Saying Goodbye

Today we had to say goodbye to sweet Labrador, Oscar.

Shortly after Tyson and I purchased our home we decided that it needed a dog.  I grew up with dogs, Tyson had never had one.  We spent some time looking at the local shelters (because I am a firm believer in adopting dogs from a shelter rather than buying from a breeder) and then one day we found Oscar.  He was still a puppy, less than 3 months old, but as cute as can be and so lovable.  We brought him home with us that night and so since September 2008 he has been a part of our family.  He loves to be with people and developed a protective nature midway through my pregnancy with Lily.

As children came along we came to see just how wonderful he really was.  While he was hyper and a bit crazy with adults, he was gentle and protective of the babies.  Our children have known him their entire lives.  He has been someone to cuddle with, climb on, and playmate.

A year ago we decided that Oscar needed a friend so we adopted Franky.  They played together and took care of one another.  Over the last several months, as Oscar had gotten sicker, they seemed to have grown closer.  Franky cuddled up with him more often rather than running through the yard chasing each other like they used to do.

 Towards the end of last summer I noticed that something was just not quite right with Oscar.  He seemed to be experiencing some lameness in his hind legs.  At first I thought that it was just stiffness from getting up after a nap, but then I noticed it happening when he has been up and about for a while.  He was also very hungry, all the time, and started to put on weight.  Then the seizures started.  Small at first, just little ticks in his face that were hardly noticeable, they got worse, and eventually he was having grand mal seizures.  We took him to the vet who at first was sure that it was just a case of epilepsy, apparently it is fairly common in middle-aged Labradors.  She was going to run some blood tests to rule out other causes, but not to worry.  I didn't, I felt so relieved, epilepsy could be easily treated.  A couple of days later I got another phone call, something was off, it could have been lab tech error, so they wanted to do it again.  I took Oscar back in and they checked his blood sugars, again it was low, and I mean really low, mid-30's.  Dogs are like people here, it should be over 80.  It was his low blood sugar that was causing his seizures.  The vet ran one more test and that was when we learned that Oscar had insulinomas in his pancreas, tumors that were causing his pancreas to secrete too much insulin, causing his blood sugar to be too low, which is what was causing his seizures.  At this point treatment wasn't an option.  Our veterinarian prescribed some steroids for him to act as an insulin blocker to keep the seizures away.  We have known since last November that he wouldn't be with us long.  Our veterinarian advised us on how to know when it would be the right time to let him go. 

Over the last few weeks Oscar has stopped playing, he is just lying around waiting for more food.  It has been a very hard decision, but Tyson and I felt that the time had come to let him go.  Monday was a beautiful day.  It was sunny and warm and he got to spend a lot of time outside on the lawn with the girls.  I also took some pictures of him with each of the kids.  

Charlotte loves her puppy!

 Oscar has been Lily's buddy for her entire life.

 Gideon was sad that I took his toy away for the picture.

 These pictures actually confirmed for me our decision that it was time.  Normally Oscar would be smiling with the kids cuddled him or sat in his lap, but he just looks sad to me.  I told the kids that Oscar would be dying, I was not sure that I could really explain euthanasia to children so young, but they accepted it when I told him that he was going to pass away and that we wouldn't have him anymore.  They have known for several months now that he is sick and that he would be dying someday.

This afternoon Tyson and I took Oscar to be put to sleep.  It was so hard for us, we loved our dog, he was ours before we had children, but he was so wonderful with the kids that it just made us love him more.  I thanked him for being such a good dog and then he was gone.

Last night we used some clay and made a paw print from Oscar that we could keep.  I also went through several years worth of photographs and printed off dozens of pictures of Oscar and the kids.  We picked up a photo album and today put the pictures in it, talking about what we loved most about Oscar and the fun things that we did with him.  

We will miss him so much, but that is the risk that we take when we choose to love someone.  With great love comes the possibility of great loss and you know what, he was totally worth it.

Blah...gging

I've been a slacking about blogging this month. We've just been in our routine, no big events or anything, just life as normal in the Hansen home. I've been a slacking about uploading my photos as well so while uploading a months worth of pictures (which is a lot around here) I selected a few from the month to show what we have been up to.

