First Financial Group Shower

This past Friday, our Birmingham FFG office threw us a baby shower hosted by Embree, Mimi, Jenny and Crystal. I really miss seeing everyone there every day-they are such a great group of people!

Snuggle time . . . Shelby and Bricks enjoyed it much more than Savannah, who just wanted to get up and play with her frisbee.

Baby Shower for Henry

This past Sunday, family and friends threw a baby shower at Tricia's house for us. It was exciting and great to visit with everyone. Henry sure is one lucky little boy. We are so blessed to have such kind and supportive family and friends.

The hostesses: Stacy (sister), Heather (friend), Shannon (sister), Whitney (cousin), Tricia(friend), Aunt Gail, Randa (cousin), Allison (friend), Deirdre (sister) & Sue (friend). Not pictured: Melinda (friend) and Jana (cousin).
Sue made a carriage out of a watermelon and used it to serve the fruit salad. How creative!
My maternal grandmother (Granny), Molly (holding Madeline), and Madeline.
Heather made and wrapped each of these cookies with really cute green gingham ribbon.
Sue had this onesie made and we just love it! Yes, he will be our third team member on our adventure race team . . . one day.

Got Six?!

Weagle weagle! They got Nick and we got six. I think we'll take six.

Look who flew down for the the weekend . . . SUE!!!
Gary sported the traditional orange robe despite the chilly weather. Leading War Eagle on the top of the RV and announcing Nick Saban is the devil seemed like a good idea. I think I heard my Dad mutter, "And that my friends, is soon to be the father of my grandson."

Allison, Joel, Madeline, Yancy and Joy
It was a long, cold tailgate, but definitely a memorable and enjoyable one.

Update

Good news-Bricks made it through his first treatment splendidly! When I picked him up Friday, he was in pretty good spirits and was not sick. He did well over the weekend also. We are so thankful he didn't have any adverse reactions to the injection.

Word to the wise: DO NOT BUY A VOLKSWAGEN, EVER. If you are considering one, choose another automobile. If you have a VW and love the car, good for you. DON'T USE THE MONTGOMERY OR BIRMINGHAM DEALERSHIPS FOR SERVICE. Gary's Jetta has been at either of the aforementioned dealerships for the last three months. And, they still don't know what is wrong with the car. For only two weeks of those last three months, have they provided a loaner car. We have paid for parts and labor on parts that still have not fixed the car, and paid a pretty penny at that. The consumer is so helpless it seems. We have submitted a claim to the Better Business Bureau. The only thing I know of that we can do personally at this point is to give them bad PR. Maybe Fox 6 On Your Side will consider our situation for broadcast. Anyway, steer clear of VW and/or those dealerships and encourage your friends and family to do the same!

For the unedited version of this post, feel free to stop by our house any night of the week. It has become a spirited topic of conversation at the Vaughan house.

Here's to Bricks, my sweet boy

It has officially been one year since Bricks came to live with us. I remember this time last year people saying "Wow, another dog! Isn't two enough?" Our lives would be so very different without him, he has brought such joy and laughter. And, I think he will keep Savannah and Shelby young for many years to come. He is such the "gentle giant" and big old goofball. His extremely laid back personality, sensitivity, and love for his family is such a great balance in our household. It is hard to remember NOT having him around; he is so wonderful! I could go on (about all of our dogs), but will spare you . . .

As we closed in on the year mark, it became time for his annual shots. Unfortunately, he tested positive for heartworms. Since he's been on heartworm preventative ever since rescue found him and he's been living with us, our vet believes he contracted the worms prior to rescue finding him. Heartworms take 6 months to develop and show as positive on a test. So, he has been on antibiotics for the last 5-6 weeks to lessen the effects of the injections (3 total) he will have to receive.

