Tribute to Billy

OVER a year ago, we adopted Marley from the Mid-America Boston Terrier Rescue (MABTR) organization. Marley has been a delight in our lives ever since. MABTR is run solely by volunteers who provide transportation, foster care, and, eventually, forever homes for Bostons and Boston mixes in several mid-western states. We are proud we chose not to buy from a pet store as oftentimes pet stores obtain their animals from puppy mills.

When we got the call to help transport a Boston mix from Blackwell, OK, to Omaha, NE, we jumped at the chance. We were to be in charge of getting Billy from Wichita to Emporia today, just one of the transportation legs that would get him to foster care. We met up with Julie at the meeting place to pick him up last night. We were excited to take Billy and Marley on a walk--show both of the doggies off to the neighbors, then cozy up for the night. However, we could sense right away that Billy would not be up to a walk, or much of anything.

Billy arrived at our house around 5:30pm and passed away at around 8:30pm. We had no idea that he would be in the state that he was, health-wise. We are so happy Billy was with us the few hours before his death--in a warm home on cozy sheets in our living room.

Today we learned that Billy's elderly owner passed away recently. Billy's extended family didn't want him, and felt he was dying of a broken heart, as he wouldn't eat. I think losing his mom, partnered with a slew of routine vaccinations administered right after the other, robbed Billy of any life or strength he had left. How thankful we are he is at peace now.

While we would never expect anyone to understand or mirror our love for animals, we do thank you for listening to Billy's story. Human life is the most precious of all, but life of all kinds makes our days ones to be treasured and relished.

Click here if you would like to learn more about the Mid-American Boston Terrier Rescue Organization.

Rest in peace, little Billy.

Treasures In Our Backyard

WITH spring in the air and new life budding all around, I thought I'd capture our backyard's progress in this undertaking. *note* our backyard is not the most attractive of yards, as we haven't given it the tender care it deserves in the year+ that we've lived here. The interior of our home has demanded the bulk of our loyalty. While it may appear that I trekked to the junk yard, nay, I did not...

21 Weeks!

YOUR baby now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long--the length of a carrot. His eyebrows and eyelids are fully developed. And you can certainly feel him move. He's oblivious to your schedule, though, so don't be surprised if he starts working out just when you're settling down for the night.

Still trying to differentiate if I'm indeed feeling my son move, or if it's gas :)...I'm pretty sure I have. Aside from having a mid-century clock bursting out of my head, I'm doing just swell!

Friends--What Would I Do Without You? Thinking of You Today!

To have a girlfriend is to have life's best.
It means you have someone on your side
Who laughs with you but never at you;
someone who never minds a midnight call;
someone who rejoices when your plans all work out
and feels sad when they don't.
You have access to a million laughs
with someone who loves to spend time with you;
someone who cares when you're hurting and hurts with you.

If you have a girlfriend, you have
a treasure worth more
than anything money can buy.
~Barbara J. Hall

Note for Baby

I discovered this incredible piece excerpted from the Miracle of Life devotional for expectant mothers. It's written by Julie Martin in her A Time to Be Born book of poetry and prose:

we are your everything
when your daddy cut the cord it was only the beginning of dependency
for from our hearts you will take all you need
and the best we can give you is Jesus

the best we can show you is His love
so that one day all you need will come from His heart and
He will be your everything.