Its been toooo long.......

Wow....November 3rd was our last post! I warned ya'll that I am bad at this! Well a lot has happened since November! We got a new puppy! I know, I know! We said after Peaches, no more, but Ian wanted a dog of his own and Emma seconded that request so we now have Murphy. He is now 5 months old, weighs 43 pounds and is a complete disaster. Ian was surprised how much work goes into raising a puppy, especially a lab puppy. He has been a blessing to our family more than a mistake and we truly do love him. Emma has a partner in crime now. She has taught him how to jump over the couch and has learned how to blame things on the dog! It was only a matter of time since she doesn't have a sibling to put the blame on. BUT, we are working on that! :~)

Other wonderful things: Ian advanced to First Class and re-enlisted for 6 more years in the Coast Guard. He has already reached his 10 year mark and is excited to begin the next step in his career- a new boat. Ian is attempting a new endeavor and is trying to transfer to a buoy tender here in Morgan City. We will know more by the end of the year, but if he succeeds we will be in Louisiana for 3 more years. This is a decision we have both dedicated a lot of prayer towards and will be happy with whatever God decides. We know He has a purpose for our lives and we are happy to serve Him where ever he sends us.

As for me, I have been busy with online classes, a part-time job at our local gym, play dates, family, and church. I am inching towards a December/January graduation with only 6 classes left to receive my Bachelors Degree in Business Management. I am VERY excited and ready to be finished with the late nights of writing papers. I am sure Ian is ready to have his wife back as I seem to live a double life when school is in session. Jekyll and Hyde......

Emma is growing, growing, growing! We started the enrollment process for K-3 and she is pumped! She starts school in August for a half a day and is so ready to be a "BIG girl." She loves to learn and is a pretty smart cookie. She adds an enormous amount of humor to our lives. We love every minute of it. She just celebrated her 3rd birthday and is already planning her 4th!

Well we love you guys and hope you enjoy the update and pictures. We miss you and hope to see everyone sooooooon!!!

Meet Murphy, the new addition.

He is MUCH bigger now!

Hanging out at the Mardi Gras 09 Parade

Mommy crowning the Birthday Princess

The Birthday Princess

and it is now official--6 more year in the USCG!

I promise to sign the papers, just give me the bonus already!!!

Emma and Daddy

Pinning my hubby! I am so proud of him!!!

The family

Halloween 2008

I am not sure who enjoyed Halloween more this year, Emma or Ian! Ian loves dressing up and being silly and so does Emma. They are two peas in a pod! This year they both chose costumes that displayed a little of their personalities. Emma was a princess ballerina, while Ian chose to be a nerd. As scary as it is to admit, he pulled the costume off great. The glasses he wore were from when he was in boot camp, the fake comb-over was accually real hair tracks bought from a local wig and hair store. After we took Emma trick-or-treating in a nearby neighborhood, we had a few friends over for a small get together. It turned out to be a great night full of games and laughs! Enjoy

Our first post!!

Hello everybody!

We are making an honest attempt by creating this blog to keep in touch with all of our family and friends. In the past, we have been horrible at sending photos and updating everyone of what has been happening in our lives. Now you can, get it all in one stop!

To catch everyone up, the last few months have been quite filled with good and bad times. Through all of ups and downs, the Lord has and continued to bless our family. This past August, we lost a very dear person in our lives, Ian's mother. She fought the amazing fight of breast cancer for almost 7 years. I describe the fight as amazing because that is the way she fought cancer. She was able to experience many blessings in her life, one in which, I believe brought great joy! She was able to experience what it was like to be a Grandmother. Emma continues to carry on her Nana's spirit everyday, because her Nana's memory lives in her. Emma casually reminds us daily in her prayers and conversations, that Nana doesn't hurt anymore. She is in heaven and with Jesus, although she speaks of Jesus like he is a place! We are working on that. She always tells God that she is thankful for her Nana and reminds us that through the pain of her loss, she can be remembered daily through pictures and memories. Children bring out the thoughts were sometimes forget to express!

On another sad note, we had to put our dog Peaches, of 8 years, to sleep on October 16th. She was sick for quite some time and the inevitable decision to let her go was creeping up slowly on us. That Thursday she bit Emma. We are not sure why, but she did it and Ian and I always said that if it happened, she had to go. We explained to Emma that Peaches was sick and had to go to Heaven to see Nana. She still says to us that it is time for Peaches to come home and that she misses her. She loves her still, even though Peaches bit her. Once again, a child teaching us, that sometimes in life bit get "bit" but love should allow us to forgive. Peaches will be greatly missed and remembered!

Finally, on to brighter things! Ian and I were blessed with FREE LSU vs. UGA tickets! Yes folks, I said FREE! Ian and I got a sitter for Emma and went to Baton Rouge to finally become football fans! Of course because I am from Georgia, we had to represent UGA. We wore our Georiga shirts in a field full of purple and gold! We were not taunted as bad as we thought we would, but we did get the occasional "tiger bait" comment. Georgia made us proud by winning the game!! The score was 38-52. Within the first 20 seconds of the game, Georgia set the day off right by getting an interseption and scoring the first touchdown. After that, we knew it would be a good day!

On to Ian's work. Well advancement is finally coming! After scoring 22 out of 112 on the May servicewide, he has finally gotten word that he is making 1st class. For all of you that don't understand what we are talking about, Ian is getting promoted! We will keep you posted on when the date is that he will be pinned. We were scheduled to transfer in June of 2011, but now we will possibly be able to transfer early! Hopefully June of 2010 now.

As said, we are going to make a honest attempt at keeping up with the blog on at least a weekly basis. We hope that this blog keeps you all updated on our lives.

Ian, Danielle, and Emma