Clean Teeth!

Well, yes Josh and I do have clean teeth--but this post is for Sandy. Sandy had her very FIRST dental cleaning yesterday. I do NOT like having to drop my dog off at the vet, knowing they are going to put her under, and I have to wait 7 hours until I see her again. I'm just not good at that. It makes me so sad because my sweet little Sandy has NO idea what is going on. Generally, she's great in the car, but she's been to the vet several times these past few weeks for checks-ups and blood work, so I feel she definitely knows the "roads" we take to get to the vet. She starts crying and shaking in the car. Then I basically just have to hand her off to the technician, which I can't stand!!

But thankfully, everything went very well yesterday. I was able to pick her up at about 3pm. She was definitely a bit groggy, and her eyes showed that. She cuddled me when we got home--I know she was so happy to be back at home. Of course, I had to take some pictures of this experience.

Check out these pearly whites on Sandy now! It's amazing how a teeth cleaning can totally make her bad breath go away :-)

It's True

Christmas has come, Christmas has gone, and we are one truly blessed family. We had wonderful visits with the Hoefler's and Beasley's. We were able to see our adorable nephew, Peyton. With help from their dog, Pepper, I was able to get Peyton giggling. That is the cutest sound in the world :-) Below are pictures of Petyon enjoying life in his swing, and then playing in his Exersaucer (sp?) Josh and I were definitely spoiled by our parents, and little Miss Abby, if you could only imagine, was spoiled a bit, too!!! Look at this child's closet already!! There are even onesies folded in the baskets above, along with many toys!!

Lastly, here is the Beasley pose--Josh likes to hold my tummy!!!

We hope everyone had an amazing Christmas, and we definitely hope 2007 brings many blessings your way!!

Sandy's Christmas Picture

Last year at Christmastime, I was one of those insane people standing in line at Pet Smart waiting to get my dog's picture taken with Santa. Most people think I'm NUTS, but that picture turned out awesome! (Of course, I'm biased!!)

This year, however, I don't even know if Santa was at Pet Smart, but we never made it to their store. I decided I would pose Sandy myself by our Christmas tree. My mom (crazy Grandma, ha!) bought her a cute pink Christmas bandana. So of course I put that around her neck, leaned her up against the chair just right, and I must say--she's quite the picture taker :-)

And for any of you that weren't blessed with seeing her picture last year :-) Have a look!

The next picture is blurry, I know, but I couldn't get it any better no matter how hard I tried. I bought this Dachshund ornament which is JUST adorable. The background has a Christmas tree, the 3 wise men, the Bethlehem star shining in the sky, with a cute little red dachshund (Just like my Sandy!) in the front of it all!!!

Annoucning....

Abby Grace Beasley

Isn't she beautiful?? :-) We had our appointment this morning at 9am. I must say I was SO VERY anxious for this! I was just desperately hoping baby would be cooperating. We were in luck, and the technician was able to tell us! The technician checked twice, and she felt confident it was a girl. We were able to see some amazing things....her sweet little hands (which were together like they were praying), her cute legs and feet, and her absolutely beautiful side profile!! Can you tell I'm a proud mama?? Abby was moving around a bit when the technician was trying to get measurements of her heart, so because the technician couldn't get all that greatly, we get to go back in 4 weeks for another ultrasound. (Which to me is by far the best thing ever!!)

Truthfully, I would be happy with either sex, but I was so very excited to find out it was a girl that immediately after the appointment we had to make a quick rush to Target. I NEEDED to purchase a few "pink" things. Aren't they precious?? I (Josh) had to get my little girl a cute bunny! Now that I live in the estrogen ocean (Amy, Abby, Sandy), I guess it's definitely OK for me to wear pink. So, I'm worried about boys and weddings, but I guess we have a long way to go for that. Since I can't say "Luke, I am your father," now I'll be thrilled to say, "Abby, I am your daddy!"

This is the day...

that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it! I am back from Maryland safe and sound and Daisy has been picked up by her parents. We are leaving for the doctor in about 1 hour for our appointment. Hopefully Baby Beasley will cooperate and show us if we are having a boy or girl. Gotta run and finish getting ready.

Meet Daisy

We are dog sitting this weekend for a couple who is on the ski trip with our church. We've kept Daisy on several other occasions, and Sandy and Daisy get along beautifully. Daisy is SO sweet and lovable, and she's got the cutest ears (when she perks them up they remind me of pigtails).

These past few days she's been a bit mischievous. (Hopefully Sandy isn't picking any of it up!) Daisy nosed her way into my bookbag and ate a half a pack of gum! I freaked out!!! Of course, I didn't realize it at first because she snuck it under the dining room table. Now, her poop is beautifully colored with silver foil (from the wrappers!) The internet said some bad things can happen to dogs with certain sugars that are in this gum, but I monitored her very closely--and she's still as crazy as ever :-) She also got into some of my Christmas stuffed animals I have out, and she decided those were HER toys! Needless to say, we picked all those up very quickly. I think she's just preparing me for my child!

I wanted to include some pictures of the two girls playing. I tried to snap the pictures as quick as possible, but of course, they're dogs so they're running like maniacs as I'm TRYING to take a picture! This first one is how they do their "stare down" of one another. They'll stare at eachother for quite awhile, and then suddenly take off after eachother! Obviously, Daisy WAS looking at Sandy, but by the time my camera snapped she moved her head.

