12 Years and Counting...

At some point yesterday I realized that today was July 23rd which makes it exactly 12 years since our plane touched down in Huntsville when we moved here from Boston.  Anna was 6 years old and Mackenzie was 10.  Wow.  These have been years of so much change. 

It's been quite a while since my last post.  Life continues to march on.  I guess the biggest news that has happened is that Anna graduated from Huntsville High!  :) 

 

And her cousin, Nathan, graduated too!   :)

 

 

And it feels like the summer has been super busy, but that is how every summer feels.  ha...  I have been MUCH busier with the new Angel's Island Food Truck.  Anna has been making the most of the summer spending time with friends and getting ready to head off to UAB.  We had a quick family vacation a couple of weeks ago where Anna saw her dream of getting to hang-glide finally come true! 

 

 

And of course we were crazy enough to join in the fun too... 

 

And in the next few weeks, Mackenzie and Andrew will celebrate their first wedding anniversary, move into a new apartment, and start graduate school.  Anna will start college.  We're going to get to see all of the extended family...  and then, it's going to get very quiet around here.  haha

 

Hmmm....  Beginnings and Endings.  I saw this on a friend's facebook page a couple of days ago:

 

 

And her comment went like this...  "Sometimes we have to change whether we want to or not."

 

That struck me as so real for me right now.  It's been a year of a lot of change.  I distinctly remember being a couple of weeks out from Mackenzie's wedding just a year ago and thinking, "OK, here we go...  it's gonna be quite a year ahead."  And I am just about at the end of that roller coaster ride that I was anticipating then.  And while I fully embrace and love the sentiment of this painting, and can see how it has been true over and over so many times in my life, it is still a struggle for me to believe it each time I am still in the 'ending' stages.  ~Sigh~  But change is surely coming whether I want it to or not, so I am getting ready for it as best as I can.  In the meantime, I am enjoying all the excitement of getting ready to help with Mackenzie and Andrew's move, shopping with Anna for all her dorm stuff and getting ready for UAB, and looking forward to a fun visit with all the family.  It's all good.  :)

 

 

 





My Sweet Mandy

Last Tuesday, February 17th, we had to make a very painful decision to have our sweet dog put to sleep.  It was definitely one of the hardest things I have ever done.  But she was having trouble walking last Monday morning.  Her legs just wouldn't work together and she was wobbling all over the place.  I took her to the vet and he said she had severe arthritis and neurological damage that was causing the problems with walking.  And even though she wasn't being obvious about it, he said she had to be in a lot of pain.  :(   I took her home with some medicine to give her hoping it might help and give her a little more time, but it was obvious by the next day that she wasn't going to get better.  I remember a couple of times in the night being woken up by her struggling to get out of her dog door.  By the time I could get up, throw on a sweatshirt and some boots, I'd find her out in the middle of the yard, disoriented and having a hard time finding her way back in.   I knew even then as I was helping her back into the house that this wasn't going to get better. 

So I called the vet the next day and made the appointment.  And you know it's going to be bad when you can't make the appointment without crying.  Anna didn't want to go - it was too hard.  She said goodbye before she left for school that day and it was very sad.  Mandy was so special to her and Anna loved her to death.  I'm glad she got these special pictures with her last fall in one of Mandy's favorite places, Green Mountain.

 

 

Jack and I took her to the vet later in the afternoon, and I'm very thankful for caring doctors who know how hard this kind of thing is.  They were so kind to us.  One of the 'nurses' (What do you call the people who help out the vets - I just realized I don't know!) who had seen Mandy the day before and done her bloodwork actually came in the room when she found out we were back just to say she was sorry and how sweet she thought Mandy was.  It may seem silly but that meant a lot to me in the moment.  Anyways, it was hard to sit there with Mandy while they worked on her, knowing what was happening.  But I was glad to be with her through it and I know it was the best thing.  I certainly didn't want to prolong her pain and suffering.  She lived a long and good life - and I didn't know this, but apparently dogs who develop diabetes don't live for much more than 6 months after their diagnosis.  Well Mandy made it for over 3 years...  so she's a fighter and she beat the odds on a lot of things. 

 

It was really hard to come home without her to a house that is now strangely quiet without her presence.  For the next few days I found myself not wanting to come home because I didn't want to face the prospect of her not being there to greet me.  I have had weird times where I hear something and it sounds like her.  One night I was brushing my teeth and I could have sworn I heard the dog door flapping.  That was always the time of night where as I got ready for bed, she would have a treat, go out and get water and do her 'business' and then get in bed for the night.  And I guess I'm just so used to hearing the dog door that I imagined it.  I still look for her when I've finished my nightly bowl of ice cream because she always licked the bowl.  :)  Little things - but you don't realize how much they become part of your life and how much you miss them until they are not there.  I really miss her jumping up on the couch and laying next to me while I read in the morning.  She didn't always do it (because that would have spoiled me too much! ha), but I loved it when she did...

 

 

The day after we had to let her go, I had to go to work and get on with the business of the day, etc.  I was ok, but sad, and knew I needed some peace and comfort to settle my heart for the day.  I was saying a prayer about all of that as I drove to work - and I had honestly just asked God to bring some measure of comfort for the sadness in my heart that would help me get on with the day...  and truly, just as I had finished praying that I got this text:

 

 

It just felt like God sent me a little message letting me know that my dear friend was thinking about me and praying for me and caring about how I was feeling...  and that was just what I needed in that moment.  Praising God for just the right thing at the right time. :)

 

I spent some time one day last week looking through pictures on my computer and pulling together photos of Mandy.  It's crazy how many I have!  She really is like a 3rd child.  ;-)  So I'll share a few here:

 

Cute Puppy...

 

She never struggled with finding a way to be comfortable...

And she LOVED hikes up on Green Mountain...

