Sissy

Just a couple of hours ago we had a special birthday celebration for our sweet, adorable and weird girl Hope, who's also often known as "Sissy" in the Luce household. I guess I'm using the term "celebration" rather loosely, considering we really only walked into the bedroom (where she'd pulled all the covers back on our bed) and fed her a special gigantic biscuit I made her earlier this evening. We sang her happy birthday as well, but since she can hear virtually nothing these days, she just looked sheepish and confused as to what was going on. Hopefully she knows it's her special day though, since she got a new pink glow-in-the-dark leash this morning along with the batch of pumpkin biscuits. As you can see below, she enjoyed her huge biscuit and her brother enjoyed his too.




I don't think I've ever mentioned here that we often call her Sissy, but I think Chad actually started calling her that in the first year we had her. Although I hated the nickname initially (I have no idea why), somehow after Steeler died I warmed up to it. I guess because once she and Celtic only had each other, it just seemed completely appropriate. We used the nickname only occasionally at first, but as the years have gone on I think we now call her Sissy more than we call her Hope, which doesn't really bother her since she can't hear us anyway!

Speaking of years gone by, today isn't truly her birthday, but it's the day we celebrate because it's the anniversary of the day we brought her home and started fostering her. I just can't believe it was only 6 years ago today! I think I probably said this on her birthday last year, but I feel like she's always been a part of our family. I can obviously look back at pictures of the boys and see that we once had no Hope, but it just seems like so many lifetimes ago.

Since we don't really know Hope's true birthday, we also don't really know how old she actually is, but today we're celebrating her 11th trip around the sun. She could be as old as 13, which you would never know except for her grey muzzle, cloudy eyes, terrible teeth and hearing loss. Seriously though, her agility and enthusiasm are still that of a puppy! She goes from dead asleep to 100 miles an hour in about 2 seconds, and she barrels all over the house and yard like a maniac when she's not snoozing. She loves her naps, but she also loves making a dramatic entrance to let you know she's inside!



How sweet is that happy face? We just love our little Sissy so much and are so thankful that's she's celebrating yet another birthday with us!

Month Gone By

I knew it had been a long time since I'd blogged, but I didn't realize how long it had actually been until last week when I was setting up my mom's Internet access and wireless network. I used her shortcut to my blog as a test to see if the connection was working, and I about fell out of my chair when I saw the date of my last post was exactly a month before!

There's so much been going on this summer--especially in the last 2 months--that has been keeping me busy. So many of these things I intended to blog about and still might dedicate entire posts to, but for now, here are the things that have been keeping me away from the computer!

1. The 3-Day--As most of my friends know, last weekend I walked 60 miles in the 3-Day in Chicago. The last several months have been filled with lots of soliciting money, writing thank yous, and walking--lots and lots of walking! Pictures from the event can be found here!

2. Moving--We obviously didn't move, but in the middle of July we helped my mom move to Lawrence! We are so thankful to have her here, but I've been very busy helping her get settled. There's always just so much to buy and to do when you move--for example, getting her Internet connection hooked up!

3. Houseguests--This summer we've had lots of people visit, which has been wonderful. My friend Kati and her son were here for several days in June, my brother was here for several days around my mom's move, my friend Emily and her sister stayed a couple of nights in July, our friend Jason stayed a couple of nights with us a few weeks ago, and our nephews stayed with us this weekend. I'm so thankful for our guest room and thankful that we've put it to use!

4. Traveling--We haven't done much traveling this summer, but we did spend a terrific 4th of July weekend in the very nice town of Kearney, Nebraska, visiting our friends Jake and Amber. Even if I don't blog about it, I hope to at least share the pictures at some point!

5. Car Shopping--During the month of June we spent many evenings scouring the Internet researching and shopping for cars. We ended up getting a new Hyundai Elantra at the beginning of July and we've already put over 3,000 miles on it!

6. Growth Groups/Journey Group--Our regular "Journey" Group that started at our old church many years ago continued to meet and study all summer, and then Chad and I also attended an 8 week Growth Group study through our new church. I also led an activity growth group of walking women on Saturday mornings, and it took quite a bit of time to plan out the routes each week!

7. Reading--I reread the first book in the Janet Evanovich Stephanie Plum series while I was in Chicago, which I'd started years and years ago and only got about 4 books into. I recently finished collecting the whole series from Half Price Books, and now that they're all in my possession I can't put them down. My OCD really shows when I start reading, because I lose all self-control and become completely unproductive. It's why I don't read more often!

So there are all of the excuses for my absence that I can think of. Hopefully in the near future I'll get back into the habit of blogging regularly--I've missed this creative outlet!

A Sneak Peek for Andrea

Last Wednesday evening I finally got the chance to do another practice photo session with my friend Andrea and her family. Even though I think the temperature was only in the 80s, it was so miserably humid outside I felt terrible for Andrea and her hubby and kids! We wandered all over the cute little Baker campus in Baldwin trying to find spots with good light and tolerable shade, and by the end of the evening I'm pretty sure we were all drenched in sweat. It was fun for me and I loved having the opportunity to practice, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't very fun for anyone else!

When I got home that night I immediately started culling and editing pictures with the intention of putting a few on the blog right away for Andrea and her family to see. But of course it got too late that night, and then the next several nights were busy, so here I am four nights later finally getting a few shots up for them to see! I'm still not entirely happy with my editing job on most of these, so hopefully I'll have time during the next week to get these re-edited and get some other good ones picked out of the bunch. Until then, here are a few quick uploads for Andrea and Randy and the adorable Olivia and Dylan!

Happy Funkin' Birthday

Today is my big brother's birthday, and even though I got the chance to wish him happy birthday on the phone, I of course had to send him an e-card as well. Of course I made him a JibJab card and of course I think it's ridiculously funny. Thankfully, he thought it was pretty funny too and didn't even yell at me when I posted it on his Facebook page.

In all seriousness, my brother is nearly as awesome in real life as he is in this video.

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Happy Birthday, Brother! Can't wait to see you next weekend!

Super Beagle

Oh. My. Goodness. I'm in love with this little girl. For Real.

Could she be any cuter and smarter? I just watched like 10 of her super beagle videos and subscribed to her Youtube channel. Beagles are awesome.