This last picture is what I like to call their "booty dance." They ALWAYS have to smell eachother's behind. It should be a one time thing, when they first see eachother--like shaking hands or hugging for us. But no, theirs is consistent!

Working on the Weekend

So I (Josh) am in Gaithersburg, MD working over the weekend. My team is participating in a Disaster Recovery (DR) Test. Mass chaos, 12 hour shifts, hotel beds, catered food - this is way more fun than lounging around, watching college football, and hanging with my girls. NOT! I will be up here until Tuesday, and then on Wednesday we get to find out if God has blessed us with a boy or girl. Have a good weekend.

Explain this for me...

Why do people give their opinions not once, but THREE times about the SAME thing. Especially since they aren't "nice" opinions. I don't care to hear them!

Allow me to shed some light on where this is coming from....I have a teacher who is on my same hall. She is one of those types that "Tells it like it is." Her tone of voice sounds like she's always nagging in the first place, and her classes have tended to be a bit out of control. (Not to bring her down, but for you to understand why this is amusing.) When she first heard that I was pregnant, she said to me "Why do you want to have kids so early?" THEN when she heard me telling another teacher that I definitely want to find out what the sex of the baby is, she lectured me about how I was ruining it for my husband and I, and that takes away all the fun, and I definitely shouldn't tell anyone else once I find out. Now, keep in mind--that was the FIRST time...I have since heard it TWO other times--today being my THIRD time! Another of my good teacher friends walks up after I had just finished being "lectured" by this woman again, and this good friend of mine told me that this particular teacher told her that I'm ruining my marriage for having kids so early. What the heck? Does anyone out there understand this?? I'm just speechless.

I'm fine if people want to give there opinion ONE time, but THREE times on the SAME subject--OK I GET IT...I don't need to hear it again!

Excuse that brief rant--I'm finished now :-)

The Weenie Dog Piggy Bank

I'm sure you're thinking--What?!? A weenie dog piggy bank? Oh yes, this is what one of my students got me for a Christmas present. This goes to show you how much Sandy is talked about in my classroom and how familiar with her they are. (There are pictures all over my classroom, too!) This little girl was SO excited to give me this gift, that she stood over me while I opened it because she said "I want to see the expression on your face when you open it!" She said her mom and her were shopping at the Hallmark store, and she saw this weenie dog. She asked her mom to buy it because she just KNEW I would love it! How sweet is that? :-)

So here it is....I'm sure you'll get a bit of a laugh, too! You can't see great on the top of it, but this weenie has buns on both sides of it with mustard running along its back!

Notice this next picture...there is a cork in the behind area--that is where I would take OUT my change :-)

The Prego Pose

Several people have been asking me to post a picture of my prego belly. I lovingly refer to this as "The Prego Pose." I've seen so many people stand this way, and it makes me laugh. So I just had to join in on all that fun! I'm 17 1/2 weeks now..time is just flying by. Keep in mind this not a maternity shirt, which is why the belly is a bit more accentuated.

I actually have a Dr.'s appointment today, so I'll be able to hear the baby's heartbeat! Next Wednesday I'm so anxious because we'll find out the sex of the baby. So stay tuned for that news....

Sand Nativity Scene

Check this out! This is amazing. That woman is truly talented. Puts my sand castles to shame. God Bless!

How many days until Friday, please?

Teaching Middle School is fun, but when there is a WEEK before the Christmas break...I couldn't pray for this week to be done any sooner! Luckily there is just one more full day left, and then Thursday and Friday are half days.

Some of these kids have given me amazing and thoughtful gifts. For instance, because I talk about Sandy SO much (would you expect anything else) one student got me a dachshund figurine. It's perfect! Today I received a VERY pretty candle holder and snuffer (I just learned this word today!). The message on the card said "This is to represent the burning inspiration you are to me, Mrs. Beasley." How cute is that? I asked him if he came up with that himself, to which he replied "Yes!" I got some great pumpkin/cinnamon bread, too! This girl said her Nana made it!

I wanted to show you some pictures of Sandy that I took earlier. For some reason I felt like dressing her up a bit. It's not really clothes, more of a head piece. She wasn't thrilled, but she's SO fun to play with (I know many of you are thinking...her poor child has no chance!) This picture is hysterical. Also, here is a picture of her on the back porch swing! (and you can barely see my head in the background. Of course I always have to lay with her!!)

It's Official

It's true...Josh and I went to all this hard work to "create" our own webpage at www.jabeasley.com. We spent quite a bit of time finalizing it, and Josh really worked hard at remembering the good 'ol HTML code. And let me count the number times I actually used that blog--maybe 5 or 6? Sad, yes I know! Now you ask--why are they starting yet ANOTHER blog? Here is your answer: I wanted something simple. Something where I could post a picture and write comments that go along with it. I didn't want to blog and have to post pictures elsewhere. And, as many of you know, I'm pregnant, and family and friends who aren't close enough to watch me grow want to see pictures :-) So, we decided to go ahead and dive in to this blog spot community!

I hope that I am MUCH better at keeping up with this than I was the previous blog. I'm wanting to include the picture of my first sonogram, however, at the current moment our scanner is not working. I decided to leave you with a few pictures of our study that Josh, my handyman, painted for us. It was quite the project, but it's SO nice now that it's finished. Or not. The pictures aren't wanting to load at the current moment. Be sure to check back soon!

Update: Finally, we were able to load the pictures. The first 2 pictures are of our La Tech study and the last picture is of our new La Tech bench in the yard. GO DAWGS!!