Weekly Round-Up: June 24-30

Last week revolved around our dogs as you can see.

Sorry, not sorry.

1 & 2. Ollie sick at the vet & progressively worse in just a couple of hours.

3. Hank's face when we got home without Ollie. He looked so scared.

4. Our little keepsake of Ollie that they did for us after she passed.

5. Hank decided he was going to shake non-stop this week.

6. Training wears him out so good. Why does every pit bull seem to sleep like this?

7. Hank & Comet being best friends. They've gotten so close lately.

8. Hank comforting us after a long day & missing Ollie.

9. A much needed date night to dinner & the movie to see "World War Z".
Although I did enjoy the movie, it really is a shame that they associated this with Max Brooks' novel. I haven't even finished the book & I can tell you how not like the book this movie is in pretty much most ways. The movie did have me thoroughly entertained & on the edge of my seat though.
If you're a zombie fan, go watch it. Just don't expect the zombies to be slow...

Silence.

I'm not sure I even want to write this.

I don't know how I'd go on if I didn't.

We lost Ollie in the middle of the night Wednesday.

Those words just don't seem real.

I don't know how long it'll take,

But right now it just feels like I'm reading a script.

I don't even know what happened.

She was her normal self a few days earlier, seemed pretty tired Monday,

but by Tuesday she couldn't eat & was laying in a bed of her vomit when I got home.

I think "parvo" is one of the scariest words for dog owners.

It's something I shouldn't have to worry about at almost 7 years old.

Now every time Hank or Comet makes a weird sound while we still live in this house,

every time they get sick & the vet calls in the middle of the night,

every time there's blood in anything;

I'll have flashbacks of Ollie looking exactly like this.

I'll tell you what the hardest part for me is:

Coming home & sleeping.

How do you walk in your front door when you were always greeted with her wonderful songs?

Ollie Bear,

you were the best dog we will ever have.

You'll always hold the most special place in our hearts.

You were me & your dads first baby before we were even married.

You were the pretty little girl that we just couldn't say no to outside of Office Depot at 6 weeks old.

You howled at the top of your lungs the entire car-ride home in my lap

& the singing never stopped. It became your calling card.

You were so incredibly sassy

& I will miss that sass always.

You knew how to make everyone smile

& you always knew when to nuzzle your head in our arms when we had a bad day.

Thank you for teaching Hank some of those things.

I'm so sad that he has to miss out on growing up with you.

I've never seen you love a dog the way you loved him.

You forgot all about your protective ways & truly were a momma dog.

He doesn't seem to understand where you went 

& poor Comet has to deal with him trying to wrestle him all the time.

I love you my sweet girl.

You really hated it when I shaved you but look how silly cute you look? ^^

Also, thank you to all of our friends & family. Everyone has been tremendously sweet & I'll never forget that. Thank you to all of the meals & treats left at my doorstep those first couple days & all of the kind words.

We love you all.

What is family?

We attended a funeral recently & it brought this question to mind.

Family by definition is "a basic social unit consisting of parents & their children".

No, I'm not a very traditional person anyway & maybe I'm just horrible but

This isn't what I consider family.

Family is so much more than bloodlines.

Family is a bond between people.

An unbreakable love that's all consuming.

There are people in my life that are family that don't share my blood.

There are people that share my blood that I have no relation to.

This isn't to say that I don't love my family.

I very much so do.

I have been very blessed with a wonderful immediate family.

but here's where my mind wanders...

I hear people all of the time say, "Aw. That is just so horrible", in response to someone saying they don't have a relationship with a family member.

Why is that so sad?

I don't have relationships or much of ones with a handful in my family.

It doesn't make me sad. Not one bit actually.

I love them, sure.

But this brings up the old question of "can you love someone & not like them?"

Sure you can.

Why is there so much pressure to be best friends with everyone in your family?

What are you supposed to do when the only thing you have in common is your bloodline?

Why are people so touchy with the word family?

Why does that word hold so much power?

