Trot-Trot

Trot's been gone a week and its definitely quieter without him, though I've had little opportunity to notice he's gone. He used to come with me to walk the girls to and from school and I used to throw the tennis ball for him in the yard, but there's been too much snow for either of those activities. Amanda says at least once a day that she misses him.

I wish I could say that I do but honestly he was such.a.pain for most of his life. That comes with young dogs, at least the two in my experience, but the combination of a puppy and three young kids (1, 3, 5) turned into more than I loved dealing with on nearly every level.  (Here's a fun example when he was almost one.)

He regularly, though inadvertently, knocked down a newly walking Aiden, constantly tried to grab things out of the kids hands or off their bodies, chewed beloved stuffed animals (curiously, only the very favorite-est ones), and all manner of annoyances that come with being an active puppy.

But he sure was cute! Thought I'd share a couple pictures from the early days, because who doesn't love kids and puppies?

These first three were from the day we picked up Trot Nixon.

Funny, the night we told the kids he was gone, this was one of Amanda's memories. The first weeks he slept in a box in the girls room and they used to argue about who got to have the box closest to their bed.

The Season of Singing

Yesterday was Groundhog Day and that usually makes me really excited. I mean, there is nothing I particularly like about the animal itself and the fanfare that accompanies the tradition does seem a tad silly, but still there is something about the day. Celebrating that we made it through January, the coldest month of the year, and talking about the possibility of spring coming. Spring!

Now that I looked, I regret doing so, but when that old groundhog saw his shadow again yesterday, I just had to wonder how often spring comes early, according to the shadow lore. I was more than surprised to read that he has seen his shadow 101 times and has not seen it just 17 times. And that makes me wonder what in the world I get excited about every February 2.

But I know the answer. Its spring. And against all odds, spring will come again this year. The now three feet of snow that lays in our yard all shimmering and majestic will, again this year, melt into the ground, making a wonderfully muddy mess that the kids will enjoy and revealing the grass and roots and buds that have been there all along.

Hope is like spring to me. Its the promise that things are going to change....its one thing we can count on.

So lets listen for the robin and look for green sprouts and watch as the light reaches and stretches to fill out more of the day. And soon we'll be rejoicing:

See! The winter is past;

    the rains are over and gone.

12 

Flowers appear on the earth;

    the season of singing has come,

the cooing of doves

    is heard in our land.

Doing Battle, Week 19

To fully appreciate this week, you'd have to back up to Sunday. In the late afternoon my cousin Melody arrived. The kids helped her unload the car, which included full playing-in-the-snow gear and then us three adults sat down to go over the week's schedule and the 411 on the household. With all the moving parts of our lives, it was nice to know one person would be at the helm, seeing the big picture.

Knowing it would be a big day, me with treatment, Shaun beginning his busy week, Melody getting used to a household of seven, we got to bed fairly early. At 2 AM Avery came in complaining that her stomach hurt. Thinking it would be the fastest way for us to get back to sleep, I told her she could make a bed on the floor next to me. No sooner had she gotten all settled then she threw up all over herself and the blankets she'd laid on the floor. Now we were up and much of the night was lost..

In the morning she still wasn't feeling great, so I made a quick call to my dad who already had Aiden and could be at our house before we had to leave. I also arranged for Amanda to go home with a classmate since there was an early dismissal from school due to snow.

Before we left for treatment #8, I called and made a vet appointment for the dumb dog because he'd been sick and was not showing signs of bouncing back. Our friend agreed to take Trot, who at this point had to be carried to the car.

We got to treatment and my blood counts were good! so we got started. I was sad to not have "my" nurse, who was on a missions trip in Haiti. Despite having spent $640 on an anti-nausea patch, my body felt the full blow of this treatment. It was miserable.

At some point our friend called from the vet's office, relaying treatment options for the dog, made more complicated because of the coming blizzard. Melody took the information and broke it down for my mush brain and I was able to call Shaun in between his clients to make a joint decision.

On Tuesday we woke up to 2 feet of snow. Various people cared for the dog, making attempts to re-hydrate him. Amanda got one-on-one time with Melody and Shaun and R cleared snow. I stayed in bed and was largely unaware of the goings on, except to know that it was very white outside!

Wednesday was another snow day for the kids and our friend took the dog back to the vet. As we were walking out the door to get my pump removed, our friend called from the vet's office and it was clearly time to make "the call"....spend an undetermined amount of money for tests and treatments and maybe save the dog's life, or call it. I made a frantic call to Shaun and together we decided it was best to put him down. Then we went out in the freshly plowed roads to get the pump removed.