Of course the fall weather is here, and it has been really cold. We had a warm day last week though so Lily and I went out to play in the leaves while Charlotte napped.

It didn't take long for her to become completely enamored with them, she was very sad to have to go back into the house.

Lily is always up to something. Last week I came home from my morning jog to find this. She is obsessed with coloring lately and takes it very seriously.
My girls are become best friends. Lily loves to help Charlotte and Charlotte always wants to be wherever Lily is. Here are my girls enjoying snack time together. Lily loves to share her snacks with her sister. Charlotte has inherited my goofy grin apparently.
Another snack time sharing a banana.
My girls love to torment the dog, all of the time. Don't be fooled though, Oscar loves the attention.
Lily likes to dress herself up. here she has on daddy's work boots, my ear warmer, a necklace, and she is using a knitting needle as a wand.
Another day she insisted on wearing my boots. They were not as easy to walk in as she had anticipated.
Charlotte is growing like a weed and her 5th and 6th teeth have popped through. She has also managed to chip one of her front teeth. No idea how that happened, but the chip is small.
She loves to do what she sees Lily do and tries to copy her when playing.
She is cruising along everything these days and will even let go of everything and stand on her own for a bit. Not okay, she needs to wait a few more months before she starts walking.
Here are a few silly video clips of my girls being, well, sill as usual.

Tummy Time

The faces of tummy time:

Apparently tummy time is a group activity in our house. When I lay Charlotte down on the blanket everyone else seems to want to join in.

Why Kids Should Have Dogs

Who needs toys when you have a dog and a vacuum extension?

And just because it made me laugh, here's Charlotte making faces.

I have the cutest kids! Right now I have to find the things that make me laugh. Charlotte has colic and Lily is going through a "no" phase so sometimes the days can get a little long and my patience can wear thin, but I love my girls and I'm grateful to be their momma.

Spring

My first daffodil bloomed today, therefore Spring is here!

We spent the afternoon outside cleaning up the yard and working in my flower beds. Lily played in her swing and loved it as much as she did last year.

Oscar also came outside to play with us. If the weatherman is right, the end of this week is going to be heaven!

Lily wanted to help me water a few things and went back to fill the watering can back up.

Since I needed my watering can back, I gave Lily her piggy watering can, an early birthday present from her grandparents.

She emptied it rather quickly so she grabbed my watering can again and tried to fill hers up using mine, since she couldn't get any water out of the hose. This girl is going to be so much "help" in the yard and garden this year.

Just a cute picture of Charlotte in her bear coat from our outing this morning, because it's cute.

Very Blessed!

I noticed this morning that so far I have made 199 posts on this blog which would make this post #200.

I started looking through the blog history and had some fun reminiscing as I went through the last few years of our lives. I started this blog back in March 2008, several months after Tyson and I were married. At that point we were shopping for our first home and most of my posts at that time were about the stresses of buying a home and then the joys of fixing up our little bungalow and making it our own along with gardening and yard work. Since that time the posts have changed. First, we adopted Oscar and he was the first addition to our family. Then in the Fall of 2008 we found out that we were expecting Lily and so while I was still posting about the house, I also posted about the "joys" of pregnancy. And of course when she was born in May 2009 most of my posts were about my growing little girl and our little adventures. And of course now that Charlotte is here she appears in posts as well. I still blog about the garden, projects at home, crafts, and everything else, but it is interesting to see how my focus has shifted over time.

I really should review this blog history much more often, especially when I'm having a rough day. The good times out number the bad and at the end of the day, I am living my dream. I have everything that I have ever really wanted! We may not be rich, I may not have a new car, or the best house, or fancy clothes, but those things don't bring happiness. My happiness comes from my family, my faith, and my friends and I am so grateful for everything that God has given me!

Sunday Updates

It is actually a quiet Sunday afternoon at our home so I thought that I would take a few minutes and give you all an update on the happenings of our little family.

