"A Day of Disappointments or a Day of Blessings??"

Ever had one of those days when your entire day was full of plans that kept changing? Ever had a day when you were actually excited and looking forward to those plans you made - only to seemingly keep being met with disappointment?

That's pretty much how my past Thursday was playing out.

It began with plans to go to Kemah Boardwalk and enjoy our delicious and much anticipated meal of pizza and Cesar salad. If you've known anything about us then you know we that we look forward to each week of driving a hour away to enjoy one of our most favorite meals of the week. We never eat anywhere else while in Kemah - only this one place. If you are wondering why I keep elaborating, it's because I want to emphasize the excitement it holds for us! :) Are you with me? This place is a true highlight to our week!

David dear remembered that he had not called about a recall on our washer. What better day to remember?! He makes the call, and long story short, he agrees to a open window time of 1-5....on our Kemah day. Wait a minute.....did you possibly forget how important this day is, dear??!! Surely not.
I was just a little set back.....ok NO I was VERY setback!! And yes....I had to pout for a time. I mean c'mon, let's be honest here. Much of my pouting is simply amusing to dear husband.....and rightly so. I'm sure I'm a pathetic case. He calmly and nicely told me "We can do Kemah tomorrow." It wasn't just no Kemah that upset me - we also had plans to do our training we are in for an up and coming adventure we are taking at the end of September. Those plans would also be put until tomorrow.

Sooo....I decided (after a bit) to make the best of it. David gave me two choices of what we could eat and I
UN-excitedly chose one. I texted our oldest daughter, before we left, thinking that she was at work. I thought I would just let her know our plans anyway. Turns out....she wanted to meet us there. Hmm...how bout that!

We met her there and had a very nice lunch as well as good fellowship.
Was this lunch a blessing? Yup!
I had previously told her of our plans to go to Kemah and she had declined saying she needed to go into work. IF we had followed through with our plans then we would have missed this blessing of food and fellowship with a daughter that needs us in her life....and we need her too.

Setback # 2- After lunch, we went our way and daughter went hers. I knew we had to stay close to home due to waiting on repairman coming. That's when I thought that hubby and I would go to the woods and train. Uhh....hubby had another idea up his sleeve. He told me "Do you want me to surprise you or do you want to know where we are going?" I normally would go for the surprise, but today, nope give it to me up front. He said "We are going to the gym and training." Did I mention I know how to pout?!?

Here we go again.....
Seriously....the gym is considered in my top 5 most  boring places to exercise!! It literally makes number 1 on the list!! We are working out on the treadmills. No beautiful scenery around you. Absolutely NO reward or incentive is given while you are sweating and exerting your full energy. I need scenery, people, like the WOODS. I need a reason to have exerted that much energy by seeing something really awesome in the woods such as a waterfall, deer, mountainsides, rivers, trees falling down....something!! Ok you get the point again....I don't like the gym.

We drive to the gym and I very glumly walk inside. And just about as glumly, I began to workout on the treadmill. My super, wonderful husband tries to make me smile and have a decent attitude. He is so super wonderful....but even so. The girl goes glumly on. During this time, a girl approaches us. That girl turns out to be our second daughter! She had come to work out also. Neither of us knew the other would be there. We were both pleasantly surprised. This second daughter we see so very little of as it is, so you can maybe imagine the surprise. As we continued our workout, she visited us for a time. She was waiting her turn on one of the machines. Once she was able to workout, she did in fact come back our way and continue the visit. She delighted herself in increasing Mom's incline as well as her speed, however. Make that dramatic increases!! Much to Mom's frantic exclamations and trying her best to keep atop this crazy machine...she laughed merrily on. O gee!
Was this encounter a blessing? You betcha!

Afterwards, we took our tired bodies home.

 - Showers done - we waited. Yes....for the repairman. To which, as you can guess, he never called and never made a showing. David called and guess what they said? "O we can schedule you for tomorrow." I shouted out "NO!" I wasn't about to give up another beloved Kemah day!! David told them that he only would allow them to come out IF they would come before 11am. No later! They could not guarantee it and required him to call the repair company himself the following day to confirm it. Yada-yada-yada......

