The Summer We Didn't Set Out to Have

There was no beach trip. No walking the shore at sunrise or sunset. No white sand or avoiding jellyfish. There wasn’t a single day spent where we asked, ‘pool or beach?’ This year, our slow days looked different. The outings looked different. This was, after all, the summer that was different.

And then it dawned on me…maybe this was the perfect summer after all?

My kids fought…a LOT. I think it is literally safe to say that a day did not go by that they did NOT fight? They are fifteen months apart, and they are basically day and night different from one another. Recently my sister in law asked how I was doing, and in that exact moment, I was SO tired and SO overwhelmed. I said, “Jae, I am SO tired of my KIDS. I know that is SO incredibly terrible to say….” but it was the truth. I’m sure I had been picking up clutter or cleaning or vacuuming for the gazillionth time, and I was having a tired Mom moment. And then I heard them laughing—cracking up actually. They had been wrestling (their new favorite past time) and something clearly became funny and they were so happy. Their laugh was contagious and I started smiling, then chuckling, then I had to go find them and I started laughing too.

ALL of this time, together. Just us. Our family. Four very imperfect people. Within these walls you’ll find our three cats, one precious angel of a dog, and the four of us humans, clearly.

We have gone on a LOT of walks. We’ve been on a lot of trails. We’ve caught fish (by we there I mean my husband and son…) We’ve caught snakes (by we I mean ME on that one…) We’ve gone boating and floating in a local lake, we’ve gone horseback riding, and exploring. We’ve worked out together, ran together, learned more about God together, and really, we’ve loved one another.

These photos are from a random day we decided to wade at a nearby creek…they remind me of the summer that we didn’t necessarily set out to have, but the one that we will never, ever forget.

I realize it is not necessarily the norm for kids to have both parents who are teachers…and that summer vacations look very different for a lot of the city, state, and even world. I don’t take it lightly that we are incredibly blessed, and every single day I thank God that while I have had my moments of being tired and/or fed-up as their mom…I would not trade it for anything. Our son Pierson turned eight this summer…which theoretically means he has what, ten more summers under our roof? Sure, he can choose to stay well after he’s eighteen…but you know what I mean. The days may be long but the years are literally soaring. I thank God for photos, for these moments, and by golly dare I say it, yes, I thank Him for this summer.

Social Distancing Ourselves to the Woods

“Kids don’t remember their best day of television…”

I recently saw that quote and wanted to share. Right now, our world is looking at a Global Pandemic. We have been faced with worry, anxiety, consuming thoughts, and all the what ifs. Something our family has always done, health pandemic or not, is go OUTSIDE when we are needing a reset. Being outdoors is one of our favorite weekend pastimes so this past Sunday wasn’t really that different for us… This is me encouraging you all, whoever and wherever you may be, to try this as soon as your time allows—and for us now, looking down the lens of potentially three or more weeks of school and work OFF, this is going to happen even more often.

Hiking.

Have you ever felt that bitter taste in your heart and soul? Like this feeling of YUCK when realizing the negativity and hateful comments/words that the universe just tosses around like NO big deal? I bet anything that you have and you may be feeling and tasing those things right now! There is almost constant news coverage going on about the COVID-19 (Corona Virus), and LOTS of people are obsessing, panicking, and even verbally attacking one another. It can be downright exhausting, and I refuse to let my mind get sucked in. Sometimes then, more than ever, adventure is a necessity. Let it cleanse your heart, let it rid the nasty negativity from your overwhelmed soul. Go be in nature. Listen to the trees. Go HIKE!

This is a place called Garvin Brown Nature Preserve. It is a 46-acre preserve super close to River Road, and it is open from dusk until dawn. We discovered this beautiful location not too long ago, and I will never forget Christmas Day 2019—when it was a freakishly warm Christmas and we all went here for a nice long stroll. Elsa pranced around, running through brush and all the water she could find.. I know without a doubt that trails and water were 100% her love language (and the same is now true for Emma, which is pretty dang sweet.) There is something just completely wonderful about Garvin Brown and if you are local reading this, I highly, highly encourage you to go and explore, especially while we are being told to practice extreme social distancing…take your kids, your pup(s), or just even yourself, and go breathe. You will never regret slowing down and enjoying the SIMPLE joys of life, I promise. And your kids will be better for it too!

PS: We had NO IDEA what this terrifying looking fish was (and pretty soon found out) but do you know?! Tell me in the comments below if you 100% know (WITHOUT GOOGLING) what kind it is!! I mean, OH MY WORD, can you imagine swimming with this thing?! (Not that you would swim in the Ohio River, but STILL.)

Happy One Year to You, Emma Rose!

From the beginning, we thought Emma would be our Healer. Little did we know how true that would end up being…do you remember when we first got her!? She was seven weeks old and I wrote a post when she was nine weeks, about how wonderful and sweet she was. Well, good news, she STILL is, and never had we have SUCH a cuddly and docile dog. Truthfully I can’t remember a TON about Elsa when she was one year old, but I remember she didn’t crave human touch and cuddling AS much as our little Emma does. It has been so fun to see and watch Emma grow, from a teeny tiny puppy to a gorgeous one year old DOG.

