January is Bittersweet for Me

Last year on January 19, our St. Bernard, or Saintie as bernard lovers call them, passed away suddenly and unexpectedly. Her name was Savannah Kate, and she was just 3. The children just adored her. She was the biggest hunk of love you could ever find in a dog. Truly a gentle giant as the breed is called. The anniversary of her death is hard for me because I have been thinking about her so much! We have always had dogs, but Savannah was my baby. The kids called her Nana from "Peter Pan". Sometimes they even called her Nana Head because she always thought she was this little puppy and would lay her big head on your lap like she was tiny. Another trait of her breed is that they behave like they are small because they grow at such a rapid rate. When she passed away, she was full-grown at 140 lbs. When Savannah would play and run around, look out! She thought she was a teacup chihuahua.

Savannah had become lethargic and acted funny all weekend, but I kind of passed it off because she loves to sleep and snore all day anyway. :) When the week had started, it was a dramatic decline to refusing to eat and drink. We took her in and they began running tests on her. They were onto a disorder in her blood that may be able to be treated with radiation, but she went into cardiac arrest in her overnight stay and they called me at like 2 a.m. to tell me. IT WAS SO DEVASTATING! I think what broke my heart the most is that I had gone home around midnight and left her on ivs and such. Also, having to tell the kids was so sad :(

Savannah will forever be missed! She loved to play in the snow and hated the heat because of her size and fur LOL We always kept her shaved down. Whenever it snows, we still say it's Savannah in heaven saying hello :) WE LOVE YOU SAVANNAH. RUN FREE, GIRL! :)

I posted my favorite picture of her as a puppy on our deck and the other favorite of her dressed in Julia's tutu around her neck. Julia always dressed up Savannah in bonnets, jewelry, hats, and she followed Julia around like she was a queen which was a funny picture because she was 10 times bigger than Jules. Savannah's favorite pasttime was laying in front of the television while Paige, Chase and Julia used her body as a pillow for their heads while watching a movie.

Much love to you, Savannah Kate.

Love Bubble Baths

Baths are so dreamy. Indulging in a bath is one of the best treats. Ahhhhhh :)

Happy New Year :)

We have just been so busy that I have been negligent in blogging :) What a beautiful Christmas and end to such a great 2007 year! Everyone had such a great Christmas, and as a family we have so much to be grateful for. Shane's loving his new position with Verizon. Paige is loving her year with the new 4th grade teacher, her friends, soccer season fast-approaching, etc. Chase is beginning Upward Basketball through DCS church next week, a verocious reader in 1st grade (hmm wonder where he gets that from?!) and loves his video games. Julia begins dance with her bestest buddie Madelyn this month and is also starting soccer in March for the first time and is thrilled. She is doing so well in pre-K and is such a little social butterfly. She loves all her friends. Hudson is sitting up, saying "MMMMMM MMMMM MMMMM MAMA" which just blows everyone away and excites me! LOL I know he doesn't know MAMA is me yet, but to hear it is magic to my ears, and also he's the first to ever say MAMA first. It's always DADA because that's easier to say. Hudson sleeps all night and eats like a horse all day. Things are good.

The first thing though is a prayer request for Hudson! He came down with a chest and head cold last week and tested positive for RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus) which just shocked us because he has been receiving that immunization through a special clearance with our insurance due to his heart issue he was born with. Well, what we now know is that it doesn't PREVENT him from getting RSV; but if he does get it, it's a lesser case. Well, that's for sure. He's doing great despite the seriousness of contracting the RSV. It's just an elaborate term for severe head and chest cold. It's main negative press that it receives is because infants suffer from complications with RSV if they get too high of a fever and pneumonia which is not the case with Hudson. He never ran a fever.

I battle every day with germs! He is exposed to so much just because of having three older siblings and the elements he's exposed to (going to games, outings with the older children, etc.) All their friends was to touch Hudson which is a constant battle too. You just can't keep your later children as healthy as the first LOL Anyway, there's nothing you can do with RSV but watch for any symptoms to worsen. It lasts a good two weeks, and you just have to keep him comfortable. It's all viral, so there's no medication or treatments he can take. I did, however, research and buy some homeopathic baby rub for his chest and he is taking a bath with rosemary, eucalyptus and menthol every night which is totally helping him rest well and clears his head and nose.

GOD IS GOOD. Hudson has been through so much physically, he's so strong and a fighter. What a trooper! He is always babbling and playing and has a huge grin on his face. He's the most content baby I've ever been around.

I HAVE A PRAISE for the New Year. My dad suffered stomach cancer a couple years ago. He had half his stomach taken out and went through radiation. For the first two years after, it's really touch and go whether the cancer will return; and in his case, if it did, the outcome wasn't good because they had done all they could do. He had an endoscopy the other day and A CLEAN BILL of health. CANCER FREE. Praise the Lord! It was a real big celebration in our house :)

I hope everyone is cherishing every moment they have with their loved ones and friends! Life is so beautiful. It's all around us. All you have to do is look.