It's been a while. DUH! Watch out for the 5th paragraph!

Ok. So, it's been a while since I updated.

Normal excuses:
1. I have craziness all around me and it zaps my creative writing ability. (or any writing ability for that matter)

2. I was living with Lyndel and Cheryl and their internet is super slow


Now I have new excuses:
1. (see #1 above)

2. I have a new home with lots and lots of work to be done and haven't had the time.

So, today is Wed. Sept 15th and a miracle has happened. I already did some work on the house AND Elam fell asleep. He never takes naps so, I have to do this now! Plus, the big kids will be home in about 25 min!

The last post is one of the most important post I'll ever talk about, until it happens to my other 3 children, so, this quick recap of our goings on won't be as important, but, since I use this blog just to help me remember life and some happen to read it, (Hi mom!) I better keep going.

Spring time in Clarksville had great opportunities for Andrew to play bass and guitar. He played at church every Sunday and then played here and there with Lauren Weakly and Josh LaCount. Josh is an up incoming popish rockish singer. I like his music. Lauren is country. I never EVER thought Andrew would be playing country music, but, he is and if anything, it makes my sisters like him more.

Around Mother's Day/Anniversary, I finally started messing with my nice camera I got back at Christmas time. I was having fun taking photos. I'll put some of those on here for you to look at, but more likely, I'll just add links to my Facebook page since that's where any updating now a days happens.
For mine and Andrew's 10 year anniversary, my Aunt gave us a romantic evening at the Peabody. It was very sweet and simple and I loved it.

May also brought the end of school as well as a trip to Arkansas.
All this time, I'm using my cool camera. Most of my shots are of the kids or the scenery. Boomer usually makes it into a few shots just because he is always somewhere near by. Boomer became a part of mine and Andrew's life back in June 2001. He was our first child. His birthday was May 1st, 2001. The kids and I were packed up and leaving for Arkansas when last minute, I decided to let Boomer tag along. Here's where some of my "what ifs" start to bug me. What if I had just left him home with Andrew. What if I had just spent the money and gotten him shaved like I wanted. He was so hot and panted all the way to Memphis and then all the way to AR. He continued to pant the entire time we were there. He would stop occasionally, usually at night, but basically panted non-stop. It didn't help that Mom and Dad's air had gone out, but so had the air back in Clarksville. My dad ended up having to leave for a bus trip, so, I decided to cut our trip short. Before we left, I gave the boys hair cuts on the back porch. I contemplated trying the shaver out on Boomer, but figured it would be too hard and look awful. We packed up. We were all hot. The van was full of stuff and Boomer was still panting. Mom briefly suggested she put Boomer on her lap near the air, but, all I could think about was the time Boomer accidentally scratched up her leg with his sharp paws. I didn't want that to happen again, so, he stayed in the back, close to the side door.
We stopped maybe 70 miles outside Memphis for a potty break. I gave Boomer some water. He drank a few sips but really couldn't stop panting to drink much. We were so close to our final stop that I had to keep going. Boomer looked at me with his big brown eyes and got back in the van. The kids were watching a movie and Boomer finally quit panting. I figured he had finally cooled off like he would at night. The night before he even slept with the kids down stairs on the futon. I remembered this because usually he slept upstairs, but, for some reason he slept with them. We got to Memphis and were exiting off the interstate, just minutes from Aunt DiDi's house. I asked Gibson to check on Boomer. Gibson's response was, "Mom, he's not even breathing." This is where everything happened so fast, but I still remember every detail. I pulled over into the gas station. I had to reach back and pull Boomer out of the van. I put him in the grass hoping he just needed to be nudged or something, but nothing happened. The kids had all gotten out and I was screaming for them to get back in. Mom held Boomer and I raced off towards the Vet where my friend Amy works. I called her cell phone and told her what happened. It was her day off, so she phoned in to the Vet to told them I was on my way. We were there in 5 minutes and they rushed him back. Mom and the kids stayed in the van and I just sat in the waiting room hoping for a miracle, but knowing it was too late. The girl called me back. She said, "Boomer's mom." The Vet came in and told me the news. It was too late. He was gone. I was so sad. I couldn't believe it. All those "What ifs" zoomed around in my head. Then I realized; I was going to have to call Andrew. I left the Vet. Called Amy to tell her. She had recently just lost her dog and gave me a heads up to slowly ease into what happened when I call Andrew. I called him, but he didn't answer. I got back in the van to tell the kids and mom. They had all been crying. Mom drove us to Aunt DiDi's house and Andrew called me back. To ease him into it, I mentioned that the van had been hot, to which he immediately asks what's wrong with the van. That tactic wasn't working, so, I had to just tell him. " Boomer was panting, and then he quit. When we got to Memphis, he wasn't breathing and we rushed him to the Vet, but it was too late." He didn't cry. I thought he would. I cried. And cried. And cried. I couldn't eat dinner and could barely sleep. I had NO idea I would be this sad. A few weeks earlier, Boomer was bitten by a neighborhood dog. It was a big scary looking dog. I had to yell at him and even go after him with a big piece of wood. I think because I'd had that experience with Boomer, I had a new love for him. I knew I would miss him one day. I didn't know that day would be so soon.
The worst part was driving home to Clarksville.

See, Lyndel, Cheryl and Andrew hadn't had Boomer there all week because he was with me. Me on the other hand, had to walk into the house for the first time with out him. The first night there was very hard. You don't realize the routine you are in till it's messed up. There was no Boomer to let out of the upstairs bathroom. There was no Boomer to let outside. There was no Boomer to put back upstairs when we would leave the house or go to bed. And, there was no Boomer to eat up all the food the kids dropped. I don't know how that dog didn't weigh 800 lbs. He sure had helped me clean up after them all these years.

It's been almost 5 months. The kids quickly wanted to replace him, but, I couldn't even imagine having another dog. Gibson wanted another pug to name Boomer. Now, they just want a new one to add to the new house. (I'll post about a new house some other day since the big kids are home now)

I didn't mean to make this the longest post ever, but, once I got started, I had to finish.

Quickly, I'll mention that June was a good month. Papa's birthday, Father's day and more fun photos with my camera. I even had a Spa day with Melanie. It was my first massage EVER and now that's all I want for my birthday and Christmas the rest of my life!!!

In July, we took a trip to Oklahoma for Grandad's 80th birthday. Oh, and, we also bought a house! We actually signed the paper work and then left for a 12 hour trip for several days. The rest of the summer was spent trying to get the house livable for a family of 6. The kids were starting school first of the month and Andrew was leaving for a business trip to Canada.

It's been a whirlwind, roller coaster, whatever metaphor you want to use, couple months. I don't have very good documentation from July on, because my camera; my lovely, just figuring it all out camera, broke!! I might have to for go a few massages as gifts and get a new camera instead.

The end.