Happy New Years!

As 2008 comes to end I sit back and reflect on what a year it has been. 2008 was such a big year for Derek and I. We welcomed our little Ellie girl into our home at the end of February. She was 8 weeks old when we got her. I will never forget the moment Derek walked in the house with her. This little fluffy, floppy eared puppy came running in the door. My heart melted.....it was love at first sight. In the beginning it was as if we had a new baby in the house. I now fully understand what new mom's go through with not getting much sleep at night. Ellie would wake up a couple of times a night needing to go outside. The night she slept all night long without needing to go outside.......was the best sleep I had in such a long time. Such a milestone! Heehee : ) Ellie is very much a mommas girl. She is the sweetest little thing. She has a way of looking at you with her puppy dog eyes that makes you give into her.

Ellie and dad. Awe....puppy girl. : )

In May we bought our very first house. What an exciting and stressful experience that was! I wanted to see EVERY single house that was on the market in our budget.....I didn't really like any of them......and Derek of course loved them ALL! (He is much easier to please than I am!) We found one house in an area we really liked and put in a bid. We were too late and missed out on it. We were so disappointed. The house hunt continued. Derek was getting to the point where he didn't even want to go out and look any more. I too was feeling like we would never find anything we could agree on and it was starting to not be fun anymore. Then one day our realtor friend Dianne suggested we go look at a house that she kept overlooking because it didn't have everything on our....well my....list of requirements (wishes). When I saw the pictures on the virtual tour I did not even want to go look at it. Derek convinced me to go. We walked into this charming little 1950's ranch. Perfect condition. It didn't have a lot of the things that I was hoping for in our first house.....but there was a lot of potential. Seeing it in person really made a difference. It was a little outdated in some ways, up it's nothing we couldn't update in time. Best of all it had a HUGE back yard! This was the first one that we both pretty much could agree on (other than the first one we lost). Sold! We put in a bid right away. We were so nervous waiting to hear back. The thought of getting all excited and losing out again was a little nerve wracking. We crossed our fingers and hoped it would work out. And here we are today living in our perfect starter home for us in a quite neighborhood just 3 blocks away from Lake Loveland. Perfect for walking the dogs. We have done a few changes......nothing too major. It's fun to think about all the things we would like to do to our home. And it's been even more fun turning this house into our home and making it ours. This past summer we spent so much time out in our backyard BBQ-ing and getting to know our neighbors......and making new friends. We had a blast! We are very lucky to have such good neighbors who all help each other out and help look after things. Ellie LOVES to run up and down the fence with all her new friends. We planted a tree the first month we moved in. (Thanks mom!) It will be neat to see how big it grows over time. We are looking forward to making more home improvements now that all of our money and time is not going to planning our wedding. : ) We LOVE being homeowners. All the joys and tribulations that come along with it.

The very first thing we did.....take out this 1/2 moon wall table in the kitchen. It had to go! It opened up the space so much more.

Here is Derek planting our first tree.....with Ellie's help of course.

October 1st I became Mrs. Derek Norton. It was the happiest day of our lives.....so far. We had the most beautiful fall wedding on the most perfect day of the month. We could not have wished for better weather. It was almost 80 degrees that day. A little warm while the guys were taking pictures that afternoon. But for those who know Colorado weather.....it could have been snowing that day. Our outdoor ceremony took place that evening and the weather stayed just as perfect. God was really looking out for us this day. It was meant to be. : ) Our wedding day was so much fun. I didn't want it to end. I don't think that I have even been so happy like I was that day. I was just walking around in complete happiness and bliss about how much I loved this man that I was marrying. We had all of our close friends and family with us to share in our joy. What could be better than that?! I love to look at our pictures and go back to that day all over again. I love weddings. They are filled with so much joy, love and laughter. Which is what we hope our marriage will be filled with. It's such an exciting adventure. My brother wrote this awesome note to us on our signature mat: "The past is a memory........the future is a mystery.....today is a gift, that is why it's called the present." All of our messages still make me cry when I read them. We will cherish them always. We are so blessed to have found each other and have such wonderful family and friends who love and support us.

All of our friends and family! We are so loved! Thank you to all of you.

Right after we got back from our honeymoon we had the crazy idea of getting Ellie a playmate. She was getting pretty bored at home alone and needed someone to play with. She couldn't go to work with mom everyday! We called the breeder where we got Ellie from just to see when they were thinking of having another litter. It turns out that they still had one puppy left from Ellie's litter. This little guy was spoken for twice and it just didn't work our for one reason or another. We decided to take the 4 hour car ride and go get Ellie's brother.....Chubs.....and bring him home with us. Chubs was 9 months old when we brought him home. Chubs was the name the breeder's gave him because he was the chubbiest puppy of them all. He is not chubby now.....just a very hefty boy. HUGE paws! We were going to change his name and then just decided to keep it. He very much knew his name already. It was just easier that way. He has the same coloring that Ellie does. Black and white with brown eyebrows. So CUTE! I love that they look so much a like. You can definitely tell which is which though. Ellie is our petite little girl. No one can mistake her famous "ellie look" on her face she gives you. Chubs is all boy. What a lovable and dopey dog Chubs is! Oh we love hims so! Ellie was not too crazy to have him in the house at first. She was VERY territorial and still is at times to this day. Brother and sister and inseparable now. We love to watch them play together. It's so funny. They wrestle any chance they get, chase each other in the yard and fight over toys. Ellie always wants to have what Chubs is playing with or chewing on. Chubs is a super sweet and lovey, dopey dog. He just looks at you with this innocent blank stare. I call him "butters". He just melts into the floor like butta when you pet him. I was very much hesitant to get another dog. Our house just didn't seem big enough for all of us. I am so glad we did. They are monsters at times and my house seems like twice the mess now.....but they are so worth it. I can't imagine not having the two of them. They are our "double trouble". They are so happy to have each other to play and love on. Tomorrow on January 1st my baby dogs will celebrate their 1st birthday! I can't believe they are already 1 yrs. old. They have grown up so fast! Stoli was our first fur-baby. He wasn't crazy about Ellie. He was a little mad at me. He changed a bit. Over time they got used to each other. Or should I say Stoli got used to Ellie. Ellie loved Stoli......he was someone to play with! When we brought Chubs home......he really wasn't happy with us (well me). Thankfully Chubs and Ellie pretty much keep to themselves. However Stoli is still pretty grumpy with them. Anytime they even just walk by he growls and swats at them. Every now and then I will catch him walk up to one of them and start to give them what seems to be some kitty kisses.....and then he will just bite them. It's pretty funny. He is such a stinker. Stoli doesn't completely dislike them always......most the time you can find him piled on the bed with all of us.....one big happy family. : )






Wow! What a year 2008 has been. This year has flown by so fast. We have so many good things going on in our lives. We have been very blessed. I am so thankful and so lucky to have such a wonderful husband. Derek works so hard to take care of our family. He is absolutely my rock. I know we have a lot of good things planned for us and I can't wait to see what 2009 brings us. Here's to another great year! Cheers!

xoxox
mrs. norton