Dixie 1994-2007

Ethan & Dixie

Ethan & Dixie

Dixie, Will and Ethan

Dixie

This is a tribute to the family dog Dixie, who died on Nov. 26, 2007, so that was exactly one year ago today. Let me tell you, she was the best dog that I have ever had. Of course, she is only the second dog I have had, the last dog I had I was in the 5th or 6th grade. We got Dixie from the animal shelter in Cedar City on Sept. 1, 1999 and Ethan was only 2 1/2 years old. Dixie loved to go for walks, she loved to have you throw balls at her, so she could go fetch them and she loved when Ethan blew bubbles at her, she would jump up and eat them and that was pretty funny when Dixie did that. She hardly ever barked, I only heard her bark a few times. She only barked when she felt threatened or she felt one of us was threatened. She also was a very good dog towards the kids, so that was a plus.

When Zach was born, Ethan wasn't the one who was jeolous, Dixie was the one who was jeolous, so it was pretty funny that a dog would act that way. Dixie just loved to be a part of things and she was the best. As the years went by, Dixie was getting older and so things weren't the same. She didn't play as much as she used to, she just slept alot, well most dogs do that and she also didn't eat as much either. She got many tumors all over her, the vet did tell us, as certain types of dogs get older, they get tumors and it doesn't mean she had cancer.

When Thanksgiving came around last year, we usually don't go anywhere for Thanksgiving, but last year we went to Spanish Fork where my sister lives and so I forgot to call the kennel. I called the kennel, but all of them were filled up, so I had to call kennels up in Spanish Fork and I found one that Dixie could stay at. The drive up to Spanish Fork was okay and Dixie did okay. We dropped her off at the Kennel in Spanish Fork and we went to my sister's. The Monday after Thanksgiving, we picked up Dixie. I went inside to get Dixie and one of the workers went to go get her. Usually, I can hear her running, cause she wants out and wants to see us. Well, this was different, she was walking very slowly and I noticed she had paint on her behind. I grabbed the leash and walked her to the van and it looked like Dixie couldn't see where she was going. Will had to lift her in the van and I guess the ride went okay. We were finally home, so Will got Dixie and put her in the house and she just was laying there and she was also shaking, so we really knew something was wrong with her. After we ate lunch, I called the Vet and all I said was, "I think my dog is dying" and we were able to bring her in right then. Ethan took a few pictures of Dixie and Ethan stayed with Zach and Connor, so Will and I took Dixie to the Vet.

The vet weighed her first and for a Golden Retriever/Golden Lab, she is suppose to weigh around 90 lbs., but she weighed only 45 lbs and that is not good at all. The vet also looked at all of her tumors and he said that the tumors are probably cancer. The Vet left, so Will and I could talk about it, to see what we wanted to do. We thought the best thing to do, was put her down. Probably the hardest thing I had to do, was call Ethan. I told him that Dixie wasn't coming home, that we had to put her down and I could tell that he was upset, but Ethan has had Dixie, since he was 2 1/2 years old. Will & I stayed, while the vet put her down and it was very sad. We said goodbye to Dixie and the vet was going to take care of the rest for us, so we didn't have to. It was a very sad day, but Dixie wouldn't be suffering anymore. WE LOVED DIXIE, SHE WAS THE BEST DOG EVER.

A Fun Tag

I saw this tag on my friend Tammi's blog and I thought it was fun, so here are my answers.

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (First pet & Current Car) Kitten Sienna

2. YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (Favorite Icecream & Favorite Cookie) Strawberry Sugar

3. YOUR "FLY GUY/GIRL NAME": (First Initial of First Name & First 3 Letters of Your Last Name) MSiz

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (Favorite Color, Favorite Animal) Purple Dolphin

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (Middle Name or Maiden Name & Where You Were Born) Gold Mesa

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (The First 3 Letters of your Last Name & First 2 Letters of Your First Name) SizMa

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (2ND Favorite Color & Favorite Drink put "The" First) The Blue Dr. Pepper

8. Nascar Name: (The First Names of Your Grandfathers) Milton Melvin

9. STRIPPER NAME: (The Name of Your Favorite Perfume/Cologne & Favorite Candy) Exclamation Kit Kat

10. WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (Mother's & Father's Middle Names) Jane Ralph

You can do this tag if you want.

