SARDS

We noticed about a month or so ago our baby Dixie wasn't seeing very well. TJ would throw her toy and she wouldn't go get it. Pretty soon after that she started running into everything. She was spending more and more time under our bed.

We took her to the vet who checked her eyes and said everything looked normal and referred us to an opthalmologist. She diagnoised Dixie with Sudden Acquired Retinal Degeneration Syndrome (SARDS). It is sudden loss of vision in pure breeds. Not much is known about this syndrome and no treatment exists other than an experimental treatment that wasn't recommended.

Our Aggie Dog

Although this isn't the end of the world for our Dixie, and most dogs function fine with no sight, it has been really hard to see her run into things daily, not look at you when you talk to her, not play fetch anymore, have trouble walking on a leash and hide under the bed more often. It just breaks my heart to watch her, but it doesn't seem to bother her as much as it does TJ and me. We are also having a hard time keeping our other dog, Winnie, off of Dixie. Winnie doesn't understand why Dixie won't play with her anymore.

The doctor said she will get better with her surroundings in time and learn to use her smell and hearing more. Things could be a lot worse, I know, but I'm having a really hard time with this big change in our baby girl. If anyone has a blind dog and has any tips please share. If you haven't seen this You Tube Video it is a must for dog lovers: God and Dog .

Thanks for stopping by,

M.I.B

Wow, has it really been 2 months since my last blog?  Hope I remember how to do this :)

I can't believe summer is over. I feel like it just flew by. We had a busy summer with work, vacations, workouts, illnesses, bike rides, birthdays, a family reunion and our 4th wedding anniversary. So my M.I.B (missing in blogging) hasn't been due to the lack of material, but rather the lack of time. Here are the cliff notes from our summer:

It started with the Smith family reunion. We enjoyed great food and family we don't get to see very often. We also got to meet the newest member of the family, Justine.

Joshua and Justine

Joshua and TJ

Next up was TJ's company night at the horse races. This year they sponsored a race, so we got to watch that race from the winner's circle. We always have fun at this company event, even though I never win.

In the winner's circle

Hats are a must at this event

The next weekend we met up with 5 of my college girlfriends and their husbands for our annual trip. We let the boys join us this year. One of the girls found this amazing house in the Texas Hill Country. It was absolutely beautiful!! We had the best time - we didn't leave except for the boys floating the river. The house was complete with 6 bedrooms, pool, bar-b-q area, sauna, hot tub, pool room, and an awesome sound system.

My girls

The boys

Fun picture before we left

TJ and Me

Moving right along... We went to Cancun with an really great family we have gotten to know in Fort Worth. We watched their two year old, Z, while they went with their seven year old to swim with the whale sharks one day. TJ and I got to hang out at the beach and pool all day with Z. He was so fun! We were there during our anniversary, so we spent the day zip-lining and went to dinner that night. It was so beautiful there, if we could have only found jobs, we might not have come back. ;)

Beach

Day with Z

Beach

After zip-lining and swimming in a Cenote

4th Anniversary Dinner

Next, was TJ's bike ride in the Hotter n' Hell Hundred. He and his dad have been riding in this ride for the past two years, so this was his third time. Since his dad had a heart attack this year, TJ completed the 100 miles by himself. His dad rode 25 miles to be on the safe side with TJ's brother Josh.  I am incredibly impressed and proud of them!! You can read more about their bike ride here on Bill's Blog.

TJ's bro and dad

After riding 100 miles in one day

One of our new favorite Texas Country artists is Johnny Cooper. We got to see him in concert twice this summer.

It was sooo hot outside, but worth it!

Me and Johnny

Kaymarie's Birthday

That is pretty much our summer in a nutshell. Well at least the only things I captured on camera. Hopefully I can keep this up because our calendar is filling up fast!!

Thanks for stopping by,

That Creative Sis of Mine

So my sister has been decorating cookies for a couple of years now. She has always been creative, but when she put her creativity with baking, she found her new passion. Her cookies not only look oh so cute, but taste great too!!

Here are some of her creations...

Now she has even moved on to cakes...

She was even featured in her home town magazine. I'm so proud of her!! She hopes to open a bakery someday. I hope I always get the "sister discount" :)

Bring on July Please!!

So the lack of my blogging has nothing to do with not having something to say. We have actually had a lot going on these last couple of months. Thankfully, God answered many prayers and things could have turned out much worse. So to catch everyone up...

It all started when I got a phone call from my mom letting me know my nephew, Jase (3) was being rushed to Children's Hospital in Dallas. He hadn't been feeling great that day and Kimber put him in bed. When she went back to check on him he was having a seizure. Thankfully her neighbor was a RN and helped my sister calm down and call the ambulance. Once at Children's, he was given fluids and they ran tests. It turned out to be a fever induced seizure, which Jase's dad suffered from when he was younger. My sister now keeps a close eye on his temperature.

Jase & his Daddy

The first of June, we got another call letting us know my great grandmother (Meme) had fallen and broken her ankle. They took her to the hospital and they put a cast on her. On the way back to the retirement center she passed out because her blood pressure got too low. After a couple of ups and downs she went into a coma and never woke up. She went to heaven to be with my Grandaddy on June 6, 2010. We will miss her greatly here on earth, but Grandaddy will love having her again with him.

We love you Meme!!

A couple of weeks later we get another phone call letting us know another nephew, TJ's brother's son, Joshua, was also being transferred to Children's for high bilirubin count. After many tests, and a liver biopsy the doctors believe he has a rare genetic disorder called Benign Recurrent Intrahepatic Cholestasis. Which is the best dignosis since it could be treated by medicine. His bilirubin has gone down now, and they are looking for a doctor to perform genetic testing to confirm the diagnosis. Praise God they think they found out what was causing his jaundice.

After biopsy

Visiting

This last weekend, TJ and his parents were riding in a bicycle rally when I got another call. It was TJ telling me to come to the hospital bacause his dad had a heart attack during the ride. You can read his full story here . He is off his bike for 2 weeks, doctors orders, and isn't too happy about it.

Start of the race

How he ended it

God has been with us this through all of this and I believe it is the only way I made it to July.  We have such great friends who kept us in their prayers and spirits uplifted. This month has made me realize how precious life is and we aren't promised tomorrow. I will be hugging my family and friends a little more and telling them I love them more often. So after a pretty stressfull June, I am happy that July is here!! 

Excited to see what God has planned,

Weekend Snapshot

TJ's office had a happy hour, and afterwards we walked down to a new restuarant Tillman's Road House, in the new up-and-coming neighborhood in Fort Worth. It was a gorgeous night so we ate on their patio. The atmosphere had a southern, rustic but chic feel. The food was unique, but excellent. For dessert, we had their cupcake tower. They give you different toppings to decorate your own. They were so good.

Cupcake Tower

Toppings

Girls Take One

Two

and Three

Sunday afternoon, TJ's co-worker had two extra tickets to the Rangers' Game. It was a good game, however we lost and I got sunburned. Can you believe nowhere at The Ballpark sells sunscreen? So I have this nice splotchy sunburn.

At the game

Our view from our seats

Even with the loss, and my sunburn it was a great day. I even ran into Shawn Marion from the Mavericks, who graciously stopped eating his hot dog to take a picture. :)

Shawn Marion and Me

Another short, but great weekend for the Smiths.