Hey~

So, it's been a LOOOOONG time. I just haven't felt much like posting anything for a while. Roman's death hurt us all a bit more than we thought it would. I still have days where I miss him so much it hurts. Maggie is getting better. She wouldn't come out of Lizz's bedroom for almost 2 weeks. We had to bribe her to get her to eat. She actually moped around crying. Made it very hard for us, too, to see her like that. I see now how an animal (or human, for that matter) could die of a broken heart. We really loaded her up with love and atention, hoping to bring her out of it. She's actually wanting to play now, something she didn't do for weeks.

The day of his appointment, my dad came over early and helped Todd dig a hole in the yard. They figured it would be easier to do it before than after when they were upset. Our neighbor Ray came over to help . . . I think he just wanted to be there to say good bye. Ray and Marty were so great during that week. We are so blessed to have them as neighbors. The hardest part was when we went to leave. I asked Roman if he wanted to go for a ride and he got all excited. The 7 minute ride to the vet took forever, but it went by way too fast. Roman loved the ride - he hadn't been on one in a long time. He was happy and looking everywhere, tail going a mile a minute. At that time, I was hit with a sudden feeling of regret - and changing my mind. I knew, though, that it was time. When we got there, there was an older couple coming in at the same time. I felt bad, we made the lady cry. Taking him in the office was the hardest thing I've ever done, because I knew it was almost over. We were lucky enough to have Nick there to make the time easier for Roman, and us. Nick is a very special vet tech. He and Roman had a good relationship, and Nick was awesome with him. He cried, too.

I got to hold Roman's head while Dr. Reynolds gave him the shot. He was on the table, and I knelt in front of him with my arms around his neck while he left. He licked my face and stuck his nose right in my neck. Right before he was gone, he started to cry - almost like he realized he didn't want to go. That sucked. It just made everyone worse. But I got to tell him how much we loved him and what a great dog he was while he died. I lost a piece of my heart when Dr. Reynolds said *He's gone*. He cried, too. Roman was a special dog, that's for sure. He was so gentle, loving, smart, funny . . .

It's been 7 weeks and I still can't get through this without crying. Thank you for all your support, prayers, food, and cards. You'll never know just how much those little things meant to us. We lost a member of our family, and we're so grateful for the people who showed us they felt the same.

We buried Roman in the backyard, were we can see him all the time. We realized how appropriate the spot is last weekend while we were buring leaves. Roman would always follow us around and lay in the yard while we were raking and burning. One of the spots where we burn is right by Roman's grave - it was just right to have him *there* with us. But sad . . . I miss him so much . . .

First of all, we didn't get a Meijer ad, so I don't know if it's in there or not, but they have milk for $2.50!!! YeeHAA!

Our first day of school was pretty uneventful. Todd had to work, which sucked, but everything else was good. Everyone is very happy with their teacher. Julianna just cracks me up. She has the teacher she had in first grade again this year. They were pretty tight the first time around, and it was so cute to see Jules light up when she saw Mrs. Fagan. This is going to be an awesome year for her. Tyler has Mrs. Kleinert (and *miss Seppo*!! YAY!). She was a TA for Julianna and EmmaLee. I love her. She'll be very good for him. He did exactly as I expected, too. He went right into class and found his seat, got his stuff out, put on his nametag, and basically told me to leave! He had a hard time last night, though. He really thought he'd get to school and someone would have found puppy in Mrs. Roe's room when they moved everything. Nope. He cried himself to sleep and it just about broke my heart. I thought he was okay with it now. He even asked TJ to sleep with him til he fell asleep. Poor Bug. He was ok this morning, though. He told me he was better, and his *new* puppy would feel bad if he cried too much. He's gonna be such a caring guy. EmmaLee really likes having a locker this year. She's really growing up fast. :::sigh::: She took off this morning and didn't even wait for me to walk in with her. The three musketeers got split up, but that's ok. She has a neighbor and Tae Kwon Do classmate in her class this year, and she's a sweetie. TJ didn't want me taking any pictures at school . . . They're in the new building. Lockers, security doors, carpet, airconditioning, nice big rooms . . . very, very cool.

I actually was at Meijer at 8:10 this morning! Got all my shopping done, and now I just want to go back to bed. BUT, I got my next Star Wars Legacy of the Force book!!! YAY!! Going to read something that doesn't make me sob at every page. I'm not gonna make it through the book about Ronald Reagan. It hit way too close to home . . .

For those of you wondering about Lizz's date. Well . . . it went fine. They had fun, he brought her home. They talked a lot on MySpace and then at church. He came to her party that Saturday night, and pretty much didn't leave her side. He played with Tyler and Julianna a lot. He told her Sunday that he wanted to hang out again the next Wednesday. Then all of a sudden, he changed his mind, told her he was busy, pretty much stopped chatting, and then posted pics on his MySpace of him and his girlfriend. HELLO?!?!?! So, I guess it's good she knows. He's um . . . . a player?? We think. It's weird. But, she still is also interested in this other guy, too. He may go to the demolition derby with us Friday. We'll see. Boys . . .