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Sunday, April 29, 2012

Isn’t she lovely?!

Our first project in our new home is officially underway. We were supposed to be working in the kitchen first, but I got side tracked when I saw this baby on Craig’s List!

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She is 8 feet of solid wood gorgeousness taken from an old Baptist church in Goliad, Texas.

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The super-talented, oh-so-handy hubster is going to take it apart and cut it down so that it fits into the cut out in the wall. There is even some talk of sprucing up her finish, but she would look pretty in her natural state, too. He actually looks excited about working on this (compared to the looks of terror he gives me when I go on and on about painting the kitchen cabinets).

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This was my inspiration photo from Pinterest. (I can’t figure out the original source because all of the links just lead to bloggers who are also posting it as an inspiration photo). I love how the lines on the one we found are so similar to the ones in the photo. I can’t wait to DIY **GYHTDIH a shelf like that to hang above it. I already have the set of walnut frames read to go!

** Get Your Husband To Do It Himself :)

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Letting Him Go

It was a terrible day yesterday. One that I knew had been coming for a long time, but it still hits you like a mack truck when it happens. We put our sweet Army Dog to sleep. He had never really recovered 100% from his bout with Vestibulitis, and his mobility was getting worse and worse by the week. On Friday and Saturday morning we had to pretty much carry him outside… he didn’t even want to get up off his bed. I didn’t want to be one to make the decision, and I prayed that the Lord would just take him so I wouldn’t have to decide, but when he groaned on Saturday when I tried to move him I knew that his quality of life was pretty much non-existent. We took him in to the vet again and she echoed what we already knew… it was his time.  
I am SOOOO sad. Heartbroken. He was such a good dog. He and I were a family first, and as Brian, Ben, Grace & Noah have joined us he’s welcomed and loved each of them. I remember when he was born into that crazy litter of puppies. It was the Fall of 1998 when our black lab, Max, had gotten out during a storm and come to find out she had taken up shelter with the Catahoula down the street. Fast forward to December and we had a HUGEMONGOUS litter of the cutest puppies EVER.
  
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I think there were 9 or 10 of them. I was away at A&M at the time, but I asked Dad to keep one for me that I could have when I lived off campus the next year. We chose one that had a huge black patch over his eye and I named him Army. It was a good Aggie name – I explained to whoever asked that when he got up in years, I could call him “Old Army”. :)
He moved to College Station with me and we lived in the duplex our Junior year (next door to the Krutz family – where he became fast friends with their sweet yellow lab, Doc). Senior year we lived in a house across from campus with a HUGE yard. My roommate there had a little mutt named Jackson who Army also got along with famously. He really was the sweetest dog – he made friends so easily. He had so many great qualities – he was cuddly, he was calm and well-behaved inside, and he was a smart & willing participant as I practiced for my future as an animal trainer. My favorite behavior that he knew: I would jokingly say, “Shame on you, Army!” and he would cover his eyes with his paws, burying his head between his front legs. He had some not-so-great qualities, too. Well, just one, really. He had the world’s loudest bark and he would demonstrate this whenever something or someone came close to his yard (people he didn’t know, squirrels, falling leaves, etc.) Bark collars did not deter him. If he had a thought to express, he was going to express it. As a result, he did have a few run-ins with the law.
  
We moved on from College Station to San Antonio in 2001 and he loyally accompanied me during each of my moves: the converted garage, the house in Westover Hills, the apartment in the med center, the duplex that Brian and I rented as newlyweds, and finally to our current house on Kingston Ranch.
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This house is where our family grew and we introduced him to each of our babies. He was never anything but sweet and gentle with each of them. He would stand guard over Ben when we first brought him home. So precious.
  
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As our kids grew, I think he learned that it might be best to keep his distance a little bit… otherwise he was used as a horse or a pillow or a chew toy. :)

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I don’t know what to think about the fact that we’re moving again in a few weeks and this time he won’t be coming with us. Brian said it feels like we’re leaving him behind here, and it’s true, it does. I hate that I won’t have memories of him romping around the new big yard and sleeping under those great oak trees that we’ll have. Ugh, it just sucks.
We were all there with him when the vet did the procedure. I got to hold him and love on him and think about how much he’s given to all of us. Thirteen years and three months… that’s a long time for love to grow. That’s a lot of time to let go of. I know he’s better off now, and that he’s not hurting anymore. I wish I could say the same for us.

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