Emma is an English Creme Golden Retriever who we purchased from Cold Spring Mountain Retrievers located in Chuckey, TN. We made it a fun overnight trip with our kids and we came back home with our sweet little girl pup. She has been such a good dog since day but, however we often joke that she is part Humphrey [our chocolate Lab who passed away last spring, whom she adored] and part Elsa [our Golden.] Humphrey loved mischief and he could be pretty sneaky at times…Emma has surprised us a few times with her own curiosity, but she overall, she has been such a trustworthy girl. She does not climb on the furniture, she does not destroy household things [though she did nibble once on our wooden coffee table when she was teething], but frankly, we have been amazed at simply how GOOD she is.

I still swear it’s largely the breed…she and Elsa are the reason that I will ALWAYS want a Golden Retriever. They don’t lick, they don’t jump, they are patient and empathetic, gentle and incredibly loving. When it is muddy outside, Emma knows to sit on a towel right by the door and wait for her paws to be cleaned. When it’s bath time and she is too filthy to just towel down, she knows to go into our shower and she sits and waits to be cleaned up?! Like, HOW?! It makes me giggle thinking about her adorable traits, and ever so grateful that we chose HER.

Flip through the slideshow below to see some of my absolute favorites (though there are so many more, haha. You know me and my picture taking……) xox

She’s a girl with lots of nicknames, one is often Emma Lou. Growing up my childhood dog and best Christmas present EVER, was a white lab who I named Holly Lou. I’m not positive why it was Lou…? But she too, was an ANGEL of a dog. She took to my oldest brother Nathan the most, he has special needs and I think she always just knew. Naturally Emma Lou just flows from my mouth, but she’s lots of names. Emma Rose, Emma Rosie, Emma Lou, Emmie Girl—but the moral of the story is that she has healed in our hearts in so many ways and we are so in love with her fluffy, white, adorable self! Happy first birthday, Emma Rose!

Welcome to the Family, Emma Rose

A long, long, long time ago, before human children were ever in the picture, Asa and I used to talk about maybe ‘when’ Humphrey or Elsa got 'old’ we would get a puppy to introduce him or her to them, so they could show it the ropes. The truth is though, for so long we never felt as if they were getting old, or that anything in life was ever going to really change. Flash forward a lot of years, to full time jobs, two kids, three cats, and two horses, and it stopped crossing our mind that we ever had thought about another dog.

Humphrey and Elsa have been our best friends for eleven and twelve years. When he (Humphrey) was diagnosed with a large tumor/cancer on Valentine’s Day, our world was shattered. All of a sudden it became a reality that 1. our dogs ARE old 2. they won’t be around forever.

Almost two weeks after his diagnosis, I was introduced to an amazing couple, Julie and Terry, who happen to be serious hobby breeders in Chuckey, Tennessee. Their daughter and I have been ‘Instagram Friends’ for more than five years (if I had to guess), so we have that mutual connection which is pretty cool. I’ve always thought God works in mysterious ways [so many things and pets in our life are proof of that], so when we learned about this couple who had a litter of cream colored Golden Retrievers, it just kept pressing on our heart that this was the time to say ‘yes.’ I did go back and forth several times, wondering if it made sense, but at the end of the day we decided we would more than likely be a two dog family for a very long time, and while we cannot predict Humphrey’s time left on earth, we know it will not be a lot (or nearly enough) longer. We wanted to bring home another family member, have him or her meet Humphrey and learn to love him, and we ultimately decided that this could be a good way to help our kids (and us) cope maybe even a fraction of a bit better…

Enter Emma.

I spoke with Julie on the phone a couple of nights before making the trip. We spoke almost an hour and got to know one another a little better. She demonstrated a lot of patience and grace as I asked her as silly question as, “Do you know how these puppies travel?” Our Humphrey whimpers and barks anytime he gets into the car and will rarely stop the entire trip, no matter how long—so ideally, I was looking for a dog who exhibited more calm during transport. As we live in Louisville, the ride to their property is 4.5 hours; we made a fun family trip of it and stayed one night in a hotel, where the kids were thrilled to swim in a pool. We knew they had three puppies left from the litter of six we were choosing from: two girls and one boy. My heart pulled for a girl as soon as we knew this was an official go, probably because my childhood dogs were female and Elsa, my 11 year old Golden Girl. Pierson, our son, on the other hand, had it made in his mind that we would get the boy, because Humphrey is a boy. We arrived in Tennessee, and were greeted with friendly barks from the adult Goldens in their nice run-in. The first thing we noticed was how magnificent they ALL were; seriously just utter beauty! Terry and Julie welcomed us into their home and I immediately felt at peace. They gave us coffee and soon brought out the puppies! Have you ever been in the midst of small, fluffy Goldens before?! It brought me back to when I sat on the floor of Elsa’s brothers and sisters (she was 1 of 14!!!) and I thought, “How did I ever choose back then!?” And trust me, I chose SO RIGHT with Elsa because she is the sweetest, quietest, easiest and friendliest girl. Here I was, eleven years later, getting to do it all over again!

