Happy and Sad

This last month has been great!  We completed our third quarter at school with both #2 and #3 receiving straight A's again.  #2 is very excited because if he gets straight A's all 4 marking periods, he'll receive a special medal from the cyber-school we attend.  #3 has to wait until next year before she is old enough to participate in that program.

#1 is doing well in her quest to drive.  Parallel parking was a snap for her and we just need a bit more practice on the road before we conquer the driving test.  She also registered at the local community college and will be taking her entrance exams next week.  Please keep her in your prayers!

#2 has transitioned extremely well into Boy Scouts.  He went on his first weekend-long camping trip with them and had a great time.  He's also helping several boys with their Eagle Scout projects, willingly giving up time during his Spring Break and other Saturday's to do this.  I'm so proud of him.

#3 is a dancing queen!  She's getting very excited for her dance recital coming up and even more excited for her birthday next month.  I guess it's time to start planning for real!

It's also been a sad month for us.  We're still adjusting to the loss of my parents moving back to California.  When they move completely across the country, and you can't see them ever, it feels like a loss. We did lose a family member this month.  Sadly, my cat Duckie passed away.  It was all very sudden.  Within 1 week, he had lost most of his body weight, stopped eating, stopped coming up to the third floor to sleep with me, and started breathing very heavily.  I finally couldn't stand it anymore and took him to an all night animal hospital where the did x-rays and found a large tumor in one of his lungs and fluid filling 75% of his remaining lung capacity.  I stayed with him and made the choice to euthanize him.  As far as my kids know, he passed away peacefully on his own, at the animal hospital.

It's just a cat.  Yes, but it's my cat.  It's my cat who sleeps on Seth's side of the bed while he's deployed.  It's my cat who follows me around when he's gone.  It's my cat who keeps me company.  Here I am 2 weeks later and I'm still upset.

We do have another cat, and technically, he's mine.  Dunkin was a Valentine's gift to me the year Seth and I got married.  He was 6 weeks old when I got him, and it turns out I was 6 weeks pregnant at the time.  He grew up with us.  But he adopted my son and he really became #2's cat.  He's starting to come back to me now that Duckie is gone, but it's not the same.  And I don't have the heart to tell the kids that he's showing some of the same signs, with the scabs around the neck that showed up 2 months before the tumor.  Are they related?  I don't know.  It will be hard to watch and see.

Trying to get the birds on the wreath.