We are family...Get up everybody and sing!

Helloooooooooo!

It's so so so good to be back home in Pittsburgh! It was wonderful spending a few days in Texas with my family, but it sure was great coming home to this gorgeous face:

Meet "The Hunk" or "Hubbs". I'm infinitely blessed to wake up to this face each morning and cannot possibly express into words how much I love and adore this man and how ecstatic I am to be married to my best friend!

I feel like I have so much to talk about! I'm just so excited to be back home, back in my own home, my kitchen, my gym and my computer blogging again. I really missed blogging, but this past visit was all about spending time with my family and when it came down to it, I wasn't going to spend time away from them to be on a computer. I spend too much time missing my parents, sister, grandfather and the pups when I'm here in Pittsburgh, so I disconnected from the world and spent all my time with them:)

I also got to spend time with these cuties :

Dill (he has an underbite so his tongue is almost always sticking out like this HAHA!)

Pete E.
He was the first JRT we ever got and he has stolen my ♥. He's my lovebug:)

Pete E. in jail. Do not pass 'go'. Do not collect $200.


Mattie Rose. She's way cuter than this photo shows, but she wouldn't sit still long enough to get a decent pic. Oh well!

As I pointed out in my very first post, I ♥ Jack Russell terrorists Terriers and my dream is to have one of my own someday. PLEASE HUBBY, BUY ME THAT PUPPY IN THE WINDOW!!!!

***Ok, not sure why I can't turn 'italics' off. This is annoying, but I'm going to continue writing regardless (sigh)***

I am also so blessed that I got to spend a lot of time with my very first friend, my sister. She is two years younger than I am, yet I look up to HER so much. She is so beautiful, but her outer beauty pales in comparison to her inner beauty. She is such a light to this world and I'm so blessed to call her my "scissor".

(No, I did not highlight my hair. This was taken in March 2009, a month before my wedding. I just love this pic of us, except now that I look at it, I've lost 10 pounds or so since this was taken and now I just look "plump" in this pic. Ah, well! But, isn't my sister gorgeous!!! What a knockout (and she is freakin' FIT!)

I don't want to post pics of my parents without their permission, but I will share with you the highlight of my week and a video which I hold the closest to my heart. My grandfather, the Colonel (or as I call him, "Pop") is 92 years old and lives with my parents. He is the most PRECIOUS and ADORABLE man and still as sharp and witty as anyone I've ever met. He's as Irish as you can get and we joke that he is a "leprechaun incarnate". He's playful, charming and feisty and cracks us with his wit and humor. He was married to my grandmother for over 50 years and she was the love of his life. She was carried to Heaven in 2001 and my grandfather hasn't been the same since:( Part of his heart left him that day and I know he is ready to be reunited with her and with God, the Author of their love story, when it is time. He spends most of the day reading the paper and does not leave the house, but still plays piano and violin/fiddle when he doesn't think anyone is around:)

This past weekend my Aunt and Uncle from Kentucky came into town and we all decided to "jam". I suppose I never mentioned this before, but our family is a musical family. Modern day "Von Trapps" HA! We all play an instrument: Dad-guitar, Mama-guitar/violin, sister-guitar, piano and learning violin, Pop- violin, piano, harmonica, guitar, and I play guitar. We love to sing and play music together and on my last day home my grandfather joined us in the living room and began to play his fiddle. It was music to my ears. Not so much the actual songs or melodies, but the fact that he was with us playing his little heart out. I cried as I took the video because I don't know how much longer he will be with us and these are the memories I will cherish in my heart the rest of my life. FYI-My uncle was singing "Waltz Across Texas". How fitting!

I'll be back this afternoon to give a recap of my Texas training! Ya'll come back now, ya hear?! :)

Question:

1)What is your favorite memory of your grandfather? I can't fully describe how adorable my grandfather is, but I will say he is one of the funniest people I've ever met. Even at 92 he is just so witty and he has the funniest sense of humor. I always think of him when I hear the song, "When Irish Eyes are Smiling". That is my Poppers! :)