A Story about Four Puppies

On Christmas, we got the kids the world's cutest puppy.
Seriously.
Ryan doesn't even care much for animals, but he looooved this little guy.
Tank.
(Because he was small and needed a BIG name)
He was EXTREMELY tiny and was only expected to grow to 2 pounds.

He got sick.  Very sick.  And we spent over $1000 trying to heal him.  They think that one of the reasons he was so small was because he was sick.  They called and told us that he was better, but they were going to do a blood transfusion to bring up his red blood cell count.  Before they could even do the transfusion, he passed.  I cried and cried thinking of how I'd tell the kids.
Christian was heartbroken.
Ryan buried Tank in the backyard and Christian spent the next two days standing at the backdoor staring.  That broke my heart.

So, I Googled and Googled to find another small, but not as small, chihuahua.  Someone had one here in Mansfield.  We went to look at her and Christian loved her. 
I thought she'd fix his heart. 
Perri .
(because she was bubbly like Perrier water)

One day, he was playing with her, she got him on his lip with her needle-like baby teeth.  Out of reflexes, he pushed her away.  She bumped the top of her head on his wooden bed.  (Chihuahuas have a soft spot)  Christian ran out of his room with Perri in his arms.  She was yelping, but I couldn't see any damage.  Then she started seizing.  I called Ryan and told him to hurry home. 
I asked Christian to tell me the whole story.  He told me what had happened.
I gave her sugar water, called the breeder, called the vet, checked on Ryan's location... everything I could do.  The girls were sleeping and I knew by the time I woke them up and got them in the car, it'd be too late.  Ryan was our only option.
He took her to the animal hospital, but she didn't make it.
We burried her next to Tank.
Christian was not okay.
Soooo not okay.
He told me that he had put his healing hands on her. (He puts his hands on my forehead when I have a headache in an effort to make me feel better.  He does the same for my mom's stomach.  We always tell him how much it helps.)  "Why didn't my hands work this time?  I tried so hard!"  Then he went on to tell me that he gave Perri his breath... meaning, he gave her mouth-to-mouth.
Then... he told me... he wished he could die so he could go to Heaven and see the puppies.  He begged me to let him die.
I talked to him.  My mom talked to him.  Her words were just what he needed to hear.  She could relate.  She had lost two of her "children" dogs in a short time apart from each other, both not long ago.  I looked up how to deal with grief and anxiety in children.  I found some herbal remedies that really seemed to help.  Talking seemed to help a lot, too.
He started talking about dying again. So, I Googled and Googled to find another small dog... not necessarily a chihuahua. 
I found an adorable pomeranian.
Graham.
Like Teddy Graham, because she looks like a teddy bear.

And I got another chihuahua.
Rig.
Again with the big name for a small pup.  And because we are an oil and gas family.

 

Although we all really do still miss Tank and Perri... a lot... these pups are a great fit for our family.  They are so laid-back.  The kids cart them around like they're toys.  Tay pushes them in her babydoll stroller or toy grocery cart and they just sit there as happy as can be.  They don't run off.  If they happen to get out, they come around front and scratch at the door until I let them back in.  They don't bark unless its at another dog that they're chasing through the fence.  We hit a rough patch with Graham for the first 4 months - she was so hyper!  But, she has calmed down A LOT.

(Yes, this post is old.  But, I had to let the emotions of it all die down a little and I had to make sure these guys were a permanent part of our family.  It was a pretty traumatic set of events for all of us.) 

 

Christmas in March

Not quite.  That's just how far behind I am.

I did fun Christmas cards this year.  The making of these cards had me in one of those uncontrollable moments where I can't do anything but ball over in silent laughter.  Ryan didn't find it all so funny, which made it even funnier to me.

We went to Timbuctoo and back for Christmas.  It felt like we circled the world a few times.  Kids seem to make 30 minute trips take an hour, but feel like an eternity.  And, no matter how clean the car starts out, it looks like a tornado of crackers crumbs, shoes, and boogers whooshed through my car.  No matter how clean my kids might be, somehow my window slurps off any bit of grease from their hands.

Here is Maven opening her very first Christmas present ever! Thank you, Bonnie!

We actually went to San Antonio, not Timbuctoo.  We stayed in Boerne, ventured over to Helotes, and went to San Antonio for the day.  Then we rushed back Christmas Eve night after my aunt's annual party in order to have our FIRST Christmas morning at home.  I know the kids don't know what day Christmas is, so we could've done this any morning... but I am sooo not patient.  I have a habit of getting overly excited about a week or two before Christmas. We will have been known to be in mid-conversation as my brain's light bulb turns on with "Let's open just one present"... which always leads to all presents.  I am an excited giver.  I can't wait to see how happy everyone around me gets.  So, I knew if I kept telling myself that this year we were going to do our first tradition Christmas, I would wait.  Plus, we had a HUGE trick in our Santa bag. 
This little, er tiny, guy we named Tank.

 

Here are a few pics of the babies opening their presents:

We didn't get them a whole lot this year.  Mainly the puppy and a few cheap little things.  The coolest present they got were these:

Tools in the very own little toolboxes.  Christian was sooooo...

 EXCITED!  Tay was super frustrated that she couldn't open her box.

 Ryan got them some old electronics from Goodwill so they could take them apart and tinker around.  Christian ran up and gave his daddy a HUGE hug right away.

 Tay got a James Avery cross necklace.

 And Maven got a James Avery ring just like her sister got for first Christmas.

 

Daddy Day in the Boondocks

The day before Fathers' Day the kids and I all took Ryan out to eat and made him some brownies. We also gave him a really great study bible that he had been eyeballing. Christian made him a few adorable cards, which I think were Ryan's favorite gifts.

The next day was spent at my dad's farm. We had a massive cookout that brought out the carnivore in the meekest of us. Talk about deeeelish!

Christian used his own money to get himself the cutest little puppy, Bunny. I suggested other names, but he had his heart set on Bunny. Plus, its super cute to hear Taylor Rose say it. She is a mix dog, but looks just like a golden retriever.
It was super hot so the kids went skinny dipping in the little pool.  Thus, a few nudey pics.

Sky was so proud of his pinecone!

 Grubbin!

 Man talk

 The babies were breaking it down!

 They found a stage to get jiggy.