Cotton, The Fertility Dog

We had been threatening it for months.  Cotton had become a grumpy, incontinent old man who wore diapers and nipped at little kids.  We had gone to the vet to see what could be done and they couldn't find anything really wrong with him.  He still loved walks, treats, snuggling and barking at anything that moved in front of our house.  But last Thursday he hurt something (we still don't know what) while the boys walked him and it just got worse as the day went on. By that evening, he couldn't hardly move and yelped when we tried to move him.  It was so hard to see him in so much pain.  Aaron and I looked at each other and knew it was time.  We talked to Lucas and JB, prayed as a family and made a vet appointment for the next morning.  Again, we'd talked about it, joked about it, threatened it for months, but when it came right down to it, losing Cotton was absolutely heartbreaking. 

I felt like this was a "daddy job" and Aaron thought this was a "mommy job" and neither of us wanted the job, so we went together.  And it was heartbreaking.  Neither of us had ever done anything like that before and it was awful but peaceful.

My sister and her family adopted Cotton as a puppy for their 5 year old since they hadn't been able to have more kids.   Right after they got him, she got pregnant with their 2nd son.  When they had their 3rd, she was ready for a break and I wanted a dog for Lucas.  3 months after we got Cotton, I got pregnant with Jonah after 8 years of trying.  Thus the name, Cotton The Fertility Dog, stuck and he's been part of the family for almost 12 years.  

We'll take his ashes to be buried at his most favorite place on the earth, the Gunson (Mark's family) property up at Camp Sherman near Sisters, where he has gone camping for Mark's family reunion every year.  And we'll have a sweet, little memorial for our sweet little puppy.  May he rest in peace.

Family Update May 2015

This last month has been busy and wonderful.  Lots of endings but great beginnings.

Jonah is officially a first grader and was truly sad kindergarten was ending.  He had a great year, a great teacher and especially a great teacher's assistant!  He finished his first year in a dual language program and it has been the perfect fit for him.  He has an ear for languages just like his dad and got the highest score in his class on his verbal assessment.  It's fun to see him succeed and love to hear him speak Spanish.  His math and reading have taken off as well.  Aaron teases him that he is NOT allowed to read because he is NOT old enough.  So every time Jonah reads a street sign, book, some word somewhere Aaron gives him a hard time, spurning Jonah on to read more and more.  It's been a fun game for him.  He loves to prove us wrong.  He has a summer filled with sport camps, learning to ride his two wheeler, lots of cousins and swimming at the pool.  Should be fabulous!

Here's little of the kid's groove during his Kindergarten Olympics.

Lucas finished his freshman year in high school, folks.  Yep, he is old. His last few weeks were filled with finals, presentations, band concerts and playing in a parade.  (Thank you Mark for sleeping on the parade route so we would have such perfect seats!  You get MVP of the whole parade.  I know it meant a lot to Lucas that you guys were there!) It's so fun to see him love something and be a part of such a great activity.  He'll be playing to two bands next year, plus pep band and marching band. He's so excited!  He'll be getting his drivers permit (hopefully) this week, so traffic beware.  He has a long way to go before I'll let him on busier roads than our neighborhood, but he'll be a good driver in the end. He is cautious and smart.  He has a packed summer filled with EFY in Tacoma with his cousin and best friend, Trek, 50 miler for scouts, plus hopefully working on his eagle project.  Add family visits, a trip to the coast, a week in Arizona and a road trip to the Redwoods, and summer will fly by for him!

Uncle Mark holding JB up to see Lucas' band coming.  I only have videos after that and the blog isn't letting me upload them

Our sign for Lucas on the parade route that there was no way he could see because he was marching in the middle of the band.  But here's proof!

I turned 40 this last month and it's been fabulous!  For whatever reason, 35 was harder for me.  Like I was a true adult by 35 and I didn't feel ready?  I don't know.  Anyway, Aaron planned a wonderful day.  My parents came into town to help celebrate so the girls went and got their nails done then out to lunch. That night Aaron threw a perfect party.  It was catered by our favorite Indian restaurant and my cousins, my aunt and uncle and friends plus of course my parents plus Genet and Mark and family came to celebrate with pakoras and chicken mahkani.  We ended the night with chocolate cake and a slide show my sister put together.  I couldn't have asked for a better night!  Thank you everyone!

My job in Jonah's class is officially over and that makes me sad.  It's been a true blessing in my life and something I didn't even know I needed.  I decided I really need to up my Spanish game so I'm setting a goal to study this summer.  Not sure what that's going to look like yet, but it's in the works.   I'm going to reapply for something in the fall, as a teacher's assistant again or maybe as a Title 1 teacher.  I want to keep it part time so we'll see if I can find a good fit.  There's a lot I can do at the school as I figure out if I want to go back to school to get a masters.  I'm still not sure.  It feels so daunting to me!

Aaron is awesome as always.  He's been traveling a bit to New York City, San Francisco and of course Seattle but work is going well.  Aaron landed the company a few projects with Facebook and their company is growing every month.  He's going the first part of the High adventure 50 miler and he's more than ready.  He runs regularly and is in good shape (though he doesn't think so).  He's been gathering emergency preparedness supplies these few months and I'm sure we're ready for the zombie apocalypse. He enjoys reading, by himself and to the boys, and loved having a few minutes to nap and read out at the property this weekend.

Summer activities are well underway.  We just got back from camping at my brother-in-law's family property near Sisters. We celebrated Aaron's birthday and enjoyed a few gorgeous days. (Thank you Friesses!  We sure love you guys!)  We have a Williams family reunion tentatively planned in July and then I'm taking the boys to AZ in August to help out and see our newest niece who is making an appearance in a few weeks.   I told them they gotta stop having their babies in July!  And they agreed.  4 girls is enough. :)  We're also taking the boys to see the Redwoods in northern California to be able to check that off my bucket list.

We sure love our family and appreciate the sharing of "facts" no matter how difficult.  We can only then know how to help and pray for each other.  And we do sure pray!  There is power in faithful prayer, letting the Lord know the desires of our hearts.  And may you each feel His love and strength as you go through these trials of mortality.