Kitty.

This past weekend was INSANE. And it is only going to get worse! I wish I could show y'all a picture of my bulletin board that is FULL of wedding invitations and party invitations. It is definitely wedding season, y'all!!!

Friday night, I went to Uncle Dave Macon Days with my grandparents and parents after work. Most of my family goes to this festival for the music, but I definitely go for the food...funnel cakes, lemonade, fried pies, fried fish, yum yum yum!

On Saturday, while I was outside watering my flowers, I noticed a momma cat and a few baby kittens. Of course, since I am the cat-lover in my family, I was worried about them. Brad assured me that they would be fine, so I left for work. I worked most of the afternoon, went to a fun Luau Shower for my sweet friend, Jaclyn, and then I met my parents at our favorite mexican restaurant for dinner. As soon as I got home, I immediately looked for the kittens again. Brad told me he had seen one around the porch for a while during the day, so I was worried that the momma cat moved them and left one behind.

The next morning as Brad and I were getting ready, we noticed a tiny kitten under my car. It was pouring rain, so we chased it around the backyard until we could catch it. We had several things to do that day, so we left the kitten in my garage so it could be in a dry and warm place. When we got home, we decided to bring the kitten in and give it a bath since it was covered in mud. As we were giving it a bath, we noticed a small hole in it's neck. I knew it wasn't a good thing, as we noticed several maggot-looking things around it. (Y'all, I know this is disgusting and probably too much info). Anyways, I immediately called my older sister, who is a vet tech, and she gave us specific directions for the kitten. During the night, Brad and I basically got up every 2 hours to feed her, clean her wound, and help her use the bathroom. Brad did a lot of it because I have a very weak stomach.

I took her to the vet the next morning before I went to work, and they decided to keep her and do some tests. I got a call later that morning from the vet explaining the kitten's condition. If you have a weak stomach, you may want to skip this part. Anyways, he basically said that she had swallowed a fly larva, and the larvae had to go somewhere - you get the picture. They gave us some oral antibiotics and other meds after they had cleaned the wound. They said she was probably 4 weeks old and weighed .8 lbs.

Brad picked her up after work, and he fed her and gave her her medications. She slept for pretty much the rest of the evening, which I thought was probably pretty common. Brad and I tried to decide on names for "Kitty" as we had been calling her, but we couldn't agree on one. Brad woke me up right before 3 a.m. and told me that he thought Kitty was about to die. She looked so pitiful. Brad was holding her in his hands, and she took one big breath and died right in his hands. Of course, I was a mess after that. Brad and I cleaned her off, and he took her out at 3 a.m. and buried her near our sweet Georgia.

I know y'all are probably like "why in the world is she telling us this horrible story???" I have to tell you, I think that little kitten was a gift from God. Brad and I tried and tried to save her, but she was not meant to stay here. For the past two days, I saw a completely different side of Brad - I saw an unbelievably loving and fatherly side - I truly think that God sent us that kitten to show me what an amazing father Brad will be. He would swaddle the kitty up and carry her around. He lovingly called her "Little Bit" and "Turtle" because she would curl up and tuck her head in whatever we had her wrapped up in. He got up nearly every other hour to check on her. She was seriously like our baby, and we treated her like that. I am still emotional about the whole thing, but Brad just lets me cry, and he tells me that her little body just couldn't handle all the stress.

We are both exhausted now, but I know that we will never forget our sweet Kitty!

So, that's the craziness that was my weekend - sorry for the strange post, but I just needed to get it out!

Blessings, y'all!

Christmas in July pictures!

Front of the store -

One of the front window displays -

Another front window display -

A pink and green flower arrangement to match our theme -

A display for the new digital Christmas cards we have -

A wide shot of the store -

A fun Christmas tree made out of...you guessed - TISSUE PAPER FLOWERS!

Our promotional poster and more tissue paper flowers -

The cash register and MORE tissue paper flowers - I love 'em!

