Pictures from the last few weeks November 23, 2009

October 24th, I made it to the Alabama v.s. Tennessee game.  What an exciting game to watch live.  We were a little nervous towards the end, but the Tide pulled through again! Tucker didn’t go to the game with me so my mom, brother and his friend made the trip and we had a GREAT time!  I just love the feeling of being in Tuscaloosa for a game. I was almost 27 weeks at the game and following are some pictures.

ROLL TIDE!! Jenna was pretty quiet (not moving much) throughout the game, she was probably wondering “WHERE in the world have you taken me?”.  She did seem to perk up a little once we were in the car on the way home, almost as to say “Hey I’m still in here!!”.

I absolutely LOVE feeling Jenna move all around and we are really getting to see her as she adjusts to get comfortable.  It so weird to see my stomach poke up and down from side to side.  It really is “Weird” as Tucker says! Following is a picture of me 30 1/2 weeks.  I am definitely growing!!

30 weeks down, 10 weeks to go! November 20, 2009

Monday, I was 30 weeks and I went to the doctor for a check-up and an ultrasound.  We got to see little Jenna and she is doing GREAT!  She is weighing in at approximately 3lbs 4 oz and her heart rate was 148 bpm.  It was harder to see her in the ultrasound because she is growing so much and apparently the bigger the baby gets the harder it is to see them in ultrasound, but we did get a few good pictures of her!

Jenna is looking at us in this picture.  She was moving her mouth the whole ultrasound!  She is bound to be a talker with Tucker and me as the parents.

The bad news is that I have been having some borderline high blood pressure.  I went back to the doctor on Wednesday and will be going back again today, Friday.  I am hoping it settles down some because I am not good at this whole modified bed rest they are talking about!

In the picture to the right, Jenna is still looking at us, but look at the size of those cheeks and lips!! The cheeks definitely came from the Stickney side but the lips?

We are getting so anxious to meet our little Jenna.  I feel like 10 weeks doesn’t sound that far away but it’s still 2 1/2 months!! I will say we aren’t quite ready yet, considering we have no nursery set up.  We have the furniture, but none of it is put together.  We need to get started on that.

Sadie – Missed and Loved by Many November 4, 2009

It all started one day while I was working at the Chicken Store.

Note about the Chicken Store a.k.a. DayBreak – The Chicken Store was my dad’s gas station in Loxley.  My dad told me that if I came home from a college that was paying for my school and my living by tennis scholarship, that I was going to work.  So here I was working at his gas station from 6 a.m. – 3p.m.  Yes, this was a bright and early morning for a college student especially since I was driving from Mobile to Loxley to get there!  At the time I dreaded starting this job because of the hours, but ended up having a good time.  I learned all kinds of pick up lines that I had never heard before, made some cool friends that at first thought I was going to be a spoiled daddy’s girl that wasn’t going to work, but once they got to know me they realized that I worked with the best of them!!  My dad didn’t find the humor in some of the pick up lines and eventually told me that I couldn’t wear shorts anymore (mind you this is the middle of the summer in South Alabama) but I understood and granted his wishes.  I am thankful for the lessons my parents taught me throughout life.  “You have to work hard to get what you want in life.”  Some people say NEVER to work with family, but I enjoyed working with my dad everyday, there were many laughs and memories made!!  Learning how hard he worked (which is harder than ANYONE I know) all my life made me appreciate him even more than I already did.

Okay so back to the story.  So I had been toying with the idea of getting a puppy for a while, even though my mother told me it was the worst thing a college student could do (she was probably right).  There was a local classifieds paper called “The Shopper” that we sold at the station so I decided to look at the puppy section just to see what was out there.  I found the perfect ad.  “Peek-a-poo puppies all ready with their first shots,  $25 to a good home.”  I was SOLD immediately.  I went home that day and told my roommate at the time that we had to go get these puppies.  She agreed and so we drove out to God knows where and found these so called peek-a-poo puppies.  Let me just tell you these were anything but peek-a-poo puppies!! There was a black and white one and a blond brindle one.  As soon as I picked the brindle one up I knew I had to have her!  They both had these terrible names that I can’t even remember and they looked like they weren’t really “living the life” if you know what I mean, so we took them both.  Once we got them home I decided on the name SADIE!!!

Sadie was the best dog in the world from the moment she came home.  She has always been a little timid and I believe she might have been hit a lot as a small puppy because she would run and hide if you raised your hand or your voice.  My mom wasn’t too thrilled with the thought that I just bought a dog, but my dad loved her from the start.  Even when people would say she wasn’t the prettiest puppy, my dad and I both thought she was beautiful.  Sadie went everywhere with me.   It took her a little while to get used to the car, getting sick every time we went anywhere, but that soon wore off.  She was like my shadow.  She would nap when I napped, eat when I ate,  etc.  She would wait until I woke up in the morning to go out (as a college student this could sometimes be noon) and sometimes she would eat whatever I could find in the kitchen to feed her.  Do you know how EXPENSIVE dog food is for a college student?

