Birthday Boy

We now have a 7 year old. I cannot believe it. It seems just yesterday that we brought him home. His birthday was friday and to celebrate it we took him to a local fun park with our friends Jason and Stefanie and their 3 kids. Kristian had a blast on the jungle gym (which was free by the way, what a smart boy) while Luke and Jason spent their time on the video games.

Later, we went to my Mom's house where we had lasagna (not for his birthday party, Daren's sister Cindy was visiting and we just happened to be invited) Aunt Cindy got the kids cupcakes and they all got to blow out their own candle. It was a nice time to visit with them and Kristian got to spend time with his cousins Seth and Sarah.

On Sunday, he had a pizza party where he got to open all his birthday presents.

Luke decorated the birthday cake this year. He did an awesome job!

And here he is opening his last birthday present. Luke wrapped this one which was really funny because it was loaded with walmart bags and the present was at the very bottom. Walmart bags were flying everywhere. I wish we would have used the video camera to capture the moment. Thank you to our family and friends for all of your love and support these past 7 years. We could not have survived without you!

Duets

Life after Frannie

I don't know what happened, I posted my pics and they showed up in reverse order. This blogger really baffles my mind sometimes. Anyways, it has been 5 days since we lost Fran and it has been a tough week on all of us. Sully has made up for it in his own little way. He has been pretty sweet and this morning he decided to jump into a laundry basket. I could not resist the urge to take lots of pictures of his cuteness. He is such a cool kitty.

He has been playing alot more which is good because he is a little obese.

He really loves feathers. Its even more interesting when you find them in the litter box.

His name really should be Garfield! I think he is the spitting image of the ultimate fat cat only he is gray. Sully says, "Why are you taking pictures? Get in that kitchen and make me some Lasagna now, Human!"

Rest in Peace, Frannie

I decided to put my selfish needs aside and let Frannie go. I was told that I would know when it would be time and when I woke up this morning I knew way down in the pit of my stomach that it was time. Luke made the appointment and I felt a huge wave of guilt and despair. I prayed that God would give me a sign that I was doing the right thing. I received one when I got home. I could not find her anywhere. I called my Mom and she said that that was my sign. I eventually found her in the spare room under my sewing table, she did not come when I called. We took her to the vet and we stayed with her to the very end. We buried her at my friend Marie's who is also a lover of cats. This is really hard and the house is very empty. I am really, really sad. But, she is no longer in pain and I believe that God has a special place in Heaven reserved for our lost pets. She was always there when I needed her and she saw me through some real tough times, she is my Angel Kitty. Someday I will see her again. I found this poem on a website called Rainbow Bridge and it is how I will honor my Frannie.

God Bless Our Pets
They say memories are golden, well, maybe that is true. I never wanted memories, I only wanted you. A million times I needed you, a million times I cried. If love alone could have saved you, you never would have died. In life I loved you dearly, in death I love you still. In my heart you hold a place no one could ever fill. If tears could build a stairway and heartache make a lane, I'd walk the path to heaven and bring you back again. Our family chain is broken, and nothing seems the same. But as God calls us one by one, the chain will link again.
Author Unknown

I Beat Luke at Risk!!!

The other day when we had so much snow, I asked Luke if he and Kristian would like to play Risk. They both eagerly obliged. If only they had known what was to come...... Total annihilation. Kristian (yellow men) isolated himself way up in the corner somewhere in the vicinity of Russia. I was green and Luke was blue. This picture was taken right at the start of the game. If you have ever played Risk, you will already know that it takes a long time to play. We were still playing past Kristian's bedtime. It became apparent that Kristian was very unhappy that he was not winning so we sent him packing and he went nighty night.


And here was the final play. Luke had two countries left. I was the champion! Ruler of the world! (insert maniacal laughter here)

Frannie Part 3

The vet was supposed to call me on Monday or Tuesday with Frannie's viral results and no one ever did. So, I finally called them yesterday to find out what was going on. A vet called me a half an hour later to tell me all of Frannie's virals were negative and that her liver was very damaged which means she likely got into something. I told her how upset I was with the previous vet and I never wanted her to see my pets again. She told me that was understandable and she would get to the bottom of why no one called me. She also told me Frannie needed to be hydrated to flush her liver of the enzymes it is creating. We went to the vet and she showed us how to administer iv fluids which we have to do 2 times a week. She is on a liver medication and we have about 3 weeks left and when they are gone we have to take her back in for a blood test to determine if her liver values have gone up or down. If they are down, that is very good and she will likely recover. If they are up, we will have to put her to sleep. I am having difficulty not being angry with this other vet. She knew how bad Fran's liver was and we could have been giving her an iv at home while we waited for the test results.

Wild Boyz

I had 2 wildmen in my house last night. It was crazy. Kids were screaming, dogs were barking. It was 2 words.........in sane. Bret decided to take Kristian's papers and throw them on the ground. Kristian would faithfully pick them up. Then it became a game. Bret would throw them down and he and Kristian would laugh. Bret is a little blurry because he was moving faster than my camera could handle. Note Kristian's diabolical grin.