tendencies.  Thank goodness this includes chewing! 

I decided to update the blog on this first-year milestone.  Both in appearance and objective, I felt it could use a makeover.  My goal was to keep it simple, easy to read, and generally focused on my pursuit of photography; however, I also wanted to be more diligent about staying true to the title and mission of the blog.  Rejoice Every Day.

This title spurred from a journal entry I had written a few years ago while I was sorting through thoughts on purpose & God's plan for my life.  Could my purpose relate to my job?  Could it have to do with being a wife, mom, daughter, sister or friend?  Should I be volunteering somewhere?  What on Earth (literally) is my purpose?  I never reached a conclusion, but I'm pretty sure I wasn't supposed to....we can have many purposes throughout our lives and God's plan for us isn't usually just limited to one thing.   The one thing I continually came across was scripture that emphasized joy.  Short and sweet, the specific one below is what I noted as a clear reminder to find the good, focus on the positive, and really seek true joy.

"Be joyful always" 1 Thes. 5:16

Although the future of this blog is unwritten for now, hopefully when looking back another year from now it will reflect a collection of photos and thoughts on things that bring me joy and shine a little happiness into each day.  I hope you enjoy!

52 Pix - Week 37

Grandmother gave all the great-grandkids these cute little outfits with their monograms and everyone decided we needed a picture with all of them in it!

Getting this picture was going to be difficult...
 the kids were tired,
there were 10 adults trying to get their attention to smile,
they just wanted to play, laugh, do their own thing.
And honestly, I think the fact that they weren't paying any attention to us or the camera made this shot perfect.

I love all these little ones....

52 Pix - Week 36

Our little guy has been such a good pal to me during all of JNS's studying.  He's usually not a snuggler, but I swear dogs know when you're sad or lonely....he has been actually choosing to come lay beside me and resting his head on my knee or at my feet.  Melts. My. Heart.

When we were at the lake last weekend, he could not have been a happier pup!  He was with his pals, Doc & Jack, and he had the water (which is absolutely his heaven on earth).  We could throw his duck in the water 1000 times and he'd jump after it every time. 

The OC

Chesley gave Friday an 11 on the 11-Alive Wiz-o-meter, and he was right on target...what a beautiful day!

 JNS and I decided it was the perfect night to eat outside, so we made our way over to Six Feet Under near Grant Park.  We requested to sit on their rooftop patio and thankfully, there was a wait so we strolled through Oakland Cemetary.   We made our first visit to this historic Atlanta site a few years ago for a "field trip" for one of my photography classes...I hope we don't wait several years to make another stroll through the OC.

 For those that haven't been there - make it a point to go this fall.  It's more like a garden than a typical cemetary....you won't be disappointed!

52 Pix - Week 35

Oh Hadley.

Is she a ham or what?

She had a big birthday recently - She's three!  I can hardly believe it...  She has been into "posing" lately and it is absolutely HILARIOUS.  She does this little chin to the shoulder thing, looking coy....I love it.

On a related note, her birthday party was a hit with the little ones....

A pinata filled with candy....

and a visit from the neighbor's horse, Lucky!

Sic 'em!

Football season is upon us and there is one special dog who is especially excited to cheer on his fellow "dawgs" this year.  He may not look as cute as this fan, but they both look pretty good in red.  ;)

Go Dawgs!!

52 Pix - Week 34

This week's picture opportunity came from the cute little town of Blue Ridge, GA.  We went there a few weekends ago and had a great time enjoying the scenery and the town.  I bet it's beautiful in the fall!