A Time for Change All in One Day!

This past week, Tuesday was an eventful and sad day. Most of you know, our dearest Lab, Tess has been sick with renal failure since July. On the weekend, she got much sicker, quickly. On Tuesday, her breathing was labored and she was suffering, so we made the very difficult decision to let her go. She was put to sleep peacefully Tuesday night. She is being cremated and we will spread her ashes at the lake in front of our home. We had some precious time with her during her final days. She slept on the daybed overlooking the lake and gave kisses to our children.

I have had Tess since 8 wks of age. She was such a cutie!

Tess loved my mom and the feeling was mutual. Mom would feed her salad from a fork! She was spoiled rotten.

Like all Labs, she loved sticks. The bigger the better!

Even sick, she tried to comfort Will when he fell down.

The sweetest thing ever. Nose to nose with Caroline. We will forever miss her.

Also on Tuesday morning, we got the news that Mike was offered a new job. We are moving about 45 minutes south of Chicago, IL in the next few weeks. Mike has gotten a wonderful job with a college. He will be the general manager of the college's radio station. It will be a big change in many, many ways for us. I am not looking forward to the snow. Remember, I am a southern girl from New Orleans! While I am not necessarily thrilled about moving up north, we will, at least, be in a city with stores, doctors, restaurants and all of the things we need and love. No more 2 hour drives to the pediatrician. There is even a children's museum in the area, not to mention the great places just a short drive away in Chicago. Note the positive outlook...while I am sad about leaving the south, I am trying to embrace our awaiting new life. In these hard times for so many in our country, we are really blessed and fortunate to have such a great opportunity. We have prayed that God would provide for our needs and faithfully he has done so. Therefore, with a cheerful smile (most of the time) and missing our sweet Tess, we have begun the process of packing our life and moving forward.

Mike will head up to Chicago on April 1st to start work and find a home for us. The babies and I will stay behind to finish packing. We will spend some time at his parents house, say goodbye to friends and then load the truck when Mike comes back to pick us up. April 15 is our official last day here. We will keep you posted as we know more. This is a bittersweet time for our family. We love and thank you for all of the support that has been sent our way.