Cabin Fever

Wintertime is in full swing and I am so anxious for warmer weather, gardening, and some time outside with the pups.  I signed up for my fist 5K(Color Run 2013) and am looking forward to completing one of my goals for this year!  The main thing on my mind lately has been organizing and sprucing up the basement of our home.  The organizing part is complete now I just want to spruce it up.  My inspiration for this week was this photo I found when searching for organizing tips.  I think its adorable, simple, and looks so clean (something important to me!)  I have a busy week ahead.  I hope you find a cure for your winter blues, try organizing something...it helped me!

A White New Year's Eve

It was the first big snow of the year yesterday (a whopping 2 inches here in St. Louis) and the pups went crazy!  Brutus was making his catch ball into a snow ball and Betsy was running around like a crazy dog.  The picture above was a lucky shot I got.  Watching the pups play in the snow so carefree was a beautiful thing to see at the end of the year.  It reminded me to be thankful for the good things in the past and even the bad, they all led me to where I am today.  So thanks 2012 and all years past for everything you have taught me.  Here's to an incredible 2013 and the new memories to come.

One is Silver, & the Other's Gold

I am so excited to finally have time to update my blog, so many things have happened since March.

1. Aaron and I bought our first home!

We are so excited to be homeowners.  Brutus finally has a HUGE backyard (nearly 1/4 acre) to play in and the house is adorable.  Celebrating our 2 year anniversary of marriage and 4 years together was even more special as it was in our home!

2. Two Years of Marriage

Two years and counting and we are more in love than ever.  We have accomplished so many of our goals and are already making more for this year!

3. Trip to Chicago

Aaron planned a surprise trip to Chicago for my birthday.  We stayed with our longtime friends and Brutus made our much dreamed of trip to the Dog Beach. Brutus swam for the first time and had an absolutely wonderful time.  Aaron and I did too!

3. First Teaching Job

Although I will not have my Masters until May 2013, I had a spontaneous interview at a Catholic school in the area as they were looking for a Music Teacher.  I am blessed to have gotten the job on the spot and LOVE my job.  I am their only Music teacher and December 19th was their Christmas Concert which I planned and organized.  The performance was incredible thanks to the students who worked and performed so amazingly.

4. A New Puppy!

We added another furry member to our family: Betsy Lois Weir.  We rescued her from North Plains Boxer Rescue.  Her mommy was abandoned by her owners when they found out she was pregnant and Hands, Hearts, & Paws found her and sent her to the rescue group.  She was fostered by an amazing family and we picked her up at 9 weeks old.  She is a perfect furry daughter and an amazing sister for Brutus.  We are lucky parents and our furry family is complete!

5. Third Married Christmas

I think this picture is a perfect one.  My silly husband and I had a wonderful holiday season with our family and friends.  The dogs had a blast, we were so blessed, and our Christmas morning at my parent's house was so much fun.  We are looking forward to the New Year and all the surprises 2013 has to bring. 

My New Year's Resolution is to update my blog regularly and post something that inspired me that week.  

Although we are not pregnant nor are we trying, there was so much baby-talk over the holidays that seeing this photo is inspiring me this month.  I am always looking to the future and this part of my future is going to be an amazing next step in my marriage and my personal growth.  I hope to have become a better person this past year and cannot wait to see what 2013 has in store.  Bring on the New Year!

Big Deal Birthdays

Believing hear, what you deserve to hear:

Your birthday as my own to me is dear...

But yours gives most; for mine did only lend

Me to the world; yours gave to me a friend.

~Martial

This August is an important birthday month for Aaron and I.  I turned 25 (a quarter of a century)!

Aaron turned the big 3-0.  He was not too happy about it I must say, but he is the best-lookin' thirty-year-old husband I could have dreamed of.  Not to mention still very youthful:)

I realize I have taken a sabbatical from blogging for 4 months, but I am back and ready to catch up on all of the events of the Weir family.  We have been very busy celebrating our 2 year anniversary and enjoying a long, very hot summer.  Much more fun to come and many photos:)

Aaron's Confirmation and Easter

Celestial spirit that doth roll
The heart's sepulchral stone away,
Be this our resurrection day,
The singing Easter of the soul -
O gentle Master of the Wise,
Teach us to say: "I will arise."  

~Richard Le Gallienne

This Easter was a very special Easter for the Delicath-Weir family.  My wonderful husband Aaron received the Sacrament's of Confirmation and First Communion and became a member of the Catholic Church.  The Sunday before Easter, the whole family gathered for a special Passover supper at church.

We had a wonderful time.  We were blessed to sit with Deacon Don and his wife Lu.

We celebrated an almost authentic Jewish Passover supper.  Not all the food items are very tasty, but the symbolism is beautiful.  The potluck following was delicious as well.

Then, in a flash, it was Easter Vigil, the night Aaron was to be confirmed.  The Mass was beautiful and I was happy and proud to stand up with my husband as his sponsor.

The RCIA group was large, and the amount of support and love in the Church was inspiring.

This blessing was Aaron's personal acceptance of the beliefs of the Catholic Church.

We were so happy, and Aaron was, admittedly, nervous throughout the ceremony.  

This was Aaron Confirmation Blessing.  It was a beautiful moment.  We were so happy to have two priests give the blessings with whom we are so close.

All smiles.

My handsome husband is Catholic!

Aaron's First Holy Communion.

The night was incredible and Aaron posted a particularly touching facebook status about his feelings of the night.  He spoke of his feelings of incredible acceptance and support.  He also said he was happy he was open-minded and willing to go through the journey with me.  I was so happy I could have burst and we were both glad so many members of my family were there to support him.

