RIP Simon!

So- as the title indicates- we had to put our beloved Simon to sleep late this afternoon.

as some you know may know- simon was diagnosed with bone cancer back in late january. fortunately the cancer had not spread past his leg so the doctors were able to amputate the leg with the primary aim of alleviating any major pain from the cancer growth and the secondary hope of the cancer not spreading/matasticizing. There has always been a chance that there were some cells that spread and hence a possibility of growth elsewhere.

since the amputation he has not been as active as before- mainly on wood floors and going up and down stairs- otherwise- he was still pretty active and happy. He had fun with xavier and with us.

last week we began to notice a drastic change in simon's behavior. much more reluctance to move around and a decreased interest in eating/drinking. we started giving him some anti-inflmatory medicines in hopes to help with the pain. Monday morning he was yelping to go outside but not wanting to move.

we were suspecting the worse and made an appt. with the vet that morning- thinking this may be the day we have to put him to sleep. We all said our goodbyes and ross and I took him to the vet's office.

the vet looked him over and reported that his back leg was very stiff- it being obvious he is in a lot of pain. she gave us some more pain meds and told us to call her back tomorrow.

Last nite Ross and I were not seeing much change in Simon- he wasn't interested in water or much food and he was having trouble standing to even go to the bathroom- he simply can't support his weight on his back leg. He pees on himself as a result- something I'm sure he is not happy with. He just wants to sit down as quickly as possible. It is obvious he is in a lot of pain. Ross and I decided if we did not see a drastic improvement by this morning (tuesday) we were going to go ahead and have him put to sleep today.

i spoke with the vet this morning and gave her the update. She agreed with us that simon's comfort and quality of life were the most important things to consider and that it seems like this is the best decision for simon.

We put Simon to sleep late this afternoon. As God does have impecable timing and a sense of humor- he went peacefully to sleep during a loud and violent thunderstorm outside. He hated thunderstorms!

He had a loving, happy last day. We went to Burger King and got him 5 cheeseburgers this afternoon- which he seemed to enjoy. We groomed him all pretty and I took a lot of pictures. He had 4 pieces of cheese to eat at the vets office. He was a full, happy dog!

needless to say-we are deeply sad and grieving. Simon was our last remnant from our time together in Illinois- an era in our lives has ended. we are grateful for the 10 years we've had with simon and that we now have xavier to keep us company. there are a lot of things I will miss about simon...his head butts to get us to pet him, his glomming all over us, the way he ran circles around our backyard in IL to the point where we had to re-seed the yard twice, the way he would bark when you would say, "daddy!", his ability to catch treats/snowballs/balls in midair- sometimes jumping up to 2 feet!

xixi is aware simon was not well and needed to go to heaven in order to not be so sick as best as a 4 year old can comprehend. We expect a lot of question in the days to come as she processes all of this.

RIP Bubby! You were deeply loved!
Simon- 4.15.97-6.10.08

pictures speak > words

so-
here are some pictures of my beloved students and me at our week at chapter camp.

chapter camp= week at beautiful Lake Champion (Young Life site) where we spend 7+ hours/day intensely studying scripture (mark or genesis).

the other 14 hours- well- the pictures speak for themselves.

I should make the contextual note that it did not get above 65 all week and it was very windy.

I love these guys.

they are my kind of crazy! :)

Elephants!

So- we went to the circus last nite- all day long XiXi talked and talked about riding the elephants! couldn't wait.

we arrived and walked up to the elephants.

"no mommy- maybe later!"

intermission comes.

"maybe"

so we walk up to the elephant- I give the guys $10. we start climbing the steps to get on.

crying. major protests.

being the loving and supportive mom that I am, I put XiXi on the elephant and proceed into Cheerleader Mom mode. I want to ride the elephant- haven't ridden one since I was 4!

half way around the cirle- tears stop.

get off.

go back to Ross "that was okay mom"

after the circus to my folks on the phone "I rode and elephant. at first I was scared but it was SUPER FUN"

oh to be 4!

I wonder if this is what I was like when my mom plopped my and my 2 sisters on one!

I was tagged by my good friend Amy in this question game, so here it goes:

1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.
2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
3. At the end of the post, the player then tags five people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they've been tagged and asking them to read the player's blog.
4. Let the person who tagged you know when you've posted your answer.

What were you doing 5 years ago?

1. Starting Weight Watchers
2. Working for InterVarsity @ Johns Hopkins
3. Co-facilitating a covenant group with Ross at our church
4. Taking conga lessons
5. getting ready to participate in a great week of prayer ministry training

What are 5 things on your to-do list today (not in any particular order)?

1. Finish putting mulch on all of my beds in the yard
2. finish decorating the hall bathroom
3. finish decorating xixi's room
4. start planning for next year's ministry calendar
5. finalize summer activity schedule for everyone

What are 5 snacks you enjoy?

1. hummus and pretzels
2. fruit- watermelon, strawberries, and berries
3. anything chocolate
4. kettle corn
5. guacamole and chips

What 5 things would you do if you were a billionaire?

1. Help in major ways to help end the AIDS and other world health crisis
2. Pay off my house and put away money for my kid's college education
3. adopt 3 more kids instead of just one.
4. Set up a living trust so that I may be able to significantly support the ministries of my local Church, Lifepoint, and other people in fulltime mission work
5. make sure my extended family was provided for financially

What are 5 of your bad habits?

1. biting my nails
2. not finishing big projects that I get excited to start
3. too much time of facebook!
4. nervous graze eating
5. freaking out about people being mad at me for no apparent reason!

What are 5 jobs you have had?

1. Head of waterfront activities at a summer camp
2. Education coordinate at a psychiatric wildnerness camp for girls with severe emotional problems
3. Special Education Teacher
4. Marketing Director for an academic publishing company
5. Campus Staff Worker- InterVarsity Christian Fellowship

What are 5 places you have lived?

1. Clemson, SC
2. Anderson, SC
3. Champaign-Urbana, IL
4. Baltimore, MD
5. Westminster, MD

Everyone has been tagged or tagged me- I'm late in the game on this!