This last week Tyson started the fall semester at school. He is taking yet another full load of classes on top of his full-time work schedule so he is a busy busy man these days. I'm actually quite impressed with how he manages it all and still seems to find time to be a husband and father.

We had yet another doctor appointment on Friday since our last one had to be rescheduled (silly OB was off delivering a baby) and everything looked great. She didn't have to look long at all before finding a good strong heartbeat, around 160bpm. At this point I really rely on those appointments to tell me that everything is okay because this baby is still too small for me to feel it yet.

And finally our little Lily is still growing like a weed and is more and more adventurous every day. She has discovered a love for climbing on everything and learns new things so quickly that I just can't keep up with her. Over the last few weeks she finally started playing with her blocks. She used to just bang them together, but now she builds!

A funny little story, my parents have a little shih tzu named Jasper. They keep a leash on him in the house as he is still hose training a little bit. Anyway, when we go visit Lily loves to walk Jasper all around the house. Well at home she seems to think that Oscar's tail is also a leash and all afternoon she has been trying to walk him around the house by his tail and she keeps getting frustrated when he won't comply. So, to give his tail a break I put him on his leash. Here's a little clip of Lily trying to walk her 55lb puppy around the living room. Apparently it is a little harder that walking a little shih tzu.

Lily has also started "singing" along in church. It is very entertaining!

Bear Lake

This last week Tyson had some time off work and he finished up the summer semester so we decided to take a little vacation. I had never been to Bear Lake, even though I have lived in Idaho for most of my life, so we headed east.

The lake was perfect! It is rather clean and where we camped there was a great beach right down the hill so we spent a lot of time on the water. Lily loved it!

The water was nice and shallow in this area so it was perfect for Lily.

Just for fun I captured her little footprints in the sand.

Last year when we went to Redfish Lake Oscar would not touch the water. This year however, as soon as we got to the lake he headed straight for it. He loved playing fetch and I think that we finally figured out how to exhaust him.

Just standing by the lakeside.
She wanted one of her daddy's chips to she was trying to climb through the chair to get to them.
Just a cute photo.
Taking a milk break while at the beach.
We headed over to Paris, Idaho Wednesday afternoon and checked out the tabernacle there. Tyson loves checking out old stone work.

Here's Lily reading the brochure about the building's history.

And posing with her daddy for one of my favorite pictures of the two of them.

We decided to eat our little picnic under a tree while we were in Paris, so at age 14 months Lily has already had a picnic in Paris.
Back to the campsite, Lily kept Oscar entertained and kept sneaking him little treats.And was so good as to help with clean up.
All ready for bed for her first night of sleeping in a tent. It was interesting, figuring out how to put Lily to bed without a crib. The first night we let her stay up and just brought her to bed with us. That didn't work, she LOVED the tent and had the best time wandering around it and climbing over us. She kept us up for nearly 2 hours before she finally fell asleep.

The next night we decided to treat the tent like her crib and just laid her down in there alone with her Violet toy and blanket, She fussed for a minute or two and then fell asleep.
Sorry that these are out of order, blogger can be a pain that way. Anyway, I married an over-grown child. This is proof.
Tyson and Lily playing in the sand.
The weather was perfect, not too hot, but warm enough to be playing in the water at 8pm. Perfect way to wear out a toddler for bedtime.
And finally another cute picture of Lily on the beach.

Driving Lessons

Just a short little video of Lily going for a ride in her car. I love babies with their puppies.

My Silly Little Family

So we were out this evening and when we finally got home I went into the room and changed and started to get Lily's bath ready. I walked into the living room and this is what I came upon.
Tyson and Lily were watching some of his cartoons together (good old 90's X-Men cartoons) and I guess Oscar decided to lay by them. Oh, and Lily was playing with Oscar's tail. Here's a closer shot of Lily with the tail. I have such a sweet silly family!

