Long post

Well, what a whirlwind the past couple weeks have been. Since my last post so much has happened I barely know where to start. Our daughter Ally was scheduled for surgery on the 20th of September from where her stitches had worked their way through her stomach after her previous surgery so I was pretty stressed from that already a couple weeks prior to her surgery, and then I had been having some pain in my abdomen as well. I took a pregnancy test and it came back positive so needless to say I was worried since I've had miscarriages and an ectopic in the past. We called and made an appointment with my obgyn and I went in to be seen, the pregnancy was confirmed and I was sent over to the hospital for blood work and an ultrasound.

We didn't see anything on the screen but still tried to hope that maybe it was just too early. My hcg levels came back from the bloodwork and they were actually right in the area that they needed to be so there was still a possibility this was a good viable pregnancy, and I was told to come back 48 hours after the test and have my blood work taken again. If the levels were doubling then it was a good pregnancy but if they were staying the same or even going up a little that meant it was another ectopic. I didn't get a chance to make it back in, very early the morning before I was supposed to return for more blood work I began hurting more and throwing up alot, so being severely sore and dehydrated and hurting as bad as I was we decided to go the the ER and have me all checked out. On our way we recieved a phone call from my mother letting me know that my Mawmaw (grandmother on my dad's side) had also been taken to the ER, she'd had a heart attack and had to be revived with the paddles. But mom said she was currently stable and they were there with her, so we went on into the ER.

It was determined that I wasn't in immediate danger of rupturing but my blood work showed that my hcg levels had stayed pretty much the same and the ultrasound the ER did showed both a complicated cyst on my ovary as well as a "suspicious area" in my fallopian tube. So my obgyn had me come to her office to discuss things and it was decided to have a shot to terminate the ectopic pregnancy (because there was no chance of it being a healthy pregnancy and it would have ended up rupturing and possibly me hemorrhaging to death in the process) so she gave me the shot on Friday afternoon. She told me that I'd probably be sore and hurting worse than I had been but if the pain became too bad to get to the ER because there was still a chance I could rupture before the shot could take full effect.

Then my husband and I had a huge problem, I had rabbits I was supposed to pick up in Greensboro, some of which I had already paid in full and had no other time to get them. Since I was hurting but not too awfully we made the trip to Greensboro, leaving out at midnight. The trip went mostly smooth with the exception of me having to stop to throw up a couple times thanks to the hormones still surging in my system. But we chose to only stay at the show long enough to pick up the rabbits I'd had planned, so we were only there about 30 minutes. I was sad because I had so been looking forward to this trip and this show. Afterward we swung by Alan's in SC to pick up some rabbits from him and then started on our way home.

We made it back to my parents house at around 10 pm to pick up our daughter and chose to spend the night at their house because of how little sleep we'd had the past few days. Mom and dad let us know that Mawmaw was having surgery to have a defibrillator put in on Monday, close to the same time that Ally's surgery had already been scheduled for. So they were going to come see Ally first thing in the morning at the hospital the day of her surgery then go on over to the hospital where Mawmaw was going to be.

Tim and I came home Sunday morning and just rested around the house after getting the new rabbits all settled in, I was still hurting and sore but not bad enough to cause worry until around 9 pm. I went to the bathroom for about the 50th time and when I stood up to flush and wash my hands I felt something like a "POP" in my lower right side and it doubled me over with pain. I went and laid down and tried to just breathe through it thinking it would go away if I could just relax a bit. Tim came in the bedroom and found me and was worried asking if we should go into the ER again and I said I didn't know, let's wait a bit and see if it calms down. Well it kept getting worse and worse so after about 40 minutes when the pain was very severe I agreed to go into the ER. At this point we were both insanely stressed, Ally's surgery was only several hours away and here he was having to sit with her in the waiting room while I was taken back and examined. I will spare the full details but let's just say there was alot of pain involved.