I have personally been affected by people that hold bloodlines above anything else.

& also been affected by people that had no physical relation to me

but took me in as their own & made me apart of who they were.

I would just like to say, I would take the latter scenario any day.

From my experiences, the families with a "non-traditional" view, we'll call it,

had much happier & healthier relationships with each other.

Ryan & I have already discussed that when we die,

there are certain people in our lives that better be right up front with our immediate family.

The people that we've shared our life with demand just as much, if not more for some, respect than our blood.

Am I the only person that sees things this way?

this post brought to you from all of the people that loved your loved-one just like family but weren't represented or thought of in their passing. this post brought to you from someone that knows what that feels like to not be allowed to be included as family when they should have been.

"All the other kids with the pumped up kicks, you'd better run, better run, out run my gun." - Foster The People

It's been awhile. I've been a funk when it comes to my blog. So much has happened I don't even know where to begin.

One. For those who remember this post... We got our bedroom ceiling fixed and it's awesome. Preston is a lifesaver. We also painted our bedroom and I love it. We're eventually going to paint the whole house but right now I'm just too lazy to start such a big project.

We lived in this mess for 6 weeks. Everything was covered in an inch of dust

I never thought this is what a ceiling would look like under the drywall.

I actually really love the way the wood looks.

Drywall begins

Paint begins

Paint continues

  Two. After my grandmother and Ryan's cousin passed away, Ryan's grandpa passed away two weeks later. So... Three funerals in 30 days doesn't make a very good month. It was a raw month in our household. Ryan's grandpa's death was something I've never seen before. I never had the privilege of knowing him. He was too sick already by the time I came along. But I can honestly say I love that man. I love him and I have so much respect for him. It was the hardest funeral I've ever been to. It's weird how different deaths affect you different. Because of that man I have the greatest father who gave me the greatest husband.

He was such a stud!

Three. My sister got married last weekend. The wedding was so beautiful and perfect for them. My sister made a gorgeous bride and as they stood up there and said their vows you knew it was just.. right.

This is what you get when Mallory and I take pictures. Drunk eyes.

Four. Because my sister got married I've spent the last four weeks in wedding mode. Planning showers and bachelorette parties and decorating churches and making sure everything ran as smooth as possible. I am tired. But I am so happy I could do so much for them and thankful they let me. :)

Five. Our air conditioner went out this week and while my husband went into stress mode, I wasn't too bothered by it. We have been having some really awesome weather lately and haven't needed to turn on the A/C anyway. But of course, the day after it broke we were going to have 2 days of 100 degree weather again and we have three pups that would die in that heat. So we packed up and stayed at the honeymooners apartment for a few days which almost felt like a mini vacation. It was weird. It made me realize just how much more I miss our old apartment and hate my house. Ollie didn't want to leave either. She was being extremely sweet. I think she misses carpet. Haha.

Six. Tommie & Jason are having a little boy, Max! We are so happy for them. We went to their gender reveal party and it was super cute. You had to wear a mustache or a bow depending on which one you thought it would be... Mallory and I guessed wrong.

I want a baby. Can I throw that in there? It's really all I think about. Well actually I spend most of time trying not to think about it because it makes me stressed that I don't have one already and stress does not help get you pregnant.

"Farewell my love, farewell to thee. While you're away I'll pray for your returning." - a silly song that will forever make me cry

My Grandma at our wedding at 83 years old

My sweet sweet grandmother, Geneva Elda Wooley Cearley passed away on June 30.
Ryan's cousin, Daniel, passed away Tuesday, June 21.

So many things have gone through my head this past week in reference to her. Why didn't we go see them more? The past two years we hadn't made it out to Enid but a few times and I regret that now.

My mother lost her mother. I cannot fathom this.
Great Uncle Leroy lost his sister and James lost a brother. I cannot fathom this.
The thought of losing my mother or a sibling is so painful I can't dwell on it longer than a split second.

Therefore, my mother, Leroy & James are very much on my heart