Kacie

 In February of 2019 Kacie started to act a little weird. On Monday February 11 she threw up, not that overly uncommon bc shes a lab and she gets into everything. On Tuesday  she wouldn't eat. I chalked it up to her not feeling well, maybe she had gotten into something and thats why she threw up and wouldn't eat. But then she wouldn't eat the wednesday either. I called our vet and he told me to give her some pepcid. He said if she wasn't feeling well this would likely take care of her upset stomach. He said to call him back if she was still not feeling well the next day. So that night I went out and got some pepcid and gave it to her. The next morning, Thursday,  she wasn't any better so I called the vet back. The wanted to see her immediately. They said they didn't have any appointments available but if I could drop her off then they would see her at some point during the day.

After I got the kids all ready I drove all the way back to Fishers to drop her off at our vet. My heart was breaking, I was hoping that it was nothing, that they would say she just had the flu or something (dogs get that right). But later that afternoon they called me and gave me the worst news. They said that when she got there they noticed that she was a bit swollen around her lungs, trunk area. He was hopeful it was just fluid so he planned to aspirate some fluid and test it. But when he began to pull back the fluid it was blood. That is when he called me, he told me he could do further testing but in his professional opinion it was CANCER. ughhhhh my heart sank. He asked if I wanted to do further testing and I said no. Adam and I have always had the philosophy that while we love our dogs, they are just dogs and we don't have insurance on them and can afford to go thousands of dollars in debt over them. 

So then I asked him what our options were and he recommended putting her down. I asked him how soon. He said he would recommend sooner rather than later. I had to work friday evening and was really wanting one more night with her. I quickly called my boss and we found someone to switch with me so I could work saturday and then I could have one more night with her at home.

So we Brought her home and quickly made our footprints and things so we would have some memories of her (obviously other than the millions of pictures I had)

So Friday night I let her sleep in bed with me, like I had for so many years when Adam was away for work, she snuggled at my feet and I just held her. Kacie was always my dog that liked to touch me but on her terms. She wasn't a huge cuddlier but she loved to touch me. I was honestly worried she wouldn't make it through the night. 

. 

But she did and Saturday morning, Adam the boys and I took her to the vet and we had her put to sleep in the back of my dads truck. We then drove her out to my uncle Randy's house and had her buried next to Sadie, Luke and Lucie. 

To say that my heart is broken is an understatement. Kacie was my dog. We got her shortly after we got married. I had wanted a dog for a long time and debated on getting a lab because my lab that I grew up with we had to say goodbye to right after Adam and I got married. But I settled on a chocolate lab and Adam found an add for one in the paper and went to Spencer Indiana to get her. 

She was the best dog. She loved me so fiercely and was my ever constant companion. She followed me EVERYWHERE and really was my little shadow. Her and Sadie were my first "kids" and I just loved them. 

Here are the last pictures of Kacie with the kids. 

And here are some pictures of my Kacie through the years. 

For the girl who doesn't handle change well, I went from having a house of my own with my 4 kids and 2 dogs, to living with my parents, and no dogs in under 6 months. It was a struggle to say the least for a variety of reasons. But most of all I missed the companionship of having dogs. I have a lot of regret when it comes to Kacie and Sadie and I often don't feel like I lived up to being the best dog mom to them. We had 5 kids in 6 years and it was HARD! It was stressful and there was so much to juggle, kids, grief, being married etc. that unfortunately Kacie and Sadie took a back seat. I'm not proud of it but when I just couldn't handle things I would put them in their cage. Looking back I feel bad about this because they spent more time in there then they probably should have but it was unfortunately what I needed to do to get through the day. I would give anything to go back and do things differently but I can't live in the past and I can just move forward and be better next time. But dang it I miss those girls and their kisses and their unwavering love for me, adam and the kids.

Kacie Kate August 28, 2008 - February 16, 2019

Kacie and Sadie you are so missed. 

Goodbye House....

Adam and I were lucky enough to buy a house when we first got married. We had decided to move to Fishers when we got married. Adam had been living with friends in Broad Ripple and I was graduating from Purdue when we began looking for a house. We searched for a few months and found a perfect home for us in Fishers. It was close to my parents but yet not too close. It was only 7 miles from them so it allowed us to be close for when we/I needed them and yet far enough away for us to feel like we were on our own.

We had chosen Fishers because lets face it I'm a north side girl forever, and I wanted a little separation from Carmel and the place I grew up. We had originally planned to start a family after just a year of marriage and we didn't want to live somewhere for only a year or so and then have to move because of the school system. So we chose Fishers because of the great school system.

When we began our house search I quickly fell in love with the balcony off master bedroom and Adam liked the fact that it had a garage and a fenced in backyard for the dogs he wanted. It had 3 bedrooms with the potential to be 4 with just needing to add a closet.

We quickly put in an offer and after a little back and forth we agreed on a price. Unfortunately due to the person we had originally chosen to do our mortgage being incompetent we almost lost out on the house, but luckily my dad was able to buy it for us while we got approved for our loan. So Adam moved in about 2 weeks before our wedding. I moved a majority of my things in before the wedding but didn't officially move in until after we got married.






About 3 weeks after we got married we were finally able to close on OUR house. We owned a house! Here is a picture of us outside the place where we closed! HOLY COW we are HOMEOWNERS!

Over the years this house really became a home. It was a place of great comfort to me. We brought home all 5 of our babies to this house. We raised our sweet puppies in this house. It held so many parties, birthdays and christmases. It was a place where Adam and I found our footing as a married couple who lived in the same city for the first time and lived together for the first time! 

It was also the place where Adam and I grieved our biggest loss. It was the place where we both fell completely apart as we adjusted to the news that our twins were likely not going to survive and when one didn't its where we were able to comfort each other as we grieved. 