Setback #3 - Now...it was time to decide where we were going to eat dinner for the evening. We chose a place hoping that it wouldn't be too crowded. Something about Thursday evenings makes people want to go out, I'm tellin ya. The more I thought about this place....the more I really wanted to try it again. Guess what? We were met with "It will be a 30-40 minute wait." And to think this was BEFORE 7pm and on a week night!!
Here we go again....
Ok, so I only pouted a tad. But, I really was NOT excited about going to our next choice. It was close by though and my David was really hungry. We got in line and I decided to call our son to let him know where we were at. While talking to him, I casually said "Do you wanna come?" all the while expecting him to say no. To my surprise....(lots of surprises on this day) he says yes! He very rarely enjoys eating out with us and we eat out alot! He either is working, with friends, or sleeping (his favorite hobby). He met us up there and once again we were having a very nice meal and fellowship with yet another one of our children.
Was this dinner a blessing? Absolutely!

Later that evening, as I'm relaying the day to myself, I came up with the very profound assumption - - God wanted us to be with our children today! I voiced my thoughts to David and he quite agreed. He also brought light to my thinking when he confidently shared "There is going to be a Blog in here somewhere." The man knows what he is talking about. Through his enlightment of helping me to see the grander side of things AND as always God helping me to write and share.....a Blog surely did come forth! :-)

Together God, David and I put together these 3 points resulting from our day:

1. God's plans are stronger than ours.
2. God's plans are better than ours.
3. We can't screw up God's plans.

I don't think I need to spell it out for you any, for it is quite clear. :-)
We make plans - God has the  plans. We get disappointed - God shows us better.

If you would allow me, I would like to share the verses I have found to support these points. . .

Proverbs 19: 21 "Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails."  
Proverbs 20:24 "A man's steps are directed by the Lord. How then can anyone understand his own way?" 
Psalm 25:11 "He will instruct him in the way chosen for him."
Psalm 32:8 "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you." 
Psalm 33:11 "But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations."
Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
Psalm 75:2 "You say, 'I choose the appointed time...."
Job 42: 2 "I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted."
Proverbs 21:30 "There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord."

So, we see that God always has the plans. He directs and instructs us in those plans. And....we canNOT screw up those plans. Thank ya Jesus!!

At times we must wait to see the plans unfold. What does God ask from us during this time?

Psalm 130:5 "I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope."
Psalm 37:7 "Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him." 
Psalm 38:15 "I wait for you, O Lord; you will answer, O Lord my God."
Psalm 33:20-21 "We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name." 

We wait with hope and patience and rejoicing.....knowing he will answer us in his appointed time.

For we know that he "The Lord is faithful to all his promises and loving towards all he has made." Psalm 145:13

Thank you, God, that you turned this girl's day of disappointement into truly a day of BLESSINGS!!!

"That's My Boy!"

Today....many parents, along with me, are saying it's my son/daughter's last first day of school!
Yes, my son is a Senior today, August 26, 2013. He not only is just my son approaching the milestone of graduation, he is also my baby. Woo-Hoo!! the very last one of three!! {Waving our hands in the air excitedly} For the past continous 20 years (1993-2013) we have had a child attending school. It's time to celebrate, people!!! :-)

And today, I celebrate my Levi . . .

From the days of Pre-School 2000

 The first days of Kindergarten 2001 . . .

The first days of Kindergarten 2001 . . .

 The first bus ride home 2001 . . .

The first job 2012 . . .

The first car/truck 2012 . . .

The first happy drive 2012 . . .

The first change of wardrobe for new 2nd job 2013. . .

Second new job 2013 . . .

Second new job 2013  . . .

Second new car within a year 2013  . . .

To the second new car being in a Nismo-Fest Cruise with my baby driving speeds up to 120 mph and taking hairpin curves through mountainous roads on a 7 hour journey!

And all the very wonderful memories made in between . . . today I celebrate you, my Levi.

I love YOU with a sincere heart and I am proud of YOU my son.

__________________________________________________________________________________

For my readers reading along, I share something with you . . .

I am proud of my son . . .

No, he isn't excelling in any sports. He doesn't participate in any. When he was participating, he wasn't the best, nor the second, and nor the third. He was average.

