This week has been filled with so many highs and very low, lows that I have been on an emotional roller-coaster. The good news first.
We've received all the necessary approvals to buy the house and are set to close next Thursday. We are so excited!! We also got the appraisal back yesterday and the house appraised for $40k over what we are paying for it. Which makes me feel much better about the whole deal! Now if only we could sell our house in Colorado and not have to worry about that any longer.
The bad news.
My dog, Kaya, is very, very sick. I fear we have reached the beginning of the end and I am having a really tough time facing that. God has placed in me the ultimate responsibility of deciding when it's time to let her go and I fear, actually I know, I am completely incapable of being objective about it. I know all the arguments. She's suffering and can no longer be the dog she once was. Her quality of life has significantly diminished, she's in pain and she'll go to a better place, etc. etc. But it's not quite so cut and dried when it's your pet and that pet has been the anchor in your life for 10 years. Kaya was with me when I was still a young, naive, single girl. She traveled with me to my new life in California. She was with me when I met my husband, she was my rock while Thomas was deployed to Iraq, and there when we moved and started another new life in Colorado. She was there when we bought our first home and filled it with children. I don't remember what life was like without her and I don't want to envision a future without her.
Whatever it is that is making her sick came on really suddenly. One day she's fine, the next she can't stand up and is whining in pain. She screamed last night when we tried to move her. The vet has recommended several tests to determine what's going on. They cost a lot of money. So far we've done 2 and we are currently awaiting the results from the 2nd test. I don't know that we should continue to run test after test. Especially sinceI am still holding on to hope that this is something treatable and I won't have to make any end-of-life decisions for Kaya. I am praying for some conclusion to this so I can move forward and know which route to take and be at peace with it.
Friday, October 8, 2010
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Home Sweet New Home
It's official. We are buying a house. After nearly 3 months of waiting, we got the official word on Friday. We had a chance to go back and check it out Friday afternoon and I guess I forgot how much TLC this house is going to need. I am feeling overwhelmed right now with the amount of work in store for us. I am going to have to learn the valuable lesson that is "prioritizing"!
Here is project #1. Since the previous owners have already moved out most of their stuff, we got a good glimpse of the carpeting. And all I can say is "Eww!". We had originally hoped we could get a few more years out of it but it is obvious that it will need to be replaced ASAP. At least on the main level where I will spend the most time looking at it. So, I have spent the last few days frantically learning everything I can about carpeting. And holy sheet, I had no idea how expensive carpeting is. Yikes. I want some opinions from anyone who has good decorating skills! I am really loving the brown carpeting that has taupe-y, grayish undertones. Not a rich chocolate color but a bit lighter. Does that make sense? I have espresso colored furniture and a cream colored couch. What do you think? Or, do I stick with the light beige carpeting??
Project #2 is painting. Every single room in the house needs to be repainted. And most rooms have wallpaper that needs to be removed. Ugh.
From there I'll move on to updating light fixtures and hardware as the money comes available. Which will be in about 20 years when we finish paying off the carpeting and the deck that has to go in next spring.
In the meantime, here are the "Before" pictures. Please excuse the hot mess known as Andrea in some of the pictures. I can't be bothered to dress up on most days.
Here is project #1. Since the previous owners have already moved out most of their stuff, we got a good glimpse of the carpeting. And all I can say is "Eww!". We had originally hoped we could get a few more years out of it but it is obvious that it will need to be replaced ASAP. At least on the main level where I will spend the most time looking at it. So, I have spent the last few days frantically learning everything I can about carpeting. And holy sheet, I had no idea how expensive carpeting is. Yikes. I want some opinions from anyone who has good decorating skills! I am really loving the brown carpeting that has taupe-y, grayish undertones. Not a rich chocolate color but a bit lighter. Does that make sense? I have espresso colored furniture and a cream colored couch. What do you think? Or, do I stick with the light beige carpeting??
Project #2 is painting. Every single room in the house needs to be repainted. And most rooms have wallpaper that needs to be removed. Ugh.
From there I'll move on to updating light fixtures and hardware as the money comes available. Which will be in about 20 years when we finish paying off the carpeting and the deck that has to go in next spring.
In the meantime, here are the "Before" pictures. Please excuse the hot mess known as Andrea in some of the pictures. I can't be bothered to dress up on most days.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Never Forget
I've been meaning to update this for awhile now but haven't been much inspired to do so. Life has just been chugging along with not much excitement. Well, except for the trip to the State Fair. That was awesome and eventually I will get some photo's up and maybe write about it. I was going to do that as this week's post but I feel compelled to write about something much, much more sad.
Thomas lost two friends who were fighting in Afghanistan this week. It's been extremely hard on him. They weren't close friends but he had gone through school with one of them and has a lot of great memories of their time together at EOD (Bomb Tech) school.
Their names were Floyd Holley and Dan Fedder.
I think that it is just too easy to see the headlines and the numbers of casualties in the news and not really think twice about the impact of a serviceman's death. I know I'm guilty of it at times.
These guys left behind wives, children, mothers, fathers, and friends. Floyd's wife was 7 months pregnant with their first child. I believe he also had children from a previous relationship. He was the guardian of his 14 year old brother. Dan had a wife and two kids as well. Dan was on his 7th tour since the war began in 2003.
Imagine what that would feel like. To have someone show up at your front door and tell you that your husband has been killed and you will never see him again. I can't. And I can't stop thinking about these women and what they must be going through and wishing there was something I could do.
And I can't stop thinking about our friend John who is their platoon commander and is now feeling like he has some responsibility in their deaths. I pray that he will be OK and find some peace.
Because, really, that's all you can do. Pray. If you believe in the power of prayer, or a higher power.....or whatever you believe in. Maybe just sending out good vibes into the universe. At least it's something right?
So, let us not forget that while we may have marked the "end" of the war in Iraq yesterday there is still a war going on in Afghanistan. And people are there fighting every day. People that are close to Thomas and I. With families left behind, waiting anxiously for their safe return. Praying every day that they, too, don't hear that knock on the door. I know what that feels like and I don't wish it on anybody.
Thomas lost two friends who were fighting in Afghanistan this week. It's been extremely hard on him. They weren't close friends but he had gone through school with one of them and has a lot of great memories of their time together at EOD (Bomb Tech) school.
Their names were Floyd Holley and Dan Fedder.
I think that it is just too easy to see the headlines and the numbers of casualties in the news and not really think twice about the impact of a serviceman's death. I know I'm guilty of it at times.
These guys left behind wives, children, mothers, fathers, and friends. Floyd's wife was 7 months pregnant with their first child. I believe he also had children from a previous relationship. He was the guardian of his 14 year old brother. Dan had a wife and two kids as well. Dan was on his 7th tour since the war began in 2003.
Imagine what that would feel like. To have someone show up at your front door and tell you that your husband has been killed and you will never see him again. I can't. And I can't stop thinking about these women and what they must be going through and wishing there was something I could do.
And I can't stop thinking about our friend John who is their platoon commander and is now feeling like he has some responsibility in their deaths. I pray that he will be OK and find some peace.
Because, really, that's all you can do. Pray. If you believe in the power of prayer, or a higher power.....or whatever you believe in. Maybe just sending out good vibes into the universe. At least it's something right?
So, let us not forget that while we may have marked the "end" of the war in Iraq yesterday there is still a war going on in Afghanistan. And people are there fighting every day. People that are close to Thomas and I. With families left behind, waiting anxiously for their safe return. Praying every day that they, too, don't hear that knock on the door. I know what that feels like and I don't wish it on anybody.
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