R.I.P. little buddy

Who knew it was possible to cry over the death of a rodent? Most people are happy when a little rodent dies. Apparently not me....little Gus has entered hamster heaven.

I was getting something from the basment where we kept Gus's cage and went to say "hello" to him like I always did and there he was - belly and paws up. I knew he didn't have much time left, afterall a hamsters life expectancy is only 2-3 years and Gus was 3 1/2. And yet, I found still found myself surprised that he was gone. And what surprised me even more was my reaction. I lost it and balled my eyes out. I went upstairs and told Allison, and braced myself for the same reaction. The reaction I did get, however was less than "moving." She just shrugged and said "Okay, now can we get a black bear hamster?" Then through tears I told her we'd have to have a funeral and she proceeded to tell me "Why don't you just throw him in the garbage?" This sent me into a bigger sobbing state. And finally an ounce of compassion appeared:

Allison: "Well, Mom you can still play wif him and stuff"

Me: BAWWWW!!! Allison how can I play with him if he's DEAD?! sob, sob, sooooobbbb!

Allison: "You could still pet him"

Me: BAWWWWWWWWWWWWW!

Later that day I broke the news to Juliet and we both had a good cry together. And poor Chris - the scene he came home to was not a pretty one. A couple of girls who would sob, pull themselves together, and then burst into sobs again just like that.

Gus was later laid to rest behind our shed in a graham cracker box. So it was no pharaoh burial but I think it was sufficient. Juliet read the poem she wrote for Gus, completely by herself:

"Dear Gus,

You were a good hamster and you made me happy inside. You are the best pet I ever had. Now, that you're gone forever, I'll miss you, but I know that you are in a beautiful place. I hope that you will remember me. I'll remember the way your nose wiggled."

Lots of love, your friend,

Juliet

***insert many, many more tears here***

We read from Ecclesiastes 3:1-11 and closed in prayer and low and behold Allison actually joined Juliet and myself in our crying fest! She was genuinely devestated for the first time since Gus died (Gus was buried like 2 weeks after he died - gross I know!) And I have to admit it was really, really good to see the she demonstated some compassion. She is a tough little cookie and I sometimes wonder about her. I mean, when she grows up she wants to become the President of the United States so she can be the boss of EVERYONE. And you know what, I know she could pull it off!

At any rate, Gus sure led a good, long life and we (this might exclude Chris) are so glad we had him for the time he did. If you ever wondered if a rodent good bring pleasant, fond memories and even make you ball like a baby when he goes, I'm here to tell you that it can!

Celebrating five years as husband and wife

Chris and I just celebrated our fifth anniversary! Since we just moved into our new home a couple of months ago (and still own of old home unfortunately) I knew that this year would be a very small celebration and I was completely okay with that! But alas, my amazing hubby decided to plan an amazing trip for me anyway! He literally wisked me away to an undisclosed location and low and behold that brought me to my favorite city, Boston! We stayed at an incredible Bed & Breakfast called The Samuel Sewall Inn. We caught a comedy show on Friday night and brought sushi (YUM!!!) back to our room next to the crackling fire.

The next day we just strolled in the North end and Quincy market. We absolutely just basked in every moment we spent with each other like two honeymooners. Friday night Chris also presented me with my gift - Victoria Secret pj's! They are so cute and comfy! But my "real" gift was still coming! On Saturday, our actual anniversry, he got me a beautiful diamond and sapphire, white gold ring! My jaw dropped as I tried to push away the guilty feeling of all that he did for me that weekend. And what's more amazing is that my man researched what the traditional five year anniversary gift is...wood. BUT, the modern day traditional gift is "silver" hence the white gold "silver" colored ring! How cool is that? And, he even covered the "wood" gift by getting our amazing room which was filled with it!

After we checked out on Sunday we decided to not to end our weekend away just yet, so we headed a few minutes away to Salem to the Salem Witch Museum where they had the Salem witch trials. Appropriately so because Samuel Sewall was a judge in the witch trials. It was fun and something different than we would normally do and such an interesting time in history.

All in all I could not believe all that Chris did for me to make our five year so so special. I am the luckiest girl in the world to have a guy like him! What gets me is that I don't deserve ANY of it, and yet God continues to just shower me with amazing blessings! He has blessed me with such a great life and even though this past year has been a very difficult one in some aspects, I have never felt more blessed for what I DO have and such a sense of PEACE in spite of everything. And I know that all that can only come from God!

Allison the painter

There are some phrases you never want to hear coming out of your little ones mouths. The other day my ears heard one of them. I have a big painting project going on right now - I'm painting my entire first floor. I was in a different room and heard Allison yell "Mom, I'm helping you paint." AHHH! Thankfully I was going to paint the hallway anyway, just not as soon as I'm going to have to now that Allie decided to "help." But thankfully, no real harm was done. And it was very sweet that she wanted to pitch in!