Dogs are People Too!

"If love alone could have kept you here, you would have lived forever."

Meet Casper the black lab, he's running around in puppy heaven right now with all the squeaky toys, tennis balls, treats, and bones he could imagine. 

Casper was two years old when died.

If you have a dog, you know they are a member of your family, and my heart was broken on March 11, 2014 (yes, less than two short months ago) when he was hit by a car.  That afternoon I came home from work and ran upstairs to let him outside, my normal daily routine.  Casper never ran, he was always by side other than when he was doing his business.  I don't know why, but for whatever reason Casper ended up running into the street.  I live directly on Moravian, which is 45 mph, and when I heard a loud "thud" I knew what had happened before I even turned around.

I watched him roll to the middle of the street as I frantically ran out into traffic.  I could have been hit, I wasn't even paying attention when I looked up and saw cars stopped in both lanes; all that mattered was my companion, my loyal partner through thick and thin, was hurt.  The thought that he could die didn't even cross my mind.

The car that hit him didn't stop (what a coward), and as I tried to lift him out of the road a young girl pulled over to help, she wasn't strong enough to help me  and with her bottom lip quivering and glossy eyes, she apologized and got in her car to leave.  I thanked her and it was then that reality hit and tears streamed down my face that Casper might be dying.

As I held him I assessed his wounds: broken arm, probably needed stitches, a few more scrapes but those will heal.  I told him he would be okay as long as I could lift him to my car to a vet. 

I sat there on the side of Moravian in a puddle, holding Casper in my arms on my lap, all 60 lbs of the most loving creature I had the honor of caring for.  As blood trickled out of his mouth and his nose, I knew he was leaving me.  I said his name and with one last glance up at me, he was gone.  He was at peace, but I was a devastated wreck.

Telling that story is incredibly difficult for me, which is the reason I won't have a personal scrapbook page to show you to honor his memory.  When it's a little easier for me I will upload my memories of Casper fully decorated.  For now I will show some pages I searched for of ideas and inspirations I will use when I do decide to create my layouts of Casper.  The pictures above are the ones I will most likely be using and I'll probably create two pages side by side dedicated to him.

I love the simplicity of this "In Loving Memory" layout.  A simple color scheme with a few facts such as the adoption date of Java, first thoughts when they met her, and what they loved about her personality.

 This separated picture layout has always been one of my favorite because of the character it adds to a page by simply cutting and separating a photo.

 This is a playful layout and I love the splash of color throughout the page.  Casper loved his toys and I have plenty of photos of him holding onto his toys or bones for dear life.  I want to look at my layouts when I decide to create them and be reminded of happy, fun memories of him playing, swimming (he LOVED to swim), and cuddling with me.  In his two short years with me he made the biggest impact in my life, more than I could have ever thought possible from an animal.

This is how I will always remember my best friend, always by my side <3

  

Honor Thy Mother and Father

This Sunday is Mother's Day, and let me tell you, my momma (and my daddy) is extra special to me.  I was born in 1989 and given up for adoption, and in 1992 after being a foster child in countless homes, I was adopted by the two most loving parents I could ask for.  Since I was a foster child in their home during the time I was made available for adoption, they were given first pick, and they picked me!

Here's the official adoption letter stating my parents' interest.  Whenever they get angry with me I always say "hey, you chose me, deal with it!" and then my father will usually make a silly comment like "yea, don't remind me", but he's only joking.

The most common question I get is "have you ever tried to find your real parents?".  My answer is always something along the lines of "I have my REAL parents, they are the ones that chose to give me a better life".  I often reflect on the life my gave me, and let me be the first to say, I couldn't imagine my life without them and I am truly blessed.


I remember the exact day I went to live with my parents, which is strange because I don't remember a single day of my life before that.  I got out of the car and walked up the two steps of the front porch, through the front door, and straight to the kitchen table where my parents had a coloring book and a box of Crayola markers.  I sat there silent, and as my dad recalls, I colored so carefully inside the lines for a three year old.  I like to think that's when my creativity started, with my dad sitting by my side then, and that hasn't changed throughout my 21 years as his daughter.

Here is my father and I, on a typical weekend when I was little I would wake up early and climb in bed with him; it was always the highlight of my week.


Now, let's get back to Momma's Day!  My mom has always been the one who worries about everyone and everything.  She's the sweetest person and consistently goes out of her way to make others happy.  She's always been there for me no matter what kind of dumb decisions I've made, and you might think "well yea, isn't she supposed to be?".  I've seen too many parents neglect their children when they've made stupid mistakes, and to me those are the times kids need their parents most.

In this day and age I feel like parenting isn't anything like it used to be and there are way more kids having kids.  My parents were 35 when they adopted me, and it wasn't until I started hanging out with friends that I realized they were older than most parents.  I have come to realize now that I couldn't be more thankful to have such wise people raising me.

Here's a few pictures of my momma and I.  The quote in the right corner "A mother's love is forever" has been demonstrated by this beautiful woman to me time and time again.  I strive to be more like her everyday and live a life she would be proud of, and she is.

Last Mother's Day I made her this hanging wall collage with different patterns of paper, a couple photos of us, and some embellishments.  Mom's love handmade cards and paper crafts and this took about an hour to complete.  The hardest part was cutting everything to fit perfectly in each square.

The dangling letters on each side of the middle photo say "hugs" and "kisses".  The glitter hearts on the right are actually heart punch outs from a 12 x 12 sheet of sticker paper.  This is a much more inexpensive way to use generic shape stickers rather than paying $2.99 for one sheet of the same stickers.  A little time and effort to make something special for my mom has always meant more to her than buying her something.

My parents are my strongest critics and my biggest supporters and to be loved by them is the greatest gift I have been given.  So tell your mother (or father, aunt, sister, whoever fulfills this role) how much they mean to you this Sunday and the other 364 days of the year!  If you have any stories about you and your mom or parents, I'd love to read about it, so leave a comment :)

Happy Monday all, enjoy your week!