No, he isn't excelling in academics. He isn't taking any "Honors" classes. His grades aren't A's and B's. He doesn't love to read. He has no great thirst to succeed in school, but rather just to get by. He is average.

No, he isn't serving and participating in youth mission trips, evangelizing, and being "on fire" for God as a youth can be. He doesn't even attend the same church we do, but rather has chosen to go with a friend to another. He is average.

No, he doesn't have great and wonderful plans for after graduation. No, his desire isn't to go to college. He possibly is considering joining the Air Force, but in that undecided. He is average. 

No, he isn't a perfect child who has never struggled, nor strayed from what he knows to be right. No, he isn't full of obedience and respect all of the time. He is average.

But what he is is my son and God's gift to me. . . a thankful and proud mother. 

You see I've had to learn a thing or two {or three} in this life. One of them is it gets you nowhere good when you stop and compare your child with another child. Your child may excel at everything he tries and my son may not. Your child may excel at academics and my son may not. Your son may have great and grand plans for after school and my son may not. Your son may be involved in youth groups and my son may not. But does that really change the fact that your son is a blessing to you and my son is a blessing to me? I would like to think not. 

I know that my God has given me this son and placed in life where HE wants him to be. All my hopes, dreams, desires for all that I want my son to be mean nothing when they are wrapped up in the external things. What truly matters - is he seeking to live his life for God where God has placed him? I pray that he is. Is he desiring a closer fellowship with God in his daily average life? I pray that he is. Does he understand what it means to be devoted to God in this average life? I pray that he does. 

Friend, don't get caught up in comparing. It will lead you down a road you don't want to travel. 

Rather set your heart and mind on thankfulness. Thankful for who your son or daughter IS and all the beautiful blessings they bring to you.....whether they are high excellers.....or just plain average. 

For in both God has promised in Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." and also in Philippians 1:6 "Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." 

TRUST those plans and good works, that God has for your child, whatever they may be....average or not. 

"Have YOU Ever Done This?"

Want to know something really COOL ? I hope so, because I'm gonna tell you!!

The Bible says God is Holy.
This means He is perfect. He has never sinned, cannot sin, and will never sin. He is so perfect that sin cannot live in His presence.

On the other hand, the Bible says man has done wrong.
I've lied - you've lied. I've coveted/been jealous - you've coveted/been jealous. I've dishonored my Mother and my Father - you've dishonored your Mother and your Father. The Bible calls wrong doing - sin.

And there is the great problem.
Our sin cuts us off from God. If sin cannot live in the presence of God and sin is in us, then we cannot live in the presence of God. Our sin cuts us off from God in this life. Therefore, when we die, we will go to a very terrible place called Hell.

But God loves us SO much!
In spite of our sin, God sent His one and only son, Jesus. This is why Jesus Christ is such a BIG DEAL! Jesus Christ came into this world and died on the cross for our sins. God took all of our sinfulness and placed it on Jesus. So, when Jesus died, He was paying our penalty for our sins. And when Jesus arose from the dead, our debt was paid in FULL ! So....now anyone can have their sins forgiven and have a personal relationship with Him.

The Bible says if you believe this is true. . .

• God is perfect
• Man is sinful
• Sin cuts us off from God
• Jesus died for our sins

and you are willing to surrender yourself to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior - then you will be made right with God.

Have YOU ever done this?

Since this is a Blog and I have no way of knowing your personal answer to that question, I'm going to give you choices of what your answer might be. You choose where you best fit in.

Yes - that's fantastic!! I'm a Christ Follower too! The Bible tells us that when we receive Jesus, as our Lord and Savior, He gives us a new heart! He gave me a new heart by wanting to know Him, seek Him, and live only for Him. How has it changed you? Where is your relationship with Jesus Christ now?

No - You can do this right NOW in this very moment!

As I've shared in previous Blogs, it's as simple as A,B,C!

A= Accept that you are a sinner in need of a Savior.

B= Believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins and rose from the grave.

C= Confess, with your mouth, Jesus is Lord and call upon Him to save YOU from your sins.

Know that Jesus is right there with you and hears you when you call upon Him.

"For EVERYONE who calls on the name of the Lord will BE saved!" Romans 10:13.

