All Dogs Go to Heaven

It's Saturday morning. My last morning to sleep in before I head off to MDA Camp where each day will begin at 6am and end with me passing out around midnight. My body will ache with exhaustion but the rewards will be great in the smiling faces of our kids who spend each other week of the year wishing they were at camp and that it lasted much longer than 6 days.

This morning after I let the dogs out and ate some cereal, I climbed back in to bed to finish a book that I have been reluctant to read for some time. For Christmas, I received the book Marley and Me by John Grogan. I've heard what a wonderful book it was but knew that it ended with the death of his beloved labrador retriever Marley. As the end grew near, tears trickled down my face. The love that dog had for his family was amazing and he lived a full and wonderful life. And as I read about his final moments I sobbed audibly. I'm always one to try to suck it up and not cry but I just couldn't help myself. It is a touching story and I encourage everyone to read it.

Dogs are such wonderful creatures. I, myself, have loved many dogs in my 33 years. I had a schnauzer named Buckwheat when I was growing up. As a puppy, she would lay on my forearm with her head resenting in my palm. I would carry her around like that for hours. She slept with me every night. It's amazing how a 12lb dog could take up a whole bed. I would wake many times to her snuggled up right next to me, me hugging the edge of the bed and looking back to see that the rest of the bed was wide open. Enough for 3 more people to fit in yet Buckwheat and I took up such a small space. I remember coming home from college, looking at Buckwheat and saying, "Let's go to bed" and she would run back to my bedroom as if I had never left. We had to put Buckwheat down back in 2000. She had grown quite old and had tumors all over her body. What a little angel she is. I do believe that when it's my time to pass through those pearly gates, she will be there to greet me.

So I take this time to love on my current babies, Hattie & Oliver. They bring me joy each day as they greet me when I come home, snuggle next to me in the mornings with their morning breath and lay in their bed in my office as I work each day. No one can tell me that dogs aren't smart or don't know what's going on. As I read in my bed this morning, sobbing, Oliver jumped up on the bed and laid next to me. Hattie paced on the floor at the foot of my bed. Hattie's hips aren't what they used to be and she now needs assistance to get up on the bed.

I cherish my four-legged friends as the family that they have come to be. I know that in my lifetime I will mourn their loss, welcome new family members and experience that loss again. But as the great Alfred Lord Tennyson said "'Tis better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all." I wouldn't trade the unconditional love I receive from them for all the money in the world!

Where'd I go?

I was just sitting here contemplating what my next blog should be about. I've been pretty busy lately as you've probably read in my recent blogs. One thing I failed to mention - and it's pretty big - Donald and I have lost a lot of weight! Yep! Donald has lost about 25 lbs and I've lost 30 lbs! Can you believe that? I keep forgetting that many of you I don't see on a regular basis and so you don't know that. And the usual question is, "what are you doing to lose all that weight?" We've been exercising and eating healthy. It's been amazing and fun! I've gotten rid of all my size 12 clothes and recently bought a pair of jeans that were a size 6! Goodness, I can not remember the last time I wore that size. Probably 1994. Yikes!

Other than losing some weight, life is pretty normal around the Brown household. Tomorrow, Donald will be out of town for 2 days and I'll enjoy a quiet house and will let the dogs sleep with me. Am I crazy or what! Talk about "When the mice are away, the cat will play." Ahhh, the life of a married woman.

I'm preparing to attend MDA camp the first week of June. The weather has been unseasonably cool so I don't think swimming will be an activity for us this year. We'll see. I can't believe that this will be my 17th year as a volunteer. It just seems like yesterday I went to camp for the first time. I'll be sure to send you guys some pics from this year's camp events.

Well, good night to all and know that I am thinking of you and love you all!

Elizabeth

How About An Update?

I know that each and everyone of you faithful blog readers have been checking my blog and wondering what is new. Well, I'll tell you. I've been quite a busy little bee.

May 1st I entered my 4th month in DIQ. For those of you who are not familiar with the Director In Qualification process, let me explain. When you are working to become a Director with BeautiControl, you enter a 6 month program. You have sales and recruitment goals. And not only do you have goals for yourself, but for your team as well. So far, we've done amazing! We've smashed our goals quite easily each month. I have an amazing team that is so receptive to all that I wish to teach them. As you all know, I love to teach and so this is right up my ally. My team has recently had HUGE success with Office Spas. Very similar to the Home Spa that many of you have experienced, but this one spa takes less time and usually happens during office hours. It's an amazing gift that we get to give people during their work day. They are so appreciative of what we do for them and it's been a blessing.

So, the past few months have been absolutely crazy for me and I apologize to all whom I may have neglected. My dear friends Emily and Danny have been waiting patiently for me to visit them in Birmingham to spend time with them and their new son. I think about it daily and miss them terribly. I promise the time will come soon when I can see you guys. Know that I check your blog every other day or so and love getting updates on Britton.

It's time for MDA Camp again. Can you guys believe it? It's June 1 thru 6. So I've got to stack my business around that time that I need off. It'll be a busy few weeks. There is a very strong possibility that this will be my last year volunteering. Next year, MDA corporate is changing the children's age limit to 17 instead of 21. This means that many of our kids who thought they had a few years left at camp, this will be their last. And with that, the Memphis area may not have enough kids to sustain a camp on their own. It's possible they'll either eliminate it or group our kids with the Nashville camp. The future is uncertain. So this year, I'll make sure we have a rockin' good time. We'll go all out!

Donald's doing awesome. He was recently certified to be a rowing instructor at our gym. Here's a link to the kind of rowers he trains on. He loves it! I believe he teaches his first class next Friday morning at 5:30am. Sadly, I doubt I'll be there! We've both lost about 25 lbs each and we've enjoyed trying on all of our summer clothes only to discover that we needed to have some stuff altered!

Well, I think that's it for now. I hope that all are doing well. I'll update with more info later.

Love, hugs and kisses,

Elizabeth

Welcome Anna McKay Williams

Last night, my dearest friends Brian and Jennifer Williams welcomed Anna McKay Williams into the world yesterday, April 30th at approximately 7:20pm. She is a beautiful, healthy little thing weighing in at 8lbs. 13 oz. and is 21 inches long. Jennifer and McKay are doing wonderful. Here's some pictures for all of you to enjoy. I'm sure there will be many more coming soon.

http://picasaweb.google.com/elizabeth.brown33/AnnaMcKay