RIP Rosco

My sweet little Rosco died on June 7th. Probably one of the saddest days of my life so far. Trent and the kids had gone to Celina that Monday (the 6th) because I had to work and then had an awards ceremony until late that night. I got home about 8:30 and could tell Rosco had been sick that day. It appeared he had, had a pretty bad seizure. His bed was soaking wet and you could tell he wasn't right. As you know, he was sick often so I wasn't that worried. I put him in bed with me and tried to soothe him. He couldn't get comfortable. I tried to give him his medicine and he wouldn't take it. That worried me because he will ALWAYS eat cheese, even in the middle of a seizure he would try to eat it. That next morning he still wasn't himself but sometimes it took him awhile to recover. He wouldn't take his pill again. I text Trent and told him to come home early if he could because I thought he would need to go to the vet if he still wasn't better.
I got home around 4:15 on Tuesday. I beat Trent home. Rosco was not good at all. He was not with it at all. His eyes were open and he could stand but he wouldn't move. It was almost like he was waiting for me to get home because within minutes he progressively got worse. He was breathing really heavy. I called our vet, who is out on maternity leave so her office is not open as much as normal. As I was on the phone with them Rosco started breathing really heavy, making random loud noises and had some black tar coming out of his bottom. The vet said it sounded really bad and to get him to a vet right away. As I grabbed him to go out the door he went into a small seizure. By the time we were in the car he was out of it again. He looked dead. The only way I knew he wasn't was because of his heavy breathing. I drove to the vet (about 10-15 minutes away). As I got closer his breathing became lighter and lighter. I could tell I was losing him. I pulled in the parking lot, ran around to grab him and as I did he gasped really big and I'm 99% sure that's when he died. I ran in and cut in front of everyone in line to hand him to the vet. They took him back and were back there for an eternity. Really it was probably only 5 minutes. They called me into a room and shut all the doors. The nurse said the vet would be with me in a minute. At that point I knew he was dead. I cried and cried. He came in and broke the news that I knew was coming. He didn't make it. :(
I asked if he knew what caused it and he did not. He said it could have been a seizure that he never recovered from or he could have had an aneurysm. I was devastated. I always knew this day would come but I had hoped it would be when Trent was home and not me. Thankfully, I was alone and didn't have the kids. The vet said we could take him home and bury him, cremate him and leave the ashes for them to dispose of him or cremate him and keep him. He told me I didn't have the make the decision that day, that I could call him the next day to let them know. So I left empty handed. I sat in the car and cried for a long time before coming back home.
He was my baby. I had him back in Sanger before I had kids to keep me busy. Back when I wasn't used to being a coaches wife...spending so many nights/days alone. Rosco was so little when we got him he couldn't even get up the curb. He wasn't much bigger than a toilet paper roll. I spoiled him rotten and treated him like a kid. I loved that dog more than any other animal I have ever had. I have dreaded this day for a long time.
Trent didn't want to keep his ashes in our house so we brought him home and buried him in our backyard. I plan to add a little rock with his name on it soon.



This was in Abilene the day Michael got him (Rosco was his dog before he became mine). He didn't keep him long because he also had Bentley, a Great Dane.


A week or two after the above pictures Michael called and asked if I wanted him. He was afraid Bentley would crush him. I immediately drove to Abilene to pick him up. This is how he slept in my front seat from Abilene to Sanger!




see...he's not much longer than the toilet paper roll!


first bath



The day we got Jack! Rosco was a little over a year old here.





I sure do miss him! It has been sad around my house lately. The first few days were really sad...
-hearing Jack run out back barking and not hearing Rosco running after him barking as well.
-seeing his torn apart cheese in the fridge for his pills
-his pill chart on our fridge
-seeing his empty bed beside ours
-not hearing his snort as he ran around the house
-hearing Madison yell "Jack and Rosco" as she called them to eat the food she had dropped
-Madison asking where the other bowl was. Having to explain to her that she only needed to put one scoop of food out instead of two
-not having my sleeping partner right beside my belly at night
-no one there waiting on me to get out of the shower to lick the water off the shower door
I know it seems silly to get this emotional over a dog but I've done a lot better than I thought. I haven't cried in a long time (until making this post). I have two sweet babies to keep me VERY distracted! We will always miss our sweet Rosco! Jack is finally recovering as well. He didn't eat for over a week. He's eating again but he still looks sad to me. He loved Rosco. I don't think Rosco cared much for him. I think Rosco liked when it was just me, him and Trent. :) Unfortunately, Jack won't be getting another friend anytime soon. Until then, we'll just have to make sure we give him extra attention. :)

New haircut!