Every time I went home Sadie came with me and she eventually won over my mom’s heart.  Now, if you know my mom, she doesn’t LOVE any dog unless it’s stuffed so this was quite the accomplishment! Who couldn’t love Sadie she was only the BEST dog in the whole world.

I EVENTUALLY graduated college, I was having such a good time, I decided to prolong the process a little! Don’t judge me, it’s hard to graduate in 4 years when you transfer twice!! Haha!  Anyway, so I finally graduated December 2005, yes that means I was in college for 5 ½ years, but hey, I graduated!!  After graduation I moved in with my sister in Atlanta.  Sadie of course went with me there and would stay in my room until I came home from work.  My sister would even say sometimes she forgot she was there.  Sadie was loved by the Fauteux family too.

After Atlanta, I moved back to Daphne and Sadie loved us having our own place.  It was just the two of us and we LOVED it.  Then one day I met Tucker and lets just say Sadie wasn’t too keen of him and vice versa.  Poor Sadie just wouldn’t adjust to Tucker (I think it’s because she knew that he was going to be around for good and didn’t want any of the attention taken away from her, she is pretty smart!)  She would hide under the bed the minute he came over and wouldn’t come out until he was gone!! Smart, I told you!!

After Tucker and I married, we moved to the Turks and Caicos Islands and Sadie made the trip in the U-haul with us all the way to Miami and even got to sleep on a “heavenly” bed at the Westin. I can still remember putting Sadie on the plane.  She was like, “MOM, Really!! Are you really going to put me on this giant thing that flies?”.  Seeing her in the airport when we landed in TCI, in the middle of the floor with “LIVE ANIMAL” stickers all over her cage was the funniest site.  She handled the transition well, loving the lizards she chased all day and night and LOVING the beach even more.  Sadie couldn’t get enough of the beach!!

By this time Sadie and Tucker were beginning to bond.  They both weren’t ready to admit it yet, but they loved each other and I would catch them talking and loving on each other when they didn’t think I was watching.

Just recently when we would let Sadie in bed with us at night she would snuggle right up next to Tucker instead of me. Tucker would say she loved him more than me, but I think she knew that I had Jenna growing in my tummy and that she better start making her bond with Tucker even stronger so that she wouldn’t be left out.  Little did she know that I would NEVER leave her out.

Sadie just went with the flow, when we moved she moved with us with no adjusting or fighting.  She just wanted to be with us, she didn’t care where.  Now, Sadie and my dad had a special bond as well.  She loved going to mimi’s and grandpa’s when Tucker and I had to go out of town.  Mimi would give her the best walks and Grandpa would love on her like no one else.  Uncle Will would always try to toughen her up by picking on her and she even loved him too.

October 24, 2009, Sadie decided to go on an adventure.  She was at a friend’s house with Tucker and she ran off.  She liked to explore from time to time, but NEVER went to the road.  For some reason or another, only God knows, Sadie ventured towards the road and was hit by a car.  Tucker looked for Sadie all night long and as soon as I made it home from Tuscaloosa I too, searched for Sadie. Tucker finally found her the next morning on the side of the road.  She was less than a block from where Tucker was and we think she was on her way back.  We don’t think she suffered, but the thought of her being hit still makes me cry.  It was the hardest thing in the world for me to see her so lifeless and stiff.  I just kept thinking she would get up and start smiling like “I fooled you, Mom, I’m fine, now lets go home!”  Poor Sadie didn’t get up that day.   I am sure the trip to doggie heaven is a great one, but what I would give to have her back here with us.  I had so many future plans with Sadie and never imagined that she wouldn’t be here to fulfill them.  Being 7 months pregnant, I couldn’t wait for Sadie to meet little Jenna.  I knew they would be the best of friends. It is still so hard to imagine the future without Sadie.  She was only 6 almost 7 and still had so much life left in her.  I can still see her smiling at me wondering what’s next.

Sadie was my first baby and she has been there through the good times, the bad times and every time in between.  She loved me more than her life itself!  She is missed by many.  I know she is running around on the beach in heaven with all the dog treats she can imagine.

We miss her like crazy and she will NEVER be forgotten.  No matter what dog we may have in the future, no dog will ever compare to Sadie.  Still the best $25 I ever spent! We love you Sadie!