And my little dog's name is...

Little Bitty Binkley...aka "Elbie" (for L.B.) Just thought I would update you all since we have been going back and forth on names to register her with....have a great day!

More Elbie pictures...

First night we had her...playing with Travis

Pa and Elbie

Why do you keep taking these pictures?

I know I'm cute!

We need a name to register her with...any ideas?

Update on Pa...

We went to visit Pa again tonight...we talked to his nurse and she said that he had an amazing day. She said he walked several times, ate better than he has been, and was more alert than he has been since he got to the nursing home. We took Elbie to see him again, and he loves her! He kept telling us: " I just love that little dog!" The nurse even said that Pa had been joking around with the nurses and offering them some of his candy. She said that he was a completely different person. We're so proud! Looks like he is starting to make a total turn around. Maybe he will be able to go home soon!

Elbie...

Travis and I just love this dog to death!!! Last night when we put her in her crate to go to bed, she didn't cry. She laid down and went to sleep. Then, this morning when I left for work, she didn't cry either! She sure is a smart dog! Last night, Kyndall and I went to Target to get her some treats, and I bought her the stuffed animal thing that is bigger than her...she picks it up though and runs with it in her mouth. It's hilarious!

A visit with Pa...

Travis' grandfather, aka Pa, has Alzheimers and is currently in a nursing home. We try to go and visit him as often as possible. Usually when we get there he is laying in his bed watching TV. So tonight when we went for our visit, we almost walked right past him because he was sitting at a table in the eating area looking out the window and watching other residents. He smiled ear to ear when he saw us, as he loves having company! We had Elbie with us, so he was even more excited to see us (along with all the other residents)!! We had a lot of fun tonight because he was acting a lot more like himself! He kept picking on us and laughing and joking around! He introduced the other residents to Elbie as "his little dog". He asked a nurse what she thought of "my little dog"! It was so sweet! Suprisingly, Elbie was good the whole time!

This one lady kept coming over to us to see the dog- she wanted to give her some Diet Mountain Dew. We could hardly understand what she was saying- so everytime she would talk, Pa would start laughing...and of course I was there to snap a picture! By the end of the night, he was enjoying having his picture taken. He got to where he would ask me: "did you get another picture of me?"

Here is a picture of him talking to Nanny on the phone...he sure does miss her! We sure do hope he gets better soon so he can come back home! He's so much fun to be around though! What I wouldn't give to have one more day with my Grandpa. Keep Pa in your prayers. We're hoping that he will get stronger and be able to walk on his own again soon so he can come home.

One last funny story...last night we were having trouble getting Pa to drink his minerals... here is how it went:

Lea Ann- Come on Pa- you have to drink your minerals to get stronger so you can go home.

Pa- (rolling up his shirt sleeve and flexing his muscles) - I don't need to get any stronger- I'm already dangerous!

Lea Ann- (speechless)

Our little addition...

So, last night we went and met the little dog...She was adorable and Travis and I fell in love instantly. She seemed to like us pretty good too. So- we bought her! Brought her home and played for a while. She was already named Lady Bug- so we shortened it to LB- "Elbie" aka little binkley...she is so sweet! She slept all night in her crate. Travis had to wake her up to take her outside this morning. Then she played a while and cried when Travis had to leave for work. She didn't like the hair dryer very much. I had to put her in the crate before leaving for work. She cried a little and I felt HORRIBLE! We love her!!! Travis texted me this morning and said he already missed her! (If you know Travis, you know that this is very UNUSUAL!)

A Little Cart-Binkley?

Okay, so it's just a dog...but in our world it's a big deal!! Travis has been totally against having an animal in the house until this weekend. I just asked (it's become a routine) if we could get a dog. I don't know what happened because the answer has always been "no" since we have all new flooring in the house. But for whatever reason- Travis decided that this time he would say yes when I asked!! It caught me off guard! Here is the dog that we are contemplating getting...tell me what you think. She's a 12 week old pomeranian. Already crate and house trained. She will be between 4-5 pounds when she's fully grown.

Here we are...

So I decided to make a blog to keep everyone posted on our first year of marriage. So far, things are great. I am going to go back and post other things along with pictures from our wedding, honeymoon, trips, and anything else I can find! But for now- welcome to our blog!

Happy Birthday, Travis!

For Travis' 22nd birthday, I suprised him with a trip to Gatlinburg! We were only there for two nights- but we had a lot of fun! We went to the wax museum, star cars museum, rode the ski lift, and did tons of other things...The museums were a first, and a last. Worth seeing once, but too expensive to see twice!

Views from the room...it was foggy in the afternoons!

I'll be back...

For those of you who don't know, Travis has a fascination with Arnold Schwarzenegger. So, we went to the wax museum and, can you believe it, there sat Arnold's metal arm, the real thing, from Terminator 2...Travis was amazed!!! He wanted to touch it but it was inside a glass container inside another glass case....must be special! Anyway, here is a picture of the hand and one of Travis with another part of the Terminator....