Dear Blogger................................

Dear Blogger -

What a week! The puppy party was a smash hit, with all five of the babies, their new families and our mommy and daddy dogs here, it was insane, chaotic, and just plain wonderful.

I am fairly certain that Ruby remembered her pups. They all remembered us - mind you, we spent countless hours bottle feeding them while they were with us. They have all grown into well adjusted, loving, dogs.

Things even went well with my sisters in law and their husbands. I have to admit, this was a big deal for me. I always get nervous when I have to the whole 'Happy Homemaker' thing, but I pulled it off!

I think that we will make this an annual event. We have to - it was that much fun.

Shawn and I had an interesting group counselling session on Saturday afternoon. We signed up for this class as a way to get our toes wet, so to speak, and to see if this place is the place for us. Well, I can say without a doubt that this is NOT the right place for us, but I am still glad I went. Either way I see it as a step in the right direction, even if the lady in charge is a bit of a tree hugging share the love, come on gimme a hug type. Sweet lady, just not right for us. We are checking out another place next week and I am hoping that it will be a better fit.

Shawn's mother has been ill. She is diabetic, and now her kidneys are failing. The doctors seem to think that she may only need dialysis as a temporary measure, but I am skeptical. She is 86 ish and her health has been failing for some time.

I am doing my best to be there for Shawn, but this is a hard one for me. We all grieve differently, and in this way, his family is so very unlike mine. We (my girls, my Dad, Grandma Lynn) are all touchy feely gimme some sugar kind of folks. Shawn's family..? Not so much. I want so badly to throw my arms around his mother and hold her tight, but that is just not done.

Speaking of Shawn, we finally had that appointment that we were waiting for. It did not go well. For whatever reason, the family doc sent Shawn to a surgeon that specializes in tumors. Just not in orthopedics....So, off we go for more tests, and Shawn is feeling defeated. It seems as though no one is taking his pain seriously and I am frightened that no one ever will. I can never let Shawn know this, I am doing my best to stay strong. He has been there for me so many times, I need to do this. I NEED to be strong, there is no other option.

Saturday evening gave me an opportunity to pay it forward. My dearest, bestest friends ever were in town, dealing with a loss...So often I unable to actually BE there, cuz, you know, we don`t have a car and getting around ain`t easy.

It so great to see Miss Sally, even under the circumstances. My family and friends rock, and I am so beyond lucky to have them. I hope that they know that.

We also finally got our health cards, dealt with (boring) legal issues and the principal of Jessica`s school. She is hell bent on transferring Jess to a different school, despite the fact that the other school is way farther away, I would have to buy all new uniforms, and Jessica has been crying almost everyday over the stress of it. She LOVES her school, and her blood sugars have been bouncing around since all of this started. I wonder if Mrs. T.H really understands who she is dealing with here. I won`t let my daughter get bullied and she WILL be back for semester two. You can count on it.

This week has been a roller coaster of emotions and I am so relieved that it is finally OVER. I plan on doing nothing except hanging with my dogs and catching up on Lost.