Good, Bad, Happy and Sad

Good: We are all doing well. Emma is learning more and more words and phrases every day. My favorite phrase is "high bibe" (high five). Our little lady loves to give high fives! Emma is also getting pretty good at running and she eats at a big girl table now. We are just so proud of her every day. Our Itty Bitty One is doing very well. The 20 week ultrasound came perfect, and Baby and I are measuring right on track. My 2 week checks should be done soon, and everything is holding up as it should be. Paul and I are doing very well. He has been working overtime, but we spend time together when we can. I have been very busy at work, but it's nice learning so much and being able to prove myself.

Bad: We just had to spend the money we've been saving for my maternity leave to fix my car, and Paul still needs tires for his car. As far as bed goes, really that's about it.

Happy: We got a new puppy. His name is Gambel, and he's a little sweetheart. Trixie loves him, Alpine is getting better, and he annoys the hell out of poor Emma. The funny thing is that we got Gambel primarily for Emma. The are getting better with each other. Gambel just needs to learn his boundaries. When he's chasing Emma around, She screams and runs away. However... when I put Gambel outside, Emma calls to him and tries to get him to come back. I'm sure in a few weeks or so, they will be best friends. In the mean time, it's fun to watch them working it out. He nips at her a little, and she swats at him. All in all, it's like a little harmless sibling rivalry.

The sad... We lost Lexus on August 14. She was fine Friday evening. She ate her dinner and acted just fine when Paul went out to brush the others later that evening. We think she must have gotten up to go potty and just laid down and went to sleep on the back patio. Unfortunately, she didn't wake up. That morning Paul found her, and it was a horrible, heartbreaking way to start our day. The bright side is that she passed quietly on a nice summer evening. We didn't have to make the difficult decision of when to put her down. She was getting old and her body was deteriorating. It was obviously her time to go, but that doesn't make it any easier to let her go. There will always be a little piece of my heart missing, but that helps to remind me that she was a well loved companion who had a very happy life.

As always, our lives are nothing more or less than typical. It's not always sunshine and rainbows, but that's the way it goes. We are all healthy, and we are happy more often than not. We get sick. We get better. We fight. We make up. We get ahead. We get behind. I truly believe it's the trials that make us stronger and the hardships that make us appreciate everything else. Without the downs, how would we ever know how incredible the views are from up high?