Asa was drawn to the male right off the bat. ‘Mr. Brown’ was his collar name, and he was bigger than the girls. Sam, their dad, is very stately and striking!! (These photos below are from Terry, taken of magnificent Sam!)

We held all of them and took turns passing them around, kissing their fluffy heads and watching our children’s reactions. I just couldn’t help but to fall very quickly in love with ‘Miss Red.’ Her eyes reminded me SO much of our Elsa’s, and the way she just flopped in my lap and let me love on her as if she was a little rag doll…my heart was drawn to her immediately. Their mama, Ellie, is what Julie describes as a lamb: completely gentle in spirit and so so calm. We met her and she truly IS all of that. She was so personable and quiet, gentle as she greeted us. We were completely smitten with each of her parents!

Asa kept telling me, “It’s up to you 100%. I really am great with whichever puppy you choose.” We paused for a little while to eat lunch, and to mingle with two of Terry and Julie’s daughters (they are THE sweetest and coolest family, Y’all—truly!!) The kids were starting to get a little impatient and asked, “Mom! Which one do you think we should get?!” Asa and I got the chance to be with the three puppies, all by ourselves, and it was then that I knew. I grabbed Miss Red and put her in my lap, kissed the top of her head and said, “Oh I love you.” I set her down and picked up Mr. Brown, kissing him as well and I paused, “I know I CAN love you,” I told him. Isn’t that crazy how our hearts can make decisions?! There was absolutely nothing WRONG with Mr. Brown OR their sister Miss Maroon, all three puppies were adorable, friendly, and calm as can be. Needless to say…Miss Red it was, and our kids were just so thrilled to be getting their first ever very own PUPPY.

I want to take just a moment to come back to Terry and Julie. This is a couple who has raised eight talented and Christ loving children. The second I was in their presence, I knew that this was a God thing. Calm, gentle, gracious, patient, loving, and trustworthy are just a few characteristics that come to mind when I think about BOTH of them. They have taken time to answer any and all of my questions, were SO patient as we tried to figure out which pup to choose, and they loved on our children/created such a welcoming environment.

Emma is now nine weeks old as I write this. She just played with a puppy pal for almost two hours, and she is now happily snoozing in her crate beside me in our bedroom. The entire drive home, she was silent. She was passed back and forth between our two excited children, and then we even made a pitstop at Petsmart, where she was also quiet as a mouse. She is a girl who loves to snuggle, and when picked up, she nestles deep into the crook of your neck. She willingly will be flopped on her back to have her belly rubbed, and everyone who meets her asks, “Is she always this docile?”

Our dogs did shockingly well with her the second she walked in our door with us, and while they don’t run and romp with her like they would have done in their younger years…they have accepted her. Today Humphrey chewed on a bone and Emma sat beside him, licking the top of his head. I can see it in her face, she looks up to them, and I could never have fathomed THIS sweetness being part of our story. I’ve been told, “You’re crazy, Girl,” on more than one occasion for owning the zoo of pets that I do, however, I know that this time is fleeting. Our Humphrey is twelve, Elsa is eleven. They are at the top of their life expectancies and every single day that I get left with them, I am praising their Creator FOR those moments and memories. Emma will never replace either of them, but I do believe she is now part of their legacy, and that even SHE feels blessed to know and be loved by them.

I have always been partial to Golden Retrievers, blame it on Full House ;) And while I never really imagined that we would own another so soon, I am SO thankful that we do. Emma is smart, loving, and I know she is going to be a wonderful dog. We hope to get her going as a therapy dog, which would be cool because quite a few of Terry and Julie’s dogs from Cold Spring Mountain Retrievers are service dogs in many ways! I want to share a little bit about their Kennel with you, so here ya go:

Our family loved the Lord of the ring series.  Two of our favorite characters were Samwise Gamgee and Rosie, his girlfriend, in this series. We did our research and purchased great bloodlines, to start our breeding program in 2013. We decided to name the first two dogs Sam and Rosie. Since then we have added more dogs to our program and most of them live in Guardian homes.  We have found great families who have the dogs in their care.  This is a wonderful arrangement for the family and the dogs.  The family gets a great dog, at no cost, and the dog gets to live in a home with a wonderful family. We simply use the dog for breeding and eventually when retired, the dog stays with the family. Our goal has always been and continues to be to place happy healthy puppies in wonderful homes. Over the years we have placed many puppies in homes and we are thankful to have many referrals.  Often our puppies are sold before they are born. Some of our dogs are trained service dogs but most of them are family pets. Our service to families is for the life of their new best friend.

That photo is from Terry, who is a pretty talented photographer, and yep, you better believe that view is just out their back door! Many of their customers make a mini vacation to pick up their puppy, which obviously I HIGHLY recommend! You could hit the Smokies and scenic North Carolina and the Blue Ridge Mountains! If you are EVER looking for a Golden Retriever puppy, I sincerely want you to first remember Cold Spring Mountain Retrievers. Heck…even if you AREN’T looking for a puppy, because let’s face it, you don’t necessarily have to be searching in order for it to be right.