Saying Goodbye

It's been a hard week. Last weekend we made the very difficult decision to give up our dog, Opal, who has been an important member of our family since May of 2008. This is actually the second time we made this decision. The first time was last March after numerous snapping episodes, all involving children. A series of events brought her to a neighbor's apartment and then back home to us. She seemed to be doing well but then with the start of school came children into our home again. In a one week period she snapped at/bit two children and snapped and growled at a young neighbor (thankfully Tom had her by the leash and she didn't make contact this time). We are thankful that nobody was seriously injured. These events were hard to face but after much counsel we decided to bring her to the Potter League where we trust they will place her with a family without young children. Thankfully, Cole spent a week at the Potter League camp this summer and knows how much they care for animals there. We are all heartbroken. All three of our kids were so close with Opal. She slept at the end of Cole's bed at night and each morning the kids battled for a position closest to Opal on the couch. We miss her huge tail wag, the way she always greeted us with someone's shoe or sock in her mouth, the silly way she slept, and so much more. I am thankful for the gift she was to us. Cole doesn't talk much about Opal but I know he suffers the most with this decision. I often overheard him telling her that she was his best friend. He has been doing remarkably well. I love this quote from Greg Laurie, in his book Why Believe? : We usually don't know when one of life's storms will be blowing our way. We don't know when a crisis will hit- but God knows when the hardships are coming. Not only that, he also knows when we are ready for them. How true that is! Well, here are a few pictures of our beloved Opal.

A New Season

Gramma and Jack at the Cape

Grandaddy and the kids at the Harrison Family Reunion


Grampa loves his grandkiddos!

No, Cole is not really driving a boat full of children. It's anchored :)




Haven - It's hard to believe she'll be 4 in Jan. She is a sweetheart and quite the social butterfly. She loves everyone and always wants to be with her friends and family. She loves babies, real and pretend, and recently we had to convince her that she didn't have a baby in her belly. Last night she told me that when she has her baby she is going to take my car and I would get a new one. Now that's planning! She'll be in preschool this fall three days a week, at the same school where Jack will be in kindergarten. Conveniently, it's right across the street!

Jack still wakes with a smile each morning. As Cole says, when he laughs I can't help laughing tool. What a gift. He started kindergarten this week and came home with a smile on his face each day. He loves taking the bus, though it literally picks him up at our house and crosses over the main road to school, taking all of about 3 minutes. A friend up the street and two of his best friends from preschool are in his class, and this has helped to make the transition quite smooth. I look back to last year at this time, when we were deciding about whether to send him off to kindergarten or give him one more year of preschool. I am thankful we waited, for now he is truly ready. As you can see in the picture above, Jack LOVES stuffed animals. I'll have to post a picture of his bed sometime, as it really is quite remarkable how many furry friends occupy it.

Cole is ALL boy, and then some! This summer was truly a fantastic summer for him. He learned to kayak for the first time and one of my favorite moments was watching him kayak with my dad at the Cape. Cole loves water and nature and thus one of his favorite places is the beach. We spent many afternoons this summer at 2nd beach, where the waves are "huge". There the boys would boogie board for hours, grinning from ear to ear. Other than swimming, Cole did climbing camp at a local climbing gym, a week long camp at a local animal shelter, and vacation bible school. He turned 19 (I mean 9) a few days ago. Where has the time gone? This fall, other than the days he will be at Melville for art and PE, I will be homeschooling him. I am using the curriculum from the school he will be attending in New York after our move. He is playing baseball again this fall and wants to continue with cub scouts. Hopefully we'll be able to fit in some guitar lessons as well.

Here is a picture of the kids at their favorite beach in Newport. We have been blessed to be stationed near the sea for the last 3 years and truly have been spoiled. Tom submitted paperwork requesting separation from the Navy this spring and it has been approved and is making it's way through the various departments involved in the process. We are hoping to have orders by January. Tom has had a good life experience with the Navy, and if our family were more adaptable to the change and unpredictability that come hand in hand with serving the Navy, perhaps he would have considered serving longer. Yet our family is at the point where it is time to plant ourselves where, God willing, we will not be uprooted again after a few years. When Tom finishes his Navy commitment he will be joining a practice in upstate New York in the community where he grew up. Talk about coming full circle! We visited his parents in Queensbury this summer and also visited a few houses for sale. Long story short we decided to buy a house in Queensbury in a wonderful neighborhood filled with families with young children. We will be closing in November and the kids and I will be moving in December. The kids will be starting school at the King's School in January. We will see Tom on the weekends until he joins us early May. It will be difficult to be away from Tom on weekdays next winter and spring, but when considering the big picture our decision to move now is best for our family.

As for me, I am doing well. People often ask me if I have a desire or plans to return to medicine. Honestly, I don't really think about it much. I do miss it but I am in the right place right now. When I made the decision to leave medicine/psychiatry I had no idea I would then become (not by choice) an expert (so to speak) in ADHD. I needed to be home for this reason, among many others. And now, I never would have imagined myself in a teaching role for my child. It's funny because I have told many people over the years that if I had to choose a career over again I would become a teacher. Be careful what you wish for :) My decision to homeschool was multifaceted and not an easy one to make. I am able to do it for this season because of the incredible growth Cole has demonstrated over the last year and especially over the last few months. We started easing into school this week and it was a really good week. Cole is so bright and eager to learn and I'm already getting a glimpse into his learning style and his needs. I know it's not going to be easy and I'm asking for lots of prayers .

This has been a long post, but it has been a long time and a lot has happened since I last wrote. I will try to be more consistent with blogging this fall. We'll see how much free time I have :) Right now we are in NY for the Labor Day weekend. Tomorrow we see our new house for the first time as a family. It is really exciting. I'll post a picture of the house, as well as some pictures from the end of the summer when I get back to RI. Have a wonderful start to the school year and to fall. I love the change of seasons, and I find this verse particularly meaningful in my life right now: To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven (Ecclesiastes 3:1)