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and that NOT of yourself, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no man can boast." Ephesians 2:8-9. >>If it were by works someone would ALWAYS be better than you. Whose to say where the line would be drawn??

What do I do after I have received Jesus as my Lord and Savior?

Find a church! Get baptized! Read the Bible - start with the book of John or my favorite - Psalm.

But know that these things do not seal or complete your salvation. Your salvation was sealed when you accepted, believed, and cofessed. These are just steps that God asks us to take in order to grow in Him as we should. Baptism is only an outward expression to others of an inward change.

And so as I close this Blog, I leave you with this one question again. . .

Have YOU ever done this?

"Number 26 is Here!!"

Twenty-six years.
Twenty-six years means you're just getting started real good. . . does it not?
For many it's a brief time. About five drops in a bucket - depending on the size of your bucket of course. :)
And for many it's a very substantial amount of time, especially for those newly acquainted with this beautiful blessing called "marriage".

This Thursday, August 15, 2013, will be the 26th celebrated year of love and marriage that my David and I share. As I looked back through my previous Blogs, I found one (Dec. 2011) that shares the story well of how we met and found the love of our lives. If you would like to read, hopefully this link will take you to it:

http://lifeiswhatgodmakesit.blogspot.com/2011/12/my-gift-to-me-and-how-we-met.html

Our story remains the same. But there is one thing that continues to change. For with each passing day my heart swells with such love, gratitude, admiration, pride (the good pride), excitement, and just a genuine thankfulness all around of who I share my each and every day with in this world. A run-on sentence it may be, but there's just so MUCH to be thankful for!! I hope there's never a day that I don't remember to stop and thank God Himself for the beautiful gift He has given me.

Before this Blogs continues any farther - I will share, as I have in the past, that GOD and GOD alone is my first and foremost love. I do not ever want to confuse anyone into believing that my David holds first place. God has that placed reserved and filled by him. He alone is my truest and greatest love and all the days of eternity will not be long enough to truly thank him for all that he is and all that has done/doing/will do in my life! First place in my heart is filled with God.....and second place will forever and always be filled by my David. Not my kids, not my extended family, not my home.....nothing. God first, David second. And forever it shalll be.

Maybe since I've written a previous story of how we came to be....this time I will share some pictures.

"The Early Years. . ."

Were we not the cutest? :) 1972!

Pre-dating days. 1985!

He is SO DARN good-looking!! :)

Yes....we are dating now!! YAY!! Big smiles!! :)) 1985!

Dating days...and yes braces too.....1986!

Dating days...hitting the slopes together.....1986 or '87!



Still dating.....1987!

And yes to this day....he is always in my thoughts. <3

Ta-Dah!! Engaged....February 7, 1987!!

The BIG day has arrived!!

The day I married my very best friend in the history of ever....August 15, 1987!!

He is my HAPPY!!

All the days to follow he has not only held my heart...but also my hand.

I love him so.

Wedding Announcement!

Then there's was three Moores......

1988!

And then there was four Moores......

1992!

Still just four Moores......

1993!

And wait....there he is....Five Moores!!

Our family is complete!

1996!

One of my most cherished pictures.....family.

2000!

"The Later Years....."

Family......Novemeber 2010!

Family.....December 2012!

Family....December 2012!

So from the beginning of time + everything in between = the sincere love two people hold in their hearts by a loving God Who placed it there.

And now as the story of our love continues, we will celebrate this Thursday with a trip to Louisiana to share in our love of history together, by spending the afternoon touring the beautiful Noddaway Plantation. And then we are off to soak up the sunny beaches of Pensecola, Florida!! :)

And to my David.....

I loved you yesterday

I love you today

I always have

And I always will!

Thank you, to my readers, who let me a small part of our lives together through pictures! :)

And as always.....Thank you to God for blessing my life to the fullest with this most precious gift to me!

"How DO You Say Good-bye?"

As I thought about this Blog I realized there could be multiple titles regarding it...."When Is It Time To Say Good-Bye?" "Saying Good-byes Are Never Easy" "Good-byes Can Hurt!" and the list goes on....