Yesterday, I took him in for his first immiticyde (sp?) injection. It's pretty powerful and painful stuff; they give the injection in the back between the hips and they keep him overnight for observation to make sure he doesn't have any crazy reactions to the injection. I called to check on him yesterday afternoon and he did great! So far so good. I pick him up this afternoon and can't wait to have him back home. He will have to be kept on very a minimal activity level for the next 30 days, at which point he will have another injection (2 actually, back to back). I've fostered dogs recovering from this treatment, but have never had a dog owned personally that has had heartworms, so it's definitely been a learning experience. Hopefully, he will be back to his normal self very soon and heartworm free!

Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous "stuff" . . .

Congratulations to Brandon and Elizabeth on the birth of their daughter, Emma Kay Rose!

Sterling LOVES the dog bed on our porch and is so cute when he curls up on it. This picture doesn't do the cuteness justice.

A little over 27 weeks . . . things are still going well and I am feeling great! Hopefully, I can get the old cast off my ankle this week. It's been 7 weeks since the fateful day, ha ha.

Congrats

Congratulations to Gooch and Jessica on the birth of their daughter, Ryan Kobe Hart.

Also, congrats to Todd and Mandy . . . they found out they are having a healthy baby boy.

The number of babies born this year and that will be born in 2008 in our circle of friends is truly astounding! As for us, our baby name is confirmed, Henry Davis Vaughan. Let's hold off on calling him Hank . . . which seems to be the trend these days from a few friends. He is one active little man and always seems to be moving more on my right side. I have no idea how he is positioned though to make any sort of educated guess as to what we can feel moving and what we can't.

Happy Halloween from Ocala

Our nieces and nephew in Ocala are ready to go trick or treating . . .

Unfortunately, we can no longer post pictures of our niece and nephew here in Auburn at the request of their parents. They were adorable though in their Super Girl and Darth Vader costumes!

As for Gary and I, we declined to dress up this year. We had lots of good ideas, but alas, thought of them too late. Maybe next year!

Ole Mess

Auburn won this past Saturday . . . in a not so pretty game. But our tailgate was a blast!

Gary's Mom, Elizabeth, and her husband, Jon Gary's Aunt Toni and Uncle Lynn came to visit from L.A. - this was their first taste of SEC football and tailgating. They even went to the bookstore and picked up some Auburn gear and game day pins.
We also had Erik and Alison as guests at our tailgate-always great to see them!
a senior out of Florence, AL, Alison Henninger will be the starting running back in today's

game . . .
. . . alongside tight end Cole Peterson, a freshman hailing from Auburn, AL

Robbie & Emma's Shower

Friday night a group of us hosted a shower for Robbie and Emma. There was a nice turnout and we had the best time visiting with everyone.

Some of the crew from the old Auburn days . . . Tricia, Elizabeth (expecting Baby Rose very soon!), Nancy, Emilie
The hosts . . . Tricia, Brett, Chad, Kevin, us. Brian couldn't make it. We missed him!
Robbie & Emma joined the group shot. Wedding date: April 19th, 2008

A little over 25 weeks . . . 14 more or less to go?

Life is full of surprises . . .

sometimes they are good, other times not so good. I came home from work on Friday to find Callie not doing well at all. I took her to the vet immediately and a blood clot had formed in her heart. Based on her age and other health problems, the observation was made that perhaps what was best for Callie was that she be put down and out of her pain.

That morning had been one like any other . . . she was up and about and her curious self. In the backs of our minds, we knew this day was coming. But it still caught us by surprise and was quite painful. Callie was 20 years old; outlived many a dog; and had a life full of traveling, good food, and comforts desired by any animal. Gary and Deirdre got Callie when Gary was in 4th grade; she spent all four years of college with Gary, spent some time at Mamaw's, spent some time with Gary's Dad, and had been with us for the last two years.

