Happy 23rd Anniversary!!!

It’s been 23 amazingly wonderful years and I am thankful daily that Bob chose me!!!  We haven't had a chance to go out and celebrate yet, but we will next week.  Jared asked Bob how he knew I was “the One” and he said, “well, I knew I was happy every time I was with her.” Here's to an eternity of amazingly wonderful years!

We have had beautiful weather! Last weekend we were able to get the lettuce, carrots, spinach, and potatoes in!  My tulips are up, the tree out front is budding.  I just love spring!!!

Marisa and Jared got here Sunday night.  Jared left yesterday and we get to keep Marisa until Friday when she flies out to Mexico for the summer.  It has been so fun having them here!

We have had more amazing Home Chef meals! I promise I wont show food pics every week, but they look so awesome!!

Last week Alayna made us a beautiful cake.  It looked and tasted so yummy!

And, I just have to share cute guinea pics

And my new bulletin board:

R.I.P. Daisy Hart

Who knew losing a pet could hurt so much?  It has been a very long 5 days and I am not sure I am ready to talk about it all.  I never thought I would be this affected by the loss of one of our pets. 

On Saturday, Alayna noticed Daisy was acting weird.  we said we would keep an eye on her.  By Sunday morning, she was definitely acting weird and hadn't eaten any of her food or drank any water.  Our vet clinic was closed Sunday so we had to drive all the way done to the emergency vet clinic.  We spent 2 hours there.  She had a heart murmur and her digestive system was shutting down.  Not sure why.  He tried an ultrasound which showed stuff sloshing in her tummy.  He gave us 3 meds and sent us home.  Told us to feed her as much as possible.  She refused to eat.  We held her all evening and night.  By morning, she was much worse.

She had lost about 1/2 her weight (they become anorexic within 16 hours) and was hardly moving.  Still not eating or drinking.  went all the way back to the emergency clinic.  We were there 2 more hours.  She was much worse and they said she sgould be hospitalized- the bill would be $1700! How is that even possible?  I paid for the xray which showed her tummy and intestines were fully bloated with gas.  They dont burp so its hard to get gas out.  The meds were supposed to help. They didnt.  We headed home knowing we would probably lose her that night.  We took shifts holding her and feeding her through a dropper.  She did ok until Tuesday morning.

She refused to even open her mouth or swallow the water.  Alayna and Tyler held her and fed her all day (while i was at a stupid waste of time conferences in Des Moines).  I took over when I got hom and held her all through the night.  Neither Alayna or I went to bed.  Daisy’s breathing got shallower and slower.  I felt so helpless and sobbed. A lot.

I got up early and called to find a place that would euthanize her so we could let her have peace.  The stupid dr wouldnt come in until noon.  So, Alayna and I took turns holding her, soother her, putting drops of water on her lips while we bawled. 

Around 10 she started spasming and was having a hard time breathing.  We kept petting her and soothing her.  At 1030 she made this tiny weird squeak and gasped for breath.  I was crying so hard I could barely see her.  She did it 3 more times and then the breathing stopped.  ALayna took her from my hearts and sat there crying while she held her.  I felt like my heart was ripping.  I still wish I could have done something else to save her.

After a while we went down and held the other 2 guineas.

We are comforted by the gospel and the knowledge that we will see her again.  Sometimes I feel dumb, like we are making a big deal out of this tiny mammal.  But we all loved her dearly and she was and always will be part of our family.  We are glad we were home with her today, to be there to comfort her and love her to the very last breath.  This heartache and grief makes me dread the future and the loss of human loved ones in our lives.  I know it is the circle of life, but the grief is very real.

We will always love you, Daisy!  Thank you for the light and joy you brought to our family.  we know you are happily trotting around, running and exploring, with lots of guineas in heaven.  We love you and look forward to seeing you again!

Another busy week

I think this picture sums up my week- learning to be flexible, especially when it comes to what I will be doing next year…

Alayna is ranked #3 on the Excelsior girls tennis team!

We had more yummy meals!

Ravioli from scratch:

Almond joy shakes:

Marisa made the Deans list!  Woot woot!  She and Jared will be heading here in 2 weeks!  Can’t wait to see them!

Kayla learned how to ride a dirt bike and they traveled to Vegas to attend their friends wedding

I lost my blog mojo, has anyone seen it??

I don’t know if it was just because the last few months were so crazy or because my fatigue has been so bad, but I haven’t been very good at blogging or even taking pictures for that matter.  Too much on my plate I guess?  So here I go with our updates…

Marisa is almost done with winter semester.  She will be home around April 20th and I believe Jared will come hang with us for a while before he heads to Nauvoo.  Then she flies out April 30 to Mexico.  She will be in the city Celaya.  She is very excited to go and I can’t wait to hear about all her experiences! Maybe she will blog each week with pictures?  I rarely get pics from her but here is one I found on fb!