2009 in Review

As I sit down to write this I hardly know where to start. This has been a momentous year for us. The beginning of the year was pretty standard for us, we were expecting our first child and anticipating her arrival. On January 8th we were scheduled for our 20 week ultrasound. I had scheduled it for Tyson's day off but a riot at the prison prevented him from being able to come. We talked about putting it off, but in the end I just couldn't stand to wait any longer. Anyway, we had been thinking that it would be a boy, but every time I imagined say "It's a..." "girl" would always follow. Turns out that bit of intuition was right, we were told that we would be having a baby girl.
In February Oscar decided that it would be a great idea to tear apart one of his favorite toys and eat it. After a couple days of him refusing food and water we took him to to local vet and found out that the bit of toy that he had swallowed had become lodged in his intestines. Our only option was surgery. Oscar came though it like a champ though. Poor guy had his belly completely shaved and has a rather large scar, but is healthy and happy as can be. We also set Oscar up with a local dog trainer to help prepare him for the baby. He still is a little energetic around strangers, but he loves his little sister and it wonderfully gentle with her.

In April the courts finalized the adoption of my six youngest siblings. They have certainly become a big part of our lives, and a trying part as well, but we love them. They are sweet kids and we are thrilled to have them as part of our family. In June we all got together to be sealed and then we took a family vacation up to Cascade. It rained the whole time, but it was so much fun.

Also in April we celebrated our one year anniversary of home ownership. Our house is still a work in progress, but we have come a long way in one year. We are excited for all of our future projects and we are grateful at this time to have a home. We were luck yo be able to buy when we did and to be able to buy one that will fit our growing family.I enjoyed getting the house ready for Lily's arrival. I spent a lot of time working on various crafts and projects. In April I was placed on bed rest and Tyson and I started making bi-weekly trips to the doctor which were so much fun. After a bit of a bumpy road and a few little scares we welcomed Lily Ann Hansen into our family on May 12, 2009 at 10:42 pm. We are so grateful for her. She is such a sweet little thing with loads of personality. We always knew that we wanted to have a baby, but I don't think that we every came close to realizing just what an amazing adventure we were embarking upon. It has been difficult and ever arduous at times, but it has been more fulfilling than I could have ever imagined.

In July we took a short trip to go camping at Redfish Lake in Stanley, ID. For anyone who hasn't been there, add this to you list of places because it is beautiful! It was Lily's first camping trip, she was almost 2 months old.While it was still rather cold she handled it well. We went for some wonderful hikes up the mountains and enjoyed the lake views. It was a little cold for us to put her in the water. Maybe next year.In August I decided that I was getting tired of typing out recipes and emailing them to people over and over so I started up a blog for some of my favorite recipes. It is still a work in progress, but I have enjoyed working on it. It helps motivate me to keep trying new things which we both enjoy. Thankfully I have a husband who will eat anything so I am free to mess up all I want.

In October my twin sister Liz married Eric Roundy. It was fun to help plan another wedding, but I forgot how much work they are. Thankfully my next sister in line is only 7 so we get a bit of a break. Anyway, the wedding was beautiful and it was wonderful to be together as a family again.
Also in October we got to have fun with another first for Lily, Halloween! I had far to much fun making a costume for our little girl. Sarita and I took Lily and Junior to Boo at the Zoo and had a great time. She was a little too young to take her out trick-or-treating so we stayed home and passed out candy to all the neighbor kids.
In November we celebrated our second wedding anniversary. It is interesting to me how quickly time can pass and yet how it can seem like more time has passed. It seems like we just married, but at the same time it is like we have always been married. I'm very grateful to have such a wonderful husband and fantastic father for our baby girl. I could not possibly ask for better.
And as with any year, this year ends with Christmas. I don't think that I have been this excited for Christmas in all my life. I know that Lily is young and certainly won't remember this year, but I will. On Christmas Eve we were sitting in the living room at my parents house while my dad read Luke chapter 2. I sat there cuddling my baby girl and couldn't help but marvel at the birth of the Savior.After writing this rather long entry it still seems like such a brief review of such an eventful year. This has been a wonderful year for our little family and we are looking forward to a great new year to come. We have a lot of plans for 2010 and some new challenges heading our way, but we can't wait to face them head-on.

Happy New Year to all! Our best wishes to you and your families!