Time for a dentist visit?

After looking at Abby's teeth last Sunday I think it is way past time to see the dentist.





She had such fun with these teeth. She couldn't wait for her Mom and Dad to see her.



But we had to wait for that. She ended up spending the night with us Saturday (last week) night since she was fast asleep when her Mom and Dad came to pick up the girls. But that was ok, I love having my precious stay with us.

She and Papa Joe decided to go fishing.





She is patiently waiting for Papa Joe.





Finally they get on their way.



I was making some chicken salad and needed to finish before I could join them. When I finished I walked down to the pond. My precious had apparently been asking every 30 seconds where her Grandmother was. When she saw me coming she walked around the pond to hold my hand while I crossed an area of high grass. So sweet.







Papa Joe caught another one! Abby caught 3 crappie, Joe caught about 8.



Hmmmmmmmmmmm.......dinner. Literally.





I love to take pictures of this end of the pond.



To me it is the very definition of peace and serenity.

Then it was off to clean the fish. We planned on having them for dinner.



I made sure Abby knew that it might be a bit messy and gross to watch Papa Joe clean them but she didn't mind.



I just love the way she lights up when she sees me. I don't think it gets better than that!





Joe got all of the fish cleaned and skinned. We put them in the refrigerator until it was time for dinner. Meanwhile Beth, Thomas and Leah finally got there.





How beautiful is this child?



Big sister is really handy to have around. She only wants her sister to be happy. It is precious to watch her and how she reacts to things.



Beth and Thomas managed to get in quite a bit of fishing. Thomas isn't usually off of a weekend day and he really had a good time. He and Abby were able to spend some good quality daddy and daughter time together. Leah was able to spend a lot of time with her grandparents, and everyone just generally had a great time. They stayed for a fabulous dinner of crappie, fries, baked beans and corn casserole. We all truly enjoyed the day.

Yall might have noticed that I have not been blogging much for the past couple of weeks. Work has really picked up and is proving to be quite challenging, which I love. But it does keep me really busy and tired when I get home. So tired that I rarely get on the computer in the evenings. Plus, I am really missing Annie. I have been dreaming about her a lot. Every morning when I walk to my car I look over at her grave and every evening when I get home I do the same thing. I know that she is out of pain and for that I am thankful. But I miss her terribly. I miss everything about her. It is slowly getting better but it is going to take a long time to get past this. She was taken too soon. I know that we had her a lot longer than we first expected. For that I am truly grateful. I also know that I will see her again someday. But it is hard. I have been looking on Craigslist for another puppy. I actually found a 5 month old puppy in Missouri that a family is trying to find a good home for. I emailed back and forth with the owner. She would be a great match for us. But when I talked to Joe about it he said he wasn't ready yet and I realized that I wasn't either. The pain of losing Annie is still so fresh and raw. Someday just the right babe will land in our hearts like Annie did that fall day in 2001. Until then we pour all of our love into Sophie. We are lucky to have her.