But before you close this Blog and say "this is just going to be a sad, sad story and I don't need sadness in my life today." give it a chance. For there may be hope in it as well. :)

This past Friday, August 2, my husband and I had to make a very hard decision. It seemingly had come time to put our sweet and oldest dog to sleep. That decision is never easy. There was not only concern for our dog, Jenna, and the pain she was so sweetly and pathetically suffering through, but also for our "children". Our concerns were brought to God with much prayer.

As I titled this Blog, I knew this picture would go perfectly with it. For in this picture it reveals one very broken-hearted girl grieving at the up and coming loss of her faithful and beloved pet.  

From this picture, I believe it symbolizes that even animals can feel our sorrow. Although, yes our other dog, Lacie, loves to be petted....it's as if she feels Heather's sadness as well.

How DO  you say Good-Bye?

I believe people have many ways. Some choose to avoid the situation and remember the loved one in the happier times and some choose to be there by their side through it all. Each is good and well and that person should be left knowing they have made the right choice. Let me say here....I fully know that the passing of a pet holds very little measure to the passing of a loved person, but each is sentimental and emotionally ..... well..... tough. I will also insert here that I never knew just how tough it was until I was placed in that situation myself. For all readers, that have been faced with this dilemma, or even your pets passing on their own....my heart goes out to you.  In all my years, I have never been faced with death in such a real manner.

Over 13 years ago, in January of 2000, Jenna came into our lives. She would be 14 years old this Decemeber...or 98 freakin years in human terms! Our kids wanted a pet and Heather's friend had a neighbor that just happened to be selling Golden Retriever puppies....thus began the days of Jenna. She was the perfect puppy - cute, cuddly, O-so-sweet, and beautiful too....of course! I remember that we had to keep her in the front yard for what seemed forever. We had a stray dog come into our yard before the "days of Jenna" and we attempted to keep it. Turns out....puppy dog came with the dreaded PARVO sickness and we had puppy put to sleep. We didn't stay for that one...no attachments made. So, as you know....when Parvo is involved it contaminates ANYWHERE the dog may have been....which happened to be.....yes....our backyard. It was a matter of months before it was safe to put Jenna back there. We must have kept her in the garage at night and tied her to a lawn chair, in the grass, by day to provide some shade. Below is a first picture we took of her at age 3 months. We had traveled with her to visit my parents in Dallas. She was A D O R A B LE!

Jenna was always a wonderful dog and you really could not ask for any better. She was tender and sweet, caring and loving, patient and tolerant. She loved people, as often G.R.'s do and it was always evident in her gentle wag. On a sad thought....that tail had lost it's wag and excitement in these last months. She was always a model patient at the vet's office and no matter the procedure she would simply tolerate it with her gentleness.

Jenna, not quite 3 years old, and my Levi, 6 years old.

September 29, 2002

Jenna, 5 years old, and my Levi, 8 years old.

July 13, 2004

I love this picture!

 We had forgotten just how dark and beautiful she was until looking back at this.

The day had came that we decided Jenna "needed" a playmate in her world. That word "needed" is used more of an overstatement on her part. We were the ones "needing" a playmate for Jenna so as to not feel badly for our lack of playing with her ourselves. Sorry Jenna girl.



And so enters Jenna's world...and ours....Lacie-Loo.

July 13, 2004

David and I had been to Petco recently and as always I loved to look at all the animals there on adoption day. There was a gorgeous black Lab there named Charlie. I kept being drawn back to him over and over. David really liked him alot too. But as always and in most things in life, my wise David said "If he's there when we come back...we'll know he was ours to get." As you can see....he wasn't there....sadly. It was just me and the kids that day, when I went back, and somehow they convinced Mom that we couldn't let this sweet little dog NOT go home with us! I am a softie...at times. Surprise, Jenna!! :)

We thought Lacie was going to be a relatively small dog with short hair. BOY was we ever wrong! She got fatter and fatter and her hair grew thicker and THICKER. She became a lion - - or maybe just the Chow in her was awakening! Lacie was obviously a very abused dog as a small puppy....she had many fears. But her fur was/is ridiculous! We were told when she was found that she was completely bald all over. Whomever took her in must have confused her for a duck with fur. They not only replaced all her missing fur with a new coat, but they also put duck down in it too! That dog is the hardest to get wet and stay wet!! Never seen anything like it before!! Lacie loved Jenna from the start and was never without her for any large amount of time. Jenna, on the other hand, tolerated Lacie as any good natured dog would.