Christmas 2008

This past Sunday, we put Christmas Decorations up and yes I know it is before Thanksgiving, but hey Thanksgiving is this Thursday and I didn't see any other time to do it, unless I did it on Dec. 13 and that is to far away. Anyway, I love Christmas and so it was fun to put the decorations up. First, Will and Ethan put the tree up and it was nice, because it is a new tree and it is one of those trees with lights on them already and those are the best ones. We have this plant shelf in our family room and I love it, cause I have so many Christmas decorations, that without a plant shelf I don't know what I would do. Ethan helped me put the Christmas decorations up on the plant shelf and I was holding the ladder for him. He did a good job. Ethan even asked me, why do we have so many Christmas decorations and all I said was, I like Christmas. Ethan, Connor, Zach and I helped put the decorations on the tree and then I don't know what happened, cause maybe about 10-20 moinutes later, I was the only one left putting decorations on the tree, but that happens every year. Each year after the tree is up, the first decorations on the tree, are the boys ornaments. Ethan has a Buzz Lightyear, Zach has a Winnie the Pooh and Connor has a Mickey Mouse, which he broke, but Will was able to super glue it back together, just like he did last year. Yes, Connor broke his Mickey Mouse ornament last year. I also hope Connor doesn't break that many ornaments this year, I think he broke 3 or 4 last year, but it could of been more than that, but I wasn't counting.

My Journal Part 2

This past Saturday, I am happy to report that I finished my 22nd Journal and this one has taken me long enough, almost 8 years to finish. If you have been reading my past entries, it explains on Oct. 15, 2008, I wrote an entry on My Journal and it tells why it has taken me so long to finish this Journal. So, I started a new Journal yesterday and I really hope this one doesn't take me as long to finish.

Seeing Brad Wilcox Again

I got to see Brad Wilcox at Zach's school this morning. He is good friends with the Principal there and he came to a school assembly to talk about writing and he also read "Hip Hip Hooray for Annie Mcrae", which to tell you the truth I have never heard of that book before. Anyway, I had to bring Connor with me, but for the most part I guess he behaved okay. It was a good assembly and I was glad I came. Then he was going to be in my son's class to talk about writing and I wanted to go to that, but he wasn't going to Zach's class, until 10:30 and it was 10 am, so Connor and I went for a drive. Came back to the school and went into Zach's classroom and we said hi to him. Connor was not behaving all that well this time, but luckily he was wearing a monkey on his back and I was holding the tail. (leash) After Brad was done, I went up to him and he said he has a present for me in the office, so Connor and I followed him and he gave me a book called "There's Always a Way, Annie McRae" and he put Connor's name in there and signed it. I also asked for a picture of him, so someone took the picture of Brad, Connor and me, along with the book he gave Connor. He also gave me a hug and told me it was good to see me again and thanks for coming.

This is the second time that I have heard him speak. The first time I heard him speak was at a Youth Conference, when I was a Senior at Ramona High School. He knew my Seminary teacher Susan Carr, who was a wonderful Seminary Teacher. She gave all the Graduating Seniors a book called "Gifts For The Heart" by Brad Wilcox and she wrote in my book and told me my book was the only one that Brad Wilcox signed and yes I still have this book.

So as I was walking into Zach's school, I saw Brad walk out of the gym and I went up and talked to him. I told him he probably doesn't remember me, but I am a friend of Susan Carr's and that he spoke at a Youth Conference when I was a Senior in high school. I even showed him the book, "Gifts For The Heart" and I showed him that he signed it too. I am glad that I went, it was another good experience.

My Children

I haven't been feeling all that great about anything lately, so I decided to post something about my children. I love my 3 children with all of my heart and I am so thankful they are in my life right now. I need to write about them and tell you what they are dealing with right now. My family and some friends know what they have to go through, but I mostly wanted to right this down for me. This is going to be long, so please bare with me.

