A Wonderful Christmas!

We hosted Christmas this year~I love playing host! We cooked for a few days, and of course had our cookie-decorating contest. It is always wonderful having the Paulk's and Johnson's all under one roof.

Although my job requires a lot of work on holidays and weekends, it is nice to be able to walk home from work to check in on my casseroles as they bake in the oven. :)

What Just Happened?!

Thanksgiving came and went so fast I don't know what happened. We had forty-five dogs here for boarding from Wednesday thru Sunday. It was quite eye-opening as this is the first Thanksgiving we have been through since the official opening of the kennel. It was a whirlwind of 5 days that left us all exhausted!

On Thanksgiving day, I spent most of it caring for pups. That evening I got to squeeze in a few hours and a meal at the Peytelewski's with lots of family. Although my husband and my parents were all hours away, it was nice to take a break to see family members that I don't see regularly.

Even with all the madness at work, Kristin and I STILL decided to go Black Friday Shopping at midnight until the wee hours of the morning. Friday morning at work was quite a challenge. We found Camille, who had also spent all night shopping, sleeping out back with the dogs. It was too funny.

At the end of this weekend, after almost all the pups had gone home, all I can say is that we know what to expect next year! :)

The Chicks Are Growing...

...and growing fast! They are still in the office, as distracting as ever!

My Sweet Angel Dog

There will never be another you. Can't believe you've been gone a year. It still hurts like it was yesterday. Miss you my sweet girl. Xoxo

Poor Baby Adrienne!

We noticed one of our babies walking very oddly in the brooder and constantly falling on her face. At first, we just thought she was clumsy. After closer inspection, we realized her legs wouldn't straighten properly. We don't have a "chicken vet" in the area, so we rely upon the internet for a lot of research.

After reading some advice about how to splint a chicks legs, we attempted it ourselves. Little Adrienne was so sweet and quite cooperative. We gave her several days but it just wasn't improving and she was really starting to struggle. Below are a few pictures of Adrienne during her splinting procedures. Unfortunately, we had to make a trip to Union Hill Animal Hospital after we made the decision to put her down.

Finnegan is bored

Finnegan is still locked in the bathroom healing from his surgery. Today he, well, you can see for yourself...

They're here! They're here!

After this weekend's surprise of baby Midas Turner Paulk (our new alpaca's name), today was the day that my order of baby chicks was scheduled to arrive. I got the call at 6 AM from the post office that there was a peeping box waiting on me. I had the drill down now since this is the second peeping box I've picked up there in the last few months. This was the baby chickens! I had been waiting so long for their arrival~I ordered them back in June. We ordered 30 babies, we lost one in shipping, and the company threw in one extra. So right now, we have 30 peeping babies!

We got their brooder all set up last night in my office. Talk about distracting!

A New (an unexpected) Addition!

Late this afternoon I was working at my desk in my home office. I love my office, mainly because I think it has one of the best window views from anywhere in the entire house. It looks out to the barn, the kennel, the pastures across the driveway and all the way down to the road. I often find myself procrastinating for unknown amounts of time just staring out the window at the ever-changing view.

Today I was doing just that, when I noticed something completely out of the norm. I saw the alpacas gathered together in a circle, huddling around a small object on the ground. I immediately jumped out of my chair and, yelling for Charles like a maniac, I started racing towards the barn. My thoughts were all over the place, but I was sure that a stray dog had gotten into the pasture and the alpacas had gone into "protection mode." About halfway in my race down the driveway (and after rolling my ankle), I realized it was not a dog at all. It was a BABY ALPACA! Codi Silver had given birth...and we didn't even know she was pregnant!



This was quite an unexpected surprise! We called the previous owners of Codi and asked how we should proceed. We grabbed iodine, dipped his umbilical cord and tied it off. We also learned that you aren't supposed to handle babies much in order for them to bond with their mothers. It was so hard as the little guy was only 15 pounds of cuteness. Anyways, Mom and Baby are doing well. What an amazing experience.