I wasn't rupturing but I was at a high risk for it with my pain level increasing, they were giving me high amounts of morphine and dillaudid (sp?) and it was barely touching it. So they admited me to the hospital overnight for pain managment and observation, they also had to give me some phengran for nausea as I began to throw up fairly often as well. I sent Tim home and told him I had to have him go home and take care of Ally because I couldn't be there in the morning for her. It killed me not being able to go be with my baby while she was having the surgery. The next morning they released me as soon as I could go to the bathroom, my Doctor told me the reason my pain had been so bad was because the shot not only ended up expelling the pregnancy but also the cyst on my ovary and everything was breaking lose in there to work it's way out. She said they'd have to monitor me until my hormone levels returned to zero, then at a later date we have to run contrast dye through my cervix and tube to make sure my fallopian tube is still open. If it's closed off I'll end up having to have another surgery.

Anyways after being discharged my friend Nicole drove me down to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital where Ally was having surgery, I got there right as the surgery finished and was able to go back with Tim and see her as soon as she was moved to the recovery area. She came through it all ok. Later we got a phone call saying that Mawmaw had also come through her surgery just fine so we were very relieved. Ally had to stay in the hospital from Monday-Thursday and was released Thursday evening. It felt so good to get back home but now I feel like there is so much to do, my house has never been so messy. I know to try and take it slow but it just feels overwhelming right now.

But overall I just feel very blessed, so many things could have gone so much worse. But my Mawmaw is safe and doing well, I'm still getting tired out easy but I'm doing better, Ally is doing wonderful and is back into everything, and with any luck October will be a slower and calmer month. Looking forward to being outside more now that it's getting cooler, and taking my Allycat to the pumpkin patch for the first time, not to mention the best holiday ever Halloween. I think mommy and daddy are skipping costumes this year, just because I haven't been able to sit down and start sewing them yet so I think I'm just going to sew Ally's. She's going to be a little fairy, since she was a witch for last year's Halloween party and then a ladybug on Halloween. She's going to be so cute and you know I'll just have to post photos lol.

Thanks for reading my little rant about the past few weeks, it was crazy and writing helped me let some of the stress go :) Take care everyone!

Thoughts for the day

I love Autumn!!! So far this year we've had days that felt like fall, and then other days that smelled like fall but, today was the first day that both felt and smelled like fall. I know I sound nuts but there is a distinct feeling to this day each year. Fall is my favorite time of year, the colors, scents, even the clothes. Going to the pumpkin patch or the orchard, hay rides, fires at night in the back yard under the stars and the way the leaves look, all bursting with reds,oranges,yellows and rich browns. **happy sigh** lol

In rabbit related news, it's official. I'm letting my shadeds go for now, I like them and will probably get back into them again someday but right now I just really want to focus on my oranges, and colors which are compatible with them. My selfs are staying as well, seeing as I'm bringing in a chocolate buck and probably a chocolate doe and lilac doe. I will possibly even add a few more because I'll have more options to breed them to but the shadeds I wouldn't have as many possibilities, and I think I'd like to be able to breed any given buck/doe to more than one other rabbit in the barn.

Greensboro is just over 8 days away now!! Can you tell I'm excited? lol Last show of the year for me, but I'm going to be counting down the days until Spring once Christmas passes us by. Dalton and of course Nationals. I'm going to try to get some Dow's stock when I go, oh and I also have found a couple other orange breeders this week that I really like their stock. I just wish more lived nearer to me.

Anyways this will be my first trip to Nationals, I really hope I will have something nice to put on the show table. I wouldn't dream of winning but just feeling like I put forth something worth being there would be great.

Guess that's it for now, just felt like writing out what was on my brain. Til next time, take care :)

3 weeks now

First off though, other news from around here. Mami and Comet both were misses the past month so I'm trying again to breed them today. I think my bucks were probably heat sterile last when I bred them last though so hopefully today will take better. I'm breeding Mami to Ninja and Comet to Chocolate Cake IF he cooperates. Last time he barely showed interest in breeding so if he doesn't "buck up" then comet will also be bred to Ninja. Not the pairing I want but right now I'm more worried about her having babies since she's nearing the year mark.

