Saying Good-Bye to our Best Friend

We lost in our puppy Wrigley the first week of September. He was hit by a car right in front of our rental property. He ran out the door when we were going out to play. I found him minutes later trying to limp back to our house. I scooped him up and could tell right away that his back legs were broken. I frantically called Marc and mentally started trying to figure out how to get him to a vet. He was so peaceful in my arms--he never yelped or whined, just laid with me. After a few minutes had passed I realized that we weren't going to make it to the vet so I just held him. The kids were playing in the sandbox and I didn't want them to be upset so I was trying not to let them see me crying. Sadie eventually came over and sat with me. We held him together while he died.

I wanted to blog about this when it happened but I knew I needed to remember this cute puppy with lots of pictures. I didn't have a way to get any of my older pictures onto my blog without internet so I waited.

To say it was a hard day is an understatement. It hit me much harder than I ever anticipated. Part of having a dog is understanding that at some point you will probably say good-bye to him/her. I didn't think it would be this soon. I was never a dog person but after seeing my parents get a cute little dog I thought maybe I could do it. I'm still not a dog person, but Wrigley stole my heart. I loved that little fur ball so much... and it's a good thing because he made LOTS of messes and provided plenty of mischief.

Wrigley was our first "kid". We got him 2 weeks after finding out I was pregnant with Sadie. He was our introduction to parenthood. We loved going on walks with him, taking him hiking, and snuggling on the couch with him. Each time our family grew, he blended right into the mix. He was the perfect dog for a family with small children. He loved them and they loved him.

Our Wrigley:

Sadie took this last picture the week before we moved... I regret that I didn't take more pictures of him with the kids, but taking a picture of three small children is hard enough without adding a dog to the mix.

We burried Wrigley under a big pine tree at Mr. John's house (with permission of course). We burried him in the evening with Marc. We wrapped him in his favorite towel and included one of his favorite toys. Each of the kids took a turn throwing in a small dog biscuit as they said good-bye. We each told him one of our favorite things about him... Sadie & Kinnick loved giving him treats and running around playing with him. Marc loved how excited he would always get to see us. I loved what a great playmate he was for each of our kids and how I never had to clean the dining room floor after meals because he always took care of it. When we finished burrying him we took the kids to Dairy Queen for icecream. As we were driving home Sadie said "Mom, I prayed that Jesus will take good care of Wrigley until we get to Heaven. Just remember that after awhile you won't feel sad anymore and you'll just remember what a good puppy he was." (...a paraphrase of what I had told her earlier in the day.)

The following weeks were hard. Kinnick asked "When will Wrigely come back to life?" and Macey would occasionaly point to the tree where he was burried and say "ReeRee". Sadie asked me, "Is it okay if sometimes you feel sad inside but you're not crying?" She also told me many times how much she missed him... she stills does occasionally. I didn't blame myself for what happened but my heart was broken because I felt that it was my job to protect him.

I still miss him, but it is easier. Will we get another dog? Probably some day... but not today. We have enough on our plate. I love how much my kids love dogs--especially Macey. I hope that they will always remember Wrigley.

Christmas At Last!

I must begin this post with a confession... I was the first one up Christmas morning (before 7) and too excited to go back to sleep. I wanted to let Marc and the kids sleep as long as they wanted so I busied myself making cinnamon rolls. I had fully intended to make cinnamon rolls for us to have Christmas morning but by the time 11 PM rolled around on Christmas Eve I knew it was too late (the process takes several hours...) So I made the dough and then spent some much needed time cleaning my kitchen... By 8:30 the kids were awake (all of them were up before Marc!) and ready for Christmas. We all piled onto our bed to red the Christmas story. This year we enjoyed reading from Kinnick's bible, Sadie's bible, and my bible. I also had fun interviewing Sadie and Kinnick--I asked them questions about Jesus' birth and video taped their answers. Sadie answered most of the questions but Kinnick was quick to yell what gifts the wise men brought--I love hearing him say "frankincense". After we finished reading, we sang happy birthday to Jesus and then let daddy sneak down first with the video camera...

Sadie had fun organizing her brother and sister on the top of the stairs and giving them instructions about what to do when they went down.

I loved this Christmas morning! The kids were very excited, but they were also patient. I felt like we got to enjoy each part of our morning without rushing to the next. They were kind to each other and grateful for their gifts.

Santa Presents:

Sadie's Leapster

Kinnick's Mickey Mouse Clubhouse--he spends time every day playing with this playhouse!