Doesn't he look mischievous here?

Big Boy Bed

Trent made Cooper's crib a toddler bed the first weekend in June! I was pretty sad about that. In the same weekend, he buzzed his head so he didn't look like a baby anymore! He's done well with it. He can't open doors so he couldn't come out even if he wanted too. I don't think he's even tried. I think it still feels like a crib to him with that side rail up.
When he wakes up in the morning he's still sitting in his bed yelling for us. I'm sure he'll be out the door before we know it. I will enjoy it while I can. :)

Track Party

Trent had a track party for all of his track coaches after the season was over. We had it at Zack and Melanie's house since they have a bigger house/yard. We didn't end up having many people show up but we still had a good time. Trent grilled burgers and hot dogs and we sat around in the backyard watching the kids play.




Madison with her newest cousin, Eli!

invitation photo shoot

I love this sweet girl more than words can say!

my sweet boy

Isn't he getting so big??? He's such a little talker now!

He is saying 4 word sentences!
-flip flops is one of our favorite words he says right now. He loves to wear his sisters flip flops, more than his own.

Sincerity

This was a letter from Madison's pre-school teacher, Mrs. Carpenter! She recieved the award for

SINCERITY

Sweet Madison,

This year I have given you the character award for sincerity; eagerly doing what is right with transparent motives. You always desire to do the right thing and your love for others is so sincere and pure. You are loyal and loving and those characteristics shine so brightly in you each day!

I have been so blessed to have you in my class this year. Every day I look forward to the moment that we spot each other on the play ground and you come running to me with one of your big giant Madison hugs! The sweet moments each day when you wrap your little arms around me and say "I love you" are treasured memories that warm my heart and lift my spirits. I will always cherish those sweet moments spent with you.

Madison, God has created you to be such an endearing little girl! You have stolen my heart this year as I know you have stolen the hearts of so many other children and adults who know you. You are sweet, pure, honest and devoted. All of those incredible gifts are a part of who you are and were given to you when God carefully put you together. You have the ability to access people's hearts and you can open them to the love of Christ. The bible verse that I have chosen for you is 1 Peter 1:22 "Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply from the heart."

You are such a special girl. Your purity, sweetness and loving heart set you apart in so many ways. I will miss you so much next year, but I will always treasure the time that I have spent with you in your first year at Liberty. I can't wait to watch you shine again next year! Love you sweet girl!

Love always,
Mrs. Carpenter

*I typed the letter because you couldn't read it when I scanned it in*

End of Year Carnival

Madison's school had an awards/end of year carnival the last week of school! I took the WHOLE DAY off and ENJOYED it so much. I very rarely take a whole day off. I got to get the kids ready and take Cooper to daycare and then Madison and I headed to her school.

They were supposed to wear their Wee Warrior shirts and their class color. Madison's class color was yellow, as you can see. My bright little girl is all ready for her carnival!


We started the day with awards. Mrs. Carpenter picks a character trait for each child and she wrote each child a SWEET, SWEET letter. Madison's character trait was Sincerity. I will scan her letter and post it in the next post. It's so special and something we will always cherish! We LOVED Mrs. Carpenter and wish she could move up with us each year. :)

After the awards, the carnival began. They had each classroom set up with different games. We started off with face painting and pin the tail on the donkey. Then we moved to a cupcake walk, followed by outside games - hula hoops, chalk, bubbles etc. We ended with play dough and a water duck game. After all the games were over we went back to her classroom for a chick-fil-a lunch!

Trent got to come for the awards and then for some of the carnival. He wasn't able to take the whole day off because he's been out so much for track. He was there for the important parts, so that's all that mattered.

all the kids wanted the paint on their arms. Who knows!?

Madison and Mrs. Carpenter!

What a fun way to end a GREAT pre-school year. After the carnival was over Madison and I had a girls day together. It was so much fun getting to spend the day with my girl.

Madison's Pre-School Report Card

As you can see...we need to work on Self Confidence, which was not surprise to us! Apparently we had some trouble sharing towards the end of the year too! :) We are super proud of our smart little girl! She did exceptionally well this year. Lucky for her, she gets to do it all over again!

These are pictures that Madison colored. The first one is from the first week of school and the other is from the last week of school. So fun to see her improvements!