Merry Christmas 2010

Merry Christmas from our family to yours and a Happy 2011!

5/19/10

I thought I would use my blog for a while on a more personal side.  Other than being tremendously busy with wrapping up the school year and portraits and park and rec sports, I'm dealing with some personal things that I thought I would share with you. I thought maybe it would also help my feelings and help yours if I don't return a call immediately or if I don't seem myself lately.

Our 15 year old pomeranian, Jaxson, whom I'm sure you have met if I've taken your portraits, was diagnosed with kidney failure about last June.  Since then I've been taking him to the vet for subcutaneous fluid therapy once a week, changed his diet and put him on Denamarin.  He went through a rough spot last fall and we didn't think he would make it - but he is a real trooper and came through. :)  I think he amazed everyone at Amory Animal Hospital with his strong spirit.

The new year began and I lost my grandmother which was very difficult. We were all very close to her - a very close-knit family (just like she wanted and taught us to be) and it was pretty devastating. Time heals and spending time with God heals also. :)

Since that time I've thrown myself into my photography (which helped staying busy) and have been toting the girls to sports and taking care of Jaxson.  One day when my sister was here to visit and we were over at my parent's house, a little kitten came up (and was too stubborn to leave). He was so tiny and malnourished but very friendly. We got attached.  From neighbors and family we found out that he was a kitten from a couple of wild, stray cats that roam around my parent's place and the surrounding area. We have about determined that he chose us! After a week or two, we decide to take him in - and named him Louie - after Louisville slugger. He is a real pistol! So, in the midst of all the sadness - I felt like a little angel came to comfort us!  And now he is spoiled rotten to the core! He's smaller than a normal sized cat - we found out he wasn't a few weeks old but around 8 months old at 2 1/2 lbs.  We have fattened him up to about 5 3/4 lbs at 10 months. He's now an indoor cat - after Tommy saved him from a near fatal cat sprawl in our backyard! 

As for Jaxson's update, our vet (Dr. Erik Halbach, who is awesome - along with everyone else at Amory Animal Hospital) thinks that Jaxson is in the end stages of kidney failure. Signs include weight loss (Jaxson is now 9.5 lbs, when healthy he should weigh 11 lbs, vomiting, dehydration, lethargy). He takes aluminum hydroxide for his phosphorus levels being elevated, and his BUN and creatinine levels continue to elevate despite his recent IV hospitalization a couple of weeks ago. Creatinine is more specific for kidney functioning so we are determining that he has probably less than 25% of his kidney's functioning at this point, which means that he has lots of toxins in his body.  So as of yesterday - we will have to make a decision in a couple of weeks about either putting him to sleep, or hospitalizing him when we go on vacation.

This past Thursday through yesterday morning, he had not eaten food - just drank water, and had been throwing up everything he tried to eat. What bothers me is that he is hungry and actually wants to eat some.  We put him on Pepcid twice daily now to help with nausea which yesterday seemed to help a little more. He was able to keep a little bit of food down, but last night threw up his food.  This morning he seems to be keeping his food down also.  He still walks around and is alert - but then is sleeping more during the day and night. It's been a real emotional rollercoaster ride because one day he seems good and another he seems bad. It's hard to make a decision on what to do for him when he's like this - ultimately I would love to keep him at home but we are taking one day at a time.

On a more happier note - Louie has been frisky and has been showing us all of his tremendous acrobatic jumps and stunts!  His hobby is sleeping during the day and catting around at night. I really wish he would straighten out his routine! So - lately I have been getting little sleep as I feel like I have 2 newborns in the house who wake me up several times at night.  So please bear with me if I'm delirious, emotional, or forgetful!

And I'm so proud of my girls - Erin tried out for Amory JV Girl's Slow Pitch yesterday. I know she did her very best no matter what the outcome is - I am so proud of her. Logann has really come out this year with her softball and has really impressed me with her fielding and batting! These girls (sports-wise) are definitely their father's girls! :) WE are both so proud of them!

I will try to update and blog more often! Please come back to read often :)

teresa

Collages

Here is an older collage I designed when Logann was about 3 or 4 years old. She always loved playing dress up so we went with the idea of Disney princesses and fairies! I have this framed in her bedroom and will always cherish her younger days! Hope you enjoy!

Snowing in March....

Wow! What a beautiful morning to wake up to the ground covered in snow, especially on March 1! The last time I remember it snowing in March was about in 1991 or 92 when I was at Ole Miss! It snowed for a few days during spring break if you can believe that! So....happy spring everyone! I'm sure this will be the last of the snow for the season - it will be 75 by Friday!! Snowmen on Sunday.....sunbathing on Friday!! :)  The girls had a blast though playing in the snow with their neighbors!  It's going to be a wet mess by lunchtime. :)

Valentine and Birthday Wishes....