July 13, 2004

Somewhere along the way they became...Lacie-Loo and Jenna-Too.

Big smiles!! :))



Our shaved lion-dog.

And then one day.....Jenna got old.

And older......

Lacie just kept growing more fur........

and older still.

We would begin giving her Glucosamine pills along with aspirin each day. Without them she would have days where she could not get up at all. Her hips were wearing out on her. In time, she was also diagnosed with Cancer in one of her back legs. She would loose 17 1/2 pounds in this last year. She also began to get enormous fatty tumors throughout different parts of her body. They were hideous looking they were so big! Her eyes had cataracts and her ears and hearing were questionable. The old gal was simply withering away, but she always had love and gentleness for us no matter how much pain she was in. 

It appears she is still trying to give us a smile here.

These last two pictures was a day we thought she was going to leave us.

But amazingly...she would bounce back and once again go on living.

I know....you're probably wondering where is the hope I spoke of earlier in this story?? Just stay with me a little bit longer.

Down the road in time, I noticed that she was coming out of her pen looking stiffer than usual. I watched her, wondering does this mean the pills are no longer helping? And then this past Thursday, she began swaying and falling alot more than usual. She seemed to not want to put weight on her front left leg. Wonderful...now the poor dog has only 1 good working leg. David and I gave her a bath that day. She was laying fully spread out, on her right side, on the concrete. Pretty pathetic looking too. We tried to get her up and to change sides....wasn't happening. So, David rolled her gently from the right side to the left side. I felt like I saw something pop when he did. That night her walk was not good at all. When looking at her left leg it was as if her shoulder had sunk in and was gone. We thought it must be out of place and dislocated....possibly from David rolling her over. At that time, we knew we had to make the decision to go to the Vet and have her put to sleep. But we would wait until morning to do so. Now was the decision of whether to call our kids home and have them upset all night long. After praying together, we chose to wait til morning.

Friday morning, August 2, came and this is how she ate her breakfast. Never before had she had to eat like in this position.

As pathetic as she was....she still found one last smile for us. :)

And then....it was time to tell our kids.

That, in and of itself, was very hard. They knew she was old....they knew she wouldn't live forever. But, they had no clue it would be today. Heather came over first. She was here while David made the call to the Vet. She wanted to go with us, but this would not be. For the Vet would tell us the only appt available wouldn't be until 4:15 that day. Wow..... do they have any clue what it's like to know you're putting your beloved pet to sleep that day and being told to wait that long is like?? And as well the fact of poor Jenna in being such pain and discomfort?? But God knew. And so we waited. God was good to us all in our time of waiting....for Jenna, although in considerable pain most likely, was able to get up and walk on her own at times, as well as rest, and wait with us all. I had called Savannah and told her, but she chose to not come over for fear of not wanting to see her in her present condition. I assured her that was fine. She would however call me later telling me through alot of tears that she couldn't stay at work and had to come home. She didn't know we hadn't put Jenna to sleep yet and so I told her to come over and that it would be fine. She too would come and share her heart wrenching pain with Jenna. She did it alone. Only Jenna and her. And then....she was gone. That hurt, but it was the way she wanted it, and I gave it to her. Next, would be our son, Levi, who would show up around about the time David and I were leaving for lunch. And now I have a third child to "help" ease through this transition. <Deep breath>.....but alas this child was not as nearly upset as his two sisters were. He appeared to be more distracted by his car that we have been having so much trouble with lately. I knew then that he would be ok and we left for lunch. He would tell me later that he had went and spent a few quiet moments with Jenna before he left for work. That was good.

Once we returned from lunch and shopping (to distract us and make time go faster)....David began to dig the grave. Jenna would walk up and watch him. David would then say "Jenna, I hope you don't know what I'm doing." How sad it was to see that happen. He dug a very nice grave and it was no simple hole dug in the ground, but rather a very squared hole just about 4 feet down. He placed her bed in the bottom of it. He worked so very hard on it....so hard that he may have come very close to heat exhaustion! He couldn't catch his breath, he was sweating bucket loads, and his face was O so red. Thankfully, God took care of him!

