Welcome Betsy!

Congratulations to Tommy and Ruth upon the birth of their beautiful baby girl, Elizabeth (Betsy) MacMillan Connell!! She was born yesterday at 5:52 p.m. weighing 7 pounds, 9 ounces and measuring 20 inches long. We cannot wait to meet our newest niece!

Also, our walk went great! Team Connell had 10 walkers and as a team, we raised $600! Thank you Roche family, Debi and Tommy, Sammie, and Caitlin for all walking with Dash and I to support finding a cure for Type 1 diabetes. I will post some photos soon of the fun!

Join Team Connell!

Time has come again! Walk to Cure Diabetes brings people together in a fun, healthy activity for a worthy cause. As most of you know, Dash was diagnosed with Type I diabetes in 9th grade. Type I Diabetes is genetic and Dash is insulin dependent, unlike Type II that can be controlled with diet and is usually obesity related.

In honor of my husband (your brother, son, son-in-law, and friend), we will be participatin for our second year in Houston’s Walk to Cure Diabetes. I would love to have you walk with Dash and I. The walk will be at Reliant Park on Saturday October 20, with registration starting at 7am and the walk starting around 8am. It will be approximately 3 miles. If you would like to join us, just follow this link to register: http://walk.jdrf.org/register.cfm?id=86871053 – TEAM CONNELL! (We have 3 miles to think of a better name for next year!)

We have also set up a fundraising page if you are not able to walk - skip your Starbucks or fast food for a week - and donate in honor of Dash to JDRF through this page - http://walk.jdrf.org/support.cfm?id=86871053. (TEAM CONNELL walkers can set up their own fundraising page) Each dollar takes us one step closer to finding a cure for diabetes. Doctors and researchers are predicting we will actually see a CURE for diabetes well within Dash's lifetime.

Be proud on Walk Day and beyond, experience the pride and satisfaction that comes from knowing you were an important part of a nationwide effort that raised millions of dollars to help find a cure for diabetes.

Thanks in advance for your support!

Dash and Shae

Yesterday was an exciting day - I picked up Dash from his Pro-Am tournament after he called and could not say more than one word - "yeah..." On our way home, I made a comment about his negativity and mood swings he gets when he has a low blood sugar (it was probably in the high 20s yesterday). I was laughing about it, telling him that I try not to take his attitude personally. My husband looked at me and smirked at finding a loop hole. "hehe...you cannot get mad at me for at least the next hour."

He is doing a lot better now, after some Mr. Donuts and pizza. The upside - we both got half of Saturday off work!

To catch you up on what is going on in our lives:

We are staying quite busy with Youth Ministry at our church starting back up, full work schedules, planning baby showers (yay!), craft projects, getting diplomas framed (YAY DASH!), birthdays, trips to New Braunfels for Family Camp with our great friend Ruth, and hanging out with our newly empty nest moms.

Exciting news - Shae was the Bronze Winner for Sales for whole city of Houston for the month of July, out of a couple hundred sales consultants for David Weekley! Basically, they take into account your number of homes sold, total dollars sold, survey results from closings, and discounts given and Shae ended up #3 in the city for July. Her boss wants to hire all her sisters and friends so that is a good sign!

Tonight we are having a NFL Fantasy Football draft get-together with Shae' parents. Football, fried chicken, and family. What could be better? There will probably be some competitive Wii playing as well with Dash and Papa Tom.

Hopefully next weekend we will get to listen to the Aggie football team beat Montana State with Tommy and Ruth and the rest of the Connell clan. Just 6 days until Fightin' Texas Aggie Football starts! WHOOP!

Have a great week everyone!

Concert Groupies

Everyday I listen to KSBJ radio on my way to and from work and never get tired of it. When they announce their 25th Anniversary concerts were on sale, I had to go - especially with Toby Mac and Mercy Me coming. My mom, dad, and Sterling jumped at the chance as well, so last Thursday we piled into my car and headed to The Woodlands for our concert. It had been storming all day but once the concert began not a single drop fell at the concert.

We had great COVERED seats just in case and were pretty close to the stage. We also quickly discovered they serve Chili's (an outside concert with boneless buffalo wings and southwestern eggrolls - God is good!)

The concert line up included Connersvine (never heard of them, but one of the guys is the punter for the Colts), Mandisa (yes, American Idol Mandisa), Israel and New Breed, Toby Mac, and Mercy Me. Toby Mac was the obvious best performer but Mercy Me with their classics like "I can only Imagine" did great.

We had a blast. Thank you Sterling, Mom and Dad for going with me!