Ethan has diabetes and he was diagnosed at the end of March of 1998. He was almost 16 months old when we learned he had this. At the beginning of March of 1998, we just moved into the 1oth Ward in Cedar City Utah and so we didn't know many people in this ward, but we have lived in Cedar City, since the end of 1994. Ethan, just went to the doctor and everything was fine. Then about 3 weeks later, we noticed something about him. He was only drinking liquids, we had to change his clothes several times a day, he wasn't eatting anything and it looked like he lost some weight. Now, for a 15 month old child, you can tell he has lost weight. He also wasn't interested in doing anything. Then a Sunday night came and Will was worried, so he took a drive and so I was home alone with Ethan, when he threw up and I was scared. Will came home a few minutes later and we decided to go to the ER. We were going to wait till morning, to take Ethan to the doctor, but it couldn't wait. We got to the ER and several nurses had to hold him down, so they could get an IV in them. They finally got one in, which was good and they called his doctor. They checked his blood sugar and it was 540, which is not good. His doctor told us, he has diabetes and I am like what, cause no one in the family has diabetes, but way back in my mind, I thought Ethan might have diabetes. Anyway, Ethan had to stay in the hospital for 5 days and during that 5 days, we had to learn all about diabetes. Then when the lab results came back, his blood sugar was over 800. If we would of waited to take him to the doctor in the morning, we probably would of lost him, so we are grateful that he threw up that Sunday night in March of 1998. Now, Ethan is doing pretty good. He is 11 years old and in the 6th grade and he will be 12 next month. He has really great friends, that knows what to look for, when his blood sugar runs low.

Zach has Muscular Dystrophy and mild Autism. When I was a senior in high school, I found out I was a carrier of Duchene Muscular Dystrophy and that when I had a son, they had 50% of having Muscular Dystrophy. Now, there all over 100 forms of Muscular Dystrophy and the kind my son has, only boys get it and girls would be carriers. I have a 26 year old brother who has Duchene Muscular Dystrophy and a 10 year old nephew who has it. Well, I wanted to have peace of mind and know if Zach had it. Well, to know if he has it, he just takes a blood test and I had Zach take this test, at the age of 8 months. Zach tested positive for having Muscular Dystrophy and I was very upset and I didn't know what to do anymore. He has been doing okay, he still walks okay, but he needs help with stairs. Then this past Feb. 2008, we found out he also has mild Autism and again I was upset to hear about this. Zach doesn't need anymore, so I am hoping that this is it, that nothing else is wrong with him, cause this is enough. To help him at school with his Autism and Muscular Dystrophy, he has 2 teacher aides that help him, 1 in the morning and 1 in the afternoon and he also does Physical Therapy at school. He is 6 years old and he is in first grade right now.

Connor, has PDD-NOS, which is Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not otherwise specified. It is all the Autism Spectrum, but on the lower end of it. So, he has been slow at talking, but he is getting better at talking. I love to hear him talk and I get this smile on my face when he does it. He is 4 years old and he goes to the preschool through the district and I am so grateful that there is a preschool here, that can help me and they have helped him quite a lot I might add.

So, as you can see I guess you can say I have my hands full with all of this, but I have a wonderful husband, who helps me out the best that he can. I do love my kids and I will always love them, no matter what challenges they face throughout their lifetime. Now, of course there are days, that well I get very emotional about having children with challenges, but there is really nothing I can do, except love them.

The Primary Program

I thought I would tell you about the primary program that was yesterday. It was really good and all of my children did pretty good. Connor (my 4 year old) got up when it was his turn and said something you couldn't understand and then sat down. Well, at least he sat down and wasn't running all over the stand. Then, Zach (my 6 year old) got very shy when he got up there. He put his hands over his eyes and he spoke very softly. His teacher was helping him, so he spoke alittle louder and you could hear him and he did pretty good. My son Ethan (my 11 year old) had a very big part. He was one of the narractors, saying scriptures throughout the whole program. I thought he did such a good job and I am proud of him. It is weird to think, that this is Ethan's last Primary Program. Where did the time go? I found out later, that after Connor said his part, he was asleep for the rest of the Primary Program, he must of been really tired.