Less than 2 weeks until the Greensboro show now! I'm so very excited, I'm not taking anything to show but I am picking up some nice rabbits if all works out as hoped. I am for certain bringing home a really nice chocolate buck, PAC's Heath, to use with my orange program, and an orange buck MB's Tang.

I'm also getting to look at a chocolate doe, lilac doe, broken black doe who carries chocolate. On the way home I'm swinging by Alan's to look at a few broken oranges and an orange that he has. Plus, I will get to see some friends and hopefully meet a few new ones which is always fun!

Hm, guess that's it for now. Here's the pictures of the oranges from yesterday (3 week shots) I'm pretty sure we have an Orange buck, Broken orange doe and Fawn doe BUT still a little too early for me to be certain. :)

11 days old

New pictures of the little ones, pictured below at 11 days old. The smallest (the orange) is on the left and the largest is the fawn on the right. They are so sweet right now, I can't wait to see them next week! Little balls of poofy energy :)

Benn naughty and not posted pictures

So now I'm posting some lol. The kits are currently 10 days old and their eyes and ears are open now. The pictures below are the kits at 1 week old though.

The orange kit is the smallest in the litter and the fawn is by far the largest so far.



Orange and Broken Orange being all cuddley and cute.


All 3 kits, 1 week old and absolutely adorable!

"Orange" litter - 3 Days Old

Here's a few shots of the babies today. 3 days old and still doing really great. Their fur is coming in a wee bit more. I can't be certain but it looks as though Kit #1 will be a broken, Kit #2 I'm unsure about at all...maybe a fawn? And Kit #3 I think is going to be solid orange. guess time will tell but that's my best guess at this point. I'm still on cloud 9 about these little ones! Yay Oranges!!! lol




Kit #1, 3 days old


Kit #1, 3 days old


Kit #2, 3 days old


Kit #2, 3 days old


Kit #3, 3 days old


Kit #3, 3 days old

First "orange" litter

Well I am just about as tickled as can be! Just got my first litter from my Orange doe, Cloverleaf's Fe. I had bred her to my Broken Orange buck, Orange Crush. First timer she may be but she handled it like a seasoned pro! Well, maybe slightly over zealous, after she kindled she continued to pull fur and fill the nest to the brim, so I pulled some out to save for winter litters. She started really focusing on fixing up the nest box in the morning, and I was lucky enough to peek at her at nearly 11 pm and see she was in labor. The first kit was breech which worried me but she got him/her out OK and he/she seems to be doing great. The others followed quickly and she spent her time cleaning each one and then stayed in the box about 10 minutes so they could nurse.

Anyways we have 3 darling little squigley kits, I can't tell exactly what their colors will be yet but I am very excited to see how they mature. and on that note in this post I will probably update and post pictures of their progress so I can have it for my breeding records at a later time too. That way in their future litters I can compare and see how their lines mature and when little ones should "pop" so to speak.

Here's some pictures of the kits, the entire litter just after birth and then each one individually the next day:












And then here's photos of the kits on Day 2:

Stress relief

I need some serious stress relief. Due to the heat I lost Cloverleaf's BJ, Cloverleaf's ChocoDoe (who was pregnant with BJ's offspring) and Sonata, or L1 as she's listed on my website. I came very close to throwing my hands in the air and selling them because the weather (wind and heat) keeps knocking me on my butt. But I decided, with the urging of my wonderful husband, not to give up and to restock my orange program and hopefully make it better.

