Seasons and Some Updates

“The seasons teach us how to do life well, revealing a life-giving rhythm: we flourish through intentional periods of stillness, growth, hard work, and rest.” -Lara Casey

It’s not quite spring but with it being March 1st, we are basically there. We can all feel it, right? The temperatures warming up, the difference in how the sunshine feels on our backs, how even the wind has shifted from less wintry to more springlike. I LOVE Spring. Since having horses, I’m not one who enjoys the cold anymore…as a kid I would love to watch the snow fall and even to play in it, but I’d rather ride my horses in a short sleeve shirt and not have to worry about bundling in layers while working with them…Needless to say, I am welcoming this season.

Stillness, growth, hard work, and rest. Where are you currently at with your season?

Tomorrow Elsa has an ultrasound recheck which of course I am pretty nervous about. A couple of months ago we found out that she has a mass in her liver and our veterinarian recommended a recheck to see if it grows or spreads or what is going on with it…since getting on liver medication, she actually seems to be feeling better. Now I am more concerned with her declining strength in her hind legs and how it seems to be more of a challenge to get up for her these days. I remember our Lab’s decline in overall health once he had his cancer diagnosis, and it’s hard for my mind NOT to go there with worry. Overall I’ve done pretty well though, at least for now. And we don’t even know for certain if the mass is cancerous…I know aging is part of reality when it comes to us AND our pets, and while I don’t necessarily like it, I am trusting the Lord for strength and the ability to handle whatever I find out.

Speaking of medical tests, I am actually getting a CAT SCAN on Tuesday of this week! This seems to be the week of new news, ah the joys of being an adult. I went to the doctor last week hoping she would confirm my umbilical hernia….AND she did. I feel pretty silly that I felt as if my protruding bellybutton was just part of the process after having kids. I don’t even remember what a normal bellybutton looks like?! But when the lump started growing (cute huh?) and causing some pain and discomfort I was like, ‘Huh..this may not be NORMAL.’ Ha! So after the Cat Scan, I suppose we will see about surgery and when it will happen—I am hoping it can wait until Spring Break when I have time off.

Those are the two ‘biggest’ things so far this month. I mean, it is March 1st so truthfully I’m sure there will be lots more to update y’all on soon enough. I am getting a little busier with photo sessions and hope that continues. I’d love if I could book a few more weddings for 2020 but again, trusting the Lord. What are some things going on for you this month!? Anything to celebrate or that you could use prayer for? Send me an email and let’s chat. I love connecting with you guys and am so thankful for you here!

You CAN Teach an Old Dog New Tricks: Thanks, Nature's Recipe®

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #NutritionWorthWaggingFor #CollectiveBias

It's been a long time since we've allowed dog toys IN the house, but in the last year or so, we've noticed a huge incline in missing KID toys. Our Golden has always been the stuffed animal lover, but all of a sudden our Chocolate Lab decided he was going to be in on it too. Except because we haven't really had pet appropriate indoor toys, they were running to our toddlers' instead! I do mean literal running too; we would come home from work and they would bound to the kids' toy box, which houses eight square fabric bins. They always go to the center basket, and grab with their mouth whatever is on top: stuffed animals, plastic toys, dress-up shoes, ANYTHING! 

We figured it was about time that they deserved something different. Elsa our Golden is nine and Humphrey, the Lab is ten. They've welcomed each of our children home from the hospital so greatly, but well, quite frankly, we can't afford to keep buying new toys for our KIDS. Ha!

Well, also in the last several years Elsa has started to really itch and scratch at her paws. I've always known she has some slight allergies and have really wanted to explore new food options. We've been a little concerned that grain free dog foods just wasn't something we could regularly budget, so we were thrilled when a friend told us of the brand Nature's Recipe®. It is a highly affordable pet food with very high-quality ingredients AND we just discovered that Kroger, our continuous go-to grocery store, carries it! There are many options to choose from and each one contains NO artificial colors or preservatives, and is an all natural food with added vitamins, nutrients, and minerals.

My husband and I decided that while training our dogs to fetch the toys that they are ALLOWED to, we'd also hopefully better their lifestyles with a switch in food. I put together a super simple tutorial for y'all to create your own pet gift basket, and I promise, your pups are going to love it.

1. Choose a basket that is simple to your needs. We had an extra wicker one lying around, and the dogs know how to meticulously pull these from the kids' toy storage box WITHOUT destroying them--so we went with what they already knew.

2. Our dogs are Retrievers, so fetching is obviously in their nature ;) I can't tell you how long it's been since they've fetched a frisbee, but oh my goodness they were SO happy when they saw these!! At nine and ten, we are very thankful that they are still healthy and active.

3. Choose toys that you know they'll gravitate towards. Funny side story: Since she was a puppy, Elsa has always been obsessed with lamb stuffed animals. We always call them her "lambie" and she will make them last for MONTHS. My mom typically sends her one on her birthdays and Elsa will carry it around wherever she goes, resting her head on it and legit cuddling the heck out of it. Eventually she'll rip the stuffing out though, so it's been since September that she's had one. Notice the 'lambie' in this photo and just wait for the photos below. She's still obsessed.

4. Select a couple of items that are good for your dogs chew play. A little fetch, some tug-o'war... they'll be thrilled!

5. Put it all together and you have yourself (and the dog or dogs) quite the gift! 

6. This is the formula of dog food we chose to go with: lamb meal and rice recipe. This is largely due to the fact that their current food has lamb and rice involved in the ingredients so hopefully it won't taste too different to them. You'll see on the labeling that there are no corn, wheat, artificial colors or flavors and that it is high in quality protein. We chose this as the final gift basket item! 

I wish I could have gotten Humphrey (the Lab) to cooperate for some photos but he was WAY too excited and couldn't be still long enough. I've always called Elsa the model dog; sorry Humpty, I love you just the same!! 

All of the toys pictured were also found at our local Kroger, so we were able to purchase the food AND these treats all at once--win win! Nature's Recipe isn't a new product, but it IS new coming to Kroger retailers, and I want to spread the word for all my dog loving friends and family. You can follow Nature's Recipe on Facebook to stay updated on their newest recipes and coupons too!

What fun changes have been inspired by YOUR furry friend? I'd love to hear from you in the comments below, and you can use the hashtag #NutritionWorthWaggingFor

See which toy Elsa gravitated towards? CALLED IT! Also: we went to the gym this evening and came back a couple hours later; Humphrey was the first to bee-line it to the basket (which we had put in the kids toy bin) and he came bounding at us full speed, with the rope ball from the photos above. I am SO happy we did this, these sweet pups absolutely deserved ALL of it.Below is where you can find Nature's Recipe dog food at Kroger stores, ours was in aisle 14 with the bird seed + dog food and as you can see, there are a lot of great options!