saying goodbye to our sweet doggie :(

 

Yesterday was a very, very sad day. 

We had to put our sweet Tinkerbelle "Belle" to sleep. 

She was extremely healthy (and could jump over the 6 foot wall in our back yard) until a couple of months ago.  Stupid cancer ruined all of that.  Three weeks ago she started really declining.  We tried...we couldn't win the battle for her.

We rescued her from the pound 9 1/2 years ago (she was only 5 months).  She was mostly Lab but we think that she was part Greyhound (hence the jumping over the wall and she could outrace ALL other dogs). She has lived life with us and been a very important part of our family for almost a decade.

This little girl took it the hardest.  Belle lived here before she was born.  She and Belle had a special sleepover on her last night with us.

Life is not the same today. 

We are trying to put it into perspective...something we have a lot of now. 

But we are still sad.

She was part of our family. 

 

 

Love, Nate's Mommy

I have a special place in my heart for the mommies of sick kids.  I lived in Children's Hospital for 25 days.  I know what it's like to fight for your child's life.  It's lonely.  It's terrifying.  It's sad.  The days are long and the stress that it takes on your mind and body is indescribable.

In the past, my kids have raised money to buy special toys, blankets, gifts for the kids that are fighting for their lives.  Even before Nate.  It's just something we did and continue to do.  When Nate was in the hospital, he received a few special blankets and stuffed animals.  He never got to enjoy them...but I hold them dear.

But it seems like the mommies are forgotten.  I have never seen anyone do anything for them.  I wanted to change that.  Even if it's on a small scale.  Even if I can only bless a few. 

So, I put together twelve little gift bags for Mother's Day.  I'm hoping to be able to do a few more in the next couple of weeks but as of today, I have twelve.  The gift includes a large gourmet chocolate bar and a aloe vera lip balm from Trader Joe's and a large and small lotion from Bath and Body Works.  Four things.  That's it.  Simple.  But I'm hoping that the gesture will give love, encouragement and hope.

My most favorite part of this entire project was doing the gift tags.  I loved creating them.  Mostly, I loved being able to sign it "Love, Nate's Mommy".  I never get to do that...