Recharging

Last weekend we enjoyed some much needed recharging of our batteries. Jamie needed it the most. He was coming off of a 60 hour work week after 80 hours the week before. The forecast promised sunny skies and temperatures in the 70's. We knew our plans were going to include two things: being together and being outside.

Friday we packed some snacks and water bottles and went to the park.

Cade always begs for "under-dog" on the swings. Daddy does them the best!

The day off wouldn't be complete without a few texts or emails from work!

Snack break

loooove these pictures of Bossy and me.

After the park, we decided to go camping at my parents' lake property. By the time we got packed and drove down with dinner on the way, it was dark. Still, the boys wanted to do a little fishing before bedtime.

Boston: "I think I caught an alligator garr!"
Cade: "I wanna see!"

For some reason when I put Lily's food out, Cade was super interested. He wanted her to eat out of his hand. He even gave her a little scratch while she ate!

A campout wouldn't be complete without a fire and s'mores! The boys just wanted to eat the marshmallows and watch them roast/burn, but weren't too interested in the whole s'more. Jamie and I enjoyed ours, though!

First thing Saturday morning the boys got to work digging in the sand. This is Boston's favorite thing to do at the lake.

Jamie trying to teach the boys to play tic-tac-toe in the sand...they weren't into it.

Our campsite. Can't beat the view!

Jamie getting ready for a little game of fetch with the beast, as I affectionately call her.

Scooping lots of sand/dirt into the lake...

and on themselves!

Lily kept busy chasing ducks and floating sticks in the lake.

After getting sand in his eyes or mouth one too many times, Cade announced "wanna go in da tent an take a rest." And that's just what he did!

Boss loved filling his truck with sand over and over

Self-portrait. Just to prove I was there=)

Bug Catchers

Who needs toys

when you have

a pool

in the backyard

full of june bugs?

Creepy, crawly

fun!

(The beast likes them, too...she eats them! I don't get it.)

On Trials and Blessings

Our family has faced a few bumps in the road lately. Not huge road blocks or anything, just little speed bumps that have forced us to slow down and refocus.

We decided to get our dog, Lily, because we wanted a companion for our kids, and we saw it as an opportunity to teach them responsibility and accountability as they get older and help take care of her. We thought long and hard about it and felt like it was the right time and the right thing to do for our family.

I guess you could say we got two for one. A sweet dog and a BIG TIME learning experience. Heavenly Father had some life lessons in store for us.

Lily got sick 5 days after we got her and nearly died of Parvo. She recovered from that virus, but suffered complications that will likely affect her the rest of her life. It has been challenging couple of weeks for us (did I mention that already?) regarding caring for her. She developed an infection in her leg from her IV catheter, and the swelling led to a necrotic wound that requires twice daily cleaning and dressing.

I hate wounds. Like really. I deal with a lot of gross stuff at work, but I really have to dig deep when I have a patient with a wound that I have to care for. And now I have my very own patient at home 24/7.

Recently I came across a quote that really touched me:

God loves us and, loving us, has placed us here to cope with challenges which he will place before us. I'm not sure we can always understand the implications of his love, because his love will call us at times to do things we may wonder about, and we may be confronted with circumstances we would rather not face. I believe with all my heart that because God loves us there are some particularized challenges that he will deliver to each of us. He will customize the curriculum for each of us in order to teach us the things we most need to know. He will set before us in life what we need, not always what we like.
--Neal A. Maxwell

We know we were given this experience for a reason. We can learn a lot about ourselves when we are tested. I guess you could say I found a strength in myself that I didn't know I had, and I am grateful for that. This experience has reminded me that it's ok if things are hard; I can do hard things. I also believe that this trial came at a crucial time in Boston's life. He has prayed for Lily everyday since she got sick, and he knows his prayer was heard. His little spirit is so pure and he is developing a testimony of prayer. Monday for Family Home Evening we told him the story of Daniel being thrown in the lion's den and how Heavenly Father protected Daniel because he prayed. Then we talked about how Heavenly Father hears and answers our prayers too. I hope Boston always remembers this experience. I think he will.

We just keep saying...after all this is said and done (and paid for) she better be the best darn dog you've ever seen!!