This house holds so many memories for us. It was a tough decision but after doing the drive from fishes to carmel multiple times a day we decided it was time to make the move. After the girls we had decided to put Lincoln into Catholic school at our church. It was 20-25 minutes from our house with obviously no bussing. There are 17...yes 17 stop lights between our house and church. It was a haul. With 4 kids I just couldn't do it. I spent so much time in the car!! So we made the decision to move. In April of 2018 we moved all of our stuff out, into storage and moved in with my parents. 

Over the next 6 weeks we updated the house, got new flooring throughout the house, new countertops in the kitchen and got a backsplash and the bathrooms got new countertops and tile floors. We finally put it on the market in early July and got an offer about 30 days later with a closing date of September 17. 

Before our closing we of course had to go back to the house one last time and get some pictures of all of us. My favorite is of the kids on the front step. It makes me sad to think that I'll never get to have any pictures of them there anymore, its the place that I always turned to to take 'that' picture. It also makes me sad that Sadie is not in the picture, since we lost her about 3 weeks before this. This girl who HATES change of any sort is really struggling with leaving the only real house she has known for the last 10 years and then on top of that not having my puppy anymore.

Overall this house is a good one...it taught me so much of what to look for when it come to a house...number one being A SILVERWARE DRAWER!!! There were many many frustrations of being inexperienced homeowners (thank.you.GOD.for.my.dad.and.all.his.help) but overall I can look back on this house with so many fond memories with our family and our neighbors. Its been a good ride!! but now to find our forever home!!! (hopefully we won't be living with my parents for too long)

Here we are after closing on our house. We are officially homeless...well minus the fact that we are now living with my parents in the house I grew up in!!!

Lynlie is ONE.....

Oh my Oh my! I can't believe I'm actually writing these words...but my baby is ONE! How is this even possible?? This year has been so crazy busy and just seems to have flown by. There have been so many changes and adjustments this year, which this change hating person has struggled with, but she has been such a light through it all. 

This year has been such a blessing with this little light. She is so incredible it's hard to put into words what she has done for Adam and I. She has helped provide Adam and I with a joy that we didn't know we were capable of feeling again. I can't say it enough, she truly is such a beautiful blessing that we are so grateful to God for entrusting us with her and allowing us to love her. 

Here are a few of the milestones this little booger has accomplished this month. 

• She is still crawling everywhere but doesn't walk and I'm ok with that. 
• My mom has taught her to climb the stairs...now if she would teach her to go down them...
• She is still mama's girl but I have been able to put her down and put laundry away without her freaking out which is a bit of a bonus. 
• Her appetite has really picked up this month and she is enjoying eating more and more table food
• she really loves green beans, potatoes, and corn. 
• she will do the occasional banana but overall doesn't like fruits (what is with my girls and not liking fruits)
• She loves crackers, and some meats
• She is still BF anywhere from 4-7x a day...really depends on her mood. but she showing no signs of wanting to stop. 
• Sleep is still a bit of a challenge but she is getting better. 
• She is sleeping for a total of 12 hours
• She is for the most part only waking up 1-2x a night...which is still a lot but it's better than the 3-4x a night. 
• She takes 1 nap a day...lately has wanted to nap for 11am-2pm which I don't like because it makes it hard for us to do much during the day. But I think I just have to get her back on the schedule where she can take a quick morning nap and then take her big nap in the afternoon. 
• She really is my worst sleeper and I'm really struggling with this, I wish she would sleep a little more like her sister and brothers. 
• When she wakes up she moves to the side of her crib that faces the door and just screams at us. --its really so adorable. 
• She has learned to pull herself up
• so she now pulls herself up on everything which means more bumps and bruises. 
• we lowered her crib and she likes to pull up and smile, or scream at us. 
• We've given her a blanket, and we decided to give her Adam's baby blanket. She seems to enjoy having a blanket to sleep with. 
• girlfriend HATES baths, she does much better with showers, but dang put her in the bath and she will scream her head off
• She is still in 9-12 month clothes. Mostly 12 month clothes

Here are our weekly photos...

I can't believe I actually accomplished this, I had high hopes and I generally thought I would do it because I tend to commit to things and follow through. But man it was quite the undertaking and towards the end I wanted to quit because she was such a challenge, but I'm so happy to be done. 

And here our our monthly pics. I originally tried to take these pics before her nap, she was NOT having it. I had wanted to have a pic to post but she was just not in a good mood. So after her nap I took some more.

I love this because she is making the same face! 

These were taken after her nap and were much cuter!






















The day of her birthday we had a small little party with my parents and Adam's parents!

She was so cute, she would turn her
head from side to side while we sang

yum cake is good

Lincoln wanted to do this so bad, so we let him

In her new chair with sissy

Her to a T. Relaxed and laid back!

These were from her first birthday! We kept the party small this year, really only inviting those who made an effort to meet her, and who had been there for us. We had a beautiful day, and it was super fun to celebrate our baby.

With her God mama

Love this Family of mine...Gosh Lola is a doll

Here are also a few from her 1 year photos with Alicia. 

These pictures were so good. Alicia did such an amazing job of really capturing her sweet little personality. I love all these pictures so very much....

....now I must say that since I'm finally publishing this post 2 years later, I know that I was waiting for her 1 year appointment to get her stats to post it, and wouldn't you know that I forgot to take a picture of it and I don't remember how big she was. I am going to try to call this week and see if I can get some info on her. I really need to see if I can get copies of my kiddos charts so I can have record of their weights and stuff. 

So at 1 year Lynlie was 

• 30.5 inches
• 85% for height
• 20 lbs 10 oz
• 50% for weight

Long and lean perfect baby girl