The nurse could tell from my very low blood pressure that I was dehydrated and encouraged me to stay for IV fluids but I politely and firmly declined, sure I would be able to get things down now that the pump was off and not wanting to stay in the cancer center a second longer than necessary.

The girls were anxious to celebrate so we settled on a stop at DD on the way home. In my head I had pictured high-fives and balloons and streamers, but really, I just felt sick and wanted to be in bed. But once Saturday dawned, I was feeling pretty normal again...what a relief!

Looking back on the week, I feel like I was more wimp than warrior, but I guess either way we are on this side of it. The idea that I don't have to go back there next Monday for treatment has not settled in yet, but its a very exciting prospect!

With a new week comes new perspective. I'm taking a deep breath and leaning in close to Jesus. There's very little in all this that is certain, but His steadfast love and faithfulness are true and dependable. And His grace is enough.

So what's next? I'm not entirely sure. We'll have some more tests and consultations this week and hopefully come up with a game plan. I covet your prayers for wisdom and strength as we determine the best course of action. We are so thankful for you faithful members of Team Lisa...so often I feel carried by your prayers and support. Thank you.

The end. E-N-D!!

My niece Madison danced in a competion this past weekend and dedicated her first dance to me. She gave me the ribbon she recieved for scoring platinum. Love you, Maddy-girl!

But I have trusted in your steadfast love...I will sing to the Lord 

because he has dealt bountifully with me. Psalm 13:5-6

Project 365, Week 5

I feel like I say this often...it was an eclectic week here in the C household. But for real. Many crazy things, some of which I'll go into more detail tomorrow.  

I had my last treatment on Monday and it knocked me to my knees. On Tuesday we had a blizzard that left us with two FEET of snow. On Wednesday we made the difficult decision to put a very sick dog down. Two dear friends, both my age, suffered painful events...one lost her mother to a brain tumor, the other received news that her father had had a heart attack. Thankfully he had successful open heart surgery. 

On the other side of our world, Shaun's financial services business is officially official since it finally cleared through all the SEC checks. He's been finding that there truly is the need he recognized and its such a good fit for a tax professional and a financial advisor to be one in the same person....all that information together helps in making the best decisions. Its exciting to see all his labors coming together and I'm so proud of him.

And....my cousin Melody was here. She has settled in and taken right over the things that need to be attended to. Before she leaves in a couple weeks I'll have to have her do a guest post...maybe the "tell-all, tabloid version of what really goes on here. :) 

Speaking of Melody, most of these photos are from her, which is a good thing because I was in bed until Thursday.

January 25

We were happy to welcome Melody!

January 26

Amanda loves her daddy.

January 27
Snowman pancakes to celebrate a snow day.

 Aiden and Avery were at Pop and Kiki's....too much snow to go sledding!

Many people were involved in attempting to nurse the dog back to health. Thankfully everyone had a chance to say goodbye.

 The girls got to sleep on the floor of Melody's room.

January 28
Another snow day while everyone dug out.

January 29
Melody is a good student, learning the fine art of lego aircraft building. :)

January 30

Avery called me from school stating that her class was watching a movie (for Catholic Schools Week) and would it be ok if she watched Maleficent. I told her I was pretty sure there was quite a bit of evil and magic in it but that she could try it and if there was something she wasn't comfortable with, her teacher would understand if she left in the middle of the movie.

Shaun and I cannot be with our kids all the time making decisions for them so we are trying to empower them to make the right choices on their own. I could barely stomach watching moving things, but I watched the movie so Avery and I could talk about the good, bad and ugly when she got home from school.

At one point Aiden came in and asked what I was doing. I told him I was watching Maleficent because Avery was watching it at school and I wanted to be able to talk to her about it. He said, Oh, I guess the teachers don't care about guarding their hearts (referring to the verse I often reference Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.)

As it turns out, Avery left about 20 minutes in and was able to watch an alternative choice.

 Apparently there is a science to eating grapefruit and these two have it down.

Madison had her first dance competition of the season and was a standout.

Aiden had his last practice/game and the girls are still getting through their season. So fun they get to play together!

I'm so thankful for dedicated grandparents. Since I can't be there cheering and supporting the kids, its so nice to know someone is.

 And these are just a couple of the random pictures taken yesterday.

Hope you have a great week!