Post Final Disneyland Visit

Having a day off of school when finals are over is magical, so we went to the Magic Kingdom to celebrate.  Jodi, Kenzie, Heather, Jenna, Abbey and I went to spend the day. We had so much fun with our friends!

Club Season Begins

Jenna's club season has begun. We chose Tstreet because of the potential in the long run for her to be college ready, however, we're doubting a little. She was placed on a 4s team, and it appears to be a beginning team. She is the best player they have, and this can be frustrating. We'll stick it out and see what happens. We asked early on if there was a team she could move up to, and we were pretty much ignored. Time will tell...For now she will give it her all. Her teammates are very sweet, and the parents are very nice.

Saying Goodbye to Sariah

We met with the oncologist this morning, and we have a diagnosis. It's not good. Sariah has disseminated Histiocytic Sarcoma which is an aggressive form of cancer and is affecting her spleen and liver. With chemo she would have a 30% chance of surviving only six months. The cancer usually returns while the dog is healing from chemo. There was no guarantee she would survive the chemo. The doctor said our pup was suffering, and we didn't want her to suffer anymore. She has been declining rapidly this past week. So, tonight, after prayerful consideration, we tearfully said good-bye to our sweet puppy. She passed peacefully surrounded by our love witch each of us petting her gently.

Our girls have been troopers. It's finals week for the semester and not a good time to lose a beloved family pet. We knew we didn't want to wait once we found out. Not only the suffering but the waiting for the inevitable would be worse.

We decided to save pups ashes in a beautiful box. After spending nearly $4,000 on all the testing, we didn't want to spend more, but the thought of leaving her there was awful. At least with our little box we would be able to keep her with us for a little longer. I never thought I'd be like that, but I needed to know this wasn't "it" when we left the hospital. I think the girls felt better about having her ashes also.

We drove to In-N-Out for dinner, and the sky was beautiful. Jenna said it was Sariah in Heaven saying hello to us and letting us know she was okay.

The breeder has been outstanding in her support, and willing to answer all our questions. When she found out what was going to happen, she cried. She has offered us a puppy from their next litter which she knew wouldn't replace Sariah, but she wanted to do something. It was very nice of her. The pups aren't due until March. We'll see how we feel then. For now we will mourn our sweet pup as we walk in the door and experience the absence we feel expecting our pup to come to greet us.

Waiting for a Diagnosis

Hanging out with the pup. The only sign she shows of not feeling well, aside from throwing up her food, is the lethargy. We find ourselves sitting and petting her a lot. The pathology report was confusing and is being run through a second opinion. Best guess diagnosis is liver cancer that is also in the spleen. We meet with an oncologist Monday. When we get the definitive diagnosis I will write more. I'm holding my breath hoping the pathology report is confusing because there's actually something else wrong, something curable. For now we wait, try to feed her when she'll eat, and keep her comfy. Jenna has donated a stuffed animal to keep Sariah company.

Sariah is Sick

Our pup is sick. She's only three years old, but we're looking at auto-immune problems and cancer testing. When we took her in a few weeks back, the test results didn't show anything abnormal, and the blood work seemed within normal limits. When things didn't improve we took her back. This was the clinic we go to.  This time there was a drop in her liver count, and they told us we needed to see a specialist. We drove her to the VCA hospital near our home. There's definitely something wrong. I More testing has been done. We'll know more in the next few days. I wasn't ready for this at this young an age. I keep hoping it's what the breeder told us it is which is Valley Fever. She's had two dogs with it and nearly lost one of them. But we're being told that they've tested for that, and it's not Valley Fever. I so want this to be something fixable. She is too young, and such a good dog.

College

Things just got real. We're going to be parents of a college girl. Heather got her acceptance email today and will be a Fall/Spring student at BYU-Idaho. We couldn't be more proud of our first born.

Jordan Reynolds' Recital

It was a privilege to watch our dear friend perform tonight. Jordan has an exquisite voice, and we've been fans for years. He did a recital here in Huntington Beach. He is in Boston currently at the New England Conservatory of Music working on his Masters Degree in vocal performance so, this was a treat to have him here. This was our "village mom" picture with Michelle Holbrook. We met Jordan when he was 12 and his family moved in down the street.  It's so amazing to watch youth grow up and follow their dreams. We are proud groupies! Excellent work Jordan!

Jenna's Piñata

Jenna's piñata project is finally finished. Heather had these same projects when she took Spanish 1, but I guess I blocked them out. They get assigned, and we end up using our school breaks to work on them. That's the part I hate. I wish school breaks could be just that--breaks from school. But Jenna did a great job on her piñata. Now we have to clean up. Yikes.