why i should never be allowed to pick our dogs, and happy birthday america!

i guess i'll start with the obvious.. i suck at blogging! someone needs to point me toward a summer blogging challenge or something, so i feel like my life is interesting!

so first off.. HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA!!

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 i love my country. with all her mistakes and occasional (OK... frequent) ridiculousness, i would not live any other place in the world without orders from God! i am thankful that what man meant for evil, God made good and i am able to enjoy the freedoms this country has to offer. i'm grateful that i can worship freely, without fear or shame, and that my rights are protected because many men have laid down their lives for us. even though it gets on my LAST nerve that there are people who continue to tear down this country (but still live here, amazingly), i'm thankful for a place where people aren't gagged by religion or the government; a place where ideas and ideologies can flourish. yes, there are some less-than-desirable people and messages out there, but i have faith that God's kingdom, above all, will be glorified and his people edified in the end.

and most of all, i thank God that we are even able to fight for these freedoms because we are already free in Christ. so as we celebrate our independence (the good, the bad, and the sometimes ugly), let us remember our dependence on the One who has truly set us free. and let us not forget that freedom is in fact not free. what have you been taking for granted that someone else has paid the price for?

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so. i have been pretty busy with our precious little girl. i am so so so in love with my little furbaby. gracie finally has a cute collar and name tag and a HAIR CUT! so.. she was kind of a scraggly mess when we got her.

but she went from nappy to (somewhat) happy with her first visit to the groomer. she may look a little afraid in this picture.. but they put bows in her hair. how do you send a dog from the streets to lapdog? tails a waggin', that's how.

so, as you know, my life can't happen without some ridiculousness. gracie is the cutest dog ever, right? well she also happens to be the best behaved dog, too. she doesn't bark (at least not usually), she is submissive (a little too much so, but we're building up her confidence), she is house trained, obedient, and cuddly. i took her to the vet and she didn't give me a hard time.. i asked the vet if she was pregnant and she even let him poke and prod at her belly without wincing (he said she wasn't, by the way). we have to get her spayed, but i'll bet she even breezes through that.

we have the perfect dog.

except... she keeps getting wider and wider.. and wider...

i think our sweet gracie:

 is soon going to become gr-gr-gracie and the jets.

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UGH! why does this happen to me! i just wanted a cute lapdog that had small legs and tired easily with short walks. and i get a street walkin' hussy! (i'm just kidding gracie, i love you) but sheesh. i don't know the first thing about puppies. and i have to go to out of town at the end of this month (i mean.. the military ordered it!) what the heck am i going to do with her likely-multi-fathered litter?

i am hopeless haha...

p.s. i have to something quick for my scentsy lovers out there.

i have recently started doing a POWER HOUR for my customers. SO. if you would like text alerts about said special or just want to know when one's coming or what it's about, visit my facebook page. it's a private group so you'll have to request to join, but if you love you some scentsy, i think you'll find it worth it.