What a week!

We've had quite the week here at the Alspaugh house. I'm thankful for a small break this morning to actually write a quick blog post.

A week ago today, we took our precious kitties (almost nine years old) to the vet for a second time in two weeks. Two weeks prior, I'd noticed they suddenly stopped eating or using their litter box (which usually stunk up the whole house). They were acting lethargic, and one of them had also been throwing up. The vet noticed one cat was jaundiced and took a blood sample. We went home with two cats on antibiotics and liver medication for one of them. We got them some special food to help take the medicine with, but after a day, they wouldn't eat anymore, and giving them their meds turned into an all-out war with their sharp claws. We have a lot of cuts, scrapes, and scratches to prove it.

I had a gut feeling things weren't getting better, so Mike, David, and I all three took them back to the vet last week, only to receive heart-breaking news, $600 later, that both cats are severely ill and have a very slim chance of survival. He was stumped as to how both cats got so sick at once. It could be a hereditary liver issue, they could have gotten into something we don't know about, or they could have gotten a deadly virus somehow. We are heart-broken. They have been our most beautiful, faithful, furry companions ever. Mike and David are quite attached to the extrovert, Snowflake, and I'm just as attached and in love with the introvert, Snowball. We spent several days in tears and grieving, though we haven't lost them yet, and we've just been loving on them all week long.

In the midst of all that, we survived the first round of STAAR testing. David had a Reading test, Juan took an English test, and I had to find a way to keep a room full of four-year-olds as quiet as possible for two days.

Monday afternoon Juan and I attended an informational meeting about his second opportunity to attend a Kiwanis Leadership Camp with other ELL students throughout the district later this month, yesterday I talked to Juan's counselor to get all of his classes figured out for his senior year next year, and last night Juan's soccer team played their second game in the play-offs and won! If they win the next round of play-offs on Tuesday, then they advance to play in Austin on Friday. I sure would love for him to have that opportunity.

(Love seeing my son's name on the back of that shirt!)

We found a random (and rare) opportunity to skype with Julian this week, too. What a treasured phone call. I love being able to keep him involved in Juan David's life, and I love giving him the opportunity to see how much his brother is thriving here. If it weren't for him, Juan David's future would look so different right now, and he definitely wouldn't be here.

Today Juan is working all day as a referee at the soccer fields, David will be doing yard work for a church family in order to raise funds for their youth mission trip to Los Angeles this summer, and then we'll end the afternoon with David's soccer game and then church.

Busy times. but I cherish them. I look forward to all that April holds. Stay tuned for lots of blog posts leading up to the launch of Painful Waiting in just 12 days!