The Power Of Animals

The girls and I take Jake for a walk in October. 

Last night when we brought him back to his family.

Last night, as we drove to get chocolate ice cream, I shared this story with the girls. I wanted to be sure to record it here, because it truly is one of the sweetest things I have ever experienced.

This past Wednesday, when Dave was at the hockey rink and the girls were sound asleep, I sat down on the couch with only the light from the Christmas tree for light. The house was silent and the glow of the tree was lovely. Almost as soon as I sat down, Jake got up from where he was laying and came over. He sat down in front of me (facing me) and gently put one paw on my lap. He looked at me as if to say "thank you for these last two months." Just typing these words brings tears to my eyes just like his sweet gesture did that night. It's as if he knew his time with us was coming to a close. 

I absolutely believe in the power of animals. The power they have to connect with us, to communicate with us and to understand us. I have believed this my entire life (thanks mom!),though some experiences are more profound than others. This was one such experience. 

After I shared that story with the girls I also told them the final story of Albert. For those that may not know or for those who have forgotten, Albert was the dog that Dave and I had from the first summer we lived in our house until the day after Dave's grandmother's funeral when we helped him to find his rest. He was with us just shy of ten years. Albert was a pug, which was never a breed I ever had any interest in owning, yet I promised Dave (who never had a dog yet always wanted a pug) that if he bought me a house with central air we could get a pug. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think we'd have a house with central air (at least not our first house!) yet that's exactly what happened so I knew I had to make good on the "pug promise" (which is what I did). The night that Albert passed, after everyone was in bed, I went into the kitchen to turn out the light above the stove. And there, at the door, I swear I saw Albert looking at me as if he needed to be let out. I caught my breath. "How could it be?" I thought and it was then I realize that it was his soul leaving the house. It was a final good-bye from that sweet boy of mine. I opened the door and out he went.

So just like the experience of letting Albert's soul go, the interaction with Jake on Wednesday night was indeed a powerful one. I am grateful for both experiences even if they will forever tug at my heartstrings. xo 

Good-Bye, Old Friend.

We said good-bye to our sweet, fifteen year old dog Albert today. He lived such a good and full life and was loved by all who knew him. The house is a little too quiet tonight and our hearts are left with a hole that only Albert can fill. We are thankful for the many years we had with our sweet guy. He was with Dave and I through (almost) ten of our (almost) twelve years of marriage. Through our journey through The Land of Infertility. To becoming parents- twice. Through good times and bad, Albert was there through it all. He was my constant companion, always, but especially these last seven-and-a-half years that I have been home full time. He followed me everywhere, no matter if I was simply going to the next room, he was always there making sure that I was safe and watched over. Good-bye, Old Friend. We will miss you, always. xo. 

Sunday Smiles::In Which Albert Goes To Church

Today our church held a Blessing of the Animals. The girls were so excited to hear this and wanted to bring our whole menagerie. After much discussion we all agreed that our sweet dog Albert would be the one to represent the animals of our family during the service today.

As you can see he was very happy to be there!

It was mostly dogs in attendance, though one cat did eventually arrive. 

All the kids were invited to help the ministers bless the animals. 

The girls loved getting to be a part of this.

Albert waits his turn. 

Getting to have church outside on this glorious day was only made even more special by the addition of everyone's pets being there. Clearly, Albert had a completely terrific time at church today! Even all these hours later he's still smiling. A car ride and special time spent with us seems to have lifted this old dog's spirit! I think if he was able to talk he'd share with us that this was the best day ever and that he wishes he could do it again. It was a special day indeed!

Mama's New Camera

Yes, that's right my friends, I finally have a lovely new camera!  The camera I have been using is great but there were a few things that I really wanted to be able to do that it just was not capable of.  So this year for my birthday I asked for only one thing: a new camera,. And thanks to my parents, Dave's parents and Dave all going in on my birthday gift my brithday wish was able to come true!  After lots of discussion, research and a fateful trip to Lyman Orchards for my parents (where they saw this lovely camera in action on the "Berry Ferry") it was decided that this was the one that would best fit my needs.  My mom ended up locating it yesterday and so she, my Dad, the girls and I met up in Manchester today for the big hand off.  I clearly still have a ways to go in learning to use this camera, but I think it's safe to say that it was indeed the right choice! 

Gramma, Grace and Emma hang out with Sabrina the Giant Flemish Rabbit.

We had to try out the food setting!

Fiddling with all the different settings, I caputured (and fell in love with) this action shot.

Portrait setting.

The black and white setting is such a fabulous option to have!

Albert has never photographed this beautifully! Loving the pet portrait setting!

This was shot from our deck.  No zoom.

Trying out the dawn/dusk setting.  Can't wait to try it out on a lovely morning sunrise!

Once again from the deck, a little zoom, but cleraly not the right setting.

Shot from the very beginning of the yard (not too far from our deck stairs) with the zoom.  Awesome!

Dawn/dusk setting.

Dawn/dusk setting.

Photographed from the street, with zoom, and dawn/dusk setting.

Photographed with a little zoom and the dawn/dusk setting.

 And these pictures were all captured just in our exploring of the camera with no real knowledge of what we were doing.  The possibilites are endless!  Now just to figure out the low light setting, which it claims to have, and is something I have always wanted in a camera. If I can accurately capture candle light (or the moon!) I will be thrilled!  Hopefully, over the next several days I will be able to get a better grasp on the zoom, as well as what each setting does best and which one is ideal for photographing the girls (especially when they are in motion).  Thanks to everyone for making my birthday wish come true, and special thanks to my Mom and Dad for meeting up with us today so I can play with this awesome new toy! Looking forward to bringing it to the 4th of July parade tomorrow!

Pals

Snuggle time for Emma and Albert this afternoon.  She was beyond thrilled to have him on her lap, and clearly he was happy to be soaking in all the extra love.