While David dug....I laid in the grass with the dogs and took pictures......

Our two old ladies.....forever together.

Lacie is also a crippled dog. She has torn an ACL something or other, in one back leg, and a genetic defect, in both back legs, that has only worsened with time due to her age and her weight. She has been dealing with excessive hot spots all over her body and allergies. <Shaking my head> poor old dogs.

And finally.....it was time.

We loaded Jenna up in my Jeep. As we did, I heard Lacie let out a cry. David and I wondered if she knew that would be the last time she would see her faithful friend. David carried Jenna in his arms into the Vet's office and carried her once again to the room. Jenna was fragile, big, and awkward, but he did it with love for her.

Waiting for the doctor.

We asked the doctor if we possibly had caused this most previous situation with Jenna by rolling her over on the concrete. She assured us that had it been the reason, we could have never done that to a healthy dog....therefore saying Jenna was very fragile and it wasn't us to feel badly over. She never questioned us on our decision and agreed that it was time. The doctor explained that the most pain she would feel was a simple prick of the needle. This would be a shot to relax her, calm her....two things she basically always has been. It was her "I don't care" shot and "I'm going to sleep now." That's exactly what she did....little by little she would relax and drift farther into sleep.

Goodnight, sweet girl......

 I cried silent tears stroking her head.

David and the doctor then picked her up from the ground and placed her on the counter. The next process would begin. She shaved  a place on her leg for an IV to go into. It was then explained that this would make her heart stop beating. As the IV meds went in, I once again was stroking her head, tears dripping slowly down my face, and I told her what a good girl she was. The doctor would wait......giving the meds time to work. Jenna's body ever so slightly jolted, but I don't believe it was from any pain....just the body responding. The doctor would check her and tell us "Her breathing has stopped, but her heart is still going." And we would wait..... She was checked again and the heart was still beating although slow and weak. The doctor decided more meds were needed. As she was checked one last time....the reply to us was "Ok...it's stopped." And the final nod was given from her to us. Such a final thing......

We were told that the body could be prepared to take home out of our room or that it could be done in the room with us. I chose to have it done in our room with us. She wasn't quite sure I knew what I was deciding, but I did. I wanted to be a part of it all. No matter how hard it would be......

And so it was that we brought our sweet Jenna back home to be placed in her pen where her and Lacie had spent so many days together. David had mentioned did I want a special song played while we buried her. That's when I got the wonderful idea to get my phone and play Pandora on it. It was such a God thing too! For it could not have been a better song! Chris August sings a song called "Center of It" and he would sing

"In the dark, in the light
In the morning and night
In the good, in the hurt
In the places I hide
When I rise, when I fall
You'll be there through it all
At the start, at the end
In the center of the center of it."

And as David and I both would bury our Jenna we knew that he was there in the center of it all ....in the dark, in the light, in the morning and night, in the good, in the hurt. And this my friend is where the hope comes into view in my story. For through all the waiting, the pain, the tears, the un-knowing, the decisions, even through one child separating herself from us.....it ALL was in the hands of a loving Father. A Father who felt our grief, shared our tears, eased the suffering, gave strength, led us in our decisions, and was our sincere peace in the time of need.

 In Psalm 34:18 it shares that "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." In Hebrews 13:5 it encourages us to know that "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." In 2 Timothy 4:17 it strengthens us to know that "But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength...."

Friend, know that God is there with YOU also in your time of making painful decisions, facing the un-known, feeling your pain, waiting with you, understanding you, and helping you through it all . It's his promise to us as his children. Trust him today. Rely on him today. Wait on him today. And rest in him today.

I share with you the beautiful grave my sweet husband worked so hard on. He gave it his all. We do hope to get a name plate placed on it as well.

And then....there was Lacie.

She receives more attention and love than ever before! Gotta love her.



I leave with you a special verse that has great meaning to me.

Psalm 13:6 "I will sing to the Lord, for he has been good to me." Couldn't say it any better if I tried. :)

And one last beautiful picture......

We love you Jenna......