Save the Date!

October 20, 2007 - 8am
JDRF Houston's Walk to Cure Diabetes
Reliant Park

Dash and I will start a team soon for all our friends and family to join and walk with us. Last year, we walked for the first time - joined by the Shae's family and Tommy, Ruth, and John. It was a great experience and we plan on continuing our new tradition. Reserachers say that the cure for juvenile (Type 1) diabetes is well within Dash's lifetime, so your support could make the difference!

Backyard splashes

We splurged and bought a pool for our backyard. A pool for our dogs that is. Cooper loves it and has already marked it with his trademark bite marks. In this 100 degree heat index weather, this pool is a life-saver for him while we are gone at work during the day. We can tell when he is getting in it because we hear him 'swimming' around with his two front paws first and making big waves (and a big mess) before he sits down and cools off. Now, if only we could find him some floaties and a slip n' slide.

"Hmm, I think I might like this"

Big waves

"This is pretty nice and I really need a tan. "

"I wonder if I am getting wrinkly yet"

The Showboat

We had a blast last night going to The Showboat Drive-in in Hockley, Texas. For a bargain of only $5, we went to see a double feature of Transformers and Evan Almighty with Nate and Jessica. The whole experience was so different and we cannot wait to go again with more family and friends. Though we were too tired to stay and see Evan Almighty, we do recommend Transformers, which has some pretty good laughs.

Can I go outside and play now?

Happy July 4th!

We hope everyone had a great July 4th! We spent our day relaxing, BBQing, playing Wii, and shooting off a few fireworks from our side of the 'hood. Luckily the weather cleared for a few hours at night and we were able to spend some time outside. Some of our amazing friends joined us for the night - Ruth, Jessica Whitten, Nate, Katie, Matt, Sterling and Korie. Here are some photos from our July 4th:

Dash & Matt ready to blow things up

Katie really excited about the fireworks

Shae playing with the girlie fireworks

Dash being really cool with his sparkler

Jessica and Nate celebrating his first Texan July 4th

Rainy Days

Since we got our new Wii, here is a sample of the quality marriage time we spend together:


In other words, I have had quite the view of Dash's behind lately. Though I admit I enjoy our new toy too and anyone who wants to challenge my Wii bowling skills, be warned!

Photos for the past month

Here are some photos from the month of June to hold you all over until I can get Dash to write a post (well, you might be waiting awhile!).


I told Dash to make sure he took pictures on his Florida trip...this is the result - photos with no people. I guess he was trying to make me jealous that I could not go to such a beautiful place. Well, somebody has to work...not everyone gets to go to Florida for a week with our church, husband! Seriously though, I am very glad Dash was able to go and spend some time with his small group guys (now Juniors in high school). Imagine 10 guys in one condo and doing all the cooking themselves the entire week! And Dash as their leader! I wish I could have been a fly on the wall!


More to come soon...I have to run off to work. Hopefully July is as great of a month for sales as June was for me! If my luck continues for awhile at work, hopefully I can retire to motherhood in a couple years!

Jumpstart in June

June started out with a bang for Shae...I sold three homes in one weekend! This is a huge blessing for Dash and I, especially after some dirty tricks from my partner last week - lying and stealing a sale. Welcome to the for-profit world I guess. But I am still loving my new company and my job, though I still have some lessons to learn.

Yesterday was a great day-cation for me after my busy work weekend. We had a girls day at Galveston, that included a cooler full of....pimento cheese sandwiches, chilled orange slices, and Dr. Pepper. Perfect. My mom, two sisters, and I spent a few hours in the Texas sun and shared many laughs, sweet teas, and frozen custards. I had a blast!

This past weekend was also the funeral for my aunt Karen. Karen married my mom's brother a few years back. She had suffered a cerebral aneurysm a few weeks ago and did not pull through after fighting for a week. Please pray for her husband, Richard. He is left alone and had to make the decision on her life. I cannot even imagine how hard that must be. Please pray for the healing process for the Pennington family and for comfort for Richard.

Please also pray for Dash as he is making preparations for his Florida trip and for some great bonding with his sophomore guys. I hope everyone else is having a blessed June!

In dog heaven...

Since we only have fur babies right now, we treat our two dogs like children - we reward them, spoil them, punish them, feed them, and pick up their poop. Similiar right? Maybe not so much. But this e-mail made us smile as we tried to picture what our not-so-innocent dogs think as we do all of the above and more when they make us scream, laugh, gloat, or smile.

TO: GOD
FROM: THE DOG

Dear God: Why do humans smell the flowers, but seldom, if ever, smell one another?