Macey's Pink Stacking Rings

Stockings:

Sadie has been wanting this toothbrush for some time. She loved decorating with her name and stickers and has been brushing her teeth several times daily since Christmas!

Presents from Mom & Dad:

Ornaments:

For Kinnick, we chose a Micky Mouse Choo Choo ornament--he LOVES Mickey Mouse Club House (almost to the point where I can classify it as an addiction!) We also got him a glittery truck ornament because this year he has been fascinated with trucks.

Sadie got a tinkerbell. She loves anything princess or disney. She is constantly telling us stories about visiting Disneyland with her imaginary friends. She loves to play dress up and loves to wear princess pajamas. I have enjoyed introducing her to several disney princess movies this year including: Snow White, Aladdin, & Beauty and the Beast.

We had a hard time finding Macey's ornament. When I told Marc that I was thinking she needed something with a smile face, he laughed and told me he had been thinking the same thing. We choose this santa ornament because it was the closest to a smile face we could find. We loving calling her "Smiley Mace"--she always has a smile to share!

The kids got a box full of bath tub goodies (including finger paint) to share--they were so excited they wanted to take a bath right away. (After Kinnick helped daddy shovel snow with his new shovel, that is!)

That afternoon we drove to Mt. Sterling for my mom's family Christmas. We took the kids new game and they had fun playing with their cousins. We also let them take some of their new toys for the car ride. Sadie enjoyed her leapster and Kinnick enjoyed his tag jr. books. At the party they received pillow pets from my parents--they are a HUGE hit!

I feel so blessed with such a wonderful family... I've loved all the fun leading up to Christmas and Christmas day was great!

Memorial Day Weekend

I know I'm a week late, but I wanted to share some pics from Memorial Day weekend... We had a great few days with lots of activities!

We stared Friday night with the Streator Carnival. We always have a carnival a few different weekends each year but this is the first time Sadie was really big enough to go. We went with some friends from our small group--the girls had a blast while Kinnick and his buddy Eddie hung out in the double stroller... Sadie was able to do several different ride including her first roller coaster! She was a little hesitant, but also excited. She also played her first carnival game with her dad resulting in a $5 fake flower.

I took Sadie down this bouncy slide--I wasn't sure if she'd be able to climb it by herself, but I was wrong. It went really fast and as soon as we hit the bottom Sadie yelled "Again!" We got to go twice and then the carnival worker let her take Maddie's 2nd turn b/c she didn't want to go again. The third time up Sadie said, "No Mommy, I not sit with you. I go by myself!" I asked if I could hold her hand and she wasn't thrilled about that idea, but she let me. That's our little "Miss Independent!"

The last "ride" we let the girls go on was the bouncy house and they LOVED it! We laughed hysterically watching the carnival lady try to wrestle Sadie out when her turn was over. Sadie was giggling and running away. Luckily the woman thought she was pretty cute and said that she was used to wrestling kids out.

Andy and Lindsey came for the weekend. On Saturday Lindsey and I took both kids to Sarah W.'s baby shower and the guys went golfing. That night our neighbor had a Luau. I wish I had pictures b/c she bought grass skirts for all the little girls and Kinnick looked way cute in his little Hawaiian skirt (which I happened to pick up last year on clearance!)

Sunday after church we went to Cracker Barrel for brunch then went for a hike at Starved Rock. The park was PACKED and MUDDY. After driving around for probably 10 minutes we finally got a parking spot and then maneuvered our way through the muddy parking lot. We had a good time. Wrigley and Oliver had a blast--they were both very tired and very dirty at the end.

"Lover's Leap"

Enjoying some ice cream on the way home!

Sunday night we had some of our friends over for a cookout. It was great weather! The kids had a blast playing and Sadie decided to eat sand--twice!

We also got to try out our new fire pit. We loved having smores then putting the kids to bed for a relaxing evening... Great weekend!

Don't Smile

Sadie is going through a reverse-psychology phase... It's kind of funny. We'll say "Don't Smile!" to get her to smile. Lately it's been working on "Don't eat your _______." She will grab the veggies and shove them in her mouth when we say that. I guess I'll enjoy it while it lasts!

She's developing her "cheesy smile"!

Her first french braids--we were going to visit Daddy's bank. She sat really well while I braided her hair, but her hair is so fine that they didn't stay in too great, especially riding so long in her carseat.