We celebrated Easter Sunday with Brunch at the Columns.  I love this picture of my beautiful Mom and sister

Proud Father and Mother-in-law.

Silly husband.

Much better:)  This is our second Easter together as Husband & Wife.

Easter would not have been complete without a puppy Easter egg hunt.  Penny knew what to do.  Her egg was eaten in seconds, shell and all.

Brutus was confused.  He didn't like the way the dye tasted, yuck!

Marley had no qualms eating his.  He ate it daintly, though, peeled off the shell and ate the inside.

Brutus watched Marley for hints on how to eat his.

After Mommy picked off the shell, Brutus did end up eating his egg.  However, he didn't really like the egg.  Human food doesn't agree with his sensitive tummy.

Then we were off to K-K's for our traditional Easter Ham Dinner.  Rachel and Ally had a "people" Easter egg hunt and found lots of eggs.  They had so much fun looking for the eggs.

They even got to race with Grandpa and Daddy to find some of the eggs.

Ally and Grandpa teamed up.

That Easter Bunny sure is tall.  Like Grandpa...

They didn't stop until every egg was found.

They even found the super hard eggs.

They are the best sisters.  They shared all of their candy at the end of the day.  The cutest cousins in the world!

It was a blessed Easter for all.  As usual, we enjoyed family time and lots of yummy food and laughter.

Puppy Playtime.

April hath put a spirit of youth in everything.  

~William Shakespeare

Marley and Brutus have been hard at play this spring.  After Brutus' birthday Marley came over to play at our house and we realized they get along well, even when they are not at Gram's.  They are pretty cute.  Brutus is on his own turf and he takes full advantage of his "bossing" skills.

Brutus is relentless.

Marley even drags Brutus around on the floor when they play tug.  It happens to be one of Brutus' favorite activities:)

My sleepy boy.

We call this one the old man face.

Marley got pretty tired out playing at our house.  This face means "I'm tired and Brutus won't leave me alone. Can you take me home now?"

Jordan came over to wish Brutus a Happy Birthday too.  They took some pictures together and then Jordan bossed him around for a while.  They are so cute together.

Spoiled.

Trying to recreate a picture from Brutus' puppy months.  As cute as ever.

The Weir family may have something exciting happening in the upcoming month.  This picture is just a hint.  Brutus is pretty interested in it too:)

Classic Brutus.  I will update my blog if there is good news.  Keep your fingers crossed for us!

Brutus Turns One!

Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole. 

 ~Roger Caras

I know that it has been quite some time since I have posted anything new on my blog, but let me tell you it has been a BUSY past few months. (Wow! It has been a long time.)  One special event that occurred during this busy period of time was our little, well big now, boy's birthday.  Brutus Norman Weir turned 1 year old on March 18, 2012.  I cannot believe he is already ONE!

In celebration of his birthday, we took him out to lunch with us to a dog-friendly restaurant on Main Street, St. Charles.  He had a wonderful time, but ate a little too much ice...needless to say we were ready to walk down to the dog bakery to pick up his cake and special birthday treats.  It was very fun to have him with us out to lunch with us.  He was adorable and got lots of compliments.

On the actual day of his birthday he got a very special birthday present from his Daddy.

Some super strength tug rings!

Brutus wanted to play with them immediately.  I think Daddy knows his boy:)

He loved them.  Although he has chewed them up quite a bit, they are still fully-functional as a tug toy.

This is what Brutus does when you tell him he gets to go "bye-bye to Grammy and Papa's house."

Cutest face in the world.

It was quite a birthday party at my parent's house.  I made a photo album of his first year, got two cakes, and had a present and a card.  My parents also got him a special surprise to play with at their house.

I don't know of anyone else who gets a card for their dog's birthday.  Yes, I am a crazy dog-mom, but I wanted to capture the memory of his First Birthday with us.  He is our first "child" you know:)

Grammy and Papa know Brutus well, they got him a new tug toy too.  Daddy was his tug partner again.

He did let Gram have a turn...well, right before Marley got in on the action.

Auntie Cassie celebrated with us too.

Penny didn't want to be part of the party.  She would rather beg for table scraps from my Dad.

The local grocery store thought I was crazy when I ordered this birthday cake.  I couldn't have a pup cake without a people cake too.  They did a wonderful job!  I love the paw print after Brutus' name.

This is Brutus' pup cake from the Dog Bakery.  He LOVED it.  It actually smelled pretty yummy.

Brutus' birthday card.  Apparently Marley was jealous of all Brutus' attention because that is his tooth on the bottom of the card.

The other toy from Grammy, Papa, and Auntie Cassie.  A huge tug rope.  All three dogs wanted to get in on this "tug action."

The best friends.  They love to play.

Opening Brutus' present was also a group event.

He got a tire ball with a bell inside it.  That was destroyed in five seconds.  Yeah, he's a boxer alright.

Marley wants to know why he is trying to eat the rubber tire part of the toy.  

Right before Brutus ate his cake.  Daddy was trying to calm him down.  He wanted it so bad.

Chomping:)

All done!  I will definitely be ordering another for next year's birthday.

Playing with Auntie Cassie.

His favorite friends and puppy-sitters came to wish him Happy Birthday and had cake with us.  He loved seeing so many people on his birthday.  At the end of the party, the birthday boy was all tuckered out.

It was a wonderful celebration.  I know our love for Brutus may seem a little overboard to most people, but it was what he deserved.  He is a wonderful dog.  He truly does light up our lives.  We are so lucky to have gotten a perfect little boy.  I had to take this last picture.  It was so funny how they matched.  Son-in-law and Mother-in-Law.  We are so blessed with a wonderful family!