My dog, Willow

The past couple of days have been such a source of misery for me. Yesterday morning, my husband woke me to say that my dog, Willow, had a bloated stomach. When I called the vet they would not see her and instead said I had to take her to a critical care surgical vet because bloating is a really bad sign. I rushed her 30 miles away to the nearest surgical center and then waited.

The news was not good. She has a very aggressive cancer and was bleeding profusely from her spleen. There was nothing they could do. They sent her home with me but were unable to promise one more day. Mike called our vet and made an appointment for today, for him to come to our house and put her down. She was bleeding to death and I didn’t want her to suffer.

I have fed her every leftover meal in the fridge and let Dylan give her M&M’s. I slept with her last night and continually told her I love her and that she is the best dog I’ve ever had.

Willow was my companion during the darkest days in my life. My parents bought her for me 11 years ago so I wouldn’t feel so alone. She was with me constantly for the first few years. And I knew when she wasn’t with me, she wished she was.

Over the past couple of years, since I had kids, she has taken a backseat to them. But she’s always been the happiest dog on the planet. Even this morning, while dying, she wagged her tail and trotted down the hall to get a snack.

I will never be the same with out her… she changed my life in a time that I really needed someone to love. Although the past 24 hours have been tortuous for me, I am thankful I had this time with her because she has been with me nearly the whole time, exactly as she always wanted to be.

Maybe I did go a little overboard.

Yesterday, I spent six and a half hours wrapping Christmas presents. And today, I can barely walk. The end.

That's what I love about Christmas.

My kids, smiling, in red, in front of our tree. What is better than that?

I know, I know

Geesh, I've been gone an entire month. November was so busy, and now it's already December and I'm so out of sorts.

With out further ado let's get to some pictures. The first picture is my brother, Tommy, with the girls at Disneyland. The next picture is Mike's sister, Natalie, and the girls on Thanksgiving in La Quinta. The third picture is Hayden decorating a gingerbread house with Mike's sister and Dylan. And the last picture is me, enjoying one of my favorite activities ever: the horse races with my best friends!

See I told you we have been busy. Over the past month we have been to Disneyland, to La Quinta for Thanksgiving, to my parents house in So. Cal for a visit, the horse races at Golden Gate fields and to Pacifica for a bowling birthday party! And this, my friends, is the reason I have not had anytime to blog (or Christmas shop.)