So as hard of a decision as it was I sold my remaining otters, Jones and Jazzy (or Along came jones and L4) to help with some extra cash to go toward my oranges. Sad as it made me good quality otters are pretty easy to get in my area... oranges,chocolates, shadeds, and chestnuts are NOT. So I currently have Cloverleaf's FE (orange doe), Holden's Comet (Siamese Smoke Pearl doe), JMR's Mami (Chestnut doe), Spring Creek Ninja (Black Buck) and Holden's Chocolate cake (Siamese Sable buck)

As of Sunday I'll be adding RM's Orange Crush (Broken Orange buck), then sometime the next month I should have a fawn doe and an orange doe coming in. Come September I'll be getting PAC's Heath from Christina of Spumanti. I wish I lived closer to her, she almost always has stock I want lol. It was hard letting my otters go but I'll pick them back up once we move and I have a larger space for my rabbits. Right now I think it's better for me to focus on my oranges and just continue dabbling with my shadeds and chestnut.

Excited about some new additions coming soon

I'm bringing in a few new additions over the next couple months, geared totally on my orange program. The first I should be picking up next weekend is a pretty little Broken Orange buck, by the name of RM's Orange Crush. Then I'm bringing in an orange doe and a fawn doe from Mike Landers, their type isn't amazing BUT their color is. And last but certainly not least I'm adding on a chocolate buck by the name of PAC's Heath, who I'm getting from Christina Caporale.

Hopefully they'll be adding alot to my oranges, both bucks have great type, so I'm hoping a few generations down I'll have oranges with amazing type and color. Orange is my favorite variety with the possible exception of champagnes lol. It would excite me so much thinking of making a good contribution to them in my work.

So I've been inactive forever...

But now here I am again! Since my last post there's been wind damage to my bunny barn and I lost 3 of my rabbits, which included Tiny, my little Black Buck who was a chocolate carrier, and my favorite , Matrix, my Siamese Smoke Pearl Buck, and also Mitzy, my Siamese Sable Doe.

Also since my last post, and in the same month I had my surgery (polyps removed from uterus and doing great now, no pain at all!) my beautiful daughter Ally had her second surgery for her omphalocele and has done wonderful. Her stomach is so much flatter now. One more surgery in about 6 months and she should be done, with a flat belly and a belly button.

This past weekend was also my rabbit club's show. CTNRBA hosted it's second annual show in Dickson, TN July 3rd. And while it didn't go as well as we'd have liked it still was pretty good. At our next club meeting we're going to make suggestions on improving the next one so I'm confident that next year's show will go even better! The main issues we had was the AC not cooling enough, and disagreements on opening side doors for access versus using only one door to try to keep it cooler. With any luck we can switch location next year and it won't be a worry.

Now for news from the nestbox we have several does that we hope have buns in the oven so to speak lol. This is the first try breeding my oranges. I'm so hoping to get some pretty little orange babies out of them, and my chocolate doe. So anyways I just wanted to post a short update since I've been out of the loop for awhile. New photos of all the rabbits will be posted on the website soon. Take care y'all! :)

A little over a week until Dalton!

And I could not be more excited! My best friend is coming into town and we are going to this together and then also have a girls weekend planned which will be wonderful. I need a little fun to tide me over until Spring when I can actually be outside and enjoy myself more. This winter stuff has gotten old, Tennessee has had more days with snow on the ground than I can remember for awhile.

I've also added another rabbit to the list that I'm bringing back from Dalton, she's a Broken Chocolate Otter doe. I'm going to try showing her for a bit I think and then afterwards give her a go as a mama. Oh I also should add that I ended up not getting the Broken Orange I had planned on, our central heat unit croaked on us and we had to repair it which took the money for that trip. I've emailed the breeder I was going to get her from to see if we could make other arrnagments to meet but I haven't heard back from him yet so idk. Anyways I decided to add photos of the rabbits I'm bringing home, I'll get more after they arrive though.

Here's the Siamese Sable buck I'll be bringing in, he throws beautiful babies :

And below is the Siamese Smoke Pearl buck, and then below him is the doe I will be bringing in. These two are a sibling pair though so naturally they'll not be bred to eachother.

