Newton

Newton is gone now. Melody and I took him to the vet this past Tuesday for euthanasia. He was 17 1/2, blind, deaf, and not himself. He slept most of the day. He was losing bladder control and losing weight--he only weighed 9 pounds at the end, (down from 12.) We brought his little body home wrapped in a blanket and in a little coffin provided by the vet. John had dug a grave last Saturday, and we laid Newton to rest in the backyard.

Melo and I are having a hard time, but we're choosing to remember that Newton is better off, and he left us many good memories. He used to say family prayers with us, and jump up the instant someone said 'Amen.' He would beg for the chance to ride in the car or take the kids to school. He would barkingly challenge any dog who walked on the canal, no matter the size of the other dog, and if he got off his leash, he would run to challenge the dog in person. Newton got some funny looks from the big dogs he tried to take on. He would chase his toys, and succeeded at disemboweling various stuffed animal toys. Newton was never allowed on my bed, but sometimes would jump up anyway while I was still asleep in the morning and sleep beside me, or at my feet, until John found him and shooed him away.

John said he had a propeller butt because of how fast his little tail would wag. And when he had a poodle haircut, with the puffball tail, it was especially cute. Newton slept with each of the kids in turn, except Sarah I think. As one child left home, he would move to the next bedroom, ending up spending several years with Melody. But then he started slowing down, and couldn't get up the stairs as easily. Since the kids moved out to BYU, Newton has been sleeping upstairs, and John or I would let him out in the middle of the night as needed.

Newton was a part of our family for all but the first four months of his life. We always hoped he'd live long enough for Melody to graduate, then long enough for Billy to get home from his mission, then...it was time to let him go. He was my sweet puppy, my company, my extra presence in the house. I miss him. Alot. But it's ok. He was ready to go. As I talked to him on his last morning, and asked if he was ready to go, he actually climbed into my lap! He hasn't done that for years. Then I felt bad that I had to tell him it wasn't til the evening. Like I said, he was ready to go. He was probably ready a fair while ago, but I wasn't.

Thanks, Newton, for waiting for me to be ready. For enduring the pain of your joints long enough for me to get used to the idea of you being gone. Sorry if I made you suffer too long. I hope you're having a grand time somewhere. Thanks for being our warm little body of love.

Warning

One of these days you'll be reading the obituary for our little dog, Newton. Just a warning. Plus, I'm trying to prepare myself.

Latest Quilt

I've kind of settled into a routine of making sure each of my kids have a hand-quilted blanket for their first boy and first girl, and then the baby quilts are pieced and machine quilted after that. This is the quilt I finished for our youngest grandson.


























I have two more grandsons coming in July, so hopefully I'll have two more baby quilts to show off before then.

Capturing a Smile

Capturing those first baby smiles is one of the most challenging things a Mom/Grandma can do, but we never stop trying! Jacob is growing and growing, and last week I managed to photograph a few variations of his increasingly frequent smile. Jacob is about 6 weeks old in these photos, I think. Sarah wants copies, but I'm posting them first--ha, ha!