Callie had a very interesting and amusing personality . . . she really was the "top dog" with regards to how she ruled the other animals. She was not afraid of dogs ten times her size. She enjoyed going outside and roaming around. She loved drinking that last bit of milk out of your cereal bowl. She loved to find someone's glass of water (on the coffee or bedside table) and drink out of it, then take her paw and knock it over. That was perhaps her favorite game. She also loved music-especially Weezer's "Sweater Song." Gary could sing this song (and only this song) and from wherever she was hiding or sleeping, she would find him and jump in his lap. She loved drinking water out of the dog's bowl, and the bigger the bowl, the better.

And, like any feline, she fondly relished her naps and time to relax.

Callie certainly lived a very fulfilling life and she will most definitely be missed by all of us. It never ceases to amaze me how each animal we bond with changes our lives in a unique and kindred way. Animals have such a profound impact in our lives and in our hearts; we are truly blessed to even be able to experience this kind of relationship.

Congrats Mimi Brooks . . .

Best wishes to Mimi and Nick in the start of their new life together. They were married Friday night at Mathews Manor-it was a lovely ceremony. Pictured here is the crew from our First Financial Group office.

From Left to Right: Crystal, Baby Ella, John, Stephen, Ashley, Mimi, Keith and Embree.

Friday it is

This morning I found myself checking on the various blogs of our different friends and catching up on the past week's happenings and so forth. As I was reading various comments and observing adorable pictures of dogs, babies and families, I found myself getting a little sentimental.

I know we all realize this (maybe not as often as we should), but we live in such a magnificent world and are so blessed. Sure there are grave social, economic, and political issues in our communities, nation, and world that are certainly unsettling. However, I still believe that good prevails and many of us are all richly blessed beyond measure.

There certainly are trials and struggles that each of us and our families are facing . . . and will continue to face. But when compared to what God has provided, the opportunities He has put before us time and time again, the love and support of our parents, siblings, animals, friends, co-workers, the small kindnesses shown by complete strangers, and the beauty of nature . . . these burdens don't even stand a chance.

As Friday comes and goes and we find ourselves in the midst of my favorite season and time of year, I wish you a weekend where the stresses in life may be forgotten or pushed aside for a brief moment. Instead I wish you a weekend in which the "little" things in life shine . . . whether it is taking five minutes to enjoy the sunset and the brisk autumn air, enjoying the toothless grin of a precious baby, throwing a ball for a dog and appreciating his/her enthusiasm for the chase and catch, taking time for a walk or a jog and being thankful for the ability to be healthy enough to get outside and participate in this type of activity, telling your spouse or someone you care about how much they mean to you with a glance, hug or a kiss, you get the point . . .

Enjoy!

Allison & Madeline come to visit!

We had the best time with the two Solomon gals this past weekend. We went out to the Ponderosa to check out the progress on the Peterson's home. Madeline was such a trooper-going everywhere and not making a peep.

AU vs. New Mexico State

We celebrated Robbie and his mom's birthday a few weeks ago (New Mexico State weekend)

Tricia & Emma
Nancy, us, Chad, Emma, Robbie & Tricia
One of my zinnias that is still hanging on . . .

21 weeks

These pictures are ridiculous. Anyway, 21 weeks as of last Thursday and counting . . .

Allison-recognize this shirt?

Thursday with Madeline and Co.

Last Thursday I was thrilled to spend the day with Allison and Madeline. Let me just say that Madeline was perfect! We went all over town and she was so pleasant.

We met Mandy and Megann for lunch - what a nice day out for the girls!

Miscellaneous . . .

I came home last Friday and caught the dogs snoozing. I guess the fan blowing on them put them right to sleep. Actaully, this is what they do most of the day.

Tricia and I hosted a shower for Elizabeth (center) this past Sunday. She is due mid-November and is doing great!

These are from the day we went for our ultrasound. For those of you I told I wouldn't post pictures of the nursery, well, I changed my mind. Here is a brief glimpse of the beadboard and the stripes.
Proud grandmothers and the beautiful bassinet/baby moses basket Gary's mom gave to us.