Then here's the orange buck I'm bringing in and below him the orange, this is a non related pair so oh yes, orange babies will be coming when they're old enough if I have my way! lol

And then below is a little Black buck I'm getting who carries chocolate

And here's the Broken Chocolate Otter doe

I don't have a picture of the Chocolate doe on my computer but she is a BUD, and makes some pretty babies, I do have a picture of one of the babies from her last litter, it's below.

Anyways time for me to run and start putting some cages together, Tim and I are putting together a PVC frame for hanging cages this weekend so I want to get as much ready as I can. I'll post pics of the PVC frame in my next blog. Take care everyone!

Taking the bad with the good

Well this past weekend had it's good points and bad points. Blue and Melodie ended up going slightly over their due date and ended up having them while I was away from the house, when I got home Blue had delivered 2 on the wire DOA, and Melodie only had half of a baby in her nestbox :/ Later that night Blue delivered another (which looked to be a little blue otter) which was also DOA, I was out there when she delivered it, I felt so bad for her because she was trying to be such a good mommy and kept going to where her babies had been after I removed them and snuffling through the fur in the nest making whimpery sounds. Anyways this was the last attempt so both of these girls are retired now. Melodie is going to be listed for sale as a pet later today. Blue's my girl so she's staying.

But the good news, I went to my first meeting with the Central Tennessee Rabbit Breeders Association and it was great to meet everyone, I had spoken to Lynn and Donna before the meeting so I finally got to put some faces with the names. I also ended up lucking into a few Black Otters. Vera from the club doesn't deal with them but her daughter had begged for them and then totally lost interest so she said I could take them if I wanted. The Jr doe I brought home looks like she could be a good show quality prospect, so I may take her to the Louisville, KY show and see how she does. I'd take her to Dalton but my cages are going to be full as it is on the way home. The buck is a tiny little fella with a nice body and good head, his ears are a little toward the V'd side but I still think he'll be a nice addition to my brood stock. I have to give a very big thank you to Vera Smith for these otters!!

I also got back in contact with Twila Coffey which I'm really thrilled about. She has such wonderful blacks, blues, and black and blue otters. I'm hoping to get some good show Jrs from her later this year. I also am checking Dennie's site (Spring Creek Gems) everyday to see if she'll have any broken chestnuts for sale. She posted a picture of one on the ND Forum awhile back and I was in love! lol

So all in all this past weekend was really good (with the exception of the babies being DOA) the next few weekends I can not wait for. This coming weekend I'm going to see my best friend for her daughters 1 year birthday. We always have too much fun no matter what's going on. We joke that we have to live in different states or we'd get into trouble all the time and drive our hubbies crazy lol. The following weekend my Broken Orange doe is coming home, and the weekend after that DALTON!!! I'm so excited about that. I'm really praying it will be warm, this semi-constant snow is about to drive me crazy. I enjoy snow but enough is enough, let me see some green! Speaking of green I bred my otter does today and their due date should fall on St. Patty's day. I'll get my website updated tonight or tomorrow with all the new changes and pictures of the new crew.

Thanks for reading, take care all!

This next month is gonna be so busy and fun!

Starting with this weekend things will get busy and stay that way for a bit, both with the rabbitry and just life in general. With any luck one of my does will give me some kits, they both are due Friday but they're also both older gals now so I'm keeping my fingers crossed but as of right now not really expecting anything. Might be going to a CTRBA meeting this weekend too if they were able to work out everyone's schedule for it, kind of in a holding pattern on that one just now.

My little girl will also be spending the night with her Grandma which I'm nervous about since this is really only the second time anyone has watched her, and I know I'll miss her. But on the plus side...SLEEP! lol That's a rare luxery since we brought her home from the hospital, she still isn't sleeping through the night. I have faith that she will soon though.....I hope.

