Along came Polly.

Our new baby (seriously) Polly has been getting adjusted to us... and us to her these past weeks. All of you that have had a puppy in the house for a period of time know about the all the joys and hardships of this!

The Polly-potty-training is in full force (ugh!) and she has discovered her voice (another- ugh!) but overall she is the sweet new fluffy princess in our house. Daddy walks (sometimes drags; oh don't call him into the Puppy Protection Agency for it-ha!) her in the early morning to tucker her out and she is understanding the rules of the house with some patience and obedience about it all.

So you want to know more? (Probably not, but she is now a part of the Foster house...so too bad. LOL.)

                                            Bath time. (how pathetic!)

                                       Post-bathtime (loves the hairdryer)

She's all personality.

Cherishes her toys and playing soccer outside.

Couch time and anyone to snuggle with? She's there.

She sleeps on her back (and snores) with her belly stickin' in the air.

Belts out a hearty burp after every meal.

Cocks her head every time she's intrigued by something.

We are crazy about her sweet kisses and when she prays with the girls at nighttime... (no kiddin'!)

(okay- I have to admit, the preciousness of this picture kinda makes up for all the pooping and peeing on the kitchen floor, and carpet, and....!)

What to do? SpRiNg BrEaK?

Lazy on the warm, white sand...breezes...a good book...sipping on something with an umbrella in it??

Heck, I need to snap out of it!

Spring is bursting out a bit here and we can certainly find some Spring Break things to do in East Texas. (Although, uuuuuh the beach sounds so nice right now.)

We were saying a happy "hello" to Mr. Sunshine this week. We've missed you!

What was happening for Spring Break at the Foster's:

~some hotel swimming
~celebrating late and early birthdays
~eating out (who doesn't love this; especially the female chef of the house!)
~"dates" with Gramma and Grandpa
~slippin' and slidin' at The Villages waterpark
~"window shopping" (hee hee.) on Knox Street
~art/painting on the driveway
~sweet Lauren's first little piano recital (with trophy and all)
~a Dallas football stadium tour (the guys said is was aaawesome!)
~the girls loved the American Girl store in the big D
~nail painting, movie watching, bike riding, board games, playin' with pals...
~most important of all, the girls loved the week long visit with Gramma and Grandpa from Ohio...

You might wonder why I regularly document happenings on here (not just for family and friends who live far to see pictures, etc). Well, I just got the cutest book. It was so easy. I went to blog2print.com. I clicked. I ordered. A week later we got this 96-page beautifully printed hardcover book of 2008-2009. A precious journal to cherish and to last a lifetime!

The memories and the love that is shared is what these days and weeks (and years) are all about. They certainly fly by too fast not to remember them!

Extreme Home Makeover!

Destroy a home and build one amazing house in 7 days?

Impossible?

Not for ABC's Extreme Home Makeover show.

The show came to give a very sweet, deserving east Texas family a new home. The Carr family in Mineola, TX (about 25 miles from here) was blessed to get an incredible home and I was blessed to get a call to help out with it! There was a domed ceiling that needed a mural design painted on it and they were needing muralists/artists. Yes! Yes! Yes!

What an opportunity. What an experience. I was so excited. My sweet and creative-searching art friend, Colleen, was able to join in the fun with me. Here we are with our lovely hard hats!

Two days last week joining in all the love the community had for this family and tons of people volunteering their skills (and time) was fabulous to see and be a part of. It was a bit of a crazy, chaotic, everybody doing everything all at once time. We ended up pretty much painting what needed to be painted, some waiting around and a tad of confusion mixed in. It was actually fun to get painted on, bruised and plenty dusty. (Thank goodness for those fashionable hard hats...LOL.) We met some amazing people and experienced the "Hollywood" side of things, really. Colleen and I were superstars! (Not really, but hey- it's always fun to pretend.) We got to do a bit of "acting" on the side. We acted like we were working in a certain room while they were doing a small shoot!

Ty Pennington (mmm.hmm. and he is just as cute in person) on the scafling where some of the artists were painting the ceiling.

I caught this picture after a shot being done with comedian Bill Engvall (from Blue Collar Comedy Show) and Paige all pretty and pinked-out!

A ton of great food was served day and night- and about the best desserts ever I must say.

It was an honor and privilege to be a part of this. I am so happy for this incredible family, I am so shocked that the house got finished on time.... and I will be up tearing up with you (just like every other Home Makeover show I watch!) when it is aired on May 9th.

Tune in!