Dear God: When we get to heaven, can we sit on your couch? Or is it still the same old story?

Dear God: Why are there cars named after the jaguar, the cougar, the mustang, the colt, the stingray, and the rabbit, but not ONE named for a dog? How often do you see a cougar riding around? We do love a nice ride! Would it be so hard to rename the "Chrysler Eagle" the "Chrysler Beagle"?

Dear God: If a dog barks his head off in the forest and no human hears him, is he still a bad dog?

Dear God: We dogs can understand human verbal instructions, hand signals, whistles, horns, clickers, beepers , scent IDs, electromagnetic energy fields, and Frisbee flight paths. What do humans understand?

Dear God: More meatballs, less spaghetti, please.

Dear God: Are there mailmen in Heaven? If there are, will I have to apologize?

Dear God: Let me give you a list of just some of the things I must remember to be a good dog.
1 . I will not eat the cats' food before they eat it or after they throw it up.
2. I will not roll on dead seagulls, fish, crabs, etc., just because I like the way they smell.
3. The Litter Box is not a cookie jar.
4. The sofa is not a 'face towel'.
5. The garbage collector is not stealing our stuff.
6. I will not play tug-of-war with Dad's underwear when he's on the toilet.
7. Sticking my nose into some one's crotch is an unacceptable way of saying "hello".
8. I don't need to suddenly stand straight up when I'm under the coffee table.
9. I must shake the rainwater out of my fur before entering the house - not after.
10. I will not come in from outside and immediately drag my butt.
11. I will not sit in the middle of the living room and lick my crotch.
12. The cat is not a 'squeaky toy' so when I play with him and he makes that noise, it's usually not a good thing.

P.S. Dear God: When I get to Heaven may I have my testicles back?

Cypress Construction

Exciting news for our neck of the Cypress woods... (thanks Ruth W. for passing it on!)

"Construction Begins on Houston Premium Outlets- FirstCall Simon's Chelsea Division to Open Upscale Outlet Center in Spring 2008 - CYPRESS, Texas, Simon Property Group, Inc. announced today that its Chelsea Property Group division began construction on Houston Premium Outlets. The 430,000 square-foot outlet center will bring upscale outlet shopping to the Houston market.The 75 acre property is located in northwest Houston off of U.S. Highway 290 between Mason Road and Fairfield Drive in Cypress , TX . Chelsea, a division of Simon, is the leader in the outlet industry based on its proven concept of Premium Outlet Shopping(R). The center will be a single-level, village-style project with a Southwest architectural theme and will be the company's fourth Premium Outlet Center in Texas . Round Rock Premium Outlets and Rio Grande Valley Premium Outlets opened in the Lone Star State in 2006, joining Allen Premium Outlets. Houston Premium Outlets will house 120 outlet stores and will feature high-quality designer and name brands serving the area's permanent population as well as visitors to the area."Our trademarked concept of Premium Outlet Shopping(R) differentiates Chelsea centers from other outlet centers and entertainment megamalls. We are confident that we will be bringing together an excellent mix of upscale and high quality merchants befitting this area's desirable demographics,"said John R. Klein, co-president of Chelsea . "We selected the Houston market because we felt there was a synergy in the type of quality centers we build and the brand conscious and quality-minded consumers who live in and visit this region. Shoppers who seek the finest brands at outlet prices and desire a more upscale shopping atmosphere will appreciate the difference in what we will be bringing to the Houston metro area."Houston Premium Outlets, scheduled to open spring 2008, will create approximately 800 to 1,000 quality jobs and is projected to generate millions of dollars in sales tax and real estate property tax revenue. To the east of this project, a 100 acre project, Fairfield Towne Center, is being developed by the Simon Community/Lifestyle Center Division. This 800,000 square foot project is slated to open fall 2008/spring 2009. Both projects combined will create over 1.2 million square feet of high quality retail space in this corridor."

So, Dash and I are desirable. O, and there was some other stuff mentioned to, but if this is similar to the Round Rock outlets (well, Georgetown in my mind) then I will be in shopper's heaven in a year or two. At least I have my new found treasure, Stein Mart, to sustain my work attire until then! It will be nice to have more retail and things to do around here. You know you live far out in the 'burbs' when you hear a wild pack of coyotes howling near to your house like I did last night when I was playing tennis. Not to mention the HUGE snake Dash and both ran over last weekend - over 5 feet long and definitely fatter than my arms. Civilization will be a nice addition to our section of the boondocks.