Then by the weekend of the 20th I should have my new rabbit "barn" set up. I can't wait until we move and I can build a real barn setup and have electricity run out to it so I can keep the temp and lighting regulated year-round but, until then my new setup should do great. It's going to be a 10x20 carport canopy, the kind that's really sturdy and can stay up all year. I had the idea of it and then spoke to someone else who's used one for their car and they said it is really great, they've had it up for 4 years now and it doesn't have any rips or damage to it at all, and this is through Tennessee's crazy weather so I'm confident in it. Also that same weekend I'll be visiting my best friend, her daughter is turning 1 year old so we're going for her birthday. She's only 2 months older than my babygirl, weird to think she's already almost a year old herself.

The following weekend I'm adding a new doe to my herd, she's a Broken Orange doe, and a BUD. Her litter history is promising, she's almost 2 and ussually gives about 5 live kits per litter. The breeder I'm getting her from said he's had great luck showing her babies down there and when bred to a good buck she produces some real beauties. I'm so excited Orange is my favorite color (with the possible exception of Champagnes) so bringing home some to add to my herd is really thrilling for me. I know they are hard to work with but I think it's worth it.

Then that next week I'll be busy making sure my rabbit cages are all nice and ready in the new "barn" because the weekend of March 6th is the Dalton, GA show!!! This is my first show so I'm really looking forward to it, not to mention the fact that I'll be bringing home quite a few new faces. At least 8, but possibly 10. So it'll be exciting and busy and hectic. I'm going to love it,lol.

Plus it'll be really neat for me to get to meet some of the breeders I've been talking to. Dennie of Spring Creek Gems, Jennifer of J&J Harmony Acres, Kristen of Holdenabunny, and Christina of Spumanti to name just a few that I know I'll be seeing. All of which have been great helping me out, both with advise and then helping me find what I need to add to my herd.

So that's what is new around here. Oh a quick rundown of the color/sex of what I'm bringing in in case you're curious:

Siamese Sable Sr Buck
Smoke Pearl Jr Buck
Smoke Pearl Jr Doe
Orange Jr Buck
Orange Jr Doe
Chocolate Sr Doe
Black Jr Buck
Broken Orange Sr Doe

and MAYBE
Siamese Sable Sr Doe
Siamese Sable Jr Doe


Think I'll have my hands full for a bit? Naaahhh, not me lol. Anyways thanks for reading, take care!

Twitterpated Rabbitry..the Hopes, the Dreams, the..annoying Blog Post lol

Hey all,

Well since my previous post gave some info about me in general and my life, now it's time to tell about Twitterpated Rabbitry and how it came to be. It all began long ago and far away..... November of 2006 to be exact.

I decided it would be fun to raise and breed rabbits so, off to the internet I went to research all the different breeds. Naturally I was most drawn in by the Netherland Dwarf rabbit, they were small and adorable, had a great natural pose and came in such a wide variety of colors! So I did some research and brought my first ND home. I still have her, she's Lil' Blue. And I will probably end up selling other retired bunnies as pets but Lil' Blue is going to stay with me all her life.

Then I had some health issues and was unable to persue it for awhile again but finally in January 2009 I spoke to another breeder about picking up a few of her rabbits. Between the agreement to get the rabbits and when I was able to pick them up we also got a phone call from a birthmother. My husband and I had been trying to adopt and she saw our adoption profile and thought we were a good fit. So soon after picking up my rabbits, my daughter was born. She spent 5 weeks in the NICU at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and then after we got home everything was pretty busy with doctors visits, then getting the adoption finalised and all.

As of December 2009 things had calmed down and I was ready to get back into the rabbit habit. So I began the process of searching for new stock and getting things off the ground for my rabbitry by registering it with the ARBA. Twitterpated Rabbitry became officially registered with the ARBA on January 15th, 2010.

Currently I have 1 Black Sr Buck (Ninja), a Blue Sr Doe (Lil' Blue), and a Sable Point Sr Doe (Melodie). I'm only starting out with my rabbitry and I have big plans for expansion in the near future. Melodie and Lil' Blue will soon be retired, Melodie will probably be up for Sale as a pet to a good home within the next month or two. As I said before Lil' Blue will stay here and live as our pet.