Around the Farm

Chloe and Stud Muffin...almost the same size

The 'pacas love their new hay feeder

First Night At The Kennel

We still have quite a few loose ends to tie up at the kennel, but we were having an open house, which was the final push to move the pups from my house to the kennel. Tonight was the BIG night!

Raising the Fences

We've learned the hard way that 4 foot fences are NOT tall enough for dogs. This week, First Fence of GA is installing taller, 6 foot fences around the kennel.

St. George Island

We left for SGI on September 10th and got to enjoy our time at the beach for a WHOLE week! This has become somewhat of an annual trip for anyone who was at the wedding.

Every year, we schedule a fun photo shoot with our wedding photographer, Kim Stone. She is fabulous and we always have a blast! Here are a few of my favorite pictures.

More Progress...The Waiting Game

Just a few more pictures or the progress being made~things are really starting to come together.

Grooming Room: The tubs on either side of the custom cabinets

The bathroom in progress

The Floors!

Our flooring contractors are wonderful. They spent Labor Day weekend working well into the night to finish our floors. They floors are now covered with rubber chips and coated with an extra-durable epoxy glaze. Here are some pictures we took from the door...it had not finished curing at this point so we were just looking in the windows/doors.

The kennel area

Close-up but it doesn't show the colors well

Hallway from kennels, laundry and breakroom

With these floors, we will be able to hose them down, mop and never worry about them cracking or being damaged.

Atlanta Motor Speedway

We went to AMS for the Nationwide Race this weekend. It was so amazing! Here are some fabulous redneck pictures.

New Gutters

We always seem to have water and drainage issues with every house. One of our biggest issues was that this house (or any of the surrounding buildings) didn't have gutters. We got gutters installed on our house, the guest house, the kennel and the garage. I decided to upgrade to round gutters on our house in hopes that at some point in time, I will be able to repaint the house, and get shutters to match. But, for now, they still look pretty cool. Here are the pictures of our house.

The Front Desk

The new desk is one of my favorite areas in the entire building. It's eye-catching design (again, thanks to Shelby Eanes) curves around the front and incorporates a half-door so that some of our canine guests can spend time with us while we are up there. In the near future, we hope to add a faux copper around the front of it.

Break Room Progress

We designed our breakroom/food prep area in what used to be the bathroom of the old building. We moved a few walls, brought in cabinets, appliances, and paint. We are also taking a large wooden shelving unit and converting into cubbies to keep food/treats/toys for each of our guests. 

Kennels in Progress~All the Purple!

Here are just a few pictures of the kennels. We are slowly making progress. There is lots of dust and much to be cleaned. The floors are being prepped this week for the new covering. Stay tuned!

Taking In The Fresh Air

Sometimes you just gotta get out and explore. Auggie and I enjoyed a little outing on the property next door. Hopefully one day, this will be ours. Wishful hoping...

Momo and Lama~Our Long-Time Visitors

We had two labs, Momo and Lama, who stayed with us for four months. Their owners were moving to California due to a job transfer and couldn't bring them until they sold their home here and closed on their new home. During their time here, we got quite attached to them. But today the pet transport company came to pick them up. They will be driving cross-country to be reunited with their family. Although we were sad to see them go, I know they will be more than excited when they arrive.

Waiting on their ride

In the crates, ready to roll out

Leaving in the transport van

Decisions Decisions Decisions

Of course, things never seem to run on schedule. We are making some progress at the kennel. The most difficult part of the entire remodel for me has been making decisions on things such as flooring, colors, lighting, etc. Thank goodness for the help of my best friend, Shelby Eanes. She has been a lifesaver!

Yard Work...

I don't think my parents ever expected to see the day when I voluntarily mowed the lawn. With the new mower though, how can I resist? Charles, Rob and I split up the mowing duties and got all 5 acres cut in just a few hours today. Here was my contribution!

Chloe LOVED rolling in the fresh-cut grass!