February Celebrations

With the arrival of Miss February 2013, we have been busy attending many parties and events that our dear sweet month has planned for us to do. February is such a short little month that it seems everyday is jam packed with one wonderful thing to do after the other. This past week, we attended our church's annual Mardi Gras Celebration which was also a fundraiser for the annual mission trip to Bolivia. The very next day was Ash Wednesday of course marking the beginning of Lent (more on Lent to come.)

Valentine's Day followed the next day and also was our dog Lucy's 17th birthday!

 

We celebrated our dear wonder dog in grand style with a doggie birthday cake for our fur babies and chocolate cupcakes for us.

It's a good thing sweets are not what I gave up for Lent or I may have felt a little uncelebratory in not being able to eat a cupcake :-)!

Lucy couldn't wait for to eat her birthday cake so the girls rushed out of the bath in order to sing happy birthday!

The girls enjoyed heart shaped doughnuts on their way to school on Valentine's Day morning.

And we all received lots of cards, gifts and flowers to celebrate the day of love.

Emma-Caroline put her sewing skills to good use and made an elephant squeekie toy for Macy as a Valentine's Day gift.

Macy preferred to play with her new toy instead of having her photo made!

We ended our week with a fun family outing to see Phineas and Ferb Live.

It was a great show and later we headed to our favorite restaurant, Tupelo Honey for a nice tasty dinner.

We did a little indoor window shopping at some of our favorite down town stores as we waited for a table for dinner.

The girls purchased two new "puppy dogs" to add to their collection and wanted to pose with them for a photo op.

We finally made it to Tupelo Honey for a wonderful meal together. While we were eating, it began to snow a beautiful heavy snow. It only lasted for a small bit, but it made it feel even cozier as we dined on some of favorites. Today we are enjoying an extended weekend in observance of President's Day. Although February is a short month, we have many more celebratory days ahead including Grandparents Day, a trip to the symphony and a sleepover birthday party. Miss February sure knows how to warm hearts and bring smiles even during the cold winter months!

Happy Sweet 16!

Today is the actual birthday of a very special somebody in the Avery House. In actuality, this special someone preceded the Avery House beginnings by two years. I am referring to this special young lady below, Lucy, our Adopt-A-Pet Cocker Spaniel.

 For the past 16 years, Lucy has been my constant companion from my final days in undergrad and grad school when I would sometimes carry her in my back pack to class, to living briefly in the dorms, to planning a wedding, to getting married and moving to Phoenix, Arizona, Salem, Oregon, Austin, Texas, and back to Knoxville in the course of a five year span. She is a barker amd loves to let EVERYONE know she is the alpha dog. We love our dear Lucy and feel blessed to have had her in our lives over the past 16 years. She is still very spry even at a mature age and we hope to celebrate may more birthdays with her. Happy Birthday Lucy! We love you!

Approaching Fifteen

This lovely lady is about to have a birthday next Monday. Now, she wouldn't be happy about me disclosing her age because she is a lady after all and true ladies never reveal their age. But this special young lady is going to be 15 on February 14th, Valentine's Day.

Lucy entered our lives as a fur ball of spirited joy while I was still in college and she was just a puppy. I had one more month to live in the dorms before I moved to my very own apartment and I was not about to pass this little girl up. So she and I went to classes together with her asleep in my LL Bean navy blue backpack, just under my three letter monogram.

Lucy has always been a very classy dog (Yes, y'all, your eyes do not fail you, Lucy is wearing hair bows and a beaded necklace) and enjoys a good pedicure and tail brushing. Don't even mention the time she came home with her tail shaved like a feather duster, it is a source of embarrassment she would rather forget. Lucy is a barker at all things that don't seem like they should be near her home; mailman, UPS man, FedEx lady, pizza guy . . . no one escapes the bark of Lucy. She is also the Alpha dog to all dogs and sometimes even humans when food is involved. Lucy is also a very well traveled dog having lived in Phoenix, AZ, Salem, OR, Austin, TX and Knoxville, TN and having ridden through all the states in between in the front cab of a moving truck.

At almost 15, Lucy is still a spry dog, and we love her dearly. I really don't know what our lives would be like without her. Happy almost birthday, dear Lucy! One steak and kibble coming up!

Putting On the Dog!

Today is our special hound Lucy's birthday. She is 14 years old! I have had her since my college days and use to carry her in my backpack to classes. She is quite the dignified pooch and is very special to all of us. Happy Birthday Miss Lucy! We love you very much!