Caring for an Aging Dog

Maggie Mae has been with us for 5 and a half years now. It's hard to believe how quickly time has flown by with her in our lives (and it's hard to believe all of the milestones she has been through with us). And while she has taught me a thousand lessons along the way, none seem quite as poignant as the ones she is teaching me now as we care for her in her senior years. (Maggie was diagnosed with congestive heart failure back in August and is now mostly blind in both eyes along with some other difficulties in her health). Here are a few of the lessons she is teaching me: 

1. Unconditional Love. 

She's taught me this all along but mostly it's come from her to me. And now I feel like the tables are turning a bit. She is teaching me what it means to care so much for something you feel like they are a part of you--like your heart might explode with love. She is teaching me that when you love that much, you learn to overlook accidents in the house, you learn to spoon feed when she won't eat, you learn to stay up with her at night to calm her down, you learn to hold her when she can't catch her breath, you learn to carry her so that she won't tire out. It's a two way street this unconditional love. 

2. Make Time. 

More now than ever, I am learning how important it is to make time every. single. day. to love on Maggie and enjoy her extra snuggles. We don't know how much longer we'll have with her us and so it makes each moment I have all the more precious. But really this is a principle that should apply to all of the people and things that I love. 

3. Enjoy Life.

There are many times when you would come over and never know that Maggie is sick. She still loves to play with her toys, loves to howl, love to meet new people, and upon occasion loves the chance to play with Lennon. She is teaching me the value of enjoying ALL of life--no matter how you may feel. 

4. The Importance and Value of Family. 

Maggie doesn't know it but she has taught Matt and I so much about what it means to be a family--and for that I will be forever grateful. She has helped us learn how to care for one another, how to be away from each other and reunite, how to play, how to rest, how to be silly, and most importantly how to be loyal and loving in all circumstances. Even more now that she is older, she is teaching us what it means to be a family of our own. 

5. How to Grieve Well

Last but not least, caring for Maggie in her older years is teaching us how to grieve and how to let go. She has been such a big part of our lives together, it's been hard to think about her not being with us. But at the same time, we are watching her change and we don't want her to be in pain. We are learning that it's ok to grieve but that we should also celebrate! What a gift she has been to us and what a gift we have been to her! 

Maggie girl....thanks for continuing to be my teacher!

We're Booked!

It's official. My 30th birthday trip has been booked for Rio de Janeiro, Brazil! Can't wait to cozy up to all of the beautiful beaches, see one of the 7 wonders of the world, hike, eat, drink, samba, and just plain enjoy a beautiful new city! 

Lennon's First Snow

I think she liked it....

Snowpocalypse 2014

It's been a crazy couple of days here in Birmingham. It all started on Tuesday morning. The weather forecast called for a light dusting of snow but nothing serious they said. Well it turns out the forecast was off by several miles. I went on in to work even though it was already beginning to snow (bad decision). After approximately an hour at work it became apparent that the snow was going to stick--so we locked up the church and headed home. Except the drive home (which typically takes about 10-15 minutes) took me 3 hours. 

All of the schools and businesses closed at exactly the same time and led to the mass chaos that you have seen coming from Birmingham and Atlanta. It was seriously crazy. Many people had to abandon their cars to make it safely to shelter and many children just had to spend the night at school because no one could get to them. 

Luckily, we work close to where we live and were both able to get home safely and stay put. We even brought a houseguest back with us! My friend Mary Elizabeth (see photo of us walking above) lives down 280 and I suggested to her Tuesday as we were both driving out of downtown that she come on over to our house and we'd make a game plan from there. 

3 hours later and the game plan became, "How about you just stay here and spend the night with us." Best decision ever! She actually ended up staying 2 nights because the temperatures didn't get high enough Wednesday for the roads to thaw out. So in the meantime we found our way to the top of the hill by our house and joined in the Crestwood sledding party! 

It was a bit scary there for a while in Birmingham. We had many friends who spent the night at work, at school, with strangers, or in shelters that opened. Thankful that today it looks like the roads will finally thaw and everyone will be able to make it home! 

Snowpocalypse 2014 was definitely one for the books. 

The One Where the Red Sox win the World Series!

2013 was a good year for Red Sox fans! 

We decided that we would take the plunge and head out of town for one of the World Series games this year. While Fenway was a bit out of our price range, our dear friends Dan & Jillian recently moved to St. Loius, MO--location of games 3, 4, & 5. Convenient? Most definitely. 

And even better than just being able to attend Game 4, the Red Sox won! Here we are in all of our fan gear with the field behind us. It was so much fun! 

And then only a few days later, the Sox took the World Series! Here is Matt with everything Boston he could possibly find to celebrate (including our wee Boston Terrier). 

It was a fun year to be cheering for the Red Sox! Maybe next time we will make it to a World Series game at Fenway. 

(Note: the Sox also won the World Series the year Matt and I very first started dating. I was at his apartment, really still getting to know him, and he went nuts! It was fun to relive that moment) 

The Pancreas

We have learned so much about the pancreas over the past year. Since I finished off in April 2013, you've missed the two other times that Matt ended up suffering from Pancreatitis (that's 3 hospital stays total for the year--bleh). It was not fun, so maybe I wouldn't have written about them anyway, but it was an important part of our journey in 2013. 

(this photo has nothing to do with the pancreas but what's a post without a photo?) 

The long and short of it is that after the 2nd round (which was right after our return from Australia...) Matt had an endoscopy so that they could try to figure out what was going on. From that procedure they were able to determine that Matt has pancreatic divisum. Basically he has two ducts when the rest of us have one. And that 2nd duct is probably a bit small and causing the enzymes to back up. So we knew at this point that we would need to see a specialist should the pancreatitis return. 

And guess what, it came back. In November, we had an epic journey of craziness in order to get Matt to the right hospital to see the right doctor. It's too long of a story to type out. The important part is that we did finally get to the right specialist and in early December he was able to insert a stent into Matt's pancreas. And so far, it seems to be doing the trick!

Meet Lennon

Since 2013 our little family has grown by one! 

Meet our newest family member, Lennon. 

She was born on June 30 and this is one of the very first pictures we have of her at about three weeks old. 

Here she is on the car ride home on August 11. We brought her home with us at a mere six weeks old. She's so tiny! 

 We've loved watching her play hard and then crash.

She even had the chance to ear her own sno-cone this summer at the park.

Maggie is learning to love her new little sister. She particularly likes Lennon when she is sleepy and not trying to steal her toys. 

 Although she's gained a few more months since this picture, this gives you a better sense of what she looks like now! 

We have loved raising a puppy of our own and being a family of two dogs! It's hard to believe how quickly she has grown and how quickly she has become such an integral part of our little family!