Happy New Year Everyone

We had a quiet ringing in of the New Year. Our life has been so hectic since July and my father's illness then passing, we decided to keep the holidays low key.

Doug and I spent NYE just doing some chores and hanging around. We had a nice dinner, then watched The Grown Ups( suprisingly better than I thought it would be) and were in bed when the ball dropped.

I am sincerely hoping we can start 2011 off on a good note and have some better luck this year than last, or at least an uneventful year.

We're going to kick off our year with a NADAC show and hopefully Reilly will repeat his Q and we can get the ball rolling.

Most of all I am hoping and praying that all my friends and family have a happy and healthy 2011.

Sam Isaac Francis, Jr - March 24, 1936- November 29, 2010.

It was a long and tiring week around here, as my father passed away on Monday the 29th. He waited till we got home safely from our cruise. He was asleep when we visited for the last time, but I think he knew we were there.

Dad and I weren't always close - he was such a loner, but I am glad he was with us these last 4 months of his life.

Our friends rallied around us all week - keeping us sane and helping with anything that they could. And I cannot tell you how much Doug and I appreciate their love and support.

The funeral on Saturday was intimate, but it was perfect, and we had friends back at our house afterwards to celebrate his life and it was a very nice evening.

I miss you daddy.....

We Had a Fabulous Weekend!

What a great weekend we had. We had DH's 40th birthday party( thanks to ALL who made that a great success!!!) and Reilly and I had a good run at the last NADAC show of the year. He finally got a Q and in Regular of all things! He did his weave poles in a show for the first time ever, and I have to tell you I am a super proud mom!

I would love to wax poetic about the entire weekend and I really want to, but I feel like dog poop right now - I have picked up some kind of bug and it is taking all I have to sit upright here at work and type. SO, that being said, I am off to call the dr and see if I can get squeezed in, so I can get some meds - which will also lead to some sleep( I hope) for both me and DH.

Summer is over, or so we hope!

WOW, what a long hot summer it's been here in the south. Its been totally miserable temperature wise, and just busy as heck. We did find time to sneak off to Williamsburg in July right before all the craziness started and I think that helped keep us sane, although it was almost a thousand degrees there and DH ended up with a tick.

But on the news front ( drum roll please....) the DH is FINALLY turning FORTY!!!!! He's the last of the "old gang" to turn and we all can't wait. It gets tiring listening to how old we are and he's not ;).... So let's all raise a glass to him on Monday.

Also having a birthday of some number not to be named is my friend Luann, so Happy Birthday to you too Luann!

Reilly is doing well. He's a goofball, but he and dad are getting along like gangbusters so that's good.

Busy weekend ahead - but it's supposed to rain on Sunday and usher in that Fall weather so I say Bring IT ON!

A Little More Under Control

Life is getting a little more under control now that we have Dad on hospice and the visits are on a regular schedule. Reilly has gotten used to all the in and out of the house and he is almost inseparable from Dad when we are not home. It helps that Dad keeps treats in his room for him.

It's very sweet to watch Reilly go in and check on Dad. Whenever we go up the stairs, his room is the first place that he runs to poke his head in and he has to see what he's doing. When we get up in the morning, he immediately runs to his door wanting in.

I want to say how very thankful I am for our good friends. Without their( and you know who you are) physical and emotional support, this would have been a much more difficult time. There aren't too many people who would give up entire Saturdays to go and so some really heavy cleaning and lifting and I think that DH and I have the market cornered on those friends.... So our endless thanks to those who are there for us.

So right now, it's just a day to day thing. We've gotten back into a routine and are trying to be as normal as possible. Gym, Agility and dinner's out are the norm again and we are just hanging in there.

Tired - All I am is tired

Yep, this blog is going to be all about me today. And it's going to be short and sweet. You would think with everything that is going on in my life, I would have plenty to blog about- and technically I do. But the flip side is blogging and sharing things that I just don't feel like I want to put out there in cyberspace. Most of you know already what is going on with me, and to put it into words would be, not only a lot of effort, but an emotional burden.

That being said Reilly is fine, we are fine, just going through a lot right now. But thankfully we have wonderful friends who are supporting us through this difficult time.

Don't know when I will get to blog next, hopefully Reilly will do something utterly fun and silly and I an tell everyone about it.

The Life of Reilly

Oh what it would be like to be my dog! This past week we finally bit the bullet and enclosed the meadow below our house, or " the South Forty" as it is affectionately called.

It cost a bundle! Three gates and 698 feet of fence later and my dog is SO happy!!!

Friday night the fence was complete, so his BFF Gretchen came over and they had a lot of fun. Well, Reilly had fun, poor Gretch is a bit out of shape for that kind of running. But that's ok, we'll get her back in shape again.

Saturday morning Reilly got up BRIGHT and early ready to go down there to play. Unfortunately *I* was not up for going down there with him and the area is still new, so I am kind of still watching him when he's down there. ( Pretty soon he'll be able to go on his own).

We finally got down there Sat evening and played a bit. I was getting ready to head up to the house to get a drink and then call him up later when the coyotes started sounding off. So I thought better of leaving him down there alone.

Sunday morning when he got me up, I went down there with him and read my book, till he came up and told me he was ready to go back inside( this heat is killing us ALL!).

He's having a great time and I LOVE seeing him run full speed through the grass chasing his ball or frisbee! Last night he capped off his evening of play with a REALLY good roll in the grass. He was in heaven!