Dog Gone Days

We have an amazing new dog park by our house in Bear Creek that smashed that Katy Dog Park out of the park! 35 acres with a swimming pond with a dock for the dogs to 'catch air', agility equipment, and great walking paths. It just opened last week, and though we were sadly not able to make it to the Grand Opening Celebration we visited the Harris County Dog Park yesterday. We are still enjoying the rewards of the trip - tired dogs that just want to cuddle (yes, Dash does this) and sleep. And we are pretty impressed with the athleticism our dogs exhibited, especially Cooper who turned 1 year old a week ago. Dash is still holding out hope that our children will get that gene from him.

Forest Oasis

We celebrated our one year anniversary this past weekend (already?). The real date is not until March 25th but we enjoyed our mini-vacation to The Woodlands. Friday night we babysat for the Roches (if you can call watching tv for a few hours that) and had a great breakfast with them on Saturday morning. After breakfast, we walked around The Woodlands mall, saw the beautiful waterway, and shopped on Market Street. Dash and I really enjoy finding something that will remind us of our trip so this time we bought a great small A&M stained glass wind chime for our front door. We stayed at The Woodlands Resort and Conference Center, complete with chocolate dipped strawberries and champagne. Saturday night we ate at Bennihana's and slept great with extremely full stomachs. It has been such a great year for us - way easier than we thought our first year of marriage would be. God has blessed us in so many ways and we cannot wait to see what the next chapter in our marriage holds.

Market Street - The Woodlands

Our hotel

After Bennihana's. Do we looked stuffed?

Pictures from the past week

Doggie kisses?

BBQ at the beach

Sisters at the beach

Spring Break (weekend) at the Strand in Galveston

The luck of the Irish

Our St. Patrick's Day hoopla came a week early when it was our turn to host Supper Club with some of our closest friends. The Irish menu (steaks, twice baked new potatoes, asparagus a la Ruth, Irish soda bread, cheese fondue, and homemade shamrock cookies) and green and gold decorations was paired with Irish music and the infamous game night. We had a blast!

We hope everyone had a great St. Patrick's Day on Saturday!

Scalloped Tongues

Did you know that you can tell if you are a teeth clincher by looking at your tongue? My mom and I were fascinated by this and yes, I am. I figured I clinched my teeth, but did not know for sure - I guess because I clench my teeth mostly at night. People that clench their teeth (especially while sleeping) end up with tongues that are scalloped around the edge because basically their tongues take on the shape of the inside of their teeth from being pushed up to them when they are clenching their teeth. So my mom is a major teeth clincher (her tongue's edge looks like a seashell), and must have passed along this wonderful habit to me - which resulted in my type of TMJ disorder. So after the visit yesterday to the orofacial pain management specialist, I have come to the conclusions that I like muscle relaxers, I like things fast (the dr. said it usually takes people a couple of years for their symptoms to progress to where mine has in two months! now, that is a feat.) and that I am indeed a teeth clincher. So, if I ever ask to see your tongue, you know why.

The best part about my doctor visit? The two therapy dogs - one of which sat in my lap will I had my impressions done. I am going back, just for the dogs.

Changes

Yesterday, I got offered a job with another company and accepted it. My new position is such a blessing from God, and shows He has perfect timing. Please pray for my current company as they find a replacement and for my new position with David Weekley Homes (#12 on the Fortune 100 Best Companies to work for list!) with transitioning and training. God is good all the time.
-Shae

JAWS

So, no this blog is not about the shark movies. I (Shae) have been miserable for the past three weeks with what seems like is TMJ. Over Christmas, my jaw started popping and about three weeks ago started becoming very uncomfortable and painful. Now, after 2 visits to the oral surgeon and another one next week, I can open my mouth less than an inch. It is pretty pathetic, though I think Dash still thinks he could pry my jaw open wider if I would just let him. The doctor tired a dose pack of steroids last week that did not seem to help and the pain got worse and my jaw will now open less. I am now on low dose pain pills and antibiotics to rule out an infection in my jaw joint. I appreciate the doctor being thorough and not wanting to misdiagnose TMJ, but the no gum soft foods diet he has me on is not going to cut it if I cannot fit any food in my mouth. Every day it seems my mouth will open less so soon I might be a frequent customer at Smoothie King for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Hopefully my appointment next Monday will have some sort of results and maybe if Dash is lucky, his wife will have to sleep in a mouth guard for awhile - how attractive!

More Dive 07 Pictures...

The whole retreat group!

back of the T-shirts designed by Shae and some of the youth

Student Life Conference


Leeland playing - check them out at leelandonline.com and on ITunes!