Back on the wagon!!!

First of all, how embarrassing.  I am obviously the worst blogger on the planet.  I guess my idea of blogging is what, once a year?  Niiiiiice.  I know Kylie is very disappointed in my blogging skills.  I think she is my one and only blog fan (or used to be).  So, this is for you Kylie... I'm jumping back in and will do my best to stay on top of it now.  I can't promise a new blog every week or every month, but by golly, I will do better than none (which is what I had for 2017).

I guess I'll use my first blog back on the wagon to do a recap of 2017.  That seems fitting since I completely missed the ENTIRE year. Ugh.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE YEAR!!!

We built a new house! Woohooo! 

It was a year-long process and so worth it.  We LOVE our house and our neighborhood. Special bonus - Grandma Mary is right across the street! We have a BIG backyard (hopefully to put a pool in someday) and it is much more open and bright than our old house.  And, it's a shorter drive to school! This is when it snowed this Fall, but I love this pic!

We added another critter to our household. The sassy Miss Remi (short for Remington).

She is a TRUE cat. Very sassy, playful, self-centered and smart. She has a big tummy, but the rest of her is normal. I mean huge gut. We have no idea why, other than I'm pretty sure she eats the dog food too. She loves to play with little rival nerf balls and hair bands. She will scratch and bite you if you pet without consent. She LOVES drinking from faucets and is known to join us in the shower too. She cracks me up!

Kylie went to LLYC, started Middle School and became a cheerleader!

It is Kylie's first year at School of Logic and she loves it. She loves the freedom and getting to change classes. She got to cheer for school during football games and loved it! She was a great leader on the squad and really shines on the field. She has always been a natural performer! She spent two weeks at Laity Lodge Youth Camp and loved every second of it. She cried when we came to pick her up because she didn't want to leave. She got braces too! Of course, she is just as beautiful as ever:)

 Love this happy girl.

Chillin' at LLYC

 Come on Knights, Let's Go!

New braces and still beautiful!

With her little chapel buddy:)

Jackson Ralph started his first season with select baseball team YETI and went to his first overnight sports camp at TBarM! Our All-Star team from Oak Hill enjoyed playing together so much, we formed a select 8U ball team with YETI Baseball Club. It is a BUSY season, but we are enjoying watching Jackson play so much. He has become a leader and encourager to his teammates. He loves playing catcher and trying to rip some big hits. I love it! He loved his week at TBarM. It was a tough drop-off because it was scary not knowing anyone and being away from home for week, but I don't think that lasted long! 

Mission Impossible at TBarM

Sweet ring instead of a trophy! We have 3 now!

Champions!

Stud muffin

Carter James played tee ball for the first time and started Kindergarten at Regents! He has Mrs. Wise just like Jackson did in Kinder. He reads like a champ and loves being at the same school as his brother and sister.  He's still really into cars, so I took a picture of him with one of his favorites...a Dodge Charger!

First year of tee ball

 Fast and Furious!

Carter and Mrs. Wise

Not only did we celebrate 16 years of marriage, but Adam turned 40 in December! Thankfully I'm not quite there yet. He was super excited about it:)  We went to Chicago to see Jeff and Callie and watch the Bears play. We got to go out on the field for warm-up! Those guys are enormous!

Happy 40th Birthday!

Go Bears!

The Biehlers 2017

Scaring the Neighborhood!! Halloween 2016

Here we are, scaring the neighborhood!  Even Dad dressed up this year:)

This is Halloween,

This is Halloween,

Halloween,

Halloween, 

Everybody Scream!!!!!!

 Jackson as Kylo Ren

Kylie as Harley Quinn 

 Carter as Darth Vader

Me as Jack Skellington!

ZO, ZO, ZOEY!!!!

We picked up our furbaby on Saturday after a 5 hour drive to KNJ Boxers in Honey Grove, TX. We brought Gunner along to see his family too!  

Zoey is 8 weeks old, born on July 11th.  She is Gunner's half-sister, born to the same mom, Brandy. They are both brindle pups, with slight differences in their coloring.  Gunner is more dark than light and has completely white front legs and collar.  They both have silly, pointed heads and white back feet.  Both equally beautiful to us!!!