Marisa also got to see the Hart grandparents!

Kayla and Brandon are doing awesome! They are settled into their apartment in Rexburg and getting ready to start spring semester in April.  They will be coming in August for their reception in Cedar Rapids and to celebrate Alayna and Brandon’s birthday!  It will be the same week Marisa comes home from Mexico so we are planning to PARTY big time!  she is also doing an awesome job on their family blog- you should check it out!

Happy 20th Birthday to Kayla!!!!

Alayna starts tennis next week and is very excited for it. 

I had spring break this week (only 3 days, but I will take it!)  Tyler and Alayna had last week off.  Yesterday I had to get 2 fillings cause that's a great way to start off your spring break!  Today Bob and I had a lunch date and tomorrow I get my massage! 

Home Chef:

So we have been trying out this great new product/idea.  There are actually many companies, but we chose Home Chef to try and we have just loved it.  Basically they have about 10 meals to chose from.  You choose 3 and they send them to you in the main in a refrigerated box.  They come with all fresh ingredients and all measured out, plus the recipe.  The meals have been fun even though it takes some work because you make them from scratch.  Some have been amazing, some ok, but its all different.  They don't repeat a meal for a whole year.  The shakes are also awesome!  We have had fruity ones, a s’more shake, and next week is a peanut butter and jelly!  It has taken the stress out of shopping and planning meals.  we are saving money because most meals feed all 4 of us AND we have no leftovers so we haven't been wasting any food.  The kids are trying stuff they would never normally eat!

Anyway, we are really loving it so far!

(Chicago style pizza with spinach and roasted tomatoes)

(Spinach stuffed chicken)

Shishkabobs

Healthy green smoothie!

Flatbread greek pizza

Reading:

I lost my reading mojo for a bit too.  I couldn't find a book that grabbed me.  Then, we watched “Everest”. with it being a true story, I was mesmerized and I just had to find out more.  I grabbed “Into Thin Air “ off the shelf the next day and I have been obsessed every since.

 

“Into thin air” is one I just couldn't put down!!  It reminded me so much of Titanic and how so many small things, many that could seem insignificant, added up to create a catastrophic event.  Jon Krakauer does an incredible job telling the story, especially since he was there and experienced it all in person.  This is a MUST READ!

Then I was drawn to “My Everest Story” with Mark Pfetzer.  He was there when the Everest disaster started, but with a different team a day or so behind.  His story is all about how he started climbing and all his experiences and how it took Grit to get there.  Written a bit lower level for middle school but entertaining nonetheless.

The new book coming out in the book fair is called “No summit out of sight”. The true story of Jordan Romero who climbed all 7 summits by the age of 16-breaking MANY world records in the process.  The book is fantastic and I loved reading his experiences.  I would kill to get him to come speak as a guest speaker!

I am also currently obsessed with the shows Brooklyn 99 and Quantico!

OH and the movie you must see that will touch your heart and make you bawl for 45 minutes is “The Cokeville Miracle”. Worth the time to see it!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAYLA!!! We love you!

Sometimes it’s all about perspective…

This week was a busy one!  On Thursday, because of the way library has been scheduled, we had to do 16 straight Battles for Battle of the Books.  We were exhausted and so may kids and such a mess!

Then, Sherry and I got to be part of the lesson for the art kids on perspective.  I am holding a giant book and poor Sherry is a tiny lady pounding on the stupid copier!

There was a rare sighting of Marisa!

I guess thats it for this week.  Here is the link to Kaylas blog if you havent had a chance to see it yet!

http://kaylaandbrandon.blogspot.com/?spref=fb

Back into the Swing

Well, it took almost a month for us to unpack and get settled back into a normal routine!

The day after we got back from the wedding, I went in for an interview for the Instructional Coach position at the middle school.  For some reason, I was super relaxed.  I was offered the position less than an hour later.  Wow!  I said yes.  If nothing else, it gets me out of the HS and clearly my body can’t take the high school anymore.  I am anxious to be out of there.  I still have high hopes for LinnMar but this is a great back up position that I think I will really enjoy.

My orchids from last year have beautifully bloomed!  I thought they were dead and almost threw them out.  There’s a good gospel analogy in there somewhere..

The weather this week has been gorgeous!  Yesterday it was in the 60s!  You can tell it has been super windy though- but I dont mind.

The one bad thing about spring is the pollen count has been up so I havent slept the past 3 nights.  Bob has another infection starting.  We just want to feel good and be normal- is that too much to ask??

For Valentines Day, Bob got me some beautiful flowers and the book I have been dying for!!!

Not much else is going on and to be honest I really prefer it this way!