Currently my rabbits are housed inside my heated garage but I should have a 20x10 rabbit building for them to be housed in by the end of Febuary.On the 27th I'm picking up a Broken Orange brood doe to add to my herd and am currently searching for a Orange Buck to join her. Over the next few months I plan to add a few Siamese Sables, Siamese Smoke Pearls, Sable Points, Oranges, Blacks and Champagnes. The last is a new color variety and is waiting for approval, I'm sure cheering Joe Powers on for getting this color variety recognised. He's got me on his waiting list for a trio as he has them available this spring/summer.

So even though my rabbitry is currently teeny tiny it will be growing quite a bit within the year. I'm also hoping to begin showing rabbits, I'm currently looking at a few Jrs to purchase with the hope of showing but, eventually I'd love to produce and show my own Netherland Dwarfs but I know it'll be a little while before I can do that.

I plan on bringing in the best stock I can to begin my herd, even though I'm new at all this I've been speaking with other breeders to learn all I can. My main goal in starting this rabbitry is just to enjoy it, which I'm sure I'll never have problems with (manure managment aside anyways, lol) but other than that I intend to breed as close to the Standard of Perfection as I can and make certain my rabbits always go to good homes, be it breeder or pet home.

Anyways here's my first blog directly about the rabbitry, I hope I didn't bore you too much. And I also hope you'll check my main rabbitry page often in the future as I hope it will grow and change quite a bit over the next few months and years.
http://www.wix.com/twitterpatted84/Twitterpated-Rabbitry

My first blog post

Hey all,

I'm starting this blog mostly because my rabbitry is currently so small I want people to be able to see what my plans are for future expansion of my herd, and also just to ramble on about my daily activities, thoughts, and other random things. I'll begin writing about my rabbitry in the next post but for now I want to tell you about myself.

So here we go, my name is Andrea Edwards, and I'm a wife and mother first and foremost in all aspects of my life. I've been married for 6 years and my husband and I were very blessed this past year,to have our first child, and she is the most beautiful little girl ever (I'm a mom, I'm allowed to be biased,lol) We had her via adoption and she was born with an omphalocele which we knew about in advance, the doctors and nurses thought she'd be in the NICU a minimum of 6 months...5 weeks after she was born we were able to bring her home and she has been consistently amazing in everything she's done. She'll be a year old in April and will have her final surgery soon after. I'm so blessed to have her in my life.

I am also a self taught freelance photographer, I'm by no means the best and hope to further my study and improve my skill, in my thoughts practise makes perfect so I learn by doing. I was fortunate enough to be able to start my own business and have very good luck with it the first year, although I've taken the time since my daughter was born off so I could focus on her. I love to travel though so far it's been limited to the US, my favorite place to vacation is North Myrtle Beach, SC and I can not wait to go back there. I love camping, hiking, swimming, and just being in nature in general. I believe in animal rights and think cruelty to any living being should be punished, though I also value human life above animals, please don't persecute me for this, it is my belief and you are entitled to your own.

I love art, and have a wide variety of likes that range from traditional Van Gogh to Angelo Filomino (wonderful artist, please see his work if it's near you, photos do not do the vivid colors justice). I also love music, I've lived near Music City most of my life and have been to dozens, if not hundreds of concerts, country, jazz, pop, rock, and many other genres. I have a unhealthy love of the Anita Blake novels by Laurell K Hamilton, I also love the Lord of the Rings series (including the Hobbit) I believe C.S. Lewis was a genius and an amazing writer, I love the Vampire chronicles by Anne Rice, Twilight Eyes which is about the ONLY book I like from Dean Koontz, everything else seems like he just rewrites the same story and changes the names. I, Vampire by Michael Romekey is another of my favorites and of course the Twilight series.

Anyways this is the short version of all the other parts of my life, the next post will focus on the rabbitry. Hope you've enjoyed this peak into my life.