Thanks to everyone for the Valentine and Birthday wishes this weekend! We've had a busy but fun weekend, ending with my birthday. I'm so richly blessed with great friends and family. My life is grand!!

A new facebook friend (of a friend) is starting her photography business and recently showed me her blog in which she takes at least one picture each day and blogs about it. It's called Project 365 and although I may not have or take the time to blog each day, I thought I would take the past month and try to catch up AND stay caught up with my blogging better this year!

With that in mind....here's an image from today! We had a crammed weekend starting Friday night with a church youth Valentine's banquet at Meadowood Baptist in Amory (pictures to come soon). Tommy brought pizza and the girls and we had a little picnic after the photo shoot - lots of fun! The girls felt the need to wear their rain boots to the church since it was sprinkling!

Saturday morning started at 9am with Upward cheerleading, Upward basketball, and ending with 2 birthday parties - one of which had a Mardi Gras theme. Here are a couple of images of Logann wearing Erin's mask. She loves making the "caw caw" sound when she wears it. I thought she was just too cute!

Most of my candid images come from my iphone - WHICH I think they need to upgrade - but oh well, they make great snapshots and NOT portraits! Hope you enjoy them and check back soon!

~teresa

McBride Children...

While I was in Ripley photographing senior girls, I took advantage and took some of my 2 cousins - I really consider them my niece and nephew!!  I felt like I finally got Ellis still enough and looking at the camera to make a great portrait of she and Mason! yay!!  I'm looking forward to photographing them for many, many years to come!!  You are beautiful to me!!

All of these portraits were done in Kacey's shop, McBride & Company, in Ripley, MS in natural lighting.

To view all portraits online, visit: http://www.collages.net, username: mcbridesession, password: 14869

~teresa

Baby Coen. . .

Well, here's my very favorite 9 month old baby boy, Coen. I'm sort of partial because he's my sweet nephew! I always enjoy our visits and I cannot wait to see him again!

To view Coen's portraits online, visit

http://www.collages.net, username: davis9months, password: 14869

~teresa

Father's Day & other Family News . . .

Wishing many fathers a very Happy Father's Day today. Ours was great! I'm very thankful for Tommy, my husband and father to our 2 girls. We spent time this wkend with family and spent time by our pool this afternoon (which we haven't had the chance with ball, Bible school, etc). It was a beautiful afternoon!

I'm also thankful for my own dad and my father in law who are just wonderful! I'm very fortunate to have had a great role model in my father. My heart goes out to those who haven't. I pray that you have a grandfather, uncle, cousin, or friend who will be that role model for you. And, always look to our Heavenly Father - who is the perfect role model for all of us to imitate!

This week I can finally breathe a little bit. I'm extremely thankful for all the business that has been heading my way! I am hoping to catch up on proofing, blogging, the little business stuff, but most of all spending time with my family this summer. This is my absolute favorite time of the year when my girls are out of school. I'm SO very thankful I have a successful home business that allows me time with them while they are out of school.

In other news - Logann will have a small procedure done in outpatient to remove her ear tube in one ear. She is older now and wants to know all the details. She is anxious about it and although it's a simple procedure, it still makes me a little nervous when your child is put to sleep. All should be good though - no more infections! The bad part is she won't be able to swim underwater for 3 weeks so her eardrum can heal. I don't know how hard it will be for her to swim without going under water, but we will try! We are planning a big swim party for her 7th birthday so she is excited about that!

Speaking of children, I have had a little 5 year old boy weighing on my heart lately. He has non Hodgkins Lymphoma and is presently at St Jude's receiving chemo. He is the son of my orthodontist. If you have the time, you can read his journal at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/willhodges
Their total commitment to the Lord just amazes me.

~teresa

 

Ripley Rebels Amory RR Festival Baseball Tourney

My cousins spent the Railroad Fest wkend with us in Amory. We were able to watch Mason and his friends play baseball and I will miss watching them! And a BIG congratulations to their team for winning a most recent tournament played a week or so ago near Ripley, MS!

 

2nd Annual Spring Fling - Ripley, MS

I got the pleasure of attending the 2nd annual Spring Fling in Ripley, MS! We had a great time! I'm so proud of Kacey, my cousin. She made this beautiful artwork (pictured below)! She will have a website soon and offer it everywhere! She also owns a beauty shop named McBride and Company (you  can see her store window by Ellis and Logann).My daughters and cousin had fun having a lemonade stand! I think that Ellis was a little bit disappointed that she couldn't sell her lemonade for $3/cup! She is such the little entrepeneur! She is too cute! We are looking forward to having them in Amory next weekend to visit during the Railroad Festival here in Amory.

I also got to visit with my cousin Chip and his son, Quade. Chip is like a big brother to me and keeps me laughing! He wanted me to take some pictures of his friends' band. I will post their band name when I find out the details.

~teresa