I love you's

  

This Is my Service Dog Gunnar. He is a 1 1/2 year old boxer whom I love so so much.

Gunnar provides pressure when I am having a panic or anxiety attack, or when I am having a PTSD flashback. He also circles me when I feel scared in a crowd. He has been the greatest support!

Gunnar is oh so full of personality..he gets tons of attention especially for his under bite. He loves to talk to you if you are talking to him. He loves to go to the movie with me and eats  all the popcorn on the floor...lol. He is a completely different dog when he has his vest on compared to when he doesn't, He loves his Uncles and has the fastest wiggle-butt I have ever seen!!!  

Dogs provide the greatest amount of love. They fill our lives with happiness day after day 'asking nothing in return. If they could speak I think their vocabulary would entirely consist of  "I love you"'s!!! They also give us the worst day of our lives...when they leave us. But it is so worth all the good days to invest in one of these creatures! I cannot imagine a world without dogs.

Courageous James and Rex

Today is the birthday of James Anderson, whom I have been thinking about all day especially since I went and saw the new Star Wars today. When we were little we would play Star Wars in this huge village they made in their basement when I would babysit them.
James and Rex were my neighbors my whole childhood. Both had Cystic Fibrosis. I always knew that their life would be short and took advantage of the time we had with them.
When I was diagnosed with Cancer at age 12 they were so excited to show me around the hospital, Primary Children's Medical Center. They introduced me to the nurses and when I would tell the nurses that I babysat the Andersons they would say "Both of them?!?! Together?!?!" because they were very spirited.
When ever I would feel down about me having cancer I would think of how it wasn't so  bad... this was just going to take a good two years of my life... James and Rex would battle EVERY day of their life just  for a good breath of air.
They both lived longer than I had anticipated, but it was still too soon for the world to not have these two spirited boys in it. I think about them all the time and tears always find their way down my cheeks. What a blessing it was to have them in my life, they were my little brothers.
Love you James and Rex.
Thanks for showing such Courage in all you do.
Miss you always.

Oil pastel

Fun chalk pastel

Sunset

Here is my first piece of artwork I want to share.

The Beginning

I am Courage.
I have come to love the word Courage. It started when I was 12. I had just found out I had cancer and a family friend asked if she could start articles in the local newspaper about the battle I was starting. Me and my parents agreed. The title of the articles were KayLeigh's Courage.
Courage to me is facing something difficult with strength. It doesn't mean no fear... it just means you choose to face the challenge head on. Strength. Courage.
I've had many battles in life, starting with cancer. You may hear later in this blog about some other battles I've faced... but not today. I'm not ready to talk about them just yet. Not because I'm afraid, but because I want to address them with the right words... and the words aren't coming today.
Courage.
I am LDS, aka "Mormon". This blog will feature many of my beliefs, it will also include my art work and summaries of movies and TV shows (and books) I watch with LDS ratings so others in my faith can know if its something appropriate to watch.
I am aiming to write daily....although their may be days I cant get around to it.,
I am not the best with words, so please be patient with me.
Here is to the beginning of something great!