She was usually up for an adventure and didn't want to be left behind when we went boating...

Or even paddle-boating!

And I can't help thinking that she would have loved this snow day that we are having today!  Here's a pic from a few years ago...

And this is just a favorite of mine because she kept me company through many a long walk up on Green Mountain, sharing my good times and bad... and this is one of my favorite spots...

So this is my tribute to 'man's best friend' - she certainly proved to be that to me.  I miss her greeting when I get home - I miss the sound of her snoring at night - I miss the way her ears flapped when she shook her head - I miss how excited she got when people came over - I miss her snuggling with me on the couch - I miss walks in the neighborhood (I have probably prayed more with her than with any other person in my life.  hmmmmm.....)  I miss how she would chew and chew and chew on a peanut but would swallow a chunk of meat whole like her life depended on it - I even miss her being 'underfoot' in the kitchen while I'm cooking or begging for food (well, I don't miss that TOO much!).  But I have lots and lots of good memories and happy times to think of and I'm thankful for that.

One last photo... this was our last day:

 

 

Good-bye sweet Mandy.  Hope you are having fun chasing bunnies that you can actually see now and eating all the candy you can find!  Especially the chocolate! :)

 



 

 



Treasures in the Attic 3 (kind-of)

My 'assault' on the mess in my attic is really not living up to the grand idea I had at the beginning of the year, but I'm not giving up.  However, I am finding all sorts of ways to 'count' things that probably don't really count towards this goal I set.  It makes me feel better.  ha. 

So after about 17 years, my lovely patterned sofa and loveseat, along with badly faded curtains and desperately-needed-to-be-replaced gross carpet have finally all been tossed out.  It was almost funny to see how excited my kids were about replacing those couches - they've been embarrassed by them for a very long time.  That pattern was so 90's....  haha.  But it's been fun getting new things and the family room is starting to come back together.  Of course, now I'm trying to find new odds and ends to decorate a room that has completely changed color - AND - now that the family room is looking all fresh and new, it is making the kitchen look like it needs a fresh coat of paint and a color change.  And we can't decide on a color.  Or I should say *I* can't decide...  Anna and Jack have liked this one color for a while and after going and getting samples of 2 other colors and painting splotches of them all over the walls, I think I'm going to end up liking theirs after all.  :)

Anyways, so I'm counting getting rid of old things - my couches, curtains and carpet - as one more step towards getting my house in order.  (And for my English-loving friends, how do you like that use of alliteration?!?)   Here is a before picture:

 

And now an after picture:

 

Mandy is actually asleep on the floor behind the brown chair that we still aren't quite sure is going to stay in the room... but she is pretty sure we put in the nice new soft carpet just for her.  :)  I'll update again one of these days when I find lamps and tables and pictures for the mantle and all that stuff.  I need someone to shop for me and just do that - I just go, like I did today, and wander around furniture stores and get overwhelmed and come home with nothing. ;-) 

 

I guess my 'treasure' from all this was the couches - here they are just before they got picked up:

 

 

I was happy to see them leave the breakfast room, but I'm funny about things.  I attach memories to things and when the sofas went out the door, it felt like they took a lot of years and memories with them.  Like I have this image of Mackenzie burned into my mind sitting on the love seat when it was pretty much brand-new, with her backpack on, getting ready to go off to her first day of Kindergarten.  And lots more things like that.  It's kind-of silly, I know, because I really don't forget - but it's just a little nostalgic thing I go through.  So I took one last picture to remember them by.  :) 

 

But I am very much enjoying my new space and updated things.  Maybe I will tell stories about the painting and carpeting fiascos in another blog, but that's enough for today! 

 



UAB Bound!

We had a fun day yesterday taking Anna down to UAB for a Scholarship Reception at "The Club" overlooking the glorious panorama that is downtown Birmingham:  :) 

Now I personally think that this view is pretty, but Jack and Anna were mostly making fun of it - and of me - for thinking that.  But this is where Anna is planning to spend the next four years pursuing a higher education.  The plans for the moment are to get a BFA in Art and a minor in Biology so that she can go on to grad school and get a degree in Medical Illustration.  It all sounds very intimidating to me, but she is very excited about it!  This picture is not her favorite so it won't be showing up on social media, but she knows that not too many people frequent my blog so she didn't fight me about putting it up here.  ;-)

 

I'm just very proud of her and glad that all of her plans are coming together.  She and her friend Ruth signed up for housing together yesterday and are crossing their fingers that they will make it into the brand new freshman dorm.  And that is the news for now.  Here are a few more pics from the day...

 

 

And now all that is left to say is...  Go Blazers!  :)

 







Treasures in the Attic (2)

This idea I had of dealing with one thing I find in my attic every day has been very slow to develop!  I got a little sidetracked by my credit card mess in my office -- happy to report, though, that I have dealt with all of that and even organized a bit more in my office.  BUT, the idea was to get in my attic and get to work there.  SO, today I did that and here is what I found:   (aaaaaaaakk!!!)

Today's pile to deal with is this - the gift wrap jungle:

 

I dragged it all downstairs and this is what I sorted through.

I'm happy to report that I threw a whole bunch of stuff away, consolidated other stuff, and it's all tidied up now.  :)   My 'treasure' of the day in all of that was this 'Class of 2011' wrap that is still in there. (nice memories of Mackenzie's high school graduation - ha)  I wonder if Anna will mind if I cross out the last 1 and write in a 5 and use it to giftwrap her graduation gift a few months from now!?!  :)

Post Birthday Update...

A few more pictures.  We surprised Anna and took her out to dinner at The Melting Pot with her life-long BFF's Natalie, Kerry and Abby.  We had SO much fun and just laughed and laughed.  I hope that she will be able to keep up with these girls for many, many more years!  :)