We have never had two dogs before, so this is all new to us! So far so good... Gunner seems to be enjoying his baby sister.  They aren't full of love just yet, but they are having fun playing chase, wrestle, and tug-of-war.  Zoey likes to instigate the rough play, but quickly realizes she is the underdog and finds a place to hide from Godzilla aka Gunner.

I am really looking forward to watching the two of them bond!  Double trouble for us! She fits right in to our crazy household!

Picking Zoey Up in Honey Grove!

Sitting in Dad's lap during our pit-stop.

First Photo Shoot!

Sleepy Heads:)

Life is Rufffff!

Missing you...

I had a dream that we were in the bleachers watching some event... not really sure what all was going on. It didn't really matter.  I looked at you and told you how much I missed you.  You gave me a big hug and told me everything was going to be okay.  

I love you dad.  Miss you terribly.

ROOOOOAAAARRRR.... THAT'S DINOSAUR FOR HAPPY 5TH CARTER!

Happy Birthday Carter James!!!

Not only was it his 5th birthday, it was also his first day of school.  It was actually the 2nd day of school, but the poor little dude had pink eye and missed his first day.

Hard to believe he is five years old.  It really is a measure of how fast time has gone. He has really grown in the last 6 months. He is starting to lean up and lose his baby chubs. Don't get me wrong, though, he still LOVES being the baby.  He can play that card all day long.  

Another great cake production by Grandma Debbie!  She is getting very creative. 

Doritos for the back plates:) Awesome.

Lots of Star Wars toys for this birthday! 

Darth Vader in the house:)

FACTS ABOUT CARTER AT FIVE YEARS:

• FAVORITE FOOD - Waffles, Pizza, Cheeseburgers. Not a single veggie. Not one.
• FAVORITE DRINK - Juice 
• FAVORITE TOYS - Cars, Transformers. PlayStation, Legos, pretty much anything Jackson plays with.
• WEIGHT - 48 pounds.
• HEIGHT - 43.5"
• SHOE SIZE - 12
• SPORT - Soccer
• BEST BUDDY - Cade Cherry

Kinder, 2nd Grade, and 6th Grade here we come!

It's going to be a great year.  The kids were excited to get back to school!

 Carter - Kinder - Bannockburn Christian Academy

Age: 4/5 (turned 5 on his 2nd day of school)

 Kylie - 6th Grade - Regents

Age: 11

 Jackson - 2nd Grade - Regents

Age: 7

Jackson and Mrs. Walter

I'll Fly Away

And in just four weeks after the diagnosis, my dad is gone. During those four weeks, each day was worse than the one before. He wanted to fight, he really did, but at some point the fatigue and pain became so overwhelming he had to choose comfort.  We all agreed it was the best choice. Through it, he had so many painful days, full of confusion and frustration.

But... he also had LOVE.  So much LOVE.  During the past month, he has never been alone. Either he was with my mom, my sister or me the entire time.  He wanted it that way.  It was no time to be alone. He wanted his family to be together, and we were.  We talked more than we have in a really long time, and more importantly, we laughed more than we had in a long time.

In the end, we all told him over and over how much we loved him and how proud we were of him.  I promised I would take care of his grandbabies and be the best mom I could be.  I would protect them and not take any chances.  He would always say, "I love you sugar. Don't take any chances." He was always so overprotective of his family, especially my mom and his girls.

On his last days, we played songs, and on one of his last days where he was awake, music was the one thing that would calm him down.  "I'll Fly Away" was always one of his favorites.  When we turned it on, his eyes opened up and he began to sing the words to the chorus.  What a glorious memory!  I'll never forget it.  We sang quite a few songs that day,,,songs about Heaven, about our walk with the Lord, and about the God's promises.

And now my hope lies in the true promise of Heaven. He has made his flight to be with our Heavenly Father.

Love you daddy,
Sugar

http://www.npwelch.com/obituary/william-roy-mahurin/