Another pink and green flower arrangement -

A sweet arrangement for the store -

I hope you enjoy all of these pictures as much as I enjoyed decorating! We have had an insanely crazy weekend with lots of updates, but I am just too tired to write any more.

Hope y'all had a wonderful weekend!

Blessings, y'all!

Christmas in July preview...and other cuteness!

Because I am so exhausted, and I have worked over 10 hours straight today (on my feet, mind you), here is a little preview of something special we had at the Christmas in July event at the shop.

Aren't they the cutest little cupcakes you have ever seen???? And the napkins? Oh, the cute napkins in green and pink to match our theme! I love it!

We had a great day at the shop, and I promise I will have more pictures later!

It looks like Brad and Turner were having their own fun while I was working...

Blessings, y'all!

Summer window display.

I had to post a picture of our cute summer display that we had at the shop! I just love the fish float, and of course, what is summer without an Essentially Lilly book???

Momma and I worked on Sunday evening transforming the store into a whimsical Christmas in July theme! The actual event will be on Thursday, so if you are in the Middle Tennessee area, you should definitely come see us! I will, of course, post lots of fun pictures! Sorry for the short post!

Blessings, y'all!

Meet Henry Boy Hines.

Meet the newest member of my parents' clan - Henry Boy Hines.

Let me give you a little background information...about 6 or so years ago, my dad rescued their current dog, Hardy, after he had been hit by a car. The vets wanted to aputate his back legs, but my parents nursed him back to health, and he has been the best dog for them! They have been thinking about getting another dog, when my older sister, Megan (who is a Vet Tech), called my parents and told them someone had brought in Henry. Henry was in pretty bad shape, and they had to shave most of his hair off. He looks so pitiful, but I know he is getting great care with my parents! Hardy is such a unique dog, and we never thought we could find another dog that resembled Hardy - I'll let you be the judge...

Hardy Boy Hines

Henry Boy Hines

Couldn't they be brothers??!!!

I LOVE IT!

Kailyn Renee.

One of the best parts of my 4th of July holiday was getting to FINALLY meet up with one of my best friends, Alys and her 7-month-old baby girl, Kailyn! I met up with Alys and Kailyn and our other good friend, Diane at Starbucks. We had a blast, and I cannot wait for Alys to come back so I can see her again! Here are some pictures of our visit...

Me getting to hold Kailyn for the first time - please forgive me for my appearance! I was looking rough! Ha!

Sweet Kailyn! I love you so much!

My good friend, Diane, getting some snuggle time with Kailyn!

Don't you just want to eat her up???

I LOVE those chubby legs!

Kisses from mommy!

Isn't Alys GORGEOUS????

Nantahala River Pictures

Summer is definitely keeping me from updating my blog! Here are the long-awaited pictures from our weekend camping trip to Bryson City, North Carolina!

Brad and I after arriving at our campsite.

My bronze-goddess sister, Katy and her boyfriend, Brian.

Our first night campfire - perfect for s'mores!!!

Our sweet little tent.
Our neighbors at the campsite - GROUNDHOGS!Yes, I have antique "Mr." and "Mrs." pillowcases!

A view of the river.

A view of the Class 6 rapid that we were NOT allowed to raft down!
Brian, aka Kudzu-killer! Ha!
Brad having fun with the big picture - makes me crack up every time I look at it!Katy and Brian at the Class 6 rapid.
Brad and I in front of the rapid.
So, it POURED on the last night - here is a picture of Katy and Brian's tent in the rain!
We had such a wonderful time at the river, and I am so thankful that we were able to get away for a while! This trip was not my first time to go whitewater rafting, and we decided to go down the river without a guide. Brad has been rafting once, Katy has been once, and this was Brian's first trip down. I actually taught canoeing while I was a camp counselor, so I thought we would get down pretty easily. Well, we made it almost the entire way down withouth losing a single person, until we hit the "bump." Everyone fell out of the boat except for ME! It was hilarious! We had a time trying to get everyone back in! It was a memorable weekend, and we can't wait to go back!

Blessings!