As for Lily, she thinks she is a normal puppy. She just wants to run around, eat everything in sight, pee on the carpet, and chew on the boys' toys and shoes. She does come in handy sometimes, too...I don't have to sweep my kitchen floor anymore. Tonight she even ate an earwig before I had a chance to kill it! (More specifically, before I had a chance to get Jamie to kill it.)

Over the last few challenging weeks (did I mention that already?) I have been reminded several times of the words of one of my favorite hymns:

When you look at others with their lands and gold, Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold; Count your many blessings. Wealth can never buy Your reward in heaven, nor your home on high. Are you ever burdened with a load of care? Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear? Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly, And you will keep singing as the days go by.

I have been trying to remember to count my blessings everyday. I have said many many times, I'm so blessed to have 2 healthy kids. I cannot imagine if this were happening to one of my children. I'm also so grateful for my nursing education that has given me the skills to care for Lily and generate a comfortable income for my family until Jamie finishes school.

Most of all I am grateful for two beautiful children that I get to wake up to everyday. Today was one of those days that makes me glad I get to get up tomorrow and try again. I want to do better and be better for them.

Always Learning...

I don’t hijack the blog very often, but I felt I needed to take my turn in sharing some of my thoughts from the past few weeks. As Ashley has said, a few days after adopting our dog Lily she became sick with parvo. While all of us were sad to see Lily’s condition worsen, Ashley was taking it especially hard. When we brought Lily home to try and help her ourselves Ashley really stepped up to the plate. What she hasn’t shared is that she basically was up at least once an hour every hour we had her home trying to nurse her back to health. She would give her water with a syringe to keep her hydrated, constantly clean up throw-up because Lily couldn’t keep anything down, and when things got bad enough Ashley even started to give Lily enemas to try and fight the dehydration to keep her from withering away. Now I have always known that Ashley is an extremely caring person, but this really made my appreciation for her take on a whole new level. To see her nurturing extend beyond human care really showed the amount of love she has inside her. Lily did recover from parvo, but unfortunately she is now trying to fighting a massive infection on a weakened immune system. Some people might look at our situation and say you shouldn’t have gotten a dog in the first place, but I have no regrets. The things I have learned out of this short time we have had Lily, to me, were well worth it. Life isn’t about fairness or shielding yourself and your family from the pains of the world. It’s about facing the realities you are given and figuring out how you can learn from them to make yourself a better person, and teaching your kids how to do the same. I feel one of the greatest things you can accomplish in your life is figuring out how to learn from every experience you are given. This is something that I started learning when I was around Boston’s age, watching how my parents dealt with my mom’s continuous battle with brain tumors. Some of you might say “it’s just a dog” and I would have said the same thing a month ago, but that dog helped me gain a new level of appreciation for my wife. I look forward to sharing this experience with Boston and Cade when they are old enough to understand, and hope it makes them appreciate their mom even more. LOVE YOU ASHLEY!!

Coming soon to our house...

UPDATE: Well, Lily is not better. In fact she's much worse. It's been a long hard week for us. One of the worst I can think of. She did survive the parvo itself but her immune system was weakened so much by fighting that virus that now she has developed a bacterial infection in her blood (septicemia). She's very sick. It could still go either way at this point. Thanks to everyone for your support!

Lily! She's going to make it! The vet says she'll probably send her home in the morning. I never thought I'd get so attached to a dog, especially after only a week, but I have really bonded with this little girl. Especially after staying up all night with her trying to keep her alive! I'm so excited she's coming home I can hardly wait until morning!

Sweet Words

So our new puppy is sick (yes I know I haven't blogged for weeks and I haven't even blogged about our puppy). She is a little 11 week old Lab mix puppy. Five days after we brought her home she stopped eating as much and then Sunday she started throwing up. We took her in and she has Parvo. If you believe in praying for dogs (I always thought that was silly but not anymore), please send a little one up for Lily.

Boston is totally into being my helper, so helping me take care of Lily is no exception. He is very sweet and loving with her (now that she's too sick to jump up on him!!) and very concerned about her. When he woke up this morning I was out on the back porch with Lily taking in the fresh air. He sat down next to her and started petting her and said some of the sweetest words I've ever heard. In his little high pitched voice he said, "Don't worry, Lily (sounds like Wiwy because he can't say his L's), I'll take care of ya. I'll give ya your medicine and make ya feel aaaaaaaaallll better. Yeah, don't worry, Lily, I'll help Mommy take care of ya."