Eileen

It's been 11 days since Eileen went to the bridge. 11 days waking up without her in our bed and 11 nights of her not being here during the rowdiest part of our days. She was sick and we knew that, but nothing made August 11th any easier for us.  Mike took her to the vet to get her glucose levels checked that morning as she had been seizing off and on throughout the week.  I convinced myself that she was fine, this was just part of the diagnosis and we would re-configure her feeding and meds.

An hour after eating her breakfast, Eileen's glucose was at 40.  A normal-low range is 80-100 so the vet gave her a Nutracal to boost her levels. She was only able to hit a 60 and was back down to a 40 within an hour.  Mike got the call from the vet and although it nearly killed him, he knew it was her time.  He called me at work and both of us just sat on the phone and cried. We agreed that it was time to help her along.  We both left work and went to the vet office. 

Of course we took a bunch of her favorite duck jerky strips and she loved them. It was a very hard experience, but we've had so many supportive friends and family members to help us through.  We asked the clinic about having her body or at least her pancreas donated to research, but the lab at Texas A&M is too far of a drive; she was creamated. 

She was a very special friend and even the staff at the vet office had a hard time with her passing.  They sent a really nice sympathy card and everyone wrote special notes about our girl. 

We miss Eileen deeply. Life around here isn't the same without our "Fat Girl". I wanted to share her nicknames:

Fat Girl
Mama Bear
Senorita Eileen
Leaner Beaner
Lean Butt, Bean Butt
Leannie Lou
Sister
Heavy Breather
Pretty Lady

Adoption Day! April 4, 2009

doing what she did best, hold down the couch

our first family picture

watchin' CatTV

The Easter Boxer

always the little mother hen

Daddy's favorite couch potato

drama queen

always looking out for Little Brother

The Rainbow Bridge

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge.
There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by.
The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.
They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.
Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....

Author unknown...

What a day

It's been a day full of ups and downs, but mostly downs.  We started out the day with me sleeping through my alarm. I got a new phone over the weekend and apparently I didn't set the volume up high enough. I missed my workout but fortunately Mike's alarm went off and I was able to get a shower before work.

After I dropped Henry off at Deb's, I got a call from Mike that 8:30 that the alarm company called and apparently someone attempted to break into our home. We believe they hopped the fence and tried to open the bedroom window as the screen wasn't flush with the window. Thank God the alarm scared him away.  Since Mike rode the train to work, I drove back home to meet the cops (my mom and our neighbor met me there), and they finally showed up 55 minutes after they were called. Fortunately nothing was damaged but our sense of security. I felt like we were being watched as the attempted break in happened not long after we left the house.  Icky feeling.  I stand firmly that you can come in and steal whatever you feel you need, just please, please don't hurt me or my babies, Mike included. 

All day, I looked forward to being home, all of us together again.  The night was pretty good to start, Henry was happy, laughing and playing with his Daddy. Poor Eileen took a turn for the worse though, she started having seizures again tonight.  We're afraid either her blood sugar bottomed out or worse,  the tumor is back.  We'll take her to the vet in the morning to get her checked out; please say a prayer for our sweet girl.  We only want the best for her, we want our happy girl back.

Celebrating 62 years!

My precious grandparents celebrated 62 years of marriage yesterday, the 5th.  Some of the family met up at Babe's Chicken House for lunch today. Oh man, it was a great time. The company was wonderful and the food was heavenly. (My Heaven has a big plate of Babe's chicken tenders and mashed potatoes waiting for me. :)

Henry loved lunch and took a really nice nap when we got home that lasted nearly 5 hours.

Oh and Granny and Granddaddy wore sombreros and had a little song sung to them.  Loved it!!

Flashback Friday - Road Trip Edition

Flashback Friday
I thought it would be fun to reminisce over events in our lives before I started blogging.  We'll kickoff with a roadtrip.  The turning point in our relationship was a trip to Oregon Thanksgiving weekend of 2006.  It's a long story, but the abbreviated version involved me and Mike flying to Oregon to go pick up Brock. Brock was a very special dog to me and Mike was too sweet for indulging my crazy scheme to bring Brock back home where he belonged. 

The day after Thanksgiving, November 24th, Mike and I boarded two separate planes (I had a buddy pass and flew American. Mike had to get a flight on a different plane due to the cost difference) both headed for Portland, Oregon.  Once we arrived, we rented a car and drove to the Williamette Humane Society in Salem, OR.  The wonderful angels at WHS had been caring for Brock until we got there. To say I was overjoyed to see him was an understatement.  We piled up in the car and headed back to Texas.

This pic was taken in the Blue Mountains outside of Pendleton, OR.  I've never driven in the mountains until that day. We cruised along slow and safe, enjoyed the scenery. 

Sidenote: It was 106 degrees here today. I'd given anything for a day like this....

 

Deadman Pass....

Our co-pilot. My best bud, Brock.

Happy to have my furbaby, but ready to be home

Mr. Homebody was a real trooper.

this was taken somewhere outside of Salt Lake City

We've never been happier to see our Welcome Home sign!!!

I previously mentioned that this trip was a turning point in our relationship, this is because we spent 2.5 days, 2,150 miles through 3 different time zones in an economy size car together.  Mike and I had only been dating for a little over 2 months when we took off on this trip.  He showed me real love by helping me on this trip and then volunteering to let Brock come live with him. Not that I ever doubted it, but I knew that night driving through Amarillo, TX, that he was someone extra special. Heck, even my Ge-Gee commented that he was a keeper!

Ok, so that's kinda cheesy when I re-read it, but all of it's true. :)