It was a rough weekend...

Last weekend was one of those times when everything just seemed heavy, wrong and difficult.

Earlier in the week our dog started eating less and having a bit less energy.

I guess we weren't too worried because she was getting older and she kind of normally acts that way when the weather changes.

But by Thursday evening she was not doing well.

First thing Friday morning I took her to the vet and her prognosis was not good.

I took her home and hoped to nurse her through the weekend until MDH and Duder got home.

Unfortunately, by Friday night it was apparent that she wasn't going to make it through the night.

Each of the kids said goodbye to her and we all cried.

She'd only been with us for a couple of years but she was truly a part of the family.

These pictures were taken the day we brought her to live with us.

Can you tell she especially loved MDH?

 She filled a place in our hearts we needed to have filled with unconditional, excited, happy, silly, slobbery, warm love.

Sweet Cheeks who started out being terrified of dogs, then called McCall her window dog because she like to watch her through the window, ended up being McCall's greatest fan.

Early Saturday morning McCall passed away in her sleep.

It was hard.

I wasn't sure what to do because I'd hurt my back Friday carrying our sweet dog to the car and back.

She wasn't a small dog.

So I called my neighbor and asked him if he could help me.

What a blessing good neighbors are.

He and his wife even helped to shovel the drive-way.

Calling my boy on the race and telling him about McCall was one of the hardest things I've ever done.

We were a pretty sorry sight around here all day Saturday, we were depressed and I was in pain.

So we went to see the movie Brave at the dollar theater. It was a nice distraction even if I did sleep through half of it.

Late Saturday, early Sunday morning, Sweet Cheeks  started throwing up........

As is often the case with little ones the stomach flu hit in the middle of the night and she didn't make it to someplace to contain the mess. Needless to say it was everywhere.

Around 4 AM MDH and Duder came through the door after driving all night, they were exhausted but happy and I was happy to have reinforcements arrive.

Unfortunately one of their team mates had gotten the stomach flu on the race and passed it around to everyone.

So my man and my boy got sick within a few hours of getting home.

I'm sure being exhausted from the race didn't help either.

Luckily only 3 of our 7 ended up getting it. That was a blessing too.

After spending Sunday cleaning and disinfecting and nursing I was exhausted both mentally and physically. And I was happy the weekend was over.

I think it's going to take a while for all of us to mourn our sweet McCall, but we are so grateful we were able to have her for the short time we did.

Today I looked out the back window into the yard and it just felt empty.

She was deeply loved. 

The neighbor who helped me this weekend has offered to give us a puppy when their dog has puppies in a couple of months.

I think I need a little time. It just feels too soon. The kids are split, a couple of them want a new dog right away a couple of them don't. I guess we'll see.

We were able to bury McCall by MDH's parent's house.

His mom even gave us a vase and silk flowers for us to put with her.

That really meant a lot to us.

Sorry if this post has been a bit depressing.

Thanks for reading.